Hitachi buys IBM disk drive business

Hitachi is to acquire IBM's hard drive business for $2.05 billion, which it will merge with its own hard drive operations to form a new company. Initially, Hitachi will own 70 per cent of the new company. ...more

Law Commission calls for review of Internet libel.

The Law Commission today called for a review of the law covering defamation on the Internet. Its findings follow an investigation requested by the Lord Chancellor at the beginning of the year. He asked the Commission to look into whether the existing law forced ISPs and online publishers to remove Web sites from their service if someone claims a site is libelling them. ...more

Ears grow free with kids' MP3 player

A German company has introduced a portable music player designed especially for young children aged six to 12. In order to protect kids' hearing, the maximum volume of Maxfield's MAX-JOY player is limited to 60dB while the headphones have been designed 'not to interfere with developing ears'. The player has a rugged dirt, water and impact resistant outer casing assembled with safety screws designed to prevent 'little fingers' dismantling the unit. ...more

Celeron hits the 1.2Ghz notch

The inevitable speed creeping continues, with a new Intel Celeron chip clocked at 1.2Ghz. Adding 10Mhz more to the previous speediest Celeron, this usurper, as well as being manufactured to the 0. ...more

Microsoft used undocumented Windows APIs - Iowa testimony

Microsoft used undocumented APIs that allowed its developers to write programs that worked better with Windows than competitors', according to the latest testimony in the Iowa antitrust action against the company. The claim was made by software expert Ronald Alepin, giving evidence on behalf of the plaintiffs, as the court case resumed after its Christmas hiatus. According to the plaintiff's account of the court proceedings, Alepin referred to a series of internal Microsoft emails, that he said showed that although these APIs (application programming interfaces) were provided to developers 'they were simply inserted into several megabytes of notes onto a CD-ROM, in a "very low profile" intended to "discourage" developers from using them and to provide enough "air cover" to allow Microsoft to say they were documented'. ...more