HD-DVD, Blu-ray marriage back on

The president of Toshiba has insisted that there will be a single, unified standard for high-definition DVDs, despite the failure of recent talks between representatives of the two rival formats. However Tadashi Okamura told Japanese business leader said that he expects both HD-DVD and Blu-ray products to be on the shelf before an agreement can be reached. 'We may actually have a situation where merchandise from both sides is put on store shelves. ...more

BT cuts ADSL installation price for Christmas

Offer of ?75 set-up fee starts today and runs until 31 December. Btopenworld has announced that from today it will halve the cost of its broadband installation services. The offer, which will run until the end of December, means that consumers can order a Home500 service installation for a cost of ?74. ...more

Password problems hamstring helpdesks - survey

Simple identity management tasks are putting a massive strain on company time and resources, according to a new survey. Research carried out by information security company DNS found that on average, 24 per cent of help desk calls are related to password resetting and 15 per cent are user-provisioning calls to set up a new employee or alter their access levels. The greater use of IT in all parts of a company's operations has resulted in increasing numbers of applications and systems that need to be accessed by multiple users, the study found. ...more

AOL co-opts PC makers in battle with Microsoft

AOL is out to get its icons on as many Windows desktops as possible, following Microsoft's decision to give PC manufacturers flexibility in deciding which icons will be displayed on new machines. Such flexibility is currently commonplace, with Dell, for instance, carrying an AOL promotion on the desktop of all new computers. Microsoft had planned to put an end to such promotions, by restricting the number of desktop icons on machines shipped with the forthcoming Windows XP operating system, acting on feedback from customers who felt that the desktop had become too cluttered. ...more

Yuletide technophobia

Dr David Lewis, a psychologist and author of the book Information Overload, has identified a new syndrome that could be affecting technophobes this yuletide. FAT syndrome (Festive Anxiety due to Technology) might just sweep the nation with Boxing Day being the most dangerous time, with people pressurised into trying to understand the new gadgetry that's been given out as presents. A survey commissioned by Comet backs up Dr Lewis' idea with its findings stating that nine out of ten adults believe that children understand technology better than they do. ...more