BBC hires Yahoo exec as CTO

The BBC has hired Yahoo! executive John Linwood as its new CTO.

Linwood will be responsible for delivering the BBC's technology strategy, including maintenance of the technical infrastructure behind all BBC output and overseeing the corporation's IT requirements.

Also read: Yahoo's Bartz begins to clean house.

He joins the BBC from Yahoo!, where he was senior VP of international engineering, overseeing 1,600 staff across 22 countries, with responsibility for the development, deployment and delivery of Yahoo!'s services outside the U.S.

Open source traits lead to secure applications

SINGAPORE--The manner in which open source tools are developed lends a level of security assurance to the applications that are built on this model, said Sun Microsystems executives.

Roman Tuma, Asia South software practice managing director at Sun, noted that due to the inherent nature of open source, anyone can review the source codes to look for irregularities that could potentially harm users.

"I do see it as being more secure or more 'transparent' than proprietary software," Tuma said in an interview Wednesday, on the sidelines of this week's Open Source Singapore Pacific-Asia Conference here, where he was a speaker. The Sun executive is also a member of Singapore's National Authentication Framework Committee and the Philippines Ministry of Communication's Advisory Committee on Cyber Security.

Managed print services right for your business?

Commentary--From aerospace and defense contractors to financial services and healthcare providers, businesses are starting to realize the bottom line benefit to getting their output under control. They are doing this through Managed Print Services (MPS) a defined and mature strategy designed to help manage the volume of documents flowing through the organization and minimize the costs associated with printing, sharing and updating them.

Single charger coming for mobile phones

Major phone makers and mobile operators have agreed to adopt a single interface for handset chargers, the GSM Association announced on Tuesday.

By 2012, more than half of new handsets shipped will use Micro-USB as the interface for charging, the mobile trade body said at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. People will be able to use a single charger to revive devices from the 17 manufacturers and operators participating in the initiative.

Skype strikes deal with Nokia

BARCELONA--Skype is racking up deals with mobile handset makers here at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009.

On Tuesday, the company, which is owned by eBay, announced a partnership with Nokia, the largest cell phone maker in the world, to put the Skype Internet calling software onto its phones. Nokia will initially offer Skype on its high-end smartphones, the N-series. The N97, Nokia's flagship device that goes on sale in June, will be the first to have Skype embedded. The Skype feature will start shipping on the device in the third quarter of 2009.

Skype strikes deal with Nokia

BARCELONA--Skype is racking up deals with mobile handset makers here at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009.

On Tuesday, the company, which is owned by eBay, announced a partnership with Nokia, the largest cell phone maker in the world, to put the Skype Internet calling software onto its phones. Nokia will initially offer Skype on its high-end smartphones, the N-series. The N97, Nokia's flagship device that goes on sale in June, will be the first to have Skype embedded. The Skype feature will start shipping on the device in the third quarter of 2009.

Skype strikes deal with Nokia

BARCELONA--Skype is racking up deals with mobile handset makers here at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009.

On Tuesday, the company, which is owned by eBay, announced a partnership with Nokia, the largest cell phone maker in the world, to put the Skype Internet calling software onto its phones. Nokia will initially offer Skype on its high-end smartphones, the N-series. The N97, Nokia's flagship device that goes on sale in June, will be the first to have Skype embedded. The Skype feature will start shipping on the device in the third quarter of 2009.

Mozilla shifts code development to the cloud

The Mozilla Foundation's Developer Tools Lab, formed in October, has released its first prototype project - a web-based, collaborative code-editing framework named Bespin, after the planet where Cloud City is located in the Star Wars universe.

Dion Almaer and Ben Galbraith, the leaders of the Developer Tools Lab, said the aim of the project is to follow the example of tools such as Google Apps in shifting desktop-based tasks to the Internet.

Mozilla shifts code development to the cloud

The Mozilla Foundation's Developer Tools Lab, formed in October, has released its first prototype project - a web-based, collaborative code-editing framework named Bespin, after the planet where Cloud City is located in the Star Wars universe.

Dion Almaer and Ben Galbraith, the leaders of the Developer Tools Lab, said the aim of the project is to follow the example of tools such as Google Apps in shifting desktop-based tasks to the Internet.

Mozilla shifts code development to the cloud

The Mozilla Foundation's Developer Tools Lab, formed in October, has released its first prototype project - a web-based, collaborative code-editing framework named Bespin, after the planet where Cloud City is located in the Star Wars universe.

Dion Almaer and Ben Galbraith, the leaders of the Developer Tools Lab, said the aim of the project is to follow the example of tools such as Google Apps in shifting desktop-based tasks to the Internet.

Marathon man Szabo wins opening day epic

You have to hand it to Australian qualifier Jordan Szabo, who certainly earned his place in the second round of the Australian Open boys’ tournament with a stomach-churning 76 16 1311 win over Ronak Manuja of India which got the tournament off to a dramatic start.

“I just kept going," said Szabo afterwards. “I had a match point at 9-8 on his serve and then another three or four at 10-11 and then finally took one to go 13-11. I was definitely starting to get tired at the end. I felt pretty good but I was definitely starting to feel like I needed food and stuff. It felt like we’d been going for well over three hours and then I found out afterwards it was three and a half hours. It’s quite a long time, especially when one of the sets was 6-1. It’s the longest match I’ve ever played."

AMD announces socket AM3 Phenom II processors

AMD has this morning announced five new additions to its Phenom II processor family, which all feature support for both DDR2 and DDR3 memory.

We were expecting to publish a full review of the new processors today, but this weekend's move into our new headquarters in London has delayed things somewhat after a few teething problems during our testing.

