Microsoft spotlights HD DVD at tech show

Microsoft has been banging the HD DVD drum at its Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2006 in Seattle. With the likes of Sony, Samsung, Philips and Apple lined up behind Blu-ray as the next-generation of optical disc technology to replace DVDs, Microsoft - along with NEC and Intel is backing the Toshiba-driven rival format. At the conference, Microsoft trumpeted the various PC manufacturers, independent hardware vendors (IHVs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) that are lining up under the HD DVD banner with their products. ...more

Google tops search rankings

Google has topped the latest ranking of search engine usage, considerably outstripping rival Internet search sites including Yahoo and Microsoft's MSN Search. The latest figures based on the findings of two different Internet market research companies reveal that in March 2002 US Web users spent almost 13 million hours searching in Google, but just 5.4 million in Yahoo and 4. ...more

Beatles set to end downloads resistance

The Beatles look set to end their resistance to online music sales and are currently in talks with a number of online providers. They are expected to sign an exclusive deal with one, Microsoft's is believed to be the favourite although it does not yet have a service of its own, before making their back catalogue available to all. It appears that Real Networks are also in the frame, though its Rhapsody service has not had a significant impact. ...more

Green light for Palm to challenge Xerox patent

An infringed patent can still be an invalid one... ...more

WLAN Event: Telcos turn their eye to hot spots

At today's WLAN Event in London, Ericsson has demonstrated a laptop wirelessly accessing the Internet through a hot-spot, but authenticated over a GSM mobile network using a standard SIM card. Mobile operators will now have the chance to grab their bit of gold from hot-spots, with Ericsson demonstrating how GSM networks can authenticate WLAN sessions via a standard SIM card. User would enjoy a more attractive and familiar billing system - being charged by the minute with the amount turning up on your phone bill - than the nominal ?5 per 24-hour period, proposed by Toshiba. ...more