Stories by Martyn Williams

Sony London optical disc warehouse destroyed in fire

Sony's main optical disc distribution warehouse for the U.K. was hit by a large fire on Tuesday morning that has apparently destroyed most or all of the building.

Nissan eyes powering your house from your car

In a twist on conventional charging for electric cars, Nissan has developed a system that allows a vehicle to supply electricity to power a house.

Nissan eyes powering your house from your car

In a twist on conventional charging for electric cars, Nissan has developed a system that allows a vehicle to supply electricity to power a house.

Nintendo slashing price of 3DS

Nintendo will slash the price of its 3DS handheld gaming device in Japan from mid August.

Sony reports Q1 loss, cuts full-year outlook

Sony reported a net loss for the three month period from April to June as the company dealt with unfavorable exchange rates, cut-throat competition in the consumer electronics business, and a hacking attack on its online gaming network.

First Windows "Mango" Phone unveiled

The first smartphone based on the new "Mango" edition of Microsoft's Windows Phone platform was unveiled on Wednesday in Tokyo.

Toyota system can sense pedestrians, avoid accidents

Toyota has developed a safety system that can automatically stop a car in the moments before a collision with a pedestrian.

World Tech Update, July 22, 2011

World Tech Update

Boeing's 787 is packed with high-tech

Boeing's 787, its newest passenger airliner, arrived in Japan this week for readiness tests ahead of its entry into commercial service. The 787 is not only the newest airliner in the skies, but it's also the most high-tech.

DDoS attack in March likely North Korean work, says McAfee

The cyber attacks that paralyzed a handful of major South Korean websites earlier this year were almost certainly carried out by North Korea or parties allied with the country, computer security company McAfee said in a report.

Sony to complete global resumption of PlayStation Network

Sony will fully restore PlayStation Network service to users in Japan this week, ending a two-and-a-half month suspension of service, and bringing to a close an embarrassing incident that began with the largest known loss of customer information by a company.

Ricoh to acquire Pentax, set sights on digital SLR market

Japan's Ricoh plans to acquire Pentax as part of a push to get into the digital single-lens reflex camera market, it said Friday.

Japan's gaming market sinks 16 per cent in first half

Japan's console and portable gaming market sank 16 per cent in the first six months of the year as new software failed to make a splash and sales of hardware fell, according to data released on Thursday.

Sony's Qriocity back everywhere except Japan

Sony began restoring full service on its Qriocity entertainment network to users in most countries on Thursday, a month and a half after the service was forced offline by a hack of its servers.

Google establishes Chrome OS center in Taipei

Google has established a software engineering center in Taipei to work with Asian laptop makers on computers running its Chrome OS, a Google executive said Tuesday.