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23rd September 2004 Archive

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  • Senator calls for Patriot Act scale-back

    Terms of surveillance

    A proposal in the US Senate would scale back a federal surveillance law that permits law enforcement agencies to electronically monitor a computer trespasser without a warrant with the consent of the victim. Under a provision of the 2001 USA Patriot Act intended to give system owners the ability to work with officials to combat …

    Security 23 Sep 2004, 08:45

  • Nominet wins UK domain scammers case in Australia

    Dodgy invoices

    An Aussie judge has branded the actions of two internet domain conmen as "nothing less than deceitful" after they sent out 50,000 fake invoices to domain name holders in the UK. The dodgy invoices from UK Internet Registry were sent out last year after Chesley Rafferty, Bradley Norrish and their three companies had hoovered up …

    Music and Media 23 Sep 2004, 08:51

  • Six more months for Mars rovers

    Spirit and Opportunity ride again

    Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity will spend another six months crawling over the surface of the red planet and sending data back to Earth. The Rovers were designed to spend just three months exploring Mars, and have already exeeded those expectations. NASA scientists the two vehicles are showing few signs of their age, even …

    Science 23 Sep 2004, 09:53

  • Union lobbies Jowell over BBC Technology sell-off

    Decision imminent

    Culture Minister Tessa Jowell is still mulling over whether to approve the privatisation of BBC Technology in a move fiercely opposed by employees of the division. Tech staff at the Beeb have voted overwhelmingly to reject plans to sell off BBC Technology to Siemens as part of a cost-saving inititive by the broadcaster, …

    IT Director 23 Sep 2004, 10:11

  • UK gov awards £1m to bio-terror detector firm

    Nanotech firm develops synthetic antibodies

    The government has handed £1m in grants and awards to a nanotech company that has developed a new way of detecting a bioterror attack. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta) both contributed to the funding package. The company concerned, Nanosight, is …

    Science 23 Sep 2004, 10:40

  • Music boss can't wait to sue British file sharers

    The thoughts of Chairman John

    The boss of Universal Music Group UK John Kennedy can't wait to start suing British music sharers. John who? Although he's well known in the British music business, Kennedy will have a bigger pulpit fairly soon. The combative former shipping lawyer will succeed Jay Berman as head of the lobby group the IPFI - the international …

    Music and Media 23 Sep 2004, 10:50

  • Internet junkies in chilling cold turkey experiment

    Two net-free weeks end in trauma

    If you've ever seen a smack-head handcuffed to a bed gibbering uncontrollably because he can't get a fix, then be afraid, because that's what you'll look like after two weeks of internet-free cold turkey. That, at least, is according to an "Internet Deprivation Study" carried out by Yahoo! and advertising outfit OMD. …

    Music and Media 23 Sep 2004, 11:10

  • US credit card firm fights DDoS attack

    Authorize.Net

    US credit card processing firm Authorize.Net is fighting a sustained distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that has left it struggling to stay online. In a statement to users posted yesterday, Authorize.Net said it "continues to experience intermittent distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Our system engineers …

    Enterprise Security 23 Sep 2004, 11:13

  • Virus-obsessed firms ignore insider risk

    Security begins at home

    Company chiefs are aware of the threats of information security breaches posed by their employees, but are failing to safeguard their assets against insider attack. Keeping control of security will only get more difficult as organisations move toward increasingly decentralised business models through outsourcing and other …

    Enterprise Security 23 Sep 2004, 11:18

  • Nokia touts content filter for mobiles

    Saving the world, one handset at a time

    Nokia is launching a content filter which will let adults stop their kids from accessing porn by way of mobile phone. The filter can bar user access to services based on the content service category, but also restrict access based on price or file size. The technology won't be hardwired into Nokia handsets; instead, the company …

    Mobile 23 Sep 2004, 13:03

  • 14 knifed in Chinese cybercafe attack

    Men run amok

    Fourteen people have been knifed in a Chinese internet cafe after two men ran amok in a terrifying 20 minute attack. Most of those hurt in the Beijing attack received knife wounds to the back and face. One woman is in a serious condition, according to the Beijing Times by way of AFP. The motive is not known although there's …

