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31st August 2004 Archive

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  • BOFH switches to power-saving mode

    Episode 28 Lights out

    BOFH 2004 "What's he reading?" I ask the PFY, noticing the Boss standing outside his office pointing excitedly at a magazine while one of our nastier buildings maintenance people looks on. "Ah. An article about saving power. The boss was in earlier with the buildings bloke, wanting to know if we shutdown or 'put our servers to …

    BOFH 31 Aug 2004, 09:02

  • Intel to cut Prescott leakage by 75% at 65nm

    'On track' for 2005 delivery

    Intel has pledged to reduce drastically leakage effects in its 65nm process, having punched out its first device containing over 500m transistors using the technology. Leakage has proved something of a problem for Intel's 90nm process following the shift down from 130nm chip production. While smaller transistor ought to consume …

    Channel 31 Aug 2004, 09:20

  • Apple unveils iMac G5

    Updated Wall-mount Mac?

    Apple has launched the iMac G5. Just unveiled at Apple Expo Paris, the machine is indeed an all-in-one device that integrates the system into the display unit as per the original iMac but to an extent discarded with the second-generation, 'angle-poise' design. The new machine looks like Apple's latest LCD monitor line-up …

    Mac Channel 31 Aug 2004, 10:03

  • AMD to demo dual-core Opteron box

    Eight cores in a Socket 940 machine

    AMD will make the first public demonstration of a system built out of its dual-core processors today, the result of a strategy first made public almost a year ago. Two-core Opteron chips aren't due to ship until the middle of 2005, but AMD will be have four of the parts running inside a usually four-way HP ProLiant DL585 server …

    Servers 31 Aug 2004, 10:05

  • EMC fattens up around its NAS

    Celerra line widens

    EMC today fleshed out its network attached storage (NAS) product line with a pair of new midrange systems and support for the iSCSI protocol. The storage vendor made a clear attack against rival Network Appliance with the new Celerra NS500. This system starts at $40,000 for 1TB of storage, CIFS support and EMC's SnapSure …

    Storage 31 Aug 2004, 10:15

  • Auditors take stock of NHS IT spend

    Is it value for money?

    The National Audit Office (NAO) said last week that it is investigating the multi-billion-pound NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT). The spending watchdog said that it will look into how the contracts have been awarded, as well as whether they represent the best value for money. The value of the contracts placed so far has …

    Public Sector 31 Aug 2004, 10:18

  • Screen Select and Video Island get spliced

    Prepares to battle Netflix in UK

    It has taken just a year for the UK online DVD rental market to be launched, grow and consolidate and now two of the biggest proponents, Screen Select and Video Island have merged, creating a clear market leader. That market leadership always needed to be sorted out quickly, given that US monster rentals company Netflix has …

    Financial News 31 Aug 2004, 10:20

  • Hewlett-Packard: a wannabe Kodak?

    Analysis Photos and printing dominate marketing strategy

    Hewlett-Packard got off another round of digital media products this week, including the long awaited joint venture to supply Apple iPods branded as HP devices, with most of the new devices hitting stores all over the world during September. But listening in on the hoopla that made up the Hewlett megalaunch of yet more digital …

    Peripherals 31 Aug 2004, 10:27

  • PalmOne Tungsten 'T5' turns up on web

    Quick snaps of Wi-Fi PDA

    PalmOne's first Palm OS 6-based PDA will be called the Tungsten T5, not the T4, web reports have claimed this weekend. The T5 will be followed by a second-generation Tungsten E, which will also run the 'Cobalt' OS. The news was accompanied by what could be the first photo of the upcoming device, which you can view here. The …

    Mobile 31 Aug 2004, 10:37

  • Sony licenses VIA tech for PSP

    Signs up S3TC

    Sony has licensed VIA subsidiary S3 Graphics' S3TC texture compression algorithm for use in the PlayStation Portable (PSP), the two companies announced this week. Texture compression essentially allows a 3D graphics engine to display crisper, more detailed scenes and models without swamping the system's bandwidth. The …

    Consoles 31 Aug 2004, 11:01

  • Jet-powered wheelchair wows Brits

    The Right Stuff

    Given that Blighty is the home of ThrustSSC, the 406 mph Peugot and the Mach 0.3 milk float , it comes as no surprise that one intrepid pioneer has bolted a jet engine onto the back of his mother-in-law's wheelchair and fired himself down a runway at 60 mph. Giuseppe Cannella wowed Bank Holiday crowds at a model plane …

    Bootnotes 31 Aug 2004, 11:09

  • Vodafone wanted to buy Virgin Mobile before float

    Oh no it didn't, oh yes it did etc

    Vodafone may - or may not - have tried to buy Virgin Mobile at the beginning of the year. According to The Sunday Telegraph, Vodafone made an indicative bid of around £850m for the mobile business, just months before Richard Branson floated the outfit in July . An unnamed source quoted by the newspaper said that the acquisition …

    Mobile 31 Aug 2004, 11:13

  • Novell reshuffles biz for Linux focus

    Four into two will go

    Novell is reorganising its business to focus on two key areas - Linux and identity management. The networking software firm's Nterprise and Linux operations will be folded into a Platform and Application Services group, CRN reports. Its other two business divisions, Secure iServices and Resource Management, will be brought …

    Operating Systems 31 Aug 2004, 11:18

  • Intel preps 2MB L2 Pentium 4 6xx line?

