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29th January 2003 Archive

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  • President's “whine” inspired Nigerian 419 spoof

    Urgent assistance!

    We wondered who could be the author of the witty Nigerian spam scam parody. It features the "SON OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH", who solicits a transfer of funds which can be yours if you lodge a deposit via the "INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE OF AMERICA" by "THE FIFTEENTH(15TH) OF …

    Bootnotes 29 Jan 2003, 01:08

  • Akamai banks on Edge Computing

    Profit remains distant

    Akamai Technologies Inc, which has never been profitable, is banking on its forthcoming edge computing services as a growth opportunity, as its cash reserves continue to dwindle and profitability is at least over a year away, writes Kevin Murphy. During a conference call yesterday to announce financial results for the …

    Business 29 Jan 2003, 09:34

  • ARM expects flat revenue to continue

    Back to Earth. Back to Reality

    RISC chip designer ARM Holdings Plc expects revenue to stay flat "for the foreseeable future" and has warned that the closure of licensing deals remains unpredictable. However, the Cambridge, UK-based company believes that as 2003 progresses, momentum will be provided by the licensing of its newer cores, and the …

    Business 29 Jan 2003, 09:34

  • JD Edwards gets to grips with CRM

    Pre-packaged

    JD Edwards & Co is making up for its late arrival at the CRM party with an expanded offering that features integration with its Demand Consensus application, a move that provides a task-specific link between CRM and SCM systems. With this release, the Denver, Colorado-based company has concentrated on improving front-to-back- …

    Hardware 29 Jan 2003, 09:34

  • Siebel climbs into bed with IBM

    Balancing MS deal

    Just three months after it announced a "dramatic expansion" of its relationship with Microsoft Corp in which it tied its eBusiness application suite to .NET, Siebel Systems Inc has revealed a parallel alliance with IBM Corp and its WebSphere application server platform. The next version of its suite, Siebel eBusiness …

    Hardware 29 Jan 2003, 09:34

  • WS-I members take stand against ‘big-name bias’

    Getting on their SOAP box

    Small and medium sized ISVs are vying to lead an IBM and Microsoft Corp-backed web services organization, amid sentiment the group’s direction is being misdirected by big-name vendors, Gavin Clarke writes webMethods Inc and Cape Clear Software Inc told ComputerWire yesterday they will stand for election to the board of the Web …

    Hardware 29 Jan 2003, 09:34

  • Mitsubishi mulls outsourcing PC Servers to NEC

    Hollowing out

    Japanese electronics conglomerate Mitsubishi Electric Corp is in talks with NEC Corp about outsourcing the manufacture of its PC server line, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The Japanese newspaper reports that Tokyo, Japan-based Mitsubishi will outsource the production of its PC servers to NEC, which is also based …

    Servers 29 Jan 2003, 09:34

  • Data Protection Register is Out of Date

    Microsoft is Innocent!

    Oh phooey! Microsoft's data protection registration has not, as it so baldly states on the Data Protection Register web site, expired after all. No, the Data Protection Register is wot to blame. The guardian of our personal data has a big backlog in processing registrations and - it looks like - an even bigger backlog in …

    Music and Media 29 Jan 2003, 09:52

  • Cornwall gets more subsidised ADSL exchanges

    Lucky them

    BT is to upgrade four more exchanges in St Ives, Bude, Saltash and Penryn as part of a subsidised project to bring broadband to Cornwall. The exchanges are to be converted to ADSL by February 3. Critically, though, BT reckons the Actnow scheme - announced a year ago with £12.5m in public and private finance - is proving to be a …

    Telecoms 29 Jan 2003, 09:52

  • BT business broadband service takes w/e off

    Small number of casualties

    BT is working to fix a problem that hit its Business Broadband service over the weekend, denying some customers access to email or the Web. One of BT's hacked-off punters told us: "BT's Business Broadband has been down for well over 48hrs now...last time we called them yesterday [Sunday] they said they still didn't know what …

    Telecoms 29 Jan 2003, 09:52

  • Courts IT project ‘shocking waste of money’

    'Worst'IT project ever seen

    A project to computerise Magistrates' Courts has been branded a "shocking waste of money" after the cost of the project doubled in just two years. Project Libra was supposed to develop a new IT infrastructure linking magistrates' courts electronically while improving the efficiency of the legal system. But in a stinging rebuke …

    Business 29 Jan 2003, 10:12

  • Lindows launches ‘one per room’ $329 mini PC

    Looks like a major breakthrough for Via to us...

    Lindows boss Michael Robertson sends The Reg (along with half the known universe, as far as we can make out) frequent editions of "Michael's Minutes," chatty bulletins communicating all the news and doings of the company. On the basis that there can't possibly be that much interesting about Lindows, we bin most of them without …

    Personal 29 Jan 2003, 10:16

  • Where the hell is my website? (Part 2)

    The UK system and what ICANN should do to be more like it

    Website hacking, email viruses and server failures are the great enemy of online businesses but in many cases it is the very people providing the building blocks of the Internet who are to blame for disruption. In the first part of this article, we covered how and why there were so many domain disasters, outlined where the …

    Music and Media 29 Jan 2003, 10:52

  • A punter's guide to keeping hold of your domain

    Where the hell is my website? (Part 3)

    Here is a quick guide that will hugely reduce the chances that your domain will be snapped up by someone else: Make sure you are listed as the Administrative and Technical contact: If you are listed as both then any changes to your domain will have to come through you. Plus, you can make whatever changes you like without …

    Music and Media 29 Jan 2003, 10:52

  • Opera releases version 7 of the ‘other’ browser

    With numerous new twiddlies...

