The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

23rd July 2001 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • AntiOffline founder reports to Club Fed

    Two years+ for hack conviction

    Jesus Oquendo, aka Sil, who maintains the quirky site AntiOffline, has been convicted of computer trespass and eavesdropping and sentenced to 27 months in a minimum security federal jail and ordered to pay $96,385 in restitution. He reports on Monday to serve his time. Oquendo maintains his innocence, and says he turned down a …

    Security 23 Jul 2001, 00:12

  • Tiscali settles Globalnet suit with £500k pay-off

    Cheaper than going to court claim

    In October 1986, Jeffrey Archer, the disgraced Conservative politician, paid prostitute Monica £2000 for not sleeping with her; in July 2001, Tiscali, the leading ISP, paid Globalnet Financial £500,000 for its subsidiary World Online not fibbing over membership and page impression numbers. Globalnet Financial, the now moribund …

    e-Business 23 Jul 2001, 10:12

  • Microsoft releases CE source code

    Another day, another licence

    Microsoft has made a portion of the Windows CE 3.0 available as 'shared source', as promised. Friday's announcement sees a new licence which has at the very least the virtue of simplicity. As we pointed out in May when Craig Mundie made this pledge, CE hardware manufacturers already have access to this code; so it's a deal with …

    Software 23 Jul 2001, 10:24

  • ARM scores with licensing deals

    Q2 profits leap 23% to £8.3m

    ARM's Q2 profits have jumped 23 per cent to £8.3 million; up from the £6.7 million it scored a year earlier. Sales climbed 56 per cent to £36 million, from 23.1 million for the same period last year. Customers licensing ARM's chip technology is the root of its strong results at a time when other semiconductor operations are …

    Business 23 Jul 2001, 10:34

  • SirCam virus hogs connections with spam

    Mass mailing worm growing out of control

    The SirCam mass mailing worm is becoming a major nuisance for Internet users as its numbers have steadily risen over the last week. Unlike other similar viruses, such as the Love Bug or Anna Kournikova worm, the outbreak of SirCam has not contained, and although it had a slow start it has now become easily the most common virus …

    Malware 23 Jul 2001, 11:01

  • Infineon posts Q3 loss

    Chip sector quietly drowns in red ink

    Infineon Technologies today posted a loss of 371 million euros ($322.58 million) for the third quarter, warning it would stay in the red for the rest of its fiscal year. The loss for the three months ended June 30 compared to a profit of 266 million euros ($231.29 million) for the same period the previous year. Sales at the …

    Channel 23 Jul 2001, 11:06

  • Motorola changes face of mobile industry

    Manufacturer to sell its technology to rivals

    Motorola has decided to sell its proprietary technology for 2.5 and 3G phones to rivals, threatening to change the face of the mobile industry forever. The company sold the idea to the FT as a natural step to how the PC market works, with a large number of companies competing on design, price and brand rather than the actual …

    Data Networking 23 Jul 2001, 11:10

  • E-economy bosses get higher salaries outside London

    Another shock survey

    E-execs can expect smaller salaries for working in London than in other parts of the UK, a survey out today claims. In a bizarre twist of economics, senior managers in the 'new economy' are paid an average of 14 per cent more in areas outside the capital, according to research by management consultancy the Hay Group. While …

    e-Business 23 Jul 2001, 11:36

  • MS sells Expedia stake

    USA Networks buys into loss making travel dotcom

    Media company USA Networks said today it would buy a 75 per cent stake in travel dotcom Expedia. As part of the deal, Microsoft is to shift its 70 per cent stake in Expedia, or 33.7 million shares, to USA Networks. The amount paid for the online travel company was not disclosed. USA also plans to buy online travel outfit …

    e-Business 23 Jul 2001, 11:36

  • Broadband delays costing US $500bn per year

    Needs to lose its 'luxury' status

    The US is missing out on $500 billion per year through broadband delays. Just connecting half the country's households to high-speed Net access would be worth around £200 billion, according to a report out today from the Brookings Institution. Benefits would come from increased online home shopping, and e-service replacements …

