Sony hooks up MiniDisc Walkmans to PCs

Sony has increased the capacity of its memory-stick walkmans and made its MiniDisc players networkable in a Walkman rebranding exercise. The new MiniDisc player, called the MZ-R700PC, comes with a USB cable and PC-link converter so that MiniDisc enthusiasts can convert downloaded MP3 and WMA files into analogue and write them to MiniDisc. Meanwhile, the memory-stick and Flash Walkmans are now called Network Walkmans, though little else has changed. ...more

Microsoft moves to block friend of court filings

Microsoft has appealed to the US Court of Appeals to disallow the filing of court briefs by supporters of the government anti-trust suit. The court had asked the government and Microsoft whether groups hoping to file briefs should be allowed to do so, and Microsoft has now outlined two objections. First, it argues that its competitors should not be allowed to file multiple 25-page amicus briefs, or, if they are participate at all, they should file a single 25-page joint brief. ...more

Researchers power up gas-turbine laptops

Laptops may soon be powered by tiny engines instead of heavy batteries after researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) managed to squeeze a gas-turbine engine into a silicon chip the size of a two-pound coin. The scientists at MIT's Energy Research Council believe that the mini-motor could run for 10 times longer than a battery of the same weight and would be capable of powering a range of electronic devices, including laptops, mobile phones and radios. The MIT research team, led by professor Alan Epstein of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, set out to apply the gas-turbine technology that can efficiently power cities to the problem of supplying energy to portable devices. ...more

Secure Shell found to be not so secure

A number of vendors' versions of the Secure Shell transport layer are open to attack, a company has found. The SSH transport layer is the source of a whole range of security options which are supposed to protect networks from attack. Among the options SSH provides are strong encryption, cryptographic host authentication, and integrity protection. ...more

Evesham lifts Via's carbon-free chip for green PC

Via launched its 'carbon free' C7-D processor last month and now a similarly green PC is being launched by Evesham based on the VIA chip. There's also support for the concept of an eco-friendly machine from Tranquil PC. Suitably unveiled in the green environs of Kew Gardens, the Evesham Crusader Carbon3 system emphasises its green credentials. ...more