iPods added to inflation-tracking basket of goods

Champagne and iPods are being added to the ordinary household shopping basket, and slippers and chocolate biscuits are chucked out. At least, this is the nominal 'basket' of goods used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to officially track price changes and measure inflation. As well as MP3 players, music downloads are also being added into the mix, to present a more meaningful reflection of current consumer spending patterns. ...more

Microsoft stays EU's hand during appeal

The EU's long-running anti-competition case involving Microsoft has taken another turn. Microsoft has successfully requested for a suspension of the Commission's proposed remedies, pending the judgement of its appeal. The request was filed with the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg on Friday, June 25. ...more

Microsoft targets robots

Software giant Microsoft is taking a first step away from office software towards more industrial applications with the preview of the Microsoft Robotics Studio. Aimed at a range of robotic researchers in areas as diverse as academic, hobbyist and commercial development, the Robotics software is engineered differently from the average desktop operating system. In order to function and respond in the real world, it has to be able to receive and process concurrent information from its sensors in real time and feed it back instantly as a response through its motors - and that is without any autonomous decision making built in. ...more

PC Fest shapes up

Details are out for the PC Fest computer roadshow that will be hitting the streets in the autumn. It's a chance to get your hands on products from the likes of Sony, HP, Iomega, Handspring, Symantec, Adobe, Canon and Macromedia, and have your questions answered by technical staff on the spot. Whether it's monitors, printers, scanners, PDAs, creative software applications or any other peripheral, the idea is that you get the chance to try before you buy, along with receiving advice. ...more

Thumb-sized digicam for Palm-sized PDA

Veo has launched its Photo Traveler digital camera for SD-ready Palm handhelds in the UK. Costing a penny under £80 and available from the likes of PC World, Currys and Dixons, the camera fits into the SD slot on m125, m130, m500 and Tungsten T handhelds. The point and shoot camera captures images in full 24-bit colour on its VGA (640x480) CMOS sensor. ...more