The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

25th April 2001 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • FBI hacked Russian hackers

    New world order

    Russian computer enthusiasts Alexey Ivanov and Vasiliy Gorshkov are in the United States just now answering charges that they broke into numerous remote servers and download proprietary information, customer databases and credit card details, and then attempted to extort money for 'security services' which, they assured their …

    Security 25 Apr 2001, 06:45

  • Amazon splashes less red ink

    Sales grow 22 per cent

    Amazon.com posted a net loss of £234 million for the first quarter. Losses for the three months ended March 31 2001 were lower than Q1 2000, when the e-tailer lost $308.4 million. Losses per share were 66 cents per share, compared to 90 cents per share for the same period last year. The net loss included costs of $114 million …

    e-Business 25 Apr 2001, 06:46

  • Lucent ‘severely impacted’ by Winstar bankruptcy

    $3.7bn loss in Q2

    Lucent Technologies lost $3.69 billion in its second quarter, a figure it partially blamed on the demise of customer Winstar Communications. The loss for the three months ended March 31 2001 included $2.7 billion in one-time costs, such as 2,000 of the 10,000 job cuts previously announced. It compared to a net profit of $755 …

    Business 25 Apr 2001, 06:49

  • Apple iBook famine feeds upgrade rumours

    Updated Can't buy one for love nor money

    Apple's iBook consumer-oriented notebook appears to be in rather short supply at the moment, fuelling speculation that a new version of the machine will be unveiled at the company's 1 May "Special Event". Mac sites around the Web are noting shortages of iBooks throughout Apple's reseller channels - most notably at distie Ingram …

    Mac Channel 25 Apr 2001, 09:32

  • Intel buys optical networking trio

    Sees the (10Gbps) light

    Intel yesterday said it has bought three companies specialising in high-end optical networks, but it refused to say how much it had paid for them. Two of the three - Cognet and nSerial - both develop low-cost, chipsets that process electronic signals that have been converted from light waves by 10GBps Ethernet optical units. …

    Data Networking 25 Apr 2001, 10:09

  • Hynix debuts 275MHz 4Mb x 16 DDR SDRAM

    Aimed at graphics apps

    Hynix has begun producing 64Mb DDR SDRAM chips in 4Mb x 16 configuration. Fabbed at 0.18 micron and designed to operate at 2.5V, the chips can run at 200, 233, 250 or 275MHz. The new parts are aimed at graphics applications - expect to see them coupled with the likes of Nvidia's GeForce 3 and ATI's Radeon - which account for …

    Channel 25 Apr 2001, 10:25

  • Hacking contest publicity stunt backfires

    Spin paramedics called to scene of security disaster

    A cunning plan by a security firm to publicise its product by challenging hackers to deface a Web site has backfired. Argus Systems hoped to promote itself at the Infosecurity exhibition in London this week by running a $50,000 competition inviting hackers to break into a Web server protected by its intrusion protection …

    Security 25 Apr 2001, 10:29

  • RDRAM-to-DDR P4 transition? No problemo – Intel

    Shift from Socket 423 to Socket 478 will be smooth, chip maker promises

    Intel does not expect the transition from Socket 423 Pentium 4 processors to the Socket 478 version of the chip to cause mobo makers and PC vendors any implementation problems, the company promised on Monday. Due to be announced and - we expect - ship sometime next quarter, the Socket 478 P4 is the version of the chip that will …

    Channel 25 Apr 2001, 11:01

  • Royal aide's text message alibi in murder case

    Hi-tech shenanigans

    The ex-Royal aide at the centre of a murder case sent SMS messages after she had killed her fiancee in order to set up an alibi, the Old Bailey heard yesterday. As the days passed, however, Jane Andrews became more and more desperate before sending a message saying she wanted to die in peace. She was found hours later by police …

    Bootnotes 25 Apr 2001, 11:03

  • Easter PS2 business rockets EB sales

    It's a 'major stimulus'

    Games retailer Electronics Boutique is enjoying the benefits of having stocks of PlayStation2s, but it increased profits without having steady supply of the consoles. The UK chain has reported net profits of £3.7 million for the year to 31 January, up from £292,000 for the year earlier. Total sales climbed 22 per cent to £307 …

    Games Industry 25 Apr 2001, 11:23

  • Miss France or Mr Snip?

    Miss Universe competition shaken by Internet rumours

    Internet rumours concerning the genetic sex of a Miss Universe contestant have led officials to take a peek at Miss France to make sure she has all the right bits. That's their excuse anyway. French Internet reports suggested that 19-year-old Elodie Gosuin had been born a bloke and had undergone a sex change operation while a …

    Bootnotes 25 Apr 2001, 11:51

  • Microsoft WinXP-ready PC scheme kicks off

    Start shipping your hardware to Redmond, people...

