The latest report from the Business Software Alliance concludes that software piracy declined in the United States during 2002.The special interest group, an antipiracy organization that's comprised of members such as Apple Computer, Cisco Systems and Microsoft, have released results of its state-by-state analysis of software piracy across the United States. According to BSA's report, the nation's piracy rate dropped 2 percentage points in 2002 compared with 2001, to 23 percent.

Microsoft is taking Media Center further overseas, with plans to launch the PC entertainment software in China, Japan, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

We've updated our list of the latest DVD film releases.

Internet users appear to be snubbing the RIAA as they continue to download music files with no regard for copyright, according to a US-based study by Pew. Despite aggressive challenges by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to on-line music suppliers like the defunct Napster, two-thirds of Internet users in the US who copy digital music on-line say they don't care if the music is copyrighted, according to the report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

MediaTek, the world's largest supplier of semiconductors for DVD players, said second-quarter profit rose 27 percent because the SARS outbreak hindered rivals' efforts to compete for customers in China.

Press Release: ATI's newest multimedia video card joins the award-winning All-In-Wonder family to provide customers with all the best of current PC multimedia technologies combined with fantastic new features such as FM Radio, Dual VGA, Faster-than-Real time DVD / CD Authoring and the next generation Remote Wonder II radio frequency (RF) Remote Control.

Indonesia has responded to pressure from the World Trade Organization and introduced a new law aimed at clamping down on copyright piracy. The move which observers have been calling long overdue has in part been forced by continuing music piracy eroding the government's coffers.

Retail sales of laptop and desktop computers with DVD recorders jumped 550 percent in unit terms during the first half of this year, according to research from NPD Group.

The 321Studios have released an update to the DVD X Copy Xpress. At the same time they released a new version of the Gold -bundle, which includes the Xpress and the original XCopy.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has decried a ruling by the Australian Federal Court that mod chips designed to circumvent copy protection features on gaming consoles are illegal. Last week Sony won an appeal which saw the Federal Court rule that mod chips breached the anti-circumvention provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. These provisions prohibit devices being sold for the purpose of defeating measures designed to protect copyright.

Australia is now officially under the thumb of the mod-chip banners, after the Court of Appeal, accepted its argument that mod-chips should be made illegal. Mod chips enable games console players to overcome protection built into their machines to run imported games bought legitimately and to back up games legitimately. But they also facilitate the playing of pirated games too.

A pair of major music labels have been hit with another round of price-fixing charges courtesy of the U.S Federal Trade Comission (FTC) - a decision which raises the question as to who exactly is to blame for falling music revenue.

Wireless networking gear maker Linksys is targeting the gaming crowd with its new Wi-Fi adapters. They have announced two new adapters that are designed to connect game consoles, including Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube, to each other and to the Internet for online multiplayer gaming. The new adapters are available immediately and are based on the 802.11b and 802.11g wireless networking standards.

Whether its a result of LCD panel makers turning off the taps to increase their profits or a general surge in demand, it appears that there's a big shortage of 15-inch screens and prices are rising accordingly.

Speaking to developers in Tokyo today, Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi confirmed that the PlayStation Portable will come equipped with wireless networking functionality.

Want to get your hands on the latest terminator or Charlie's Angels films on DVD? Another Web site has sprung up brazenly selling pirated movies. The website operates jointly out of China and Malaysia, two countries under pressure to improve their copyright enforcement.

Taiwan's world-leading compact disc makers are pumping up production of DVDs to tap into the fast-growing home entertainment market, raising fears of a return of a supply glut that forced firms into the red last year. Next year may see a surplus of DVD production, potentially fuelling a price war.

For those of you interested in CD or DVD burning (everyone then) you'll like this: Nero 6 review.

Samsung have selected a software package provided by Taiwan-based Ulead Systems to bundle with their lineup of camcorders worldwide, according to a press release from Ulead today.

Digital media software firm Roxio plans to bundle the reborn Napster 2.0 service with its popular CD/DVD burning tools and roll out what it calls the first online music play offering unlimited a la carte downloads alongside a subscription option.