25th September 2003 Archive

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PalmSource to build smart phone OS

Once PDA-centric Palm OS 6 is done, by year's end

Even as initial development work on Palm OS 6 draws to a close, PalmSource has said it will continue to work on version 5, with a release geared toward smartphones already in the pipeline. Palm OS 6, aka 'Sahara', will ship before the end of the year, PalmSource told developer conference attendees in Munich this week. The …

Mobile 25 Sep 2003, 08:25
Shift to voice over IP underway

Inexorable

Telcos will see up to 40 percent of their fixed-line traffic leak away to other networks in five to seven years, an IP communications expert has warned. Speaking on Tuesday at the telecoms conference Voice on the Net (VON) in Boston, CEO Jeff Pulver of IP communications company Pulver.com said that technologies like broadband, …

Data Networking 25 Sep 2003, 08:27
The BOFH mobile comms quiz

Episode 22 How sad is your workplace?

BOFH 2003: Episode 22 It's mobile, it's comms, it's great - you know it, your geeky users want it. But then people are rarely happy. They want 802.11b and they want it yesterday, and you're the one who's supposed to have installed it. Yesterday. However, as a seasoned computing veteran, before you put your budget where someone' …

BOFH 25 Sep 2003, 08:35
Intel pays Micron to boost server RAM output

Memory maker still losing money, though

Intel will slip Micron $450 million to beef up its DDR 2 production, the companies said yesterday, even as the memory maker announced a massive fiscal year loss of $1.27 billion. Publishing its latest quarterly figures, Micron reported a loss of $123 million (20 cents a share) on revenues of $889 million for the three months to …

Servers 25 Sep 2003, 09:02
Philips and HP to share virtual data centre

'On demand' for real

Philips Semiconductors and Hewlett Packard will share a fully virtualised data centre that reduces IT costs and enables an infrastructure that responds in real time to market changes in a highly changeable semiconductor industry. The UDC, the first of its kind, is located at Philips Semiconductors' largest site in Nijmegen, …

Servers 25 Sep 2003, 09:06
Linux taking off – and being taken off

Game On

"More than two dozen nations are considering proposals to promote or require the use of Linux in government offices" according to Erwin Gillich, deputy head of the city of Vienna's information technology unit, which is likely to choose Linux over Windows on 15,000 desktops. So, who are these nations, asks Robin Bloor of Bloor …

Servers 25 Sep 2003, 09:06
Vignette buys Intraspect

Let battle commence

After iManage merged with Interwoven and Documentum with eRoom, it almost looked as if Intraspect was going to be the wallflower at the dance. The pace of consolidation in the Smart Enterprise Suite sector was making the position of pure-play vendors ever more shaky. Obviously the logic of consolidation was undeniable and now …

Hardware 25 Sep 2003, 09:11
$100m Grand Theft Auto lawsuit threatens to become class action

Blood in the water

Publisher Take-Two Interactive may face a class action from purported victims of the Grand Theft Auto games, as the family of a man killed by boys allegedly influenced by the game prepare to file a $100 million lawsuit. As we reported earlier, the case arises from an incident where two boys, aged 16 and 14 years old, opened …

Personal 25 Sep 2003, 09:12
VeriSign: illiterate ramblings

Rough calcs

VeriSign's [VRSN] controversial Site Finder service, launched last week, has helped VeriSign become one of the top ten websites in terms of user numbers. However, industry estimates of how much revenue it could generate from this service seem to be overly optimistic - unless VeriSign is planning to make some modifications. …

Music and Media 25 Sep 2003, 09:15
VeriSign slammed for domain renewal scam

But FTC accepts it didn’t break the law

VeriSign has been rapped over the knuckles by the FTC for its calculated attempt to steal domains from competitors - a practice called "slamming". However in a ruling by the government arm, VeriSign was found not to have broken the law and so avoided a hefty fine. It has however been barred from suggesting that someone’s domain …

Music and Media 25 Sep 2003, 09:15
Pervert! You're using the Internet

Opinion Kewney on MSN Chat

Guy Kewney is probably the UK's best-known computer journalist. He has his own site, our news partner, the marvellous Newswireless.Net. Here's a small coincidence for you. Microsoft is going to charge users for mobile MSN mail, and is going (try to) to charge other Instant Messaging systems a royalty for access to MSN Instant …

