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10th March 2005 Archive

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  • Chicago tries to sneak Wi-Fi network past Illinois

    Telco lobbyists run to Springfield

    City versus state squabbles over Wi-Fi networks have reached the hilarity zone here in the US, as officials on both sides try to slip networking laws past each other. Chicago Alderman Edward Burke has gone into bureaucratic overdrive, hoping to craft legislation that will guarantee the city's right to run its own Wi-Fi service …

    Music and Media 10 Mar 2005, 01:52

  • EasyMobile keeps schtum on tariffs

    Not so easy does it

    EasyMobile is on the verge of launching its discount mobilephoneco in the UK, according to the Evening Standard. The London newspaper reports that easyMobile - which is run by Danish telecoms outfit, TDC, piggybacks on T-Mobile's network and operates under the Easy brand - will charge a flat rate of 9p a minute for UK calls and …

    Mobile 10 Mar 2005, 10:51

  • Why IBM needs ETL

    Comment Two reasons

    IBM needs to develop a modern, fully-functional ETL capability - as opposed to the relatively limited capabilities that are currently provided by Warehouse Manager. Or it needs to buy one. There are two reasons why. The first is because arch-rival Oracle has one. Worse, Oracle Warehouse Builder, in its latest incarnation, is …

    Developer 10 Mar 2005, 11:04

  • Voda preps cheapo service - Sarin

    'In no market will we be late with an offer of this kind'

    Vodafone is prepping a low cost service for the "five to fifteen per cent share of customers who do not want support", CEO Arun Sarin said yesterday. "In no market will we be late with an offer of this kind," he told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, by way of Heise Online. Question is: will the mobile operator launch with a …

    Mobile 10 Mar 2005, 11:26

  • Oyster clams up

    E-money system goes down the tube

    Thousands of London commuters travelled for free this morning after the Tube's Oyster card payment system clammed up. A snag with the system's scanner pads - which read travellers' smartcards and deducts cash for their trip - meant that ticket barriers were left open this morning on London's underground network allowing people …

    Hardware 10 Mar 2005, 11:26

  • Novell woos CeBIT with SUSE Linux 9.3

    What's inside the green box

    Novell announced the April release of SUSE Linux 9.3, the next version of its consumer Linux software, today at CeBIT. SUSE Linux Professional 9.3 will include a complete Linux operating system featuring a complete set of desktop applications and home networking capabilities. It is pitched as a reliable and secure alternative …

    Operating Systems 10 Mar 2005, 11:31

  • Wireless in the spotlight at CeBIT

    Set fair for Hanover

    Visitors to this year's CeBIT trade fair have been greeted by an array of technological marvels, and wireless firms seem be generating the greatest buzz. The annual week-long event in Hanover, Germany, which this year is expected to draw some 500,000 attendees, has been dominated by cutting-edge wireless technologies and …

    Mobile 10 Mar 2005, 12:42

  • Taiwan police seize suspect chips

    Atop premises raided

    Taiwan police raided the premises of Atop Electronics on 8 March, seizing 75,000 'suspect' AMD CPUs and 25,000 fake STMicroelectronics flash memory chips, local paper the Liberty Times reports, via Digitimes. The AMD CPUs are said to be worth TWD600m ($19.4m) and the ST chips worth TWD200m ($6.45m), the paper added, citing …

    Channel Register 10 Mar 2005, 13:01

  • CPW halves cost of mobile phone calls

    'Fresh' smell of 'easy' competition

    The Carphone Warehouse (CPW) has slashed the cost of its mobile phone service to trump the launch of a discount service from easyMobile. The thunder-stealing move will see the cost of calls for CPW's Fresh service halved to 7.5p a minute and 2.5p for texts. The new tariffs for Fresh - which has 120,000 users - come into force …

