The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

4th September 2003 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • World+dog parades iPod wannabes

    Reg Kit Watch MP3 crazy

    Sales of digital audio players are surging. According to market researcher Gfk, the market for MP3 players in Europe has grown 200 per cent in the last six months. That's good news for the many manufacturers that showed their newest models at the IFA Consumer Electronics Show in Berlin this week. Models varied from feather- …

    Personal 4 Sep 2003, 07:01

  • Blaster-F suspect arrested in Romania

    Dan Dumbitru

    Romanian police yesterday arrested a man on suspicion of releasing a variant of the prolific Blaster worm. It's the second arrest of a copycat author of the worm in the last week. Dan Dumitru Ciobanu, 24, from the northern Romanian city of Iasi, is alleged to have created the relatively tame Blaster-F version of the worm. …

    Malware 4 Sep 2003, 07:05

  • Samsung touts dual-die 1Gb DDR chip

    Same footprint as a 512Mb part

    Samsung yesterday unveiled a 1Gb DDR SDRAM chip that beats the size problems common in parts of that capacity by combining two 512Mb dies in a single package. The chip should pave the way for much less expensive high capacity DDR DIMMs for notebook PCs, PDAs and blade servers. The two dies are stacked vertically yielding a …

    Channel 4 Sep 2003, 08:23

  • Resumé writing – BOFH style

    Episode 19 CV or not CV? That is the question...

    BOFH 2003: Episode 19 "Uh, hello..." one of the helldesk wannabes burbles as he advances cautiously into Mission Control. "Mmmm," the PFY answers calmly. "I was just wondering if you guys could give me some pointers for my CV." "?" "Oh, right! I'm applying for a technical role and just wanted some tips on how to put my resumé …

    BOFH 4 Sep 2003, 08:39

  • Intel to launch HT Mobile P4s on 21 Sept.

    And prices to fall a month later, apparently

    Intel will bring Hyper Threading technology to its Mobile Pentium 4 processor family during Q4 before replacing the part - at the high end, at least - with mobile versions of Prescott during the first three months of 2004. So much we've been able to say for some time, thanks to Intel roadmaps we've seen. To that information we …

    Channel 4 Sep 2003, 09:08

  • Israeli boffins crack GSM code

    Phreak Like Me

    A team of Israeli scientists have uncovered a possible means of cracking the GSM mobile phone network encryption code, opening the door to attacks that could enable eavesdroppers to listen into calls. The GSM Association, a trade group for suppliers and mobile network operators, is downplaying the problem. It admits a potential …

    Security 4 Sep 2003, 09:15

  • 2000 jobs safe as PowerHouse sold

    Kiwi firm to the rescue

    More than 2000 jobs at electricals retailer, PowerHouse, have been saved after the company was sold to New Zealand-based Pacific Retail Group (PRG). PRG has taken over 142 sites, a majority of the company's operating infrastructure and staff. It also intends to retain the PowerHouse brand. The announcement comes a fortnight …

    Channel 4 Sep 2003, 09:34

  • Mobo makers to bundle CPUs with Athlon 64 boards

    Want sufficient supplies for retail buyers

    Motherboards manufacturers plan to bundle Athlon 64 chips with their motherboards in order to ensure that their retail customers can get their hands on the processor as soon as possible. A DigiTimes story, which cites executives from four major Taiwanese mobo makers, claims the companies hope to buy the chips directly from AMD …

    Channel 4 Sep 2003, 09:44

  • Universal to slash US CD prices

    Prices cut by up to 31 per cent

    'Top five' music label Universal Music Group (UMG) is to slash CD prices by up to 31.5 per cent in the US in a bid to persuade punters to start buying them again, the company said yesterday. The price cut will come next month. Wholesale prices will be reduced "significantly", the company said, to ensure store prices of around $ …

    Business 4 Sep 2003, 10:31

  • 99c iTunes song auction bids top $100,000

    Update Test case opportunities a-plenty

    Does the owner of a legitimately bought and downloaded music track have the right to sell his or her copy? That's a question one George Hotelling wants answered and has put a track bought off Apple's iTunes Music Store up for auction on eBay to find out. One thing is for certain: the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is …

    Business 4 Sep 2003, 10:58

  • Easynet ups revenues, narrows loss

    Broadband take-up 'very encouraging'

