PC World Business

Like chocolate and episodes of Mad Men, there's no such thing as too much battery life.

Following on from the success of the Eee PC, ASUS has taken the same concept and created an ultraportable laptop with slightly beefier specifications, more security features and better looks. Its name is the N10J, and it puts more emphasis on style than most laptops on the market. Its glossy, champagne-coloured panels, latch-less screen and chrome details should make it a hit with the ladies, but it should also appeal to plenty of guys.

Does this sound familiar? Your mobile phone, your smart phone and your notebook all come equipped with Bluetooth, but you hardly use it because other than a clunky headset, there's not much to connect to. That may have been true in the past, but while you weren't looking, an array of cool and useful Bluetooth devices has appeared on the scene.

BT is considering shelving its £1.5bn (US$2.2 billion) high-speed fibre optic broadband network.

The leading film studios and Channel 7 have taken legal action against iiNet claiming the ISP is complicit in the infringement of their copyrighted material.

Sydney will host a conference of more than 1700 telecommunications experts next year to discuss the future of the Web, following lobbying of the Internet regulator by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the NSW Premier.

If you're looking for a 14.1in notebook that has powerful hardware and plenty of ports, and you're willing to spend time getting used to a non-standard keyboard, then the NEC Versa E6510-2505DR is an excellent choice.

Bundled with a USB adapter for combined PC and mobile telephony, Jabra's BT530 is a multiuse Bluetooth headset that commands a hefty price tag. If you don't plan on using its multipoint Bluetooth feature, we suggest looking at the far cheaper alternatives available.

If you don’t need scanning and copying, HP’s Photosmart D5460 is a decent buy. It delivers good quality printing and has some of the frills associated with the Photosmart range.

No company is immune from the economy's ebb and flow. So it's no surprise that, in the face of a fearsome downturn, IT shops are scrambling to figure out where they should cut.