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19th February 2002 Archive

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  • Peek-A-Booty – The First Screenshots

    CodeCon Don't leave a bear behind

    Judging from our mail, we know quite a few of you were tuned into the unveiling of the Peek-A-Booty app on Sunday via the DNA Lounge webcast. But you probably won't have got too much detail from the transmission, so as promised, we can bring you the first screenshots of the censor-busting P2P proxy. Like the SETI …

    Security 19 Feb 2002, 09:48

  • Dial-up dominates UK Net access

    Broadband not in the running

    Just three percent of UK Net users use broadband, according to the latest Government statistics. The figures confirm the UK’s lacklustre broadband performance and shows that dial-up access continues to dominate Net access. However, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) points out that while dial-up usage grew by only 0.3 per …

    Music and Media 19 Feb 2002, 10:44

  • Motorola selects AOL for embedded mobile IM

    My AIM is true

    Mobile handset manufacturer Motorola Inc has teamed up with global media and Internet company AOL Time Warner Inc in an alliance for mobile instant messaging. The two companies are working together to integrate the AOL Instant Messaging (AIM) client into future Motorola phones. They will imbed the software on Motorola's …

    Data Networking 19 Feb 2002, 11:40

  • Liberty does German u-turn

    Wooing the regulators

    Liberty Media Corp has made a surprise U-turn in order to get regulatory approval for its 5.5bn euro ($4.8bn) acquisition of six cable TV networks from Deutsche Telekom AG. The Englewood, California-based operator had originally refused regulators'insistences that it invest heavily on bringing the cable TV networks up to …

    Telecoms 19 Feb 2002, 11:40

  • MS, Intel, TI and HP pitch PDA-phone combo blueprints

    OK Nokia, we're here, so you can surrender now...

    Yes, it's war. Today at the GSM World Congress in Cannes Microsoft made its latest pitch for control of the mobile phone market, via alliances with Intel, Texas Instruments, HP and a stack of service providers; a small stack of these, granted, but it includes all the major UK players, and France Telecom in the shape of Orange. …

    Software 19 Feb 2002, 12:52

  • Another.com calls time on free email

    Cough up or sling yer 'ook

    Another.com has started charging existing members to use its Web-based email service. Last November the UK outfit introduced fees for new users. Yesterday, it began the task of telling its existing users that they would also have to fork out £15 a year for the service. Punters logging into the service are told that they have …

    Music and Media 19 Feb 2002, 13:07

  • Mobile user charged penalty for ‘being an arrogant bastard’

    Insult to injury

    A New Zealand Telecom customer had a rude awakening when he opened his phone bill last week to discover he'd been charged a "penalty for being an arrogant bastard". James Storrie, from Auckland, discovered the NZ$337.50 charge (£99.95), printed under "product or service" in the "rental and activity" section of his monthly bill …

    Bootnotes 19 Feb 2002, 13:09

  • A bunch of fives from IT-Minds

    Reader offer 20 per cent off five featured IT books

    This week's discounted bunch of fives from Reg associate IT-minds bookstore features Understanding Open Source Software Development by Joseph Feller and Brian Fitzgerald. The book addresses the fundamental questions of "what, why, when, where and how" the Open Source process has been able to produce category-killing software …

    Business 19 Feb 2002, 13:10

  • AvantGo weeds out custom channel ‘abuse’

    Pay up

    Avantgo, the PDA content provider, is to start charging for custom channels with more than eight subscribers, in a move to stamp out business use. The change in Ts&Cs takes place tomorrow, February 20, and is expected to affect thousands of businesses. John Stoneman, of Avantgo EMEA, said that many companies had registered …

    Personal 19 Feb 2002, 13:27

  • Next-gen DVD standard agreed

    Updated Sky Ray Blu copy protection provokes concern

    Manufacturers have agreed a standard for the next generation of DVDs, which will be capable of holding more information than existing discs. The Blu-ray disc, so called because it works with a blue laser that operates at a higher frequency than current technology, can store up to 13 hours of film, compared to the a limit of …

    Personal 19 Feb 2002, 13:30

  • Telewest ups prices from 01/04

    No April fool

    Telewest is to increase charges for its 1.7 million punters from April 1, although the price hike does not apply to all of the cableco’s services. For Internet users, for example, the cost of Telewest’s broadband service remains unchanged. However, its unmetered dial-up Internet service, blueyonder surfunlimited, increases by …

    Music and Media 19 Feb 2002, 13:57

  • Nvidia touts for workstation biz with Quadro4

    Stepping on 3DLabs and ATI's toes

    Nvidia today launched the Quadro4, a graphics chip family designed to improve its standing in the low to mid-end workstation business. The company is positioning Quadro4 toe-to-toe against ATI's new FireGL8800 and 3Dlabs' new Wildcat 6110 and 6210 ranges. "We believe that Quadro4 will beat both of these product lines hands down …

    Channel 19 Feb 2002, 14:57

  • WD flogs external 120GB FireWire HDD

    Caviar for the PC and Mac masses

    Western Digital is coming to market with a 120GB external Firewire hard drive (HDD) for PC and Mac. The beast incorporates a 7,200RPM platter-spinning Caviar HDD and carries a list price of $349. If you want to go large, you can stack systems together in a daisy chain. There's also PCI adaptor option for desktops and and a PC …

    Personal 19 Feb 2002, 15:52

  • Web wife jilted on the auction block

    Enough already

    It is with great sadness that El Reg informs its readers that Kay Hammond - the 24-year-old blonde internet entrepreneuress from Birmingham, England, who tried to find a husband by auctioning herself online – will not be getting married. Well not in the short term, anyhow. It seems that Ben Webb – the chap who bid more £250,000 …

    Bootnotes 19 Feb 2002, 15:54

  • Computacenter and BT fall foul of TUPE?

    Outsource this

    BT recently announced it was talking over an outsourcing contract with the UK's leading reseller, Computacenter. If the deal concludes, Computacenter will provide desktop support for 90,000 BT users. The deal will run for five years with nearly 400 BT staff transferring to Computacenter. The staff weren't happy about the …

    Channel 19 Feb 2002, 16:26

  • Danish local govt. rebels against MS license terms

    55,000 MS desktops at risk

    Danish local government is evaluating open sources alternatives to Microsoft desktop software, in response to a proposed 30 per cent price hike for Windows 2000 and Office 2000 licenses. The new terms incorporate a software leasing model - forcing councils to install the newest versions of Microsoft software, whether they need …

    Software 19 Feb 2002, 17:40

  • German worm makes PCs kaputt

    Yarner masquerades as AV newsletter

    A computer virus which poses as a message from a newsletter from Trojaner Info, a popular German antivirus portal, has made its debut on the Net. The Yarner worm, is a mass mailer, which spreads using its own SMTP routine - if a user is foolish enough to execute an infected attachment (normally called yawsetup.exe). Seven …

    Malware 19 Feb 2002, 17:42

  • Kiwi judge avoids porn slap

    Did nothing illegal, says Govt

    The New Zealand Government has decided not to take any action against a senior high court judge who admitted viewing adult movies online using a computer at work. Attorney General Margaret Wilson said Judge Robert Fisher had done nothing illegal. Five other judges have also escaped disciplinary action although another court …

    Music and Media 19 Feb 2002, 17:43