June 1 - 3:00pm EDT   Microsoft today launched a range of changes to the Xbox 360's video features. Now rebranded as a Zune service, the former Xbox Video Marketplace will now provide videos in full 1080p and promises an "instant-on" feature that starts streaming videos almost immediately on faster connections. The extension will be available in all countries and should come along with an expansion of video rentals and purchases to 18 countries from the current 8. [full story]

July 24 - 4:40pm EDT   The British music and film industries finally received the cooperation they have been seeking from Internet Service Providers in helping them fight illegal file downloading. A report on Thursday has six of the country's largest Internet providers sending warning letters to subscribers suspected of illegal file downloading and sharing. The decision to do so is commonly believed to be spurred by the British government, which announced earlier this year that it would impose its own laws forcing them to police how their services are used had they failed to cooperate voluntarily. [full story]

May 21 - 2:50pm EDT   Americans browse the web on their cellphones almost twice as often as their British counterparts even without the help of web-friendly devices like the iPhone, according to a new study by M:Metrics. Despite the reputation of Europeans as more openly embracing smartphones, Americans in March were known to spend an average of four hours and 38 minutes per month on websites using their phones versus almost exactly two and a half hours for British users. The difference is largely attributed to the prevalence of flat-rate data plans in the US, which give customers either a block of data or unlimited access instead of the metering that more often exists in Europe. [full story]

April 24 - 2:05pm EDT   Sky's upcoming on-demand TV service (now dubbed Go!View) for Sony's PSP will be available this summer, the British TV network said today. The service lets owners of the handheld game system use the Wi-Fi connection to watch shows offered on Sky independently of the satellite connection. Viewers will have the option of either paying per view or else paying a flat-rate subscription fee for watching many more shows. Shows can be downloaded first to the PC for transfer to the PSP later. [full story]