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4th May 2005 Archive

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  • Sun critic trades up on Wall Street

    The Loon is number-one

    In a move likely to leave Scott McNealy choking on his cornflakes, Forbes.com has named Merrill Lynch analyst Steven Milunovich Wall St's number-one analyst. Milunovich, lovingly referred to as "The Loon" at El Reg, has been rated top stock picker in computers and peripherals scoring an excess return of nearly 30 per cent. The …

    Financial News 4 May 2005, 07:16

  • Online marketplace for computer contractors opens doors

    The Resource Broker

    A new UK service launches today which aims to make life easier for people offering IT services. The Resource Broker is an online business-to-business exchange: it is free to providers who can register their details, location and what their skills are. When another member creates a relevant new business opportunity they will be …

    Small Biz 4 May 2005, 08:19

  • Iona signs-up partner specialist

    Team work

    Iona Technologies has named a new vice president, someone versed in business process management (BPM), to drive partners around Iona's integration suite and Corba software. Robert Napolitano has been named vice president of corporate development by Iona, which hopes to capitalize on his experience in building relationships with …

    Software 4 May 2005, 08:21

  • OASIS to define SOA

    Build it and they shan't come

    A cross-industry, joint-customer effort at web services group OASIS designed to put some beef into the term Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) has hit an early snag. Some of the biggest names in enterprise computing, companies whose software is expected to provide the underpinnings of SOAs, are dragging their feet on joining a …

    Developer 4 May 2005, 08:48

  • IBM Lenovo gets new head

    Eyes dotted, teas crossed

    Lenovo has appointed a chief executive as it completes the buyout of IBM's PC business. Lenovo is the proud new owner of IBM’s PC business which has makes it the world’s third largest PC maker behind Dell and HP. The deal needed US government approval because Lenovo is part-owned by the Chinese government. Stephen Ward, Lenovo …

    PCs 4 May 2005, 09:09

  • Malaysia to fingerprint all new-born children

    Blunkett curses missed opportunity...

    Malaysia’s National Registration Department is doubtful that it would be useful to fingerprint all babies born in the country. Malaysian police are proposing all new-borns should have their fingerprint and footprints taken before they leave hospital, according to the BBC. The National Registration Department is concerned that …

    ID 4 May 2005, 09:28

  • Ericsson axes 250 US jobs

    Productivity gains

    Ericsson is to axe 250 jobs in the US, the Swedish telecoms equipment giant announced today. The jobs are to disappear over the next six-nine months at its Mobile Systems CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) unit. The division's HQ in San Diego, California will then close. Ericsson is to "simplify its Mobile Systems CDMA unit …

    Financial News 4 May 2005, 09:31

  • Apple updates iMac, eMac lines

    Tiger included

    Apple has updated its iMac and eMac consumer and education-oriented desktops, improving specifications and bundling Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' too. The new iMacs bump the desktops' G5-class PowerPC CPUs clock speeds to 2GHz, with an entry-level unit clocked at 1.8GHz. Apple is now building Wi-Fi (aka AirPort Extreme) into the …

    Mac Channel 4 May 2005, 09:34

  • Mobile email hits the road

    Gaining pace, but issues remain

    Mobile communications means different things to different people, but some common meaning is starting to gather momentum. It used to be the case that when you asked employees if they had mobile access to email they would say yes if they had a modem on their laptop and dialed in to a central server from a hotel room. Hardly …

    Mobile 4 May 2005, 09:58

  • Sirius jumps on podcast bandwagon

    New show marks attack of the pod people

    US Sirius Satellite Radio is latching onto the "podcasting" phenomenon, launching a daily four-hour show featuring podcast, self-published syndicated radio shows. The new show, broadcast every weekday from 13 May, will be hosted by Adam Curry, the former MTV deejay who helped create technological tools for podcasting. Curry - …

    Music and Media 4 May 2005, 10:09

  • AT&T aims VoIP at business

    Bunch of new services

    AT&T is offering a bunch of Voice over Internet Protocol services to business customers. The network-based service is aimed at enterprise customers with remote locations and smaller businesses. The company is launching voice services immediately and will offer conferencing and messaging shortly. Startups like Skype and tech …

    VoIP 4 May 2005, 10:43

  • IBM offers to settle hard drive action class action

    Maintains innocence

    IBM has offered to settle a class action lawsuit brought against it by owners of Deskstar 75GXP hard drives. The suits against the company allege that Deskstar drive in question couldn't reliably store or retrieve data. They also accuse IBM of making "false and inaccurate statements and representations concerning the reliability …

    Peripherals 4 May 2005, 10:46

  • Ireland's first internet-only bank opens

    'A higher rate without penalties, fees or charges'

