For some people, even the one-off payment and lack of contract for Freeview Digital Services is too much to contemplate. Philips has decided to solve this by making the tuner part of the TV cost across its two quartets of LCD and Plasma screen televisions, allowing Digital TV and Radio from the outset, subject to aerial quality. The models up to 37in can be bought now, the 42 to 50in will be released in late summer.

All of the new models are equipped with a full seven-day Electronic Programme Guide, while seven are also compliant with EICTA standards for receiving High Definition broadcasts.

The range comprises of the 26/32/37PF5520D, 32/42PF7520D LCD TV's and 42/50PF9967D and 42PF5520D Plasma TVs. All except the entry-level 42PF5520D are HD Ready via DVI-I input that is HDMI, component video and VGA compatible. Extremely flexible, the DVI-I input is present on all models and also allows the TV to be used a PC monitor, plus with twin tuners, you can watch an analogue programme while recording a digital broadcast.

The line is fronted by the ALiS (1,024 x 1,024) 42PF9967D and XGA (1,366 x 768) 50PF9967D plasma TVs which also feature Philips' award-winning Pixel Plus 2 processing and acclaimed ambient backlighting technology, Ambilight.

Pixel Plus 2 enhances picture resolution to deliver unrivalled sharpness, detail and colour levels. Through interpolation the input signal is matched to the panel's resolution and unlike any other resolution enhancing technique, Pixel Plus 2 evaluates and adjusts both the luminance and contrast values of each individual pixel, ensuring each fuses accurately with surrounding pixels.

In conjunction, Philips' Digital Natural Motion applies motion compensation to moving images to dramatically reduce the effects of judder, image lag and blurring, which can occur by simply enhancing the resolution.

Philips' Ambilight technology has been scientifically proven to reduce eye-strain and provides a perceived improvement in picture quality, while at the same time creating a unique lighting effect which enhances the décor of any room.

In addition, pictures quality is further enhanced by Digital Crystal Clear, Active Control and Light Sensor technologies, which automatically adjusts picture levels to deliver optimum image quality. The trio of picture enhancing technologies are present in all eight models as is Virtual Dolby Surround, which creates dynamic and compelling surround sound from just two speakers.

Stylishly designed, both sets are amalgamated onto a swivel stand which allows 40-degrees of movement and ensures easy integration into a room without the need for wall-mounting.

The XGA (1,366 x 768) resolution 32PF7520D is the flagship LCD model in the line and along with the XGA (1,024 x 768) 42PF7520D applies Pixel Plus processing to deliver razor-sharp images. Both feature the Pulse Killer Chip - present in all models except the 42PF9967D and 50PF9967D - to reduce interference and impulse noise caused by domestic appliances and passing cars - eliminating artefacts to produce a cleaner picture.

The step-down 26/32/37PF5520D LCD sets are non-Pixel Plus variants of the 32PF7520D, sharing the same XGA (1,366 x 768) resolution, features and slim, stylish design. As part of the same line, the VGA (852 x 480) resolution 42PF5520D is the large-screen, low-cost plasma alternative.

All eight new additions to the IDTV line boast extensive connectivity which in addition to the flexibility offered by DVI-I input includes twin RGB Scart input (42/50PF9967D have a third composite video/stereo audio Scart input) and S-Video input.

It all sounds good, but with the 26in model debuting at £999 and then jumping £400 for 32in upwards to start from £1,399, the range will only truly take off around Xmas unless there's some price cutting on the street around sale time. Still, there's always a price to be paid for the cutting edge.

Related links:

• Philips - Official website of Philips

Tags: Home Cinema Televisions LCD televisions Philips Plasma televisions

Philips launches new LCD and Plasma IDTVs with Freeview originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 30 Jun 2005 22:51:21 +0100

Buoyed by the tie-up deal with Microsoft earlier this week, Toshiba has turned its attention to the screen you'll be watching its Microsoft-controlled HD DVD discs by launching its High Definition ready ‘WL56' LCD TV collection with three large screen models. They measure 27, 32 and 37-inches. Each model carries the HD ready logo offering exceptional picture quality thanks to HDMI connectivity (with HDCP) and Toshiba's unique Active Vision LCD picture processing technology. It uses a fast, high powered processor to deliver crystal clear picture performance, improving detail, colour, movement and contrast.

