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13th January 2005 Archive

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  • iPod surge boosts Apple earnings

    iMacs help too

    A new iMac and the smash hit iPod gave Apple a boost in the quarter ending 31 December. Apple posted revenues of $3.49bn for the three-month period, Q1 FY2005, up 74 per cent from last year, and profits continued to break out, up to $295m (70 cents a share). The iPod accounted for much of the success, selling 4.58m units in the …

    Financial News 13 Jan 2005, 00:35

  • Ruth Kelly: transforming teaching with IT

    Lots of vision

    Ruth Kelly, the new Secretary of State for Education and Skills, opened the education technology fair BETT with an overview of how IT should be used to transform teaching and learning, and a few specific announcements. Teachers TV, a new digital channel, goes live on Sky, NTL, Telewest, Homechoice and Freeview on 8 February, …

    Policy 13 Jan 2005, 09:17

  • Nokia cuts hit smart phone, multimedia R&D

    One of our Platforms is missing

    Nokia is reining in R&D, with the axe falling hardest on its 3,000-strong multimedia division founded a year ago. The exact number of staff affected isn't known, but a press release issued on Tuesday from Nokia Multimedia says the cuts are intended to reduce R&D expenditure to 9 to 10 per cent of net sales by the end of next …

    Mobile 13 Jan 2005, 09:46

  • Apple: iPod domination - or just another fad?

    Analysis More, more, more

    "I got drunk and ended up with a hooker," said Conan O'Brien, the sardonically witty talk-show host as he compered Bill Gates's CES speech last week. "Bill got drunk and ended up in bed with an Apple computer." Cue picture of horrified billg. However it's not that prospect which should be giving Bill the nightmares. It's …

    Mac Channel 13 Jan 2005, 09:47

  • Digital cameras redesign the photographic process

    Ways of seeing

    When you buy a digital camera for the first time there is this wonderful feeling of freedom knowing that you can shoot as many pictures as you like until you get the right one. All of a sudden we can all fancy ourselves as top fashion photographers clicking away like mad just to get the perfect moment. The first digital camera …

    Peripherals 13 Jan 2005, 10:47

  • Griffin adds remote control, Bluetooth audio to iPods, Macs

    5.1 surround sound too

    Stylish accessory maker Griffin Technology has certainly had a busy week. Not settling for the announcement of two major product launches on Tuesday, it has gone on to unveil three more choice items. Top of the list is BlueTrip, a wireless iPod-to-hi-fi link that operates over Bluetooth. The $149 package comprises a receiver …

    Peripherals 13 Jan 2005, 11:02

  • April deadline set for new extended warranty rules

    Consumer protection

    Retailers that pressurise customers to sign up for extended warranties have until 6 April to pack it in or risk being in breach of new legislation. The new rules should arm consumers with more information when they buy electrical goods, for instance. Shops will have to show the price of extended warranties alongside goods, …

    The Channel 13 Jan 2005, 11:06

  • RIM stock rises on acquisition speculation

    'Very attractive' target

    Blackberry developer Research in Motion (RIM) could be the subject of a takeover bid, Goldman Sachs suggested this week after dubbing the company a "very attractive" acquisition. The report helped push RIM shares up 7.4 per cent on speculation that there may be more to the investment bank's comments than meets the eye. On …

    Financial News 13 Jan 2005, 11:28

  • US slaps on the wardriver-busting paint

    Wi-Fi protection in just one coat

    Security-minded US decorators' supply outfit Force Field Wireless claims to have developed a DIY solution to the international menace of marauding geek wardrivers - DefendAir paint "laced with copper and aluminum fibers that form an electromagnetic shield, blocking most radio waves and protecting wireless networks". According …

    Security 13 Jan 2005, 11:52

  • Easynet upbeat about wholesale LLU

    'Well received in the market'

    A number of ISPs and alternative telcos are interested in supplying broadband services direct to end users instead of routing their services via BT, according to a trading update by broadband telco Easynet. In December, Easynet began providing wholesale broadband to telcos and ISPs at prices it claims are 30-35 per cent cheaper …

    Broadband 13 Jan 2005, 11:54

  • Apple brings discord to Hymn

    iTunes 4.7.1 breaks DRM stripper

    Apple's latest iTunes update, which takes the jukebox software to version 4.7.1, breaks the anti-DRM utility Hymn, it has emerged. The move marks the latest step in the Mac maker's attempts to prevent users stripping away the limitations it imposes on music downloaded from its iTunes Music Store. Using applications like Hymn …

