Psion launches PC digital radio

Do you like the idea of turning your PC into a Digital Audio Broadcast receiver? If so, Psion has the gadget for you. Looking like something from a dodgy episode of Dr Who, the Psion WaveFinder enables PC users to receive digital radio through their computers. The unit connects to the PC via a USB connection and promises CD-quality audio broadcasts. ...more

Digital signatures to be given legal status

In a bid to push forward British e-commerce, the Cabinet Office has asked industry body E-Centre UK to look into legislation making documents signed digitally legally binding. Currently, the law requires documents to be physically signed or exchanged, but in July a European directive to give digital signatures the same legal status as written ones, gained Royal assent. E-Centre UK has been called in to sort out this conflict and change legislation concerning issues such as house buying, employment contracts and consumer credit. ...more

Last century codecs for next-gen Blu-ray

As Sony prepares for the introduction of the first commercial Blu-ray products early next year, its film and TV division is planning to release its first movies on the format using a decade-old codec. Don Eklund, senior vice president of advanced technology for Sony Pictures, has revealed that the it will encode with the same MPEG-2 technology used for DVDs. 'Advanced formats don't necessarily improve picture quality,' said Eklund. ...more

Broadcom bridges HD DVD Blu-ray divide

Communications chip maker Broadcom has announced at CES that it has developed an audio and video decoder chip compatible with both next-generation optical disc standards, Blu-ray and HD DVD, which will debut this year. The updates address the following issues: Audio dropout when playing to AirPort Express with AirTunes' problems with Wireless Disabled mode for AirPort Express; AirPort Extreme LAN Performance; problems when enabling AOL Parental Controls; vulnerability to Denial of Service Attacks (bonk attacks); and problems with wireless Internet access thrThe BCM7411D chip enables devices to playback the high-definition content from either format. It supports both the H. ...more

Hitachi shrinks iPod hard drives

If we don't know anything about Apple's next version of the iPod, one reasonable certainty is that it will be smaller and more robust, as Hitachi has just made the hard drives used 10 per cent smaller with the use of a new connector. It has stripped out the standard notebook-based connector currently used on the Travelstar C4K60 series for the ZIF connector commonly found on consumer electronics. The new connector not only reduces the overall size of the unit but also allows it to connect to the host device through a flexible cable. ...more