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21st May 2003 Archive

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  • WiFi for data – Nokia dials for future phones

    Quill will

    Donal O'Connell, Nokia phones' R&D veep, said that WiFi will form a part of its future high-end handsets at an analyst briefing in Irving, Texas today. O'Connell offered a few glimpses of future directions for the handset business. Next generation phones will have Gigabytes of storage, megapixel cameras and morph into super-IM …

    Mobile 21 May 2003, 09:30

  • Rombyte admits flogging counterfeit memory

    Sentencing deferred

    Directors at Newbury memory distributor Rombyte pleaded guilty to eight counts of supplying counterfeit memory modules at a hearing before Newbury Magistrates yesterday. A court clerk in Reading ,who confirmed this information, said Newbury magistrates have referred the case to a Judge at Reading Crown Court for sentencing. A …

    Channel 21 May 2003, 09:31

  • BT nears 1 million BB milestone

    Almost there?

    There's speculation that BT could use this Thursday's results to announce that it has hit its 1 million ADSL milestone. Early last year the telco announced price cuts to its wholesale broadband product that, it said, would help it deliver one million DSL broadband connections by summer 2003. According to sources the telco is …

    Telecoms 21 May 2003, 09:32

  • MMO2 weighs in with £10.2bn loss

    Easily done

    MMO2 reported a whopping pre-tax loss of £10.2bn for last year after the mobile telco decided to slash the value of its 3G licences and other assets. The company says this massive exceptional charge is likely to mask MMO2's "strong underlying performance delivered in [its] first full year as an independent company". It ain't …

    Mobile 21 May 2003, 09:34

  • HP Q2 revenues leap like a dachshund

    What to compare?

    A year has passed since Hewlett-Packard bought Compaq, and the end results are still hard to measure. HP churned out $659 million or $0.22 earnings per share on $18 billion in revenue for the second quarter. This compares to $252 million or $0.13 earnings per share with revenue of $10.6 billion in the same quarter one year ago …

    Business 21 May 2003, 09:37

  • Wireless ‘will halve cost of broadband’ -start up

    MyZones franchise scheme

    A new startup company calling itself "the world's first integrated WiFi broadband service" will unveil its new offering tomorrow at the WLAN Event in London The company is called MyZones and says that it has come up with a radical new concept. In fact, it looks very similar to other products like Sputnik/ Joltage, and Boingo, …

    Wireless 21 May 2003, 10:03

  • DB2 Information Integrator goes live

    Federation

    IBM yesterday (May 20th) published the packaging and pricing of DB2 Information Integrator, together with some case studies of customers that have been using the beta version. While DB2 Information Integrator can now be ordered, general availability begins on June 13. IBM has also revealed its partnership programme. This …

    Hardware 21 May 2003, 10:21

  • US channel buoyant as UK resellers sink

    Channel Tracker

    A snapshot of the IT market from a channel perspective has revealed confidence returning in the US even while the European market remains mired in a sales decline. In analyst Global Touch's mid-quarter Channel Tracker, which surveys sales for the first six weeks of Q2 2003, 55 per cent of US respondents said overall IT sales …

    Channel 21 May 2003, 10:23

  • Synavant: shrinking prize in CRM niche battle

    Five takeover bids for hugely unsuccessful company

    Synavant has received five takeover bids in the last six weeks. The latest bid from Dendrite marks what has now become a ferocious battle to dominate a niche CRM market serving pharmaceutical companies selling to healthcare professionals. Synavant's revenue has been in decline for the past three years but, for the bidding …

    Hardware 21 May 2003, 10:44

  • Intel launches three P4s, Springdale

    Hyperthreading for the masses

    Intel today launched three new Pentium 4 processors and three Springdale chipsets, to take hyperthreading (HT) into the corporate PC mainstream. The new P4s come in 2.4GHz, 2,GHz and 2.8GHz flavours and deliver 25 per cent better performance than non HT equivalents, Intel says. In 1,000-unit quantities, they cost $178, $218 and …

    Channel 21 May 2003, 11:03

  • NTL hit by ad watchdog ruling

    Take that, and that, and that

    The advertising watchdog has dismissed complaints concerning NTL's boast that its broadband service offers "unlimited surfing" even though it has imposed a cap. As reported last week by The Register, the Advertising Watchdog Authority (ASA) agreed with the cableco that "because residential users enjoyed 24 hours a day, seven …

    Telecoms 21 May 2003, 11:04

  • Apple exporting retail stores

    Are foreign ears safe?

