Report urges BBC Online to stand aside for commercial competition

A report on the BBC Online services says that the corporation's web sites should be reined in. The Graf Report, published today, says that the websites should outsource up to 25 per cent of its content by the end of the 2006/7 financial year. The report also says that the Corporation should err on the side of caution when considering whether to launch an online service against a commercial competitor. ...more

eMusic racks up 100 million downloads

eMusic has announced that it has sold 100 million downloads, cementing its position as the number two digital music retailer after Apple. The one millionth song was bought by Michael Brennan of New Jersey, USA who will have a track recorded by Barenaked Ladies in his honour. The 100 million sales have been racked up since eMusic relaunched three years ago, with 50 million in the last year alone. ...more

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Seasonal greetings to all our readers! Here's wishing health and happiness to all our readers. We hope you have a nice Christmas break. Particular thanks to those of you who have contributed to the site - posters in the forum, the people who have left comments on news stories, or those who have highlighted any problems on the site. ...more

London to get additional 020 3 range of telephone numbers in 2005

London telephone subscribers who have seen a bewildering number of changes to their numbering system over the years are facing another change in a year's time. Telecoms regulator OfCom has announced that a new 020 3 range of numbers be added to the London area in 2005. The good news is that, this time, the existing telephone 020 7 or 020 8 numbers won't need to change. ...more

Apple to hold 16 October 'special event'

iTunes for Windows could be unveiled at 'special event' Apple is staging next Thursday, 16 October. MacCentral reports that the invitation to the event reads, 'The year's biggest music story is about to get even bigger,' accompanied by an image in the syle of the new iPod ads. The event seems certain to be the occasion for the unveiling of the Windows version of iTunes and the iTunes Music Store, which Apple has said would be up and running before the end of the year. ...more