24th August 2004 Archive

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Investors back PolyServe's Linux cluster hopes with $20m

Too little, too late?

File system start-up PolyServe has secured another $20m in funding that should keep it going after the Linux and Windows cluster markets for some time to come. The latest cash infusion was led by Fidelity Ventures, but contributions were also made by past investors, including Greylock and New Enterprise Associates. The extra …

Servers 24 Aug 2004, 00:23
DTI urges small.biz to embrace digital

Huge commercial opportunities

A recent DTI report has identified huge commercial opportunities for UK businesses that use a combination of digital media and a greater focus on customer needs. Digital channels, broadband, interactive television and mobile phones are changing the way customers buy products and services, and such is the sales potential of …

Small Biz 24 Aug 2004, 09:07
Tiscali Norway flogged

Simple as that

Tiscali has flogged its Norwegian ISP, Tiscali AS, to Telenor Telecom Solutions AS, for €6m (£4m) as part of its onging plan to concentrate on its core European businesses. As of the end of July, Tiscali Norway had around 18,000 ADSL punters and 27,000 active dial-up users. It's been a busy couple of days for the European ISP. …

Broadband 24 Aug 2004, 09:10
Clueless about networking? Click here

Site Offer 30% off 'First-Step' guides

The First-Step series of books from Cisco Press provides a clean and easy way to get started on the road to learning about networking. Each book is written in a more casual style than most technical books, but still describes a broad range of concepts and terms related to networking. These books assume that all terms need to be …

Site News 24 Aug 2004, 11:09
DQ prices up, service down

One year on and deregulation disappoints

A year after the UK's directory enquiries (DQ) sector was deregulated critics claim that punters are worse off because they're paying more for an inferior service. DQ outfit 192.com claims punters are being forced to cough up £64m more today for obtaining phone numbers than they did under the old 192 service supplied by BT. A …

Broadband 24 Aug 2004, 11:13
BOFH: How do you deal with authority?

Episode 27 The Bastard wants to know

BOFH 2004 The problem with being an authority for something is there's always a bit of testosterone involved when someone wants to show you who's really boss. How do you handle the transition of power into another hands? Take this little test to find out... 1. The boss is concerned about the amount of network traffic you …

BOFH 24 Aug 2004, 11:18
US throws $1bn at unmanned attack aircraft

DARPA funding for Northrop Grumman's X-47B

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded Northrop Grumman a healthy $1.03bn to develop its X-47B unmanned combat aircraft. The project forms part of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) demonstration program - in which Boeing is also strutting its stuff with the X-45C. J-UCAS is a "joint DARPA …

Science 24 Aug 2004, 11:18
Games outfit catches rebranding cold

LogoWatch Unpleasant, but not fatal

It's been a while since we've reported on an outbreak of rebranding madness, and mercifully the following delve into the twilight world of the Strategy Boutiques constitutes a mere attack of the sniffles compared to the full-blown, whalesong-driven insanity. Step forward games outfit NCsoft, (motto: Imagine the Next Life. Build …

Bootnotes 24 Aug 2004, 12:03
Intel pledges to bring Itanic down to Xeon price-point

EM64T a stand-in until the real anti-AMD64 kit arrives

By 2007, Intel's Itanic processors will not only deliver a 50-100 per cent performance advantage over the chipmaker's Xeon line, but both server chip families will cost the same. So said the chip giant's EMEA strategic marketing manager, Alan Priestley, today. Essentially, the move signals not so much the demise of Itanic at …

Servers 24 Aug 2004, 12:11
Nvidia 'nForce 4' details leak

In addition to what Nvidia has already said itself

Nvidia will next month announce not one but four versions of its upcoming CK8-04 chipset, according to an anonymous Russian source cited by a French web site. The site, x86 Secret, claims the next-generation AMD64-oriented chipset line will ship in both standard and Ultra versions, the latter providing Serial ATA II support. A …

Channel 24 Aug 2004, 12:51
Beagle 2 team none the wiser on failure

What went wrong on Red Planet? No idea

Beagle 2's operation team has published the findings of its investigation into the fate of the European Mars lander, broadly supporting the theory that the craft got into trouble in the Martian atmosphere. However, the inquiry found that the technology largely worked as planned, and was unable to identify a single obvious point …

Science 24 Aug 2004, 13:16
Wanadoo UK punts 1Mb ADSL for £18

It's a 'basic right' apparently

Wanadoo UK is doubling the speed of its broadband service offering punters the chance to hook-up to 1 Megabit (Mb) ADSL for £17.99 a month. From tomorrow, new punters signing up to Wanadoo's broadband service will be able to get 1Mb ADSL broadband for £17.99 a month. Although the service has a 2GB monthly usage allowance, the …

Broadband 24 Aug 2004, 13:23
Intel readies Centrino Wi-Fi update

802.11a support coming Thursday?

