UPDATED: EFF to compile chart of bad patents

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is to set up a bad patent chart - with a view to bringing its patent busting squad to bear on the top 10. In a kind of perverse Patent Idol contest, the EFF is asking the public to vote on the worst software and internet related patents to build up a chart of bad patents. EFF staff attorney Jason Schultz, who heads the project, said he can't wait to see what the contest turns up. ...more

Toshiba handheld unveiled

Toshiba has taken the wraps off its Pocket PC e570 handheld. Already available in Japan as the Genio, the PDA is targeted at the corporate market, resplendent in its PocketPC 2002 livery and the high price that entails. With no official price point fixed, a Toshiba spokesperson reckoned it would sell for around ?375 ex VAT. ...more

UK games chart: Prince of Persia cuts a swathe into the top three

The first games chart for 2005 has been released, and Ubi Soft's Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (pictured) has climbed up to number three, after five weeks in the chart. But Need For Speed: Underground 2 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas continue to lead the pile. As you would expect, there are no new entries to report at this time of year. ...more

CD copy protection to rise

Record companies are preparing to increase the use of copy-protection on music CDs following a report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) that the number of CDs sold worldwide in 2001 fell by 6.5 per cent. The IFPI attributes much of the fall to, 'the increased availability of free music via mass digital copying and the Internet. ...more

P2P networks to work to weed out pornography

Peer to Peer network operators are to work with law enforcement agencies to target paedophiles swapping child pornography on their networks. The move comes as the US congress is becoming increasingly concerned that P2P networks are become more a popular method of spreading such material. Peer to Peer network operators are to work with law enforcement agencies to target paedophiles swapping child pornography on their networks. ...more