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18th November 2002 Archive

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  • Sun goes cluster crazy with WildCat

    Interconnect tech makes long-awaited debut

    As expected, Sun Microsystems Inc will today roll out its long-awaited "WildCat" high-performance system interconnect technology for its Sun Fire Unix server line, Timothy Prickett Morgan writes. When Sun said it would be able to build UltraSparc servers with hundreds of processors, WildCat was the integral technology …

    Servers 18 Nov 2002, 09:43

  • EC reviews Microsoft mobile complaints

    Focus on Titanium

    Microsoft Corp has refused to comment on reports that the European Commission is reviewing complaints from competitors that it is using its dominance in the operating system market to build its position in the growing mobile software space. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the EC officials have received …

    Software 18 Nov 2002, 09:45

  • MobilCom founder hands over shares

    Trust me, I'm a trustee

    The founder and former CEO of MobilCom AG, Gerhard Schmid, has finally agreed to hand over his 32% stake in the carrier to a trustee, a move that should pave the way for the rescue bid organized by the German government. France Telecom will be financing the 7bn euro ($7bn) bail-out, which has been in jeopardy for the past …

    Business 18 Nov 2002, 09:46

  • IBM builds mobile Web Services toolkit

    Erected on Open Source

    IBM has created a wireless web services toolkit that uses open source implementations of popular XML-based standards for devices with a small footprint. The company's Web Services Tool Kit for Mobile Devices, posted to IBM's alphaWorks web site, uses kSOAP and kXML for Java web services and gSOAP for C-based web services …

    Mobile 18 Nov 2002, 09:47

  • Top tier software vendors get toppier

    Good big'uns rool, KO?

    Further proof has emerged for the theory that the integrated software and service providers are gaining share on the specialist, point product providers. Dataquest has just completed its assessment of the market and concludes that, '...top-tier software vendors are gaining revenue share at the expense of the pure-play vendor'. …

    Hardware 18 Nov 2002, 10:16

  • AMD runs 64-bit MS Windows OS on K8

    Prototypical

    AMD is showing off a prototype 64-bit Windows OS running on its upcoming 64-bit Opteron processors. OK, so it's jam tomorrow, but the fact that AMD is showing this in public means that tomorrow is not too far away. The demo units can be seen in action at Comdex Fall, Las Vegas which opens for business today, and at …

    Servers 18 Nov 2002, 10:43

  • HP claims thinnest, lightest Pocket PC

    And one for the road warriors

    HP is claiming thinnest and lightest Pocket PC, for the iPAQ h1910, launched today in the US for an estimated street price of $299. That's a nice price point for Johnny Consumer. For the Enterprise, HP today launches a networking/security feature-rich device, the iPAQ Pocket PC h5450. This has built-in Bluetooth, 802.11b …

    Personal 18 Nov 2002, 12:02

  • Vodafone accuses NTL of overcharging

    NTL tries to ward off court case

    Vodafone is suing NTL over allegations that the cableco overcharged the mobile phone giant for the rental of fixed line telephony services. NTL denies the claims and is currently in talks with Vodafone to try and resolve the dispute. The cableco is hoping that the matter can be sorted without costly court proceedings. The …

    Business 18 Nov 2002, 12:05

  • Nominet warns of dodgy domain sales tactics

    Fingers Domain Registrar Services Limited

    Nominet has warned Net users to be on their guard after receiving a "flood" of complaints about the sale tactics of a company called Domain Registrar Services Limited (DRS). Nominet claims DRS has been making cold calls warning people that someone is about to register "their" domain. The national Registry for all domain names …

    Music and Media 18 Nov 2002, 12:10

  • UK Home Office unit looking at electronic offender tagging

    But says people chipping doesn't work, yet...

    Has Hilary Benn MP become the UK's Minister for Cyborging? An article in yesterday's Observer newspaper might imply he's dangerously near to it. The story, unfortunately, starts the usual hares about people-chipping in its lead-in paragraphs, which does kind of obscure the real story lurking beneath. The paper got hold of a …

    Music and Media 18 Nov 2002, 12:38

  • Nvidia take GeForce 4200 to Go

    Hyberbolic overclocking

    Nvidia may be market leader in most areas of graphics chips, but when it comes to the notebook segments, it loses out on sales and performance to arch-rival ATI. Today it addresses this power vacuum, with the GeForce 4200 Go, a mobile version of the desktop Ti 200 GPU, or graphics processing unit, as Nvidia insists on calling …

    Channel 18 Nov 2002, 12:52

  • AMD re-org bill could be $600m (And the rest)

    But maybe 'only' $300m (And the rest)

    Last week, AMD announced that it is to pink-slip 2,000 employees - 15 per cent of the workforce. Today, it has issued an estimate of the accountancy hit it will take in Q4. The AMD beancounters are showing the now-legendary precision of the US accountancy profession, coming in with a range of between $300m and $600m pre-tax and …

    Channel 18 Nov 2002, 13:18

  • Cisco refreshes IP convergence line

    Cheaper IP phones work more like mobiles

    Cisco Systems last week announced a major revamp of its IP Communications products line. The new products cover unified messaging, IP PBX calling features, audio/video conferencing, customer contact centres and a low-cost Internet Protocol (IP) phone. Together, the product enhancements are designed to persuade more enterprises …

    Data Networking 18 Nov 2002, 13:18

  • MPs probe impact of data retention laws

    Calls for submissions from ISPs

    MPs are to hold a public inquiry covering data retention and the Internet and its effects on ISPs. The All Party Internet Group (APIG) will primarily focus on the enforcement of the powers contained in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) and the Anti-Terrorism, Crime & Security Act. APIG is looking for those …

