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26th November 2003 Archive

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  • MPAA, RIAA seek permanent antitrust exemption

    Get out of jail free

    Just weeks after an antitrust suit was filed against the RIAA by webcasters, the music labels' lobby group, is, along with Hollywood, seeking a permanent exemption from similar litigation. The proposal seeks to extend the exemption to anything covering mechanical copyright: a sweeping extension of the copyright cartel's immunity …

    Music and Media 26 Nov 2003, 01:09

  • Small.biz neglects online presence

    Roaming the web wilderness

    A quarter of UK small businesses are failing to updating their websites regularly, according to a new report. The research, conducted by BT Openworld, found that many small firms relied on websites that were badly out of date, putting them at risk of losing customers or clients. BT Openworld said that the most common areas …

    Small Biz 26 Nov 2003, 09:46

  • Enterprises are hotspots for WLAN

    Growth path

    Wireless LANs deployed within enterprise locations could lead to significant improvements in productivity, according to new research from Datamonitor. The London-based analyst firm believes that there are healthy prospects for vendors of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) equipment. Its report, entitled Enterprise wireless LANs …

    Wireless 26 Nov 2003, 09:46

  • First integer patented

    Stob Only infinity minus one to go

    Softwron Inc, the US software and litigation giant, has become the first company to make a move in what is increasingly becoming known as the Great Rumble for Numbers. The recent surprise announcement by the US Patent Office to grant patents on integer numbers has meant that industry-watchers, Wall Street and the Association …

    Bootnotes 26 Nov 2003, 09:53

  • Trading Standards seizes fake Nokia gear

    No dodgy batteries this time though

    Trading Standards officers raided premises in Camden, London, last week seizing a "substantial number" of fake Nokia-branded mobile phone accessories. Officers discovered hundreds of counterfeit Nokia-branded PPH-1 car kits from a wholesaler and suspected importer in Camden. No fake batteries were found as part of the haul. …

    Mobile 26 Nov 2003, 10:45

  • Bill Joy spurned job at ‘out of control’ Google

    Toys R'Us

    Fortune's Fred Vogelstein has peered behind the cute colored balls that Google's marketing department uses to ward away skeptics, and uncovered a company in disarray. Vogelstein pins the blame on "imported grownup" Eric Schmidt for failing to bring the juvenile company culture into focus. No one pays any attention at meetings, …

    Music and Media 26 Nov 2003, 10:52

  • Dixons, Capita in call centre talks

    Jobs safe, says retailer

    Dixons, the high street electrical retailer, is holding "partnership" talks with Capita concerning the running of its giant call centre in Sheffield. Exact details concerning the tie-up are still sketchy, although insiders fear that Dixons has already struck a major deal that could see the whole operation handed over to the …

    Channel 26 Nov 2003, 11:46

  • Wi-Fi hacker caught downloading child porn

    In his car, pants down

    So you catch a man driving with his pants around his ankles who's paying more attention to the child porn video running on his laptop than the road ahead. What do you charge him with? That's the dilemma Toronto traffic police found themselves in when they arrested a man driving the wrong way down a residential one-way street. …

    Security 26 Nov 2003, 11:55

  • Ex-MS worker jailed for black market racket

    17 months for raiding internal store

    A former Microsoft worker was sent to jail for 17 months yesterday after admitting she stole software valued at $6 million from Microsoft's internal store. Kori Robin Brown, 31, of Spokane in Washington, will also be subject to a three year supervision order following her release, under a sentence imposed yesterday by US …

    Channel 26 Nov 2003, 12:01

  • Epson trawls Blighty for new Osbournes

    Web stardom beckons for UK's 'Most Typical Family'

    If you're a member of a typical UK family - mum and dad arguing over credit card debts, twelve-year-old daughter up the duff, son subject to an anti-social behaviour order - then Epson is offering you the chance for international stardom. From tomorrow, the company launches a nationwide search for the country's "Most Typical …

    Bootnotes 26 Nov 2003, 12:02

  • BOFH, the Boss and printing p0rn

    Episode 29 That's not my credit card. Er... is it?

    BOFH 2003: Episode 29 It's a sad day for computing when your own boss doesn't even trust you to get equipment delivered, preferring instead to receipt it and lock it away in safe storage in the basement himself. This lack of trust is enough to upset a technical professional with impeccable standards. "You know what I like?" the …

    BOFH 26 Nov 2003, 12:13

  • Rockall Times supports UK anti-smoking lobby

    Cash'n'Carrion T-shirt warns of the real dangers of cancer sticks

    Well, UK satirical site The Rockall Times may be closed until 2 February for "refurbishment" (actually a new, all-singing, all-dancing CMS they tell us), but the site is still addressing some of the burning issues of our times. Like smoking. There's been a bit of a rumpus this week, with stethoscope-wielding gangs of British …

    Site News 26 Nov 2003, 12:35

  • Damaged undersea cable blamed for UK Net problems

    BT, NTL, Telewest hit

    A damaged undersea transatlantic cable is being blamed for causing havoc for Net and phone users in the UK last night. A number of ISPs are understood to have been hit by the problem, which surfaced (the problem, not the cable) yesterday afternoon at around 4pm. The cable - which is owned by a consortium of telcos - is …

    Music and Media 26 Nov 2003, 12:37

  • Elonex eXentia Media Center PC

    Review The way multimedia PCs should be?

