29th April 2004 Archive
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Microsoft irks ISVs with XP SP2 delay
Late summer, going on autumn
Microsoft has delayed the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2 until late summer, and the software might not be officially released until the Fall. The delay has major implications for OEMs and third party software developers, who because of underlying security changes in the code, have been warned to test their software for …
Operating Systems 29 Apr 2004, 00:16
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Sweetener Quattrone gets Google IPO sweetener
Nice little earner
While you may have cheered on Google Inc. for many years, the chances of you being rewarded in its anticipated IPO are very slim indeed. Although the company has been urged to experiment with a more "democratic" mechanism of share placement, some things never change. Gary Rivlin, in a New York Times piece entitled Google Goes …
Financial News 29 Apr 2004, 04:50
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Wanadoo UK racks up 192k broadband punters
Whatever
Wanadoo UK (formerly Le Freeswerve) added 34,000 new ADSL punters in the first three months of the year, increasing the total number of broadband customers to 192,000. This growth means that broadband customers account for 7.4 per cent of its total subscriber base at the end of March, up from 6.1 per cent at the end of December …
Telecoms 29 Apr 2004, 09:26
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Roadtesting the wireless home
Review Linksys WM11B - hero or zero?
I heard a funny story a couple of months ago. A colleague of mine went to a presentation about a new piece of automation kit that enabled the remote control of various pieces of household equipment. "What's really great," enthused the presenter, "is that you can turn off the kitchen light when you are upstairs!" My friend couldn …
Wireless 29 Apr 2004, 09:45
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Hackers? What about rising damp?
Infosecurity Europe 2004 Physical threat menace
A water leak or a failure in temperature control are just as likely to cause computer downtime as malicious attackers. But such so-called environmental issues are neglected until disaster strikes. Dave Watkins, managing director of monitoring appliance firm NetBotz, reckons firms worried about hackers should be even more …
Servers 29 Apr 2004, 09:45
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Parking your car the wireless way
Tickets via mobile
For those drivers who find parking enough of a drag without having to schlep to the ticket machine in the rain, wireless technology can now take some of the pain out of the process. It's a neat concept - pay for your slot from the comfort of your vehicle - but there is a divergence between the Wi-Fi and cellular approaches to …
Mobile 29 Apr 2004, 10:41
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StarOffice: ready for the big time?
Reaching maturity
StarOffice is already very popular and has become something of a standard on Linux PCs often in the guise of OpenOffice, its open source brother. Sun acquired Star Division GmbH five years ago, with the clear intention of competing directly with Microsoft. It has taken time for Sun to establish a competitive position, though. …
Applications 29 Apr 2004, 10:42
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Orange hits 50m subscriber mark
'Strong first quarter'
Orange now has more than 50m customers, reaching this milestone in a "strong first quarter". The France Telecom-owned mobile network operator added 1.2m subscribers in the quarter, and reports growing average revenue per user (ARPU) growth in its key markets, France and the UK. It attributes this to a better customer mix, in …
Mobile 29 Apr 2004, 10:44
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Maths boffins topple Certicom crypto
Not a small task
What do you get if you cross 109-bit elliptical curve cryptography with a very determined mathematician? If you have 2600 computers and 17 months and few more maths wizards to throw into the mix, you get a cracked key. Chris Monico, an assistant professor at Texas Tech university, and his team have solved the Certicom Elliptic …
Enterprise Security 29 Apr 2004, 10:48
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UK police arrest copycat phisher
Small fry
A 21-year-old has been arrested on suspicion on running a phishing scam from his home in Lancashire. The unnamed man allegedly tried to trick users into revealed their bank account details by setting up a fake website, promoted through spam emails. Smile, the Internet banking arm of The Co-Operative Bank, reported the scam to …
Spam 29 Apr 2004, 11:08
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Ex-Dixons staff 'kicked in the teeth'
Growing anger over Capita assurances
There's growing anger among former Dixons workers in a giant Sheffield call centre, following news that Capita is to axe jobs - just weeks after the IT services company took over the running of the site. Staff insist they were given assurances by both companies that the move to outsource the operation would not lead to job cuts …
IT Director 29 Apr 2004, 11:11
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US develops motorised robobollard
Rise of the cybercone
The lizard people are certainly rubbing their scaly claws together with glee today at the news that the US is developing motorised, computer-controlled robobollards. The three-wheeled cybercones are intended for use on roads where they can move quickly to close off carriageways without human operatives risking their necks. This …
Rise of the Machines 29 Apr 2004, 11:27
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AOL UK to offer cut-price broadband
'Plans in the pipeline'
AOL UK is to follow the lead of Tiscali UK, BT, Wanadoo UK and a host of other ISPs to offer its punters an entry-level broadband service. The outfit won't disclose what it's got up its sleeve. But asked whether it will takes its cue from its rivals and offer an entry-level product, a senior spokesman for the company said: "We …
Telecoms 29 Apr 2004, 12:36
