Pioneer denies dual-format optical drive

Pioneer has scotched reports that its forthcoming BDR-103 optical drive will support both the Blu-ray and HD DVD high definition formats. The company said that rumours originating at the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin were inaccurate. 'Currently we have no plans to do so,' the company said although it did not rule out the possibility at some later date. ...more

Comment: Microsoft's latest Linux offensive is an enormous blunder

With Bill Gates getting ready to clear his desk and spend more time with his family (of servers), there had never been a better opportunity for Microsoft to shed its reputation as the 'Evil Empire'. Goodbye to the surly, unrepentant Mr Microsoft, and hello to cuddly Steve Ballmer, infamous for bounding around the stage at company get-togethers. Sadly, the leopard isn't about to change its spots. ...more

EMI lines up with Zune

EMI has signed a deal to provide music videos to be pre-loaded on Microsoft's forthcoming portable media player, Zune. Along with the other major record companies who have seen Zune prototypes, EMI is said to be impressed by the player's wireless capabilities and a feature that allows some sharing of music between users, features currently absent from the overwhelmingly market-leading iPods. 'Apple has been an important partner in building the digital music market but any well-funded serious entrant has got to be good news for the artists and industry,' Jeff Kempler, executive vice president of EMI unit Virgin Records America, told Reuters. ...more

PlayStation2 edit opens the Web

Owners of Sony's online gaming kit in the UK can now get out of Sony's walled garden and on to the rest of the Web by pointing their networking kit to look at a Web page that incorporates browsing capabilities. By changing the IP address that the network card looks for when it connects to the Internet to 217.33. ...more

UK games chart: Movie spin-off makes it to number one

The movie spin-off Madagascar has made it to number one in this week's ELSPA UK games chart, with the Central Park Zoo animals edging out THQ's city-based racing game Juiced, which falls to number three. Between the two, at number two, sits THQ's action game for the PS2 and Xbox, Destroy All Humans!. There are two new entries this week. ...more