    Mobile 10 Mar 2005, 13:03

  • Quantum opens web quotation tool to EMEA resellers

    Fewer pricing errors

    Quantum is bringing Quantum MarketPlace to resellers in Europe, a year after launching the web-based quotation tool in the US. Quantum Marketplace guides product selection, configuration, pricing and ordering information and incorporates advice on products from Certance, which was recently bought by Quantum. According to the …

    Channel Register 10 Mar 2005, 13:27

  • French security researcher fined

    Reverse engineering guillotined

    A French court has ruled that security researcher Guillaume Tena acted unlawfully in publishing proof of concept code to highlight security flaws in ViGuard, an antivirus product, from French company Tegam. Tena was given a suspended fine of €5,000 ($6,700 or £3,480) in a case that could have big implications for security …

    Malware 10 Mar 2005, 13:31

  • Security: your input required

    Reg Reader Studies Spare five minutes for a quick survey, guv?

    It's that time of the month again when we ask you, our beloved readership, for your input on a matter of pressing import. And this time our quick tap on the IT barometer is about something we can all relate to: security. Malware, denial of service, spam, spyware, intrusion, phishing - all almost-human life is here. So, if you …

    Security 10 Mar 2005, 13:33

  • Oz investigators bust 'file-sharing' ISP

    BitTorrent cited in P2P raid

    Australian anti-piracy operatives have raided an ISP suspected of using BitTorrent to "allow the pirating of hundreds of thousands of songs and video clips", as alleged by a Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) spokesman. MIPI investigators - acting without police support and bearing an "Anton Piller" search warrant used …

    Music and Media 10 Mar 2005, 14:31

  • Willie Black enters Nominet advisory board election

    Surprise decision by ex-chairman

    It seems that UK registry Nominet really can't do without its ex-chairman Willie Black. We revealed at the end of January that the company had failed to find a replacement for Black, despite him announcing his intention to retire in September and officially leaving on 8 December. The chairman role has still to be filled but it …

    Financial News 10 Mar 2005, 14:48

  • Zen worker arrested over suspected CC theft

    Police investigate

    An employee at UK ISP Zen Internet has been arrested for allegedly misusing credit cards details obtained from work. It's understood that the suspect bought accounts for an online gaming service using stolen credit card details before reselling the gaming packages on eBay. The man was arrested after internet gamers - who had …

    ID 10 Mar 2005, 14:49

  • Apple faces patent lawsuits over its iPod

    Hong Kong firm stakes claim

    Apple is facing two separate patent infringement suits over the iPod, according to reports. One suit relates to a patent for the protection of software against unauthorised use, while the other relates to a patent for a type of musical jukebox. Hong Kong-based Pat-rights has contacted Apple, according to a posting on its …

    Mac Channel 10 Mar 2005, 15:27

  • Fujitsu exposes Eastern talent pool

    CeBIT 2005 Solving skills crisis by moving Europe eastwards

    The tearing down of the Iron Curtain has exposed a wealth of tech talent that will help Europe avoid the kind of skills dearth currently giving US IT execs sleepless nights, Fujitsu Siemens’ CTO said today. In recent weeks Intel’s Craig Barrett and EMC’s Joe Tucci have bemoaned the lack of native engineering talent coming …

    IT Director 10 Mar 2005, 15:42

  • MS gets into the Groove

    Acquires collaboration software outfit

    Microsoft has acquired collaboration software company Groove Networks Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Groove's founder, Ray Ozzie, will become Microsoft's chief technical officer and - once the dust has settled on the deal in Q2 2005 - Groove will become part of Microsoft's Information Worker Business. In a press release Bill …

    Applications 10 Mar 2005, 15:44

  • easyMobile launches - finally

    Stelios has a pop at Orange

    easyMobile.com - the discount mobilephoneco backed by no frills airline entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou - has taken off at last. After refusing to comment on a press report earlier today about the launch of the service, the new discount cellco has now been officially unveiled. And as reported, the cost of UK calls is 9p a …

