Amazon beats profit predictions but falls on extra operating costs October 21, 2010 THE WORLD’S biggest online retailer, Amazon, beat Wall Street expectations with its results yesterday, though shares fell as it announced higher than expected costs in the run-up to the Christmas rush. Revenue soared 39 per cent for the third quarter to $7.56bn (£4.81bn), though operating expenses also rose 40 per cent to $7.29bn. Pre-tax profit [...]
Treasury hit by cyber attacks May 16, 2011 THE UK Treasury is subjected to sustained, malicious cyber attacks from foreign intelligence agencies, according to chancellor George Osborne. An average of at least one “serious and pre-planned” attack is launched every day, with some 20,000 virus and spyware attacks taking place each year. Osborne yesterday, speaking at Google’s Zeitgeist conference, gave an example of [...]
THE 3DS NINTENDO March 17, 2011 NINTENDO’S new handheld gaming system has become the most pre-ordered console ever. The 3DS, which allows gamers to play games in 3D without the need for glasses, has already received 20 per cent more orders than the PlayStation 3 with more than a week to go before its launch. It also received 56 per cent [...]
Tech stocks lead a fall on Wall Street May 16, 2011 THE Nasdaq index sank yesterday, leading US stocks lower, as investors sold recent winners in a sign of growing unease with pockets of US economic weakness. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 47.38 points, or 0.38 per cent, to close at 12,548.37. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 8.30 points, or 0.62 per cent, [...]
Start-ups could create UK’s own Silicon Valley March 29, 2011 A glance at the online sector of BrandIndex quickly reveals the truth behind the belief that tech start-up success is dominated by the West Coast of the US. The top seven brands contain the Mountain View based Google and Firefox (Mozilla), San Bruno’s Youtube, San Jose’s Ebay, and Facebook which share YouGov’s US HQ’s home [...]
Meet the IT man behind JK Rowling’s Pottermore June 26, 2011 JK ROWLING hit the headlines last week when she scuppered Apple and Amazon by taking her books into the digital world on her own online platform. Her entrepreneurial endeavour, however, was built by another rather entrepreneurial endeavour: a digital agency called Think. Think has only existed for eight years. It has travelled all the way [...]
Meet the IT man behind JK Rowling’s Pottermore June 26, 2011 JK ROWLING hit the headlines last week when she scuppered Apple and Amazon by taking her books into the digital world on her own online platform. Her entrepreneurial endeavour, however, was built by another rather entrepreneurial endeavour: a digital agency called Think. Think has only existed for eight years. It has travelled all the way [...]
Sarkozy could learn from Internet billionaires May 22, 2011 NICOLAS Sarkozy has invited the great and good of the digital industry to pop round to Paris for a few days this week to chew the fat before the G8 summit. And I’m going along for the ride. You think Sarko would be busy, what with all those red carpets to shampoo in Deauville and [...]
Apple strengthens its grip on music June 7, 2011 THAT Apple was ready to launch a cloud-based music service has been the worst-kept secret since a certain Welsh footballer tried to keep his name out of the newspapers. Exactly what Apple’s latest venture means for the industry, however, is only just becoming clear. Steve Jobs’ insistence on returning from medical leave to show it [...]
Amazon explores TV project August 31, 2010 Online retailer Amazon has made a move into television, with the American firm working on a project to provide unlimited shows over the internet for paying subscribers. Reports last night put NBC Universal, Time Warner and Viacom in the frame as potential partners. The new service would compete with firms like Netflix that allow subscribers [...]