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12th November 2002 Archive

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  • Billg tosses coins to India's poor, touts MS

    Just like John D. Rockefeller

    In his twilight years John D Rockefeller liked to play the benevolent, eccentric old geezer, giving shiny new dimes to children whenever he had a chance to be photographed in their presence. Nowadays there aren't enough urchins and ragamuffins in North America for Billg to pull the same act, at least not in neighborhoods where …

    Software 12 Nov 2002, 00:10

  • Microsoft MCSEs are bogus boffins, say Canadian engineers

    P.Eng Power

    The professional engineers' association in Canada is dismayed that Microsoft Certified System Engineers (MCSEs) are calling themselves "engineers". Microsoft agreed to discourage the use of the term among MCSEs last year, but changed its mind in the summer. The decision has angered the CCPE (Canadian Council of Professional …

    Bootnotes 12 Nov 2002, 00:35

  • Apple adds drop-in journaling to OS X server

    No reformat required

    Apple has added journaling capabilities to its HFS+ Extended file system in a point.point update to the OS X Server software. Journaling is a convenience feature for system administrators: it improves restart times after a crash on large volumes, as the system only needs to check the journal rather than every block on the disk …

    Mac Channel 12 Nov 2002, 01:57

  • Don Capellas leaves HP

    Worldcom bound?

    In a story created, but rejected by our automatic news generator for being too absurd, Mike 'Don' Capellas is to leave Hewlett Packard and join WorldCom, the Wall Street Journal reports. HP today confirmed the Don's departure, although the President can still be see in a spooky lit-from-below horror snap here. The outgoing CEO …

    Business 12 Nov 2002, 02:50

  • Nationwide banks on biometrics

    Root and Branch

    Nationwide, the UK's largest remaining building society, last week announced plans to roll out biometric signature capture and verification technology to all its branches in the UK. Work will begin on the installation during the first quarter of 2003. By embedding biometric signature data into electronic documents, Nationwide …

    Security 12 Nov 2002, 08:18

  • Oracle claims ‘unprecedented’ interest in Collaboration Suite

    Customers come calling

    Oracle Corp is claiming surprise at "unprecedented" levels of customer interest for its Collaboration Suite, saying the three-month-old product could outgrow its application server business, writes Gavin Clarke Preliminary interest in Collaboration Suite has surpassed that of the company's other software products, Oracle …

    Data Center 12 Nov 2002, 08:19

  • ICANN plays safe with new domain plans

    Will no-one put us out of our misery?

    The Internet Corp for Assigned Names and Numbers is proposing that three new top-level domains be added to the internet, but plans currently under discussion call for a limited roll-out that would focus on niche markets. In a document published over the weekend, ICANN president Stuart Lynn asks for public input on …

    Media 12 Nov 2002, 08:19

  • SMS a Sin, say Indian protestors

    Don't sully our country with your Western ways

    Indian cultural conservatives targeted wireless providers yesterday, claiming short message service technology was a major cause of divorce in the country. India's National Human Rights Council staged protest in the capital, New Delhi, according to news agency AFP, where they burned a cellular telephone. The group's leader …

    Mobile 12 Nov 2002, 08:21

  • Intel sells Shiva VPN business

    Simple reincarnation

    Intel Corp has sold its Network Systems virtual private networking business to Simple Access Inc, which has immediately renamed itself Shiva Corp, the name of the VPN security business that Intel acquired for $182m back in October 1998. Newton, Massachusetts-based Shiva began life as Simple Access in December 2001 and will …

    Data Networking 12 Nov 2002, 08:30

  • AltaVista returns from the Wilderness

    Did anyone notice?

    AltaVista Co wants to get back to the good old days when it was the most respected web search engine on the internet, and this week outlined how it hopes to learn from the lessons taught by Google Inc, the usurper that came from nowhere to own the market Kevin Murphy writes. The firm, which is currently a subsidiary of CMGI Inc …

    e-Business 12 Nov 2002, 08:31

  • FT site defaced to promote Russian DJ

    No FT, no comment

    The FT Conferences Web site was defaced overnight by mischievous crackers promoting a Russian DJ. Defacement archive Zone-H reports that hackers broke in using a mistake in the Web site's configuration to post pictures of Vasya Strelnkikov, a famous Russian DJ. The defacement, which carries a note for the site's administrator …

    Security 12 Nov 2002, 11:29

  • Freeserve's legal broadband challenge clears hurdle

    Long way to go

    The competition watchdog is to examine a complaint made by Freeserve concerning BT's marketing of residential broadband Internet access. The investigation by the Competition Commission Appeal Tribunal (CCAT) follows complaints made by Freeserve to telecoms regulator, Oftel, earlier this year. The complaints centred on …

    Broadband 12 Nov 2002, 11:29

  • El Reg voted Top 20 UK web site

    Sound of own trumpets blowing

    The Mirror has teamed up with Practical Internet to compile a highly scientific list of the UK's top 100 Web sites, and who should turf up at no.17 - with a bullet - but theregister.co.uk. Which is nice. Alright, alright, it's somewhat mortifying to be trounced by a download site and railtrack.co.uk. We will work up the bribes …

    Site News 12 Nov 2002, 12:04

  • Why Palm will succeed, and Microsoft will fail – Palmsource CEO

    Dave Nagel gives good demigod...

