It will be a sad day when 20Twenty supporters have to go back to the grey face of business and bureaucracy that awaits them as clients of traditional banks.

The news of CEOs and CFOs signing off their companies` figures following new US requirements dominated the global world of IT and telecommunications last week.

With the deaths of Holly Wells, Jessica Chapman and Nonie Drummond fresh in our minds, now is the time for serious education.

The winds of change appear to have been blowing strongly through Microsoft as the company is starting to embrace a more open way of operating.

Near - so near you can taste it - is the day that we won`t have to interact with actual human beings unless we really want to. What a glorious day that will be.

Oh, for the elegance and sophistication of South African advertising...

Last week saw WorldCom confessing to even more improperly recorded revenue, with fears that more restatements and massive write-offs could be in the pipeline.

As economic troubles take their toll, it is important to find the good stuff in each and every day.

Reading about the hackers of yesteryear makes you realise how much of the "hacker ethic" has been lost as technology marches on to offer almost endless capacities, high-level programming languages and commercial software development houses.

Information can be a bitch to control, whether you are tying to prevent MP3ers from pirating music or linking a criminal to a telephone number. The solution? Suppress freedom, strip-mine rights and penalise the common man.

Last week saw IBM`s $3.5 billion purchase of PwC Consulting, and more financial scandals coming out of the woodwork.

Sony`s new tactics designed to create interest in the Sony Ericsson T68i have already paid off - but will the marketing ploy backfire?

The open source community should be thanking Microsoft for the free marketing it is receiving, thanks to the company`s antagonistic behaviour and high-handed approach.