Hynix intros GDDR4 DRAM

Korean memory manufacturer Hynix Semiconductor has announced the availability of the world's first 512 Megabit GDDR4 DRAM. The company claims that new chips provide the world's fastest and highest density graphics memory. The foundation of the blazingly fast graphics from the major suppliers such as ATi and NVidia GDDR is an ultra-high speed graphics DRAM that processes movie quality animations and graphics data for personal computers and game consoles. ...more

French plan legal action against music file swappers

An organisation representing the French record industry is planning to follow the US lead and take legal action against music file sharers. The SNEP announced its plans following the first ever fall in CD sales in the country. Having bucked the trend elsewhere in Europe, where CD sales have been falling for several years, French sales slumped 14. ...more

LCD monitors overtake CRTs in Europe

Preliminary data from Meko's DisplayCast market research shows that shipments of LCD monitors have overtaken CRTs for the first time in Q2 2003. This is in spite of supply shortages of 15in panels that actually increased the prices. Indeed, overall shipments were down on expectations, growing just 7 per cent, but a bigger slump in CRT demand meant LCD shipments outstripped them. ...more

Madonna breaks Webcast records

At 9pm yesterday evening, Madonna's first gig in the UK for eight years was cast live over the Web, attracting more than nine million viewers. Madonna fans logged in to the MSN Webcast in record-breaking numbers to see the Brixton academy show, although the queen of pop played just six songs. Tickets for the 3,000 capacity venue were like gold dust, changing hands over a number of charity auction sites for as much as ?1,102 each. ...more

IBM donates software to guide Firefox

IBM has announced that it is contributing software to the Firefox Web browser to make it easier for users with visual and motor impairments to use the Web. The code will enable the navigation of websites and Web pages with keystrokes rather than mouse clicks and will make it possible for pages to be automatically narrated or magnified. Also DHTML accessibility technology will let software developers build rich Internet applications that, while relying heavily on visual elements and interactivity, will still be accessible to users with disabilities. ...more