10th January 2002 Archive

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MS rigs ZD reader poll to promote .NET

How desperate and sad

This shining jewel in the world's economy, this commercial Titan with software on virtually every desktop on Earth, this Microsoft, has stooped to rigging reader surveys to rescue the crumbling myth of its popularity. We're delighted to report that Microsoft actually sank to ballot-stuffing of an on-line poll by ZD-Net.uk …

Software 10 Jan 2002, 00:40
Guilty plea in nuke lab hack

'Konceptor' cracked to battle depression

A 22-year-old Minnesota man pleaded guilty Monday to hacking into an unclassified network at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, after reaching a last minute plea deal with federal prosecutors. Benjamin Breuninger, known by the hacker handle "Konceptor," admitted to cracking the nuclear laboratory's network in November, …

Security 10 Jan 2002, 01:31
SuSE buys off trademark extortionist

While MobiliX gets sued for sounding like Astérix

As we reported earlier, German Linux distributor SuSE was barred from distributing its product in Germany after a trademark infringement action was brought by a company which admitted it was only looking to make a fast buck. After surrendering a quick out-of-court settlement to the extortionist, which did not include license …

Software 10 Jan 2002, 06:25
Tribble at the Top? Apple, NeXT grande fromage returns

Acts of succession

Guy 'Bud' Tribble, one of the original Mac designers, has returned to Apple as Avi Tevanian's software lieutenant. His official title is VP of Software Technology. But Tribble might be excused for feeling that he's never been away. Tribble was a co-founder of NeXT with Steve Jobs, and following NeXT's reverse-takeover of Apple …

Mac Channel 10 Jan 2002, 09:48
BT focuses on dull old broadband

Shelves sexy TV dream

Broadband is a key priority for BT this year, according to its chairman, Sir Christopher Bland. So too is defending its traditional phone business from further erosion - a process BT Retail CEO, Pierre Danon, appears to have started. However, this much-welcomed reassertion of core principles from the monster telco is unlikely …

Telecoms 10 Jan 2002, 09:49
Legend plans European notebook launch for April

Huge in China

China's biggest computer maker and the Asian PC market leader, Legend Holdings Ltd, plans to launch in Europe, starting with a low-end notebook that will be manufactured on the continent by Taiwan-based First International Computer Inc. According to DigiTimes, the Taiwan electronics news service, Legend sees an opportunity …

Personal 10 Jan 2002, 10:55
Search firms deliver mixed results

Different strokes

Northern Light Technology LLC revealed this week it is to scrap its well-regarded but low-visibility public web search service to focus on its business-to-business offerings. Meanwhile, Ask Jeeves Inc boasted of increased search usage as a result of the recently completed integration of technology from Teoma Inc, a recent …

e-Business 10 Jan 2002, 10:55
Game over for Playing Fields

Runs out of cash

The UK multiplayer games scene has lost another participant with the demise of The Playing Fields. The London-based company this week announced that it had run out of cash and had placed itself in the hands of the liquidators. All activities will cease as of January 29, and the company urges members to cancel subs with their …

Business 10 Jan 2002, 11:14
Register merchandise Jan sale is go

Bargains galore to banish those post-Xmas blues

It's that time of year when, although the belly is stuffed with Xmas excess, the wallet might be feeling a tad slim. So, we thought that loyal customers of our Cash'n'Carrion Reg shop might welcome the chance to pick up a few bargains. Our January sale has slashed one third off selected items (prices include VAT): Grey, Red …

Bootnotes 10 Jan 2002, 11:15
AOL UK pulls PC-SMS service

OK M8, thnx

AOL UK has pulled its PC-based text messaging service ahead of the launch of "enhanced" services due out sometime later in the year. A notice on its AOL Mobile section reads: "Service Currently Unavailable. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. AOL looks forward to providing you with a new service in the near future. Stay …

Music and Media 10 Jan 2002, 11:16
Hercules waves the ATI flag

Guillemot loses interest in Nvidia?

