Messenger 6 public beta

Microsoft has made available a public beta of its latest Messenger instant messaging system - version 6. The beta adds a range of new features seen in the likes of Yahoo! messenger and AIM, such as the ability to participate in games (although this feature wasn't available when we tried the beta), and the ability to add an animated icon. More personalisation is available in the form of more than 30 new emoticons and the chance to choose and create background images. ...more

Cold chips

As processors climb above and beyond the Gigahertz barrier, the fans needed to cool them make your PC sound more like a tractor than the sleek, powerful machine you paid for. Well, how about a processor coated with minute fans the size of a pinhead, or a number of these fans pushing coolant around the chip? That's exactly what scientists at the University of Colorado have come up with. The fans are made from a single sheet of silicon, with each blade less than half a millimetre long. ...more

Updated: Pressure group forces review of Microsoft FAT patent

The US legal pressure group The Public Patent Foundation (PubPat) has won the first round in its battle to get Microsoft's File Allocation Table (FAT) patent revoked. The US Patent and Trademark Office is to review its decision and has issued a Request for Reexamination of Microsoft's patent. According to the Patent Office, PubPat's request raised 'a substantial new question of patentability'. ...more

Sony unwraps two new Cyber-shot cameras

Sony has taken the wraps off two new Cyber-shot digital cameras, the ultra-slim T33 and the 7.2 megapixel P200. The T33 [pictured] comprises a 5. ...more

Fierce iPod appetite expected this Christmas

Apple will once again struggle to meet the demand for iPods in the run up to Christmas, according to Business Week. It reports that US retailers are getting far fewer iPods than they ordered, sometimes less than half, and expect demand to outstrip supply. Retailers are advising people to buy early, much as Apple CEO Steve Jobs did last year. ...more