Apple fails Greenpeace environmental survey

Apple Computer is lambasted for its use of toxic chemicals in a new survey conducted by the environmental group Greenpeace. Apple Computer performed badly in the environmental rankings coming in at 11th place with Greenpeace rating the company with 'Low scores on almost all criteria'. However, the company's recent record has been patchy - earlier this year a shareholder complained that Apple lobbied against legislation that would force computer makers to fund most of the cost of recycling. ...more

Intel launches powerful new chips for mobile devices

Intel has unveiled a new series of processors aimed at the next generation of mobile phones and PDAs. The new chips are said to support DVD-quality video playback including MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 for a broad range of wireless broadband standards such as WiFi and 3G at 640 x 480 (VGA) resolution. The PXA27x family of processors, formerly code-named `Bulverde` utilises a wide range of existing Intel technologies to bring them to the handheld marketplace. ...more

Artist cops backlash over Sony DRM

The ripples caused by the recent revelations over SonyBMG shipping copy-protected CDs that install 'rootkit' code have reached the publisher's artists, resulting in a slew of negative reviews based on consumer reaction to the technology alone. Get Right with the Man by Van Zant is currently wallowing under a one-and-half star rating on Amazon.com, based purely on negative user reviews of the copy-protection technology. ...more

Apple develops iPod Photo

Apple has launched the iPod Photo, a new version of its portable music player which stores and displays photos as well as music. The iPod Photo is the first iPod to come with a colour screen and can store up to 25,000 digital photos alongside a music library. The iPod photo can be connected to a TV to display photo slide shows, and synchs with iPhoto in the same way as current iPods synch with iTunes. ...more

UK gains 30,000 broadband sign ups a week

There are nearly 30,000 new broadband connections made every week, according to new Oftel figures. With PC and Internet connection penetration remaining static at 53 per cent and 42 per cent respectively, the switch seems to be driven by those upgrading from an unmetered narrowband package (48 per cent). The UK now has more than 1. ...more