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11th November 2003 Archive

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  • China doubles DIY 3G bounty

    TD-SCDMA needs boost - report

    The People's Republic of China is to invest another 1.4 billion yuan in its homegrown, royalty-skipping 3G technology, TD-SCDMA this week. That's around $170 million, double the amount the MST, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, invested in August. China doesn't apportion the 3G licenses until the end of the year …

    Mobile 11 Nov 2003, 09:58

  • MS to carpet bomb channel with phones?

    Wall to wall Windows

    According to DigiTimes, Microsoft has doubled the minimum requirement for smartphone manufacturers from 50,000 to 100,000 units. With Mitac promising ten Smartphone 2003-based devices next year, we face the possibility of an abundance - perhaps an over-abundance - of phones in 2004. The requirement applies to contract …

    Mobile 11 Nov 2003, 09:59

  • Move your landline number to a mobile

    FCC OKs switch

    The US telecoms regulator yesterday reminded local landline providers not to delay customers who want to switch their telephone number to a cellphone. Wireless carriers had been worried that the Baby Bells would force each carrier to make a peering arrangement. The FCC yesterday said the landline providers ought to be able to …

    Small Biz 11 Nov 2003, 10:04

  • BT flogs bluephones to the masses

    Hello Hoi, hello Polloi

    BT has re-entered the consumer mobile market with a £5m advertising campaign for its BT Mobile Home service and plans to launch its ‘bluephone’ dual-mode fixed/wireless handset early next year. The company said it is negotiating with the five UK mobile operators and expects to sign up either one or two of them to carry the …

    Mobile 11 Nov 2003, 10:10

  • Intel to take P4, P4EE to 3.4GHz next quarter – report

    More Prescott-shaped holes to plug?

    Intel will take the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition - along with the regular version - to 3.4GHz during the first quarter of 2004, presumably in a buffer for the initial absence of high clock frequency versions of the next generation of the Pentium 4, the 90nm 'Prescott'. So claim sources close to Intel cited by Xbit Labs. Neither …

    Channel 11 Nov 2003, 10:14

  • Wi-Fi chipmakers of the World unite!

    Choose me, Cisco, please, please, please

    Conexant and GlobespanVirata are to merge in a $969m all-stock deal that takes them head-to-head with Broadcom in the broadband digital home and Wi-Fi markets. The merger comes less than four months after GlobespanVirata acquired WLAN chipmaker Intersil for $365m and raises question marks over the future roadmap for the Wi-Fi …

    Broadband 11 Nov 2003, 10:20

  • Watchdog bans Apple Power Mac G5 ads

    Misleading claims

    Apple adverts that claimed its Power Mac G5 was "the world's fastest, most powerful personal computer" have been banned in the UK following complaints from eight AMD fans... er... viewers. The ban, which applies to the G5 campaign that feature a user being blasted through the walls of his house, was imposed by the Independent …

    Mac Channel 11 Nov 2003, 10:40

  • Qwest to sell VoiP to Harry Homeowner

    Give me a V! Give me a little o!

    Dick Notebaert, CEO of US western states telco Qwest pulled a surprise as he addressed an industry c onference this week, announcing that Qwest will take Voice over IP services to the masses. Nearly all the US local loop suppliers offer varying levels of VoIP to businesses, but this is the first move by a US telco to take the …

    Data Networking 11 Nov 2003, 10:46

  • Now we are one. Freeview claims 2M couch potatoes

    So why are Brits the fattest people in Europe?

    The UK’s digital TV experiment Freeview is just one year old but has just passed the 2 million homes mark that represents about an 8.3% market share in the UK Television market. The BBC’s shift to offer Freeview channels is probably the most important ingredient in this success, and in order to maintain its lead in digital TV …

    Broadband 11 Nov 2003, 11:01

  • Sony unveils ‘video iPod’

    Reg Kit Watch Plus: Creative does the Rhomba

    Portable video player Sony has launched a portable personal digital video player under its Vaio brand in Japan . The GigaPocket PCVA-HVP20 features a 20GB hard drive, enough to hold up to 31 hours of programming - if you're pretty frugal with image quality, natch. The GigaPocket is a compact 12 x 8.4 x 2.8cm (4.8 x 3.4 x 1.1in …

    Personal 11 Nov 2003, 11:14

  • AMD names VIP first UK Associate Distributor

    Joins the elite

    Warrington-based distributor VIP Computer Center has been granted Associate Distributor status by AMD - the first company gain such accreditation in the UK and one of only a four in Europe. An AMD Associate Distributor is essentially top-tier channel qualification, and will result in VIP working directly with the chip maker. …

    Channel 11 Nov 2003, 11:36

  • Sony preps updated CD copy protection trial

    Carrot as well as stick this time

    Sony will test its latest CD copy protection mechanism in Germany next week that blocks ripping but allows tracks to be transferred to "authorised" portable music players. That's the carrot it's dangling in front of punters who may be put off buying discs that feature copy protection. Sony is essentially providing buyers with …

