Government revives company-backed 'home computer initiative'

Patricia Hewitt, the Trade and Industry Secretary, has attempted to revive the government's 'home computer initiative' with a new set of guidelines which will make it easier for companies to take part in the scheme. In 1999, the chancellor announced a ?500 annual tax exemption on computers loaned by companies. The exemption meant that companies could loan computers to their employees as a tax-free benefit. ...more

mPack one-stop media player ships in the UK

The mPack all-in one set-top box movie and music player and recorder and digital photo album is now being shipped in the UK. Designed and built by Taiwan's Power Quotient International (PQI) the mPack includes 40GB of disk space with USB 2.0 connectivity, and if all its multimedia capabiites are not enough, it can be used as a standard external hard drive. ...more

ShopSmart offered for ?1 million

Popular price comparison engine, ShopSmart, is the subject of a paltry ?1 million bid by Barclaycard's shopping portal IndigoSquare. The offer price pales in comparison to the ?200 million valuation of the company at the peak of its popularity. The board of ShopSmart has agreed to the offer, but the final decision is in the hands of the shareholders who have 28 days to decide. ...more

Vodafone offers flat rate data deal when roaming

Mobile phone giant Vodafone says it will charge roaming customers a flat rate of €12 (?8.20 pounds) per day for using their laptops abroad to check e-mails and the Internet. As the telecoms industry attempts to prove to European regulators that there is no need for tougher regulation of so-called 'roaming' charges, Vodafone said on Wednesday it was keen to ensure that tariffs become cheaper and simpler. ...more

Intel gets involved in the SCO dispute

Intel has quietly involved itself in the long-running SCO-IBM-Linux dispute. It has pledged money to help cover the costs of litigation with SCO over the use of Linux. The Open Source Development Lab (OSDL) has set up a legal fighting fund for the SCO dispute, and the OSDL Linux Legal Defense Fund has been kick-started with $3mn in pledges from a number of companies. ...more