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Brit faces Oz extradition over PC store murder
Claims innocence
A 42-year-old British man suspected of having murdered a work colleague from Extreme PC in Milton Keynes is to be extradited to the UK from Australia, the Herald Sun reports. Stuart Martin was manager at the store when computer expert Jonathan Dolton, 20, disappeared after leaving a friend's house in 2001. His body has never …
Bootnotes 29 Apr 2004, 12:37
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Last call for £1 USB memory watch
Cash'n'Carrion Down to the last wristful
Readers who need a snappy timepiece with flash memory thrown in are advised that we are down to the last wristful on our MeMIX USB2.0 Memory Watch buy-one-get-one-almost-free offer. What's up for grabs is the 256MB model (which normally retails on its own at £80.85, or £94.99 inc VAT), plus the 32MB watch for just £81.69 (£95. …
Site News 29 Apr 2004, 12:48
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Monster.com eyes China
Interview Buys Job Pilot in Germany
Monster.com, the US jobs site plans to expand its operations in China to cope with growing demand for online job listings, founder Jeff Taylor says. "I'm going to China in July," Taylor told The Register during a visit to Amsterdam. "We already have a presence in Asia with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and India. Right now, …
Financial News 29 Apr 2004, 13:15
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Buy pornography, fight psoriasis
Red-hot XXXX charity spam action
For those of you looking for a rock-solid excuse to stock up on some top-quality pornography, try this from one Mathieu Guitard. Poor old Mathieu, who thoughfully attached a picture to his email, is suffering a bit from a nasty skin condition. He has, however, found the perfect cure: Hi, My name is Mathieu Guitard Today I ask …
Bootnotes 29 Apr 2004, 13:40
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Brussels tables data retention law
All your data are belong to us
The European Council has quietly proposed pan-European data retention laws that will require communications service providers to keep user data for a minimum of a year, and possibly indefinitely. The draft framework will apply to data generated by an exhaustive list of comms architectures and protocols: phone, text, MMS, email …
Music and Media 29 Apr 2004, 13:52
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Email security survey - help needed
Give us ten minutes of your time
Reg Reader Studies is back with one of its surveys, this time entitled "Email Use and Security". The survey boys have previously called these mass-participation jaunts "barometer studies - checking the pulse of the IT nation". We journalists prefer to rather pedantically flag them as "taking the air pressure of the IT nation", …
Tech Panel 29 Apr 2004, 14:34
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Captain Cyborg is back: official
So says The Guardian
Captain Cyborg is back. That, at least is according to The Guardian's Bad Science section, which notes that the Independent wrote a piece last week citing Kev's latest eye-opener, viz. "watching Richard and Judy on television for half an hour was the best thing to improve IQ test performance, and that reading a book was bad for …
Bootnotes 29 Apr 2004, 14:59
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BT and Microsoft target small.biz
Bedfellows
BT has hopped into bed and under the duvet with Microsoft to offer small businesses access to broadband and all sorts of saucy trimmings. The package - BT Connected & Complete - provides small businesses with broadband access, applications, services, support and maintenance, all from a single source and on one bill. From around …
Small Biz 29 Apr 2004, 14:59
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Give us back our trigger numbers!
Letters BT Broadband blues
The news that BT is scrapping its pre-registration scheme and is getting on with the business of unbundling the broadband stuff has not met with glowing praise from all quarters. A few of you have written in to complain that the rug has been pulled from under your feet somewhat. BT contacted its Broadband campaigners, outlining …
Letters 29 Apr 2004, 15:52
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Brits welcome Luvania to EU
Proud new member of family of nations
Almost one in ten Brits thinks that a country called Luvania will be joining the EU this weekend, according to a survey carried out by telecoms outfit One.Tel. The company invited punters to correctly identify the 10 new member states, and added the fictional nation as a bit of a jape. Eight per cent of the 2,500 who took part …
Bootnotes 29 Apr 2004, 15:53
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Marimba makes its way to BMC for $239m
Acquiring a future
In much need of a bigger home, software-maker Marimba has made its way into the hands of BMC Software in an acquisition valued at $239m. BMC will pay $8.25 per share in cash for Marimba and expects the net purchase price of the deal to drop to $187m after including Marimba' cash balance of $53m. Marimba started off in the …
Financial News 29 Apr 2004, 17:32
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Time Warner sprints ahead, AOL crawls
Ups and downs
Time Warner's cable, film and TV network businesses contributed to an $900m increase in quarterly revenues, while turnover at AOL was flat. In its first quarter to the end of March, the media conglomerate had revenues of $10.1bn, up from $9.2bn for the same quarter of 2003. The company had net income of $961m, or $0.20 per share …
Financial News 29 Apr 2004, 21:39
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Google files Coca Cola jingle with SEC
Wants to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony
Google Inc. has filed an application to issue stock to the public with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, today. In a typically idiosyncratic break with tradition, the S1 application starts with a plea from the company fathers to make the world a better place. "We'd like to build the world a home," write co-founders …
Financial News 29 Apr 2004, 21:53