    The first "Windows XP-ready PCs" have poked their heads above the parapet, but strangely enough they're not from the usual suspects. Nor, indeed, are they very exciting. A small section which appeared on the Microsoft site over the past couple of days lists manufacturers Lan Plus, Micron, Premmio, Systemax and Oki, the latter …

    Software 25 Apr 2001, 12:00

  • Virgin.net to close ‘old’ network

    Intends to offer broadband by year end

    Virgin.net is to close one of its networks next month so that it can offer flat-fee unmetered Net access and broadband services to its punters. Those people using the old Cable & Wireless network have received emails asking them to move their accounts to a new ntl network. Until now Virgin.net's network has been split between …

    Telecoms 25 Apr 2001, 12:25

  • Nvidia to cut GeForce prices by up to 38%

    Tough competition, demand downturn behind it all

    Nvidia plans to cut the price of its GeForce 3 graphics chip to ensure add-in cards based on its next-generation accelerator sell for around $399 - significantly less than the $599 the company had originally specified. The prices of other chips will be cut too, taking some low-end board prices down to around $99. Like as not, …

    Channel 25 Apr 2001, 12:49

  • London police pilot PKI

    Scotland Yard smiles on smartcards for secure access

    The Metropolitan Police have chosen digital certificate technology from Baltimore Technologies to bolster the security of remote access to sensitive police information. Baltimore's Unicert Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) system will be used to ensure only trusted users can look up information on police databases, and that a …

    Security 25 Apr 2001, 13:09

  • Sony, Ericsson create 800lb phone gorilla

    About the weight of a 3G handset?

    Sony and Ericsson effectively pooled their mobile phone operations yesterday, creating a new joint company to handle the venture. This involves 2500 staff from Ericsson's phone division joining 1500 from Sony, with new multimedia phones promised for late next year. The new joint company, imaginatively named Sony Ericsson …

    Business 25 Apr 2001, 13:38

  • Wanadoo Q1 revenue falls

    User numbers up

    European ISP, Wanadoo, reported today that Q1 revenues had slipped some 10 per cent compared to Q4 2000 despite doubling the number of active users over the same period. Revenues for Q1 2001 sauntered in at E314.1 million (£195.4 million) down from E350.9 million (£218.3 million) at the end of last year. Revenues from Net …

    Business 25 Apr 2001, 13:40

  • Captain Cyborg back on the BBC

    And surprise, surprise, he's talking nonsense

    Our favourite professor of poppycock Kevin Warwick aka Captain Cyborg is back on the BBC's news Web site, this time talking about TV. Diversifying his gibberish to include media as well as computers and cyborgs, Kev was asked to comment on Web site White Dot's campaign to get people to turn off their TV set and do something …

    Bootnotes 25 Apr 2001, 13:43

  • How to do your bit for foot'n'mouth

    And it's fun too!

    Some enterprising young Web folk have decided to do their bit for foot and mouth and knocked up the subtly named www.sheepcull.co.uk. While the disease has made huge swathes of the countryside off bounds, given Americans the impression that we are living under curfew, ruined industries and provided a glut of human interest …

    Software 25 Apr 2001, 14:52

  • Intel juggles 2GHz P4 release timeframe

    Q3 and Q4 mentioned in dispatches

    Intel has delayed the release of the 2GHz Pentium 4. Either that or it's trying to pave the way for a 'surprise', 'early' release of the part. Speaking at the Taipei Intel Developers Forum, Louis Burns, the head of the chip maker's desktop platforms group, said the 2GHz P4 is due to ship in Q4. Intel has also been demo'ing the …

    Channel 25 Apr 2001, 14:54

  • Does AOL have a press office?

    Well, does it?

    How's this for corporate slickness from the world's biggest Internet company. Journalist dials AOL's HQ in US. Journalist: Hi. I'd like to speak to someone in your press office please. Operator: Press? Journalist: Yes, press office. Operator heard shouting to someone across the room Do we have a press office? Therein lies …

    Bootnotes 25 Apr 2001, 16:36

  • WIN2K is even easier to deface than NT

    MS claims give false sense of security

    Firms upgrading their computer systems to the Windows 2000 operating systems from NT 4 are exposing themselves to greater security risks from Web site defacement. Records kept by security site Attrition.org indicate that an average of 55 per cent of Web site defacements so far this year are linked to exploitation of Windows NT …

    Security 25 Apr 2001, 16:43

  • Microsoft security fixes infected with FunLove virus

    Is this the worst security screw up ever?

    A virus infection of security fix files on Microsoft's partner and premier support Web sites has forced the software giant to suspend certain downloads for more than a fortnight. Microsoft issued an alert on Monday, which states that various Hotfix files on its Premier Support and Microsoft Gold Certified Partners Web sites are …

    Security 25 Apr 2001, 17:32

  • Meet America's new top cybercop

    New NIPC chief steps away from 'electronic Pearl Harbor' rhetoric

    The new head of the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) says it takes time to turn FBI agents into a cyber defense team. "One of the things that gets lost in the translation of where we started and where we are now, is there's a lack of realization that this entity is only three years old," NIPC Director Ronald …

    Security 25 Apr 2001, 18:54

  • Salon.com offering porn to stay alive

    Desperate times, desperate measures

    Trendy online rag Salon has addressed its steadily decreasing relevance by embracing it fully. The "leading Internet media company" as it dares call itself has just rolled out a subscription service called 'Salon Premium' which will offer "galleries of erotic art and photography in 'Salon Sex,'" or soft-core porn euphemized as …

    Music and Media 25 Apr 2001, 20:22