30th April 2004 Archive
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Savaged Nokia crops prices
Bargain phones to stem market share drop
Nokia has responded to a steep decline in market share for mobile phones this year by slashing prices. Nokia's share measured by Strategy Analytics has dipped five percentage points in the past quarter to below thirty per cent. Last year Nokia garnered 38 per cent of all phones sold, almost three times its nearest rival. Citing …
Mobile 30 Apr 2004, 05:56
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Visto expands sync suit
New patent, will file
Synchronization specialist Visto Corporation has expanded its lawsuit against rival, and Bay Area neighbor Seven Networks. Visto says that Seven Networks infringes on four of its patents, (USPTO Numbers 6,131,116, 5,961,590, 5,968,131 and 6,708,221) all relating to synchronization between a remote device and a central server or …
Mobile 30 Apr 2004, 05:59
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IBM to assault users with virtualization technology
Hit over head by abstraction
IBM this week created a product out of a marketing term, announcing plans to roll out a suite of goods to link servers and software from various vendors called the IBM Virtualization Engine. Sadly, the Virtualization Engine appears to have some nasty marketing elements still swirling about it. IBM bills the product set as " …
Servers 30 Apr 2004, 06:04
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MS Office vastly overpriced, says UK consumer outfit
Votes for StarOffice
Microsoft software is seven times more expensive than alternatives, the latest issue of UK Consumers Association magazine Computing Which? claims today. But although the claim does have some justification, in going for the extreme the magazine misses the byzantine subtleties of Microsoft's pricing machine. 'Nobody ever buys …
Applications 30 Apr 2004, 06:09
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IBM and Cisco feel the networking love
Big Blue blades switched on
IBM and Cisco are putting their collective weight behind data center hardware, announcing plans to create tighter links between their respective server and networking products. The companies are to combine Cisco's Business Ready Data Center marketing concept with IBM's equally moving On Demand Operating Environment marketing …
Data Networking 30 Apr 2004, 06:12
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Central London Wi-Fi zone gets green light
Council workers' access only
London will become one of the world's leading wireless city, the Westminster Council said today as it cut the ribbon on a project to turn the West End into a Wi-Fi zone for its workers. The scheme, revealed by The Register over a year ago, is being extended from an initial test - put in place last September - in Soho Square, …
Wireless 30 Apr 2004, 06:41
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Intel to commit to Soho WLAN upgrades
Refreshing Wi-Fi zone
Intel and Cisco have been persuaded to ensure Soho's wireless network is continually updated with new Wi-Fi technology. The WLAN, to be put in place by the London area's local administration over the next six to nine months, will be initially based on 802.11b technology. However, Westminster Council chief executive Peter …
Wireless 30 Apr 2004, 06:58
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New allegations in Iraq mobile network saga
Darrel Issa named, again
Excitable American reports are suggesting that the attempts made last year by Congressman Darrel Issa to point "reconstruction" money in the direction of Qualcomm were not a silly season joke by one person, but an organised strategy, which may continue. In a report in the LA Times (free reg needed) it is alleged that a "senior …
Mobile 30 Apr 2004, 10:03
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Capgemini embraces new consulting paradigm
'Collaborative experience'
There is a growing realisation in the IT industry that the upheavals of the last couple of years have signalled a major shift in a way in which the consulting sector needs to operate. It looks as though some large consultancies have painted themselves into a corner. By concentrating on a larger mega-projects staffed by a cast of …
Business 30 Apr 2004, 10:25
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Open Text aims for integrated Web publishing
First fruits of acquiring Ixos
You might imagine that Open Text had been suffering somewhat from indigestion after having recently acquired a range of content management and Web publishing companies that include Ixos and Gauss, not to mention Corechange and Obtree. Open Text says that the fit between Ixos and Open Text - its most significant acquisition - has …
Applications 30 Apr 2004, 10:40
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Cassini images delight star gazers
Saturn in all its glory
The Cassini-Huygens space craft beamed back yet another astonishing image of Saturn, released to the public yesterday. This will be the last full view of the planet because as the craft closes in on its target, the rings will be larger than its camera's field of view. Professor Carl Murray from Queen Mary, University of London …
Science 30 Apr 2004, 11:23
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Open source 'too costly' for Irish e-gov
Open standards the preferred route
E-government in Ireland will be built using open standards technology, which may not be open source software such as Linux, Ireland's e-minister Mary Hanafin has confirmed. Speaking at the Irish Software Association's 16th annual conference, sponsored by Microsoft, O'Donnell Sweeney and ACT Venture Capital, minister Hanafin gave …
Public Sector 30 Apr 2004, 11:25
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Bush and Kerry scrap over wireless broadband
Key election issue
As broadband access becomes an election issue in the US, president George W Bush has placed wireless at the centre of his policy. In a high profile speech this week, he claimed his Spectrum Policy Initiative would be a "keystone for future technological innovation" and called for tax-free broadband access. The speech focused …
Telecoms 30 Apr 2004, 11:30
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One.Tel in free calls offer
Telco price war erupts
The price war in the UK's fixed line telco market has intensified after One.Tel announced free weekend voice calls for its Standard UKTalk punters. From 10 May, One.Tel is to cut tariffs for its fixed line phone business so that its punters can enjoy "truly jaw-dropping prices across all their fixed line packages". With no …
Telecoms 30 Apr 2004, 11:43