The AV LCD claims to improve detail by increasing the pixel count of the screen by three times that of a conventional LCD TV. Smoother colour reproduction is gained by utilising a complicated pixel illumination sequence allowing 1024 tones of colour to be reproduced compared to the standard 256. Movement is improved thanks to real speed progressive, Toshiba's new digital image processing technology and deeper contrast is achieved by utilising a dynamic contrast enhancer.

Sound quality is also enriched on each of these models thanks to the SRS WOW audio output through the NICAM stereo speakers which have an audio output of up to 20W RMS. All models offer simple connection to other home entertainment equipment thanks to a HDMI socket, two SCART sockets (1 x RGB), Component (via PC 15 pin D-sub), S-VHS and composite video compatible inputs, RGB/PC compatible input, L/R audio in & out and a sub-woofer out for maximum versatility in the home.

These large-screen TVs will be joined by four additional small screen LCD TVs later this year, which will include new 15-inch (15VL56), 17-inch (17WL56), 20-inch (20WL56) and 23-inch (23WL56) models. So, it's good to see Toshiba thinking about the whole kit, but it depends whether questions about the lifespan of LCD TVs can be put to rest for good, or whether we'll be back here in five years comparing LCDs to the next standard.

For further information consumers should contact Toshiba on 08704 424 424 or visit the website www.toshiba.co.uk

Related links:

• Toshiba - Official website of Toshiba

Tags: Home Cinema Televisions LCD televisions Toshiba

Toshiba Refreshes LCD TV Range originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 30 Jun 2005 22:34:43 +0100

Creative has turned to the cashback deal in order to try and steal a march in the neverending chase after Apple's iPods.

The new Zen Micro 4GB MP3 player will effectively debut at $179.99 after a $20 cashback voucher is sent back to Creative. For people wanting more space, the Zen Micro 5-gig is $229.99, and 6Gb version will cost $249.99.

It's an interesting strategy, as long as people were prepared to pay $50/$30 for an extra gigabyte, if they didn't want 6Gb straight away, and also as long as the price of the 5Gb model isn't cut to $199 too soon. That said, we stand corrected if the cashback deal extends throughout the range, available in ten different colours and brazenly chasing the iPod mini market- perhaps hoping to catch floating buyer who hits another Apple stock shortage.

Ultimately, the decision may be taken by the drive manufacturers to simply standardise at 10Gb in the future- storage sizes only ever go up (along with unit price, naturally). Until that time however, music fans not wanting to rip their entire collection now have an expanded range of choices.

It's good to see rivals responding quickly to Apple's price cutting, though Creative has its existing and speaker soundcard businesses to offset any losses, while Apple has its existing computers. Ahead of CeBit however, we'll see who else steps into this price war and whether anyone breaks the 6Gb barrier for a decent price.

Related links:

• Creative Labs - Official website of Creative Labs

Tags: Audio MP3 players Creative

Creative Takes Zen Approach to combat iPods originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 02 Mar 2005 15:11:12 +0000

Bill Gates has become the latest recipient of an honorary knighthood at Buckingham Palace for his contribution to British Enterprise and on another note, his philanthropy in the shape of large overseas donations for food and/or vaccination programmes, primarily in Africa.

Gates, 48, can add the letters KBE after his name (which will have a much brighter ring to it than "Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire"). He was quoted as being "delighted".

Like most giants of the computer business, Microsoft started out life in an American garage, and last year was worth £28billion in spite of the anti-competition fine levied by the European Commission. The latest OS, Windows XP, received a major update on its third birthday last September and now the firm, derided for its insecurity, is to sell its own-branded antivirus and spyware applications. Perhaps the first editions will feature Gates in shining armour?

