In a deeply surprising news report on Slashdot.org today, it has been revealed that Kevin Bachus - one of the original men behind the of the at - has joined fledgling console maker Infinium Labs as President and CEO.

This is an impressive appointment for Infinium, a Florida-based start-up that many critics have doubted even exists, let alone has the credentials to pull-off a console launch, however with Bachus joining the team, people are certainly going to be paying more serious attention. The company are planning to launch the first broadband-only console (the Phantom), a PC-based system which will utilise a monthly subscription model to deliver gaming, rentals and full titles.

However, not all of today's publicity for the is positive, as The Herald Tribune reports on investor anger that Infinium Labs dished out a stealthy stock dividend to insiders as soon as it became a publicly traded company, and without bothering to tell the stock-trading public through traditional channels. Ouch.

Still, the appointment of Bachus at Infinium is definitely something of a coup and is sure to help the firm raise investment that will be needed to make a serious assault on the console market - whether they'll succeed or not only time will of course tell.

By Luke Guttridge