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12th November 2003 Archive

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  • Dell snuggles in with Microsoft's MOM

    HP deflates OpenManage extension

    Dell's server software division has drawn closer ties with its favorite operating system vendor - Microsoft. Dell rolled out three updates to the OpenManage product line, hoping to let administrators tap into previously inaccessible Windows functions. The Dell OpenManage Management Pack for MOM (Microsoft Operations Manager), …

    Servers 12 Nov 2003, 01:19

  • Offshore IT services: east or west

    Industry split into two rival camps

    The offshore IT services industry is clearly split into two rival camps: east and west. Vendors from both hemispheres compete on price for the same clients' business. However, the obstacles that both groups must overcome differ. Understanding these differences, and individual vendors' survival strategies, is key to spotting the …

    Business 12 Nov 2003, 10:03

  • Tax haven for German ICT firms to disappear

    Back to Bermuda, then

    Does Norderfriedrichskoog really need an IT company to serve a community of just 47 inhabitants and a dozen thatched homesteads 200 kilometres north of Hamburg? Well, yes. According to the Offshore Financial Review, it is the world's most unfashionable tax haven. Little Monaco in Germany, they call this god forsaken place. …

    Business 12 Nov 2003, 10:57

  • El Reg seals TechnoDepot apparel pact (redux)

    Cash'n'Carrion Worldpay DDoS attack ruins plans for world domination

    It was going so well. The deal was sealed with TechnoDepot to sell its very fine t-shirts for geeks on Cash'n'Carrion. The announcement went up on The Register, the sales started coming in. And then lots of complaints from readers who were unable to make an order. Yes, dear readers, the day we launched the TechnoDepot range on …

    Site News 12 Nov 2003, 11:16

  • Nokia N-Gage cracked

    Play consoles games on other phones

    The security system built into Nokia's N-Gage has been cracked, allowing other Symbian-based mobile handsets to play games designed for the Finnish handheld console-cum-phone. So claims gaming web site Spong, without explaining how the crack works. But work it does. Siemens phone fan-site ClubSiemens has a series of pictures …

    Mobile 12 Nov 2003, 11:18

  • BT clashes with MPs in broadband inquiry

    All heat, little substance

    Tempers boiled over yesterday at a parliamentary inquiry into broadband after BT was forced to fend off accusations that it was "arrogant". The clash between Trade and Industry Select Committee chairman Martin O'Neill and BT boss Ben Verwaayen brought an end to a day that had seen eight different organisations - including AOL …

    Broadband 12 Nov 2003, 12:17

  • Canadian ‘419er’ released without charge

    Reverse sting comes unstuck

    Prosecutors dropped all charges against a Canadian man implicated in a '419' advanced fraud fee racket this week, much to the annoyance of a Conneticut woman who helped police arrest him. Nicholas Horvath-Howard, 24, was released without charge after both federal authorities and the State of Connecticut decided not to prosecute …

    Media 12 Nov 2003, 12:20

  • AMD to unveil Opteron 148, 248, 848 next week?

    Faster clocks, faster SDRAM support

    AMD will add 148, 248 and 848 varieties to its Opteron server and workstation processor family next week, following the price cuts the chip maker made to all three lines at the end of October. The release is expected to take the one-way 1xx, two-way 2xx and four- to eight-way 8xx series to 2.2GHz, according to channel sources …

    Channel 12 Nov 2003, 12:27

  • Microsoft's EU anti-trust hearing begins

    Tussle over interoperability, Media Player

    Microsoft will begin its defence at the EU's anti-trust hearing into the company's alleged anti-competitive practices in Brussels today. Although Microsoft has settled anti-trust cases with US authorities, the changes imposed on the firm by the settlement have not satisfied the European Commission. According to the most recent …

