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5th September 2003 Archive

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  • PS2 and Xbox to see price cuts – in weeks

    Cheaper consoles, bundles, freebies

    Both Sony's PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox are set to see price cuts in the coming month as the battle for Christmas sales dominance kicks off earlier than ever - with both companies also planning a range of other promotions. The PlayStation 2 price is set to be cut to £129.99 in the UK within the coming months, according …

    Personal 5 Sep 2003, 07:00

  • Is it a worm, a virus, or a trojan?

    Opinion If the AV vendors can't agree, what hope for the rest of us?

    Russ Cooper is Chief Scientist at TruSecure Corporation and NTBugtraq Editor Opinion Let's see, anyone remember the name of the worm that began on August 11th? W32.Lovsan.worm, Win32.Poza, Lovsan, W32.Blaster.Worm, WORM_MSBLAST.A, Win32.Blaster, Win32.MSBlast.A, Worm/Lovsan.A, Worm.Win32.Blaster.6176, Worm.Win32.Lovesan, …

    Malware 5 Sep 2003, 07:26

  • FBI reportedly hunting Adrian Lamo

    Arrest warrant

    FBI agents armed with a federal arrest warrant out of New York were searching for Adrian Lamo Thursday, according to the hacker and his mother. Two agents visited the home of Lamo's parents, Mario and Mary Lamo, near Sacramento, California, Thursday afternoon, says Mary Lamo. "They wouldn't tell us anything but that they had an …

    Security 5 Sep 2003, 07:30

  • eBay pulls iTunes song auction

    Infringes auctioneer's Ts&Cs - what about the law?

    eBay yesterday yanked an attempt to auction an iTunes Music Service download off its site, describing the item as "invalid". The auction page itself now simply says: "The item you requested... is invalid, still pending, or no longer in our database. Please check the number and try again. If this message persists, the item has …

    Business 5 Sep 2003, 08:51

  • Linksys connects PC to Hi-Fi, wirelessly

    Reg Kit Watch MP3 in the living room

    Linksys yesterday introduced its first Wi-Fi adaptor for TVs and Hi-Fi systems. The unit, the Wireless-B Media Adaptor, allows consumer electronics kit to play digital media stored on a PC. The device connects to home entertainment systems using standard S-Video, and audio and video jacks. Plug the Media Adaptor onto your TV and …

    Mobile 5 Sep 2003, 10:04

  • Disasters proving to be terminal for many small firms

    What can go wrong

    Nearly half of UK small firms that experience disasters such as system failure or fire damage never properly recover, yet less than 50 per cent have any back-up plan to use if things go wrong, according to new research. The study, conducted by insurance firm AXA, found that despite recent scares such as the Sobig computer virus …

    Small Biz 5 Sep 2003, 10:19

  • The way to do Wireless Internet is: start with wired

    Broadreaching out

    Broadreach has unveiled a "ready to surf" brand of wireless Internet - with a real difference. It is mostly wired. Also, it charges by the second. The result is that you can take your home broadband with you on the road. Already, the deal is done with BT OpenWorld and Virgin Net; others, including phone providers, are …

    Wireless 5 Sep 2003, 10:38

  • IT recovery: once bitten, twice shy

    US economy might be looking up

    In one way or another, things are starting to look up, and the indications on Wall Street are that the economy might be recovering. With a rebound in the economy will come the inevitable and understandably wary optimism that might even cause a sustained, slight increase in IT spending. The Commerce Department said last week …

    Business 5 Sep 2003, 10:46

  • The case of the two stolen mainframes

    Oz customs grilled for failure to disclose Sydney airport thefts

    Australian politicians are asking some pointed questions after Customs failed to disclose the theft of two servers from Sydney airport last month during a parliamentary inquiry into the security of government IT systems. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that two men posing as computer technicians nicked two mainframe servers …

    Security 5 Sep 2003, 10:51

  • RIAA to offer file sharers amnesty – report

    Cheaper than lawsuits

    The Recording Industry Ass. of America (RIAA) will shortly offer an amnesty to individual copyright infringers, sparing alleged violators the threat of legal action if they delete all unauthorised copies of music they possess and publicly promise to be good in future. So claim unnamed sources cited by Reuters - the RIAA itself …

