Laptop makers gear up for double-speed PC cards

Laptop makers are gearing up for the launch of the next-generation PC card this month. Known as ExpressCard, the new card is still managed by the PCMCIA body but is half the size of the current PC Cards and uses less power. They are 75mm long and either 34mm or 54mm in width, but with PCIExpress and USB 2. ...more

Consumer electronics set to enjoy 11 per cent growth in 2005

Global shipments of consumer electronics products are expected to grow 11 per cent on-year in 2005 from about $113.5 billion recorded in 2004, thanks to brisk sales of digital TVs and portable MP3 players, said the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), organizer of the recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which was held in Las Vegas from January 6-9. In the US alone, shipments of MP3 players are likely to hit 10 million units, worth about $1. ...more

Microsoft .NET services caught up in hailstorm

A central piece of the .NET jigsaw no longer seems to quite fit.. ...more

Sony questions success of file sharing attacks

A Sony executive has conceded that the music industry is making little headway in curbing file sharing, despite its high-profile legal campaigns against alleged file sharers. Albhy Galuten, vice president, Digital Media Technology Strategy at Sony America, told the Digital Media Summit in Los Angeles that the industry is not 'winning the battle against pirating'. Galuten was taking part in a debate with legal experts to discuss whether the US record and movie industries' 'get tough' policies are effective against the scofflaws who use p2p networks to share music files without authorisation, a practice that the two industries regard as theft. ...more

AOL sticks its oar into Microsoft case

AOL is to intervene in the Microsoft anti-trust case, say sources. According to The New York Times, America's biggest ISP will file a "friend of the court" brief supporting the government in Microsoft's trial. Various briefs have been filed before against Microsoft, but only from trade associations such as the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA). ...more