Microsoft takes on jpeg with new HD Photo format

Microsoft has introduced a new file format for digital images that promises higher image quality and greater preservation of data in compressed images. HD Photo - the new name for Windows Media Photo - has been developed to compress images with up to twice the efficiency of jpeg but with with fewer artefacts. The result, Microsoft says, is higher-quality images that are half the file size of the corresponding jpeg. ...more

PocketZip hits 100Mb

Iomega has released a 100Mb version of its PocketZip drive. Previously limited to 40Mb, the PocketZip drive could be an ideal way of keeping your data mobile while keeping down the costs of doing so. The drive will be backwards compatible and able to read and write to the 40Mb disks and the 100Mb disks will still be inexpensive (about $10 each when bought in a ten-pack - currently 40Mb disks cost about ?8 each in the UK in boxes of ten, so expect that figure to be slightly more for the 100Mb version by the time it reaches our shores). ...more

Record industry seeks to 'sex up' music buying

John Dyer, the general manager of Domino Records, the Arctic Monkey's label, will keynote a seminar next week that will debate how to persuade the public to buy more music. The 'Pimp My Tune: Making Music Compete With Free' seminar will look at ways of 'sexing up' music purchasing options, asking the question 'Is a product and/or marketing re-think necessary to get the public more enthused about the legal product?' at a time when filesharing is outstripping paid-for downloads by 40 to one. Issues under consideration will include traditional 'added-value' options such as bonus tracks, commentary, videos and more comprehensive liner notes are all traditional options. ...more

MPs call for better labelling of digital content

MPs have called for new labelling regulations for digital content, so that consumers know exactly what they can and cannot do with their downloads. The recommendation comes in the All Parliamentary Internet Group's (APIG) report on copy protection (DRM) systems, which is published today. The report also calls for an inquiry into digital music pricing and warns makers of DRM systems to learn from the experience of Sony BMG in the US and avoid DRM technologies that install hidden, virus-like files on users' computers. ...more

More PC doom and gloom from Gartner

Analyst Gartner Dataquest has marked another step downwards for the European PC industry with the announcement that the sector has experienced its first ever instance of a decline in shipments. The Q2 figures for 2001 show 6.02 million shipments, a four per cent drop over the same quarter last year. ...more