    It can only be hoped that Apple will leave the advertisements for its iTunes Music Store behind as the company takes its retail stores overseas. Fifty-seven Apple retail outlets have sprung up over the last two years, leading to more than $650 million in sales. Apple plans to continue closing in on reseller territory with 20 …

    Channel 21 May 2003, 11:21

  • DARPA dabbles in real-world ‘Matrix’

    The searchable man

    Defense Department ubergeeks at DARPA are soliciting proposals for a comprehensive, searchable database of individual human lives encompassing every communication, encounter, transaction and even 'feeling' generated by a lifetime of social interaction. It's called LifeLog, and it would combine a plethora of sensors, including …

    Security 21 May 2003, 12:25

  • EMI poised to sue Bertelsmann over Napster

    Join the crowd

    EMI, the UK music major, says it could join in a $17bn lawsuit against Bertelsmann, its German rival, for supporting Napster, the iconic music file trading service. In a conference call yesterday, EMI senior execs blamed music piracy for a nine per cent fall in global music sales in 2002. They forecast another 4-5 per cent fall …

    Music and Media 21 May 2003, 12:25

  • IT services: don't forget the little guys

    Room enough?

    With offshore service providers applying pressure on billing rates for systems integration and consulting work, economies of scale are increasingly important if services companies are going to be able to handle projects profitably. But there is still room for small and medium-sized services providers. Despite the apparent focus …

    Hardware 21 May 2003, 13:04

  • Cisco launches security blitz

    Firewalls rain over San Jose

    Cisco has strengthened its security portofolio with 14 hardware and software upgrades. The product blitz falls into three main product categories: security management, threat protection and virtual private network (VPN) technology. In part the launch (in the finest Whitehall traditions) covers previously announced products. …

    Security 21 May 2003, 13:11

  • Playboy gets into the Hutch

    Soft porn on 3G

    3 UK, the greenfield mobile network operator, has gone live with peddling soft porn from Playboy. Other Hutchison 3G territories will follow suit as and when they come on stream, although content - video and stills - will vary, according to local regulation and mores. Hutchison 3G has licensed exclusive wireless rights in the …

    Mobile 21 May 2003, 13:35

  • NTL hits back at ASA ruling

    'Superficial and flawed'

    NTL has appealed against the latest ruling by the advertising watchdog claiming the decision against the cableco was based on "flawed research". Today the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that unqualified use of the phrase "the UK's No.1 Broadband Internet provider" when used in association with its 128k service was …

    Telecoms 21 May 2003, 13:42

  • Broadband ‘most important technology issue’ for SMEs

    Web apps and Web dev are important too

    Broadband is the most important technology issue for small businesses, according to new research. A survey of its own advisers by Technology Means Business found eight out of ten reported an increase in the number of enquiries about broadband in the past 12 months. And 85 per cent anticipated that this will increase over the …

    Small Biz 21 May 2003, 14:43

  • Datatec splashes red ink

    Strong rand

    Datatec, the South African-owned networking equipment reseller, fell into the red for the year to Feb end. The company blames the cost of restarting the European reseller operations of Landis and a strong rand for what it calls the "headline loss" of -R224m before tax on revenues of R20.2bn (approx US $2.6bn). Also, Datatec's …

    Channel 21 May 2003, 15:47

  • Why spammers lurve the ‘Microsoft support’ worm

    The next Sobig thing

    The latest Windows mass mailer worm could be used by spammers to launch bulk mail blizzards from computers they don't own, a security researcher warns. AV vendors are now reporting the Palyh worm (which poses as a message from support@microsoft.com) as a variant of Sobig-A. Most vendors are renaming the virus as Sobig-B. …

    Malware 21 May 2003, 15:52

  • Washington state bans sale of violent games to minors

    Makes sense. So why the fuss?

    Gary Locke, governor of the state of Washington in the USA, has signed into law a bill banning the sale of certain violent videogames to minors - including Enter the Matrix and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, both of which depict violence against law enforcement officials. According to US law, a minor is anyone under the age of …

    Personal 21 May 2003, 16:16

  • Fujitsu picks up the pace with low-end servers

    SPARC64 alive and kicking

    The North American arm of Fujitsu has started shipping new low-end servers running on the company's own version of the Sparc processor and Sun Microsystems' Solaris operating system. The PrimePower 250 and 450 servers are upgrades to Fujitsu Technology Solutions' (FTS) current low-end kit. The two-processor PrimePower 250 ships …

    Servers 21 May 2003, 20:21

  • IBM carves up bladed Linux clusters

    It's so nice to mix and match

    IBM has added blade servers to the mix of systems it sells as part of a large Linux cluster offering targeted at users in scientific fields. IBM has sold the eServer Cluster 1350 package for some time, including its x335 and x345 servers along with storage systems and software. Now, Big Blue will also offer up its BladeCenter …

    Servers 21 May 2003, 20:51

  • Stretching broadband with meshed WiFi

    That's another fine mesh you've got me into...

    The Register's Wireless LAN Channel Mesh radio networks are definitely back in fashion. British developer BPO Solutions claims its Meshhopper fixed-mesh routing software works with ordinary 802.11b wireless Ethernet kit to build "WLAN microsites" able to share a broadband connection. The company says it has almost finished …

    Wireless 21 May 2003, 21:31