20 million Thinkpads later...

As the 20 millionth IBM Thinkpad computer rolls out of the factory, we talk to Adrian Horne of IBM's Personal Computing Division on the Thinkpad's mobile future. The milestones that have kept the Thinkpads ahead of the pack, according to Horne, are products such as the 700c in 1992, which he described as 'the first notebook that was truly lightweight, portable and with a colour screen'. And other innovations such as the butterfly keyboard - a full-sized fold-out keyboard that came with the 701. ...more

Sony intros high-speed CompactFlash cards

Sony has announced its first foray into the CompactFlash memory card market. The company will introduce two 133x transfer speed cards with 2GB and 4GB capacities to target 'more ambitious' amateur and semi-professional photographers, it says. In addition, Sony will ship three 66x transfer speed cards with capacities of 1GB, 2GB and 4GB. ...more

Europeans favour music for portable gadgets

Music will continue its reign as the prime mover of European gadgets, according to Jupiter Research. A survey of 5,000 consumers from Britain, Germany, France, Sweden, Spain and Italy, revealed that devices that boast video and other high-end features simply don't interest European consumers. Some 27 per cent of those polled said they wanted a mobile gadget that plays music only. ...more

Jeeves receives his marching orders

Jeeves, the virtual butler and instantly recognisable face of the Ask Jeeves search engine, has been handed his e-P45. In a rebranding exercise the search engine will be known simply as Ask.com. ...more

Microsoft pays another regular dividend

Microsoft has announced a regular quarterly dividend for shareholders. The board has declared a dividend of $0.08 per share, payable 10 March 2005. ...more