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27th January 2004 Archive

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  • HP ready to jump ship and love Opteron – report

    What Itanium processor?

    If an Itanium engineer whimpers in a lab, does anyone hear her? Not if it's Jerry Huck, HP's lead Itanium engineer, sitting alone in a dark data center, smoking an endless stream of cigarettes and wondering what went wrong. Because if rumors that HP has decided to ship servers based on AMD's Opteron processor are true, the …

    Servers 27 Jan 2004, 00:19

  • Who told Dean to scream for lock-down, TCPA computing?

    Campaign 2004 TCPA-boosting campaign manager Trippi on the edge

    Last week we noted how "empowering the edges of the network" had become a mindless mantra for techno-utopian pundits eager to profit from Howard Dean's presidential campaign. As we wrote then, this kind of New Age cobblers did a huge disservice to both Dean and his supporters. But it looks even less clever now than it did a week …

    Media 27 Jan 2004, 02:53

  • Latest Email worm has SCO-facing payload

    Novarg / MyDoom declared critical

    Going by the name of 'Novarg' or 'MyDoom', the latest mass-mailing worm to infest your in-tray is spreading at the same rate as SoBig, according to the anti-virus industry. The worm also targets the SCO Group's corporate website, according to a Symantec alert. On Windows PCs, the worm creates 64 threads which will hit www.sco. …

    Security 27 Jan 2004, 03:22

  • UK IT jobs market picks up

    Glimmer just visible at the end of the tunnel

    The IT recruitment market showed spotty signs of growth between October and December last year, with the number of advertised permanent and contract techie jobs showing modest increases. The latest statistics from CWJobs' Quarterly IT Skills Index found that permanent IT vacancies rose by an average of 4 per cent between …

    Small Biz 27 Jan 2004, 09:53

  • Security bugs floor Google's Friendster-clone

    Orkut comes and goes

    The name means "to cum" in Finnish slang - literally, to orgasm - but the Orkut social networking service that Google launched on Friday was utterly spent by Sunday afternoon. Members of the Friendster-clone were greeted with a message that faded (stylishly) into view - the stylish fade-in coming from some piece of fancy script …

    Media 27 Jan 2004, 10:32

  • Analysis Not yet time for record labels to be smug about the end of piracy

    There is an increasingly smug feeling among the big record companies and their various agents, that has been brought about by the supposed demise of music piracy. There are three related important points to establish about music piracy. Firstly it is illegal and also morally wrong to obtain copies of music or film or other …

    Media 27 Jan 2004, 10:32

  • Xbox 2 to get 65nm CPU – report

    Just like the PS3

    IBM's processor for the Xbox 2 will be fabbed at 65nm, and experimental versions of the chip have already popped off the end of the company's production line. So claims TeamXbox citing confirmation from unnamed sources that Xbox 2, like the next generation of the PlayStation, will be based on 65nm technology. "IBM has already …

    Personal 27 Jan 2004, 10:34

  • Intel pumps $20m into EUV optics researcher

    Paving way for 32nm node

    Intel has entered into a three-year, $20 million deal with lithography optics specialist Cymer to fund the development of extreme UV (EUV) light sources. Intel believes EUV lithography will play a key role in the construction of 32nm transistors and processors, which it expects to put into production in 2009. But as …

    Channel 27 Jan 2004, 10:58

  • Intel pares Centrino prices

    A generous 0.36 per cent off

    Intel has quietly cut prices across its Centrino range. The cuts amount to little more than a buck off the price of each Centrino package - which comprises a Pentium M CPU, i855 chipset variant and a Pro Wireless 2100 mini-PCI card - yielding a fractional percentage drop: between 0.2 and 0.36 per cent. So no wonder Chipzilla …

    Channel 27 Jan 2004, 11:00

  • Adaptec buys Elipsan

    Virtualisation play

    Adaptec likes Elipsan's storage virtualisation skills so much that it is buying the company. Terms of the proposed acquisition of Bristol-based Elipsan are undisclosed. Adaptec is to integrate Elipsan's virtualisation and business-continuance technology into its RAID systems. Upshot: no more dedicated server or third-party …

    Storage 27 Jan 2004, 11:11

  • Fujitsu breakthrough slims fuel cell size

    Improved membrane

    Fujitsu this week brought fuel cell technology one step closer to commercialisation when it announced it had developed a new material that allows these power sources to be made smaller and more energy efficient. Fuel cells generate electricity as a by-product of a controlled chemical reaction. The fuel is a solution of methanol …

