Firefox 1.01 released

The Mozilla Organisation has updated its Firefox Web browser, improving stability and security. Amongst the security enhancements are displaying the hostname in the title bar when the address bar is hidden. The change is hoped to reduce the scope for spoofing web sites. ...more

Australia to challenge DVD regional coding

The only downside to the Digital Versatile Disc format is the fact that the movie companies have insisted on a regional lock-out scheme, which means that if you buy a film on import from the US, you can't play it on any other player than one bought in the States. There are ways around this (most of them involving modifying your machine), but it is heartening to hear that one country is fighting against Hollywood and is calling for the regional coding system to be dropped. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) claims that its consumers are paying 20 per cent more for DVD movies and the commission is asking the US film companies to explain themselves. ...more

Real adds in Google, Firefox to install options

RealNetworks has signed a multi-year agreement with Google and Mozilla under which it will distribute the Firefox Web browser and Google Toolbar with the two million downloads per day of Real Player. When users install RealPlayer, they will be given the option also to install Firefox or the Google Toolbar - a Windows-only addition Web browser that provides search and security tools as well as autofilling of forms and a spelling checker. Rob Glaser, chairman and CEO of Real said that the company shares a passion for innovation with Google. ...more

File sharing networks face patent claim

A US peer-to-peer tech company is hawking its patent portfolio around the file-sharing community looking for licensing deals. According to the Washington Post, Altnet Inc has mailed numerous companies claiming their services infringe patents around the use of hashing. The technology appends a unique hash code to files on these distributed networks. ...more

Canon launches two new DV cam ranges

Canon has launched two new digital video camera ranges, the compact 1.33 megapixel MVX300 series and the entry-level MV800 series. The MVX300 range comprises the MVX350i, MVX330i and MVX300 digital video cameras. ...more