The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

18th October 2002 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • Civil disobedience promised after net radio royalty bill falls

    "Scabcast" revision is dead

    The controversial HR.5469 bill died in the Senate tonight, after failing to reach the floor for a vote. The bill was originally intended to grant 'casters a six month stay on performance royalties, but with seven minutes to go before the House voted last week, it was a replaced with an RIAA-negotiated settlement. That passed …

    Music and Media 18 Oct 2002, 06:08

  • EMC sales plunge

    IT drought got even worse

    The Register's Enterprise Storage Channel Storage giant EMC saw Q3 revenues fall by nearly 10 percent from its last quarter. Revenues for its third quarter were $1.26bn, which was 4 per cent increase from the same quarter a year ago, but down 9 per cent compared to Q2 2002. The company also recorded a net loss of $51m, or $0. …

    Storage 18 Oct 2002, 06:45

  • Telstra, Ballmer Dizzy with the Spin

    Good enough damage control story?

    Ever since Australia's biggest company cozied up to Sun, America's biggest company has been looking for a good damage control story. After two weeks denying that Steve Ballmer's mid-October visit to Australia was an attempt to stop the telco defecting to StarOffice, Microsoft and Telstra shared the stage to launch the Pocket PC …

    Mobile 18 Oct 2002, 06:59

  • Euro storage network bodies to merge

    Industry standard for consolidation?

    The Register's Enterprise Storage Channel The Storage Networking Industry Association's European arm is close to absorbing the Fibre Channel Industry Association Europe, in a move which could clear some of the muddy waters around storage networking. The FCIA-E balloted its members on a merger earlier this year. The merger will …

    Storage 18 Oct 2002, 07:09

  • Xbox hackers break new security measures

    UK enthusiasts

    New security measures implemented in a recent Xbox hardware update have been broken by hackers less than three weeks after the revised consoles hit the shelves, allowing mod chip groups to update their products for compatibility with the new hardware. The new security system, which was thought to disable the operation of all …

    Personal 18 Oct 2002, 07:09

  • Is SNIA's shared storage model a dead end?

    Bend me, shape me, any way you want me...

    The Register's Enterprise Storage Channel A dozen SNIA (storage networking industry association) members have lined up to show how their products map onto SNIA's shared storage model. The idea is to allow customers to compare and contrast different approaches to solving storage problems, but the resulting diagrams, unveiled …

    Storage 18 Oct 2002, 07:12

  • CSC expected to win $2.3bn UK Post Office deal

    It's a biggie

    Computer Sciences Corp (CSC) has been selected as the preferred supplier in a proposed 1.5bn pound ($2.3bn) IT outsourcing project with Consignia Plc, the operating arm of the UK's Post Office. Under the terms of the proposed deal, CSC has entered "exclusive negotiations" to act as the prime contractor for London, UK-based …

    Business 18 Oct 2002, 07:39

  • Nokia Q3 hints at wireless telecoms revival

    Some cheer

    Nokia Corp brought some cheer to the deflated wireless telecoms industry yesterday with a set of third-quarter financials that continued the company's recent upturn in fortunes. However, the news may bode less well for the Espoo, Finland-based company's rivals as it continues to gain market share in the all-important …

    Business 18 Oct 2002, 07:39

  • SAP pulls guidance, bullish on margins

    Good Q3

    SAP AG axed its revenue guidance yesterday as it unveiled third quarter results that gave a boost to the lagging tech market. The enterprise software giant turned in sales of 1.7bn euros ($1.65bn), up 3% on the year. Operating income rose 111% to 336m euros ($325.9m), while net income was up 446% to 202 euros ($195.9m). …

    Business 18 Oct 2002, 07:39

  • Customer rebellion spikes Microsoft quarterly results

    Can pay, Will pay

    Corporates evading Microsoft Corp's unpopular new licensing program by renewing existing contracts have caused an unexpected spike in both net and unearned revenues for the first fiscal quarter 2003. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corp yesterday announced a 26% jump in net revenue to $7.75bn with a $1.4bn jump in …

    Business 18 Oct 2002, 07:39

  • Dell ousts HP from PC top spot

    Didn't take long...