    Personal 27 Jan 2004, 11:25

  • Philips demos bendiest LCD yet

    Roll it, scroll it

    Philips subsidiary Polymer Vision has unwrapped - literally - what it claims is the world's widest yet thinnest, most flexible TFT LCD panel. The monochrome 4.7in, 320 x 240 display is thin enough to be rolled into a curve with a radius of 2cm, the company said. PV's trick is to build the display's 76,800-odd transistors onto a …

    Personal 27 Jan 2004, 11:43

  • Nomadix patents Wi-Fi hotspot log-in tech

    All your redirects are belong to us

    Wi-Fi providers who redirect users' web browsers to their own log-in page may soon have to cough up cash if they want to continue using the technique - US network access software company Nomadix has patented it. The patent, number 6,636,894, was granted on 21 October last year, but is applicable right back to 8 December 1999. …

    Mobile 27 Jan 2004, 12:17

  • Conference tackles rural broadband issues

    All about alternatives to ADSL

    A two-day conference exploring how rural areas can benefit from high speed Internet access kicked off today at Cisco Europe's HQ near Heathrow. Organised by Access to Broadband Campaign (ABC), the conference has attracted 250 people from government, industry and the regional and rural broadband community to address how …

    Broadband 27 Jan 2004, 12:21

  • Roxio CD-R patent infringement claim court date set

    Optima planning more lawsuits

    CD burning software developer Optima's patent infringement allegations against Napster owner Roxio will be heard by the US District Court of Central California on 19 April, papers seen by The Register reveal. The case will be heard by Judge James V Selna. Optima claims Roxio's own CD burning code violates intellectual property …

    Personal 27 Jan 2004, 12:36

  • EC to find against Microsoft

    Draft ruling

    The Wheels of European Commission decision-making grind exceedingly slow. But it appears that, after three-and-a-half years, the Brussels bureacrats have reached a decision over Microsoft's past behaviour within the EU. Granted, it's a preliminary decision and granted the ruling is not expected to be published until March, but …

    Software 27 Jan 2004, 12:40

  • Tele2 slams BT over switching claims

    Bun fight

    BT is facing a fresh complaint concerning allegations about the way it is trying to persuade customers from switching phone providers. Tele2 UK boss, Bill Butler, told the FT that he has proof that BT is phoning up punters who are looking to switch to the rival service and "falsely inflating" Tele2's tariffs in a bid to get …

    Broadband 27 Jan 2004, 12:43

  • 118 118 slapped for David Bedford ‘caricature’

    Moustachioed joggers will continue to run though

    Directory enquiries (DQ) outfit The Number - whose ads featuring two moustachioed 1970s-style runners have been elevated to cult status - has been slapped for using the image of former British athlete David Bedford. Communications regulator Ofcom today upheld a complaint from Mr Bedford concerning the "118 118 Runners" featured …

    Business 27 Jan 2004, 13:36

  • BOFH and the cyberchair

    Episode 3 Please take your seats

    BOFH 2004: Episode 3 So I'm relaxing in the office when the Boss has a loneliness attack and decides to come visiting. I know it's loneliness because he hasn't brought the wadge of paper he generally carries with him to remind him of what he came for. "Just... ah... checking to see how things are going at... er... Mission …

    BOFH 27 Jan 2004, 13:41

  • Viruses and hackers make Windows more secure – Gates

    Maturing the Platform

    Virus writers and hackers are helping Microsoft to develop more secure products, Bill Gates claimed yesterday. Speaking at at the Developing Software for the future Microsoft Platform in London yesterday, just hours before the MyDoom virus began spreading like wildfire across the Net, Gates reiterated that security remains key …

    Security 27 Jan 2004, 14:18

  • Global mobile data users to exceed 115m

    GSM networks to reach 1bn users

    More than 115 million people will pay mobile phone networks for data services around the world this month, market watcher EMC forecast this week. And a billion of us will make phone calls on a GSM network this quarter, according to the GSM Association a worldwide trade organisation. EMC's figures take in active users of GPRS, …

    Mobile 27 Jan 2004, 14:31

  • Fujiitsu scoops up final NHS mega contract

    A win at last

    Fujitsu has emerged the winner of the final contract to run the NHS Care Records Service. It beat shortlist contenders EDS and SchlumbergerSema/Cerner to win Local Service Provider status for the south of England. The gig runs until 2013 and is worth £897 million. The NHS CRS programme will see an integrated patient record, …

