Palm set to unveil mysterious 'third product'

Palm founder Jeff Hawkins has intimated that he is poised to unveil the company's mysterious 'third product' that he has been working on for at least two years. In an interview with Palm Addicts, Hawkins strongly hinted that an announcement would be made at the Wall Street Journal's 'D: All Things Digital' conference in May. 'We're going to be announcing something, but I won't tell you what it is,' he said. ...more

Music majors explore new horizons

Having finally woken up to the potential of the Internet to get new musicians heard by a large number of people at little cost, the music majors are now using the medium to try and promote newer artists by offering fans an attractive new proposition - MP3 versions of albums with no DRM attached. First out of the gate is the new album from tweenie heart throb Jesse McCartney. Yahoo! Music is offering the album 'Right Where You Want Me' for download in either MP3 or WMA format for $9. ...more

Music file swapping network in the dock

Another file sharing network has been brought to book over copyright infringements. The Taiwan music service Kuro has been found guilty of criminal charges and becomes the first such case to see the imposition of gaol terms. The owners of the Taiwan-based Fashionow company, which operates Kuro, have been sentenced to three years in prison, and the company has been fined 3 million Taiwanese dollars (T$). ...more

Government sets ISP deadline for child abuse Net filters

The UK government has told Internet Service Providers that they have until the end of 2007 to implement filers to block websites that contain illegal images of child abuse. Home Office Minister Vernon Croaker welcomed the news that the largest ISPs, those that provide 90 per of all domestic broadband connections, will be blocking these sites by then end of this year, but warned the remainder that unless they too voluntarily introduce filters then legislation may be introduced to compel them to do so. 'We recognise the progress that has been made as a result of the industry's commitment and investment so far,' Croaker said in a written answer to a Parliamentary question. ...more

New industry consortium to promote holographic storage

The newly formed Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD) Alliance has been established to promote holographic-based storage for a new generation of optical discs. Blue laser-based Blu-ray is already set to replace current red laser-based DVD technology, but holographic storage is getting ready for its spot in the light.. ...more