MySpace tables $250 million deal for Photobucket - report

MySpace has reached a preliminary deal to acquire Photobucket, the world's top photo-sharing site, for around $250 million in cash, a source familiar with the deal said on Monday. Photobucket functions like a kind of Swiss bank for depositing and transmitting photos, helping Web users post their photos on other social networking sites, instead of trying to keep the users locked up on its own site. Besides MySpace, Photobucket is popular on sites such as Facebook, Bebo, Friendster, eBay, Craigslist, Blogger and Xanga. ...more

QuickTime 5 released

Apple has released QuickTime 5, the latest version of its movie, sound and VR technology. QuickTime 5 adds a number of new features: 360? VR rendering; the ability to deliver custom interfaces - or 'skins' - with media; MPEG-1 capability, enhanced DV codec for faster video rendering; support for Flash 4; and a new music synthesiser. Details and download - for both Windows and Mac OS - can be found at the QuickTime 5 Web page. ...more

Music biz calls on European ISPs to act against P2P sharing

The international music industry has called on European ISPs to implement a series of measures to stop illegal, peer-to-peer file sharing. Speaking at the European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association conference, John Kennedy, CEO of the IFPI, asked ISPs to agree to a code of conduct that would see them actively seek to help the music industry eliminate sharing. The code, he said, should include agreeing to ask the record industry to let them know when illegal sharing is taking place, confirming or implementing terms and conditions that prohibit unauthorised P2P activity and agreeing to enforce such terms. ...more

All roads lead to Gladius

Gladius Online is a new Massively Multiplayer Online Game with a difference: it's set in Ancient Rome and it's being developed by Brits. Oh, and it's free. As the online gaming world becomes ever more overpopulated with silly Orc games, it makes a pleasant change to see one rooted in history and brimming with new ideas. ...more

Grooming offence tackled in new Bill

A new Bill, outlining tough new measures to deal with sexual offences, is published today. The Sexual Offences Bill is claimed to make archaic Victorian laws on sex offences 'fit for the 21st century'. Home Secretary David Blunkett said: 'This is now the first time for 50 years a government has had the courage to take on the difficult and sensitive task of reforming sex offence legislation. ...more