Music and Media 25 Sep 2003, 09:31
Intel ships 3.2GHz Mobile P4 with HT tech

And a 2.7GHz desktop Celeron

Intel has rolled out four Mobile Pentium 4 processor that finally bring its HyperThreading technology to notebook computers, though the chips' frontside bus has yet to exceed an effective bit rate of 533MHz. It also shipped a new Celeron desktop chip, taking the family to 2.7GHz. The release comes just a couple of days after …

Channel 25 Sep 2003, 09:41
Nvidia unveils nForce 3 for mobile, desktop Athlon 64

Join workstation part

Nvidia this week expanded its AMD64-targeted nForce 3 chipset line from one part to three, adding mobile and desktop versions to the workstation chip announced in April. Joining the Opteron-oriented nForce 3 Pro 150 is the vanilla nForce 3 150 for the Athlon 64 and Athlon 64 FX, and the nForce 3 Go 150 for the mobile version of …

Channel 25 Sep 2003, 10:13
Bust PC builder lands ICM with huge piracy bill

MS comes calling

ICM Computer Group has been landed with a huge bill for buying pirated software unwittingly from an unnamed distributor. The disaster recovery specialist has set aside £725,000 to cover its obligations to Microsoft, of which £400,000 has already made its way to the software giant. In a statement accompanying its results …

Channel 25 Sep 2003, 10:17
IT services at work are pants

New workers wait weeks for PCs, help, says study

Two in five workers are dissatisfied with IT services at work, according to a survey out yesterday. According to the study, sponsored by IT services software firm newScale, workers can wait for up to two weeks for a response to routine IT service requests. Other respondents reported that it took several weeks after starting a …

Hardware 25 Sep 2003, 11:16
Em@iler set to make a profit

250k in circulation

Amserve - the business behind Amstrad's em@iler phone-cum-email device - should make a profit during the financial year, the company said in a statement today. Publishing results for the year ended 30 June, Amstrad explained that it had sold 130,000 em@ilers during the last year bringing the total number of devices to more than …

Telecoms 25 Sep 2003, 11:22
Windows Longhorn to RTM in August 2005?

Neowin saws at the branch...

Longhorn, the next version of Windows, isn't due to ship until 2005; but according to Neowin.net, it's due on August 15 2005. A record-breaking risky prediction? Actually, the site's taking a rather bigger risk than is immediately obvious, because it's citing Microsoft sources claiming that the date will be given to partners …

Software 25 Sep 2003, 11:43
NEC boffins create ‘stable’ nanotube fab process

One step closer to making nanotube transistors

NEC scientists have figured out how to make the basic components of a carbon nanotube (CNT) transistor using a "stable fabrication technology". CNTs are cylinders of carbon atoms just a few nanometres in diameter. The arrangement of the atoms is similar to that found in fullerenes - the near-spherical carbon structures also …

Channel 25 Sep 2003, 12:20
Lloyds TSB phishing scam nipped in the bud

Be vigilant

Net fraudsters have targeted Lloyds TSB customers in the latest fake email scam. Reg readers report receiving emails this week purporting to be a security check from Lloyds TSB, which are in reality attempts to trick users into handing over sensitive account information to fraudsters. Evidence suggests many copies of the fake …

Security 25 Sep 2003, 12:27
Bulldog gets new COO

That's it

Broadband operation Bulldog Communications has appointed a top bod from ISP Nildram as its new chief operating officer. Martin Jowett, who looked after sales, marketing, operations and customer care at Nildram, was selected by Bulldog for his "extensive broadband experience and record for success". Before Nildram, Jowett also …

Telecoms 25 Sep 2003, 12:31
Amazon.com drops Fossil Wrist PDA

Update Delayed again

Watch maker Fossil has delayed the release of its Palm OS-based Wrist PDA - maybe even indefinitely. Unveiled in November 2002, the Wrist PDA was originally due to ship last June. At that time, we were told by Fossil's UK operation that the product had been delayed until early next year. Not all, responded the US parent, the …

Mobile 25 Sep 2003, 14:07
Freeserve to offer ‘friendly’ advice service

How do you get rid of red wine stains?

