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24th March 2004 Archive

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  • Wal-Mart and Sun share Linux desktop lust

    Java what?

    Wal-Mart has added to an already extensive lineup of Linux operating systems by signing on to sell Sun Microsystems' Java Desktop System. At present, the new Sun Java OS gear is a bit hard to find. Wal-Mart has tucked the kit away on its Microtel PCs page. With SuSE, Lindows, Lycoris and Sun Java OS computers now all available …

    Personal 24 Mar 2004, 02:59

  • TSMC files ‘verification’ of SMIC spy claim

    Trade secret theft charges backed by 'eyewitnesses'

    TSMC has beefed up its industrial espionage action against fellow chip foundry SMIC with what it claims are eyewitness accounts of its rival's alleged attempts to steal its trade secrets. The world's largest chip foundry filed "eyewitness affidavits and new technical verification of trade secret misappropriation by SMIC" with …

    Channel 24 Mar 2004, 10:11

  • PC-hungry girls love science – true

    Europe in Brief But boys just wanna have fun

    A recent study from Norway among 600 tenth graders reveals an interesting gender split: among youngsters who use PCs intensively, girls see their study results steadily improve, while those of boys slip. Researchers believe that for boys the PC is more of an escape from reality. The study also shows that girls who use PCs more …

    Personal 24 Mar 2004, 10:21

  • BT simplifies tariffs

    See what competition can do?

    BT is scrapping its standard rate tariff for nine million phone punters in a move to simplify call charges. The UK's dominant fixed-line telco reckons it will make BT cheaper for most UK calls than rival cablecos NTL and Telewest. It also says the move will make it more competitive compared to other telco providers such as One. …

    Telecoms 24 Mar 2004, 10:22

  • DVD Forum denies ‘AAC for DVD Audio’ approval

    Choice is a 'done deal', say Working Group sources

    The DVD Forum yesterday denied that its members had approved the use of the Apple iTunes Music Store-backed AAC audio format as a future DVD Audio technology. But the web site that originally reported that the Forum had indeed made such an approval was last night sticking to its guns: the choice may not have been approved, but …

    Music and Media 24 Mar 2004, 10:54

  • RIAA sues lots more students

    RIAA took my baby away

    The American music industry has fired off another fusillade of lawsuits against alleged music downloaders, this time snaring 532 people. Included are 89 John Doe suits, intended to winkle out the names of people using networks at 21 US universities. The University of Michigan is the only institution named in the suits. The …

    Music and Media 24 Mar 2004, 11:08

  • Dutch Internet blackmailer gets 10 years

    Almost pulled off the perfect e-crime

    A 46-year-old Dutch chip programmer who tried to blackmail dairy giant Campina using the most up-to-date Internet technologies, has been jailed for 10 years by a Dutch court on blackmail charges and five counts of attempted murder. The blackmailer put agricultural poison in Campina Stracciatella desserts in a bid to extort €200 …

    Security 24 Mar 2004, 11:13

  • IBM unleashes Jurassic predator on Japan

    How to celebrate 40 years of power servers in grand style

    What's two metres tall, contains 16Gb of operating memory and shares its name with the Jurassic's top predator? Well, a quick tour of IBM's North Dublin manufacturing facility on Tuesday brought the press face to face with the beast known as the T-Rex z990 series server. This monster contains 20 times the computing power - in …

    Servers 24 Mar 2004, 11:17

  • IBM moots BPEL-Java fusion

    BPELJ offers 'complete business process applications'

    BEA and IBM have just published a jointly-authored whitepaper on a suggested extension of Business Execution Language for Web Services (BPEL4WS or BPEL for short), writes Bloor Research analyst Peter Abrahams. The introduction has a good explanation of the rationale for BPELJ - a fusion of BPEL with Java - so I am quoting it …

    Hardware 24 Mar 2004, 12:09

  • Starbucks brings Wi-Fi to 154 UK stores

    If only it was as 'cheap' as the coffee...

    Over 150 Starbucks UK coffee shops now provide wireless Internet access, the company proudly announced yesterday. But the ongoing deal with T-Mobile still leaves the java joints' customers paying a premium for the service. Starbucks' most recent roll-out is its largest to date, adding hotspots to 98 sites, bringing the total …

    Wireless 24 Mar 2004, 12:11

  • Who ate my text messages?

    Transatlantic traffic swallowed by SMS Bermuda Triangle?

