IBM loses in e-symbol war

Big Blue today looked like it backed the wrong symbol when it invented KeyBUK. A search of our keyboard has revealed that the small letter e with two strokes through it -- the symbol of the Euro -- is harder to find than the mighty $, the former mighty £ or even the tiny µ or weak currency the yen. UK keyboard users are used to swapping the # sign for the £ sign on American keyboards and telephones. Big Blue trademarked its symbol for e-commerce, the one that looks a bit like an @ sign, but failed to trademark the new Euro symbol. Meanwhile, here in Mayfair, W1, we have managed to corner the market in the symbol ® It does mean registered, after all. ®