    I first looked at the Elonex eXentia just before the official launch of Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition. It was a pre-production model but it still blew me away with its cutting-edge integrated design and high quality construction. As with all pre-production samples it wasn't quite finished, especially considering …

    Reviews 26 Nov 2003, 12:53

  • 10m Americans pay for music downloads in Q2

    Before launch of Windows services

    Ten million Americans paid to download music during the second quarter, according to the latest statistics from market research company Ipsos-Insight. That equates to 16 per cent of the total number of US-based users who download songs, legal and illegal, the company said. Paying downloaders accounted for eight per cent of all …

    Music and Media 26 Nov 2003, 13:32

  • HP heads up Unix server market

    Bigger fish in smaller pond

    HP displaced Sun as the market leader in Unix systems this quarter, according to IDC figures released today. The reversal of positions of the top dogs of the Unix server market between 2Q03 and 3Q03 comes because HP revenues dropped less than those Sun in a declining market. Unix server revenues were $4.1 billion in the …

    Servers 26 Nov 2003, 13:49

  • Low-end kit drives server market recovery

    Don't get too excited

    The worldwide server market is growing again following two years in the doldrums, largely thanks to a surge in sales of lower-end kit. The server market revenue grew two per cent in Q303 with factory revenues reaching $10.8 billion, according IDC figures published today. The results are a full percentage point higher than the …

    Servers 26 Nov 2003, 13:50

  • PC maker puts P4 Extreme Edition into… notebooks

    Reg Kit Watch Extreme cooling required, apparently

    Notebooks Intel's Pentium 4 Extreme Edition is aimed fairly and squarely at desktops for gamers, but that hasn't stopped a US PC maker from attempting to bung one into its high-end portables. Liebermann offers three notebook lines, Studio, Producer and Hollywood, with 15in, 16in and 17in widescreen displays, respectively. …

    Personal 26 Nov 2003, 14:19

  • Government IT: wasting money to win votes

    Indiana v. India

    The Governor of the US state of Indiana has succumbed to massive pressure from local media and workers' unions, and pulled the plug on a $15.4 million IT services contract with Indian company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Indiana's anti-offshore stance is not unique. In the state of New Jersey, Senator Shirley Turner is …

    Hardware 26 Nov 2003, 14:29

  • AIT Group back from the brink

    CRM pureplay makes strong comeback

    CRM pureplay AIT Group is making a strong comeback after its near-death experience during the latter part of 2002. With interim results showing a 19 per cent increase in revenue, it now looks like AIT could have a chance at future success. For the six months ending September 30, 2003, customer interaction software vendor AIT's …

    Hardware 26 Nov 2003, 14:35

  • Quantum trims workforce for the holidays

    Streamlined out

    Struggling storage maker Quantum has announced a move to combine two of its divisions and to trim about 5 percent of its workforce, hoping to spur some cost savings. The DLTtape group and Storage Solutions Group (SSG) will now operate as a single organization with three business units - storage devices, media and storage …

    Business 26 Nov 2003, 15:09

  • Draft ID card bill makes it to Queen's speech

    As expected

    A draft bill to introduce ID cards in the UK found its way into the Queen's Speech today. Here's what she said: "My government will take forward work on an incremental approach to a national identity cards scheme and will publish a draft Bill in the New Year." Short but not, for those concerned about privacy and civil …

    Music and Media 26 Nov 2003, 15:20

  • Public Wi-Fi still has look and feel of dead duck

    Grand Unification Theory

    The public WLAN market is too volatile and won't make any money until 2008. Says who? Says PA Consulting's Dr. William Webb. He informs Electronics Weekly that WLAN hot spots "aren't making anyone money and will only come into their own as part of an integrated communications network in 2008". Dr. Webb is to give a keynote next …

    Wireless 26 Nov 2003, 15:52

  • O2 ships Blackberry 7730 in the UK

    Big screen for big business

    UK mobile phone network O2 began offering RIM's latest Blackberry, the 7730, to business customers today. The Blackberry 7730 has been described as the 7230's big brother. It's slightly bigger than the 7230 (12.1 x 7.7 x 1.8 cm to 11.3 x 7.4 x 2cm and 142g to 136g) to and features a larger, 16-bit colour screen capable of …

    Mobile 26 Nov 2003, 16:33

  • LA officials call for end to master/slave labels

    Offensive drive

    The computing world's venerable master/slave naming convention has come under fire by Los Angeles county officials who charge that this type of product description is offensive. A discrimination complaint has been filed with the county's Office of Affirmative Action Compliance after one county worker saw a video recording …

    Bootnotes 26 Nov 2003, 18:37

  • Toddler wounded in Segway hit-and-run

    When scooters attack

    A three-year-old San Francisco girl has become the first pedestrian to know what it feels like "when Segways attack." Toddler Ruby Bleskacek was punished by a Segway rider in a hit-and-run accident on Tuesday. (No, we are not making this up.) The lass sustained cuts, bruises and a blow to the head, according a report from ABC. …

    Bootnotes 26 Nov 2003, 19:37

  • Lock up the copyright cartel – not Johansen

    Letters No sympathy for the RIAA

    Re: Lock up DVD Jon - or we all lose our jobs Jon Johansen, who is still engaged in fighting an earlier attempt to lock him up, has published his own reposte to renewed demands to jail him. He has published a riposte, which we'll come to in a moment. But Register readers want to see the entertainment pigopolists thrown in the …

    Letters 26 Nov 2003, 23:54