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21st February 2001 Archive

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  • FBI agent sold surveillance/nuke data to Russia

    National disgrace responsible for two deaths

    The Washington establishment was rocked Tuesday by news that a high-level FBI agent specializing in counterintelligence and electronic surveillance had been arrested and charged with espionage on behalf of Russia, following a six-month investigation. FBI Special Agent Robert Philip Hanssen, aged 56, was placing a packet of …

    Security 21 Feb 2001, 06:16

  • Napster offers $1bn bribe to labels

    Please don't kill us....

    Napster will surrender a bribe of $1 billion to record labels, songwriters and independent artists in exchange for being permitted to continue drawing breath, the company announced Tuesday. The money is to be paid over five years, even if subscription revenues fail to account for it all. "Major labels will receive $150 million …

    Music and Media 21 Feb 2001, 08:56

  • VA Linux sees red

    Cuts 100+ staff

    Did They Really Say That? (Part 94)... "In the open source world companies will have to offer employees a greater level of meaning, something higher up the Mazlow pyramid," Eric Raymond told LinuxWorld Expo three weeks ago. "Basic job security and good compensation isn't enough." However 130 employees of VA Linux, who became ex …

    Software 21 Feb 2001, 09:36

  • MS protects Mac but not Windows users with web bug mail firewall

    Four legs good, two legs bad

    Not all Microsoft mail clients are created equal. Dan Gillmor of the San Jose Mercury has unearthed an intriguing difference between the protection afforded to users of Microsoft mail clients running on Windows or the Macintosh. Mac users running Entourage, the mail client-cum-PIM that debuted with Office 2001, have the option …

    Security 21 Feb 2001, 09:41

  • Intel warns channel of price cuts on 4 March

    Confirms roadmap pricing plan

    Intel will cut prices of certain CPUs next month, reducing the cost of processors sold through its channel of authorised distributors to end users by Intel Product Dealers, and to OEMs by up to 19 per cent. The price cuts kick in on 4 March, which is what we expected from the Intel CPU roadmap we saw not so long ago. There are …

    Channel 21 Feb 2001, 10:54

  • Woundup Gates gets ‘special’ WinXP beta code

    And the merest glimpse of WinXP server in beta...

    If you can't get special treatment when you're running the biggest software company in the world, when can you get? So it's not exactly surprising that it turns out Bill Gates gets his own special builds of WinXP. Or so it would seem, anyway. As we all know WinXP beta build 2428 went out last week just a few hours after Bill …

    Software 21 Feb 2001, 11:46

  • PocketPC wins marketshare from Palm

    It looks that way, but...

    Palm's dominance of the PDA market remains strong despite an apparent dip in marketshare last month. According to US retail market watcher PC Data, Palm's January 2001 marketshare fell to 60.5 per cent from 65 per cent in December 2000. PalmOS licensee and number two in the market Handspring saw a single percentage point drop, …

    Business 21 Feb 2001, 12:14

  • BT faces £400 million LLU compensation bill a year

    That's a relief - could have been £142.5 billion

    BT could be forced to pay rival telcos £400 million a year if it fails to meet agreed levels of service concerning local loop unbundling (LLU). Details of compensation payments for operators involving loss of income or profit were published by Oftel today and form part of the framework for LLU. Under the new rules, BT's …

    Data Networking 21 Feb 2001, 12:20

  • Cisco pushes optical router

    256Gbps switching, 30m packets per second

    Cisco has introduced a high-end router which is designed to deliver IP services at optical speeds. The Cisco 7600 Optical Services Router (OSR), which is designed for the optical and core layers of service provider networks, has been introduced at a time when sales of networking kit to telcos are in decline, with investment not …

    Data Networking 21 Feb 2001, 12:56

  • Sphinx CST shuts IBM networking division

    And other channel flannel

    Distributor Sphinx CST is closing down its dedicated IBM networking division. According to CRN, Sphinx's Blue Channel business will be scaled down over the next three months. There will be up to 30 redundancies. MD Mike Hatton denied the company jumped before IBM pushed it. "It was a mutual decision," he told CRN. Blue …