    Music and Media 18 Nov 2002, 13:25

  • Nvidia outs GeForce FX

    Formerly known as the NV30

    It's been a long time coming, but today Nvidia’s next-gen graphics chip family, the NV30, gets its first official public airing. And a new moniker: step forward the Nvidia GeForce FX, a name intended to convey a "new age of cinematic visual effects for the desktop". The GeForce FX renders graphics up to four times faster than …

    Channel 18 Nov 2002, 14:46

  • MS anti-piracy crew puts Suffolk dealer in the stocks

    Don't sing if you're glad to be grey

    Pity Russell Simpson, joint owner of Suffolk-based resellers Greengage Computer Products, who has not only forked out an undisclosed sum in compensation for unwittingly flogging counterfeit copies of Microsoft software, but sentenced to the stocks too. For Simpson has been dragooned into supplying warning words in a Microsoft …

    Channel 18 Nov 2002, 15:11

  • MS exec rattles sabre, suggests Linux could infringe patents

    Whose patents he doesn't say...

    The CEO of Microsoft Israel has played the FUD card against Linux, raising doubts about the provenance of the intellectual property in the software, and advising potential customers to seek indemnification from the supplier in the event of patent infringement. Or at least we think that's what Arie Scope said in an article here …

    Software 18 Nov 2002, 15:59

  • Segways go on sale. No need to walk ever again

    Sidewalk interloper

    As revealed on US breakfast telly this morning, Dean Kamen's Segway<</a> is on sale from today via the Amazon 'early adoptors' club. Delivery is US-only and your $4950 machine actually ships in March at the earliest (although in a bid for even more publicity, 30 consumers will be hand-picked to receive their Segways before …

    Personal 18 Nov 2002, 16:42

  • Vodafone exits stage left to actor jibes

    Loses battle of the logos

    There was an amusing item in today's Mirror which told how mobile phone giant, Vodafone, hired actors recently to play "the crowd" at the launch of the company's new phone. The piece in the Scurra column suggested that Vodafone was forced to bring in the extra bodies to help flesh out what proved to be a lacklustre launch. Not …

    Bootnotes 18 Nov 2002, 16:47

  • BT unveils wireless ADSL modem

    Gets new CTO

    BT has unveiled a wireless ADSL broadband modem that allows up to ten people to share a single broadband connection. Designed for the home market, the BT Voyager 2000 has a range of up to 50m indoors and 250m outdoors and costs £359.97 (inc VAT). The ADSL modem with a built-in base station enables multiple connections (up to …

    Telecoms 18 Nov 2002, 16:49

  • Computing A-level star wins laptop

    Clever girl

    Meenakshi Parameshwaran - a 19-year-old from Ilford - has been voted the brightest female computing student in the UK. Meenakshi beat 13 others after she scored the highest marks in this year's 'A' Level exams. Not only does she win the 'A' Star trophy, she also gets £500, a laptop computer, game cube and a trip for two to the …

    Business 18 Nov 2002, 17:04

  • Child porn ‘librarian’ jailed for 2 years

    And he's only 20

    A computer clerk who ran an online library of child porn was jailed for two years at the Old Bailey this week. In a four-day period, almost 3,000 people visited the free website of 20-year old Londoner Darren Guest. He had collected more than 2,000 images, including children having sex with each other and penetrative sex with …

    Music and Media 18 Nov 2002, 17:04

  • BSA whacks two UK firms for piracy

    Fines, public humiliation

    Web site tip-offs to the Business Software Alliance (BSA) have led to heavy software piracy fines for two UK companies. Liverpool IT outfit Amaze Ltd paid £28,000 to the BSA after an investigation uncovered unlicensed copies of computer software on its corporate network. In addition to the fines, the company spent £24,000 on …

    Software 18 Nov 2002, 17:04

  • O2 puts Nokia 7210 on hold, claiming software problems

    Just one small bug/feature, says Nokia, and it's fixed tomorrow

    Mobile phone network O2 has pulled back the release of Nokia's classy new 7210 'fashion phone', citing problems with the version of the software it has been testing. In an email which has been passed to The Register O2 says: "We have identified problems with the current version of the handset (software release 3.09) which has …

    Mobile 18 Nov 2002, 17:07

  • Agere demos 162Mbps wireless LAN chip

    Three antennas triple 802.11a bandwidth

    Wireless LAN specialist Agere picked opening day at Comdex to announce prototype wireless LAN chips capable of transmitting data at 162Mbps in the 5GHz band occupied by emerging 802.11a kit. That's three times faster than the theoretical maximum throughput of current 802.11a equipment (54Mbps) or almost 15 times the theoretical …

    Mobile 18 Nov 2002, 18:37

  • Nokia predicts 1.5bn mobile users by 2005

    US, big emerging economies drive growth

    Brushing aside pessimism about the industry's medium term potential, Nokia's CEO says the mobile phone industry is on the verge of substantial growth. In an interview with the Financial Times, Jorma Ollila, chairman and chief executive of Finland's Nokia, said that by 2005 there could be as many as 1.5 billion mobile phone …

    Mobile 18 Nov 2002, 18:45

  • Dell debuts own-brand handheld

    From $299

    Dell today starts selling its first own-brand handheld, a Pocket PC PDA retailing from $199 (after something called a mail-in rebate of $50). Called the Dell Axim X5, the basic model comes with a 300MHz Intel XScale CPU and 32MB of SDRAM and 32MB of Flash Rom. A more fully-specced device with a 400MHz XScale chip, 64MB of SDRAM …

    Personal 18 Nov 2002, 19:27