Intel says goodbye to Pentium

Intel`s new processors, named "Core 2 Duo" are expected to hit stores in a few months. The new name will be used for desktop processors based on the Conroe chips and for notebook processors based on the Merom chip, according to Live Punjab.

The two processors would be similar in performance, and power consumption will be the only differentiating factor, with Conroe chips consuming more power.

The two chips were introduced last year, and the new versions are expected to be launched in a couple of months.

The next few days could set the stage for the next several years in the high-stakes business of video-game consoles at the big E3 video-game convention in Los Angeles in the US, Seattle PI reports.

Sony and Nintendo are expected to reveal new details about their next consoles and the games to be played on them.

Microsoft, meanwhile, will be trying to build momentum for its Xbox 360, released last year.

The 41 million or so people using AOL`s AIM will soon be offered free phone numbers that will allow them to receive free phone calls from regular phones, reports Daily Tech.

AIM Phoneline, the new VOIP service, will go live on 16 May. A $14.95 per month fee covers users that want unlimited local, long distance and international calling through AIM Phoneline Unlimited.

One of the big problems that AOL faces is that the use of its instant messaging program has reportedly dropped over the past year-and-a-half. Another problem is that there are several other major VOIP competitors, including the popular Skype service.

A Bush administration regulation that would force Internet companies to make it easier for the government to wiretap broadband services and phone calls over the Internet was criticised by a judge, who characterised the government`s argument as "gobbledygook".

According to the Financial Times, at the centre of a case is a 2005 ruling by the US Federal Communications Commission that gives providers of Internet phone and broadband services until May 2007 to ensure their equipment can accommodate police wiretaps.

The rule in effect extended to Internet companies a 1994 law that had applied only to traditional telephone networks.

A high court judge will rule today in the legal fight between Apple Computer and the Beatles` Apple Corporation record label over the use of the apple logo, reports Forbes.

The record label is suing Apple Computer, claiming the computer company has broken a 1991 agreement in which each agreed not to enter into the other`s field of business.

The label says Apple Computer has infringed its territory by entering the music business and wants the apple logo dropped from the iTunes Music Store and payment for unspecified damages.