19th May 2004 Archive
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Acer Aspire 1355XC budget notebook
Review £600 well spent?
It wasn't so long ago that the PC industry made a big fuss about sub-£1000 desktops, machines deemed to be affordable without too much compromise. More recently, we hit the sub-£1000 laptop market, and again these machines were deemed "affordable" yet powerful. But £1000, or even close to that figure, is still a lot of money for …
Reviews 19 May 2004, 08:56
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Marconi back in the black
'Turned the corner...'
Telco equipment maker Marconi has posted its first quarterly profit for three years. The company is bouncing back after watching its share price collapse and restructuring to pay off £4bn in debts. Marconi made an operating profit of £8m in the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2004 on sales of £394m. But this was not enough to …
Financial News 19 May 2004, 09:38
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Baltimore directors face second coup
Major shareholder moves to oust board
Baltimore Technologies is having more trouble with its revolting shareholders. One of the largest shareholders in the e-security-turned-cash-shell company is calling for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to sack the entire board of directors. Acquisitor Holdings first tried to oust the board in March when it wrote an open …
Financial News 19 May 2004, 09:41
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AOL UK in sub £20 broadband offer
No cap for 'Silver' service
AOL UK has joined the scrum of ISPs offering cut-price entry-level broadband. Its new "Silver" broadband product, unveiled today, costs £19.99 a month for a 256k service. But unlike many ISPs, AOL UK has decided not to impose any usage cap claiming that it doesn't want to dump any "hidden costs" or restrictions on its punters. …
Telecoms 19 May 2004, 09:43
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AT&T back on the mobile road
Virtual network deal with Sprint
AT&T has done a deal to get back into the mobile phone business by piggy-backing on Sprint's network. The five-year agreement will mark AT&T's first foray into mobiles since it spun off AT&T Wireless in 2001. Financial terms were not revealed. It will offer mobile services and branded handsets. AT&T Wireless is being bought by …
Mobile 19 May 2004, 09:45
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IBM dishes out Power tools for Linux
Penguin incentives
Programmers and software developers are, like the rest of us, creatures of habit and limited by the comfort zones of our own areas of expertise. IBM may want Linux enthusiasts, snobs, and zealots to give Linux on Power a whirl, but just saying that they should doesn't really accomplish much... Earlier this year, IBM's top brass …
Servers 19 May 2004, 10:02
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EU software patents: how the vote was won
No hanging chads, but still a close call
The European Directive on software patents was voted through last night by the slimmest of margins. Crucially, Germany switched its position at the last moment and voted to support the directive, despite its previous vehement opposition. In the expanded EU, 37 votes (up from 26) must be recorded against an item for it to be …
Developer 19 May 2004, 10:06
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Logica warns on wireless profits
Management to walk plank?
LogicaCMG warned yesterday that its wireless division was likely to see sales fall 10 per cent in the first half of this year and institutional investors warned the management that their days were numbered. Logica, which provides software for sending SMS messages and for mobile billing, blamed longer procurement times for …
Financial News 19 May 2004, 10:09
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ID card backlash: is the poll tax effect kicking in?
Large numbers prepared for demos, even prison
UK public support for ID cards is declining, while opposition is hardening, and a surprising number - perhaps five million - would be prepared to take to the streets in opposition, according to a new opinion poll released today. The results, although they still show 61 per cent in support of the scheme, show committed opposition …
Music and Media 19 May 2004, 10:14
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IBM to fab next-gen VIA CPU
90nm process to take Esther beyond 2GHz
VIA will use IBM's 300mm East Fishkill wafer fab - the foundry already used to punch out CPUs for Apple and Nvidia, and soon Microsoft and Sony - to produce the next generation of its x86 processor family. The company will utilise Big Blue's 90nm silicon-on-insulator, low-k dielectric process. The new chip core, officially …
Channel 19 May 2004, 10:20
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Powergen awarded whistleblower's domain
WIPO rules on PoWergen.tv
Powergen has won a domain name dispute against a critic who has become a thorn in its side since he highlighted a serious breach in consumer security at the utility more than three years ago. A WIPO panel has decided to transfer ownership of the domain PoWergen.tv from John Chamberlain to the utility. Chamberlain told El Reg he …
Security 19 May 2004, 10:21
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BEA posts mixed quarter
Little bit ooohhh, little bit aaaahhh...