    The worldwide PC market finally showed a return to year on year growth in the third quarter, but the news was soured for Hewlett Packard as it lost the number one PC spot to arch rival Dell Computer Corp. Figures released by IDC yesterday showed total shipments in the third quarter were 32.6 million, a "modest" rise of 3.8 …

    Personal 18 Oct 2002, 07:40

  • Groundwork laid for WS-I expansion (and Sun seat)

    March election

    Members of the Web Services Interoperability (WS-I) organization have approved a proposal expanding its board by two seats, potentially opening the door to Sun Microsystems Inc. Nominations for election will be accepted between January 1 and February 15, with election itself scheduled for March. Sun has welcomed the …

    e-Business 18 Oct 2002, 07:40

  • Storage management problems? You're not alone

    Utilised. not

    The Register's Enterprise Storage Channel Data storage continues to be under-utilised, with on average only 56% of available storage capacity being used effectively, according to a survey commissioned by UK storage integrator Sagitta. It also revealed widespread backup problems as storage needs continue to grow and a general …

    Storage 18 Oct 2002, 07:45

  • Perens asks SPI to own Sincere Choice

    Too friendly for closed source for some

    Bruce Perens, one of the original board members of Software in the Public Interest (SPI) Inc. has asked that organization to consider taking ownership of another project he started, the Sincere Choice initiative. But while SPI considers itself part of the Free Software community, Sincere Choice says it believes that "there …

    Software 18 Oct 2002, 08:40

  • The world's most dangerous server rooms

    Letters In your words and pictures

    Last week we asked if this is the world's most dangerous server room, and you've responded in fine style. Now, take a good look at this. It represents order and logic: things that by the time you get to the ® at the end of this story, you may well have forgotten ever existed. Many of the contributors to our gallery must …

    Bootnotes 18 Oct 2002, 08:40

  • Samsung tests higher DDR DRAM prices

    Contract negotiations

    Samsung is seeking to raise contract prices for DDR DRAM parts, a company rep said today. This may not be a significant statement - Samsung investor relations vice president Chu Woo-Sik was responding to questions at a press conference announcing the electronics giant's Q3 results. Contract prices are struck every two weeks and …

    Channel 18 Oct 2002, 09:37

  • Some truth about copyright

    Mr Eldred speaks to the Reg

    I've railed against the RIAA and MPAA and their congressional sock puppets in some of the cruelest language I've ever used in print. But my concern has always been the abuse and perversion of copyright. I'm concerned about the ways copyright is being turned into a weapon of big-media pigopoly against honest consumers, …

    Music and Media 18 Oct 2002, 10:04

  • BBC Radio 4 goes bonkers, runs last year's MS news

    Over and over again...

    Zzzzz.... It is 6am, and The Register having fallen asleep with the radio on again, the BBC Radio 4 Today programme is dragging us fuzzily into the land of the living; up in the hourly headlines is the big Microsoft news. The truly wondrous Licensing 6-related results story? Er, no - Microsoft has apparently agreed to open its …

    Software 18 Oct 2002, 10:22

  • Ericsson sinks deeper in the mire

    Bad Q3

    Ericsson maintains that it is still on target to make a profit next year despite releasing disappointing Q3 figures today. Sales were down by a third from SEK47bn (£324m) in Q3 2001 to SEK33.5bn (£231m) in Q3 2002. Worse still, a slump in demand for telco gear has also led to a sharp fall in orders to SEK20.5bn (£1.4bn) for Q3 …

    Business 18 Oct 2002, 10:58

  • Review Borland JBuilder 7

    VERDICT: It's laden with features, but at version 7 JBuilder faces stiff competition from leaner, more modular alternatives. SPECIFICATIONS: Written in Java and runs on JDK 1.3.1 and anywhere that JDK runs. Supports Windows NT 4, 2000 or XP, Red Hat Linux, Solaris on UltraSPARC II or higher and Mac OS X. PRICE: £2,149 ( …

