Games Gadgets n Technology

BOSTON, Massachusetts: Cheap little servers handle so much of the Internet's dirty work that giant computers known as mainframes, which debuted 50 years ago and often cost more than $1 million, are supposed to be passe.

When Hoplon Infotainment, a startup video game company in Brazil, let it be known that it uses a mainframe to operate its signature online game, "People would actually take a step back and say, 'What? Did I hear correctly?"' said Tarquinio Teles, Hoplon's CEO.

Yet mainframes are inspiring new ways of doing things at organizations like Hoplon. The trend is driven by and anxiously watched at IBM Corp., which makes the vast majority of the world's remaining mainframes and continues to be hugely reliant on them.

After dropping nearly 8 percent in 2005, IBM's mainframe revenue is up 10 percent this year. That includes a 25 percent gain in the most recent quarter.

Mainframes were IBM's fastest-growing hardware segment after the microchip division, which is enjoying a nice ride making microprocessors for the top three video game consoles.

IBM does not release precise figures, but analysts estimate mainframe revenue at roughly $2.3 billion in the first nine months of 2006. While that is a small chunk of IBM's overall sales of $65 billion so far this year, mainframe revenue is especially precious because the machines drive huge software and maintenance deals, making them IBM's most profitable line of hardware.

Of course, the huge third-quarter boost is unlikely to be sustained. IBM is benefiting from having released two new mainframes in the past year, and sales eventually should taper until an upgrade comes, at least a year from now.

Such ups and downs are typical: Unisys Corp., a much smaller vendor, has seen mainframe sales drop this year, but spokesman Brian Daly said the numbers strengthened in the third quarter with the release of a new model.

Still, for IBM to be having success with mainframes at all is somewhat surprising. Because if you were to break modern computing history into its simplest terms, it would go something like this: There was the centralized-mainframe era, and then there was the distributed-computing era. And the former ended a while ago.

Mainframes emerged in the 1950s as room-sized hubs that did it all. They crunched numbers, administered transactions, ran simulations and stored data.

By the 1980s and '90s, however, information technology was flourishing with flexible and smaller pieces of hardware that took on traditional mainframe duties.

Cheaper server computers could calculate stuff and serve up Web pages. New communications gear ferried information around networks. Separate storage machines made more efficient use of memory. Millions of desktop computers flowered.

Sun Microsystems Inc., a leading maker of servers, denigrated mainframes as "dinosaurs," prompting IBM to call its next mainframe line the "T-Rex."

As mainframes ceased to be the center of gravity, they mainly lived on in government agencies, banks or complex networks like airline travel systems.

Many such places needed mainframes' heavy-duty security and processing ability, but others were locked into the specialized programs they had written in mainframes' unique language.

"Where the mainframe still has a long-term home is running long-term code," said John Parker, chief information officer for A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc., a financial services firm that recently dropped its French-made mainframe but still runs key functions on a mainframe operated by a third-party hosting service. "Every industry has it, in my experience."

Since inertia is not growth, the market for mainframes and servers costing more than $500,000 dropped from $19 billion in 2000 to less than $12 billion last year, according to analysts at IDC.

One huge challenge has been the machines' old-school reputation. Programming mainframes still involves typing code on a green screen, much like early versions of DOS, the operating system that dominated PCs before the visual "windows" approach.

To try to encourage younger software developers to write programs for the machines, IBM recently announced a $100 million effort to simplify and modernize mainframe programming. Earlier it began encouraging customers to run Linux, Java and other low-intensity software on mainframes, in hopes of keeping the machines from falling deeper into specialized niches.

IBM also is trying to get creative in luring customers. In April it launched a "business-class" mainframe that costs $100,000 and up, targeted at smaller companies that want mainframes' high level of security and reliability.

One key pitch is that mainframes can do so many tasks at once that they are more energy efficient and take up less space than a comparable cluster of smaller servers.

"For every application, many times it takes five servers in a distributed environment," said Jim Stallings, who runs IBM's mainframe division. "Many customers are saying, 'I can't deal with the complexity."'

The University of Toronto recently bought a business-class mainframe to manage enrollment and other administrative functions. Eugene Siciunas, director of computing services, said the main attraction was flexible pricing.

