The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

14th March 2003 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • ICANN loads dice in reform process

    Plus ça change, plus c'est la meme chose

    The last glimmer of hope that Internet overseeing organisation ICANN may be planning to make itself more relevant was snuffed out yesterday when it chose two key people to push through this year's reform process. One role was chairman of the committee that would oversee the actions of ICANN's Board and the other was the …

    Music and Media 14 Mar 2003, 09:31

  • Oftel boss is telecoms superhero

    How did we ever manage without him?

    David Edmonds - the boss of soon-to-be-extinct telecoms regulator, Oftel - has been blowing his own trumpet. Again. During a speech at the Adam Smith Institute earlier today he told the assembled audience how his "period in office has bought a renewed focus on delivering benefits to consumers" and how he has made it clear that …

    Data Networking 14 Mar 2003, 09:43

  • Bluetooth pen's patented patterned paper puzzle

    Millions of them. Invisible

    Nokia yesterday gave us a lot more detail about its new Digital Pen, announced at CeBIT this week. SonyEricsson has been selling its ChatPen for some time. But in traditional style, it hides it on its web site. Nokia's Bluetooth device is also a real pen - it uses standard ink cartridges - and pipes GIF images over to a phone …

    Personal 14 Mar 2003, 09:45

  • For sale: memory stick plus cancer patient records

    £30 ONO

    Health bosses in Lancashire are facing awkward questions after confidential medical records of 13 cancer patients found their way onto a portable memory stick, which was repackaged and sold as new to a Crewe estate agent. Investigations into the leak of the medical records of 13 patients are continuing, the Bolton Evening …

    Security 14 Mar 2003, 09:45

  • RSA and Verisign beat SSL patent infringement rap

    Goliath II whups David

    An American jury has rejected claims by a retired Florida engineer that RSA Security and VeriSign infringed his encryption patent. In a February 2001 patent infringement lawsuit, Leon Stambler contended that products marketed by RSA Security that use SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) version 3.0, infringed three of his patents. SSL …

    Security 14 Mar 2003, 09:47

  • VIEO – add-on system management

    Briefing Note Appliance

    The field of system management has exploded in recent years, particularly in two areas; security and service level management, writes Robin Bloor. The reason is obvious - the internet providing unprecedented levels of connectivity and creating unprecedented problems. This has invigorated system management and led to a host of …

    Hardware 14 Mar 2003, 10:10

  • Verint makes a mint from govt. spyware

    PATRIOT profits

    If you're under FBI surveillance, there's a good chance your phone calls and Internet traffic are traveling over the equipment of Verint Systems -- a company that's doing very well these days, writes SecurityFocus' Kevin Poulsen. New York-based technology firm Verint Systems recently launched a product called "IntelliFind" that …

    Security 14 Mar 2003, 10:19

  • AMD names scheme for Opteron naming

    Goodbye, 3800+; hello, 840

    So farewell then, AMD's performance rating naming scheme - for upcoming 64-bit Opteron processors at least. AMD will use a three-digit model number in place of the now familiar but once criticised megahertz rating. So instead of, say, Opteron 3800+, we'll see the Opteron 440. How does the new name work? The first digit is for …

    Channel 14 Mar 2003, 11:30

  • VIA graphics team unwraps DX9 DeltaChrome

    Eight-pixel pipelines

    VIA's graphics division, S3, yesterday announced its first chip to support DirectX 9, DeltaChrome. Versions of the 0.13 micron part will be tailored for a range of market segments, VIA said. The S8 and S4 will be aimed at the mainstream and value sectors, respectively, while the F1 will target top-end systems. The F1 supports …

    Channel 14 Mar 2003, 12:07

  • Elpida samples first GDDR-2M parts

    Power-light RAM for mobile graphics

    Memory maker Elpida has announced the first GDDR2-M memory chips for notebook graphics systems. ATI's Mobility Radeon 9600, announced yesterday, will be the first graphics part to support GDDR2-M, which is a variant of regular DDR 2 SDRAM. ATI co-developed the new memory technology. GDDR2-M is designed to cut memory chip power …

    Channel 14 Mar 2003, 12:24

  • Motorola set to launch pen-driven Symbian phone

    And to announce an MS deal. Grief...

