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7th April 2005 Archive

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  • Desktop Linux vs. Windows - don't get emotional

    Reg Reader Studies You said it

    You've seen the raw figures behind Quocirca's look at why companies choose Windows over Linux or vice versa. Now, you're ready for the rationale - the real decision-making meat and potatoes that push a company toward or away from Linux. Quocirca, working off responses from thousands of Register readers, discovered a couple …

    Applications 7 Apr 2005, 07:28

  • Police hard drive sold on eBay

    Secrets included FOC

    A computer hard drive, containing confidential data from the Brandenburg police in Germany, has been auctioned over eBay for €20, according to a report by Spiegel, a leading weekly German newspaper. It was bought by a student. The used 20GB hard drive capacity contained, according to Spiegel, internal alarm plans on how the …

    Security 7 Apr 2005, 08:48

  • Chip maker Centaur out-paces Intel, Samsung

    Charity long-distance running, not processor performance

    It's official: semiconductor developer Centaur, part of VIA, has rival chip maker Intel licked. Yes, the processor giant proved less fleet of foot than its considerably smaller rival... during the 28th Statesman Capitol 10,000 race this past weekend. The sponsored 10km jog, organised by the Austin American-Statesman newspaper, …

    Bootnotes 7 Apr 2005, 10:00

  • Sony patents brain controller

    Stimulating

    Sony has been awarded a patent for a technology that could conjure up smells, tastes and other sensations in the brains of movie-goers. Specifically, the patent (US Patent 6,729,337) covers "a method for generating sensory data onto the human neural cortex". The more wary of you may wonder whether we have been suckered by a …

    Science 7 Apr 2005, 10:23

  • Microsoft CFO has left the building

    No replacement announced

    John Connors finally handed back his Microsoft ID badge last week, leaving the software giant without a CFO, for the time being at least. Connors announced his departure from Microsoft back in January. After five years in the financial hot seat at Microsoft, he will become a partner in a venture capital firm. Microsoft said at …

    Financial News 7 Apr 2005, 10:23

  • TDC sniffing around Colt - report

    'Rumour and speculation'

    Danish telco TDC has declined to comment on a press report that it could be interested in snapping up Colt Telecom. Swiss IT business magazine, IT Reseller reports that TDC is about to buy Colt. A spokeswoman for TDC told The Register: "We have a policy not to comment on rumour or speculation, which this is." A spokeswoman …

    Financial News 7 Apr 2005, 10:37

  • Former PC tycoon faces jail over fraud

    The Forsyth saga

    Former PC tycoon Charles Forsyth, who fled the UK in 2002 during a Serious Fraud Office investigation into the collapse of his company, Personal Computer Science (PCS), was warned yesterday to prepare for prison, after he pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading charges. Newcastle Crown Court heard Wednesday that Forsyth, 45, …

    Channel 7 Apr 2005, 11:45

  • IDC sees slow year for IT in Europe

    Tepid economy and weak dollar to blame

    Companies across Europe will not be increasing their IT budgets in 2005 with the same enthusiasm as in recent years, according to analyst house IDC. The firm predicts that the IT sector will see "modest" growth of around four per cent this yeaer, as companies deal with the economic fallout of currency fluctuations, high oil …

    IT Director 7 Apr 2005, 11:50

  • Napster UK touts TV, laptop promos

    Branding excercise

    Napster UK announced a pair of promotional deals this week, one targeting TV viewers, the other notebook buyers. British broadcaster Channel 4 has commissioned six 11-minute shows from producer Blaze TV which will go out from 16 April under the title Napster Live. Each programme will be dedicated to a specific artist or band, …

    Financial News 7 Apr 2005, 11:52

  • Hotel webcam for Charles' happy day

    What does she think she's wearing

    The big day is almost upon us. Come Saturday, the eyes of the land will be trained on one spot. No, not Bechers Brook, we’re talking Windsor, where Charles and Camilla will finally tie the knot. And for those of you who’d like to get up close and personal at Chuck and Milly’s big day but don’t have the requisite number of …