The university saved money upfront by selecting a mainframe that runs at less than top capacity. Then on days when computing loads are heavier, the school can buy a short-term boost of extra processing power. Network managers call IBM, which remotely tunes the mainframe to deliver better performance.

Hoplon, the Brazilian company, is using a mainframe's processing might to build a complex "massively multiplayer" online game. But rather than shelling out precious startup capital to own a mainframe, Hoplon is remotely accessing one stashed in an IBM data center in Brazil. The same machine manages a retirement fund for IBM's Brazilian employees and handles operations for a building-tools manufacturer.

Charles King, an analyst with Pund-IT Inc., said IBM has had to adopt such sales methods to "maintain the platform's viability."

"The company has done a good job of continuing to gain leverage out of the mainframe," King said. "For a platform that a lot of folks have claimed is essentially moribund or headed into a very dark, bad future, it's got remarkable legs."

Los Angeles: MySpace.com will use “audio fingerprinting” technology to block users from uploading copyright music to the social networking site, the company said Monday.

MySpace said it will review all music files uploaded by community members to their online profiles. The files will be run through a music database from Gracenote Inc.

“MySpace is staunchly committed to protecting artists’ rights, whether those artists are on major labels or are independent acts,” said Chris DeWolfe, MySpace CEO and co-founder.

The company said users who repeatedly attempt to upload copyright music files will be permanently barred from the site.

The site has come under fire from major record labels who have sued in some cases to prevent copyright music from being included as the soundtrack to user-generated content.

The challenge of policing its users’ music choices, however, is just one issue facing MySpace, which has skyrocketed in popularity over the past year.

The social networking site must address concerns that it has become a tool for paedophiles to establish first contact with children.

MySpace has also been grappling with frequent spam attacks and has had to take steps to limit invitations from bogus “friends” sent to thousands of users at a time.

BOSTON, Massachusetts: The cameras capture the young man walking down the stairs, reciting a monologue about the three things people should know about him: His favorite movie is "Gone with the Wind," he loves roller coasters and he hates when people don't take him seriously.

The shot is complicated and takes several attempts to perfect. But there's no big camera equipment, no expert sound system and no reels of film to capture the moment.

Instead, everyone involved, from the three cameramen and the sound guy to the extras, is producing the miniature movie with -- and for -- cell phones.

The exercise is part of a new Boston University class created through a unique partnership with cellular company Amp'd Mobile and taught by director Jan Egleson. During the semester, the students will produce a series of short episodes that eventually will be distributed by the company for its cellular customers.

The students have challenged each other to shoot it using only the phones, despite obstacles surrounding sound and video quality.

The class, which the university believes is the only one of its kind in the country, offers students credit and a chance to be part of the new media culture -- where anyone, anywhere, can create, distribute and view entertainment using a variety of emerging technologies. Amp'd benefits by getting mobile content created by one of its targeted audiences: young, tech-savvy adults.

Amp'd, whose backers include Qualcomm Inc. and Viacom Inc., is trying to compete with mainstream cellular players like Cingular Wireless by branding itself as a youth-oriented company offering more than just phone service.

It sells comedy clips, cartoons and music videos for subscribers to watch on cell phones for prices that start at 45 cents for a single download to $20 for unlimited access.

Most content is geared toward people ages 18 to 35.

"They're all about anywhere, anytime," said Seth Cummings, Amp'd Mobile's senior vice president for content, who helped start the program at his alma mater. "They want to be able to take their media with them."

Amp'd has hired established writers to create original content, but Cummings said the company decided to work with BU to target budding artists.

"I know that when I was there, there was this stuff that we'd create that there was no outlet (for)," Cummings said. "There's a real outlet here."

The medium is so new, the students and Egleson spent some time in a recent class debating what to call their work. Options included mobisodes (mobile episodes), mobilettes or cellenovelas (cellular telenovelas).

"We're on the cutting edge of a new era of film medium," said Mark DiCristofaro, a 21-year-old BU film student. "Why not get on board early?"

And because anyone with a cell phone can make a video and upload it to the Internet to watch on computers or phones, the students said they felt a greater opportunity to get people to see their work. Television production graduate student Chris Miller said cell phones give young filmmakers a new way to distribute their work.

"It's so hard to get the studios to really pay attention, especially the beginning filmmakers," Miller said. "So if they don't want to go that route, you don't have to."

