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22nd February 2005 Archive

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  • BT's 21CN is 'exciting, radical and now'

    The March of Time

    BT has been banging the drum about its new 21st century network (21CN) and how it is set to revolutionise just about everything. The former monopoly's new IP network is "exciting", "radical", and "now", enthused chief evangelist BT Wholesale boss Paul Reynolds on Monday. Addressing the inaugural 21st Century Communications …

    Data Networking 22 Feb 2005, 07:10

  • Sue the reader of this File Sharing Book

    Book review Get it before the RIAA gets you

    When the drugs begin to wear off, and the sun starts to rise, an unnamed music executive shudders at the thought of its existence. In that painful moment of desperation, he wonders, "How could it happen?" "How could that rat write this book?" Steal This File Sharing Book by Wallace Wang must be the worst nightmare of deluded …

    Music and Media 22 Feb 2005, 07:15

  • Missing trader fraudster goes missing

    Missing trader missing

    A VAT fraudster went on the run from Bristol Crown Court last week shortly before being convicted for his role in an £800,000 tax fraud. Nasser Ahmed, from Hounslow, London, was facing charges of defrauding Customs and Excise out of more than £800,000. Ahmed was out on bail and when the jury left the court to consider its …

    Channel 22 Feb 2005, 10:27

  • O2 and Kodak team for online piccies

    Upload, share and print

    O2 is working with Kodak to offer all its subscribers access to better online picture services. From next month all O2 customers will be able to upload and share pictures via Kodak's online service. Punters can upload pictures by MMS or email from their phones or through the web via a computer. They can also order prints which …

    Mobile 22 Feb 2005, 10:45

  • G7 broadband target eludes UK Govt

    Doesn't stop 'em crowing though

    The Government is still trying to hit a key broadband pledge it made four years ago. In February 2001 the British Government said it wanted the UK to have the most "extensive and competitive broadband" market among leading industrial nations by 2005. The political commitment was made at a time when the UK was a byword for …

    Telecoms 22 Feb 2005, 10:49

  • Real Software slams MS IsNot patent application

    It's obvious, really

    Real Software, the maker of the Realbasic application development tool, has raised concerns over Microsoft's IsNot operator patent application, saying that no one should be able to patent fundamental programming operations. The IsNot patent application was filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office in November 2004 by Paul …

    Developer 22 Feb 2005, 11:00

  • MCI faces shareholder fury

    Moody merger gets moodier

    MCI, which last week agreed to be bought by Verizon, has been forced onto the defensive over the deal. Michael Capellas, MCI's chief executive, is under pressure to explain why he took the lower offer for the firm. Verizon offered $6.7bn to buy MCI, which the board accepted. But a rival $8bn bid from Qwest was rejected. Rebel …

    Financial News 22 Feb 2005, 11:08

  • Lexmark suffers second knock back in DMCA case

    On the ropes

    A federal appeals court has denied Lexmark's request to consider reimposing an injunction against a firm that makes components that allow generic replacement ink cartridges to work in Lexmark printers. The ruling by the US Courts of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, leaves Lexmark's lawsuit against Static Control Components in bad shape …

    Music and Media 22 Feb 2005, 11:16

  • BT sued for blocking suspected 'rogue dialler' numbers

    Will 'vigorously defend' the action

    BT is facing legal action over its decision to block premium-rate lines suspected of being used by rogue dialler companies to rip off punters and rack up huge phone bills. Birmingham-based Opera Telecom is suing BT for blocking access to lines Opera leases to adult content outfit Netcollex and is seeking compensation for lost …

    Telecoms 22 Feb 2005, 11:51

  • French join motorised Lizard Alliance

    Killer Citroën taunts humanity

    Those members of the neoLuddite Resistance Army who - since learning of the kamikaze SUV, the satanic Renault Vel Satis and the anonymous self-destructing French automobile - have decided to ditch their cars, load their bicycle panniers with explosives and laser pulse rifles and head for the Montana wilderness in expectation of …

    Rise of the Machines 22 Feb 2005, 12:21

  • Comms, internet ban orders surface in new UK terror law

    Added extras of Clarke's Belmarsh backlash

    Variants of David Blunkett's 'ASBOs for terror' are set to be unveiled today by his successor as Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, under the banner of "control orders". Musing out loud to Jonathan Dimbleby last year Blunkett envisaged a kind of order that would have a wider application to people suspected of being fellow …

    Music and Media 22 Feb 2005, 13:16

  • Warning! Black Helicopters

    Cash'n'Carrion You heard the conspiracy theory, now wear the t-shirt

    We at Vulture Central are well aware that skies world-wide are increasingly darkening with black helicopters as conspiracy theorists fall over each other to warn humanity as to multiple threats to peoples' lives and liberty. Make no mistake: they're coming to get you and it's only a matter of time before you are enslaved to the …

    Site News 22 Feb 2005, 13:17

  • Can my clone use my software license?

