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13th August 2001 Archive

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  • Affinity Internet munches Blue Carrots

    Cube8 exits ISP business

    Affinity Internet has scooped up the assets of niche ISP Blue Carrots for approx. £700K. The company is taking on all commercial contracts, existing staff and equipment, so it makes one wonder what liabilities are being left behind with Blue Carrots former owner, Cube 8. Emails from Blue Carrots members suggest that the …

    e-Business 13 Aug 2001, 08:13

  • MS eases up on WinXP photos, Passport – but only sort of

    There's still plenty gold-mining in them thar hills...

    It's concessions a-go-go for Microsoft this week - or is it? Today, according to the WSJ, the company intends to take some of the sting out of Windows XP's photo capabilities (thus, it hopes, mollifying Kodak), and just a few days ago it cut back on the amount of information you need to supply in order to sign up for its …

    Software 13 Aug 2001, 09:29

  • Fear and Loathing in the co-lo cabinets

    Is that a frog in your pocket or are The Reg's servers down again?

    Nightclub shootings by Reg Towers, as happened last week, certainly didn't impress this staffer. I live in Hackney and frankly, if I want nightclub shootings there's absolutely no need for me to travel into the West End to get them. Plus if the psychotic Hackney Yardie gangster with a spray and pray gets narked in a nightclub …

    Music and Media 13 Aug 2001, 09:34

  • Redstone hit by DTI/FSA investigation

    From bad to worse

    The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) are investigating troubled broadband telco, Redstone Telecom, over whether it kept investors properly informed over price-sensitive information, today's Independent reported. The investigation centres on a statement issued on May 8 in which …

    Telecoms 13 Aug 2001, 09:45

  • Palm m125: spec. slips out

    To be released later this month, too

    More information has leaked out about Palm's upcoming m125 PDA. Register sources close to a big US electronics retailer largely confirm what we noted last week. And Web site Palm Infocenter has received a leaked datasheet that provides a pretty full description of the machine. The m125 will be based on a 33MHz Dragonball VZ …

    Personal 13 Aug 2001, 10:06

  • Think tank urges face-scanning of the masses

    Bloody Quislings

    The famous Rand Organization, a putatively non-partisan think tank, has come out in favor of using face-scanning technology to violate the privacy of the innocent masses in search of -- you guessed it -- terrorists and pedophiles, the two most detested fringe-groups on the planet. Following the regrettable inclinations of all …

    Security 13 Aug 2001, 10:10

  • Rambus must pay Infineon $7.12m

    But is free to sue again over DDR SDRAM patents

    Rambus must pay Infineon $7.12 million in legal fees, the US District Court of Virginia ruled late last week. That goes some way to making up to Infineon the loss of $3.5 million in damages, awarded by the jury after it won its claim that Rambus had committed fraud. That figure was later cut to just $350,000 to meet the …

    Channel 13 Aug 2001, 10:40

  • Buy.com confirms Intel's next price cuts, 2GHz P4

    Updates site in line with 26 August announcement two weeks early

    Intel's upcoming 2GHz Pentium 4 has begun to appear on Web retailers' catalogues ready for its official release on 26 August - in just under two weeks' time. US online store Buy.com has the 2GHz, 256KB on-die L2 cache chip - Intel part number BX80531NK200G - on its Web site here. It's certainly the Socket 478 part - the version …

    Channel 13 Aug 2001, 11:13

  • BT to completely write-off Concert?

    Put the £1.2 billion down to experience

    BT may write off the entire Concert joint venture with AT&T, at a cost of £1.2 billion, according to the Mail on Sunday. BT has called the article "pure speculation" but did admit that a complete write-off was one of the options being investigated by new chairman Sir Christopher Bland. Having removed a large chunk of BT's debt …

    Business 13 Aug 2001, 11:27

  • FBI swoop on $10.5m software piracy gang

    Forged copies of Windows Me amongst the haul

    A gang of four suspected software pirates were arrested in a raid by FBI agents in Los Angeles last week. Counterfeit Microsoft software worth an estimated $10.5 million was seized. According to Reuters, the software CDs included copies of Microsoft's Windows Millennium Edition which were easy to spot because they used a …

