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3rd November 2004 Archive

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  • Top tech nations revealed

    It's all change at the top

    Denmark is the world's most tech-savvy nation, deposing Sweden from the top spot in IDC's Information Society Index. The ISI looks at four factors to judge a country's ability to access and use information technology. It considers the number of PCs, IT spending as a percentage of GDP and software spending. It looks at the …

    IT Director 3 Nov 2004, 09:30

  • Veritas puts homemade touch on new OpForce

    Integrated and how

    Veritas has retooled its OpForce management software to improve the way the code works with its existing products and to make it easier for administrators to control applications. Version 4.0 of OpForce is in some ways the most significant release of the product since Veritas acquired it in its buy of Jareva back in December of …

    Storage 3 Nov 2004, 09:36

  • No winner in US presidential election

    Dems schedule Florida 2000 re-run in Ohio

    Americans and many people abroad were no doubt hoping for a decisive victory in the presidential election. Sadly, this is not to be. There are delays in both Ohio and Iowa, and these may extend for as long as ten days, and possibly longer still. At this writing, Bush is ahead 249 to 242. Ohio's 20 electoral votes would …

    Public Sector 3 Nov 2004, 10:22

  • FindWhat.com profits jump in Q3

    Bulking up with Espotting

    FindWhat.com, the pay-per-click ad specialist, saw a big jump in revenue thanks to acquisitions and organic growth. For the three months ended 30 September 2004 the Florida-based firm brought in revenues of $58m - up sharply from $17.8m in Q3 2003. Net income for the period was $4.8m, 72 per cent up on last year (Q3 03: $2.8m …

    Financial News 3 Nov 2004, 10:47

  • Carphone Warehouse revs up H1 profit

    Buoyant sales

    The Carphone Warehouse reported a 38.3 per cent increase in pre-tax profits for the first six months of the year, boosted by a "buoyant mobile market and the success of [its] fixed line services". Turnover for the six months to September end increased 25 per cent on last year from £825.5m to £1.03bn, while pre-tax profit jumped …

    Mobile 3 Nov 2004, 10:58

  • UK.biz likes buying online

    Less keen to sell there

    UK Businesses are buying goods and services over the web in increasing numbers. The latest government figures show that 29 per cent of companies bought online in 2003, up 13 per cent from 2002. Broadband has been more widely adopted too: one in four companies had a fast connection by 2003, compared to one in seven the year …

    Small Biz 3 Nov 2004, 11:01

  • BMA calls warning on NHS IT

    Doctors diagnose terminal trouble...

    The British Medical Association is warning that the project to sort out the National Health Service IT system is risking failure by not engaging with doctors and other health workers. Speaking at the eHealth conference in London yesterday Dr John Powell, chairman of the BMA's IT committee, said the NHS National Programme for …

    Public Sector 3 Nov 2004, 11:06

  • Queen of the Sky gets marching orders

    Hostess with the mostest dons pink slip

    Air hostess Ellen Simonetti, who was suspended for including photos of herself in uniform on her personal blog, has been sacked by Delta Airlines. She was originally suspended without pay in early October while an investigation was carried out. She took the offending pictures down at that time - they're back up now. Simonetti …

    IT Director 3 Nov 2004, 11:38

  • Chinese puzzle hampers banks' phishing fight

    Ni hao

    Banks seeking to have phishing websites located in China taken down face a language barrier. According to senior IT security staffer at a merchant bank, China's security response team's sole staffer speaks Mandarin only. Understaffing has seldom been a problem in the world's most populous country but a group of IT security …

    Spam 3 Nov 2004, 12:03

  • UK.biz at ease with data protection

    80 per cent aware of data protection issues

    Most UK small businesses are behind the principles of data protection. A new survey, released by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), shows that most respondents were aware of data protection issues, with 80 per cent believing them to be relevant to their business. Small businesses seem well aware of the importance of …

    Small Biz 3 Nov 2004, 12:50

  • NTL supercharges broadband

    1Mb is now entry-level

    NTL looks set to take a big lead in the UK's broadband sector by ramping up speeds next year for residential broadband customers while freezing prices. The move will leave a yawning gap between NTL's offering and BT-based ADSL services. NTL's entry level 300k service will be supercharged to 1Mb while still costing £17.99 a …

    Telecoms 3 Nov 2004, 13:00

  • HP iPaq h6340 Wi-Fi, GSM PocketPC

    Review The ideal mobile companion?

