23rd September 2003 Archive

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US set to make massive H1-B visa cuts

Yankee tech workers hurting too much

The US is prepared to slash the number of H-1B visas issued annually, as a sour economy has the government concerned about hiring foreign tech worker help. Unless some lobbying groups step up their pitch to sway Congress before Oct. 1, the annual limit on H1-B visas will plummet to 65,000. This is a massive drop from the 195, …

Business 23 Sep 2003, 00:49
Microsoft ordered to pay Mass legal fees

Kollar-Kotelly strikes again

Microsoft is to cough up $1 million in legal fees to Massachusetts - the lone state pursuing an appeal against the 2002 antitrust ruling. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has ordered Microsoft to shell out $967,014, which is about half of the $1,992,075 sought by Massachusetts. The fees cover six years of work …

Business 23 Sep 2003, 01:19
Dutch spammer to appear in US court

FTC sues Martijn Bevelander

Dutch mass spammer Martijn Bevelander may have to appear before a federal judge. The Federal Trade Commission has filed an amended complaint in its pending federal court action against US spam flooder Brian Westby, and added as defendants Martijn Bevelander, and two Dutch companies, Maps Holding B.V. and PB Planning & Services B …

Music and Media 23 Sep 2003, 08:45
Bruce Green of Death

Opinion Lost in Translation

We spend money, increase administration, and take away functionality. Is it any wonder that security people are so misunderstood, asks SecurityFocus columnist Tim Mullen. A friend of mine from Japan has been in the States about ten years now. Though her English vocabulary is better than many native speakers I know, she still …

Security 23 Sep 2003, 09:37
European telecoms: light at the end of the tunnel

Debt reduction

Europe's three largest telcos are all showing signs that market conditions are improving. After a torrid two years of cutbacks, job losses and asset sales, there are signs that the economic gloom may be easing somewhat for the 'big three' European telcos: Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, and BT. Helped by a reduction of debt …

Mobile 23 Sep 2003, 09:42
Fake Bluetooth gear swamps UK retail

TDK to take action

Phone retailers are about to discover that they risk legal action for selling fake Bluetooth gear. Over 50% of Bluetooth equipment on sale in the UK is counterfeit, according to a survey. And that figure is set to rise. By year end, as little as 15% of the "Bluetooth" equipment on sale in retail outlets may be genuine, say SIG …

Channel 23 Sep 2003, 09:52
Tesco Mobile hits the streets

Lashed by Virgin Mobile

Tesco Mobile, the JV between the giant supermarket chain and mobile operator O2, reckons its new pay-as-you-go service will save punters up to half compared to other networks. Launching the service yesterday, Tesco Mobile claimed its service is uncomplicated and easy to understand. And in a bid to sweep away confusing tariffs, …

Mobile 23 Sep 2003, 09:54
Looked at porn? The boss can't just fire you (if you're Dutch)

Where's the code of conduct

Employees in the Netherlands can't be sacked for downloading Internet pornography onto office computers unless there is a clear code of conduct, according to the Dutch legal trade magazine People Planet Profit, which conducted research on the subject. Judges are demanding from companies that they have to set out clearly what …

Music and Media 23 Sep 2003, 11:33
Net not to blame for tearaway kids

Chinese research on state of its e-nation

Kids in China are not turned into isolated, withdrawn tearaways just because they use the Internet. So says a report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), which found that four in ten youngsters access the Net. Of those, four in ten said that their Net use had "no influence on their studies", while three in ten …

Music and Media 23 Sep 2003, 11:35
VeriSign stands firm on Site Finder

Typo-squatting service stays online

VeriSign is refusing to back down in the increasingly acrimonious row over its controversial Site Finder redirection service. Last week, Net governing body ICANN called on VeriSign to "voluntarily suspend" Site Finder amid concerns that the service conflicts with key Net technical standards. Site Finder was launched last week …

Music and Media 23 Sep 2003, 11:38
Users ‘vote with their mouses’ for Site Finder

MemoWatch VeriSign defends typosquatting service

Russell (AKA Rusty) Lewis, general manager of VeriSign's Global Registry Services has been busy with his pen lately. At the weekend he wrote to ICANN declining the Net governing body's request to suspend VeriSign's controversial Site Finder service. He's also written to his employees to explain VeriSign's actions, which techies …

Music and Media 23 Sep 2003, 11:41
Yahoo! launches shopping search site

Price comparison

Yahoo! has launched its new price comparison service, the latest salvo in the battle for dominance in the Internet search space. Yesterday, the company opened the doors to its new Yahoo! Shopping service, which lets users search for products sold over the Web. More than 10,000 e-stores are listed on the new service and the …

Music and Media 23 Sep 2003, 12:20
Jury convicts DirecTV pirate on DMCA charges

Unlawful decryption device

A US jury this week convicted a Florida man for selling illegal cable TV descrambling hardware. This is the first jury conviction under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Thomas Michael Whitehead, 38, of Boca Raton, Florida, was found guilty of three counts of violating the DMCA. His role in selling hardware used to …

Security 23 Sep 2003, 13:08
Cable ISP kneecaps heavy users

Who pays for P2P?

