22nd December 2000 Archive

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Mafiaboy gets a real job

2kewl_4skewl

The infamous Canadian sixteen-year-old known as Mafiaboy, who, it is claimed, humbled such mighty Colossi of e-commerce as Yahoo!, eBay, CNN and Amazon back in February with a series of not-terribly-clever distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, has made bail on condition that he hold down a job. Mafiaboy, whose real name …

Music and Media 22 Dec 2000, 08:15
Russian police in Net child porn swoop

Suspects accused of selling to Europe and US

Russian police have swooped on two suspects accused of selling child porn over the Net in Europe and the US. The two were arrested on Wednesday night - one in a Moscow apartment and the other in a military hospital in St Petersburg. Police seized 588 video cassettes, 112 video discs, and more than 1,000 pornography photos, some …

Music and Media 22 Dec 2000, 08:15
Yahoo! flies to US court over Nazi memorabilia row

Battle with French legal system continues

Yahoo! has taken its battle with the French legal system one stage further and gone to a US federal court to try and protect its online auctions. The US portal filed for a declaratory judgement today to try and wriggle out of a French ruling ordering it to stop French surfers accessing Nazi memorabilia on its auction sites. …

Music and Media 22 Dec 2000, 08:15
McAfee virus update damages NT 4.0 files

Users urged to upgrade product software

An update to Network Associates' McAfee VirusScan anti-virus software has been found to damage the master boot record of Windows NT 4.0 computers, forcing customers to reinstall their operating systems. The problem occurred because of a conflict between VirusScan/Netshield 4.0.2 - which is now two years old - and the 4120/4110 …

Software 22 Dec 2000, 08:16
Intel's Itanic, McKinley chips go misty eyed

Roadmap All about Foster, Plumas, Prestonia and 'placers'

Intel has decided to give it a rest on hard and fast dates for the release of its 64-bit Itanium and McKinley microprocessors, and instead will carry on with pilot schemes for the chips. At last August's Intel Developer Forum, the firm came under criticism for pushing back the date the Itanium was supposed to launch, with this …

Channel 22 Dec 2000, 09:05
Caminogate shuffles off mortal coil

Roadmap And other chipset news

The 820 chipset, formerly code-named Camino, will be relegated to a backwater by the Intel Corp from the end of this year, as the firm's aggressive Pentium 4 strategy kicks in. It will not be sadly missed, especially by Intel itself, as it was defects in this chipset which gave the semiconductor company several reasons not to …

Channel 22 Dec 2000, 10:07
World's best tech humour site – and it still can't get on Slashdot

Site of the Week BBSpot.com

The Register is a bit lackadaisical when it comes to recommending sites, but we think BBSpot deserves a special mention. Few publications can do the funny thing, can make a joke sing - effortlessly. Tech humour sites -funny ones, that is - are particularly thin on the ground. But the best of the lot - BBSpot - merits comparison …

Bootnotes 22 Dec 2000, 10:09
Linux lead slams ‘pay per read’ disk drive plan

Hollywood Uber Alles

Alan Cox, number two on the Linux kernel team, has batted back copyright proposals mooted for the next revision of the industry-standard ATA hardware spec. As revealed by The Register, plans are being drawn up for copyright protection to be placed into the hard drives used by PCs, digital media players such as TiVo and Replay, …

Business 22 Dec 2000, 10:11
ISP sues BT for £37m

08002go.com's David takes on BT's Goliath

A little-known ISP is suing BT for £37 million for alleged breach of contract. A writ was served in the High Court on December 14 and although BT has asked for an extension, the case is expected to be heard in early January. Manchester-based, Zone Corporation, which trades as 08002go.com, alleges it had a contract for BT to …

Music and Media 22 Dec 2000, 10:13
Gameplay talks up business

Well, someone has to

Gameplay said today that it expects group revenues for the half year to January 31 2001 to exceed £40million. The announcement was made by chairman, Mark Strachan, in a bid to halt the outfit's sliding share price. The etailing games portal said that market conditions "remain tough" but was "confident that the company will be …

Business 22 Dec 2000, 10:29
WIPO reinvents itself as part of UN

Kofi Annan rules on Harry Potter cybersquatters?