    Personal 11 Nov 2003, 12:19

  • Revealed: US console installed base figures

    PS2 almost twice its rivals combined

    The release of Activision's financial results yesterday brought with it a helpful breakdown of the installed bases of the various consoles in North America, including projections through to the end of financial year 2003/04. As you might expect, the PlayStation 2 dominates the proceedings, with a current installed base of 19.2 …

    Personal 11 Nov 2003, 12:34

  • Mission impossible? Blunkett's big biometric ID adventure

    Why it can't, won't work

    Today UK home secretary David Blunkett rolled out his plans for national ID cards. They will cost "£35" over a ten year period for individuals, but will be free for "all those who do not want or need a driving licence or passport" (which means they're already compulsory for these two groups), and the add-on cost, based on the …

    Media 11 Nov 2003, 13:05

  • Belkin disables router spamming feature

    Gracious climb down

    Belkin, the consumer networking and connectivity firm, has promised customers a firmware upgrade to disable a controversial 'spamming' feature built into its routers. As first reported on The Reg last week, the feature hijacks random HTTP requests every eight hours and redirects users to a page advertising Belkin's parental …

    Media 11 Nov 2003, 15:17

  • Eudora users warned over ‘reply to all’ trick

    Press Send for a buffer flow flaw

    A buffer overflow vulnerability in Eudora, the popular email client, creates a mechanism for crackers to compromise targeted PCs. The problem stems from a failure to properly verify the "From:" and "Reply-To:" when users of vulnerable versions of Eudora select "Reply-To-All". This shortcoming creates a means for hackers to spam …

    Security 11 Nov 2003, 15:20

  • Retailers join zero-profit DRM ‘gold rush’

    MP3 fever

    "The gold rush is finally beginning," an Insight researcher called Phil Leigh told the San Jose Mercury News this week, commenting on the decision of Comcast and Best Buy to begin commercial MP3 download services. Comcast will sell a version of Real's Rhapsody subscription service, and High Street chain Best Buy will promote a …

    Media 11 Nov 2003, 15:24

  • Net pedants quell Matrix Revolutions

    23 shocking errors and rising

    Pity if you will the humble Hollywood film director, struggling to provide intellectually-challenging yet entertaining cinematic product on a mere $120 million while battling against studios, producers and heartless bean counters. Then, having invested all of himself, all of the cash and a hefty two billion hours of CGI server …

    Bootnotes 11 Nov 2003, 15:29

  • Oracle chokes on PeopleSoft's poison pill

    Promised rebates may force Oracle to abandon bid

    Oracle may have to abandon its $7.3 billion hostile takeover bid for PeopleSoft because of the enterprise software firm's licensing-fee refund program. In a filling to a Deleware Court, Oracle said PeopleSoft's promise to give its customers between two to five times their licensing fees back following a takeover could scupper …

    Data Center 11 Nov 2003, 16:10

  • Linux on the desktop – the man from Armonk, he say yes!

    If the lack of IBM Global Services' approval was troubling you, you're saved...

    Linux is now officially ready for the desktop, and you all have permission to stop buying Windows client systems and buy Linux ones instead. From, we presume, IBM and its friends, seeing it's IBM that has this week given its approval. IBM has previously been noted both for its readiness to sell Linux on its own very wonderful …

    Software 11 Nov 2003, 18:20

  • Penn State trustee and RIAA lawyer denies conflict of interests

    Here's to you, Mr. Robinson

    Penn State University, the RIAA and Napster - the axis of spiel - continue to defy the laws of common sense and economics that our country once held dear. Penn State trustee and RIAA legal counsel Barry Robinson has denied having anything to do with the university's recent adoption of the Napster music service. Robinson told …

    Media 11 Nov 2003, 20:39

  • WorldPay recovers from massive attack

    Analysis Three Days of the CyberDoS

    WorldPay's systems are back running normally this week following the most serious and sustained Internet attack on a UK business to date. Operations at the Royal Bank of Scotland's Internet payment transaction outfit were blighted for three days last week as the result of a malicious DDoS attack by unidentified computer …

    Security 11 Nov 2003, 21:08

  • Merriam-Webster explains disappearing McJob

    And today, Ronald is wearing a ... sad face

    Merriam-Webster is revising a web page for its Collegiate Dictionary after a McDonalds executive complained about the inclusion of the word 'McJob'. The publisher insisted that the two events are not related, and told us today that the word remained in the dictionary and would be restored online. An eagle eyed Swede noticed …

    Media 11 Nov 2003, 21:09

  • HP pulls together Windows, Linux, Unix and a lot more

    The adaptive enterprise is an umbrella

    HP's adaptive enterprise is, well, adapting. After enduring months of criticism for being vague at best and incomprehensible at worst over its adaptive enterprise vision, HP unveiled a series of partnerships, services and software to help people understand what it's talking about. The company has summed up the adaptive …

    Servers 11 Nov 2003, 22:54