There are three new quad-core and a pair of triple-core processors that have been introduced today, all of which are using the new 45nm SOI fabrication process. Of the three quad-core chips, two are clocked at 2.6GHz - the Phenom II X4 910 and 810 - and a third, the Phenom II X4 805, runs at 2.5GHz.

Britain buys more games than Japan

In the world of sales figures, America and Japan have commonly been seen to dominate the market - which is why so many games nowadays seem to cater to those markets. There's nothing but big muscles and spiky hair - not a Brogue-wearing businessman in sight.

Or, at least, that used to be the case. Japan it seems is no longer the market leader it once was, with the UK growing it's gaming market to become the nation with the second-biggest gaming market ever.

Bundled Firefox not the "right outcome"

The Mozilla Foundation's Mike Connor has declared that he doesn't feel forcing Microsoft to bundle Firefox as an alternative with Windows is "the right outcome" of an EU ruling that Microsoft has been abusing its position as a software monopoly.

Speaking in an interview with PC Pro, Connor declared that forcing Microsoft to include other browsers as a choice at installation time was "not the right outcome" of the EU's investigation into the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows, and that there was "

Intel unveils 32nm process technology

You probably thought that a 45nm transistor was pretty small, but Intel has announced that it’s taken its silicon technology even further into the realms of the infinitesimal today, as the company has just demonstrated the world’s first 32nm processors and announced massive plans for the technology.

The company plans to spend a whopping $7 billion US over the next two years on building the four 32nm fabrication plants, creating 7,000 high-skill jobs in the US. One is already up and running in Oregon, where another plant is scheduled to be running by the end of 2009. Meanwhile, two further fabs will be built in Arizona and New Mexico in 2010.

HP document disclosure vulnerability

You might be sure that your PC is locked down against attacking crackers, but how often do you update your printer's firmware? If you're a user of HP devices, the answer may well be “not often enough."

According to an article by The Register's John Leyden yesterday, HP is warning customers that certain models of laser printers are vulnerable to a remote exploit which can allow access to the internal settings – including the ability to view and download copies of previously printed files. While the vulnerability isn't likely to result in an opening for further attacks against an internal network, the privacy implications push the severity up a notch.

Asus to launch mATX Republic of Gamers Gene mobos

We have learned that Asus will launch the "Gene" series - the company's latest addition to its Republic of Gamer (RoG) family of motherboards - in a few weeks time.

Unlike all current Republic of Gamer motherboards, the Gene series will use the micro ATX form factor and fit below Formula and Extreme, which currently signify DDR2 and DDR3 respectively. We have also heard murmurs that these labels are likely to change in the future, though.

Dead Rising 2 announced

Capcom has unveiled the much anticipated sequel to Dead Rising recently and has impressed fans and proved its commitment to the PC Gaming Alliance by confirming a PC version of the game.

Dead Rising 2 will continue the major themes of the first Xbox 360 exclusive, those being zombies, chainsaws and the combination of the above.

The story for the sequel though will move on and away from that of the first game, this time casting players as a totally new character who has become trapped in a Las Vegas casino as the zombie infection starts to spread out of control.

AMD still insisting on its ACP rating

AMD is yet again pushing its Average CPU Power (ACP) ahead of Thermal Design Power (TDP) measurements and certainly doesn't consider its own TDP ratings to be comparable to Intel.

AMD's, Nigel Dessau, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, tweeted yesterday to another hack: "No two people measure TDP the same way. How valid is the compare?"

According to his official blog, Dessau tries to state AMD's position as one of being green and of energy efficiency. He claims AMD is going down this route in order to better educate IT managers into making informed decisions about power budgets and all the rest of it.

Kaspersky suffers database crack

A cracker by the name of “unu” has claimed that the website of anti-virus vendor Kaspersky is wide open to attack from SQL injection – and that it's possible to get a complete copy of the site's database containing personal information on the company and its customers.

As reported by The Register on Sunday, the digital miscreant – who posted the results of his attack to website Hackers Blog – the claim is that a simple manipulation of the URL on the

OLPC to open-source hardware

If you've liked the things that the One Laptop Per Child project has brought to notebook design, but didn't fancy spending your hard-earned on a a design straight from the Fisher Price Research Laboratories, take heart: Nicholas Negroponte has announced that the hardware design is to be released under an open-source licence.

Announced by Negroponte, the founder and CEO of the One Laptop Per Child project, at the TED 2009 conference – and reported by CNet this weekend, the plan comes after the original $100 laptop – or $200 as it eventually became – found itself being copied in the form of the ultra-low-cost PC, or netbook.

OLPC to open-source hardware

If you've liked the things that the One Laptop Per Child project has brought to notebook design, but didn't fancy spending your hard-earned on a a design straight from the Fisher Price Research Laboratories, take heart: Nicholas Negroponte has announced that the hardware design is to be released under an open-source licence.

Announced by Negroponte, the founder and CEO of the One Laptop Per Child project, at the TED 2009 conference – and reported by CNet this weekend, the plan comes after the original $100 laptop – or $200 as it eventually became – found itself being copied in the form of the ultra-low-cost PC, or netbook.

Opera creates new JavaScript engine

After its embarrassing showing in the next-generation browser speed tests carried out by ZDnet last week, Opera is keen to reassure users that it won't be accepting the results lying down.

According to a report over on CNet, Opera is planning a replacement for the Futhark JavaScript engine that featured in the build of Opera 10 Alpha that was tested as part of ZDNet's benchmark suite with a shiny new engine dubbed Carakan – and it should boost the performance considerably.

