New chip promises cheaper music

The lowest price of CD players that play compressed music CDs is expected to drop below $50 with the release of the new CS7410 music processor. Unlike traditional CD players that just play standard audio disks, the new breed is capable of playing CDs packed with several hours worth of music compressed into MP3, Windows Media and other formats. Increasingly, software capable of 'ripping' music from audio CDs into compressed files is also capable of producing compressed CDs. ...more

Industry-backed copy control body opens copy and burn media options

Hollywood is poised to give the go-ahead for the widespread downloading and burning of movies after the DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA) announced that it is prepared to license the Content Scramble System (CSS) used to encrypt DVD content. Downloads services such as Apple's iTunes Music Store, would be permitted to let users burn downloads to DVD, provided the discs are encrypted with CSS to prevent duplication. As this would require the production of compatible media, the association is working with disc manufacturers to ensure a supply. ...more

BT announces new Internet deal early

BT has confirmed leaked reports obtained by The Guardian that it will be announcing its latest Internet and telephone deals earlier than originally planned. BT Talk Together will offer unlimited off-peak calls for ?14.99 a month, including line rental. ...more

UK employers say IT workforce needs more training

The latest research from e-skills UK, says that 57 per cent of employers believe their IT staff require additional skills, a jump of 11 per cent over the same survey last year. The survey also found that employers in London and the South East expected to lose up to 24,000 jobs over the next year. In contrast, many regions including Scotland, Northern Ireland, the North East, the North West, Yorkshire and Humberside and the east of England can all expect to boost their IT workforces by between 0. ...more

Microsoft patches IIS buffer overflow flaw

An important one for all Web masters running Microsoft's Internet Information Server 5.0: there's now a patch to fix a security flaw that could give hackers the run of your system. Microsoft "strongly recommends" all administrators to install the patch immediately, as the ISAPI (Internet Sever Application Programming Interface) flaw would enable attackers to run their code at a privileged level - within the system context. ...more