27th April 2007 Archive

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AMD and Intel take potshots in dueling court complaints

Oh no you didn't!

AMD's anti-trust trial against Intel hasn't even started yet, and the companies are already pinching, scratching and pulling hair. When we last left off, Intel was in the process of piecing together millions of emails the company had lost which AMD claims are relevant to the lawsuit. On Tuesday, Intel filed a report with the …

Bits 'n' Chips 27 Apr 2007, 00:17
PlayStation pioneer hangs up his joypad

Exit comes as Sony projects $2bn loss

It's sayonara to Ken 'Father of the PlayStation' Kutaragi, who has announced he will stop working for Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), at least on a day-to-day basis, from 19 June. A jump or a push? Sony's spin suggests the move was one Kutaragi had been "considering... for some time". Since December, we'd say, when he …

Consoles 27 Apr 2007, 09:40
Nintendo pledges to pour out more Wiis

Admits demand-anticipation failure

Nintendo has admitted it hasn't punched out sufficient Wii games consoles to meet demand. But it pledged to pull its finger out and start producing more and "fix this abnormal lack of stock". So said Nintendo President Satoru Iwata in Japan today, after confessing the company had "not been able to properly foresee demand. " …

Consoles 27 Apr 2007, 10:01
Sony snapper to see further with 6x optical zoom

Sony will next month upscale the optics of its Cyber-shot S series of digital cameras - 'S' for 'solid', if ours is anything to go by - with a 6x optical zoom lens. Compact cameras typically offer only a 3x optical zoom, relying instead on tweaking the image digitally for higher levels of magnification. The DSC-S800 still …

Gadgets and Gizmos 27 Apr 2007, 10:43
Sky+ Anytime, but not last time

Upgrade deletes recorded shows from some Sky+ boxes

A software upgrade sent out to Sky+ boxes to support the new Sky Anytime service has left some punters bereft of all their recorded TV programmes. Sky Anytime is a service which automatically records TV shows and films overnight onto an unused - and unavailable to customers - part of the Sky+ DVR hard drive. The shows are …

Gadgets and Gizmos 27 Apr 2007, 11:01
iSymphony tunes up Bluetooth wireless hi-fi

Will you please welcome iSymphony's latest music centre, a wall-mounted or shelf-stacked - the choice is yours - hi-fi that can connect to any Bluetooth device capable of streaming stereo sound wirelessly. The V1BLUEe packs in a CD player, an RDS-equipped FM tuner, a pair of 10W front-facing speakers and a 25W sub-woofer …

Media players 27 Apr 2007, 11:01
Apple TV hackers called to create open source set-top

You have nothing to lose but your CableCards

Neuros Technology has called on Apple TV hackers to join it and develop a next-generation open source set-top box to prevent IPTV falling into the hands of the Man. Neuros launched its Linux-based OSD last autumn. It's a media centre that can digitise video content to connected storage - either a locally fitted USB drive or …

Media players 27 Apr 2007, 11:55
Free BBC HD satellite TV service given green light

Sky alternative to launch 2008

The BBC has been given the go-ahead to partner with ITV to launch a free-to-view digital TV service transmitted by satellite. The service will include HD programming. The BBC currently sends out all its channels via satellite in an unencrypted form. Satellite broadcaster Sky offers more than a hundred other channels free of …

HD 27 Apr 2007, 13:29
Wal-Mart denies cheap HD DVD deal

Scheme simply hadn't got that far?

Wal-Mart has denied it is working with a Chinese manufacturer to build millions of budget HD DVD players, a move that could prove decisive in the battle with rival next-gen optical disc format Blu-ray Disc. A Wal-Mart spokeswoman yesterday claimed that a Chinese-language report indicating the retail giant had ordered $300m …

HD 27 Apr 2007, 14:12
Nokia N93i camera phone

Review It's a phone. It's a camcorder. It's a robot. Well, maybe not a robot...

The Nokia N93i isn't quite sure if it's a phone, a camcorder, or something in between. Flip it one way and it appears all phone-like, but swivel the display around and it feels like you're holding a mini-camcorder. Like the Nokia N93 before it, the N93i is an attempt to bridge both worlds - leaving you with one less device …

Phones 27 Apr 2007, 14:21
Man demonstrates extreme geekiness, reviews 105 PSUs

Magnum opus

How do you tell a real hardware geek from a crowd of dilettantes? The genuine article will be found reading a review of over a hundred PC power supply units. As for the true hardware geek, he's the guy that wrote it... Step forward then, Belgian Stephane Charpentier, who's just published an evaluation of 105 PSUs (in French …

Bits 'n' Chips 27 Apr 2007, 14:36
Schools ban iPod cheaters

Broke the first rule of Cheat Club

A school in Meridian, Idaho, is banning students from taking Apple iPods into exams because two kids were overheard discussing how to use them to cheat. iPods, or other MP3 players, can, in theory, be loaded with recordings of possible exam answers or written notes can be included as lyric files. Kids at some Californian …

Media players 27 Apr 2007, 15:32
Acer acquisition will be bigger than a breadbox, smaller than Gateway

Oh, you tease ...

Acer still won't say which PC vendor it plans to acquire, but it will give us a few hints. When chief executive JT Wang said last month that Acer was looking at acquiring a company as a part of its plan to overtake Lenovo, professional speculators first bet on Gateway computers. The news sent Gateway shares up 18 per cent from …

PCs 27 Apr 2007, 18:25
Reg readers total 3,238 years against cancer

The final score as grid.org closes shop

After almost seven years of harnessing volunteers' unused CPU cycles to find a cure for cancer, Grid.org is shutting down operations. The organization said today it has completed its mission to demonstrate the viability and benefits of large-scale internet-based grid computing and will retire from service. Grid.org was the …

PCs 27 Apr 2007, 21:49
Apple releases MacBook battery update

Rest easy, not the explosion-preventing kind

Apple is recommending an update be installed on all MacBook and MacBook Pro computers and extra batteries purchased between February 2006 and April 2007. Users can download the patch from Software Update or here if that's your bag. According to Apple, there are factors causing performance issues in the batteries which do not …

Mac 27 Apr 2007, 23:36