    Business 21 Feb 2001, 13:08

  • EasyNet lost £12 million last year

    Revenue up though

    EasyNet lost £1 million a month last year despite ramping up turnover by half to £42 million. The Net company said its losses - £12 million in 2000, compared with just £1 million in 1999 - were in line with its expectations. The company said it generated operating profits in the UK last year and expects its European businesses …

    Business 21 Feb 2001, 13:09

  • Dell wireless users get free network access

    And 5GHz bandwidth brawl breaks out

    Wireless network provider Wayport has signed a deal with Dell to provide free network access to Dell's wireless notebook customers until 31 March. According to a CNET report, although Dell is selling the deal as exclusive, Wayport has said it is open to anyone with the right kit, ie. a laptop equipped with 802.11b networking …

    Data Networking 21 Feb 2001, 13:44

  • AMD follows Intel with 5 March price cuts

    Across the board reductions

    AMD will cut its Athlon and Duron prices across the board next month - on the day after Intel's next major round of price cuts. Chipzilla is cutting prices on 4 March. Chimpzilla's cuts come in on the fifth. That's the plan, at least, and what the company has been telling its resale channel and, we presume, its OEMs. It's …

    Channel 21 Feb 2001, 15:04

  • Anti IR35 group angry about bypass tax claims

    Advertising standards spat

    The Professional Contractors Group - the campaigning group against IR35 tax laws - has reported a recruitment agency, Computer People, to the Advertising Standards Authority for claiming it can bypass the tax legislation. The IR35 legislation removes various tax benefits from contractors by assuming that they are employees of a …

    Business 21 Feb 2001, 15:24

  • How to lose customer goodwill when buying a business

    Make sure previous owner leaves their details on view

    If you're buying an online business make sure its previous owners lax security hasn't left you with a privacy disaster waiting to happen. Staff at Megabyte Cybercafe, which took over the business (but not the debts) of Internet design agency websonline.co.uk from the receivers, were shocked when we told them that confidential …

    Security 21 Feb 2001, 15:28

  • IBM handwriting notebook gets an outing

    Hope we don't have to call it the StinkScribe

    IBM's redesigned notebook, the ThinkPad TransNote, was launched today. It has a digital notepad attached, for making handwritten notes. IBM says that the digital pad can be used to fill in customised forms so will be marketed at industries where there is a lot of form filing - for example, insurance firms. "Anywhere where there …

    Business 21 Feb 2001, 15:40

  • PC World in-store virus check a bit of a scan?

    Pay £40 for a sales pitch

    Computer superstore chain PC World is trying to cash in on the fear generated by recent virus outbreaks by advertising an expensive virus screening service. But it doesn't offer permanent protection from malicious code. PC World, part of the Dixons Group, is running adverts for its £40 Healthcheck service in today's newspapers …

    Security 21 Feb 2001, 15:46

  • PlayStation to go wireless in April

    Sony shipping software, DoCoMo shipping iMode connection cables

    Japanese PlayStation users will at long last be able to compete with other players across cellphone networks next April. Sony announced today it will ship software that enables multi-player gaming in April. Sony's cellular plans are being developed in co-operation with NTT DoCoMo, which will offer cables to connect PlayStations …

    Business 21 Feb 2001, 16:10

  • Soltek 75KAV-X slobbered over

    HWRoundup Newbie overclocking cream

    Chris Tom over at SocketA took a peek at the Soltek 75KAV-X, based on the VIA KT133A chipset. The Redstorm overclocking feature went down well, Chris reckons it'll be particularly handy for newbies. There a couple of things on the "How to make it perfect" wishlist, but then there always are. Overall, this got a solid thumbs up, …

