CD Wow sued over 'illegal' CD imports

The BPI has filed for contempt of court against Internet retailer CD Wow, alleging that it has failed to stop importing discs from South East Asia. In January 2004 the UK music industry trade body reached an out of court settlement with CD Wow, whereby the retailer agreed to not to sell CDs to its UK and Irish customers that it had sourced outside Europe. The retailer gave undertakings to both the BPI and the High Court that it would only import music legally. ...more

MyCokeMusic service to close

Coca-Cola has announced the closure of its UK music downloads service. In a statement on the mycokemusic website, the company says that the site will close on 31 July, giving users just over a month to use up any remaining credit, or transfer it to another OD2-based music service. Explaining the decision to close, Coke says the store, which pre-dates iTunes and Napster, has outlived its usefulness. ...more

Mapuche say no to Microsoft Mapuzugun

Mapuche Indians have accused Microsoft of violating their cultural heritage by translating Windows into their language, Mapuzugun, without permission. The language is spoken by some 400,000 indigenous Chileans, some of whom have taken the software company to court for 'intellectual piracy'. A judge in Santiago will decide in two weeks whether the Mapuche have a case. ...more

Comment: Living room in a box

We're precious about our living rooms: they're places to relax and forget about work. So it's quite right that some people feel nervous when imagining a PC next to their TV. And however they're dressed up, Windows Media Center 'hubs' are still PCs. ...more

Comment: Too much hot air over green PCs

Technology companies are currently spending an awful lot of energy trying to convince us of their green credentials. However, most of it appears to be hot air rather than concerted efforts to save the planet. Earlier this year, PC World boasted it would 'develop the world's most energy efficient and environmentally friendly PC'. ...more