ATI loses ground in desktop graphics market

ATI has maintained its lead in desktop graphics although rivals NVidia is closing the gap. A new report on graphics shipments and supplier market share for the last three months of 2004 shows ATI maintaining its lead in the discrete desktop segment. It is by a narrower margin, however, than in the third quarter, with Nvidia regaining ground. ...more

Animal rights group condemns 'rampant' eBay ivory trade

The elephant, the world's largest land mammal, is being threatened with global extinction by a 'rampant trade' in ivory on the eBay online auction site, animal welfare campaigners said on Tuesday. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said it had conducted a survey in the UK, Australia, China, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Canada and the US and tracked more than 2,200 elephant ivory items listed on eBay websites. It found more than 90 per cent of the listings breached even eBay's own wildlife policies. ...more

Universal gets Zune pay-off

Microsoft will pay Universal Music a cut of proceeds from its forthcoming Zune portable media player, in a deal that will give Microsoft more freedom to allow music sharing between Zune users. Neither company would reveal the financial details of the agreement, which news agencies say will be formally announced later today. Chris Stephenson, general manager of global marketing for Microsoft Entertainment, told AP that the company is seeking similar deals with the other major record companies. ...more

Royal Mail anticipates a ?3billion e-Christmas

When you buy things over the Internet they still have to be delivered. So it is that the Royal Mail is gleefully anticipating record spending on an 'e-Christmas'. It is expecting online shoppers to spend as much as ?3. ...more

CES: Bill Gates promises more Microsoft muscle for entertainment media

Bill Gates hit the CES floor last night for a keynote outlining how Microsoft is putting its muscle behind media and entertainment. Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas yesterday, Redmond's Chief Software Architect highlighted how its Media Center will continue to form the hub for many of the entertainment devices that have its backing. Gates said Media Center PCs had doubled sales this year to 1. ...more