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29th May 2003 Archive

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  • HP will service VMware users

    We can't consolidate enough

    Hewlett-Packard has firmed up its relationship with software maker VMware, hoping to squeeze a few more dollars out of an industry-wide server consolidation campaign. HP already sold and supported VMware's ESX Server and GSX Server virtual machine products with its Intel-based servers but will now offer various services along …

    Servers 29 May 2003, 08:18

  • Merrill Lynch analyst deemed too close to Tyco

    But I bought them wine

    Another one of Merrill Lynch's elite analysts has been placed among the fallen by a U.S. regulator angered over dealings with troubled Tyco International. On Wednesday, NASD charged former research analyst Phua Young with publishing misleading reports on Tyco and with accepting freebies from the company. The alleged misconduct …

    Business 29 May 2003, 08:20

  • RealNetworks offers paid music downloads

    Cheaper, bigger

    RealNetworks, maker of the popular streaming media software, has launched an on-line music subscription service, letting users download songs for $0.79 apiece. The move from Real comes in the wake of Apple's popular iTunes Music Store, an on-line service launched at the end of April, which claimed to have sold more than one …

    Music and Media 29 May 2003, 08:23

  • Trojan Horse warning, as Cisco ‘gives away’ extensions to WLAN

    Land Grab

    The Register's Wireless LAN Channel Cisco was accused today of attempting to create an alternative standard to WiFi in the wireless networking market, by creating a new "CCX compatible" logo. The Cisco message is: "You need a smart 'edge' to the wireless Internet." But consultant Cees Links, a former vice-president at Agere, …

    Wireless 29 May 2003, 08:34

  • The falling dollar and the Tech sector

    Pressure on

    We are all aware that the US dollar recently declined to a four year low against the euro, writes Bob McDowall of Bloor Research. Perhaps, it is more accurate to state that the dollar has retreated from its overvaluation of the past four years. More importantly, many so-called experts suggest that the dollar will not recovers …

    Channel 29 May 2003, 08:42

  • ‘Too much cyber security’ at CIA

    Risk exclusion

    While other government agencies struggle with their cyber security practices, the Central Intelligence Agency apparently suffers from the opposite problem: too much security -- according to a recent study of the agency's use of information technology. In an unclassified report titled "Failing to Keep Up With the Information …

    Security 29 May 2003, 08:46

  • RealNetworks drops MusicNet for Listen.com

    Cheaper CD burns, but it's no Apple

    RealNetworks has transferred its allegiance from major label-backed online music service MusicNet to Listen.com's Rhapsody offering. Real's new service will be called RealOne Rhapsody. What's been grabbing web headlines is Real's plan to charge 79 cents per song, seen as a nod towards Apple's recently launched online Music …

    Music and Media 29 May 2003, 08:59

  • IOMO buys Covert Operations

    Mobile gaming consolidation

    UK mobile games developer IOMO has acquired mobile gaming studio Covert Operations for an undisclosed sum in one of the first internal consolidation moves within the mobile development sector in the UK. The deal will see all of Covert's staff being relocated to IOMO's studios in Eastleigh, Hampshire - no redundancies will be …

    Mobile 29 May 2003, 08:59

  • Sony to ramp chip spend to $9 billion over three years

    Launches home server with 90nm CPU

    Sony plans to spent ¥500 billion ($4.3 billion) over the next three years on chip fabrication facilities and the same figure on chip R&D, the chip giant said yesterday. This year alone it will spend ¥175 billion ($1.5 billion) on capex and a little less than that on R&D. Sony has already said it intends to invest ¥200 billion …

    Channel 29 May 2003, 09:24

  • Cellphone shipments grow up to 49 per cent in Q1

    Not necessarily good news for the biz

    Sales of mobile phone handsets grew by double-figure percentages in key regions during Q1, market watcher Strategy Analytics has reported. However, that's not necessarily good news for cellular network providers, handset vendors, or handset component makers, research from In-Stat/MDR suggests. SA's numbers show that GSM …

    Mobile 29 May 2003, 09:46

  • Lindows.com CEO pickets Bill Gates speech

    What do we want? Syntax. When do we want it?

    In a move which The Register feels moved to applaud, Lindows.com CEO Michael Robertson this week took to direct action in his struggle against Microsoft, handing out a two page "Fact Sheet on Bill Gates and the Microsoft Corporation" to the audience prior to a Gates speech at University of California, San Diego. Robertson is …

    Software 29 May 2003, 09:54

  • API expert claims Windows Explorer app breakthrough

    More secrets exposed, says Devos

    Whirling Dervishes Software, the company founded by Windows API expert Henk Devos, claims to have broken Microsoft's monopoly on applications that reside in Windows Explorer. Microsoft allegedly opened up Windows APIs last year, and Devos had some pithy comments on the subject. Now, Devos claims that Microsoft's disclosures …

    Software 29 May 2003, 10:37

  • Ask Jeeves flogs enterprise search biz

    Taps bond market for $100m

    Ask Jeeves has done a reverse FAST by flogging its enterprise search business. It will concentrate on its consumer business and is raising $100m in convertible notes to fund expansion. Jeeves Solutions' new owner is Kanisa Inc, a California developer of customer service software. It is stumping up $4.5m in cash and loan notes …

