15-12-2001 Essential news of the week

Brought neatly together and presented on a plate, here is a roundup of some of the week's main news stories from the world of IT. Microsoft standardises .NET BT signs up Marconi for Multimedia Terminals FBI worms its way into criminal communications RealNetworks clambers on to the desktop BT goes Dutch for new CEO PARC opens its gates Pressplay backs pressing CDs Safe to dance the disgo Microsoft cash for Passports Classic air-hockey comes to handhelds Hi-Grade launches new Notino notebooks Don't forget, we welcome your comments. ...more

Divided states of America

The US states are split in their reaction to the federal government's deal with Microsoft. As we reported yesterday, Massachusetts was the first state to declare against the deal and indications are that California is in the same camp. In contrast, the states of New York and Illinois have reportedly struck a tentative agreement with Microsoft. ...more

Napster bets on free MP3 player

Napster has begun offering a free MP3 player to new subscribers to its digital music service in the UK. Anyone taking out a minimum three-month subscription to Napster To Go will receive a 512MB version of the SanDisk Sansa m230 portable music player, which in addition to providing space for 512MB of WMA or MP3 files has an FM tuner, built-in microphone for voice recording and a backlit LCD display. Napster said that the offer is an attempt to replicate the success of the mobile phone market, where network providers built their business by selling subscriptions on the back of free handsets. ...more

We are legit declares Kazaa in Australian court

The file swapping software Kazaa has legitimate uses claims the defence in the landmark trial in Australia of the controversial peer to peer program. Defence lawyer Tony Meagher likened the software to the video cassette recorder. In what is likely to be the central nub of the defence case, Meagher pointed out a 1984 Supreme Court ruling brought against electronics giant Sony, the case was thrown out because the VCR was seen to have other uses beyond piracy. ...more

Intel launches Celeron range with 64-bit memory addressing

Intel has introduced a new family in the budget priced range with the Celeron D 351, fitted with so-called Extended Memory 64 Technology. With the announcement, Intel says it has completed the transition of its entire line to EM64T. As a result, 64-bit memory addressing is now standard across the whole range of desktop and server processors although not, as yet, the notebook range. ...more