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Latest by Geoff Duncan

Blu-ray To Sell 45 Mln Discs in 2008?

Futuresource Consulting has released projections for Blu-ray disc sales, and is forecasting 45 million sold in the U.S. during 2008.

Napster Takes a Chance on ABBA MP3s

If you ran out to see the film version of the musical Momma Mia!, Napster hopes you'll rush to their music store buy the entire ABBA catalog in DRM-free MP3 format.

Paramount Straddles Fence, Endorses Blu-Ray

In the latest twist in the next-generation DVD battle, Paramount Home Entertainment will release HD movies in Sony's Blu-Ray format. Of course, it said the same about HD DVD.

Google Sued by American Airlines

Google's keyword advertising programs have faced trademark lawsuits before - but none from a company with the resources of American Airlines.

Warners Patents Triple-Format Disc

It's one way to end a format war: make a single disc which includes Blu-ray, HD DVD, and standard DVD content.

Camera Phone Ownership and Usage Rising?

M:Metrics says Europeans and even Americans are using their cameraphones more, with nearly one third of cameraphone owners using picture messaging.

RIAA Targets Transferring Music to PCs

In court filings related to a file-sharing lawsuit over file sharing, the RIAA has come out and said it believes transferring music from legally purchased CDs to a computer is illegal.

Samsung Begins Shipping Hybrid Hard Drives

Samsung has begun commercial shipment of 80, 120, and 160 GB hybrid hard drives which combine traditional platter-based storage with flash memory.

Archos 404 Media Player Offers Camcorder

The new Archos 404 is both a 30 GB personal media player, but also an MPEG-4 camcorder which can store up to 80 hours of video.

United Plugs in iPod Seats

United Airlines is hoping to woo travelers with new seats that sport an iPod dock and a 15.4-inch screen for watching videos.

2008 Online Holiday Shopping Down 3 Pct

Market research firm comScore reports online holiday shopping was down three percent, with the fourth quarter of 2008 being down four percent overall.

EA Announces Command & Conquer 3

Electronics Arts has announced the next installment in its Command & Conquer realtime strategy series: Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars.

Dawn of Mana Hits North America

Square Enix's Dawn of Mana for the PlayStation 2 has hit North American retailers, updating the long-running Mana franchise...and taking it 3D.

Amiga Unveils New Machine Specs

Amiga has made good on one promise, releasing details of a $500 Freescale-based design supporting up to 1 GB of RAM, three PCI slots, and gigabit Ethernet.

LG Announces Netflix-savvy Blu-ray Player

LG has announced its LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player that'll upconvert standard DVDs, play Blu-ray discs...and stream Netflix movies.

Universal (Finally) Goes Blu-ray

Universal Studios, once the staunchest backer of HD DVD, will be announcing its first slate of high-definition Blu-ray titles now that HD DVD is history.

Court Protects Anonymous Poster’s Identity

A California appeals court has ruled that an anonymous Internet poster on a Yahoo message board does not have to reveal his identity after being sued for "scathing verbal attacks."

New Cases to Take Notebooks Through X-Rays

New types of notebook cases are being designed to be transparent to airport X-ray systems, letting travelers keep their notebooks packed through security screening.

FCC To Allow Early Analog TV Signoffs

The FCC has approved new regulations enabling broadcasters to turn off analog television broadcasts before the February 17, 2009, digital TV transition date.

Sony Intros Slimmer PlayStation 2 in Japan

Making good on its promise to continue milking the seven year-old PlayStation 2, Sony has announced a slimmer PS2 with an integrated power supply for the Japanese market.

Findability Drives Online Buying

An MIT professor finds that the ability to find products online is almost ten times more important then price alone when it comes to buying online.

VeohTV Goes Into Limited Beta

Veoh Networks has launched a limited beta of VeohTV, a single desktop video service offering on-demand access to nearly all Internet video - and hoping to compete with Joost.

MySpace Invites Users to Vote Early

Social networking king MySpace is flexing a little political muscle, announcing plans to hold the nation's first (non-binding) presidential primary.

Dell To Drop XPS Game Rigs for Alienware?

Reports have Dell shelving its high-end gaming-oriented XPS computers in favor of systems from boutique subsidiary Alienware.

Google Says Viacom Suit Threatens Internet

As Viacom's $1 billion copyright infringement suit against Google heats up, Google claims the move threatens the way hundreds of millions legitimately use the Internet.

Time Warner Spins Off Cable Business

Ending almost a year of hand-wringing, Time Warner has decide to spin off its cable business into a separate company.

iTunes Pass Lets Fans Subscribe to Bands’ Releases, Starting with Depeche Mode

Apple's iTunes Store has debuted iTunes Pass for music acts, letting fans pay up-front for new material and extras slated to come out over time - starting with Depeche Mode.

Microsoft Security Update Tackles 12 Flaws

Patch Tuesday sees the release of Microsoft's biggest security update in more than a year, covering 12 flaws in Windows, Office, and Exchange.

Google Would Support Federal Privacy Laws

Google says it would support federal privacy laws that create a consistent, trustworthy framework - even as the company comes under fire about its privacy policy.

Apple Refreshes iMac, Introduces iLife ’08

Apple has unveiled new eco-friendly iMacs with 20- and 24-inch displays, a compact Bluetooth keyboard, and a refreshed iLife 08 application suite.

Copyright Protection Coming to Set-Tops

Pace and Samsung have announced they will begin embedding SVP copyright protection hardware into set-top boxes they manufacture for cable operators.

MySpace to Target Sex Offender Profiles

MySpace has teamed with an identity and background verification company in an effort to identify profiles of registered sex offenders.

Nokia Adds Three Handsets to Midrange Line

Nokia has always done well with entry-level and high-end phones: now the company hopes three new handsets will improve its mid-range story.

Apple Launches the iPhone

Apple's iPhone goes on sale June 29 at 6:00 PM local time...as if that were news to you!

Lawsuit May Delay SED TVs

Austin-based Nano-Proprietary has filed suit against Canon, arguing its technology can't be used in SED, Inc., a joint venture with Toshiba.

China Leads in Cell Users, Net Constraints

The world will have 2 billion cell phone users by the end of 2005, and nearly 400 million will be Chinese. But China also actively restricts Internet use and content.

Acer Announces Aspire Predator Gaming PC

Taiwanese computer maker Acer is going after the high-end gaming market with the ASpire Predator, a Quad-Core Extreme-packing, Nvidia SLI-equipped, Blu-ray touting powerhouse.

Yahoo Shareholders Nix Human Rights Motions

Yahoo shareholders have soundly rejected proposals which would have set up a board of human rights and would have set the company on an anti-censorship course.