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8th September 2003 Archive

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  • Sony throws a party

    Newest models in Paris

    At the Dream World exhibition in Paris this weekend Sony showcased its newest products, including the prototype biped robot QRIO, mock-ups of high definition cameras, the long awaited Blu-ray Disc recorder and a Network Media Receiver that conveniently streams digital content from a Vaio PC to a TV or hifi system. The Palais …

    Personal 8 Sep 2003, 08:14

  • Telewest raises remote dial-up charges

    Get back to your desk!

    Telewest has increased the cost of connecting to its Blueyonder dial-up Internet service from non-Telewest lines, while falsely claiming that users will not incur extra charges from the change. Instead of using local phone numbers for its access points, the company is giving subscribers two numbers. The first is a shortcode for …

    Telecoms 8 Sep 2003, 08:19

  • Broadcom launches one-chip Wi-Fi adaptor

    World first, company claims

    WLAN chip maker Broadcom today unveiled what it claims is the world's first product to combine on a single chip all the radio and networking components traditionally spread across multiple chips. The AirForce One BCM4317 integrates the broadband and MAC components customarily offered on one chip with the radio and power …

    Mobile 8 Sep 2003, 09:20

  • Hitachi to use WLANs to pinpoint war drivers

    Hoist on own petard?

    Hitachi is to bring a WLAN-based positioning system to market in Japan next month. The rig uses Wi-Fi technology to triangulate the location of network clients to within one and three metres - accurate enough to detect whether a user is within the building the network serves. The system was developed for vertical applications …

    Wireless 8 Sep 2003, 09:56

  • Payphone deal to take Cloud's hotspot tally to 10,000

    Might even attract a few users...

    Pub-based Wi-Fi network The Cloud is to expand its chain of 1800-odd hotspots to as many as 10,000, thanks to deal signed with payphone company NWP Spectrum. The agreement will see The Cloud add Wi-Fi to many of NWP's 7000 payphone installations throughout the UK. That's in addition to the 3000 hotspots The Cloud plans to have …

    Mobile 8 Sep 2003, 11:40

  • eBay to create 1000 jobs in Ireland?

    Maybe...

    Online auction giant eBay may be about to create as many as 1000 jobs in Dublin, according to a weekend report by the Sunday Business Post. The report claims the Internet giant has signed up for a humongous building on the Blanchardstown Corporate Park, a commercial estate to the north west of Dublin. Details at this stage are …

    Music and Media 8 Sep 2003, 11:41

  • E-shopping a ‘stress-filled chore’

    Supermarkets' service 'disappointing'

    Doing your food shop online is a waste of time and puts you under too much stress, those lifestyle gurus at Good Housekeeping have claimed. The magazine's latest survey found that visiting the local supermarket is actually quicker than shopping online, with researchers taking an average of 46 minutes to e-shop, while dashing …

    Music and Media 8 Sep 2003, 11:45

  • SiS licenses Pentium M

    Ready to make Centrino-style chipsets

    Chipset maker SiS today revealed that it has licensed Intel's Pentium M bus technology, allowing it to bring to market alternatives to Intel's own i855 chipset, the core of the chip giant's Centrino mobile platform. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and neither were specific details of SiS' plans for how it will use the …

    Channel 8 Sep 2003, 12:14

  • Scientologists loses copyright case

    Secret scriptures can stay online

    The Court of Appeal in The Hague last week rejected all of the Church of Scientology's claims its action against the Dutch ISP Xs4all, writer Karin Spaink and ten other internet providers for publishing copyrighted material on the web. As a result, Spaink's website which Scientologists had sought to remove, is entirely legal. …

    Music and Media 8 Sep 2003, 12:21

  • Tiscali acquires npower phone business

    £25m a year in extra revenue

    Tiscali UK has bought the consumer telephony business of UK energy supplier, npower, for a price somewhere between £6 million and £7 million. Tiscali will gain access to around 200,000 npower customers and forecasts the new accounts could help generate more than £25 million a year for Tiscali. Tiscali UK already provides …

    Business 8 Sep 2003, 12:50

  • Police smash UK's biggest credit card fraud ring

    Three facing long sentences

    Three men are facing long jail sentences after pleading guilty, Friday (Sept. 5) to running the UK's biggest ever credit card fraud at Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court. The trio stole details of 847 cards of Heathrow Express rail passengers who had paid for their journey by credit cards. They passed on the infor a gang of …

    Security 8 Sep 2003, 13:16

  • Phone4U brings ‘push to talk’ to UK

    Voice Instant Messaging for mobiles

    UK mobile phone retail chain Phones4U will begin offering a multimedia instant messaging service next month when it brings Fastmobile's Fastchat IM service to Europe. Fastchat integrates a variety of multimedia messaging formats, including photos, videos, e-mail and text, into a single application. IM communications can be held …

    Mobile 8 Sep 2003, 13:50

  • Voda anoints Sanyo, Samsung for 3G gig

    Own brand handsets

    Vodafone has selected Sanyo and Samsung to make exclusive, own brand handsets for its 3G launch. According to the FT, which reports the news, the selection shows that "Vodafone... has begun working more closely with Asian handset makers as they have shown themselves more willing to tailor the experience of users of their …