    Software 12 Nov 2003, 12:51

  • Define broadband please – CA

    Trouble not the weary punters

    UK consumers need a clear definition of broadband to prevent them from being misled. That's according to the Consumers' Association (CA), which is concerned that there is "widespread confusion about the term 'broadband'". Giving evidence yesterday to the Trade and Industry Select Committee inquiry into broadband, the CA said …

    Broadband 12 Nov 2003, 12:58

  • Nokia pledges to pursue N-Gage crack creators

    DeCSS all over again

    Nokia today vowed to "aggressively pursue" the people behind the successful attempt to crack its N-Gage handheld console-cum-phone's copy protection mechanism. A Nokia spokesman told The Register the company had already begun working with ISPs and law enforcement agencies to track down the perpetrators. He also said the …

    Mobile 12 Nov 2003, 13:33

  • Mesh Matrix64 3200+ Extreme

    Review A cracking machine?

    So far we've only seen a few affordable Athlon 64 PCs, with the Multivision reviewed a few weeks ago offering the most compelling price. The Mesh Matrix64 3200+ Extreme is not as cheap as the Multivision system, but it does have some extras on offer, writes Lars-Goran Nilsson. As the name implies, the Matrix64 3200+ Extreme is …

    Reviews 12 Nov 2003, 13:57

  • One, two, three, four MS patches at our door

    Monthly fix number two

    Microsoft yesterday released a set of four security patches in its second stab at releasing security fixes once a month. A cumulative patch for Internet Explorer, a fix for a buffer overflow vulnerability in components of Microsoft's FrontPage Server and a patch for a flaw with Workstation Service that could crackers to inject …

    Security 12 Nov 2003, 14:13

  • Bring on the empty cartridges

    HP hails green leadership

    Printer consumables are HP's great cash cow, accounting for up to half of the printer and imaging division revenues and the lion's share of profits. And no wonder when inkjet ink is sold at the equivalent of £1,700 a litre - seven times the price of Dom Perignon. And no wonder that HP has chased down Taiwanese clone inkjet …

    Personal 12 Nov 2003, 15:03

  • Gateway reveals iPod clone

    Reg Kit Watch Plus: BenQ launches 256MB micro MP3 player

    MP3 players Gateway has announced its first hard disk-based MP3 player, the 20GB Digital Jukebox DMP-X20. It's not a pretty as the Apple machine, nor as compact. The DMP-X20 weighs 218g (7.7oz) to the 20GB iPod's 159g (5.6oz), and measures 10 x 6.5 x 2cm (4 x 2.6 x 0.8in), compared to 10.3 x 6 x 1.5 (4.1 x 2.4 x 0.6in) - …

    Personal 12 Nov 2003, 15:05

  • Sun knifes workstation price

    Sun Blade 2500 in disguise

    Sun Microsystems has slashed the price on one of its workstations, as the company appears ready to launch the long awaited Sun Blade 2500. The Sun Blade 2000 workstation starting price has been cut by $3,000 or 30 percent to a list cost of $6,995. The system ships with two 1.2GHz UltraSparc III processors, 8MB of Level 2 cache …

    Servers 12 Nov 2003, 15:06

  • Broadband boosts NTL

    Ups revs, narrows losses

    A third of NTL subscribers now subscribe to the cableco's broadband service. So says NTL, which reports that it now has more than 911,000 broadband punters, although it is debatable if it should include its 150k entry level product among its "broadband" numbers. Nevertheless, NTL claims that the number of broadband customers …

    Broadband 12 Nov 2003, 15:25

  • US Patent Office will review Eolas claim

    Tim Berners-Lee plea has desired effect

    The US Patent and Trademark Office will review the Eolas patent that puts claim to content embedded and run within a Web page. Just two days after the father of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, wrote a letter to the USPTO’s director on 28 October claiming that the patent was invalid, a re-examination was authorised and that …

    Media 12 Nov 2003, 15:30

  • IBM brings mobile data to the little guy

    Developers taken care of as well

    IBM is looking to make its DB2 Everyplace database for handheld devices a little more attractive to Microsoft developers, developers, developers, Java coders and small businesses. With DB2 Everyplace version 8.1.4, users will find interfaces for Microsoft's .Net Framework and .Net Compact Framework. This is a clear push to get …

