Apple offers new goodies in Leopard

Apple`s mission in its Mac OS X Leopard operating system was to make us aware of needs we never knew we had - something Apple is usually good at, reports The New York Times.

Apple`s Web site lists 300 new features in Leopard. They`re not all earth-shattering; they include a Braille font, a "Word of the Day" screen saver and a Danish spelling checker.

The one Apple extols the most is the Time Machine backup program. It keeps multiple backups of everything - programs, settings, files, photos, even the operating system itself - on a second hard drive (or another Leopard Mac on the network).

IBM has developed a greener method for recycling precious silicon that is wasted during computer chip manufacturing, reports AP.

The company`s engineers have developed a process for removing the circuitry from wafers with an abrasive pad and water, which saves money and leaves the silicon in better shape for reuse.

Eric White, one of the engineers behind the process, said it would let IBM get five or six monitor wafers out of one that otherwise would be scrapped. By extending the life of the silicon, IBM believes it will save about $1.5 million a year and leave more of the material available for the solar industry, where supplies have been tight.

Child advocates are urging parents not to buy Manhunt 2, a video game with characters that kill and torture using implements ranging from glass and shovels to a fuse box and a toilet, reports AP.

The title goes on sale tomorrow, rated "mature", appropriate for people 17 and up. In the first-person killer fantasy, the players take on the role of a man escaping from an insane asylum.

Made for the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2, the blood-drenched game has sparked controversy since June, when the Entertainment Software Rating Board gave it a rating of "adult only" that would have excluded it from some big-box retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores.

Sun Microsystems has spanked Network Appliance with another lawsuit, as relations between the vendors continue to deteriorate, reports The Register.

NetApp thinks that Sun`s Zettabyte File System infringes its patents, while Sun contends that most of NetApp`s major products infringe its intellectual property.

The only real difference in the fresh lawsuit filed by Sun is that the legal battle takes place in a Northern California court. Sun has flagged six troublesome patents and sued NetApp over them in a Silicon Valley district court.