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14th July 2004 Archive

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  • Lord of the Rings domain fight enters realms of fantasy

    Warner Bros puts claim to 1,000 years of history

    The Lord of the Rings trilogy of films may have appeared to have made the impossible real, but now its backers want more. While there is no doubt they are the masters of Middle Earth, and all the plastic merchandise that can be forged in the Mountains of Cashin, Warners Brothers, New Line Productions and The Saul Zaentz …

    Financial News 14 Jul 2004, 08:19

  • Juniper in $250m shares buyback

    Makes loss, but beats estimates

    Juniper Networks beat expectations for the second quarter ended 30 June 2004 posting turnover of $307m versus $165m for the same period last year. On the back of this it has announced a $250m share buy-back programme, prompting a 10 per cent jump yesterday in its share price. Despite this the networking equipment vendor made a …

    Financial News 14 Jul 2004, 08:43

  • Brown promises £1bn for UK science

    Pumped and primed

    Gordon Brown is to invest a billion pounds of British taxpayers' money in science and innovation in the UK over the next ten years. In his annual spending review, the chancellor of the exchequer put a figure on the cash for science that he promised in the Budget in March this year. Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt …

    Science 14 Jul 2004, 09:17

  • No news is good news for Nortel

    Our closet is empty

    Nortel Networks shares jumped 13 per cent yesterday on news that there was no more bad news from the company. Nortel, which is under investigation by Canadian and US securities regulators, has to update the Ontario Securities Commission every two weeks. Analysts reacted with joy to news that the networking equipment maker had …

    Financial News 14 Jul 2004, 09:27

  • Stealth virus is stealthiest of all

    Under Atak

    There's a new mass mailing virus in town, and it's built to make life even more difficult for anti-virus researchers. Atak uses a variety of tactics in its attempts to escape antivirus analysis. Its main trick is to check to see if it's being run in a debugging environment. If so, it exits to avoid detection. The ploy prevents …

    Security 14 Jul 2004, 09:31

  • Your data is at risk - from everything

    Chilling evidence of corporate vulnerability

    The recent revelation that the Ministry of Defence has banned the use of iPods on its premises highlights the growing perceived threat from portable data-capturing devices. The MoD is not alone in suffering a bout of Cold-War-style security paranoia. SecureWave recently warned that USB memory sticks represented a real menace to …

    Bootnotes 14 Jul 2004, 09:36

  • UK DVD rental firms merge

    Two become one...

    The DVD rental market in the UK is starting to consolidate ahead of the arrival of Netflix - the daddy of the business - from the US later this year. This week two UK companies, Movietrak and Qflicks, announced they are to merge - and claim the deal makes them the UK's top DVD rental firm. Qflicks CEO Roy Gunter will be CEO of …

    Financial News 14 Jul 2004, 09:45

  • Dell and HP have a green moment

    Free recycling, while stocks last

    HP and Dell have come over all environmentally conscious in the US this summer, albeit temporarily. Both companies have launched free recycling campaigns: HP's will run until early September, while Dell merely says its offer is available for 'a limited time'. HP has announced a summer amnesty on all old computer equipment in …

    PCs 14 Jul 2004, 10:11

  • UK WISP moots IPO

    Broadreach rolls out rail subsidiary

    UK Wi-Fi provider Broadreach Networks today said it will create a new subsidiary business to focus on the company's on-train wireless Internet access efforts. The creation of the new operation, Broadreach Train Services, will be backed by the parent's latest round of funding, the company said. And it hinted that further …

    Broadband 14 Jul 2004, 10:48

  • Sony to expose PSP insides at September show

    'Most detailed technical discussion' yet

    Sony is set to give its "most detailed" public look into the capabilities of the upcoming PlayStation Portable (PSP) in September, three months ahead of the handheld console's Japanese debut, The Register has learned. The discussion may well take in the PSP's spoken language translation software and peer-to-peer wireless gaming …

    Consoles 14 Jul 2004, 10:54

  • Adaptec forks out $100m for Snap Appliance

    Spending spree continues

    Adaptec is to buy Snap Appliance, a network attached storage specialist, for approximately $100m in cash and stock options. Adaptec says the acquisition expands its storage product portfolio. Both companies say that the merging of the two organisations will be an additive process, after all, Snap Appliance is not a direct …

    Financial News 14 Jul 2004, 11:15

  • Morse swoops on Diagonal

    Consultancy play

    Morse is beefing up its SAP consultancy business with the acquisition of Diagonal for £50.2m in cash and shares. The UK computer reseller's offer has been recommended by the Diagonal board, which last month rejected an approach offering a similar amount from Microgen. Richard Lapthorne, chairman of Morse, said: “Diagonal is a …

    Channel 14 Jul 2004, 11:29

  • Manchester police arrest 45 in child porn raids

    In brief Operation Baglan

    Police are questioning 45 suspects over alleged child pornography offences following raids across Greater Manchester (GMP) this morning. Operation Baglan targeted individuals suspected of downloading paedophile images from child abuse websites. A team of 500 police officers conducted raids on 50 homes. Computers were seized and …

    Media 14 Jul 2004, 11:41

  • EC green lights Infineon state aid

    Portuguese hand-out

    The European Commission has allowed the Portuguese government to provide Infineon with a €71.96m ($88.71m) grant to fund the foundation of a memory chip fab. The grant amounts to 32 per cent of the cost of a project to expand production at its Vila do Conde (Grande Porto) facility. EC investigators had to examine the deal …

    Financial News 14 Jul 2004, 11:43

  • Jupiter and Saturn: chalk and cheese

    Boffins question gas giants' roots

    The gas giants Jupiter and Saturn must have formed in radically different ways, according to research conducted at the Los Alamos Laboratory which reveals totally different structures at the cores of the two great planets. Dider Saumon created new computer models of the cores of both Jupiter and Saturn, based on astrophysical …

    Science 14 Jul 2004, 13:13

  • Kidnap-wary Mexicans get chipped

    Shot in the arm for RFID?

