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3rd June 2003 Archive

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  • We've seen the future, Indian Prez tells Gates – and you're not in it

    Rocket science

    Each year, while Bill Gates parties at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Richard M Stallman makes a trip to Porto Alegre. Stallman takes part in discussions on alternatives to globalization, US-style, at the World Social Forum. His travel choice appears to be paying off. Last week Indian President Dr Abdul Kalam called for a …

    Software 3 Jun 2003, 03:20

  • Sun pushes faster CPUs, server price cuts

    Nips and tucks at low-end

    Sun Microsystems has sweetened up part of its low-end server line with faster chips and price cuts. Starting Tuesday, Sun will begin shipping its eight processor V880 server with 1.05GHz UltraSPARC III CPUs. In addition, Sun will trim prices on its four processor V480 system and the V880 by between 17 percent and 25 percent. …

    Servers 3 Jun 2003, 08:32

  • Motorola to boost 0.13µ PowerPCs with low-k dielectrics

    Speed jumps put Moto back in the Apple game?

    Speculation that Motorola may soon cease to be a supplier of processors to Apple may be premature. The chip maker yesterday said it had successfully implemented low-k dielectric materials in its 0.18 micron silicon-on-insulator (SOI) processors, bringing an estimated 20 per cent speed bump to the PowerPC line. Motorola expects …

    Mac Channel 3 Jun 2003, 09:36

  • FutureMark: Nvidia didn't cheat

    Benchmark maker pulls back from the brink

    It's official: Nvidia didn't fix its 3DMark 03 figures after all. So says no less a source than 3DMark 03 developer FutureMark, in a jointly issued press release put out this morning. It appears the two companies had "detailed discussions" following FutureMark's announcement last month that its investigation into Nvidia's …

    Channel 3 Jun 2003, 10:54

  • SEC opens IBM's books

    Fact-finding investigation

    IBM yesterday admitting that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating how the company accounted for a proportion of its revenue in 2000 and 2001. In a statement, IBM said that it "believes that the investigation arises from a separate investigation by the SEC of a customer of IBM's Retail Store Solutions …

    Business 3 Jun 2003, 10:58

  • Sonicblue's Linux tech toys head for final (?) roundup

    Dead? Maybe not yet...

    Sonicblue, producer of several interesting Linux-based devices, filed for Chapter 11 earlier this year and sold off its ReplayTV and Rio business units as part of its survival bid. But although hardware supplies are drying up and official support has been largely cut off, a weird side-effect of Sonicblue's difficulties is that …

    Personal 3 Jun 2003, 11:10

  • Invensys sells Baan to US investment firms

    Cashing in at a loss

    Invensys today announced the sale of its enterprise application subsidiary, Baan, to two US investment groups for $135 million in cash. Cerberus Capital Management and General Atlantic Partners plan to combine Baan with rival ERP vendor SSA Global Technologies, which the two investment firms already own. In a statement, …

    Hardware 3 Jun 2003, 11:57

  • Intel offers Elpida $100m to drive DDR 2 production

    Buys non-voting stock, signs R&D deal

    Intel confirmed today that it plans to investing $100 million in Japanese DRAM maker Elpida. The real deal is that the two companies will align their DRAM development plans allowing them to co-create "new DRAM architectures". For that, read 'DDR 2', which Intel plans to implement in its server chipsets next year, and so wants …

    Channel 3 Jun 2003, 12:11

  • Government preps one-stop hub for e-services

    Will the punters start coming?

    The e-Envoy is due to announce a major new eGovernment venture that will create a single access point for online services, writes Ian Cuddy, of eGov monitor Weekly. The Online Government Store will bring together the various e-services scattered across department websites into a central hub or 'one-stop shop', where citizens …

    Music and Media 3 Jun 2003, 12:27

  • Net saves SMEs £4bn a year

    What would we do without it?

    The Internet saves small businesses in the UK more than £4bn a year, according to research published today to mark the start of the Internet World conference and exhibition in London. The research found that seven out of ten of all small businesses in the UK have invested in the Internet. Those behind today's study reckon this …

    Small Biz 3 Jun 2003, 12:36

  • Chip biz body cuts 2003 growth forecast

    Even new figure may be too high

    The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organisation has scaled back the amount by which its expects the global chip business to grow this year. Last October, it predicted that the industry would grow by 16.6 per cent during 2003. Now it has cut that forecast to just 11.5 per cent. That represents a shortfall of $7.2 …

    Channel 3 Jun 2003, 12:37

  • Gartner predicts strong handset sales

    Samsung share grows

    Mobile phone handset sales in the first quarter were much brisker than expected and could reach 470 million units by the end of the year. According to new figures from research company Gartner Dataquest, sales reached 112.7 million handsets in the January to March quarter, a rise of 18 percent over the same period last year. …

    Mobile 3 Jun 2003, 12:41

  • BT, Carphone Warehouse: accusations fly

    'Confuse and mislead'

