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16th June 2003 Archive

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  • Linux in Europe

    The State of things

    Following the recent decision by the City of Munich to opt for Linux on the desktop, it is worth taking stock of the progress of Linux in government circles across Europe, writes Robin Bloor, of Bloor Research This is, in my view, a determining point in the Linux story, because if European governments move to Linux in a big way …

    Software 16 Jun 2003, 08:30

  • Congress aims SODA at DoJ snooping

    Give us just a little bit more

    The U.S. government's most secret class of Internet spying, telephone wiretaps and physical searches would become slightly less secret under legislation proposed this week reflecting lawmakers' growing unease with the Justice Department's use of expanded surveillance powers. The Surveillance Oversight and Disclosure Act (SODA) …

    Security 16 Jun 2003, 08:39

  • Orange preps next smartphone

    It's a Tanager

    NewsWireless.net updated the article below here. Summary: Orange says it is prepping an new SPV, a Tanager, out in mid-July. The email allegedly sent by Orange employee Julian Hope is, it says a hoax. The company is trying to track down the source. Orange wants beta testers for its next smartphone. You'd probably think it …

    Mobile 16 Jun 2003, 08:50

  • Elpida samples 256Mb mobile SDRAM

    Big power saving

    Memory maker Elpida has begun sampling is 0.11 micron 256Mb SDRAM chips for mobile systems. Elpida claims each chip consumes just 35 per cent of the power that a multi-chip package based on two 128Mb devices requires. The chip will be offered at operational voltages of 3.3V and 2.5V. The single-die device is half the size of …

    Channel 16 Jun 2003, 08:56

  • NTL promises to improve email service

    Fingers crossed

    NTL is to increase its email capacity and remove unread emails in a bid to solve its long-running email problems. Months of problems came to a head last week when NTL's service went belly-up, leaving punters without email for days on end. In an email to punters today the cableco apologised for the "intermittent technical …

    Music and Media 16 Jun 2003, 09:25

  • What does consolidation mean for the customers?

    Errr....

    The past couple of weeks have certainly been interesting in the enterprise business applications space, with tit-for-tat announcements coming almost daily from the major players, writes Fran Howarth, of Bloor Research. Many have been expecting consolidation for some time. History tells us that whenever five or so big players …

    Hardware 16 Jun 2003, 09:31

  • SAP signs eBay for auction front-end

    Inventory dumper

    Why build industry marketplaces when you've got eBay? This seems to be the conclusion drawn by SAP which has built an integrated auction management system using eBay as the front end. SAP and eBay are to promote the service to SAP's 19,600 customers as a cost-effective way of dumping excess inventory and promoting cash-flow. …

    Hardware 16 Jun 2003, 10:05

  • How to get a 3G handset for nothing

    Your step-by-step guide to upgrading your mobile

    Those readers suffering from deep feelings of social inadequacy as they watch their affluent friends sending full-colour polyphonic video clips or 3D Java-enabled text messages from their 3G handsets might be interested in the following guide to obtaining any mobile phone for nothing. Sounds too good to be true? Well, the …

    Mobile 16 Jun 2003, 10:06

  • WLAN goes gangbusters

    Leader of the Pack

    Wireless LAN shipments more than doubled in 2002. According to analysts Gartner, worldwide WLAN equipment shipments totalled 19.5 million units in 2002, 120 per cent up from 2001 shipments of 8.9 million units. Revenues increased a more modest 29 per cent because of the falling price of kit as the market becomes commoditised …

    Wireless 16 Jun 2003, 10:14

  • MPs hold public inquiry into spam

    Curse

    The All Party Parliamentary Internet Group (APIG) is to hold a public inquiry into how to combat the ever-growing spam. The inquiry will see if legislation can be drawn up to beat the spammers. It will also examine whether technology can be used to hit reduce the amount of spam clogging up the Net. Derek Wyatt MP, anti-spam …

    Security 16 Jun 2003, 10:17

  • Child porn-lite users to wriggle free from court hook

    Case disposal

    People who download child porn from the Internet could escape prosecution under new guidelines. Police are to be given the discretion to caution suspects Only suspects with more than 16 child porn images on their computers - or with relevant previous convictions - face charges under new police guidelines, The Sun reports. The …

    Music and Media 16 Jun 2003, 10:41

  • NTT DoCoMo touts longer lasting 3G phones

    About time

    NTT DoCoMo, Japan's dominant mobile operator, is to offer new 3G handsets with longer battery life. The company said in a statement that new handsets, made by Fujitsu and NEC, will run for between 200 hours and 240 hours, up from the 170 hours to 180 hours of standby time on NTT's older 3G phones. The new handsets will also …

    Mobile 16 Jun 2003, 11:07

  • When will your phone become a TV?

    Nokia peeks at DVB

    Although the popular prints devote themselves to the threat posed to cellular manufacturers by WLAN, Nokia has identified future opportunities in streaming video. "Digital Video will bring the broadcasting battle line to mobility," said Nokia President Pekka Ala-Pietilä at a two-day briefing for the world's press in Helsinki. " …

    Mobile 16 Jun 2003, 11:14

  • Bad raps for non-hacks

    Show up bureacrats at your peril

    A few odd cases show that you don't have be a digital desparado to be accused of a cybercrime... particularly if you embarrass the wrong bureaucrats. Some recent (and not so recent) cases illustrate how computer security professionals and well intentioned whistle-blowers face a genuine risk of running afoul of computer crime …

    Security 16 Jun 2003, 11:33

  • BT! and! Yahoo! in! BB! marriage!

