The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

10th July 2002 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • Congressman vows Pigopolist legislation

    Cleanup starts here

    Congress' most enlightened public representative Rick Boucher has vowed to introduce a bill that outlaws share-denial jinxed audio CDs, and as a bonus, has promised to re-examine the webcasting copyright racket that forced so many small-time webcasters to quite the airwaves recently. We don’t know what holy light guides Rep. …

    Software 10 Jul 2002, 02:29

  • Nokia, IBM strike content management deal for mobiles

    And Nokia gets access to that nice IBM DRM IP...

    Mobile technology vendor Nokia Corp has teamed up with computer systems and services giant IBM Corp to supply content management products to mobile network operators. This deal could be seen as one of the first fruits of last month's announcement of a super standards body, the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). The two companies …

    Mobile 10 Jul 2002, 07:15

  • Cisco to roll out airport WLAN hotspots in Europe

    Claims 19 signed so far

    Cisco Systems Inc yesterday said it is working with 19 European airports to install wireless local area network systems based around its Aironet WLAN products. Cisco's announcement comes just three weeks before BT Group Plc is due to formally launch Europe's largest commercial public WLAN network, and is part of a fast …

    Data Networking 10 Jul 2002, 07:17

  • Dell rules out Lexmark purchase

    Interested in ink, not inking

    Dell Computer Corp yesterday ruled out making a move to acquire computer printer maker Lexmark International Inc during an earnings conference call with Bear Sterns, the Wall Street analyst that recently speculated that Dell was looking to get into the printer business. In May, Bear Stearns' Andrew Neff said that the Round …

    Business 10 Jul 2002, 07:21

  • Scan your way to the web with a camera mobile phone

    Or turn it into a... barcode reader

    Bango.net and International Wireless Inc yesterday said they are collaborating to develop systems that will enable users of camera-enabled mobile handsets to download information and pay for services by using their phones as bar code readers. The companies, which are based in Cambridge, UK, and Woburn, Massachusetts …

    Mobile 10 Jul 2002, 07:24

  • MS to ship 64-bit .NET preview this month

    Here's one we'll prepare later...

    Microsoft is to ship the McKinley version of its 64-bit .NET Server preview software to PC manufacturers later this month. It being tagged Microsoft Windows Advanced Server, Limited Edition version 1.2, one can reasonably conclude that it is not finished as such, but if we're going to provide software for Intel hardware as soon …

    Software 10 Jul 2002, 08:37

  • Last minute glitch knocks Win2k SP3 back to summer

    Which in WA can mean many things...

    Service Pack 3 for Windows 2000 has suffered a last minute glitch, according to a Microsoft internal email seen by Paul Thurrott of WinInfo. SP3 was ready to roll next Thursday, but the discovery of bugs in Microsoft Installer (MSI) 2.0 have knocked it back to "this summer". According to Thurrott, the company planned earlier …

    Software 10 Jul 2002, 08:47

  • Internet attacks on the rise

    Surprise, surprise

    Between the months of January and June 2002 the number of Internet attacks worlwide grew at an annualised rate of 64%, according to Riptech. The company, which has found that most of the attacks, 80%, came from just ten countries: United States, Germany, South Korea, China, France, Canada, Italy, Taiwan, Great Britain, and …

    Security 10 Jul 2002, 09:31

  • Blueyonder and One.Tel in broadband promos

    But not together

    Telewest broadband has launched a promo offer to appeal to online gamers. Its blueyonder gaming package gives punters broadband cable access plus subscription to its gaming service. The offer costs from £35 a month, depending on whether you're an existing Telewest punter. Oh, and if you subscribe to the service before 23 …

    Telecoms 10 Jul 2002, 11:54

  • Punters will pay for mobile phone anti-theft devices

    In theory. Practice is very different

    A third of adults would be happy to pay more for their mobiles if it lead to a decrease in the risk of their phones being stolen. That's according to UK survey by communs technology firm CMG which found a third of people it asked were willing to pay a one-off fee of up to $31 (funny sum translated for US audience) for extra …

    Mobile 10 Jul 2002, 12:05

  • Future for online content is bright

    Screen Digest's screen dump

    The mass adoption of broadband will lead to a surge in demand for online music, according to research from media outfit Screen Digest. At the end of 2001 digital downloads generated only €3m in consumer spending in Europe, but this is forecast to explode to €152m by 2005. According to Screen Digest, spending on music via …

    Music and Media 10 Jul 2002, 12:15

  • Microsoft ‘hoovers millions’ from UK schools – MP

    Blizzard descends on per seat licensing

    Microsoft has come under fire from MP Bob Blizzard for 'hoovering* millions of pounds' unfairly from UK schools. The software giant charges schools on a per seat licensing basis, in contrast with colleges and universities which pay an annual campus fee. Upshot, schools end up paying more than they should, according to Blizzard …

    Software 10 Jul 2002, 12:34

  • Microsoft stakes IP claims on OpenGL

    From the We Told You So dept.

