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11th September 2003 Archive

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  • Micro Warehouse files for Chapter 11

    What is to become of Europe?

    Micro Warehouse, one of the biggest and best-known computer dealers, has filed for Chapter 11 in the US. The move follows this week's knockdown sale of its North American assets for $22m and outstanding receivables - this for a business turning over $940m a year and, showing the trouble it got itself into, a pathetic $14m in …

    Channel 11 Sep 2003, 07:54

  • Grand Theft Auto in the dock over US road killing

    'Videogames made me do it!'

    Videogames are on trial yet again in the US, as the family of a man killed by teenagers who shot at passing cars on a freeway file a lawsuit against Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two. The two teenagers - William and Joshua Buckner, 16 and 14 years old, respectively - opened fire on vehicles on the Interstate 40 highway in …

    Personal 11 Sep 2003, 08:12

  • BOFH beats the Boss

    Episode 20 He's become a liability

    BOFH 2003: Episode 20 So the Boss has finally tipped a little too much of the overproofed rum on his cereal in the morning and has become a liability. Well, when I say "become a liability", I ACTUALLY mean "become MORE of a liability". Well, when I say "MORE of a liability", I ACTUALLY mean "a complete nightmare". Well, when I …

    BOFH 11 Sep 2003, 08:12

  • Lamo denies $300,000 database hack

    Totting up, Enron style

    Days before going public with his penetration of the New York Times internal network last year, hacker Adrian Lamo created five new user accounts with the LexisNexis database service under the Times corporate account, which he used to rack up $300,000 in charges over the following three months, a federal complaint in New York …

    Security 11 Sep 2003, 08:27

  • Nvidia driver update lets slip NV38 brand name

    Drivers legit, chip maker confirms

    Nvidia appears to have inadvertently leaked the name of its next graphics chips, previously known by the codename NV38. The new chip will apparently be called the GeForce FX 5950 Ultra, according to text embedded in the company's latest driver, Detonator 45.33. The driver contains the following strings: NVIDIA_NV35.DEV_0333.1 …

    Channel 11 Sep 2003, 08:50

  • Public Wi-Fi failing to attract road warriors

    Only a third of 'heavy mobile users' utilise hotspots

    IDC's latest research into the mobile Internet market will not make pleasurable reading for public wireless hotspot entrepreneurs. Only 30 per cent of the company's 2500-strong Mobile Advisory Council (MAC) admit to being regular or occasional users of Wi-Fi hotspots. Now, public hotspot usage is known to be limited to a …

    Mobile 11 Sep 2003, 09:57

  • Dell to sell TVs, hi-fi, etc.

    Planning to move into brown goods

    Dell is to branch out even further into consumer electronics goods, the company's COO said yesterday. The scheme, which echoes recent moves in that direction by Gateway, will see the PC maker add flat-panel TVs to its current plasma screen business. Other consumer electronics products will follow: "It's [just] a matter of time …

    Personal 11 Sep 2003, 11:24

  • Delayed Intel Centrino WLAN part to arrive next month

    But who wants 802.11a now?

    Intel will release its upcoming dual-band Wi-Fi adaptor card next quarter, the chip giant said yesterday. The part was to have shipped in the first half of the year, then early in the current quarter, Q3. An Intel spokesman told Cnet that the mini-PCI card, which provides access to 2.4GHz, 11Mbps 802.11b networks and 5Ghz, …

    Mobile 11 Sep 2003, 11:36

  • Cybersex blamed for half of divorces

    Online divorce service claims

    There's further evidence that cybersex is increasingly being blamed for the break-up of marriages. According to online divorce service divorce-online, half of all divorce petitions it processed are due to Internet adultery and cybersex behaviour. Of the 500 divorce petitions surveyed, half contained allegations concerning …

    Music and Media 11 Sep 2003, 11:40

  • Blaster-F suspect charged with cybercrime

    Admits modifying worm code

    A 24-year-old man suspected of releasing a relatively tame variant of the Blaster worm has been charged with cybercrime offences by Romanian police. If found guilty, Dan Dumitru Ciobanu could face a maximum of 15 years in prison under Romania's strict new computer crime laws. According to police, Ciobanu has admitted spreading …

    Malware 11 Sep 2003, 11:48

  • Citizens Advice Bureaux test Govt e-services

    How usful is eGov?

    The Government's Web sites are being put to the test to see if they actually provide useful and helpful information relevant to people's needs. The Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) - which deals with around six million problems a year - has teamed up with public sector-focused consultancy, Socitm, to see if the Government's e- …

    Music and Media 11 Sep 2003, 11:52

  • Cisco adds colour to IP phone range

    But would you pay $1000 for a phone you can't take out of the building?

    Cisco this week announced a new IP telephone with a high resolution, colour touch-screen, as well as enhancements to two of its entry-level IP phones to make them better suited for the delivery of business applications. The networking giant's first ever colour IP phone, the 7970G, is due in the first calendar quarter of 2004 …

    Data Networking 11 Sep 2003, 12:25

  • FAST to tackle font filching

    Excuse me, sir, is that Industria Light yours?

