US trade body moves to stop pop-up spam

The US Federal Trade Commission is seeking a court injunction against a company that is using a little-known feature in Internet Explorer for Windows to send unsolicited pop-up advertising to Web users. Unlike normal pop-ups, which although they can be annoying are at least generated by the website you are visiting, the new 'spam' pop-ups can appear at any time. They are delivered via IE's Windows Messenger Service, which Microsoft developed primarily to allow systems administrators to send messages to users. ...more

Office Communications Server goes public with first beta

Microsoft has launched the first public beta of its Office Communications Server and Office Communicator 2007 client suite. The prime mover for the system is to offer a unified communications platform, adapted for technologies, such as VoIP, that responds to the context of the user. For example, presence features tell everyone on the system the availability of other users as well as the best means to contact them, and simply clicking the name of the user you want to contact will route a call to their office, mobile, voicemail, or whichever means of communication is most effective. ...more

MacUser Awards 2003: winners announced

Apple again was the star at the UK's most prestigious Mac awards, picking up six Maxines, one more than it garnered last year. The 20in Cinema Display, 40GB iPod, Final Cut Pro and Soundtrack all claimed the 'best in their class' gong while the Power Mac G5 was given the Readers' Award for Hardware of the Year and the Special Award for Product of the Year. Canon and Adobe picked up two awards each; Canon for its PowerShot A70 camera and CanoScan LiDE 50 scanner and Adobe for Acrobat 6 Professional and Photoshop. ...more

ATI promises desktop 'parity' with mobile graphics launch

ATI has recast its Radeon X800 in mobile form. Raising the bar for notebook graphics, the Mobility Radeon 9800 is aimed squarely at mobile gamers. 'ATI has a proven track record of mobile graphics innovation with first to market advantages for upgradeable graphics, DirectX 9 support and now high definition mobile gaming," said David Cummings, Director of Marketing, Mobile Business Unit. ...more

Sony to launch 'world's first 4K resolution' projector

Sony describes its SRX-R110 high-end projector as 'the world's first 4K resolution projector' (4096 x 2160). Based on its own SXRD (Silicon Crystal Reflective Display) panel technology, the projector is designed for scenarios requiring 'ultra-high resolution' and wide colour gamut projectors, for example digital cinema, post-production and stage events. Meeting the Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI) System Specification standards, it provides a contrast ratio of 2000:1 and a brightness of 10,000 ANSI lumens. ...more