    In January we revealed that Microsoft had acquired a chunk of SGI's graphics portfolio. At the time we mused if the Beast had a plan to scupper OpenGL. This was taking paranoia too far, wise heads told us. But in the minutes of the OpenGL developer meeting, it's clear that Microsoft has staked an IP claim on portions of the …

    Software 10 Jul 2002, 13:36

  • Nokia claims Matsushita scalp for Series 60

    We don't know the Finnish for Bill, but it's probably got more vowels than are useful in it...

    Nokia's Series 60 Platform has scored another victory - today Matsushita announced that it would license it for its future Symbian-based multimedia phones. Back in May Siemens made the same move, and with Samsung also in the camp Series 60 really is starting to look like the platform - the Windows of the 21st Century, one might …

    Software 10 Jul 2002, 14:24

  • Liverpool Council bans email on Wednesdays

    But only internal, and no sanctions

    Liverpool City Council has told staff not to use email internally on Wednesdays, in a move designed to encourage staff to use more traditional forms of communication. The Council introduced the weekly internal 'ban' after bosses realised that its 6,000 staff sent each other 40,000 messages a day, The Liverpool Echo reports. …

    Music and Media 10 Jul 2002, 14:34

  • IC24 launches daytime Net service

    Remember them?

    IC24 - bloody 'ell, there's a blast from the past - has launched a limited unmetered service aimed at people who want weekday Net access during working hours. Specifically, the service provides Net access Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm and costs £8.99 a month. People accessing the Net outside these hours will be …

    Music and Media 10 Jul 2002, 14:37

  • Mobile entertainment prepares for growth

    Diddle-ee-hee-hee-hee

    According to a new report, Western European consumers will spend €23 billion on non-voice entertainment services through their mobile phones. The report said that currently, European consumers spend around €2.7 billion on various non-voice content and entertainment services for their mobile phones, a category that includes …

    Mobile 10 Jul 2002, 14:51

  • Dan Technology – two concerned customers!

    Bulging postbag. Kinda

    Dan Technology - how big was it anyway? On July 4, we noted the deafening silence of punters, following the collapse of Dan Technology, the veteran PC builder. We received only three emails, including one from a creditor, on the matter. Our piece prompted 14 more emails, comprising two tip-offs, eight telling us how wonderful …

    Personal 10 Jul 2002, 15:39

  • Tiscali to shut second UK office. Or not

    Shurely shome mishtake?

    Here's a strange one. Last week we ran a story how ISP Tiscali UK is to close its centre in Northwich, near Chester, and relocate most the staff to offices in nearby Chelford. Which all makes sense, especially if Tiscali UK wants to reduce its property bill. But then we get word that Tiscali has also got plans to shut its …

    Music and Media 10 Jul 2002, 15:43

  • Dutch ban virtual kinderporno

    Fake images, real depravity

    Dutch legislators have made it a criminal offence to digitally create faked images of child pornography in a move that strengthens the country's existing laws against child abuse. The Netherlands already has laws against paedophiles who create and distribute images of child abuse, but these measures require the "physical …

    Music and Media 10 Jul 2002, 15:57

  • al-Qaeda poised to strike hard via the Internet

    Red Alert Finger on the button

    Every few months some naive twinkie in the mainstream press re-writes the government's urban myth of terrorists slithering through cyberspace, preparing to blow up a small city with the awesome power of the computer mouse. Lately the frequency of these press infomercials has been increasing, most likely in response to a Federal …

    Security 10 Jul 2002, 17:45

  • Networking vendors eat their babies

    Hey, it's a tough world out there

    Networking vendors are poaching business from their dealers, making life even tougher for the beleaguered corporate reseller sector, trying to close sales from customers with drastically lower budgets. Recovery in the networking market might be delayed up the second half of next year, according to a survey of networking …

    Data Networking 10 Jul 2002, 20:49