CES: Blu-ray rules out merger with HD-DVD camp

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BRDA) flexed its muscles at the Consumer Electronics Show by announcing four key new members to its group. It dismissed suggestions that its technology could merge with the competing HD DVD format. A spokesperson from Blu-ray said several CES visitors had suggested the two technologies should come together to ease the transition to a ubiquitous next-generation DVD standard. ...more

Dell goes into company blogging

Dell is the latest company to set up a company blog called One 2 One with the promise of 'Direct Conversations with Dell'. As the world's biggest seller of computers, the company has come in for its fair share of criticism over its customer service and support. The blog is said to be inspired by Channel 9, a blog set up by a Microsoft employee with the blessing of the powers-that-be in Redmond as a way of putting a human face on a big corporation. ...more

IBM claims title for world's smallest SRAM

IBM's development labs are claiming that they have created a static RAM cell half as small as anyone else's experimental version and ten times smaller than today's commercial technology. Comprising six transistors, an SRAM cell is a fast type of memory which doesn't need to be constantly refreshed as with conventional DRAM, but will hold a charge as a 'bit' so long as the power is on. In order to shrink the cell down to the point where you can get 50,000 of them across the area of a human hair, IBM says it optimised the circuit layout and design of the cell. ...more

Symantec sues Microsoft

A bitter fight has broken out between Microsoft and security specialist Symantec that could threaten the launch of the Vista and Longhorn server operating systems. Symantec claims that Microsoft is illegally using its security code in the new OSs and has filed a lawsuit claiming damages and an asking for a court injunction to prevent their market debut. Any legal delay to the rollout of the much delayed Vista would be another blow to Microsoft as it attempts to build market awareness ahead of the official launch at the end of this year. ...more

3G for the third-world?

Boeing Satellite Systems and IBM have created the world's most powerful digital signal processor (DSP) capable of providing wireless communications in areas where telephone lines and other communications infrastructures don't exist or are poorly developed. The DSP is as powerful as 3,000 PII-based PCs and five-times more powerful than its predecessor and delivers medium-bandwidth data and voice services. It's currently sitting at the heart of the Thuraya satellite - in orbit over the Middle East, North and Central Africa, Europe, the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia - and will start supplying commercial services as early as this month. ...more