Apple determined to secure iPod interface patent

Apple has reiterated that it is determined to secure a patent on the iPod interface, despite losing out first time around. Last week the US Patent and Trademark Office ruled Apple's patent application invalid because a similar claim had already been registered by one John Platt, who, it subsequently emerged, is an employee of Microsoft. Threatened with the possibility that it might have to pay iPod royalties to its greatest rival, Apple said it will appeal the USPTO decision. ...more

UK games chart: Need for Speed is still the most wanted

The rise of The Sims 2 and Pro Evolution Soccer 5 can not dislodge the long-time reigning champ from the top of the ELSPA UK games chart. EA's street racing game Need For Speed: Most Wanted still holds the number one position. King Kong: Official Game of The Movie slips from two down to four, with The Sims and Pro Evolution Soccer doing their best to take advantage, but this weeks chart is still static, in the wake of the Christmas spending bonanza. ...more

Real patches critical flaws in its media players

Real Networks has released security patches to fix four highly critical flaws in multiple versions of its RealOne, RealPlayer and Helix Player software. The flaw could enable the overwriting of local files and compromise a user's system. The first vulnerability is an unspecified error that can be exploited to overwrite local files or to execute an ActiveX control on a user's system via a specially crafted MP3 file. ...more

Chinese online censorship 'the most sophisticated in the world'

China's Internet filtering regime is 'the most sophisticated effort of its kind in the world' according to a new report by the Open Net Initiative. The OpenNet Initiative is a partnership of universities, including Cambridge University, that seeks to test and evaluate the methods and extent of censorship of electronic media throughout the world. During the examination of Chinese repression, the ONI tested China's Internet filtering of web content, blog postings, and email correspondences. ...more

Stallman: On SCO, GNU and Linux

Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation, which maintains the GPL, under which the GNU/Linux operating system is licensed, has asked us to publish his article clarifying that SCO's legal actions touch only the kernel of the platform, not the operating system as a whole... ...more