At deadline briefs

30.01.2006
UK proposes stiffer IT criminal penalties

A bill introduced in the House of Commons calls for sharply increasing penalties for computer crimes that are taking a financial toll on U.K. businesses. The Police and Justice Bill would increase the maximum penalty for unauthorized modification of a computer from five to 10 years. Also, those convicted of unauthorized access to a computer would face a prison sentence of up to two years, compared with six months now.

Intel, partners invest $10B in Itanium

Intel Corp. and a group of partners, including Fujitsu Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Unisys Corp., have pledged to invest US$10 billion over five years to help develop and promote products based on the Itanium processor. The money will be spent on research and development, sales and marketing, and support for software vendors' efforts to port products to Itanium.

Microsoft revenue for Q2 falls short

Microsoft Corp. reported a 9 percent increase in revenue for its second fiscal quarter, just under the consensus revenue forecast from analysts polled by Thomson Financial.