    Software 13 Aug 2001, 11:30

  • More ‘Palm ate my PC’ cases emerge

    Cradle power fluctuations and static electricity blamed

    Palm's line on the 'Palm ate my PC' affair is clear-cut: "Palm is not aware of any HotSync operation that will cause damage to computer motherboards," said a company spokeswoman late last week. However, comments from Register readers in the PC repair and tech support business suggest otherwise and that we were perhaps hasty in …

    Personal 13 Aug 2001, 11:41

  • Creative Tech to ship Audigy next month

    IEEE1394, MP3, Dolby Digital-based kit to revive revenues, company hopes

    Creative Technology has confirmed it will release its next-generation audio card, Sound Blaster Audigy, in September, as part of a plan to refocus the company's efforts on sound products. Audigy details emerged a couple of months ago. The Audigy line is based on a new sound chip, the EMU10K2, which provides sound in and out, …

    Personal 13 Aug 2001, 11:59

  • Bill Gates spells out the future

    And guess what? It's the PC

    Bill Gates has spelt out what he believes is the future in the Sunday Times this week. The article was sparked by the 20th birthday of the PC, reported widely since Billy Boy and Andy Grove got together to say how wonderful it was - and by extension, how wonderful they are. It's about as likely that Bill actually wrote the …

    Business 13 Aug 2001, 12:00

  • Stelios fails to show outside AOL UK

    So far, anyhow

    Cybercafe chain - easyEverything - appears to have bottled plans to park its advertising lorry outside AOL UK's headquarters. It's expected to feature a picture of Easy Group boss, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, ripping up his AOL account and urging others to follow suit. However, according to AOL UK's scouts, no one's seen the …

    Music and Media 13 Aug 2001, 12:05

  • Haymarket suspends the net

    Internet mag crash

    Haymarket is to suspend publication of its flagship Internet monthly magazine the net, blaming the advertising slump. The 15 staff on the publication, which launched amid the dotcom frenzy in September 1999, were told of the move on Friday. The final October issue of the magazine will come out on 5 September. Two editorial …

    Music and Media 13 Aug 2001, 12:59

  • NTL to shut Welsh call centre

    135 jobs on the line

    Around 70 staff are expected to lose their jobs at NTL's call centre in Newport, South Wales. The cableco confirmed on Friday that the centre - which employs 135 staff - is to shut. NTL said the closure - code named "Project Nero" - was part of an "on-going drive to improve operating efficiency and identify opportunities to …

    Business 13 Aug 2001, 13:02

  • Hunt for Code Red authors turns into witch hunt

    29A deny involvement

    Reports that the author of the infamous Code Red worm belong to virus writing group 29A have been comprehensively refuted by hacking groups and security experts alike. In the run-up to the Hackers at Large (HAL) conference in Holland last weekend, the German newswire DPA carried reports that "computer security experts" had …

    Malware 13 Aug 2001, 13:07

  • Nikon Coolpix 995

    Review Digital camera

    The last Coolpix model we reviewed didn't fare too well. However, it seems Nikon may have listened to our criticisms because the 995 irons out some of the problems we had with its predecessor. There are some minor changes on the hardware, but the unique swivel chassis remains the same. Nikon has split the camera, so you can …

    Personal 13 Aug 2001, 14:22

  • TSMC, UMC July sales: no better than June

    Where did the recovery go

    If the semiconductor industry is going to recover during the second half of the year, it had better get a move on. Initial data from the world's top two chip foundries, TSMC and UMC, suggest the turnaround hasn't started yet. TSMC's line is that its sales bottomed out in May and June, and July's increase is the first sign of …

    Channel 13 Aug 2001, 15:02

  • Prostitutes inspire Russia e-government plans

    Strange but true

    Net-literate prostitutes have shamed Russia's government into putting up Web sites for their various offices. The number of Web sites produced by Russian tarts has caused a senior official at the Kremlin, Alexei Violin, to order government bodies to shape up and follow their lead. Not that the agriculture ministry will start …

    Music and Media 13 Aug 2001, 15:04

  • AOL dismisses job cuts claims

    Just 'rumours'

