IBM fined ?190 by Venezuelan authorities

Venezuela's authorities have ordered the temporary closure of several foreign companies due to tax 'irregularities' The country's Seniat tax agency ordered a 48-hour shutdown of IBM's Caracas office for what it described as 'bookkeeping irregularities related to value added tax. The company was also fined 725,000 Bolivares (?190). Other tech firms also face 24- to 48-hour closures, including Microsoft, Nokia, Ericsson and Siemens. ...more

e-security breaches cost $15bn worldwide per year says report

What price security? Can you put a price on lost reputation caused by damage to customer trust? Market analysts at Datamonitor have produced a report - "eSecurity: removing the roadblock to eBusiness" - which claims that security breaches cause over $15bn of damage worldwide, annually. The report finds that online companies are still not taking security issues seriously - over 50% of businesses, worldwide, spend five per cent or less of their IT budgets on securing their networks. "Many e-businesses are still ignorant about the risk they are exposing themselves to", said Datamonitor e-security analyst, Ian Williams. ...more

Iomega launches 20GB portable

Media specialists Iomega today announced the latest in its range of portable media solutions. The Iomega Peerless is a disk drive system that can hold up to 20GB of data, but is small enough to fit in your jacket pocket. The unit uses removable media that comes in either 10GB or 20GB formats. ...more

Nabaztag wireless rabbit breeds new generation

'We are against screens,' states Rafi Haldjian, authoritatively. Haldjian is the man behind the Nabaztag wireless rabbit that is evolving to the next generation; Nabaztagtag. Nabaztag is that strangest of beasts: it has no compelling reason commending itself. ...more

Corporal punishment for mobile users

If you think using a mobile phone in a public place is a nuisance, then you should move to Saudi Arabia where they take a very dim view on such behaviour. The Al-Eqtisadiyah newspaper has recently reported on how an army officer has been sentenced by a Saudi court to seventy lashes for using his mobile phone while on an aeroplane. The court ruled that the man had jeopardised the lives of the passengers and crew with his inconsiderate behaviour, even though he had been asked by cabin staff to switch the phone off. ...more