25th July 2003 Archive

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Stone thy neighbour

Photof*ck Friday

It's Friday, so it must be...Photofuck Friday! Each week, The Dutch engage in an online feast that is becoming increasingly popular and will make the satirical magazine Private Eye green with jealousy. Every Friday, The Dutch weblog Retecool ('ass cool') picks a topical issue and offers its readers a tool kit to create a …

Bootnotes 25 Jul 2003, 07:22
UK police build massive child porn database

Childbase

A computer image database which police hope will greatly speed the identification of paedophiles and their victims is being launched in the UK this week. The database, called Childbase, includes 220,000 photos and images of approximately 20,000 children obtained during police investigations into paedophile abuse. Many of the …

Music and Media 25 Jul 2003, 07:38
The Hackers Who Broke Windows

Delirium

The Last Stage of Delirium, the hacking group that laid open nearly every version of the Windows operating system last week, could use a little sleep, writes Deborah Radcliff of SecurityFocus. Since going public with the RPC buffer overflow bug that some are describing as the worst Windows security hole in history, the group has …

Security 25 Jul 2003, 07:49
'Mean/Evil' Packard row rumbles on

The tape ran out, apparently

HP has denied putting pressure on CNET to tone down a remark about co-founder Dave Packard by CEO Carly Fiorina which has caused offence to HP veterans and former employees. In an interview on Monday, Carly related how Dave Packard had been known as "The Evil One". Evil A less Satanic description was offered in later …

Hardware 25 Jul 2003, 08:52
Today is Sys Admin Day – again

Be happy, it's SAAD

Today marks the third annual Systems Administrator Appreciation Day, when the online world pays its respects to a sometimes forgotten segment of the IT workforce. Yes, it's a happy SAAD day (again), the one time in the year when its OK to stick your head around the server room door and be nice to your techies. Perhaps you might …

Data Networking 25 Jul 2003, 08:56
Intel to quash i865 PAT-like behaviour

Revised chipset on the way, apparently

If you want an Intel i865-based motherboard that's capable of offering Intel's Performance Acceleration Technology-style performance acceleration technology, you'd better get one sharpish - Intel is planning to modify the chipset to stop mobo makers activating it. So claim motherboard manufacturer sources cited by Xbit Labs. If …

Channel 25 Jul 2003, 09:09
Openwave offers ‘disruptive’ browser suite

Don't tell Marc Andreessen

It's hard to believe that Openwave, the folk who brought you WAP, could produce software that's in itself aesthetically dazzling and a seriously disruptive technology, but believe us you must. After the WAP hype collapsed, the company hunkered down to produce a ground-up rewrite of a software suite for mobile phones. The …

Mobile 25 Jul 2003, 10:06
Microsoft wins Motorola

Smartphone to launch this year

It's been a tough year for Microsoft in phones; but maybe the tide is turning. Motorola hasn't officially announced it yet, but MoDaCo has sneaked some pics of the new Microsoft-based clamshell phone. The new phone may just be the first to be based on the new phone operating software, carrying the Windows brand, instead of the …

Mobile 25 Jul 2003, 10:17
Nortel Networks stems red ink

Edging cautiously towards profitability

Nortel Networks has cut back its loses but is yet to climb back into profitability. The Canadian networking manufacturer yesterday reported dramatically smaller Q2 loses of $14 million on reduced revenues of $2.33 billion. That compares to losses of $697 million on revenue of $2.77 billion for the same period last year. In Q1 …

Data Networking 25 Jul 2003, 10:30
Unseasonal demand drives Western Digital profits up 73%

Sales up 26 per cent in traditionally 'slow' quarter

Hard drive maker Western Digital yesterday boasted a "strong" conclusion to an "outstanding" year when it reported its Q4 2003 results. During the quarter, WD shipped around 10.5 million drives which yielded revenues of $680 million, up 26 per cent on the same period last year. Shipments were up 31 per cent, implying a slight …

