24th September 2003 Archive

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Symantec stumps up $150m for PowerQuest

Data recovery play

Symantec yesterday announced a deal to acquire storage management and disaster recovery firm PowerQuest Corp in an all-cash deal valued at $150 million. The acquisition, conditioned upon regulatory go-ahead and PowerQuest shareholder approval, is expected to close by the end of 2003. Symantec intends to combine PowerQuest’s …

Security 24 Sep 2003, 07:32
Kids targeted in mobile phone theft lesson

You better learn this

The UK Government has launched a nation-wide campaign to help kids steer clear of mobile phone crime. Youngsters between 11 and 14 will be able to get their hands on a CD-ROM called "Out of Your Hands?" which provides information on how to help stop them becoming victims of mobile phone crime. The "learning resource" - funded …

Mobile 24 Sep 2003, 09:40
Skype: putting the hype in VoIP

KaZaA founders target telephony

Reading interviews with the KaZaA founders and looking at their new web site, Skype we think that their second revolution has a chance of being even bigger than their first. Perhaps it's called Skype to rhyme with Hype. The idea is to use peer-to-peer networks to give free voice over IP telephone calls to the masses, and not …

Data Networking 24 Sep 2003, 10:13
RIAA pushes ahead with suits, sues iMesh, stirs up Senate

Busy bunnies

It's been a busy week for the US Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which is pushing ahead with 261 lawsuits filed last week against people alleged to have illegally downloaded music, but it has also decided to file another copyright infringement legal action, this time against iMesh, an Israel-based provider of a …

Music and Media 24 Sep 2003, 10:23
Sex and the City, Google-style

Location, location, location

Check out Google's search by location demo site. There are a few glitches to iron out, Reg Reader Geo points out: a search of sex and New York yields, at time of writing, only the names and addresses of convicted sex offenders - in Ohio. Spot any more absurdities? Send 'em here. Now for an article on location-based searching …

Music and Media 24 Sep 2003, 10:32
India blocks Yahoo! Groups

'Dumb pumpkin-faced potbellied dumbheads'

The world's largest democracy has blocked its citizens from accessing Yahoo!'s news groups, causing havoc to India's flourishing IT industry. The Indian government's Computer Emergency Response Team imposed a blanket ban, citing postings in the 'kynhun' group as justification. The forum carries postings by the secessionist …

Music and Media 24 Sep 2003, 10:34
Atos Origin: tough turnaround for Sema

Digestif

The $1.5 billion acquisition of most of SchlumbergerSema will help Atos Origin to expand in the lucrative outsourcing and government sectors, and gain the size it needs to compete against larger, international rivals. But the integration of the business will be the biggest challenge that Atos Origin's management team has faced …

Business 24 Sep 2003, 10:35
Opera releases 7.20 browser for Windows

Linux RSN...

Opera Software has released the final version of Opera 7.20 for Windows, which it claims as a "substantial upgrade" proving "our determination to break new ground with every major release." That said, the improvements look a tad incremental from where we're sitting, with the major impact for most users being the speed increase …

Music and Media 24 Sep 2003, 10:50
On mobile phones and spam

Over complicated minds

Forrester Research recently published a forecast and analysis of European Mobile messaging growth, writes Bob McDowall of Bloor Research. The analyst firm forecasts that Short message services will peak and basically plateau in 2004 and years beyond, and forecasts 100 per cent compound annual growth in enhanced message services …

Mobile 24 Sep 2003, 10:51
Help! I wanna leave AOL and can't find my way out

FTC comes calling

AOL has settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over charges that it made it too difficult for US subscribers to cancel their accounts. The company admits no wrongdoing but it is amending its cancellation practices following the FTC's intervention. Here is the nub of the FTC's complaint: ...most AOL subscribers who …

Music and Media 24 Sep 2003, 12:03
Apple recalls OS update

My Mac isn't working anymore...