    Armed with an impressive pile of research data, Palmsource CEO Dave Nagel mounted something of a troop-rallying exercise in London yesterday, and quite convincing it was too. But then you'd expect no less from a sometime industry demigod. It is not the case that the Palm platform is dead, doomed, about to be eclipsed by Redmond …

    Personal 12 Nov 2002, 13:14

  • BT gets broadband supremo

    Buck stops there

    Alison Ritchie, the chief exec of BTopenworld, is to become BT's broadband supremo responsible for driving BT Group's whole broadband strategy. As BT's first chief broadband officer, Ms Ritchie will direct the company's policy on broadband across the whole of BT Group (including BT Wholesale, BT Retail and BTopenworld) in a bid …

    Broadband 12 Nov 2002, 13:18

  • US military zeros in on Brit cracker

    Seeks extradition

    US authorities are seeking the extradition of an unnamed UK cracker who broke into an estimated 100 unclassified US military systems over the past year, according to reports. officials have declined to name the suspected perp, but its is believed charges will be filed against him (or her) northern Virginia and New Jersey as …

    Security 12 Nov 2002, 13:24

  • UK Govt warns of e-scams

    You mean that Nigerian email's a fake?

    The mollycoddling UK Government has warned punters to be on their guard against e-mail, text and fax scams run by unscrupulous operators. Thank goodness for that. And here's me thinking that poor widow from Nigeria really does want to hand me a slice of her $3m inheritance just so long as I cough up $2,000 to get the cash out …

    Media 12 Nov 2002, 13:24

  • Oracle in buffer overflow brown alert

    Blitz that bug

    Security researchers are warning of a potentially nasty buffer over-run flaw in Oracle Database 9i databases. In common with such flaws, a buffer overflow in the iSQL*Plus module of Oracle 9i might allow an attacker to run arbitrary code in the security context of the Web server. iSQL*Plus is a Web-based application that …

    Security 12 Nov 2002, 13:58

  • Vodafone sales soar, losses fall

    Almost a cash machine

    Vodafone interim sales jumped 67 per cent, thanks to a first-time contribution from its now wholly owned Japanese subsidiary. On an operating level, the world's biggest mobile network operator remains very profitable, generating £4.25bn in Earnings Before Bad Stuff, and cranking up free cashflow to £2.9bn in the six months to …

    Business 12 Nov 2002, 14:18

  • AMD ships mobile 2200+

    Pleasant change

    AMD yesterday launched the mobile Athlon XP 2200+, and in a pleasant change from recent 'launches', actually has parts in stock to ship. Fujitsu Siemens, AMD's biggest customer in Europe, is fitting in the 2200+ into the AMILO A-x600 series and it has stock available now. Time Computers, a major UK system builder and probably …

    Channel 12 Nov 2002, 14:44

  • 3Com, Xircom make patent peace

    Money flows 3Com way

    Xircom has blinked first in the patent spat with 3Com, agreeing to pay $15m royalties and acknowledge 3com IP in its RealPort and RealPort 2 mobile connectitivity kits. It is also cross-licensing patents with 3Com, which is hailing this outbreak of 'patent peace'. 3Com can afford to be magnamimous in victory; in battle it …

    Data Networking 12 Nov 2002, 15:04

  • Toshiba goes Dutch with i-mode phone

    Bags KPN Mobile

    Toshiba has launched its first handset into Europe, but you have to be Dutch, or at least live in the Netherlands,oh, and be a KPN Mobile subscriber to get your mitts on one. KPN also has subs in Germany and Belgium so we can expect TS21i handsets to tip up in these countries too. Called the TS21i, the Toshiba-branded handset …

    Mobile 12 Nov 2002, 15:49

  • Easyart.com to face Stelios in ‘easy’ court action

    David takes the stand against Goliath

    Easyart.com is to face easyGroup in the High Court next year to rebut allegations that it is profiting from the 'easy' name. EasyGroup, run by Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has a long history of trying to protect the "easy" prefix maintaining that this is part of the company's trademark. However, in a fight of David and Goliath …

    Media 12 Nov 2002, 15:51