Google denies China licensing claims

Google has denied claims by a Chinese newspaper that it does not have the necessary licence to operate inside the country. The Beijing News said the Google.cn does not have the ICP licence that is a prerequisite for running an Internet service in China. ...more

Microsoft expects PC sales to slow and acknowledges Linux threat

Microsoft foresees a slowdown in PC sales in 2005 which, it says will affect its own growth. It has also warned that sales of Linux may affect Microsoft's revenues in the coming year. The warnings have been given in the company's annual submission to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). ...more

New QuickTime 5 preview released

Apple has released another Public Preview for its QuickTime media system. QuickTime 5 Public Preview 2 features enhancements suggested by users of the initial preview version. It adds support for skins, allowing users to customize its appearance, and 'enhanced' AppleScript commands. ...more

Panasonic introduces industry-first 12x zoom

Panasonic releases a beltful of mobile devices - including a digital camera with a 12x optical zoom The DMC-FZ1 boasts the industry's first 12x optical zoom, claims Panasonic - equivalent to a 35-420mm zoom lens on a 35mm film camera. Panasonic's Mega Optical Image Stabiliser keeps vibration to a minimum, including that caused by pressing the shutter button, the company claims. The camera also comes with technology developed to speed up power up time and reduce the time between pressing the button and capturing the image. ...more

US record industry subpoenas computerless family

The US record industry has added further weight to suspicions that its file sharing allegations may not be entirely reliable by issuing a subpoena to a family that does not own a computer. Georgia's Rockmark Journal reports that the Walls family were told by a newspaper reporter that they were the subject of a lawsuit; they had not received any notification themselves. 'I don't understand this,' James Walls said. ...more