Samsung merges the monitor with the TV

Samsung is making its monitors more multi-functional. The South Korean electronics giant has announced its SM730MP and SM730MW wide-screen displays and emphasised ancillary functions such as new storage options for viewing personal digital data and a 'Picture in Picture' tool for incorporating TV feeds within multi-document displays. According to Samsung such displays herald the merging of PC monitors with LCD TVs: 'With the release of the SM730MP and SM730MW we are now seeing the cross over between LCD TV's and monitors merge ever closer,' said Neil Berville, general manager for Display and Storage at Samsung UK. ...more

Internet use up Down Under

A new report by the Australian government shows that the country is becoming a high-tech environment where the Internet is embraced. The report from the Australian National Office for Information Economy showed that 50 per cent of Australian adults used the Internet in the past year (a rise of 61 per cent since 1998), 65 per cent of Australians over the age of 16 had access to the Net and over 40 per cent of households had access. Australian Prime Minister John Howard told his parliament that Australia was now standing with the best in relation with the way it used information and computer technology. ...more

Travel Inn unveils hotspot plan

The UK's largest hotel chain is to offer WiFi access in every property within nine months. Susan Thomas, systems director of Travel Inn, said: 'The majority of our guests are business travellers and the demand for new technology is ever increasing. This will undoubtedly give us an edge over our competitors. ...more

Sony's Playstation wins an Emmy

The Sony Playstation's 10 years in the US have been marked with the awarding of an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Technology and Advanced New Media. The award recognises the console's role in pioneering the 3D polygonal-based gaming experience and over 100 million have been sold. Sony Computer Entertainment America president and CEO Kaz Hirai accepted the award at the 57th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards last night in New Jersey. ...more

ANALYSIS: Bad credit record

It's both the Internet's biggest burden and its biggest source of unwanted publicity, but attitudes towards the Web's role in supporting networks of paedophiles could be changing. High-profile arrests of well-known celebrities linked with paedophilic material are no longer followed by media witch-hunts blaming new technology for the spread of these abhorrent crimes. Rather, the police's investigating practices send out a message to anyone misusing the Web - if their credit card details have been passed across the Net, the cops could come knocking. ...more