Thames Tech Wire

Report: Video-Game Market to Hit 48 Billion Euro in 2007

London -- The release of next-generation video-game consoles this year
and early next year will spur the global games market to a record high
of 48 billion euro (£32.6 billion) in 2007, according to a report from
U.K.-based market research firm Informa. The games industry is set to
generate 29 billion euro this year alone, a 5.3% increase over 2004,
with the console-games industry representing half of games revenue
worldwide. Console-hardware sales are expected to grow from 3.2
billion euro in 2005 to 4.8 billion euro in 2010, while console games
will generate 10.7 billion euro this year. Informa also predicted the fast-
growing mobile games sector would grow from 2.1 billion euro this
year to more than 9.1 billion euro by 2010.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Q69F25C0C

Insight Makes Investment in Online Game Developer Jagex

London -- Jagex, a U.K.-based developer and publisher of massively
multiplayer online games, announced that it has received an
undisclosed amount of venture-capital financing from Insight Venture
Partners. Jagex operates the online game "RuneScape", which currently
has more than 3.5 million active players and 500,000 paying
subscribers. Other Jagex titles include "Meltdown" and "SlimeWar", as
well as a number of free-to-play mini-games. The company said it
would use the funds to expand its games into non-English-language
markets and further develop "RuneScape" and other titles.
http://www.runescape.com 
http://www.jagex.com

Google Testing New Online Auction Service, Report Says

Mountain View, California -- Fuelling speculation that it plans to
compete with online auction giant eBay, Google has confirmed that it is
testing a new service that will allow users to list items for sale online,
the Wall Street Journal reported. In a statement, the company described
the service -- Google Base -- as "an early-stage test of a product that
enables content owners to easily send their content to Google", but
declined to go into further detail. Screenshots of the service have
appeared on several blogs. One screenshot includes a form for listing
information such as the price of the item, as well as a place to insert
photos. Google earlier this year said it planned to launch an online
payments service, as well.
http://online.wsj.com/home/us

Magenta Hires Mark de Beer Hinton as CTO

London -- Magenta Technology, a U.K.-based provider of multi-agent
and semantic Web technologies, announced that it has appointed Mark
de Beer Hinton as chief technology officer. Prior to joining Magenta,
Hinton was the managing director of IT consultancy Penmarc. Before
then, he served as managing director of international IT for Fitch
Ratings. London-based Magenta, which has a software-development
team in Russia, is a start-up specialising in the commercial application
of agent technology.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?N1B226D0C

Quadros Systems Hires Kevin Pope as U.K./Ireland GM

London -- Quadros Systems, a U.S.-based supplier of real-time
operating systems (RTOS), announced that it has appointed Kevin Pope
as general manager for the U.K. and Ireland. Quadros said Pope has
extensive RTOS and protocol stack experience with OSE Systems and
Interpeak. "(Pope's) experience directly complements the unique
strength of the RTXC Quadros operating system to operate in a
convergent environment," said Quadros CEO Tom Barrett. "Having
provided solutions to many of the U.K.'s leading DSP and
microcontroller customers in the past few years, (Pope) knows the
developers and understands the complex needs of this new era in
embedded system design."
http://makeashorterlink.com/?P30332D0C

Norwich Research Park Hires Robin Daniels

Norwich, England -- The Norwich Research Park (NRP) announced that
it has appointed Robin Daniels as the first chief executive of NRP
Enterprise Ltd, NRP's new innovation hub. NRP Enterprise promotes
research and business opportunities available on the NRP to encourage
inward investment, business development and research collaboration in
the region. "This is a fantastic opportunity for me, to take what is
already a significant science and technology cluster and, working with
others, to develop the NRP and Norwich into a hub of scientific
research and development that is of international significance," said
Daniels, who joins NRP from the London Business School.
http://www.nrp.org.uk/

TSSI Systems Appoints New Directors

Swindon, England -- TSSI Systems, a U.K.-based document and
personnel identity specialist whose verification, fingerprint biometrics
and identification systems are used in more than 20 countries,
announced that it has appointed Lord Young of Graffam and Mark
Gostick as non-executive directors. Together with TSSI Chairman
Danny Chapchal, the additions unite three members of the team that
built Cambridge Display Technology (CDT), a U.K.-based developer
of light-emitting polymers. Young served as chairman of CDT;
Chapchal, chief executive; and Gostick, commercial director.
http://www.tssi.co.uk/opencms/opencms/tssi/

Sweden's Ericsson to Acquire Assets and Name of Marconi

Stockholm -- Ericsson AB, a Sweden-based telecommunications
equipment maker, announced that it has agreed to acquire most of the
assets and the name of U.K.-based rival Marconi Corp. Plc for
approximately £1.2 billion (1.8 billion euro). Under the terms of the
agreement, Ericsson will acquire most of Marconi's
telecommunications equipment and international services operations,
leaving the troubled U.K. firm with only its local small-services
business. "Despite the major upheavals in our industry over the last
four years, we have continued to develop and bring to market truly
world class products," said Marconi CEO Mike Parton. "The proposed
transaction with Ericsson fully recognises the significant value of
Marconi's excellent product portfolio, and the people who are
responsible for taking those products forward." Once the deal is
completed, the company will be renamed Telent Plc.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?J12521B0C

Oxford Innovation Names Finalists for Technology Awards

Oxford, England -- Oxford Innovation has announced the finalists for
the Martin and Audrey Wood Enterprise Awards 2005, which focus on
innovative and technology-based companies and promising
entrepreneurs based in Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley. Finalists
for the Best Innovation Award include Avidex Ltd., Oxonica Plc and
Siemens Molecular Imaging. The finalists for the Best New
Technology Company Award are Infinitesima Ltd., Oxitec Ltd. and
Oxsensis Ltd., while the finalists for the Up and Coming Entrepreneur
Award are David Gahan, CEO of Oxsensis Ltd.; Edward Green, CEO
of Green Biologics Ltd.; and Gareth Reakes, managing director of
Parthenon Ltd. The awards include cash prizes and free business
accommodation, business advice, accountancy support and PR worth
more than £27,000.
http://www.oxin.co.uk/enterpriseawards/

Paris Has Most Free Wi-Fi Hotspots in Europe, Report Says

Paris -- According to a new report by free-hotspot.com, Paris is the top
European city for free Wi-Fi hotspot access. The French capital boasts
more than 80 free hotspots, followed by London with 21 hotspots and
Dublin with 16. The Top 10 list was rounded out by Barcelona,
Brighton, Munich, Amsterdam, Vienna, Marseille and Cologne, the
report said. "We are excited that so many European cities offer free Wi-
Fi access," said free-hotspot.com CEO Daniel Toomey, Jr. "We remain
committed to putting Europe at the forefront of this trend and are
working to establish free Wi-Fi service in restaurants, cafes, pubs and
other public locations throughout Europe."
http://www.free-hotspot.com/find_home.htm