OLPC to open-source hardware

If you've liked the things that the One Laptop Per Child project has brought to notebook design, but didn't fancy spending your hard-earned on a a design straight from the Fisher Price Research Laboratories, take heart: Nicholas Negroponte has announced that the hardware design is to be released under an open-source licence.

Announced by Negroponte, the founder and CEO of the One Laptop Per Child project, at the TED 2009 conference – and reported by CNet this weekend, the plan comes after the original $100 laptop – or $200 as it eventually became – found itself being copied in the form of the ultra-low-cost PC, or netbook.

At least 90% of all psychology studies are flawed

Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson, a criminal psychologist from Texas A&M International University, has said that at least 90 percent of all psychological studies are scientifically flawed.

"I'll be honest with you, the quality of research in psychology generally is not very good," said Dr. Ferguson during an interview with Gamespot. "Maybe 90 to 95 percent is very bad. The way that we study questions, the way that we support our hypotheses are not very scientific, quite frankly. And social science is kind of an oxymoron, to some extent.

Opera creates new JavaScript engine

After its embarrassing showing in the next-generation browser speed tests carried out by ZDnet last week, Opera is keen to reassure users that it won't be accepting the results lying down.

According to a report over on CNet, Opera is planning a replacement for the Futhark JavaScript engine that featured in the build of Opera 10 Alpha that was tested as part of ZDNet's benchmark suite with a shiny new engine dubbed Carakan – and it should boost the performance considerably.

Apple to allow iPhone multitasking?

The iPhone OS might just finally be getting true multitasking features with the rumour that Apple will be relaxing its ban on third-party background tasks.

Reported over on MacRumours, many are taking the lack of the announced “Push Notification” functionality in the latest firmware release for the company's popular touch phone as an indicator that the current restrictions on background tasks could be lifted in the near future.

Opera creates new JavaScript engine

After its embarrassing showing in the next-generation browser speed tests carried out by ZDnet last week, Opera is keen to reassure users that it won't be accepting the results lying down.

According to a report over on CNet, Opera is planning a replacement for the Futhark JavaScript engine that featured in the build of Opera 10 Alpha that was tested as part of ZDNet's benchmark suite with a shiny new engine dubbed Carakan – and it should boost the performance considerably.

Apple to allow iPhone multitasking?

The iPhone OS might just finally be getting true multitasking features with the rumour that Apple will be relaxing its ban on third-party background tasks.

Reported over on MacRumours, many are taking the lack of the announced “Push Notification” functionality in the latest firmware release for the company's popular touch phone as an indicator that the current restrictions on background tasks could be lifted in the near future.

Opera creates new JavaScript engine

After its embarrassing showing in the next-generation browser speed tests carried out by ZDnet last week, Opera is keen to reassure users that it won't be accepting the results lying down.

According to a report over on CNet, Opera is planning a replacement for the Futhark JavaScript engine that featured in the build of Opera 10 Alpha that was tested as part of ZDNet's benchmark suite with a shiny new engine dubbed Carakan – and it should boost the performance considerably.

OLPC to open-source hardware

If you've liked the things that the One Laptop Per Child project has brought to notebook design, but didn't fancy spending your hard-earned on a a design straight from the Fisher Price Research Laboratories, take heart: Nicholas Negroponte has announced that the hardware design is to be released under an open-source licence.

Announced by Negroponte, the founder and CEO of the One Laptop Per Child project, at the TED 2009 conference – and reported by CNet this weekend, the plan comes after the original $100 laptop – or $200 as it eventually became – found itself being copied in the form of the ultra-low-cost PC, or netbook.

At least 90% of all psychology studies are flawed

Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson, a criminal psychologist from Texas A&M International University, has said that at least 90 percent of all psychological studies are scientifically flawed.

"I'll be honest with you, the quality of research in psychology generally is not very good," said Dr. Ferguson during an interview with Gamespot. "Maybe 90 to 95 percent is very bad. The way that we study questions, the way that we support our hypotheses are not very scientific, quite frankly. And social science is kind of an oxymoron, to some extent.

Apple to allow iPhone multitasking?

The iPhone OS might just finally be getting true multitasking features with the rumour that Apple will be relaxing its ban on third-party background tasks.

Reported over on MacRumours, many are taking the lack of the announced “Push Notification” functionality in the latest firmware release for the company's popular touch phone as an indicator that the current restrictions on background tasks could be lifted in the near future.

At least 90% of all psychology studies are flawed

Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson, a criminal psychologist from Texas A&M International University, has said that at least 90 percent of all psychological studies are scientifically flawed.

"I'll be honest with you, the quality of research in psychology generally is not very good," said Dr. Ferguson during an interview with Gamespot. "Maybe 90 to 95 percent is very bad. The way that we study questions, the way that we support our hypotheses are not very scientific, quite frankly. And social science is kind of an oxymoron, to some extent.

Gears of War PC problems fixed

Epic has released a new patch which should fix all of the certification problems which had been plaguing the PC version of Gears of War, according to a quick announcement on Microsoft's official game page.

The certification problem itself began a while back when anyone who attempted to play Gears of War PC was confronted with a message that said the digital certificate for the game has expired, making the game unplayable.

At least 90% of all psychology studies are flawed

Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson, a criminal psychologist from Texas A&M International University, has said that at least 90 percent of all psychological studies are scientifically flawed.

"I'll be honest with you, the quality of research in psychology generally is not very good," said Dr. Ferguson during an interview with Gamespot. "Maybe 90 to 95 percent is very bad. The way that we study questions, the way that we support our hypotheses are not very scientific, quite frankly. And social science is kind of an oxymoron, to some extent.

