Apple boosts recycling in the US

Apple has announced an expansion of its recycling programme for US customers by offering free take-back and recycling with the purchase of a Mac from June 2006. US customers who buy a new Mac direct from Apple will receive free shipping and 'environmentally friendly' disposal of their old computer as part of the Apple Recycling programme. Apple notes that equipment received will be recycled domestically with no hazardous material is shipped overseas. ...more

MP3.com artists hit

For quite a few years, amateur musicians have been able to sign up to MP3.com and take part in their Payback for Playback scheme and actually get paid for people listening to their music. This service is free, but that is all going to change. ...more

HP affair claims another scalp

The Hewlett Packard 'pre-texting' scandal has claimed the head of another senior executive. Ann Baskins, HP's general counsel, has resigned from the company, with immediate effect. 'I want to thank Ann for 24 years of outstanding service and devotion to HP,' said Mark Hurd, HP chairman and chief executive officer. ...more

Panasonic enters smartphone arena with Symbian-based handset

The mobile road warrior will be able to edit and project PowerPoint presentations from their Panasonic phone before the year is out - the consumer electronics giant has entered the smartphone arena with its X700 device. Based on the Symbian OS, the clamshell-designed digital camera-touting phone supports video, the use of miniSD cards and can natively view and edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. The tri-band phone supports GPRS and also has Bluetooth and MMS (multimedia messaging service) capabilities. ...more

Sony promises Mac and PC compatibility for the PlayStation Portable

Sony has revealed that it will provide Mac compatibility for its PlayStation Portable (PSP). Speaking in California, Yair Landau, vice chairman of Sony Pictures, said that software to plug the handheld gaming and multimedia device into Macs and PCs would be ready within a year. He also announced, not unexpectedly, that the PSP would integrate with Sony's Connect online music store. ...more