    Telecoms 23 Jul 2001, 11:37

  • Car boot software seller arrested after raid

    £60,000 worth of goods seized

    Trading Standards has been on the warpath over pirated software again, this time probing the underground world of car booting*. A TS swoop at Sunday's car boot sale in Tensely, Derbyshire, netted more than 2,700 items of counterfeit goods worth an estimated £60,000, according to the European Leisure Software Publishers …

    Channel 23 Jul 2001, 11:38

  • Dell chops UK PC warranties

    Rest of Dell world expected to follow

    Dell has quietly chopped two years off its PC warranties in the UK. Until last week, Dell customers got a three-year warranty - comprising one year on-site and two years collect and return - as standard when they bought a Dell consumer desktop. But this has been reduced to a one-year collect and return warranty for UK and …

    Channel 23 Jul 2001, 11:38

  • The Times they are a chargin'

    For Web content

    The Times and Sunday Times are planning to charge for content on their Web sites, making them the first UK newspapers to attempt a subscription model. Starting off quietly by charging £10 a year for access to the Times crossword, various "premium" services will gradually be introduced, each complete with a subscription fee. …

    e-Business 23 Jul 2001, 11:38

  • FTC to investigate Web's biggest search engines

    For serving results that are 'ads in disguise'

    A complaint has been filed with the Federal Trade Commission in the US against the Web's biggest search engines by a consumer watchdog group, Commercial Alert MSN, Netscape, HotBot, Lycos, Altavista, LookSmart, Directhit (owned by Ask Jeeves) and iWon have all been accused of "deceptive advertising". Commercial Alert claims …

    e-Business 23 Jul 2001, 11:38

  • Online music to rocket; AOL wants to be at controls

    Up by over 40 per cent a year

    The online music market is set to rocket at the rate of 43 per cent a year, making it worth $6.2 billion (£4.4 billion) by 2006, according to Jupiter Media Matrix. And, unsurprisingly, AOL-Time Warner wants to be sitting right in the middle of it. Jupiter reckons subscription services rather than downloads will be the future of …

    e-Business 23 Jul 2001, 11:41

  • Tosh punts out Pocket PC PDA

    $560 for basic model

    Toshiba has come out with two models of its Pocket PC PDA. The Genio e550 has 32MB of main memory, and comes with two expansion slots - an SD slot for the Secure Digital Input-Output card and SD memory card; and a CF-II slot for compact flash cards. The high-end Genio e550/MD also comes with a 1GB Microdrive. The Genio e550 …

    Personal 23 Jul 2001, 11:42

  • Intel's Desktop Roadmap

    Updated Bye-bye, PIII

    So how will Intel's decision, announced yesterday but expected for a week or so, affect its desktop roadmap? As yet, precise details of Intel's new roadmap haven't leaked out of the company, but we expect it to be pretty close to our current expectations, outlined below. Intel's fastest desktop PIIIs, the 1.13GHz and 1.2GHz 0. …

    Business 23 Jul 2001, 11:47

  • Mustek GSmart 300

    Review Webcam

    Mustek is best known for making flatbed scanners, but it's been branching out lately, launching a range of projectors, a DVD player and now a webcam, the GSmart 300. The GSmart 300 is a sleek, silver unit that can also be used as a digital camera. Once you've taken your snaps, you can plug the camera into your PC via the USB …

    Personal 23 Jul 2001, 11:49

  • Tru64 tweaks come with intro of 1GHz Alpha

    Launch eclipsed by first Itanic box from Compaq

    Compaq has begun shipping a 1GHz version of its Alpha EV68 processor in its GS series of AlphaServers. The widely-anticipated introduction to the market of 1GHz copper-whoppers from Big Q is accompanied by enhancements to Tru64 Unix that allow the operating system that allow users the ability to mix 64-bit CPU speeds within a …

