Google makes Google Pack Brit-ish

Google has kindly made its Google Pack officially available for the UK, saving us having to download the .com flavour. Containing such freeware as Adobe Reader, Picasa, Google Screensaver and Firefox, it's a 'a free collection of essential software'. ...more

Dutch join anti-iTunes campaign

The Netherlands' consumer protection agency has joined its French and German counterparts in backing the Norway-led coalition of countries that are trying to force Apple to remove DRM restrictions from the iTunes Store. The Dutch Consumentenbond has filed a complaint with the country's antitrust authority alleging that Apple's practice of supporting only its own iPod portable players is illegal. 'What we want from Apple is that they remove the limitations that prevent you from playing a song you download from iTunes on any player other than an iPod,' spokesman van Kouwen said. ...more

Microsoft urges restrictions on AOL/Time Warner merger

Microsoft has asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to impose stricter restrictions on the proposed AOL/Time Warner merger and that it be granted access to Time Warner's cable network. An FTC decision has already been delayed twice, and Microsoft's intervention at this point could be seen as a tit for tat action in response to AOL's attempt to enter the fray as a friend of court in Microsoft's ongoing antitrust case (although not a friend of Microsoft). Microsoft's concern is that the merged company would dominate the Internet market both in terms of access and content. ...more

Linux Expo 2002: Penguins on the PlayStation

The Linux kit for PlayStation 2 has been out since May, but what are people doing with it? We caught up with Jason Doig, senior engineer at Sony, to find out just how the take up of the kit is going. He is insistent that the kit is not for gamers but for Linux enthusiasts with experience. Sony released the kit, says Doig, not to sell it to the masses, but to encourage enthusiasm and show support for the operating system that they themselves use. ...more

BMG trials new CD copy protection

Music giant BMG, the US subsidiary of Bertelsmann, is testing a new form of DRM in the US. The technology will be trialled on a new CD called `Comin' From Where I'm From` by Anthony Hamilton (no we haven't heard of him either). The new CD will contain two copies of each song. ...more