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13th May 2002 Archive

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  • RealNames goes titsup.com

    Autocomplete... this

    According to cynical old-timers in this business, once you've shaken hands with Microsoft - you should count your fingers. Or the rest of your arm. RealNames Corp., the VC-funded wheeze that promised to short-circuit the DNS system by doing an exclusive deal with Microsoft, has announced that it will cease trading as of today …

    e-Business 13 May 2002, 08:32

  • Macromedia wins $4.9m in Adobe patent suit

    Point. Counterpoint

    Macromedia Inc yesterday said that it won a patent infringement lawsuit it is fighting with rival Adobe Systems Inc, and has been awarded $4.9m damages by the jury, almost twice as much as Adobe was awarded in a related case two weeks ago. "The score is now Adobe one, Macromedia one, customers zero," said Rob Burgess, CEO …

    Mac Channel 13 May 2002, 09:11

  • Good Technology launches direct RIM competitor

    BlackBerry squasher?

    Canadian wireless email handheld manufacturer Research In Motion Ltd now has some very serious competition in the market in the shape of Good Technology Inc, which has finally publicly launched, having kept its plans secret since it was founded in March 2000. Good Technology is located in Sunnyvale, California and boasts a …

    Mobile 13 May 2002, 09:12

  • Logica wounded by mobile setbacks

    700 jobs

    IT services and software group Logica Plc has cut 700 of its 11,500-strong workforce, and admitted that sales in its mobile networks division have rapidly deteriorated in 2002. The company said it is also pulling out of offices in Japan, the UK and Ireland, and will take a one-time charge of 34m pounds ($48.3m), with the …

    Mobile 13 May 2002, 09:13

  • AOL tests secure IM

    Teams up with Verisign

    VeriSign Inc and America Online Inc are testing a secure version of AOL's instant messaging service to sell into enterprises, it emerged during VeriSign's analysts day on Thursday last week. According to reports from the meeting, the service will be called Enterprise AIM, and will evidently run over the internet via AOL's …

    Security 13 May 2002, 09:13

  • Azlan profits up, outlook mixed

    Expects £5m VAT clawback

    Azlan has had a miraculous year, increasing sales for its core networking equipment division, when vendors (except Cisco) and rival European disties are seeing sales tumble. The company says that market conditions for the training business "remain challenging", but product distribution and services revenues are holding steady. …

    Channel 13 May 2002, 09:59

  • DCC sings UK distie praise

    How robust is a distie business model?

    DCC, the Irish mini-conglomerate, today released preliminary results for the year ended March 31, 2001. The bit we're interested in are those for Sercom Distribution, where its IT businesses hang out. Like Azlan which also released results today, DCC boasts a 'robust' business model - for its UK distribution division, at any …

    Channel 13 May 2002, 10:16

  • NTL to offer wholesale broadband

    Freeserve is early adopter

    NTL customers could soon be able to chose between different broadband ISPs, following a wholesale deal with Freeserve. This is the first time that a broadband cable network operator and UK ISP have worked together in this way. The agreement means that Freeserve can offer a 512kbps broadband cable modem service to around six …

    Broadband 13 May 2002, 10:18

  • Welcome to Sheppey – the UK's fight capital

    Website extols virtues of neglected earthly paradise

    Every country's got one - a dark corner so fearful that its name is uttered in hushed tones; a place where the sound of duelling banjos is punctuated only by the sound of breaking beer glasses and screaming women. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the UK's Isle of Sheppey, a a beautiful little island situated just off the …

    Bootnotes 13 May 2002, 10:43

  • BT Ignite culls 2,200 jobs

    Creates 1,200

    Some 2,200 jobs are to go at BT Ignite as part of ongoing restructuring at BT's corporate IT services division. A spokesman for BT said these were not new job losses but ones that had already been flagged-up by the company. At the same time BT Ignite is also looking to create around 1,200 new jobs as it shifts its focus from …

    Media 13 May 2002, 11:57

  • NASA hits the web in search of spares

    Wanted: One 8086. No timewasters

    Anyone who owns a vintage car will know the feeling. Where do I get that tachometer cable for a 1967 Mini Cooper? Tricky, but the advent of services such as eBay has certainly facilitated the search process. Which is just as well for NASA, whose continuing need for obsolete kit has seen them trawling the net in hot pursuit of …

    Bootnotes 13 May 2002, 12:32

  • Does new Europe law mean slammer for DRM crackers?

    Unclear and present danger

    Forthcoming EU legislation could criminalise Europeans who circumvent copyright protection. Fears that the pending European Union Copyright Directive could lead to a European re-run of the Dmitri Sklyarov prosecution were much in evidence during the recent Campaign for Digital Rights mini-conference at London's City University …

    Media 13 May 2002, 13:32

  • BBC fixes search engine glitch

    Update: Thank goodness

    We've just heard back from the BBC after we called this morning about some unusual results from its new "editorially independent" search engine. One of our vulture-eyed readers spotted that if you entered "Virgin Radio" or "Classic FM" it returned BBC-related Web sites at the top of the search listings. And that's despite the …

    Media 13 May 2002, 15:11

  • Top UK companies waste millions on duff web sites

    Get away...

    The UK's top companies are wasting millions of pounds on dismal Web sites, according to a report not out today. The full report, from Web site testing outfit Business2WWW and Interactive Bureau/Porter Research, isn't due out until later this year. But some pre-released material warns that companies are spending loads of dosh …

    Media 13 May 2002, 15:13

  • Argentine judges want law update after crackers walk free

    Argentine judges in anti-hacker plea

    Argentina's top judges are calling for an update in the country's laws on computer crime after the collapse of a trial involving crackers who allegedly defaced the country's Supreme Court Web site. Last month, Argentine Federal Judge Sergio Torres threw out the case of a group of defacers, called the X-Team, who were suspected …

    Security 13 May 2002, 16:09