US launch for HD-DVD postponed

Toshiba may put back the launch of HD-DVD in the US until next year in order to 'optimise' the release schedule. The company, which is the main driver of the high-capacity optical disc technology, said that it still plans to introduce it in Japan this year. 'We are now in talks with Hollywood studios and large-scale retailers to seek the most effective timing of the launch and best way to launch,' a Toshiba spokeswoman said. ...more

BBC commits itself to Web services

The BBC is planning to reshape its online offerings into personalised web services and has been highlighting the functionality of its Integrated Media Player (iMP). The future strategy was outlined by the director of the BBC's new media division, Ashley Highfield, who shared a platform with Microsoft boss Bill Gates at the Mix06 conference in Las Vegas. He said the BBC would work with a number of technology firms, such as Microsoft and Apple, to enable content delivery. ...more

Yahoo! to launch its own blogging service

Internet portal Yahoo! has finally announced its long-awaited move into the blogging arena. The company says that it will be making a version of its Yahoo! 360 'Web log and social networking service' to a restricted number of users from March 29th. At the moment, the name of the game with Internet portals is to integrate a number of existing services into a compelling single package. ...more

Google asks users to tweak translations

Google is hoping to iron out translation hiccups by throwing the weight of its massive userbase at the problem. While many translation tools, such as Babelfish and Google's translate.google. ...more

FBI closes down 'Star Wars' p2p network

The FBI has announced that it has shut down the P2P network Elitetorrents.org. The Bureau said that the website was the source of recent pirated copies of the new Star Wars movie `Revenge of the Sith` which was leaked onto the Internet even before the film was released. ...more