9th December 2004 Archive

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Oracle piles Files, App Server and Collab Suite on users

'Immense demand'

Oracle today made its biggest splash during the OpenWorld conference, announcing new products and updates to a number of its existing products. First up, Oracle went to work touting a new content management package it's calling Oracle Files 10g. The server software due out next year will be available as a standalone product and …

Applications 9 Dec 2004, 04:04
Small.biz loves illegal software (true)

Some of them

Nearly one in five small UK businesses would consider buying illegal software. A survey of technology trends among UK SMEs, conducted for Microsoft by YouGov, shows that 17 per cent would consider breaking the law in this way, despite the obvious risks to their reputation. The Business Software Alliance says small businesses …

Small Biz 9 Dec 2004, 08:39
McNealy slaps Oracle over pricing

Dual processors. Ones or twos?

Sun Microsystems has chastised Oracle for its software pricing policies. In his Oracle Openworld address yesterday, Sun CEO Scott McNealy called on Oracle to count chips with multiple processing cores per die as a single chip in per processor licensing schemes. Oracle, along with most of the major software makers, has decided …

Applications 9 Dec 2004, 09:32
IBM moves the database goalposts

Analysis Great leap forward

At its annual analyst conference last week, IBM announced its next generation database. The big news is that this will not be a relational database. Or, to be more accurate, it will not just be a relational database. IBM has concluded, rightly in my view, that using a relational approach is not adequate for processing XML. …

Applications 9 Dec 2004, 09:45
TI narrows Q4 forecasts

Inventory correction

Texas Instruments this week narrowed its Q4 revenue forecast as the world's semiconductor buyers continue to use up inventory rather than take product rolling off chip makers' production lines. TI previously said the three months to 31 December - the company's fourth fiscal quarter - would yield group revenues in the range $2. …

Financial News 9 Dec 2004, 10:04
Intel demos 65nm dual-core mobile CPU

'Yonah' taken for a spin

Intel has shown off its dual-core, 65nm 'Yonah' mobile processor, but don't expect it to ship until 2006, the chip giant said. That could be seen as a slippage of the processor's release schedule, but since recent roadmaps have the part down for a very late 2005 introduction, a slide into 2006 shouldn't come as any great …

System Builder 9 Dec 2004, 10:26
Samsung samples 512Mb GDDR 3 part

High-end graphics cards to get bigger buffers

Samsung will put a 512Mb GDDR 3 SDRAM chip into full-scale production early next year, the chip maker has said. The chip, which will be pitched at high-end graphics cards and games consoles, Samsung noted, has just started rolling off the South Korean giant's production lines in sample quantities. GDDR 3 operates at 1.8V, down …

System Builder 9 Dec 2004, 10:45
The Register upgrades RSS feeds

First Paras

Today, The Register has made a modest upgrade for our RSS feeds. The description now contains the first paragraph of the story as well as the intro/sub-head. We think this is more useful, and we hope that you do too. (Readers using Live Bookmarks in Firefox won't see the difference, as Firefox only displays headlines.) However …

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Disney backs Blu-ray

Team Rodent to offer BD content next year

Sony has won Disney's support for its Blu-ray Disc (BD) hi-definition video optical format. Disney's home video operation, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, said it will ship "popular new releases and classic pictures" on BD when suitable "hardware launches in the North America and Japan". This is expected to take place in a year …

Storage 9 Dec 2004, 11:23
$5bn market to sort wireless hodgepodge

Mobile management for SMEs

There's a $5bn market for anybody who can help smaller companies manage their wireless and mobile hardware, says Strategy Analytics in a new report. "Managing a hodgepodge of wireless devices as fully administered extensions of a company's IT fabric is a daunting proposition," observes author Cliff Raskind, summarising his …

Mobile 9 Dec 2004, 11:33
Laptops go on sperm killing rampage

Study warns of risk to fertility

Men who use laptops could be risking their fertility, a US study warns. Heat from the processor can cause the temperature of the testes to rise almost three degrees, more than enough to damage sperm, the research reveals. Researchers at the State University of New York at Stony Brook have warned men to be careful about using …

Science 9 Dec 2004, 11:35
Ofcom slaps premium rate industry

Cleaning the Augean Stables

Ofcom is targeting telephone network operators in a crackdown against rogue operators that rip-off customers with expensive premium-rate phone calls. This tough stand follows growing concerns about the fraudulent and misleading use of premium rate services including rogue internet diallers which re-route dial up internet …

Telecoms 9 Dec 2004, 11:38
The strange death of the mass mailing virus

We are all zombies now

Mass mailing viruses will go the way of macro viruses and become much rarer next year. Viruses such as Sober and MyDoom are simply not as effective as they used to be, Kevin Hogan, a Symantec Europe manager, notes. "People know it’s risky to double click on viruses. For virus writers there's no technical kudos. Also mass mailing …

Anti-Virus 9 Dec 2004, 12:06
Marine Corps deploys Fallujah biometric ID scheme

'Lethal force' backs marketing campaign

US forces in Iraq are attempting to tame Fallujah with biometric ID, according to an NBC news report broadcast last week. The returning population of up to 250,000, reporter Richard Engel said on Tom Brokaw's last Nightly News, is to be allowed back in gradually, a few thousand at a time. "They'll be finger printed, given a …

Music and Media 9 Dec 2004, 12:13
KDDI unveils 'Love Mate' Windows Wi-Fi phone

Exploring the Aichi World Expo 2005

Japanese mobile phone network KDDI this week introduced what may be the nation's first Windows Mobile 2003-based 3G smart phone, the intriguingly named 'Love Mate'. KDDI said the handsets are aimed at visitors attending the Aichi World Expo 2005, which kicks off in March and runs through to the end of September. It's not clear …

Mobile 9 Dec 2004, 12:24
Amazon UK rents DVDs

You have time to watch DVDs?