    Motorola's remarkable and protracted silence on the subject of Symbian phones has been broken at last - the company does have one, the A920, and a serious and interesting bid it looks too. The documentation on the unit filed with the FCC (which frequently hosts useful pictures of products you hadn't previously heard of) shows a …

    Mobile 14 Mar 2003, 12:39

  • VIA unveils CoreFusion PC/TV platform

    Single-chip C3/South Bridge combo

    VIA yesterday introduced its CoreFusion platform, which it hopes will form the basis for a new generation of LCD-equipped home entertainment PCs. CoreFusion, codenamed 'Mark' combines the 1GHz 'Nehemiah' C3 core VIA introduced in January with the company's ProSavage CLE266 North Bridge, all on a single chip. Connect it to S3's …

    Channel 14 Mar 2003, 12:46

  • BBC uses slide show to announce job cuts

    And this one is of us on holiday

    So, just how did BBC chiefs tell their new media staff that Auntie was cutting back 100 jobs? "We were all gathered in a room and showed a Powerpoint presentation," whispered one devastated insider. They weren't even called in individually for a cosy one-to-one with management. It seems that during the slide show one screen- …

    Bootnotes 14 Mar 2003, 12:52

  • BB frustration reigns in chart-topping Chafford

    Aaaarrghh!

    Chafford Hundred in Essex has a unique place in the UK's broadband landscape. According to this broadband league table 476 people have registered their interest for broadband. For many places without a DSL-enabled exchange, that would be enough for BT to recognise that there was a genuine demand for broadband prompting it to …

    Telecoms 14 Mar 2003, 12:52

  • Viatel snaps up Netcom Internet

    In Brief Cost Savings

    Viatel has bought Netcom Internet, a UK business ISP, for an undisclosed sum. The Bermuda-based telco said it can reap operational efficiencies and cost-savings by migrating Netcom customers onto the Viatel network. Earlier this week, company also bought Cybernet a Swiss business ISP. ®

    Music and Media 14 Mar 2003, 13:14

  • Sony shifts PS2 production to China

    Cheap as chips

    Sony is to shift the production of its PlayStation 2 console to Chinese production facilities next year in a bid to reduce costs, the company announced this week, prompting speculation that the company will pass on the cost savings to consumers in the near future. Spokesman Koichiro Katsurayama said the company would move …

    Personal 14 Mar 2003, 13:18

  • Tricky Windows worm poses as game

    Bibrog-B con

    A new email-aware worm, Bibrog-B, poses as a computer game in an attempt to dupe users. The worm, which is spreading (modestly) by email and through file sharing networks, is more subtle and devious than most Windows worms. Its payload contains not just malicious code but a shooting game too. When users infect themselves via a …

    Malware 14 Mar 2003, 14:57

  • Guardian cricket scribe hacks self, launches chat board

    At least we think that's what's happened...

    Has Guardian cricket writer Scott Murray been hacked? Or did he just hack himself?* We fear it is the latter. At time of writing today's India v New Zealand report begins perfectly soberly with "It's really simple: India are already through, New Zealand have to win." (Register public service announcement - New Zealand blew it …

    Music and Media 14 Mar 2003, 15:43

  • Freeserve intros new dial-up software

    Linux users take note

    Freeserve is rolling out new dial-up software which it says will make life easier for its punters accessing the Net. The ISP claims the free software, called the "Freeserve Connection Kit", can be downloaded in minutes. It kicks in if punters get an engaged tone when trying to get online and automatically dials another access …

    Music and Media 14 Mar 2003, 22:07

  • IDC reins in PC sales forecast

    Public sector shortfall

    Research company IDC has poured cold water on what was expected to be one of the bright spots in IT spending this year: sales of new computers. The company reined in its prediction for 2003 shipment growth in the personal computer market to 6.9 percent, down from its previous estimate of 8.3 percent growth over 2002. Slower- …

    Personal 14 Mar 2003, 22:29