Mac OS X 10.1.3 update released

Following several weeks' speculation that it was imminent, Apple has released the latest update to Mac OS X. The 10.1. ...more

US tech companies bid to annul wireless patent

Some of the world's biggest technology companies have joined together defeat a key patent claimed by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). The companies include Microsoft, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Apple and Netgear. At issue is a patent issued in the US to CSIRO in 1996 that, the organisation claims, increases the speed of a wireless network up to five times. ...more

The Xbox revealed - the specs lowdown

Microsoft has finally lifted the lid on its much hyped games console at a press conference today in San Francisco. The little that has been known of the specs for the Xbox so far has suggested it's basically a PC in a console box. Today's announcement confirms the machine will sport a 733MHz processor along with an 8MB hard drive. ...more

Critical flaw found in Microsoft's DirectX

Microsoft has alerted Windows users to what it describes as a critical flaw in its DirectX graphics and audio environment. Pete Philips, a penetration tester with S3 at Integralis, told us the flaw may be particularly tempting for attackers. 'Most people don't consider multimedia files to be hostile, and would be more likely to click on them than, say, an executable file. ...more

Hollywood gives up on DVD Jon

Norwegian police, acting on behalf of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), have decided not to appeal the court acquittal of 'DVD Jon'. This brings to a close the case that the movie houses hoped would set a legal precedent on circumventing DVD protection. Twenty-year-old Jon Johansen found himself at the wrong end of the MPAA lawsuit when, at the age of 15, he wrote the DeCSS program that allowed him to watch his DVD movies on his computer, and which was later published online. ...more