Apple releases Mini Mac and iPod Shuffle, and other brief reports ...
* At the Macworld Expo trade show last week, Apple Computer unveiled a new desktop computer and new music player, both priced far below its other Macs and iPods. The Mac Mini is a tiny, silver and grey box, smaller than many laptops, priced between $499 and $599. It doesn\'t come with a keyboard, mouse or display. The iPod Shuffle is tiny music player that uses flash memory, rather than a miniature hard drive, to store songs. Full report in The Washington Post
* The Californian man who attempted to sell a 200-year-old Hawaiian skull on eBay has avoided jail and will instead do 600 hours community service, pay a $10 000 fine to the \'victims\' of the crime and issue an apology to Hawaii\'s citizens in three newspapers. Jerry Hasson was charged in September on a single count of violating the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. Full report in The Register * Californians have received an extension until January 22 on filing claim forms for their piece of the $1.1bn settlement the state won for consumers in a 2003 class action suit against Microsoft. Approximately 650 000 claims have been filed for the settlement, out of a claims pool of roughly 14 million. Full CNET News report * The number of adverts on European Web sites is rising at a 24% annual rate, a Nielsen/NetRatings study has claimed. The study adds to evidence that Internet advertising is gaining popularity around the world. A study released last week by Carat, advertising buying arm of Aegis of the UK, said global Internet advertising spending rose 20% in 2004. Full report in the Financial Times * Google aims to put enterprise search into the servers of small and medium-sized businesses with the release of a $5 000 appliance: the Google Mini. In both the Mini and original versions, Google added a native connection to enterprise databases. In prior editions, only Web-enabled information could be queried. Full InternetNews report * Napster has reported having some 270 000 subscribers to its fee-based music service as of late 2004, after just over one year in operation. Napster said the figure, which represented a 50% increase in subscribers from the previous quarter, makes Napster the fastest-growing music subscription service in the industry. The firm began trading on the New York Stock Exchange last week. Full AustralianIT report