Novell offers standard Linux pricing for IBM blade servers

Novell is to offer standard pricing for the SLES (Suse Linux Enterprise Server) platform on IBM blade servers, regardless of the hardware configuration. The offer for the IBM BladeCenter chassis is independent of processor type or number, catering for Intel, AMD and Power-based CPUs in a single chassis with a single subscription. It is also the first Linux distribution to support all IBM hardware platforms, including IBM's Power and zSeries. ...more

Microsoft and MTV get the Urge

MTV is joining forces with Microsoft to launch Urge, a music downloads service, early next year. The software giant will supply the technology for the service, which will sell copy-protected WMA files from a start-up catalogue of more than two million tracks. MTV would not say how much it will be charging, but did reveal that it will offer both a download and subscription service. ...more

P2P traffic streams to BitTorrent

BitTorrent is fast becoming the leading p2p network as video surpasses music as the most popularly shared content medium, according to a survey by iPoque. Indeed figures from its analysis of German Internet usage show that BitTorrent has already usurped eDonkey in terms of the amount of data traffic that each protocol generates: BitTorrent 53 per cent and eDonkey 43 per cent. Statistics from the rest of Europe show eDonkey still slightly ahead, but the trend is towards torrents. ...more

CE giants team on DRM-ready hardware

Four of the world's largest consumer electronics companies have announced plans to introduce products in 2006 with integrated digital rights management technology. Sony, Philips, Panasonic and Samsung revealed in January that they were working with a US company, Intertrust, to develop a DRM platform known as Marlin JDA. The platform is designed to create a common core standard which each CE manufacturer can tailor to its own specific requirements. ...more

Handspring Visor wired for sound

Good Technology is to unveil its new MP3 player for the Handspring Visor at the DEMO Conference in California. The SoundsGood device connects to the PDA via the Springboard expansion slot, turning the Visor into a fully-fledged MP3 player. The device comes with 64MB of memory that allows the playback of over an hour of music. ...more