Personal 25 Jul 2003, 11:17
BT cock-up almost cripples island BB plan

Denies gaffe was deliberate

A company looking to bring broadband to the Isle of Wight (IoW) claims it was almost crippled following a blunder by telecoms giant BT. Broadband Wight (BBW) claims the cock-up cost it the chance to roll out a service ahead of rivals - including BT - putting back its plans to bring high-speed Net access to the island. BBW …

Telecoms 25 Jul 2003, 11:25
Gateway stems loss even as sales slide

Beats Street

Gateway beat Wall Street expectations when it yesterday announced a net loss of $73 million for its second quarter (22 cents a share). Analysts had been expecting a loss in the region of 28 cents a share. Gateway put the difference down to the results of a cost-cutting programme and "steadily increasing sales of higher margin …

Personal 25 Jul 2003, 12:27
Tiscali unveils satellite BB service in Italy

UK roll-out? Not yet...

Tiscali has launched a one-way broadband satellite service in Italy. The service - being provided using EutelSat's Opensky platform - costs from €24.95 (£17.70) a month and is aimed that those people who can't readily access ADSL or cable services. The TiscaliSat service comes in two flavours. TiscaliSat Light costs €24.95 a …

Telecoms 25 Jul 2003, 13:03
Nvida preps nForce for Transmeta TM8000

Doddle to do, thanks to HyperTransport

Nvidia is set to launch a version of its nForce chipset to support Transmeta's upcoming TM8000 processor, codenamed Astro. So claims web site NFI, attributing a 'high reliability' rating to the rumour. A bizarre choice, you might think. Certainly, Transmeta has had limited success with its x86 compatible, low power consumption …

Channel 25 Jul 2003, 13:04
Athletes train for first Mobile Phone Olympics

fstr, hghr, strgr

If you spot a large group of people hurling their phones across London's Clapham Common this weekend don't worry - it's only part of what is billed as the inaugural Mobile Phone Olympics. Sponsors of the event, mobile phone retailer Phones 4u and Sony Ericsson, hope the contest will attract up to 15,000 competitors. Mobile …

Mobile 25 Jul 2003, 13:12
MS mounts two-pronged attack on Linux server market

Record numbers, allegedly, plus a dollop of legal concerns

The nature of the two-pronged attack Microsoft will be mounting on Linux in the server market became clearer at yesterday's analyst meeting, as Ballmer and Gates on the one hand claimed a storming first few months for Windows 2003, and on the other ramped up "intellectual property" and "open ended liability" for customers issues …

Software 25 Jul 2003, 13:32
eBay posts record profits, ups forecast

Auction action

eBay has continued to defy the downturn, posting a 91 percent increase in second quarter revenue to $509.3 million. The on-line auctioneer and retailer said that its revenue for the April to June quarter rose to $509.3 million from $266.3 million for the same quarter last year. The firm's latest quarterly sales figure …

Business 25 Jul 2003, 13:36
Microsoft rethinks Japanese Xbox tactics

Cultural gap

With less than 500,000 Xboxen thought to have been sold in Japan since the console launched last year, and Tecmo's Dead or Alive-based titles the only games to top 40,000 units, Microsoft is starting to take the situation over there very seriously. Speaking at a press conference this week, Peter Moore spoke of how the company …

Personal 25 Jul 2003, 13:40
Microsoft world's number one IT brand

But it's not as loved as Sony (number seven)

Microsoft, IBM and Intel are the world's leading technology brands, well ahead of the likes of Sony and Apple, according to BusinessWeek magazine's annual survey of brand value. As the magazine rightly asks, how do you place a value on brand? BusinessWeek uses consultancy Interbrand's methodology: you work out its future …

Business 25 Jul 2003, 13:56
A virus ate my exam results

Indian Minister blames mix up on malicious code

The West Bengal Education Minister, Kanti Biswas, has blamed a computer virus after students received incorrect marks in Higher Secondary examinations this week. Biswas told the State Assembly in Calcutta that an unnamed virus attacked computer systems earlier this year, resulting in a number of errors on mark sheets. Nineteen …