Related links:

• Microsoft - Official website of Microsoft

Tags: Software PC software Software industry Microsoft Bill Gates

Arise Sir Bill - Gates Knighted originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 02 Mar 2005 14:55:12 +0000

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (GTA:SA) boasts an impressive, stand-out advertising campaign, but for some people the in-game footage in the two advertisements, largely set to music, were too violent. After drowning in the flood of 8 complaints,the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that they could only be shown after the watershed (9pm GMT to our non-UK readers).

"We could understand the parents' concerns that it was inappropriate for young children to see this level of violence in advertising for a product which was only available to adults," said a spokesman for the ASA. One of the complaints referred to the adverts' showing during an ad break at 6.30pm on Channel 4 on Sunday afternoon. For the most part the GTA: SA adverts have run at late night with the channel's weekend comedy output. For the ASA though, the "threatening atmosphere" was enough to restrict, but not totally ban, the campaign. Doubtless The Daily Mail will see the ruling as a victory for morality like it always does.

It is however, unrealistic to suggest that the children supposedly protected by this formal restriction to post-9pm broadcasting, had not already heard of the game in schoolyards (and even primary school playgrounds) throughout the country. Although Rockstar is on record as saying its policy was not to advertise a product around programmes where less than half the audience was below the age required to buy it, this is the creator of Manhunt talking. While some people will pick up the telephone to complain to the ASA, many more parents will ignore the big 18 certificate on the box and buy the game for their kids, as they did with Vice City and Grand Theft Auto III.

If Rockstar can get more mileage and sales out of this incident three months ahead of the PC version's release, they've hardly been hurt considering the game's easily passed six-figure sales already,and should easily get into the millions with the PC and eventual Xbox releases.

Meanwhile LucasArts haven't bothered with a softly softly family marketing approach- its ad campaign for Mercenaries simply encourages you to "Blow stuff up" and "Blow More Stuff Up". Clearly it's targeting all the male, non-Star Wars loving, Yorkie-eating destruction junkies with a console then, and is happy to stay on late at night.

Related links:

• Take2 - Official website of Take2

Tags: Gaming PS2 RPG Rockstar GTA

GTA: San An gets Ad Ban originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 02 Mar 2005 14:35:52 +0000

Sony's Walkman reached a quarter of a century as long ago as last summer. (see here.) However time and competition marches on, so with an established hold in the mobile phone market, it was only a matter of time before the brand found itself combined with a mobile phone handset.

Enter Sony's W800, which will play back both standard MP3 and Sony's irrepressible AAC music file formats. The supplied memory sticks give the phone a half-gigabyte capacity, allowing the users to store up to 150 music tracks or 10-12 full length CDs. Rather than MusicMatch Jukebox, as seen on its larger players, Disk2phone is the supplied PC Software for converting and transferring tracks to the handset. It weighs around 100g and Bluetooth will be the wireless standard.

Sony hasn't ignored other good features though - with not a little help from its digital camera arm, the W800's camera jumps to 2 Mega Pixels featuring autofocus and sports an active cover for protecting the lens. The W800 can also be connected to a stereo hifi using a converter cable, in addition to the more routine handsfree/in-car connection set for the UK- Being Sony however, it can also link into modern car speakers as well. The phone can be used separately to music playback, though even though it's a Sony, this is expected to be an added strain on battery life.

The only disadvantage may be not just the iPod, but also the fact that prospective buyers may already own either one of Sony's Walkman models or mobile phones already. It's expected that when it's time to upgrade a handset, that this phone will attract interest even if prospective buyers are happy with their existing music player. Either way, Sony has waited a long time to converge the Walkman with a mobile phone, so on the specification side of things, this debut doesn't look bad.

Related links:

• Sony Ericsson - Official website of Sony Ericsson

Tags: Phones Mobile phones GSM Phones Sony Ericsson

The Sony Walkman Calls on mobile phone market originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 02 Mar 2005 13:49:30 +0000

Today is Personal Firewall Day. It doesn't quite have the same emotional warmth and fuzziness as Mother's/Father's/Grandparent's/No Smoking Day to immediately name four other more exciting or worthy celebrations, and we certainly won't be sending Personal Firewall Day cards to each other, but it's actually an intelligent, multi-industry move to educate web and network users of the reasons why a firewall is necessary.