    Hardware 23 Jul 2001, 11:49

  • Buying Windows 98? Try a Linux for Idiots Guide too

    Action Computers points users towards open source

    Catalogue reseller Action Computers has decided that people thinking about purchasing Windows 98 from it would do well to consider Linux instead. On a page on its site describing Windows 98, Action lists Liberty Linux for Dummies Quick Reference manual and an Idiot's Guide to Linux by Que as related items a Windows 98 shopper …

    Channel 23 Jul 2001, 11:49

  • Hackers run amok during Defcon

    Alldas.de DDoS, Sans.org defaced plus general mayhem

    Hackers attending the annual Defcon hacker convention started as they meant to go on with one group embarking on a prolific defacement spree that claimed the scalps of 679 sites in just one minute. In the run-up to the Vegas conference, cracking group World of Hell defaced a host of sites including computercrime.edu, various …

    Security 23 Jul 2001, 11:52

  • AMD grabs 50% of top vendors' consumer desktops

    Big Q and Big Blue in AMD love-in

    Top PC vendors reckon AMD has grabbed around half of their consumer desktop market from Intel. Around 50 per cent of all Compaq consumer desktops are currently based on AMD chips, and half on Intel. It is a similar story at IBM, with representatives saying AMD is gaining ground in the consumer PC market. Around 50 per cent of …

    Personal 23 Jul 2001, 11:52

  • HP moves towards molecular-scale computing

    Will fab 16Kb memory by 2005

    Hewlett-Packard has said its been awarded a key patent that could remove a major obstacle to making molecular-scale computing a reality. This is what HP says about it: The patent, issued by the U.S. Patent Office earlier this month to HP Labs scientists Phil Kuekes and Stan Williams, proposes a solution to the problem of …

    Hardware 23 Jul 2001, 12:00

  • Oops! Leaked WinXP code contains valid product key

    Very helpful of the good people in Redmond...

    The latest WinXP RC1 leak makes the security of Microsoft's preview program download look feeble enough, but it turns out there's more - somebody seems to have left a working product key not very deeply buried in the iso. Naturally that product key will cease to work for Product Activation just as soon as Microsoft realises what …

    Software 23 Jul 2001, 12:00

  • KIllustrator now called Kontour

    Adobe probably not owner of legal attack dogs

    The Linux based drawing program KIllustrator is now known as "Kontour". We wrote yesterday that the program's author Dr Kai-Uwe Sattler, and the University of Magdeburg which employs him, were on the end of a stiff letter from a legal firm demanding they stop using the KIllustrator name as it damaged the reputation of Adobe's …

    Software 23 Jul 2001, 12:00

  • WinXP product activation cracked: totally, horribly, fatally

    Tecchannel fools it into oblivion

    Since Microsoft introduced Windows Product Activation (WPA) the crackers have gone through a series of WinXP beta builds, finding new ways to at least circumvent the protection system. But now, taking an entirely different approach, Germany's Tecchannel has demonstrated that WPA as shipped in RC1 is full of gaping holes, and can …

    Software 23 Jul 2001, 12:00

  • Adobe's legal attack dogs savage open source KIllustrator

    And charge for the privilege

    Adobe's carefully cultivated 'nice guy' image has been found lacking in Germany. This is thanks to its law firm which is charging people on Adobe's behalf for the privilege of getting a stiff legal letter, writes Paul Nesbitt. Adobe is demanding that a German professor and part time open source programmer stop using the name …

    Software 23 Jul 2001, 12:00

  • eBook security debunker arrested by Feds

    Adobe kicks ass

    A Russian security expert has been arrested after making a presentation at Defcon pointing out the shortcomings of eBook security. Dmitry Sklyarov, of Russian software company ElcomSoft, and author of Advanced eBook Processor, which removes restrictions on reading and printing from encrypted PDF files, was arrested for alleged …

    Software 23 Jul 2001, 12:01

  • Napster appeal deadline set

    Has until 9 August to come up with a good reason why it should be allowed online again

    Napster has until 9 August to appeal against US District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel's ruling that it must stay offline until it can block every track that it's not permitted to allow on its network. Napster reckons its filtering system is more than 99 per cent effective, but Judge Patel insisted that it ensure that no …

    e-Business 23 Jul 2001, 12:02

  • Napster to ditch MP3 for proprietary format

    Well that's it then...

