John Lister

RealNetworks, the company behind the RealPlayer software, has produced a DVD-ripping package which it claims does not break copyright laws. Unlike most ripping software, much of which has faced distribution problems after legal threats, RealDVD ... copies the entire contents of discs including the copy protection itself. It appears the contents will be copied in a specific format which can only be played back through the RealDVD software rather than, for example, Windows Media Player. The copied files will also be set-up in such a way that they only play on the original hard drive and can't be ... (view more)

Scientists are about to go ahead with the launch of a major physics experiment despite death threats from people convinced it will doom Earth to a black hole. Confused? The Large Hadron Collider, based near the border of France and Switzerland, is a ... cylinder that measures 27 kilometres around. When switched on this week, it will house two beams of protons which will collide at a speed just a millionth of one percent less than the speed of light. This will create up to 600 million particle collisions a second, allowing scientists to test theories about what makes up dark matter and why gravity ... (view more)

Apple is facing a second lawsuit over poor iPhone performance. This time, the company faces complaints that it sold more handsets than its 3G network could cope with. You may remember that many of the recent reports of dropped calls (caused by ... reception problems on the 3G network) came from California. It's therefore not a major surprise that the new legal action comes from a San Diego resident, William Gillis. He alleges that the new iPhone demands too much power from 3G networks, to the point that AT ... (view more)

Microsoft has aired the first in a series of ads featuring Jerry Seinfeld, former star of the popular 90s sitcom, "Seinfeld". Although he's guaranteed $10 million for the gig, Seinfeld's impact on Vista sales is yet unknown, and the campaign itself ... has done little to win over the mainstream media. The Seinfeld campaign is part of a $300 million marketing blitz to resurrect Vista's damaged image. Other tactics include comparing sceptics to people who once believed the Earth was flat, and a series of videos showing members of the public reacting positively to a presentation of 'Mojave ... (view more)

Thus far, Apple has launched the iPhone in 22 new countries with plans for a future Russian launch that could guarantee 1.8 million sales a year. The news has prompted one analyst to forecast the new 3G version of the device will sell 45 million ... units next year. The new markets opened up this week range from Argentina to Venezuela and include several countries in Eastern Europe and Africa. The Philippines was first to receive the phone legally, with reports of sold-out launch parties. Perhaps the most unusual launch came in Greece, where local laws meant the phone had to be sold unlocked. In ... (view more)

The promise of unlimited high-speed Internet access could become a thing of the past with more and more carriers putting limits on monthly downloads. The issue has become a hot one since Time Warner began a trial scheme in Texas limiting users to ... 5GB of downloads a month, charging penalty fees for any extra use. It's looking as if rival firms may feel they can get away with similar tactics. One firm, Frontier, is already planning to mirror the 5GB limit next year. What makes that particularly concerning for customers is that in Rochester, Frontier's biggest market, the main alternative is ... (view more)

Chinese iTunes users are reporting problems with the site, prompting speculation the government may have blocked the service in response to a popular pro-Tibet campaign album. There's no official confirmation that this is the reason -- or indeed ... that the site is being blocked -- but it certainly is likely, given that the problems began on Monday, one day after the Art of Peace Foundation began promoting its release, "Songs of Tibet". The album contains music from the likes of Sting and Alanis Morrisette, plus a 15 minute speech by the Dalai Lama. The publicity drive included the announcement ... (view more)

Aiming to put a much stronger emphasis on traditional fixed-price retailing, eBay is making dramatic changes to its fee structure. Analysts say it's a move to compete with Amazon, though the company insists it's not abandoning the auction model. The ... main changes include a reduction in listing fees for flat-rate goods to 35 cents per item: previously this had cost as much as $4, depending on the value of the product. This fee now covers multiple identical items, whereas previously sellers had to pay extra to list multiple quantities. In addition, fixed-price listings now last for a month ... (view more)

Innovative online music site Pandora appears to be on the brink of shutting its doors after failing to find a solution to increased royalty costs. The site's appeal, a 'personalised radio station' service by which users could list some of their ... favourite songs and performers, may no longer be marketable after recent demands the site pay more cash for the music it uses. How does Pandora work? Users rate songs and the Pandora system (looking at more than 400 attributes including tone, pitch, style, speed, instruments used and so on) would then play similar styles of music. The technology was ... (view more)

The US government has changed its rules on carrying laptops through airport security checkpoints. Whereas passengers previously had to keep their laptops in clear display, they can now keep them packed away in approved bags. While there's no ... official register of which bags are suitable, most existing laptop bags will not make the grade. That's because the guiding principle now is that security agents should be able to lay the bag flat on the X-ray belt and get a clear view of the contents when they scan it. The guidelines follow tests of 40 manufacturer prototype bags for Transport Security ... (view more)