Google buys the Earth

Search engine Google is continuing its flurry of activity by announcing that it has bought the Silicon Valley digital mapping company, Keyhole Corp. No details of the deal have been released. The Keyhole software claims it offers a 3D digital model of the entire earth via the Internet. ...more

Universal buys EMusic

Vivendi's music arm Universal Music Group has acquired EMusic, the popular MP3 download site that also boasts RollingStone.com and Downbeat.com, furthering its wish for greater penetration within the US market. ...more

US TV pirates walk the plank

Yesterday, America's biggest sporting event filled a million TVs across the Home of the Brave, but for some unlucky punters the Superbowl was replaced by static. DirecTV - a US satellite TV service - decided that it would send out electronic counter measures and jam anyone using a pirate access card. The signal was deemed a success and is thought to have killed 100,000 bootleg subscribers, replacing their Superbowl coverage with a snide message saying 'Game Over'. ...more

VeriSign to defend Site Finder before ICANN

Verisign, which last week was forced to withdraw its controversial Site Finder service, will today present its case to the ICANN Security and Stability Committee. Representatives of Verisign will present technical data which, they say, will prove that the initiative did not compromise or destabilise the Internet. Whilst the 'service' was in place, users who mistyped or entered non-existant . ...more

A new series of multi-media VAIOs

Aimed at business users, Sony has introduced a GR series of VAIO Notebooks, with an emphasis on multi-media manipulation. The unique selling point of the latest VAIOS - the entry level GR114EK (pictured), the mid-range GR114MK and he high-end GR114SK - is that they are the first A4 size Notebooks to feature a MagicGate Memory Stick slot for sharing data with audio and video devices. The GR series also has an i. ...more