31st May 2001 Archive

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Can a GPL PlayStation2 Linux port replace low-cost PCs?

Here's how

Linux hackers seeking to run the OS on Sony Playstation 2 consoles will soon have a new option. A Czeck company has created a clean-room implementation of the hardware platform, which it promises to release under the GNU GPL. "The target of RU.nix project is to making Linux based kit to transform SONY PlayStation and SONY …

Software 31 May 2001, 00:16
E-security pulls in the profits for Computerlinks

Useful Q1

ComputerLinks AG, the German networking equipment distributor owned by UK-quoted company Fayrewood plc, reports strong growth in Q1, with "incoming orders, EBITDA and cash flow each increased by approximately 200%". Sales were up 197 per cent to E38.5m and sales pre employees were movedup from E0.11m to E0.14m. More than half …

Channel 31 May 2001, 08:07
DeCSS arguments invoke free speech

For and against

Supplementary briefs have been submitted by both contestants in the appeal of 2600 publisher Eric Corely aka Emmanuel Goldstein, who was barred from posting or linking to the DeCSS descrambling utility last summer by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan. After hearing oral arguments for and against publishing DeCSS, which defeats the …

Music and Media 31 May 2001, 08:36
365 claims Sports site premier league spot

We're still standing

365.com has staked its claim in the ground for its sports web site properties. The telco/dotcom/content-supplier hybrid says it will survive the shakeout in the UK sports site market. In a statement accompanying its full year results, 365 claimed it has "reached the critical mass necessary to attract the advertising and …

e-Business 31 May 2001, 09:01
Manhunt starts for Sex.com snatcher

$50K reward puts high price on head

The owner of Sex.com is offering a $50,000 (£35,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of the man who stole the saucy domain from him. Gary Kremen, the lawful owner of Sex.com, wants the public to help him catch domain snatcher, Stephen Michael Cohen. While he appreciates that some people may not wish to help …

e-Business 31 May 2001, 09:38
Mac OS 9.2 ready real soon now

Mac Rumour Roundup Bug fixes ahoy

The release of Apple's next upgrade to the classic Mac OS is imminent, insiders cited by both Think Secret and MacOS Rumors have claimed. Mac OS 9.2, codenamed Moonlight, is at the final release candidate stage, the latest build being the fourth to be marked as such. Another build should see the code reach Golden Master status …

Mac Channel 31 May 2001, 09:42
WD wants to talk direct to UK system builders

MDF money could be on the table

Western Digital has set up a channel scheme for UK system builders, based up on an existing programme operating in the US, Germany and France. The Select WD Partner programme gives system builders the opportunity to talk directly to the HDD vendor. On offer is: "access to a dedicated WD marketing team, listing on the WD …

Channel 31 May 2001, 09:53
Nvidia Crush chipset named nForce?

That's what looks like leaked info suggests

What will Nvidia call its upcoming Crush chipset? Only the company knows for sure, but nForce - broadly matching the company GeForce brand for its graphics technology - appears to be the most likely candidate, according to documentation seen by The Register. If it's accurate, it suggests Nvidia will release Crush as the nForce …

Channel 31 May 2001, 10:14
Everything you wanted to know about DDoS attacks

But Steve Gibson hadn't got around to finding out

Independent security expert Steve Gibson has posted his much-awaited analysis of the DDoS attacks launched against his grc.com site and it makes fascinating reading. Steve was hit with two heavy denial-of-service attacks at the start of the month which made his site inaccessible to everyone. This is the start point in an …

Security 31 May 2001, 10:39
Sony opens 1394 test lab

Verfiying third-party kit is iLink-compatible

Sony is to test third-party consumer IEEE 1394 devices to ensure their interoperability. The program was begun this week, says the Nikkei Newswire, with the establishment in Japan of a 1394 network operability verification lab, as the company calls it. Sony is marketing the lab as a means for companies' whose products support …