In some respects, Egleson's film class is like any other. In the first hour, he guides the students through a discussion of editing, graphics, music and tone. They work on their series, centered on a group of diverse students who each harbor a secret.

"The bottom line is always that if it's a good story and you get involved, it doesn't matter what format it is," said Egleson, who has directed films and television shows.

Other times, though, the students and teacher run into challenges unique to working with their black, shiny cell phones provided by Amp'd:

# The phones film for just 15 seconds at a time. For longer scenes, such as the monologue in the stairwell, multiple phones are used.

# The phones don't pick up sound well. During this class, the students try putting a phone in an actor's pocket or using a makeshift boom created with a tiny microphone and a bendable, green stick.

# In some scenes, cameramen can be seen in the shots. So when they finish filming, they quickly put their cameras to their ears and become extras casually chatting on the phone.

The picture quality isn't as good as film, either, because the phone's camera records 15 frames per second, compared with the typical 24 to 30 frames per second in movies or on television.

"I wish I could tell you I've done this a million times," Egleson tells the class as they watch him upload their footage stored on the phone's memory cards onto his laptop, done by connecting the phone to the computer with a USB cable.

Miller said the students also have had to adapt their film-making style for the small -- very small -- screen. Scenes are shorter, cuts are quicker and visuals are larger. Nobody is trying to make a "Saving Private Ryan" epic, and the students refuse to edit out the quirks, saying they want to create videos the average phone user could make themselves.

"It's not quite as clean as what you'd expect from television. It's a little more raw," Miller said. "It's not your 'Everybody Loves Raymond' sitcom."

On the other hand, Egleson said, the phones give the cameramen more flexibility because they aren't lugging around large equipment and can easily whip a phone out of their pocket for spontaneous scenes. And Egleson expects the phone technology to improve quickly.

Paris recently held its second film festival devoted exclusively to movies shot with cell phones. But it's too early to say how popular mobile programming will become in the United States, said Linda Barrabee, an analyst at the Yankee Group, a Boston-based technology research firm.

Although cell phones are ubiquitous, a much smaller percentage of people own phones with the technology to watch videos or subscribe to services to do so.

Current trends, she said, lean toward people being most interested short programming, such as sketches or sports highlights, that they can watch in line at the store or on the subway.

"For the most part, what we're talking about is snacking," she said.

But Barrabee wouldn't rule out feature films watched in segments _ or even attracting older people, who have more buying power than young adults.

Despite the challenges and uncertain future, a wave of enthusiasm traveled through a recent three-hour BU class, from the experimental filming to the writing session.

"I feel like I should pay $7 for this," one student said as the class crowded around cell phones and computers to watch their edited footage.

Which is exactly what Amp'd Mobile wants to hear.

Palm Treos once came in any color you wanted as long as it was silver. With the new Treo 680, however, trend-setters can also get their smartphones in red, orange and white.

The 680 is considerably smaller than earlier Treos and does not have an external antenna. It has a full alphabetic keypad, a basic camera and a color touchscreen. The device is less than an inch thick and weighs 5 ounces.

The 680’s battery lasts for about four hours of talk time and 300 hours of standby. It has Bluetooth and infrared wireless networking, as well as a slot for memory cards, and it can synchronize contact information with Macs and Windows PC’s.

Palm has not said which wireless company will sell the 680 or how much it will cost when it is released in the next few weeks. Its G.S.M. technology means it is compatible only with the networks of T-Mobile and Cingular Wireless in the United States.

The Treo 680 is aimed at casual users and, thanks to its flashy colors, it is more likely to end up in a backpack or a purse than strapped to a chief executive’s hip.

When it’s time to blast your music through something louder than those little white earbuds, connecting your iPod to your home entertainment system with a stereo cable is the most common approach. To cut that cord, Belkin’s TuneStage II lets you beam music wirelessly to the stereo over a Bluetooth connection from as far as 30 feet away.

To set up the wireless link, you plug TuneStage’s Bluetooth receiver into the stereo, connect a small transmitter to the bottom of the iPod and then pair up the two devices. You can roam around the house for up to seven hours if the iPod is fully charged, and change the song or playlist right from the player’s own controls.