    Music and Media 23 Sep 2004, 13:09

  • Sony to support MP3 - shock

    Bell tolls for ATRAC codec

    Sony Electronics has indicated that some of its portable music hardware will support the MP3 format in the future, in preference to its own proprietary ATRAC (Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding) codec. Solid state players based on flash memory will be the first to support MP3, and Sony has also said that some existing devices …

    Personal 23 Sep 2004, 14:27

  • How the music biz can live forever, get even richer, and be loved

    A modest proposal

    [Earlier this week Register San Francisco bureau chief Andrew Orlowski spoke at the In the City convention in the UK, telling the cream of the music industry it's never had it so good, that it's been swindled by the technologists, and that it should dump DRM and embrace freedom. As, to our knowledge, he got out alive, we think …

    Music and Media 23 Sep 2004, 14:37

  • Em@iler drives Amstrad to increased profit

    Amserve turns the corner

    Amserve - the ISP business of consumer electronics outfit Amstrad - has helped the company increase turnover and profit. Last year, the Amserve business racked up a £6.1m loss on sales of £9.4m. Publishing today its prelims for the year to the end of June, Amserve turned that loss around into a pre-tax profit of £3.1m on …

    Financial News 23 Sep 2004, 14:47

  • Senegal seeks bridge across digital divide

    Technology to fight poverty

    African leaders want to help the poorest nations on the continent deal with poverty by persuading wealthier nations to subsidise mobile phones and internet access. Abdoulaye Wade, the President of Senegal, told reporters at the UN General Assembly that he is launching a global fund to help widen access to technology. He said …

    Music and Media 23 Sep 2004, 14:48

  • Virgin.net unveils 'Plan Two' broadband offer

    Return of the Plan

    Virgin.net - a joint venture between The Virgin Group and cableco NTL - has cut the cord on new broadband product. Imaginatively called "Plan Two", the 512k package costs £17.99 a month with no 12 month contract and a three gig cap. For the curious among you, "Virgin.net Broadband 512K Plan One" comes with no 12 month contract …

    Telecoms 23 Sep 2004, 15:23

  • IBM and others blamed in E-rate scandal hearing

    Think of the children!

    IBM and a couple of other IT vendors have been fingered by the Feds for having troubling roles in the scandalous E-rate program that was designed to bring Internet and telecommunications technology to US schools. IBM was called out this week during a hearing by the House Commerce Committee unpleasantly called "Waste, Fraud, and …

    Public Sector 23 Sep 2004, 18:01

  • CA's Kumar pleads not guilty to fraud

    House covers $5m bond

    Former Computer Associates boss Sanjay Kumar today pleaded not guilty to fraud and a host of other charges thrown at the onetime software kingpin by the Feds. The US DoJ (Department of Justice) this week unsealed a 10-count indictment against Kumar and former CA head of sales Stephen Richards. Both men could face up to a …

    Software 23 Sep 2004, 20:06

  • Nokia guns for PDA, home surveillance rivals

    Spooky accessory for the well-heeled Mum

    Reviving its tradition of finally putting a sensible keyboard onto a phone - once all the alternatives have been exhausted - Nokia launched its 6670 model today. It's a cross between the 7610 consumer camera phone and the 6600/6630 business line, although it owes much more to the former. The asymmetric teardrop case is preferred …

    Mobile 23 Sep 2004, 20:10

  • Welsh billionaire backs broadband futures

    Sir Terry Matthews slams network hype

    Welsh billionaire Sir Terry Matthews outlined the latest advances in broadband technology during a seminar at the London Stock Exchange today. Sir Terry told an audience of journalists and analysts that the need for next generation communication networks remains compelling despite the financial problems of many companies in the …

    Telecoms 23 Sep 2004, 20:14

  • Sun carves off a few more UK, US workers

    Little here, little there

    After being slow to act, Sun Microsystems appears to have its layoff machine fully tuned, sending workers packing in the UK and California. Sources in the UK bring word that 69 staffers felt the pain of the axe today. The cuts aren't said to be contained to a single division or function but rather selective moves across a broad …

    IT Director 23 Sep 2004, 23:55