The most recent News from VNU Business Publications

MWg looks to shake-up smartphone market

Daniel Robinson — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:23:00 GMT

Daniel Robinson, IT Week, Friday 9 May 2008 at 17:23:00

Aims to gain traction by offering unrivaled customer support

A new mobile device vendor has launched in the UK, promising business customers better service and support, with a focus on repairs and upgrades....

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Renewables investment goes mainstream

Andrew Charlesworth — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:24:00 GMT

Andrew Charlesworth, BusinessGreen, Friday 9 May 2008 at 16:24:00

UN report backed by latest figures from wind and solar sectors

Investment in renewable energy is no longer a fringe activity for environmentalists but is now mainstream, according to a recently published UN report....

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Encryption software deployed on 20,000 MoD laptops

Janie Davies — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:04:00 GMT

Janie Davies, Computing, Friday 9 May 2008 at 16:04:00

Ministry of Defence (MoD) buys licence to protect restricted information

Advanced encryption systems will protect classified data on British Army, Royal Navy and RAF laptops working outside the Defence Information Infrastructure (DII), the secure military network....

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DWP sending sensitive data with passwords

Tom Young — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:58:00 GMT

Tom Young, Computing, Friday 9 May 2008 at 15:58:00

Email indicates that security measures introduced after HMRC breach are not working

Government staff in the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) have been sending out sensitive data in packages containing passwords that provide access to the information....

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Ofcom outlines future wireless vision

Guy Dixon — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:21:00 GMT

Guy Dixon, vnunet.com, Friday 9 May 2008 at 15:21:00

Wi-Fi healthcare and intelligent car brakes in the pipeline

Ofcom has outlined a wide range of advances and innovations for wireless devices over the next 10 to 20 years, including "in-body networks" to help doctors monitor patients....

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ICO given stronger data protection powers

Dinah Greek — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:20:00 GMT

Dinah Greek, Computeract!ve, Friday 9 May 2008 at 15:20:00

Lib-Dem's compromise gets data protection breaches on to the statute books

Organisations found guilty of data breaches will not face criminal prosecution but could face huge fines. An amendment to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act, concerning data breaches, has been...

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Information Commissioner gets stronger powers

David Neal — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:19:00 GMT

David Neal, IT Week, Friday 9 May 2008 at 15:19:00

The Information Commissioner has finally got his wish, increased powers to tackle data breaches

The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has been granted new powers. The data watchdog has had one of its requests answered, gaining the ability to impose 'substantial' fines on business that...

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Microsoft turns stargazer with Worldwide Telescope

Guy Dixon — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:12:00 GMT

Guy Dixon, vnunet.com, Friday 9 May 2008 at 15:12:00

Google Sky rival due in weeks, says Gates

Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope, a free tool that allows users to explore images of the sky at night, will be available at the end of May....

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HP Labs opens doors to academia

Ian Williams — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:45:00 GMT

Ian Williams, vnunet.com, Friday 9 May 2008 at 14:45:00

Innovation Research Program invites proposals related to current research

HP has unveiled an initiative allowing academic institutions to collaborate with HP Labs in joint research through an open and competitive process....

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Ethanol production goes small-scale

Andrew Charlesworth — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:39:00 GMT

Andrew Charlesworth, BusinessGreen, Friday 9 May 2008 at 14:39:00

Small businesses and individuals can produce their own biofuels

Small businesses and even private citizens could soon be producing their own ethanol for vehicles, thanks to a Californian company which has developed a miniaturised ethanol production unit....

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WiMax woos subscribers away from DSL

Ian Williams — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:30:00 GMT

Ian Williams, vnunet.com, Friday 9 May 2008 at 14:30:00

Fixed WiMax subscribers to top 13 million by 2013, say analysts

WiMax is expected to become an "appealing substitute" to traditional fixed-line broadband over the coming years, according to Juniper Research....

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Support for biofuels rethink grows

Andrew Charlesworth — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:08:00 GMT

Andrew Charlesworth, BusinessGreen, Friday 9 May 2008 at 14:08:00

World Bank and IFPRI call for action on grain-based ethanol production to avert further food-price crisis

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the World Bank and other influential organisations have joined the growing chorus of voices calling for a rethink on grain-based biofuels in the...

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BPO success demands sophisticated metrics

Rosalie Marshall — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:53:00 GMT

Rosalie Marshall, IT Week, Friday 9 May 2008 at 13:53:00

New research shows outsourcing contracts will be measured in value the contracts bring to the business' bottom line

Business leaders are rapidly changing how they measure the success of their business process outsourcing programmes, reports analyst house NelsonHall....