    AOL has brushed aside reports of impending job losses at its US HQ as "just rumours". The put down follows a report in the Wall Street Journal which claims the online operation is set to announce hundreds of layoffs at its Dulles, Virginia, offices amid concerns about a downturn in advertising sales. A senior spokesman for AOL …

    e-Business 13 Aug 2001, 15:06

  • Yugoslavs develop mobile phone gun

    Der-der-der-der, der-der-der-der, der-der-der-der-bang

    Mobile phone junkies who simply cannot wait for the next-generation 3G handsets may soon be able to satisfy their lust for communications device functionality with the latest innovation from Yugoslavia. This urban accessory dispenses with voice functions, mailboxes and text messaging, and instead offers the user the …

    Personal 13 Aug 2001, 15:08

  • CNET sneaks in European presence

    Whither now ZDNET

    CNET is taking the softly softly route to establishing its brand across Europe by launching local entry pages to its news.com site. This means visitors from the UK, Germany and France will be directed to a CNET-style page containing local stories, when they try and visit news.com. A tab button at the top of the page will give …

    e-Business 13 Aug 2001, 15:15

  • Emails will prove vital to Hamiltons' rape denial

    Internet may refute MP face-squatting allegations

    Emails look as though they will be the vital evidence in the bizarre rape claims surrounding disgraced former MP Neil Hamilton and his wife. Detectives are currently investigating a wide range of serious sexual allegations levelled against the Hamiltons and Barry Lehaney. An unnamed mother of four has claimed she was raped …

    Music and Media 13 Aug 2001, 15:49

  • Japan implicated in Kiwi hacking probe

    Tora! Tora! Tora! But evidence of cyberwar is pretty thin

    A Japanese government agency has been implicated in attempts to hack into a medical research institute in New Zealand. Kiwi news service NZOOM cites security consultant Philip Whitmore from PricewaterhouseCoopers to support its allegations of state sponsored espionage against New Zealand's private sector. Whitmore was …

    Security 13 Aug 2001, 15:53

  • NeonHippo launches FRIACO service

    Minnow in a big pond

    Birmingham-based NeonHippo is attempting to buck the current trend towards market consolidation among ISPs and launch a new branded unmetered access service. The service is based on the wholesale unmetered package, FRIACO, which caps the cost of Net access and associated telephony costs for ISPs. Aimed at organisations with a …

    Music and Media 13 Aug 2001, 16:07

  • Trojan Room coffee pot sells for £3,350

    Updated Web star pulls in the starbucks

    The famous Trojan Room coffee pot has been sold for £3,350.00. The coffee pot was the star of the first ever Webcam way back in 1993 and sat in the Trojan Room of the Computer Science Department of Cambridge University. The pot sold wasn't even the original one, but it was the longest serving, having lasted 42 months in the …

    Music and Media 13 Aug 2001, 16:08

  • Badgers ate my phone line

    Badgers? We don't need no stinkin' Badgers!

    The Reg has had its share of drive-by shootings, Cisco fiascos and co-lo catastrophes over the last week. But at least we've escaped the attentions of the local wildlife (in London that equals rats, tree rats, also known as grey squirrels and flying rats, sometimes called pigeons)...unlike Tyler Brule, Canadian-born editor of …

    Bootnotes 13 Aug 2001, 16:10

  • Ex-Panrix boss launches micro PC assault on UK

    700 snapped up since June

    Former-Panrix boss Simon Panesar has reappeared in the UK computer market - this time selling ultra-small PCs. Panesar's latest company, Leeds-based Jadetec Electronics, is advertising a product called the MicroPC in the national press. It is described as a CD-ROM-sized computer that weighs 950g with the power and functionality …

    Channel 13 Aug 2001, 16:24

  • Code Red and the Cisco Side Effect

    Collateral damage irks users

    Acres of newsprint have been devoted to the outbreak of the Code Red worm but little attention has been given to the collateral damage its outbreak is creating. Although Code Red targets IIS web servers, a number of readers have contacted us to report denial of service problems with Cisco DSL routers that are linked to the worm …

    Security 13 Aug 2001, 17:38