    Mobile 12 Nov 2003, 15:44

  • WIPO's back-off from open software meet – RMS responds

    Letters What posse was that? asks FSF president Richard Stallman

    Kieren McCarthy's 7 November article (Open source movement screws up again) inaccurately describes me as an "open source devotee". In fact, I have never supported the open source movement, and I disagree with its basic philosophical outlook. I am a leader in the free software movement. Since 1983 the free software movement has …

    Software 12 Nov 2003, 16:25

  • Cisco buys IP conferencing firm

    A little Latitude

    Cisco Systems today announced the acquisition of Latitude Communications, an enterprise conferencing firm, for approx $80m in stock. Cisco will assimilate Latitude’s MeetingPlace audio and web conferencing technology into its IP communications portfolio. Latitude's business will become part of Cisco's Voice Technology Group, …

    Data Networking 12 Nov 2003, 16:38

  • Freeserve boss doesn't have broadband at home

    Opts for dial-up instead

    Freeserve boss Eric Abensur doesn't have a broadband connection at home. Instead, he uses a standard dial-up connection to access the Net. The admission came as the Freeserve chief exec addressed a Trade and Industry Select Committee inquiry into, of all things, broadband. In a statement Freeserve said: "Eric uses broadband …

    Broadband 12 Nov 2003, 16:39

  • OSS reports – UK's budget watchdog shows how – not?

    A familiar tale - cost overrun results in underspecced outcome

    Following our report last week of the Office of Government Commerce's difficulties at the Public Accounts Committee, our attention is drawn to what appears to have been a piece of not entirely joined-up purchasing by the OGC itself. The outfit is charged with helping government departments achieve the best possible value for …

    Software 12 Nov 2003, 16:42

  • Flame of The Week FoTW: Confine this cabbage to his Playstation

    From: arthur pewtey Sent: 10 November 2003 11:32 To: drew.cullen@theregister.co.uk Subject: re: When is a speed camera not a speed camera? And this tedious rant about speed cameras has what to do with IT? If I wanted to read this sort of self-serving drivel I'd buy a copy of the Daily Mail. Could someone remind this cabbage …

    Letters 12 Nov 2003, 17:00

  • E-Pass allowed to re-open Microsoft, HP patent lawsuits

    Sueing Visa, too

    Intellectual property company E-Pass has been allowed to re-commence its litigation against Microsoft and HP. The company began legal action against the software giant and Compaq early last year. E-Pass claimed that both companies infringe a patent it administers, number 5,276,311 which describes "a multifunction, credit card- …

    Mobile 12 Nov 2003, 17:30

  • IBM brings PPC 970 – aka G5 – to blades

    Linux first

    Fresh off the success of the now famous Big Mac cluster, IBM has planned a new line of blade servers based on its PowerPC 970 processor. According to this document, IBM plans to roll out the BladeCenter JS20, which will be comprised of dual processor PowerPC systems. The processors will run at 1.6GHz with an 800MHz front side …

    Servers 12 Nov 2003, 17:51

  • There is magic behind Penn State's Napster deal

    Letters Only communists want something for nothing

    re: Penn State trustee and RIAA lawyer denies conflict of interest and Penn State's pigopolist pork is not smelling sweet Penn State's President Graham Spanier is a magician. He has managed to conjure up the funds for the Napster music service at his university seemingly out of thin air. The model set by Penn State may be …

    Letters 12 Nov 2003, 19:56

  • East European gangs in online protection racket

    Blackmail by DDoS

    Eastern European crime syndicates are using threats of computer hacking to extort pay-offs from UK online businesses. Organised criminals are using distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks to force online bookmakers, retailers and payment providers into protection rackets, according to the lead story in today's Financial …

    Security 12 Nov 2003, 20:45