    Software 18 Oct 2002, 10:58

  • Cisco Catalyst switches in DoS risk

    My buffer floweth over

    Cisco yesterday warned of a potential DoS risk affecting its popular line of Catalyst LAN switches. Catalyst switches running specific versions of Cisco CatOS software are vulnerable to a buffer overflow in an embedded HTTP server. In an advisory issued yesterday Cisco warns: "If the HTTP server is enabled a buffer overflow can …

    Security 18 Oct 2002, 11:02

  • Secure Linux desktop begins shipping to UK police force

    Could amount to 60,000 machines, and there's more where that came from

    A pilot scheme which could see police forces throughout England and Wales switching to Linux desktops has kicked off with delivery of the first systems to the West Yorkshire force. The deployment is taking place under a contract awarded to netproject earlier this year by the UK Police IT Organisation, and if successful could …

    Software 18 Oct 2002, 11:35

  • Student develops Mouse Glove

    Handy

    A 16-year-old student from Wales is looking for funding to develop a wearable mouse device. The "Mouse Glove" was developed by Tobias Patterson-Jones, who is currently studying at Coleg Powys, Brecon. The glove-like prototype fits on the hand and allows the user to control a computer in much the same way a mouse would. The …

    Personal 18 Oct 2002, 12:23

  • Symbian pulls out of UI business, doesn't tell anybody

    And nobody noticed. Well, apart from Nokia, probably...

    Did Symbian pull out of the UI business last year and not tell anybody? Strangely, although The Register has discussed UI-related issues with Symbian over the past 18 months or so, we've no recollection of Symbian mentioning the matter. Nor indeed does there seem to be anything that could even remotely imply this in the company' …

    Mobile 18 Oct 2002, 12:49

  • Bell Labs demoes 19.2Mbps 3G chips

    BLAST off

    Boffins at Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs have successfully tested two prototype ultra-fast mobile chips at speeds of up to 19.2Mbps. By comparison, chips destined for the fastest 3G networks today offer maximum speeds of roughly 2.5 Mbps. The two prototype Bell Labs chips, which conform to industry standards for size and …

    Mobile 18 Oct 2002, 14:30

  • UK firms clueless about workers' Net habits

    Blissful ignorance

    Almost half of all UK firms don't know how much time their staff spend online at work. This lack of employer awareness follows recent incidents of staff using the Internet inappropriately at work, claims the research. "Employees using the Internet inappropriately at work?" Oh, they mean clever Trevor and his bid for the title …

    Music and Media 18 Oct 2002, 16:16

  • Microsoft, Panasonic propose (another) CD standard

    HighMAT Heimat

    Microsoft, Panasonic and Fujifilm have announced a new format for CDs which they hope will establish a new standard and bring the world of PCs, DVDs and other CD formats together, writes Steve Malone. The new format called HighMAT - High Performance Media Access Technology - is a new way to organise the data on the CD which …

    Personal 18 Oct 2002, 16:34

  • Scottish Power disconnects Linux users

    Opera fans can't open online accounts either

    Scottish Power has barred Linux AND Opera users from signing up to its online energy accounts. The exclusion came to light after Reg reader, and Linux users, Robin Crorie tried to arrange to pay his utility bills online earlier this week, only to be greeted by the following terse and unhelpful message: We have detected certain …

    Software 18 Oct 2002, 17:03

  • UK plc risks piracy fines over employee file-swapping

    Record industry on the prowl

    Four in five UK companies have file swapping programmes in active use on their networks, leaving them at risk from fines as the recording industry cracking down on music piracy. According to Packeteer, the network traffic management firm, many firms are unaware that employee file swapping could land them in legal hot water. …

    Music and Media 18 Oct 2002, 22:10