Anti-Virus 25 Jul 2003, 14:01
Alcatel beefs up router security with Tripwire

Change management

Alcatel and Tripwire this week announced a strategic alliance to provide greater network protection. This shows just how far a layered approach needs to go, if all the attack angles are to be covered , writes John McIntosh of Bloor Research. The recently discovered Cisco flaw, that affects over 100 different Cisco products, …

Security 25 Jul 2003, 14:14
Young men fingered in online porn study

Steady on

Young, techno-savvy middle class men are most likely to be found peddling in e-porn. So says a new study from New Zealand, which looked into the backgrounds of 106 people investigated by the country's Censorship Compliance Unit. It found that all but one of those investigated for possessing illegal material was male, most were …

Music and Media 25 Jul 2003, 14:27
Hyperion: swooping for Brio Software

Brio can breathe easily again

Business intelligence vendor Hyperion Solutions has tabled a bid for struggling Brio Software in a stock deal worth about $142 million. The two companies' portfolios are highly complementary and the deal will allow Hyperion to target new BI suite entrants while Brio can focus on core product development without having to worry …

Hardware 25 Jul 2003, 14:27
Geneva court dismisses Motorola fraud appeal

Tussle with Telsim continues

Motorola has failed in its latest attempt to prove the owners of Telsim guilty of fraud, the Turkish cellular telco said today. The Geneva Court of Justice ruled that Motorola could not show it had sufficient evidence to back its allegations and consequently chucked the case out. Motorola had gone to the Court to appeal …

Mobile 25 Jul 2003, 14:48
For sale: Motorola's PowerPC 7457 for $5046.96

Very expensive way to upgrade your Mac

Can't wait for new PowerBooks based on Motorola's upcoming PowerPC 7457 chip? Fancy upgrading your existing system by whipping out its current G4 and swapping in the new model? Well now you can - at a price. If you've got a little over $5000 to spare, you can beat the crowd to the hottest Mac processor this side of IBM's 64-bit …

Mac Channel 25 Jul 2003, 16:13
SA police arrest man in Absa Net bank fraud case

New customers sign up in any case

South African police have arrested a man on suspicion of the fraud involving the illegal transfers of hundreds of thousands of rand from Internet accounts held at Absa, the country's largest bank. The case involves the unauthorised removal of R500,000 (£41,300) from bank accounts run by an estimated ten separate Absa customers …

Security 25 Jul 2003, 16:19
Tiscali UK cans two-way satellite BB service

Nails flag to one-way mast

Tiscali UK has officially pulled the plug on its two-way satellite broadband service after deciding that the service was too expensive for the mass-market. In an email sent today, Tiscali told the handful of people still using the service that it plans to discontinue the two-way broadband satellite trial service on 31 August …

Telecoms 25 Jul 2003, 16:27
RIAA blocks attacks with TST-Secure-OS

Shh. It's a secret.

It's time for would be RIAA attackers to run for the hills. The pigopolists have installed TST-Secure-OS on their Web servers. This Web server brand is not well know to hacker neophytes. Those in-the-know, however, tremble in fear when TST's rock-solid software rears its ugly head. The code was developed as part of a ten-year, …

Music and Media 25 Jul 2003, 17:01
Motorola to ship Microsoft smartphone? Just ask

Build to order

Reuters yesterday reported that Motorola was bringing a Microsoft-powered smartphone to market later this year. This would represent a major win for Redmond, which has failed to sign a Tier One handset vendor for its software platform despite lobbying hard for six years. And Motorola is a prize indeed: it's the world's second …

Mobile 25 Jul 2003, 23:56
Letters Netscape – we hardly ~~knew~~ missed you

re: AOL kills Netscape Last week AOL jettisoned its Netscape browser brand, throwing the development team overboard with a $2 million lifebelt. Mozilla and its derivatives, of course, will live on, as long as there's a body prepared to maintain and develop the code. But it marks a watershed because AOL was a multinational …

Letters 25 Jul 2003, 23:57