Sony buys a slice of Real

Sony has announced it is to purchase a one per cent stake in RealNetworks and further a strategic alliance. The deal will see further integration of Sony's proprietary codecs and DRM technologies into RealNetworks' suite of media players and other software, and then the implementation of these onto hardware and portable players, including the likes of the PlayStation2. The two companies first announced a relationship at the Winter CES show of 2000, since when they have been working on integrating Sony's ATRAC3 technology (its audio compression codec based on the ATRAC format used in Minidisc) and OpenMG tools (a copyright protection technology that encrypts data ensuring that it cannot then be distributed at will) into RealNetwork's products. ...more

Net superseded by the Frogan?

Frogan may sound as if it is some kind of Californian frozen yoghurt health drink, but it aims to be an add-on information service for the Internet. French company STG Interactive has introduced the service, which uses multimedia slides to present data and graphics. However, to access this new information layer via the World Wide Web (imaginatively called the Frogan layer), you will need to download a special Frogan player. ...more

IBM gives customers smart support

IBM has announced that a number of its product lines will come equipped with eSupport technology, which can self-diagnose problems. Products with the technology will include IBM ThinkPad notebooks, NetVista desktops, IntelliStation workstations and eServer xSeries systems. The technology will access an online portal where support services will run diagnostic applications and direct users to the right place or person to solve problems and answer questions. ...more

Screenshots undermine Blu-ray DRM

Less than a month into their lives and the much vaunted DRM systems of both Blu-ray and HD DVD have been circumvented. German computer magazine c't found that movie content on the high-resolution discs can be copied frame-by-frame and reassembled, simply be taking screenshots. 'C't has discovered that the first software players running on Windows XP allow screenshots of the movies to be created in full resolution,' p2pnet reports. ...more

Videoseven launches ?300 19in TFT

Videoseven has added the 19in L19PS to its Entertainment Line of displays. The silver and black LCD screen has a brightness of 300 cd/m?, a contrast ratio of 500:1 and a viewing angle of 170?. Its response time is 21ms, which means it is not really one for ultra-serious gamers. ...more