Dungeons & Dragons slays digital distribution

Wizards of the Coast, publisher of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), has pulled all digital editions of its products from online stores. This is in response to finding its new D&D Player's Handbook is being illegally distributed over P2P and file-sharing Web sites, reports The Register.

The Washington-state-based gaming company also filed three lawsuits against eight individuals in the US, Poland and the Philippines for allegedly uploading the handbook, which they claim resulted in "a substantial number of lost sales and revenue”.

A Wizards spokesperson says companies that were legally selling D&D handbooks in PDF format were given 24 hours to remove the content. She said those retailers aren't being accused of any wrongdoing, but it's Wizards' priority now to "take care of all the crazy action going out there" until it finds a safer way to distribute digital copies.

Europe's innovative Goce satellite has switched on the super-sensitive instrument that will make ultra-fine measurements of Earth's gravity, says the BBC.

The sophisticated gradiometer will feel the subtle variations in Earth's tug as it sweeps around the globe.

The spacecraft has also fired up the British-built engine that will help maintain its orbit.

Intel has introduced a microprocessor code-named Jasper Forest, aimed at storage products and embedded applications, at the Intel Developer Forum, in Beijing, says PC World.

"We've taken Nehalem... and further optimised it for the embedded market segment," said Pat Gelsinger, senior VP and GM of Intel's digital enterprise group, in a keynote at the forum.

The new chips use the Nehalem-EP (Efficient Performance) architecture that Intel recently used in the launch of its latest generation of server chips.

Around 9 000 back-office staff members are at risk of losing their jobs as troubled financial institution Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) begins a major cull at its group manufacturing division, says Computing.co.uk.

UK-based staff will be the most affected by the job cuts at the division, which includes IT, document processing, procurement and property, and employs 45 000 people worldwide.

The main reason for the job cuts is the reduction in business volumes for the bank. At the same time, RBS has also seen an increase in uptake of online banking and is focusing on driving automation in customer service in areas such as loan applications.