John Lister

Circuit City, one of North America's leading technology retailers, could fall victim to the credit crunch. The firm is closing 155 of its 721 US stores this year in what it openly admits is an attempt to save the business. The stores closing will be ... running stock clearance sales from now until December 31 when they cease trading. That's good news for bargain hunters, but also shows how serious the problems are: aside from Black Friday sales (the day after Thanksgiving), November and December are the months in which firms would normally be most anxious to charge full price. The big problem ... (view more)

Not long ago, Google agreed to pay $125 million to the book industry to settle claims of copyright infringement over its BookSearch scheme. The agreement means Google can now legally scan copyrighted books and put them online as long as they are no ... longer in print. The cash will go towards setting up a registry of books involved, compensating authors and publishers affected by Google's violations, and paying the legal fees of the case. The agreement will have to get the backing of a New York court (where the case was brought) before it takes effect. (Source: google.com) The case involved a ... (view more)

It looks as if the download service for Google's new Android smartphone operating system has had a successful launch. While figures are too hazy to make a firm comparison, first-day figures appear to have beaten the launch day of the Apple iPhone ... Apps store. While the Android system launched with around 10% the number of applications available as the iPhone, a media research firm says nine applications had between 10,000 and 50,000 downloads in the first day. That's compared with just two applications doing in the same range on the iPhone Apps launch. Before you conclude that this marks a ... (view more)

Google has come up with yet another new feature for its Gmail system. This one allows users to store a range of 'standard' responses and even have them sent automatically to emails based on their content. The 'Canned Responses' feature lets you set ... up a range of replies for particular situations that you experience commonly. It's the same kind of idea as an 'out of office' message but lets you tailor the response to different types of correspondence. For example, as a tech writer, I receive emails from computer-related organisations with story ideas. When I'm pressed for time, I'll usually ... (view more)

An online music company is launching a new take on the MP3 business model: it's offering unlimited listening (from any Internet-enabled device) to a track for 10 cents. For LaLa, the group offering the deal, this is the third different method it's ... tried. LaLa, which launched in 2006, began as a music business based on members trading physical CDs (originals, not copies), with LaLa charging a dollar to both parties as middleman. Last year it changed the focus to online music, with streaming music available with permission of the publishers (though this feature didn't last long) and the ability ... (view more)

Microsoft testers will get their hands on the second major update to Vista next week. It's expected to get a public release in the first half of 2009, with the firm apparently anxious to have it out before Windows 7 hits stores. The update will be ... in the form of Vista Service Pack 2. A service pack is a collection of updates issued at one time to make the updating process simpler. It's not connected with the Windows Update system which concentrates purely on security issues. Microsoft had previously been keeping quiet about Service Pack 2's release schedule, but a posting on its blog for ... (view more)

Sony has delayed releasing a much anticipated video game after fears it could offend Muslims. The soundtrack for LittleBigPlanet includes a song which uses lyrics taken from the Qur'an. The song is performed by a Malian musician named Toumani ... Diabate, himself a Muslim. The problem is that while such songs are acceptable to some Muslims, particularly in West Africa, others have a much stricter interpretation of the religion. (Source: foxnews.com ) Unlike the Bible, which is seen by Christians a collection of historical accounts, Muslims view the Qu'ran as literally being the word of God. To ... (view more)

An official report says two IRS computer systems have serious security weaknesses. It also warns information about taxpayers is at risk of falling into the wrong hands. The report, by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, a federal ... agency which monitors IRS performance, details problems with a new billion dollar system which will eventually manage the data for all taxpayers. The Customer Account Data Engine (CADE) already handles 28 million tax returns, around a fifth of the total. The report also covers the Account Management Services (AMS) system, which provides quicker ... (view more)

Telecommunications reforms could bring broadband service to even more American rural areas, but there are fears the changes could also mean nationwide increases in phone charges. The Federal Communications Commission is proposing changes to two ... existing systems: one, the 'intercarrier compensation' scheme, governs how telephone companies split the call revenues when one firm's customer phones somebody in another firm's region. The other is the Universal Service Fund, under which a portion of long-distance phone call revenues is used to pay some of the costs of phone and Internet services in ... (view more)