Sony iPod attack dents Apple share price

Apple's share price dropped five per cent yesterday after Sony launched its latest attempt to capture iPod territory by unveiling nine new music players. Since the stock split at the end of February the price has fallen 10 per cent, from a high of $45.14 to yesterday's close of $40. ...more

China to buy 200 million desktop licences from Sun

Sun has forged a multi-year deal with the China Standard Software Company (CSSC) to install 'at least' 200 million copies of Sun's Linux-based Java Desktop System as part of a government-backed project to bridge the digital divide in the country. The deal will see roughly 500,000 to a million copies a year installed from the end of this year. Financial details were not disclosed; Sun sells its Java Desktop at $100 a head in the US. ...more

Microsoft finds backing from the US Department of Justice

Microsoft may seek the help of the US Government to challenge the EU's anti-trust ruling at the World Trade Organisation. Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, said that the company would be talking to the US authorities about the terms of the ruling, which are far more severe than those imposed by the US in a similar case. However, US trade officials may be unwilling to back the company, not least because if the WTO overruled the EU, it could set a precedent for decisions by other sovereign bodies, such as the US. ...more

Sony patches another DRM flaw

Sony has said a patch is now available for another security flaw discovered in the controversial DRM system that it uses on a number of its CDs. The technology in question is produced by SunComm, and the discovery of the flaw is the result of a security audit requested by digital rights body the Electronic Frontier Foundation and carried out by iSEC Partners. The vulnerability in SunComm's MediaMax Version 5 content protection software centres on a file folder installed by the software on users' systems that could be commandeered by attackers and exploited to gain control over the target system. ...more

RUNE II?

Rune II? Well not quite, but apparently Human Head Studios is planning to release an add-on pack for its Viking hack-and-slash game RUNE. Once more around the Ragnar dear friends, once more! RUNE: The Halls of Valhalla will be a multiplayer-only addition, but get this: you can either use it with the original game or it will stand up on its own two feet! Providing more exciting Internet or LAN action, the pack will contain new features, new maps and, best of all, two new game modes. Arena presents players with a kind of gladiatorial combat idea, and it has primarily been designed for one-on-one slashing frenzies although some of the new levels will be large enough to support more than two players. ...more