The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

30th November 2004 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • Oracle to open Belfast office

    50 new jobs

    Software maker Oracle has said that it will create 50 new jobs in Ireland and will open a new office in Belfast. The maker of business software, which already employs about 850 people in the Republic of Ireland, said that it plans to have the new staff onboard by March 2005. The 50 new positions are in Oracle's new "Consulting …

    Applications 30 Nov 2004, 09:03

  • Judge dismisses IBM apartheid lawsuit

    Charges 'bordered on the frivolous'

    A US judge has thrown out a case seeking billions in damages from companies charged with benefitting from South Africa's apartheid system. New York District Court judge John Sprizzo gave his ruling on Monday, saying the charges "bordered on the frivolous", according to a report from the AP. A number of lawsuits filed throughout …

    IT Director 30 Nov 2004, 09:36

  • MS patent claim redefines the Three Rs

    Reading, writing and, er, royalties?

    Although students and pupils who use computers show "sizeably and statistically significantly worse" maths and literacy skills than those who don't, an international survey reported last week, education has provided the tech lobby with a valuable gravy train over the years. A patent filed by Microsoft last week could be seen as …

    Developer 30 Nov 2004, 09:40

  • BT gets into film, TV and music

    The show must go on, Pierre

    BT is to offer its punters oodles of TV, films, music and games as it beefs up the content available for its broadband users. The UK's dominant fixed line telco says it is responding to customer demands and their eagerness for more broadband content. Said departing BT Retail chief exec Pierre Danon: "A focus on Entertainment …

    Telecoms 30 Nov 2004, 09:55

  • Reading Football Club turns computer dealer

    One way to pay the bills

    Reading Football Club has begun flogging computer kit "at near trade pricing" through its own online store. It is kicking off with MP3 players, laptops, PCs, handhelds, printers, cameras, scanners, speakers, GPS, storage, consumables and accessories. Doing the donkey work is Westcoast, the Theale-based distie, and Reading FC …

    Channel Register 30 Nov 2004, 10:28

  • Mobile fingers UK's thickest armed robber

    Mug shot on camera phone left at the scene

    Britain's thickest armed blagger (armed robber) was jailed for six years by Bournemouth Crown Court yesterday after leaving his mobile phone containing pictures of himself and his wife at the scene of a robbery. David Kelly, 30, and an accomplice snatched £6,000 during a raid on an estate agents, UK tabloid the Sun reports. …

    Mobile 30 Nov 2004, 10:39

  • Eclipse punts entry-level 2Mb broadband

    'Similar to the German Autobahn'

    Eclipse Internet has unleashed a 2Mbps broadband service for the entry-level price of £14.99 a month. For that, the Exeter-based ISP is throwing in a one Gigabyte monthly allowance for users; subscribers who exceed the limit can buy additional time online for £1.75 a gig. Said Eclipse boss Mark Lang: "Similar to the German …

    Telecoms 30 Nov 2004, 10:51

  • Hate the Band Aid single? Click here

    Website offers solution to charity dilemma

    Yesterday's release of Band Aid's revamped version of the, ahem, classic Do They Know It's Christmas has put many charitable souls in a bit of a quandry. The fact is, you want to help the Sudanese refugees by supporting this excellent cause, but the single is, well, crap. Technically, this is known as the Band Aid Dilemma - a …

    Bootnotes 30 Nov 2004, 10:55

  • Brain scans show difference between truth and lies

    Lies, damned lies and electronics

    Brain scans show significant differences in cranial activity when a person is lying compared to telling the truth, US researchers said yesterday. Six volunteers were told to shoot a toy gun and then lie, saying that they hadn't done so, while three more volunteers told the truth about firing the gun. One person dropped out of …

    Science 30 Nov 2004, 11:08

  • Sanyo makes UK 3G debut with Orange tie-in

    S750 slider phone boasts 320 x 240 LCD, 1.3Mp digicam

    Japanese electronics giant Sanyo made its first move on the European mobile phone market, pitching a new 3G handset at buyers in the UK and France. The S750 will be exclusively linked to Orange's 3G network, which insiders reckon will be formally launched later this week. Sanyo's participation in the project was signalled …

