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7th December 2000 Archive

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  • Hospital records hacked hard

    Thousands of patients exposed

    A sophisticated hacker took command of large portions of the University of Washington Medical Centre's internal network earlier this year and downloaded computerized admissions records for four thousand heart patients, SecurityFocus has learned. The intrusions began in June, and continued until at least mid-July, before …

    Music and Media 7 Dec 2000, 03:44

  • UK telecoms some of the cheapest in Europe

    So there

    Consumers should stop whinging about the cost of phone services in the UK and be grateful for what's been achieved, according to the latest report from the telecoms regulator. Oftel has just completed an international benchmarking study that compares the UK to France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the US states of Ohio and …

    Data Networking 7 Dec 2000, 08:08

  • Lucent's Inferno does a Java

    Embeddable browser applet fun

    The Inferno OS has parked a heavily-armoured tricycle on Sun's lawn. Lucent spin-off Vita Nuova, which also markets the Plan 9 system, has made an Inferno plug-in for Microsoft's Internet Explorer to run downloadable code. Vita Nuova has also made some sample Inferno plug-ins available, including the Tetris game, as you can see …

    Software 7 Dec 2000, 10:22

  • Time sues IBM for £3m

    Handy if you're in refinancing talks with your bank

    Time Computers is suing IBM for £3 million in the New York State Supreme Court. Which could be handy as it is supposed to be in urgent refinancing talks with its bankers, HSBC. Time is alleging that IBM committed fraud and sold it memory chips IBM knew to be defective back in 1994. The summons was served on IBM in the US last …

    Business 7 Dec 2000, 10:30

  • HP confident of double-digit growth in 2001

    And we're not talking Lara Croft's bust...

    Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina yesterday ruled out bonuses for senior executives - including herself - for the second half of the company's just-completed fiscal year. The scheme follows disappointing fourth quarter and fiscal 2000 results for the year and the three-month period which both came to a close at the end of …

    Business 7 Dec 2000, 10:34

  • Telewest's blueyonder under strain

    Network gamers to blame

    UK cable operator Telewest has admitted that networking issues and insufficient capacity are behind the poor performance of some aspects of its broadband service, blueyonder. Under pressure from network gamers, one of whom alerted The Register to the issue that has affected users for almost a month, Telewest has issued a …

    Data Networking 7 Dec 2000, 10:49

  • US Govt backs Iridium relaunch

    To prevent public panic over crashing satellites, apparently

    Iridium Satellite, the company that last month bought the remains of failed cellphone company Iridium's satellite and groundstation network for a piffling $25 million, has won the backing of the US Defense Department. IS' bargain-basement acquisition of Iridium's assets was conditional on winning key government contracts …

    Data Networking 7 Dec 2000, 11:06

  • Encryption tears holes in RIP

    Could there be a way to dodge government snooping?

    A group of cryptographers think they have found a way to defeat the RIP Act, by making it impossible to hand over the keys to encrypted information. The section of the act that has caused so much controversy in the UK gives the government the right to the plain text of, or key to, enciphered information. However, if a person …

    Software 7 Dec 2000, 11:35

  • MacOS X 1.0 to launch 24 February

    Sounds about right

    Apple has set 24 February as the official launch date for its next-generation operating system, MacOS X, according to company sources speaking to ZDNet US. The final version of the OS will be unveiled during CEO Steve Jobs' keynote at MacWorld Expo Tokyo, and followed by a "massive" ad campaign, the sources said. Many Mac …

    Mac Channel 7 Dec 2000, 11:37

  • Infogrames buys Hasbro

    What a cracking deal - you will know all these games

    Infogrames has bought a chunk of legendary games company Hasbro for $100 million and gets exclusive rights to all its games in all formats for the next 20 years. A cracking deal because we are talking about all Microprose games, all Atari games and all the board games. Still not impressed? Think Civilization, think Missile …

    Business 7 Dec 2000, 11:38

  • AltaVista Inc loses another CEO

    Have they looked behind the sofa for him?

    AltaVista Inc is looking for yet another CEO after Ken Barber announced he will retire at the end of the year, according to AFX News. Barber was AltaVista's CFO and acting CEO of the search engine-cum-failed ISP. He took charge of the company following Rod Schrock's sudden departure in October. Schrock left to "spend more …

    Business 7 Dec 2000, 11:40

  • UK's randiest rodent pops up on Net

    Tenuous link to a great story

    Sooty the superstud guinea pig has been given his own Web page to keep up with public interest. You may not know what the hell we're talking about, so read on. It was a cracker tabloid story - Welsh guinea pig Sooty managed to squeeze out of his cage and make it into the female area. Then, in one night, he managed to get his …

    Bootnotes 7 Dec 2000, 11:46

  • Global PC sales to grow 20% in Q4

    Driven by Asia Pacific region

    Europe and the US might be suffering, but the global PC market is looking very healthy indeed. New research from IDC suggests that worldwide shipments will reach 40.15 million units in Q4 - growth of nearly 20 per cent on last year. Although demand for PCs is slowing stateside and Q4 consumer spending is not expected to be as …

