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13th October 2004 Archive

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  • Qualcomm dials Cambridge to enter UI business

    Trigenix swoop

    All of a sudden, everyone wants to be in the business of making user interfaces for mobile phones. In a move that's sure to raise eyebrows - we can only guess by how far, and at what angle - even Qualcomm has got in on the act. The CDMA chipset and licensing giant has snapped up the impeccably-connected British software company …

    Mobile 13 Oct 2004, 06:32

  • Supremes sidestep RIAA's John Doe challenge

    But they'll be back

    The Recording Industry Ass. of America has failed to get the Supreme Court to review its P2P challenge against Verizon. In January, a District Court ruled that copyright holders couldn't use John Doe subpoenas to obtain the details of alleged infringers from ISPs. Congress had already acknowledged that ISPs can't police every …

    Music and Media 13 Oct 2004, 06:36

  • Dell launches Axim X50 wireless media PDAs

    X30s to get Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition upgrade

    Dell debuted the latest additions to its Axim PDA line-up: three new models based on Intel's newest processor and mobile graphics technology, and ready to accept tracks downloaded from Windows Media-based online music stores. The X50 family will ship with the mobile version of Windows Media Player 10, which allows songs …

    Mobile 13 Oct 2004, 08:32

  • Prosecutor resigns over hacked PC

    Down in the Dumps

    A leading Dutch prosecuter resigned yesterday after hackers entered his mail box and revealed yet another classified letter addressed to the public prosecutor's office. This was the second security lapse in recent days for Joost Tonino, a specialist prosecutor in white collar crime. Just last week Tonino was left red faced …

    Enterprise Security 13 Oct 2004, 09:25

  • UK sets $1.2bn eGov budget

    Spend to rise by 2008

    European governments will spend widely differing amounts on getting services online, according to IDC researchers. The survey looked at how spending in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK will increase up to 2008. Britain is expected to boost its annual budget from $828m in 2004 to just under $1.2bn in 2008. France and …

    Public Sector 13 Oct 2004, 09:28

  • Renesas seeks Nanya DRAM ban

    Patent dispute

    Renesas has asked the Tokyo court to ban rival DRAM maker Nanya from importing memory chip into Japan and from promoting products there. The request follows its claims that Taiwan's Nanya infringed a variety of its memory chip patents, the Japanese memory company said yesterday, Renesas began legal action against Nanya in the …

    Channel Register 13 Oct 2004, 09:31

  • 'Overheating' NTL phone kit safe, says Tellabs

    'Improper installation' blamed

    Tellabs, the US telecoms equipment maker, has rejected claims by NTL Ireland that its kit poses a safety hazard. It insisting that its cablespan units are "safe when properly installed". Last week NTL Ireland suspended the phone service for 2,000 customers in Dublin after it identified a "safety issue associated with its …

    Telecoms 13 Oct 2004, 09:36

  • Patriot Act tour carried a hefty price tag

    Ashcroft spent $200,000

    He may not have trashed any hotel rooms, but US Attorney General John Ashcroft spent over $200,000 of taxpayers' money in a four-week, 31-city tour last year promoting the controversial USA PATRIOT Act, according to a report by Congressional auditors released Tuesday. Ashcroft launched the PR effort in August 2003 in the face …

    Music and Media 13 Oct 2004, 09:38

  • Yahoo! profits! triple!

    Outlook's good too...

    Yahoo! made its sixth consecutive quarter of record revenue in the third quarter ended 30 September 2004. Revenues were $907m, up 154 per cent on the same period a year ago. Operating income for the three months was $172m, up 106 per cent on last year. Net income for the third quarter was $253m, boosted by $129m brought in by …

    Financial News 13 Oct 2004, 09:41

  • PeopleSoft defends poison pills

    And Oracle wants to cut the price...

    David Duffield, PeopleSoft founder and acting-CEO, said the firm might have considered the Oracle takeover bid more seriously if terms had been different. Testifying in a Delaware court, he said that the bid offer might have been accepted if some terms had been dropped - and if Oracle had been serious about selling and …

    Applications 13 Oct 2004, 09:47

  • Creative unveils 5GB Zen Micro

    Feature-packed 'iPod Mini challenger'

    Creative launched its Zen Micro "iPod Mini challenger" last night, as anticipated. The compact, 5GB unit will "outshine all the others", the company said, with it 12 hour battery life, FM radio with 32 station pre-sets, voice recorder and PDA-style personal information management functionality. Not to mention a wide …

    Mobile 13 Oct 2004, 10:16

  • Ukrainian teen fights the Rise of the Machines™

    14-year-old terminates ATM

    A 14-year-old Ukrainian girl has struck a blow for humanity in the war against belligerent technology by completely destroying a Yalta cash machine - with her bare hands. The plucky freedom fighter took on the avaricious ATM after it swallowed her cash card. In the ensuing battle, the youth - described by police as "looking …

    Rise of the Machines 13 Oct 2004, 10:27

  • Open Source and software rental

    Driving trend

    Software pricing has always presented a conundrum both for vendors and for the customer. In the pre-internet days software pricing on servers was, roughly, proportional to the cost of the hardware. In the days of mainframes and minicomputers this seemed rational, but as the servers morphed into anything from a lonely Intel box …

    Applications 13 Oct 2004, 10:30

  • Seven critical in MS October patch batch

    Already included in Win XP SP2, says Redmond

    Microsoft yesterday released 10 new security bulletins to fix multiple components in its Windows operating system and applications. Redmond's October patch batch brings nine security updates (six critical, three important) for Windows and one critical update needed to correct a flaw in the Excel component of Office. Two of the …

    Enterprise Security 13 Oct 2004, 10:53

  • CERN turns 50 in style

    The most boffin-heavy birthday bash, ever

    Some of Britain's most distinguished scientists gathered in the Treasury last night, along with various MPs, lords and the occasional journalist, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of CERN. The scientists, almost uniformly and most uncharacteristically dressed in variations on a grey suit theme, milled around eating nibbles and …

    Science 13 Oct 2004, 12:09

  • UK rings up new 'real phone' VoIP service

    Ten cities

    A German company has launched a new internet telephony service in the UK which offers cheap calls and uses "geographical" numbers. The Sipgate service is now available in ten UK cities - Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle - using existing area codes. Sipgate is …

    Telecoms 13 Oct 2004, 12:55

  • EC widens Intel-only contracts probe

    France and Finland in the frame...

