Tech giants team on chip future

The team of companies that developed the Cell processor is working to a new five-year plan. The microprocessor design - destined for the PlayStation 3 and next-generation workstations - was developed by IBM, Sony and Toshiba and the electronics giants have an announced a new five-year phase for joint technology development. Having previously collaborated on SOI (silicon-on-insulator) process technologies at 90 and 65 nanometres (nm), they will now focus on 32nm development. ...more

TDK plugs P2P into Bluetooth phones

Why pay for content when you can download it off KaZaA is a question familiar to computer users. Mobile phone users however have not had to deal with that conundrum as they have been stuck with expensive ringtones and content downloaded off their network. TDK though is hoping that the lure of free content from peer-to-peer networks will prove tempting enough for users of Bluetooth-enabled phones to stump up ?38 for its Fone Styla gadgetry. ...more

BSkyB suspends Net content after Microsoft patches DRM

BSkyB has suspended film downloads and Web access to sports clips until Microsoft patches a breach in the DRM technology designed to prevent unauthorised copying of the content. Sky said that the services would remain offline until the flaw had been fixed. 'We took this step as a precaution after Microsoft said it was working on an update to its Digital Rights Management software, which is used to protect content on Sky by broadband against unauthorised copying or distribution,' a spokesman for the satellite TV and broadband provider said. ...more

Sun engulfs Cobalt

Sun Microsystems, the largest manufacturer of Web page servers announced on Tuesday that it would by out Cobalt Networks in a $2bn stock deal. The purchase comes less than a year after Cobalt's successful IPO, and the company's shares have since rocketed by 500 per cent, hitting a high of about $128. Sun manufacture expensive high-end business servers and seeks to strengthen its waning hold of the rapidly expanding market, predicted to double this year, with the acquisition of Cobalt, which makes easy to install server appliances for SMEs. ...more

Budweiser teaches the world to say

Are you infuriated by the current batch of Budweiser adverts that are clogging up TV screens everywhere? Well now you can suffer even more with the help of a new Whassup-flavoured messaging system. If you surf over to the Budweiser Web site here, not only can you watch all the adverts in the Whassup series, but you can also download a specially themed messaging system. Using Deskplayer, the system lets you send animated messages to your pals featuring the characters from the adverts. ...more