European Commission Lobbies, And Gets, One Charger For All Cellphones

Starting in 2011, most cellphones sold in the European Union will have a single charger compatible with most devices. So far 10 major hardware providers including Apple, Motorola, Samsung and Research In Motion, have signed on to a pact that would mean no more proprietary connectors incompatible with other phones. It would appear however that the rest of us will have to wait some time before the companies jump on board in North America and elsewhere. Without the power of government behind such a move the manufacturers are slow to make change happen and 3rd party vendors do not wield enough clout to push for change. The current practice is wasteful and inconvenient and perhaps the Euro experiment will cause the phone manufacturers to see the benefits of a single standard. One can only hope!

Sources: CNN and Europa press release

Turning Down The Volume On MP3 Players

The European Commission is proposing a volume limit on all MP3 players sold in the European Union (EU). Studies have shown that some players reach maximum volumes of 120 decibels and the commission is suggesting that a limit of 85 decibels be enforced with a user override allowing up to 100 decibels.

According to this BBC News article, Dr Robin Yeoh, an audiology consultant at the Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust, said: "More and more young people are referred to me by their GPs with tinnitus or hearing loss as a direct result to exposure to loud music.

"It's the sort of damage that in the old days would have come from industrial noise.

"The damage is permanent and will often play havoc with their employment opportunities and their personal lives."

Microsoft loses European anti-trust appeal

A European appeals court has upheld an a 2004 ruling against Microsoft, saying in a statement "The Court of First Instance essentially upholds the Commission's decision finding that Microsoft abused its dominant position,". There was a small victory for Microsoft when the court declined to force them to undergo supervision of an independent monitoring trustee. The ruling awards the commission 80% of it's court costs and would levy fines against Microsoft in the hundreds of millions. The company has 2 months to appeal the decision.