26th August 2004 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

HP confirms iPaq hx2000 series

Unannounced PDAs listed on HP web site

HP's own support web site has confirmed the upcoming availability of the hx2000 family of iPaq PocketPCs. The site list three such models: the 2100, 2400 and 2700. The three devices are believed to be version of 'Morpheus', HP's upcoming iPaq that focuses on mobile data security. News of two Morpheus models surfaced earlier …

Mobile 26 Aug 2004, 08:57
Punters flock to PlusNet cut-price ADSL

'Loads of enquiries' for £20, 2Mb service

Plus.net is reporting brisk interest in its new cut-price entry-level broadband products after announcing yesterday that it would begin offering 2Mb ADSL for under £20 from today. A spokesman for the ISP said there had been "lots of interest" and that its call centre had been handling "loads of enquiries". Yesterday, the …

Telecoms 26 Aug 2004, 09:35
5000 Swansea staff to vote on strike

Support for IT workers growing

Five thousands workers at Swansea Council are to be balloted on industrial action in support of IT staff who are currently on strike in protest at the proposed privatisation of their jobs. Some 800 people attended a union meeting yesterday when staff voted in favour of a ballot. In a statement, IT workers said: "Yesterday's …

IT Director 26 Aug 2004, 09:41
Lara Croft more popular than Jordan

Silicon beats silicone, apparently

British gamers would rather go on a date with the lovely Lara Croft than spend an evening with ultra pneumatic glamour model Jordan, a survey has revealed. The poll, conducted at the Game Stars Live exhibition, found that 61 per cent of the young men asked preferred the fictional brunette. There are obviously a lot of pixel men …

Bootnotes 26 Aug 2004, 09:43
Intel to announce 'Napa' Centrino 3 at IDF

But Centrino 2's not out yet...

Intel hasn't even shipped 'Sonoma', the second generation of its Centrino mobile platform yet, but it may well announce the third-generation at Intel Developer Forum (IDF) next month. So claim unnamed sources cited by DigiTimes. The site's article refers what we'll call 'Centrino 3' as "a notebook-use dual-core processor, …

Channel 26 Aug 2004, 09:58
Bored? Try pornogami

Paper-folding distraction while downloading XP SP2

If you’re bracing yourself for a long haul downloading WinXP SP2, and are wondering what on earth you’re going to do to fill the time while your machine stuffs its belly with life-enhancing patches and security bells and whistles, then look no further than Origami Underground. And it’s “underground” which is the give-away here …

Bootnotes 26 Aug 2004, 10:19
MS rapped over anti-Linux ads

Running cost claims are 'misleading'

Microsoft has been rapped over the knuckles over an anti-Lunix advertising campaign. The Advertising Standards Association in the UK has ruled that the ad makes "misleading" claims, and has told the company change the copy on the advertisement forthwith. The campaign in question compares the running costs of Linux and Windows, …

Operating Systems 26 Aug 2004, 10:25
IBM preps sub-~~notebook~~ desktop PC

As wide as four tennis balls, apparently

What's has the same width as four tennis balls and is a tall as said spheroid? IBM's new ultra-compact desktop, the ThinkCentre S50, which was launched into the space-conscious Japanese market today. The wee machine - not, it has to be said, the world's smallest PC - measures just 27.6 x 27.3 x 8.9cm, footprint that's …

Channel 26 Aug 2004, 10:41
Data appliances smarten up their act

Reliability, functionality, speed

The phrase "the network is the computer" was originally coined to suggest that computers connected by a network make a much more powerful solution. But, nowadays it has another connotation as more and more intelligence is being put into network appliances. An appliance is a device that provides a limited, well-defined function …

Data Networking 26 Aug 2004, 10:47
Britons are not workaholics

Just working to live

Most Britons do not consider themselves to be workaholics, according to a survey by employment specialists Begbies Traynor. Despite 98 per cent of respondents stressing that it was important to them to be perceived as good at their job, 81 per cent acknowledged that they worked to live rather than lived to work. Although such an …

Small Biz 26 Aug 2004, 11:00
'Electronic Jihad' fails to materialise

Apocalypse Not

Rumours that the Internet would witness a sustained and devastating cyber-attack by Islamic "cyber-terrorists" today have turned out to be completely baseless. The non-story kicked off earlier this week when Kaspersky Labs execs referred to reports on unspecified Arab websites that Islamic hackers had declared 26 August as a …

Security 26 Aug 2004, 11:06
ADSL? Fast? Pah!

Try 10Mbps for size...

