Apple revels in second highest ever results

Apple shipped more Macs than at any time in the last five years, its latest quarterly financial results reveal, with the second highest quarterly sales and earnings in Apple's history. A 60 per cent year-on-year increase in sales of portable Macs saw Apple sell more than 1.3 million computers in the three months to 1 July, a peak last reached in 1999. ...more

Microsoft acts on anti-trust settlement

In a media briefing that has just concluded, Microsoft has outlined various milestones for achieving its obligations under the terms of its proposed settlement with the DoJ and nine states. Under those terms, Microsoft has to fulfil agreed actions in advance of any final settlement of the ongoing case. Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel for Microsoft, outlined Microsoft's position before fielding media questions. ...more

Thunderbird 1.5 reaches RC1

Mozilla has announced the availability of the first release candidate version of its next Thunderbird email client. Thunderbird 1.5 includes: sort address autocomplete results by how often you send e-mail to each recipient; spelling checking as you type; Search Folders that can be saved and searched across multiple accounts; a built-in phishing detector; podcasting and other RSS improvements; deleting attachments from messages; integration with server side spam filtering; reply and forward actions for message filters; Kerberos Authentication; auto save as draft for mail composition; message ageing; filters for global inbox; improvements to product usability, including redesigned options interface, and SMTP server management; and many security enhancements. ...more

Intel opens up its first programmable microprocessor

A bit of computing history. It was 35 years ago that Intel released its first programmable microprocessor, the Intel 4004, and helped begin the miniaturisation of computing, which lead directly to today's ubiquitous personal computer. Measuring 1/8th by 1/6th of an inch, the chip, produced in November 1971, delivered the same computing power as the ENIAC electronic computer of 1946, which filled an entire room with its 18,000 vacuum tubes. ...more

Taiwanese manufacturer Soltek announces new 'Prescott' motherboards

Mobo manufacturer Soltek has launched a new 'Pro' top of the line motherboard, which is said to support the new 'Prescott' range of Intel Pentium processors due out by the end of the year. The SL-865Pro-FGR mainboard supports Intel Socket 478 microprocessors and Hyper Threading technology. The mobo is based around the Intel 865PE chipset and features a 400/533/800 MHz Front Side Bus and supports Dual Channel DDR SDRAM running at speeds of 400, 333 and 266 MHz. ...more