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16th March 2005 Archive

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  • Engineers welcome era of 96-chip PCs

    It's personal cluster to you

    Orion Multisystems isn't on schedule, but it does seem to be on target. The company which garnered much attention last year for shipping a 12-processor "desktop" cluster will deliver a 96-processor version of this system in the next couple of weeks. Orion had once hoped to get the big box out at the end of last year and then …

    Servers 16 Mar 2005, 08:14

  • Motorola chief's amazing packet revealed

    Hello, golden hello

    While Motorola's market share for phones increased by only 0.9 per cent last year, the size of Ed Zander's trousers increased by $38.8m. The CEO's incredible packet was bulked up by option grants of $23.2m, a "golden hello" of $12.3m, restricted stock worth $23.2m and a paltry $6.5m cash. No prizes for guessing who's buying the …

    Financial News 16 Mar 2005, 08:14

  • Dutch hackers sentenced for attack on government sites

    Teens were unhappy about cabinet

    Five computer hackers in the Netherlands have been handed sentences ranging from work orders to youth detention for disabling a number of websites operated by the Dutch government. A group of around 15 hackers, who called themselves '0x1fe Crew', carried out a Distributed Denial of Service (DdoS) attack last year on the …

    Public Sector 16 Mar 2005, 08:54

  • Voda goes east for $3.5bn acquisitions

    Romania and Czech Republic

    Vodafone has confirmed the $3.5bn (£1.8bn) acquisition of two Eastern European mobile phone companies from Telesystem International Wireless, a Canadian holding group. It is increasing its stake in Romanian firm MobiFon to 99 per cent and is buying 100 per cent of the shares in Oskar Mobil, which operates in the Czech Republic …

    Mobile 16 Mar 2005, 09:31

  • Sony confirms Euro PSP slippage

    'A few months not a few weeks'

    Sony has confirmed that the European launch of the PlayStation Portable has been delayed yet again, to ensure the US gets sufficient units to meet anticipated demand. Sony is usually unwilling to comment on hardware release dates, but in a rare moment of openness, the company last night told Reuters that it had put back the …

    Consoles 16 Mar 2005, 09:42

  • SEC accuse Qwest fat cats of cooking the books

    Disgorge the cream

    The Securities and Exchange Commission is taking civil action against Joseph Nacchio, ex-boss of Qwest, and six other executives including two former CFOs. The SEC accuses the seven of inflating Qwest earnings by some $3bn between 1999 and 2002. Regulators want the execs to return the money they made, believed to be as much as …

    Financial News 16 Mar 2005, 09:48

  • Use cases - design patterns for code jockeys

    Site offer End user bliss at 30% off

    The design patterns approach has become popular because it allows software practitioners to address recurring problems by applying a catalogue of proven solutions. Use cases have gained widespread popularity because they allow a system designer to determine how software will ultimately be "used" by the system's customer/end-user …

    Site News 16 Mar 2005, 09:49

  • IBM outs dual-core PowerPC

    G5-class 970MP revealed

    It's official. IBM has confirmed the existing of 'Antares', the dual-core G5-class PowerPC chip formally dubbed the 970MP. The company this week posted an advisory note on its website informing hardware developers how to use the chip's on-board temperature monitors - two thermal diodes - to ensure the chip doesn't overheat. …

    System Builder 16 Mar 2005, 10:09

  • IBM Germany will be Lenovo from May

    First off the mark

    IBM Germany will be the first country to offer Lenovo equipment from May this year. IBM is working with employees worldwide to sort out their transfer to Lenovo, the Chinese firm which bought IBM's PC business late last year. Marc Fischer, head of IBM's PC division in Germany, said: "According to the current state of affairs we …

    PCs 16 Mar 2005, 10:31

  • Telewest belted for 'spoof' mailshot

    You naughty young man

    Telewest has been ticked off for a broadband promo that the ad watchdog believed could cause "fear and distress" among pensioners. The junk mail was sent to more than 600,000 homes and was designed to look as if a Telewest engineer had called round to install broadband - even though the cableco hadn't been asked to visit. " …

    Small Biz 16 Mar 2005, 10:34

  • WTO backs Hynix against EU on DRAM levies

    Shares rise

    The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has sided with Hynix in the memory maker's dispute with the European Union. The WTO decision is preliminary and yet to be formally made public. But news of the ruling has leaked out, pushing Hynix's stock up 1.9 per cent, Bloomberg reports. The WTO publishes its final verdict in a month or so …

    Channel Register 16 Mar 2005, 10:55

  • IE7 details leak onto web

    Tabbed browsing from Microsoft, sources say

    Details of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7.0 are starting to emerge, and if the rumours are true, IE 7.0 will have tabbed browsing, a built-in news-aggregator, and could be integrated with Microsoft's currently-in-beta anti-spyware product. While Microsoft is being very coy in public, it is sharing much more with its partners, …

    Music and Media 16 Mar 2005, 10:58

  • Sheep have best friends: official

    They enjoy sex, too, says leading ovinologist

    It appears that around half of the world's scientific research community is currently engaged in investigating ovine separation anxiety, lesbian cows and stroppy bovine syndrome. The end result of this probing is uncertain, unless the boffins involved intend to ultimately propose equal rights for cattle - including the …

    Science 16 Mar 2005, 11:00

  • Microsoft does paid-for searches

    Goes after Google and Yahoo!

