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1st July 2005 Archive

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  • Microsoft mulls buying Claria

    Just don't mention Gator

    Microsoft is considering buying online marketing company Claria, according to a report in the New York Times. Under its former name Gator, the company became synonymous with pop-up web advertisements and spyware. Gator provided the spyware for Kazaa, iMesh and AudioGalaxy, and the software also tracked which websites users …

    Malware 1 Jul 2005, 04:24

  • Red Hat milks corporate Linux sales for strong Q1

    Subscriptions look solid

    A bustling enterprise Linux business carried Red Hat to improved first quarter results. The software maker reported revenue of $60.8m in the period - a solid 46 per cent jump over $41.8m in the same quarter one year ago. Red Had enjoyed a slight increase in services and embedded OS revenue, while subscriptions to its corporate …

    Financial News 1 Jul 2005, 05:16

  • WhenU wins pop-up adware case

    'Broad ramifications for search engines'

    WhenU.com has won a court battle over pop-up ads that it displayed on the web site of contact lens seller 1-800 Contacts, after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the ads did not breach 1-800 Contacts’ trade marks. The Court found that WhenU did not “use” 1-800’s trade marks when it included the company's web …

    Financial News 1 Jul 2005, 06:02

  • Rats in the security world

    Let's start with email

    Not too long ago my wife and I decided to try out a Chinese restaurant in our area we had never visited before. I was looking at the menu and my wife gasped, then laughed a bit. I looked up and she pointed out a rat crawling right under the restaurant's buffet table. I got the waitress's attention and pointed out the rat to …

    Enterprise Security 1 Jul 2005, 06:02

  • New LLU ISP to offer 24meg broadband

    Be for broadband

    Net users in London are to be offered broadband at speeds up to 24 meg as part of ambitious plans by a new UK ISP. Privately funded Be Unlimited is a new local loop unbundling (LLU) operator that is installing its kit in BT telephone exchanges to provide broadband direct to end users. Forty five exchanges in London have been …

    Telecoms 1 Jul 2005, 06:02

  • Ofcom shames BT

    'Suspects BT may have restricted competition'

    Ofcom has detailed BT's misdemeanours in detailed documents published yesterday. Strip away the jargon and what's revealed are "substantial delays" to the introduction of wholesale products that would allow rivals to compete and consumers to get a better service. As BT, Ofcom and the industry look to reach some kind of …

    Telecoms 1 Jul 2005, 06:02

  • Cisco Security Agent laid bare

    Site offer Save 30% on Cisco Press guides

    Cisco Security Agent is an innovative product in that it secures the portion of corporate networks that are in the greatest need of protection–the end systems. It also has the ability to prevent a day-zero attack, which is a worm that spreads from system to system, taking advantage of vulnerabilities in networks where either the …

    Site News 1 Jul 2005, 06:58

  • TechScape: On marketing and mobile phones

    Column Buy! Buy! Buy! Cell! Cell! Cell!

    One cannot be involved in business today, much less technology, without getting bombarded with talk of location-based services and many variations of this idea—that our cell phones (or whatever mobile devices win the day) will “know” where we are and that this will generate the opportunity for marketers from Starbucks to Sears …

    Small Biz 1 Jul 2005, 08:14

  • BBC culls Cult website

    'Who's the bozo who made this decision?'

    The BBC has decided - as part of its "restructuring of the BBC's online activities" - to pull the plug on its hugely popular Cult website. Those not familiar with Cult should mosey on down and have shufti. Readers who already enjoy its eclectic mix should read the following with horror: This site shuts next month. Bye, then …

    Music and Media 1 Jul 2005, 08:15

  • Exec + PDA = security alert

    Reg Reader Studies Smart handheld, dumb user

    Security has always been a concern when it comes to separating user access from the core of an IT system. Put terminals outside the machine room – you must be joking? Departmental servers out in the office – you what? Commercial data over the world wild web – too dangerous! Mobile access to precious and confidential data – why …

