Apple confident of winning iPhone trademark spat

Apple is confident that it can defeat Cisco's legal efforts to prevent it from using the iPhone trademark for its new smartphone-iPod hybrid. Natalie Kerris, Apple's director of Music Public Relations, said that Apple is the first company to apply the name to a mobile phone, adding that it is already being used by several companies, although she did not mention that one is Cisco's Linksys subsidiary. 'We think Cisco's trademark lawsuit is silly,' Kerris said in a statement. ...more

Microsoft announces more redundancies

Microsoft is to lose 62 software testing jobs from its Windows Core Operating System Division according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The job cuts, said to be effective from last week are because Microsoft now feels able to replace manual testing with automated versions. The new losses are part of a general move away from manual testing at Microsoft. ...more

Digital music sales soar

Global digital music sales almost tripled in value in 2005, annual figures from the International Federation of Phonographic Industries (IFPI) have revealed. Digital sales totalled $1.1bn, up from $400mn in 2004, as the number of single track downloads rose from 160mn to 470mn. ...more

Free broadband deals bite at NTL

NTL has begun to feel the pinch from the number of 'free' broadband offers from rival Internet providers. The UK cable provider revealed that while it had gained an additional 104,000 new broadband subscribers in the last quarter, growth had slowed considerably, down from 191,400 in the previous quarter. In addition to pressure from ADSL providers, NTL's chief executive, Steve Burch cited more people moving house and stricter credit checks as further reasons for the drop. ...more

Plextor claims World's first 12x external DVD writer

In the race to claim to bve the first 12x external DVD writer, Plextor's PX-712UF has adopted the unofficial 12x +R standard and connects using USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394 (FireWire). The company says it is 'the fastest external DVD Re-Writer drive available in the world'. ...more