    I've been an advocate of the PDA pretty much since its inception. I've had everything from a Psion Organiser to a Compaq iPaq travelling around with me over the years, and during that time I've seen the PDA evolve significantly, writes Riyad Emeran. These days a PDA can no longer be a glorified Filofax, because that kind of …

    Reviews 3 Nov 2004, 13:32

  • Sage buys business intelligence firm

    Good news for New Media Spark - remember them?

    Sage has bought IntelligentApps Holdings Ltd for an undisclosed sum. IntelligentApps makes business intelligence software. The two firms have been working together for a year selling a Sage-branded version of their product called Sage BI to mid-market customers. Gavin May, business development director at Sage, said: "The …

    Applications 3 Nov 2004, 13:40

  • Game makers hit with graphics patent violation suit

    Technique used by almost all 3D titles since Quake

    A US legal firm specialising into corporate law is taking the world's biggest computer games publishers to task over what it claims is the violation of a 1987 3D graphics patent. The patent, number 4,734,690 is owned one-time printing and graphics specialist Tektronix and covers the display in 2D of a 3D image. It was filed in …

    Consoles 3 Nov 2004, 13:57

  • Brits feast on SPAM in Hormel ad frenzy

    Save our brand

    Hormel, the manufacturer of SPAM, is stepping up its effort to reclaim 'spam' from its association with unsolicited email via a £2m ad campaign. A five-week ad push reminding over-45s that canned spam meat is still available launches in the UK next week, the BBC reports. The campaign seeks to promote British sales of the pork, …

    Spam 3 Nov 2004, 14:01

  • Gizmondo grabs troubled UK games maker

    Tiger catches Warthog

    UK stock market-listed games developer Warthog is to be bought by US-based Tiger Telematics, owner of the Gizmondo mobile gaming console for almost 500,000 Tiger shares and $1.13m in cash - together worth $8.1m. Tiger will acquire all of Warthog's operating subsidiaries, along with the group's debts, and Warthog's CEO, Ashley …

    Financial News 3 Nov 2004, 14:28

  • BBC develops Welsh-English tooltip translator

    BBC Vocab - a clever idea

    A big congratulatory pat on the back to the BBC today for a new online language initiative aimed at helping anyone learning Welsh - BBC Vocab. It's all pretty simple - the programme highlights Welsh words in the browser window which are available for translation. Roll over any of these and a tool-tip box pops up giving the …

    Developer 3 Nov 2004, 14:43

  • Microsoft wins £500m NHS contract

    That lobbying paid off then...

    Microsoft has won a £500m contract to provide desktop software to the National Health Service. The deal followed personal negotiations between Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and NHS IT chief Richard Granger. The contract runs for nine years, with break points every three years, and covers up to 900,000 licences for Microsoft's …

    Public Sector 3 Nov 2004, 14:47

  • Samsung creeps up on Motorola

    Thanks to clamshell phones

    Samsung's share of the global mobile phone market has jumped 34 per cent since last year, thanks to the success of its clamshell phones with digital cameras. At this time last year, Samsung had just 10.3 per cent of the global market, but it now holds a 13.8 per cent share, having shipped 22.7m phones in the third quarter to …

    Mobile 3 Nov 2004, 15:24

  • Etailers fail ecommerce test

    Must try harder

    Etailers are still failing to cash-in on online sales, according to London-based internet outfit E-consultancy. Its latest report into ecommerce found that etailers need to make "vast improvements" in product search, promotion and customer support if they want to attract more customers. Its report Online Retail User Experience …

