Skype won't go mobile soon

Skype's VOIP service will not be available on mobile phones until network operators stop charging by the quantity of data transmitted, says the company's head of mobile access Eric Lagier.

He says the high cost of data on 3G mobile networks makes it too expensive to use Skype, but The Register points out that with the emergence of WiFi networks, this is not strictly true.

The article charges that Lagier's statement is intended to draw attention away from the problems Skype has had getting its software ported to mobile phones, saying delays in making Skype mobile are more likely to be related to technical problems because the Skype protocol was never intended to work on mobile phones.

According to an NPD Group report, Windows Vista sales to businesses were stronger than expected during the operating system's first month, reports News.com.

The NPD report says Vista sales were greater than the first month's figures for Windows 2000 and only slightly trailed those for Windows XP. The company's analysts say Vista's debut sales were impressive, given the business-only 'soft launch' approach that Microsoft took with the OS.

The analysts expect Vista sales to exceed the levels set by XP when Microsoft makes it available to the general public at the end of the month.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) plans to develop its online presence by providing social networking sites based on its most popular brands such as Top Gear, tapping into the popularity of such sites as MySpace, in which users contribute comments and video footage to share with other users, reports eWeek.

The BBC will develop its online service over the next year to carry more interactive sections and be targeted at more mature consumers who are already interested in brands associated with programmes like BBC Good Food.

According to a recent report by consultancy Deloitte, traditional organisations such as the BBC and newspapers are ideally suited to benefit from greater participation in Web sites because the trend develops consumer loyalty.

Oracle has started tipping customers off in advance of upcoming security patches to give system administrators a heads-up on its upcoming security patches, reports News.com.

As part of its quarterly patch cycle, Oracle this week announced plans to release fixes for 52 security vulnerabilities across its products. It is the first time Oracle has offered such advance notification.

Although Microsoft has been giving customers a similar early warning since late 2004, Oracle's advance notification goes further than stating only the severity of the threat and product family for which patches will be released. The Oracle service also lists the number of vulnerabilities it plans to patch and gives details of which products and components will get fixes.

Creative has introduced a wireless docking system for Apple's iPod that enables users to play music in Xtreme Fidelity via wireless receivers in any room within range.

Playfuls.com says the Creative Xdock Wireless also connects directly to a powered speaker system or home theatre system to play video, photos and music in surround-sound.

The Creative Xdock Wireless has been especially designed to work with the iPod and has been certified by Apple under the Made for iPod programme.