Freeserve is banking on "friendly" advice to help boost numbers at the UK's giant ISP. From next month punters will be able to phone up the ISP - free of charge - to find out which Net access package and tariff is best for them. Based on the information provided by punters, Freeserve's "friendly" advisors will be able to …

Telecoms 25 Sep 2003, 14:11
India's Yahoo! Groups ban – update

Blockage almost total

India's blanket ban of Yahoo! Groups continues. It's not 100 per cent, but most of the largest ISPs have complied, removing access for over 80 per cent of users. The Government's Computer Emergency Response Team - which normally releases security and virus alerts - issued a block on all groups after Yahoo! refused to remove …

Music and Media 25 Sep 2003, 14:12
eBay confirms user data giveaway

Just ask, we'll tell

Unrepentant online auction site eBay has confirmed that it will give personal data to government officials without a subpoena. They only have to ask. eBay users have received the following explanation: Hello, Thank you for your email. I understand your concern with this issue. My name is Christian. I am a representative of …

Music and Media 25 Sep 2003, 14:19
Watchdog to target text spammers

You have been warned

Premium-rate phone service watchdog ICSTIS is to clamp down on unscrupulous text spammers after seeing the number of complaints rocket over the last year. In a stern warning to the industry, ICSTIS said it will no longer tolerate misleading and unsolicited text messages that trick people into calling premium rate numbers by …

Channel 25 Sep 2003, 14:39
NetApp soups up low-end NAS kit

Room to grow

Network Appliance has stepped up to meet increasing pressure from EMC and Microsoft with the launch of some new kit and software. NetApp has taken the wraps of the FAS200 series of low-end storage appliances. The company has crammed some high-end features into the new products but kept them sized for a workgroup or department …

Servers 25 Sep 2003, 16:35
Seagate ships most rugged external hard drive

Reg Kit Watch Tougher than the rest

Hard drive Seagate has begun shipping its first external hard drive, a 160GB beast the company reckons is the most rugged in the consumer market. The drive is encased in an acrylic/polycarbonate shell designed to be mounted vertically or horizontally. The case also features a locking mechanism to make multiple drives easy to …

Personal 25 Sep 2003, 16:38
Samba offers NT 4.0 escape route

Alight here

One small but significant breakthrough from the open source Samba project offers Windows NT shops a low-cost migration option out of the Microsoft world. The new release of the software, which provides file and print services on Windows networks, can serve as a Primary Domain Controller (PDC) on NT 4.0. Samba version 3.0.0 is …

Software 25 Sep 2003, 17:49
Palm OS: the right balance

Microsoft and Symbian's operating systems are less flexible than Palm OS

The Palm OS outshines its rivals through its ability to combine application variety with compatibility. Content providers and consumers alike are seeking this level of flexibility in future mobile operating systems, something which Palm's rivals are currently struggling to match. Palm OS represents possibly the most flexible …

Mobile 25 Sep 2003, 19:24
Sobig linked to DDoS attacks on anti-spam sites

Find 'Baron Samedi', controller of the zombie PC network

A senior anti-spam activist is calling on law enforcement authorities to track down the perpetrators behind a widespread and sustained attack on anti-spam sites. The call, from Steve Linford of Spamhaus, comes along with fresh evidence that the assaults have been enabled by the infamous Sobig worm. Earlier this week two anti- …

Anti-Virus 25 Sep 2003, 19:30
Dell is ready to entertain you

Music store, player and TVs on tap

Dell is charging into some unfamiliar territory, announcing a host of home entertainment products set for launch later this year. The company known best for moving bland PCs and servers with unparalleled efficiency now thinks it's ready to play in a few markets where design and strong UIs count. In the U.S. Dell plans to roll …

Personal 25 Sep 2003, 20:39
Car shoppers' credit details exposed in bulk

Squealer Dealers

At least 1,000 automobile shoppers who submitted online credit applications to any of 150 different automotive dealerships around the U.S. had their personal and financial details exposed on a publicly-accessible website, according to a computer security consultant who stumbled across the privacy gaffe. The exposed site was an …

Security 25 Sep 2003, 21:08
Intel pushes Centrino with One Unwired Day

Keith Richards' dream

Those of you in San Francisco, Chicago and New York may have noticed something peculiar today as Intel kicked off a Centrino celebration called One Unwired Day. Users in these fine cities are being treated to 24 hours of free wireless access at various locations, including Intel partner sites such as Starbucks and McDonalds. …

Mobile 25 Sep 2003, 21:44
Compaq FAQ explains the ‘Any Key’

Someone tell Homer

For anyone out there that doubts the full integration of HP and Compaq's Web sites, we offer up FAQ2859 as evidence that the companies paid extreme attention to detail. Compaq FAQ2859 answers a question often posed by technology-challenged users and hated by admins. "Where do I find the 'Any' key?" "The term 'any key' does not …

Bootnotes 25 Sep 2003, 22:18