    Financial News 3 Nov 2004, 15:26

  • T-shirt for sale despite US election

    Cash'n'Carrion fsck /linux - the voters' choice

    Well, it's been a white-knuckle rollercoaster sort of a day what with the nail-biting conclusion to the US presidential election and all that, but elsewhere in the world, life must continue regardless. Which is why we're offering the eleven readers who are still with us and not glued to the BBC's exciting wall-to-wall coverage …

    Site News 3 Nov 2004, 15:28

  • Intel to add Wi-Fi to Pentium 4 chipsets - again

    Dropped from Granstdale, WLAN module now aimed at Lakeport

    Intel will integrate Wi-Fi into its next generation of desktop chipsets, the chip maker has revealed, two months after admitting it will not ship promised WLAN adaptors for its 'Grantsdale' and 'Alderwood' Pentium 4 chipsets. Speaking in Taipei this week, Intel chipset marketing chief Sunil Kumar said Wi-Fi support will return …

    System Builder 3 Nov 2004, 15:42

  • ATI tapes out 90nm R5xx chip

    Shader Model 3.0 supported

    ATI has completed its design for the upcoming R5xx series of graphics chips. The chips will be the company's first to support Shader Model 3.0, and may be the company's first 90nm parts. So claims a Goldman Sachs report cited by Beyond3D, issued after last week's analyst meeting at which ATI apparently confirmed the chip family …

    System Builder 3 Nov 2004, 16:04

  • eBay not an auction house says German court

    More like a catalogue, really

    A German civil court has ruled that commercial sellers on eBay are obliged to accept returned goods, even if the purchaser gives no reason for sending the item back. The decision was taken based on a piece of European legislation, The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations Directive, which was passed in 2000. This …

    Financial News 3 Nov 2004, 16:29

  • Relentless EMC eats up one more SMB storage player

    Allocity taken

    With little fanfare, EMC has picked up another minor player in the SMB storage software market by pulling Allocity to its side. EMC sealed the deal for Allocity on Oct. 22 but made no public mention of the deal. Byte and Switch first broke word of the move, placing the acquisition cost at close to $10m. EMC has now confirmed …

    Storage 3 Nov 2004, 17:25

  • Wells Fargo in ID theft flap (again)

    Third time in a year

    The theft of four servers from a company that prints loan statement leaves thousands of consumers who have taken out loans or obtained mortgages from Wells Fargo at risk from potential identity fraud, AP reports. Computers nicked from the Atlanta offices of Regulus Integrated Solutions include personal details including names, …

    ID 3 Nov 2004, 19:01

  • Online payment firm in DDoS drama

    Protx tries to protect itself

    Online payments processing firm Protx is continuing to fight a sustained internet attack which has severely impacting its services for the fourth successive day. Since Sunday (31 October), Protx's systems have been reduced to a crawl because of a malicious DDoS attack. Although Protx felt it was on top of the problem by Monday …

    Enterprise Security 3 Nov 2004, 19:02

  • AOL loses 2m US customers

    Careless...

    AOL lost two million customers in the US over the last year. At the end of September AOL had 22.7m US users, a fall of 646,000 on the previous quarter and down two million a year ago. In Europe, AOL has 6.3m subscribers - down 8,000 compared to Q2, but up 33,000 compared to the same period last year. Publishing Q3 results …

    Telecoms 3 Nov 2004, 19:06

  • Supernova revealed in gamma rays

    Quicker than a ray of light

    An international team of astronomers has produced the first ever picture of a supernova using gamma rays. The picture provides evidence that supernovae are one source of cosmic rays, highly energetic particles that bombard the planet, passing through us in their thousands every day. Making an image using gamma radiation is very …

    Science 3 Nov 2004, 19:07