iMac RIP

After five years, the iMac - the original one, and in many eyes the best one - is dead. There's no doubt in my mind that without the iMac, Apple would now be either dead or sold off, a division of some mega-corporation like Sony. During its five years of existence, it sold millions of units to consumers, offices and schools that might otherwise have gone the Windows route. ...more

Microsoft reports server-driven record revenues

Microsoft has announced a 12 per cent jump in revenues for its first quarter: a record. The company recorded revenues of $9.19bn for the quarter ended 30 September, beating even the higher analyst estimates of $9. ...more

Seagate ships 400Gb drive

Hard drive manufacturer Seagate Technology is now shipping what it claims is the world's largest capacity hard drive holding a whopping 400Gb. The Barracuda 7200.8 is fitted with either 8MB or 16MB cache sizes, a 7,200-rpm spin speed, and an 8. ...more

iPod mini audio problems surface

The first signs of dissatisfaction with Apple's iPod mini surfaced over the weekend, with users reporting a crackling noise when any buttons are pressed. A number of mini owners have found that the problem starts to occur after about five weeks, though Apple has been happy to replace affected units. The reports have been made via a thread in the iPodlounge forums; one account, posted by raul, says, 'the life expectancy for the mini is between 35 and 40 days; my new one is doing ok, but now i have that feeling that it will happen again. ...more

Secret service takes frontline role in piracy fight

The record industry has upped the ante in the fight against CD copying, enlisting US Secret Service agents in a raid on a CD duplicating plant in New York. The industry's US body - the RIAA - hailed the raid as a success, claiming the capture of 35,000 CDs, 10,000 DVDs and 'the equivalent of 421 CD-R burners'. It later admitted that there were in fact just 156 burners, but justified its earlier statement saying, 'There were only 156 actual burners, but some run at very high speeds, some as high as 40x. ...more