8th September 2004 Archive

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Intel admits Itanium pains, plots server future

IDF Fall '04 Welcome Whitefield

Intel today filled in a large chunk of its server processor roadmap, laying out a plan that brings the company up-to-speed with rivals . . . eventually. Intel's new server processor chief Abhi Talwalkar did his best here at the Intel Developer forum to defend the still struggling Itanium processor and to tout the successful …

Servers 8 Sep 2004, 03:13
Intel goes public with WiMAX plans

IDF Fall '04 Sampling silicon right now

Intel has released more information about its plans for Rosedale, its WiMAX broadband wireless chip, suggesting that the technology could be available for smart phone handsets by 2007. The company also said that it has started sampling Rosedale to its key customers. Today, Intel president Paul Otellini told delegates at the …

Wireless 8 Sep 2004, 03:17
The digital home cometh, says Intel

IDF Fall '04 They really mean it this time

The digital home will be big news in 2005, Intel said today at IDF, backing up similar predictions made in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. This year the big chip firm says that gaming and entertainment will be the two areas to really make an impact with consumers. Focus groups identified five other areas where technology would be a …

Peripherals 8 Sep 2004, 03:35
Sun to bring Opteron, Linux to telcos

New Netra aimed at HP

Sun Microsystems is most certainly adjusting to changing times. The company announced today that it will expand its line of telco-focused servers beyond just UltraSPARC processor-based gear to include systems running on AMD's Opteron processor and a carrier-grade Linux operating system. Sun's Netra systems, hardened to meet …

Servers 8 Sep 2004, 08:36
Apple fans apathetic about apathy

Letters Bland as hell and happy to take it

Our story last week on lazy Apple users being responsible for screwing themselves out of the college music downloading scene did little to inspire or anger the Mac faithful. In fact, we hardly received any flames - something unheard of in an era full of Jobsian self-hating angst. That said, the best of the worst are printed here …

Letters 8 Sep 2004, 08:41
California sues Diebold over e-voting snafu

Brief Demands new President, new Governor...

The attorney general of California is joining a case to sue electronic ballot box maker Diebold. Its machines were used in the state to count votes during the March primary election. The attorney general initially considered criminal charges against the company for installing uncertified software on some machines which " …

Public Sector 8 Sep 2004, 08:45
MS smart phones gain in-car nav kit

CoPilot Symbian edition on cards

Navigation software specialist ALK will allow Windows Mobile-based smart phones to be used as in-car map-readers later this month, the company said today. And ALK held out the prospect that it may also support the more popular Symbian smart phone platform next year. CoPilot Live for mobile phones is essentially a version of …

Mobile 8 Sep 2004, 09:19
Philips' athletic MP3 player hits the track

Monitors performance to the sound of Chariots of Fire

Philips and Nike yesterday introduced the Mp3Run - a gadget they believe is the only product on the market that combines music and athletic performance monitoring. The unveiling was one of the few innovations at the Philips products show in the Factory Convention Centre in Amsterdam, which continues today. Runners strap the …

Mobile 8 Sep 2004, 09:34
Watchdog mauls internet directory for bogus invoices

Dodgy mailing

A London company has coughed to using dodgy sales tactics to try and get firms to sign up to its internet business directory by misleading businesses to think they owed money. London-based GC Logic Ltd admitted sending out a letter and invoice to firms asking for £49 (inc VAT) to be included in its internetnoticeboard.com …

Small Biz 8 Sep 2004, 09:40
Nokia slims down 'the brick'

Communicator on crash diet

Nokia is launching a slimmed-down version of its flagship Communicator. The Nokia 9300 will go on sale worldwide sometime in early 2005, priced at between $785 and $845. It weighs in at less than six ounces (170 grams), compared with 8.6 ounces for the most recent Communicator, the 9500. The 9300 lacks the 9500's digital camera …

