Price Check: Graphics cards

Both Nvidia and ATI have announced they will slash prices off their cards to clear the way for a new generation of graphics products. So now may just be the time to get more graphics growl for less money. For those for whom money is an object, and perhaps need to make an old PC a bit more useful than a dust collection point, for around ?25 you can get either the Mediamax ATI Radeon 7000 32MB DDR/AGP/TV-OUT (?24. ...more

MPAA offers illegal file checker to parents

The US industry grouping the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is adding a new weapon in its fight against piracy. It is offering a free program to parents who might be worried that their children are illegally downloading copyrighted content. Available via the MPAA funded www. ...more

China cracks down on counterfeit goods

China has signalled that it is to get tough with counterfeiters. The courts say that they will be applying a stricter interpretation of the laws governing 'intellectual property violations' in future. The Chinese say that they have lowered the value of counterfeit goods that a person can be prosecuted for from 100,000 yuan ($12000) to 50,000 yuan ($6000). ...more

Microsoft vision of modelling draws cool response from Open Source leader

Open Source leader Bruce Perens has said that Bill Gates' vision of customisable software won't put Microsoft products on the same footing as Open Source software, which allows users access to the source code so it can be modified to meet their needs. Speaking at the Gartner Symposium in San Diego, California on Monday, Microsoft's Chairman and Chief Software Architect, Bill Gates outlined a change in the way Microsoft's products are built and work which will show up over the next few years - initially in the next release of Visual Studio. Gates defined it as 'visual modelling' and described it as 'expressing - without code - exactly what the steps are that need to take place'. ...more

Scams on the increase

Don't be taken in by rising scams, warns the DTI Consumer Affairs Minister Melanie Johnson has warned consumers of the growing numbers of scams using text messaging, email and fax. Speaking at the launch of National Consumer Week, she said people should be wary of any offers that seem to good to be true, particularly if you have to dial a premium rate number to avail of the offer. One such mobile phone text message scam, dealt with by telephone regulator ICSTIS (Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services), told the recipient 'I Fancy You', and invited them to ring a premium rate number to find out who the sender was. ...more