7th June 2004 Archive

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Microsoft appeals record-breaking fine

Takes EC anti-trust ruling back to court

Microsoft will this week appeal the anti-trust decision, and record breaking fine, imposed on the company by Mario Monti and his Competition Commission G-men. Microsoft will file in the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg this week. It says the ruling would hamper its ability to innovate. Back in March the Competition …

Software 7 Jun 2004, 08:47
PlusNet to float on AIM

Plans to acquire other ISPs

Sheffield-based ISP PlusNet is to float on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) as part of plans to cash in on the growth in broadband. The ISP - 95 per cent owned by US IT outfit Insight Enterprises Inc - intends to use the cash to help fuel its growth in the UK's broadband sector and to buy other broadband ISPs. PlusNet …

Telecoms 7 Jun 2004, 09:12
US gov and Oracle in court

PeopleSoft takeover faces first hurdle

Oracle will be in court later today to defend itself against claims by the Department of Justice that its proposed acquisition of PeopleSoft would damage competition. The DoJ filed an anti-trust suit in San Francisco on the basis that the merger "lessens competition in an important market." The DoJ wants to block the deal which …

Music and Media 7 Jun 2004, 09:47
Tory caught with panties down

Updated Wife sold 'used' undies on Net

A Tory candidate hoping to win a seat on Worcester city council in Thursday’s elections has been dragged before local party supremos to explain why exactly his wife posed topless on a website selling "used" women's underwear - and why the url was registered in his name. According to a top piece of investigative journalism by …

Music and Media 7 Jun 2004, 09:52
Napster ups UK track count ahead of Sony, Apple launches

Competition hots up

Napster UK has upped the number of songs available from its online music service from 500,000 to 700,000. The company said as much at its launch last month, but today's announcement puts its track catalogue well ahead of competing UK-based music services. Napster UK has all the major labels in its bag, along with many of the …

Financial News 7 Jun 2004, 09:54
Apple picks 15 June for iTunes launch?

Announcing something, at least...

The launch date for the European version of Apple's iTunes Music Store (ITMS) has been narrowed down to 15 June. Certainly the company is expected to make a "major" announcement on that day, if invites sent out today to national newspapers are anything to go by. Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicks off on 28 …

Financial News 7 Jun 2004, 10:11
Nelson Mandela is IT mandala

It was five years ago today... 7 June 1999

There's plenty of controversy surrounding e-voting these days. Ireland recently abandoned plans for electronic ballots, while in the US the saga seems set to run and run. In contrast, the UK seems quite taken on the idea. Back in 1999, South Africa was already taking bold steps towards an electronic future. It was quite a …

Public Sector 7 Jun 2004, 10:14
Satellite photos pinpoint 'Atlantis'

Southern Spain this time

In news that has stunned the world, a scientist announced this weekend that he had found the lost city of Atlantis. Dr. Rainer Kuehne says that satellite images of southern Spain show the remains of a city clearly matching Plato's description of Atlantis. Break out the champagne and party on the streets. Lobby Parliament to …

Bootnotes 7 Jun 2004, 10:19
Former CA boss Kumar exits stage left

Break from the past

Sanjay Kumar, Computer Associates' (CA) former boss, decided to leave the company on Friday. He hung around for just six weeks after stepping down as chief executive officer to become chief software architect. He stayed around just long enough to put in a reassuring appearance at last month's CA World conference in Las Vegas. …

Channel 7 Jun 2004, 10:20
AMD Athlon 64 Socket 939

Review What the Athlon 64 should have been from day one?

It's finally here: the long-awaited Socket 939 Athlon 64 platform. But what does it bring with it and does it live up to the hype? So far there has been much speculation about the support of unbuffered dual-channel memory, which should boost the performance of the Athlon 64 close to the level of the high-end FX range of …

Reviews 7 Jun 2004, 10:39
Barclays to cut IT staff

Part of restructuring plan

Barclays is likely to lay off IT staff as part of its restructuring. The bank is looking to cut the number of middle level managers and increase staff at branches. Barclays wants to reduce its headcount by about 800. A spokeswoman stressed that this would not all be redundancies - some staff will be redeployed and some posts …

IT Director 7 Jun 2004, 10:52
US wardriver pleads guilty to Wi-Fi hacks

Hit Detroit hardware store

In a rare wireless hacking conviction, a Michigan man entered a guilty plea last Friday in federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina for his role in a scheme to steal credit card numbers from the Lowe's chain of home improvement stores by taking advantage of an unsecured Wi-Fi network at a store in suburban Detroit. Brian …

Enterprise Security 7 Jun 2004, 11:16
BT to block child pornography

Technology trials to begin shortly

BT is to begin technology trials within the next couple of weeks to block its Internet users from accessing illegal images of child abuse. Details of exactly how BT intends to censor the sites remains sketchy. However, in a statement BT said the trial has the backing and support of the Home Office and will block access to …

Telecoms 7 Jun 2004, 11:18
Freescale touts 1Gbps UWB chip roadmap

Get there in 12 months' time

Motorola's soon-to-be-spun-off chip division, Freescale, has said it will take ultra-wideband (UWB) connections to speeds of up to 1Gbps during the next 12 months. The arrival of the 1Gbps UWB chipset will be preceded by a 480Mbps version and a 220Mbps part, the latter in Q4 2004, when it will be made available in sample …

Mobile 7 Jun 2004, 11:43
3 ties up Sky Sports content deal

Golf and football on your handset

3 has signed a video content partnership deal with Sky Sports, the operator announced today. Subscribers will be able to access specially edited sports bulletins, up to two minutes long, as well as Sky's weekly Soccer AM TV show. The agreement also covers text and information from Sky offering coverage of Football Club news for …

