11th November 2004 Archive
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PeopleSoft board rejects Oracle's best and last offer
Thanks but go to hell
Defining the word unsurprising, PeopleSoft's board of directors unanimously rejected Oracle's "best and final" $24 per share offer for the company. Along with its rejection, the PeopleSoft board advised investors not to tender their shares in support of Oracle's bid. "The Board concluded that PeopleSoft is worth substantially …
Financial News 11 Nov 2004, 00:23
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AOL axes Nullsoft - whither Winamp, Shoutcast?
The little MP3 player that could
AOL split itself into four this week, and one of the casualties is the team that provided its musical credibility. And of course, we don't mean Spinner.com. After hemorrhaging employees for months, only three Nullsoft employees are left after the shake-up. The team, which AOL acquired in 1999 for $100m - two years after the …
Developer 11 Nov 2004, 09:37
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Intel nuances Itanium; Microsoft ignores it
Some things never sell
It's no longer Sun Microsystems and IBM working to undermine the Itanium processor. Both the chip's maker - Intel - and close software partner Microsoft are doing the dirty work now. As Intel this week eased a fatter third-generation Itanium 2 into the market, it also pushed back the generally accepted delivery date for the …
Servers 11 Nov 2004, 09:48
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Source code loss excluded from insurance, says court
Run of bad luck plagues Tektrol
A company that lost critical software after it had the misfortune to be hit by both a computer virus and a burglary has been unable to recover its losses after the High Court ruled that exclusions in the firm's insurance policy applied to the claim. The case concerned Tektrol Limited, a provider of energy saving control devices …
IT Director 11 Nov 2004, 10:09
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World phone shipments to slip in Q4 - analyst
But year's total to rise
Global mobile phone shipments will fall during the last three months of 2004, market watcher iSuppli has warned, as inventory stockpiled during Q3 hits production. However, strong third-quarter shipments encouraged the company to up its annual shipments forecast to 675m units from the previous prediction of 670m. The new figure …
Mobile 11 Nov 2004, 10:11
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Intel poo-poos 65nm delay claim
First chips 'on track' for 2005 debut, apparently
Intel has denied claims that the development of its 65nm chip fabrication process has fallen behind schedule. According to market watcher In-Stat/MDR analyst Jim McGregor, the chip giant has "quietly pushed out manufacturing on 65nm [to] 2006". What McGregor called "challenging industry conditions" could see the process' ramp …
Channel Register 11 Nov 2004, 10:27
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Broadband - BT's new wave saviour
Trad phone services slide
BT's traditional telephone business continues to take a beating in the face of an increasingly competitive marketplace. Turnover from traditional products declined by 8 per cent on the year as more people opt for rival Carrier Pre-Selection (CPS) services and use their mobiles more often. Throw in the fact that BT's domestic …
Telecoms 11 Nov 2004, 10:38
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Banks brace for cashpoint attack
Global ATM Security Alliance
An international group of law enforcement and financial industry associations hopes to prevent a new type of bank robbery before it gets off the ground: cyber attacks against automated teller machines. This fall the Global ATM Security Alliance (GASA) published what it says are the first international cyber security guidelines …
Enterprise Security 11 Nov 2004, 10:42
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The Great War remembered online
11am, 11 November 1918
This morning at 11am thousands of people across the UK will observe two minutes' silence to mark the anniversary of the end of the Great War in advance of this Sunday's Remembrance Day ceremonies across Britain. Distant as the events of 1914-18 now seem, there are few families who cannot count at least one relative among those …
Music and Media 11 Nov 2004, 10:45
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Gadzooks! My PC has the pox
Workshop Windows virus cleanup primer
There's no shortage on advice of how to avoid catching a computer virus: use up to date anti-virus software and install a firewall. Be careful about unsolicited attachments. Use an alternative browser. Stop using Windows! But when it comes to advice about disinfecting contaminated PCs advice is thin on the ground. Corporates …
Malware 11 Nov 2004, 10:53
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XXX text man's wife blows gasket
Discovers saucy SMS, goes ballistic
Stuart Maiden can consider himself lucky to have escaped with all his dangly bits still attached to his body after wife Sally discovered steamy text messages on his mobe, the Sun reports. One of the XXX txts read: “Don’t do too much down the gym, save your energy for Wednesday. XXX” - sufficient cause for Stuart's missus to …
Mobile 11 Nov 2004, 11:17
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Vodafone Blackberry 7100v
Review Will it charm European emailers?
