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7th January 2003 Archive

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  • PeopleSoft rolls out more v.8.8 apps

    Inhuman resources

    Version 8.8 module roll-out continues at enterprise business application vendor PeopleSoft Inc with the release of a number of updated human capital management products. First is PeopleSoft Enterprise Learning Management (ELM) 8.8. Using this application, organizations will be able to put their learning management processes …

    Data Center 7 Jan 2003, 09:34

  • McData hikes guidance – hugely

    Tearing at Brocade fabric

    McData Corp has revised its fourth quarter guidance to show a whopping 31% sequential growth, contrasting starkly with the hefty sales slump expected by its arch-rival Brocade Communications Systems. Broomfield, Colorado-based McData said its sales spurt was caused by the success of the new mid-range and high-end SAN switching …

    Storage 7 Jan 2003, 09:34

  • Vodafone says no plan to sell Verizon stake

    Puts stay put

    Vodafone Group Plc has denied reports that it intends to sell its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless, its US joint venture with Verizon Communications, after speculation it was looking to offload its stake in order to fund a bid for a rival US mobile operator. Vodafone holds "put" options that can be exercised in two tranches over …

    Mobile 7 Jan 2003, 09:34

  • AT&T chops 3,500 staff, turns to Covad for DSL

    Management bears brunt for once

    AT&T Corp plans to lay off 3,500 staff, just under 5% of its workforce, in a move that will lead to a $240m restructuring charge in its fourth quarter. More than half the job cuts are in management, and AT&T said the move is the result of "improved processes and automation" in the provisioning and maintenance of services for …

    Mobile 7 Jan 2003, 09:36

  • Network Solutions Inc returns from the dead

    VeriSign Spins Out Registrar

    Network Solutions Inc returned from the dead yesterday, as VeriSign Inc announced it has created a subsidiary named after the domain name company it bought in 2000, writes Kevin Murphy. The company said the spinout is not a prelude to a planned sale of the business, rather an effort to better associate its mass-market retail …

    Media 7 Jan 2003, 09:36

  • ICANN mulls over Verisign land grab

    Grapples with int'l domain service

    A service for resolving so-called internationalized domain names (IDNs) introduced by VeriSign Inc last Firday has drawn the attention of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which has certain powers over the internet's domain name system. ICANN said it became aware of "expressions of concern" from the …

    Media 7 Jan 2003, 09:36

  • San Francisco bans Segways on sidewalks, bike paths

    Start walking

    Last Monday (Dec 16) San Francisco civic leaders voted 8-2 to bar the use of Segways on footways and cyclepaths. This is the first serious obstacle to inventor Dean Kamen's "pedestrian-friendly" "sidewalk interloper". The ban is welcomed by Matt Smith, a columnist on San Francisco Weekly. In a hard-hitting polemic, he called …

    Personal 7 Jan 2003, 10:06

  • Intel Masters games tourney is ‘shambles’

    Attendees less than whelmed

    Intel's sponsorship of a games tournament at London's Science Museum last Saturday ended in farce and frustration for participants and spectators alike. From the start the Intel Masters championship was beset with delays and technical cockups. A Reg reader who attended the tournament described it as a "total shambles", a …

    Personal 7 Jan 2003, 10:06

  • Will this notebook survive if I jump up and down on it?

    Don't try this at home

    Computer hardware testing is certainly not for wimps in the Czech Republic, land of Semtex and some the best beers in the world. Whwn a top exec of Gericom distribution told hardware site Notebooky.cz that they might want to test an army standardcompliant notebook submitted for review by "dropping it gently off a table", they …

    Personal 7 Jan 2003, 10:06

  • RIAA invites comments

    Defacement opens DIY PR pipeline

    According to an official statement issued by the Recording Industry Association of America today, "I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Weiner … do you eat cheese?" Which is pretty bizarre even by the standards set by the RIAA's recent communications. Of course, this hasn't been issued by the RIAA at all. It's a defacement, only a …

    Bootnotes 7 Jan 2003, 10:07

  • Compromise fends off PNC Telecom collapse

    Out on Manoeuvres

    PNC Telecom, the owner of the KJC mobile telecom retail chain, staved off collapse today after striking a "compromise" deal with a major shareholder. Geremy Thomas, former CEO, founder and owner of 17.62 per cent of the company, had called an EGM for today in an attempt to vote out the entire board - with the exception of the …

    Mobile 7 Jan 2003, 10:08

  • Taiwan flocks to MS Smartphone standard

    Is this why Sendo is so cross?

