VeriSign caves in to ICANN pressure

US registrar VeriSign has bowed to pressure from ICANN and removed the controversial redirection of non-existent .net. and . ...more

Drag and drop printing for Red Hat Linux 9

The latest retail Linux distribution from Red Hat is launched today. Version 9.0 of Red Hat's Linux distro features an updated graphical installation process and various usability enhancements. ...more

Sony unveils first Blu-ray drive for $750

Sony has unveiled its first internal Blu-ray rewritable drive, capable of storing up to 50GB on a double-sided disc. The BWU-100A drive supports both BD-R (write once) or BD-RE (rewritable) discs, which also provide sufficient capacity to store up to four hours of high-definition video using HDV 1080i. The new drive also supports singled-sided 25GB discs, which can be burnt in about 50 minutes. ...more

G8 signals renewed attack on Internet child abuse

The world's richest countries have vowed to redouble efforts to combat the sexual exploitation of children by Internet pornographers. Interior and justice ministers from the G8 nations - Germany, USA, Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia promised to step up efforts to stamp out child porn during the first working session of a conference on Web crime in Munich, Germany. 'We categorically denounce those who sexually exploit children by producing images of their sexual abuse and by distributing or collecting such images,' they said in the joint declaration. ...more

EC proposes greater surveillance to combat crime

The European Commission has accepted proposals to log details of all telephone, email and Internet traffic in an attempt to combat terrorism and serious crime. The proposals, which are designed to harmonise data retention practices across the EU, will need the backing of all 25 member states. However some states believe they have been watered down in response to pressure from telecommunications firms and civil rights groups. ...more