3rd December 2004 Archive

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Abuses of the English language, ID cards...

Letters And all is not well in Philly...

Barely a day has gone by this week without our beloved Home Secretary appearing in the news for one thing or another. Unsurprising, then, that letters this week should have such a flavour of ID card about it. But before we get to that, our Chicago correspondent informs us that all is heinous in the City of Brotherly Love, …

Letters 3 Dec 2004, 08:44
ICANN selects its wardens

But are they sufficient to keep net body in check?

The Internet Coporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has selected the two independent wardens of its activites after a two-year delay. The role of Ombudsman has been filled by Canadian Frank Fowlie, and the Independent Review Panel will be run by the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), a division of …

Music and Media 3 Dec 2004, 08:52
Orange readies a 3G Christmas

Quiet launch predicted...

L'Orange is set to launch consumer 3G services early next week - just in time for Christmas. Orange follows Hutchison's 3 and Vodafone into the UK market. The launch will be a low-key affair, with only two or three handsets on offer this year, according to the Financial Times. Orange previously said it would sell handsets from …

Mobile 3 Dec 2004, 10:05
Berkeley hack sparks legislative backlash

New bill 'could cripple research'

The research community would lose its access to sensitive information from California's state-run programs under proposed legislation announced this week, a reaction to the penetration earlier this year of a university system housing personal data on over 1m participants in a state program. But researchers warn the proposal …

Enterprise Security 3 Dec 2004, 10:06
M&S site falls over

Christmas Spectacular

Marks & Spencer extends its "One Day Christmas Spectacular" offer into a second day after its website went belly up during its pre-Xmas sale. The struggling high street retailer had tried to drum up trade with a 20 per cent-off bonanza in its stores and on its website yesterday. But so many people responded online yesterday, …

Financial News 3 Dec 2004, 10:11
Ireland: auto-diallers under control

Exceptional steps may now be lifted

Ireland's communications regulator has lifted restrictions in place on ISPs and telecom operators, introduces to combat rogue auto-diallers. ComReg noted that while there are still instances of such fraud being reported, consumer awareness has resulted in fewer incidents. As a result, 'exceptional steps' imposed at the time …

Telecoms 3 Dec 2004, 10:26
Lycos antispam site taken offline

Stay tuned

Lycos Europe appears to have taken down its controversial MakeLoveNotSpam site - temporarily, at least. The site now displays a graphic and the words "STAY TUNED." References to the site have also been removed from the Lycos Europe home page, where it was prominently featured, monitoring firm Netcraft reports. Lycos this week …

Spam 3 Dec 2004, 10:28
Walsall signs Fujitsu in £650m deal

Big deal

Walsall Council is to pay £650m to Fujitsu to sort out IT services for the borough for the next twelve years. The huge deal will see 1,557 council staff move jobs to Fujitsu and the creation of 750 new jobs. There will be no compulsory redundancies. Local residents will get better access to council services and a single point …

IT Director 3 Dec 2004, 10:30
Shawn Fanning's Snocap touts vision of P2P heaven

Analysis Won't reach it without industry and download-service support

Snocap, the company formed by Napster creator Shawn Fanning, today launched what it claims is the first music licensing platform that will allow music download services and P2P networks alike to allow any track to be delivered or shared in the knowledge that the copyright holder is taking their cut. The company's system …

Music and Media 3 Dec 2004, 10:49
Offshoring inevitable, so get over it

Governments cannot prevent inexorable job migration

The movement of jobs from high cost to lower cost countries is now inevitable and attempts by Western governments to stop it happening are doomed to fail, says analyst firm Frost and Sullivan. Some higher cost countries have tried to pass laws to stop the export of jobs but if successful this would force a higher cost base on …

IT Director 3 Dec 2004, 11:11
IBM said to be in PC divison sell-off talks

JV with Lenovo seems more likely than a sale

IBM has reportedly put its PC business up for sale, 23 years after launching the first computer to carry that name. According to a Financial Times report today, citing sources close to the negotiations, IBM is in talks to sell off its desktop and notebook lines. It's certainly talking to Chinese PC vendor Lenovo, the sources …

Financial News 3 Dec 2004, 11:12
BOFH: Et tu, PFY-us?

Episode 40 Infamy, infamy, they've all got it...

