The 7.04 server and desktop edition includes a Java boost from Sun Microsystems and a vote of confidence from PC magnate Michael Dell.

2007 has brought us a few more titles for Nintendo's hot new game system, and some of them have a little fun buried deep within them. Unfortunately, to get to it, you've got to dig through layer upon layer of clumsy, awkward use of the system's motion-sensing controls.

It is the equivalent of a new Beatles album for computer gamers: a $20 million (£10 million) sequel to the world-beating Sims franchise that lets players control life, their Universe and everything.

The music industry is adopting new tactics in its battle with students who download and share music illegally

Microsoft has been forced to acknowledge that a substantial number of PCs running the new version of its Windows operating system will not be able to play high-quality DVDs.

The Vista system will be available to consumers at the end of the month. However, in an interview with The Times, one of its chief architects said that because of anti-piracy protection granted to the Hollywood studios, Vista would not play HD-DVD and Blu-ray Discs on certain PCs.

Dave Marsh, the lead program manager for video at Microsoft, said that if the PC used a digital connection to link with the monitor or television, then it would require the highest level of content protection, known as HDCP, to play the discs. If it did not have such protection, Vista would shut down the signal, he said.

People will adopt Windows Vista faster than they went for XP, according to one analyst.

Ovum software analyst David Mitchell has predicted that up to 15 percent of PC users will move to Vista within the first year. "That would make it the fastest-moving operating system ever," he claimed.

By comparison, between 12 to 14 percent of users switched to Windows XP during the first year of its release, Mitchell said.

Thanks to Apple Computer's penchant for CIA-like secrecy, there are several myths concerning the birth of the iPod.

One of these myths is that the iPod has a father -- one man who conceived and nurtured the iconic device. Steve Jobs, of course, is one candidate; but engineer Tony Fadell has also been named the father of the iPod, as has Jon Rubinstein, the former head of Apple's hardware division. While they all played key roles in the iPod's development, the iPod was truly a team effort.

Do you long for the days of PC adventure games like Monkey Island and King's Quest, where pointing and clicking were all the skills you needed to enter worlds filled with knee-slapping comedy and brain-scratching puzzles?

I sure as hell do. But these days, it's a risky proposition to make a point-and-click adventure, which is why Telltale Games has decided on an episodic distribution model for Sam & Max, a hilarious comedy-adventure game. Rather than buy the whole game at once, players purchase individual "episodes," which are shorter than a full game but also significantly less expensive.