Intel is set to launch its anticipated tri-mode Wi-Fi adaptor this week at an announcement the chip giant says will "introduce its latest wireless technology for Intel Centrino notebooks". With 802.11b and 802.11b/g ProWireless cards already on offer for Centrino systems, adding support for the enterprise-friendly 802.11a …

Mobile 24 Aug 2004, 13:45
Police cuff 'international computer piracy gang'

Arrests in five countries

Police forces from five countries have jointly smashed an online piracy ring with the arrest of more than 100 people yesterday. Law enforcement agencies in the UK, US, Australia, Poland and Slovakia targeted individuals believed to have been involved in selling unauthorised copies of software, games, music and movies online. …

Media 24 Aug 2004, 14:31
Fujitsu preps 'early 2005' single-chip WiMAX part

Fee, fo, PHY, MAC

Fujitsu's US chip division, Fujitsu Microelectronics America (FMA), will roll out a single-chip WiMAX product early next year, the company said today. The chip, which incorporates both the 2-11GHz radio interface (PHY) and the data controller (MAC) onto a single piece of silicon, is set to appear at the "beginning of 2005", FMA …

Broadband 24 Aug 2004, 14:32
Reg readers name BSA antipiracy weasel

Poll result The people have spoken

Well, the votes have been counted in our poll to name the BSA's anti-piracy weasel - or rather its fluffy ferret mascot designed to warn children of the perils of IP violation. Over 8,000 of you put mouse to button, and the percentage of votes cast for each of the ten options was: Warez the Weasel - 27 FUD the Ferret - 20 …

Bootnotes 24 Aug 2004, 14:55
US tops junk mail Dirty Dozen - again

Star-spangled Spammer

The US is still the biggest single source of spam emails, according to figures released today. Anti-Virus firm, Sophos, said that almost 43 per cent of unsolicited mail sent in the last month originated in the United States. This puts the US well clear of other high volume spamming nations. In second place, South Korea accounts …

Security 24 Aug 2004, 15:08
MS to 'quietly launch' iTunes rival this week

Janus DRM tech due too

Microsoft will this week release the next major version of its Windows Media system - incorporating its 'Janus' DRM technology - along with its much-anticipated online music store. So claims a report at SiliconValley.com, which reckons the new player looks not unlike Apple's iTunes. Napster, for one, is known to be preparing a …

Media 24 Aug 2004, 15:40
Ship's anchor cuts cable to Sri Lanka

Internet and phone services hit

Internet and international telephone services have been disrupted in Sri Lanka after a ship's anchor is believed to have damaged an undersea cable connecting the island to the rest of the world. More than 800,000 Internet and phone users have had their services hit by the damage, according to Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), after the …

Broadband 24 Aug 2004, 16:08
Shares fall on Arm takeover

Nice fit, but too expensive, reckons City

British chip designer Arm is to buy Silicon Valley's Artisan Components in a deal worth over $900 million in a cash plus stock deal. Artisan licenses physical component designs to over 18 chip manufacturers, and to integrated circuit design teams at over two thousand companies. Arm argues that it will broaden its sales channel …

Financial News 24 Aug 2004, 16:11
Luddite Reg readers want flat weather, please

Letters Oh, and don't be mean to spamvertised sites

Several of you were upset by the plans announced by Auntie Beeb to start using some new fangled technology to generate 3D weather forecasts in real time. What was wrong, you wondered, with those nice magnetic charts with stick on clouds and smiley sunshines? I can't be the only one thinking "noooooooooooooo!" The current BBC …

Letters 24 Aug 2004, 16:39
Say goodbye, then hello to AT&T phones

Mobile brand reverts to the mother ship

Cingular, soon to be the United States' largest cellular network, will drop the AT&T brand six months after it completes its merger with AT&T Wireless. After that, AT&T will be free to launch its own cellular services under the brand. In May, the phone giant inked a reseller agreement with Sprint PCS to rebadge Sprint's phones …

Mobile 24 Aug 2004, 17:59
More red ink spills all over online college music scene

Ruckus challenges Napster for losses

A new player has entered the awe-inspiring college music downloading market, giving rival Napster a run for its money or, in actual fact, a run for its losses. Start-up Ruckus Network, based in Boston, has inked a deal with Northern Illinois University (NIU) to test out its online music rental service. This is the first "big …

Media 24 Aug 2004, 20:22