Opera creates new JavaScript engine

After its embarrassing showing in the next-generation browser speed tests carried out by ZDnet last week, Opera is keen to reassure users that it won't be accepting the results lying down.

According to a report over on CNet, Opera is planning a replacement for the Futhark JavaScript engine that featured in the build of Opera 10 Alpha that was tested as part of ZDNet's benchmark suite with a shiny new engine dubbed Carakan – and it should boost the performance considerably.

Bethesda delays Fallout 3 DLC

Bethesda has formally announced delays to the planned release of the next Fallout 3 expansions, dubbed The Pitt and Broken Steel.

The announcement, made via Gamespot, pushes the release back for both pieces of DLC by one month.

The Pitt, which is focused around a ruined factory in Pittsburgh, is now going to be released in March, while Broken Steel will be available in April. Broken Steel

Gears of War PC problems fixed

Epic has released a new patch which should fix all of the certification problems which had been plaguing the PC version of Gears of War, according to a quick announcement on Microsoft's official game page.

The certification problem itself began a while back when anyone who attempted to play Gears of War PC was confronted with a message that said the digital certificate for the game has expired, making the game unplayable.

At least 90% of all psychology studies are flawed

Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson, a criminal psychologist from Texas A&M International University, has said that at least 90 percent of all psychological studies are scientifically flawed.

"I'll be honest with you, the quality of research in psychology generally is not very good," said Dr. Ferguson during an interview with Gamespot. "Maybe 90 to 95 percent is very bad. The way that we study questions, the way that we support our hypotheses are not very scientific, quite frankly. And social science is kind of an oxymoron, to some extent.

Gears of War PC problems fixed

Epic has released a new patch which should fix all of the certification problems which had been plaguing the PC version of Gears of War, according to a quick announcement on Microsoft's official game page.

The certification problem itself began a while back when anyone who attempted to play Gears of War PC was confronted with a message that said the digital certificate for the game has expired, making the game unplayable.

Apple to allow iPhone multitasking?

The iPhone OS might just finally be getting true multitasking features with the rumour that Apple will be relaxing its ban on third-party background tasks.

Reported over on MacRumours, many are taking the lack of the announced “Push Notification” functionality in the latest firmware release for the company's popular touch phone as an indicator that the current restrictions on background tasks could be lifted in the near future.

Gears of War PC problems fixed

Epic has released a new patch which should fix all of the certification problems which had been plaguing the PC version of Gears of War, according to a quick announcement on Microsoft's official game page.

The certification problem itself began a while back when anyone who attempted to play Gears of War PC was confronted with a message that said the digital certificate for the game has expired, making the game unplayable.

Bethesda delays Fallout 3 DLC

Bethesda has formally announced delays to the planned release of the next Fallout 3 expansions, dubbed The Pitt and Broken Steel.

The announcement, made via Gamespot, pushes the release back for both pieces of DLC by one month.

The Pitt, which is focused around a ruined factory in Pittsburgh, is now going to be released in March, while Broken Steel will be available in April. Broken Steel

Gears of War PC problems fixed

Epic has released a new patch which should fix all of the certification problems which had been plaguing the PC version of Gears of War, according to a quick announcement on Microsoft's official game page.

The certification problem itself began a while back when anyone who attempted to play Gears of War PC was confronted with a message that said the digital certificate for the game has expired, making the game unplayable.

Bethesda delays Fallout 3 DLC

Bethesda has formally announced delays to the planned release of the next Fallout 3 expansions, dubbed The Pitt and Broken Steel.

The announcement, made via Gamespot, pushes the release back for both pieces of DLC by one month.

The Pitt, which is focused around a ruined factory in Pittsburgh, is now going to be released in March, while Broken Steel will be available in April. Broken Steel

Gears of War PC problems fixed

Epic has released a new patch which should fix all of the certification problems which had been plaguing the PC version of Gears of War, according to a quick announcement on Microsoft's official game page.

The certification problem itself began a while back when anyone who attempted to play Gears of War PC was confronted with a message that said the digital certificate for the game has expired, making the game unplayable.

Far Cry 2 gets hardcore mode update

Ubisoft has announced plans to release a new patch for Far Cry 2 that will add in a new game mode to the game at the request of the community.

"A lot of questions have been raised on the forums about a hardcore mode feature," said a Ubisoft spokesperson on the official forums.

"Today we are happy to confirm that you will be able to enjoy this new mode on all platforms with our next wave of patches.

Bethesda delays Fallout 3 DLC

Bethesda has formally announced delays to the planned release of the next Fallout 3 expansions, dubbed The Pitt and Broken Steel.

The announcement, made via Gamespot, pushes the release back for both pieces of DLC by one month.

The Pitt, which is focused around a ruined factory in Pittsburgh, is now going to be released in March, while Broken Steel will be available in April. Broken Steel

Far Cry 2 gets hardcore mode update

Ubisoft has announced plans to release a new patch for Far Cry 2 that will add in a new game mode to the game at the request of the community.

"A lot of questions have been raised on the forums about a hardcore mode feature," said a Ubisoft spokesperson on the official forums.

"Today we are happy to confirm that you will be able to enjoy this new mode on all platforms with our next wave of patches.

Bethesda delays Fallout 3 DLC

Bethesda has formally announced delays to the planned release of the next Fallout 3 expansions, dubbed The Pitt and Broken Steel.

The announcement, made via Gamespot, pushes the release back for both pieces of DLC by one month.

The Pitt, which is focused around a ruined factory in Pittsburgh, is now going to be released in March, while Broken Steel will be available in April. Broken Steel

Bethesda delays Fallout 3 DLC

Bethesda has formally announced delays to the planned release of the next Fallout 3 expansions, dubbed The Pitt and Broken Steel.

