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28th August 2003 Archive

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  • HP sees double with Itanium

    Faster computers all around

    HP delivered a double dose of Itanium good cheer on Wednesday with a supercomputer success story and another high benchmark score. Over at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Labs (PNNL), HP has helped the scientists upgrade a 1,400 node cluster with the latest Itanium 2 chips. The move from 1.0GHz …

    Servers 28 Aug 2003, 00:44

  • Webcasters slap RIAA with antitrust suit

    You read it here first

    The Webcaster Alliance has filed a suit against the Recording Industry Association of America and five major record labels for anti-competive behavior. The case arises from a deal last year, details of which were first reported by The Register, between a handful of small webcasters and the RIAA to set performance royalty rates …

    Music and Media 28 Aug 2003, 02:19

  • Dell readies slimline Axim x3 PDA

    Bye-bye, CompactFlash

    Dell is preparing a slimmed down version of its Axim PDA, dubbed the x3, and has been scheduled for a 15 October release date. So claims Brighthand, citing a variety of sources. Essentially, the x3 is an x5 minus the latter's CompactFlash slot, removed to make the PDA thinner. The x3 will still sport an SD/MMC slot, which will …

    Mobile 28 Aug 2003, 09:12

  • AMD pares Athlon XP prices

    Small change

    AMD quietly trimmed the prices of a handful of bottom-of-the-line Athlon XP processors this week, presumably in a bid to match the cuts Intel made to Celeron desktop prices at the weekend. The Athlon XPs granted price cuts this time round were the 2600+, 2500+, 2400+ 2200+ and 2100+. All other XP prices saw no change. The five …

    Channel 28 Aug 2003, 09:30

  • A Bastard of a late night call-out

    Episode 18 But I need help now...

    BOFH 2003: Episode 18 I hate phone calls at the best of times, but phone calls at home - especially during the hours of darkness - do not find me at my personal best. "But it has to be going again as soon as possible!" the user dribbles into the receiver as I fumble with my bedside clock to get the time. "It's 3am in the bloody …

    BOFH 28 Aug 2003, 09:58

  • EarthLink targets 100 spammers

    Launches legal action

    US ISP EarthLink is on the hunt for around 100 spammers it claims are guilty of sending more than 250 million junk emails. Filing a federal lawsuit yesterday, EarthLink alleged that the spammers used criminal means - including credit card fraud and identity theft - to finance their operation. Those targeted by EarthLink are …

    Music and Media 28 Aug 2003, 10:02

  • Apple G5 shipments slow in Europe, Asia-Pacific

    Late September to mid-October release timetable

    Apple's eagerly awaited Power Mac G5 is slowly spreading out into the channel and to buyers, but not without some teething troubles, it seems. While Mac fans and Apple customers are reporting receipt of shipment details and in-store sightings around the world, some web sites have hinted at hardware glitches that have delayed …

    Mac Channel 28 Aug 2003, 10:42

  • Packard Bell iXtreme takes pop at iMac

    Reg Kit Watch Plus: Dell's GeForce FX Go 5650-based notebook

    Desktop PC UK PC maker Packard Bell has introduced its latest iMac challenger, the all-white iXtreme. Unlike the Apple machine, the iXtreme is a two-unit system, with separate monitor unit and tower, but in addition to the white, curvaceous styling, the Packard Bell ships with a pair of spherical speakers. Not that the iXtreme …

    Personal 28 Aug 2003, 11:42

  • Online consumer confidence drops – analyst

    Yet e-sales are on the up

    Consumer confidence in online credit card security has declined over the last five years, according to research from Forrester. A third of online shoppers are "technology pessimists" who are concerned about online security, it seems. Back in 1998, when Forrester first started collecting this kind of data, fewer than one in five …

    Music and Media 28 Aug 2003, 11:47

  • Cellphone jamming scam exposed

    Seller offered to block mobile phones in hotels and bars

    A Scottish wide-boy selling mobile phone jamming equipment to hotels has been exposed by local newspaper the Daily Record. Ronnie McGuire was caught selling the illegal devices, which send out radio waves that swamp the signal between base stations and mobile phones, rendering handsets inoperable in the vicinity of the jamming …

    Mobile 28 Aug 2003, 11:53

  • Net anonymity service un-backdoored

    Higher court hits pause button

    The Java Anonymous Proxy (JAP) service, a collaborative effort of Dresden University of Technology, Free University Berlin and the Independent Centre for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein, Germany (ICPP), has been allowed to suspend its monitoring of users' IP traffic pending a decision on the legality of back-dooring it. …

    Music and Media 28 Aug 2003, 13:31

  • Samsung launches photo phones

    Mini-flash and multi-shot capabilities

    Samsung this week announced three new mobile phones, two of them with built-in camers. One of the models, the SGH-X600, has a 640 x 480 camera with a tilting range of 180 degrees forward and back, and is mounted on top of the phone, with an LED mini-flash located around the lens. Weighting only 80g, the GPRS phone offers a 1.6in …

    Mobile 28 Aug 2003, 13:42

  • SGI to let 600 more workers go

    Chasing break even

    SGI will eliminate 600 positions from its workforce in a bid to cut costs, the company said yesterday. The announcement provides details of the restructuring, which SGI admitted earlier this week it was going to have to implement. The move will increase the number of staff the company has rid itself of already this year to 1000 …

    Hardware 28 Aug 2003, 14:14

  • Philips partners with telcos to tout home WLANs

    Bringing broadband to consumer electronics

    Royal Philips and T-Com, Deutsche Telekom's fixed network division, today announced in Berlin that they will jointly develop the market for home broadband, wireless networks, connected devices and related services in Germany. Similar agreements have been signed with BT, Belgacom and Telecom Italia. Earlier this year, Philips …

    Wireless 28 Aug 2003, 14:44

  • New PS2 set for UK launch next month?