    It being Christmas and nothing much going on the US and Europe, especially Europe, thoughts of Western tech news sites turn to round-ups of 2002, forecasts for 2003, and wholesale lifting from Asian news sources. So without further ado, we draw your attention to Digitimes, the Taiwanese newswire, which reports two new licencees …

    Mobile 7 Jan 2003, 10:08

  • All your Cubase are belong to US

    Pinnacle buys Steinberg

    Following the acquisition of Emagic by Apple earlier this year, US-based Pinnacle Systems has acquired Steinberg Media Technologies in a deal worth $24 million. Pinnacle was founded in 1986, has its headquarters in Mountain View, California and specializes in high-end video software and hardware. Steinberg is its third German …

    Software 7 Jan 2003, 10:11

  • Hutchison 3G signs The Link

    That's the High Street covered

    Hutchison 3G has bagged The Link, Dixons Stores Group's mobile phone chain, as a reseller for its 3 -brand handsets and services. Some Dixons stores will also carry the line. The Link is the third major mobile phone retailer to stock Hutchison 3G stuff, joining Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U. Hugh Symons Group and Avenir …

    Mobile 7 Jan 2003, 10:51

  • UK's corporate Web sites ‘wallowing in mediocrity’

    No lessons learnt

    The Web sites of the UK's leading 100 companies are "wallowing in mediocrity", according to a survey by Interactive Bureau. It found that while the overall standard of the FTSE-100's Web sites had risen since last year, more than half the sites still have problems that need resolving. Sixteen sites are so bad the report's …

    Media 7 Jan 2003, 10:52

  • DVD Jon is free – official

    DeCSS verdict vanquishes MPAA

    The entertainment lobby has failed to persuade a Norwegian court to convict a teenager for creating a utility for playing back DVDs on his own computer. Jon Lech Johansen has been acquitted of all charges in a trial that tested the legality of the DeCSS DVD decryption utility he produced, Norwegian paper Aftenposten reports. …

    Software 7 Jan 2003, 11:13

  • Net porn policeman jailed for 18 months

    Once started, couldn't stop

    A Chester policeman found guilty of possessing child pornography of "the vilest possible nature" blamed media coverage for sparking his addiction to the material. Robert McInnes, a 46-year old police constable, was sentenced yesterday to 18 months jail, after pleading guilty to 14 counts relating to the possession of 15,000 …

    Media 7 Jan 2003, 11:13

  • Microsoft preps software for CDMA handsets

    Home run

    Microsoft is launching new software for CDMA wireless handsets, in a move that is likely to fuel its dispute with Sendo. At the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, Microsoft is set to demonstrate new software for handheld computers and smartphones that connect to mobile phone networks through Code Division …

    Mobile 7 Jan 2003, 11:40

  • Liberty Broadband goes tits up

    Liquidators called in

    Around a dozen jobs could go at Liberty Broadband - formerly known as Tele2 UK - after liquidators were called into the company just before Christmas. Customers of the fixed wireless broadband outfit are continuing to be supported while liquidators look for a buyer. A couple of interested parties are understood to be interested …

    Broadband 7 Jan 2003, 11:46

  • UK job cuts as HP outsources support to India

    20 ex-Compaq staffers face the axe

    HP is to transfer accounting support functions currently conducted by former Compaq staff to India, with the loss of 20 UK jobs. Affected employees have been asked to train their replacements prior to facing redundancy (if they're unsuccessful in finding alternative jobs within the new HP). In a statement, HP said the company …

    Business 7 Jan 2003, 13:48

  • Virgin.net, Demon, etc, cut broadband fees

    Wholesale bandwagon jumping

    Virgin.net has become the latest ISP to pass on a price cut for the activation of its ADSL service. The price reduction is available to all customers who sign up for Virgin.net Broadband between January 10 and March 31. The promo means that punters won't have to fork out £39.99 to activate the service. Demon - owned by …

    Broadband 7 Jan 2003, 13:49

  • MS to license Media Player 9 for Linux, others?

    Don't all rush at once...

    Microsoft will today announce cheaper, more flexible terms for its Windows Media Player 9 Digital Rights Management software, according to a Reuters report, and allegedly, this will allow the development of Linux WMP 9 clients, among others. Provided Linux developers promise not to steal our stuff, VP for new media platforms …

    Software 7 Jan 2003, 13:50

  • Living with Red Hat 8 as a productivity client

    Winertia finally vanquished...