    Mobile 8 Sep 2003, 14:09

  • Surf ‘N’ Earn offers discount for loyalty

    Been there, seen that

    UK ISP V Two One has created a new pay-as-you-go package which offers loyalty points for the amount of time spent online. The more time punters stay hooked to the Net, the more points they get. And when they've got enough points, they can trade them in for prizes such as digital cameras, CDs and toys. The minds behind Surf 'N …

    Music and Media 8 Sep 2003, 15:08

  • Novell ‘puts entire ecosystem behind Linux’

    CEO downplays SCO derailment risk

    Novell fleshed out its commitment to open platform computing - and played down the significance of SCO's Linux lawsuit - at BrainShare in Barcelona today. Driving the adoption of Linux in the enterprise is central to its plans to return to profit while reaffirming its commitment to maintain support for its own NetWare operating …

    Hardware 8 Sep 2003, 15:17

  • Apple updates iMac with 1.25GHz G4

    Reg Kit Watch Ups iPod hard drive capacity too

    Apple updated its iMac consumer desktop line today, just ahead of next week's Apple Expo Paris. It also updated its iPod line. The new iMac contains a 1.25GHz PowerPC 7455 G4-class processor and adds 333MHz DDR SDRAM support. Two versions are on offer, one with a 15in LCD, the other with a 17in screen. Both displays are powered …

    Mac Channel 8 Sep 2003, 15:24

  • e-Envoy prepares to log off

    Sweeping reforms

    The e-Envoy Andrew Pinder is to quit next April, it was confirmed today. But in a sharp and final rebuff to critics, his Office - whose future is uncertain - is set to take on a influential new role at the centre of the Government's new media machine. Under sweeping reforms to government communications, responsibility for " …

    Music and Media 8 Sep 2003, 15:51

  • Wireless backup for mobiles

    Phone lost or stolen? Get your data back anyway

    The trauma of losing a mobile phone is usually not the handset but the phone numbers and saved text messages it contains. And while these can be backed up via Bluetooth or a £20 SIM reader, this is too complex for most people so it doesn't happen. The solution is for network operators to offer over-the-air backup services, says …

    Music and Media 8 Sep 2003, 15:52

  • Bank of Ireland ends IT dispute

    Better terms for HP transfers

    Bank of Ireland today said that it has finally ended a long-running dispute with workers over the outsourcing of IT functions to Hewlett-Packard. In a brief statement, Bank of Ireland said that the latest ballot of Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA) members in Bank of Ireland's IT arm ITSIS on the bank's most recent …

    Hardware 8 Sep 2003, 16:17

  • Forgive me my trespasses

    We're all computer criminals now

    How a recent federal appeals court decision makes virtually everyone a computer criminal, writes SecurityFocus columnist Mark Rasch. Last month, a federal appeals court in California dramatically and unwarrantedly expanded the scope of the federal criminal law prohibiting "unauthorized access" to computers and electronic mail …

    Security 8 Sep 2003, 16:33

  • EU rattles sabres over US use of airline passenger data

    Call for Solomon Binding...

    The wheels may be coming off the dubious deal cobbled together between the EU and the Department of Homeland Security to give US authorities access to airline data, in the shape of Passenger Name Records (PNRs). The US unilaterally announced that it would require this data on incoming flights earlier this year, and in response …

    Music and Media 8 Sep 2003, 16:40

  • PeopleSoft: speed is of the essence

    The Big Mo

    At a conference last week, PeopleSoft said that the aim of acquiring JD Edwards is to expand its software license, service and maintenance revenue streams. PeopleSoft needs to make progress in its integration plans quickly or risk investors becoming more interested in Oracle's takeover bid. At its eagerly awaited conference to …

    Hardware 8 Sep 2003, 17:08

  • RIAA sues 261 evil-doers

    You're the problem, not us

    The RIAA has kicked off its new revenue generating suing practice in style, filing lawsuits against 261 file traders. The music label mob has methodically reached this point. After filing over a thousand subpoenas, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is now going after the worst of the bunch with good old …

    Music and Media 8 Sep 2003, 19:41

  • Tommy Lee Jones spoke to me in a dream and told me not to buy this CD

    Letters Universal's price cuts universally laughed at

    re: Universal's CD price cut comedy gets five stars Reg readers are apparently more in tune with the current state of CD prices than the mainstream media. Unlike those outlets that gave Universal a nice pat on the back for some price cuts, actual consumers sense something is not quite right about the situation. Universal …

    Letters 8 Sep 2003, 20:24

  • Riding injury doesn't stop Dell from bashing Vendorix

    Concussion forgotten

    Michael Dell did not let a mere leg wound stop him from attacking competitors during a Monday keynote at the OracleWorld conference. The Dell CEO hobbled onto stage with the aid of crutches after injuring an ankle in a recent horse riding accident. As always, Dell used simple terms to give the gory details of the incident. "I …

    Servers 8 Sep 2003, 22:33