    Mobile 10 Mar 2005, 16:05

  • BT dials up $3bn Reuters gig

    Buys Radianz

    BT is to acquire financial services network operator Radianz from Reuters for $175m as part of broader network services deal with the global news and information company. Overall, the deal with Reuters is expected to be worth $3bn over the next eight years as BT supplies managed network services to the news and data …

    IT Director 10 Mar 2005, 16:52

  • Bloggers invade Austin music fest

    Torrential torrents

    The South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin has always had a technology bent to it. Intermingled with the voluminous quantity of music and movies were speeches from leading IT pundits, open source gurus and the like. Sadly, this tech bent has turned to a blogger hell with the globs set to consume an inordinate amount …

    Music and Media 10 Mar 2005, 20:20

  • Nvidia previews nForce 4 SLI Intel Edition

    CeBIT 2005 Launch later this month

    Nvidia today "threatened" to release an Intel-oriented chipset product, but couldn't quite bring itself to announce the long-awaited nForce 4 for Intel just yet. No, the chipset's formal unveiling will take place later this month, Drew Henry the chip maker's chipset products chief said. The company's CeBIT meeting was merely a …

    System Builder 10 Mar 2005, 20:20

  • Apple backs Blu-ray

    CeBIT 2005 Preferred HD optical storage medium

    Apple has joined the Blu-ray Disc Association, throwing its weight behind the more technically impressive but perhaps less strongly branded HD optical medium. The Mac maker formally gave its support to the next-generation disc format at a BDA meeting in South Korea on Monday, but the decision was only made public today. It …

    Storage 10 Mar 2005, 20:37

  • AMD details its Turion mobile processor

    CeBIT 2005 Mobile Athlon 64 by any other name?

    AMD today introduced its Turion 64 processor, the chip it hopes will help it wrest dominance of the notebook CPU market from Intel's Centrino. The chip family provides much the same feature set as the 754-pin Mobile Athlon 64 for thin'n'light notebooks, such as 64-bit processing, AMD's PowerNow! power conservation system, on- …

    PCs 10 Mar 2005, 21:18

  • Moto's iTunes phone - please try again later

    Carriers want a cut

    Motorola has unexpectedly delayed plans to unveil a mobile phone that ships with a version of Apple's iTunes, and not so subtly blamed the networks for the hold-up. Announced last July, bullish comments from Motorola management before Xmas raised expectations that the handset would ship sooner rather than later. But at CeBIT …

    Mobile 10 Mar 2005, 21:23

  • MP pitches Denial of Service law to Parliament

    'Treat these attacks with the seriousness they deserve'

    Derek Wyatt MP, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Internet Group (APIG), will try to persuade Parliament next month that the country's 15-year-old Computer Misuse Act needs updating, to increase penalties for hackers and to criminalise denial of service attacks. The Labour MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey said today that …

    Enterprise Security 10 Mar 2005, 21:48

  • It's time to pick your favourite virus

    Comment Infection vectors

    The other day I was browsing through the top virus threats for February and March 2005, looking at the assorted nastiness, when a funny thought occurred to me: is it possible to pick a favorite virus (or virus family)? I think it is. We can look at their innovations and evolution with a source of envy, even if we universally …

    Malware 10 Mar 2005, 22:02

  • Digital memories: cheap to take, cheaper to lose

    Letters The return of the Systems guys vs Web monkeys debate

    The consequences of the dotcom bubble - being remembered this week five years on from the start of the crash - aren't just financial. The largest loss of wealth in human history created a wasteland of dead pages and broken links. Now many of the same Dotcom People are back, persuading us to trust them with our most valuable …

    Letters 10 Mar 2005, 22:26

  • Wizards at Cisco find brain for storage switches

    Fibre Channel dynamo

    Come June, Cisco will release a new piece of storage networking hardware that will let it and others build sophisticated switch software for managing data. The MDS 9000 Storage Services Module (SSM) will be Cisco's next attempt at putting pressure on networking rivals Brocade and McData and on hardware makers such as EMC and …

    Storage 10 Mar 2005, 23:09