    Mobile 30 Nov 2004, 11:21

  • O2 to bring i-mode to UK in 2005

    Anticipated NTT DoCoMo deal signed

    European mobile operator mmO2 today confirmed its decision to license and roll-out NTT DoCoMo's i-mode technology in a bid to boost the money it makes from each of its 22m customers. The financial terms underpinning the "long-term strategic alliance" between the two companies were not disclosed. mmO2 said it will pitch the …

    Mobile 30 Nov 2004, 11:59

  • The American-speaker's guide to Proper English

    Pukka lingo, Blighty style

    We regularly receive missives from representatives of our American readership politely requesting clarification of the highly esoteric and colourful language for which El Reg is rightly famous - especially when our US brethren are confronted with terms such as "boffin", "blagger", "slag", "cobblers" or "prat". Here's a recent …

    Bootnotes 30 Nov 2004, 12:04

  • IEEE approves Japanese Wi-Fi spec

    'Universal' 802.11a kit comes closer

    The IEEE has formally approved the 802.11j standard, which allows Wi-Fi's 802.11a specification to be adjusted in order to bring it into line with Japanese spectrum licensing regulations. One of two key standards designed to cater for local licensing considerations, 802.11j brings 802.11a into line with regulations put in place …

    Wireless 30 Nov 2004, 12:43

  • Seagate trumpets whitebooks for PC builders

    Money-making opportunity no. 101

    It's desperate times indeed for the system builder which has to consider assembling its own notebooks. Yes, notebooks are more profitable than desktops, but they are more complicated to make and they are much more likely to go wrong. And then there is the price competition - is the local notebook maker really able to compete …

    System Builder 30 Nov 2004, 12:48

  • PlusNet moves broadband hogs onto 'bad boy pipe'

    'Protecting network and consumers'

    Sheffield-based ISP PlusNet has moved around 240 of its heaviest broadband users onto a new platform after warning them that they were using the service too much. Those who've been shunted onto the "bad boy pipe" say their broadband service has deteriorated markedly since the move. But PlusNet - which boasts some 80,000 …

    Telecoms 30 Nov 2004, 12:56

  • Sony to ship true MP3 HDD music player next month

    NW-HD3 finally supports popular format natively

    Sony will ship a third model in its hard drive-based Network Walkman series on 10 December, finally bringing native MP3 support to the music player family. The NW-HD3 follows the launch last May of the NW-HD1 followed by the NW-HD2 in October - the latter bringing a range of coloured cases to the standard NW-HD1 20GB spec. The …

    Mobile 30 Nov 2004, 13:56

  • Sony Cyber-shot DSC P150

    Review Fast, inexpensive and highly pocketable

    Based on the five megapixel Sony P100, the P150 is a handsomely pocketable digicam and the first ultra-compact digicam with a resolution - 7.2 megapixels - normally the preserve of professional or high-end 'prosumer' models, writes Doug Harman. At 10.8 x 5.2 x 2.6cm and weighing 145g including its InfoLithium rechargeable …

    Reviews 30 Nov 2004, 14:24

  • DTI punts lean, mean science programme

    More cash, less red tape

    The Department of Trade and Industry today published a paper detailing how the seventh EU Research and Development Framework Programme will operate. The publication recommends establishment of a European Research Council responsible for allocating grants for basic research, and a focus on the latter plus industrial research and …

    Science 30 Nov 2004, 14:35

  • New Zealand censor pulls Postal 2

    Gory game given nationwide sale ban

    New Zealand has banned gory first-person shooter Postal 2, declaring the game not only illegal to sell but to own. Get caught with Running with Scissors' title in your possession and you could face a NZD2000 (£756) fine, GamesIndustry.biz reports. Small retailers risk a NZD20,000 (£7562) fine and up to a year in the clink for …

    Consoles 30 Nov 2004, 14:40

  • Sony coughs to PS2 shortage

    'It'll be lonely, this Christmas, without you to hold...'