The announcement, made via Gamespot, pushes the release back for both pieces of DLC by one month.

The Pitt, which is focused around a ruined factory in Pittsburgh, is now going to be released in March, while Broken Steel will be available in April. Broken Steel

Far Cry 2 gets hardcore mode update

Ubisoft has announced plans to release a new patch for Far Cry 2 that will add in a new game mode to the game at the request of the community.

"A lot of questions have been raised on the forums about a hardcore mode feature," said a Ubisoft spokesperson on the official forums.

"Today we are happy to confirm that you will be able to enjoy this new mode on all platforms with our next wave of patches.

Bethesda delays Fallout 3 DLC

Bethesda has formally announced delays to the planned release of the next Fallout 3 expansions, dubbed The Pitt and Broken Steel.

The announcement, made via Gamespot, pushes the release back for both pieces of DLC by one month.

The Pitt, which is focused around a ruined factory in Pittsburgh, is now going to be released in March, while Broken Steel will be available in April. Broken Steel

Far Cry 2 gets hardcore mode update

Ubisoft has announced plans to release a new patch for Far Cry 2 that will add in a new game mode to the game at the request of the community.

"A lot of questions have been raised on the forums about a hardcore mode feature," said a Ubisoft spokesperson on the official forums.

"Today we are happy to confirm that you will be able to enjoy this new mode on all platforms with our next wave of patches.

Far Cry 2 gets hardcore mode update

Ubisoft has announced plans to release a new patch for Far Cry 2 that will add in a new game mode to the game at the request of the community.

"A lot of questions have been raised on the forums about a hardcore mode feature," said a Ubisoft spokesperson on the official forums.

"Today we are happy to confirm that you will be able to enjoy this new mode on all platforms with our next wave of patches.

Far Cry 2 gets hardcore mode update

Ubisoft has announced plans to release a new patch for Far Cry 2 that will add in a new game mode to the game at the request of the community.

"A lot of questions have been raised on the forums about a hardcore mode feature," said a Ubisoft spokesperson on the official forums.

"Today we are happy to confirm that you will be able to enjoy this new mode on all platforms with our next wave of patches.

Panasonic to cut 15,000 jobs

The credit crunch has claimed another scalp, with the news that tech giant Panasonic is looking to lose around five percent of its workforce following an increase in projected losses for the current financial year.

According to the New York Times the company will be looking to shed 15,000 jobs – half of which will be of workers based in Japan – as a result of losses of 380 billion yen (£2.85 billion) in the financial year leading up to March 31st, up from the 360 billion yen the company was hoping for.

Far Cry 2 gets hardcore mode update

Ubisoft has announced plans to release a new patch for Far Cry 2 that will add in a new game mode to the game at the request of the community.

"A lot of questions have been raised on the forums about a hardcore mode feature," said a Ubisoft spokesperson on the official forums.

"Today we are happy to confirm that you will be able to enjoy this new mode on all platforms with our next wave of patches.

Panasonic to cut 15,000 jobs

The credit crunch has claimed another scalp, with the news that tech giant Panasonic is looking to lose around five percent of its workforce following an increase in projected losses for the current financial year.

According to the New York Times the company will be looking to shed 15,000 jobs – half of which will be of workers based in Japan – as a result of losses of 380 billion yen (£2.85 billion) in the financial year leading up to March 31st, up from the 360 billion yen the company was hoping for.

Far Cry 2 gets hardcore mode update

Ubisoft has announced plans to release a new patch for Far Cry 2 that will add in a new game mode to the game at the request of the community.

"A lot of questions have been raised on the forums about a hardcore mode feature," said a Ubisoft spokesperson on the official forums.

"Today we are happy to confirm that you will be able to enjoy this new mode on all platforms with our next wave of patches.

Panasonic to cut 15,000 jobs

The credit crunch has claimed another scalp, with the news that tech giant Panasonic is looking to lose around five percent of its workforce following an increase in projected losses for the current financial year.

According to the New York Times the company will be looking to shed 15,000 jobs – half of which will be of workers based in Japan – as a result of losses of 380 billion yen (£2.85 billion) in the financial year leading up to March 31st, up from the 360 billion yen the company was hoping for.

Panasonic to cut 15,000 jobs

The credit crunch has claimed another scalp, with the news that tech giant Panasonic is looking to lose around five percent of its workforce following an increase in projected losses for the current financial year.

According to the New York Times the company will be looking to shed 15,000 jobs – half of which will be of workers based in Japan – as a result of losses of 380 billion yen (£2.85 billion) in the financial year leading up to March 31st, up from the 360 billion yen the company was hoping for.

Panasonic to cut 15,000 jobs

The credit crunch has claimed another scalp, with the news that tech giant Panasonic is looking to lose around five percent of its workforce following an increase in projected losses for the current financial year.

According to the New York Times the company will be looking to shed 15,000 jobs – half of which will be of workers based in Japan – as a result of losses of 380 billion yen (£2.85 billion) in the financial year leading up to March 31st, up from the 360 billion yen the company was hoping for.

Battlefield Heroes due out before April

According to Electronic Arts' financial documents, Battlefield Heroes, the free-to-play multiplayer shooter will be released no later than 31st March 2009.

The game has been in and out of beta for quite some time following heavily delays - there have been rumours that the game was cancelled, too.

At the end of January, developer Dice started accepting signups again for a new phase of beta testing, which confirms that the game is still on track for release.

Panasonic to cut 15,000 jobs

The credit crunch has claimed another scalp, with the news that tech giant Panasonic is looking to lose around five percent of its workforce following an increase in projected losses for the current financial year.

