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16th January 2002 Archive

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  • F-Secure fixes scanner glitch

    Small earthquake in Finland, not many dead

    F-Secure has discovered a bug that can cause system crashes on Windows machines loaded with its antivirus software. In real life, the flaw is very rare - only three customer sightings in a year. Today the company has issued a fix. The flaw involves the way F-Secure Anti-Virus version 5.30 deals with "certain combinations of …

    Security 16 Jan 2002, 00:09

  • Our first look at Intel's Northwood P4

    A hint of things to come

    Our new Intel Northwood 0.13-micron P4 and mobo are about to go through several evaluations here at Vulture Central on Windows and Linux, and against the AMD XP-2000 under the same OS's; but we thought you'd enjoy hearing our initial impressions fresh from having installed it. We'll give you the bad news first, then the good …

    Software 16 Jan 2002, 00:16

  • Borland CEO recants, rallies nation

    If the clause offends thee, strike it out

    Borland's CEO Dale Fuller has taken personal responsibility for clauses in the Kylix and JBuilder EULAs that give the company the right to an end user's wife, children and a pick of their personal electronic goods. Well, not exactly. But at the weekend SourceForge noted that a clause in the EULA allowed Borland's bottom …

    Software 16 Jan 2002, 08:05

  • New Deal work programs to lead IT out of recession?

    More is better

    Taking its cue from Franklin D Roosevelt's New Deal, CNET has embarked on a massive works program to revive the technology sector. At least that's what we assume from the site's prominent new 'Vision Series' of thirteen "surprisingly candid" profiles of tech CEOs. Ah well, maybe candid isn't exactly the right word. For our …

    Bootnotes 16 Jan 2002, 08:22

  • UK firms urged to join ‘ebiz clubs’

    Help for small biz

    The Government has teamed up with the private sector to give a much-needed boost to ecommerce in the UK. A network of 16 "eBusiness Clubs" has been set up with help from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) to provide advice for small businesses looking to tap into ecommerce. The move is backed by the Government's UK Online …

    e-Business 16 Jan 2002, 08:56

  • Microsoft Promises .NET Links in Commerce Server 2002

    Tight integration

    Microsoft Corp yesterday released the first public beta of Commerce Server 2002, the latest component of its ambitious .NET web services strategy. The product, Microsoft promises "tight integration" with the Visual Studio.NET application development environment. The company said in a statement that the latest Commerce …

    Software 16 Jan 2002, 09:27

  • mmO2 enlists Microsoft and Handspring to wireless data cause

    Scattergun approach

    mmO2 Plc yesterday underlined its determination to build on what it claims is its leadership position in European mobile data services. The London-based company with wholely owned subsidiaries in Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK announced a world first roaming agreement for Microsoft services, and an exclusive …

    Data Networking 16 Jan 2002, 09:28

  • Intel cagey on recovery

    Despite better than expected Q4

    Intel Corp yesterday further fueled expectations that the PC industry may be doing better than expected, when it reported fourth quarter results that hit the high end of its earlier guidance - Joe Fay writes. However, the company resisted analysts' calls to stake out its expectations for the year ahead, refusing to …

    Business 16 Jan 2002, 09:29

  • Linux 2.5.2 out; USB 2.0 in

    Will we need it?

    The latest installment in the Linux development tree came out yesterday with support for USB 2.0, which allows for data transfer rates of up to 480 mbps, making it a bit fatter than Apple's more popular Firewire. Unlike USB 1, Version 2 is a realistic interface for high-performance storage devices and for bandwidth-hungry …

    Software 16 Jan 2002, 09:42

  • Windows Media Player must be patched to fix IE

    That makes sense

    A trivial scrap of malicious JavaScript can defeat entirely the Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) 'protections' Microsoft has integrated into Internet Explorer 6, all because of a dodgy 'feature' in Windows Media Player (WMP). According to a post by privacy advocate Richard M. Smith to the BugTraq mailing list Tuesday, WMP …

    Software 16 Jan 2002, 10:43

  • Tiscali sat service goes live in March

    Broadband that's out of this world

    Tiscali is set to launch its broadband satellite service in the UK on March 1 - a month ahead of a similar offering from BTopenworld. The Italian Internet giant is emailing 1,500 people who have already expressed an interest in the TiscaliSat service, inviting them to take part in a trial. Those signing up will have to pay £ …

    Telecoms 16 Jan 2002, 15:23

  • Crackers exploit two-month old Solaris bug

    Buffer the Sun server slayer

    Crackers are actively exploiting Unix systems left vulnerable to a two-month old security bug. In an advisory, CERT, the security clearing house, states it has received "credible reports" of scanning and exploitation of Solaris systems running the CDE Subprocess Control Service buffer overflow vulnerability. Although the bug …

    Security 16 Jan 2002, 15:25

  • Census site stays offline

    Down and out?

    The 1901 Census site is expected to be offline for another week or two as those behind the site undertake urgent work to get it up and running. A statement on the Public Record Office's (PRO) site says it is installing a "more powerful database server" which it claims will sort out the problems and make the information of the …

    Music and Media 16 Jan 2002, 15:33

  • Westcon buys Landis

    Networking disties

    Westcon, the distie arm of Datatec, is to become Europe's biggest networking distributor through the acquisition of the distribution business of Landis, a Dutch-owned rival. Terms are yet to be finalised, but the two have signed a formal letter of intent. Landis will add E450 million sales to Westcon's turnover and 600 …

    Channel 16 Jan 2002, 15:58

  • Channel paves way for Intel P4 price cuts (with price cuts)

    High activity

    The channel checkers at Fechtor Detwiler are noting strong activity to sell off Intel P4 inventory in the spot market for in advance of the chip giant's price cuts, due at the end of the month. Many US and European resellers are already cutting prices on 1.5GHz -1.9GHz P4s, and the clearance sale should last into next week. As …

    Channel 16 Jan 2002, 16:30

  • Lies, damned lies and anti-virus statistics

    $13.2bn eaten by viruses

    Computer Economics has published its assessment of the damage worldwide caused by malicious code attacks in 2001 - the figure comes in at a whopping $13.2 billion. This is 23 per cent less than 2000, the year of the Love Bug, when damages from viruses were estimated at $17.1bn. In 1999 the cost to the world was $12.1 billion in …

    Malware 16 Jan 2002, 17:33

  • SGI transfers 3D graphics patents to MS

    Exclusive All your texture maps are belong to us

    Silicon Graphics Inc has transferred much of its 3D graphics patents portfolio to Microsoft. These form the heart of a mysterious transaction which showed up in SGI SECC filings last year, with Microsoft paying $62.5 million for unspecified "intellectual property" rights to SGI. SGI insisted at the time these are "non core" …

    Personal 16 Jan 2002, 18:04

  • Oracle security claim to be debunked – expert

    Can Ellison redefine 'unbreakable' in time?

    An Oracle advertisement emailed last week to InfoWorld subscribers typifies the software company's newest marketing campaign. It begins with the unsettling assertion that annual computer security incidents have increased ten-fold since 1997, then lists the ways that the company's database products can defend the reader against …

    Software 16 Jan 2002, 22:51