FireWire making consumer electronics comeback

USB 2 may be gaining ground in the PC market, but FireWire is making a comeback, thanks to a new generation of consumer electronics devices. A survey by high-tech market research firm In-Stat found that digital televisions, set-top boxes, and DVD recorders are all driving Firewire growth, And as consumers seek new ways of moving digital content around, the High-Definition Audio Video Networking Alliance (HANA) has endorsed FireWire as a transmission medium for high-definition content, a development which In-Stat says may spur the adoption of the technology in home video networks. In the computer market, FireWire has until now struggled to establish itself in corporate desktops, where the cheaper USB technology is prevalent. ...more

Virtual PC to ship with G5 support in October

Microsoft has sent Virtual PC 7 to manufacturing and the application that lets you run Windows on a Mac will begin shipping in October. The software is G5-compatible and has been signficantly rewritten for OS X 10.3. ...more

Sony announces 8-speed DVD+R drives

Sony has announced internal and external drives that sport the DVD Alliance's 8-speed DVD+R spec. The internal drive (DRU-530A) will be available from next month for ?152 ex VAT, while the external one (DRX-530UL) will be available from January at a price yet to be confirmed. The 8-speed write specification was ratified by the Alliance in August, promising to burn DVD+R discs in less than ten minutes. ...more

Fujitsu drives in a spin

Fujitsu has introduced its MAM series of hard drives for high-end workstations and servers, spinning at 15,000rpm. With current drive speeds at the 7,200rpm mark, this more than doubling of speed allows a much greater data transfer rate, as much as 88.9Mbytes/sec. ...more

Seven UK cities and London areas go wireless

Wi-Fi operator The Cloud has announced plans to provide blanket wireless Net access across seven UK cities and three London boroughs. Hotspots will be installed in caf?s, pubs, shops and railway stations as well as street furniture such as lamp posts. They will support online gaming and VoIP phone calls as well as normal Net usage such as surfing and email. ...more