    Advertisers will be able to buy keywords on MSN's search page soon with the launch of MSN adCenter. The service will be unveiled later today by Yusuf Mehdi, VP of MSN Information Services and Merchant Platform division, at MSN's customer summit in Redmond. The service is likely to be similar to that offered by Google and Yahoo …

    Financial News 16 Mar 2005, 11:03

  • Denmark fines mobile operator for SMS spam

    Debitel sizzled by Danish court

    Debitel, a German-based telecoms operator, has been fined a record 2m kroner ($359,000) by a Danish commercial court for bombarding the customers of rival operator Telmore with junk messages touting its services. In April 2003, Debitel sent 12,000 SMS mobile phone text messages and 36,000 spam emails to subscribers of Telmore, …

    Mobile 16 Mar 2005, 11:13

  • Tulip lassoes leather laptop

    Rawhide PC

    Dutch computer outfit Tulip is to target the discerning PC punter with a new range of leather-clad laptops. Its E-go range, slated for October release in Europe (North America and Asia can get lifestyled up in January 2006), will offer "the maximum possible level of personalising abilities and freedom to create a great degree of …

    Bootnotes 16 Mar 2005, 12:15

  • Asterisk – a star of the future?

    Open source telephony is go

    Larry Ellison has his super yacht, Bill Gates has his humanitarian fund. For Mark Spencer, the symbol of his success is a hot tub. It may not be the most expensive trophy, but Spencer’s achievement may well prove to be just as revolutionary - turning the world of enterprise telephony on its head. The tub, now installed at …

    Data Networking 16 Mar 2005, 12:33

  • China builds launch platform number four

    The Asian space-race hotteth up

    China has confirmed that it is to build a new satellite launching platform, its fourth, in its southern province of Hainan. It is the latest in a string of space-related announcements from the country in recent months. The platform will be built in the southerly island province of Hainan, according to local news agency …

    Science 16 Mar 2005, 12:45

  • IBM's Ascential buy - good sense?

    Comment Hmmm... Yes

    I know that some readers will suggest that I am protesting too much, but the honest truth is that I did not know that IBM was going to acquire Ascential when I wrote last week about IBM needing ETL (extract, transform and load). Of course, it has been rumoured as a potential acquisition ever since IBM bought Informix, because …

    Software 16 Mar 2005, 13:00

  • Nintendo DS sets UK console sales record

    Highest first-week sales yet

    Nintendo sold 87,000 DS consoles in the UK in the two days after the handheld device was launched last Friday, beating the record set by the company's GameCube almost three years ago. The DS sales performance numbers come courtesy of Chart-Track, which released its latest weekly over-the-counter retail sales data this morning …

    Consoles 16 Mar 2005, 13:05

  • Ebbers conviction - 'victory for individual responsibility'

    See ya, don't wanna be ya

    In case you missed it, Bernard J Ebbers has been found guilty of orchestrating the $11bn (£5.8bn) accounting fraud in the three years to July 2002 that led to the collapse of US telecoms giant WorldCom, the loss of 20,000 jobs and more than $100bn in stock value. Not bad for a man who made much of his humble roots as an ex- …

    Financial News 16 Mar 2005, 13:16

  • Limewire patches serious snooping bugs

    P2P app bug leaves everything up for grabs

    Limewire users need to update their software following the discovery of a brace of vulnerabilities that could allow snoops to spy on any file on a computer running vulnerable versions of the popular P2P file-trading software. The pair of security bugs, reported in Limewire versions 3.9.6 through 4.6.0 (for Windows), allows an …

    Enterprise Security 16 Mar 2005, 13:28

  • Germans form spam-busting alliance

    Bigger stick

    An impressive cross-section of German trade organisations, including The Association of Consumer Protection Agencies (VZBZ), The Agency for the Prevention of Unfair Competition (WBZ) and The Association of the German Internet Sector (Eco), has announced a new alliance to fight spam in Germany. The Association of the German …

    Spam 16 Mar 2005, 13:48

  • Budget 2005: simpler VAT rules, technology boost

    Update Brown's budget for business

    Gordon Brown presented his 2005 Budget to the House of Commons this afternoon and promised British business a lighter regulatory environment and simpler VAT regulations. The UK chancellor celebrated what he claimed is Britain's 50th consecutive quarter of growth and predicted another four quarters of growth of between 2.5 and 3 …

    Small Biz 16 Mar 2005, 14:14

  • Sony updates PSX PVRs with PSP video support

    But when will we see it here?

    Once again reports of the demise of Sony's PSX PVR-meets-PS2 have proved premature. Last month's move to suspend production appears to have simply heralded the launch of a new version of the product. Two new models will go on sale in Japan on 15 April, Sony announced today. The DESR-5700, like its predecessor, the 5500, sports …

    Consoles 16 Mar 2005, 14:31

  • AMD 'pursuing foundry partnerships'

    Route to market leadership?

