Firefox 1.5 gets a release candidate

Mozilla has announced the availability of the first beta release candidate version of Firefox 1.5. Mozilla emphasises that this is not a full beta and requests that reviewers and bloggers do not 'jump the gun' and say that it is. ...more

Toshiba launches first HD DVD laptop

The Qosmio G30/697HS will be the first laptop to feature an HD DVD-ROM drive. Toshiba is launching a version of its high-end, multimedia laptop with the next-gen optical disc support in Japan in mid-May. Along with playback of HD DVD content, the latest Qosmio can read and write DVD and CD discs, including DVD+/-R DL (dual-layer) and DVD-RAM. ...more

XML editor receives revamp

The powerful XML editor has been updated by Syncro Soft. Version 6.0 includes diagramatic editing of XML schemas (synchronised in real time with the underlying document) and a new way to compare differences between multiple files (very useful for any large-scale project) and merging those differences. ...more

Music industry targets nearly 1,000 with file-sharing suits

The music industry has launched its biggest ever number of legal actions against alleged file sharers, targeting 963 people in 11 countries. They include action by the BPI against 33 UK users of KaZaA, DirectConnect, BearShare, SoulSeek, Grokster and Imesh, bringing the total in this country to 90, the first 26 of which have been settled out of court to a total of ?50,000. 'We have warned people time and again that unauthorised filesharing is against the law,' BPI general counsel Geoff Taylor said. ...more

BPI pressures ISPs to suspend filesharing accounts

The UK record industry has asked two ISPs to suspend 59 Internet accounts that they allege are being used for p2p filesharing. The industry's main umbrella group, the BPI, has written to Tiscali and Cable & Wireless, owner of Bulldog, in what it describes as a 'significant development' in its campaign against 'illegal filesharing', allowing it to deal with a greater volume of cases more quickly and efficiently. Previously it has pursued alleged file sharers individually, with some success. ...more