So I get back from a couple of weeks worth of holiday in foreign climes to find Mission Control... ..in much the same state as I left it. Checking the staff register, I note no-one's left the Company employ by accident and the gossip networks are uncannily calm. Hmm. I run some checks on systems and find them.. ..all up and …

BOFH 3 Dec 2004, 11:15
Olympus unrobes m:robe

iPod-challenging music player

It is certainly one of the more serious threats to Apple's iPod hegemony. Olympus, best known for its photographic products, this week in Tokyo announced its entry into the portable hard disk music player business with the introduction of two m:robe brand products. In contrast to most Japanese electronics manufacturers, Olympus …

Peripherals 3 Dec 2004, 11:24
Pierre Danon and BT: speculation abounds

Pundits having a field day on exec's exit

It was Pierre Danon who launched BT into the Wi-Fi business, with BT OpenZone - which he called "data on the pause" rather than "data on the move." But he was more than just the Wi-Fi boss's boss. He was (still is, for a few more weeks) head of BT Retail. And he's leaving - and boy! everybody is analysing this to death. One …

Telecoms 3 Dec 2004, 11:48
World chip sales to fall next year - analyst

Inventory correction to continue through H1 2005

The inventory correction affecting the chip industry will continue well into 2005, ensuring next year's chip sales will be down two per cent on 2004's figure, market watcher IDC has said. "A series of order cancellations and OEM push-outs in the middle of the year resulted in an inventory overhang for suppliers," said Mario …

Channel Register 3 Dec 2004, 11:49
Argentina gripped by telecoms strike

'Exploited' workers demand more dosh

Argentina's phone network is reportedly "on the verge of collapse" following almost a week of industrial action by telecoms workers. More than 20,000 workers of the country's two major telcos are striking for more pay claiming they are being "exploited". The country's telecoms network is beginning to creak under the strain of …

Telecoms 3 Dec 2004, 11:51
Enterprise routing market as flat as a pancake

Albeit a $3.8bn pancake

The worldwide enterprise router market was worth $918m in 3Q04, down by one per cent from the preceding three months. Analyst Infonetics Research reckons sales for 2004 as a whole will reach $3.8bn, four per cent down of $3.9bn revenues vendors enjoyed last year. In a study published yesterday, Infonetics forecasts revenues …

Data Networking 3 Dec 2004, 11:57
Libera shifts from 28GHz to WiMAX

A new UK 'network in the sky'

UK broadband wireless start-up Libera has made a major shift in strategy and will now focus its efforts on creating a national WiMAX network for businesses. This reverses the plan, announced in June, of building its network in licensed 28GHz spectrum. Libera is adopting a similar approach to that of US WiMAX trailblazer …

Wireless 3 Dec 2004, 12:01
Intel pushes own-brand mobos with Nvidia bundle

ATI last summer, now it's rival's turn

Intel is bundling an Nvidia PCI Express graphics cards with a number of its motherboards in a bid to boost sales through the rest of the year, Nvidia has confirmed. The bundles are available through Intel's distribution channel. They take in four 'Alderwood'-based boards, the D925XCV, the D925XBC, the D925XECV2 and the …

System Builder 3 Dec 2004, 12:02
India to enjoy cut-price Windows

As will Indonesia, Malaysia and Russia

Microsoft has confirmed that it is to start selling its cut-down, wallet-friendly, version of Windows in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Russia. The cut-down version of Windows XP is already available in Thailand for about half the price of the full featured edition. A pilot programme started there in late September. Kenneth …

Operating Systems 3 Dec 2004, 12:08
ID cards will hit business, watchdog warns

More red tape and 'regulatory creep'

British businesses will face an extra layer of red tape when ID cards are introduced, according to the boss of the government's own regulation watchdog. David Arculus, chairman of the Better Regulation Task Force (BRTF), believes businesses will be affected by the cards, despite claims from the Home Office that it is not …

Business 3 Dec 2004, 12:17
Nokia aims to dominate mobile email

Foundation of mobile enterprise drive

Mobile email remains the key driver of enterprise uptake of wireless technologies. Increased productivity and flexible working practises, end user demand and relatively simple deployment make email the safe bet in a mobile enterprise strategy. Yet the market is still relatively untapped - in the US, market leader RIM has a base …

Mobile 3 Dec 2004, 12:19
Gateway brand comes back to Japan

eMachines subsidiary never went away

US PC maker Gateway has once again ventured beyond its native shores, returning to the Japanese market after a three-year absence. The company today released a pair of thin'n'light notebooks - the 4000JP series and the 3538JP - and a desktop machine, the 750JP, a system based on Intel's BTX form-factor. It also previewed its …