    Letters Tough questions from the letters bag

    How much is a website worth? How many Firefox users are there? How long is a piece of string? These, and other puzzlers were given a good going over earlier this week. Our writer warned people not to read to much into download figures of open source software: An interesting article and you are right on the mark about the …

    Letters 22 Feb 2005, 13:34

  • Lycos Europe ups revs, narrows losses

    Whatever

    Lycos Europe is on course to make a profit next year, the portal and internet group announced today. Revenue for 2004 was up 22 per cent to €103.8m, buoyed by increased internet access revenues and increased cash from shopping and other 'paid for' services. At the same time, pre-tax losses narrowed from €62.3m to €50.3m in …

    Financial News 22 Feb 2005, 13:52

  • OFT in net spam scam crackdown

    Incoming

    The UK's Office of Fair Trading joined forces with government agencies around the world in a co-ordinated assault upon scammers and spammers this week. The OFT joined its partners in the International Consumer Protection Enforcement Network (ICPEN) and signatories to the anti-spam London Action Plan (LAP) on 21 and 22 February …

    Spam 22 Feb 2005, 13:59

  • Citizens Advice warns of 'shocking' rogue dialler scams

    Fighting for consumers

    The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) has warned net users to be on the guard against "shocking" rogue dialler scams. The UK's free consumer help and advice service says it's seeing an increasing number of cases where ordinary net users have been conned by such scams. In one case a woman from the Midlands racked up a bill for £320 …

    Music and Media 22 Feb 2005, 15:01

  • Developers get an early night

    Go on chaps you deserve it

    Software developers are working far fewer hours than they were in 2001. Figures from the US Department of Labour showed the average working week for software developers has fallen from 40.1 hours in 2001 to 36.4 hours now. Factors include: less belief in instant dot-com riches, a better work/life balance and older (and better) …

    Developer 22 Feb 2005, 15:21

  • Wormability formulae weighs malware risks

    RSA 2005 Predicting the next big one

    Security researchers are developing a method to predict the potential for individual vulnerabilities to become the subject of computer worms. Although Arbor Network's "wormability" formula for predicting worms is far from perfect it allows the firm to give better advice on prioritising security remediation actions and insight …

    Enterprise Security 22 Feb 2005, 15:37

  • Artificial eyes by 2010, says EC

    Illuminating

    European scientists have joined the race to produce an artificial retina with research that could help restore the sight of thousands of people suffering from retinal disease. Belgian Professor Claude Veraart says that a prototype device has been implanted in two patients so far, according to a Reuters report. He said that 15 …

    Science 22 Feb 2005, 15:52

  • Jobs cuts at Ericsson

    But credit rating improves...

    Mobile equipment manufacturer Ericsson is closing a factory in Nynashamn, Sweden with the loss of 463 jobs. The factory makes base stations for mobile phone networks. Not everyone will lose out - 70 jobs are transferring to other centres once the factory closes. Ericsson has almost halved its workforce from a peak of over 100, …

    Financial News 22 Feb 2005, 15:56

  • NY teen charged over IM spam attack

    UR nked

    A New York teenager has become the first American to be arrested for sending spam messages across IM networks. Anthony Greco, 18, of Cheektowaga, New York, was charged with violations of the CAN-SPAM Act after allegedly sending 1.5m messages punting mortgage refinancing and adult pornography to MySpace.com users in October and …

    Spam 22 Feb 2005, 16:07

  • Apple founder urges company to drop bullying lawsuits

    Enough's enough - Woz

    Steve Wozniak has reportedly urged the company he co-founded, Apple Computer, to drop a lawsuit against a beta tester who leaked a version of the company's Tiger operating system. He also says he'll contribute to the defendant's legal fund. "I wish that Apple could find some way to drop the matter. In my opinion, more than …

    Music and Media 22 Feb 2005, 16:20

  • Microsoft compensates blocked Dutch web firm

    AntiSpyware goes haywire

    Microsoft is to compensate Dutch web company Ilse Media because its AntiSpyware software blocked one of Ilse's portals, Startpagina ("Startpage"). Not too long ago Microsoft released a beta version of its anti spy software, which offers the choice of signing up for real-time protection. Windows AntiSpyware can monitor the PC …

    Malware 22 Feb 2005, 16:55

  • T-Mobile to probe Paris' security breach

    Keep away from simple passwords

    T-Mobile's American arm has launched an investigation into how Paris Hilton's address book made its way from her Sidekick PDA/phone onto the web. The mobile-phone firm's computer forensics team is on the case, and is considering all possibilities: "This includes the possibility that someone had access to one of Ms. Hilton's …

    Security 22 Feb 2005, 17:03

  • Russian police probe cheap downloads site

    Music biz aims to throttle Allofmp3.com

    Authorities in Moscow are investigating a Russian website offering cheap music downloads. Allofmp3.com is accused by a music industry group of offering music for sale without authorisation from rights holders in Russia and internationally. Moscow prosecutors are considering whether to proceed with a criminal case against …

    Music and Media 22 Feb 2005, 17:27

  • Are pulsars gravity-wave generators?

    Nature's speed hump

    Scientists at the European Space Agency (ESA) say that a newly discovered star could provide a test for the existence of gravitational waves. The object, a pulsar, was discovered by the INTEGRAL spacecraft, and is one of the fastest spinning stars ever seen, rotating nearly 600 times every second. Most millisecond pulsars hover …

    Science 22 Feb 2005, 17:32

  • IBM douses Xeon servers with Hurricane

    Chipset of the future

    IBM has spent years talking up its homemade chipsets for Xeon servers and isn't pulling back on the self-promotion now that its third-generation product is set to roll out the door. The Hurricane chipset is IBM's answer for 64-bit, dual-core Xeons and related operating systems. It will serve as the foundation for four- to 64- …

    Servers 22 Feb 2005, 20:02

  • Former Brocade CEO sent flying in golden skies

    Heck of a consultant

    Being benched isn't so bad, especially when you're riding the pine on an all-expenses paid private plane. Just ask Greg Reyes the former CEO of Brocade. He'll receive $910,000 per year over the next two years, working as Brocade's consultant. In this role, Reyes will help out with Brocade's "strategy and vision [and] customer- …

    Storage 22 Feb 2005, 22:58