CES 2007: Vista Ultimate Extras revealed

The first major CES keynote, from Microsoft founder Bill Gates, revealed plenty of things we were expecting, and some we weren't. The question of what exactly Vista's Ultimate Extras will consist of has been one of the final surprises Microsoft has been able to keep mostly under wraps, until today. Ultimate Extras are the downloadable add-ons available exclusively to users of Windows Vista Ultimate Edition, and as yet are unavailable in preview copies of Vista. ...more

China checks Net freedom

The Chinese government has issued regulations forbidding Web sites in China from writing their own news. Reuters has reported that the Web sites must rely on state media for their material with whom they must sign a contract. The sites will also have to gain approval from a State Council department before publishing material and must cite all sources. ...more

The swift sword of cyber justice

Small claims court goes online. Not so much Jarndyce versus Jarndyce as V.90 versus V. ...more

MP3 player pioneer Rio goes into liquidation

Rio, the company that made the first MP3 players, has gone into liquidation. It's parent company, D&M Holdings, said that the portable player market now requires too much investment for too little return. The first Rio player was the subject of a lawsuit by the RIAA, who argued that, in the early days of P2P, it only encouraged and facilitated illegal file sharing. ...more

BBC looks to BitTorrent for new audience

The BBC is to make classic programming available in high definition through a BitTorrent file-sharing service. The deal falls under the BBC's initiatve to attract as large an audience as possible and will include popular series such as Red Dwarf, Doctor Who and the League of Gentleman, as well as classic episodes of Fawlty Towers. Downloads will be protected with DRM, so will prevent the programs from being illegally shared. ...more