Sony presses play for MP3 files on Walkmans

MP3-playing Walkmans are being launched by Sony, and existing NW-series Walkmans will also have a firmware update for accommodating the de-facto Internet standard for compressed music files. As we reported back in September - Sony does u-turn for MP3 support - Sony has abandoned its position on only supporting its own ATRAC-format. The devices, which have up to 1GB of Flash memory, are Sony's first to accommodate the more popular MP3 format. ...more

Streaming movies from the Web

As if an abundance of digital TV, satellite and DVD isn't enough to keep the film fan satisfied, a new website delivering streamed movies has been launched. CinemaNow is the first to offer securely streamed films on demand and is backed by Lions Gate Entertainment. To prove that the films they are offering are none of that straight-to-video dross you find at your local video shop, one of the first films to be offered is called Heaven's Burning and stars Gladiator's Russell Crowe. ...more

Digital revenues split Hollywood and its writers

Growing resistance from writers and actors, who want a bigger slice from the sale of digital media, may slow Hollywood's rush to offer programs on the Web, iPods and cell phones. Compensation for digitally delivered media threatens to be among the more hotly debated topics in contracts talks with unions representing writers, actors and directors over the next two years and could hold up some studios' plans, industry experts said. 'There's a lot of confusion out there for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), along with the other guilds, like the Writers and Directors' Guilds,' said Mike McNulty, national director of communications for SAG. ...more

Oftel reveals DSL exchanges.

Oftel has revealed the locations of the first batch of BT's local DSL (digital subscriber line) exchanges, well ahead of its July 2001 deadline. So far 28 companies have been given shared space in 361 exchanges. There are a further 5,000 exchanges where demand has far outstripped capacity, and Oftel has yet to reach a decision on which companies will be able to use the exchanges to upgrade their local loops. ...more

New MyDoom knocks through Windows weak firewall

Kaspersky is warning of a new version of the MyDoom virus that uses a range of techniques to spread, including exploiting the same vulnerability as the infamous Sasser worm. But perhaps the most worrying aspect of MyDoom-Y is that it registers itself as a legitimate program in the firewall of XP, allowing an attacker unrestricted access to the system, while attempting to terminate any antivirus software that may be running. And it doesn't require password breaking measures to get access to change the firewall - it simply runs RegEdit. ...more