    Data Center 27 Jan 2004, 15:19

  • Introducing the ten-legged 419er

    Now even the crustaceans are at it

    We thank reader Colin Swan for the following 419 email, which we believe is a first. It contains the bog-standard Liberian connection, as is the local custom, but this particular advance fee fraudster appears to have ten rather than the traditional two legs: Dear Sir/Madam, I am deeply sorry for the embarassement this mail …

    Bootnotes 27 Jan 2004, 15:52

  • ISPs grumble over industry awards nominations

    Now is the muttering of our discontent

    There are murmurings of discontent within the UK's ISP industry following the publication of the finalists for this year's industry awards. As one senior industry source put it: "The list seems a bit…well…odd." The reason for the grumbling is the omission of a number of high profile operators from the coveted "best" ISP awards …

    Media 27 Jan 2004, 15:55

  • Virgin Mobile crows over record quarter

    'Glittering' says Branson

    Virgin Mobile clocked up more than half a million new customers at the end of last year, making it the most successful three months ever for the mobile telco. Cheap texts and a bundle of other offers have helped increase Virgin Mobile's customer base to more than 3.6 million punters, the company said in a statement. It's the …

    Mobile 27 Jan 2004, 16:33

  • WiMAX approaches tipping point with new specs and carrier support

    Potential for interference

    The third quarter looks set to be the turning point for WiMAX, seeing the release of a new version of the standard that will significantly boost silicon roll-out. Carrier interest, critical to success, is rising and British Telecom is the latest major telco to say that it will carry out trials, following in the footsteps of AT&T …

    Mobile 27 Jan 2004, 16:33

  • Nokia fights Microsoft by addressing Series 60 developer complaints

    Improves developer programs

    Nokia and Sun are building defenses against Microsoft with new developer programs for Series60 and Java, aimed to expand the range of applications for the smartphone, especially in the enterprise. By the end of 2004, Nokia says it will have radically increased the appeal of its Series 40/60/90 development environments to a broad …

    Mobile 27 Jan 2004, 16:33

  • Netflix: the fly in the ointment of VoD

    Or the cream in the coffee

    One of the flies in the ointment in open or IP based video on demand, is that Netflix has been giving it a moving target. Netflix needs little or no technology, depending upon whether or not you are its customers, or you are Netflix. While broadband delivered films need more than one technology breakthrough. The Netflix process …

    Media 27 Jan 2004, 16:34

  • 'My job went to India…' t-shirt back in stock

    Cash'n'Carrion But where are they made, exactly?

    We're pleased to announce to all those readers desperate to get their hands on our instant classic My job went to India and all I got was this lousy t-shirt, that said item is now back on the shelves and ready for immediate dispatch. Which is all very timely, given that the outsourcing of callcentre jobs to India continues …

    Site News 27 Jan 2004, 16:46

  • Have a reality check, you Itanium lover

    Letter Benchmark journey

    We don't typically spend a lot of time debating benchmarks here at Vulture Central, primarily because of all the work vendors pour into tuning their systems to perform well. You often find servers with unusual features such as excessive memory or you see tweaks to processors that would not likely occur in the real world. One …

    Servers 27 Jan 2004, 17:01

  • Gates primes the pump for Longhorn

    Bells and whistles

    Microsoft will probably ship the client version of Longhorn before its server counterpart, says Bill Gates. This tentative prediction was made in Gates's rallying call to software developers to get behind the next version of Windows, at the Developing Software for the future Microsoft Platform in London yesterday. Even though …

    Software 27 Jan 2004, 17:07

  • IBM gets a really big NAS

    Unix power

    IBM will next month roll out one of its beefiest NAS (network attached storage) systems to date, pumping the kit full of technology typically used on high-end Unix servers. The TotalStorage NAS Gateway 500 box should arrive by the first week of February at a starting price of $60,000. With a price tag like that, it's clear that …

    Software 27 Jan 2004, 17:07

  • HP failed Fortune test on purpose – memo

    Bangalore Bill translates HP-speak to English

    Pay no attention to external surveys, HP told its staff yesterday in a fresh memo leaked to The Register. HP wants to emphasize its own internal staff polls, which are closely-monitored by the company to ensure they produce the desired amount of Happy Talk. The Pink Slip Princess Carly Fiorina is doing her best to spin HP's …

    Business 27 Jan 2004, 21:40