    Napster is going to ditch the MP3 format altogether and run instead with a proprietaryformat, .nap, that will include a digital rights aspect and keep music companies off its back. Yep, in what is the final nail in the coffin of what Napster once stood for, the company has done a deal with PlayMedia Systems to develop the new . …

    e-Business 23 Jul 2001, 12:02

  • Archos Jukebox HD-MP3 Recorder

    Review MP3 player

    When we reviewed Archos' Jukebox 6000, we felt it was a good product hampered by some niggling flaws. Now the French manufacturer has released an updated version: the HD-MP3 Recorder. While many features remain the same - you can still play MP3s or back up your files to the 6GB hard drive - the updated model also allows you to …

    Personal 23 Jul 2001, 12:04

  • Stateside GPRS launched, all dressed up, anywhere to go?

    Seattle debut for AT&T Wireless and Moto

    The much trumpeted 2.5G wireless data standard is now available in the US, as of today. Although now you'll have to look pretty hard to find it. AT&T Wireless has launched a service in the Seattle area for business subscribers, and promises to launch in "markets covering" 40 per cent of the US population by the end of the year, …

    Data Networking 23 Jul 2001, 12:12

  • Mesh redundancies follow night-shift proposal

    Like it or lump it

    Mesh has made nine people redundant at its Edinburgh plant. The UK PC maker said the redundancies were the result of its plans to introduce a night shift, with the workers unwilling to work the shifts. Three of the nine staff have since returned to the outfit to work its quality control division. The others have been replaced …

    Channel 23 Jul 2001, 12:25

  • One 2 One chief in ‘Phones Too Cheap’ gaffe

    Sums wrong

    European cellular networks are giving every indication that they intend to price gouge their way out of their debt woes, putting lucrative data revenues at risk. Some extraordinary comments in yesterday's Observer by One 2 One CEO Harris Jones confirm not only that the network wants to phase out phone subsidies for consumers - …

    Data Networking 23 Jul 2001, 13:03

  • No TSMC job cuts or fab closures – Chairman Chang

    Not like UMC

    The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world's biggest chip foundry, will not close fabs or cut its workforce, chairman Morris Chang has promised. It's not the first time he's said as much during the current crisis in the world semiconductor market, but his latest comments follow rival foundry UMC's decision that …

    Channel 23 Jul 2001, 13:35

  • BT suggests more 3G sharing

    The Netherlands this time

    BT has suggested another bout of 3G sharing, in the Netherlands this time. Chief exec of BT Wireless Peter Eskine told the Wall Street Journal that it has put forward a proposal to the five operators that they share just two networks rather than build five separate infrastructures. "I would not be surprised if we end up with …

    Data Networking 23 Jul 2001, 13:48

  • Times starts strategic alliance with porn companies

    Attempts to make Net pay lead newspaper to adult industry

    The Times newspaper has surprised us by signing up with the adult porn industry in a bid to make its Internet ventures pay. The paper said last week that it was considering different content-charging models and has since been carefully watched by other media organisations, keen to recoup some of their Internet investment. At …

    Bootnotes 23 Jul 2001, 13:51

  • Philanderer-catching mobile phone launched

    Spy on your partner

    Taiwanese wives are scrambling to get their hands on high tech mobile phones designed to catch cheating husbands. The spy phone contains a special chip that can catch sounds and voices near the handset, The Straits Times reports. The idea is that suspicious wives give the mobile to their hubby as a gift, then dial a code to …

    Personal 23 Jul 2001, 13:56

  • Evesham grabs Creative Labs marketing man

    And explores the North West

    Creative Labs has lost its European marketing manager to UK PC builder Evesham.com. Bob Garrett will start at Evesham at the end of August, taking up the newly created position of marketing director. In addition to his three and a half-year stint at Creative, he has also worked at RM and Olivetti. Meanwhile, Evesham has made …