    It's possible - just possible - that Christmas won't be spoiled for thousands of children this year after Sony said it would do all it can to increase stocks of its PlayStation 2 Games console. The company today confirmed that "production and shipping delays" coupled with an "overwhelming demand" has led to "temporary shortages …

    Consoles 30 Nov 2004, 15:13

  • Building disaster into the network: how UK.gov does IT

    Analysis Contracting out the blame...

    The Department of Work & Pensions may ultimately derive some lessons from its IT disaster last week, but it's doubtful that it will spot the most important one, far less take the necessary corrective action. The problem, you see, is that its IT strategy is now largely out of its control, and that it is essentially deskilling …

    Data Networking 30 Nov 2004, 16:06

  • How's my coding? Dial: 0800 666 700

    Cash'n'Carrion User feedback from TechnoDepot

    Continuing in their established tradition of delivering droll apparel of the highest order, the wags down at TechnoDepot have just unveiled their latest offering - the How's my coding? t-shirt. In addition to this provocative question, the shirt invites users to dial 0800 666 700 with their input. As the blurb puts it: " …

    Site News 30 Nov 2004, 16:12

  • Kazaa challenged over child porn control policy

    If it can boot off smut peddlers, it can boot off copyright infringers

    If Kazaa can block traders of child porn, it can block copyright infringers too, the Australian Federal Court has been told. Speaking for the plaintiffs - dozens of recording companies and related organisations - Tony Bannon, QC, yesterday dismissed Kazaa owner Sharman Networks' claim that the company had no control over how …

    Music and Media 30 Nov 2004, 16:22

  • North West biz buried in email blitz

    Publisher drops mailshot bomb

    Thousands of businesses in the North West of England have been buried by an avalanche of email today following a mailshot plugging a chamber of commerce yearbook. Publishing company McMillan-Scott sent the email last night to thousands of companies which belong to the North West Chambers of Commerce. For some reason the email …

    Spam 30 Nov 2004, 16:37

  • Cassini probe snaps Mimas

    Another stunning Saturn holiday pic

    The Cassini space probe has taken a stunning image of Saturn's moon Mimas against the blue-grey backdrop of Saturn's rings. The image (source: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute), taken on 7 November at a distance of 3.7m km (2.3m miles) from Saturn, shows several of Saturn's rings as well as the moon. The tiny moon appears on …

    Science 30 Nov 2004, 16:37

  • Trust your employees, says Microsoft

    Mobile working won't happen otherwise

    British managers need to learn to trust their staff if the UK is to realise the full potential benefits of mobile and flexible working. This is the message of a newly-published white paper written by Carsten Sorensen, an academic at the London School of Economics, on behalf of Microsoft UK. Microsoft argues that technology will …

    IT Director 30 Nov 2004, 17:11

  • HP replaces part of UDC with acquired OpenView package

    Moving on

    HP is putting the Utility Data Center (UDC) behind it the best way it can - by releasing a far less ambitious OpenView software package for automated server management. HP this week took the wraps off something it's calling OpenView Automation Manager. This product combines the software HP acquired earlier this year in its buys …

    Servers 30 Nov 2004, 17:54

  • Anti-RFID outfit deflates Mexican VeriChip hype

    Only 18 volunteers to date

    Reports that 160 Mexican officials have had RFID chips implanted within their flesh in some bizarre "security" scheme have been exaggerated, Anti-RFID outfit CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering) says. "Our concern is that dozens of news outlets have repeated the inflated number, which has …

    ID 30 Nov 2004, 18:00

  • Sun begs partners to sell more Opteron servers

    Sell 25, get 1 free

    If you're part of Sun Microsystems' $80bn customer base, look out. The company today kicked off a new partner program for its Opteron servers that it hopes will see salespeople being more aggressive than ever with x86 kit. Sun has started the Solar Edge Elite program for its numerous channel partners. The new scheme offers free …

    Servers 30 Nov 2004, 21:23