Talking Heads frontman criticises iTunes' DRM

David Byrne, former frontman of 80s group Talking Heads has been talking about the growth of online music sales, with particular reference to iTunes, and a shift in the market that will see downloads outsell CDs before the London Olympics opening ceremonies. In a presentation called Record Companies: Who Needs Them, he explained that his royalty payments are the same on iTunes downloads as they are on more expensive physical media sales - around $1.60 for an album either way. ...more

Intel profits dip 40 per cent, reports flat PC sales

Intel, traditionally seen as a bellwether stock for the technology sector, has reported a 40 per cent decline in profits. The chip giant has announced its first quarter results amid flattening demand, increased inventory problems and strong competition from its rival AMD, which posted bumper results last week. The figures read as follow: sales for the three months amounted to $8. ...more

MacUser Awards 2003: winners announced

Apple again was the star at the UK's most prestigious Mac awards, picking up six Maxines, one more than it garnered last year. The 20in Cinema Display, 40GB iPod, Final Cut Pro and Soundtrack all claimed the 'best in their class' gong while the Power Mac G5 was given the Readers' Award for Hardware of the Year and the Special Award for Product of the Year. Canon and Adobe picked up two awards each; Canon for its PowerShot A70 camera and CanoScan LiDE 50 scanner and Adobe for Acrobat 6 Professional and Photoshop. ...more

And also today (21-September-2001), for the record...

Here, in brief, are some of the day's other stories. A Tiny enterprise Tiny Computers has launched a new division to specifically address the corporate market. The move comes on the back of signing a corporate agreement with Avon Cosmetics. ...more

E-mails banned on Friday

I don't know about you but when it comes to e-mail, I'm a real Norman No-Mates with my mailbox just visited by the usual selection of pornographic spam. But electronic mail has caught on faster than SMS messaging and some companies believe that it is affecting productivity and actually stifles creativity. Already companies such as Nestle Rowntree and Camelot have told their employees not to read their e-mails on Fridays. ...more