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26th March 2003 Archive

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  • Tanglewood: the next Itanium revealed

    Exclusive Runs cool with cores aplenty

    Intel appears to be moving in the direction of rivals Sun and IBM with a future version of the Itanium processor code-named Tanglewood, according to documents seen by The Register. Tanglewood will mark Intel's most serious foray yet into the world of multicore processors. It will follow the dual core Montecito Itanium that …

    Servers 26 Mar 2003, 02:15

  • Sun's Enchilada, Chalupa ready to serve

    Low end revved with new SPARC CPU

    Sun finally appears ready to start shipping Jalapeno-based low-end systems, along with faster versions of its four and eight processor machines. Documents disclosed to The Register show the company gearing up its two-processor "Enchilada" server with 950MHz and 1.1GHz UltraSPARC IIIi 'Jalapeno' processors. Accompanying this box …

    Hardware 26 Mar 2003, 02:15

  • Nvidia books IBM fab for GeForce FX

    Tough on TSMC

    Nvidia has signed a three-year chip-making agreement with IBM. The deal means that TSMC is no longer the graphics company's only foundry partner. IBM will start production this summer, punching out GeForce FX parts at 0.13 micron on 300mm wafers at its East Fishkill plant. The period of the agreement will allow Nvidia to …

    Channel 26 Mar 2003, 09:01

  • Conspiracy theories abound in security mailing list launch

    Fighting Vikings

    Danish security service outfit Secunia this week launched an independent mailing list for security vulnerabilities. Secunia makes no bones in saying that its Security Advisories mailing list initiative is a direct attack against competitor SecurityFocus. The Danes are highly critical of SecurityFocus and security clearing house …

    Security 26 Mar 2003, 09:42

  • I shot the Woolly Mammoth

    Exclusive SA hack retails his MS ad complaint

    Microsoft South Africa last week pulled an ad, following a ruling that its claims could not be substantiated by the Advertising Standards Authority. Here Richard Clarke, a South African freelance journalist, explains why he made the complaint which set the ASA ball rolling. Microsoft ran an ad in a South African IT magazine …

    Bootnotes 26 Mar 2003, 09:44

  • EU bigwig bangs on about eGovt

    Blah, blah, blah

    A top EU commissioner has been banging on about the importance of eGovernment. Speaking last week in Barcelona Erkki Liikanen said that eGovernment is now a "central theme in information society policy at all levels" and that it should "help to deliver better government". He believes that the public sector can be "made more …

    Music and Media 26 Mar 2003, 09:45

  • Intel granted overclocking blocking patent

    Overclock this...

    Intel has been granted a patent outlining a technology designed to block attempts to over-clock its processors. Intel applied for the technology to be patented in September 1999. The patent, number 6,535,988, was granted on 18 March this year, as reported by HardOCP. The patent covers "a mechanism for detecting and deterring …

    Channel 26 Mar 2003, 12:49

  • BT Tower preserved for the nation

    Monument to the 'white heat of technology'

    BT Tower in central London - recently bathed in green light to launch a rival directory enquiries service - has been listed by the Government. The move means that the tower can't be demolished, and should ensure that any proposed alterations should respect the particular character and interest of the building. The 640ft tower …

    Bootnotes 26 Mar 2003, 14:07

  • O2 slashes number of free Web-based texts

    'Increasingly competitive market' blamed

    O2 is to slash the number of free texts people can send from its Web site from 100 a month to just ten. The mobile phone company is expected to introduce the new measures from April 1. In a statement the company said: "In an increasingly competitive market it is necessary to review, from time to time, our offerings to our …

    Mobile 26 Mar 2003, 14:26

  • UK business confidence in open source grows – survey

    And it's not just about licence costs...

    A report on business attitudes to open source software published this week indicates steady progress in the UK, with a growing number of CIOs seeing OSS as a means to tackle Total Cost of Ownership, and indications that it is being used in more sophisticated roles. The study, conducted by Trend Consulting on behalf of OpenForum …

    Software 26 Mar 2003, 14:32

  • Data propels mobile telco growth

    ARPU stabilises

    Mobile operators are finally halting their long-term decline in average revenue per user, thanks mainly to non-voice services, a new report claims. Telecom consultancy and research company Analysys said on Wednesday in a new report, "Western European Mobile Forecasts and Analysis 2003-2008," that the major mobile operators in …

    Mobile 26 Mar 2003, 14:56

  • Gamecube tops UK console charts. For one week only?

    Will GBA SP keep up momentum?

