20th September 2002 Archive

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Sun makes Sun Fire servers more like mainframes

Expands dynamic reconfiguration

Sun Microsystems Inc this week debuted improvements for its dynamic reconfiguration software for its midrange and enterprise server lines at the SunNetwork 2002 event, writes Timothy Prickett Morgan. The new tools amount to a policy-based workload manager that expands on the workload management tools available in Solaris …

Servers 20 Sep 2002, 06:44
On IBM's iSeries and OS/400 roadmaps

Teasing out possible announcements

OS/400 V5R2 has been available for a few weeks now, and the talk in the midrange has now predictably turned to what IBM will do next, writes Timothy Prickett Morgan. While the hardware and software engineers continue to plug away on the future Armada Power5 servers and their Power6 kickers, due over the next few years in …

Servers 20 Sep 2002, 06:45
US .gov info restricted over attacker fears

Zoning out

VeriSign Inc has stopped providing access to information about the .gov internet domain, which is restricted to US government bodies, over concerns the data could be used in planning internet attacks, ComputerWire has learned. On September 16, the company posted a notice on its web site saying that from September 13 (three …

Security 20 Sep 2002, 06:45
President's Cyber Man seeks Framework support

Your company and your country

The US president's internet security advisor hit the streets yesterday seeking industry input into a proposed cyber security framework. Richard Clarke's first stop was Sun Microsystems Inc's Networks conference in San Francisco, California, where he appealed to delegates for feedback on the document. The government has …

Security 20 Sep 2002, 06:45
Experts say White House protocol upgrade advice is serious

Cost and red tape get in the way

Internet infrastructure experts yesterday lent their support to White House adviser Richard Clarke's recommendations that companies should make securing ubiquitous internet protocols a priority, but said cost and red tape is slowing down deployment, writes Kevin Murphy. According to these experts, vulnerabilities in these …

Security 20 Sep 2002, 06:45
UK firm creates GPS tracker for kids

Technology Preserve Us

Parents in the UK will soon be able to track the whereabouts of their children using a GPS device that can be partly disguised as a badge. The product, called Kidcontact, is due to be released before Christmas and uses both GPS and mobile technology to monitor the location of the child wearing it. Kids can also alert their …

Music and Media 20 Sep 2002, 06:58
Dropping Dell: now it's 3Com's turn

Switching accounts

Dell is getting the networking vendors seriously rattled. This week it's 3Com's turn to announce that it is to drop Dell as a reseller, effective immediately, following the PC vendor's decision to sell its own switches. In an interview with CRN, 3Com sales veep Dave Smith said: "Dell was selling 3Com product when a Dell …

Data Networking 20 Sep 2002, 08:39
Asynchronous processing, multiple cores in SPARC future

And we were right about Afara

After revealing on Wednesday that work on UltraSPARC VI(6) and VII(7) was underway, David Yen, the guy in charge of the microprocessor (and networking and security) work at Sun Microsystems and his team couldn't shut up about their plans yesterday. When you're used to deploying Kreminological forensics to glean the forward …

Channel 20 Sep 2002, 08:50
Alcatel to shed 23,000 jobs

Sack ray blurr

Alcatel is staring down both barrels today as it announced that a further 23,000 people would lose their jobs by the end of next year. This massive round of jobs cuts comes on top of the 10,000 or so announced in June and will bring Alcatel's headcount down to 60,000 by the end of 2003. At the end of last year the workforce …

Business 20 Sep 2002, 10:07
ADSL for £12.99 – How do they do that?

Freedial smashes through several price barriers

What a curious week it's been for broadband. Last week BT boss Ben Verwaayen told journalists that it was highly unlikely that the monster telco would be cutting the wholesale cost of broadband in the near future. As far as he was concerned, the price of ADSL was about right. Price, he argued, was no longer a major issue when …

Telecoms 20 Sep 2002, 11:07
5-4-3-2-1. Way to Go, Infineon!

Agenda time

Infineon, the European semiconductor giant, today issued a new statement of strategic goals, under the banner Agenda 5-to-1. The marketing bunnies have been working overtime, as the opening paragraph demonstrates (the bolded words are Infineon's own). "Today, Infineon Technologies (FSE/NYSE: IFX) presented its "Agenda 5-to-1" …

Channel 20 Sep 2002, 12:14
Less, and more, than meets eye to MS Wi-Fi push

A bid for volume based on branding standard hardware?

Microsoft's wireless networking products, announced earlier this week, are apparently truly wonderful, but on (slightly) closer investigation their wondrous nature remains somewhat opaque. They are, it appears, badged Linksys products, and the US prices quoted in the announcement seem in line with what's being charged for those …

Data Networking 20 Sep 2002, 12:57
Broadband over power lines idea alive and well

Scottish trials 'encouraging'

Remember the idea of using power cables as a medium to transmit high-speed Internet traffic? The concept was all the rage in the late 1990s but then high-profile suppliers, such as Nortel/Norweb, Siemens and more recently RWE, pulled out the market citing regulatory issues and slow sales. As a result, ADSL cemented its position …

Telecoms 20 Sep 2002, 13:17
Consumer groups state DRM case

But will US govt policies change?

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Technology Administration established a "dialog" with consumer groups worried about the impact of proposed digital rights management schemes during a sit-down Tuesday, but don't expect big changes in the agency's position on the need for DRM. Chris Israel, deputy assistant secretary for …

Software 20 Sep 2002, 13:23
NTL gatecrashes BT's broadband bash

Attention seeking

NTL Broadband is now "richer, faster and better value than BT" - according to those impartial peeps at NTL. In a statement issued today it reminds us that NTL is increasing the speed of its 512Kbps broadband service to 600Kbps, providing clear water between this service and BT's 512Kbps ADSL service. It is also at pains to …

Telecoms 20 Sep 2002, 13:29
Intel's future is 3D

Space Time Continuum

Higher processor performance, with greater power efficiency, is promised by Intel's research in transistor design, writes Alun Williams. As opposed to traditional 'flat' transistors, Intel suggests a future for a 3D design. Transistors, of course, are the mini On-Off switches that are combined to build microprocessors. …

Channel 20 Sep 2002, 14:16
Recycling is so PC

Retail play

A new company, Key Computers, is to offer cheap computers, notebooks and peripherals and tackle the growing mountain of waste computer products in the UK, Matt Whipp writes. Prices start from £199.99 including VAT, credit card charges and delivery for an Internet-ready system based on a 233Mhz Pentium, a 1.6Gb hard drive and …

Personal 20 Sep 2002, 14:27
Case survives AOL TW ‘rebellion’

Revolt figment of e-magination

The much-hyped rebellion to oust the chairman of AOL TW appears to have fizzled out. For the time being at least. Speculation that Case could be unseated from his chair came to head earlier this week as the board of the media and Internet giant prepared to meet. Despite the widely predicted showdown Case has remained as …

Business 20 Sep 2002, 14:28
Child email tracking – Does it work?

Kid-e-mail

Wouldn't it be good if parents could track who their children are emailing. That's the promise behind Kid-e-mail which launches as a free service in the UK this November. It says it can offer parents a huge swatch of information on who their children are communicating with. On its website Kid-e-mail says it can gather some or …

Music and Media 20 Sep 2002, 15:55