The TuneStage II ($150 at www.belkin.com, and due out in retail stores late next month) works with most recent iPod models, including the video iPod, the iPod Mini, the iPod Nano and early color-screen players. It can also pair up with compatible Bluetooth headphones and car stereos.

Midway Games' "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon," now available for the Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox, boasts a full roster of playable characters.

"Armageddon" is the first in the series to feature every character from the 14-year-old "Mortal Kombat" universe. There are more than 50 3-D fighters in all including Scorpion, Kung Lao, Sub-Zero and Motaro.

Like any good fighting game, however, only a handful of characters are available at the start. Part of the fun is unlocking the rest, each of whom has a unique look, fighting style and weapon preference.

And if you don't want to go with a preexisting character, "Armageddon" is the first "Mortal Kombat" game with a "Kreate-a-Fighter" mode. You can select from thousands of physical features and attributes to design a custom fighter, give him or her a name, and then start a game to test their skills against others.

The fighting, which is fast-paced, requires mastery in three key areas: hand-to-hand combat, weapons and magic. Learning how to punch, kick, jump and spin -- not to mention linking successive moves into "combos" -- takes some time to get right. Therefore, you won't get very far in this title if you try your luck by random "button mashing."

It's also fun to learn how to fight in the air with the many aerial moves offered in this game.

Another "Mortal Kombat" calling card is the notorious "fatality" move, which refers to the way one fighter can kill the other. In "Armageddon," a new Kreate-a-Fatality system gives players the ability to create custom fatalities by stringing together button combinations.

Midway has also expanded a few of its game modes. Aside from the single-player game (against the game's artificial intelligence) and a two-player mode (on the same television), "Armageddon" also offers a deeper Konquest game (a story-based adventure) and expanded online play for head-to-head matches over the Internet - with faster response times than found in 2004's "Mortal Kombat: Deception," and the ability to play your custom fighter in cyberspace.

But even with all of these additions, "Mortal Kombat" is still the same old 3-D fighting game: Each player picks a character and fights in a number of different environments. In other words, "Armageddon" just gives the player a lot more of the same stuff. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; but if you are looking for a revolutionary new game, this is not it.

Also, while this game's graphics look OK (better on the Xbox than the PlayStation 2), it doesn't compare to fighting games on the Xbox 360 such as Tecmo's "Dead or Alive 4."

"Mortal Kombat" fans can pick up "Armageddon" for $39.95, or they may opt for the Premium Edition ($49.95), which also includes a playable version of the original "Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3," more than 60 minutes of bonus DVD video content, a collectible metal case (with four unique box fronts in total), and an animation cell cover art autographed by franchise co-creator Ed Boon.

Peter Jackson, who defied all Hollywood expectations by bringing “The Lord of the Rings” to the silver screen, may have a tougher challenge on his hands: Delivering the first blockbuster video-game movie.

When Jackson signed on to produce the film version of the game “Halo,” the project looked unstoppable – until co-financers Universal and Fox abruptly backed out.

Hollywood trade paper, Variety, reported rumours of an out-of-control budget, but a representative for Jackson and his partner, Fran Walsh, said that the studios had demanded a pay cut for the filmmakers at the last minute.

Microsoft issued a statement saying, “We are disappointed that Universal and Fox wanted to significantly renegotiate the financial points of the deal,” but added that Jackson, Walsh and “the rest of the creative team are dedicated to ensuring the Halo movie becomes a reality.”

There are still a lot of questions surrounding the Nov 17 launch of the PlayStation 3 – in particular, just how many people will be able to buy one. But Sony is proceeding as though the PS3’s production issues are nonexistent.

Sony, instead, has been emphasising on the console’s online PlayStation Store, which will allow users to download arcade games, demos and bonus content for store-bought titles – stuff that’s been available on Microsoft’s Xbox Live for a while now.

Sony also demonstrated its motion-detecting Sixaxis controller, showing how you would tilt and jerk the device to control a dragon in the forthcoming medieval fantasy “Lair.”

Japanese mobile carrier NTT DoCoMo’s new mobile phone, P903i, comes with anti-theft technology in the form of a security key card. To use the phone, owners have to keep it in close proximity with the card (which can be kept in their bags or pockets).

The phone recognises when the card moves too far away and automatically locks the handset (in case it’s lost or stolen).

