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17th January 2005 Archive

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  • Harvard Man in lesbian mix-up wants satire clearly labeled

    Draq queen causes Podcast confusion

    The two fathers of 'podcasting' have called for jokes and satirical broadcasts to be clearly labelled as such, after they were bamboozled by a comic female impersonator. Two "bloggers" - former MTV video jockey Adam Curry and former software developer Dave Winer cooked up the idea of enclosing audio files in some XML code so …

    Music and Media 17 Jan 2005, 08:44

  • Intellect gets tough on best practice compliance

    Cowboy filter

    Intellect, the UK technology trade association, is adding a compliance mechanism to its Code of Best Practice. This will make easier for clients to assess the performance of its members, it say. The organisation is formally launching the mechanism, along with revised guidelines, at the annual OGC Senior IT Forum Conference. The …

    IT Director 17 Jan 2005, 09:47

  • Scots man held over DDoS charges

    Operation Casper

    A 27 year-old man suspected of launching denial of service attacks is to appear in a Scottish court today following his arrest on Friday, 14 January in a joint operation between Scottish police and the US Secret Service. Police searched housesin Elgin, north east Scotland and seized some computers. The police were taking part …

    Enterprise Security 17 Jan 2005, 10:08

  • UK betting exchanges face taxing future

    Tax rules achanging...

    Internet betting exchanges face a more taxing future - Chancellor Gordon Brown is expected to change rules to squeeze more cash from websites which allow punters to place bets with each other. The changes follow a National Audit Office report which found online exchanges paid just £7.3m in tax last year despite taking bets …

    Storage 17 Jan 2005, 10:10

  • Media Lab Europe shuts down

    Financial difficulties

    Media Lab Europe, the Dublin-based research facility based on the MIT Media Lab in Massachusetts, is to close down. The move comes after reports of financial difficulty for the institution, which relied on government support and private investment to keep afloat. At one time, it was hoped that the lab would be able to become …

    Science 17 Jan 2005, 10:38

  • Madasafish 'Churchill' ad banned

    Oi! Noooooooo!

    A TV commercial for a UK ISP featuring comedian Harry Enfield and Winston Churchill has been banned because it is "grossly offensive to the public and the wartime leader's surviving family", reporta the Sunday Telegraph. The ad - one of three for ISP Madasafish - feature's Enfield's thuggish Frank Doberman character who shouts …

    Telecoms 17 Jan 2005, 10:44

  • Sony PSP 'update' adds office apps, browser, email

    Early build leaked onto the web

    Sony may be preparing to release its first PlayStation Portable (PSP) update, if a file that briefly appeared on the web this weekend is what it purports to be: a leaked copy of an early version of the update code. Whatever its provenance, the software certainly includes some interesting features. In addition to the usual bug …

    Consoles 17 Jan 2005, 11:05

  • Siemens mobile arm for sale or closure

    No profits, no future

    Siemens will close its mobile handset division unless it can find a last minute buyer, according to the Sunday Telegraph. Siemens is the fourth largest handset maker by market share it has struggled to make a profit. In the fourth quarter of 2004 the mobile division lost €140m. The paper reports a final decision will be …

    Mobile 17 Jan 2005, 11:10

  • Ingram Micro unites Europe

    Back office together at last

    Ingram Micro Europe is bringing together back office functions for all its European businesses to save money and improve efficiency. Ingram Micro Pan-European Group will provide services for three businesses - Ingram Micro Components Europe, Ingram Micro Networking Services and Ingram Micro Supplies Europe. The three businesses …

    Channel Register 17 Jan 2005, 11:56

  • Dell Axim X50v wireless PocketPC

    Review The perfect PDA?

    While recently we've seen big names like Sony and Toshiba leave the PDA market, Dell has become a major player in the Pocket PC arena with its Axim line, most likely due to its ability to offer a well specced yet attractively priced device, writes Benny Har-Even. And here comes its latest line-up: the X50 series, successor to …

    Reviews 17 Jan 2005, 12:23

  • New JV to flog phone service to the UK

    Market getting crowded

    A new company is to employ a 1,000-strong telesales workforce to flog its phone service to residential customers in the UK. Applicahome - a JV between IT and outsourcing services company Allserve Systems plc, UK telco applica and ex-NTL MD Mike Bandeira - will target 450,000 customers a month by calling them direct. On offer …

    Telecoms 17 Jan 2005, 12:34

  • Sony unveils 'Centrino 2' notebook family

    Shouldn't it have waited til Wednesday?

