321 Studios has released a new version of DVD X Copy XPRESS.

The software company this month quietly launched a new search program called MSNBot, which scours the Web to build an index of HTML links and documents. The homegrown system--which performs robot functions previously left to Inktomi and other partners--may pose a significant threat to Google if Microsoft fulfills its promise to make the program a cornerstone of its overall PC and services strategies.

Livephish is a Pay-Per-Download service that offers live show recordings. Livephish has now adopted their premium service downloads to use the lossless open source FLAC audio format. This means that the downloadable files are of 44.1kHz/16bit CD audio quality.

Microsoft Corp. is assembling a team of experts charged with battling the accelerating spread of spam as unsolicited e-mail clogs in-boxes worldwide, including that of Bill Gates, founder and chairman of the world's largest software maker.

Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. has made a strategic decision to partially withdraw from the CD-R and DVD-R manufacturing arena. Computer Support Italcard s.r.l. (CSI) of Italy, has agreed to acquire the majority stake in Mitsui Advanced Media, Inc.

They call him the Goblin. He is the new toast of Russia's massive pirate video industry, his films sought all over Moscow. The trick of his silver screen success is that the Goblin redubs Hollywood movies, using his own 'better' Russian alternative to the script.

Following last week's triumphant announcement by Nintendo that it had won a victory over Hong Kong based mail order retailer Lik-Sang, one of the company's founders, Alex Kampl, has spoken publicly about the ruling.

Despite the whopping success of Apple's iTunes online music store, some popular artists have refused to sell their music in single track format.

US federal agents may gain the power to pursue people swapping copyright material online.

BenQ, a major optical storage drive maker in Taiwan, recently started shipping a 4x half-height DVD+RW drive and expects to launch 8x half-height DVD+RW and DVD-Dual drives in the second half of this year, with volume production of the 8x DVD+RW drive expected to start in September, the company said.

A BUS firm is installing DVD recorders linked to cameras on its fleet to capture thugs and vandals on film.

TDK is now shipping its Multi-format DVD Burner capable of 4x writing for both DVD+R and DVD-R formats.

DVD movie rentals for the first time surpassed that of videocassettes last week, making DVD the most popular home video format in the United States.

The High Court of Hong Kong decided that a Hong Kong-based mail order company Lik-Sang to stop immediately selling devices that could be used to make backups of Nintendo Game Boy's console games.

The most dramatic thing is probably the proposed rate for the media levy -- the levy (or stealth tax or whatever you want to call it) would add a decent SEK31 (appx. £2.40) to each blank DVD-RW or DVD+RW disc despite its existing retail price. The proposed levy for recordable discs (whether a CD-R or DVD-R or other digital medium) is SEK0.0025 per megabyte and SEK0.007 for re-recordable discs (such as DVD-RW, CD-RW or DVD+RW). This would make the additional levy on a typical CD-R about £0.13-£0.14 and £0.88-£0.90 for a DVD-R!

Nero, leaders in digital media technology, have announced that Nero Express 5.5, the highly successful, easy-to-use DVD/CD application software, is to be included with all U.S. retail versions of the latest Pioneer DVR-A06 DVD/CD writer.

A computer memory chip based on carbon nanotubes has passed a manufacturing milestone, according to the US company developing the technology. The prototype chip would store information using hundreds of billions of nanotubes with a theoretical capacity of 10 gigabits of data, says Nantero, based in Boston, Massachusetts.

Press Release: CyberLink, a leading developer of digital video software and e-learning solutions, announced today the release of PowerDVD 5, a new version that is built upon the company's technological strength and market leadership to deliver the ultimate DVD entertainment on the PC. "In general, consumer electronics delivers better video and audio quality than the PCs," stated Alice H. Chang, CEO of CyberLink Corp. "With our new technologies, PowerDVD 5 significantly improves video and audio quality, enabling a rich home theater experience on the multimedia PC that is comparable to any home theater device."

As sales of recordable DVD products continue to skyrocket, feature-rich, stand-alone consumer recorders based on the DVD-RAM format are leading the way, having captured 70.2 percent of the U.S. DVD consumer recorder market in the first three months of 2003, according to leading market information company The NPD Group.

In a survey released today by 321 Studios, makers of DVD copying software, 76 percent of respondents stated that they would not be interested in renting a self-destructing DVD. This survey was conducted in response to the recent reports that Flexplay and The Walt Disney Co. home video unit, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, will launch a DVD rental program in the US this August that makes DVDs unreadable after 48 hours.