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21st August 2003 Archive

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  • More kids want to be hackers than rockers

    What do you want to be when you grow up?

    Small business owners concerned about the number and quality of IT workers have been given hope for the future - a new survey has revealed that working with computer technology is the most popular career path for children, ahead of being elected prime minister or even becoming a pop star. As reported by Startups.co.uk, over …

    Small Biz 21 Aug 2003, 08:51

  • Brummies goes brand barmy

    LogoWatch Black country gains visual identity

    If ever proof were needed that the newly classified mental illness known as 'brand building' had taken hold in offices up and down the land, it must be the inert efforts by councils to brand their cities. Rather than simply advertise what a city has to offer - throw in a few pics of big buildings and scenery, maybe some happy …

    Bootnotes 21 Aug 2003, 08:53

  • PowerHouse axes 813 jobs

    More at risk as receivers called in

    Some 3000 jobs are under threat at electrical retailer PowerHouse after the company called in the receivers yesterday. The company, the UK 's largest independent electrical retailer, immediately announced that it has already decided to close 93 of its 223 stores at the end of the month with the loss of 813 jobs. Some 600 …

    Channel 21 Aug 2003, 08:58

  • DRAM contract prices still rising

    But not as much as in July

    DRAM contract prices continued to rise again during the first half of August, according to the latest figures from online memory marketplace DRAMeXchange. Prices didn't rise as much as they did in July, but the trend is still upward. The previous month was characterised by double-digit increases - this time round the growth was …

    Channel 21 Aug 2003, 09:19

  • Fuji unveils 0.8in hard disk

    HDDs for cellphones in three to four years?

    Japan's Fuji Electric this month revealed the latest development in the ongoing shrinkage of hard disks: the 2cm (0.8in) platter. The current standard in micro disks is the 2.5cm (1in) platter. Drives based on the platter are already in development, Fuji said, though commercial products are still some way off. Fuji expects …

    Personal 21 Aug 2003, 09:47

  • Sobig-F is fastest growing virus ever – official

    Outlook grim

    Sobig-F has taken the record as the world's most rapidly spreading virus to date, according to managed services firm MessageLabs, which stopped more than one million copies of the email-borne nuisance since its first appearance earlier this week. Sobig.F has surpassed the infamous LoveBug, Klez and Kournikova viruses. Sobig-F …

    Security 21 Aug 2003, 09:53

  • IBM lays off 15,000, HP 1300

    This time, we're coming for you (middle class) kids

    Veteran IBM-watchers know how testing it is to read one of the company's financial statements. In the early days of the cold war, Churchill described the Soviet Union as "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma". But compared to earnings releases from companies such as Apple and Sun - who provide terse and lucid …

    Business 21 Aug 2003, 10:38

  • Public Wi-Fi must learn to roam, claims Broadreach

    A fine technology but a pretty shabby business model

    Wireless won't work on its own - the key to making a success of public Internet access is having a physical presence. So says Magnus McEwen-King, chief exec of Broadreach Networks, which operates net cafés in place such as Virgin Megastores, bagel shops and various railway stations under the ReadytoSurf brand. According to …

    Broadband 21 Aug 2003, 10:59

  • Symbian smart phone sales soar 1000%

    Company's coffers swell nicely too

    Symbian is clearly one of the prime beneficiaries of the rise in smartphone sales at the expense of PDA shipments highlighted by market watchers like IDC of late. Around 2.68 million handsets based on Symbian technology shipped during the first half of the year, up more than 1000 per cent from the 230,000 that shipped in the …

    Mobile 21 Aug 2003, 11:20

  • Yorkshire chucks money at broadband

    'Hits all the right buttons'

    Around £1.4 million ($2.2 million) of public sector cash is being used to help bring broadband to Yorkshire and the Humber region. The nattily-titled 'Broadband Yorkshire & Humber' - an initiative sponsored by the region's development agency and part-backed by European money - is using the cash to provide training and support …

    Broadband 21 Aug 2003, 11:25

  • Forget California, it's time to recall Microsoft

    Opinion Enough already with the patching...

