10th February 2006 Archive

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CD-Rs to get cheaper as Philips backs down on licensing

Discs going for a song

An anti-trust investigation into the licensing of Philips' recordable CD technology has been shelved after the firm changed its tune. The result is that CD-Rs are going to get even cheaper. The European Commission anti-trust investigators said in a statement that the end of restrictive licensing woud bring prices down. Philips …

Storage 10 Feb 2006, 09:40
Toshiba, LG to share CD, DVD, HD DVD toys

Global patent cross-licence signed

Toshiba and LG have agreed to share their respective optical disc patent portfolios the better to make each company's product development budget go further. The deal covers not only discs, but players and recorders too, and even extends to HD DVD - an interesting move given LG's preference for the Blu-ray Disc format. For …

HD 10 Feb 2006, 10:11
Geek TV is back

What to program your PVR for

Hoping to leave the living room at some point this year? Not a chance. This spring, the Tellyville honchos have two main ways of getting you off your computer and making you watch the box - assuming they're not one and the same, of course. Plan A, I hardly need remind you, is HD TV. Sky is busy unleashing an ever-growing line …

HD 10 Feb 2006, 10:32
ATI tweaks Catalyst, adds set-up Wizard

Driver time

ATI has updated its Catalyst graphics card driver package. The new release, 6.2, incorporates tweaks for more than half a dozen games titles, including World of Warcraft, Half-life 2 and City of Heroes, and fixes a whole series of glitches. For the non-technical, ATI has added a Wizard-based interface for Catalyst Control Center …

Bits 'n' Chips 10 Feb 2006, 11:37
Intel 'Sossaman' Core-Duo-for-servers chip surfaces

Dual-core part spotted in Japan

Intel is getting ready to release its 65nm Core Duo-derived 'Sossaman' server processor as the Xeon LV - if the latest announcement from Supermicro is anything to go by. The server motherboard maker this week launched a pair of products that will support the new chip and its 31W power envelope. The boards and the Xeon LV were …

Bits 'n' Chips 10 Feb 2006, 12:05
MS: Halo 2 for PC a Windows Vista 'exclusive'

But it's not forcing you to upgrade, honest...

Microsoft looked to Bungie's Halo to sell its Xbox console, and it's now planning to see if the same trick will persuade gamers to upgrade to Windows Vista. Yes, Halo 2, which shipped for Xbox over a year ago, is coming to the PC - but you'll need Microsoft's next major operating system release to run it. The game will not run …

PCs 10 Feb 2006, 12:33
Linksys preps VoIP handset pair

WIP300 and WIP330 to ship next week?

Linksys will ship a new, slimline standalone VoIP handset next week, according to at least one US e-tailer which this week said it was accepting advance orders for the product, the WIP300. The device operates across any 802.11b/g Wi-Fi network, includes a POP email facility and sports a 1.8in colour display. The WIP300 doesn' …

Phones 10 Feb 2006, 13:04
SiS confirms Socket AM2 chipsets to ship Q2

Cat out of the bag

SiS has let the cat out of the bag. Yesterday, it announced half a dozen chipsets all of which will support AMD's Socket AM2 microprocessors - none of which have yet been formally introduced by the chip maker - which will ship in Q2, SiS said. SiS' AM2 line-up includes two desktop parts and four mobile chipsets, with one …

Bits 'n' Chips 10 Feb 2006, 15:47
Nintendo preps navy, sky blue DS Lites

Not just iPod white

Nintendo will ship is DS Lite handheld console in light- and dark-blue hues in addition to the classic iPod white the videogames pioneer had already said the device will be decked out in when it debuts in Japan on 2 March. As its name suggests, the DS Lite isn't as heavy as the current version, weighing 218g to the standard …

Consoles 10 Feb 2006, 16:05