IT Forum 2004: Bill Gates drops strong hints on 64-bit Windows for the desktop

Bill Gates has revealed something of Microsoft's plans for the roll out of 64-bit Windows for the desktop in his keynote speech at the IT Forum 2004 in Copenhagen. Promising that 64-bit computing would arrive by the middle of 2005, Gates addressed the delivery of 64-bit Windows for desktops. He declared that 'testing is in final stages' and revealed that work on the new MSN beta desktop search - Microsoft's answer to Google - was developed using such 64-bit Windows XP systems. ...more

Apple gets legal green light to pursue rumour sites

A US judge has granted Apple permission to pursue the legal action necessary to secure the source of leaks about future Apple products. Judge James Kleinberg of Santa Clara County Court, California dismissed the PowerPage website's attempt, backed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, to win a protective order that would prevent Apple from subpoenaing PowerPage's email provider for its records. On the 19, 22 and 23 November 2004, the judge noted, PowerPage contained an 'exact copy of a detailed drawing' of 'Asteroid, a FireWire breakout box for its GarageBand software. ...more

Make your own font

Fontifier is an online application that reckons it can turn your handwriting into a fully-fledged, usable font. The mechanism's straightforward enough. Simply print out the provided template, scribble in your characters, scan the completed template and submit a GIF back to the website. ...more

Treo 700p leads PalmOS revival

Palm has revived the Palm platform for its latest Treo launch, having felt the Windows Mobile pull for the Treo 700w. The Treo 700p smartphone runs PalmOS 5.4. ...more

Microsoft trial witness under attack

The nine-states attack the funding background of the latest Microsoft witness. Reuters reports that University of Chicago economist Kevin Murphy, called as a witness for Microsoft in the ongoing antitrust case, has admitted that all his published research has been at least partly funded by Microsoft. Mr Murphy had asserted that the broad sanctions the nine states are seeking to apply to the antitrust remedy are unnecessary as there is no evidence that Microsoft's illegal acts had been to the detriment of the competition. ...more