    RaboDirect, a subsidiary of the Dutch online bank Rabobank, launched Ireland's first completely online bank yesterday. The Dutch banking giant, which entered the Irish market in 1994 through an office in the Irish Financial Services Centre (IFSC), made its mark on the Irish market when it bought ACC Bank in 2002. The bank will …

    Financial News 4 May 2005, 10:47

  • US reveals intellectual property blacklist

    Threatens IP bandits

    The US has published a blacklist of those of its trading partners that are most ineffective when it comes to protecting intellectual property rights (IPRs). The "Special 301" report from the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) fingers Ukraine as the worst offender. The report, published annually by the Office of the …

    Music and Media 4 May 2005, 10:48

  • ASE factory blaze impact 'limited'

    Vendors fiddle while chip test plant burns

    Advanced Semiconductor Engineering's Chungli chip packaging and testing plant caught fire on Sunday, but most of the company's customers, including Intel, ATI and Nvidia appear to suffered more inconvenience than harm. The fire broke out at the plant at 2pm, following what the company believes was a boiler explosion, ASE said …

    System Builder 4 May 2005, 11:43

  • Spyware scumbags make $2bn a year

    Cash from chaos

    Spyware ­ invasive programs that generate pop-ups, hijack home pages, redirect searches and poison DNS files ­ generates an estimated $2bn in revenue a year1, according to a study by anti-spyware firm Webroot. It estimates the surreptitious spyware and adware market "may be approaching 25 per cent" of the already-established …

    Malware 4 May 2005, 11:46

  • eBay customer sends menacing emails to top execs

    Lands in court

    A Romanian-born man has pleaded guilty to sending threatening emails to top execs at eBay. In emails sent to chief exec Meg Whitman and chairman Pierre Omidyar, Florin Horicianu, 37, said he would "haunt and hurt them and their families and that he would locate them anywhere". Horicianu sent the threatening emails following a …

    Music and Media 4 May 2005, 11:48

  • Edenbrook secures £1m VC funds

    Elderstreet opens purse strings

    Software consultancy Edenbrook is getting a £1m investment from venture capitalists Elderstreet. Edenbrook will use the money to finance its growth plans, both organically and through acquisition. It is kicking off by buying Moliere, a Manchester-based consultancy which employs 41 people. Edenbrook names Microsoft, Oracle, IBM …

    Channel Register 4 May 2005, 12:12

  • Licence models: time for change

    Comment We need flexible software licensing

    IT systems have developed with nearly unbelievable speed over the last twenty years - at least at a technological level. However, some factors have not kept pace and need to change. The way in which software is licensed demands root and branch alterations. The majority of the licensing models in use today date back two decades …

    Servers 4 May 2005, 12:42

  • IE-only sites 'useful as chocolate teapot'

    Letters Reg readers give forth on browser accessibility

    This week you have mostly been getting upset about web designers and their occasional reluctance to design browser independent sites. The particular site that has you up in arms is a new IT brokerage site, which says it aims to put contractors in touch with contracts. All you need to do is register. Except that it turns out that …

    Letters 4 May 2005, 12:44

  • BEA to triple in size

    Analysis Can they do it?

    According to Alfred Chuang, chairman and CEO, BEA plans to triple in size over the next three or so years, going from a $1bn company to $3bn. For a well-established company this is an aggressive target; so why does he think it can be done? The simple maths are that BEA has about 10 per cent of the total application …

    Developer 4 May 2005, 13:10

  • Claranet closer to VIA buyout

    Definitive agreements 'executed'

    Claranet has taken another step forward in its bid to acquire VIA NET.WORKS. The UK ISP has "executed definitive agreements for the sale of all the company's operations to Claranet" for $26.4m in cash. Claranet has also agreed to sub VIA with a loan of up to $7m to help the Europe and US-based business ISP carry on trading …

    Financial News 4 May 2005, 13:12

  • SCL zooms around Silverstone

    Case open

    SCL, the Surbiton-based components distie, has added Silverstone cases to its vendor roster. Silverstone is from Taiwan and is best known for its aluminium alloy computer cases. It also makes power supplies, case fans and computer cases. SCL is Silverstone's second UK distie, joining CJC Computers on the starting block. ®

    Channel Register 4 May 2005, 13:32

  • Sony Everquest games exchange reviled

    'One of the worst decisions in the history of gaming'

    Sony's trading platform could change character of gaming A number of people have written into Faultline, pointing out the level of anger and frustration that has accompanied Sony's decision to open an asset exchange website for items that improve players' standing in its EverQuest massively multiplayer online role playing game …

    Financial News 4 May 2005, 14:20

  • Seagate 400GB Pushbutton Backup HDD

    Review Reassurance for the RAID-less?

