This week, Microsoft announced that Vista will be available to download when it’s launched this month, making it the first operating system to be available in this way. Vista, which is due to launch on 30 January, will be available online and in stores, but Windows Vista Family Discount, which allows customers to buy further copies of Vista at discounted prices, will not be available in the UK.

The Venice Project, a high quality full-screen video broadcast service, has finally been unveiled as Joost. The brainchild of Skype founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, Joost is set to become the new YouTube, offering greater quality video for free.

Finally, MySpace is to get parental controls. According to reports in the US, News Corporation, the owners of MySpace, are planning to offer free parental notification software. Nearly 20 per cent of MySpace users are under 17.

Have a great weekend!