    Channel 23 Jul 2001, 13:57

  • PC World brings desktop chips in laptops idea to UK

    1.1GHz PIII model touted as fastest around

    PC World is claiming it's selling the 'UK's fastest laptop'. The bionic beast is an Advent brand 1.1GHz PIII notebook with 256Mb SDRAM and a 30Gb hard drive. The advert brags 'PC World, the store that's always first for new technology has done it again!' What PC World is actually doing is selling a laptop with a desktop …

    Channel 23 Jul 2001, 13:57

  • Lastminute gets into takeaway food business

    Yum

    LastMinute.com has bought Urbanbite.com, a takeaway meal delivery site. The takeover was an all share deal which valued Urbanbite at £140,000. Urbanbite's service allows you to order from a range of takeaway restaurants in your area, based on your postcode. You can pay online or on delivery. The business fits in with the …

    e-Business 23 Jul 2001, 13:58

  • Cablecos make broadband hay while Telcos delay

    Spend/Thrift

    Big US telcos are less willing to go the extra mile for broadband these days - and this is leaving them dangerously exposed to cableco rivals, a specialist market research firm Mindbranc claims. Telcos are cutting costs in North America, and this includes what Mindbranch calls "last mile infrastructure pullbacks. By contrast …

    Telecoms 23 Jul 2001, 13:59

  • Sun kit souped up Grand Prix McLaren car

    F1 skidmark benchmarks

    Champagne corks were popped over the weekend as Grand Prix team West McLaren Mercedes and technology partner Sun Microsystems celebrated a return to winning form at Silverstone. Technology plays a key role in a sport where innovation is institutionalised and tiny design changes can shave the fractions of a second off laps times …

    Hardware 23 Jul 2001, 14:33

  • Revealed: What's in men's pants

    'Multiple mobile devices', apparently

    Here's what to give the hi-tech professional who has everything - mobile trousers. The Dockers Mobile Pant contains seven 'invisible' pockets for carrying today's urban essentials, such as mobile phones and PDAs. According to Maureen Griffin, consumer marketing director for Dockers: "The Dockers Mobile Pant offers today's …

    Personal 23 Jul 2001, 14:34

  • SlowCoMo delays i-Mode – Europe yawns

    GPRS roll-out blamed

    NTT DoCoMo's launch of i-Mode services in Europe looks likely to be delayed again, according to comments made by the company's Midori Matsubayashi yesterday. Matusbayashi blamed the protracted roll-out of GPRS services for the hold-up. i-Mode services had been expected to launch this year, but Matsubayashi said it was now " …

    Data Networking 23 Jul 2001, 14:34

  • Marijuana virus puts security to pot

    Pro-ganja message leaves netizens smoking with indignation

    An irritating but relatively harmless virus doing the rounds on the Internet is alienating potential supporters of legalising marijuana. The Marijuana virus has been packaged into a 'game' called either Dope Crop (or Weed Farmer) which in reality is a Trojan horse program that changes the start page on a user's browser to my. …

    Malware 23 Jul 2001, 14:35

  • DoS risk from Zip of death attacks on AV software?

    There's a heated debate

    Claims that anti-virus and content filtering packages may be vulnerable to a denial of service attacks through maliciously constructed compressed archives have generated a heated debate in the security industry. A discussion thread on BugTraq on the subject has prompted security consultants MIS Corporate Defence to issue an …

    Malware 23 Jul 2001, 14:35

  • Prince Charles urges kids to ditch computer games for books

    One does not approve of Lara

    Prince Charles has called for more cash to be spent on books and the arts to drag children away from computer games. Speaking yesterday at the British Museum, Charles said there was a need to "expand the minds and fire the imagination" of Britain's youngsters. "One of the great battles we face today is to persuade our children …

    Games Industry 23 Jul 2001, 14:37

  • Prince Charles asked to start gaming

    Stop talking to plants and start fragging

    Prince Charles is being urged to squeeze computer games into his hectic schedule in an effort to combat his loathing of the pastime. The European Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) intends to send the Prince a basket of computer games following his speech earlier this week that told youngsters to ditch their …

