Topic: News

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has decried a ruling by the Australian Federal Court that mod chips designed to circumvent copy protection features on gaming consoles are illegal. Last week Sony won an appeal which saw the Federal Court rule that mod chips breached the anti-circumvention provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. These provisions prohibit devices being sold for the purpose of defeating measures designed to protect copyright.

Australia is now officially under the thumb of the mod-chip banners, after the Court of Appeal, accepted its argument that mod-chips should be made illegal. Mod chips enable games console players to overcome protection built into their machines to run imported games bought legitimately and to back up games legitimately. But they also facilitate the playing of pirated games too.

A pair of major music labels have been hit with another round of price-fixing charges courtesy of the U.S Federal Trade Comission (FTC) - a decision which raises the question as to who exactly is to blame for falling music revenue.

Wireless networking gear maker Linksys is targeting the gaming crowd with its new Wi-Fi adapters. They have announced two new adapters that are designed to connect game consoles, including Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube, to each other and to the Internet for online multiplayer gaming. The new adapters are available immediately and are based on the 802.11b and 802.11g wireless networking standards.

Whether its a result of LCD panel makers turning off the taps to increase their profits or a general surge in demand, it appears that there's a big shortage of 15-inch screens and prices are rising accordingly.

Speaking to developers in Tokyo today, Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi confirmed that the PlayStation Portable will come equipped with wireless networking functionality.

Want to get your hands on the latest terminator or Charlie's Angels films on DVD? Another Web site has sprung up brazenly selling pirated movies. The website operates jointly out of China and Malaysia, two countries under pressure to improve their copyright enforcement.

Taiwan's world-leading compact disc makers are pumping up production of DVDs to tap into the fast-growing home entertainment market, raising fears of a return of a supply glut that forced firms into the red last year. Next year may see a surplus of DVD production, potentially fuelling a price war.

For those of you interested in CD or DVD burning (everyone then) you'll like this: Nero 6 review.

Samsung have selected a software package provided by Taiwan-based Ulead Systems to bundle with their lineup of camcorders worldwide, according to a press release from Ulead today.

Digital media software firm Roxio plans to bundle the reborn Napster 2.0 service with its popular CD/DVD burning tools and roll out what it calls the first online music play offering unlimited a la carte downloads alongside a subscription option.

Russian video pirates have found an ideal way to get a hold of quality copies of Hollywood blockbusters the very moment they are being released on screen: They copy the film right in the projection booths of modern movie theaters.

As popularly requested - here is the multi-region hack for this popular player. (So please stop emailing me about this, Ed)

Due to the proverbial weight of emails on this subject we've created a page giving you the specs and multi-region hack for this popular player. You'll find them <a href="http://www.dvd-recordable.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=60" target=_blank">here.

Press release: Plextor, one of the leading companies for the development and production of CD-ROM drives, CD-Recorders and CD-ReWriters is expanding its range with its first Dual Format drive: PX-708A, which writes to DVD+R at 8-speed, DVD-R and DVD+RW at 4-speed and DVD-RW at 2-speed. The drive also writes to CD-R at 40-speed and CD-RW at 24-speed.

Ahead Software have released the latest major upgrade to the world's most popular - and many would say best - burning software. In addition to the very successful and now further improved Nero Burning ROM 6 and Nero Express 6, you now have complete audio and video processing functions as well as a complete backup function. NeroVision Express 2, Nero Wave Editor 2 and Nero SoundTrax are used for processing and generating video and audio contents on CD and DVDs. Nero BackItUp saves data (either on command or as a regular task). All these programs and functions can be reached via the new Nero StartSmart command center. You simply choose the task you would like to carry out and Nero StartSmart launches the appropriate application. You can download the demo version here. Nero website is here.

Microsoft's chairman Bill Gates says a digital music store should be offered by the company, which would not aim for significant profit from the feature. Microsoft are currently exploring ways to develop a music download service similar to Apple Computer's iTunes that would tie into the software giant's multimedia applications.

Sony will have to face up to falling demand for its PlayStation 2 games console in the future, say analysts. Figures from the Japanese electronics giant showed a rough three months for the console, with shipments of the PS2 down by almost two million, compared to the same time last year.

Napster, the file-sharing program that ignited an Internet revolution and sent the recording industry into convulsions, will be reincarnated by Christmas as a legal online song seller and subscription service.

A US site has put together a list of email names on the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) subpoena list as it tracks down people it alleges are infringers of music copyright. The RIAA has now issued more than 911 subpoenas to Internet service providers across the United States, trying to get the names of people still offering music on file-sharing networks such as KaZaA and Grokster. The list of email names on Tech Live reveals that apart from the aforementioned "MunkeySpanker", the RIAA is chasing Ghettobootybabe, Ladypimp8669, Playgirlmama, Freckles82587 and Dimples0530. Are you on the list?