RealNetworks rolls out RHAPSODY to beat iTunes to the PC

RealNetworks is to can its own MusicNet service in favour of Rhapsody from recently acquired Listen.com. 'We are extremely pleased to join RealNetworks in introducing the newest RealOne service, RealOne RHAPSODY,' said Sean Ryan, CEO, Listen. ...more

European Commission refuses to rewrite patent directive

The European Commission has refused to rewrite a draft for a directive on 'computer-implemented' inventions, despite massive opposition. The current draft, put forward by Europe's Council of Ministers, was approved in May. But since then much of the original support for the draft has melted away, and it no longer has a majority in support. ...more

W3C gives browsing a voice

The organisation that determines Web standards is turning its attention, once again, towards vocal interaction with websites. The W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) has announced it is relaunching its Voice Browser Working Group, to better enable users to speak and listen to Web-based apps. The group, says the W3C, will concentrate on 'standardising languages for capturing and producing speech, and for managing the dialog between users and computers'. ...more

AMD's Live! vision of the Media Center PC

Chip maker AMD has announced that it is extending its digital entertainments technology out of the realms of professional media to consumers. The company says the first products under the AMD Live! banner are expected to appear in mid-2006. Making the announcement at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the AMD Live! brand is expected to be a range of next-generation Windows Media PCs driven by Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processors for desktop PCs, as well as AMD dual-core mobile processors for notebook PCs. ...more

AMD subpoenas Microsoft in Intel dispute

AMD has added Microsoft to the list of companies it has subpoenaed in support of its allegations that rival Intel has acted illegally in trying to block out competition. Microsoft now joins a list of some of the biggest names in the PC business including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and a long list of others. The subpoena, which was served on Microsoft on 13 April, asks that Microsoft provide the requested documents by 15 May. ...more