Cisco source code suspect arrested

A 20-year-old British man has been arrested in connection with the Cisco source code thefts.

The man was arrested for breaking the 1990 Computer Misuse Act, has yet to be charged and will appear in court in November.

According to BBC, the theft of the company`s Internetwork operating system - which controls much of the Net`s hardware - came to light in May when about 800Mb of it was posted on a Russian security Web site. Some of the Cisco code was also posted to Net chat channels.

The core code for this operating system is as important to Cisco as the naked code of Windows is to Microsoft, as it is used to power most of Cisco`s routers.

A host of New Age MP3 players are entering the digital music player market in the hopes of dethroning Apple`s iPod.

Companies like Sony, Rio, Creative and Rave MP are hoping that the proliferation of companies trying to sell and market digital music will result in improved sales for their iPod alternatives, Reuters reports.

Apple is dominant in the digital music market and many of its competitors are not looking to challenge the company in the high-end market. Rather, they are offering less expensive, lower-storage-capacity flash-media players that carry hundreds of songs and pricier, entry-level hard-drive players that can store over 1 000 songs.

Sony product manager Kelly Davis believes flash players are likely to stay in the market for a while. "It`s more affordable...and people are trying to get more capacity for their dollar."

Nokia has exited the ringtone market following poor sales on its Club Nokia Web site.

The ringtone market is lucrative, but the mobile phone giant failed to make significant inroads. While Nokia claims it was only in the market to showcase its hardware`s capabilities, operators did see it as a potential competitor, and its decision to withdraw from the market will likely be welcomed, The Register reports.

Gartner analyst Ben Wood says the balance of power is shifting in favour of the operators, and Nokia`s decision to scale back on Club Nokia is another indication of that trend. Nokia is still by far the largest mobile phone manufacturer. However, it has suffered from a series of recent mistakes.