BBC and ITV to launch free satellite television service

The BBC and ITV are to launch free-to-view satellite service in a joint venture, following approval of the proposal by the BBC Trust. “Freesat,” as it is currently known, will provide around 200 standard and high-definition channels, available without subscription across the United Kingdom, aiming to launch in the spring of 2008 more...

Game over for creator of Sony PlayStation

The creator of Sony's PlayStation games console resigned yesterday as the Japanese media giant, run by the Welsh-born Sir Howard Stringer, battled to revive its fortunes. The departure of Ken Kutaragi, who has been with Sony since 1975, came as the firm's bitter rival, Nintendo, revealed a dramatic jump in profits thanks to the success of its handheld DS device and revolutionary Wii games console more...

Reid warns on e-terrorism

Home Secretary John Reid has warned that a terrorist assault on vital electronic systems would have a 'potentially devastating' outcome and it is impossible to guarantee a 100 per cent secure defence more...

Wii supply won't meet demand until 2009

IDC video game analyst, Billy Pidgeon, believes that Wii will continue strong growth even though supply issues are still very much a problem for Nintendo.The first quarter of 2007 has got off to a flyer thanks to the Wii and DS Nintendo combo and the mighty PlayStation 2. "Q1 is looking like the beginning of an up-cycle year," said Pidgeon. "There's good software movement, but hardware is stalled a bit by short Wii supply and stagnant demand for 360 and PS3." more...

Internet Speed Records Smashed

Think your 2Mbps Internet connection is the bee's knees? Perhaps your 8Mbps connection? 10Mbps cable? Or are you one of the lucky ones with 20Mbps ADSL2+? Either way, we're all snails compared to this lot more...

PlayStation father Kutaragi to step down

The father of Sony's flagship PlayStation game console, Ken Kutaragi, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, will step down in June while the company fights to retain dominance in the video game industry. Kutaragi, 56, will stay on as honorary chairman and an adviser to Sony CEO Howard Stringer, and Kazuo Hirai, who is now president and chief operating officer of the division, will take his post more...

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare confirmed

There's good news for all you Call of Duty-ites out there. Activision has confirmed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the next installment in the CoD series, but with a modern twist more...

PS3 boosts protein research plan

Attempts to understand diseases such as Alzheimers have got a boost from Sony's PlayStation 3 console. More than 250,000 PS3 owners have enrolled their console in the Folding@Home project which uses it to study the shapes proteins assume more...

Wii and DS boost Nintendo

Nintendo has more than doubled annual profits thanks to the popularity of its DS and Wii consoles. The Japanese video game maker also forecast bigger growth than expected for this year more...

Hawking set to fly in space

The sight of Stephen Hawking, scientist and best-selling author, bouncing about weightless in space is about to become a reality later today. Renowned theoretical physicist and author of A Brief History of Time, the 65-year-old physicist will be the first person with a disability to fly on one of the flights offered by Zero Gravity a space tourism company, based in Florida more...

PlayStation Eye due in summer

With Eye of Judgement dated this morning and Snakeball promising camera support in July, it was only a matter of time before Sony threw out some words about the PlayStation Eye itself - and here they are, with a summer release date for Europe more...

Freeview passes Sky and promotes digital video recorders

Freeview has overtaken satellite as the most popular way to view multichannel television in the United Kingdom. The availability of digital video recorders under the Freeview Playback brand will be a further boost to the platform as the nation prepares to switch of analogue transmissions more...

iPods and Macs lift Apple profits

Apple sold more than 10.5 million iPods in the first three months of 2007, helping the US technology firm to record an 88% increase in profits. Profits rose to $770m (£384m) from $410m for the same period last year more...

Sky News starts IP broadcasts

Sky News is using a managed network to deliver broadcast-quality news coverage over the internet and eliminate the need to transmit information by satellite. The news channel started using Streambox technology late last year to compress and transmit high-quality data and images when reporting on location more...

Too many spiders on the web?

As any sci-fi buff will tell you, man is right to be suspicious of robots. Sure, they are doing our bidding now, performing menial tasks while we humans direct our energies towards improving the planet, but lest we forget: robots cannot be trusted. Given the opportunity they will rebel, enslaving us in cruel and monotonous servitude. Or at least that's how the 50's B-movie version goes more...

Malicious code rise driven by web

The number of new pieces of malicious software has doubled in the last year with the web being used increasingly to distribute the code, a report says. In the first quarter of 2007, security firm Sophos identified 23,864 threats, up from 9,450 on this time last year more...

Yahoo plans to drown fans' fuzzy song lines with legal lyrics site

For some rock and roll fans it may forever be "only baloney". But Roy Orbison devotees are about to be able establish for sure that the singer was in fact warbling "only the lonely" more...