WIPO - the blinkered domain name arbitrator - has not had too good a press this year. Perhaps it's something to do with the fact that it creatively interprets the resolution rules to decide for rich people and fat corporations, thereby effectively controlling the arbitration process. Or, then again, maybe not. Either way, we …

Music and Media 22 Dec 2000, 11:40
You've got mail: I'm going to kill myself

Dumped lad emails goodbye to his ex

If it has done nothing else for humanity, email has given us another medium to write suicide notes in. An effective method of communication, albeit a less dramatic medium than a letter scrawled in one's own blood. This lessening of drama did not deter jilted teenager Philip Dowden from announcing his intentions to his ex- …

Music and Media 22 Dec 2000, 12:00
Turkey porn jailbait in time for Xmas

Ex-bird's breasts were bootiful, say workmates

This is such a perfect Christmas story that we're still not sure it's true. Karl Kostelnik was given a two-month suspended sentence this week after he pleaded guilty to sending obscene pictures via email. These obscene pictures consisted of nude snaps of his estranged wife and were sent, in revenge, to her workmates at the head …

Bootnotes 22 Dec 2000, 12:01
3Com reports losses and hints at job cuts

Plans to create telecoms subsidiary

Network equipment manufacturer 3Com announced it will create a separate telecoms subsidiary, as it revealed smaller than expected second quarter losses yesterday. 3Com reported total revenues for the quarter of $789.5 million, and net losses of $52.4 million which compares to a loss of $41.3 million in the previous quarter. …

Data Networking 22 Dec 2000, 12:35
Atomic watches on the loose in France

Do they glow in the dark?

Forget mobile phones causing cancer, a far more realistic concern this Christmas is whether or not you are one of the 4,500 unfortunates who has a radioactive watch under the tree. It turns out that a "rogue" batch of watches for sale in super markets in France have been contaminated with Cobalt 60, which has a half life of 5. …

Bootnotes 22 Dec 2000, 12:37
BT share drop over 3G ruling

Vodafone wins but still hits 12-month low

BT's share price has dropped 6.2 per cent on the news that its high court case against Vodafone and Orange has collapsed. BT and One2One alleged the two mobile companies had an unfair advantage - equivalent to state aid - when they were given longer to pay instalments on their 3G licence. The reason behind the extended payment …

Data Networking 22 Dec 2000, 12:42
BT offers wholesale unmetered Net access

About time

BT Ignite is to offer a new wholesale unmetered Internet access service for ISPs and other licensed telecommunications operators (OLOs) based on the wholesale unmetered Net access product, FRIACO. BTnet SurfPort24 - catchy name, no? - will be available to order from 18 January, 2001. The product will become available nationally …

Music and Media 22 Dec 2000, 12:47
Festive CPU socket protection

HWRoundup Lots of lab fun

Right, it is the last working day for The Register's resident hardware herder before Christmas. So, to kick off we have an award ceremony over at Sharky's Games where the lucky recipients of a Sharky's Extreme Game Awards are listed. This year ten games got one, so check it out. The guys over at Tweaktown are feeling equally …

Hardware Roundup 22 Dec 2000, 13:28
Sun and HP launch cost-cutting programs

It's gonna get worse than cube shrinking

The slowdown in the Internet economy is beginning to hit Silicon Valley heavyweights like Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard. Following Steve Ballmer's call for thrift at Microsoft, Scott McNealy is looking to do a bit of belt tightening. In a leaked memo, obtained by Reuters, the Sun chief executive told employees: "We will …

Business 22 Dec 2000, 13:45
The Harry Potter bullying debacle

Will commonsense triumph?

Warner Brothers bullying ruins Field family Xmas Meet the Warner Bros: Jekyll and Hyde Warner Brothers shoots at more innocents Another child's Christmas ruined by Warner Brothers Warner Bros/ Harry Potter dispute kicks off again Warner Bros backs down on Harry Potter Web site Reg to fight for Harry Potter 'cybersquatter …

Letters 22 Dec 2000, 16:26
Death by mobile phone

We've forgotten: are they dangerous this month or not?

