2nd June 2005 Archive

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VIA unveils C7-M notebook processor

Computex 2005 Firm's 'Esther' core goes mobile

VIA has announced a mobile version of its C7 processor, following that chip's launch last week. The Taiwanese chip maker is pitching the C7-M at thin'n'light notebooks. Like its desktop-directed sibling, the mobile part will be fabbed by IBM using its 90nm silicon-on-insulator process. There's 128KB of L2 cache on the die, …

System Builder 2 Jun 2005, 03:04
Palamida lands a Cisco

Pays to play it straight

Software licensing start-up Palamida has landed a corporate big fish anxious to police its use of open source and third-party software in networking products. Cisco Systems has signed a five-year, cross-company deal for Palamida's IP AMPlifier. Although Palamida would not provide financial details of the deal, it is believed …

IT Director 2 Jun 2005, 08:29
Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 gets out

Enjoy the virtual office

Microsoft has released the client component of its integrated communications stack heralded by Bill Gates earlier this year as an "evolution of Office". Office Communicator 2005, described by Microsoft as the preferred client for Live Communications Server 2005, extends Windows Messenger with presence-based Instant Messaging ( …

Applications 2 Jun 2005, 08:40
NTL and Telewest begin merger talks - report

Get on with it

High level talks that many expect to lead to a merger of the UK's two cable companies have finally kicked off, according to Reuters. Both NTL and Telewest have now hired advisors to steer them through negotiations and have kicked off "early-stage merger talks", according to unnamed sources. A marriage of the two cablecos has …

Financial News 2 Jun 2005, 08:57
Samsung notebooks to sport Airgo Wi-Fi booster

Computex 2005 Centrino dropped for MIMO

Samsung is to equip two of its wireless-enabled notebooks with Airgo's bandwidth-boosting 'multiple input, multiple output' (MIMO) Wi-Fi technology, the two companies announced at Computex 2005 this week. The move puts Samsung's X20 and X25 machines among the first notebooks to support what is likely to become the 802.11n …

Wireless 2 Jun 2005, 09:04
SCO watches Q2 revenue and loss shrink

Marketing and sales down

A number of cost-cutting moves helped the beleaguered SCO Group shrink its second quarter loss. But despite improving its bottom line, the software maker had little good news for investors on the sales front. SCO's revenue hit $9.3m during the second quarter, down from the $10.1m reported in the same period last year. SCO's net …

Financial News 2 Jun 2005, 09:43
Europe reports broadband growth

Surely, the big EU story of the day...

The European Union (EU) may be facing a constitutional crisis of its own making, but at least the take-up of broadband among member states is growing fast. The Commission has revealed there are now 40 million broadband lines in the EU - up 70 per cent on last year - with an extra 45,000 lines being added each day. The fastest- …

Telecoms 2 Jun 2005, 09:53
Fujitsu ditches NHS software supplier

IDX off Southern patient records project

Fujitsu has dropped a key supplier for the NHS patients records project in the south and west of England. Fujitsu is scrapping an agreement with US firm IDX in favour of a product from Cerner. It is the first time a major supplier has been ejected from the NHS IT programme. The change is subject to contract but that should be …

IT Director 2 Jun 2005, 10:11
Skype handset makers flock to Computex

Computex 2005 VoIP going to be big, device developers reckon

Numerous Taiwanese manufacturers began pitching for Skype users' business this week, as the annual Computex hardware show played host to a range of gadgets designed to make the P2P-based VoIP software easier to use. And there were a fair few non-Skype VoIP handsets on display that tie into consumer and corporate Wi-Fi networks …

Mobile 2 Jun 2005, 10:19
EC wants to cap data retention laws

Delete data after a year

The European Commission has stepped into the debate on the proposed data retention bill, saying that the legislation will now require telcos and ISPs to hold onto data for a year, rather that the three or four years originally proposed. The decision follows a vote from the civil liberties committee to reject the original plans …

IT Director 2 Jun 2005, 10:43
eBay goes shopping.com

Online shopping extravaganza

Online auction behemoth eBay has bought price comparison site shopping.com for $620m. Shopping.com offers price comparisons and consumer-written reviews. eBay products will be included on shopping.com's comparisons and product reviews will start appearing on its epinions site. The site claims 50 million unique monthly visitors …

Financial News 2 Jun 2005, 10:45
NEC touts quantum crypto advances

I can see the light

Japanese boffins have succeeded in achieving what's touted as the World's fastest continuous quantum cryptography key generation. Researchers from NEC, the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology and the Japan Science and Technology Agency achieved a fortnight-long, continuous quantum cryptography final- …

Enterprise Security 2 Jun 2005, 10:54
A380 delivery delayed for six months

No specific reason for 'disappointing' set-back

Delivery of Airbus's A380 "super-jumbo" will be delayed for up to six months, the company has confirmed. Accordingly, Qantas - due to put the beast into service in October 2006 - will not now get its hands on the joystick until April 2007. Likewise, Singapore Airlines, set be the first airline to fly A380s, will also have to …

Bootnotes 2 Jun 2005, 10:58
Argosy shows 'infinite capacity' media player

Computex 2005 Just eject the 400GB HDD and slide in a new one

The PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 aren't going to be the only consumer electronics kit with removable hard drives, at least not if Taiwanese developer Argosy Research has anything to say in the matter. At Computex 2005 in Taipei this week, it showed off an hard disk-based media player that can spit out its HDD ready for …

Peripherals 2 Jun 2005, 10:59
BT workers accept 3.5% pay rise

Bosses get whopping pay-out

BT workers have stepped back from the brink of strike action after voting to accept a 3.5 per cent pay rise from the UK telco. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) was on verge of balloting for strike action until it managed to twist BT's arm and force it to increase its pay offer from 2.7 per cent to 3.5 per cent. "The …

Financial News 2 Jun 2005, 11:03
Bird flu: we're all going to die

Well, most of us

The theme of the person awaking from a deep sleep or coma to find a world utterly changed is a popular one in science fiction. From John Wyndham's book The Day of The Triffids through The Omega Man to the recent film 28 Days Later, the trope of the man arising from his hospital bed to find that nothing is as it was has become …

Science 2 Jun 2005, 11:25
AOpen Mini PC 'not competing' with Apple Mac Mini

Computex 2005 It's the other way round, apparently...

