Gather round the home entertainment hub, children

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has seen the unveiling of TiVo's Series 2 digital video recorder, which offers 60 hours of recording time in a newly designed, smaller box. Dubbed by TiVo as 'the next generation digital video recorder', the Series 2 increases the recording capacity at a lower cost. Digital entertainment services - courtesy of USB connectivity - are also on offer, involving the storage of digital music and photos, as well as broadband video on demand. ...more

New book range to be sold under 'Open Source' licence

Bruce Perens, one of the founders of the Open Source movement, has taken the concept into the world of e-books. He says he has convinced US publisher Prentice Hall to produce a series of books on technical subjects under the Open Source licence. The idea is that not only can the books be downloaded and read for free, but they can also be modified and 'sold on' in a printed version. ...more

Be aims for 2.5Mbps ADSL2+ upstream speeds

High-speed broadband pioneer Be has revealed that it has been testing technology that will take the upstream speed of its ADSL2+ service to a theoretical maximum speed of 2.5Mbps. Once the 'Annex M' trials have reached a successful conclusion, Be will provide a free upgrade to its business-oriented Office product, which at ?75 per month will be significantly cheaper than an SDSL service from BT. ...more

New faster, lighter, sleeker iBooks

Apple has launched a completely redesigned iBook which is faster, lighter, sleeker and configured with a choice of four optical drive options, including a hybrid DVD/CD-RW drive. The revamped iBook follows the stylish lead of Apple's recently launched and highly acclaimed PowerBook G4 Titanium, completely dropping the curvaceous and brightly coloured look of the orginal range. Apple has abandoned its high profile multi-colour scheme - every iBook model now comes in an identical white casing. ...more

Apple speeds iBooks and upgrades Mac mini range

Apple has introduced faster iBooks and upgraded its Mac mini range, adding extra memory. The iBook range has been slimmed down, with two models where three used to be. The 12in iBook gets a speed bump from 1. ...more