9th December 2002 Archive

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Sony bundles StarOffice for Europe

Select models

Sony Corp's European information technology arm is the latest hardware vendor to move away from Microsoft Corp's office application suite, and has adopted Sun Microsystems Inc's StarOffice software for select PC models across Europe. The Tokyo, Japan-based company has already adopted Corel Corp's WordPerfect 2002 suite for …

Personal 9 Dec 2002, 09:53
DoCoMo to shun extra investment in KPN Mobile

Include us out

NTT DoCoMo Inc is expected to turn its back on a recapitalization of KPN Mobile NV and see its holding in the Dutch mobile operator fall from 15% to around the 12% mark. To keep its holding at the current level, it would have to contribute $2.4bn, a move that would infuriate investors. In October, DoCoMo had to write off JPY …

Mobile 9 Dec 2002, 09:53
Open Source J2EE 1.4 gets Sun green light

JBoss outing

The first open source implementation of the latest specification for enterprise Java is expected in JBoss Group LLC's increasingly popular open source application server next year, Gavin Clarke writes. The latest version of JBoss' eponymous application server follows changes to a Sun Microsystems Inc-backed body that …

Hardware 9 Dec 2002, 09:54
Organised Net crime rising sharply – top UK cop

UK's first e-crime congress

The level of organised crime on the Internet is increasing sharply, the head of the UK's National Hi-Tech Crime Unit warns. In his opening address to the UK's first e-crime congress today, Detective Chief Superintendent Les Hynds is expected to highlight the significant threat posed by organised criminals. "Hi-tech crime is …

Music and Media 9 Dec 2002, 10:00
.Net.uk domain granted stay of execution

Domain tied up in consultation exercise

The underused .net.uk domain has been granted a stay of execution after a meeting of Nominet's Policy Advisory Board decided that still more consultation was needed before a decision on its future was taken. The decision comes after a sub-committee charged with looking at the issue recommended it be closed off to new entrants …

Music and Media 9 Dec 2002, 10:09
IBM buys Rational for $2.1bn

Cash purchase

IBM is to buy Rational Software for $2.1 billion in cash. Rational is one of the world's biggest software tools developers - it has 3,400 employees and revenues of $689m (for the year to March 31, 2002). Rational has customers in almost 90 countries, with more than 600,000 software developers using its software tools. It also …

Hardware 9 Dec 2002, 11:14
Study debunks e-mail overload myth

Time saver

Contrary to the perception that workers are flooded with e-mail, most workers are happy with their e-mail levels and believe that it helps them in their work. A new US-based survey carried out by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that e-mail is now used by more than 57 million workers, almost double the number that …

Music and Media 9 Dec 2002, 11:19
CPW wins Hutch 3G retail gig

Canvassing sign-ups

Hutchison 3G has signed up Carphone Warehouse to sell network contracts and phones for 3 (as the service is called). CPW is to promote the new network in all 470 UK stores and is taking pre-registrations. It reckons that Hutchison 3G will be ready to announce pricing this week. Hutchison 3G is also opening its own retail …

Mobile 9 Dec 2002, 12:27
C&W slumps on £1.5bn tax shock

Sunk by junk

Cable & Wireless shares slumped more than 40per cent this morning on massive trading in reaction to news that the telco could face a previously undisclosed potential tax liability of £1.5bn. At best the money - almost three quarters of C&W's available cash - could be in escrow for several years, the company admits. On Friday …

Business 9 Dec 2002, 12:51
UK biz embraces ebiz

The bees knees

More and more UK businesses are embracing ecommerce, according to the latest survey from Continental Research. In its Spring 2002 E-Commerce report, it found that four in ten businesses conducted some form of ecommerce. In its latest Autumn report, that number had increased to five out of ten businesses, with the number of …

Music and Media 9 Dec 2002, 12:52
BTo split in two

Here we go...

BT is to split its mass-market ISP BTopenworld, in a move which will, it says. benefit customers and deliver cost savings for the telecoms company. According to BT, the reorganisation provides a "clear roadmap for the future of BTopenworld", although critics are already questioning if it breaches BT's licence. From January 1, …

Music and Media 9 Dec 2002, 14:07
Trustworthy Computing does Moon Walk (but not yet)

One small step for man, one giant leap for Windows XP

Microsoft's Chief Security Strategist today compared the company's Trustworthy Computing initiative to the race to put the first man on the Moon. Speaking at the UK first e-crime conference in London, Scott Charney raised eyebrows by comparing Microsoft's attempts to develop more secure products with NASA's Apollo Moon landing …

Telecoms 9 Dec 2002, 15:27
Broadband key to BT changes

Still leaves unanswered questions

The importance of broadband to BT's future strategy lies at the heart of its decision to split BTopenworld and drag it under the control of BT Retail. BT Retail boss Pierre Danon told The Register: "Broadband is a core business for BT and it can't be left out at the edges." He explained all parts of the BTopenworld operation …

Telecoms 9 Dec 2002, 15:28
What's (not) up with Mydomain.com, Namesdirect.com?

Hardware failure

Reg readers are reporting problems with accessing sites hosted by mydomain.com. And some Mydomain.com customers have told us that their email boxes have been empty since this morning. Our attempts to access Mydomain.com and sister site NamesDirect.com, which describes itself as "an ICANN accredited registrar and one of the top …

Music and Media 9 Dec 2002, 16:46
UK IT jobs decline – worst over

More permies

The worst could be over for the UK's IT job market with industry watchers claiming that the recent decline has bottomed out and is expected to start growing again next year. According to the annual Employment Trends Report from IT recruitment outfit Elan there are signs that the IT jobs market could be picking up with more …

Business 9 Dec 2002, 16:51
Web pedos crack into corporate servers

Insecure servers host PPV child porn

Web paedophiles are turning to cracking techniques to cover their track, claims the head of the UK's National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU). Detective Chief Superintendent Les Hynds warned today of cases where pay-per-view child porn sites on corporate servers after gaining control to victims' servers. Hynds declined to furnish …

Security 9 Dec 2002, 22:14
IDC ups PC forecast

But business spending still lags

IDC has raised its forecasts for PC industry growth this year and next, but said the volatile economy and corporate disenchantment with Microsoft's licensing strategy are inhibiting a bounce back in the commercial sector, writes Joe Fay. The research firm said it expects worldwide PC shipments to grow just over 1.6% this year, …

Personal 9 Dec 2002, 22:53
Research signals safer smart cards

New class of attacks

Cryptography Research Inc, the company behind the design of the SSL v3.0 protocol that is used to secure transactions on the world wide web, claims to have discovered a new class of attacks that could be used by hackers to extract secret keys and information from smart cards and secure cryptographic tokens. Known as …

Security 9 Dec 2002, 22:53