    Music and Media 29 May 2003, 10:42

  • Microsoft nets massive loss in Telewest sale

    Oh well

    Microsoft has flogged its 23 per cent stake in UK cableco, Telewest, to US telecoms outfit IDT Corporation for $5m in cash, netting a massive loss on its investment. The giant software outfit coughed up a whopping $2.6bn in stock three years ago for a slice of the UK's second biggest cable operator. At the time Microsoft said …

    Business 29 May 2003, 10:45

  • Sony-Ericsson P800 smartphone

    Review A Reg long-term test

    Since the days of the Newton, I've been waiting for a killer gadget that combines the functionality of a good PDA with the communication abilities of a mobile phone. The Sony Ericsson P800 was launched into exactly this gap in the market with much fanfare. Does it live up to the hype? Well, no it doesn't, but it is a good …

    Mobile 29 May 2003, 11:04

  • Translation from Swedish: the Sony Ericsson Codex!

    All present, mostly correct

    Reader Mikael Fransson has taken pity on those of our readers who were baffled by the machine-translated news report in the Swedish web site which first revealed the problems with the T610 phone from Sony-Ericsson. Fransson's translation is from this original Swedish story, which we covered yesterday. Headline Sony Ericsson: …

    Mobile 29 May 2003, 11:10

  • Avnet veep resigns following Compaq fraud suit

    Bob Nailed

    A senior executive at Avnet Computer Marketing resigned last Friday amid allegations that the company used counterfeit components in Compaq PCs. The resignation of Bob Nail, supply-chain management vice president at Avnet, has been accepted by the company's president, Rick Hamada. Nail had worked at Phoenix, Arizona based Avnet …

    Channel 29 May 2003, 11:23

  • BB in Europe ‘finally taking off’

    Yeah, but does anyone know how to land?

    An extra ten million people in Europe will hook up to broadband over the coming year, according to research published today. At the end of March some 40 million people accessed the Net using a broadband connection from home, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. But if current growth rates continue then more than 50 million …

    Telecoms 29 May 2003, 11:56

  • Clear Channelization of America to commence Monday

    Opinion Media pigopolist coup d'etat on schedule

    Regulations preventing the complete colonization of America's television airwaves by a handful of media cartels are set to be relaxed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday, much to the chagrin of the few surviving independent publishers and broadcasters and the few remaining American citizens not already …

    Business 29 May 2003, 12:30

  • UK Plc clueless about Web site value

    'Surprising'

    Two thirds of UK businesses haven't got a clue whether their Web site gives them value for money. Of the 500 UK businesses quizzed as part of some research or other, 65 per cent of companies were unable to measure the return on investment (ROI) from their sites. It seems they were simply unable to say whether the sites were …

    Small Biz 29 May 2003, 14:45

  • EU extends Safer Internet scheme

    MS gets generous with the IWF

    A European scheme to tackle illegal and harmful digital content is to be extended for another two years. The Safer Internet Action Plan - which supports a network of hotlines in Europe where people can report illegal content - has now been given the go-ahead by the European Parliament to run until the end of 2004. As part of …

    Music and Media 29 May 2003, 14:46

  • MobiliX v. Asterix in plea to top German court

    Galling Gauls

    The mobile open source project formerly known as MobiliX has stepped up its fight to have its long-running trademark dispute with the firm behind Asterix and Obelix heard by Germany's highest civil court. Les Editions Albert René claims MobiliX is similar in name to Obelix, a character in Asterix the Gaul, and so infringes on …

    Music and Media 29 May 2003, 14:49

  • Malaysian govt tells public to quit buying CDs, DVDs

    Only way to get prices down

    If the music and movie industry won't lower the price of CDs and DVDs, there's only one thing to do: punters should stop buying them. Just ask the Malaysian government. This week, Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk S Subramaniam told buyers to quit spending - temporarily, at least - to force the industry …

    Music and Media 29 May 2003, 15:55

  • 3DO Trips up, goes titsup

    Files for Chapter 11

    3DO, the one time console firm turned games software firm, has filed for Chapter 11. Trip Hawkins, chairman and CEO, said in a statement: "While we hope that this news will generate additional new opportunities, at this point we are focused on pursuing either the sale of the entire company or the sale of its assets." In …

    Personal 29 May 2003, 19:49

  • UK plc neglects basic VPN security

    Royaume-Uni - nul point

    Corporate UK is failing to configure and manage its firewalls and VPN services properly. Just like more publicised Web server vulnerabilities, issues with security software are frequently left unaddressed - months after a problem comes to light. The Fifth Annual NTA Monitor Security Audit found that risks present on corporate …

    Security 29 May 2003, 19:54

  • Wakey, Wakey it's Patching Day. Again

    MS issues roll-up security fix for IIS and much more

    It's patching time again for sys admins with the release of a further set of enterprise software patches by Microsoft last night. First up is a cumulative patch for Internet Information Service, Microsoft's Web server software. This includes the functionality of all security patches released for IIS 4.0 since Windows NT 4.0 …

    Security 29 May 2003, 19:57

  • HP aims low with new NAS system

    An SMB delight

    Hewlett-Packard will add to the low-end of its storage line with a new network attached storage (NAS) storage system slated to be announced next week at Microsoft's Tech-Ed conference. HP will roll out the StorageWorks NAS 1000s system, hoping to attract small and medium-sized businesses with low cost kit. HP has been Microsoft …

    Storage 29 May 2003, 22:36