Ex Apple bosses get the VC bug

Three former Apple executives are on the look out for technology companies to buy, after their startup company, Acquicor Technology, raised $150m on the American Stock Exchange. Steve 'Woz' Wozniak, a co-founder of Apple with current CEO Steve Jobs, and former CEO Gil Amelio have been joined by Ellen Hancock to formed what they describe as a 'blank cheque' company. 'Our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to a particular industry, although we intend to focus on the technology, multimedia and networking sectors,' it said. ...more

How the figures add up for Sun Symantec and AMD

A quick round up of some other company quarterly results: Sun, Symantec and AMD. The word "record" features somewhat prominently. For Sun Microsystems it was a case of reporting record second quarter revenues and earnings; its second quarter earnings grew 60 per cent on revenue growth of 44 per cent. ...more

High-speed broadband launched for UK businesses

A new high-speed SDSL broadband service has been launched for UK businesses, designed to provide a lower-cost alternative to dedicated leased lines. Zipcom's new SDSL offering boasts impressive 2 Mbits per second connectivity, considerably faster than the ADSL connections offered through BT. ADSL's fastest business connections offer a maximum of 2Mbit/sec for downloads but just 256kbit/sec for uploads. ...more

Jal Computers changes ownership

Jal Computers has changed ownership, being acquired by Sartac Limited, but the new owner states that existing customers and their warranties will be honoured. The company was acquired for no cash outlay but on the provision that Sartac did not take on Jal's debts. The only alternative, a spokesperson for the company told us, was to shut down the company. ...more

BPI girds itself for legal battle

The BPI has appointed an 'anti-piracy champion' to its top legal position. Roz Groome will become General Counsel for the UK record labels' main trade body on 1 November, having previously worked with the organisation during lawsuits against CD Wow and EasyInternetCafe. 'Roz Groome has proven herself to be a staunch defender of the recording industry's rights in a string of high-profile cases over the past three years,' said BPI chairman Peter Jamieson. ...more