    I finally bit the bullet and switched the Thinkpad over to Linux the day after Judge CKK delivered her verdict. It'd be nice to able to say I did this as some kind of personal protest, but it wouldn't be true - I'd spent several months prevaricating, then several days feverishly preparing, and if she hadn't announced the ETA of …

    Software 7 Jan 2003, 15:07

  • Telewest to charge for tech support

    Nowt fur free

    Telewest broadband punters are spitting feathers after discovering that the cableco is to start charging for customer support. Until now Telewest broadband users have been able to phone tech support using a freephone number. From March, the cableco will introduce local-rate call charges for the service. Punters have criticised …

    Media 7 Jan 2003, 15:11

  • Shell recovers slip after spilling applicants' details

    URL regret it if your Web forms are insecure

    Shell has fixed a security hole on its recruitment Web site that left confidential private information of potential applications files open to world+dog. Yesterday a Reg reader, who'd also notified Shell, told us that URL manipulation of forms on the site allowed easy access to this confidential data. The company promptly …

    Security 7 Jan 2003, 15:13

  • In computer disease, there is no Edward Jenner

    Lessons from the Laboratory

    Medical science's eradication of smallpox was easy compared to the Internet's efforts against nasty computer viruses. Here's why. Comparisons between computer viruses and their biological namesake constitute a pillar of almost mystical lore, a foundation of the modern anti-virus industry. One of the first books to enjoy mass …

    Security 7 Jan 2003, 15:53

  • California disclosure law has national reach

    Guarding against ID theft

    A new California law requiring companies to notify their customers of computer security breaches applies to any online business that counts Californians as customers, even if the company isn't based in the Golden State. So warned Scott Pink, deputy chair of the American Bar Association's Cybersecurity Task Force, in a …

    Security 7 Jan 2003, 16:03

  • Nintendo updates GBA

    Game Boy Advance Advance

    Nintendo today announced the new Game Boy Advance SP. Much as sources have been speculating over the last few months, the GBA SP boasts an updated clamshell design, improved backlighting, rechargeable batteries and a folded size of three inches square and one inch thick. Otherwise it's functionally identical to the original …

    Personal 7 Jan 2003, 16:24

  • IBM outsources eServer xSeries production

    Sanmina-SCI takes it on

    IBM is hollowing out its manufacturing arm, with a huge transfer of server parts, places and, people to Sanmina-SCI. The contract manufacturing business has won a deal worth $3.6bn over three years to make eServer xSeries systems and Intellistation workstations for IBM in Europe, the Americas, Middle East and Africa. Also, …

    Business 7 Jan 2003, 17:04

  • DVLA fails in reverse domain name hijack

    Bloody nose for Govt bully boy

    The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the government body responsible for administering and issuing driving licences in the UK, has been heavily censured in a rejection of its bid to acquire the domain DVLA.com. The DVLA went to domain arbitrator WIPO in an attempt to obtain control of the disputed domain from DVL …

    Media 7 Jan 2003, 17:18

  • Hotmail, Yahoo! erect roadblocks for spam sign-ons

    Captchas

    Spam fighters have come up with an idea to frustrate the automatic creation of email accounts often used to send spam. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have designed software which acts as a gatekeeper, blocking computerised creation of accounts with Web mail services. The idea is to use a form of Turing Test to …

    Media 7 Jan 2003, 17:18

  • Coming to a PC near you soon: Spamwars

    Game on

    Spam was most biggest, nay the most over-hyped, security story in 2002. A Tsunami of spam will render your email useless, unless you sign up to spam-busting software and services. Next year, there will be even more unsolicited bulk mail, world+dog warns. So what better way to end the year than to point you towards a Web-based …

    Security 7 Jan 2003, 17:18

  • The Briscoe Syndrome

    No court order required

    Fear of terrorism and a desire to cooperate with law enforcement has lead many corporate insiders to pony up sensitive information on their customers to anyone with a badge... with no court order required, Mark Rasch writes. Watching the TV drama Law & Order, Detective Briscoe confronts the manager of a seedy Times Square …

    Security 7 Jan 2003, 17:19

  • Mitnick wins ham radio license fight

    Mast Head

    Former computer hacker Kevin Mitnick has won his right to renew his ham radio license. Mitnick, 39, and a ham radio enthusiast for 25 years, spent more than $16,000 in legal costs in a three year fight to persuade the Federal Communications Commission to renew his license. Normally such renewals are free. "It's the most …

    Security 7 Jan 2003, 17:19

  • 2003: the year of Asian Linux

    Newsforge teases the trends

    As most regular NewsForge readers know, I recently traveled to Amman, Jordan to advocate Linux and Open Source use there. This Spring I'll probably be doing the same thing in Mexico. And there are many other Open Source and Free Software advocates, most of them more effective and eloquent then I'll ever be, busily speaking at …

    Software 7 Jan 2003, 17:20

  • Swingeing fines imposed on Dutch mobile networks

    KPN, Vodafone, O2 to appeal

    The Netherlands anti-trust regulator, the NMa, has imposed whopping fines on the country's five mobile network operators, for agreeing collectively to cut handset subsidies. The five operators KPN, Vodafone, MM02, Ben and Dutchtone are fined €88m in toto, with KPN (€31.3m) and Vodafone (€24m) accounting for the lion's share. …

    Mobile 7 Jan 2003, 17:22

  • UK gets 802.11g

    Easier migration to high-speed wireless?

