Updated version of operating system will take into account complaints made by users as decision to overhaul the much-maligned operating system has put Bill Gates’s successor under pressure

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Search engines: Second site - The curse of the networking classes

THERE ARE two kinds of new media jargon. Technical talk means something, albeit only to engineers, and is therefore forgivable. Business babble means nothing, or at best less than it claims. Irredeemably pretentious, with its grandiose talk of "portals" (Web pages with links on them) and "business models" (ideas, however slender, which might conceivably make some money), it has become the greatest barrier to public understanding of the Net and the digital economy.

News Analysis: US stock markets remain vulnerable despite the robust economic outlook

The Dow Jones' recent roller-coaster ride showed just how sensitive New York shares are

Microsoft head triggers sell-off in hi-tech stocks

THE SLIDE in technology stocks continued on both sides of the Atlantic yesterday, spurred by remarks from Microsoft president Steve Ballmer that tech share prices, including those of his own company, had reached "absurd" levels.

Bears grow louder as Dow slides again

US STOCK markets plunged yesterday, amidst a growing mood of pessimism on Wall Street.

The Man Who Can Smash Windows

LINUS TORVALDS, THE QUIET BOY WONDER FROM FINLAND, DEVISED THE LEGENDARY LINUX OPERATING SYSTEM, THE FREE-FOR-ALL SOFTWARE THAT HAS COST BILL GATES' COMPUTER GIANT $2BN IN SALES

A Weekly Digest of The World's Financial Press

Business Week

Psst! Wanna buy a used operating system?

Microsoft said that DOS was dead, but now they've changed their minds.

The Microsoft millionaires

MICROSOFT IS perhaps the classic case of a company balancing low wages with the promise of riches to come from stock options.

Network: Beware the penguin, Bill

A free DIY operating system that has developed a cult following on the Internet is now posing a serious threat to Microsoft's Windows NT. What lies behind the rapid rise of Linux?

Bill Gates is richest person

BILL GATES, the US Microsoft chief, is the world's richest man, according to a list of the world's 200 most wealthy businessmen. But not one Briton makes the top 100 of the billionaires list published by Forbes Magazine.

Bill Gates' pounds 31bn makes him world's richest man

BILL GATES, the United States Microsoft chief, is the world's richest man, according to a list of the world's 200 most wealthy businessmen. But not one Briton makes the top 100 of the billionaires list published by Forbes Magazine.

ICL's alliance with Microsoft will create 1,000 new jobs

THE COMPUTER services group ICL yesterday unveiled a worldwide strategic alliance with Microsoft, the US software behemoth, which is expected to bring in revenues of pounds 500m over the next three years and create 1,000 new jobs.

Bill Gates has got your money. Now he wants you to love him

What does it profit a man to own the biggest software business on earth, asks John Carlin, if nobody likes you?

Did the ghost train have an interior which defied the laws of physics, like Dr Who's Tardis?

Every couple of months or so, Mrs W is irresistibly drawn to Ikea. Though she customarily buys nothing more exciting than a box of candles, my wife relishes a lengthy browse among the goods apparently named after characters in Beowulf - Skubb (shoe-tidy), Anfang (glass vase), Ranvik (chest of drawers), Skallid (CD tower). Meanwhile, I am obliged to wander this retail labyrinth like a suburban Theseus.
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Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond

To millions, Jason Isaacs is one of Harry Potter's arch enemies – but his wife prefers him as a Scottish TV detective.
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Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?

Thomas Hodgkinson spent a week at the tiny platform off the Suffolk coast to find out.
Not a bad bone: Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

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The experts' guide to summer: From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz

The experts' guide to summer

From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz
Sex, drugs and fast cars: The legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

Legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

Early glimpses of Ron Howard's film Rush suggest it will portray Hunt as a high-living lothario, with an insatiable appetite for partying.
Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation when using drugs and alcohol. It was hurting my life'

Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation'

The next Vanilla Ice or the next Eminem? Macklemore doesn't have a record contract – but he does have the UK's biggest-selling single of the year.
Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

Sri Lankan cuisine is light, sunny, wonderfully spiced – and so easy to cook from scratch. Just as soon as you've broken into the coconut, that is.
Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Doctors are hailing the revamp of a Bath neonatal unit, where babies sleep more and feed better, as the model for patient care
One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

Epecuen was submerged under 10 metres of water in 1985. Now the floods have gone – and 83-year-old Pablo Novak has moved back in
The real thing? Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'

The real thing?

Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'
Gordon Ramsey's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

Gordon Ramsay's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

The pugnacious chef finally met a shambolic restaurant he couldn't save. John Walsh on when TV makover refuseniks fight back
Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Glamorous myth of the flight attendant lifestyle undermined by angry employee's claims of 'exploitation'
Braising saddles: Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it!

Braising saddles: How to cook horse meat

Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it! Will Coldwell hoofs it to the kitchen.
Why bitters are back on the bar: A few little drops pack a big punch in cocktails

Why bitters are back on the bar

A few little drops pack a big punch in cocktails. No wonder we're learning to love them again...