Apple ships iPod shuffle reset utility... again

Apple has posted a reset utility for the iPod shuffle first and second generation players. Rather confusingly it's called version 1.0, despite it having released a version 1. ...more

Microsoft leads drive for universal dock

Microsoft is leading a consortium of electronics companies to develop an industry-standard dock connector for portable devices such as MP3 players. The working group has been set up by the Consumer Electronics Association's Technology and Standards Mobile Electronics Committee (CEATSMEC) to create an electrical and mechanical specification for dock that can be used both in the home and in the car. Jal Jaisimha, lead program manager off Microsoft's Windows Digital Media Division, will chair the working group. ...more

Panasonic to test Blu-ray in Hollywood

Panasonic is bringing Blu-ray closer to home for Hollywood. Panasonic Corporation of North America will establish a Panasonic Hollywood Blu-ray Testing Centre (PHBTC) within Hollywood, reports DigiTimes. The centre will operate within the company's existing Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory. ...more

UK games chart: Football is the flavour of the week

A number of seasoned games stage a recovery in this week's ELSPA UK games chart. Multi-format football titles such as FIFA 2005, Pro Evolution Soccer 4 and Football Manager 2005 lead the way, but there is no knocking Need For Speed: Underground 2 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas from the top of the pile. EA Sport's FIFA 2005 (pictured) is still the top football title, up to three from four, followed by Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 4, up to six from eight, and Sega's Football Manager 2005, up to nine from fifteen. ...more

Microsoft's stakes Web services claim with huge data centre

In a century-old farming town in central Washington state, Microsoft has built a farm for the Internet age. But rather than corn or cows, this farm teems with computer servers and data storage systems that will serve as the backbone of Microsoft's effort to combat escalating competition on the Web from Google and others. Microsoft's new data centre in Quincy, Washington, is its largest 'server farm' to date - big enough to house seven football fields - and a physical manifestation of the company's giant ambitions to be a force in the world of Web services. ...more