British censors Tuesday banned a video game for the first time in 10 years, rejecting U.S.-published “Manhunt 2” for what they described as an unrelenting focus on sadism and brutal slaying.

The decision by the British Board of Film Classification, or BBFC, means the game, from publisher Take-Two Interactive Software, which made the controversial “Grand Theft Auto” series, cannot be legally supplied anywhere in Britain.

The ban prompted one U.S. family group to start lobbying for a rating to ensure major American retailers cannot sell the game. In it, players become an insane asylum escapee sneaking up on enemies and killing them in gruesome ways.

Apple Inc. says its highly anticipated iPhone will have a battery life that supports 8 hours of talk time.

The company said Monday the battery also supports 7 hours of video playback, 6 hours of Internet use, 24 hours of music playback, and it will feature up to 10 days of standby time before requiring a recharge.

When the phone was unveiled in January, Apple said it would support 9 days of standby time.

“Blog,” “netiquette,” “cookie,” and “wiki” have been voted among the most irritating words spawned by the Internet, according to the results of a poll published Thursday.

Topping the list of words most likely to make Web users “wince, shudder or want to bang your head on the keyboard” was folksonomy, a term for a Web classification system.

“Blogosphere”, the collective name for blogs or online journals, was second; “blog” itself was third; “netiquette”, or Internet etiquette, came fourth and “blook”, a book based on a blog, was fifth.

The chief architect of Sony’s PlayStation game console stepped down as the Japanese company struggles to defend its dominance in the video game industry and revive its reputation as an electronics pioneer.

Ken Kutaragi, 56, stepped down as Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.’s chairman and group chief executive, the gaming unit said Tuesday. The unit is now headed by Kazuo Hirai, SCE’s former president and chief operating officer.

Idokorro Mobile is pleased to announce the release of a new version of Mobile SSH, their popular terminal session application for wireless handhelds. The latest release includes support for Bluetooth connections and general performance enhancements, as well as custom IT Policy and RSA SecurID support for users with BlackBerry Enterprise Servers.

Mobile SSH allows full VT100, 5250 and 3270 terminal emulation from BlackBerry, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola smartphones so users can securely connect to Unix, Linux, Novell Netware, routers, switches, AS/400 servers, IBM mainframes and much more from their wireless handheld. With Mobile SSH, users can perform tasks like access applications, troubleshoot problems and send commands to almost any network device from virtually anywhere–reducing costly network downtime and accelerating response intervals. The new support for Bluetooth connections, ideal for onsite support work, allows users to attach a Bluetooth serial adapter to any compatible network device with a console serial port, and then use Mobile SSH over Bluetooth to connect to and manage the device.

Soft Service Company, developer of wireless communications software, has launched Bluetooth Framework–a VCL and ActiveX components library which allows software developers to add Bluetooth, IrDA, Serial and ActiveSync support into their applications. The feature-rich Bluetooth Framework enables software developers to save up 70% of their working time and create applications mobile devices in the shortest possible time. The saved time can be spent on the development of a user-friendly interface.

Gateway has issued a voluntary recall for certain batteries for its 400VTX and 450ROG notebooks. The affected batteries were sold with the notebooks or as spares between May and August 2003.

Around 14,000 batteries are said to be involved, and given the amount of time that has elapsed since they were sold, it is possible that many have already been scrapped. Only batteries with part numbers 6500760 or 6500761 are covered by the recall.

The functionality of Agendus for Palm OS Version 12 has been expanded to include powerful journaling capabilities, a personal project manager that’s intuitive to use, all new “at-a-glance” or Card views now more colorfully organized and streamlined to include the types of information that users have told us they need most. Other additions include a new Contact View “Photo Dialer” mode that associates a contact’s picture with its address information for speedy one-tap dialing, support for attaching items (documents, images, etc.) to meetings, tasks, memos and contacts and standalone alarms, just to name a few. Furthermore, in this release, an emphasis was placed on performance enhancement.

The new AT&T is all about wireless and mobility, the company’s CEO said Tuesday during his first major keynote address since taking the helm earlier this month.

During his speech at the NXTcomm trade show on Tuesday, Randall Stephenson launched AT&T Video Share, a service that allows users to send live video feeds to friends or family while they’re having a conversation. Stephenson also talked about plans for the much-hyped launch of Apple’s iPhone, which will be sold exclusively for AT&T’s network.

The new service and phone, which combine the functionality of an iPod music player and a smartphone with email and other multimedia capabilities, are part of AT&T’s strategy to focus on wireless and mobility. The company, which now owns the largest wireline and wireless network in the U.S., believes that mobility will be the key service that entices new customers, keeps them with AT&T and drives growth in new services.

Spb Software House has released Spb Mobile Shell 1.5, a long awaited update. Spb Mobile Shell introduces the next generation user interface while keeping all advantages of a Windows Mobile device. Spb Mobile Shell 1.5 brings the perfect usability balance to Windows Mobile touch screen devices.