It's sponsored by TruSecure with participation and endorsement by ZoneLabs, Sygate, Microsoft, McAfee and ICSA Labs.

Visit the official website at the address below:

http://www.personalfirewallday.org/

Related links:

• Zone Labs - Official website of Zone Labs

Tags: Software PC software Security software Zone Labs

Be safe for the day with Personal Firewall Day originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 15 Jan 2004 16:54:36 +0000

They were pioneered and introduced in America four years ago, but the digital stamp has now been released by Royal Mail for Britain.

The principle is the same as the US version; stamps are paid for online, and then sent electronically. The user can then print them out using their own inkjet printer, and stuck on to the envelopes.

The default design will contain the same Queen's head as ordinary stamps. However going digital can allow much greater freedom for designing your own. Ardent republicans will be pleased at the news. To make your own digital stamps after designing them in your photographic package of choice, Royal Mail will charge £4.99 a month or £49.99 annually.

Small businesses are targeted as natural early adopters, bringing in another revenue stream to help Royal Mail's business fortunes amid increased post-strike competition, but the creative aspect should subsequently attract the general public and anyone sick of licking the old-fashioned tearoff stamps.

Related links:

• Royal Mail - Official website of Royal Mail

Tags: Software Online Websites Royal Mail

Royal Mail produces UK’s first printable digital stamp originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 15 Jan 2004 16:06:00 +0000

It's been seen as a late move but the full impact of Eastman Kodak's move to total digital camera manufacture in the US and Europe was unveiled, as it revealed that its own APS camera will also be conspired to history.

35mm camera manufacture will be scaled back in favour of a purely digital move in the West, although they will carry on selling them to Far Eastern territories. In a move reflecting the inkjet market, Kodak will still sell its world-famous film. It wouldn't make business sense to ditch a century-old brand and consumables still bring in a pleasing profit.

The Advanced Photo System (APS) added Panoramic picture choices and other flexibility to photography, as a filler format between 35mm and digital. It's unclear whether Far Eastern camera manufacturers will continue to support the format in their own ranges at present, but they are already well established in digital manufacture.

Its similarly profitable disposable camera range, which has diversified into quality models using the same Ektanar lenses as its digital models, will also continue to sell to snappers who balk at taking a digicam on a night out, to the beach or anywhere else a more advanced camera could get lost, stolen or damaged.

This move is set to help Kodak recover from a drop in share price of 18% last September when other companies attacked its market share (not to mention filmmakers choosing Fuji celluloid or colour-matched Digital Video to make their movies). The recovery began with a 1.3% rise upon the announcement.

Since 12.5 million digicams were sold versus 12.1 film cameras in the US last year, the public have spoken and there is still growth in the digital development market when it's time to get a tangible copy of those digital prints. Digicams have their own hassles regarding battery life and memory card standards but from the feedback sent to this site, the public appreciate the benefits of deleting unsuitable images rather than paying for them at development time.

This makes Digicams the present as well as the future of photography. Like music lovers championing vinyl alongside CD, There will always be a place for film.

Related links:

• Kodak - Official website of Kodak

Tags: Cameras Camera accessories Camera industry Kodak Digital cameras

Kodak’s Digital Transfer makes APS format fade away originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 15 Jan 2004 15:49:48 +0000

The Computer World aka Tiny and Time as they were, are now on their third major rebrand as The Computer Store and with every relaunch there are store closures as shop rents and leases expire or are folded to save money. It's a sign of the company's strength that as the association with Freeserve ends, that the last recession is coming to haunt Dixons this late in the financial year.

There are 329 shops in the original Dixons chain, originally selling cameras from a single store. Since Dixons XL is running as a superstore pilot at four locations, you would expect that some smaller stores will be folded and staff moved if not laid off, if the experiment proves successful.

