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30th August 2002 Archive

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  • Lobbying for insecurity

    NSA secure Linux project tangled in politics

    The U.S. National Security Agency's contribution to open-source security, Security-Enhanced Linux, found broad approval and support in geek forums from Wired News to Slashdot that are typically suspicious of the government. It's not surprising that it couldn't last, however, and a recent CNET article suggests that the NSA may …

    Security 30 Aug 2002, 00:50

  • Ziff pays $125K to settle security breach

    Lawyers get big bucks as punters gets peanuts

    Publisher Ziff-Davis has agreed to pay $125,000 to settle legal actions brought after a security breach that exposed customer credit card details on the Web. The States of New York, Vermont and California will receive $100,000 from Ziff to cover their costs in investigating a breach that exposed some "12,000 subscription orders …

    Security 30 Aug 2002, 00:58

  • MP3 codecs no longer free for GPL use

    Or were they ever?

    There's a nice controversy brewing over a semantic change in Thomson Multimedia's MP3 licensing policy which has got the open-source community's knickers in a twist. According to an open letter to Thompson from Xiph.org CEO Emmett Plant, an exemption from regular licensing fees for GPL'd software has just been withdrawn. "Thank …

    Software 30 Aug 2002, 07:06

  • Red Hat touts desktop Linux for enterprise users

    Steps up the MS challenge

    Red Hat Inc plans to build out a growing portfolio of enterprise products with a desktop Linux offering targeted at business users. Raleigh, North Carolina-based Red Hat said it is responding to growing demand from enterprise customers. The company believes users are frustrated with the dominant supplier of desktop …

    Software 30 Aug 2002, 08:17

  • Netscape plans comeback tour with v7.0

    The fallen Mighty

    AOL Time Warner Inc's Netscape unit is about to launch a campaign aimed at attracting users and developers back to its browser software, which has been all but buried by Microsoft Corp's Internet Explorer. The company yesterday announced the release of Netscape 7.0, just a day after a research firm announced that the …

    Music and Media 30 Aug 2002, 08:18

  • Marconi not drowning but waving

    Makes shore, gasps for air

    Marconi Plc is staking its future on becoming a key player in the markets of optical networks and broadband systems now that it has hammered out an agreement with its creditors that will see them become the owners of the business, with existing shareholders relegated to a 0.5% holding. The troubled London, UK-based …

    Business 30 Aug 2002, 08:19

  • CA board fends off shareholder protests

    Downtrodden upstarts

    Computer Associates International Inc's board of director nominees have been endorsed by its shareholders at the company's annual shareholder meeting, despite continuing dissatisfaction with its handling of Ranger Governance Ltd's abandoned proxy challenge. The Islandia, New York-based systems management vendor's slate of …

    Business 30 Aug 2002, 08:19

  • IBM preps X30 Ultraportable

    Chases Road Warriors

    IBM Corp will next week renew its pursuit of the enterprise road warrior with a new "ultraportable" Thinkpad that boasts the first twin-battery offering in its class, and integrated WiFi and Bluetooth wireless comms features. According to Adrian Horne, a brand specialist with IBM's EMEA HQ, the Thinkpad X30 is aimed …

    Personal 30 Aug 2002, 08:23

  • Orange builds games publishing division

    Massively Mobile Multiplayer Games

    Mobile phone operator Orange is continuing its commitment to mobile gaming, with the formation of a dedicated games publishing division within the group which will focus on the development of exclusive franchises for the company. The new division will mostly focus on massively multiplayer titles – described by the company as …

    Mobile 30 Aug 2002, 08:50

  • Watchdog slaps text spam firm with £50k fine

    Moby Monkey too cheeky for ICSTIS

    ICSTIS, the UK premium rate services watchdog, has slapped a Leeds-based service provider with a £50,000 fine - its biggest to date - for sending misleading spam text messages. The regulator also barred access to Moby Monkey's "£500 Mystery Award" service. It took action following more than 200 complaints from the public over …

    Mobile 30 Aug 2002, 10:06

  • Vodafone buys out Vivendi stake in Vizzavi

    Not cheap

    Vodafone has confirmed the purchase of Vivendi's 50 per cent stake in mobile portal Vizzavi for the remarkably munificent sum of € 163;142.7m cash. Presumably the funding was constructed as a loan - we infer this from the following Vodafone statement: "Following the acquisition, Vizzavi has no further indebtedness outstanding …

    Mobile 30 Aug 2002, 10:07

  • Broadband = porno: World's biggest Luddite

    Senator Alston turns sights on S Korea

    Australia's Communications Minister - not best known for his love of the Internet - has explained why he thinks South Korea is the world's leading broadband nation. In an interview with ABC last Sunday Senator Richard Alston was quizzed over a worrying report which claimed Australia has slipped behind other broadband nations. …

    Telecoms 30 Aug 2002, 10:13

  • Ericsson wobbles (big time) over Sony Ericsson

    Hates heat, prepares to flee kitchen

    Ericsson today confirmed that it will pull out of funding Sony Ericsson, its mobile handset JV with Sony, unless business picks up. Spokeswoman Aase Lindskog told Bloomberg; "We won't put more money into it if it doesn't begin to make products that fare better in the market." And if that isn't clear enough, she told Reuters: " …

