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20th May 2005 Archive

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  • LAND attack threat 'not significant', says Microsoft

    French alert doesn't stack up to much, apparently

    Microsoft has rejected the seriousness of a security warning about its software. On Tuesday the French Security Incident Response Team (FrSIRT) issued an alert about a security bug in Microsoft's implementation of TCP/IP in Windows XP and 2003. The flaw in the Windows IPv6 TCP/IP stack means systems are liable to crash when …

    Security 20 May 2005, 07:17

  • Software as service: read the small print

    Think 'contract', says Gartner

    Garter is advising organizations subscribing to software as a service, delivered by an emerging generation of suppliers, to "read the small print". Customers should draw-up water-tight contracts and monitor their relationship with suppliers, to avoid over-spending. "When you buy a subscription, monitor it - don't keep throwing …

    Applications 20 May 2005, 07:26

  • Oracle teams up with Zend for PHP love-in

    Which is nice

    A popular open source scripting language has won its second major database backer, following a development deal between Oracle and PHP specialist Zend Technologies. The database giant is teaming-up with Zend to make it easier and quicker for PHP developers to build and deploy database-driven applications on Oracle. Zend Core …

    Developer 20 May 2005, 07:30

  • Microsoft takes strimmer to purchase agreements

    Less paperwork, same money

    Simplified purchase agreements are next in a mission by Microsoft to make it easier for customers to navigate the company's licensing maze. Cori Hartje, director of marketing and readiness for Microsoft's worldwide licensing and pricing organization, told El Reg Microsoft plans to cut the size of its purchase agreements by more …

    Software 20 May 2005, 07:34

  • Cost of net phone calls may rise

    Price pressure follows 911 ruling

    This story has expired from The Register's archive. You can now find it at its original location on the Forbes.com website: http://www.forbes.com/technology/2005/05/19/cx_de_0519ruling.html?partner=theregister.

    VoIP 20 May 2005, 09:12

  • Eidos board quits

    SCi in charge

    Eidos's new owner, SCi, has put three of its senior executives on the British games publisher's board after all the previous incumbents quit this week. Out went Eidos chairman John van Kuffeler, CEO Mike McGarvey, CFO Stuart Cruickshank, European MD Jonathan Kemp and Creative Director Ian Livingstone. In come SCi CEO Jana …

    Financial News 20 May 2005, 09:33

  • Steve Jobs: smoke and mirrors or iCon?

    Review The book he tried to ban

    Steve Jobs knows a thing or two about publicity. He gave a fantastic dollop to the latest unauthorised biography about him - "iCon: Steve Jobs - The Greatest Second Act in The History of Business", by Jeffrey S. Young and William L. Simon - by pulling all copies of all books by the publisher, John Wiley, from Apple's retail …

    Bootnotes 20 May 2005, 09:48

  • Scientists hail stem cell breakthrough

    Therapeutic cloning advance

    Scientists in South Korea have successfully produced stem cells by cloning embryos that are genetically identical to specific individuals. The research team has created 11 new lines of stem cells by implanting genetic material from patients into donated eggs, successfully demonstrating the principle of therapeutic cloning, …

    Science 20 May 2005, 10:10

  • UK docs demand live liver transplants

    Pressing need

    In a case which is gripping the US, a convicted killer wants to donate half his liver to his dying sister before he is executed next week. It couldn't happen in the UK. For one thing, the UK doesn't much approve of lethal injections. Fair enough, but neither does it practice regular live liver transplantation - even though the …

    Science 20 May 2005, 10:12

  • Skype coughs to phone number cock-up

    Numbers already allocated

    Skype has been forced to recall a batch of geographic UK telephone numbers after issuing them by mistake. The London telephone numbers were made available on the VoIP operator's web site last week. Owners of the new London numbers beginning 020 7 would have been able to have their calls routed to their PCs while anyone calling …

    Media 20 May 2005, 10:15

  • MS UK recruits FBI man

    New head of security

    Microsoft has head-hunted a senior legal officer from the FBI to become its chief security advisor in the UK. Ed Gibson joins Microsoft in July from the FBI, where he has held senior positions as a special agent for 20 years. Since 2000, he has served as the FBI’s assistant legal attaché in the UK, where he has been responsible …

    Security 20 May 2005, 10:20

  • Windows file permissions: more is less

    Too complex by half

    I have a funny story. A while back I was showing my son the cool speech recognition features in Microsoft Word. I got out my laptop, went through the configuration and training process by dictating into the microphone. My son, twelve, could barely hold back the laughter as he listened to me read to my computer various excerpts …

    Security 20 May 2005, 10:53

  • Feds botch wireless security

    Open to attack, claims report

    Federal agencies in the US are leaving their wireless networks open to attack by not implementing key security measures, according to a report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Tuesday. Wireless networks – also known as Wi-Fi or Wireless Local Area Networks or WLANs – can fall victim to malicious hacking …

    Security 20 May 2005, 11:02

  • Lycos Germany bins IP address data

    Legal threat prompts action

    Lycos DSL in Germany says it will no longer store dynamic IP addresses of its customers, now that a specialist on data privacy laws from Frankfurt University has threatened to sue the company. Jonas Breyer had asked Lycos what data was kept on him and whether that information was shared with backbone providers, but the ISP …

    Media 20 May 2005, 11:10

  • Open source search engine trawls free code

    Koders goes FOSS hunting

    A small software start-up has gone massive, releasing a search engine aimed at open source developers that can churn through 190m lines of public code. Koders, based in Santa Monica, California, trawled through open source software repositories hosted by universities and consortiums and groups such as Apache, Mozilla, Novell …

    Developer 20 May 2005, 11:41

  • Kingston flogs Omnetica France

    Au revoir

    Hull-based Kingston Communications has flogged the French operation of Omnetica, the IP networking operation it acquired late last year. Omnetica France, which trades as Arche Communication, has been snapped up by Belgium-based Telindus for €47m (£32.3m). The deal still needs the nod from French competition authorities but is …

    Broadband 20 May 2005, 11:55

  • BOFH: Lucky in computing...