Business 31 May 2001, 10:47
Office XP: We have lift off

You'd be a fool and a communist not to buy

Microsoft today launches its Office XP program, the latest version of its Office software. The program, which includes Word 2002, Excel 2002 and PowerPoint 2002, will be launched in 15 countries over the next two or three days. In the UK Microsoft's latest addition will set customers back between £199 and £749, depending on …

Software 31 May 2001, 10:56
Windows XP will make Internet unstable – top security expert

Disturbing but true

According to top security expert Steve Gibson, Windows XP threatens to make the Internet unstable as it will allow large numbers of people to launch uncontrollable denial-of-service attacks to whichever IP address they see fit. Mr Gibson came across the flaw while doing an in-depth investigation into DoS attacks on his own site …

Software 31 May 2001, 11:01
Expensive ADSL puts punters off

Tell us something we don't know

The high cost of ADSL appears to be one of the major reasons why domestic Net users aren't signing up in droves to the broadband technology. The latest survey from telecoms regulator Oftel reveals that just 0.6 per cent of domestic Net users has ADSL access. The survey, Consumers' use of Internet: Oftel residential survey Q4 …

Telecoms 31 May 2001, 12:34
Fasthosts outage outrage

36 hour blackout - who is to blame?

BT and hosting firm Fasthosts are at loggerheads about which is to blame for a 36-hour service outage. Fasthosts, which hosts 500,000 Web sites (mainly run by small businesses), accuses BT of failing to provide a timely fix for a problem which made almost all the Web sites it hosts unavailable and left its customers unable to …

e-Business 31 May 2001, 12:36
Eidos launches £50m rights issue after poor full-year results

We'll start making money again in 2002. Promise

Troubled games publisher Eidos has announced a £51.7 million rights issue, heavily discounted, in a bid to get some much-needed cash. The issue was announced at the same time as the company full-year results, which saw a pre-tax loss of £96.4 million from a profit of £49.3 million last year (£54.1 million went on goodwill) and …

Games Industry 31 May 2001, 13:39
UK games industry angry over govt grey import plans

It'll sap creativity

The computer games industry has hit out at the government over plans to legalise grey imports. The European Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) says the plan, unveiled by secretary of state for trade and industry Stephen Byers, threatens games developers and publishers in the UK. Last month Byers announced a joint …

Games Industry 31 May 2001, 13:52
Third of Brits shun the Net

Can't be done with it

A third of Britain's population isn't bothered with the Internet and neither wants or needs it at home. According to Consumers' use of Internet: Oftel residential survey Q4 February 2001 which has just been released, 34 per cent of homes are connected to the Net. A further 15 per cent of people said they were likely to be …

Music and Media 31 May 2001, 13:54
e-Envoy's office defends Windows-only portal – climb down begins?

Commissioning open source research, will consider alternatives - they're wobbling...

The Office of the e-Envoy is hotly - but not very convincingly - disputing claims that the Microsoft-built UK government portal, gateway.gov.uk, constitutes a Microsoft tax. The authentication systems used for the portal, which is intended to form the cornerstone of the Blair government's plan to get 100 per cent of its services …

Software 31 May 2001, 15:18
MS buddies sharpen claws to 'pierce ProComp's veil'

Tit-for-rat-a-tat-tat

Microsoft's loyal defenders have sharpened their claws and issued a report slamming their old foe ProComp. The Association of Competitive Technology (ACT) and the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) claim ProComp would "twist antitrust laws to stop Microsoft from developing integrated software". "When you …

Business 31 May 2001, 15:22
Mac OS X: Reg box stable – at last…

Learning to live with Mac OS X The future starts here, apparently

This week I finally realised that I was using Mac OS X more than Mac OS 9. After two hard months trying to get Apple's NeXT-generation operating system to work, that realisation came as something of a surprise. Two issues face anyone migrating to Mac OS X: ensuring the system is sufficiently stable and feature-equipped to be …

