Mobile phone roaming charges cut by EU

The European Union (EU) has adopted rules that will cut the price of making mobile phone calls abroad in the 27-member bloc, the EU's German presidency said yesterday. The rules, which the European Commission says will cut roaming charges to a quarter or a fifth of what consumers now pay, are expected to come into force by the end of this month more...

Online shoppers will pay more for data privacy

People will pay more for goods if online retailers can show they are doing a good job at protecting customer data and privacy, according to a new US study. The Carnegie Mellon University survey suggests that people will pay as much as 60 cents (30p) extra on a $15 (£7) purchase if they are happy with a retailer’s privacy policy more...

UK broadband growth slows down

The UK broadband market faces upheaval as take-up slows and a high proportion of new customers are being won by media giants offering bundled services. The number of new highspeed connections for the 12 months to March 2007 fell below three million for the first time since 2004, according to figures from telecoms expert Enders Analysis more...

HSBC questions online security tool

Efforts to standardise online banking security could be undermined by HSBC’s refusal to adopt two-factor authentication for access to its web accounts. Some high-street rivals have explicitly linked growth in online banking with improvement in security procedures more...

Just how much does the internet actually weigh?

About two ounces (60 grams), or perhaps 0.2 millionths of an ounce (6 micrograms), depending which method you use to calculate the weight of the active electrons necessary to sustain the global network more...

Are Steve Jobs and Bill Gates friends once again?

What do you mean, "again"? They've never been enemies; in fact, they've been friends for decades, and although their get-together on the stage of the Wall Street Journal's D5 conference last week marked the first time (and perhaps the last) that they have been together answering questions on a stage since the 1980s, there has never been any real animosity between them more...