Germans rescue Napster

German media conglomerate Bertelsmann is to acquire Napster in a deal worth $8 million. The money will be made available to pay off Napster's creditors, but the amount represents a considerable saving for Bertelsmann, which had a $16 million bid rejected by Napster board members last week. The rejection led to the resignation of Napster chief executive Konrad Hilbers and creator Shawn Fanning; both will now return to run the company. ...more

Corega to sell 802.11g products in March

One more company has announced that it will launch 802.11g-draft standard wireless networking products, joining the likes of Buffalo Technology, D-Link, Linksys and Netgear. Corega said it would begin selling Corega-branded wireless network interface cards (NICs) for 13,800 yen (about $116) and sets of NICs and access points for around $320, all supporting the new WLAN technology, in March in Japan. ...more

Microsoft warns of critical vulnerability in JPEG images

In its September security bulletin Microsoft has highlighted a 'critical' vulnerability in the processing of JPEG images across a huge swathe of its software products. The bulletin says that a specially built JPEG may cause a buffer overrun which will allow an attack to gain control of the machine. This might raise a few eyebrows. ...more

Works Suite 2004 geared for October launch

Microsoft's Works Suite 2004 is set for launch 3 October, with new editions of every application except Word and Works. Personal productivity app Works 7.0 and Word 2002 remain unchanged in Microsoft's suite of office software for the home, but Money, Encarta, Picture It!, and AutoRoute all come clad in 2004 attire. ...more

Pics, music and video From PC to TV wirelessly

Connectivity specialist D-Link has introduced what it calls the Wireless Media Player which can connect a PC to a standard television or stereo errr... ...more