Companies such as Argos make for tough external competition for the group but really the greatest competition is more internal: versus Currys for audiovisual goods, The Link for mobile phones and PC World for computers. Add the supermarkets such as Tesco weighing in heavily with electrical goods in its larger stores and there's no surprise Dixons is under attack. The original chain is missing the glossy ad campaigns of Currys and PC World, which can't have helped matters with the floating shoppers.

The allegation that half the stores could close has been labelled “speculation” by a Head Office representative. One thing is true: the days of easily reliance on extended warranty is no longer a sustainable long-term tactic for any of the stores in the group. Competing on price has brought many detractors back to the stores, but this in turn eats into margins.

After the January sales end, a quiet period up to Easter sales is par for the course in the retail world, but the company must be looking for ways to convert the 40% increase in UK online shopping last Christmas, to PC World-related sites.

Related links:

• Dixons - Official website of Dixons

Tags: Hardware shopping Dixons

Tough Competition takes its toll on Dixons Maiden Chain originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 14 Jan 2004 10:29:57 +0000

First we were told the plug would be pulled on Windows 98's support on 15th January 2004 including the Second Edition previously excluded from the Christmas 2003 clearout. However business pressure from companies eager to pay Microsoft (MS) for more support, ordinary users whose PCs couldn't handle Windows XP and non-Western emerging markets were all taken into consideration when Redmond giant changed its mind.

Now, Windows 98, the Second Edition and Windows ME support programmes will be terminated in June 2006, rather than the end of the week for the 98s and ME's original switch-off at the end of the year as planned. From now on the tariff is set to seven years per operating system.

In the same week it was announced that Service Pack 2 for Windows XP wouldn't arrive until the summer of 2003 either. The company wants as many bugs as possible removed before the rollout. It may have wanted to axe 98 with its DOS roots under the hood but just like the termination of the 16-year old ISA standard from motherboards by Intel, the worldwide market simply wasn't ready for two years.

It's honestly unusual to praise Microsoft, but it's proof that the recognises the release schedule treadmill can't keep rolling out new Operating Systems ad infinitum- in fact MS aren't selling the Media Centre Edition of Windows XP, designed for lifestyle PCs. By the time these 9x products are finally terminated, the Game-friendly Longhorn OS should be almost ready for release, and Windows XP will approach its fifth birthday.

Related links:

• Microsoft - Official website of Microsoft

Tags: Software PC software Operating Systems Microsoft Windows XP

Reports of Win 98’s Death Greatly Exaggerated, XP SP2 in summer 2003 originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 14 Jan 2004 10:27:30 +0000

Sharman Networks, original developers of KaZaA, see quite a future in their ad-supported and spyware riddled peer-to-peer software and don't want a rival based on its code impeding their growth. Therefore, every link accessible from within K++ was rendered inaccessible from the start of this week...for "copyright reasons".

Users are understandably unhappy, but just as Napster shut down and went legit, expect KaZaA to do the same, in a period when Coca-Cola announced their own legalised download service which the UK can sign up to straight away rather than being another US-only service.

Users can still download DietK for the moment, which will plug in to KaZaA and allow it to work without the spyware. Users will probably choose this solution or migrate to any other of the well known P2P clients.

Related links:

• Sharman Networks - Official website of Sharman Networks

Tags: Software Online Websites Sharman Networks

KaZaA Lite shut down- By KaZaA originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 18 Dec 2003 10:25:04 +0000

Sensing the disquiet in the UK about closed American download stores, Coca-Cola are to launch a paid-for download service. Like the drink the service is expected to go global. Hooking up with OD2, who already supply Tiscali, Freeserve, HMV, Tower Records BT/Dotmusic and MSN, Coke plans to offer 200,000 songs for paid download. Once again rock star Peter Gabriel pioneers a service (he set up OD2) 11 years after going totally independent with his Real World record label and studios.

