Topic: News

Following on from the recent successful launch of Plextor's PX-760A ATAPI/IDE DVD-RW drive into the market, the company today announces the Serial-ATA version - PX-760SA.

Ritek has released details of the products and deevelopments it will showcase in Computex Taipei 2006, the annual event of the IT industry.

Press release: The new media allows for stunning, laser-etched designs right on the disc surface, giving consumers a no-hassle way to burn silkscreen-quality disc prints. Featuring LightScribe Media Version 1.2 technology, the new discs produce disc designs even faster than the previous version.

Warner Bros's video unit have unveiled plans to sell movies and television shows to BitTorrent for legal downloads from the Web site that was once blamed for aiding the swapping of illegally copied films and programs.

Software monolith Microsoft is planning to make its Windows Genuine Advantage online verification programme compulsory throughout the known world.

Footy fans unable to get to a TV when the World Cup kicks off next month can catch up with all the action on their mobile phone.

Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission reveal that Warner Music Group is facing 14 separate legal actions relating to the pricing of downloads.

A Malaysian peddler of pirated DVDs has been busted after unwittingly offering his wares to Consumer Affairs Minister Shafie Apdal as he sat at a popular restaurant strip.

The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) has begun employing two very special black labs for the express purpose of sniffing out pirated DVDs at Fedex's UK hub.

The operators of the BearShare online file-sharing service have agreed to pay $30 million (£16.2m) to avoid potential copyright infringement lawsuits from the recording industry, according to court documents that have been filed.

Apple Computer has renewed contracts with the world's four largest music companies to sell songs through its iTunes Music Store, after blocking their attempts to end iTunes' flat-rate pricing scheme, Apple have said.

The IT network at the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, Kent, was put out of action for 48 hours because too many staff were downloading music for their iPods.

The United Nation's World Intellectual Property Organisation's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (er, UNWIPOSCCRR?) is seriously pushing through a treaty that will regulate the Internet transmission of audio and video entertainment.

If England wins the 2006 World Cup, Toshiba will refund 66 per cent of the purchase price of many of its Centrino Duo-branded Satellite, Satellite Pro, Portégé, Tecra and Qosmio and notebooks, the company has announced.

Mainstream rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers have resorted to emotional blackmail to prevent their fans from downloading illegal copies of their new album before it is released on 9 May.

Pioneer has lowered its 2006 target shipment volume for DVD recorders to 840,000 units, 9.7% lower that its sales volume in 2005.

While HD DVD titles trickle into stores, the arrival of the first titles in the rival Blu-ray Disc format has been pushed back by a month until June 20, to coincide with the first commercially available Blu-ray players.

The music industry, which has sued Internet users for downloading songs illegally, is turning its sights on pirates in 12 cities who copy CDs and DVDs for sale at street corners, flea markets, family-run shops and even mainstream record stores.

CMC Magnetics and Ritek, the top two makers of optical discs in Taiwan, on May 2, announced a net earnings per share (EPS) of NT$0.06 and a net loss per share of NT$0.35, respectively, for the first quarter of 2006.

Microsoft's long-awaited release of Vista will likely be delayed again by at least three months, according to research group Gartner.