US TV pirates walk the plank

Yesterday, America's biggest sporting event filled a million TVs across the Home of the Brave, but for some unlucky punters the Superbowl was replaced by static. DirecTV - a US satellite TV service - decided that it would send out electronic counter measures and jam anyone using a pirate access card. The signal was deemed a success and is thought to have killed 100,000 bootleg subscribers, replacing their Superbowl coverage with a snide message saying 'Game Over'. ...more

MP3 player market maturing - Ipsos Insight

A new study on MP3 players and the American market indicates that 20 per cent of those aged 12 and older now own a portable MP3 player (an increase on the 15 per cent of one year ago and the 11 per cent of 2003), with 6 per cent owning more than one portable MP3 player. As you would expect, younger consumers are driving the growth, with over half of teenagers owning a portable MP3 Player (54 per cent), and one third of 18-34 year olds (30 per cent). In terms of gender, one quarter (24 per cent) of US males own a device compared to 16 per cent of females. ...more

Sky names the day for HD TV

Satellite broadcaster Sky has announced - to no great surprise - that it intends to kick off its High Definition television service in time for the World Cup finals taking place in Germany this summer. HDTV is regarded to be the next big change in television viewing habits. The new generation of 'HD Ready' plasma and LCD television sets can not only give much sharper resolution than the traditional set but also provide more vivid colour and often have surround sound built in too. ...more

Spammers turn to spyware to personalise junk email

A computer security company claims spammers have found a way to create spam messages that include personal details of the recipient, such as names of loved ones, in a bid to improve the hit rate of junk mail. Email security company MessageLabs says that it has discovered evidence that spammers are using special software to harvest personal information which is then used to create spam messages with personal relevance to the recipient. Matt Sergeant, MessageLabs' Senior Anti-Spam Technologist, said: 'If you receive an email with your son or daughters name in the subject line, for example, you're unlikely to delete it. ...more

Updated: Novell accepts $536 million to settle anti-trust case with Microsoft

Novell has settled its long-standing NetWare anti-trust claim with Microsoft - to the tune of $536 - but in the same announcement reveals plans to launch a second claim relating to WordPerfect. Under terms of the settlement, in exchange for the cash payment, Novell has dropped its suit alleging that Microsoft illegally used its near monopoly of the PC operating system market to force Netware out of the market. As part ot the agreement novell will withdraw its intervention in the European Commission's case with Microsoft. ...more