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25th June 2003 Archive

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  • Fresh twist in nthellworld protest site saga

    Rival samizdat site launches )

    The long-running saga of disgruntled NTL users seeking a forum to express their displeasure at the cable operator has taken a fresh turn. For a months up until April 2002, nthellworld.com acted as a forum where disgruntled customers of NTL could let off steam or seek help from other users on discussion forums. Then, in a …

    Telecoms 25 Jun 2003, 09:14

  • Dixons to create 2,200 jobs

    Good results

    Dixons, the electronics and appliances retailer, plans to create 2,200 new jobs across the group this year following better than expected annual results. Analysts had expected Dixons to post pre-tax profits of between £285 million and £300 million, but in its results posted on Wednesday, the company reported a pre-tax profit of …

    Channel 25 Jun 2003, 09:26

  • Sony to demo Cell by March 2004

    The beating heart of the PS3

    Development on Sony's Cell microprocessor continues apace, with SCE boss Ken Kutaragi promising a shareholders meeting in Tokyo that demonstrations of the technology will happen within the current financial year. In fact, rumours from within the Japanese electronics industry suggest that the first Cell chips could already be …

    Personal 25 Jun 2003, 09:29

  • Smallest nation goes wireless – totally

    Very long way from anywhere

    If you go whale-watching at the Pacific island of Niue, somewhere near New Zealand, you should take your Centrino PC, because you'll be able to get on the Internet as soon as you moor up in harbour there. Free. The island has only 2,000 inhabitants, roughly, and they now all have WiFi access - if they can afford the PC needed …

    Wireless 25 Jun 2003, 09:36

  • So why has Linux failed to live up to expectations?

    Well...

    Paris held its first Linux Expo around five years ago and the hype then had Linux equalling or surpassing Windows on the desktop within five years, recalls Bruce Tober, who wrote about several of those Paris Expos. Linux is gaining significant ground, especially in the business world, but that early and optimistic prediction has …

    Hardware 25 Jun 2003, 09:51

  • Oracle hints there's more to come

    Refining pitch

    Coming hot on the heels of the announcement that PeopleSoft had agreed to acquire J.D. Edwards, Oracle's attempted hostile takeover of PeopleSoft took many by surprise, writes Fran Howarth, of Bloor Research. Many analysts and industry commentators speculated that this was just a move to derail the PeopleSoft-J.D. Edwards …

    Hardware 25 Jun 2003, 09:58

  • IBM hunts for Euro ISVs

    We want more

    IBM wants to get approximately 80 to 100 European headquartered ISVs into IBM's mid-market partner program by the end of 2003, up from the 50 or so in place today, writes Tony Lock of Bloor Research. Andreas Wodtke, Director of IBM Developer Relations EMEA. stresses that these will be "real" relationships that have significant …

    Software 25 Jun 2003, 10:03

  • Apple denies fiddling G5, Xeon tests

    Value of benchmarks as a whole still in question

    Apple has defended its benchmark comparison of its new Power Mac G5 and two Dell Pentium 4 and Xeon-based systems, stating that the tests performed and the way those tests were conducted is all above board. Far from adjusting the Intel-based machines to yield lower scores, Apple's contract tester, VeriTest, actually chose …

    Mac Channel 25 Jun 2003, 10:21

  • Bosses and workers split over flexi-working

    Surprised? We didn't think so

    Parents and business bosses are firmly split over the benefits of working from home, new research reveals. According to the Microsoft-commissioned study, flexi-working benefits are as high a priority as salary size to working parents but this demand was causing a conflict with 70 per cent of UK employers who were reluctant to …

    Small Biz 25 Jun 2003, 10:37

  • Intersil ships universal Wi-Fi chip

    Roam... everywhere

    WLAN chip maker Intersil has begun sampling its latest dual-band 802.11 chipset, Prism WorldRadio, which it claims can be used anywhere in the world. The chipset supports 802.11 b and g standards in the 2.4GHz and 802.11a in the 5GHz bands. However, it can tune into the entire WLAN spectrum in each band, 2.4-2.5GHz and 4.9-5. …

    Mobile 25 Jun 2003, 10:39

  • Claim your business grants now

    Abbey National shows how

    Small businesses are urged by Abbey National to take up the millions of pounds worth of grants left unclaimed every year. Huge amounts of money in potential grant funding for UK small firms are not being taken up – according to a Federation of Small Business survey only seven percent of small businesses were taking advantage of …

    Small Biz 25 Jun 2003, 10:42

  • Novell ports network service to Linux

    File and print

    Novell yesterday fleshed out its plans to make port its network services platform to Linux, with the announcement of Novell Nterprise Linux Services. Available later this year, Novell Nterprise Linux Services will provide an integrated package for file, print, messaging, directory and management services that runs on the Red …

    Hardware 25 Jun 2003, 10:49

  • PC, CE giants propose digital interoperability scheme

    DHWG is UPnP by any other name

    PC players and consumer electronics giants came together today to launch yet another industry body, this time charged with finding a way to make sharing digital content between digital devices much easier. The Digital Home Working Group (DHWG), initially conceived by Intel and Sony, is backed by Microsoft, Nokia, HP, IBM and …

    Personal 25 Jun 2003, 11:51

  • Techno cops needed to catch cyber criminals – Blunkett

    DNA-tastic

    Police must embrace cutting edge technology to stay ahead of criminals in the fight against crime, the Home Secretary will tell an audience of senior policemen tonight. David Blunkett is due to tell members of the Police Foundation that they need to make effective use of technology long before it gets into criminals hands if …

