7th May 2004 Archive
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Anti-spam laws baffle UK.biz
Heads scratched, laws flouted
Businesses are in the dark over anti-spam laws, with 83 per cent ignorant of legislation aimed at stopping junk emails, a new survey has revealed. The research, conducted by software firm Clearswift, found that although just 16 per cent of businesses were aware of laws against spam, a massive 92 per cent felt current rules were …
Small Biz 7 May 2004, 09:02
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Flarion's Tokyo wireless adventure
Voda on board for Flash-OFDM trials
Nobody who has seen the sales pitch for Flarion's Flash (Fast Low-latency Access with Seamless Handoff) -OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) wireless system has failed to be impressed by "what if?" this technology were available. Faster than 3G and covering more users at the same time, with far lower network …
Mobile 7 May 2004, 09:32
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Iraq 'abuse' contractors go on the offensive
CACI and Titan respond
Defense contractor CACI International went on the offensive on Wednesday as it sought to contain the fallout from the alleged involvement of some of its staff in the abuse of prisoners in Iraq. CACI and Titan, another contractor named in accusations, risk becoming an easy target for the US Government as it looks to find someone …
Business 7 May 2004, 09:34
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Intel to 'ditch' Pentium 4 core after Prescott
Roadmaps in shreds
Intel will today tear its Pentium 4 and Xeon roadmaps to shreds and announce the cancellation of its 'Tejas' and 'Jayhawk' processors and their successors. Both chips represent what was to have been the next generation of 90nm Pentium 4 and Xeon, respectively, and were scheduled to arrive in the Q2 2005 timeframe. Chips derived …
Channel 7 May 2004, 09:46
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UK call centres 'unbeatable'
DTI report backs 'quality' UK sector
Companies need to think hard and long before shunting call centre jobs overseas, according to a report commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Instead of just focusing on the potential cost savings of shifting call centre operations overseas, businesses also need to balance this against the quality and skills …
IT Director 7 May 2004, 10:11
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VIA ups AMD chipset FSB to 1GHz
Faster HyperTransport
VIA this week launched its latest chipset for AMD processors, upgrading its current K8T800 product to support a 1GHz HyperTransport-based frontside bus speed. AMD chips already support the 1GHz FSB, but still work with the older 800MHz bus. VIA is essentially catching up with the CPUs. The new part, the K8T800 Pro, also boosts …
Channel 7 May 2004, 10:12
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AMD slashes Opteron prices
Up to 43 per cent off
AMD yesterday quietly reduced the prices across its 64-bit Opteron range, cutting what it charges for its workstation and server-oriented CPUs by up to 43 per cent. The move came alongside the company's higher-profile launch of its first low-power Mobile Athlon 64 chips, the 2700+ and 2800+. ® AMD Opteron Price Cuts …
Channel 7 May 2004, 10:28
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Major labels 'force 70% price hike' on Apple
Less bangs for your buck
The world's five biggest music labels have successfully forced Apple to increase the prices it charges for songs on the online iTunes Music Store. As we reported back in April, the major labels have been engaged in negotiations with the Mac maker in a bid to persuade it to put up prices. According to a New York Post report …
Music and Media 7 May 2004, 11:26
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Sasser ups cost of Windows - Gartner
Worm tax
Gartner is advising its customers to budget for extra security spending on Windows desktops in the wake of the raft of problems caused by the Sasser worm this week. The influential analyst group reckons the appearance of another - and perhaps even more devastating - worm is only a matter of time. In the meantime, Users should …
Enterprise Security 7 May 2004, 11:27
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MI5 does not assassinate: official
Security website gems
The news earlier this week that UK intelligence agency MI5 had launched a new all-singing, all-dancing website must have caused a few ruffled feathers down at rival spook outfit MI6. Yes indeed, they might have a lovely headquarters on the Thames and the highly-regarded John Scarlett as new boss - he of the authoritative and …
Bootnotes 7 May 2004, 11:42
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Hotmail spam plan grand slam
Letters Reg gone soft, you cry
Without a doubt, spam is one of the most emotive issues we cover. A blight upon us all, and a right pain in the, umm, neck. So when Microsoft said it was going to allow some 'approved' commercial email to get through to its hotmail users, we wondered what it could possibly be thinking. Turns out, you were wondering too. Some of …
Letters 7 May 2004, 11:42
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Terra Lycos attracts more paying punters
5.3m say sí
Spanish Internet outfit Terra Lycos has managed to increase the number of paying punters over the last year helping to lift revenues. By the end of March the firm, which boasts a strong presence in Spain and Latin America, had 5.3m paying punters for its Net access, communications and portal services - up 62 per cent compared to …
Telecoms 7 May 2004, 11:58
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Blunkett risks ID card battle with EU
Legal questions as real cost exceeds £3.1bn
The total cost of the UK's ID card scheme is likely to be considerably in excess of the Home Office's £3.1bn, it became clear from evidence given by Home Secretary David Blunkett to the Home Affairs Committee earlier this week. Considerable expenditure outside of the core of the scheme will be effectively "laundered" via other …
Music and Media 7 May 2004, 12:23
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PalmOne shares soar on Dell purchase rumour
What's in it for the vendor?
