The HD-DVD disk manufacturer, Toshiba, have decided to pull the plug and stop production of their hi-definition media leaving Sony’s Blu-ray as the leading hi definition movie format.

US reports indicated that Blu-ray movies were out selling its rivals by as much as 10 to 1 during the start of the year. This was also before one of the leading studios (Warner Brothers) committed to Blu-ray for its forthcoming titles.This comes as good news for consumers - because it'll finally be worth investing in a hi-def video player without the fear of being stuck with the next Betamax.

Sales figures from Microsoft show that Vista and Office sales do not appear to be keeping pace with PC sales for the first three months of this year.

Profits fell 11% and revenues dropped to $4.03bn (£2.04bn) – 24% down on the same period last year. Analysts reckon global PC sales have actually risen 14%, however falling sales may be due to consumers are simply using older versions of Office that they already own.

Another cause of Microsoft jitters is the continuing ‘Save XP’ campaign. Consumers feel that XP is a more reliable and less resource hungry operating system, meaning it runs more efficiently. In some way, Microsoft risk being left behind unless it sharpens its act. Microsoft is being beaten on innovation, is not answering the need for a more compact operating solution, and will have trouble competing with emerging web based applications.

A technology that would allow movies in the rival HD-DVD and Blu-ray HD formats to be held on the same disk at different depths has been proposed by two leading engineers at Warner.

The flip side of the disk could hold conventional DVD content, allowing a movie in three formats to be sold in the same package. The design could end confusion in the market over the rival formats, although it would probably push up production costs and consequently the final retail price.

This method could be a viable option but probably will not be. This is because consumers have a tendency to go for the cheaper option (A similar situation to VHS Vs Betamax) even though it might not be the best choice.

Products with new wireless USB links rated at 480Mbits/sec will be available by the end of the year. The new link replaces the USB 2 cable with an ultra wideband (UWB) wireless signal rated at full speed over 3 metres and up to 110Mbits/sec at 10 metres. However, real data rates are likely to be less than the rated speeds.

Early wireless USB peripherals will require a wireless USB dongle to be plugged into the host computer. In a couple of years, developers believe the wireless receivers will be integrated into computers eliminating the need for a dongle.

Samsung are currently developing a new memory technology which they hope will replace flash memory within the next 10 years. The new technology is hoping to provide up to 512Mbits/sec data transfer (compared to around 40Mbits/sec for conventional hard drives).

Samsung claims it combines the speed of RAM with the flash-like ability to retain data when the power is switched off. Its speed stems from the fact it can directly overwrite data without the need to erase it first.

So, will it be the end of the hard drive? Probably not in the near future, but it could certainly become the next data storage solution.

Intel quad-core server and desktop processors will arrive this year instead of next, Chief Executive Paul Otellini said Wednesday, firing a new competitive volley against rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

"We notified customers we're pulling in both the desktop and server (launch) of the first quad-core processors into the fourth quarter of this year from the first half of 2007," Otellini said. Intel's quad-core Xeon server processor is code-named Clovertown, and its desktop processor Kentsfield.

Intel's quad-core chips actually are packages consisting of two dual-core chips, but each package plugs into a single processor socket. AMD, whose quad-core chips are due in mid-2007, uses a more refined design with all the cores on a single slice of silicon.

Imagine if you could pick up a digital file or a note on a computer and pass it to a colleague's computer as easily as you can give them a paper document or a Post-It note.

Researchers at Sony's Computer Science Laboratories in Tokyo believe they have figured out how to do just that. Today, laptops, mobile phones and PDAs are everywhere and we digitally swap or access an increasing amount of information.

But is still difficult for two people who are in the same room to copy files or notes between their devices. The typical ways of exchanging files, using e-mail, discs, or a shared file server, are impractical or clumsy in many cases.