    Most mobile phone users do not realise that they cannot send text messages to people in the US. Research from AT&T has revealed that two thirds did not know that most US mobile subscribers are unable to receive international SMS messages. The survey was commissioned for AT&T's extension of its reciprocal texting service to the …

    Mobile 24 Mar 2004, 12:12

  • AOL mulls major restructuring

    Report suggests big changes in the pipeline

    There's yet more speculation about the future of AOL following a report which suggests that the giant Internet outfit is mulling plans for major restructuring. According to the FT, AOL is planning to split its reporting lines within the business in a move that would make the company's operation more transparent. This would …

    Business 24 Mar 2004, 12:13

  • Fire-breathing buses threaten London

    Updated Screaming commuters flee Godzilla-style carnage

    We're beginning to suspect that London mayor "Red Ken" Livingstone may be nothing more than an agent for the killer cyberloos and murderous domestic appliances which threaten the very existence of humanity. What other explanation is there for three recent incidents in which London bendy buses spontaneously combusted, forcing …

    Rise of the Machines 24 Mar 2004, 12:16

  • MS gets EU fine, orders for server info and WMP-free Windows

    And the Commission as the monkey on the back of its business model

    As expected, Microsoft was today hit with a record-breaking fine by the European Commission. But although Microsoft is complaining mightily about it, the sum involved will make a negligible impact on Redmond's coffers. Nor, of itself, is the Commission's insistence that Microsoft must offer a version of Windows free of Windows …

    Software 24 Mar 2004, 12:19

  • Disgruntled ex-employee arrested for keystroke caper

    US insurance salesman 'bugged' bosses' PC

    A Californian insurance claims manager was yesterday charged with planting an electronic bug on a computer owned by his former employers. Larry Lee Ropp, 46, was indicted on a single wiretapping charge yesterday over an allegation that he planted a keystroke logger on a PC used by a secretary to senior executives at Bristol …

    Security 24 Mar 2004, 12:36

  • Apple delays dualie Xserve G5 to April

    Single-CPU boxes ship at last

    Apple will now not ship dual-CPU Xserve G5 servers until April, two months later than the company originally promised, it admitted this week. However, the Mac maker has now begun shipping the 1U rack-mount server's single-processor version. Both versions were launch early last January with availability pegged for some time in …

    Servers 24 Mar 2004, 12:37

  • HP puts Linux on the desktop

    Another win for Novell's SUSE

    HP is recruiting Novell to help it get Linux running on corporate desktop and laptop computers. HP will offer business customers support and testing. Linux has made good progress in the server and data market but has had a harder job of getting onto desktop machines. The backing of such a major vendor will be a big boost. …

    Hardware 24 Mar 2004, 15:29

  • Red Hat revenues up

    'A year marked by great execution'

    Things are looking rosy for Linux outfit Red Hat, which made a profit of $5m on turnover of $37m in the fourth quarter ended 29 February, 2004. That is an 11 per cent increase on the previous quarter and a year-on-year increase of 43 per cent. Red Hat gained 87,000 new subscriptions - of these 61,000 went to what the company …

    Hardware 24 Mar 2004, 15:42

  • Aussie boffins discover fifth form of carbon

    Strewth - it's magnetic!

    Boffins at Australia’s National University in Canberra have made a new - and magnetic - form of carbon which they have dubbed nanofoam. Because of its unique magnetic properties, it could have important medical applications, the team says. Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Physical Society in Montreal, Canada, John …

    Science 24 Mar 2004, 15:42

  • Sun welcomes EC Microsoft ruling

    'Enormously significant' decision...

    Sun Microsystems has applauded the decision by the European Commission to impose a record fine on Microsoft. A statement from Lee Patch, vice president legal affairs at Sun, welcomed the ruling and described it as important and precedent-setting. Patch believes that forcing Microsoft to make disclosures to improve …

    Software 24 Mar 2004, 15:49

  • Windows ruling is biggest IP heist in EU history, claims MS

    Company plays IP crown jewels card, drops WTO hints

    The European Commission's decision to force the removal of Media Player from Windows is against the interests of consumers, chills innovation and breaks applications and web sites, claimed Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith in a news conference today. But yes, he would say that (and much, much more), wouldn't he? Setting the …

    Software 24 Mar 2004, 15:50

  • Eutelsat denies rogue diallers accusation

    Angry customers barking up wrong satellite

    Angry victims of rogue diallers which ring expensive satellite numbers are blaming the wrong company, Eutelsat says. The satellite telephone provider blames the confusion on billing software which mistakenly names it as the origin of the calls. Rogue diallers are installed secretly on PCs by fraudsters. They call premium rate …

    Security 24 Mar 2004, 15:51

  • MS bigs up Windows XP SP2

    Beta prelude to security Summer of love

    Microsoft released Windows XP SP2 as a public beta last week, paving the way for a summer debut of Redmond's most ambitious attempt yet to improve the basic security of Windows PCs. Windows XP SP2 Release Candidate 1 was released to Microsoft customers through a new TechNet portal last Friday. The update features far reaching …

