Microsoft returns once more to the iPod battle

Microsoft has launched a venture in Japan with Toshiba, JVC and local telecoms provider DoCoMo in another attempt to end the iPod and Apple's dominance of the digital music market. The three companies will be joined by five others to develop portable players for the Japanese market, with Microsoft providing the software, Bloomberg reports. While Toshiba and JVC will concentrate on building new MP3 players, DoCoMo plans to introduce a mobile phone handset that will be compatible with the Microsoft software. ...more

Microsoft names IE7 winners with Firefox tools

Microsoft has announced the winners of its IE7 add-on development contest. In a back-handed compliment to Firefox, however, the main prize was scooped by Core Services for its mimicking of the open-source browser's search behaviour. The Inline Search add-on lets you search for content on a webpage without bringing up the Find Dialog. ...more

Apple fix takes heat off MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro users are reporting that yesterday's firmware update appears to fix widely reported overheating problems. Although Apple revealed scarcely any information about the release - save that it provides a System Management Control update that fixes 'intermittent boot problems' - MBP owners have discovered that said is the specialised controller that manages thermal and power conditions and is in charge of running the portable's fans. Users report that after installing the update fan usage increased an machines were running up to eight degrees cooler. ...more

Motorola breaks semiconductor barrier

Motorola announces a technological breakthrough that, it says, "should result in smarter electronic products that cost less". The breakthrough involves the combination of silicon technology - on which chips are currently based - with high performance compound semiconductors known as III-V materials. III-V materials, including gallium arsenide, indium phosphide and gallium nitride, are light-emitting semiconductors. ...more

CES: HP's digital living room doesn't have a PC

HP is looking to turn itself into a giant in the consumer electronics field. Already a firm with a finger in pretty much every pie in the IT world, HP started its assault on the US living room last year with the launch of its first TVs. During her keynote at CES, chief executive Carly Fiorina extended the company's commitment to the living room with, among other things, an entertainment centre designed to appeal to people that don't want a PC to control their life. ...more