The phone also comes with Global Positioning System satellite navigation to help look for the missing cell phone. NTT DoCoMo plans to launch the new device in the next few months

"Advances in processors let developers achieve new sense of realism in games"

Virtual versions of Ronaldinho and Wayne Rooney are dribbling and scoring goals more like they would in real life thanks to a makeover of thousands of international soccer stars in the latest ‘FIFA Soccer’ video game.

In ‘FIFA Soccer 07,’ this year’s addition to Electronic Arts’ blockbuster soccer franchise, a new physics and data-driven engine allows the players to move less like robots and more like individuals with their own playing styles.

That’s because Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 3 next-generation video game consoles can process a lot more information on each athlete’s unique traits than current-generation consoles, the game’s senior producer said.

“With the processing power of the next-generation platforms we can now get a level of physics on the player that we could not get before,” said EA’s Andrew Wilson. “When you are watching it, you start to recognise them not by how they look, but how they move.”

Not only are the players programmed to shift their weight, drop their shoulders and plant their feet the same way their real personas do, they also make decisions on things like what runs to make and how to shoot the ball based on their real-life performances on the field.

“People like Rooney or Ronaldo or Beckham make plays in the game based on how they would in real life,” Wilson said. “What time of the game is it? Are they at home or away? All these things change how a player makes decisions on the pitch.”

Because of the vast number of traits that can now be assigned to each player, the time it takes to develop the athletes has skyrocketed.

As a result, ‘FIFA 07,’ which will on sale from November 1, has just 3,000 or 4,000 players compared with more than 10,000 in the previous version.

Still, Wilson said the new player attributes make the game less predictable because gamers will have new in-game experiences even after racking up 200 hours of play.

“We are trying to offer a rewarding learning curve,” Wilson said “People in the hundredth hour are seeing things they’ve never played before.”

In addition, the game features new ball physics that allow the soccer ball to be passed between team-mates or shot at the goal more naturally.

Previously, the ball had to be “attached,” as if with an invisible rubber band, to a specific player when being dribbled, passed or shot. Now, the ball moves independently.

“No longer does the (processor) know where the ball is going to end up,” Wilson said. “You now have to play ‘FIFA’ the way you would play real football.”

This business-minded portable offers top performance and better-than-average battery life.

HP's new flagship business portable has a 17-inch WXGA screen and weighs 7.4 pounds, so it ranks among the lightest notebooks in its category. If no other surface is available, the HP Compaq nx9420 feels perfectly comfortable perched on your lap, huge screen and all.

The nx9420's keyboard is terrific: Its mouse buttons are extremely comfortable because of their soft texture and ability to depress deeply. The separate numerical keypad is topped by a button that handily launches the Windows calculator.

The notebook's battery life is above average at 3 hours, and its speed is excellent. Equipped with the fastest of Intel's new dual processing chips (the 2.16-GHz Core Duo T2600) and 1GB of RAM, the nx9420 earned a WorldBench 5 score of 101, one of the highest marks we've ever recorded for a portable.

The nx9420's design is as elegant as its charcoal-colored case, with pale but readily discernible icons stenciled on top of the case to identify side connections, and with a plastic bottom sleeve to hold your business card.

Our $2399 (as of March 27, 2006) review unit included a smallish 80GB hard drive (100GB is the largest size available), a fixed DVD burner, a FireWire port, four USB ports, a front-mounted seven-in-one memory card slot, and a SmartCard reader. The nx9420 lacks the great sound and music buttons of the notebook it replaces, the 2-pounds-heavier Compaq nx9600. It also omits the nx9600's side connection for HP's xb2000 docking station with stereo speakers (though it does work with a different HP docking station that offers a modular bay and an ExpressCard slot.)

Still, with its superb combination of weight and a big screen, the nx9420 will probably soon have its own loyal fans among on-the-go professionals who need a great presentation notebook.

TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- An experimental helmet from Toshiba Corp. gives its wearer the visual experience of being someplace else.

Inside the headgear from the Japanese electronics maker, a 40-centimeter (16-inch) screen can show a vista that is synched with the wearer's head movements, giving the illusion of actually being there.

The 3 kilogram (6 pound) helmet -- squared off in the back and rounded, bubble-like, in the front -- has infrared sensors at the top that detect which way the wearer's head is moving, said company spokeswoman Kaori Hiraki.

