4th December 2002 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

PGP goes back to its roots

v8.0 upgrades

PGP Corp this week delivered its first set of product upgrades since the company was spun out of Network Associates Inc this August, and delivered on its promise to publish the source code to the pioneering cryptography software, writes Kevin Murphy. PGP sees 8.0 releases in its Desktop, Personal, Freeware and Enterprise …

Security 4 Dec 2002, 10:29
Vendors complete tougher ICSA 4.0 firewall tests

Segmentation

ICSA Labs, which provides one of the most important certifications firewall vendors strive for, said yesterday it has completed the first wave of tests of product against version 4.0 of its certification criteria, writes Kevin Murphy. For the first time, ICSA has also split its certification into three categories and is …

Security 4 Dec 2002, 10:29
IBM launches 16-Way xSeries 440

Tired of waiting for Whistler

IBM has got a 16-way xSeries 440 server out the door quicker than expected - and it is not exactly the machine that we were expecting, writes Timothy Prickett Morgan. IBM has clearly gotten tired of waiting for Whistler, and has worked with Microsoft to retrofit Windows 2000 Datacenter Server to scale on the Man-o-war box (as …

Servers 4 Dec 2002, 10:29
HP pulls back 2003 outlook

Sail-trimming

Hewlett Packard Co disappointed the audience at its securities analysts yesterday when it failed to raise its first quarter forecasts yesterday and trimmed revenue estimates for its full year. At the same time, the company told the conference in San Francisco that it was accelerating its efforts to wring every last drop of cost …

Business 4 Dec 2002, 10:29
Red Hat preps Linux for technical workstations

May pave way for mass-market desktop version

Red Hat Inc is lining up the release of an enterprise workstation version of its Advanced Server Linux operating system. To be released in the first quarter of 2003 the workstation operating system will be aimed at technical users, but could lead to a focus on the general-purpose desktop market, according to Red Hat's vice …

Software 4 Dec 2002, 10:30
Vodafone puts brave face on Cegetel defeat

Pipped at the post

Vivendi Universal SA has shattered Vodafone Group Plc's attempts to gain control of Cegetel SA, and hence France's second largest mobile phone operator SFR SA, after announcing that it will pay €4bn($4bn) for the 26% Cegetel stake held by BT Group Plc. The move raises its stake to an unassailable 70%, writes Tom Jowitt. …

Mobile 4 Dec 2002, 10:30
NetNames cock-up blamed for eBay detagging

Fixed in record time

Yesterday, we reported the detagging of eBay.co.uk. As we suspected, an adminstrative error was to blame. Here is the statement released today by NetNames, eBay's UK Tag holder. We can confirm that the www.ebay.co.uk domain name was partly or totally inaccessible for a period of about 2 1/2 hours on Tuesday, December 2 as a …

Music and Media 4 Dec 2002, 10:49
Plaid Cymru slams eminister Wales broadband claims

'High on talk, low on action'

A prospective candidate for the National Assembly has attacked its eminister for painting a rosy picture of broadband in Wales. Plaid Cymru's Adam Rykala hit out at comments made by Andrew Davies in an interview with ZDNet in which the eminister said that Wales could teach the rest of the UK a lesson concerning the deployment …

Telecoms 4 Dec 2002, 11:24
2600: US annual death toll for phone-causing car crashes

One in 20 highway deaths - study

Mobile phone-related car crashes are responsible for 1 in 20 highway deaths in the US, but laws to prevent them are costly, according to a new Harvard Center for Risk Analysis (HCRA)report The statistics contained in the report offer a damning indictment of individuals who use mobile phones while driving, with one figure …

Mobile 4 Dec 2002, 11:36
Who will rid us of fake error message ads?

Let's sue the maker

A class action suit has been filed in Spokane County Washington against Bonzi Software, the maker of the fake error message banner ads you have all seen thousands of times. The law firm orchestrating the action is called Lukins and Annis. And here is the nub of its Bonzi scheme: A nationwide class action lawsuit was filed on …

Music and Media 4 Dec 2002, 13:00
BT rural ADSL trial moves ahead

Update

BT's trial to bring ADSL to areas of low demand is now up and running in four out of the eight trial sites, the monster telco confirmed today. In Scotland, two small exchanges – Drumnadrochit, near Loch Ness, and Muir of Ord – each have 16 punters connected to broadband. In Wales, 18 customers are also connected at two …