According to the New York Times the company will be looking to shed 15,000 jobs – half of which will be of workers based in Japan – as a result of losses of 380 billion yen (£2.85 billion) in the financial year leading up to March 31st, up from the 360 billion yen the company was hoping for.

Battlefield Heroes due out before April

According to Electronic Arts' financial documents, Battlefield Heroes, the free-to-play multiplayer shooter will be released no later than 31st March 2009.

The game has been in and out of beta for quite some time following heavily delays - there have been rumours that the game was cancelled, too.

At the end of January, developer Dice started accepting signups again for a new phase of beta testing, which confirms that the game is still on track for release.

Battlefield Heroes due out before April

According to Electronic Arts' financial documents, Battlefield Heroes, the free-to-play multiplayer shooter will be released no later than 31st March 2009.

The game has been in and out of beta for quite some time following heavily delays - there have been rumours that the game was cancelled, too.

At the end of January, developer Dice started accepting signups again for a new phase of beta testing, which confirms that the game is still on track for release.

Battlefield Heroes due out before April

According to Electronic Arts' financial documents, Battlefield Heroes, the free-to-play multiplayer shooter will be released no later than 31st March 2009.

The game has been in and out of beta for quite some time following heavily delays - there have been rumours that the game was cancelled, too.

At the end of January, developer Dice started accepting signups again for a new phase of beta testing, which confirms that the game is still on track for release.

Battlefield Heroes due out before April

According to Electronic Arts' financial documents, Battlefield Heroes, the free-to-play multiplayer shooter will be released no later than 31st March 2009.

The game has been in and out of beta for quite some time following heavily delays - there have been rumours that the game was cancelled, too.

At the end of January, developer Dice started accepting signups again for a new phase of beta testing, which confirms that the game is still on track for release.

Toshiba launches 1GHz smartphone

If, in your eyes, computing is all about the megahertz race, you'll want to hit up Toshiba for one of its latest smartphones – the first to feature a 1GHz processor.

As reported over on CNet, the company has become the first to launch hardware based on the Snapdragon platform from communication chip specialist Qualcomm. Dubbed the TG01 and running Windows Mobile, the device features a 4.1" 800x480 resistive touch screen, support for 3G and WiFi connections, and in-built GPS with A-GPS support it's a fairly standard smartphone at first glance, albeit one with a particularly high resolution display.

Amazon launches digital games sales service

Amazon has launched a new digital storefront for casual gamers today, with more than 600 casual games already listed for just £9.99 GBP, or less.

Currently running as an open beta until the feature set has been expanded a little more, Amazon is keen to get into the lucrative casual games market - which is ironically booming given the large number of lay-offs hitting many industries.

Each of the 600 games listed on the casual gaming service can be downloaded for a free half-hour trial without obligation, but after that it's either buy it or leave it apparently.

EA announces Battlefield 1943

UPDATE An eagle-eyed reader has pointed us to the official website for Battlefield 1943, which confirms the rumours we reported earlier today. The publisher has put up a short trailer showing off the new engine.

Not surprisingly, Dice has chosen to show off Wake Island, which looks to have been completely remade for the new title. The trailer shows off lots of cool effects and a slew of explosions, including deformable and destroyable foliage

Capcom joins PC Gaming Alliance

Capcom has announced today that it has just joined the PC Gaming Alliance, which was formed last February back at the Game Developers Conference.

Capcom now joins the likes of AMD, Intel, Nvidia, Microsoft, Dell, Epic and Activision in the PC Gaming Alliance - a group dedicated to the sole purpose defending the PC gaming industry from accusations that it may be dying.

Also pledging allegiance to the PC Gaming Alliance today is the Guildhall program at South Methodist University in the US - one of the biggest and most widely respected games design courses in the world.

More Left 4 Dead coming soon

Following on from the success of its Zombie co-op shooter masterpiece Left 4 Dead, Valve has announced that the first major content update for the game will be coming this spring, bringing with it an entirely new game mode and more versus support.

The update, headed to both Xbox 360 and PC versions of the game, will include the as yet un-detailed “Survivor” game mode, which we wouldn’t be too surprised if it turns out to be something along the lines of the very popular Horde mode in

Blizzard wins anti-bot copyright case

Blizzard has won a landmark court case against developer MDY over a breach of copyright today. MDY's auto-farming bot, called Glider, has been deemed to violate the copyright on Blizzard's World of Warcraft.

The bot is similar to many of it's type, taking control of certain characters and then using them to farm experience and gold, which can then be sold on to other players later.

According to Ars Technica, Blizzard's case could have wide ramifications for the MMO industry thanks to the argument put forward by Blizzard that

ESPN gives the middle finger to Net Neutrality

In a quite frankly disgusting move against sports fans, the ESPN has effectively given the middle finger to net neutrality, forcing its customers to switch to an affiliate ISP in order to view its online video service, reports Wired.

ESPN currently shows 3,500 sporting events a year through its online service, but if you've signed up to the wrong ISP you'll just get a red box roll over telling you your Internets are wrong.

HP launches Mini Mi Linux

Linux on netbooks just became a whole lot prettier with a new user interface designed by HP for use with their Mini 1000 Mi Edition device.

As reported over on Download Squad yesterday, Hewlett Packard has been working on a little something to make its netbook offering stand out from an increasingly stagnant crowd. Built on top of Ubuntu 8.04 – chosen over the more recent 8.10 due to its long-term support by Canonical – the new interface will make even the most hardened Windows or Mac OS fan look twice.