    Hardware 24 Mar 2004, 15:52

  • Ofcom to examine BT tariff change

    Competition concerns

    Communications watchdog Ofcom is to launch an investigation into BT's decision today to axe is standard rate tariff, according to sources. It's understood the regulator is concerned that BT might be acting anti-competitively by squeezing the margins of rival telcos. A senior spokesman for Ofcom declined to comment on BT's …

    Telecoms 24 Mar 2004, 16:26

  • Five University of Northern Colorado students caught in RIAA John Doe suits

    Nothing personal, says RIAA in nice letter to Uni

    Five students from the University of Northern Colorado have been caught up in the American music industry's sweep against music file swappers. In a letter to university president Kay Norton, Recording Industries Association of America president Cary Sherman said it was merely targeting the "particular individuals on your …

    Telecoms 24 Mar 2004, 16:43

  • Boffins grow breasts on mice

    We're not even going to go there - this is cancer research

    Researchers have managed to grow human breast tissue on mice as part of an investigation into how breast cancer develops in humans. Genetically-modified mice are often used in cancer research, but breast cancer works differently in mice than in humans. The hope is that by studying the transplanted tissue, researchers will get …

    Science 24 Mar 2004, 16:46

  • 60k AOL UK punters hit by billing cock-up

    Ooops

    Some 60,000 AOL UK punters have been wrongly billed for their Internet service following a cock-up at the company. It seems a "technical problem" hit the company's billing run last Friday resulting in punters being billed three times for their March subscription. In an email to consumers AOL said: "Due to a temporary problem …

    Telecoms 24 Mar 2004, 17:17

  • Gnome emerges unscathed from hack attack

    Small-scale intrusion on Web server, no files dead

    Developers of the Gnome open source desktop environment have downplayed the significance of an intrusion by hackers discovered yesterday. Although crackers broke into the organisation's website, a subsequent investigation has shown that "gnome sources and the gnome source code repository are unaffected", according to Owen …

    Hardware 24 Mar 2004, 17:35

  • BT engineer denies deflowering lesbian

    Telco launches investigation into Internet auction suspect

    BT is investigating claims that one of its engineers had sex with a lesbian student who auctioned her virginity for £8,400. Weekend press reports said that a 44-year-old BT engineer from South London paid for sex with Rosie Reid, 18, following her online auction. Ms Reid is to use the cash to pay for university tuition fees. …

    Bootnotes 24 Mar 2004, 21:38

  • Have fun with Wi-Fi in a rucksack

    But just don’t expect to pick up your emails

    Now here’s an idea. A wireless access point (802.11b) with its own power supply, a PowerBook G4, blogging software, Apache server, GPS and PDA - all built into a rucksack you can walk around with. The Wifi.Bedouin is the brainchild of electrical engineer Julian Bleecker, and he swears it works, even if he is fond of the kind of …

    Wireless 24 Mar 2004, 21:47

  • Cretinous hacks in Cretaceous – Jurassic outrage

    Letters What's 80m years between friends?

    Time is a funny thing. Arrive five minutes late for a meeting, and no one really minds. Skip 80 million years of evolution and its just moan, moan, moan, moan, moan. You may want to give electricnews a bit of a slap for feeding you duff info, Tyrannosaurus Rex lived in the late Cretaceous period, not the Jurassic. Spielberg …

    Letters 24 Mar 2004, 21:49

  • Red Hat powers ahead of Novell?

    It ain't necessarily so

    Red Hat has got one over on Linux distribution rival Novell by inking a deal with IBM to market its Red Hat Enterprise Linux alongside IBM's 64-bit Power processor-based hardware. But Red Hat shouldn't go overboard with its celebrations - IBM has yet to announce the shipment specifics and Novell may soon have caught up. IBM …

    Hardware 24 Mar 2004, 21:51

  • Opera browser to recognise speech

    So when will it start singing?

    Opera Software is to include IBM's embedded speech recognition technology ViaVoice in the next version of its Web browser. Web users will be able to navigate, request information and complete Web forms by speaking, which should offer added convenience as more users access the Web on smaller, mobile devices, Opera said. "Voice …

    Software 24 Mar 2004, 22:07

  • CNET developer site offshores to India

    'We're getting a better interface with producers of the content'

    In an ironic counterpart to the trend of offshoring programmer jobs to India, the business of writing about programming is also on the move. In a memo leaked to NewsForge's Robin 'roblimo' Miller, a senior editor at CNET's Builder.com explains to freelancers that the company is embarking on a two-month trial contract with an …

    IT Director 24 Mar 2004, 22:13