Like Itunes for the Mac, there won't be a monthly fee.
Costs are 75pence, $1.13 or €0.99 depending on your location. Whole albums are pencilled in for £7.99 (matching CD prices at some online stores) or €12.49. Whether you can burn your downloaded track/album to CD is a permission the copyright holder has to grant or deny. Digital Rights Management will control this type of access, so you'll need to use Microsoft's Media Player 9.

Checking the charts in music magazine popular artists such as Justin Timberlake have hit the million-seller mark with their albums, piracy or not, and legalized downloads will only help these artists. Whatever the bleating from record labels, some investment in musicians who can play their instruments is always more appreciated by the UK public than legal downloads.

Related links:

• Coca Cola - Official website of Coca Cola

Tags: Software Online Music downloads Coca-Cola

Coca Cola to launch UK Music Download service originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 18 Dec 2003 10:22:37 +0000

"All over bar the shooting" would be an unfortunate way to view the events at a recent Counter-Strike Gaming Tournament organised by CXG. Let's let Joseph F Hill of CXG take up the story in his own press release;

At 4:30am (CST) I was informed by CXG staff and representatives of Gamers X of a disturbance that took place outside of the Gamers X facility. In response to this event I have prepared the following statement, which is based upon police reports, research, and information gathered to date from those involved, I prepared this type of response because I believe it important to the community that these actions be revealed and discussed:

Late last evening following the completion of a match involving two Los Angeles based teams a fight was initiated outside of the Gamers X LAN Center, host of the CXG Los Angeles Qualifier; upon learning of the disturbance Chris Hill of CXG, and my son, was asked to try and resolve the matter and stop the fighting; as he broke up the fight he and others were jumped by people associated with Team BZ. As Chris, and others attempted to calm the situation a member/associate of Team BZ ran to his car opened the trunk of the car grabbed a gun and placed it to the head of Chris Hill while other Team Members and associates encouraged the person with the gun to fire!

Upon hearing of this situation and the facts surrounding the disturbance I immediately expressed my concern regarding the safety of my son as well as those players and staff involved with the event. I also began to inquire about the ability for local authorities to ensure the safety of those involved, at which time we were informed that until the people involved were arrested that no such assurances of safety could be provided. At this time I became very uncomfortable with anyone's ability to stop an additional act of retribution by those involved and requested the staff of Gamers X to stop the event and cease all tournament functions. The staff and ownership of Gamers X agreed with this position and players were informed.

CXG would like to express our appreciation to the staff and ownership of Gamers X with regard to the way they handled and managed this situation. Their thoughtful presentation of suggestions and actions is appreciated.

While this is a deeply disturbing and personally frightening situation I currently attribute this matter, and the despicable actions of those who initiated and presented the weapons, to the moral fiber and character of the local community rather than the games and players who will suffer due to the actions of a these few.

It is the position of CXG that threats and actions such as the ones presented last night unduly bring criticism and scandal to the gaming community and reflect poorly upon what we believe, in general, to be a great group of kids and young adults. However, we are also unwilling, unlike some other organizations in gaming, to hide our heads in the sand and act like these type of issues are not present within the community, someone has to step up! This is now the second time within the last 4 months that Chris has been exposed to verbal and physical harm by people associated with PC Gaming. While the severity of the first case does not reach the depth of this most recent situation, adults with supposed control of their acts conducted both.

It goes without saying that CXG scrapped that leg and banned the teams, and it wouldn't surprise me if the "further heightened security presence" at their next LAN will take the form of metal detectors and car searches before players even get inside the building. Hill deserves praise for standing up to be counted and not allowing the negative headline writers sieze upon the issue of gaming and violence- and for also being willing to continue his business.

The mentality of people driving around with guns in their car boot is already far enough removed to make the games they play an irrelevance, but there are too many pressure groups, particularly in America, willing to push their own censorious agenda off the back of this happening. Unlike the Bulletproof Xbox story, no shots were fired; but the threat was serious enough. With any luck the cause of PC gaming hasn't been set back too far thanks to this management of the story.