The projector in the back of the helmet shows images corresponding to the head movements on the screen inside the helmet, giving the wearer an illusion of immediacy and realness, according to Tokyo-based Toshiba.

If the night city landscape is being shown, and the person turns to the left, the image will also swivel in time to show what would be seen toward the left.

Toshiba has no plans yet to turn the technology into a commercial product. But it believes it will come in handy for computer games or enhancing the impact of movies. There is no price estimate for the gadget.

"I tried wearing it watching video of outer space," Hiraki said. "I felt like I was flying. It felt so real."

Part of the effect comes from how the helmet shuts out the real world, she said.

Although the headgear looks bulky, it is smaller than older versions of the technology that uses sensors to detect head moves, Toshiba said.

Hoping to leave an even bigger imprint on the Internet, Google is opening up its vast online index so other Web sites can build their own specialty search engines.

“Now people can get the power of Google search even when they’re not on Google.com,” said Shashi Seth, group product manager for the custom search engine.

The free custom tools, available at www.google.com/coop/cse, will allow other Web sites to limit the range of material that they want to include in their search indexes as well as rank the importance of specific pages.

Google said it simplified the process so even technological neophytes should be able to tailor their own search engines in 10 minutes or so.

Hundreds of Web sites already rely on Google’s search technology, but most of those arrangements either focus exclusively on content posted within a partner’s site or span the billions of pages indexed in Google’s complete database.

Google designed its customising system to appeal to Web sites that want their search engines to focus on specific topics. For instance, a fishing site might tailor Google’s customised search engine so it doesn’t scan music sites to minimise the chances for confusion when the term “bass” is entered.

Software maker Intuit Inc already has used Google’s customised tools to create a specialty search engine for a new Web site, JumpUp.com, devoted to small business issues.

In return for providing a tailor-made search index, Google will display short, text-based ads tied to the search requests entered at participating Web sites.

The revenue generated from those ads will be shared with the Web site owners – the same approach that has enabled Google to build the Internet’s biggest advertising network and establish itself among the world’s most valuable companies with a market value of nearly $150 billion after just eight years in business.

Web sites run by government agencies, universities and non-profit groups will be permitted to deploy the custom search tools without being forced to run Google’s ads.

Google is buying video-sharing website YouTube for $1.65bn (£883m) in shares after a weekend of speculation that a deal was in the offing.

The two companies will continue to operate independently, Google said as it announced the news on Monday.

YouTube, launched in February 2005, has grown quickly into one of the most popular websites on the internet.

It has 100 million videos viewed every day and an estimated 72 million individual visitors each month.

'Natural partners'

"The YouTube team has built an exciting and powerful media platform that complements Google's mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful," Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said in a statement.

He said the two companies were "natural partners" to offer a media entertainment service to users, content owners and advertisers.

Mr Schmidt also told investors that YouTube will be "one of many investments" Google plans to make in the video field.

However, the company will keep operating its own Google Video as a separate operation.

YouTube will retain its brand, and its 67 staff, including co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, will keep their jobs.

"Our community has played a vital role in changing the way that people consume media, creating a new clip culture," said Mr Hurley.

"By joining forces with Google, we can benefit from its global reach and technology leadership to deliver a more comprehensive entertainment experience for our users and to create new opportunities for our partners."

According to Comscore World Metrix, YouTube's audience has soared from 2.8 million unique users one year ago to 72 million users in August 2006.

Music tie-ups

The announcement came after a day of distribution deals drawn up by the pair.

Universal Music Group has signed a distribution deal with YouTube, which will protect the rights of the music firm's artists.

YouTube also says it has signed a deal with CBS, which will offer short-form video programming, including news, sport and entertainment on YouTube.

Google has also signed distribution deals of its own, with Sony BMG and Warner Music to offer music videos.

The Google deals should enable internet users in the US to view music videos, artist interviews, and other footage from the two firms on Google video for free from this month.

The content is sponsored through a Google advertising-supported revenue-sharing agreement.

Google also said that in addition to the advertising-supported video content, music videos from Warner would be available for purchase as downloads at $1.99 each.

As part of YouTube's deal with CBS, the companies will share revenue from advertising sponsorship of CBS Videos.

Microsoft has made Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7) available to the general public.

