Creative inspires upgrades

The complete audio set-up out of the box. Creative Labs is combining its Inspire 5.1 5300 speaker system with its SoundBlaster Audigy Player PCI add-in sound card in a bundle priced at ?149. ...more

Microsoft software to track carbon emissions

Microsoft and The Clinton Foundation have announced a partnership to develop new technology to help large cities track carbon emissions. The software and Web applications are part of broader set of programs being introduced by the foundation led by former President Bill Clinton, who is speaking at the C40 climate summit this week for the mayors of the world's largest cities. Photo The software tools aim to create a standardized way for cities all around world to measure their greenhouse gas emissions. ...more

Aibo receives 40,000 orders

The virtual dog that's making all the headlines proves he's not a flash in the pan. Sony has revealed that it has received 40,000 orders for the new version of its robot dog Aibo in the four weeks since its launch on November. A spokesperson revealed that orders for the new ERS-210 topped 40,000 on December 11, while the company has already sold over 45,000 units of its original Aibo unit worldwide. ...more

Sun preps Java Desktop 2 for May release

As Sun prepares a new version of its Java Desktop system, vendors are queuing up to sell it. The latest is US supermarket Walmart, which is to sell it loaded onto Microtel computers at prices from $298 to $698. Sun says it has signed agreements with 21 computer makers in the last four months to ship the system. ...more

Vista RTM code delayed - report

Microsoft may be forced to delay the launch of the Vista operating system following a last minute hitch in the testing. According to reports, a major bug emerged in one of the latest builds of the operating system that caused a complete crash of the system and necessitated a reinstallation. According to the Taiwan-based news service Digitimes, local PC manufacturers have been told that the RTM (Release to Manufacturing) code they were expecting in the fourth week of October has been put back to the second week of November. ...more