File-sharers switch networks due to BitTorrent heat

The closure of BitTorrent websites following legal action by the US movie industry and the threat of legal action against individual file sharers appears to be having the desired effect. The share of Internet traffic consisting of torrents has fallen. However file sharers have merely exchanged one network for another, according to the latest figures from UK research group CacheLogic. ...more

France mulls tough copyright laws

France is considering new copyright laws that could make the ripping of CDs and the transferring of music to an MP3 player illegal. The country's parliament will consider extensions to the European Union Copyright Directive (EULA) that would criminalise numerous activities that could lead to copyright infringement. According to French opponents of the proposals these include creating your own compilations from a CD, extracting your favourite piece of music to listen to it on your computer, transferring it to a MP3 player, lending a CD to a friend, or reading a DVD with free software. ...more

Use your Gameboy to sew

Can you believe it? It's a cross-platform deal that would leave the average gamer in a cold sweat; Singer sewing machines are using the humble Gameboy with their new range of sewing machines. The new Singer IZEK sewing machine comes complete with a Gameboy and connection cables. The package packs a Gameboy cartridge filled full of sewing patterns. ...more

British engineer gets $10,000 magazine reward from Intel

Intel has given a British engineer $10,000 for a copy of a magazine that has been lurking under his floorboards for thirty years. David Clark, from Surrey became the first person to contact Intel to say he had a near mint edition of the magazine that first expounded Moore's Law. Intel had placed an advert on eBay asking the world if anyone had a copy of the 1965 issue of Electronics Magazine in which the company's founder Gordon Moore first set out in print the idea of 'Moore's Law'. ...more

Microsoft preps Vista defences

As the launch of Vista approaches, Microsoft is gearing up to protect its new investment from the inevitable attention of the pirates. Under the banner of the Software Protection Platform (SP Platform), the company is introducing a battery of new safeguards to identify dodgy copies and encourage customers to buy the genuine article. Microsoft claims it has lost billions of dollars to software pirates over the years. ...more