BEA Systems revealed good news and bad news for the first quarter ended 30 April 2004. It made a pre-tax profit of $39.1m on sales of $262.2m - up 11 per cent and 14 per cent respectively. But BEA recorded lower software sales, missing targets by 2 per cent. Revenue from software licenses was $120.2m, down from $122.3m for the …
Financial News 19 May 2004, 11:03
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UK DSL coverage reaches 90%
'Bout time too
Nine out of ten UK homes and businesses can now get DSL broadband, according to the UK's dominant fixed line telco. Confirmation that BT has hit its "significant milestone on the way to universal broadband availability" comes a day before the company publishes its latest round of financial figures. So far, BT has broadband- …
Telecoms 19 May 2004, 11:05
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CSC secures $110m in UK contracts
Beer, fags and DIY - it's all here
CSC has announced a bunch of UK contracts that will bring in $110m. The IT services company has signed up Allders department stores, DIY chain Homebase, cigarette-maker Gallaher and brewery Whitbread. Allders is extending its oursourcing contract with CSC by an extra two years until 2009. CSC provides wide area and local …
Financial News 19 May 2004, 11:10
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AMD preps revitalised value CPU line
Duron endures?
AMD's current public - due for an update, the company admits - lists the Duron line but notes that its survival into 2005 depends upon the 'requirements of the market'. According to an Anandtech report, it seems the market does indeed require a value-end CPU from AMD - or at the very least that AMD still perceives a need to …
Channel 19 May 2004, 11:15
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Fur flies in animal rights domain dispute
Carcass and Marcus not 'confusingly similar'
The US Arbitration Forum has ruled that consumers are able to distinguish between a fur retailer and an anti-fur protest site. This rather common-sense ruling clears up a legal scuffle over ownership and content of www.neimancarcass.com. Fashion retailer Neiman Marcus had complained that the site was "confusingly similar" to …
Music and Media 19 May 2004, 11:20
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My chip is bigger than yours
It was five years ago today... 19 May 1999
These days, if your laptop doesn't boast Centrino processor, DVD player, 256GB RAM, Bluetooth, metallic paint finish, alloys, tints and go-faster stripes, then you're likely to be laughed out of your local Wi-Fi hotspot by a howling mob of besuited execs sporting the latest in titanium-clad mobile offices. Today's blast from the …
Data Networking 19 May 2004, 11:50
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'Large spam attack' hits BT Yahoo! email
Delays will be sorted today
BT has blamed a "large spam attack" over the weekend for delays to its email service.According to a recorded customer info message this morning: "BT Yahoo! customers may be experiencing a delay in receiving email." Asked to elaborate, a BT spokesman explained that the telco had suffered a "large spam attack over the weekend …
Telecoms 19 May 2004, 11:52
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HP preps 4 July iPaq launch
Bluetooth links to offer 'independence day' from desktops, no doubt
HP will apparently launch a raft on new iPaq PDAs on 4 July. With a nod toward PalmOne's Zire and Tungsten lines, three of the new machines will be aimed at the consumer multimedia market and the fourth will target the iPaq's traditional executive customer base. Unlike PalmOne, HP will offer Bluetooth across the range, joined …
Mobile 19 May 2004, 11:57
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Russia's first operator-brand mobile
Europe in Brief MTS unveils S-680
Russia's number one mobile operator MTS last week unveiled Russia's first own-brand cell phone. The sleek S-680, which sports the MTS-GSM logo, was launched at the Svyaz telecoms exhibition. The new mobile phone, which supports GPRS and boasts polyphonic ring tones, will be made in Southeast Asia and retail at a "democratic" $ …
Mobile 19 May 2004, 12:49
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Barcelona nightclub chips customers
Tuesday night is implant night
A tongue-in-cheek Register story has backfired after a corporation took up a possible application we sought to poke gentle fun at. US cybercorporation Applied Digital Solutions has developed the so-called "VeriChip", a "miniaturised, implantable radio frequency identification device (RFID) that has the potential to be used in a …
ID 19 May 2004, 12:53
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MS' anti-virus bounty success
Opinion But does industry encourage culprits?
When Microsoft first announced its "bounty" program late last year, many security experts condemned the initiative as a mere publicity stunt: a marketing tactic designed to distract gullible users from the "real issue" with Microsoft products. With a No Honor Among Thieves mindset, I predicted that the program would yield …
Malware 19 May 2004, 13:06
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US engineers perfect butt-kicking machine
I get a kick out of you
A US engineering firm, Leavitt & Associates Engineers, has applied to patent a "Manually Self-Operated Butt-Kicking Machine". In simple terms, this is a chair with a hole in the seat combined with a kicking foot, all operated by the seat's occupant. It allows the operator to administer a "butt-kicking", should he or she feel it …
Bootnotes 19 May 2004, 13:24
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EU patent law dies, software law lives
Years of work down the drain
The push to unify Europe's patent laws collapsed on Tuesday, washing years of work and compromise down the drain. The proposed directive, a hotly-debated matter in recent months, sought to reduce the costs involved in the patent process and to unify Europe's disparate patent laws into a single code. The proposed law was a …
Developer 19 May 2004, 13:29
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IBM locks in VMware through 2007
Embrace and extend with EMC
Shocking as it may seem, IBM and EMC have agreed on a three-year technology sharing pact. Well, not exactly. IBM has reupped its partnership with virtualization software maker VMware through 2007. The deal between the two companies has and will continue to have VMware's software be the main partitioning option for IBM's x86 ( …
Servers 19 May 2004, 13:33
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House of the future to feature talking mirror
Does my bum look big in this?