    Business 7 Dec 2000, 12:39

  • Freeserve deal provokes little enthusiasm

    Depends which way you look at it

    Despite the significance of yesterday's announcement concerning the sale of Freeserve to French outfit, Wanadoo, the deal has received a lukewarm reception from commentators and investors alike. Which begs the question: who got the best deal? Has Dixons slipped Wanadoo top merchandise at a knockdown price - or is Dixons well …

    Music and Media 7 Dec 2000, 12:43

  • ISP builds own power plant

    She cannae take no more, Captain

    Leading disaster recovery specialist turned ISP Guardian iT has announced it will build its own power plant in London to bypass the city's power problems. The 24MW plant will be built next to the group's planned data storage centre near Heathrow airport, reports the FT. The new market of huge data storage centres due to the …

    Music and Media 7 Dec 2000, 12:52

  • Missing laptop causes US State Dept shake-up

    Sackings, resignations - hell, maybe even defections

    The US State Department's Assistant Secretary for Intelligence, Stapleton Roy, resigned his post this week after US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright suspended three staffers over a lost-laptop fiasco in which sensitive information went missing from Department Headquarters in Washington nearly a year ago. Albright went over …

    Music and Media 7 Dec 2000, 13:01

  • Bull scores Itanium server architecture from NEC

    16-way servers...

    NEC has signed a deal with Bull to provide it with a high-end platform based on Intel's Itanium architecture. Bull will integrate NEC's 16-way hardware platform (code named AzusA) platform, which features an NEC developed chip set, with the AIX 5L operating system and market it worldwide as part of its range of enterprise …

    Business 7 Dec 2000, 13:45

  • VIA up, Creative down

    Swings and roundabouts time

    Chip designer VIA Technologies had net sales for November 2000 of US$89 million, up almost 32 per cent on the same period in 1999. Sales from January to November 2000 of $938 million were 193 per cent up over the same period last year. But Creative Technology shares fell 4.3 per cent following analyst downgrades. The sound …

    Channel 7 Dec 2000, 14:31

  • Fujitsu pumps out lower power app specific memory

    Sounds Flash

    Fujitsu has introduced its latest application specific memory (ASM) - a second generation 16Mb RAM. The company blurb says it has lower power requirements than previous generations, drawing as little as 70 microamps of current, and has been designed for next generation mobile phone applications. The poetically-named MB82D01- …

    Channel 7 Dec 2000, 14:37

  • IBM resurrects 1970s memory technology

    Magnetic attraction

    IBM and Infineon are jointly to develop a memory technology dating from the 1970s that could significantly increase the battery life of portable computing devices and help the spread of 'instant-on' PCs. Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM) uses magnetic charges to store data and the two companies claim commercial products …

    Channel 7 Dec 2000, 15:29

  • AOL 6.0 security questioned

    'You've got bugs'

    The annoyingly buggy AOL 6.0, carefully engineered to redeem its hopelessly buggy 5.0 predecessor, brings up a few spyware-esque security issues, according to WinMag.com columnist Fred Langa who actually went so far as to install it (talk about journalistic sacrifice). "About a year ago, I tried AOL 5.0 when it was new. But I …

    Music and Media 7 Dec 2000, 15:39

  • Napster steals the brains of Senate Committee chief counsel

    Orrin Hatch advisor piped aboard

    Napster has stolen the brains of a chief counsel to the US Senate Judiciary Committee to help with its policy strategy. Manus Cooney is to ditch his job as key policy and political advisor to committee chairman Senator Orrin Hatch, of Utah, to join the online file-swapping service next month. Cooney will get to represent …

    Music and Media 7 Dec 2000, 16:28

  • Internet neighbourhood watch set up

    Site publishes IP addresses of script kiddies

    A site has been created that will allow network administrators or tech-savvy users to exchange information on crackers who are trying to break into other people's computers. It is hoped the site Dshief.org, which provides a free service that allows users of firewalls to share information, will act as a kind of neighbourhood …

    Music and Media 7 Dec 2000, 16:52

  • SyncML open sources universal data sync system

    Back up your PDA anywhere

    Industry-sponsored standards development body SyncML unveiled version 1.0 of its platform-independent data synchronisation spec today. The organisation, founded back in February by the IBM, Motorola, Ericsson, Psion and Palm, among others, released the system's XML-based data transfer specification and the software behind it …

    Software 7 Dec 2000, 17:22

  • BT Bonfield's head to go on MP platter this month

    To be quizzed over local loop delays

    BT head honcho Peter Bonfield faces a grilling by MPs later this month over charges of delaying Britain's high speed Web access. The CEO of BT will go before Parliament's cross-party Trade and Industry Committee on December 19 to reply to criticism from Oftel chief and Bonfield foe David Edmonds. Edmonds finally plucked up the …

    Data Networking 7 Dec 2000, 17:57

  • Cybercrime laws are super weak

    Most countries let you get away with vitual murder

    Cybercriminals are getting away with virtual murder because criminal laws in most countries have not been extended into cyberspace. That's the conclusion of a study by McConnell International, a technology management consulting firm. It says that the lack of criminal laws is making the prosecution of computer related crimes - …

    Music and Media 7 Dec 2000, 18:43