    Media 13 Jan 2005, 12:03

  • Macrovision gives forth on DRM

    Chewing the fat with Adam Gervin

    It’s been bothering Faultline of late that Macrovision may be getting itself a little sidelined in the war to combat piracy, so we thought we’d update our file on them and chatted this week to Adam Gervin, VP of marketing for the high-flying content protection company. The concerns we put to him were three fold. The first issue …

    Media 13 Jan 2005, 12:04

  • Schools look beyond the electronic whiteboard

    Fun ideas and technology

    The BETT exhibition in London's Olympia this week is stuffed to the gills with companies showcasing how their particular brand of technology can transform education, help students achieve more and relieve pressure on teachers. Some technology on display is administrative: for example Bromcom is there showing off its wireless …

    Policy 13 Jan 2005, 12:13

  • Carphone trumpets telecoms success

    TalkTalk of the TownTown

    The Carphone Warehouse had a booming Christmas as sales of mobiles and other telecoms services continued to generate double-digit growth. Retail revenues rose 24.9 per cent to £355.8m for the 13 weeks to 25 December driven by greater demand for mobile phones and punters spending more cash using them. The success of The …

    Broadband 13 Jan 2005, 12:28

  • Cisco to buy Airespace

    WLAN switch market consolidation begins

    Cisco is to buy WLAN switch maker Airespace, laying down $450m worth of shares for the privately held firm. The move, forecast here last year, heralds the start of much-anticipated consolidation in the emerging enterprise-level Wi-Fi market. Provided regulatory bodies and shareholders raise no objections, Cisco will take …

    Financial News 13 Jan 2005, 12:28

  • Trojans exploit Windows DRM loophole

    Dirty tricks

    Virus writers have subverted digital rights management features in Windows Media Player to spread Trojans and other malware. License-protected movie (.wmv) files infected with the WmvDownloader-A or WmvDownloader-B Trojans have entered circulation on P2P networks, reports Madrid-based antivirus firm Panda Software. Normally …

    Security 13 Jan 2005, 12:30

  • Xwireless goes titsup

    UK mobile messaging firm 'ceases trading'

    UK mobile messaging firm Xwireless has gone titsup. A terse notice on the firm's website confirms that the Stockley Park, Heathrow-based company has "ceased trading" and that all relevant parties will be contacted in due course. Xwireless was founded in 2000, to provide mobile business services, focusing on SMS network services …

    Mobile 13 Jan 2005, 12:51

  • UK.gov to hire IT project SWAT team

    'Put the mouse down, and step away from the keyboard'

    The government is to bring in a team of IT specialists to oversee big technology projects and prevent them from failing. Chief information officer Ian Watmore described the team as a "heavy hitter brigade" when he announced the scheme at a government CIO meeting last week. The team will be managed by the e-government unit, but …

    Policy 13 Jan 2005, 13:30

  • NTL may chop off Irish arm for €200m

    'No comment' on sale rumours

    The Irish Times reported on Thursday that the parent company of NTL Ireland is aiming to unload its Irish division sometime before April at a price of between €150m and €200m. At least one consortium of Irish investors is preparing a bid, while UGC Europe Communications - which purchased Ireland's Chorus Communications last …

    Financial News 13 Jan 2005, 14:00

  • Euro AMD Opteron server demand slows

    Sales growth goes from positive to negative

    Sales of AMD Opteron-based servers in Europe appear to be slowing, market watcher Context warns. After tracking Opteron sales throughout Europe's seven biggest economies, Context today said that sales growth collapsed during the early month of Q4 2004. In Q3 2004, sales grew month on month by up to 50 per cent, but October …

    Servers 13 Jan 2005, 14:31

  • Couple names baby Yahoo

    Met on net, wed, lost marbles

    A newborn baby boy has been named "Yahoo" by a Romanian couple - cos they met over the net. Mum and Dad - Cornelia and Nonu Dragoman - courted online for three months before finally tying the knot, reports a local paper by way of Reuters. Lucian Yahoo Dragoman was born last month. "We named him Lucian Yahoo after my father and …

    Bootnotes 13 Jan 2005, 14:44

  • Police clairvoyants protect DC subway

    Bad vibes trigger stop and search

    Members of the Washington, DC Metro Police have been trained by gurus at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in a new form of crimebusting voodoo that purports to help them "profile" the public, and zero in on vibes emanating from bad people. According to a recent Washington Post article, the police are "targeting …

    Security 13 Jan 2005, 14:48

  • Maximum sentence for SA software pirate

    Three years' jail

    A South African was this week jailed for three years for selling counterfeit Microsoft software and infringing Microsoft's copyright. Craig Marnoch received the maximum sentence for his crimes at Pretoria Commercial Crime Court - a first in South African legal history - despite an earlier guilty plea. "Having established …