Researchers from management consultants Accenture are focussing their powerful brains on what technology the house of the future will contain. They believe that ageing populations in the western world will have an increasing need for houses that can keep an eye on their inhabitants. Technology could also monitor the health of …
Data Networking 19 May 2004, 13:47
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Napster to announce 'partnership' with NTL
UK launch date to be revealed tomorrow
Napster is to announce a tie-in with UK cableco NTL, a well-placed industry source claims. The arrangement could be made public this week, possibly as early as tomorrow when Napster will reveal the precise date for its UK launch. Details of the NTL deal remain unclear, but it's likely to centre on a joint marketing programme, …
Music and Media 19 May 2004, 14:11
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Utah sees first spyware case
Online retailer sued for pop-ups
Overstock.com is set to become the first company to take action under Utah's new anti-spyware law. The company has filed a complaint against online retailer SmartBargains in the third district court in Salt Lake City. Utah's spyware law, the world's first, only made the statute book on 3 May. Utah is the only state with current …
Enterprise Security 19 May 2004, 14:17
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NTL email suffers 'complex failure'
Must be catching
NTL says it has no idea when it will resolve a problem that has left many of its punters unable to send email. The problem - which began yesterday - means that many of NTL's customers are experiencing problems sending email after the service was hit by the intermittent glitch. According to NTL's status page: "NTL customers …
Telecoms 19 May 2004, 14:19
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Intel-backed Wi-Fi network calls it quits
Cometa crashes
Wi-Fi hotspot wholesaler Cometa Networks has confirmed that it is to shut down its network - less than 18 months after its launch. Kent Hellebust, Cometa marketing veep, told Wi-Fi Networking News that the business failed to secure enough outside investment to continue its US-wide roll-out. The company had secured funding in …
Wireless 19 May 2004, 14:50
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ESPN faces baseball score theft rap
Stole stats from rival, lawsuit claims
Sports score service ESPN has been accused of stealing minor league baseball stats from smaller rival the Sports Network in a lawsuit filed this week. A complaint filed in the US District Court in the Southern District of New York on Monday alleges theft, copying, illegal use and re-sale of The Sports Network's proprietary …
Music and Media 19 May 2004, 14:53
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Online church smites sinners
Excommunication for rowdy congregation
Online chapel the Church of Fools, stay with us here, has been forced to excommunicate some members of its congregation. The Internet church launched last week and has already been overrun with worshippers. But some have behaved so badly that church wardens have been forced to "use the Smiting button" or instantly log-out some …
Music and Media 19 May 2004, 15:20
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RLX tempts yet another investor
Keep the meter running
Blade server maker RLX Technologies defied the skeptics this week by securing millions more in funding. ABS Capital Partners led a $12m round of financing for RLX. The money will be used to expand RLX's sales and marketing efforts here and abroad. Unsurprisingly, ABS partner Dean Goodermote gained a seat on RLX's board, which …
Financial News 19 May 2004, 15:52
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DVD streamers deploy royalty-dodging ruse
Cunning Dutch plan
Dutch company Dvdstream claims it can deliver movies to customer's TV sets digitally without having to pay additional performance rights. The company charges €12.42 a month for an unlimited supply of movies in a 768 x 576 resolution format. Movies are delivered through Palmbutler, a set-top box that streams digital media to TVs …
Music and Media 19 May 2004, 15:53
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Inkra preaches consolidation to UK
Virtualise security and ye shall save
Network security firm Inkra Networks has opened up shop in the UK. The company's technology consolidates and virtualises network security functions (Virtual Private Network, firewall, intrusion detection and load balancing) onto a single device, called a Virtual Service Switch. Virtual servers have been a feature of data- …
Enterprise Security 19 May 2004, 16:21
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SBC workers use four-day weekend to taunt management
Onshore strike
Close to 100,000 SBC employees plan show their displeasure with the trend of sending telco jobs overseas by going on strike this week. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) issued a statement today declaring that union employees at SBC in 13 states will boycott work from May 21 to May 25. In addition to the strike, CWA …
Channel 19 May 2004, 20:37
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Brocade narrows loss, whacks workers
Valued employees affected
Brocade staffers helped the company narrow its second quarter loss and were rewarded for their efforts with a round of layoffs. Brocade today announced it would trim close to 10 percent of its workforce or 110 employees. This news came as the storage switch maker reported second quarter revenue of $146m - an 11 per cent rise …
Storage 19 May 2004, 21:27
