20th May 2003 Archive

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Sun makes good with Intel kit

Scott and Larry are friends again

Scott McNealy pulled out the shovel on Monday and filled three gaping holes in Sun Microsystems' product line. Sun's CEO appeared in an unlikely setting at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to show new Intel-based servers and announce deals with Oracle and Red Hat. By selling faster Intel kit that can run Oracle on Red Hat …

Software 20 May 2003, 07:34
HP-UX upgraded for Itanium 2

ISVs have been committed

Hewlett-Packard has prepped a new version of its HP-UX operating system for the Itanium 2 chip, and lo and behold there's even software to run on it. With HP-UX 11i v2, HP now has the same version of its Unix OS available for both the Itanium 2 and PA-RISC chips. Keeping HP-UX up-to-date for Itanium is key for HP, as it hopes …

Bootnotes 20 May 2003, 07:34
Fizzer worm more interesting than harmful

A peculiar hybrid

Looking at the fizzer worm, one has some difficulty defining it clearly. It uses various means of propagation such as e-mail and P2P shares and attempts several destructive activities, but it doesn't get all of its core business quite right. Perhaps it tries to do too much. It propagates via e-mail; it finds the KaZaA directory …

Security 20 May 2003, 07:46
Smart credit card scheme kicks off in the UK

Chip and PIN

UK banks, building societies and retailers began the introduction of a more secure method of authorising credit card payments in Northampton today. Designed to combat fraud, the Chip and PIN Programme will see the magnetic stripes on credit and debit cards replaced with more secure smart chips. The huge project will see more …

Security 20 May 2003, 08:55
Welsh dotcoms set free from incubation

Accelerator programme

Recently, The Reg referred to Cardiff-based Acequote.com as the only Welsh dotcom we had heard of. (And where did that web site go - it has not been accessible in recent days). Following our request for more examples we received dozens of sightings of Welsh dotcoms, as well as three outraged rejoinders, all coincidentally …

Small Biz 20 May 2003, 10:28
'NEVER, EVER buy ANYTHING from Curry's or Dixons'

One woman's fight for customer service

A disgruntled Dixons punter has gone to extraordinary lengths to try and get the giant electrical retailer to return her busted TV. After months of complaining and being given the run-around, fed up Marie Griffiths created a blog detailing Dixons Store Group's (DSG) extreme lack of customer care. Not content with venting her …

Media 20 May 2003, 10:54
Chip market to grow 8.3% in 2003 – Gartner

Weak PC growth

The worldwide semiconductor market is grow 8 per cent growth this year, according to Gartner The analyst firm forecsats that revenues will swell to $168 billion this year, 8.3 per cent up from $152 billion in 2002, despite continuing uncertainty in the market. A slightly disappointing first quarter has caused Gartner to peg …

Channel 20 May 2003, 11:36
PS2 price cut to €199 in Europe

Still more expensive than anywhere else, though

Sony is expected to cut the price of the PlayStation 2 in Europe at last. The console will drop from €249 to €199 in a move which brings the hardware price in line with the Xbox and GameCube. The price cut should take effect on Friday and follows a drop to $179 in the USA, announced at E3 last week. However the latter is a …

Personal 20 May 2003, 12:10
The Bastard goes 24/7

Episode 8 Pizza alert!

BOFH 2003: Episode 8 Sigh. I don't know what it is about 24x7 Operations, but the thought of it seems to make most IT Managers weak at the knees - and The Boss is no exception. I'm sure in his mind he sees a clean, shiny computer room with suited professionals striding purposefully betwixt machines, engrossed in their …

BOFH 20 May 2003, 12:52
BOFH and the Interruptible Power System

Episode 9 Like moths to a lamp

BOFH 2003: Episode 9 "This is eerie," The PFY whispers, as we gaze around the darkened and newly silent computer room with a flashlight. "Isn't there emergency lighting?" "Apparently not," I respond. "Which is an excellent design feature for a room with no windows in the centre of a building." "So where's the UPS bypass …

BOFH 20 May 2003, 12:56
Novell settles 1998 software theft suit

'Wilful'

Novell has finally settled a lawsuit that began when hundreds of CDs were stolen from a contractor in Ireland in 1998. In a statement on Monday, the company said it had been awarded a $680,000 judgment against Computer Commodity Inc (CCI) of Ft Lauderdale, Florida, and its owner, Michael Jacobson. Novell brought the suit …

Channel 20 May 2003, 13:45
Electrical retailers in ‘complex monopoly’ over warranties

'Consumers deserve choice, information, value'

The Competition Commission (CC) has published proposals that could lead to an overhaul in the way extended warranties (EW) are sold. In a letter to high street electrical retailers the CC claims that retailers who sell EWs - worth an estimated £800m a year - at the same time as punters buy a toaster or PC, for example, are …

Channel 20 May 2003, 13:49
Comcast ponders WiFi extras

But 'nervous' about unlicensed spectrum

The Register's Wireless LAN Channel Leave the risk to the pioneers, says American network giant Comcast. On the other hand, if public WiFi does work, then it may follow Verizon in setting up hotspot nodes on all its street phone booths. The project which has frightened Comcast is one which matches the planned Soho WiFi service …

Broadband 20 May 2003, 14:02
Netilla preps v4 security appliance

More versatile

Netilla Networks yesterday announced enhancements to its SSL VPN appliances, to make them more flexible and versatile. Release 4 of the Netilla Security Platform has two important new capabilities: secure access to enterprise intranet and Web applications via an HTTP reverse proxy, and desktop client/server application access …

Security 20 May 2003, 14:13
£35,186 not spent at DSG – so far

It's like a telethon in reverse

Marie Griffiths' tale of despair - 'NEVER, EVER buy ANYTHING from Curry's or Dixons' - has certainly generated heaps of interest from readers. A number of you pointed out the irony of her blog carrying an ad for Curry's. "I imagine that they are trying to recoup some of the cost of the loss of business," she quipped. She's …

Bootnotes 20 May 2003, 14:51
Microsoft + AMD: the 64-bit question

Stealing ground

Microsoft's launch of Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server 2000 for Itanium, and AMD's launch of its 64-bit Opteron processor, should encourage the uptake of 64-bit computing. Software development and support will be crucial in taking 64-bit hardware from its educational and scientific environments through to general purpose …

Bootnotes 20 May 2003, 14:51
HP topples IBM for benchmark lead

Itanic 2 sails past Power4

My, oh my, HP and IBM are feisty of late. The two companies have engaged in a nasty benchmarking contest akin to the "mine is bigger than yours" game known to men the world over. One week, HP posts a record-settingTPC-C result . A short time later IBM returns the favor. This time HP has outdone itself. A new benchmark result …

Servers 20 May 2003, 19:42