BT talks up broadband achievements

BT has called for reduced regulation of the UK broadband market in its submission to the Trade and Industry Select Committee's broadband enquiry that starts today. The company's evidence to the committee focuses on the state of the UK broadband market when compared with those in the other major European and North American economies. In some areas BT has certainly outperformed the telecoms giants elsewhere. ...more

Europe opens discussion on music copyright

Europe is taking the first steps towards providing a unified system of collecting music royalties. The European Commission has launched a discussion across Europe for a standard framework for allocating licences for copyrighted music. It is based on an agreement between BUMA and SABAM, the Dutch and Belgian collecting societies. ...more

IBM to map the human brain

Using its most powerful computer, IBM along with the Swiss-based Ecole Polytechnique F?d?rale de Lausanne (EPFL) are setting out on a project which will one day map out the entire human brain. Known inevitably as the Blue Brain Project, researchers from both organisations plan to work together to map out the human neocortex. This area is thought to be the most complex and evolutionarily advanced part of the brain and is only found in mammals and is most developed in human beings. ...more

Sun unveils Sun ONE Instant Messaging 6.0

Instant messaging for enterprises, courtesy of Sun Microsystems. As well as chat and conferences, the enterprise-scale software supports the use of alerts, news, polls and file transfers. New features in version 6. ...more

Trading Standards Institute pans Internet shopping

The Trading Standards Institute (TSI) has condemned shopping on the Internet as being slower, more expensive and more hassle than the high street. In a survey in which test purchases were made from 102 companies, the TSI found that 38 per cent of orders did not arrive on time and that 17 per cent failed to materialise. There were incidences of companies taking the money and then vanishing, charging extortionate delivery fees and delivering damaged goods. ...more