Blu-ray discs debut in the US

Sony has begun shipping recordable Blu-ray discs in the US, despite the absence of compatible hardware. The 25GB BD-R (write-once) 25GB and BD-RE (rewritable) discs are selling from $20 and $25 respectively, with a 2x recording speed and a data transfer rate of 72Mbps, fast enough to support HD video recording. The company plans to begin shipping dual-layer 50GB discs in June, but there is as yet no information on UK availability. ...more

MP3 players in trouble - again

A new row has erupted over the use of MP3 players - but don't think this has anything to do with the big five record companies and the downloading of copyrighted material. This time, canny students are using the players to cheat in exams. According to the South China Morning Press, The Hong Kong Examination Authority is considering banning students from listening to the players during exams. ...more

Sugar cube is memory of the future

Japanese researchers have managed to create a data storage device that can hold 1 Terabyte of information and is just 1 cubic centimetre in size, the same size as a cube of sugar. Two years ago the scientists at Kyoto University discovered that glass could be used to store information optically. By using a very short pulse of light produced by a femtosecond laser to strike a glass cube containing the element samarium, small luminous dots around 400 nanometers in diameter are produced. ...more

AMD moves to 65nm process technology

With the release of four new low-power chips AMD is moving to 65 nanometer (nm) process technology. The energy-efficient AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core desktop processors lead the way, with the new production techniques enabling it to produce more processors from the same 300mm wafers, which should mean higher output volumes. The Athlon 64 X2 5000+ runs at 2. ...more

Self-install ADSL - customer benefits are still unclear

After months of prevarication, the long-awaited launch of BT's self-install ADSL service has taken place. However, the service, which allows users to choose their own third-party ADSL equipment, has already drawn fire from ISPs, who claim it is too expensive to have much benefit for users. Currently available ADSL services require changes to the phone point on the wall of the customer's house, requiring a visit from a BT engineer. ...more