Hercules, the graphic retail board sub of Guillemot, is to mainline on ATI chips for high-end products. It has won exclusive European retail and distribution channel rights to ATI's latest ALL-In-Wonder products. Which beggars the question: what does this mean for Guillemot's relationship with Nvidia, the supplier of graphics …

Personal 10 Jan 2002, 12:46
Donut virus highlights holes in .Net

Proof of concept, low risk

Virus authors have created what is believed to be the first malicious code to targets Microsoft's .Net web services architecture. The Donut virus is written primarily in Win32 assembly and some MSIL (Microsoft Intermediate Language), infects other .NET executables using the .EXE extension. Donut was sent to antivirus vendors by …

Malware 10 Jan 2002, 12:49
Computacenter trading is curate's egg

Good in parts

Computacenter, the UK's biggest IT reseller, today issued a curate's egg of a trading statement for the year ended December 31. First - the bad parts. Market conditions (Computacenter is also big in France) were were than expected, deteriorating since August 2001, when it reported its interims. Product supply revenue fell 28 …

Channel 10 Jan 2002, 13:23
Clackmannanshire collared for ‘loose’ MS licenses

Plays tough with BSA - loses

Clackmannanshire Council in Scotland has trousered a settlement with the Business Software Alliance after it was caught using 470 illegal copies of Microsoft Office 97. The amount is unspecified, but it includes damages and costs. Clackmannanshire has incurred the ignominy of a BSA press release after choosing to fight …

Software 10 Jan 2002, 14:17
Actors to teach kids about Net dangers

Let's hope they mime

A touring drama group is to teach school kids about the dangers of the Internet. The group is expected to visit 20 schools in the next four or five months as part of a Government-backed initiative launched today to improve child safety on the Net. KidSmart is backed by kids Internet charity, Childnet International, and UK PC …

Music and Media 10 Jan 2002, 14:52
‘Moron Spammer’ shot down in flames

Revenge is sweet

Bernard Shifman is a computer consultant, 'moron spammer' and quick to threaten litigation when reported to his ISP for sending junk mail. One victim, Neil Schwartzman, has turned the tables with SpamFlames, a site dedicated to exposing Mr. Shifman's antics. It's very funny. And unlike the formerly famous revenge site …

Music and Media 10 Jan 2002, 14:56
Hacking activity plummets

Official figures help dispel cyberterror fears

Security breaches and hacking attacks have diminished in numbers since the September 11 terrorist attacks, according to data from a US government monitoring agency. Monthly reports by the Federal Computer Incident Response Center (FedCIRC), a central security coordination and analysis facility run by the US government, show …

Security 10 Jan 2002, 14:57
Samsung raises DRAM prices, keeps schtum

Not very successfully

Samsung and Hynix are to stop telling the press when they raise contract DRAM prices, according to the Korea Herald. Too late then for Samsung's latest price rise - up 30 per cent today, The Korea Maeil Business newspaper reveals. Too much publicity over DRAM price rises is interfering with negotiations with big customers, …

Channel 10 Jan 2002, 16:01
blueyonder in free broadband promo

Don't get excited - it's only a month

Blueyonder is offering a free month's subscription to anyone who signs up for its broadband cable service this month. The move is designed to maintain the momentum experienced last year when it reported that broadband take-up had increased 71 per cent to more than 70,000 users for the three months to the end of September. …

Music and Media 10 Jan 2002, 16:14
IBM relies on SUN workstation for quantum computing

Maybe their own stuff's not good enough

We thank SUN engineering tech James Gorremans for the following link to IBM's own PR Web site, clearly showing one of their researchers doing his quantum computations on a SUN workstation. You'll need to expand the second image from the top, entitled Qcomp_Dual.jpg to see what we're talking about. The site was quite slow when …

Software 10 Jan 2002, 18:51
DVD hacker Johansen indicted in Norway

National govt prostrates itself for Hollywood lobbyists

Norwegian prosecutors have indicted Jon Johansen for his role in creating the DeCSS program that unlocked a DVD copy protection system and unleashed a series of lawsuits by the motion picture industry. The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime in Norway (OKOKRIM) indicted …

Software 10 Jan 2002, 19:58
MTV flogs own-brand PCs to students

This way madness lies

MTV, the formerly hip cable music channel, is to flog PC and PC-type hardware under its own brand name. The range is targeted at "the Internet and entertainment savvy MTV demographic" - in other words American college students who live term time in dormitories. Supplying the hardware is US system builder Lan Plus, which sells …

Personal 10 Jan 2002, 21:47
Rambus makes money in DRAM downturn

But not as much as before

Rambus, the pugnacious owner of all sorts of fast memory patents, many obtained legitimately, has turned in a profit for the December quarter, its Q3. So it was down - $6.2m, compared with $13m for the same period last year, and $6.5m in Q2, but still it's a profit. Revenues were $24.9m, 28 per cent down on Q3, 2000 and 11 per …

Business 10 Jan 2002, 23:02