Channel Register 3 Dec 2004, 13:17
Transmeta licenses LongRun 2 to Fujitsu

Foundry partner gears up for second-generation 90nm Efficeons

Transmeta has licensed its LongRun 2 power management and leakage control technology to Fujitsu, its chip manufacturing partner. The terms that underpin the arrangement were not made public, but Transmeta has been hinting at a potential LongRun 2 licensing deal for some time. In October, the company said it was anticipating a …

Financial News 3 Dec 2004, 13:43
Southampton uni honours Berners-Lee with professorship

Chair for web pioneer

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, is to take up a Chair of Computer Science at the University of Southampton's School of Electronics and Computer Science. He will hold this position alongside his current appointments as Senior Research Scientist at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory …

Science 3 Dec 2004, 13:44
BT confirms Italian job

Goes large with Albacom

BT is to take full control of Italy's second biggest telco in a move set to cost around €116m (£80m). The UK's dominant fixed line telco is to acquire the outstanding 74 per cent of Albacom is doesn't already own from ENI, BNL and Mediaset. "This move reflects BT's strategy of establishing a pan-European presence to service …

Telecoms 3 Dec 2004, 13:46
Sony Vaio U70P Wi-Fi micro PC

Preview Smaller than a laptop, bigger than a PDA - the perfect PC size?

Sony is a company that never ceases to amaze me. Every time I think that it can't produce another groundbreaking product, it does just that. When I looked at the Sony Vaio X505 ultra-slim notebook earlier this year, I was amazed at how small and light it was, while remaining a usable mobile tool. But with the Vaio Type U, Sony …

Reviews 3 Dec 2004, 14:13
Phishing losses overestimated - survey

Small fry

Fraud losses from email phishing attacks will hit $137m globally in 2004, according to a study from research and consulting firm TowerGroup. The figure is much lower than previous estimates. For example, a September survey commissioned by TRUSTean, an online privacy non-profit organization and NACHA, an electronic payments …

Spam 3 Dec 2004, 14:15
Last Xmas order date for the Antipodes

Cash'n'Carrion Get 'em in by Sunday

Yes, it's that time of year again where we remind our loyal customers about the last dates on which you can order Cash'n'Carrion goodies for pre-Xmas delivery. Today's heads-up is for the Antipodes, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Get those orders in by Sunday 5 December and we'll ship whatever your heart desires for …

Site News 3 Dec 2004, 14:57
Intel cans Pentium II

No more orders taken after 1 December 2005

It's amazing to see these things are still around, but this week Intel told its customers that it is to formally discontinue production of the Pentium II at 266, 333, 366 and 466MHz. Fortunately for fans of the old processor family, its end is a long way off. Documentation seen by The Register reveals that you'll be able to …

System Builder 3 Dec 2004, 15:05
UK govt takes iTunes gripe to Europe

Union trade regulators asked to probe 'one country, single store' policy

The UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has reported Apple's iTunes Music Store to the European Commission (EC) on the grounds that the service may infringe European trade regulations. The reason for the move lies in Apple's refusal to allow buyers in one country to purchase music from another nation's iTunes store. While UK …

Music and Media 3 Dec 2004, 15:31
Need a job? Get a card - arresting ID pitch to business

Analysis Redefining voluntary again...

It might not be your Big Brother's Database, but the UK ID scheme has certainly mastered doublespeak. Take, for example, the way it will force businesses to joyfully embrace ID card checks - or else. The Bill's Regulatory Impact Statement tells us that the bill has no provisions "which allow the Government to require business, …

Music and Media 3 Dec 2004, 16:11
Samsung phones outsell Motorola's

But Nokia still ruled in Q3, says researcher

Samsung is now the world's second-largest mobile phone maker, behind Nokia. According to market watcher Gartner, the South Korean company has finally knocked Motorola into third place. The researcher's figures cover Q3, so there's a chance Motorola may pull ahead again during the current quarter. During the third quarter, some …

Mobile 3 Dec 2004, 17:09
HP must open source Tru64 goodies - users

Letters DEC/Compaq hands in pain

So, the Tru64 era has ended at the hands of HP. Compaq/DEC's vaunted clustering and file system technology have been sent to the place where software dies, and Veritas has been adopted. HP's Inkvent agenda doesn't seem to support much Unix research and development these days - much to the dismay of the old Compaq hands and …

Letters 3 Dec 2004, 18:57