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18th March 2004 Archive

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  • Nokia makes stealth moves on your living room

    Weapons of mass consumption

    Only two consumer electronics companies on the planet really matter. Sony and Nokia are the only two with the market presence and reach to set the standards for the industry. Neither has all the pieces of the picture, but at CeBIT we saw them attempt to fill in some of the gaps. Sony launched the PSX, a PlayStation 2 with TiVo …

    Mobile 18 Mar 2004, 01:07

  • Analysts cheer AMD, Dell and Microsoft as x86-64-bit winners

    Reg reporters implicated in Itanium hate crimes

    AMD, Dell and Microsoft have the most to gain from a large scale move to 64-bit extensions technology, according to analyst firm Illuminata. In a recent report, Illuminata ranked the major players in the 64-bit computing arena, saying just about every vendor has a chance to thrive with either AMD's Opteron processor or Intel's …

    Servers 18 Mar 2004, 01:27

  • HP re-elects ‘AWOL’ Disney man

    Conflict of interest

    California's influential public employees' pension fund CalPERS flexed its muscles again today, but failed in its bid to shake up the Hewlett Packard board. A statement by the United States' largest pension fund decision that it had "lost complete confidence" in Disney CEO Michael Eisner was instrumental in the recent decision …

    Business 18 Mar 2004, 08:46

  • Six months to get wireless rail travel free from Virgin

    Then you pay

    If you know the right person, you can spend huge sums of money on expensive wireless Internet access at railway stations in the UK. Or, for the next six months, at least, you can piggyback free on the ReadyToSurf network in Virgin Trains lounges. There is a bit of a mystery involved, however, because the plan is to provide this …

    Wireless 18 Mar 2004, 09:20

  • S3 preps native PCI Express graphics chips

    No AGP for GammaChrome

    S3 Graphics, VIA's imaging accelerator division, today unveiled its pitch for the hearts and minds of PCI Express-equipped PCs: the GammaChrome chip family. The chips feature native PCI Express support, negating the need for bridge chips to convert AGP 8x signals to the new interface standard. There's a clear cost benefit there …

    Channel 18 Mar 2004, 09:29

  • US tells China to drop chip sales tax – or else

    It's (trade) war!

    The US government has warned China that it must drop its 17 per cent tax on chip sales, or face the consequences. A formal complaint to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) could come in the next few days. Speaking during a congressional hearing last week, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said of the duty: "If they don't …

    Channel 18 Mar 2004, 10:09

  • SiS goes PCI Express for Pentium 4, Athlon 64 FX

    Sampling now

    SiS has begun sampling its first PCI Express-based North Bridge chips for AMD's Athlon 64 FX chip and Intel's Pentium 4. The AMD part is supported by the SiS756 North Bridge. Like the Pentium 4-oriented SiS656 North Bridge, it has been designed to work with the company's SiS965 South Bridge part. The 756 provides a PCI Express …

    Channel 18 Mar 2004, 10:29

  • AMD rolls out faster low-power Athlon XP-M

    Contract makers preparing notebooks

    AMD yesterday announced it had begun shipping its latest 32-bit mobile Athlon processor, the XP-M 2100+. The part is pitched at thin'n'light notebooks at all price points, with the chip itself costing a mere $97 in batches of 1000 processors. One customer is Fujitsu, which said it will build the chip into its LifeBook S2000 …

    Channel 18 Mar 2004, 10:37

  • Nokia, Sony, Philips tout connectivity Utopia

    CeBIT Do anything, anywhere, anytime

    Nokia, Philips and Sony have formed an alliance to promote an RFID-based communications standard. The idea is that Near Field Communications (NFC) technology will allow people to access content and services and transfer data just by touching a smart object, or by bringing two devices close together. The technology has three …

    Mobile 18 Mar 2004, 11:21

  • Sony readies Q2 dual-layer DVD+R drive debut

    Reg Kit Watch Ups disc capacity to 8.5GB

    Sony will ship its first dual-layer DVD+R recorders next June, the consumer electronics giant said yesterday. Two new drives are in the works, an internal unit and an external box. Both will offer nearly double the capacity of single-layer DVD+R discs, from 4.7GB to 8.5GB - enough for up to four hours of DVD-quality MPEG-2 …

    Storage 18 Mar 2004, 11:31

  • Eight-day BT email snag sorted

    Only a few thousand punters affected

    BT has been forced to halt the migration of punters to its new BT Yahoo! platform after being hit by an email glitch. The snag - which meant that users were unable to access their email - raised its head on 8 March, was resolved a couple of days later only to reappear almost immediately. BT finally sorted the problem on 16 …

    Telecoms 18 Mar 2004, 11:43

  • Nvidia next-gen chip ‘to launch 13 April’

    NV40?

