Skype signs up for Warner Brothers music

VoIP pioneer Skype has signed a deal with Warner Brothers to offer ringtones featuring the company's roster of best selling artists. The artists include some of the world's biggest names including Madonna who will be leading the charge onto a phone near you with tracks from her latest album 'Confessions on the Dancefloor' Each 30 second sound clip will cost $1.50 and follows similar deals that the music arm of Warner Brothers has made with the mobile phone industry. ...more

US media manufacturers vote for HD DVD

A group of US media manufacturers has voted to back HD DVD over Blu-ray as its preferred next-generation optical disc format. The American Independent Media Manufacturers Association (AIMMA) comprises senior executives from 37 media manufacturing companies. It made its decision following presentations from both camps and a discussion focussing on the economics and efficiencies of transitioning to either format, including equipment costs and installation timing. ...more

Microsoft to fix .wmf Windows flaw

Microsoft says it has come up with a fix for the vulnerability exposed in the graphics rendering engine between Christmas and the New Year. As we reported yesterday a new strain of virus has appeared which means that a specially designed Windows Metafile (wmf) could be used to gain access to a machine and take control. The situation is worsened by the fact that source code for the exploit has been published on the Internet and that the virus changes itself when it replicates, making it harder for it to be detected by traditional signature-based security software. ...more

Narrowband "a good deal", says Oftel

Oftel has concluded a review of the dial-up Internet connection market and its initial conclusion is that UK customers fare well, despite some reservations. The review shows that ten million households now have Internet access, up four million in a year, and that 35 per cent of households choose some form of unmetered access. However, Oftel recognises that consumers are concerned about the quality of customer service and the availability of information that enables them to select the right package. ...more

W3C proffers link checking tool

The Web standards body W3C has announced the first standalone release of its Link Checker software. Quick and simple, you simply have to go to http://validator.w3. ...more