Mac Channel 31 May 2001, 15:26
GPRS pricing war breaks out

Vodafone launches with cheaper handsets than BT

Vodafone has undercut BT on the price of handsets designed to deliver high speed Internet access over mobile phone. From tomorrow, Vodafone will begin selling Motorola Timeport 260 GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) phones from its shops at £99.99, or half the price of mobile rival BT Cellnet - which charges £199.99 for the …

Data Networking 31 May 2001, 15:26
Itanium cranium drainium

HWRoundup Specs tacular

The hardware sites have gone high-end and put Intel's Itanium through its paces. Aces Hardware has news on the spec and some benchmarks, and also some news on the Nv Crush Northbridge chipset over here IntelZone has kicked loose with some top dope on the CPU here. Elsewhere the Itanium scored pretty well in some performance …

Hardware Roundup 31 May 2001, 16:01
Tiscali UK staff leave today

These are the lucky ones

Today's the last day for many staff at Tiscali UK who've been told to "shove off" as part of the ISPs new streamlined operation. According to insiders as many as 300 people have been booted from the three companies (WorldOnline UK, LibertySurf UK and LineOne) that make up Tiscali's new UK operation. Tiscali has consistently …

Business 31 May 2001, 16:04
The Internet MP list of shame

Hang your heads, you, you... politicians

Following on from the story yesterday about MPs being forced to remove their Web sites as their have "mp" in their title (because they're not MPs at the moment due to the election), we have compiled a list of shame for those politicians that are flagrantly flaunting election rules (special thanks to Simon Briggs for research). …

Business 31 May 2001, 16:15
STMicro cuts 2001 budget

Warns of wafer plant closure

STMicroelectronics has cut its budget for the year, while warning it will shut its wafer plant in Ottawa. The French-Italian company said it would reduce its capital spending plans to $1.5 billion from $1.9 billion due to slowing demand in the chip market. The Ottawa fab is expected to shut, with its production moved to other …

Channel 31 May 2001, 16:18
What are those words that trigger Echelon?

Updated We'll tell you

According to various UK media sources today, the buzzwords said to trigger the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand spying mechanism Echelon have been "posted on the Internet". We haven't found the file and it hasn't popped up on the authoritative site for these sorts of things, Cryptome.org, so we'd not put too much weight behind it. …

Music and Media 31 May 2001, 16:21
Why Motorola, Ericsson and Siemens disagree with Nokia over EMS

Quite simple really

We reported yesterday on Alcatel, Motorola, Ericsson and Siemens' new standard for enhanced SMS text messaging - EMS. EMS will allow you to send pics, music and animations over phones. Intriguingly, however, Nokia - the biggest manufacturer of phones by some way - was not signed up to the standard. We asked it why and it told …

Data Networking 31 May 2001, 16:45
Microsoft reanimates Bob to cover missing Windows features

Faux paw

Surely, the twisted World of Windows can't get much stranger than this. Microsoft has revived Bob to camouflage the non-appearance of one its most-hyped OS features. Two years ago, Redmond flew journalists in from around the world to showcase Windows 2000. And the show-stopper, even for cynics, turned out to be the …

Software 31 May 2001, 16:46
Cyber-crime justifies world government

Intl treaty demands compliant legislation

The Council of Europe, enthused by considerable American guidance and support, has issued a proposed final draft for an international cybercrime treaty to harmonize statutes related to electronic criminal activity, cross-border police cooperation, and judicial policy throughout Europe and North America, more or less along lines …

Music and Media 31 May 2001, 17:17
Cowboy cracker nails Apache

Fluffy Bunny was also SourceForge bandit

The cracker who broke into the Web servers of open source development site SourceForge has broken cover to boast of his exploits, and brag he also compromised the systems of the Apache project. Fluffy Bunny defaced a Web site (themes.org) to list the accounts he had managed to compromise and to brag that his actions had gone …

Security 31 May 2001, 18:10