Blackberry's dominance in the push-email arena seems to be letting up not one little bit, and its popular 7230 QWERTY keyboard-equipped handset also seems to be finding its way onto the belts of business users around the world, writes Stuart Miles. So when Research in Motion, Blackberry's manufacturer, announced an exclusive …
Reviews 11 Nov 2004, 11:22
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France rules Apple's DRM denial not anti-competition
But it puts consumers at a disadvantage
A French retailers attempt to force Apple to license its DRM technology has failed. The French government's competition watchdog this week dismissed a complaint brought by VirginMega, which alleged Apple's refusal to license FairPlay ran contrary to French anti-trust law. The retailers complaint was ruled to be short on …
Music and Media 11 Nov 2004, 11:47
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New US Attorney General nominated
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss
On Wednesday, one day after US Attorney General John Ashcroft announced his resignation, President Bush nominated Chief White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales to assume the top job at the Justice Department. Gonzales, a longtime Bush crony from Texas and former Enron defender, can be expected to tread the legal paths pioneered by …
Music and Media 11 Nov 2004, 12:08
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We seize servers, you can't complain - US gov
Indymedia seizures Site owners have 'no standing'
The US Government is attempting to block efforts to find out who seized Indymedia's servers in London last month. The Government has filed a motion in San Antonio District Court opposing the Electronic Frontier Foundation's motion to unseal the court order which resulted in the seizures, and arguing among other things that …
Music and Media 11 Nov 2004, 12:22
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Sony, Disney VoD JV wins EC approval
MovieCo challenge to BSkyB good for consumers, cablecos
MovieCo, the video-on-demand service formed by Disney, Sony and UK-based VoD specialist On Demand, will be permitted to set up shop in the UK and Ireland, the European Commission (EC) has ruled. The verdict, announced today, follows an EC investigation into the JV's potential impact on other VoD market players and consumers. …
Music and Media 11 Nov 2004, 12:25
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Boeing and Northrop Grumman forge space alliance
Joint pitch for NASA Moon gig
Boeing and Northrop Grumman have inked a memorandum of agreement which will see the two aerospace giants join forces to compete for the contract to build NASA's Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) - part of the Agency's Constellation project to send robotic and human missions to the Moon and beyond. The CEV - which is based on the …
Science 11 Nov 2004, 12:41
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eBay snaffles Dutch classifieds website
European expansion
eBay has acquired Marktplaats, the leading classifieds website in the Netherlands, for approximately US$290m in cash. It bought the operation from a Dutch second-hand retail shop outfit. Founded in 1999 and based in Emmeloord, Marktplaats.nl is the most popular classifieds website in the Netherlands. With more than one million …
Financial News 11 Nov 2004, 13:20
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Major telcos tout Wi-Fi roaming pact
Overseas WLAN access at no extra charge - for now
Wi-Fi hotspot owners BT Openzone, Singapore's StarHub, Malaysia's maxis, Japan's NTT Com, T-Mobile, Australia's Telstra and Telecom Italia have entered into a broad roaming agreement to allow each company's customers to access the others' networks. The deal follows the development of a roaming platform by the Wireless Broadband …
Wireless 11 Nov 2004, 14:21
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For sale: missiles, heroin and exploding Barbies
Xmas gifts for the man who has everything
With all the highly depressing spam we have to trawl through each and every day - including lamentable 419 solicitations and offers of instant penis engorgement and cheap Rolex watches - it always nice to get a missive which might actually prove useful. In this case, any reader who feels he's a bit underendowed in the ordnance …
Bootnotes 11 Nov 2004, 14:29
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WorldPay retreats from South Africa
Economic uncertainty or lack of interest?