Amazon UK has entered the DVD rental business in a bid to cash-in on this growing sector of the entertainment industry. For £7.99 a month, subscribers can have two movies at home at one time, with a total of four DVD rentals a month. For £9.99 per month, film buffs can hang on to three movies at home with a total of six DVD …

Financial News 9 Dec 2004, 12:50
The American way of spying gets a makeover

Intel reform bill finally emerges from Congress

A controversial intelligence reform bill inspired by the 9/11 Commission has finally passed through both chambers of Congress and will soon be signed by the President. The bill, which had previously been stalled by House Republicans, was approved by a wide margin during a brief lame-duck session this week, after language that …

Security 9 Dec 2004, 13:29
Dell to build second factory in Europe

Ireland out of the frame

Dell is looking to build a second manufacturing plant in Europe, but Ireland is unlikely to be considered as a possible location. The PC maker has confirmed reports of a speech made by founder and chairman Michael Dell this week that it is considering a new plant to deal with increased demand. The company reports 30 per cent …

Channel Register 9 Dec 2004, 14:12
The Met goes psyops with bus station weapons 'detector'

Impressive flashing lights, but no siren

The Metropolitan Police's x-ray weapons scanner is having an outing this week as part of the Operation Blunt knife crime initiative. A scanner has also been deployed to operate on passengers at Hammersmith bus station, but this one is not a Rapiscan 1000 x-ray unit - which is significant. According to an eye-witness account …

Music and Media 9 Dec 2004, 14:51
Canon loses printer recycling case

Refilling, reselling cartridges doesn't violate patents - Tokyo court

Selling recycled Canon printer cartridges does not constitute an infringement of the company's intellectual property, the Tokyo District Court has ruled. The judgement marks the latest stage in Canon's legal battle against printer cartridge recycler Recycle Assist (RA). In April this year, Canon sued RA, claiming the company …

Peripherals 9 Dec 2004, 14:56
Cambridge launches mentor group for women tech researchers

Aiming to redress the balance

The University of Cambridge has set up a mentoring group to support women in IT and computer science research. Women@CL, was officially launched last night at the Roger Needham Award lecture. The project's goal is to restore balance to the number of men and women in leadership roles in the academic and industrial worlds. Women …

Science 9 Dec 2004, 15:04
SMS shorthand is annoying: official

WTF?

Nearly half of mobile phone users want a guide on 'text etiquette', a study by research company YouGov has found. The study, carried out for predictive text software provider Tegic Communications, shows that of the 2,680 mobile phone users polled 44 per cent would approve of a guide to 'text etiquette'. Text shorthand is not …

Mobile 9 Dec 2004, 15:08
Napster tunes into mobile ringtones

Even as parent Roxio's stock is downgraded

Napster is to enter the mobile phone ringtone market next year, launching an own-brand service on the back of mobile content delivery company Dwango Mobile. The announcement comes after US market watcher PJ McNealy of American Technology Research (ATR) downgraded parent company Roxio's stock from Hold to Sell. The Dwango deal …

Music and Media 9 Dec 2004, 15:33
Nokia 6670 smart phone

Review Software showcase

Based on the popular 7610, the 6670 tries to offer the same features in a different, more business-oriented packaging. But is it enough to woo the public once again? writes Charlie Brewer. The phone itself is a fairly standard tri-band GSM handset. Options such as being able to record ten minutes of video on the megapixel …

Reviews 9 Dec 2004, 15:33
Competition Tribunal rules against BT 'save' calls

Strike 2

BT has been fingered for using "dirty tricks" to try and hang on to customers who want to leave the telco for another phone operator. In the past, it called customers who wanted to leave BT to ensure that they were aware of the services on offer. BT said part of the reason behind the "save call" was to ensure that customers had …

Telecoms 9 Dec 2004, 15:51
UK.gov simplifies IT procurement

Making it easier for the little guy

The government has standardised contract terms, replacing the wide variety of public sector documentation with two standard forms. According to the Office of Government Commerce, the new terms will be easier to administer, simplify the tendering process, and make it easier for small and medium-sized companies to compete for …

Public Sector 9 Dec 2004, 15:53
AMD battles Intel over F1 number crunching

Hot air over wind tunnel simulations

AMD's fight with Intel continues to extend into the Formula One racing circuit. With both chip makers already tussling for those all-important hard-to-see-on-TV car-component sponsorship spaces, they are now attempting to outdo each other in the car design arena. AMD today lauded Sauber Petronas' decision to do aerodynamic …

Servers 9 Dec 2004, 16:21
EC presses for safer internet

Hotlines, forums, filters etc.

The EU Telecommunications Council today today launched Safer Internet Plus, a scheme to help parents and teachers control what children view online. An EU-wide survey on internet use has found that almost 60 per cent of parents do not know where to report illegal content. In response, Safer Internet Plus will set up hotlines …

Music and Media 9 Dec 2004, 21:30
Probably the simplest phishing trick in the world

Cross-platform browser risk

Many popular browsers are affected by a vulnerability that makes it easy to spoof the content of websites, security firm Secunia warns. Features built into browsers makes it possible for malicious websites to change the content of pop-up windows created by trusted websites such as online banks. Users would have no inkling that …

Spam 9 Dec 2004, 21:35
Playgirl virus attacks Chechen rebel sites

Rude behaviour

An email virus that poses as pictures of a nude glamour model actually contains malicious code designed to launch denial-of-service attacks on websites run by Chechen separatists. The Maslan-C worm spreads via email with the subject line '123' and an attached file called 'Playgirls2.exe'. It also spreads across network shares. …

Anti-Virus 9 Dec 2004, 21:37