BT pushes up the pace
BT finally gave details last week of how it plans to bring high-speed internet access and multimedia to the home.
By March 2000, 400 telephone exchanges around Britain will be able to offer new ADSL lines, which run over conventional copper telephone wires.
This makes possible a host of new features, including videoconferencing and video on demand, and will make existing internet connections between 10 and 40 times faster than the top modem speed available now.
BT will charge service providers from £40 per user per month, rising to £150 for the fastest lines capable of supplying video on demand. The charge to the public will be down to the service providers - who, BT hopes, may choose to subsidise the technology.
BT had been accused of dragging its feet over launching the technology, which it has been testing since 1994. Earlier this year, in a response to Oftel's Access to Bandwidth white paper, it voiced fears about the technology and said demand for faster services was being met by existing offerings, including its ISDN-based Highway services.
Their turnaround appears to be justified by predictions this week of market dominance for ADSL. The Online Research Agency said that 2% of British internet users - 140,000 subscribers - would snap up the service by the time the first phase of the rollout is completed next year, when central London, Cardiff, Belfast, Coventry, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow will have the service.
The agency predicted that 500,000 subscribers would be enjoying ADSL by November 2000.
Money for nothing
Giveaway fever is gripping the net, with a rash of companies effectively offering to pay you to surf.
The trend was sparked off by Themutual.net, whose arrival was announced in these columns some weeks ago. It went live last week, and claims the first 10,000 customers will be given shares worth £520. A further 100,000 will get shares worth £52 each.
The free offer from Totalise plc at www.totalise.net is £50 of shares, tradeable on the OFEX facility, to those who use the ISP for three months, with more to be "earned" through logging on and using services.
Finally, www.freemoney.fmFreemoney launched last week too, offering consumers a daily chance to win £1,000, and get a host of money-off e-vouchers.
The IT factor
There is a close relationship between IT strategies and British companies' bottom lines, claims a survey released this week. IT consultancy Orb found that 55% of boards do not see IT as a "top three agenda issue". Companies who do see it as being that important, however, have a P/E ratio on average six points higher.
Less of a surprise is that half of IT staff say their departments are over-stretched to do their current job. For over a third of IT personnel, that job is described as "firefighting".
Linux PC
Computer retailer PC World is claiming to be the first vendor in the UK to offer a desktop PC pre-loaded with Open Source operating system Linux. The Advent 8707 Linux PC uses a 450MHz Pentium III processor, and is pre-installed with Linux Mandrake v6.0.
The software is already available free on the web, but PC World says it is allowing users to avoid an installation which "can be troublesome, even for experienced users".
Space saver
Sony has unveiled a space-saving 18.1 inch LCD monitor, the Multiscan CPD-L181. The new screen is so compact it can even be mounted on a wall - good news for users short on desk space and struggling with the chunky dimensions of traditional large-screen monitors. But while you won't need a deep desk for your new screen, you will need deep pockets; the L181 costs a cool £2461.62, including VAT.
