Visionary Design awards reward website accessibility

Manchester United and the Citizen's Advice Bureau are among those honoured with Visionary Design Awards for their websites. The awards are part of a campaign to improve the accessibility of material on the Web to the visually impaired. The idea is to encourage designers to consider issues regarding text magnification, the use of text to speech technology and refreshable Braille. ...more

Which names 'best buy' dial-up ISP

Consumers' organisation Which has given its 'Best Buy' award for dial-up Internet access to Firenet's PAYG and unmetered dial-up packages. The services were judged on three criteria: file download and upload speeds and the reliability of the service, specifically the number of dial-up errors, engaged tones and connection drop outs. Firenet CEO Alan Castle said, 'This is excellent news, we cannot believe how well our customers talk about us so much, where the likes of Which magazine test us, and give us the best buy ISP for the third time in a row. ...more

Microsoft Exchange 12 goes beta

Microsoft has released the first beta of Exchange 12, the next-generation of its messaging and collaboration server. Beta 1 is a closed release in that a pre-selected group of testers - picked from Microsoft partners - will have access to the code. Features of the system include a rewritten graphical management console, built-in anti-spam protection, improved Outlook Web Access, a unified messaging system and a scriptable, command-line shell based on the powerful Monad technology (which supports Unix-like piping of commands only incorporating data objects). ...more

CeBIT 2007: Game on for Commodore

Its computers were once cutting-edge with 64k memory - today the revitalised Commodore brand unveiled a 64bit range of gaming machines that are a far cry from its 1980s hey-day. Gone are the beige and brown boxes of yore. The new Commodore range offers a wide selection of lurid, customisable cases, with flashing LEDs illuminating the innards, and the famous Commodore logo cut out in the side. ...more

Narrowband "a good deal", says Oftel

Oftel has concluded a review of the dial-up Internet connection market and its initial conclusion is that UK customers fare well, despite some reservations. The review shows that ten million households now have Internet access, up four million in a year, and that 35 per cent of households choose some form of unmetered access. However, Oftel recognises that consumers are concerned about the quality of customer service and the availability of information that enables them to select the right package. ...more