    A sign on a Trenton, NJ railroad bridge says "Trenton Makes, The World Takes."  In light of recent history, a sign at Sea-Tac airport should probably read "Microsoft Makes, The World Quakes." For the second time this year, Microsoft is the source of a major internet security event. First was Slammer/Sapphire in January that …

    Security 21 Aug 2003, 11:31

  • Net anonymity service back-doored

    Fed-up Feds get court order

    The popular Java Anonymous Proxy (JAP), used to anonymise one's comings and goings across the Internet, has been back-doored by court order. The service is currently logging access attempts to a particular, and unnamed, Web site and reporting the IP addys of those who attempt to contact it to the German police. We know this …

    Security 21 Aug 2003, 11:53

  • XML machine the successor to von Neumann?

    Really bring data and programs together

    The most basic principle of a von Neumann machine is that programs and data can share memory as they are both just strings of bits. This is still the basis of the architecture of all commercial computers, writes Peter Abraham of Bloor Research. These two concepts came together at the dawn of computer history but have tended to …

    Software 21 Aug 2003, 12:05

  • MS releases unholy trinity of security fixes

    IE flaws du jour - and more

    Microsoft yesterday released another cumulative fix for Internet Explorer designed to address all the old flaws with the Swiss cheese browser and fix a set of fresh problems. Separately, Redmond also issued patches to correct less serious vulnerabilities with a ubiquitous Windows middleware package and a revision of a July …

    Security 21 Aug 2003, 12:06

  • PCFX ships AMD Opteron gaming PC

    Reg Kit Watch Plus: Verbatim ships USB 2.0 Flash drive

    Desktop PC Can't wait for the Athlon 64? Houston-based PC maker PCFX has begun offering a gaming PC based on AMD's Opteron 200 series. The Leviathan III family is equipped with single Opteron 240, 242 or 244 CPUs and built around Nvidia's nForce 3 Pro 150 chipset, which offers AGP 8x, Serial ATA and a dual-channel DDR SDRAM bus …

    Personal 21 Aug 2003, 13:51

  • Texting blamed for movie flops

    And not dodgy plots, characters, etc.

    Could this be one the greatest excuses of modern times? Apparently movies flop because… get this… of texting, instant messaging and email. That's right, movie makers can no longer chuck loadsamoney at plugging films in the fairly confident hope that investing in hype will ensure a box-office smash. Why? Because movie-goers are …

    Mobile 21 Aug 2003, 13:55

  • RIAA legal threat cuts P2P downloads by 23%

    So the latest market stats suggest

    The campaign launched in May by the Recording Industry Ass. of America (RIAA) to target individual music sharers appears to be scaring punters away from file-sharing services, the latest figures from market watcher NPD appear to show. NPD tracks consumer file-sharing activity. It calculated that 14.5 million US households …

    Media 21 Aug 2003, 13:59

  • Protesters to march against EU software law

    1-2-3-4, we don't want no patent law!

    The battle against a change in EU law that would see software opened up to worldwide patent law is hotting up. The key decision in the European Parliament will take place on 1 September but those opposed to the change have arranged a protest demonstration to take place next Wednesday, 27 August in Brussels, outside the …

    Software 21 Aug 2003, 14:35

  • Oi, you! Don't be a 'tosser'!

    Bank Holiday warning

    Environmental lobby group Keep Britain Tidy has warned motorists not to toss their rubbish onto roads and verges as they drive around the country this holiday weekend. Hand-held signs bearing the slogan 'Don't be a Tosser' will be flashed at motorists as part of the campaign in a bid to stop people littering. Among the haul of …

    Bootnotes 21 Aug 2003, 14:37

  • Bloggers on wheels

    Segway globs unite

    The stunning video captured earlier this month of an NYPD Segway sting operation has been met with an equally shocking display of blogging drivel dolled out by scooter worshipers. The Segwaychat.com outpost has collected some of the world's finest, spoiled children. To their credit, one member of the group did work in …

    Media 21 Aug 2003, 14:56