AMD opens R&D Centre in Shanghai

Chip company AMD has thrown open the doors to its new Shanghai Research and Development Centre (SRDC). Located in Zhang Jiang technology complex, AMD plans to employ hundreds of staff at the facility, which will be AMD's largest system design hub outside of the US. AMD says the Shanghai R&D Centre's engineering staff will focus on the development of successors to its mobile platforms, such as the Turion. ...more

Sun to preview easy-to-use Java

At its SunNetwork 2003 Conference in Berlin, Sun has announced a technology preview release of Sun Java Studio Creator. Formerly code-named Project Rave, this is claimed to be an easy-to-use environment for Java development. With the drag-and-drop creation of user interfaces, the use of components, and simplified access to databases, Java Studio Creator is intended to speed the creation of corporate apps - think of a Java equivalent of VBA. ...more

Mozilla boosts add-on access for Firefox browser

Mozilla has launched a new website to make it easier for Firefox users to find add-ons for the open-source browser. The new site, at https://addons.mozilla. ...more

Patent Busting Project names ten 'most-wanted' patents

The Patent Busting Project is riding out to apprehend what it considers a gang of hardened outlaws: the ten patents that have most threatened freedoms of expression online. The PBP, which is the latest offshoot of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, claims that the ten named patents are being wielded against individuals, small businesses and non-profit organisations in a bid to extract licensing fees or shut competitors out of a market. 'Patents are meant to protect companies against giant competitors, not to help them prey on folks who can barely afford a lawyer,' said EFF Staff Attorney Jason Schultz, who leads the Patent Busting Project. ...more

Prisons go online

The Home Office will tomorrow launch online virtual tours with a new Internet service: Prisons Online. Experience the terror of incarceration, the demeaning daily grind and the thrill of release from a UK prison. The interactive service is intended to be educational, however, rather than entertaining and should help those facing prison and their families find out about how to stay in touch and arrange visits as well as serving to give some idea of what one can expect on the inside. ...more