Rio launches rival to the iPod shuffle

Rio has hammered out the latest in its Forge range of digital media players, the Forge 512MB. Targetted for sports use, the new Forge stands as its largest capacity flash-memory based player in the range, but this can be boosted still further with CD/MMC cards. A single AAA battery will last for 20 hours, claims the company, and the device boasts a touch-sensitive pad for navigation and an LED backlit display. ...more

Security at the IP level

Like the best ideas, it's very simple: for strong security, work at the IP level and you block hackers before they can get a foot inside the door. This is the strategy of Access Denied, a data security system from Access Research Technologies. IP (Internet Protocol) is the fundamental protocol involved in TCP/IP, and it underlies all Internet usage. ...more

Corel draws in Micrografx

In a stock-for-stock transaction, Corel has acquired Micrografx the venerable design and charting software company whose products include Designer and Picture Publisher, as well as some business process documentation tools. The move is part of Corel's strategy to concentrate on "creative" graphic products before more fully embracing Web functionality across its range. Derek Burney, president and CEO of Corel, identified three main motives behind the deal: to broaden Corel's portfolio in the "technical illustration" market, to incorporate new Micrografx technology to deliver rich content for the Web, and to invest in Micrografx's Enterprise Process Management (EPM) division, which is seen as a new and lucrative market for Corel. ...more

Apple's 30th Birthday [part 3] - The post-Jobs decline

With Steve Jobs out of the way, Apple CEO John Sculley briefly presided over what has been described as the first 'golden age' of the Macintosh. The computer that had been launched with a single Super Bowl advertisement took Apple's share of the market to over 40 per cent as the Mac was successively refined and enhanced. At the same time the operating system went through a series of evolutionary changes, peaking with System 7, which was released in 1991 and introduced full colour handling and powerful networking capabilities. ...more

Internet sees boom in Christmas spending

Britain's online shoppers spent a total of ?1.324 billion in December, up 70 per cent on December 2002. Combined with November's figures, a total of ?2. ...more