Telecoms 4 Dec 2002, 13:03
Thus to seek Oftel ruling on BT's broadband ‘blocking’

Formal complaint

Scottish telco Thus is preparing to lodge a formal complaint against BT over accusations that the dominant telco blocked a customer from subscribing to its Demon-branded broadband service. According to one senior source this appears to be "a clear breach of the Competition Act and we are taking it up with Oftel". Thus' …

Telecoms 4 Dec 2002, 13:58
NTL cuts cost of 1Mb cable service

Nuff said

NTL has confirmed that it is to cut the cost of its 1Mbps cable broadband service to £34.99 a month from January 1. The service was originally introduced in March with a monthly price tag of £49.99. Recently, the cableco had been running a limited promotional offer of the service at £34.99. Now this price cut is to be made …

Telecoms 4 Dec 2002, 14:04
‘Tomcat Kick Start’ at 30 per cent off

Apache Jakarta malarkey from IT-minds.com

This week's top book choice from Reg associate IT-minds.com is Tomcat Kick Start. It's a concise developer's introduction to Apache Jakarta Tomcat, the official reference implementation used to build Servlets and JSP applications. Enough said. With a 30 per cent discount you can buy this book right now for just £17.85. This …

Music and Media 4 Dec 2002, 14:50
Dabs.com fined £8k for recycling failure

Waste not, want not

Dabs.com has been fined £8,000 for failure to comply with recycling rules designed to cut the amount of packaging waste. The Bolton-based online computer retailer pleaded guilty to eight offences under Producer Responsibility Regulations 1997. Under UK law, companies handling "significant amounts of packaging with a sufficient …

Channel 4 Dec 2002, 15:48
Final non-EU deadline at Cash'n'Carrion

Order now for pre-Xmas delivery

Midnight tonight GMT is the deadline for pre-Xmas delivery on non-EU orders from our magnificent Cash'n'Carrion shop. The EU deadline is next Wednesday and the final UK deadline Friday 13th. Naturally, we'll continue to fulfil orders placed after these deadlines, but we can't guarantee a delivery time. So, if you feel a loved …

Site News 4 Dec 2002, 15:49
Pogo lives! (just changing hosts)

New backing

Good news for Pogo users: the long-term future of the UK PDA business is secure, with the management buyout completing this week. (See: Pogo PDA maker restructures). So why has the Pogo user services been down since last Friday (Nov 29). And why are Pogo web sites beginning to disappear? Answer: its current Web host has downed …

Personal 4 Dec 2002, 16:06
FatWallet.com fights back in WalMart DMCA action

Take that subpoena back, or else...

FatWallet, the bargain hunters' site that was forced to take down sale prices after several retailers claimed their publication was an infringement of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), has struck back, contesting the retailers' "frivolous copyright assertion" and demanding damages. According to Megan Gray, acting for …

Music and Media 4 Dec 2002, 16:37
We hate Spam (email your friends)

Another survey, this time from Symantec

Is it our imagination, or was there once a time when life existed without unsolicited exhortations to visit bestiality web sites? Spam is fast becoming the battle cry de nos jours - the biggest Internet rallying point since the last big Internet rallying point (take your pick from intrusive ads, intrusive filters, intrusive …

Music and Media 4 Dec 2002, 16:43
Irish ISP blocks web site over dispute

Astonishing

UTVInternet (UTVi), the all-Ireland ISP, stopped its subscribers from accessing Irish auction site ebid.ie last week. The action was taken in response to commercial dispute between the two companies, UTVi told Irish journalist Fergus Cassidy. UTVi barred the way to ebid.ie for "a week or two", removing the block last Friday …

Music and Media 4 Dec 2002, 16:43
Company that disentangled WPA says it's built a better one

Now we've proved that one's rubbish, buy ours instead

The German company that disentangled Windows Product Activation last year has followed this up by producing its own version, which it claims is far superior. At the time of the release of last year's WPA analysis, Fully Licensed GmbH said it actually supported WPA, and now it's proving it does. The company's product, …

Software 4 Dec 2002, 17:04
BT LookSmart has ceased to be

JV no longer joint. Or venture

BT LookSmart, the search engine JV between -y ou can work it out for yourself - is to be dissolved. BT is to get $3.5m in cash and one million shares in LookSmart. It will also receive $1m set aside for funding the JV. The two companies will share restructuring costs equally. LookSmart will now take the helm in the UK and Japan …

Music and Media 4 Dec 2002, 20:12