    Sony UK today unveiled its latest Centrino notebook, two days before the technology on which it's based will be formally launched by Intel. That probably explains why the Japanese giant is so frugal in listing the new Vaio FS series' processor specs. However, it did let slip that the machines will used Intel's 915M chipset …

    PCs 17 Jan 2005, 12:47

  • Panix recovers from domain hijack

    Updated Chaos for customers

    The hijack of its domain name on Friday (14 January) has thrown the operations of a New York ISP into turmoil. Panix staff worked around the clock over the weekend to recover services after the rug was pulled out from under its business. "Panix's main domain name, panix.com, has been hijacked by parties unknown," the ISP said …

    Enterprise Security 17 Jan 2005, 16:19

  • Europe must invest more in IT research: report

    And ditch the red-tape, while you're at it

    Information technology research in Europe is vital for the continent's competitiveness, but needs more investment according to a new report from the European Commission. It also warns that the tangle of red tape is making it increasingly more difficult to motivate high-level people from industry and academia to take part in …

    Science 17 Jan 2005, 16:20

  • China set for ecommerce boom

    Huge market, huge potential

    China could become the world's biggest online market within two years, according to a report examining the country's potential for electronic commerce. Ecommerce is already beginning to take off in China with four in ten buying something online. This year two in three people are expected to buy online, with books and computer …

    Financial News 17 Jan 2005, 16:30

  • Intuit UK kills Quicken and TaxCalc

    The Quicken and the deaden

    Intuit UK is canning its popular accounting software Quicken and TaxCalc. A letter sent to Quicken customers warns that the product will not be on sale after the end of this month. Intuit UK will continue to offer telephone support until the end of January next year. A final UK version of Quicken is included with the letter, …

    Small Biz 17 Jan 2005, 16:33

  • Webpay system open to voucher fraud

    Dutch investigations

    Webpay International AG, the market leading payment system for digital content and services in Europe, doesn't offer a flawless micro payment service, at least in the Netherlands, according to Dutch consumer watchdog tv show Kassa and computer weekly Computer Idee. It is relatively easy to manipulate user data required for the …

    Enterprise Security 17 Jan 2005, 16:46

  • MyDoom returns

    Zombie-maker 'back from the grave'

    A new version of MyDoom discovered at the weekend appears months after the last iteration of the long-running series of worms. MyDoom-AI (alias MyDoom-AE) normally spreads by emails with some featuring sexually explicit images. It claims attachments contains passwords for adult websites. In fact, they contain malicious code …

    Malware 17 Jan 2005, 17:08

  • VXers hit new low with tsunami-themed worm

    Plea for donations

    In other virus-related news, malware authors have created a mass-mailing worm that poses as a plea for donations to victims of last month's Asian tsunami disaster. The VBSun-A worm prompts users to open an attachment which furthers the spread of the worm as well as initiating an attack on a German hacking website. "Duping …

    Malware 17 Jan 2005, 17:10

  • Ebbers faces WorldCom court showdown

    Trial eagerly awaited

    Disgraced former Worldcom boss Bernie Ebbers is due to face criminal charges in a New York court this week following the $11bn (£5.8bn) accounting scandal that rocked the corporate world. Ebbers is charged with fraud and conspiracy related to the collapse of telcoms outfit WorldCom in July 2002. He retired from WorldCom in …

    IT Director 17 Jan 2005, 17:20

  • Intel restructures around platforms

    Centrino-style

    Intel has announced a major shake-up that will see it reorganise its key operations around technology platforms rather than separate products. It's the brainchild of Intel president, COO and soon-to-be CEO Paul Otellini, who said of the shift: "The new organisation will help address growth opportunities by better anticipating …

    Financial News 17 Jan 2005, 17:25

  • Google plugs brace of GMail security flaws

    Trouble comes in pairs

    Google fixed a brace of security holes to its web-based services last week. Each posed a serious risk for users of its popular GMail service. A flaw in Froogle, Google's price-comparison service, created a means for attackers to swipe cookies used to access GMail accounts. Israeli hacker Nir Goldshlager demonstrated how users …

    Financial News 17 Jan 2005, 19:35