IBM and Toshiba may launch low-priced Tablet PCs

IBM and Toshiba may work with notebook companies in Taiwan to launch low-priced Tablet PCs, according to sources at Taiwanese notebook makers. The two computer giants have been in frequent contact with some Taiwanese notebook makers for potential orders of Tablet PCs with retail prices to be set at around $1,299, according to sources. The moves are widely seen by the local notebook industry as much-needed recognition of the Tablet PC market, which has experienced faltering sales despite high expectations in the beginning. ...more

Real defends iPod harmony 'hack'

Real Networks has responded to Apple's accusation that it has 'the tacticas and ethics of a hacker'. In a brief statement the company defended its Harmomy technology, which enables songs downloaded from its own online store to be played on an iPod. 'Compatibility, choice and quality are critically important to consumers and Harmony provides all of these to users of the iPod and over 70 other music devices including those from Creative, Rio, iRiver, and others. ...more

Cisco adopts native SIP

Cisco is to bring a key industry standard to its IP-based PBX (private branch exchange) systems, bringing it into line with other major suppliers. The company has announced that Call Manager and its related services now natively support session initiation protocol, or SIP. Established as far back as 1996, SIP has been adopted by almost all the major communications vendors including Nortel, Microsoft and 3Com. ...more

Sun swishes back into PC territory

Sun unveils today its first sub-$1000 UNIX workstation - the Sun Blade 100. The new workstation is targeted directly against the higher-end PCs that have eaten into the market share of the traditional workstation. PC builders, such as Dell and Compaq, have long been releasing ever more powerful Wintel machines to compete for the computation-intensive work of engineers and designers, the typical workstation users. ...more

BT Totals broadband

BT has launched its BT Total Broadband package, which includes a number of products and services built around theoretical download speeds of up to 8Mbps. The range of offerings reflects BT's increasing move towards being a Web-friendly service provider rather than simply a physical line data carrier. The Yahoo!-partnered package, built around the BT Home Hub (pictured), includes Internet voice calls, video calls, 'hi-definition sound' handsets and anti-virus and anti-spyware protection, and the BT Fusion package is also included, for cheaply routing mobile calls through home lines when within range. ...more