    AMD is pursuing processor production deals with the world's major chip foundries to support its goal of increasing x86 market share to 25 per cent. So claims Taiwanese newspaper the Economic News, which says the company has talked to the likes of TSMC, IBM and Fujitsu. We have argued in the past that AMD might be better off …

    Channel Register 16 Mar 2005, 14:32

  • Linspire debuts Linspire 5.0

    Download it or buy it in a box

    Linspire today released the latest version of its Linux-based desktop operating system, Linspire 5.0. The company says the new OS, which has been in development for a year, boasts 1,200 improvements across every core application. The system includes OpenOffice.org; Web browser, e-mail and instant messaging clients; multimedia …

    Operating Systems 16 Mar 2005, 14:36

  • Dutch plan audacious flying tricycle

    One wheel short of a flying car

    We don't quite know how this one originally got past us (rest assured an internal investigation is as we speak hunting the guilty parties), but we just learned that the Dutch have since last year been quietly working on a bold flying tricycle project - not quite the flying car we were promised but representing roughly 75 per …

    Bootnotes 16 Mar 2005, 14:46

  • Akamai buys Speedera

    Number one buys number two...

    Akamai Technologies is buying Speedera Networks for $130m in stock. Both firms provide businesses with access to distributed computing platforms so they can increase website capacity for peak periods without buying a lot of expensive hardware. Akamai will issue 12m shares to pay for Speedera and its Indian subsidiary. All …

    Data Networking 16 Mar 2005, 15:29

  • RIM settles NTP lawsuit for $450m

    Licenses contested patents

    Research In Motion has settled its remaining differences with its legal nemesis, NTP, paying $450m for the privilege, the erstwhile adversaries revealed today. In return, NTP will not only suspend the patent infringement litigation it brought against RIM but grant the Canadian firm - and, crucially, RIM's customers - " …

    Financial News 16 Mar 2005, 15:33

  • Systemax readies books

    Delayed accounts nearly finished...

    Systemax, Simply Computer's saviour, will have restated accounts ready by the end of the month after problems at its UK arm forced it to review seven quarters worth of results. Steven Goldschein, chief finance officer at New York-based Systemax, told El Reg: "We are on track to have figures ready by March 30, we're making good …

    Financial News 16 Mar 2005, 16:01

  • IT manager, turned cracker, jailed for five months

    'Payback' attack on former employers

    An IT manager was sentenced this week to five months imprisonment over a January 2003 hacking attack against his former employers, Santa Clara-based Manufacturing Electronic Sales Corporation (MESC). Mark Erfurt, 39, from Orange County, southern California, was also ordered to pay $45,000 in compensation to MESC by US District …

    Enterprise Security 16 Mar 2005, 16:04

  • UK to gain stem cell 'network'

    10-year development plan

    UK chancellor Gordon Brown today confirmed that the UK will benefit from a new national stem cell research network, dedicted to investigating the therapeutic benefits of the "master" cells as part of a 10-year development plan, Reuters reports. The announcement comes after leading UK stem cell researchers and big business …

    Science 16 Mar 2005, 16:10

  • Motorola: iTunes phone no-show due to Apple

    So why demo the Music Store then?

    Apple never fell shy of laying the blame for late Mac product introductions on its erstwhile processor partner, Motorola, but now the boot is apparently on the other foot. In a rather pleasing balancing of the books, Motorola has blamed its failure to show off its highly anticipated iTunes mobile phone on Apple. To be fair, it …

    Mobile 16 Mar 2005, 16:16

  • Nintendo DS handheld games console

    Review Just a PSP rival - or something more interesting?

    Let's get this out of the way. In a conventional battle of the year's big two handheld consoles, Sony's PSP would make mincemeat of the Nintendo DS. In terms of graphics and audio performance the DS is at least half a generation behind. It doesn't look as good. It doesn't feel as good. It won't - for the moment at least - play …

    Reviews 16 Mar 2005, 16:16

  • 'What does HP do?' asks Europe's biggest dealer

    Computacenter boss hits HP for six

    Mike Norris, the plain-speaking chief executive of Computacenter, has launched a scathing attack on Hewlett-Packard - the firm's principal trading partner. Talking to The Independent, Norris said: "If you look at it, what do they [HP] do? What's their job? The software is made by Microsoft, Intel make the processors, that's …

    Hardware 16 Mar 2005, 16:39

  • Spain spearheads net paedo dragnet

    Expects 500 arrests worldwide

    Spain's interior ministry has announced that it is co-ordinating a 12-nation dragnet against net child pornography and expects around 500 arrests worldwide. Police are making simultaneous searches of homes in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, France, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Panama, Spain, Sweden and …

    Music and Media 16 Mar 2005, 16:47

  • Dust devils spring clean Martian rover

    Power boost and atmospheric science all in one

    Spirit, the Mars rover, has snapped pictures of two dust devils swirling over the surface of the red planet. One was even was captured by both of the rover's cameras, allowing the mission scientists to calculate its speed and direction. This is the first time dust devils have been seen on Mars since the 1997 Pathfinder mission …

    Science 16 Mar 2005, 16:57