    Episode 16 ...unlucky in love. Sigh

    It may be true what they say about being lucky in computing and unlucky in love. Sigh. Of course it might just be me saying that but still there's the odd shred of evidence to support it. Take the PFY for instance, who's as lucky in love as Grace Kelly is at cornering. Sure, he can semi-regularly win Spider with four suits but …

    BOFH 20 May 2005, 12:01

  • Huge iceberg menaces Antarctica

    Collision with ice tongue imminent

    The monster iceberg responsible for breaking off a sizeable chunk of the Drygalski ice tongue in Antarctica is on the rampage again. This time, the Long-Island-sized chunk of ice is heading towards the ice tongue of the Aviator Glacier, where the latest images (snapped on 18 May) reveal it is heading rapidly for a collision. …

    Science 20 May 2005, 12:05

  • Vonage UK opens for business

    VoIP kit goes on sale in 136 Staples stores

    US-based VoIP call company Vonage formally set up shop in the UK today, moving its no-time-limit call package for £10 a month out of the testing phase it's been in since January. The tenner, paid up front by rolling credit-card billing, gives you free calls to other Vonage users and to landlines in the UK and the Republic of …

    VoIP 20 May 2005, 13:14

  • Google catches Portalitis

    But we don't think it's serious

    The company that did more than any other to end the disease of Portalitis in the dot com era has succumbed to the infection itself. Google yesterday unveiled personalization features that allow the user to turn the famously spartan Google search page into a cluttered montage of its various services, and feeds from other sites …

    Media 20 May 2005, 13:25

  • UK phone scammers yet to pay fines

    That's not ACE

    ICSTIS has yet to recoup a single penny after fining 16 premium-rate phone services £1.3m following a crackdown on rogue operators. In March, the premium rate watchdog warned punters to be on their guard against dodgy operators using illegal Automated Calling Equipment (ACE). The ACE was used to call people telling them they …

    Broadband 20 May 2005, 13:39

  • Yahoo! chat bug gives scope for mischief

    Remote disconnect risk

    Security researchers have discovered a denial of service vulnerability involving Yahoo!'s popular instant messaging client. Hackers can potentially disconnect users from chat sessions by sending malformed packets to Yahoo! Messenger servers. The flaw stems from a glitch in processing routines used to process URL handler links, …

    Security 20 May 2005, 13:42

  • Ask Jeeves buys Excite Europe

    Excited? Nah, us neither

    Ask Jeeves - the snooty search engine fronted by a butler - has acquired Excite Europe from ISP Tiscali. In a statement Ask Jeeves said that "financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed". Tiscali, on the other hand, wasn't quite so stuck-up and reported that Ask Jeeves had coughed up €6.1m for the business. The …

    Financial News 20 May 2005, 14:07

  • ATI X600 Pro All-in-Wonder

    Review Tour-de-force or tour-de-farce?

    Whether they'd top your list when it comes to gaming or not, few can argue that ATI's All-In-Wonder series of graphics cards have continued to lead the way with their powerful blend of multimedia features. Fending off the competition for a year or two is a noteworthy achievement in the cutthroat world of PC graphics, but the …

    Reviews 20 May 2005, 14:29

  • iPod Health Warnings - view the best

    Competition We have a winner

    Ph-hhrrrt! With the tinny rasp that can only be a fanfare of trumpets encoded at 128 kbps, we proudly announce the winners of our iPod competition. The winner doesn't win an iPod, we're too stingy to allow such generosity and in any case, every competition in the world seems to have an iPod as a prize these days. No, it's our …

    Bootnotes 20 May 2005, 14:41

  • US gov seeks space billboard ban

    Updated The sky's the limit

    The US government is seeking powers that will allow it to ban billboards in space. The Federal Aviation Administration has put forward plans to amend regulations so it can prohibit "obtrusive" advertising in zero gravity. The fear is not about adding to the already growing band of space junk but about retaining space as a thing …

    Bootnotes 20 May 2005, 14:42

  • Apple recalls notebook batteries - again

    Another year, another faulty LG Chem powerpack

    Apple has asked 128,000 notebook computer users to return their PowerBook or iBook batteries on the off-chance the components could overheat and catch fire. The batteries were produced by South Korea's LG Chem, which also made the 15in PowerBook batteries Apple was forced to recall last August. The recall, which covers all …

    Mac Channel 20 May 2005, 14:47

  • New fangled weather haters labelled Luddites

    Letters And everyone hates ticket touts

    Your biggest worry this week was the weather. How commendably British of you all. Naturally this was prompted by the BBC's stunning decision to rid the world of clearly legible weather maps, isobars and weather fronts, and introduce new graphics, apparently to confuse and upset the punters. Especially those in Scotland, who …

    Letters 20 May 2005, 14:57

  • Sober reloaded

    German government alert over Monday botnet update

    Zombie PCs infected with the Sober-P worm are set to reactivate on Monday, 23 May. Sober-P posed as offers of a free ticket for next year's World Cup and set up backdoor access on compromised PCs, claiming thousands of victims since its first appearance earlier this month. These infected machines were later used to generate a …

    Security 20 May 2005, 15:52