    Games Industry 23 Jul 2001, 14:37

  • Comet plans online auction for old computers

    Minimum bid £1

    UK retailer Comet plans to launch an auction Web site to flog its old or damaged goods. The site, due to kick off on July 23, will be used to shift ex-display or imperfect products. This includes computer kit as well as brown and white goods. Bids will start at £1 per item, and the Kingfisher-owned company hopes to net an …

    Channel 23 Jul 2001, 14:39

  • Luke Ireland moves to Centerprise

    Mystery role for ex-Evesham prodigy

    Centerprise has poached Luke Ireland from rival UK PC builder Evesham.com. Ireland left his job as operations director at Evesham on June 1, and started at Dixons PC supplier Centerprise at the start of July. But Ireland, who spent ten years at Evesham after joining the outfit straight from school, today remained cagey about …

    Channel 23 Jul 2001, 14:39

  • Buy Windows XP and grapple women's breasts

    Updated again Don't panic, we've found another link

    It's a situation nearly all of us have been in - trying to get a woman's bra off to sample the delights contained within. It's hard to put a time on it but any more than five seconds fumbling puts you into the embarrassment zone. Of course by the time you've left university, you should have mastered this - and for true bra …

    Bootnotes 23 Jul 2001, 14:44

  • Sun Ray 1 smokes: but only a little, says recall letter

    Not a fire, just 'capacitor venting' - whew

    Sun Microsystems has announced the field replacement of an unspecified number of its Sun Ray 1 appliances because of a defective capacitor in its power supply circuitry. The hardware giant has sent a letter to customers which admits that it has detected a failure in the power supplies of a small number of Sun Ray 1 thin client …

    Data Networking 23 Jul 2001, 14:45

  • Compaq derides tin, praises services

    Alphacide is 'palatable'

    Compaq showed journalists around a London demonstration facility yesterday in an event that was far more interesting in showing how Big Q is changing itself, than for what was said about the technology on show. Assorted hacks were shown a demo of how Compaq could support Customer Relation Management in a way that integrates …

    Hardware 23 Jul 2001, 14:45

  • Cost of goods online increases

    E-inflation surges ahead

    The cost of shopping online increased 3.2 per cent in the six months to June - the eighth consecutive monthly price rise in a row. However, while the figures compiled by the Goldfish e-Tail Price Index (ePI) might be bad news for consumers, analysts believe it's a sign that etailers are becoming more commercially viable and …

    e-Business 23 Jul 2001, 14:46

  • The most powerful new media people in the UK

    You'll never guess who comes top

    The Guardian today has knocked out what it believes to be a list of the 100 most powerful people in the UK's media. We won't run through the whole list - you can see it here if you want to know more. Instead, we'll just concentrate on new media folk. Apart from the number one. Which is, of course, Rupert Murdoch, who seems to …

    e-Business 23 Jul 2001, 14:46

  • Net over power lines concept is back

    Promising speeds of 45Mbps

    Trials are underway in Germany and Spain to provide broadband Internet over electricity cables at speeds up to 45Mbps. Testing is still at an early stage but if successful a full service could be introduced by the end of the year. Exact details of the trial are being kept under wraps. However, Denis Murphy, VP and MD EMEA of …

    Telecoms 23 Jul 2001, 14:48

  • Afghanistan ‘bans’ the Internet

    Cyberspace deemed 'wrong' and 'against Islam'

    The Taliban has banned the use of the Internet in Afghanistan to stop "immoral" material flooding into the country. According to the Afghan Islamic Press, Taliban Foreign Minister Maulvi Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil said it wasn't that the Afghan government was opposed to the Net, it just didn't like the filth that was freely …

    Music and Media 23 Jul 2001, 14:48

  • You've had the cyberlav, now here's the cyber parkbench

    God helps us

    Bury St Edmunds is to be the first town in the UK to benefit from a cyberbench. Wtf is that? Well, it's a park bench that you can plug your laptop into. This is good news, say the developers from - guess who - Microsoft, because it will expand Internet use into "more natural and organic environments". Which, as the Times points …