    Music and Media 7 Apr 2005, 12:29

  • Cracked insulation delays shuttle roll-out

    A 'minor imperfection', NASA says

    The Space Shuttle Discovery was set to begin its journey to the launch pad yesterday, but its departure was delayed when hairline crack was found in the foam insulation on the external fuel tanks. After a two hour delay, during which engineers examined the crack and judged it safe, the craft finally rolled out of the assembly …

    Science 7 Apr 2005, 12:35

  • US tops junk mail list of shame - again

    Boca Raton, so much to answer for

    The US has once again topped a list of spam producing countries. One in three (35.7 per cent) of the spam messages intercepted by security firm Sophos's global network of spam traps between January and March 2005 came from the USA. South Korea, second in the chart, accounted for a further 25 per cent of junk messages, with third …

    Spam 7 Apr 2005, 12:41

  • O2 and EasyAir avoid High Court spat

    'Amicable' settlement

    EasyAir Limited and O2 have reached an out of court settlement and agreed not to press ahead with legal action against one another. EasyAir - which trades as OpenAir - and O2 had been involved in a legal spat after the former O2 reseller accused the mobilephoneco of overcharging punters. In one example, it was alleged that O2 …

    Financial News 7 Apr 2005, 13:02

  • Congress moots mandatory DRM scheme

    Napster shall speak unto iPod - or else...

    The US Congress is pondering laws to force digital music companies to use a single, unified DRM system, in order to allow songs purchased from any download service to run on any hardware. The House of Representatives' intellectual property sub-committee met yesterday to discuss such a move, proposed by Lamar Smith, a Texas …

    Financial News 7 Apr 2005, 13:05

  • Kingston unveils 'fastest' DDR 2 DIMMs

    Thanks for the memory

    Memory vendor Kingston Technology today said it had started shipping what it claims are the world's first DDR 2 DIMMs clocked to 750MHz. The 1GB modules are available under the company's overclocker-oriented HyperX brand and sold in pairs for dual-channel motherboards. The unbuffered DIMMs have been tested to operate at PC2- …

    System Builder 7 Apr 2005, 13:09

  • eBay deletes 'buy my vote' auctions

    Election 2005 So that's that then

    Ebay has begun deleting auctions selling votes for the forthcoming UK general election. A number of auctions have appeared over the last couple of days with people trying to flog their vote even though it is illegal to do so. One seen by El Reg which has raised, so far, the princely sum of £3.30 read: "If you're willing to pay …

    Public Sector 7 Apr 2005, 14:05

  • Dating site hack suspect arrested

    Sheffield man, 37, allegedly wrote viruses too

    Police last week arrested a 37-year-old man from Sheffield on suspicion of hacking into the website of London dating agency loveandfriends.com. The unnamed suspect allegedly hacked into the site, took control of a small number of member's profiles (which were defaced), and made demands for payment in exchange for holding off on …

    Security 7 Apr 2005, 14:10

  • Eidos board backs SCi bid

    Unanimous recommendation

    The board of troubled UK games publisher Eidos has recommended the company's shareholders accept the bid launched on 22 March by rival publisher SCi. The board had previously backed an offer from investment group Elevation Partners. "The board, who has been so advised by UBS Investment Bank, its financial advisor, consider that …

    Financial News 7 Apr 2005, 14:22

  • Mio 268 GPS navigation system

    Review Or, there and back again

    The price of satellite navigation kit is has fallen to an affordable level, but does this mean corners have been cut? I put the latest entry-level GPS from Mio to the ultimate test: a British Easter Bank Holiday weekend, writes Stuart Miles. Bank Holiday driving is horrible at the best of times. On my weekend trip down to …

