Topic: News

Researchers of the University of Berlin, with partners Budapest University of Technology and Economics and Universita Politecnica delle Marche in Italy, have developed a holographic technology that stores 500GB of data on an HD DVD or Blu-ray disc.

It seems the people's champion - the RIAA - has ordered YouTube to remove videos of a man who offered to show people how to play the guitar for free.

The British 'HD for All' campaign, designed to promote hi-def TV, drew a withering blast from Sky yesterday.

It seems the Motion Picture Ass. of America (MPAA) has set-up a website designed to trick unsuspecting users to download illegal content. There is also a service that offers the ability to download video content using a custom client which also scans if the user has downloaded copyrighted files.

Consumers building up extensive collections of digital music and movies should ensure their downloads are protected by their home insurance policy and will be replaced if the computers keeping them are damaged or stolen. Many insurers do not cover digital possessions, it has emerged.

The HD-DVD gang is arranging a counter attack against the Blu-ray boys with disks that can take advantage of its players' built-in Internet connections.

Hordes of hackers and security researchers have been poring over Apple's iPhone in an effort to discover vulnerabilities in the handsets. Top of their list has been cracking the code that ties the phone to operator AT&T, the iPhone's exclusive network.

South Korea's LG Electronics filed suit against Taiwan's Quanta , saying the world's biggest contract maker of laptop computers infringed on its DVD technology.

The controversial Russian music download site allofmp3.com has closed.The service, which sold songs at a fraction of the cost of other sites, claimed to be the second biggest seller of music downloads after iTunes.

Panasonic has introduced what it claims is the first Blu-ray recordable media capable of burning data at 4x speeds. It will bring the first 4x products to market later this month, it said.

Blu-ray and HD DVD producers now have the option of audio watermarking to supplement the high-definition discs' existing copy-protection technology, especially targeting movie theatre piracy.

Dell has unveiled a new Widescreen 24-inch LCD monitor that boasts what Dell calls TrueColor, a technology that gives the new 2407WFP-HC a greater color gamut than current LCD panels.

To gamers, one of Microsoft’s incentives for upgrading to Windows Vista is the promise of being able to play the latest in PC games. While the stunning Crysis may prove to be reason enough, gamers right now are not yet convinced by the latest in Windows Vista-only software.

The BBC has announced a date for its iPlayer "catch-up" service: the product will at last be available in "open beta" on July 27, with a full public launch happening in the autumn.

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has revealed an exciting offer for those of you who are still looking to pick up a Blu-ray player. If you purchase a Blu-ray player (including the PS3) between July 1st and September 30th, you will automatically qualify to receive 5 Blu-ray movies absolutely free.

Buying a DVD and then copying it for use on your PSP, iPod or laptop could soon become impossible, if the DVD Copy Control Association gets its way.

OEM quotes for blank CD-R discs have dropped to below US$0.10 due to oversupply arising from smaller than expected demand, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

Microsoft has filed a patent describing a watermarking technology that could be applied to downloadable software, in an effort to combat piracy.

Plextor have released details of their neat-looking DVD duplication machine; the PX-DM300. Obviously designed around the needs of a small business, the unit seems very compact with the four slot-loading slimline drives (one source reader and three of their fast PX-608AL dual-layer DVD+/-R/RAM drives).

Apple has provided the most in-depth look at the iPhone, one week before the device debuts at AT&T and Apple stores across the United States. A 20-minute guided tour posted to the company's Web site showcases the various features of the iPhone and explains how to use the touch screen.