British Library to preserve digital collection indefinitely

IBM is developing a multi-million pound database to store the British Library's digital collections indefinitely. The announcement of the British Library Digital Library System (DLS) was made at the Frankfurt Book Fair and means that "preservation metadata" for every digital item, whether book, image or sound, will be constructed and stored so that the item will be retrievable, even if its original format becomes obsolete. Lynne Brindley, Chief Executive at the British Library, says that although today's writers often work on disk rather than paper, there is no guarantee that future equipment will be able to read it. ...more

Swindon shows off relic of golden age of East German arcade gaming

One of the last surviving arcade gaming machines from the former communist East Germany has found a home in the Museum of Computing in Swindon. It is one of only three surviving examples. The machine, known as a Poly Play, is one of only 1500 made in 1985 as the East German authorities attempted to demonstrate that it could match the West for developing decadent electronic entertainment. ...more

US gets first taste of Apple TV

Apple made its first major assault on the living room on Wednesday with the first shipments of the Apple TV device, a gadget that lets people take music, photos and video stored on a computer and play them on a television screen. The small silver box with a white Apple logo costs $299 and can store up to 50 hours of video, 9,000 songs, 25,000 photos or a combination thereof. It is available this week at Apple's online store, retail stores, and also from resellers. ...more

Philips doubles up with new portable players

Philips has unveiled a new 1,000-song micro audio jukebox with built-in FM radio. One of the gadgets to feature at this year's CeBit show in Hannover, the credit card-sized hdd070 (pictured, top) is 1.8cm thick and weighs 95g. ...more

Jobs talks innovation

Apple CEO Steve Jobs continued to beat the drum for innovation in his latest interview, with Business Week. Challenging - albeit implicitly - those who insist that the company's future remains uncertain, Jobs pointed out that during the current downturn in technology markets, Apple and dominant PC maker Dell are the only two computer companies making a profit. 'A lot of companies have chosen to downsize,' he said. ...more