    Music and Media 23 Jul 2001, 14:48

  • WIPO rewrites UDRP yet again

    Ignores wording altogether in reg-vardy.com case

    WIPO has done it again! In the case of Reg-vardy.com - set up by unhappy customer Dave Wilkinson to register his annoyance at car dealer Reg Vardy - the domain name arbitrator has decided to ignore the wording of the uniform dispute resolution policy to find in the company's favour. And even draws attention to the fact in its …

    Music and Media 23 Jul 2001, 14:48

  • A major leap in CD jewel case technology

    Updated And CD centre clip design

    If you're finding that regular sized CD cases are too fat, and those slimmer style ones are too flimsy, then have we got news for you. Designers and boffins seem to be tackling the important issues, which means the manufacturer Stomp can sell DiscSavers. These are made of polypropylene plastic [as used in very cheap 1970s …

    Personal 23 Jul 2001, 14:50

  • Newspaper announces Gerstner's retirement

    Next March, apparently

    Sunday Business, a UK newspaper about business which is published on Sundays, has announced Sir Lou Gerstner's retirement from IBM. Sir Lou will step down in March next year, according to the paper, which cites no sources. "Although no formal announcement is expected until early next year, when his contract runs out, Gerstner …

    Business 23 Jul 2001, 14:52

  • Security patch approach is failing

    If MS Web admins can't keep up to date

    A noted security expert has said current security practices are too reliant on expecting users to apply patches and has suggested better monitoring might lead to more robust security. Bruce Schneier, chief technology officer of Counterpane Internet Security, said the outbreak of the Code Red Worm, which targets vulnerable IIS …

    Security 23 Jul 2001, 15:04

  • Israelis get world's first McDonald's cybercafe

    Is this kosher?

    McDonald's has opened its first cyber fast food outlet. The restaurant, in Tel Aviv, Israel, has more than 20 computer terminals where customers can surf the Net, Reuters reports. To get online, punters buy a token for around $2 at the counter. This entitles them to 20 minutes on the Web - or just enough time to wolf down a …

    Music and Media 23 Jul 2001, 15:09

  • Fuller quits Telewest for Italian 3G birth

    Look away now if you're queasy

    Bob Fuller, chief executive of Telewest's cable division, is to quit the company to head Hutchison Whampoa's 3G business in Italy. The former COO of Orange UK joined Telewest in December 2000 after the mobile operator was acquired by France Telecom. Said Fuller, no doubt armed with plenty of towels and boiling water: "The …

    Telecoms 23 Jul 2001, 15:11

  • NTL fails broadband postcode test

    D'oh!

    How pushy is cableco NTL in its bid to get punters to sign up to its broadband service? Yesterday, it launched a joint marketing initiative with Telewest to promote its broadband cable services. That's great - but cynics have pointed out that the campaign will be wasted on most people since so few punters actually live in a …

    Telecoms 23 Jul 2001, 15:11

  • BT DSL – a miracle cure for business

    I was blind - and now I can see

    Research commissioned by BT has found that broadband technology lowers costs for businesses, improves efficiency and productivity, and makes great strides towards profitability. What's more, DSL also increases workplace morale, which in turn leads to improvements in the quality of work undertaken by employees. In fact, half of …

    Telecoms 23 Jul 2001, 15:11

  • One month on, what has the UK e-minister done for the Internet?

    Answer: absolutely nothing at all

    It's been over a month now since the new e-minister Douglas Alexander took his post as junior minister in the DTi. Seeing as the government has repeatedly told us how important the Internet and e-commerce is to its plans, and accounting for suggestions that Mr Alexander was little more than a political posting by chancellor …

    Telecoms 23 Jul 2001, 15:11

  • Annual report paints Oftel in new light

    Usually in the dark

    Promoting access to the Internet was an "important focus of Oftel's work in a year when around 2.75 million more homes were connected up to the Internet", the winged watchdog claimed in its annual report published today. The telecoms regulator also maintained that "working for consumers remained at the heart of Oftel's work in …

    Telecoms 23 Jul 2001, 15:11

  • El Reg's fave security/hacking links

    Who's getting reamed on line, and how

    Security Related SecurityFocus: Home of the BugTraq archives; security consulting services; links to security/hacking news from around the Web (updated continuously); and fine, original articles by Kevin Poulsen and guest contributors (including El Reg's own, by virtue of a content sharing agreement). Security News Network ( …

    Security 23 Jul 2001, 15:50

  • NASA scramjet probe hots up

    Booster rocket to blame for destruction?

