Samsung puts the widescreen into portable devices

Samsung has created a 4in LCD panel with a 16:9 screen ratio, designed for portable media players (PMPs). Think 'widescreen' and you think of cinemas or large plasma displays, but the South Korean electronics giant is anticipating a market for full-scale portable video players. Current PMPs generally use 3. ...more

BPI to chart online music sales

The British Music Industry BPI has announced that the UK's first Official Download Chart will launch on 1 September. The chart will include actual sales data from all the UK's most significant download retailers, including HMV, MSN, Mycokemusic and Virgin, all of which are powered by OD2, and Apple's iTunes. The much trumpeted Napster is not yet included although it is probably only a tiny fraction of the UK market at present. ...more

Mono shines Microsoft's Silverlight on Linux

The head of the Mono open source project has said that it will release a Linux version of Microsoft's new Silverlight Web plug-in before the end of the year. Miguel de Icaza announced the planned port after Microsoft officials attending the MIX07 conference said that they would monitor demand before extending support beyond Windows and Mac OS X. It has prioritised a version for Windows Mobile over any possible Linux development. ...more

IBM creates 29.9nm circuit

IBM has come up with a method that will extend the life of traditional chip making processes beyond the level previously thought. Big Blue has developed a manufacturing technique that will create chips on a 29.9 nanometre process using optical lithography. ...more

UK leads Europe for Internet shopping

Tech-savvy Brits shop online more than any other European country, according to new figures from Intel. Intel quizzed 6,075 PC and mobile owners across Europe and found that two-thirds (77 per cent) of Brits use the Internet for buying goods other than groceries, compared to only 60 per cent of people on the continent. People living in the UK are also more likely to do the weekly food shop from home, with more than a third of us getting groceries delivered to our door through the Internet. ...more