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21st January 2003 Archive

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  • BT to scrap phone number moving charge

    That's it

    BT is to scrap the charge for punters looking to hang on to their phone numbers when they move house. People moving house can opt to retain their phone number, but only if they move to new premises served by their existing telephone exchange. At the moment, this service costs £35.84. But from 1 February, BT is axing the charge …

    Business 21 Jan 2003, 10:56

  • US unveils chip-zapping ‘lightning bomb’ to tackle Saddam

    And anything else electronic within 300 metres of whatever it hits, allegedly...

    Remember the neutron bomb, the radiation-rich atomic weapon of the 1980s designed to kill people while leaving buildings intact? Well now we have a weapon suited for 21st century war - designed to fry electronics while leaving people, mostly, unharmed. Allegedly. High-Power microwave bombs are "man-made lightning bolts crammed …

    Personal 21 Jan 2003, 11:06

  • “Replicant” theory emerges in US Astroturf scandal

    Robots or men?

    A new theory emerged today to rebuff the "Astroturf" scandal that's the talk of the web. A week ago a weblogger who calls himself Atrios discovered that identical letters praising "the leadership of President Bush" had appeared in dozens of local American newspapers. Before Christmas, Mr.Atrios - whoever he is - had done much …

    Bootnotes 21 Jan 2003, 11:18

  • AOL offers free broadband

    Promo alert

    AOL is offering one month's free broadband plus free activation for all new punters who sign up before the end of March. After that, AOL Broadband costs £27.99 a month. Anyone signing up to the promo is also tied in to a minimum 12 month contract for the service. Anyone taking up the offer will still need to fork out £85 (plus …

    Media 21 Jan 2003, 11:36

  • EV7 AlphaServers unleashed as chip line heads into sunset

    Oomph up to 2004 and that's it, folks

    Customers of Hewlett-Packard Co's AlphaServer RISC machines got a look at the probable future machines they will use over the next few years as HP rolled out the "Marvel" line of servers, writes Timothy Prickett-Morgan. The Marvels, which are based on the Alpha EV7 processor, are kickers to the current "Wildfire" series of …

    Servers 21 Jan 2003, 11:40

  • Infineon makes money out of memory chips shock

    Investments paying off...

    Heavy investment in 300mm wafer production capacity and R&D has started to pay off for Infineon Technologies AG, which has started the year with strong revenue growth and a belief that it faces "further stable development of demand in most market segments." It claims to be the among the first companies to return to profit …

    Channel 21 Jan 2003, 11:43

  • HP launches 4-way ProLiant blade servers

    First high volume vendor to do so

    As expected, Hewlett-Packard Co yesterday upgraded its ProLiant BL "QuickBlade" series of blade servers with the first four-way blade server, writes Timothy Prickett-Morgan. While HP is not the first vendor to offer a four-way blade (niche high-end blade vendor eGenera has been shipping a four-way blade since last year), …

    Servers 21 Jan 2003, 11:48

  • Will UK's aircraft carriers run on 'Windows for warships'?

    BAE's command systems specialist may think it's a good idea

    Last week UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon mounted an odd attack on the country's major defence contractor, BAE Systems, claiming that large foreign shareholdings in the company meant that it could no longer be viewed as British. The assault was seen by observers as perhaps being a pre-emptive strike in the run-up to Hoon's …

    Software 21 Jan 2003, 12:29

  • Prosecutors appeal DVD Jon innocent verdict

    Possible 'double jeopardy' retrial looms

    Norwegian prosecutors are appealing the court ruling that cleared teenager Jon Lech Johansen of criminal charges for creating a utility for playing back DVDs on his own computer. Norway's special division for white-collar crimes, Økokrim, has decided to appeal the acquittal of the 19 year-old on charges of "piracy and …

    Software 21 Jan 2003, 14:11

  • Competition Watchdog mulls Freeserve's BT complaint

    Broadband under the microscope

    The Competition Commission Appeal Tribunals (CCAT) - the UK's highest specialist competition law court - is currently hearing an appeal that could have could have wider repercussions for the UK's broadband sector. The two-day hearing follows an earlier CCAT ruling that Freeserve was entitled to appeal after Oftel dismissed a …

    Media 21 Jan 2003, 14:12

  • Java poised for return to Windows, appeals permitting

    Preliminary injunctions - the long comply...

    Scarily, Sun and Microsoft have agreed on something to do with Java. But they're keeping quiet about the details pending the judge's decision. The bottom line, however, is that Microsoft, in accordance with Baltimore District Judge J Frederick Motz's order, will be shipping Java with Windows within 120 days. Motz made this …

    Software 21 Jan 2003, 14:41

  • QWERTY-OOPS!

    HP drops keyboard security guarantee

    HP's incredibly powerful wireless keyboards are bringing Norwegian neighbours together again. This time, a letter of complaint typed by Oslo man Are Wormnes on his home PC travelled by courtesy of the the HP keyboard to the computer of neighbour Ørjan Stokkeland. When Wormnes phoned HP to complain, he was advised to "speak …

    Personal 21 Jan 2003, 16:39

  • Welsh virus writer Vallor jailed for two years

    Not a nerd, a criminal, says judge

    A 22-old Welsh Web designer who pleaded guilty to creating and distributing three mass mailer viruses was sentenced to two years imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court this afternoon. Simon Vallor, of Llandudno, North Wales, last month admitted offences under section three of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 in creating the Gokar, …

    Security 21 Jan 2003, 16:43

  • Carter confirmed as Ofcom chief exec

    'Irresistible'

    Former NTL boss Stephen Carter has been appointed chief executive of the new telecoms and media regulator, Ofcom, it was confirmed today. Mr Carter (38) described the chance of taking on the new post as "irresistible". He will take up his new job on March 1. His first job will be to help create the organisation, which is …

    Media 21 Jan 2003, 16:44

  • BT shuts Games Domain Multiplay

    Not enough customers

    BT has informed subscribers to its Games Domain branded multiplayer product that it intends to discontinue the services on February 17, less than a year and a half after its original launch in November 2001. The Games Domain Multiplay service was aimed at PC gamers, providing a range of servers and community features for …

    Media 21 Jan 2003, 16:56

  • Sun blade specs emerge

    Exclusive Speeds n' feeds

    If your sweepstake money was on LinuxWorld for the date when Sun would unveil more Linux-related announcements, you're out of luck. We've been waiting for details of the corporate desktop since last year and details remain sketchy. We've also waiting been for details of Sun's ultradense blade servers for what seems like forever …

    Data Center 21 Jan 2003, 20:35

  • HP lines up OpenVMS for Itanium

    Digital's legacy gets new lease of life

    The long-awaited port of HP's OpenVMS to Intel's Itanium is set for full release next year, as are plans to move Tru64 Unix features into HP-UX. The announcements came as HP introduced its new Alpha servers, based on the EV7 chip, plus a strategy to migrate Alpha users to Itanium servers over the next three to eight years. John …

    Servers 21 Jan 2003, 22:42