Web inventor asks US Patent Office to anull Eolas patent

Tim Berners-Lee has written to the US Patent Office to ask that a patent - key to the operation of browsers - which was awarded to Eolas be re-examined. In the letter, Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director, urges the office to consider critical prior art (evidence that the concepts described in the patent were already in existence) that he believes renders the Eolas patent invalid. If Eolas is allowed to proceed with the enforcement of its patent, Berners-Lee forsees, 'substantial economic and technical damage' to the operation of World Wide Web. ...more

Take a break - it's National Slacker Day

If you are reading this at work, it is time to take a break - today is the third annual National Slacker Day. The timing of the event couldn't have been better. With the bank holiday looming, what better excuse to have a long weekend? Oncus, the UK record label behind the event, claims that, 'Everyday, otherwise creative and intelligent people are driven to hair loss and road rage due to an unhealthy "work comes first" stress driven culture. ...more

Yamaha burns at light speed

Yamaha has put forward its super-burning CD-RW offering in the form of the LightSpeed CRW2200 Series. Like the Iomega announced yesterday, it features impressive specs: 40-speed read, an 'industry first' 20-speed write and ten-speed rewrite performance. The drive also features Partial Constant Angular Velocity (P-CAV) technology, which keeps the disc spinning at a constant speed while adjusting the data transfer rate in rewriting mode. ...more

IBM and Sony showcase next-gen Cell processor

The first 'Cell' processor-based workstation has been powered up, declare the joint developers IBM, Sony and Toshiba. The prototype workstation features the next generation microprocessor aimed at digital entertainment devices such as the next-gen gaming consoles. 'Cell processor-based workstations will totally change the digital content creation environment,' boasts Masayuki Chatani, corporate CTO of Sony Computer Entertainment. ...more

Microsoft offers new release candidate for Windows Server 2003

Microsoft has posted an R2 release candidate of its upcoming upgrade for Windows Server 2003. Building on the original Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1), R2 is an updated release of the Windows Server 2003 operating system that aims to extend connectivity and reach throughout an organisation. In particular, Microsoft has targeted servers at branch offices to bring them under the central umbrella. ...more