    AOL target for new access/content venture

    BT has extended its relationship with Yahoo! to launch a new broadband service aimed at taking on content and access giant AOL UK. BT Openworld's existing high-speed service will be re-named BT Yahoo! Broadband and will cost £29.99 a month. The equation is simple. BT provides the access, customer service and billing - Yahoo! …

    Telecoms 16 Jun 2003, 11:49

  • HK firm builds portable Dreamcast

    Cool, but illegal

    A Hong-Kong based manufacturer is producing a portable version of Sega's discontinued Dreamcast console, featuring a built in LCD monitor and speakers - but many importers are refusing to stock the machine as it infringes Sega's copyrights. The system, sold under the name Treamcast (we're not entirely sure why), is packaged in …

    Personal 16 Jun 2003, 12:03

  • 181 Italians charged in €100m software raids

    And another 10,300 under investigation

    Italian police have charged 181 people, following raids on one of Europe's biggest bootleg software rings. They seized €118m worth of illegal software, music and films and estimate that the counterfeiting operation had an annual turnover of €100m. Another 10,300 people are under investigation. That's not a ring, that's a town …

    Channel 16 Jun 2003, 14:09

  • BT sacks 200 in porn clampdown

    Enough

    BT has sacked 200 staff over the last 18 months for accessing pornography while at work, according to figures published in the Sunday Telegraph. Ten of those reprimanded by the giant telco were reported to the police with a number facing court action. At least one of those received a prison sentence, according to a BT spokesman …

    Music and Media 16 Jun 2003, 14:15

  • Seagate dips toe in notebook HDD market

    Reg Kit Watch Plus new 'disposable' Canon BubbleJets

    Hard Drive Seagate has begun shipping its Momentus notebook hard drive family to PC manufacturers, the company said today, signing up both HP and Acer as customers if they're gushing praise for the product is anything to go by. Momentus drives spin at 5400rpm but consume only as much power as a 4200rpm drive would, Seagate …

    Personal 16 Jun 2003, 14:27

  • Labour site defaced

    'These things happen'

    Labour officials had red faces today - no doubt matching their political leanings - after the Party's site was vandalised early this morning. The usual dry political spin was replaced with a picture of George Bush carrying his dog bearing the face of a somewhat stunned Tony Blair. A rather crotchety Labour spin doctor said: " …

    Security 16 Jun 2003, 14:45

  • Nokia offers mobile security and print-on-demand

    Intros glow-in-the-dark 3100 phone too

    Nokia today announced new mobile security and print-on-demand services. It also launched two new handsets, the consumer-friendly 3100 and the mid-range multimedia-oriented 6600 (check out Nokia's comment on its new smartphone here.) The 6600 is based on the Symbian 7.0S operating system and Nokia's own Series 60 user interface …

    Mobile 16 Jun 2003, 14:56

  • Nokia launches mass market smartphone

    Not just for skateboarders, poseurs any more?

    Nokia describes the new 6600, launched in Helsinki today, as its most important smartphone to date - a device that unlike its predecessors, is priced to appeal to the mid-market. It's a Series 60 device that's slightly smaller, and at 122g, a little lighter, than last year's 7650. Both screen and camera have been significantly …

    Channel 16 Jun 2003, 14:58

  • Network cards and dodgy Win 2003 drivers

    Security Haphazard

    Several network interface card device drivers that ship with Windows Server 2003 have been found to disclose information, according to an advisory by security firm Next Generation Security Software (NGS Software). NGS Software compares the vulnerability to the 'Etherleak' frame padding issue announced by @Stake in January 2003 …

    Security 16 Jun 2003, 15:06

  • Massive growth in Linux is ‘historic inevitability’

    IDC paints bright future for Penguinistas

    Analysts IDC Research are predicting massive growth in the Linux server market - and a wider use of the open source operating system on desktops - over the next four years. This year IDC expects Linux to ship on over 162,000 servers in Western Europe, a market worth $621 million. By 2007 this figure is expected to triple in …

    Servers 16 Jun 2003, 16:16

  • PeopleSoft shows J.D. Edwards the money

    Adds cash to bid

    PeopleSoft has reworked its bid for J.D. Edwards, hoping to convince shareholders the deal should proceed no matter what Oracle says. A new agreement has PeopleSoft paying $863 million in cash and issuing 52.6 million shares of stock to scoop up enterprise app maker J.D. Edwards. Shareholders can pick the previous $1.7 billion …

    Hardware 16 Jun 2003, 19:37

  • Veritas stung by Microsoft support snafu

    Now you see it, now you don't

    Veritas is playing a nasty game of hide and seek with features in its flagship Backup Exec software. The storage software maker earlier this year said the release of Backup Exec 9.0 would from day one take advantage of all the bells and whistles offered in Microsoft's Windows Server 2003. Most notably, Veritas assured users …

    Software 16 Jun 2003, 20:55

  • eBlaster spyware has Achilles heel

    Review Well designed, yet easily defeated

    Few applications illustrate the dual nature of consumer technology as both constructive and destructive better than computer spyware. While it has a legitimate use by parents monitoring their children's on-line comings and goings, it has equal potential to violate the privacy of adults both at home and on the job. So when …

    Security 16 Jun 2003, 21:44

  • SCO pulls AIX licence, calls for permanent ban

    IBM to ship on

    Terminating IBM's AIX licence wasn't enough for the SCO Group on Monday. The company has asked for a permanent injunction blocking IBM from shipping AIX. To steal a line from Bill Hicks, SCO's balls are so big, you would need a wheelbarrow to cart them about. The court has already ordered extra support for the witness stand. …

    Hardware 16 Jun 2003, 23:45