Peer-to-peer darling BitTorrent is pulling down its Skull and Crossbones flag and hanging out a shingle for Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. Starting this summer, users will be able to buy Warner Bros. movies and TV shows using the BitTorrent distribution and search platform. BitTorrent technology shortens download times by creating a network between users who have downloaded or are downloading the file

Vodafone customers who need to make frequent trips abroad can now talk for longer over a reduced roaming tariff. The move is in anticipation of the European Information Society Commissioner, Viviane Reding’s plans for price cuts on all European mobile phone roaming charges. Vodafone’s average roaming costs will fall by at least 40 percent – from over 0.90 euros to less than 0.55 euros per minute – by April 2007

Microsoft Corp. announced that the new Windows Live Messenger beta is available broadly to the public for download at the Windows Live Ideas Web site, http://ideas.live.com. The beta of Windows Live Messenger, which is the next generation of MSN Messenger, includes customer- driven feature enhancements that make it even easier for consumers to stay in touch with the people and information that matter most to them

Troubled Internet giant AOL said Tuesday that it would cut about 1,300 US employees - 7 per cent of its worldwide work force - as improved online support and a declining customer base cut the need for call centres. "The Internet world of 2006 is very different from the world of 1996 when AOL first established these member centres," AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham said. "Today, AOL members are more savvy and sophisticated online

Fox is now the latest network to strike a deal with Apple Computer's iTunes music store, offering hit shows as "24" and "Prison Break" at the price of $1.99 for episode. Apple already sells shows from ABC, CBS and NBC on iTunes and in addition to "24" series, programs will include among others, "The Shield," and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Shows for sale will cost $1.99 each to download and will come from the News Corp

Circuit Judge Belvin Perry Jr. on Monday sentenced an Orlando man to 15 years in prison for using the Internet to lure a 14-year-old Polk County girl to his home and then have sex with her. Daniel Zankman, 36, of Orlando was convicted of lewd and lascivious battery by an Orlando jury two months ago. The charges were brought by the Office of Statewide Prosecution, part of the Florida Attorney General's Office, following an investigation by deputies in Polk and Orange counties

While Microsoft Corp. has been beset by delays in its new operating system for personal computers, developers quietly have been working on a new version of another Windows, this one found in everything from sewing machines to sophisticated cell phones. A beta version of the revamped Windows CE is due to be introduced to software developers at a conference Tuesday in Las Vegas

Vista's new security features will make for such a disruptive user experience that business users might want to steer clear of the operating system for the time being, according to Yankee Group. In a report published on Monday, the analyst firm said the impact on the way security works in the Windows world will be huge, and will largely eliminate the need for some stand-alone security products, such as anti-spyware and desktop firewalls

Internet giant Yahoo! has announced that it will launch a new advertising platform in the third quarter of this year, in order to facilitate business companies' interaction with Yahoo! users

Considering the fact that Microsoft has already had the Xbox 360 gaming console available for a while now and the momentum and community of gamers are constantly growing, both Sony and Nintendo are facing one of the greatest challenges so far, trying to outperform, out-smart and... most importantly, out-sell Microsoft's creation