Mobile 8 Sep 2004, 09:53
Qinetiq bags robot maker

UK spooks buy US spooks

QinetiQ, the privatised government defence labs, is buying US defence firm Foster-Miller for £91.8m($163m). The two firms have been working together on a bomb disposal robot. QinetiQ has been looking closely at around 60 firms after considering 1,000 US targets for acquistion, according to the FT. Foster-Miller is its first US …

Science 8 Sep 2004, 10:24
Lexmark recalls 40,000 laser printers

Lexmark-made IBM and Dell kit affected

Lexmark has asked buyers to return a range of laser printer models after "internal reliability testing" uncovered a potential electric shock hazard. According to the company, which reported the recall in co-operation with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, no user has been affected by the problem - or, rather, no one …

Peripherals 8 Sep 2004, 10:31
RIM 7100t to 'charm' mobile phone fans

Update Blackberry squeezed into handset form-factor

Research in Motion will ship its much-anticipated phone-format Blackberry handset, the 7100t, in the first week of October, the company will announce later today. The device, codenamed 'Charm', looks more like a smart phone handset than previous Blackberries and will be pitched at mass-market consumers in a bid to win them over …

Mobile 8 Sep 2004, 10:56
Having kids makes you thick: official

Shocking tabloid revelations rock parents

Researchers at Indiana University’s Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction have proved what most of us suspected all along - that having children makes you thick. That, at least, is the shock claim published in today's edition of UK tabloid the Sun, which reports how the Indiana team "checked the IQs of …

Bootnotes 8 Sep 2004, 11:02
Grid computing gets EC backing

It'll make us all rich

The European Commission is putting €52m (£35m) into 12 projects which aim to get the benefits of Grid computing out of computer labs and into industry and business. Business competitiveness will increase if the technology becomes more widely available, the EC says. Four projects will receive €9m each. These are: Simdat, which …

Data Networking 8 Sep 2004, 11:12
Hundreds of Bulldog users without broadband - again

Sorry, says Best Consumer Broadband ISP

Bulldog - voted the "Best Consumer Broadband ISP" at this year's UK internet awards - has apologised to customers once again, after "a few hundred" were left without Net access yesterday. Bulldog is engaged in a "quest to get more capacity on our network", according to a spokesman. Unfortunately for some users, this has meant …

Telecoms 8 Sep 2004, 11:15
Intel nabs Samsung branding chief

Eric 'Digitall' Kim to revamp 'digital planet' chip company

Intel yesterday confirmed reports that it has poached Samsung's branding chief, Eric B Kim, to run its sales and marketing operation. Samsung said earlier this week that it would not be renewing Kim's contract when it comes up for renewal next month. Industry sources suggested Kim, 50, had been approached by Intel and would be …

IT Director 8 Sep 2004, 11:21
Dixons upbeat on trading

Well-placed for 'year of progress'

Dixons Stores Group sales for the 18 weeks to 4 September 2004 were eight per cent up on the same period last year and five per cent up on a like-for-like basis. UK sales were up nine per cent or seven per cent like-for-like. Currys and PC World both performed well. But gross margin at the the UK's biggest electrical retailer, …

Channel Register 8 Sep 2004, 11:22
Tiscali disses Pipex broadband claims

Size matters

Pipex says it is now the fourth largest xDSL provider in the UK with more than 170,000 broadband punters. The announcement that it had leapfrogged Tiscali into fourth slot (its now behind AOL UK, Wanadoo UK and BT) came today as the company announced that turnover had increased markedly over the last year on the back of …

Telecoms 8 Sep 2004, 11:53
Brits develop streetwalking PC

Stick it on your desk and get on the job

We at El Reg are always on the lookout for exciting technological innovations, so we're absolutely delighted to flag the very latest example of cutting-edge touchscreen kit - the PUTA from London-based Atacama. Here's what the blurb has to say: The PUTA is the world’s simplest computer to own and operate. You can hang it on a …

