Windows Media Player 11 starts to play

Microsoft has announced the availability of Windows Media Player 11, focusing on device compatibility and search features. Billed as the 'most-used media player in the world', Microsoft claims that with WMP11 you can access music 'faster than on any other media player'. Real-time search facilities hone in on the sought-after music as the user types, and is entirely scalable, being as fast searching the tracks within an album as it is searching through the millions of tracks on the MTV URGE venture. ...more

Hercules announces new graphics card

Hercules, a well-known brand name in graphics card circles, has joined forces with STMicroelectronics to bring you the Hercules 3D Prophet 4500 PC video board based on ST's new KYRO II PC graphics controller. The KYRO II, interestingly, is based on Imagination Technologies' PowerVR architecture. Its unique Tile Based Rendering technology eliminates much of the redundant processing overheads and memory bottlenecks produced by less efficient graphics algorithms. ...more

Strato stands in way of Apple iPhone trademark

Apple's apparent intention to register iPhone as a trademark for its anticipated mobile phone may encounter a significant obstacle should the company hope to sell it in Germany, after an Internet provider there launched a VoIP service bearing the same name. Strato's iPhone offers free Internet-based voice calls to other iPhone subscribers, plus low-cost calls to landline and mobile phones. Apple is expected to release possibly two mobile phone models next year. ...more

Sun pushes Java further into the mobile space

Sun is focussing on wireless mobile computing in the latest announcements from the SunOne show in San Francisco. As part of the push for Java-based wireless computing, Sun has announced a new testing initiative: the Unified Wireless Java Application Testing Criteria. With other industry players, such as Motorola, Nokia, Siemens, and Sony Ericsson, Sun is aiming to accelerate the secure development of mobile applications. ...more

Symantec and Veritas to marry

Symantec and Veritas are to merge in a $13.5bn stock deal. The deal between Symantec, security specialist and builder of the popular Norton antivirus software, and storage giant Veritas is the biggest in Silicon Valley history and has already been approved by both boards. ...more