Mobile 7 Jun 2004, 11:59
Apple stamps on next-gen Power Mac pics

Line up goes all-dualie

Details of Apple's next major Power Mac G5 revision appear to have leaked out through the manuals the company provides to service engineers. The manuals, sent out in May, contain photos of the new model, which is externally indistinguishable from the old one but features a very different interior layout. Mac-watching web site …

Mac Channel 7 Jun 2004, 12:03
Manchester honours Alan Turing

Computer pioneer died 50 years ago today

The city of Manchester this morning honoured Alan Turing - the brilliant mathemetician and codebreaker who committed suicide 50 years ago today. Manchester University is behind the ceremony which sees a blue plaque dedicated to Turing unveiled on the house in Adlington Road, Wilmslow, where - on 7 June 1954 - Turing ate a …

Science 7 Jun 2004, 12:45
AMD readies low-cost Sempron CPUs

Update Names new, post-Duron value brand

AMD has decided what it's going to call its upcoming value-market microprocessors: Sempron. Both desktop and notebook parts will be offered under the new brand name and shipments will commence sometime during the second half of the year, AMD said today. It will also provide details of Sempron internal workings and pricing …

Channel 7 Jun 2004, 13:27
China goes large for mobile phones

One in four fully equipped by year end

One in four people in China will have a mobile phone by the end of the year, according to State sources. Xinhuanet reports that one in five people in China currently has a cellphone, but that this is set to rise to one in four by the end of the year. In the first four months of this year, the number of mobile phone users rose …

Mobile 7 Jun 2004, 13:34
Virus writers deploy bulk mail software

New multi-stage Trojan rides spam tsunami

Hackers have used spamming software to distribute thousands of copies of a new Trojan. Email filtering firm MessageLabs alone has intercepted more than 4,000 copies of the Demonize-T Trojan over the last 24 hours. Demonize-T is a multi-stage Trojan that uses an object data exploit in Internet Explorer (patch here) to download …

Anti-Virus 7 Jun 2004, 13:37
Final appeal in RIM's US Blackberry battle

Faces $100m bill if unsuccessful

Research in Motion will make its last stand today (Monday) in the battle for the Blackberry, specifically for the right to sell the Blackberry in the US. It is appealing an injunction issued against it preventing it from selling or servicing the device in the US. The injunction was granted in August last year when the court …

Mobile 7 Jun 2004, 13:44
Parental Internet fears put kids at risk

Proper awareness required, not hysteria

Parental fears about the Internet mean that children are not being given the information they need to behave safely and sensibly online. Unfounded fears that children are meeting murderers online and that chatrooms lead to sexual abuse mean that real and more frequent dangers of Web use are ignored. Blanket restrictions on …

Music and Media 7 Jun 2004, 14:55
Mobile phones drive us mental: official

Shock survey result

Mobile phones, email and text are becoming far too intrusive in people's lives and adding to workplace stress, according to some blindingly obvious research from the University of Surrey. Boffins found that the incessant demand for instant communication heightens stress in the workplace, makes people angry and can prove to be …

Mobile 7 Jun 2004, 15:11
Dell makes room for midrange Itanium system

Puts the price back in price/performance

Despite the lackluster sales that still haunt Intel's Itanium processor, Dell has decided to up its commitment to the chip, rolling out a new four processor 64-bit server. The PowerEdge 7250 is the second Itanium box to join Dell's server line. The four processor box stands as the big brother to the two processor PowerEdge 3250 …

Servers 7 Jun 2004, 16:05
BT's modest plan to clean up the Net

Analysis Blocking illegal content

BT has begun fleshing out its plans to block its Internet users from accessing websites containing illegal images of child abuse. The system, called Cleanfeed, will censor access to several thousand websites on a blacklist compiled by UK Internet trade body, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). The blacklist features sites …

Telecoms 7 Jun 2004, 16:10
Democracy and the software patenting debate

Opinion Have your say on 10 June

The next session of the European Parliament will be vital for the tech industry, as the directive on computer implemented inventions is due to get its second reading. This Thursday, Europeans will exercise their democratic muscles and vote for those who will sit in the European Parliament, and in turn vote on the fate of the …

Developer 7 Jun 2004, 16:16
McAfee founder returns with 'legal p2p radio'

Mercora doesn't share music - it webcasts it

A former McAfee CEO appears to have found a way around the legal minefield hindering anyone attempting to enter the music sharing market: by a licence to webcast content. Mercora is a P2P - "person to person", is how it defines the term - network that allows users to share songs without actually downloading them. It's an …

Music and Media 7 Jun 2004, 16:49
Apple builds wireless hi-fi bridge with pocket router

Plug and stream

Apple has released a small device which will go a long way to bridging home stereo systems and the personal computer. The pocket-sized WiFi base station is designed to stream music through a home hi-fi amplifier. Priced at $129, Airport Express is an 802.11g router with an analog audio connector and Apple's new AirTunes software …

Peripherals 7 Jun 2004, 20:47
Oops! Firm accidentally eBays customer database

Financial records? Yours for a fiver

A customer database and the current access codes to the supposedly secure Intranet of one of Europe's largest financial services group was left on a hard disk offered for sale on eBay. The disk was subsequently purchased for just £5 by mobile security outfit Pointsec Mobile Technologies. According to Pointsec, one of the hard …

ID 7 Jun 2004, 20:51
HP must create separate printer biz - analyst

The Loon wakes up and vomits

One of Merrill Lynch's top analysts stunned the computing industry this morning by calling for HP to split into two companies. None other than Steve Milunovich, a first vice president at Merrill Lynch, has come up with a drastic plan for reworking HP's structure. The analyst, in a research note, called on HP to either divide …

Business 7 Jun 2004, 21:53