Optical disc production becomes a profitless business

Global prices of polycarbonate (PC) are at a high of US$3.5 per kilogram and are making production of optical discs almost profitless in spite of a significant increase in orders, Taiwanese makers in the industry pointed out. The Taiwanese makers originally expected the price level of PC to drop this quarter. ...more

MP3 is new political party

Having a good time and putting the fun back into politics are the stated aims of the MP3 party, the latest addition to the UK's political line-up. Despite the implication in its name, the party claims that, 'its aims are not limited to represent and defend the interest of an "MP3-community".' It also, 'intends to pursue much broader political aims that concern the younger generation of Britons,' apparently with policies based on 'the well-developed cybernetic theory of Complex Systems'. ...more

Birmingham to connect high-speed city-wide network

Birmingham City Council has announced plans to connect 450 schools, 60 libraries and 240 council-related offices to its custom built IP network, providing IP telephony and multimedia streaming among other services. The council hopes that the new network will help meet its objective of saving ?1 billion of local government costs over 10 years, through the implementation of technologies such as IP telephony. Deployment of part of the converged IP network has already saved ?350,000 a year, it says, through improved communications and by reducing network management costs by 40 per cent. ...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

Intel claims quad-core first with new Xeons and Core 2 Extreme chips

Intel has gone quad-core. Specifically, Quad-Core Intel Xeons will address the server and workstation markets while the Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core processor is aimed at the desktop. The multi-processing enabled by four combined processors will, claims Intel, improve speeds and responsiveness for servers and better power demanding multimedia desktop apps. ...more