The BBC to pilot certification for online broadcasts

The BBC is to pilot a scheme to mark downloadable versions of its TV programmes to warn parents that some material may be unsuitable for children. The corporation intends to introduce a scheme where material normally broadcast after the 9 o'clock 'watershed' is marked with a 'G' for parental guidance. Last week the BBC announced that it was making a wide range of its programmes available for download either as simulcasts or archived a week after its broadcast through a service called 'MyBBCPlayer'. ...more

Cool and reliable high-power lasers

Japanese electronics company Sanyo has developed a new red laser diode for DVD-RAM and DVD-RW applications. The new diode has a high light output of 80mW and a pulse length of 660nm, compared to existing laser devices that only have high outputs of about 70mW. The new laser uses news technologies to prevent heat generation, by reducing light suction at the active layer. ...more

Skype betas v2.6 of its Net phone software

Skype has released version 2.6 of its Net phone software as a public beta. The new version makes a big deal of Skypecasts. ...more

Intel announces new China 300mm wafer fab

Intel is strengthening its ties with China with the announcement of a new 300mm wafer fab in the city of Dalian, in the north-east province of Liaoning. While Intel has a number of such chip factories around the world - in Israel and Ireland, as well as the US - this is its first in Asia. In what is described as a $2. ...more

Google finds a profit

You can't make money out of the Internet these days, can you? Well, makers of the search engine Google have managed it. The exact degree of profitability is not being disclosed, but the new CEO Eric Schmidt has revealed that the company has had a profit on operations for the last two quarters. News of Google's profitability emerged following the official unveiling of Schmidt yesterday. ...more