2007: A year in review, September

Apple hogs the headlines with the iPhone, and Microsoft loses a court appeal but wins customers' favour by extending the shelf life of Windows XP

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NEWS: 30 December 2007 9:00 GMT by Katie Scott

The month started off with two major announcements from Apple with good news for iPod enthusiasts.

Apple renamed its flagship iPod calling it the iPod classic giving it a large 160GB drive, and then launched a newer model to take the flagship spot in the range- the iPod touch - with a 8mm thick iPod complete with 802.111b/g Wi-Fi connectivity and 3.5-inch touchscreen.

Next came new colour-ways for the shuffle - silver, turquoise blue, green and purple, as well as the launch of a PRODUCT (RED) version, that saw money donated to the Bono-backed African charity for every purchase made.

And finally, the arrival of the iPod nano with video capabilities, Apple's album art software Cover Flow (premiered on the iPhone), a larger, brighter display and a full metal design.

While Apple was riding high, Microsoft took a blow in the law courts.

The computing giant lost its appeal against a £343 million fine in the European Court of First Instance and, as an extra blow, will have to pay 80% of the case's legal costs.

The record fine, imposed by the European Commission, related to an investigation back in 2004 that found Microsoft guilty of blocking competitors from offering rival software solutions, especially in regards to Media Player.

Next, after what seemed just days out of the news, Apple popped up again - this time with news of a UK iPhone.

Nine months since the device was initially revealed to the world, and nearly 3 months since the device saw a launch Stateside, UK consumers were told when, and how, they will be able to get their hands on the Apple mobile phone.

The 8GB iPhone would launch in the UK on 9 November and will be offered by the UK's largest mobile phone operator, O2.

iPhone customers would also be able to use 7500 Wi-Fi hotspots provided by The Cloud for free in an attempt to compensate for the lack of 3G in the device.

But a 3G was promised (and will probably arrive next year).

But stateside, the iPhone was causing ruptions as Apple decided to drop the 4GB iPhone, and slash the price of the 8GB version by $200.

Early adopters (who had forked out $599 for their devices) immediately called foul and Apple appeased them with a $100 refund (despite Steve Jobs' mutterings about the nature of technology).

Some (naughty) customers were also put out by Apple's bid to discourage them installing unlocking software on their iPhone.

In an official statement, the company said that customers who have made "unauthorized modifications to the software on their iPhone violate their iPhone software license agreement and void their warranty".

Despite all of this - Apple still had achieved a massive milestone with the iPhone selling its one millionth iPhone just 74 days after the device's introduction.

The month ended with the news that Microsoft had decided to extend the "shelf life" of Windows XP by 5 months due to "customer demand".

Instead of stopping sales of the operating system on 30 January 2008, the period has been extended to 30 June 2008.

The company also revealed details of extenders, allowing users to stream content from Microsoft Windows Media Center to their televisions, in the same way that Apple TV does for Macs.

As well as standalone devices, Microsoft also announced that the Extender technology will be incorporated in HP’s current line of MediaSmart high-definition televisions.

The HP MediaSmart LCD HDTV, currently available in 42-inch and 47-inch sizes, will support Extender for Windows Media Center technology through an optional software download, expected to be available in early 2008.