PC maker AOpen has been quick to attempt to stamp out any suggestions that its remarkably Mac Mini-like "Mini PC", jointly demonstrated at Computex 2005 this week with Intel, is intended to compete with the Apple product. The company even went as far as to quote a well-known computer market analyst that the Mini PC, which AOpen …

Mac Channel 2 Jun 2005, 11:35
Unipalm fingers Networks First

Hardware services...

Distributor Unipalm is working with Networks First to bolster its hardware maintenance services. Networks First offers support based on service level agreements, escalation procedures, access to trained engineers, remote diagnosis and customer questionnaires after every fault call. Sally Barton, director of professional …

Channel Register 2 Jun 2005, 11:37
Free software fans take a stand against software patents

Conference and a protest

Free software advocates are holding a last conference on the software patents directive today, ahead of a parliamentary vote on the directive on 21 June. This afternoon, Association Electronique Libre and Open Standaarden will lead a demonstration in Brussels against the proposed legislation. Open source luminaries Richard …

Software 2 Jun 2005, 11:51
Boffins pinpoint trust hormone

Trust me, it's true

Scientists from Switzerland and the US reckon they have discovered a way of making people trust you - just give 'em a dose of hormone Oxytocin and away you go... Oxytocin is, according to Reuters, a hormone released during sexual orgasm. It's nickname of "cuddle" hormone gives you an idea of what its effect is, viz; "We find …

Science 2 Jun 2005, 12:01
TSG gets SME specialist

Regional sales boss

The Technology Services Group, the reseller started by Sage founder Graham Wylie, is making John Mundell its regional sales director for the north west. Mundell has experience in IT sales and previously worked for Excel Publishing, URL Ltd and Dixons Store Group. He will be focussing on selling to SMEs around Manchester and …

Channel Register 2 Jun 2005, 12:02
Sun sheds $4.1bn for StorageTek

Chisels away at cash pile

Sun Microsystems shocked investors and customers today by announcing that it will acquire StorageTek for $4.1bn. Sun has offered up $37 per share in cash for each StorageTek share - an 18 per cent premium. The storage maker's shares started the day at $31.23 per share and then shot up more than 15 per cent to $36.41 the moment …

Servers 2 Jun 2005, 12:23
Earth bacteria could invade Mars

But not very effectively

Earth-bugs might just be able to survive on Mars, according to new research, although the circumstances do have to be perfect. The research team from the University of Florida warns that at least one type of earthly bacteria could survive long enough to hitch a ride to the red planet, and leave a biological signature in the …

Science 2 Jun 2005, 12:47
IBM UK workers in the dark as firing crunch time hits

Exclusive Lacking token bling

More complaints have surfaced against IBM's severance and firing plans here in the UK with critics saying Big Blue is behaving like an antiquated employer. IBM last month warned that it would fire up to 13,000 workers - many of them in Europe and the UK specifically. It began the job cut process by offering workers in the UK a …

IT Director 2 Jun 2005, 13:32
Window of exposure lets viruses run rampant

BlackSpider spins web of intrigue with virus stats

More than 295,000 virus-infected emails were sent to companies in the UK in May before anti-virus vendors could issue signature updates, according to email filtering firm BlackSpider Technologies. It’s long been known that there is a ‘window of exposure’ - the interval between when a virus begins spreading and signature updates …

Anti-Virus 2 Jun 2005, 13:51
Website compiles sexual partner database

Coming soon: Shagster.net

Everyone knows the old classic that everyone on the planet is separated by just six degrees, so, if you want to get in touch with a Patagonian goat-herd, a chain of just half-a-dozen people will bring you face-to-face with your target. Another time-honoured adage is that when you sleep with someone, you are sleeping with …

Music and Media 2 Jun 2005, 14:01
Indian outsourcing revenues skyrocket

Up 30% to $22.5bn

Exports of software and IT services from India will rise 30 to 32 per cent in the year to March 2006, according to predictions from India's leading association of technology companies. The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said that exports will hit $22.5bn in 2006, up from $17.2bn in the FY …

Software 2 Jun 2005, 14:04
Online poker firm set to float

Massive valuation for virtual casino

PartyGaming, which runs online poker games, is set to float on the London Stock Exchange later this month for an estimated £5bn. The price would make it the largest IPO in recent years and make PartyGaming more valuable than British Airways and Boots. The firm is based in Gibraltar for tax reasons and launched in 1997. It …

Financial News 2 Jun 2005, 14:09
.net vote stalls

ICANN Board stalemate

A controversial vote to give VeriSign control of the .net registry for the next six years has stalled. A special meeting of the ICANN Board on Wednesday - the second in a month, both with .net top of the agenda - failed to reach agreement after a number of members abstained and the necessary quorum to pass a resolution wasn't …

Music and Media 2 Jun 2005, 14:35
Scandinavia gets tough on file sharing

Big stick

Scandinavia seems to getting tougher with those sharing illegal music files on the web. Sweden last week passed a law banning the sharing of copyrighted material on the web without payment of royalties. Until now, it was legal in Sweden to download copyrighted movie and music files, but making them available for sharing was …

Music and Media 2 Jun 2005, 20:55