    Peripherals 7 Apr 2005, 14:38

  • Not voting? Tell the world you're notapathetic.com

    Election 2005 Election sniffles continue

    Is all the election madness is getting to you already? (Have you no stamina?). Maybe you're not overly enamoured with the political process in Blighty, and think politicians have the listening capacity of the average brick wall and feel like boycotting the whole thing. Maybe you don't like the candidates in your constituency, …

    Public Sector 7 Apr 2005, 15:21

  • Fujitsu says size doesn't matter in Itanium server game

    Upcoming systems are small and late

    Fujitsu did a bit of disappointing this week when it announced new Itanium systems that are later and smaller than expected. The server maker won't start selling the new PrimeQuest 480 and PrimeQuest 440 servers until June. It had once hoped to get out this fresh line of systems that use Intel's Madison version of Itanium by …

    Servers 7 Apr 2005, 15:29

  • Mosaid sues Infineon - again

    Other patent clash not resolved yet

    Ottawa, Canada-based chip technology developer Mosaid has sued Infineon, claiming the German memory maker has infringed three of its patents. The intellectual property in question are US patents 6,657,919 and 6,057,676, and US Reissued Patent RE37,641, all covering DRAM chips and relating to delay locked loop, cell plate …

    Financial News 7 Apr 2005, 15:33

  • Former PC tycoon jailed for fraud

    42 months imprisonment for clan heir

    Charles Forsyth, who fled the UK in 2002 during a Serious Fraud Office investigation into the collapse of his company Personal Computer Science (PCS), has been jailed for three and a half years for fraud offences. Newcastle Crown Court heard that Forsyth, 45, of Wheatley near Oxford, resorted to increasingly dishonest measures …

    Channel 7 Apr 2005, 15:52

  • Bulldog service suffers 'performance issue'

    Soon be sorted, says LLU ISP

    Bulldog - the broadband ISP of Cable & Wireless - says that a "performance issue" that hit part of its network in London will be sorted by the end of the day. Readers who've contacted The Register said the service has been patchy over the last 48 hours or so. But posts on ADSL Guide suggest the problem has been going on for …

    Developer 7 Apr 2005, 15:59

  • MPs call for radical reform of UK university science

    Change, or fizzle out

    The House of Commons select committee for science and technology has called for a radical reform in the way universities organise and fund the teaching of science subjects. It says short-termism has led to a decline is students graduating with science degrees, and has prompted departmental closures. Acknowledging that there is …

    Developer 7 Apr 2005, 16:09

  • More criticism piled on .Net report

    CORE++ joins chorus, ICANN seeks to calm situation

    The furore surrounding the report on .net ownership has intensified with another highly critical assessment by one of the bidders, and ICANN sticking to its guns. CORE++ has joined Denic and Sentan in condemning the report, its evaluators, Telcordia, and the decision-making process. The depth of anger and repeated calls for an …

    Financial News 7 Apr 2005, 16:43

  • Can compliance-challenged Veritas sell compliance?

    Files 10K at the third attempt

    Can you sell regulatory compliance software and services when your own company has trouble meeting regulatory demands? That's the question Veritas CEO Gary Bloom must be asking himself this week. Veritas yesterday delivered its much-anticipated 10-K filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The software maker …

    Storage 7 Apr 2005, 19:47

  • Life on earth follows 62 million year cycle

    Biodiversity has a rhythm

    Life on earth follows a mysterious 62 million year cycle that has left researchers stumped for an explanation. An analysis of fossil records for the past 542 million years shows that biodiversity fluctuates according to the cycle, which holds true for both extinctions and new species. Physicist Richard Muller and his grad …

    Science 7 Apr 2005, 23:54

  • AOL launches VoIP

    No price war just yet

    AOL has made its much anticipated jump into the internet telephony business, unveiling a number of calling plans designed both to keep existing subscribers and win new business in the US. Existing subscribers get the option of unlimited local calls for $18.99 (with an introductory offer of $13.99 for the first three months); …

    VoIP 7 Apr 2005, 23:56