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BPO success demands sophiticated metrics

Rosalie Marshall — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:53:00 GMT

Rosalie Marshall, IT Week, Friday 9 May 2008 at 13:53:00

New research shows outsourcing contracts will be measured in value the contracts bring to the business' bottom line

Business leaders are rapidly changing how they measure the success of their business process outsourcing programmes, reports analyst house NelsonHall....

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Business Oriented Metrics set to increase

Rosalie Marshall — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:53:00 GMT

Rosalie Marshall, IT Week, Friday 9 May 2008 at 13:53:00

New research shows outsourcing contracts will be measured in value the contracts bring to the business' bottom line

More companies are likely to adopt the use of business oriented metrics (BOM) to measure the value of business process outsourcing (BPO) to their business, according to new research produced...

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Borders sells Iliad ebook reader

Clive Akass — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:08:00 GMT

Clive Akass, Personal Computer World, Friday 9 May 2008 at 13:08:00

And no, it is not going to put us out of business says book chain

Book chain Borders is following Amazon's lead by selling an ebook reader through seven of its stores. The Iliad Book Edition, developed by Philips spin-off iRex, differs from the US-only...

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Government cans personal carbon trading

Andrew Charlesworth — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:53:00 GMT

Andrew Charlesworth, BusinessGreen, Friday 9 May 2008 at 12:53:00

Defra report says scheme would be too unpopular and set-up costs would outweigh financial gains

The UK government has backed away from a carbon-trading scheme for all citizens. The Personal Carbon Trading Initiative, floated by David Milliband in November 2006 when he was environment secretary,...

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Microsoft Cofee brews 'back door' fears

Robert Jaques — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:48:00 GMT

Robert Jaques, vnunet.com, Friday 9 May 2008 at 12:48:00

Gartner welcomes assurances that legal agencies cannot access Microsoft code

Industry experts have welcomed assurances from Microsoft that the firm has not provided law enforcement agencies with a 'back door' into its systems....

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Google hints at ad partnership with Yahoo

Guy Dixon — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:36:00 GMT

Guy Dixon, vnunet.com, Friday 9 May 2008 at 12:36:00

Rubbing in a little salt ...

Senior Google executives have publicly expressed interest in a potential advertising partnership with search engine rival Yahoo. The comments from chief executive Eric Schmidt and co-founder Sergey Brin follow a...

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Cambridge is UK's top mobile phone crime city

Guy Dixon — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:26:00 GMT

Guy Dixon, vnunet.com, Friday 9 May 2008 at 12:26:00

Women and young people most at risk

Cambridge is officially the top spot in the UK for mobile phone theft and fraud, according to a survey by life assistance business CPP....

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Online auction sites suffer downturn

Ian Williams — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:18:00 GMT

Ian Williams, vnunet.com, Friday 9 May 2008 at 12:18:00

UK surfers buying goods at auction sites drop four per cent

Auction sites including eBay are suffering a downturn in popularity, according to research by Point Topic. The analyst firm revealed that the number of UK surfers buying goods at auction...

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Ultra low-cost laptops to remain niche

Robert Jaques — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Robert Jaques, vnunet.com, Friday 9 May 2008 at 12:00:00

Products not set to change the market, according to IDC

Ultra low-cost notebook PCs will remain niche products despite recent hype, and will not become market "blockbusters", experts predict. IDC believes that the devices will primarily find success as secondary...

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Atari confirms Nasdaq delisting

Robert Jaques — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:47:00 GMT

Robert Jaques, vnunet.com, Friday 9 May 2008 at 11:47:00

Ruling should not affect merger with Infogrames

Atari confirmed today that the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel will delist the video games firm. As a result, the Nasdaq Global Market will suspend trading of Atari's shares effective at...

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US data centre expansion soars

Robert Jaques — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:39:00 GMT

Robert Jaques, vnunet.com, Friday 9 May 2008 at 11:39:00

Study reports 86 per cent of respondents likely to expand capacities over next 12 months

US corporations are planning a "significant increase" in the number of data centre projects during the coming 12 months, new research claims....

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Oracle talks up its Fusion Middleware plans

David Neal — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:39:00 GMT

David Neal, IT Week, Friday 9 May 2008 at 11:39:00

Oracle has been demonstrating the new capabilities that are forthcoming in its Fusion Middleware 11g product

Oracle previewed a number of planned enhancements, including better support for development and deployment of rich enterprise applications, for its Fusion Middleware family....

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