    The Channel 13 Jan 2005, 14:53

  • Napster subscriber tally hits 270,000

    But sales are dwarfed by iTunes

    Napster entered 2005 with over 270,000 subscribers, 90,000 more than at the end of Q3 2004, the music download firm said today But it remains a dwarf, when compared with its major rival, Apple's iTunes Music Store. Napster's latest subscriber numbers yield a quarter-on-quarter sequential growth rate of 50 per cent, enough to …

    Financial News 13 Jan 2005, 15:12

  • Isle of Man welcomes US online punters

    Net casinos hungry for bucks

    The Isle of Man now allows US punters to gamble in online casinos based on the island, the NY Times reports. The announcement will rattle US authorities opposed to American citizens having a flutter beyond the reach of US legislation. Indeed, US prosecutors have launched a series of actions against operations doing business …

    Financial News 13 Jan 2005, 15:37

  • Ofcom outlines radio spectrum plans

    Which is nice

    Ofcom has published details of twelve radio spectrum bands that it expects to be available by the end of 2008. These can be used for a range of different applications including next generation mobile services and wireless broadband. Some of the spectrum bands on offer could also be used for emergency services communications, …

    Mobile 13 Jan 2005, 15:55

  • Deep Impact en route to Tempel 1

    Comet in for a surprise

    NASA's Deep Impact probe has successfully launched from Cape Canaveral and has begun its journey to Comet Tempel 1. The space agency says that "data received from the spacecraft indicates it has deployed and locked its solar panels, is receiving power and achieved proper orientation in space". In other words, all's well so …

    Science 13 Jan 2005, 16:12

  • Sapphire Radeon X850 XT Platinum Edition

    Review An attractively priced powerhouse?

    It's been just over a month since we took a good look at ATI's Radeon X850 XT Platinum Edition reference board. To follow it up, we took a look at a retail version of the card. It's made by Sapphire, the company that actually manufactures ATI's reference boards and indeed boards for several other manufacturers too. It's no …

    Reviews 13 Jan 2005, 16:19

  • Blue LED boffin wins $8.1m from ex-employer

    Could have been $189m...

    The brains behind those flashing blue lights used in almost all the world's Bluetooth devices to show they're working has won $8.1m from the company he alleged had failed to compensate him appropriately for his discovery. The inventor of the blue LED, Professor Shuji Nakamura, was orginally paid an extra $200 for his work by …

    Management 13 Jan 2005, 16:48

  • Report warns of dangers of UK's DNA database

    Learn what it was that you had to hide

    In addition to "sleepwalking towards a surveillance society" via the ID scheme, the UK is snoozing nearer to a Big Brother state, with the aid of the National DNA database, according to a new report by GeneWatch UK. The Home Office has ruled out adding DNA data to the biometrics to be held on the entire population via the ID …

    Media 13 Jan 2005, 16:56

  • Casualties mount in Apple vs customers war

    Analysis Underground medicine

    It's hard to think of anything that makes Apple's music store more attractive to the general public than the guarantee that the music you've bought will play wherever you want it in your home. However, Apple frowns on such good citizenship, and as we reported earlier today, is using every trick it can to make sure the music …

    Mac Channel 13 Jan 2005, 19:40

  • HP and Falconstor team on fancy storage kit - report

    Getting virtual together

    HP could be developing a storage virtualization box meant to compete with similar kit from IBM and EMC, according to an online report. Storage site Byte and Switch has a number of sources placing HP in a deal with Falconstor to create this new system. The box would be used to manage storage systems made by different vendors and …

    Storage 13 Jan 2005, 20:11

  • Sun posts one penny profit in Q2, as revenue falls

    Another disappointment

    Sun Microsystems managed to eke out a profit in its second quarter but failed to impress analysts or investors with a drop in product sales. Sun reported second quarter revenue of $2.84bn - a disappointing total given that it's a 1.6 per cent fall from the $2.89bn reported one year earlier. Sun did, however, post a profit of $ …

    Financial News 13 Jan 2005, 21:36

  • Space launches make kids sick

    Hydrazine fingered in leaked study

    Children living close to the old Soviet Union's oldest space launch pad are more likely to suffer hormonal problems and blood disorders, according to a Siberian study leaked to the journal Nature. The study claims that the rates of such diseases have doubled in some cases in populations near the Baikonur Cosmodrome in …

    Science 13 Jan 2005, 21:42

  • Internet black widow ‘stalked pensioners on the net’

    Grandma Death on poisoning charges

    US police are investigating if a 69 year-old Canadian woman already convicted of killing her first husband murdered her second spouse. Melissa Friedrich is also accused of drugging a 73-year-old man she met an online dating service in order to systematically fleece him of $20,000, CBC News reports. Investigators suspect …

    Media 13 Jan 2005, 21:44