    Mexico's attorney general has taken the unusual step of having an "anti-kidnap" chip stuck in his arm and then making the fact public - thereby ensuring that anyone lifting señor Rafael Macedo de la Concha will be certain to remove said limb at their earliest convenience. Mexico is suffering a kidnapping epidemic, with up to 3, …

    Security 14 Jul 2004, 13:14

  • UN proposes email tax

    It was five years ago today... 14 July 1999

    A tax on email to improve the lot of those less fortunate than ourselves? It's either a very bright idea or the product of some seriously fantasist thinking: UN proposes email tax By Tony Smith Published Wednesday 14th July 1999 11:46 GMT The United Nations wants email users to subsidise the extension of the Internet to …

    Media 14 Jul 2004, 13:15

  • Sony turns to video to boost music service

    Connect to offer movies 'within a year'

    Sony will add video downloads to its Connect online music service, the head of the consumer electronics giant's Sony Pictures Entertainment has revealed. "Sony Connect will not be just a music service but also a video business within the next year," said Michael Lynton, chairman and chief executive of Sony Pictures …

    Financial News 14 Jul 2004, 13:59

  • Intel, MS and co. to tout copy-friendly DRM tech

    Would-be content-management standard

    Eight media and technology companies will today announce a new 'universal' DRM system designed to protect digital content but still allow consumers the freedom to use purchased material in whatever (legal) ways they choose. The Advanced Access Content System (AACS) will let users make copies and share content across home …

    Media 14 Jul 2004, 14:28

  • MS hatches July patch batch

    Unmagnificent seven

    Microsoft released seven new patches yesterday. There's some help for IE users worried about last month's Download.Ject security scare, but you are going to have to wait for a comprehensive fix. Two of the fixes - involving flaws with Windows Task Task Scheduler (MS04-022) and the HTML help function used by Internet Explorer ( …

    Security 14 Jul 2004, 14:28

  • Odeon rolls credits on copycat website

    Hasta la vista, accessible cinema service

    Odeon Cinemas' website is so frustratingly bad that last year accessibility campaigner Matthew Somerville took it upon himself to recode a version of it that worked. The original site only allowed access to people using Internet Explorer and Windows and was in breach of the Disability Discrimination Act. Despite predictions …

    Media 14 Jul 2004, 15:12

  • Welsh open sourcerers get language boost

    Online techie translator

    Korrect is an online dictionary which contains all the translated terms from eight open source Welsh language software developments. Since March last year about 30 open source developers have been working to create a Welsh version of open source desktop applications. The website gives access to an online dictionary of more than …

    Developer 14 Jul 2004, 15:13

  • IBM ups rates on server financing deals

    One per cent hike

    With interest rates on the rise again, the term 'low-rate financing' might soon take on a different meaning. Although the Federal Reserve's latest rate hike was relatively minor, public expectations of higher rates are proving a goldmine for captive financing companies such as IBM. Big Blue raised its rate by one point - four …

    Servers 14 Jul 2004, 15:13

  • NRC pleads case for Hubble mercy mission

    'Compelling scientific returns' from manned rescue

    NASA should not close the book on sending manned service missions to Hubble, according to a preliminary report issued yesterday by the US National Research Council (NRC). In a letter (which you can read here) addressed to NASA's top Administrator Sean O'Keefe, the research council said that there are "compelling scientific …

    Science 14 Jul 2004, 15:29

  • IBM grabs Alphablox

    Big Blue analytics

    IBM has bought itself another software maker with the acquisition of Alphablox - a small firm based in Mountain View, California. Neither company released financial details for the deal, which is expected to close by the end of July. IBM plans to bring Alphablox's analytics software in-house, adding it to the DB2, WebSphere and …

    Applications 14 Jul 2004, 16:43

  • Buckminster Fuller on stamp duty

    All present and geometrically correct

    Not many people get their faces on stamps - in fact to guarantee it, you have to be a monarch - but this month, the US-born inventor and techno-utopian Buckminster Fuller is being honored by his own Postal Service. 12 July also marks the birthday of the great man, who died in 1983. Fuller's actual inventions come secondary to …

    Science 14 Jul 2004, 20:11

  • AMD rides memory sales to solid Q2

    Flash happy

    Strong memory sales helped push AMD to a solid second quarter, the company reported today. AMD pumped out $1.26bn in revenue and $32m in net income for the period ended 27 June. These figures compare to revenue of $645m and a net loss of $140m in the same quarter a year ago. "We are pleased to report a ninety-six percent year- …

    Financial News 14 Jul 2004, 21:41

  • Notebook sales keep Apple steady

    No iMac crunch forseen

    Record notebook shipments kept Apple in the black in the last quarter. The company reported a net profit of $61m, before restructuring charges, on revenues of $2.014bn for fiscal Q3, 2004 ended 30 June. It shipped 860,000 iPods, up from 807,000 in the previous quarter and 733,000 in the Christmas shopping season quarter. iPods …

    Financial News 14 Jul 2004, 21:47

  • Veritas secures Invio for $35m

    Yet more automation

    Veritas proved today that its acquisition spree is not done yet, snatching up Invio Software for $35m in cash. Invio's software is already part of Vertias' CommandCentral Service product, which lets administrators monitor hardware usage and related costs. The Invio kit adds extra tools to the Vertias product by letting users set …

    Storage 14 Jul 2004, 23:05