9th June 2003 Archive

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Free Software Foundation probes Linksys

Linux code in them thar access points?

The Register's Wireless LAN Channel Linksys is alleged to have code in its 54 megabit wireless access points, code which should be made public, because it's Linux code. The accusation, from the Linux Kernel Mailing List, has excited non-Windows PC users, because it means that if Linksys can be persuaded to abide by the terms …

Wireless 9 Jun 2003, 09:19
Motorola looking to sell PowerPC producer – report

No wonder Apple's keen on IBM

Speculation that Apple is looking to IBM to take up the role of prime supplier for Mac microprocessor may not hinge on price, as some observers have suggested, but on the long-term viability of Motorola's desktop PowerPC line. It's not the company's current stance that's under question, but if Motorola sells its semiconductor …

Mac Channel 9 Jun 2003, 09:21
Overcoming ‘Security By Good Intentions’

Opinion The Redmondian Law of Unintended (But Accept It Anyway) Consequences

Last week Microsoft announced plans to revise the process it uses to provide patches that fix problems with its software. While IT executives around the world may be swooning in gratitude at this latest demonstration of 'Trustworthy Computing' in action, those in the real world of IT, such as system administrators, network …

Security 9 Jun 2003, 09:45
BT passes one million BB milestone

Cuts registration trigger levels

BT has hit its magic milestone of one million wholesale broadband connections, the monster telco confirmed today. The target for summer 2003 was set back in February last year when BT had just 145,000 connections. Marking today's achievement, BT has also announced that it is to reduce every trigger level by 50 registrations …

Telecoms 9 Jun 2003, 09:46
Adding Security to MCSE

Opinion More to networks than security

Shiftless third-party prep courses have made MCSE certification less valuable. Is Microsoft's new security cert doomed to the same fate, asks Tim Mullen, SecurityFocus columnist. When you and I consider the word "traffic," images of data packets and protocol streams inevitably spring to mind. However, the everyday users that we …

Security 9 Jun 2003, 10:09
Apple out to acquire Napster owner?

Roxio takeover makes sense

Apple is in talks to buy Napster, Mac rumours site LoopRumors has claimed, citing "reliable sources". Well, not Napster per se but Roxio, the CD burning software specialist, which itself acquired Napster's assets for $5 million after the peer-to-peer pioneer declared itself bankrupt last summer. Roxio also owns PressPlay, the …

Mac Channel 9 Jun 2003, 10:30
Sun preps $500m Java brand push

Big Bucks

Sun is to lead a $500 million marketing campaign aimed at making Java, its programming technology, one of the world's best-known technology brands. At the annual JavaOne conference in San Francisco this week, the company is expected to announce the "Java Powered" campaign, which will see Sun and its industry partners investing …

Hardware 9 Jun 2003, 11:50
Conference to tackle lack of rural BB

As easy as ABC

The Access to Broadband Campaign (ABC) is holding a one-day conference next month to address the issue of bringing affordable broadband to rural areas. Speakers from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Radio Communications Agency and the Broadband Stakeholder Group will join local campaigners and industry …

Small Biz 9 Jun 2003, 11:52
SuSE makes its bid to move business off Windows

Perhaps sir would like some desktops to go with his enterprise server?

SuSE Linux today releases its bid for the corporate desktop market, SuSE Linux Desktop, intended as a stablemate for the Enterprise Server SuSE released last autumn. Those not wishing to be unnecessarily confused should note the slight difference in the tagline from SuSE Office Desktop, which the company released earlier this …

Software 9 Jun 2003, 12:01
Palm to extend Tungsten PDA line in Q3

New models to feature IBM Java code

Palm will ship at least one new Tungsten PDA in the autumn, the company said today. And we should learn this week whether the pictures of the Tungsten-T2, which appeared on the web last week, are the Real McCoy. Palm said it will demonstrate the new model at the JavaOne show, which opens tomorrow in San Francisco's Moscone …

Mobile 9 Jun 2003, 12:29
Fujitsu Siemens banks on *nix, mobile and the channel

CEO rules out Sun bid, dismisses SCO lawsuit

Fujitsu Siemens says it is outperforming competitors in a declining IT market by improving internal efficiency and committing to training its channel partners. A focus on the company's mobility and server products helped Fujitsu Siemens Computers to grow first quarter UK sales by 13 per cent in a market which declined by 2 per …

Channel 9 Jun 2003, 12:52
The Bastard Interviewer from Hell

Episode 4 Above board and politically correct

BOFH 2003: Episode 4 There's nothing like a Job Interviewing for a little bit of time off work, and with our current lack of both Head of IT (serious burns after a nasty transformer explosion) and Boss (voted out of the building by a mass of public opinion expressed on an intranet website) the tide appears to be out in the …