    Hardware Roundup 21 Feb 2001, 16:35

  • Govt to run all IT projects through Treasury watchdog

    We could have done with this two years ago

    The government has announced that in future all IT projects undertaken by the civil service will have to be run through a procurement watchdog - an offshoot of the Treasury called the Office of Government Commerce (OGC). The announcement follows yet another embarrassing failure in the dumping of Siemens multi-million pound …

    Business 21 Feb 2001, 16:50

  • Fujitsu eyes Palm as PDA partner

    Japanese vendors looks to palmtops as PC sales shrink

    Fujitsu could be Palm's next Japanese licensee. The company certainly said today that it is examining the PDA market, and that one of the OS' under consideration is Palm's, according senior staffers cited by Bloomberg. Of course it'll be looking at PocketPC too, not least since that's the option many Japanese PDA makers have …

    Business 21 Feb 2001, 16:54

  • MS settles Bristol antitrust case out of court

    We'd be the last to suggest 'here's some money if you shut up'

    Microsoft seems to have successfully "disappeared" the Bristol antitrust suit. A tersely uninformative joint release issued today says that the two companies have reached agreement to settle their ongoing legal dispute. And that, folks, is that. Bristol is pleased, but does not quantify its pleasure in financial terms. …

    Software 21 Feb 2001, 17:01

  • Alpha trounces Sun in Oz supercomp rematch

    Sun servers eclipsed in number-crunching project

    Compaq technology has been selected for an Australian supercomputer project after an attempt to use Sun kit went horribly wrong. Australian Partnership for Advanced Computing has announced its use of Compaq AlphaServer SC to build what is set to become the largest supercomputer available to Australian researchers and industry, …

    Business 21 Feb 2001, 17:10

  • Mac desktop sales slide 62 per cent

    Pray Jobs comes up with the goods in Tokyo...

    If Apple does unveil new iMacs and iBooks at MacWorld Expo Tokyo tomorrow, it better pray that punters like them. US consumers certainly didn't like what the company was offering last month. Retail sales of desktop Macs fell 62 per cent year on year, according to US retail market watcher PC Data's latest figures. Notebooks …

    Mac Channel 21 Feb 2001, 17:27

  • Demon gets tough on child porn

    It's all about growing up

    Demon Internet has taken a public stand against child pornography stating will remove known paedophile newsgroups from its servers. It claims it is to take a more "proactive role" in the removal of child pornography and will remove known paedophile newsgroups (30 in the first instance) from its servers. It will also work with …

    Music and Media 21 Feb 2001, 19:14

  • Baltimore takes it to i-mode

    Plus Q4 revenues triple from last year

    Baltimore Technology, the computer security specialist, is to provide the security for Japanese telco giant NTT DoCoMo's i-mode Internet cell phone service. Although the deal is not exclusive, Baltimore says that it will bolster relations with DoCoMo and will provide an opportunity for Baltimore to showcase its technologies. …

    Security 21 Feb 2001, 19:16

  • Reg in flash ad clampdown

    No adverts in stories - not now, not ever

    With dotcoms increasingly desperate to turn over a profit, and hungry advertisers demanding more and more in-your-face animated gifs, it was inevitable that ads would eventually appear in the middle of stories. If you have a quick look at CNET, you're likely to have your reading pleasure interrupted by some preposterous flash …

    Bootnotes 21 Feb 2001, 19:24

  • Virus toolkits are s'kiddie menace

    Industry split on best defence

    Much has been made of the developer's decision to pull the toolkit behind the Anna Kornikova virus - but anti-virus experts have warned that many such toolkits are readily available and just as easy to use by would-be vandals. Last week the creator of K]Alamar's Vbs Worms Creator, used to create the Kornikova virus,pulled the …

    Security 21 Feb 2001, 19:37

  • Intel freezes recruitment, caps exec pay

    No free PC for you

    Intel is the latest technology giant to announce retrenchment plans. The company said today that it will make only "key strategic technical and engineering hires" and that it hopes to reduce the workforce. Overtime will also be restricted, and Chipzilla's free-PC program for its employees has also been deferred. Senior …

    Business 21 Feb 2001, 22:14