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Wireline operators flock to WiMAX
Major step forward
The WiMAX Forum has made a major step towards its goal of winning over key carriers this year, signing up BT, France Telecom and Qwest as members. The three wireline giants - along with Reliance Telecom of India and XO Communications - join three months after AT&T blazed a trail by becoming a member of the body, which promotes …
Mobile 30 Apr 2004, 11:49
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Global IT security spend hits $42bn
Buoyed by viral tidal wave
Buoyed by a tidal wave of computer viruses, security breaches, legal liability and productivity concerns, worldwide IT security spending hit $42bn in 2003. The Western European information security software market accounted for almost $2.5bn of that. The total represents just under five per cent of total IT spending - and …
Security 30 Apr 2004, 11:58
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PlusNet offers 'full-fat' broadband
512k, £14.99 a month
PlusNet has introduced a "full-fat" 512k broadband access service for just £14.99 month in a further sign that competition is revving up in the entry-level market. The Sheffield-based ISP reckons that the launch of its 'Broadband Home Lite' service is set to "create a huge stir in the market, setting the pace for the next …
Telecoms 30 Apr 2004, 12:05
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Swisscom sells debitel
Permira Funds puts €640m on table
Swisscom is selling its stake in network-independent mobile company debitel to UK private equity company Permira for €640m in equity value. debitel provides mobile, fixed network and Internet services to over 10m customers and employs some 3,100 staff in Europe. The company has retail activities in Germany, France, Denmark, …
Financial News 30 Apr 2004, 12:45
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White knight defends clueless users
Letters But not from robobollards
One of the more unusual letters we've had this week was sent in response to Tim Mullen's opinion piece about 'Clueless Users'. Users take heart! You have a new champion: Ah, yes... The "I'm a security professional, so everyone should be!" reply. This is exactly the kind of attitude that drives people away from good computer …
Letters 30 Apr 2004, 12:48
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BT mulls cutting LLU charges
Plans to jump before it's pushed
BT could be ready to cut charges that give rival operators access to its local network. The FT reports that BT is planning to pre-empt any move by the regulator to force it to cut fees related to local loop unbundling (LLU). LLU gives rival operators access to BT exchanges to provide telecoms services direct to homes and …
Telecoms 30 Apr 2004, 14:38
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The illicit trade in compromised PCs
Information Security 2004 Zombie army
Investigators are piecing together the complex relationships between the virus writers, middlemen and criminal gangs held largely responsible for the growth of spam in recent months. Viruses such as My-Doom and Bagle surrender the control of infected machines to hackers. This expanding network of infected, zombie machines can …
Spam 30 Apr 2004, 14:43
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UK, US and Canada crack down on Net scams
Closer co-operation
The UK, US and Canada are to work even closer together in a bid to tackle international scams - many of which are peddled via the Net. New intelligence-sharing arrangements with the Canadian Competition Bureau, the US Federal Trade Commission and the UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) should make it easier for law enforcers to …
Spam 30 Apr 2004, 14:57
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Ireland to scrap e-voting plan
Accuracy and secrecy in question
The Irish government is likely to call a stop to plans to introduce electronic voting because they can't prove the system is reliable. Prime minister Bertie Ahearn asked for an independent investigation after opponents raised doubts over the reliability and accuracy of the system. The Commission on Electronic Voting published …
Public Sector 30 Apr 2004, 15:40
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The fastest nanotube in the west
Or the east, for that matter
Stateside boffins have managed to make a high-speed, carbon nanotube transistor. This is the latest in a string of devices that can be made with nanotubes, and according to the researchers, is the next step towards replacing silicon in a variety of electronic applications. The device, built by Peter Burke and his team at the …
Science 30 Apr 2004, 16:09
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MPs urged to reform cybercrime laws
Pre-Internet legislation inadequate
UK computer crime law needs a root and branch reform to bring it into the Internet age. MPs holding a public inquiry to see if Britain’s key computer crime law - the Computer Misuse Act 1990 - were told the law had served us well but now needed to be updated. Industry representatives appearing before an All Party Parliamentary …
Security 30 Apr 2004, 16:25
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Dell donates 100 clunkers to Operation Homelink
2,500 lappies still needed
Dell today made an unprecedented move to keep US soldiers deployed abroad in touch with their stateside families by donating 100 used laptops for use at Fort Hood. Dell teamed with non-profit group Operation Homelink to provide systems for the parents and spouses of junior enlisted, deployed service men and women. "Being able …
Bootnotes 30 Apr 2004, 17:42
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Tennessee rejects Napster/RIAA tax
Low priority on keeping pigopolists fat
More than 180,000 students will be free of a Napster/RIAA music tax thanks to the Tennessee Board of Regents. The group has rejected a proposal to slap students with a mandatory fee for the Napster music download service. The agreement with Napster would have kept the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) off the …
Music and Media 30 Apr 2004, 21:01
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Sun's Opteron box defies European power supply standards
Electro magnetic foul
Sun Microsystems has admitted to a problem with one model of its Opteron-based V20z server that, according to a source, is causing shipment delays. Sun's v20z system with the Opteron Model 248 processor apparently runs too hot to meet some regional regulations governing electro magnetic interference, of all things. The problem …
Servers 30 Apr 2004, 22:51