BOFH 9 Jun 2003, 13:23
BOFH and the Pay Rise

Episode 3 Managing expectations

BOFH 2003: Episode 3 So I roll into work and almost run into Head of IT - who's eagerly loitering around the secretary's cubicle in much the same manner he probably loiters around Russell Square of an evening. Seeing the data lamp on the secretary's printer flashing calmly, I feel obliged to slip into the support role. " …

BOFH 9 Jun 2003, 13:27
SMEs sniff at smelly techies

This could get ugly

Companies that hire IT support complain that some techies turning up are patronising, suffer from BO and halitosis and are dressed in "scruffy trainers" and "heavy metal t-shirts". This rather uncomplimentary picture of tech support staff comes courtesy of Surrey-based IT services outfit Blue Screen, which quizzed around 100 …

Small Biz 9 Jun 2003, 13:28
Liverpool Uni opts for Dell, Red Hat in supercomputer cluster

'Much cheaper than Unix'

The University of Liverpool today unveiled a new supercomputer cluster which is expected to be one of the World's 100 most powerful systems when it goes live next month. The cluster comprises 940 Intel Pentium 4-powered, Dell PowerEdge 650 HPCCs, and will be used for mapping global virus outbreaks, such as SARS, as well as …

Servers 9 Jun 2003, 13:53
Spam makes kids feel ‘uncomfortable and offended’

Nasty business

More than 80 per cent of kids say they receive "inappropriate" spam every day. So says security software outfit Symantec which found that half of those who took part in its survey felt "uncomfortable and offended" when seeing dodgy emails. The survey, which advises parents to talk to their children about what they see online, …

Security 9 Jun 2003, 14:26
Milton Keynes to assess wireless broadband access

New city, old cabling

BT can't offer you ADSL. Your local cable TV company isn't much help either. So what do you do if you want broadband Internet access? If you're a British town council hoping that high-speed Internet connectivity will help drive the local economy in the 21st Century, you have only one option: offer it yourself. That's certainly …

Telecoms 9 Jun 2003, 16:27
HP claims IBM price scalp for Cisco storage switches

Stretching the fabric

HP has begun reselling Cisco's storage switches - for 30 per cent less than charged by IBM. HP is to flog Cisco's MDS 9509 director and MDS 9216 fabric switch at roughly the same price it quotes for competing switches from MacData and Brocade, reports Byte and Switch. HP has certified the Cisco switches for Windows, HP-UX, and …

Storage 9 Jun 2003, 18:12
Sun and Intel friends for a day

Jintel?

Several gallons of oil must have been poured over the PR works within Sun Microsystems and Intel as a shared Java announcement was produced Monday. It's rare to see Sun and Intel team on anything, so the words "Java" and "XScale" flashing out from the same release produced a shock. The deal between the companies will see Sun …

Mobile 9 Jun 2003, 18:13
Avecho goes toe to toe with MessageLabs

Clean mail service goes corporate

Avecho, a managed service scanning the email of consumers and SMEs for viruses and spam, is branching out into the enterprise. The company has gone live with services designed to protect ISPs and corporate customers. The firm's virusCENSOR and spamCENSOR packages are run from a secure server farm and are designed to protect …

Security 9 Jun 2003, 18:23
PeopleSoft says Oracle is atrocious

Take your bid somewhere else

There was no shortage of disgust from the PeopleSoft camp after Oracle made a less than exhilarating bid for the company last week. PeopleSoft executives digested Oracle's offer for a couple of hours before issuing a curt press release. The statement made clear that the CEO's office objects to the deal and put earlier rhetoric …

Hardware 9 Jun 2003, 18:46
JD Edwards says Oracle is anti-competitive

Detect a theme, here?

Oracle's hostile bid for PeopleSoft is likely to be blocked on anti-trust grounds, according to the chief executive of J D Edwards, whose company last week agreed to sell itself to PeopleSoft. Last week the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) sector was shaken from its normal torpor when an agreed off from PeopleSoft to buy mid- …

Hardware 9 Jun 2003, 18:46
IBM cooking up Intel server kit

On Xeon, On Itanic

IBM is gearing up a pair of its high-end Intel-based servers for launch in the next couple of months. IBM has replacements in waiting for its current Xeon x440 server and its Itanium (McKinley) x450 server. The new models follow along with IBM's naming-scheme of choice. Say, "Hello," to the x445 and x455 servers. IBM …

Servers 9 Jun 2003, 22:32