US says cell phones won't kill you From the info in this article, you can't draw any info that phone use is or isn't related to cancer. Eg. I'll do a control group of people that play Russian roulette (aimed at their foot) and still have a foot. The other group will be people that play Russian roulette (aimed at their foot) …

Letters 22 Dec 2000, 16:30
Express publisher is major league pornmonger

Blue rinse set better watch out

The new owner of prudish newspaper, The Express is also the godfather of a pornography site that would make Linda Lovelace and Ron Jeremy blush. A report in today's Guardian reveals that a company owned entirely by Richard Desmond runs a website where porn hungry surfers are promised live heterosexual and lesbian sex. The site …

Music and Media 22 Dec 2000, 16:37
Best of the Rest: Swire, AMD, Gush, Bore

A non-festive selection

Claire Swire email claims nine more victims Haven't you considered, perhaps, that maybe everyone is just being a bit too uptight? A society that punishes people for disclosing their open-mindedness will produce depressed people. A society that produces depressed people is worth less than a nickle. One would be better off …

Letters 22 Dec 2000, 16:43
Readers' Letters the Ho! Ho! Ho! edition

Simply having a wonderful Christmas whine

[Last of the year, so get out the port and mulled wine, eat a coupla mince pies and slowly fade... slowly fade... Then wake up and write us some stupefied letters so we have a laugh next year] The Harry Potter bullying debacle Will commonsense triumph? Death by mobile phone We've forgotten: are they dangerous this month or …

Letters 22 Dec 2000, 16:44
Human genome data in hacker peril shocker

Risks overplayed by emarketplace integrator

As if the attacks by crackers on credit card databases and even Microsoft's internal network wasn't bad enough, a firm of ebusiness integrators has outlined security holes on sites containing genetic research. A report issued by BioExchange.com suggests there is lax security at the half-dozen online genomics companies who …

Software 22 Dec 2000, 16:48
Local Loop Unbundling (LLU)

It's reduced grown men to tears, don't you know

The story - so far - behind Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) has caused rancour at the very heights of the political and commercial establishment. It has also descended into pure farce. Here's why... Dec 2000 MPs give BT broadband thumbs up Telewest ditches £1bn net plans BT Bonfield's head to go on MP platter this month Oftel …

Register Full Coverage 22 Dec 2000, 16:50
Dr Spinola's Christmas TV guide

The best yuletide viewing

Christmas Eve: Just Willamette. A new dramatisation of the children's favourite by Richmal Crompton about a troublesome young whippersnapper and the scrapes the little underachiever gets into. Starring Mel Gibson as Craig Barrett. Christmas Day: Athlon Powers - the chip that shagged Intel. Jerry Sanders reprises his popular …

Bootnotes 22 Dec 2000, 17:21
Pentium IIIs ready themselves for death

Roadmap Price cuts galore on the desktop family

In all the excitement of the 1GHz Pentium III 40 per cent price drop on the 28th of January and the Pentium 4 prices precipitating these, we almost forgot the other members of the Pentium III family. But not quite. These are the ones which are gradually moving off the roadmap as Intel proliferates the Pentium 4 into the …

Channel 22 Dec 2000, 17:40
Microsoft goes ton up for security bugs in 2000

100th security notice means productivity at Redmond has never been higher

Microsoft has issued its 100th security notice for the year 2000, proving that its productivity in generating exploits for crackers to exploit has reached unprecedented heights. Fittingly, the problem concerns Internet Information Server, the number of exploits for which is a standing joke amongst many members of the security …

Software 22 Dec 2000, 17:55
Sneaky cable crypto scheme in the works

Get ready to chuck your VCR

The cable television industry is moving ahead with a controversial plan to implement a copy protection scheme that will allow movie studios and cable providers to control what viewers are able to record off future digital cable TV networks. Makers of televisions, video recorders and interactive set-top boxes who want their …

Data Networking 22 Dec 2000, 19:37
eToys throws UK out of affiliate pram

Gives sites a week's notice

eToys UK is planning to can its affiliate program at the end of this month. Links to affiliate sites will remain live for a short period in the New Year, but eToys won't pay any more commission. The e-tailer informed its affiliates of the move in an email today - leaving them with around a week's notice, and over the Christmas …

Business 22 Dec 2000, 21:50