    Music and Media 5 Sep 2003, 14:45

  • The trouble with anti-virus

    Analysis Sobig and Blaster epidemics expose scanner problems

    Traditional techniques aimed at stemming the flood of viruses and worms are failing to keep pace with the rise in malicious code. Users have known this for years - at least intuitively. Even vendors admit - at least privately - that there's an issue. Now, for the first time, there's research to back up this gut instinct. The …

    Malware 5 Sep 2003, 14:59

  • Broadband surge nets 75% of UK population

    Few in rural areas, though

    The government gave itself a pat on the back yesterday, claiming that its campaign to bring high speed Internet access to the masses has boosted broadband subscriptions to a record 2.3 million British homes and businesses. According to UK communications minister Stephen Timms, speaking at the Informal Broadband Council in Italy …

    Telecoms 5 Sep 2003, 15:05

  • IBM, Dell make the best of a down storage market

    Sales slow, capacity rises

    The worldwide storage market took a hit in the second quarter as most major vendors saw their revenue decline. Total revenue for the quarter came in at $4.73 billion. This marks a 3.9 percent decline compared to same quarter a year ago, according to IDC. The revenue loss comes as the total amount of storage capacity grew a …

    Storage 5 Sep 2003, 15:08

  • Garage door makers battle over DMCA

    Open and shut case

    It says something when a Google search on 'DMCA' (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) produces the Anti-DMCA site at the top of the list. "The DMCA is being used to silence researchers, computer scientists and critics. Corporations are using it against the public," the site states, before going into some detail about the infamous …

    Business 5 Sep 2003, 15:13

  • UK music biz tackles Nominet over domain nobbling

    Is the BPI preparing a US-style MP3 clampdown?

    The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) - the UK's answer to the Recording Industry Ass. of America (RIAA) - may be planning an all-out assault on websites that allow copyrighted tracks to be downloaded. In minutes of a recent meeting of Nominet's Public Advisory Board (PAB), it was revealed the company in charge of the UK's …

    Music and Media 5 Sep 2003, 15:21

  • Full Monty writer premieres new film on Net

    Updated Squeezed out of cinemas by blockbusters

    A new film from the writer of the Full Monty, Simon Beaufoy, will today become the first film to be launched on the Internet. This is Not a Love Song, a low-budget British thriller directed by Bille Eltringham and starring lesser-known actors, will be streamed online from 18:00 BST today Friday, 5 September from the film's site …

    Music and Media 5 Sep 2003, 15:40

  • Sony Ericsson 3G phone set for January launch

    Z1010 ready for video calls

    Sony Ericsson will launch its first 3G handset early next year, the company said today. The phone, the Z1010, was unveiled last February. The clamshell handset looks not unlike the Z600 tri-band GSM/GPRS phone the company launched earlier this week. It will launch in January 2004. Like the Z600, the Z1010 contains a digicam …

    Mobile 5 Sep 2003, 16:12

  • Universal's CD price cut comedy gets five stars

    Revolution - twenty years in the making

    Step back, take a deep breath, gather some courage and then let out the deepest, abdominal-wrenching gut laugh you've ever experienced. Universal Music Group has lowered CD prices. The hilarity of the situation has gone unnoticed by most media outlets. They've portrayed Universal as a brave white knight taking a bold stand to …

    Business 5 Sep 2003, 18:41

  • ID theft hits 10m Americans a year

    Costs billions

    A staggering 27.3 million Americans have been victims of identity theft in the last five years, according to Federal Trade Commission survey out this week. In the last year alone, 9.9 million people have had their identity purloined. Identity theft cost businesses and financial institutions nearly $48 billion and consumer …

    Security 5 Sep 2003, 20:28

  • IBM accused of poisoning workers

    Chemical reaction

    IBM has been accused of running an unsafe workplace which resulted in an unnaturally high incidence of disease among its workers in a series of hotly contested lawsuits filed recently in the US. Almost 200 former and current employees (or their families) are parties to the suits, which allege that the computing giant did …

    Business 5 Sep 2003, 20:33

  • I'm Carly, Fly Me

    HP axes 3,000 jobs, but Air Fiorina is hiring

    HP shed 3,000 jobs after its most recent financial results were announced, but at least one part of the company is stepping up its recruitment. Air Fiorina is looking for a flight attendant, based in San Jose, California. The executive air force needs an attendant who will be "responsible for passenger safety and comfort …

    Bootnotes 5 Sep 2003, 22:19