Apple has withdrawn the latest update to Mac OS X, 10.2.8, after a few hours. The company doesn't say why, but Ethernet and display problems lead a long list of bugs at MacFixIt. Apple's knowledge base article for the update advises: "This update is temporarily unavailable. Please check back later." The update is the first for …

Mac Channel 24 Sep 2003, 12:13
Sophos buys ActiveState

Anti spam gig

Sophos today announced the acquisition of anti-spam developer ActiveState in a $23 million all-cash deal. The British antivirus firm says the deal will allow it to diversify its product portfolio to offer "consolidated protection against security threats such as viruses, spam and policy breaches". The deal is part of a more …

Mac Channel 24 Sep 2003, 12:14
A back door to Poindexter's Orwellian dream

Monster miscreant database now in state hands

The perverse dream of integrating law enforcement, military intelligence and vast databases of virtually everything done by virtually every citizen is coming to fruition, only under state, not federal, auspices. DARPA's dreaded Total Information Awareness (TIA) program, formerly administered by convicted felon and Republican …

Security 24 Sep 2003, 12:33
Northants villages set up own BB network

Hip, hip...

Villagers in rural Northamptonshire have set up their own not-for-profit company to provide a wireless broadband service. Resigned to the fact that West Haddon and Winwick, near Rugby, would not be commercially viable for BT to upgrade their exchange, 11 locals clubbed together to fund their own high speed Internet service. …

Wireless 24 Sep 2003, 12:35
RIAA withdraws $300m lawsuit against innocent pensioner

'Mistaken identity' - and they're not sorry

Six record labels including Sony, BMG and Virgin have withdrawn a $300m lawsuit against a 66-year old woman sculptor who, it turns out, has never used file sharing software. The RIAA said Sarah Ward was sharing 2,000 songs through the KaZaA P2P network exposing her, at $150,000 per offense, to $300,000,000 in penalties. But not …

Music and Media 24 Sep 2003, 13:29
GeoTrust takes on VeriSign for Euro -certs business

Opens UK office

Digital certificate company GeoTrust is expanding its operations to Europe as part of a bid to steal market share from market leader VeriSign with cheaper and easier to obtain digital certificate and identity products. GeoTrust is opening an office in Maidstone, Kent next week to provide improved localised support to customers …

Small Biz 24 Sep 2003, 14:58
So why is MSN Israel keeping its chatrooms open?

Not just about protecting children

Financial reasons are partly behind MSN's decision to can its chat rooms, according to Israel-based publication Nana Netlife. Explaining its decision to close its chat service MSN in the UK said it was protecting "users from unsolicited information such as spam and to help safeguard children from inappropriate communication …

Music and Media 24 Sep 2003, 15:02
MSN chat stand is ‘nothing short of reckless’ – Freeserve

'PR coup...'

Freeserve has lashed out MSN's handling of its decision to close it chatrooms, warning that its actions will simply send chatroom users underground. And it says it would have worked with MSN to build an "industry-wide best practice" had the outfit been that concerned about the matter. Britain's biggest ISP acknowledges that …

Music and Media 24 Sep 2003, 15:31
MSN Chat: It's the child protection lobby wot's to blame – LINX

'Knee-jerk calls'

MSN "can't be faulted" for its decision to close its chat rooms, according to peering outfit LINX. In a statement, Malcolm Hutty, Regulation Officer of the London Internet Exchange (LINX), claims ISPs have been put under severe pressure to take action. He argues that the child protection lobby recognises the dangers of …

Music and Media 24 Sep 2003, 15:34
Palm, Symbian and Windows apps to spread from Visual Basic source

MobileVB 4

A flood of new applications can be expected on mobile devices like Palm, Pocket PC and Symbian phones and PDAs, as Visual Basic programmers get easier access to these platforms, through AppForge licensing changes. In the past, AppForge's MobileVB developer package was pretty restricted in what it covered. With the release of …

Mobile 24 Sep 2003, 15:37
European Parliament castrates software patent regs

Big Biz 0 - 1 Penguinistas (HT)

The European Parliament today approved a draft Directive that paves the way for the introduction of software patents in Europe. However, widespread protests from critics of the measures have succeeded in pulling much of the sting from the proposed regulations. A compromise resolution passed by MEPs features numerous amendments …

Software 24 Sep 2003, 16:25
HP offers Linux users SCO protection

Stand by your man

HP plans to protect its Linux customers from the wrath of SCO by defending them in court at the company's own expense. HP will indemnify users who purchase servers and workstations should they face a lawsuit from SCO and its leader Mr. Clean. HP is the first major sever vendor to stand up and protect its customer base on …

Servers 24 Sep 2003, 16:28
MS bans mag cover discs for updates, blames Sun

Nasty lawyers made us do it, honest...