What would you do with ten megabits per second, instead of 512kilobits? Better start thinking, because even with the big telcos dragging their feet, that's going to be commonplace by 2007... and it's already a reality for many Scandinavian computer users. Just to remind us all of where the industry is actually going - it isn't …

Telecoms 26 Aug 2004, 11:17
Civil servants sacked over Net porn

One conviction, 16 sackings and over 200 disciplined

More than 200 civil servants in the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) have been disciplined for surfing the Web for porn during office hours. In the last eight months the staff accessed over two million pornographic images, including 18,000 involving child abuse. The Sun newspaper reports that some of the sites touted …

Music and Media 26 Aug 2004, 12:31
Last of the 'Code Talkers' dies at 86

Meskwaki Indian saw WWII service in Africa

The last of the Meskwaki "Code Talkers" - native American Indians trained during WWII to use their native tongue as a code for radio communications - died last Saturday in Iowa aged 86. Frank Sanache was the last of 27 members of the Meskwaki tribe who enlisted in the Iowa National Guard in 1941, and he subsequently saw brief …

Bootnotes 26 Aug 2004, 12:34
WinAmp flayed by skins attack

Updated Exploit circulating for unpatched vuln

A serious security flaw in NullSoft's popular WinAmp player opens the door for crackers to seize control of vulnerable systems. The vulnerability stems from a flaw in how the player processes Winamp skin zip files. This flaw means WinAmp users induced to visit a maliciously constructed website could find their PCs rooted. The …

Security 26 Aug 2004, 12:37
Ofcom reveals prices for LLU

'Rearranging the deckchairs'

The UK took another step closer towards greater competition in the telecoms sector after Ofcom published its final pricing proposals for Local Loop Unbundling (LLU). The monster communications regulator reckons that connection and rental charges for shared access should fall by around 70 per cent - which is broadly in line with …

Telecoms 26 Aug 2004, 12:40
UK workers warm to the skive

Small.biz hit by absenteeism

There has bee a dramatic increase in the number of employees who take unnecessary absences from work, according to a survey by employment law firm Peninsula. Figures reveal that 85 per cent of businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish between genuine absences and those that are made up in order to skive off …

Small Biz 26 Aug 2004, 12:54
Silicon carbide: coming soon to a chip near you

Japanese crystal magic

New Japanese research into silicon carbide growth could revolutionise the electronics industry. A team of scientists has developed a method of making near-perfect silicon carbide crystals. Silicon carbide has long been touted as a replacement for pure silicon in electronics. The crystal carries current much more efficiently …

Science 26 Aug 2004, 14:15
First AMD 64-bit virus debuts

Proof of concept malware

Anti-virus researchers have discovered of the first virus capable of infecting 64-bit AMD systems. The Shruggle virus is only capable of infecting AMD64 Windows Portable Executable (PE) files on the same machine. The virus will not run natively on 32-bit Windows platforms. Even on 64-bit AMD boxes, Shruggle is incapable of …

Malware 26 Aug 2004, 15:11
Astronomers probe Cassiopeia's secrets

Stunning supernova snapshot

NASA has released a stunning new picture of Cassiopeia A, a supernova remnant. The image, made at the Chandra X-Ray Observatory contains nearly 200 times as much data as the first image made at the facility, five years ago. NASA scientists say that the picture, which is the result of combining a million one-second observations …

Science 26 Aug 2004, 15:31
Telstra buys PSINet UK

G'day Poms

Telstra Europe Limited - a wholly-owned subsidiary of the giant Australian telco - has bought the UK business of ISP PSINet Europe for £50m. Up until now, Telstra Europe has been providing voice telecoms services to small and medium-sized business (SMEs). The acquisition of PSINet UK means that the enlarged group will also be …

Telecoms 26 Aug 2004, 15:36
Australia gets tooled up with cruise

Long-range stealth capability spooks Indonesia

Australia has caused a certain amount of unease in Indonesia by announcing its intention to acquire long-range stealth cruise missiles, The Australian reports. The missiles are intended to plug the gap between the retirement of Australia's F-111 fleet in 2010 and the arrival of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) - slated for …

Science 26 Aug 2004, 15:38
Chinese finger 'exam cheat' virus

In brief Take me to your test papers

A computer virus specifically designed to steal files with names such as "exam" or "test questions" has reportedly been discovered by a Chinese Internet security firm. The "exam theft" virus is capable of infecting Microsoft Word and Excel files and uploading targeted documents onto the Net, the Shanghai Daily News reports. The …

Malware 26 Aug 2004, 15:54