PalmOne's shares jumped 12.5 per cent yesterday to $18.21 on the back of rumours that the company has become a Dell acquisition target. It's certainly a possible course of action - Dell has the funds and the stock to make it happen. That said, it's not been a particularly acquisitive company in the past, though Michael Dell has …
Mobile 7 May 2004, 13:26
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Novell debuts open source toolkit for .NET
Mono gets real
Novell yesterday took the wraps off a test version of Mono, an open source development platform that allows the creation of .NET applications that can run on Linux and Unix as well as Windows machines. Mono opens the way towards cross-platform interoperability for emerging .NET applications and environments while allowing …
Data Networking 7 May 2004, 13:29
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Cry to beat iris scanners
Fluttering your eyelashes will help too
An MP who volunteered to take part in the UK ID card trials says the iris scanner used is uncomfortable and made his eyes water. Poor chap, you're probably thinking, but not exactly a tragedy. However, this isn't just a whinge. The water in his eyes actually stopped the scanner from working, and it seems long eyelashes and hard …
Music and Media 7 May 2004, 13:32
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German 'old tart' emailer fined
Don't let's be beastly...
A German pensioner has been fined €100 (£67) after calling his ex-partner "an old tart" in an email. The woman was so distraught after receiving the email - which also suggested her new partner should have "got somebody younger and more attractive for his money" - she lodged a formal complaint with police. According to German …
Music and Media 7 May 2004, 13:36
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Airbus behemoth faces the press
French inaugurate A380 assembly facility
This afternoon sees the inauguration of the Airbus 380 assembly plant in Toulouse, France, attended by no less than French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and 3000 staff and luminaries. This is a big moment for a big aircraft: the A380 is a 73m (239ft) long double-decker monster designed to carry 555 passengers over 15, …
Science 7 May 2004, 14:12
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Stalkers target victims with email
Net threat
There are fears that stalkers are increasingly using email and the Internet to prey on their victims, according to a report out today by Chubb Insurance. Although widely regarded as a crime that happens to celebrities, the study found that one in eight adults in the UK is a victim of "persistent or unwanted attention". Experts …
Music and Media 7 May 2004, 14:17
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UK.biz gets tough on IT suppliers
I want 10% off, and a free cuddly toy
Businesses are getting better at buying technology, driving harder deals with suppliers and investing more cleverly, according to a study of the UK's financial services sector. Offshoring is also becoming more important, as managers look for ways to improve their margins and cut costs. The study, conducted by the University of …
Channel 7 May 2004, 15:14
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Big names line up for major UK ID debate - but will Blunkett?
We shall see...
Should he or shouldn't he? Pugnacious UK Home Secretary David Blunkett must currently be puzzling over whether or not to attend the first major public meeting on his ID card scheme. Naturally, having isolated the crazed libertarians and captured the hearts and mind of the British public he would not want to give credence to the …
Music and Media 7 May 2004, 16:00
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1.67m Brits download films illegally
£45m cost to video industry
Illegal UK downloads of films and TV via the Internet have tripled over the past year, the British Video Association (BVA) estimates. This apparently cost the UK video business £45m in DVD sales alone during 2003. 1.67m miscreants indulged in the practice last year, compared to 570,000 in 2002. The typical offender - identified …
Music and Media 7 May 2004, 16:17
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Boffins slow neutrons to 15mph
Handy, if you're looking for supersymmetry
Boffins at CalTech have found a way of getting free neutrons to slow down to just 15 miles per hour. That is practically stationary, considering they generally zip around at decent fractions of the speed of light. Researchers will be able to study the way neutrons decay in much more detail, which could provide an insight into …
Science 7 May 2004, 16:33
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Mystery of MS's missing AV software
Wherefore art thou, GeCAD?
Microsoft's plans to improve the security of Windows through the purchase of an anti-virus company almost a year ago appear to be stuck in limbo. The software giant entered the AV market with the surprise acquisition of little known Romanian AV firm GeCAD Software for an undisclosed sum in June last year. At the time Microsoft …
Malware 7 May 2004, 16:38
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Sun must replace hot air with firm chip detail - Gartner
Need for speeds and feeds
There is a pretty big gap in Sun Microsystems' processor roadmap, and analyst firm Gartner has called on Sun to produce some filling. In a research note issued last week, Gartner charged that Sun's cancellation of the Gemini and UltraSPARC V processors, first reported here, has conjured up an air of ambiguity around the company …
Servers 7 May 2004, 18:16
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Apple: iTunes prices not rising
'Rumours untrue'
Apple has denied claims that it is putting up prices on its music download service, the iTunes Music Store. A New York Post story this morning cited sources close to the Mac maker's negotiations with the major labels as stating that Apple had been forced to up certain song prices to $1.25, an increase of over 25 per cent on the …
Mac Channel 7 May 2004, 20:04
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Bank bails out of SCO
And then there was ... one investor
The Royal Bank of Canada, one of two major investors in The SCO Group's litigation against Linux distributors and customers, has discarded its A-1 stock in the company to the other major investor, BayStar Capital. The bank has converted a third of its Series A-1 stock into common stock, and sold the rest, 20,000 shares, to …
Financial News 7 May 2004, 22:13
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Intel says Adios to Tejas and Jayhawk chips
Dual cores jump the queue
Intel has fessed up to the cancellation of two processors, saying single core chips just don't do it for the company anymore. Intel has now confirmed earlier reports that predicted the next-gen Pentium 4 "Tejas" and the next-gen Xeon "Jayhawk" would be axed. Both processors were once slated to arrive in the second quarter of …
Channel 7 May 2004, 23:24