    Wireless LAN equipment which offers theoretical speeds of upto 54Mbps in existing 2.4GHz frequency range are launched this week by D-Link and Buffalo Technologies. Based on the draft 802.11g specification, the equipment supplies an easier migration path from existing 11MBps 802.11b kit than 802.11a products (which operate in …

    Mobile 7 Jan 2003, 17:23

  • Unhappy new Yaha

    Virus variant spreads over the holidays

    A new version of the Yaha mass mailing email worm has been released, ready to trip up the unwary on their return to work next week. Yaha-M (or Yaha-K as it is also described by some AV vendors) is spreading rapidly this week, after first appearing on December 21, MessageLabs notes in an updated advisory. The company has blocked …

    Security 7 Jan 2003, 17:25

  • Hynix rescued for third time (to the tune of $4bn)

    Get out of debtor's prison

    Is there no end to the munificence of Hynix debt-holders? Mostly Korean banks, the Hynix lenders have saved the DRAM maker's bacon for the third time. In two years. The rescue package sees $4bn of debt reshuffled with approx. 40 per cent swapped for equity and longer repayment terms granted on the rest. The Korean banks may be …

    Business 7 Jan 2003, 17:26

  • US investors sue C&W over secret £1.5bn liability

    Didn't take long

    Cable & Wireless received a late Christmas present yesterday in the form of a class action suit from angry US investors. The shareholders (or to be precise, holders of C&W American Depository Receipts) say the company's failure to disclose a potential tax liability of £1.5bn was false and misleading. They are claiming damages …

    Business 7 Jan 2003, 17:26

  • Windows comes to Nynorsk

    Obscure language group comes up trumps

    You know that your language group has really arrived when Microsoft agrees to write a version of Office for your very own tongue. So a big fat hello to the 400,000 writers (speakers?) of Nynorsk, or New Norwegian, a variant of, err, Norwegian. By simple dint of getting the schools of Norway to threaten to boycott Microsoft …

    Software 7 Jan 2003, 17:28

  • Spitzer's “cure” doesn't fix Wall Street pestilence

    Letters Sell out

    The recommended method for using a Roach Motel - the sticky coated cardboard bait - is to wait until the 'house' is full of the critters, at which point you stamp really hard on it with both feet. We thought New York's Attorney General Eliot Spitzer had timed his jump to perfection on Friday, but many of you disagree. Not …

    Business 7 Jan 2003, 17:29

  • Disgraced Cisco exec gets five years jail

    Fall from grace

    Disgraced former Cisco Systems executive Robert Gordon will spend next Christmas behind bars after receiving a five-and-a-half year sentence last week for fraud and insider dealing. Gordon, 43, a former vice president and director of business development at Cisco, masterminded an elaborate scam involving diverting $50 million …

    Business 7 Jan 2003, 17:29

  • Greece, Denmark (and no-one else) make EC copyright deadline

    Slow coach to European DMCA

    The deadline for implementing new European laws on copyright protection passed on Sunday (December 22) with just two countries signing up. The European Union's controversial Copyright Directive (AKA Europe's DMCA) made it onto the statute books of only Greece and Denmark in time, according to wire reports. It's best to see …

    Software 7 Jan 2003, 17:29

  • Hynix slams Micron ‘double talk’

    The strongest weakest company in the world

    The words 'Hynix' and 'beleaguered' are joined at the hip, lately. The Korean DRAM maker maybe down, but it's certainly not out. Today Hynix has come out fighting against Micron, former suitor and current tormentor, which is urging US regulators to slap punitive duties on its Korean rival. Hynix accuses Micron of 'double talk …

    Channel 7 Jan 2003, 17:30

  • Sendo sues Microsoft over ‘secret plan’

    MS 'stole' our technology

    Sendo today confirmed that it has filed a suit against Microsoft in a US federal suit, accusing the software giant of stealing its technology and customers. Sendo last month pulled its Microsoft Z100 Smartphone, just days from launch. At the time it said it had 'no choice'. Reuters has the inside track on the case. It quotes …

    Mobile 7 Jan 2003, 17:30

  • Apple reopens browser wars with Safari

    Better bundles

    Our Jagwyre review last August lamented how the poor browsing experience negated many of the improvements in OS X:- "To sell Macintosh computers to that huge middle ground between novices and geeks, Apple needs to offer a great browser," we wrote. Apple had already noticed, and is today introducing its "iBrowser" called Safari …

    Mac Channel 7 Jan 2003, 19:13

  • PowerBook family grows, top and bottom

    Home on the range

    Apple shareholders who might be dismayed by Merrill Lynch's "sell" evaluation today can take heart from the broker's distinguished track record. Merrill paid $100 million in fines for hyping stocks it privately regarded - as "dog" and "piece of shit", and the analysts continue to beat up on successful R&D spenders like EMC and …

    Mac Channel 7 Jan 2003, 20:41