    Security 25 Jun 2003, 13:18

  • ATI Q3 turns loss to profit

    Sales grow

    ATI today reported Q3 2003 income of $12.4 million (five cents a share) on sales of $342.1 million. Those figures represent both year-on-year and sequential gains. This time last year, ATI said it lost $2 million on sales of $266.2 million, 22.2 per cent below the most recently completed quarter's sales. During Q2 3003, ATI …

    Channel 25 Jun 2003, 13:29

  • Motorola hurries release of 0.13µ G4

    Q4 production brought forward to Q3

    Motorola appears to have brought forward volume production of the next major G4-class PowerPC processor, the MPC7457, from Q4 to Q3. The 7457 remains the leading contender for upcoming Apple PowerBooks. While some Mac users hoped IBM's 64-bit PowerPC 970, which Apple is calling the G5, would make it into PowerBooks, the chip's …

    Mac Channel 25 Jun 2003, 14:12

  • Hitachi preps 250GB Serial ATA drive

    Reg Kit Watch Plus: Creative Labs launches GeForce FX 5900 Ultra card

    Hard Drive Hitachi Global Storage will ship its Deskstar7K250 250GB Serial ATA drive at the end of the month, the manufacturer said today. The 3.5in unit will be offered at capacities of 40, 80, 120, 160 and 250GB. Depending on capacity each drive has between one and three platters, and up to six GMR recording heads. The drive …

    Personal 25 Jun 2003, 14:58

  • We're UnitedLinux – are you Ready?

    Seeking partners

    UnitedLinux, the collective of Linux distro wannabes, hasbeens and neverweres, has set up a testing and self-certification programme for Independent Software Vendors (ISVs). ISVs who sign up for the UnitedLinux Ready get a free developer's copy for testing and validating their applications. Once certified, applications get to …

    Hardware 25 Jun 2003, 15:15

  • IBM lowers entry point with Express

    Suite spots for medium-sized business

    IBM has lowered the bar for its Express software license bundles, putting them in reach of medium-sized businesses for the first time. The company has assembled some software suites and finance options designed specifically for the mid-market - in its book, companies with 100-1,000 employees. The portfolio includes WebSphere …

    Hardware 25 Jun 2003, 15:34

  • Intel launches 2.5, 2.6GHz Celerons

    At last

    Intel rolled out two new desktop Celeron processors today, clocked at 2.5GHz and 2.6GHz. Derived from the original Pentium 4, the new chips operate on a 400MHz frontside bus and use a Socket 478 interface. The Celerons are fabbed at 0.13 micron, however, and feature only 128KB of on-die L2 cache. In 1000-unit quantities, the …

    Channel 25 Jun 2003, 16:10

  • Microsoft declares war on spam

    Bill Gates' anti-spam manifesto dissected

    Bill Gates yesterday pledged to step up Microsoft's efforts to fight rising spam nuisance which he described as a "pollution of the email ecosystem". In a note sent out to subscribers of Microsofts's executive email newsletter, Chairman Gates sketches the problems posed by the spam tsunami and outlines the software giant's …

    Security 25 Jun 2003, 16:17

  • Tiscali buys C&W's French Net ops

    Ebb and Flow

    Tiscali has scooped up the French internet ops of Cable & Wireless for &euro5.6m cash. It also inherits 100 customers and 120 C&W employees. The pan-European ISP says the deal will take its annual business-to-business revenues in France to €50m. C&W is retrenching to the domestic and Caribbean markets, following an …

    Music and Media 25 Jun 2003, 16:31

  • ‘FAUX News’ parody site draws FOX News lawyers

    Never make light of the White House Gazette

    A parody Web site called Agitproperties.com has drawn fire from FOX News legal beagles for selling an amusing line of 'FAUX News' and 'O'Reilly Youth' t-shirts and similar merchandise. The Austin, Texas group of "graphics designers and musicians" behind the site had been selling the shirts at anti-war demonstrations, until …

    Music and Media 25 Jun 2003, 19:19

  • Motorola to make Orange brand handsets

    Goodbye Moto

    Orange has selected Motorola to supply two handsets for its Signature own-brand line. The Motorola V500 and V600 handsets will "include flip screens, Bluetooth, integrated cameras, full-color browsers, quad-band functionality, Java gaming and photo messaging", RCR Wireless reports. Orange will start flogging the new handsets …

    Mobile 25 Jun 2003, 20:58

  • Line'em up! RIAA to sue thousands

    The RIAA took my baby away

    The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) has issued the biggest threat to date against online file-traders, saying it will sue thousands of individuals into submission. Starting Thursday, pigopolist grunts will begin combing P2P networks in search of industrious file traders. Once the RIAA has targeted a large store …

    Music and Media 25 Jun 2003, 21:15

  • Linux: it's the Desktop, Stupid!

    UI Phooey

    Why hasn't Linux lived up to the hype of the last few years? Bruce Tober posed this question today to several industry experts at the Linux User & Development Expo in Birmingham. Jon "Maddog" Hall, president of Linux International, notes that the Linux market falls into three potential segments, Corporate, SME and Personal …

    Hardware 25 Jun 2003, 21:30

  • Dell gives Itanium a second chance

    Maybe Madison will work

    Dell Computer has returned to Intel's 64bit fold with a new server based on the upcoming Itanium 2 (Madison) processor. Itanic has been an on/off again proposition for Dell. The company backed Intel when the first Itanium processor was released but, after shipping boxes for awhile, pulled back its support. Dell then skipped the …

    Servers 25 Jun 2003, 22:23