Critical flaw found in Microsoft's DirectX

Microsoft has alerted Windows users to what it describes as a critical flaw in its DirectX graphics and audio environment. Pete Philips, a penetration tester with S3 at Integralis, told us the flaw may be particularly tempting for attackers. 'Most people don't consider multimedia files to be hostile, and would be more likely to click on them than, say, an executable file. ...more

Lite-ON goes CE with its first hard disk DVD recorder

Lite-ON has stepped further into the consumer arena with its first hard disk DVD recorder. Best-known for its range of optical disc drives for PCs, the Taipei-based company is hoping to stake a claim to the front room with its ?350 LVW5045. It boasts all the features you'd expect of hard disk recording, such as time shifting so that you can 'pause' live TV while it buffers on to the disk, and watch different parts of a program while it is being recorded. ...more

US Safety Commission warns: do not use laptops on your lap

We know America can be a litigious and over-cautious society, but confirmation is seemingly provided by a new recommendation from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In the wake of the recent 'fire hazard' battery recalls, it is now warning: do not use your laptop computer on your lap. The CPSC states that it is aware of at least 47 incidents involving smoke or fire related to laptop computers, between January 2001 and August 2006. ...more

LindowsOS 4.0 'takes the pain out of Linux'

The much heralded version 4.0 of the LindowsOS version of Linux has been released by Lindows.com Inc. ...more

IDF Fall 2003: Bulverde showcased as next-gen XScale processor

The successor to Intel?s XScale processor, 'Bulverde', was showcased today at the Mobile Technology keynote at IDF. And multimedia muscle is Intel's pitch for this future element of its Personal Client Architecture. In his keynote presentation of Bulverde, Ron Smith, general manager of Intel's Wireless Communications and Computing group, highlighted the multimedia possibilities of a Bulverde-based device compared to current offerings, for example running games. ...more