    Opera Software yesterday unveiled the production version of its new browser, Opera 7, which represents a radical rewrite of the "other" browser. It includes a new rendering engine, a new UI, mail client, the usual standards-compliance checkmarks that make Opera announcements such compelling reading, plus some intriguing bells …

    Software 29 Jan 2003, 11:36

  • Pipex in broadband recruitment drive

    Refer a mate and get free access

    Pipex is turning to its existing customer base to help it recruit more than 24,000 new broadband punters. The ISP claims its Refer-A-Friend scheme is "no gimmick" and is "simplicity" itself to understand. So here goes...every existing Pipex broadband punter who signs up a new customer will receive a month's free subscription …

    Telecoms 29 Jan 2003, 11:39

  • Security worries hold back UK online tax returns

    e-govt falls down on ease of use too

    Security and usability concerns are holding back Brits from filling their tax returns online. That's the main conclusion of a survey into public attitudes to government e-services, commissioned by firewall vendor Check Point. It found that only seven per cent of 200 people polled intended to complete their tax return online. …

    Music and Media 29 Jan 2003, 12:54

  • CCNA, MCAD, MCSE books at 30 per cent off

    Discounted self study training material from IT-Minds

    This week's discounted titles from Reg associate IT-minds.com include some of their best self study books for popular certifications. However advanced you are in your preparation for Microsoft, Cisco or Sun exams, they've got comprehensive study guides as well as material to help in those last minute cramming sessions. This week …

    Site News 29 Jan 2003, 12:56

  • Hotmail comes to Vodafone UK

    Messaging pact with MSN

    Vodafone UK is preparing to extend Microsoft MSN functionality to users of its Vodafone Live service, say reports. According to the Wall Street Journal, Vodafone Live users will, from May, be able to access their Hotmail e-mail accounts and have the ability to use MSN Messenger, an instant messaging (IM) service, through their …

    Mobile 29 Jan 2003, 14:21

  • Yahoo! intros! paid-for! radio!

    Premium Service

    On Monday (Jan 27), Yahoo! squared a dispute with Sony, courtesy of a one-time fee for prior use of copyrighted music played on LAUNCHcast. Today, Yahoo! intros a premium version of its Internet radio service. Costing $3.99 a month, or $35.99, LAUNCHcast plus is ad-free and incorporates 50 exclusive stations. Yahoo! is also …

    Music and Media 29 Jan 2003, 14:55

  • Skybet disappoints footy fans in 37663/1 long shot

    'Software error' blamed

    Our thanks go to the Reg reader who sent us an email from Skybet - Sky's multiplatform bookmaker. Yesterday, he had a flutter on Craig Bellamy scoring in tonight's fixture between Spurs and Newcastle after he saw some rather attractive odds. Shortly after, he received the following email from Skybet. "We write with reference …

    Bootnotes 29 Jan 2003, 16:11

  • Net snooping to cost UK taxpayers £100m+. A year

    Home Office rejects MP call to rethink data retention

    A Home Office minister last night brushed aside a report by MPs which calls on the government to drop Net snooping plans. Speaking at a meeting of the All Party Internet Group (APIG), Bob Ainsworth, Minister of State for the Home Office, pledged to press ahead with a new data retention regime on ISPs. Yesterday the APIG urged …

    Music and Media 29 Jan 2003, 16:36

  • Buy a piece of Net nostalgia for $5,000

    Professional online beggar puts famous URLs on eBay

    If you've got $5,000 to spare, you could buy a piece of Net nostalgia in the form of the OpenProjects .net, .com and .org domains. Owner, founder of the OpenProjects Network (OPN) and professional online beggar Rob Levin, has decided to put them up for sale on eBay (all the sites in question point to the auction entry). The …

    Music and Media 29 Jan 2003, 21:00

  • Earthlink cans 1,300 call centre staff

    MemoWatch Difficult and emotional time

    Yesterday Atlanta based ISP Earthlink announced plans to cut its staff headcount by 1,300 in a move to reduce its operating costs by $20 million. Hardest hit by this cost saving exercise will be the ISP's call centre staff, who received a memo from company CEO Garry Betty explaining the rationale for their imminent redundancy …

    Music and Media 29 Jan 2003, 21:02

  • National e-Procurement folds

    Joins other dotgonners in the sky

    National eProcurement - a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Australia Bank Group (NAB) - is to close at the end of February. The business-to-business outfit has been in operation for the last two years enabling small and medium-sized companies to trade online. However, following a business review it's been decided to …

    Small Biz 29 Jan 2003, 21:03

  • Rambus stuns world+dog with Infineon court victory

    More comebacks than Lazarus

    Rambus, the disgraced fast memory chip designer, is whiter than white after all. A Federal appeal court has overturned an earlier verdict that the company had committed fraud in seeking royalties from Infineon for patents relating to DDR SDRAM. And it says the trials court was mistaken in its verdict that Rambus did not have a …

    Channel 29 Jan 2003, 22:08

  • Micron calls on market for $500m

    Bond issue

    Micron is to raise $500m through a convertible bond issue. America's last DRAM maker will spend the money on general working capital, R&D and managing the transition to new technologies and manufacturing processes. That's the simple bit: the complicated stuff comes with the cost of this money. First up, the "interest rate, …

    Channel 29 Jan 2003, 23:00