    On June 2 NASA's experimental scramjet - the X-43A - was completely destroyed during a test flight, as we previously reported. To recap, the X-43A is a prototype hypersonic aircraft, powered by a 'scramjet'. This ducts air directly from the atmosphere, mixing it with hydrogen before combustion. The forward speed of the vehicle …

    Bootnotes 23 Jul 2001, 15:53

  • Perceived security risks vary widely across Europe

    Says IT firm that got hacked in France, but not the UK

    Firms in different European countries are divided on what security risks pose the biggest threat to their business. Multinationals are failing to take this into account when devising corporate policies. These are the main findings of research conducted by security specialist Evidian which found that viruses were seen as the …

    Security 23 Jul 2001, 16:14

  • HP open sources gadget R&D

    CoolTown goes GPL

    HP is to liberate some of its R&D crown jewels, much as IBM's AlphaWorks lab does now. A number of projects under HP's CoolTown banner will be released tomorrow in a SourceForge-style developer forum. A lot of the ideas behind CoolTown are intended to make 'pervasive' and 'context aware' technologies real, or as the project …

    Software 23 Jul 2001, 16:35

  • Kodak DX3500

    Review Digital camera

    The DX3500 is aimed at newcomers to digital photography and comes bundled with Kodak's new EasyShare software, which makes transferring snaps to your PC a doddle. Once they're on your system, it helps you to edit and share them. The camera comes with a dual-purpose USB docking cradle, which both recharges the NiMH battery ( …

    Personal 23 Jul 2001, 16:47

  • Mobile production slips 16% in Q2

    Recovery tipped for 2002

    Worldwide mobile phone manufacture slipped 16 per cent in the second quarter. Around 87 million phones were made during the three month period - the second consecutive quarter that the number of new handsets fell below the hundred million mark, Asiabiztech reports, quoting figures from a survey by Nikkei Market Access. …

    Business 23 Jul 2001, 16:55

  • Fujitsu Siemens introduces 128-way Solaris server

    £5m a pop

    Fujitsu Siemens has announced the availability of what it claims to be the world's most powerful Unix server, the 128-way Primepower 2000. The Primepower 2000, which is based on 563MHz Sparc64 processors, recently captured a SAP R/3 benchmark record. And Fujitsu claims that running Oracle 8.1.7 on its Solaris 8.0 platform, the …

    Hardware 23 Jul 2001, 17:06

  • Protesters lay siege to Adobe

    Updated America's shame

    Angry computer users laid siege to Adobe's San Jose HQ this morning, in one of several rallies around the United States in protest at the arrest of Russian cryptographer Dmitry Sklyarov. Sklyarov demonstrated the feeble 'security' in Adobe's eBook file format at DefCon in Las Vegas last week, and found himself arrested under …

    Security 23 Jul 2001, 17:33

  • Internet book publishing ruling breaks new ground

    Authors 1, Publishers 0

    A ruling by a US judge may significantly change the book publishing business. A district court judge agreed with electronic book publisher RosettaBooks that traditional publishing houses do not have an automatic right to print their authors in an electronic format. This means that authors are entitled to sell their electronic …

    Music and Media 23 Jul 2001, 17:40

  • Microsoft banks on Sendo for smartphones

    Um. Who?

    Snubbed by the phone industry giants, Microsoft is increasing its investment in the tiny British handset manufacturer Sendo. Sendo, which already makes quite dinky cheap and cheerful GSM phones, will offer the Z100 GPRS phone running the Beast's Stinger platform towards the end of this year, or early next year. That's promised …

    Data Networking 23 Jul 2001, 22:59