Deus Ex 3 inspired by BioShock

Developers at Eidos Montreal are apparently trying very hard to cultivate a strong sense of atmosphere and ambience in the upcoming Deus Ex 3, citing System Shock as a major influence and attempting to draw on the success of BioShock.

The news comes from a preview on a Czech website, according to Eurogamer. The preview apparently says that Deus Ex 3 is going for a more striking cyberpunk theme than ever before, with the main theme being how man is driven to outdo nature and improve himself.

Windows 7 editions revealed

If you've been hoping that Windows 7 might heal some of the divisions Windows Vista caused with its multifarious and often confusing editions, think again: the new OS is due to ship in no less than six different versions.

According to an article over on Engadget, Microsoft is due to launch six individual versions of Windows 7 – while aptly demonstrating that it didn't learn from the outcry over Windows Vista's confusing licensing.

Windows 7 editions revealed

If you've been hoping that Windows 7 might heal some of the divisions Windows Vista caused with its multifarious and often confusing editions, think again: the new OS is due to ship in no less than six different versions.

According to an article over on Engadget, Microsoft is due to launch six individual versions of Windows 7 – while aptly demonstrating that it didn't learn from the outcry over Windows Vista's confusing licensing.

Windows 7 editions revealed

If you've been hoping that Windows 7 might heal some of the divisions Windows Vista caused with its multifarious and often confusing editions, think again: the new OS is due to ship in no less than six different versions.

According to an article over on Engadget, Microsoft is due to launch six individual versions of Windows 7 – while aptly demonstrating that it didn't learn from the outcry over Windows Vista's confusing licensing.

Windows 7 editions revealed

If you've been hoping that Windows 7 might heal some of the divisions Windows Vista caused with its multifarious and often confusing editions, think again: the new OS is due to ship in no less than six different versions.

According to an article over on Engadget, Microsoft is due to launch six individual versions of Windows 7 – while aptly demonstrating that it didn't learn from the outcry over Windows Vista's confusing licensing.

Cox to experiment with prioritisation

Cox Communications – believed by many to be the second largest blocker of P2P Internet traffic in the US – is planning to implement a new method of managing its bandwidth congestion problems.

According to BetaNews, the company is looking in to methods for limiting the impact peer-to-peer file sharing traffic has on real-time communication protocols – which may spell the end for its outright blocking policy, and more joy for its customers. The move will also come as a pleasurable surprise to the Federal Communications Commission, which sanctioned the company last year for injecting packets into P2P datastreams that resulted in the connection being dropped – without telling its customers that it was doing so.

Cox to experiment with prioritisation

Cox Communications – believed by many to be the second largest blocker of P2P Internet traffic in the US – is planning to implement a new method of managing its bandwidth congestion problems.

According to BetaNews, the company is looking in to methods for limiting the impact peer-to-peer file sharing traffic has on real-time communication protocols – which may spell the end for its outright blocking policy, and more joy for its customers. The move will also come as a pleasurable surprise to the Federal Communications Commission, which sanctioned the company last year for injecting packets into P2P datastreams that resulted in the connection being dropped – without telling its customers that it was doing so.

Ubi: No DLC for Prince of Persia PC

Ubisoft has today confirmed that although there's some substantial new downloadable content for Prince of Persia heading to consoles, there'll be no DLC released for the PC version of the game.

Titled Prince of Persia: Epilogue, the first set of downloadable content is set to expand greatly on the ending to the game and give players a chance to continue to explore the fiction created by Ubisoft Montreal. It's planned for release on February 26th - on consoles that is.

Internet Explorer market share dips

Microsoft has taken another hammering in the world of the web browser with the news that not only does it have the slowest JavaScript implementation around, but its market share is steadily being eroded.

As reported over on CNet yesterday, a study by Net Applications has shown that Internet Explorer – in its many varied versions – has had a drop in market share of seven percent compared to this time last year. While the browser still maintains a majority share at 67.55 percent, it's clear that unless something changes it's a lead that could slip away from Microsoft very easily.

Google's "human error" blacklists 'net

Google has blamed "human error" for a glitch which saw the entire Internet classified as malware this weekend.

As reported over on CNet, the search engine giant – which works with site classification organisation StopBadware.org to alert users to potentially dangerous search results – started reporting the entire Internet as an infected site at around 1500 GMT on Saturday.

For about half an hour, the largest search engine on the planet warned users that "

EA confirms Mass Effect 2 for 2010

It's interesting how things come in threes; today Harry finished Mass Effect on the PC finally, I'm wearing a Mass Effect t-shirt and Electronic Arts has confirmed a 2010 release date for Mass Effect 2. Huh.

Apparently meant to be unveiled at the cancelled EA press event the other day, EA has today confessed that Mass Effect 2 is on track for a 2010 release on multiple platforms.

Which platforms exactly haven't been confirmed, but a PC and Xbox 360 release seems likely given that BioWare has already announced intentions to let players bring characters from the first game over to the sequel via their savegames. A PlayStation 3 or Wii release is still possible though, with BioWare having previously mentioned being interested by a

EA delays PC release of Dragon Age

Electronic Arts has today announced that it will be delaying three key titles for 2009, including the PC release of Dragon Age: Origins. Though no specific reason for the delays has been announced, it could well be to do with the fact that the publisher has been forced to close 12 facilities today after posting a £445 million GBP loss in just the third quarter of last year.

According to GI.biz the company is laying off 11 percent of it's total workforce, with redundancies hitting all levels of the company. More than 1100 members of staff will be out of work by the end of it.