Microsoft has banned the cover-mounting of its software on magazines, and is advising users to go to its own web sites for updates instead. And apparently, it's all Sun's fault. The decision, which is thought to have emanated from the US, bites particularly hard in the UK, where computer magazines usually include CDs of free …

Software 24 Sep 2003, 18:46
Sun gets behind Athlon 64 with Linux OS

Intel warriors unite

Sun Microsystems' flirtation with AMD continues with the Java Desktop System set to make its way onto the Athlon 64 processor. When Sun releases the Linux-based Java Desktop software later this year, it will run on AMD's Ahtlon 64 processor but only in 32-bit mode. Sun plans to rectify this situation "over time" and create a 64 …

Servers 24 Sep 2003, 19:01
KaZaA sues RIAA for copyright infringement

Dog bites pigopolist (cont'd)

Sharman Networks is suing the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for distributing replicas of its P2P file sharing software. Sharman says the RIAA has distributed versions of KaZaA Lite with warning messages to potential infringers, which it deems "monopolistic and conspiratorial" behavior. In July a Judge nixed …

Music and Media 24 Sep 2003, 19:14
Virus takes out US visa-checking system for nine hours

Welchia worm implicated in snafu

Systems used by the US State Department to check visa applications against criminal and terrorist records were rendered inoperable for nine hours yesterday because of a computer virus infection. A virus hobbled the government's Consular Lookout and Support System (CLASS) which contains 15 million records from numerous US …

Anti-Virus 24 Sep 2003, 19:19
Nokia 3650 carries US users out of the dark age

Reg reporter upgraded

For those mired in the world of WAP or something even less compelling, a move to the Nokia 3650 is a welcome step toward modernity. It may not be where phones should end up, but it's a leap in the right direction. Putting a WAP device down can be painful. Our clamshell Samsung - made in, ahem, 1999 - has its merits. The phone …

Mobile 24 Sep 2003, 19:47
New Palm Tungstens debut on Web

Reseller lets slip specs, pics

Details of Palm's two new Tungsten PDAs have leaked out ahead of their official launch next week on 1 October. The two models, the Tungsten T3 and E, have been anticipated for some time, but the leak fills in the missing details - and provides our first glimpse of the entry-level E. The leaks come courtesy of UK PDA reseller C …

Mobile 24 Sep 2003, 20:06
Reg opens everything wireless store

Competition What’s in a name?

We’ve put together a rather nice shop and filled it with all things wireless. Check out the latest mobile phones, the hottest PDAs and more peripherals – chargers, phone kits, storage, Bluetooth, GPS, cables and connectors - than you can shake a stick at. But what to call it? Our first thought was to name this shop RegPhone …

Site News 24 Sep 2003, 20:35
Tundra out to buy PowerPC product lines off Motorola

Negotiations underway

Tundra Semiconductor has confirmed it is in talks to buy part of Motorola's PowerPC product line. The announcement follows the inadvertent leaking of a press release stating the two companies had reached an agreement. 'We haven't - but we're trying to get one,' was the essence of Tundra's statement. It expects to know one way …

Mac Channel 24 Sep 2003, 20:47
Seagate pops Lindows onto hard drives at no charge

Whitebox delight

Seagate has decided to lend an open source hand to Whitebox PC makers by distributing the LindowsOS on one of its hard drives at no cost. U.S. computer makers of all shapes and sizes can purchases the 40GB Barracuda 7200.7 hard drives pre-loaded with LindowsHD. Seagate will sell the hard drives with our without the Linux OS at …

Storage 24 Sep 2003, 21:17
AMD-hosted WLAN used to infect security hack's PC

So that's what a firewall's for...

AMD would like you to know that its mobile Athlon 64 goes very nicely with 802.11 wireless networking. And in a bid to get hacks assembled at its Cannes launch event this week to think 'wireless', the chip maker thoughtfully laid on a WLAN for them to use to quickly file column inches for their respective rags. Notebook- …

Bootnotes 24 Sep 2003, 21:28