Song lyrics heading for track information

The company that provides instant CD track information for applications including Apple's iTunes and Napster has obtained licences to add song lyrics to that information. Gracenote, whose database is accessed every time a CD is ripped in any of dozens of subscriber applications, announced that it has obtained the rights to words of more than one million songs from major publishers including BMG, Universal and Sony/ATV. 'When we first approached the publishers with this, they were excited,' Ross Blanchard, Gracenote's vice president of business development told Reuters. ...more

eLearning gets Flashy

Macromedia has announced a September release for Authorware 6.0, the latest version of its tools for creating online, interactive learning applications. New features include 'one button publishing' of Web and CD-ROM content and support for MP3 audio streaming. ...more

Servoy bids for database market

Servoy R2 is a new database development suite which, it claims, offers a powerful alternative to FileMaker and 4D, and can extend right up to enterprise-level mainframe use. Dutch developer Servoy said its product is the first to make it possible to develop quick data-entry systems on desktop machines which can then be deployed on the highest level of corporate server for cross-platform use, without any re-coding. According to Servoy CEO, Jan Aleman, Servoy R2 can connect to multiple data sources simultaneously, and work with all major databases including MySQL, SyBase, Oracle, Informix, IBM DB/2 and more, on any platform. ...more

IBM sells the Cell outside the gaming market

IBM has signed a deal with US systems developer Mercury Computer Systems to licence the revolutionary Cell processor. This deal is the first that sells the new design outside of the games market. The Cell chip, jointly developed by IBM, Sony and Toshiba, combines nine processors on a single piece of silicon and is set to revolutionise graphics processing. ...more

Open Rights Group opposes e-voting plans

The Open Rights Group (ORG) has condemned the Government's decision to introduce e-voting in selected areas of the UK for the 2007 elections. The digital rights campaign group said that there are serious questions over the security, accuracy and reliability of the technology that will be used. 'E-voting is a technology that threatens the integrity of our elections,' it said in a statement, expressing surprise that the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) has chosen 'expensive' telephone and Internet voting methods. ...more