    Silver version for the fashion-conscious

    Online reports indicate that Sony's updated version of the PS2, featuring a built-in infrared receiver and improved DVD playback functions, will be released in the UK next month in a choice of black and silver colour schemes. The new model was launched in Japan several months ago, and is expected to arrive in the US shortly. The …

    Personal 28 Aug 2003, 14:51

  • Nokia looks to Russia, India for growth

    Untapped markets

    Nokia has pegged Russia, India and Latin America as potential up-and-coming markets for mobile devices and services. It reckons that investing in these largely untapped markets could help double mobile phone use over the next five years. Current estimates say that some 1.2 billion people around the world use a mobile phone. By …

    Mobile 28 Aug 2003, 14:54

  • Apple sued over use of Rendezvous trademark

    Business software developer alleges infringement

    Business software company Tibco has filed a complaint with the US District Court for Northern California claiming that Apple's Rendezvous technology infringes upon one of its own trademarks, the company said today. Tibco claims Apple attempted to trade on its goodwill and engage in unfair conduct and - presumably a reference to …

    Mac Channel 28 Aug 2003, 15:26

  • AV bigwigs weigh in on Sobig debate

    Reg Letters Is the Internet dead yet, asks Vmyths founder

    We've had plenty of feedback to our op ed piece yesterday on the wider implications of the Sobig worm. It wasn't easy but we managed to extract your insightful gems from the torrent of junk descending into my mail box. But it was worth it. Most of you agree with our central thesis that the outbreak of Sobig has exposed the …

    Letters 28 Aug 2003, 15:34

  • Online ticket to ride

    Internet sales: the state of play

    Since the buzzphrase electronic commerce was invented in the mid-1990s, there have been some spectacular failures of the promise of the Internet to transform business, writes Fran Howarth of Bloor Research. The dotcom boom has come and gone and the majority of online marketplaces - hyped as the future of business - have closed …

    Music and Media 28 Aug 2003, 15:47

  • Super fast Linux supercomputer goes online

    Itanium2 powered monster

    The Department of Energy (DoE) powered up the US's fastest unclassified supercomputer this week, a 11.8 teraflops behemoth to be used in scientific research. Powered by 2,000 Intel Itanium2 processors HP Integrity servers running Linux, the monster system will be used for applications in the fields of environmental and …

    Servers 28 Aug 2003, 16:34

  • BBC news site facing extinction?

    Tough times for British media institution

    The Conservative Party's culture spokesman John Whittingdale made the BBC's annus horribilis even worse this week when he said he was "not persuaded" that a public service website was a necessary thing. This was immediately translated into "Tories to shut down BBC News website if they win election". It's a catchy headline. Plus …

    Music and Media 28 Aug 2003, 16:43

  • Open Source begünstigt Ende des EU Patentrechts

    Erdnussbutter Sandwiches

    Open source prepares to kiss EU patent ass goodbye Deutsche übersetzung von Arick Hofmann Am 1. September (ursprünglich heute, dem 30. Juni 2003) wird es eine Abstimmung im Europäischen Parlament geben, der enorme Auswirkung auf den weltweiten Software-Markt hat. Abgestimmt wird, ob ein Bericht des Rechts- und Binnenmarkt- …

    Software 28 Aug 2003, 17:15

  • Sun gives Solaris x86 a nudge with new test suite

    Momentum rising, customers hiding

    Not too long ago, Sun Microsystems had a confused relationship with its version of Solaris for Intel and AMD chips, but these days company staffers plug the OS every chance they get. The latest addition to the Solaris x86 fest is a hardware certification test suite (HCTS) that Sun will give to ISVs, device makers, OEMs and end …

    Hardware 28 Aug 2003, 17:58

  • Intel to talk up Itanium present, future at IDF

    Deerfield, Tanglewood on tap

    The Fall Intel Developer Forum is approaching, and a couple of speculative Itanium tidbits have fluttered into our inbox just in the nick of time. With the Madison launch already passed, Intel will be hard pressed to find some Itanic news to keep IDF attendees happy. The vendor, however, does have to put on a good show and …

    Channel 28 Aug 2003, 20:02

  • Segway riders get high on Mount Washington

    Dignity exchanged for bumper sticker

    Segway owners can now proudly say that one of their own has climbed a mountain, after a circus clown dressed as a butler pulled off the feat earlier today. Rob Owen, a retired clown, and two other riders surged up Mount Washington at 12.5 mph, the AP reports. It took the Segway riders two and half hours to complete the 7.6 mile …

    Bootnotes 28 Aug 2003, 22:20