Microsoft steps up browser battle

Microsoft has upped the ante in its battle to win back users with the latest release of its Internet Explorer (IE) browser, says The BBC.

The US software giant says IE 8 is faster, easier to use and more secure than its competitors.

"We have made IE 8 the best browser for the way people really do use the Web," said Microsoft's Amy Barzdukas.

The UK government's £224 million children's database was introduced today, allowing doctors, social workers and police to look up details on every child in England, reports Computing.co.uk.

The ContactPoint database was set up in response to an inquiry into the murder of Victoria Climbi'e in 2000, and aims to improve information sharing between social services, GPs and police.

The system will contain the name, address, date of birth, GP and school of every child in the country, and the name and contact details of any professional working with that particular child.

Big label pressure has forced British cable ISP Virgin Media to suspend plans to introduce a legal music sharing service for its subscribers, just weeks ahead of its launch, says The Register.

The radical initiative, tentatively branded as Virgin Music Unlimited, represented a major investment for the ISP, and would have been the first such attempt to monetise P2P file sharing in an ISP partnership in either Europe or the US.

However, 11th hour "anti-piracy" demands by major record labels, including Universal Music and Sony Music, meant Virgin could no longer launch the service as it had envisaged. Labels demanded Virgin block uploads and downloads of songs from subscribers' PCs, sources suggest.

Hewlett-Packard and Cisco Systems had a good run together, but the relationship is headed toward a rocky future, as both giants move forward with plans to steal away business from each other's core markets, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

The showdown between the two Silicon Valley titans and long-time partners may not evolve into all-out warfare immediately. But recent developments are clearly realigning what was once a cosy relationship and are setting the pair up for an epic collision.

"We're seeing the dissolving of a long marriage between the two," says Zeus Kerravala, an analyst with the Yankee Group. "They're looking for opportunities, and it has to come from somewhere."