Tape deck puts cassettes in PC

Cassette tapes may be the forgotten media, but a Korean company hopes to change that with its PlusDEck tape drive for PCs. Fitting in a standard drive bay, PlusDeck allows you to play cassettes through your PC and to digitise the content as .av or . ...more

Google best fit for Napster - Motley Fool

The Motley Fool, an independent investment website, believes that of all the potential suitors for Napster, Google may be the best fit. MP3 player maker Creative, mobile phone companies and satellite radio operator XM are among the firms that have been touted as possible purchasers of the digital music company, which has appointed a bank to investigate its options amid renewed takeover interest. But The Motley Fool believes that if Google lets the chance to buy Napster pass, then 'it blows the perfect opportunity to matter in music'. ...more

BBC report shows manufacturers' differing iPhone attitudes

Investigations by the BBC reveal that in the face of imminent competition from the iPhone, mobile manufacturers have very different views over what makes a good phone. Speaking to the corporation's technology correspondent, Mark Ward, SonyEricsson's product marketing manager, Gilles Oriol, threw some doubt on the wisdom of using a touch-screen rather than a physical keypad. Reminding readers that this requires the screen to be constantly active, he cited battery life to be a major concern on a device of this kind. ...more

Software crackers stand trial at the Old Bailey

Two men accused of cracking commercial software and posting it on the Internet were described in court yesterday as having the delusion of being 'latter-day Robin Hoods', reports the BBC. Bruce Houlder QC, prosecuting, told the Old Bailey that the pair did not do it for the money, but for 'streetwise credibility'. But however they justified their activities, they were committing fraud, said Houlder. ...more

BT appeals for more female engineers

BT says it will spend ?200,000 on a campaign to convince more women to join the ranks of IT engineers. The telco has announced plans, which coincided with International Women's Day, to increase the number of women in engineering roles with an apprentice attraction campaign touting the benefits of being an engineer - a job they say is 'not just for blokes'. 'BT is committed to improving the percentage of female apprentices,' said Dave Walsh, head of BT Apprenticeships. ...more