Sony Electronics announced a new development in recordable DVD media with the introduction of AccuCORE technology, delivering an enhanced level of recording accuracy, compatibility and reliability. Sony’s new 16x DVD-R and DVD+R media will mark the first new product introductions to feature AccuCORE. Consumers recording on discs with AccuCORE technology are expected to appreciate five key benefits: wider compatibility for DVD-R and DVD+R recordings with various types of drives or recorders at various speeds; faster addressing of the DVD-R format in high-speed dubbing and time-shift playback applications; stable writing capabilities for both DVD-R and DVD+R formats through reduced disc vibrations at high speeds; greater temperature adaptability for optimal performance during extended burning processes for all formats; and improved archival reliability for long-term storage, also for all formats.

Virus writers have released another seasonal mass-mailing worm that poses as a holiday e-card. According to antivirus company F-Secure, reports are rolling in of Atak.H, which poses as a Christmas or New Year greeting. The virus, which is similar to the Zafi worm currently causing havoc on the Internet, spreads to all the addresses in a victim’s address book.

Desktop Linux options are lighter with the launch of Sub300.com’s Ultralite Laptop. The Linux-only retailer is selling the world’s lightest computer notebook at well under $1000, featuring the easy-to-use and capable Linspire operating system.

A federal judge has awarded an Internet service provider more than $1 billion in what is believed to be the largest judgment ever against spammers. Robert Kramer, whose company provides email service for about 5,000 subscribers in eastern Iowa, filed suit against 300 spammers after his inbound mail servers received up to 10 million spam emails a day in 2000.

Sony Electronics and the Pascack Valley Regional Board of Education have joined forces in a statewide first to provide all of the district’s public high school students and teachers with state-of-the-art notebook computers to enhance the learning experience. Students and teachers from Pascack Valley and Pascack Hills High Schools have received Sony VAIO S-Series notebook computers in a lease arrangement that extends through 2008.

bodyADVANCE, developer of fitness application BFL Assistant, announced the release of body-PRO for Palm OS PDAs. Designed for ease of use, flexibility and power, body-PRO will help you plan and record your diet and fitness success. body-PRO includes dozens of features not available in any other fitness application, such as a Tri-Nutrient Analyzer, custom workout timer, and much more.

President Bush has ordered plans for temporarily disabling the U.S. network of global positioning satellites during a national crisis to prevent terrorists from using the navigational technology. Any shutdown of the network inside the United States would come under only the most remarkable circumstances, said a Bush administration official who spoke to a small group of reporters at the White House on condition of anonymity.

Seagate Technology announced that its palm-sized USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive, with storage capacities of 5GB or 2.5GB, a diameter of just seven centimeters and weighing about 63 grams, is now available at retail outlets in the UK. The 5GB version is expected to cost around

iGolf Technologies officially announced they will begin temporarily distributing and selling their proprietary SD GPS driver for Palm OS handhelds to individual consumers who purchased the Pretec SD GPS receiver. Currently, the Pretec SD GPS receiver is packaged without a Palm OS driver making it non-functional on palmOne handhelds. As a service to individuals desiring to utilize the SD GPS receiver on palmOne handhelds, iGolf Technologies has opted to provide Pretec consumers the ability to purchase the SD GPS driver directly from its Web site.

Sorry about the downtime, folks. We had a network card fail, and it took a few minutes to swap it out. We’re back now.