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10th December 2004 Archive

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  • ClientLogic job fears after AOL UK loss

    Leaving Bristol

    There are fears over the future of jobs at ClientLogic's Bristol call centre after AOL UK terminated a contract with the call centre operator. The Bristol call centre handles calls related to AOL UK's dial-up service. But as demand for dial-up declines in favour of broadband, the ISP has decided to pull out of the Bristol …

    Telecoms 10 Dec 2004, 09:15

  • Local e-gov is wonderful

    Roll out those projects now

    Local authorities will save around £320m a year by implementing the local e-government National Projects, according to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. CapGemini conducted an analysis of six of the 22 projects. It concluded that as well as the cost savings, local authorities will increase total revenues by £60m per year …

    Public Sector 10 Dec 2004, 09:17

  • WiMAX to steal 3G and DSL market share

    Greedy, very greedy

    WiMAX and other new high-speed wireless technologies are likely to take market share from 3G as well as DSL. In a white paper research firm TelecomView says that WiMax will supplement and in some cases replace 3G, DSL and other wireline technologies to provide broadband services. WiMAX offers high-speed wireless data …

    Wireless 10 Dec 2004, 09:17

  • BOFH and the serial killer

    Episode 41 Silence of the Processors

    "It... It's completely stuffed!" the PFY says, looking at the remains of a machine on my desk. "If you think that's bad, look at this," I say, pointing at the machine beside it. "Aggghh!" the PFY gasps "He's even... burnt out the interface chips... You mean...?" "Yes. We have a serial killer on our hands." "When?" "No one …

    BOFH 10 Dec 2004, 09:19

  • Tinsel knocks out Brighton wireless network

    Christmas killer for broadband

    Part of a wireless network in Brighton fell over this week after someone tied tinsel round an aerial. Volunteers at the community-based wifi network piertopier.net were baffled when one of their nodes located in Brighton hotel went AWOL. When they went to investigate, they found tinsel wound round the aerial after festive hotel …

    Telecoms 10 Dec 2004, 10:04

  • Online stores 'pricing out' high street retailers

    Windows shopping

    More consumers are turning to the internet instead of the high street for their Christmas shopping. High street retailers feel the pinch of disappearing footfall, as consumers stay home to take advantage of cheaper online goods, according to a report by CyberSource, an electronic payments firm. A recent UK government study, …

    Financial News 10 Dec 2004, 10:32

  • EU readers: order your Reg goodies now

    Cash'n'Carrion Last call on Sunday 12 December

    EU readers please note that Sunday 12 December is the last order date for pre-Christmas delivery of Cash'n'Carrion kit and caboodle. UK readers have until Wednesday 15 December to pick up any last-minute prezzies, after which we can all relax and tuck into the turkey and mince pies. Any orders from outside the EU will arrive …

    Site News 10 Dec 2004, 10:38

  • BT names Danon successor

    Hires from within, saves on recruitment fees

    BT group finance director Ian Livingston is to replace BT Retail chief exec Pierre Danon, who leaves the telco next year. Livingston, 40, has been a member of the telco's board since April 2002. Before joining BT he was FD at high street retailer Dixons. The job of Group FD goes to Hanif Lalani, 42, who is currently CFO of BT …

    Telecoms 10 Dec 2004, 10:38

  • EU regulators probe mobile roaming charges

    End of the line for gravy train?

    European telecoms regulators this week launched an investigation into the cost of using a mobile phone abroad. Concerns of the high cost of international roaming charges sparked the probe by the European Regulators Group (ERG), which brings together national regulatory authorities, supported by the European Commission. The …

    Mobile 10 Dec 2004, 10:43

  • MS Eolas appeal begins

    Round two, or possibly three

    Microsoft began its appeal yesterday against a $565m judgment that it infringed on a patent held by Eolas, a University of California spin-off. The federal appeals court heard that the patent should not be valid because of prior art claims. The so-called 906 patent, covers a method for opening third party applications - Flash …

    Developer 10 Dec 2004, 10:50

  • Planet Earth goes mobile mad

    1.5bn users and counting

    Global mobile phone subscriptions doubled over the last four years to reach 1.5bn by the middle of 2004, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) said yesterday. The growth in cell phone usage - particularly in developing countries - means that approximately 25 percent of the world's population now has a mobile. The ITU …

