Multimedia November 30, 2005

Gamers are likely to have a hard time getting hold of the Xbox 360 when it goes on sale in the UK on Friday.
Most shops have already sold out of all their stock because so many people have pre-ordered the new Microsoft console. (more…)

Internet news

Sun Microsytems said will it offer free access to its Java server suite and N1 management software and bundle them with its Solaris operating system.

Reaffirming prior statements, Sun said that it intends to open-source its Java and N1 software at a later date. The free software will cover its Java Enterprise System set of server middleware, Java development tools and N1 management software. (more…)

Internet news

Hoping to loosen Apple Computer’s grip on the digital music player market, Microsoft is rallying consumer electronics companies to form a common link.

The software maker is part of a working group launched last week by the Consumer Electronics Association to develop a standard port for connecting gadgets like music players to audio systems in homes and cars. (more…)

Internet news November 29, 2005

Because Sony’s Blu-ray disc technology appears to be the front-runner in the nasty fight to determine how the DVDs of the future are produced, movie studios and disc manufacturers are beginning to come to terms with the financial realities of the new format–as well as some troubling uncertainties. (more…)

Internet news

Computer code posted over the weekend can crash vulnerable computers by exploiting a Windows flaw disclosed in October.

The exploit code takes advantage of a flaw Microsoft tagged as “critical.” The bug lies in a Windows component for transaction processing called the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator, or MSDTC. Microsoft addressed the flaw in security bulletin MS05-051. (more…)

Internet news

When search giant Google asked for $85 per share in its initial public offering on Aug. 19, 2004, more than a few people thought its wunderkind founders had perhaps drank a bit too much of their own Kool-Aid. (more…)

Internet news November 28, 2005

Europeans are signing up for broadband faster than ever research reveals.
The report by analysts Datamonitor said high-speed net services were popular because intense competition was driving awareness to new highs and prices to new lows. (more…)

Internet news

The titanium-silver Razr’s runaway success has given Motorola an edge over mobile phone rivals Nokia and Samsung, but the gap could narrow next year when Samsung unveils a lineup of its own ultra-slim designs.

Samsung Electronics, the world’s third mobile phone maker just behind Motorola, hopes to beat its U.S. rival in its own game of “slim” phones, starting with a launch of five ultra-thin models in Europe by the end of this year. (more…)

Multimedia

It’s the wee hours on an unseasonably balmy November morning.

Inside the DNA Lounge in the hip South of Market neighborhood, the festively attired crowd attending the annual Scorpio Ball is bouncing and gyrating to thick bass beats. In front of the sweaty bodies and bathed in the bright stage lights is Bassnectar–otherwise known as Lorin Ashton or, perhaps most commonly, just plain Lorin–twisting knobs, pushing buttons and moving sliders to pump out a synthetic symphony. (more…)

Multimedia November 27, 2005

At the largest annual mobile wireless exhibition in Asia, in Hong Kong, Stephen Cole assesses the mobile phones vying for our attention in 2006, and finds that many see a turning point on the horizon. (more…)