    Nvidia will unveil its next-generation graphics chip - almost certainly the long-awaited NV40 - on 13 April. So claims a source close to the company cited by Extreme Tech's Mark Hachman. Alas, the source proved unable to say much about the chip itself. Unconfirmed reports from a variety of websites suggest it will be a DirectX …

    Channel 18 Mar 2004, 12:17

  • Reg Readers' Gallery back from the dead

    Cash'n'Carrion Send pictures, achieve immortality

    We here at El Reg merchandising tentacle Cash'n'Carrion have decided, amid a fanfare of trumpets no doubt, to ressurect the almost-legendary Readers' Gallery. This monumentous decision is in response to customers' requests to have more "in-the-field" pictures of our apparel and kit, so that would-be buyers can see what the …

    Site News 18 Mar 2004, 12:22

  • UK VoIP sector gets trade body

    ITSPA official then

    The UK's fast-emerging Internet telephony industry has set up its own trade association to promote and represent the needs of the sector. Thirteen UK companies have come together to form the Internet Telephony Service Providers Association (ITSPA) to lobby the UK Government and communications regulator, Ofcom, as well the …

    Data Networking 18 Mar 2004, 12:29

  • Go Daddy broadens its domain

    SSL web server certification

    Go Daddy Software is getting into the SSL web server certificate business, with a cut-price offering it hopes will let it do to the SSL market what it did for the domain names market - grow fast at the expense of the incumbents. But gaining market share isn't all down to price. Internet domain registrar Go Daddy bought an …

    Security 18 Mar 2004, 13:07

  • The value of PC real estate

    Adobe and Macromedia sweat the assets

    The dominant position that Microsoft software occupies on the desktop has long been a major source of competitive advantage to Microsoft. Not only does it ensure that users of Microsoft software are familiar with the look and feel of the Microsoft interface but it also has provided a launch point for their entry into server …

    Hardware 18 Mar 2004, 13:07

  • Web services watchdogs

    Tools for modern living

    Web services will only become the norm if the users can be assured a level of service. They will not be deployed in earnest unless the operations department is confident that they can provide this level of service, writes Bloor Research analyst Peter Abrahams. The operations department need tools to monitor the Web services and …

    Hardware 18 Mar 2004, 13:07

  • CeBIT 2004: Gadgets galore

    Punter-pleasing penphones plus paper PCs

    Wander the 27 halls of CeBIT this week and you will be able to enjoy hundreds of unique gadgets that you may never see again - simply because they are surely too odd to gain a foothold in the market. Of course, we've already introduced to the world the USB Swiss Army Knife, a device which - as many Reg readers pointed out - is …

    Mobile 18 Mar 2004, 13:09

  • Unleash the power of The Register on your business

    Promoting your event, product or service to 2.2m people

    If you've got an event, product or service to promote and are wondering how to deliver it to the world's most IT-savvy readership, we at The Register have a vehicle to suit your needs. First up, some figures: The Register recently notched up its fifth consecutive quarter as the UK's most visited IT media site*. During 2003, …

    Site News 18 Mar 2004, 13:15

  • Latest Bagle worms spread on auto-pilot

    Worm War Three

    The Bagle virus saga takes a new twist today with four new members of the worm family. Bagle-Q and its three new siblings use an unusual method of infection in an attempt to bypass AV protection at email gateways. Each of the four viruses infect only Windows PCs. Bagle-Q is the more widely spread of the four. Unlike most email …

    Anti-Virus 18 Mar 2004, 13:16

  • Novell announces SuSE Linux 9.1

    Software just doesn't get any more exciting than this

    Novell today lifted the veil on some of the features that will come with the next major revamp of SuSE Linux - version 9.1 - due out in May. Based on the Linux 2.6 kernel, SuSE Linux 9.1 Personal and SuSE Linux 9.1 Professional are touted as offering higher performance and greater ease of use for both 32- and 64-bit platforms. …

    Hardware 18 Mar 2004, 13:25

  • MS, partners tout Portable Media Center ‘iPod killer’

    Analysis Other way round, maybe...

    Microsoft launched its 'Windows for iPods' platform over a year ago - as Media2Go - but this week it began demonstrating the technology in earnest at CeBIT, backed by devices from hardware partners Creative and iRiver. Now called the Portable Media Center, each gadget features a hefty hard drive and a large-format LCD panel. …

    Mobile 18 Mar 2004, 13:39

  • MS exec lists joys of high prices, vast margins to top investor

    Aiming for monopoly monopoly, apparently...

    Smoking emails return to haunt Microsoft this week with the Minnesota overcharging lawsuit, which commenced on Monday. The court's exhibit vault was at time of writing disappointingly empty, but its mere existence shows willing, so check it early and often. And we have a taster of things to come in the shape of senior MS exec …

    Software 18 Mar 2004, 14:07

  • 419ers form phat rap crew

    Musical straight and narrow for the lads from Lagos?

