11th March 2003 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

Poor change control hits SAN expansion plans

Storage management is hard to teach - Sagitta

Robust change control and security will be the two biggest headaches for SAN users as they try to integrate and expand their storage network infrastructures, says Andy Norman, founder and CEO of UK storage specialist Sagitta. "Most of the problems we've seen have been consequences of poor planning and change control," he says …

Storage 11 Mar 2003, 09:17
Fly Egyptair and earn a place in paradise

Airline flogs loyalty points scheme - Shariaa style

Globetrotting Reg readers who are looking for a bit more from their airline's frequent flyer programme might be interested in a new initiative from Egyptair. It appears that the company has eschewed the bog-standard free flight/first-class lounge approach and instead targeted the hardline Shariaa market: We'll be …

Bootnotes 11 Mar 2003, 10:10
Dixons ditches GameCube

Update 'Clear the format'

Dixons is ditching the Nintendo GameCube from its stores, according to a leaked memo from PC World seen by the Mirror. Said the memo: "Due to the continued poor sales on GameCube we are beginning to take our first steps to clear out the format." The clearing of shelves is being undertaken at all of Dixons' stores, including its …

Personal 11 Mar 2003, 10:41
Music for mobiles, the O2 way

Downloads via GPRS

02 today claims a world first for a music download service on GPRS, or 2.5G, networks. It's early days yet - O2 is at test stage only, but it works like this: you choose your music from the latest chart hits - the service is aimed mostly at 16-24 year-olds - decide if you want to a free 30-second blast, or to purchase the song …

Mobile 11 Mar 2003, 10:41
Confusion over serious Notes, Domino vulns

If we tell you what's wrong, we'd have to kill you

Lotus Notes and Domino are subject to an unholy trio of serious security vulnerabilities which could exploited in denial of service or privilege elevation attacks on the vulnerable system. That's the stark warning from security outfit Rapid 7 (via a posting to BugTraq), which advises that a successful denial of service attack …

Security 11 Mar 2003, 11:02
Reg anthem – The Red Flag explained

Compo update This is the tune you need

Our announcement yesterday that we are looking for top artistes to record our Reg anthem caused a bit of confusion among those not familiar with "The Red Flag". This catchy ditty is traditionally sung to the tune "O Tannenbaum". There are plenty of mp3 versions out there on the web to help you strike the right note. Go to it. …

Bootnotes 11 Mar 2003, 11:46
Mobile handset sales up 6 per cent in 2002

Samsung leapfrogs

Global mobile phone sales rose some 6 percent last year to 423.4 million units, according to new figures, and double-digit growth has been predicted for 2003. The figures, published by Gartner Dataquest, showed that the fourth quarter of 2002 was particularly strong: mobile handset sales rose 14 percent over the year-earlier …

Mobile 11 Mar 2003, 12:11
CIM-SAN-2 ready to hit road

Play time

Today the Storage Networking Industry Association (known as the SNIA to its friends) announced news of CIM-SAN-2 and the next steps forward in storage management. The management of heterogeneous storage systems has been a thorn in the side of many IT managers that has been growing in size for much of the past three years. Last …

Storage 11 Mar 2003, 12:29
Register Kit Watch

New Toshiba unwraps 802.11-integrated PDAs

Desktops UK-based ergonomic PC manufacturer Hush Technologies has announced its Mini-ITX silent PC. Designed around VIA's EPIA mini-ITX mobo platform, the Mini-ITX PC crams hard drive, optical drive, mobo and power supply into a stylish 370 x 340 x 59 mm case that doubles up as a heat sink. Expansion is ensured through a …

Personal 11 Mar 2003, 12:34
Hebrew Office for Mac looms – enough to head-off anti-trust suit?

Yeddah Yaddah

Sources close to Apple Europe are adamant that a Macintosh version of Microsoft Office which supports Hebrew will be announced within the next few weeks. And that would mean a huge victory for Register readers, whose unrelenting campaign to petition Microsoft to support right-to-left languages such as Hebrew and Arabic on the …

Mac Channel 11 Mar 2003, 12:57
Nokia narrows Q1 sights

Notalota networking sales

Nokia is pinning back Q1 profit estimates to the low-end of previously-stated guidance. It now forecasts earning for the quarter ended March 31, 2003 of €0.15 and €0.17. Handsets are doing well enough, operational efficiencies are coming along nicely, but sales at Nokia Networks are weaker than expected - maybe down 15-20 per …

Mobile 11 Mar 2003, 13:16
Hilton hotels to host hotspots

Borders, McDonalds, Marriott et al too

Hilton Hotels are hopping on the Wi-Fi bandwagon - due to be given a hefty shove forward tomorrow, courtesy of Intel's Centrino launch - and rolling out hotpsots across the US, Canada and Mexico. Some 30-odd hotels will be unwired up between now and the end of the month, Hilton said today. Ultimately, the service will be rolled …

Wireless 11 Mar 2003, 13:21
Apple iMac – the PC you really want, says MSN

Un-subedited testimonials...