The largest US broadband ISP ComCast is introducing its customers to the idea of "you get what you pay for" and is meeting a fierce backlash. Cable provider Comcast, which acquired the AT&T@Home network, is experimenting with capping users bandwidth, suspending users who exceed what Comcast deems acceptable usage. But what is …

Telecoms 23 Sep 2003, 14:24
World's biggest Luddite ‘factually incorrect’ over porn claim

For the record...

An Australian cyber rights group has been allowed to publish a right to reply in official parliamentary records after complaining that comments made about the organisation during a debate were "factually incorrect". Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc - a non-profit national organisation representing Internet users concerned …

Music and Media 23 Sep 2003, 14:30
Blunkett states ID card aims – but can he achieve them?

How the rollout will work. Or not...

UK Home Secretary David Blunkett came out fighting for his ID card scheme over the weekend, telling BBC's Breakfast with Frost programme that he still wished to see enabling legislation for a scheme introduced in the next parliamentary session, despite doubts from some of his cabinet colleagues. Blunkett's determination is …

Music and Media 23 Sep 2003, 15:06
AMD Athlon 64 doubles up for desktop, mobile roles

Same chip

Are AMD's desktop and mobile Athlon 3200+ chips the same processor? It certainly looks that way. Priced identically, both feature curiously similar-sounding power conservation technologies. As you'd expect from a notebook-oriented Athlon, the mobile 3200+ features PowerNow!, which throttles down the processor's core voltage and …

Channel 23 Sep 2003, 16:01
Sun lines up more Java support on the PC

50 per cent done

Sun Microsystems had added five new PC makers to its list of Java supporters, as the company continues it attempt to secure the software on the desktop. Acer, Gateway, Toshiba, Samsung and Tsinghua Tongfang are the latest OEMs agreeing to ship Sun's JVM with their computers. This group joins Dell, HP and Apple, which signed …

Software 23 Sep 2003, 16:24
AMD unwraps 2GHz 64-bit Athlons

3200+ for regular punters, FX-51 for gamers

AMD launched its Athlon 64 family today, unveiling the 2GHz Athlon 64 3200+ for consumers and similarly clocked Athlon 64 FX-51 for 'pro-sumer' customers seeking that little bit extra. The difference between the two chips: the FX has a built-in dual-channel 128-bit DDR controller, while the 3200+ connects to a single-channel 64 …

Channel 23 Sep 2003, 16:53
eBay trader arrested in missing DVDs probe

zippymilk on bail

The man at the centre of a row over the non-arrival of DVDs bought through auctions on eBay has been arrested and questioned by Norfolk Police. Adrian Bailey (aka zippymilk), 33, was arrested on suspicion of deception by Great Yarmouth police on Friday, the Eastern Daily Press reports today. Police confirm that a man (who they …

Music and Media 23 Sep 2003, 18:37
TI counter-sues Qualcomm

Loyalty royalties

Texas Instruments has counter-sued Qualcomm, claiming that the San Diego company is fibbing about it, and offering discounts to handset manufacturers who swear not to deal with the company. Precise details of the suit are secret. "We have received reports that Qualcomm is offering handset royalty discounts to handset …

Mobile 23 Sep 2003, 18:39
Multi-core Athlon 64s ‘inevitable’ – AMD

Update Cores célèbre

AMD today offered the possibility that it will take future Opteron server and workstation chips down the multi-core route espoused by Intel last week, and already well-trodden by IBM. Speaking at the launch of the Athlon 64 and Athlon FX processors, AMD chairman Jerry Sanders said: "With coherent HyperTransport, it's inevitable …

Servers 23 Sep 2003, 18:41
CCC Network Systems apologizes for Chapter 7 inconvenience

Data center darling done

CCC Network Systems has proven that receiving venture capital doesn't always pay, as the high end data center equipment maker has started its liquidation. During its 15 years in business, CCC assembled an impressive customer list for its switching and remote server management products. CCC kit made its way into the data centers …

Data Networking 23 Sep 2003, 19:09
Man beats Microsoft, becomes instant domain expert

Read the whole story for $49

Microsoft has backed down from suing the owner of www.xbox.ws, according to the man himself, Mike Chatha. "Well they said it couldn't happen," begins Mike’s triumphant message, before explaining that a letter from MS four days earlier "appreciates the efforts" made and "considers the matter closed". But there’s even better …

Music and Media 23 Sep 2003, 22:49
Captain Cyborg returns with Wi-Fi rhubarb!

Welcome back, Master of Gibberish

As inevitable as a summer cold, Kevin Warwick aka Captain Cyborg has returned to spread his own unique brand of doom-saying. What has he “implanted” this time in order to prove that man will become subservient to machines? Nothing. But as the world’s leading expert in putting reed switches under the skin for a couple of days …

Bootnotes 23 Sep 2003, 22:50
MSN torches chatrooms

'Increasingly being misused'

MSN is to ditch its chatroom service next month in 28 countries as part of an effort to protect children online. The company says it is making the move because online chat services are "increasingly being misused" by spammers and paedophiles. It is closing chatrooms throughout EMEA, much of Latin America and Asia. MSN is …

Music and Media 23 Sep 2003, 23:13
EMC goes after SMBs

Mid-market love

With WideSky behind it, EMC is continuing its standards-based management plans with the release of software targeted at SMBs. EMC's VisualSRM and VisualSAN products kick off a new mid-sized customer attack for the company. The two software packages promise the basic goals of making management easier and getting more out of the …

Storage 23 Sep 2003, 23:13