The new version is the first upgrade to the web browsing program for more than five years.

New features include tabbed browsing, the ability to search the net directly and an anti-fraud system to thwart phishing attacks.

The new program is available as a free download on 19 October, but many will get it as an automatic update to Windows XP in November.

Phish fighter

The new version of the browser has gone through a long testing regime and five test or "beta" versions have been made available in the last 14 months.

Despite this IE 7 is still seen as an attempt by Microsoft to catch up with rival browsers as it includes features that have long been seen in competitors such as Firefox and Opera.

With the new version, it is possible to open up tabs rather than windows for new webpages and subscribe to RSS feeds via the browser.

One feature is the addition of a box that lets people search the net directly from the browser rather than through a dedicated webpage.

In early releases of IE 7 this defaulted to Microsoft's own search engine, but the software company has let users choose which search site this feature should call upon.

Built in to the browser is an anti-fraud system that changes the colour of the address bar to red when a user visits a known phishing site. Other warnings will pop-up if an IE 7 user strays onto a site displaying suspicious activity.

The security features on IE 7 mean that many people will get the browser as part of the monthly updates Microsoft issues to address bugs in its software. Home users will get the option to install the browser, and businesses will be able to block its installation on their machines.

Version 6 of Microsoft's browser has regularly been hit by a series of attacks by malicious hackers that attempt to exploit weaknesses in it to take over users' PCs.

IE 7 will also be the default browser for the next version of Microsoft Windows, known as Vista, that is due to be launched in 2007.

The release comes at a time when the numbers of people using Microsoft's Internet Explorer are shrinking. In 2004, 93% of net users browsed the web via IE. Now that proportion has dropped to 86%. Much of that market share has been taken by the Firefox browser, which is used by 11% of net users.

On the day IE 7 was released, a trial version of Version 2.0 of Firefox was also put online for downloading. The finished version is due to be released in the next couple of weeks.

Well, at least in the video-game world he does! Scarface: The World is Yours gives you a chance to play Tony Montana from the movie Scarface and expand his empire of drugs and crime

-AP, Matt Slagle

Pretend for a moment that Tony Montana somehow survived the bloodbath between his “little friend” and hundreds of rival gangsters at his sprawling Florida mansion in the movie Scarface.

That’s the premise behind Scarface: The World is Yours, a thrilling video game sequel that’s brimming with enough action (and four-letter expletives) to give Grand Theft Auto a run for the money.

Anyone who views Scarface as the seminal gangster flick will find a rich “what if” story here as you become the foul-mouthed, hot-tempered Montana in a quest to rebuild his empire and once again rule the world. A lucrative, drug-fuelled slice of it, anyway.

As with the movie, this game isn’t one you’d want children playing.

From the moment Scarface loads, the F-bombs start dropping like the London Blitz. If anything, it shows just how versatile the same four-letter word can be in a conversation.

Appropriately, there’s a large cast of Hollywood talent doing the voices in the game version, including Ice-T, Jay Mohr, James Woods and even a reunion of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong.

But aside from his digital likeness, Al Pacino is notably absent from this project. Doing a convincing fill-in job is Andre Sogliuzzo, a veteran of video-game voice-overs.

The core of Scarface, of course, is organised crime. You’ll spend plenty of time in frantic gun battles, but as the aspiring leader of Miami’s drug trade, a penchant for business is just as important.

Making drug deals, operating “fronts” disguised as legitimate businesses, keeping the police at bay and building a reputation are all crucial elements to success in this fully realised, 3D world.

This is a process that will take days, if not weeks, of constant playing to accomplish.

As you restore Montana’s wealth, you’ll even have the option to model his mansion with all sorts of gaudy furniture and accessories.

But let’s be real: the action is where most of the fun lies, mainly because of the game’s superb controls and the sheer number of enemies and variety of missions thrown your way. Throughout, a special meter fills during the action, allowing Montana to unleash an invincible killing frenzy once filled.

There’s a long history of movies becoming mediocre, if not downright terrible video games. Scarface finally breaks that curse.

Scarface: The World is Yours
Rating: 4/5
Developer: Radical
System Requirements:
2.8 GHz Processor, 512MB RAM,
DirectX 9 compatible video and audio, DVD drive, 5GB HDD space