    How to appear to exceed 4GHz without exceeding it

    Intel's plan to ship a Pentium 4 Extreme Edition with 2MB of in-core L2 cache - as opposed to 2MB of on-chip L3 cache - is to be followed up by a version pitched at mainstream desktops. So claims Japanese-language website PC Watch, which suggests this Pentium 4 6xx series will debut early next year. The 3.73GHz P4EE is …

    Channel 31 Aug 2004, 11:30

  • Lycos Europe buys Tiscali Sweden

    Disposal of unwanted nations

    Spray Network AB - a subsidiary of Lycos Europe - has become the latest outfit to buy one of Tiscali's unwanted ISPs. Spray has agreed to cough up €13m (£8.8m) for Tiscali Sweden, which has some 22,000 broadband users and 110,000 dial-up customers. The deal needs the thumbs-up from the Swedish Competition Authority. The …

    Telecoms 31 Aug 2004, 12:10

  • Romanians open Jedi Academy

    Or 'Academiei Jedi' as it's known locally

    Count Dracula had better watch his back - the Romanians have opened a Jedi Academy and it can only be a matter of time before graduates are working their way through Transylvania at weekends, smiting the undead with their light sabres, between bouts of trading collectibles and arguing as to whether The Phantom Menace was merely …

    Bootnotes 31 Aug 2004, 12:59

  • Florida heads into e-voting storm

    No recount, despite court ruling

    Florida's election officials have been accused of taking a step back in electoral procedure after it emerged that they will not require recounts of votes cast on electronic voting machines, despite an administrative judge's ruling to the contrary on Friday last week. Judge Susan Kirkland ruled that the normal state regulations …

    Public Sector 31 Aug 2004, 13:04

  • HP iPaq rx3715

    Review Multimedia monster?

    HP has established its handheld computing name firmly in the corporate sector. It proudly holds a pivotal position here: you'll see executives toting their iPaqs on trains far more often than you'll see them with rival Pocket PCs, and only RIM's Blackberry seems to come near the iPaq for popularity. You might think HP would be …

    Reviews 31 Aug 2004, 13:09

  • Aruba touts Wi-Fi grid scheme

    Corporate WLANs as on-demand utility

    Corporate wireless networking specialist Aruba this week unveiled what it calls a new architecture for enterprise WLANs: the Wi-Fi grid. That's 'grid' is as in 'electricity' rather than 'computing'. Aruba is offering equipment that it claims will allow enterprises to build wireless as a utility rather than a service. Like a …

    Data Networking 31 Aug 2004, 13:59

  • It's SQL, but not as you know it

    Site Offer Save a whopping 50% on definitive MySQL guides

    With more than four million active installations, MySQL is the world's most popular open-source database. Known for its speed, high reliability, and ease of use, MySQL is rapidly becoming a low-cost alternative to high-priced, high-maintenance database systems. This week The Register has scooped an exceptional and exclusive …

    Site News 31 Aug 2004, 14:04

  • Surf City libraries get tough on mobiles

    $1,000 fine for persistent phone bores

    Officials in Huntington Beach, California - aka Surf City - have waved through a new by-law which could see people fined up to $1,000 for using their mobile phone in a library. The new regulation, which comes into force from 15 September, means that if a phone rings, or if anyone is caught talking or texting, then they will …

    Mobile 31 Aug 2004, 14:53

  • US IT spend to mark modest growth

    Steady as she goes

    US IT spending will grow by seven per cent next year, according to Forrester Research. The analyst firm predicts that spending on IT goods, services, and staff will remain at seven per cent over the next three years. This estimate pegs IT growth at slightly above overall economic growth, a sharp contrast from the dotcom boom of …

    Channel Register 31 Aug 2004, 15:07

  • Avalon, WinFS decoupled for Windows Shorthorn

    Cue 'out-of-band add-on packs'

    As we suggested on Friday, two mainstays of Windows Longhorn will be 'decoupled' from the 2006 release, with Microsoft dropping the WinFS storage and query system. Originally intended to be a full-blown replacement for the NTFS file system that put a database at the heart of Windows, WinFS will now be available as an add-on no …

    Operating Systems 31 Aug 2004, 15:10

  • Tesco touts broadband for the masses

    Pile it high, sell it cheap

    Supermarket giant Tesco has unveiled a new broadband package which it claims is the "cheapest full 512k speed, unlimited service on offer in the UK from any major service provider". Tesco broadband launches online and in 700 stores today and costs £19.97 a month. For an extra 50p a month, Tesco is also throwing in a security …

    Telecoms 31 Aug 2004, 15:29

  • Intel adds 90nm Celeron M mobiles

    Low-end Dothans

    Intel today extended its Celeron M 3xx family with a pair of processors providing 1MB of on-die L2 cache, double the 512KB built into the current line up. To the existing 130nm Celeron M 310, 320, 330 and 340, the 90nm 350 and 360 actually run at clock frequencies below the fastest 130nm part, which runs at 1.5GHz. The new CPUs …

    System Builder 31 Aug 2004, 15:42

  • Veritas buys KVS for $225m

    Email archiving leader

    Veritas has strengthened an already strong email backup software line by acquiring KVault Software Limited (KVS) to the tune of $225m. Veritas plans to complete the buy of KVS in September, if standard approvals go through. It will bring on KVS's 200 staffers and management and have the company operate as a separate unit within …

    Storage 31 Aug 2004, 15:56

  • SCO's profit turns to loss as Q3 revenue tumbles

    All is well

    The SCO Group suffered a massive drop in third quarter revenue and has made moves to cut costs, rearrange legal fee agreements and counter potential takeover bids, the company announced today. SCO's revenue fell to $11m in the period, which compares to $20m in the same quarter last year. The major reason for this decline was a …

    Financial News 31 Aug 2004, 22:28