    Pan-European broadband outfit Easynet has seen its revenues increase and its loss narrow as it continues to target businesses with its high-speed Net services. Publishing interim results for the first six months of the year, Easynet reported that revenue had swelled by 33 per cent to £55.2 million - up from £41.6 million during …

    Telecoms 4 Sep 2003, 11:03

  • MS launches Office security blitz

    Full House with five fixes

    Microsoft issued five security alerts yesterday. Thankfully, only one, involving a buffer overflow vulnerability with the software giant's applications development suite, is serious enough to merit the dreaded "critical" designation. As explained in an advisory here, a flaw with Visual Basic for Applications SDK (versions 5.0 …

    Security 4 Sep 2003, 11:10

  • Creative unveils MuVo 2 MP3 players

    Reg Kit Watch Plus: Sharp extends Actius notebook line

    MP3 Player Creative has followed up its MuVo compact Flash drive MP3 player with a beefier model the MuVo 2. In place of the older ciggie lighter-style case comes a 6.6 x 6.5 x 2cm (2.6 x 2.6 x 0.8in) shell. It weighs 90.7g (3.2oz) with a battery. The player features 1.5GB of storage. Whether it's solid state or something else …

    Personal 4 Sep 2003, 13:23

  • New worm tries to bring down Downing Street website

    But Windows malware menace cordoned off

    AV firms are warning of the appearance of a new Internet worm which attempts to launch a distributed denial of service attack on the Downing Street website. The Quaters worm spreads via email, using a variety of subject lines relating to account information, and by internet chat systems posing as an attempt to break an Internet …

    Malware 4 Sep 2003, 13:38

  • Over 500m handsets to ship next year

    Cameraphones bringing back buyers

    More than half a billion mobile phones will be sold next year, market watcher IDC has calculated, thanks to an eight per cent increase in sales over 2003 driven by demand for GPRS and 3G handsets. Of the latter, 140 per cent more phones will be sold next year around the world than was the case this year, with shipments rising …

    Mobile 4 Sep 2003, 13:51

  • IBM pulls built-in Ethernet from Unix workstation

    Who is to blame?

    IBM has stopped shipping a built-in Ethernet controller with one of its workstations but won't say why. The IntelliStation Power 275 Unix workstation running on a 1.45GHz Power processor once had an integrated 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet port. IBM, however, has informed customers that this option is no longer available. An …

    Servers 4 Sep 2003, 16:53

  • HP sends services team into the grid

    Compaq's grid love keeps giving

    HP stepped up its grid computing attack on Thursday with a new set of consulting services for customers looking to manage large groups of servers and storage systems. Never one to miss out on a services opportunity, HP plans to design and manage customers' grids to make sure they get the most out of their linked systems. This …

    Hardware 4 Sep 2003, 18:16

  • World's most notorious cybersquatter arrested

    John Zuccarini finally brought down by Feds

    The world's most notorious cybersquatter, John Zuccarini, has been arrested in Florida and will be prosecuted under new legislation aimed at protecting children online. Zuccarini, who has made millions every year since the early days of the Internet by registering lucrative domains, was arrested by Feds just after dawn in his …

    Music and Media 4 Sep 2003, 20:31

  • BT cuts wholesale BB charges again

    Cautious welcome

    BT has avoided a showdown with the telecoms regulator by agreeing to further cost cuts on a key wholesale ADSL product that enables rival telcos to compete with the dominant telco. BT is to cut the cost of the end-user element of its Datastream broadband connection by 50p to £8.05, which is on top of the 70p a line reduction …

    Telecoms 4 Sep 2003, 20:33

  • Freedom2Surf in 1Mb ADSL promo

    PlusNet unveils new dial-up package

    St Albans-based ISP Freedom2Surf has begun taking orders for a new consumer-based 1 Mb ADSL service. Based on BT Wholesale's new 1Mb IPStream Home1000 package (trials of which are due to start next month) Freedom2Surf's product costs £29.99 (ex VAT) a month. The product is due to come online from October 6, although punters …

    Telecoms 4 Sep 2003, 20:35

  • Intel stays positive on Q3

    Analysts agree

    Intel tightened the range of its third quarter revenue forecast on Thursday, pushing toward the high side of previous predictions. The chipmaker expects revenue to fall between $7.6 billion and $7.8 billion for the period ending Sept. 27, according to a statement. Last last month, Intel made the uncharacteristic move of …

    Business 4 Sep 2003, 20:54