    Mobile 30 Aug 2002, 10:43

  • Spyware Trojan sends Hotmail to your boss

    A new low

    Here's a piece of software that will make any decent human being vomit. Proudly marketed by spyware outfit SpectorSoft, it's a lowlife Trojan called eBlaster which you can e-mail to anyone in the world foolish enough to use Windows and log their keystrokes, and force their POP mail and Hotmail and Yahoo Web mail accounts to copy …

    Security 30 Aug 2002, 10:46

  • Sun warns on Q1 (and it ain't getting better)

    Worse even

    Sun Microsystems warned yesterday that sales for its first quarter will fall short of expectations. The company was gloomy about the prospect of customers opening their purses. In a conference call with analysts, Sun's Chief Financial Officer Steve McGowan said its Q1 2003 revenues are likely to tap out at around the same level …

    Business 30 Aug 2002, 11:39

  • T-Online gets into the black

    Profit milestone

    German ISP T-Online reported a profit in the last quarter - three months ahead of schedule. Europe's largest ISP said that EBITDA (earnings before interest etc) ran in at €28.8m, although almost all of it (€27.3m) came from the sale of its share in mobile services outfit T-Motion. OK, so it's smoke and mirrors, but it's still …

    Business 30 Aug 2002, 11:48

  • Carphone Warehouse buys out AOL Mviva stake

    Remain bosom buddies

    Carphone Warehouse (CPW) this week bought out AOL Europe's minority holding in its Mviva mobile portal for £2.7m in new shares. The mobile phone retailer said the acquisition completes the restructuring of its data interests. CPW will "continue to enjoy a strong ongoing commercial relationship with AOL". This will not mark one …

    Mobile 30 Aug 2002, 14:01

  • One.Tel flogs broadband in a box

    Modem's free - T-shirt costs £85

    One.Tel is to start flogging broadband in the high street after striking up a deal with electrical retailer Comet. From tomorrow anyone interested in signing up to One.Tel's ADSL service can walk into a Comet store and buy its "broadband in a box" for £84.99. Before people decide to buy the kits, though, they can check with an …

    Telecoms 30 Aug 2002, 14:24

  • Mock cyberwar fails to end mock civilization

    Not for lack of trying

    A mock cyberwar enacted by faculty of the US Naval War College and analysts from Gartner does not appear to have fulfilled the Clancyesque predictions of mass devastation envisioned by the leading security paranoiacs of the Clinton and Bush Administrations. The exercise, named "Digital Pearl Harbor," apparently in tribute to US …

    Security 30 Aug 2002, 14:25

  • Attention Reg Hackerettes – The moment has arrived

    Women's fit v-neck fuchsia classic available right now

    You demanded 'em, and now you've got 'em. As of right now, female Reg fans can deck themselves out in wonderful fuchsia with the launch of our magnificent Hackerette t-shirt. This designer creation from the House of Vulture Central is 95 per cent cotton and 5 per cent Lycra, featuring: Embroidered Vulture Central …

    Site News 30 Aug 2002, 14:25

  • Bromley uprising against Orange mast

    Round 1 to residents...

    A group of Orpington, Kent residents took direct action when Orange attemped to build an 11 metre mast near their homes. A dozen or so protesters occupied the site of the proposed erection, barring the way to builders. They stayed put until Bromley Council refused planning permission to build the 'visually intrusive' mast, This …

    Mobile 30 Aug 2002, 14:50

  • Nokia confirms Samsung phone GUI win

    Stinker challenge

    Nokia has confirmed that handset rival Samsung will incorporate the Series 60 GUI and software stacks into future smartphones - five months after The Register exclusively brought you the news. Samsung became the first licensee for Series 60, and since then Siemens and Matsushita, which markets phones under the Panasonic brand, …

    Mobile 30 Aug 2002, 14:52

  • IBM wins Intel server bragging rights

    x440 is the dog's cojones - Giga

    We're indebted to IBM for bringing to our attention the opinions of influential analyst Giga concerning its recently announced x440 Intel Xeon server. Giga is enamoured with IBM latest Xeon boxen and believes (even though the company is third behind Dell and HP in the four to eight-way segment of the server market) that IBM …

    Servers 30 Aug 2002, 16:22

  • Mobile phone scam kills curious cats

    'Wangiri' warning

    NTT DoCoMo has been forced to introduce countermeasures to a mobile phone scam that is causing consternation in Japan. The scam, which is known in Japanese as "wangiri" (one ring and cut), involves a computer using hundreds of phone lines to dial mobile phones numbers at random. After one ring, the call hangs-up, which leaves …

    Music and Media 30 Aug 2002, 16:22

  • Dabs.com opens vISP doors

    Get your scooters off our lawn!

    Dabs.com, the UK online IT reseller, has set up a virtual ISP service, courtesy of Affinity Internet. It's kicking off with three plans: netspeed: self-install ADSL at £27.99 per month netinfinity: Fixed cost, "all-the-time" access at £15.99 per month (fair usage applies) netdial: subs-free, pay for local rate calls …

    Music and Media 30 Aug 2002, 16:30