Related links:

• Vivendi Universal Interactive - Official website of Vivendi Universal Interactive

Tags: Gaming PC games FPS Vivendi Universal

Real Gun Pulled at LA Multiplayer Games Tournament originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 18 Dec 2003 10:16:43 +0000

While ordinary folk rush to catch the final rubbish and recycling collections before the holiday disruptions, Microsoft are doing much the same thing. The difference is, Microsoft's "junk" consists of old utilities and Operating Systems which are finally being deleted and taken out of any retail channel.

The best-known products to get the chop are all forms of Windows 98 before the Second Edition, Windows NT 4 and Outlook 2000 which will only be available in old Office compilations from now on. The latter product's role in the Half-Life 2 source code theft will have only hastened its demise.

The complete listing is as follows:

BackOffice Server 2000
Embedded Visual Tools 3.0
IE 5.5
MapPoint 2002
Office XP Developer
Office 2000 Developer
Office 2000 Tools
Office 2000 Multilingual
Office 2000 Premium SR-1
Office 2000 Service Pack 2
Outlook 2000
Project 2000
SQL Server 7
SQL Server 7 Service Pack 3
Windows 98 (does not affect Windows 98 Second Edition)
Windows 98 Y2K
Windows 98 Resource Kit
Windows 98 SP1 (does not affect Windows 98 Second Edition)
Windows NT 4.0 (Terminal Server and Option Pack add-ons only)
Visio 2000
Visual Basic for (Alpha Systems)
Visual Studio 6 MSDE
Visual Studio 6.0 SP3 and SP5

As these products contained code that was decreed illegal when settling a legal battle with Sun Microsystems, for once Microsoft isn't deliberately thinking of growing its own business- the products are old and another company doesn't want the Redmond Giant distributing its code anymore. It does provide another opportunity to persuade users of older software to upgrade.

However as noted in business magazine PC Pro, the buying of MS updates to keep within business support contracts, doesn't necessarily mean those newer XP and 2003 products are actually in use.

Windows 98 Second Edition's support finally finished this summer with only the online help preserved and no more OS updates. Meanwhile the ground breaking (or some might say Mac OS-stealing) Windows 95 was declared dead on New Year's Eve 2002.

Related links:

• Microsoft - Official website of Microsoft

Tags: Software PC software Office software Microsoft

Microsoft in Xmas software clearout originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 18 Dec 2003 10:12:20 +0000

UPDATED OCTOBER 15 2003:
While PC Owners all over the world enjoyed Halo instead, Valve are now treating this theft with the same force that the RIAA treats downloaded music. They will be suing anyone hosting the code or anyone they track down with the stolen section of the game.- and presumably upgrading its security at the same time. Despite not launching at Xmas, all is not lost- a release in the supposedly dead time of summer failed to prevent Neverwinter Nights and Warcraft III from hitting their respective sales of over a million each and the same for the add-on packs. A strong enough name like Doom or Half-Life should create the same sales effect whenever released- so Valve hope.

UPDATED OCTOBER 7 2003:
It now looks like the most anticipated game this Christmas has once again slipped into the next year - in a statement from Vivendi Universal Entertainment - the games publisher - they stated that Half-Life 2 would contribute to 2004 results.

This will be a cracking blow to the company who have up until recently been intent on the belief that the game would be launched without hitch at the end of september. Now it looks like April next year

It goes from bad to worse for Valve. Thanks to a Denial Of Service attack much like those aimed at Microsoft and American Yahoo! Sites and other the source code for Half-Life 2 is now out in the wild, albeit unoptimised and still in the final stages of bug-testing and translation.

Company frontman Gabe Newell posted on the understandably busyhttp://www.halflife2.net/ forums to state:

“Yes, the source code that has been posted is the HL-2 source code...

...What I'd appreciate is the assistance of the community in tracking this down. I have a special email address for people to send information to, helpvalve@valvesoftware.com. If you have information about the denial of service attacks or the infiltration of our network, please send the details. There are some pretty obvious places to start with the posts and records in IRC, so if you can point us in the right direction, that would be great.”