    Mobile 10 Dec 2004, 16:42

  • HP launches low-end PC for China

    Take that, IBM/Lenovo

    HP, the world's second largest producer of PCs, has begun selling a 3,999 yuan ($483) computer in China. The announcement comes as major players in the PC industry start to produce low-end PCs targetted at people living in small towns and the countryside of China. Most of China's 1.3bn people live in these areas. The model, …

    PCs 10 Dec 2004, 16:50

  • Southpaws thrash righties: study

    Sinister findings

    Researchers have suggested that left-handed people are better at surviving fights to the death. Charlotte Faurie and Michel Raymond of the University of Montpellier in France found that the greater the homicide rate in unindustrialised cultures, the higher the proportion of left handed people. Industrialised cultures were …

    Bootnotes 10 Dec 2004, 16:53

  • Sprint and Nextel mull mobile merger - WSJ

    Wall St abuzz with US teleco talk

    Sprint - the US's third biggest mobile telco - and fifth-place rival Nextel are reportedly in talks about a possible merger. The deal would create a carrier with approximately 39m subscribers and a market value of around $70bn. Market leader Cingular bought AT&T Wireless Services for $41.3bn in October creating more pressure on …

    Mobile 10 Dec 2004, 16:59

  • Kazaa can't bar child pornographers, court told

    P2P trial continues

    Sharman Networks - the company behind peer-to-peer file sharing outfit Kazaa - has denied it is able to block users who use the service to share child pornography. Sharman Networks is currently in the Australian Federal Court in Sydney facing allegations that it created the world's largest music piracy network and knew that its …

    Music and Media 10 Dec 2004, 17:16

  • EC calls for rethink of data retention proposals

    Keep it ALL

    The European Council has effectively ditched the British proposal for a data retention directive, and has instructed its preparatory bodies to look for another approach to the issue. This doesn't mean the framework is being dropped in its entirety, however, and it could even end up broadening its scope. The proposal (PDF) was …

    Music and Media 10 Dec 2004, 20:57

  • One in five Brits 'buy software from spam'

    Forrester's astonishing estimate

    More than one in five British consumers (22 per cent) has purchased software in response to spam email, a study by Forrester Research claims. The study - sponsored by the Business Software Alliance - found that a substantial minority of punters are quite happy to make junk mail purchases across a broad range of products. Other …

    Spam 10 Dec 2004, 21:06

  • In net politics, it's God vs Dog

    Votes, Bits Bytes Meetup founder puts Pugs against Repubs

    Net religion bumped into real, organized religion again at the Berkman Center's Votes, Bits Bytes conference today, held at Harvard University's Law School. The subject couldn't be more topical. In the recent elections, church-based groups got out the vote. Despite the view that a blogger's vote is worth ten ordinary votes, real …

    Music and Media 10 Dec 2004, 22:16

  • Former Oftel boss leaves Ofcom

    Bye

    David Edmonds, the former head of defunct telecoms regulator Oftel,is to step down as a board member of Ofcom early in the New Year. According to the spinmeisters at Ofcom, Edmonds is "leaving, at his own request, before the end of his three year term (which expires in September 2005) in order to develop other interests". Who …

    Telecoms 10 Dec 2004, 23:11

  • What mistakes do Techno Utopians make?

    Votes, Bits Bytes Boston bound? Speak your brains at our Andrew

    Thanks to the good people at the Berkman Center at Harvard University, our very own Andrew Orlowski will be appearing in Cambridge, Massachusetts with a panel of his own choosing tomorrow. A tad predictably, he's chosen "Mistakes Techno Utopians Make" and he'll be joined by think tank researcher William Davies of the IPPR, over …

    The Company 10 Dec 2004, 23:41

  • The Supremes prep for P2P battle royal

    Technology's future is in their old hands

    The US Supreme Court is ready to put P2P networks, technology firms and your rights to share culture to the test. The high court today revealed that it will review a lower court ruling, which cleared P2P firms Grokster and StreamCast of being held liable for the actions of their users. The earlier lower court decision, which …

    Music and Media 10 Dec 2004, 23:42

  • Kerry net chief: cool software doesn't win elections

    Votes, Bits, Bytes Get your heads down. Build an organization

    Zach Exley, the online communications chief for the Kerry-Edwards campaign, offered a brutally frank assessment of his team's elections tactics today. It probably didn't win him many friends at the Berkman Law School's Internet and Society 2004 conference here at Harvard, many of whom have come to hear their faith in the …

    Music and Media 10 Dec 2004, 23:57