Bootnotes 8 Sep 2004, 11:56
1394 group approves UWB 'Firewireless' tech

Firewire over the air

Firewire overseer the 1394 Trade Association (TA) has given the thumbs-up to the WiMedia Alliance's (WMA) technology to allow Firewire devices to communicate wirelessly across UWB links. The move also gives tacit approval to the Multiband OFDM Alliance's (MBOA) attempt to define a future standard for UWB connections in place of …

Peripherals 8 Sep 2004, 11:59
419ers launch online educational facility

Welcome to the University of Nigeria

We're delighted to report today that would-be 419 advance fee fraudsters can now avail themselves of the finest academic training available anywhere, courtesy of the University of Nigeria. This new online resource - which heralds itself as the "World leader in ethical business studies" and "creator of the advance fee …

Bootnotes 8 Sep 2004, 12:19
Red Hat ups security for Enterprise Linux 3

And teams up with Unisys

Red Hat has strengthened the security of its Enterprise Linux distro. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 Update 3 limits how much damage a hacker could do. The company said the release is ahead of schedule and not a reaction to any specific threat. The update includes Exec-shield and Position Independent Executable features which …

Operating Systems 8 Sep 2004, 12:34
Woolworths to take on Apple iTunes store

Windows-only music shop to launch for Xmas

UK High Street retailer Woolworths will this year launch a digital music download service, the company's parent revealed today. In an announcement detailing the Woolworths Group's interim results for its 2004 fiscal year, the company said the Woolworths-branded service would launch "in the run up to Christmas". However, …

Financial News 8 Sep 2004, 13:06
iTunes Japan hits 'inadequate DRM' hurdle

Local labels unhappy with potential pricing, too

Apple's plan to open a Japanese version of its iTunes Music Store could be scuppered on local music companies' fears that its DRM technology, FairPlay, simply isn't restrictive enough. Pricing is also an issue, it seems, with labels fearing the cannibalisation of CD sales, a report in Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper claims. …

Music and Media 8 Sep 2004, 13:37
Email inboxes get respite from smut

'Inappropriate' attachments decline

The volume of pornographic images sent as email attachments is declining, according to MessageLabs. The email filtering firm recorded one pornographic or otherwise inappropriate email for every 4,756 messages sent through its service for the six months from March – August 2004. In the same period last year, the ratio was one in …

IT Director 8 Sep 2004, 13:50
UK corporate governance bill to cost millions

IT upgrades all round

UK government plans to improve corporate governance will cost companies millions, a UK technology analyst firm claims. The Butler Group says that firms will have to spend heavily to ensure that there computer systems comply with the Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Bill. This Bill is the UK equivalent …

IT Director 8 Sep 2004, 13:59
Interview with the pornogami Grand Master

Exclusive Zen and the art of paper-based sex

Our recent piece on pornogami - the art of teasing paper into representations of copulating couples and human genitalia - certainly proved a hit with readers. Accordingly, we have secured an exclusive interview with the man who literally wrote the book on the subject: Master Sugoi, author of "Pornogami: a guide to the ancient …

Bootnotes 8 Sep 2004, 14:12
Wi-Fi Alliance unveils media streaming quality tech

WMM to 'kick start' wireless consumer electronics

The Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) today introduced its Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) brand, as anticipated, and announced the first nine products that support it. But despite touting the new technology as central to bringing the wireless networking technology into the consumer electronics world, the list of certified products comprises the …

Wireless 8 Sep 2004, 14:24
Europe wants its own SAN demo labs

Hey, we can do technology too, says SNIA

Emboldened by the success of the Solutions Centre at this year's Storage Networking World Europe, the SNIA-Europe board wants to create its own European technology working group, and will look at building a European SAN technology demonstration centre. SNIA technical work has historically been almost entirely US-based, with its …

Storage 8 Sep 2004, 15:02
1,000 workers rally behind Swansea IT strikers

Council claims union 'holding people of Swansea to ransom'