Snow ruins Battlefield, Army of Two announcement

It snowed yesterday and, while that was very fun and everything, it did cause a few problems for a few people. None of the bit-tech.net staff could get into the office for example, and an Electronic Arts press event Joe was supposed to be attending got cancelled completely.

A press event which promised to be most exciting too, with information about three new Need for Speed games, as well as a brand new, unannounced and console-only game from DICE, among other things.

Crytek buys Free Radical

Things have gone a bit pear-shaped lately for the Nottingham-based developer of Timesplitters and Haze, Free Radical Design - but according to game scriptwriter and one-time bit-tech.net columnist Rob Yescombe, the company may finally be out of the woods after being bought by Crytek.

Speaking to 1-UP.com the Haze writer confirmed that Crytek had bought the company for an undisclosed amount.

DoD launches SourceForge-alike

The US Department of Defense has founded its own version of SourceForge to help co-ordinate its contributions to open source software.

As reported this weekend over on CNet, the new site – Forge.mil – has been created as the US military's version of popular open source site SourceForge.net.

Where the site differs from its more public-oriented cousin is in data security: the code repository requires two-factor authentication via smart cards in order to meet DoD security requirements, and prevent naughty types from inserting code in military projects.

Bomber threatens to destroy Bomberman developer

A Japanese gamer has been arrested by Metropolitan police after making several threats to fire-bomb the headquarters of Japanese videogame company Hudson Soft.

The 29-year old gamer is still unnamed, but apparently worked as a courier in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, says Kotaku.

The suspect allegedly started threatening Hudson Soft as early as October 2008, with aggressive letters to the developer and publisher continuing until January 16th 2009. In the letters the suspect threatened to bomb Hudson's headquarters a total of 11 times, saying in emails that he would send a letter bomb to the company unless 80 trillion yen was bought to JR Takamatsu Station, near where the suspect worked.

New Tron game planned by Disney

Disney Interactive is apparently planning to release a new Tron game to tie-in with the upcoming sequel to the 1984 sci-fi movie starring Jeff Bridges.

The sequel to original movie is set to star Garret Hedlund and Olivia Wilde, with Jeff Bridges also making a return. It's idiotically titled 'T2RN' and is listed for a 2011 release.

The game is to enter development shortly and will see a release alongside the film, according to Variety, who express concern that Disney Interactive is starting new projects while also laying off staff. The article also mentions Warren Spector's new project with Disney, which is rumoured to be a platformer starring Mickey Mouse - possibly a remake of

Crackers steal Monster.com database

In what must feel like a final kick in the teeth for the recently redundant, job site Monster.com is warning users that crackers have breached their servers and made off with personal data.

According to an article on BetaNews, the company has been breached by persons unknown with databases containing details of its customers – including names, user details, passwords, e-mail addresses, physical addresses, telephone numbers, and what the company described as "

Microsoft to expand Halo franchise further

Microsoft Game Studios has announced intentions to further expand the Halo franchise in the future, including taking it into non-game related media.

"We tend to view the franchise side of Halo as an entertainment property, and something that we hope to expand in many different directions: both through additional genres of gaming and additional ways to tell the story that may not be game-related at all," said Jason Pace head of the

No Fable II for PC, says Lionhead

Peter Molyneux's Lionhead Studios is not currently being ported to the PC despite rumours, say Lionhead employees in official rebukes on the Lionhead forums.

While Lionhead has been busy putting the finishing touches to the first batch of downloadable content for the Xbox 360 exclusive Fable 2, rumours have been circulating that a PC port of the free-roaming RPG is in the works.

Community Managers speaking on the Lionhead forums were pretty clear however, stating outright that "

Survey: 47 percent of PC game sales are digital

The data may not be totally reliable and representative, but according to a survey of more than 2000 hardcore PC gamers nearly 47 percent of all PC game purchases are made digitally.

The survey, which was run by the fine fellows over at RockPaperShotgun, was part of an effort to combat the notion that PC game sales are dying – an idea that largely stems from the fact that the sales figures collected by the NPD do not take digital sales such as Steam into account.

Google adds offline mode for Gmail

Google aren't letting the current economic climate get in the way of introducing neat new features in their services, and have announced a new 'offline' mode for the popular Gmail web-based e-mail system.

Announced on the Gmail Blog on Tuesday – and spotted via TechMeMe – the feature, which is described as "experimental", uses Google Gears to allow certain functionality within the Gmail website even without a working Internet connection.

AOL shows growth - cuts 700 jobs

The credit crunch is still forcing companies to trim staffing – even when the company involved is enjoying a growth period, such as AOL.

According to an article over on BetaNews, the iconic company is looking to release 700 staff from various divisions despite posting growth across many of its projects – with some reporting traffic increases of up to 27 percent compared to the same time last year.

A memo sent to employees by chief executive officer Randy Falco describes the cutbacks as being a necessity to "

Mirror's Edge DLC delayed

The new time trial map pack for Mirror's Edge that was meant to be released on all platforms today, but has been hit by delays and now won't be out for a week or two at least, according to Electronic Arts.

Mirror's Edge developer DICE today announced that it had run into problems with the new downloadable pack of time trial and racing maps for the game and that the pack would not be available until some point in February.

GPU shipments hit hard by financial crisis

Following hints that GPU shipments were down in the fourth quarter – a direct result of the economic slowdown – a report released by Jon Peddie Research this week all but confirms the worries. According to JPR’s estimated graphics cards shipments, the market declined by almost 35 percent between the third and fourth quarters.

Total GPU shipments for the fourth quarter amounted to 72.35 million, while the previous quarter’s estimates were pegged at 111.26 million units shipped. It’s also the first time shipments have dropped between the third and fourth quarters since the year 2000.