For all the fans' frustration at this latest hitch it's unclear what impact it will have on the game's already highly mobile release date. All details on the hacker will certainly come to light soon, but is certainly the most extreme response to the ongoing final difficult gestation of this sequel.

Less sympathetic fans may be wishing the hacker had stolen Steam instead, which few would have shed any tears over.

Related links:

• Vivendi Universal Interactive - Official website of Vivendi Universal Interactive

Tags: Gaming PC games FPS Vivendi Universal

Half Life 2 Source code leaked originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 03 Nov 2003 01:03:49 +0000

Speculation about Halo for the PC intensifies but today news emerged from Gearbox Software that the PC version will have officially supported co-operative multiplayer, a mode neglected in Western-developed first person shooters for some time. It may not ship with the game either in which case it will become a downloadable add-on. Whenever it arrives. It's nice to see Microsoft acting on user demand- or rather staving off the backlash before it starts.


In an Interview on http://www.computerandvideogames.com the rumour mill has started that the Halo sequel would stay on Xbox and that would be it. Hopefully the comment from Gearbox's boss Randy Pitchford that Halo 2 is “all Xbox” will translate once more to “the only console Halo 2 will be on, and then PC and Mac”. The PC version returns home at the end of October with all languages translated- or you can import an American version if you're impatient to only have the English copy, as it will be released in mid September- subject to customs charges of course. Several new screenshots accompany the above interview.

Related links:

• Microsoft - Official website of Microsoft

Tags: Gaming PC games FPS Microsoft

Halo for the PC: GearBox Co-operating nicely originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 03 Nov 2003 00:42:45 +0000

Nobody was all that happy with Unreal II back in February when it took the Max Payne approach and stayed resolutely short and single-player. Whether it was always in development and cut at the last minute or never intended for it, the game will receive a multi-player game as a free add-on.

So it's not quite as magnanimous a giveaway as Return To Castle Wolfenstein Enemy Territory, which anybody can play online without needing to have bought the game - but it's certainly good compensation for loyal fans from a company known for extended giveaways, as recently as with Unreal Tournament 2003.

The exact format of the multiplayer games is yet to be confirmed, but hopefully player movement will be given a much needed speed boost to avoid being as slow-paced a deathmatch game as Half-Life. Hopefully the remote sentry guns and base defence missions with and without AI assistance will figure largely in the add-on as they made for the best action in the singleplayer game. With the Xbox version of the original game in development We'll certainly bring you the details when it's released in an update to our review.

Related links:

• Atari - Official website of Atari

Tags: Gaming PC games FPS Atari

Unreal Two: Multiplayer Add-On Under Development originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Sun, 02 Nov 2003 23:58:36 +0000

They were already teamed up together to shore up BT's broadband provision and allow the telecoms giant to let go of the heavily promoted BT Openworld service, creating BT Yahoo! Broadband. A dialup service will be launched soon.

Now Yahoo has added two more established BT services. Games Domain has continued as an independent games site under BT ownership and at the moment it's unclear whether the main site will continue and content will be shared (as now with Reuters for current affairs news) or whether both will shrink into an integrated portal.

Duncan Ingram, MD of BT Openworld, remarked: 'This agreement is a natural extension of our stated strategy and adds to the attractiveness of the overall BT Yahoo! offering.”
Mark Opzoomer, MD and Regional VP of Yahoo! Europe: 'Yahoo! has a proven track record in the music and gaming field and the additional content from dotmusic and Games Domain will further the goal of providing Yahoo!'s UK & Ireland consumers with a compelling customer proposition.'
BT cannot be happier with leaving main operations to an established search engine making profit from its extended services such as larger mailboxes and email forwarding, leaving it free to get on with being the ISPs' ISP for broadband provision. Everybody wins, Yahoo's expansion provides further growth. The second rare sighting of a good news story for BT regarding the Internet which required no official orders from Oftel.

Related links:

• Yahoo - Official website of Yahoo

Tags: Software Online Search engines Yahoo

Yahoo! buys dotmusic and GamesDomain content originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Sun, 02 Nov 2003 19:59:14 +0000