Hats off to Apple Canada, which as far as we can make out appears to have pulled off a small but embarrassing heist at the expense of the local version of the Microsoft Network (MSN). The stunt would seem (naturally, we conjecture) to have taken advantage of the collision between MSN's thirst for ad revenue and what some might …

Bootnotes 11 Mar 2003, 13:42
UK Govt publishes revised ‘snoopers charter’

Dilute to taste

The Government has watered-down its proposed "snoopers charter" following public concerns about widespread access to phone, email and Internet records. Last summer, the UK government unveiled sweeping extensions to its snooping powers with plans to widen the list of authorities which could demand access to phone, Internet and …

Music and Media 11 Mar 2003, 14:20
BT publishes latest ADSL exchange upgrade list

Next!

BT Wholesale has published the latest list of exchanges to be converted to ADSL. All should be completed during May, except Wentworth and Brimscombe, which are earmarked for June. Antrim, Northern Ireland Badsey, Hereford & Worcester Devonport, Devon Dunblane, Central Region Kidmore End, Oxfordshire Attleborough, Norfolk …

Telecoms 11 Mar 2003, 14:23
Intel posts 104% productivity gain…

...in layoffs

Intel registered in unexpected 104 per cent productivity boost last year - in its efforts to reduce its workforce. According to the company's most recent SEC filing, noted by Reuters, it expected to lay off 4500 people during 2002. In fact, the chip giant rid itself of 4700 workers. The filing reveals that Intel ended 2001 …

Channel 11 Mar 2003, 15:08
Poor People! Wanna play Internet?

It's free

So you're too poor, or too feeble, or too indifferent to own, or have access to, a PC. Hey, check out this Internet thing and see what all the fuss is about with a free introductory offer from Her Majesty's Government. Of course, you will need a relative or a friend or a social worker to print this article, maybe in LARGE TYPE …

Music and Media 11 Mar 2003, 15:11
Affinity Internet flogs ISP operation

Bye

Affinity Internet Holdings - which provides white label ISP services for companies including Powergen, the Royal Bank of Scotland and WHSmith - has flogged its Internet operation. An outfit called Cleverview Investments Ltd has bought the whole of Affinity's ISP operation for £250,000. It has also taken on the debts of Affinity …

Music and Media 11 Mar 2003, 15:56
Observe the chickens of America, clucking towards Baghdad

Send in the Sea Lions

In simpler times it was the canary. But today's avian suicide jockeys are chickens, which are to be press-ganged into service by the US Army when/if/when it invades Iraq. No, they won't be packed with explosives - like the kamikaze camels of Afghanistan. Instead they will sit "in cages atop Humvees, used as early warning gas …

Bootnotes 11 Mar 2003, 16:40
Gartner predicts slow recovery next year

Vendors will regain upper hand

European IT budgets will show marginal growth this year, with discretionary spending almost non-existent, and only sluggish growth next year. That's the main findings of Gartner's 2003 IT Budget Survey in Europe, which quizzed 420 respondents working in various sectors across Europe on their spending plans for this year and …

Hardware 11 Mar 2003, 16:45
New spec heralds digital video broadcast on 3G handsets

A Cost-effective multimedia distribution system?

First picture messaging, then mobile phone camcorders, next, broadcast digital TV? Not quite, but a new transmission specification, DVB-X, is intended to combine Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) and 3G mobile telephony, providing a mechanism for broadcast distribution of music, video and general multimedia content. The spec was …

Mobile 11 Mar 2003, 16:48
Nominet's PAB election results in

Average Joe bolstered by two new names

Nominet has announced the election results for its Policy Advisory Board and it's two old PAB hands retained and two new names - both renowned for their defence of the small man - welcomed in. Perhaps the biggest surprise is proud non-techie Hazel Pegg polling 61 votes and coming second only to PAB chairman Peter Gradwell with …

Music and Media 11 Mar 2003, 21:35
Win a computer science bursary at Queen Mary

Get coding

Queen Mary, University of London has teamed up with Microsoft and Philips to launch a competition offering to fund the winner through a Computer Science degree. The winner of Queen Mary's programming competition will get a prize covering fees and a maintenance grant for his or her degree in Computer Science, plus a fast-track …

Software 11 Mar 2003, 21:44
Would-be Internet domain chief demands Privacy™

Bad omen

The man named on Friday as the leading candidate for the vacant ICANN hotseat, has an interesting personal perspective on domain names that is likely to raise serious questions about his suitability for the job. Paul Twomey, an administrator with close links to the Clinton bureaucrat who established ICANN, Ira Magaziner, was …

Music and Media 11 Mar 2003, 22:50
Senate leader explains poll “hack”

Evil cookies take the biscuit

Senator Frist's office has elaborated on its explanation of why it pulled a website poll about the Iraq war last week. We could find no evidence of a security breach at the Senate, although this was the primary reason suggested by a Frist spokesperson on Friday. In fact, the poll was hosted outside the Senate firewall, his …

Music and Media 11 Mar 2003, 23:55
Kapor quits Groove

Panopticon Pork

Mitch Kapor has left Groove Networks, and according to friends cited in the New York Times, it's because of his concern about the company's role in the fast-developing surveillance infrastructure. Groove was an early beneficiary of Panopticon Pork. The peer-to-peer company, founded by Lotus Notes inventor Ray Ozzie, has been …

Music and Media 11 Mar 2003, 23:55