    BT and Carphone Warehouse are set to go head to head in the fixed line call market. Carphone Warehouse is eager to beat BT's tariffs but BT has accused its rival of confusing and misleading consumers in the process. As the two companies scrap it out, the increased competition means cheaper call rates and more choice for …

    Data Networking 3 Jun 2003, 12:47

  • Sony announces UK PS2 online details

    June 11

    The PlayStation 2 will finally go online in the UK on June 11 as the Network Adapter kit arrives at retail, priced at £24.99, with two multiplayer-enabled titles available at launch and several more to come. The official launch of the service follows several months of consumer trials, which Sony describes as successful, and …

    Personal 3 Jun 2003, 12:57

  • Amazon trying to license Apple's Music Store – report

    Waiting for Windows

    Amazon is talking to Apple about licensing the Mac maker's online Music Store, the New York Post reports. The paper claims the negotiations are at an "advanced" stage, but its sources say that the deal is by no means a done thing. Amazon has yet to offer digital downloads for sale, despite "looking at it for years", as CEO …

    Mac Channel 3 Jun 2003, 13:26

  • More on the PeopleSoft JDE deal

    But what does it all mean?

    Yesterday's news that PeopleSoft is acquiring JD Edwards took many by surprise, writes Fran Howarth, of Bloor Research. But PeopleSoft has made no secret about its growth ambitions over the last 15 months or so, and was touted as a potential acquirer of Baan. What has taken people aback is the scale of the acquisition. Many had …

    Hardware 3 Jun 2003, 13:41

  • Businesses love broadband

    Yeah, yeah, yeah

    Nine out of ten businesses now hooked up to broadband wouldn't go back to dial-up access - even if it was free. So said BT's chief broadband officer, Alison Ritchie, who used a brief speech at Internet World conference and exhibition to underline BT's commitment to broadband. Trade and Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, was …

    Small Biz 3 Jun 2003, 13:43

  • So what's your oldest piece of kit?

    UK printer firm still uses IBM Datamaster PC

    Small firms are not investing enough in office technology to ensure their future growth, according to corporate turnaround specialist Begbies Traynor. In a confidential poll, the firm asked over 200 individual owner-managers of small businesses which was their oldest piece of office technology still in regular use including …

    Small Biz 3 Jun 2003, 13:47

  • Halifax bins WAP banking

    TTFN

    Halifax is to drop its WAP mobile banking service at the end of the month, ciiting lack of demand. In a statement on its site, Halifax said: "From 25th June 2003 the Halifax will no longer provide a WAP mobile banking service. Therefore anyone who currently views their Halifax accounts using their WAP mobile phone will no …

    Mobile 3 Jun 2003, 13:51

  • Italian police raiding P2P users – not!

    Panic Attack

    Italian Net users are in panic mode after leading newspaper and website Repubblica.it published an article last week claiming that the Guardia di Finanza (tax police) is prosecuting over 3,000 P2P users for illegal file sharing, staging a massive raid. The article has since been picked up by all media outlets, including national …

    Music and Media 3 Jun 2003, 14:23

  • BOFH cops a virus

    Episode 10 Bring the tranquiliser gun

    BOFH 2003: Episode 10 Ah mornings! There's nothing like a leisurely cup of coffee, feet up on the table, enjoying the morning news. Well - reading people's email - but same difference. "Brown in accounts is sniffing around the new mail room girl again," The PFY comments. "Yes, I saw that yesterday - the odd 'what you doing …

    BOFH 3 Jun 2003, 15:08

  • HP sees blades reviving thin clients

    Kiss of life

    HP plans to use blade servers in combination with thin clients to serve as PC replacements in the coming years. The company has revealed plans to push clunky hardware off the worker's desk and into the server room, hoping to make company-wide PC management easier, The New York Times and InfoWorld report. Shane Robison, CTO at …

    Hardware 3 Jun 2003, 19:43

  • Gartner restates server stats – analyst disappears

    Coincidence?

    Gartner has retracted its most recent quarterly server numbers and published revised statistics. The new numbers show that HP actually saw revenue decline as opposed to the 54 percent gain first reported. The analyst working on the HP numbers has since left the company for reasons unknown, The Register has learned. Gartner …

    Servers 3 Jun 2003, 21:57

  • IBM, Martha Stewart – dropping together

    United by stock declines

    Add a falling stock price and a little corporate scandal to the list of things IBM and Martha Stewart have in common. Read on. Both IBM and the queen of clean living saw their respective shares tumble in trading today, as various federal probes made investors jumpy. IBM's stock dipped just more than 4 percent, while the tech- …

    Business 3 Jun 2003, 23:02

  • Lawrence Lessig's birthday spam

    "This unsolicited email was published under a Creative Commons License"

    It looks like copyright crusader Professor Lawrence Lessig needs a Mary Poppins to tidy his computer. With her supernatural powers, Disney's nanny could bring order to the most chaotic of households. During those long, anxious hours - staring into the computer, the dark forces of the copyright pigopolists weighing heavily on …

    Bootnotes 3 Jun 2003, 23:12