MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger talk

Microsoft has announced that it has completed work to combine its MSN Messenger instant messaging network with Yahoo! Messenger. From today any of the services' combined 350 million users can now communicate to those on the other network. The combined network is now the world's biggest. ...more

Intel hardware will benefit Mac development - survey

The switch to Intel hardware will benefit Mac software development, according to more than 90 per cent of developers questioned by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. They believe the transition will result in a greater number of Mac applications. 'While there are some concerns from industry analysts that the Intel transition will negatively impact Mac application development, we believe our conversations point to the opposite conclusion,' Munster said. ...more

Microsoft attacks spam with 15 suits

Microsoft has launched a trans-Atlantic flurry of lawsuits against spammers, with two being based in the UK. Representatives from the company would not be drawn on naming the UK defendants, but the suits have been brought under the UK Misuse of Computers Act, alleging the unlawful harvesting of email account names and other illegal spamming practices. CEO of Microsoft EMEA Jean-Philippe Courtois said: 'Spam represents a tremendous issue for our customers,' Courtois said. ...more

EMI/Time Warner make further concessions

EMI Group and Time Warner are prepared to make drastic concessions to push through their merger, says an industry source. According to the source, quoted by Reuters, the two companies will pacify the European Commission by agreeing to shed record labels in Spain, France and Denmark and stop their CD manufacturing business. The two firms have also agreed to restructure their distribution business and stick to prices set for music copyrights by national collecting societies. ...more

My very own domain name

A new UK domain name, intended for personal use, has been authorised today: .me.uk. ...more