We have the technology

Strange but true - a real world mineral with most of the chemical properties of kryptonite has been discovered in Serbia, and now reposes (disguised by the harmless-sounding moniker "jadarite") in the Natural History Museum's mineral hall. Also in the science news this week, Harvard Medical School is conducting experiments that should lead to the development of Six Million Dollar Man-style bionic vision more...

China leader urges net crackdown

"Unhealthy" content should be purged from the net and replaced with Communist doctrine, China President Hu Jintao was reported as saying. President Hu was speaking at a meeting of the Communist Party Politburo, which pledged to impose firmer propaganda controls on the net more...

Heir 'hired firm to spy on wife'

American banking heir Matthew Mellon paid private detectives to hack into the e-mails of his estranged wife prior to their divorce, a court was told. He asked the "Hackers Are Us" branch of Active Investigation Services (AIS) to snoop on spouse Tamara, head of the Jimmy Choo shoe empire, jurors heard more...

Good start to the year for Amazon

Online retailer Amazon enjoyed a strong start to 2007, with sales rising 32% in the first three months of the year. Pre-tax profits also rose sharply, up to $144m (£72m) from $96m in the corresponding period a year ago more...

Commodore gaming PCs go on sale in UK

Commodore's new High-end gaming PC's will go on sale today in the UK the company has announced. The new PC's announced at CeBIT earlier in the year will retail from £1759 for the Commodore gx and £2899 for the company's top of the range Commodore xx more...

Lords offer new angle on e-crime

A website for people to report cyber-crime is one idea being considered by a government committee set up to look at internet security. The House of Lord's Science and Technology select committee will report back on how government can better deal with the threat of e-crime more...

Heathrow Express offers constant broadband access

Heathrow Express has today completed the installatin of its WiFi hotspot service to deliver constant broadband internet access for the 15,000 passengers that use the train every day.
The WiFi service was available in Central London and at Heathrow Airport, but is now available for the length of the journey, including the tunnel more...

BT advances into 21st century

BT is consolidating all its network design and operation expertise into two new business units, in a move that will spark speculation about executive succession planning at the telecoms giant.
Two new divisions - called BT Design and BT Operate - will be headed by Andy Green, currently head of BT's Global Services IT business more...

Is Wi-Fi bad for you?

No one knows. And that, say some groups, is the problem. The near-ubiquity of wireless networks has led to concerns over an "electronic smog" of radio waves that stretches from the home to Starbucks and the classroom; anywhere, in fact, that a computer can connect to the internet without wires. The rapid spread of the networks has been accompanied by negligible research into the potential risks more...

Clicks pay as ads help Google record 69% profit boost

The phenomenal growth of Google showed no sign of slowing down as the world's favourite internet search engine delivered a 69% surge in quarterly profits to $1bn (£499m) and boasted of booming revenue from on-line advertisers more...

Docomo does a Wii on its handsets

Mobile phone outfit Docomo is installing a motion sensor in one of its phone ranges that lets users play games like the Wii. The DoCoMo's D904i, which has been built by Mitsubishi, lets users swing the handset like a tennis racket or wield it like sword to control game play, instead of punching on the keypad more...

Sinclair ZX Spectrum: 25 today

Clive Sinclair's ZX Spectrum is a quarter of a century old today. The machine that really launched the UK IT industry hit the streets of a depressed Britain on 23 April, 1982 more...

Teachers want wi-fi risk research

Teachers want an investigation into whether there are any health risks from wireless computer networks in schools. The PAT teachers' union is writing to the education secretary for a clarification on wi-fi safety more...

Sony hints at PS3 homebrew kit

Sony Worldwide Studios chief Phil Harrison has opened up the debate over homemade video games after he stated he is keen to offer such an opportunity to PS3 owners."I fully support the notion of game development at home using powerful tools available to anyone," Harrison said more...

Robot future poses hard questions

Scientists have expressed concern about the use of autonomous decision-making robots, particularly for military use. As they become more common, these machines could also have negative impacts on areas such as surveillance and elderly care, the roboticists warn more...

Sony cuts Euro price of PSP

Sony has announced plans to cut the price of PlayStation Portable, which will retail for GBP 129.99 in the UK and EUR 169.99 in the rest of Europe from Friday 4th May. In addition, the company is dropping the RRP of Platinum titles to GBP 14.99, with five games down for release at the new price point - Ridge Racer 2, Tekken, Killzone, LocoRoco and Moto GP more...

Switch on for Square Mile wi-fi

The City of London has fired up its first mesh wi-fi network, promising net access from just about anywhere in the Square Mile. The area in London is not just Europe's leading financial centre - it is said to be the continent's most advanced wireless network too more...

Wi-Fi: Children at risk from 'electronic smog'

Britain's top health protection watchdog is pressing for a formal investigation into the hazards of using wireless communication networks in schools amid mounting concern that they may be damaging children's health, 'The Independent on Sunday' has revealed more...