    With hard drive capacities increasing at an exponential rate backing up your PC has become an increasingly difficult task. As far as capacities go, Hitachi is in the lead at the moment, thanks to its recently announced 500GB drive. The Seagate 400GB Pushbutton Backup external hard drive might not be able to back up the Hitachi …

    Reviews 4 May 2005, 14:21

  • Billing snafu hits Bulldog

    These things happen

    Bulldog has blamed a "hiccup with its billing system" for a delay in collecting subscription fees. Some punters of the broadband ISP had originally received an email informing them that their payment had been declined and failure to act could lead to an interruption of their service. Shortly after, Bulldog issued an email …

    Telecoms 4 May 2005, 14:24

  • BT buys Cisco reseller

    Skynet

    BT has snapped up SkyNet Systems Limited (SkyNet), a leading Cisco-only dealer, to bolster its data networking services. The UK's monster telco refused to say how much it paid for the company but it's understood to be somewhere between £10m and £20m. No jobs will be lost as part of the acquisition. Based near Oxford, SkyNet …

    Data Networking 4 May 2005, 15:10

  • Bluetooth to evolve via UWB

    Global wireless tech to incorporate ultrawideband

    The Bluetooth Special Interest Group - the body that controls the wireless connectivity standard - has formally chosen ultrawideband as the foundation for future versions of the technology. It comes as no great surprise. Over a year ago, at Intel Developer Forum, it was made clear that Bluetooth would ultimately establish …

    Wireless 4 May 2005, 15:22

  • Yahoo! has minimal spyware, adware revs streams

    Not our definition of 'minimal'

    This story has expired from The Register's archive. You can now find it at its original location on the Forbes.com website: http://forbes.com/markets/2005/05/04/0504automarketscan05.html?partner=theregister.

    Malware 4 May 2005, 15:54

  • UK computer boffins build sign language avatar

    Nifty

    Computer scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have joined forces with animation specialists at Televirtual, and the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) to create a signing avatar capable of translating written web pages into British sign language. Two signing experts from the RNID helped to translate …

    Music and Media 4 May 2005, 16:01

  • Teen eBay fraudster sentenced to 12 months

    Duped eBayers out of £45,000

    A teenager who conned eBay customers out of £45,000 has been sentenced to one year's detention today. Philip Shortman, now 18, of Chester Close, New Inn, Pontypool, South Wales, admitted 21 counts of obtaining property by deception in October of last year, and has asked that another 64 offences be taken into account. Cardiff …

    Music and Media 4 May 2005, 16:10

  • Apple iPod grabs half of US Flash player market

    Already commands HDD players

    Apple's iPod Shuffle took more than half of the US Flash-based music player market last month, retail market watcher NPD has said, by way of a report from Merrill Lynch. NPD's stats put the Shuffle's share of the retail arena on 58 per cent, up from 43 per cent in February. Apple already commands the hard drive-based player …

    Mobile 4 May 2005, 16:12

  • Unions hold powwow with Marconi over job fears

    'Touching the void without knowing whether the rope will be cut'

    Union officials held "frank and constructive" discussions with troubled telecoms equipment maker Marconi this morning over the future of 10,000 jobs at the company. The hastily arranged meeting followed Marconi's announcement last week that it had failed to win a chunk of a £10bn telecoms project from BT. Shares in Marconi …

    IT Director 4 May 2005, 16:39

  • DataCore gets cheap and dirty with iSCSI SANs

    SANmelody 2.0 - low-cost, high-end

    Relatively cheap but sophisticated storage management tools continue to make their way down market thanks, in part, to renewed interest in the iSCSI protocol. The latest company trying to push this trend is DataCore Software, which has this week released Version 2.0 of its SANmelody software. This software basically lets a …

    Storage 4 May 2005, 18:42

  • HP prints up thousands of severance packages

    Hurd this before

    Some things never change at HP, regardless of the highly-paid hood ornament listed as CEO. So we learned this week as word leaked out that close to 2,000 workers have taken voluntary severance packages and left the company. HP began offering the packages back on April 1 - the start of new CEO Mark Hurd's rule. Staffers in the …

    IT Director 4 May 2005, 20:50

  • IBM to fix bad quarter by axing 13,000 jobs

    Heads roll to shareholders

    IBM will carve up to 13,000 workers from its payrolls with European staffers taking the majority of the hit, the company announced today. The actual layoff range provided by IBM stretches between 10,000 and 13,000 workers, who will be axed via both voluntary and involuntary means. These actions will lead to IBM taking between a …

    IT Director 4 May 2005, 21:54