ROUNDUPS
For the record 18 November
18-11-2002
by Sylvia Leatham
Roxio has bought the assets of Napster for USD5 million | Popstars help mmO2 boost SMS traffic in the UK
Mobile operator O2 says it handled a record 450 million text messages in the UK in September, boosted by SMS voting for TV show Popstars. September's figure represented an increase of 64 million messages from the number sent in August. O2, which is due to release its interim results on Tuesday, said that more than 200,000 SMS votes were cast during popular TV show Popstars - The Rivals. MmO2 chief executive Peter Erskine said he was confident that 16 percent of the mobile operator's service revenues will be accounted for by data at the end of the current financial year.
Roxio, a maker of software for recording music and video onto CDs and DVDs, has signed an agreement to acquire the assets of Napster in a deal valued at more than USD5 million. The deal, which still has to be approved by a bankruptcy-court judge, would involve Roxio paying USD5 million in cash to Napster's creditors and forgiving a USD200,000 loan it extended to Napster. Roxio has not said how it intends to use Napster's assets, which include the Napster brand name, intellectual property and some technology equipment, but analysts are speculating that Roxio may use the Napster name and technology for a new Internet music service.
Cognotec, a provider of on-line foreign exchange trading solutions, has announced that Brown Brothers Harriman & Co is the first bank to go live with its new AutoDeal+ solution. AutoDeal+ is a dealing platform that will be used to power the bank's next-generation on-line dealing service for its client base of global investors. The new system will enhance straight-through processing for clients by completely automating the FX dealing process.
Parents with children living at home are more likely to use the Internet and be more excited about technology than non-parents, according to new research by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. A study of 1,677 Americans showed that 70 percent of parents with a child at home said they have access to the Internet, compared with just 53 percent of non-parents. Most parents surveyed said the Internet helped them learn new things, keep in contact with friends, plan outings and shop for presents. However, the research found that while parents are more likely to have access to the Internet, they spend fewer hours on-line than non-parents.
The Senate and the House of Representatives have passed a final version of the Dot-Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act, which calls for the creation of a .kids.us domain name. NeuStar, the company charged with operating the new domain, will be responsible for ensuring that Web sites bearing .kids.us addresses abide by the child-friendly standards established by Congress. Proponents of the bill say the measure will help parents protect children from on-line predators, but critics say the domain may create a false sense of security for parents and children, while others say the screening out of certain material amounts to censorship.
Network365 CEO Raomal Perera has been selected as one of 40 "technology pioneers" to join the World Economic Forum. Every year the Forum selects chief executives from technology companies to participate in its deliberations on the impact of innovation on society and business. Only 13 of the 40 executives chosen this year are from outside the US, and Perera is the only Irish CEO invited to join the Forum.
Reuters reports that Norway's Handy-Fashions group is launching a baseball-style cap aimed at protecting mobile phone users from radio emissions, which some people fear can lead to brain tumours. The "Mobile Cap" features a layer of woven silver that channels almost 100 percent of radio waves away from the head while allowing sound to pass through. The headgear, which is no heavier than a normal cap, has flaps that fold down over the ears. International studies have produced conflicting evidence about the dangers of mobile phone emissions.
Using the subject line to get noticed: Denise Cox argues that to get results you have to make every word work in a subject line.