    There is evidence that - having seen the error of their ways - Nigerian 419ers have decided to seek more legitimate forms of employment. News has reached us of a UK/Nigerian rap outfit called 419 Squad, apparently the backing group for JJC (aka Skillz from Big Brovaz), but also a stand-alone musical unit. Our correspondant …

    Bootnotes 18 Mar 2004, 15:01

  • Microsoft – EC talks fail

    No settlement, despite negotiations

    Microsoft today confirmed that settlement negotiations with the European Commission have ended in deadlock. The company is dropping heavy hints that it will go to court to appeal any decision. In the meantime, it will have to wait until 24 March when the Commission publishes its ruling on actions it must take as punishment for …

    Software 18 Mar 2004, 15:03

  • Punters flock to 3 UK

    Third Generation Game

    Mobilephoneco 3 has around 361,000 punters in the UK, after adding 151,000 new subscribers since the middle of December. In a trading update, 3 reports that ARPU (average revenue per user) is £45 a month while its pay-as-you-go offer deal - ThreePay - has been "well received by retailers and consumers". The mobilephoneco also …

    Mobile 18 Mar 2004, 15:06

  • Inside Philips' CeBIT cornucopia

    More top goodies for the gadget-hungry

    Philips has used CeBIT to launch its new KeyRing 019 USB stick camcorder, which it claims is the world's most compact, wearable product for capturing digital video and photographs. Oh yes, and carrying music and data. The KeyRing 019 (seen in photo on left) is capable of up to 25 minutes of continuous video recording, or can …

    Personal 18 Mar 2004, 15:10

  • NASA pulls off mindreading act

    Voice recognition for the voiceless

    NASA boffins have pulled off a seemingly impressive feat - reading words which have not actually been spoken. The system works by computer analysis of "sub-auditory" speech at the throat. NASA's Ames Research Center developer Chuck Jorgensen explains further: "A person using the subvocal system thinks of phrases and talks to …

    Science 18 Mar 2004, 15:44

  • T-Mobile goes live with 3G in May

    UK, Germany and Austria

    T-Mobile will begin selling 3G data services in the UK, Germany and Austria in May. This will be offered under the TM3 brand, T-Mobile's attempt to create a unified multimedia network comprising GPRS and WLAN connections as well as 3G links. Last month, T-Mobile chairman Rene Obermann outlined the company's plan to offer " …

    Mobile 18 Mar 2004, 15:48

  • T-Mobile to charge Wi-Fi access to phone bills

    Not so much the WLAN Holy Grail as the Golden Fleece...

    T-Mobile today offered what it claimed was a "simplified" and "standardised" pricing structure for its Wi-Fi hotspots that introduces direct billing for the company's mobile phone subscribers. It all sounds very attractive. As a T-Mobile customer, you can access the Internet through one of the company's public WLANs for as long …

    Wireless 18 Mar 2004, 15:56

  • Fraudsters prey on apathetic Brits

    ID thieves thrive on financial indifference

    An apathetic and careless approach to finances by some British consumers is making fraud far easier. A survey out today suggests that more than eight million Britons would willingly disclose vital personal information to a cold caller. Men (22 per cent) are far more likely to give out information needed to commit identity fraud …

    Security 18 Mar 2004, 15:59

  • Half of UK homes have a PC

    Surf's up, but contraceptive use stuck at 1980s levels

    More than half of UK homes has a PC, according to the latest Government stats. According to the 2002 General Household Survey (GHS) published today, 54 per cent of UK homes had a PC, up from 34 per cent in 1998. While 99 per cent of people had a phone in their home. The GHS also found that almost a third of households (32 per …

    Personal 18 Mar 2004, 16:00

  • CeBIT: the handset fan's heaven

    CeBIT: It's raining mobes, hallelujah!

    Mobile handset fans must get a real kick out of CeBIT. Seems like everyone saves up their new kit to launch at the show, and then they throw in a few extra bells and whistles for good measure. Witness O2: BT's old cellular arm has lanched two new handsets under its own brand: the X2 and the X3. The X2 will be available from May …

    Mobile 18 Mar 2004, 16:25

  • Software hunts for Net paedos

    Nanniebots take the Turing test

    Software agents that mimic the behaviour of real children are been used to detect paedophile grooming behaviour on the Internet. Called ChatNannies, the technology is the brainchild of IT consultant Jim Wightman, of Wolverhampton in the UK. The software runs with thousands of sub-programs - dubbed nanniebots - which log onto …

    Software 18 Mar 2004, 17:45

  • IT workers demand greater work flexibility

    Concerns over work-life imbalance

    IT workers want more flexible working patterns to help improve their work-life balance. Snag is, they fear that asking to work from home, for example, could damage their future career prospects. A study into flexible working in the IT industry was published today by the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) and the Women in IT …

    Business 18 Mar 2004, 17:46

  • Can I have an email quickie? – Phoenix says, ‘Yes’

    Windows is old hat

    Phoenix Technologies this week has kicked off what will prove to be a protracted battle to own the PC before the OS loads with a new version of its FirstWare Assistant software that gives customers easy access to email. Unveiled at CeBIT, the latest version of FirstWare Assistant lets users check their Microsoft Outlook email, …

    Software 18 Mar 2004, 19:09