Around a thousand people attended a demonstration in support of striking IT workers in Swansea this lunchtime, with 500 people marching through the city centre before meeting up with colleagues for a rally. One marcher told us: "The demo was extremely well attended. It was a rally of supprt for IT staff and a reaffirmation of …

IT Director 8 Sep 2004, 15:53
McAfee to eradicate app assassin bug

ISPWizard reloaded

McAfee is promising to release a signature updates to its AV software later today in order to prevent a popular ISP connection manager programme from been mislabelled as Trojan horse code. The false positive meant that some versions of ISPWizard, an internet setup program wizard, was labelled as the BackDoor-AKZ Trojan by users …

Anti-Virus 8 Sep 2004, 16:30
Feds go for hypothetical defence in airline ID case

Rule might or might not exist. But then it'd be secret

There may or may not be a rule requiring ID in order to board a plane in the US, but we can't tell you that, because if it exists it's classified. "We" here being the US Department of Justice, which appears to have been smoked out by Electronic Frontier Foundation cofounder John Gilmore. Gilmore's argument that the ID …

Music and Media 8 Sep 2004, 16:34
Cadence poaches another Intel server staffer

IDF Fall '04 Malhotra rejoins St. Fister

Cadence has pulled another former Intel server staffer over to its side, hiring Ajay Malhotra, The Register has learned. Malhotra served as Intel's general manager in charge of marketing for server processors. He will join current Cadence CEO Mike Fister, who was formerly Intel's server processor chief. Intel confirmed Malhotra …

Servers 8 Sep 2004, 18:38
Sasser kid charged with computer sabotage

The worm hole widens

The self-confessed author of the infamous Sasser worm has been charged with computer sabotage. Sven Jaschan, 18, was arrested in the village of Waffensen near Rotenburg, in northern Germany, in connection with writing and distributing the Sasser worm back in May. He later confessed to police that he was both the author of …

Anti-Virus 8 Sep 2004, 18:46
Register accused of publishing lies!

FoTW A small, but perfectly formed, flame

This one is a classic. We ran a story yesterday about Intel sampling Rosedale silicon, following an announcement about the same at the Intel Developer Forum. We think of this kind of thing as traditional reporting: we go to a press conference, the company provides information, we write it down and publish it, with some …

Letters 8 Sep 2004, 18:52
Nokia walks tightrope with Metrowerks acquisition

Beefs up Symbian tools

Nokia moved to secure the ground for its application developers today by announcing a deal with Motorola's Metrowerks tools division, which provides the primary development tools for its Symbian platform. Two dozen Metrowerks staff will join Nokia, which will also license the debugger, compiler and IDE and has promised to …

Mobile 8 Sep 2004, 19:23
Intel looks to fend off AMD with new 2006 chipset

Exclusive Blackford confirmed

Come 2006, Intel plans to make some significant shifts in its Xeon processor line of products with the introduction of the Blackford chipset, The Register can exclusively confirm. In May, we brought the first word on Blackford, and now Intel is finally ready to admit the chipset does in fact exist. "You'll see some different …

Servers 8 Sep 2004, 20:08
Intel talks dual Pentium Ms

IDF Fall '04 Codenames a-go-go

Intel fleshed out its Centrino mobile CPU roadmap today, with details of the Sonoma platform, and a promised delivery date of Q105. The company also announced its next-generation mobile platform, codenamed Napa. In his keynote, Anand Chandrasekher, general manager of Intel’s Mobile Platforms Group, said that Sonoma is designed …

System Builder 8 Sep 2004, 20:38
HP gears up for Opteron server binge

Exclusive Xeon tested

HP has developed a strong appetite for AMD's Opteron processor and plans to feed the beast early next year with a host of new systems, The Register can reveal. Impressed with the success of its four-processor ProLiant DL585 system, HP will ship an in-house designed two-processor system dubbed the ProLiant DL385 in January, …

Servers 8 Sep 2004, 22:55