    Two unnamed companies are being investigated by the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) for possible breaches of font piracy. News of the investigations - no other details are available at present - comes as global font designer Agfa Monotype announced it has signed up with FAST to tackle the growing issue of unlicensed …

    Software 11 Sep 2003, 12:54

  • PC add-ons tempt ‘back to school’ buyers

    Reg Kit Watch Accessories a-go-go

    Memory Card Readers Memory specialist Crucial has added three USB 2.0 memory card readers to its product list. The Hi-Speed USB 7-in-1 reader supports a bevy of formats: SD, MMC, CompactFlash, IBM Microdrive, SmartMedia, Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro. Unlike the new Hi-Speed USB CompactFlash reader and the Hi-Speed USB SD/ …

    Personal 11 Sep 2003, 13:18

  • Bill Joy's greatest gift to man – the vi editor

    Forget BSD Unix and NFS

    Out of all of Bill Joy's contributions to technology, users appear most fond of one of the simplest - the vi editor. Joy leaves a lasting legacy of work both in the general technology domain and at Sun Microsystems. The Sun co-founder announced this week that he is leaving the company. Among Joy's list of achievements are BSD …

    Software 11 Sep 2003, 14:31

  • Storage switch users place McData and Cisco ahead of Brocade

    Give me back my ports!

    The storage switch users have spoken, and it's not looking good for Brocade. A three member panel joined the always eloquent analyst Nancy Marrone- Hurley (Enterprise Storage Group) for a switch vendor ranking exercise here at the Storage Decisions conference. Overall, McData came out on top for both the breadth of its product …

    Storage 11 Sep 2003, 14:43

  • Satellite biz wants govt hand-outs for broadband

    You scratch my back...

    The satellite industry wants greater co-operation - read 'financial aid' from governments if their technology is to help make broadband services available to all. At a joint meeting in Paris earlier this week, the European Satellite Operators Association (ESOA) and the Satellite Industry Association (SIA) outlined how satellite …

    Telecoms 11 Sep 2003, 15:59

  • UK firms tout camera phone blinding tech

    Creates wireless privacy zones

    A pair of British companies today teamed up to market a technology that allows camera phones or digital cameras to be disabled in a localised environment. Iceberg Systems, a developer of Internet and mobile systems, claims its Safe Haven technology effectively prevents the misuse of camera phones. The company has appointed …

    Mobile 11 Sep 2003, 16:20

  • EMC drops WideSky, swallows pride

    It's all about standards now

    The sky has fallen over EMC's headquarters in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and oddly enough you've hardly heard anything about it. In late 2001, EMC unveiled WideSky. The software was the company's answer for hetrogenous storage management. WideSky was meant to bridge the gap between different hardware and software platforms, …

    Storage 11 Sep 2003, 19:13

  • BT streams videos over GPRS

    Content providers courted

    BT Broadcast Services (BTBS) is to make it easier to deliver live streaming media video feeds to mobile users courtesy of a technology deal with Vemotion. The approach allows streaming media to be delivered to users with GPRS, as well as higher speed 3G connections. Vemotion's technology includes the FastStart capability, …

    Mobile 11 Sep 2003, 20:38

  • Microsoft in reasonable Net action shocker!

    We’ll have to take that domain off you, we’re afraid

    It’s not something you often hear but Microsoft seems to be taking an entirely reasonable approach to the Internet when it comes to domain names. Somewhat ironically this has only become apparent after the Beast of Redmond’s lawyers send a letter to the Mike Chatha - owner of xbox.ws and xbox.us.com - demanding he agree to hand …

    Music and Media 11 Sep 2003, 20:50

  • Coming soon? ‘Safe’ zones that disable picture phones

    But can you get a portable version before your stag night?

    Been snapped in a lap-dancing joint when you're supposed to be working late? Asleep at the Oval when you've 'got flu'? Serves you right then, but you can probably see advantages to a system that can be used to disable picture phones. Whereas the 'friends' who took the compromising pictures of you will no doubt see clear …

    Mobile 11 Sep 2003, 20:54

  • Litigation frenzy driving IT contractors under

    Insurance Age

    A spiralling cycle of litigation against independent IT contractors is forcing many firms out of business as they try to cope with the costs of fighting lengthy legal battles. Even where the consultant is not at fault, the cost of specialist legal representation and expert evidence can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds …

    Small Biz 11 Sep 2003, 21:03

  • CGEY: a backwards step

    Domesticated

    If Cap Gemini Ernst & Young goes ahead with its proposed takeover of French systems integrator Transiciel, it would go against most conventional thinking in the IT services sector. CGEY needs to invest in longer-term benefits, rather than just improving short-term earnings. Paul Hermelin, CGEY's chief executive said last week …

    Business 11 Sep 2003, 21:07

  • My 12-year-old nephew is going to rob your house

    FoTW RIAA peace brigade speaks

    Re: The RIAA sees the face of evil, and it's a 12-year-old girl A number of you out there - the vast majority - were troubled when the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of American) launched its legal attack against a child. Many of you even offered to pay the youngster's legal bill. Some other groups have stepped in on that …

    Letters 11 Sep 2003, 22:54