    The European Commission has told France, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden provide more evidence on how their governments procured computer equipment. The formal request is the first step of an infringement process which could end with the countries being brought before the Court of Appeal. They have two months to answer the …

    Channel Register 13 Oct 2004, 14:12

  • EU approves €1.75bn for tech research

    Apply now while stocks last

    The EU has approved €1.75bn of funding over the next two years for research into future and emerging technologies. The funds are being made available under the Sixth Framework Programme, FP6, the EU's major source of support for technology R&D. FP6 has a budget of €19 billion, over the period 2002/6 and organisations of all …

    Science 13 Oct 2004, 14:36

  • Novell to defend against open source IP attack

    Patent portfolio at the ready

    Novell yesterday pledged to use its patent portfolio to defend against potential intellectual property attacks by others on its open source products. The company is urging other vendors to follow suit. In July, a study by Open Source Risk Management - a start-up which seeks to sell end-users "insurance" against and advice about …

    Operating Systems 13 Oct 2004, 14:45

  • Skint? Try FundsReunited

    Central registry for lost assets

    Anyone who reckons that they may have cash lying about in the form of shares or life assurance policies - but can't find the paperwork - might like to try out FundsReunited.com. Membership costs a fiver, and for £15 upwards, FundsRenuited will try to put you back in intimate contact with mislaid assets. The service has already …

    Financial News 13 Oct 2004, 14:46

  • IBM software vendors feel the love

    Big Blue looking for friends

    IBM is opening up its software developer programme in order to get more bodies behind its battle with Microsoft. Big Blue wants to increase the number of independent software vendors it works with. The company's improved partner program, nattily-titled Advantage Initiative Partnerworld Industry Networks, gives vendors access to …

    Channel Register 13 Oct 2004, 15:09

  • Home Office seeks spin doctor to sell cuddly ID card brand

    An ID card says something about a man. Oh yes...

    The Home Office is hiring a head of spin in order to sell ID cards to the British public, despite the fact that it has not yet published the response to the "consultation" earlier this year, and has yet to put a bill before parliament, far less get parliament to pass it. Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesman Mark Oaten has …

    Music and Media 13 Oct 2004, 15:39

  • BT cool on board rift speculation

    'No tension, no split'

    BT has played down speculation that it's facing a boardroom split over the telco's future broadband plans. BT Retail boss, Pierre Danon, has been talking openly about the consumer-facing business investing in local loop unbundling (LLU) to compete with rivals. The move has yet to be discussed at board level and, if it went …

    Telecoms 13 Oct 2004, 15:58

  • UK Lotto goes mobile

    It cud b u

    If you fancy your chances at winning the National Lottery, but can't get to a newsagent or a computer in time to buy your ticket, fear not, because from today you will be able to place your one-in-14-million-chance bet by mobile phone. The service is a result of National Lottery operator Camelot's promise to use interactive …

    Mobile 13 Oct 2004, 16:09

  • Motorola launches six clamshells

    Hello Operators

    Motorola Europe launched six new mobile handsets today, three of which will be generally available and the other three under exclusive contracts with either Vodafone Live, T-Mobile or Orange. All six are clamshell style phones, aimed squarely at the gaping hole in Nokia's portfolio. The phones also have a bundle of neat …

    Mobile 13 Oct 2004, 16:56

  • ALK CoPilot Smartphone

    Reg Review Top notch sat nav for Windows handsets

    ALK CoPilot Live Smartphone The PDA may have made the low-cost GPS navigation package possible but like many of its more traditional uses, this is yet another PDA application that's in danger of being taken over by the smart phone. Sensing the shift, navigation software specialist ALK Technologies earlier this year announced …

    Reviews 13 Oct 2004, 17:00

  • Interactive urinal cake aimed at ravers, C&W fans

    Who aim back

    Companies such as Intel, HP and IBM dominate the media with their fancy computers, printers and patent portfolios. So often, this practice of lauding attention on the "tech behemoths" leaves little guys like Healthquest Technologies Inc. and its Wizmark division out in the cold. But we ask, what have Intel, HP or IBM done in the …

    Business 13 Oct 2004, 19:33

  • Yelp! A viral recommendation system you can't resist?

    Friends like to help friends

    Today sees the launch of yet another networking website, only with a difference. It's a doh! moment - one of those simple splendid ideas that has you asking "Why didn't anyone think of that before?" much like eBay and the original Napster - although Yelp's ambitions are far more modest. We're very glad such things can still pop …

    Music and Media 13 Oct 2004, 19:33

  • Feds mull regulating online campaigning

    Campaign finance limits being flouted

    The US Federal Election Commission (FEC) is contemplating the regulation of online political activity to ensure compliance with recent campaign spending limits, the Associated Press reports. US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, of Microsoft anti-trust fame, said in a recent ruling that the FEC's exemptions for online …

    Public Sector 13 Oct 2004, 21:54