Firefox 1.1 delayed until June

The next point release of the open source browser Firefox is now dated for June. However the developers insist that the delay is 'normal' and has nothing to do with the recent movement of programmers to Google. According to Firefox's lead engineer Ben Goodger - in the news recently by taking a job with Google - the anticipated March release of version 1. ...more

UK games charts: FIFA still on top

Still football mad after all these years; while Pro Evolution 3's fiercely loyal following can only keep the PS2 title at tenth place in the charts, the glitz and glamour of FIFA 2004 ensures that the title retains the number one spot for a fourth consecutive week. Activision's True Crime improves upon last week's early showing, rising from number three to number two, while Nintendo's corking Mario Kart: Double Dash puts in a strong showing at number three. EA's Lord of the Rings: Return of The King is the other major new entry at number four; elsewhere there's not a phenomenal amount of change, though Harry Potter spin off Quidditch World Cup manages to leap from 19 to a more impressive eighth place in the charts. ...more

Ballmer promises 'responsible' Microsoft

Speaking for the first time since the approval of the antitrust settlement, Steve Ballmer, CEO at Microsoft, commented on how the company will shape up to the terms of the remedy At yesterday's event, hosted by the Brookings Institute in Washington DC, Ballmer told of the company's committment to complying with the terms, including setting up an antitrust compliance committee. 'We've already made many of the necessary changes, and we are dedicated, from the top down, to really living those obligations. We've taken a number of steps to disclose additional technical details about Windows, and to make the design and contractual changes required by the decree,' he said. ...more

Developers expand iPod features by swapping OS

The Linux on iPod project has reached a major milestone in porting the operating system to the latest breed of players, opening up their feature sets and adding support for Ogg Vorbis music files. The port is, as yet, not officially supported like the one achieved on first-, second- and third-generation players, and so this is considered an experimental build, much like the one for fourth-generation players. The iPodLinux project is an open source effort to install the third-party operating system on Apple's music players using the Podzilla core and programming interface to provide the GUI. ...more

VeriSign snaps up rival GeoTrust

Verisign, best known for its SSL secure transaction services, has snapped up the rival GeoTrust for approximately $125 million in cash. Like VeriSign GeoTrust sells digital certificates to enable secure financial transactions across the Internet. It also sells a number of services based around identity verification. ...more