Napster cuts losses and gains subscribers

Napster is putting a brave face on its latest financial results, having managed to cut its losses to $13.6m from $19.9m in the previous quarter. ...more

PlusNet boasts 10Gbps connection for inter-ISP traffic routing

PlusNet is the first ISP to plug a new 10Gbps connection to a London-based Internet exchange point (IXP), IXP operator LoNAP has announced. Internet exchanges are the means by which ISPs pass traffic between each other and reduce the number of networks that data must pass through before reaching its ultimate destination. The proliferation of faster broadband connections on the UK, currently up to 8Mbps in some cities, means that PlusNet will undoubtedly be followed by other ISPs. ...more

Future chips to use magnetic chains

Nanoscale magnets may replace transistors in the computers of the future, after new research discovered that when arranged into rows the magnets are capable of passing information from one to another. With the limit of transistor miniaturisation approaching, the tinier nanomagnets could help to prolong Moore's law and ensure that processors continue to get faster and more powerful. Nanomagnets also have other advantages. ...more

Firefox moves to block new breed of pop-ups

Mozilla is testing a patch for Firefox that will block the new breed of pop-ups evading the browsers current barriers. In recent weeks advertisers have managed to reintroduce pop-up and pop-under advertisements by using browser plug-in technology to launch them. The new patch for Firefox changes a couple of hidden preference so that plugins such as Flash and Java cannot open new windows and stops all Web events, such as clicks and form submissions, from launching pop-ups. ...more

Blu-ray flicks get first date

The first Blu-ray movies will be released on 23 May. Two leading distributors, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Lionsgate, have announced the release of 13 titles to coincide with the launch of the first commercially available BD player by Samsung. Sony will release 50 First Dates, The Fifth Element, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, A Knight's Tale, The Last Waltz, Resident Evil Apocalypse and XXX; at the same time Lionsgate will ship Crash, Lord of War, The Punisher, Saw and Terminator 2. ...more