UPDATED: Playfair cracks iTunes DRM protection

The digital rights management technology that Apple uses to restrict the copying of songs bought from its iTunes Music Store has been cracked. An anonymous programmer has released software called Playfair that takes one of the iTMS AAC files, decodes it using a key obtained from an iPod or Microsoft Windows system and then writes the new, decoded version to disk as a regular AAC Audio File. It can also, if required, copy the metadata tags that describe the song, including the cover art, to the new file. ...more

ATI founder stands down

The founder of ATI and current chairman is stepping down and leaving the company to spend more time with his family. K.Y. ...more

Sharp to launch world's largest 65in LCD television

Sharp is poised to introduce the world's largest LCD television when it launches a 65in model in Japan in August, before making it available in the US and Europe later this year. However the company only expects to make around 300 per month, as the 1.68bn Yen price (around $15,500) is well out of the range of most TV buyers. ...more

Microsoft boss says 'stolen' is most common iPod format

Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer indirectly labelled iPod users as 'thieves' during a recent meeting in London. Silicon.com reports that Ballmer said, 'We've had DRM in Windows for years. ...more

IBM announces 'double-gate' transistor

IBM has announced the development of an alternative type of transistor that could double the speed of conventional ones. A transistor is essentially an electrical switch that contains a gate that controls current flow. As these components become increasingly smaller in order to increase the speed, the gates become less efficient at switching. ...more