    The GameCube was the UK's biggest selling console last week, beating back both Xbox and PS2 with sales of 14,000 units, with Nintendo now hoping that its GBA SP rebate deal will keep sales high. The GameBoy Advance SP launches on Friday in Europe, and 400,000 units of the new console have been shipped throughout the territory …

    Personal 26 Mar 2003, 15:05

  • NAI re-cooks the books

    In the shadow of an SEC probe

    Network Associates (NAI) is to postpone filing results for this year and will restate figures for three previous years as a result of government enquiries into its finances. The company, best known for its flagship McAfee AV software, said today it will restate financial results for 1998, 1999 and 2000 to iron out revenue …

    Business 26 Mar 2003, 15:08

  • A brief note on Sun's Project Orion

    Making friends and influencing people

    Project Orion, which Sun has implemented to unify its product release cycles, has been designed partly to appeal to independent software vendors. Sun wants to ensure that many companies are working with the Sun ONE applications and web services stack, offering specialist services that Sun cannot cover. Sun Microsystems' Project …

    Hardware 26 Mar 2003, 15:10

  • Windows Server 2003's bits are modular, not MIA

    Redmond finds innovative escape hatch...

    Microsoft has come up with an innovative explanation for the number of pieces that are going to have to be retro-fitted to Windows Server 2003, after it launches with them missing next month. This is apparently a modular approach to software development which will equip the company better to respond to the speed of update …

    Servers 26 Mar 2003, 16:02

  • Treasury shuts software tax avoidance schemes

    Cunning loophole plugged

    The Treasury is to introduce legislation "as soon as possible" to kill tax avoidance schemes developed in response to the government's 100 per cent first year tax allowance. This is designed for small businesses buying IT "for bona fide use for their businesses". But the provision of plant and software for leasing is …

    Small Biz 26 Mar 2003, 16:03

  • House builders claim broadband a ‘selling point’

    Do we need new regulations?

    House builders in the US are increasingly including broadband connections and IT-related wiring when building new homes. InStat/MDR found that it's not just homes at the top end of the market (more than $1m) that \re getting the hi-tech treatment, but also houses selling for less than $250,000. InStat/MDR's research found that …

    Telecoms 26 Mar 2003, 16:37

  • Nominet holds off on domain reservation plans

    Come back and see me in six months

    UK register Nominet is to hold off implementing a wait listing service - a system that would allow people to reserve domains put back up for sale - for six months. A recommendation to delay until other wide-ranging changes are made to the .uk domain system has been made by a sub-committee of Nominet's Policy Advisory Board …

    Music and Media 26 Mar 2003, 16:37

  • Too cool for secure code

    Opinion Mucho Macho

    Until Unix and Linux programmers get over their macho love for low-level programming languages, the security holes will continue to flow freely, argues SecurityFocus columnist Jon Lasser. The last several weeks, as always, have brought a constant flow of security advisories. Perhaps not a torrent, but certainly more than a mere …

    Security 26 Mar 2003, 16:56

  • Notebook sales on the rise

    Ready to take a quarter of all PC sales this year

    Never let it be said that notebooks aren't popular: some 30.5 million were sold last year, accounting for 23.5 per cent of all PCs sold, according to the latest IDC count. Gartner puts the figure at 21.8 per cent. In 2001, 22.5 per cent of PCs sold notebooks, says IDC - 20.2 per cent, says Gartner. At those rates of growth, it' …

    Personal 26 Mar 2003, 17:02

  • Opera breaks Register shock

    Bork bork yourselves...

    When Opera unveiled its special Swedish Chef Edition, an unfortunate (for the press) side-effect was forcibly brought home to The Register. You see, just around that time we were running an ad that seemed to stop Opera displaying properly. And it was, oh dear, a Microsoft ad. You see the unfortunate nature of the side-effect. …

    Bootnotes 26 Mar 2003, 17:12

  • Critical Win2K flaw yields multiple attack vectors

    Get patching

    Last week's very serious Windows 2000 vulnerability is far from limited to exploitation through IIS alone. This flaw, the root cause of which is a buffer overflow vulnerability in a core Microsoft Windows DLL (ntdll.dll), could allow attackers to gain complete control of a vulnerable system and execute arbitrary code. As we …

    Security 26 Mar 2003, 20:29

  • Dogblogs promise canine liberation

    Woofie

    Dogs, too, can be liberated by weblogs. A Japanese toy manufacturer has developed a $120 pet collar which transmits dog barks into "human language". The barks are matched against a database developed by animal behaviorists. "The console classifies each woof, yip or whine into six emotional categories -- happiness, sadness, …

    Music and Media 26 Mar 2003, 20:33

  • Wanted: House band for Reg anthem

    Competition Achieve fame and win stuff

    Some time back, we ran a competition to find a Reg corporate anthem, and a great success it was too. The winner was one Peter Dykes, who penned a rousing Vulture Central lyric to the classic Red Flag. At the time, we thought it would be nice to get someone to knock up a backing track so we could offer it as a download. Then we …

    Bootnotes 26 Mar 2003, 21:07