Gameboy Advance fever grips Japan

The new Gameboy Advance goes on sale in Japan on March 21, but before a single unit has hit the shelves it seems that Nintendo's latest little marvel is already a success. Pre-orders for the successor to the Gameboy have already topped 2.7 million units and Nintendo is rubbing its hands with glee. ...more

UK hacker loses US extradition appeal

Gary McKinnon, a UK computer expert, accused by Washington of the 'biggest military hack of all time', has lost his extradition appeal. Gary McKinnon was arrested in 2002 following charges by US prosecutors that he illegally accessed 97 government computers - including Pentagon, US army, navy and NASA systems - supposedly causing $700,000 (?354,355) worth of damage. Two of Britain's leading judges rejected a High Court challenge by McKinnon to an earlier court order backed by the Home Secretary that he should be extradited. ...more

Napster requests another hearing

Napster has asked a US federal appeals court to review the recent judicial decision to shut down its song-swapping section. A US Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that an injunction to shut down Napster was warranted because of a liability for copyright infringements taking place. It seems that Napster's strategy is to emphasise that the ruling would cut across lawful uses of its technology. ...more

Update: Microsoft responds to Japanese office raid

Microsoft has said it will remove the controversial clauses from Windows contracts with computer makers following raids by Japan's Federal Trade Commission on Microsoft offices in Japan yesterday. Officers seized documents following complaints that the contracts were unfair and demanded that computer and device makers using Windows did not sue Microsoft even if the operating system infringed their patents. Microsoft says the provisions in the contracts have previously passed scrutiny by the EU in 2001, the US Department of Justice in the mid-1990s and also during the procedure of assessing appropriate remedies during the more recent antitrust case - and survived. ...more

More men work from home

A government survey has shown that more men than women work from home. The survey, which questioned 7,500 workers, found that 40 per cent worked from home. But contrary to popular belief (according to last Friday's FT report) home-based men outnumbered the women. ...more