UK-based online payments outfit WorldPay has sent its customers in South Africa, South Korea and Mexico an email announcing its intention to cease trading in those countries from 5 January 2005. The company cites "economic uncertainty and new regulations" as the reason, the Sunday Times, a South African newspaper, reports. …
Financial News 11 Nov 2004, 14:36
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ESA's lunar probe closes on target
Moon orbit imminent
In a matter of days the European Space Agency's (ESA) SMART-1 spacecraft will enter orbit around the Moon. It will adjust its position and prepare for the scientific investigation of the lunar surface that will begin in January. SMART stands for Small Missions for Advanced Research and Technology. Its main mission is to gather …
Science 11 Nov 2004, 14:37
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UWB group completes key radio spec
MBOA finishes PHY
The Multiband OFDM Alliance (MBOA) has finished its ultrawideband (UWB) radio physical layer (PHY) specification. What this array of abbreviations means is that UWB chip makers can now finalise their designs in the knowledge that their radios can communicate with other vendors' radios. The MBOA said some 16 silicon suppliers …
Wireless 11 Nov 2004, 14:50
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WTO rules against US gambling laws
Cross-border clampdown inhibits free trade
US laws banning cross-border gambling break international trade rules, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruled yesterday. The judgement in favour of the tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, home to many online casinos, puts free trade rules on collision course with US state and federal laws. US authorities have vowed …
Financial News 11 Nov 2004, 15:41
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MS launches third annual Imagine Cup
Let the games begin
Microsoft today announced the start of the third annual Imagine Cup in Reading, UK. The challenge involves teams of students from around the world competing against each other to win a share of the $215,000 total prize fund and the chance to kick-start careers in various fields including software design, film-making, business …
Developer 11 Nov 2004, 16:05
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E-pass defeats HP, MS' case dismissal demand
Patent clash trial judge rules against prior art claim
Microsoft and HP have suffered a set-back in their attempt to defend themselves against allegations made by a patent holding company that their PDA software and hardware violates its intellectual property. Last week, Judge Kenneth M Hoyt of the US District Court for Southern Texas in Houston rejected a request made by Microsoft …
Mobile 11 Nov 2004, 16:27
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Stressed-out Spaniards attack computers with hammers
And... relax
Stress-frazzled Spaniards are paying £40 a pop to smash technology with sledgehammers, Ananova reports. The initiative in Soria allows access to the city's main scrapyard where enraged suits vent their frustration on cars, computers and mobile phones. The so-called "damage therapy" - known in the UK as "percussive maintenance …
Bootnotes 11 Nov 2004, 16:44
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Sun deputizes Versora for Microsoft attack
Arrest IIS, little buddy
Sun Microsystems has signed up a new recruit to help it move customers off of Microsoft server software and onto either Sun's own products or open source code. Versora, a small company based in Santa Barbara, California, is the newest member of Sun's iForce partner program. The firm makes products that automatically move code …
Applications 11 Nov 2004, 17:07
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FBI captures Intel staffer with Texas-sized gun cache
Ammunition Inside
It's not often that "AK-47" and "Intel" make it into the same sentence, but that's exactly what just happened after it was learned that a former Intel employee has been charged with plotting to attack one of the company's plants in Arizona. Last month, David Dugan was arrested after agents observed him "picking up an AK-47 and …
Bootnotes 11 Nov 2004, 19:18
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Fahrenheit DRM: Michael Moore's iTunes playlist
Sucking up to The Man
Well, well, well. Michael Moore - the corpulent crusader - appears to be a bigger lackey of The Man than he would have you believe. Yes, friends, the attacker of big media has his very own iTunes celebrity playlist. Think of it as a gift-wrapped suggestion package for leading music fans right into the decaying arms of the …
Mobile 11 Nov 2004, 22:05
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Psion sees bright spot in Symbian sales
Shipments double
Around 8.69 million Symbian smart phones were shipped to the end of September, more than double the 3.91 million shipped by the same point in 2003. The news was announced by Psion, which used to own a significant chunk of the Symbian operating system, which is widely used in smartphones. Although Psion sold its 31.1 per ent …
Mobile 11 Nov 2004, 22:43