    Mobile 1 Jul 2005, 08:20

  • Nude eBayer flashes 19in monitor

    Possibly NSFW: No reserve? You said it

    Here's a poser for you: you're trying to sell a rather uninspiring second-hand 19in CRT monitor on eBay and you want to inject a little spice into the auction. What are your options? Well, you could claim that it has a likeness of the Virgin Mary mysteriously burnt into the phosphor. Alternatively, you might suggest that the …

    Bootnotes 1 Jul 2005, 09:43

  • FX rip-off dotcom wound-up

    Bad deal at any rate

    A UK internet company that offered cheap currency exchange but ripped off punters instead has been wound-up following an investigation by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Cheaper Currencies.Com Limited (CCC Ltd) claimed to be backed by foreign exchange (FX) experts and boasted that its rates were more competitive …

    Music and Media 1 Jul 2005, 10:01

  • Why is Oracle really buying TimesTen?

    Comment Standing in the way of Progress

    You may have seen that Oracle is buying TimesTen. The question is why? Is it because it thinks that TimesTen has great database technology? Hardly: Oracle does not exactly have a reputation for recognising database technologies other than its own. Then is it perhaps because Oracle thinks that it is worth harvesting the …

    Software 1 Jul 2005, 10:34

  • Bush administration annexes internet

    Extraordinary statement

    An extraordinary statement by the US government has sent shockwaves around the internet world and thrown the future of the network into doubt. In a worrying U-turn, the US Department of Commerce (DoC) has made it clear it intends to retain control of the internet's root servers indefinitely. It was due to relinquish that …

    Music and Media 1 Jul 2005, 10:41

  • Easynet commits to more LLU investment

    Which is nice

    Easynet is upping its investment in local loop unbundling (LLU) following BT's recent announcement that it intends to give wholesale broadband competition a chance to thrive. Easynet plans to unbundle a further 100 exchanges taking the total number of LLU sites to 350 - capable of hooking up 5.8m homes and 850,000 businesses in …

    Telecoms 1 Jul 2005, 10:51

  • Malware authors up the ante

    As half life of unprotected Windows PC drops to 12 minutes

    Malware authors have increased both the volume and sophistication of their attacks over the last six months. In the first half of 2005 anti-virus firm Sophos detected and protected against 7,944 new viruses - up 59 per cent from the first six months of 2004. The number of keylogging Trojans has tripled in the first six months of …

    Malware 1 Jul 2005, 10:54

  • Shuttle to fly 13 July

    Safety concerns set aside?

    NASA has set the date for the Shuttle's launch, despite suggestions from an independent safety panel earlier this week that all the safety requirements have not yet been met. Discovery is now slated to take to the skies on 13 July, commanded by Eileen Collins. Chief administrator Michael Griffin said that the space agency had …

    Science 1 Jul 2005, 11:11

  • Dynamic IP address litigant got it right, for now

    German court rules data storage 'perfectly legal'

    Holger Voss, who last month argued in court that dynamic IP addresses are irrelevant for book keeping and shouldn't be stored by ISPs, has won part of his case against German ISP T-Online. A court in Darmstadt has ruled that it is perfectly legal for a provider to store data on its users (such as logon times or the amount of …

    Music and Media 1 Jul 2005, 12:37

  • Kids blow £1bn on mobiles

    Diddle-ee

    UK kids blow more than £1bn a year on mobile phones according to research released yesterday. Parents are so concerned about the spiralling cost of using mobiles they want operators to do more to help them control their children's spending, while three in ten reckon cellcos aren't interested in their concerns, according to …

    Mobile 1 Jul 2005, 12:38

  • Online casino tattoos woman's face

    The unacceptable face of capitalism

    A Utah woman has become the latest asset in online gambling outfit GoldenPalace.com's eBay preposterous purchase portfolio after accepting $15,000 dollars to have the casino's name permanently tattooed on her forehead. Karolyne Smith joins the Virgin Mary toasted cheese sandwich and other assorted tat for which Golden Palace …

    Music and Media 1 Jul 2005, 12:39

  • Biometrics won't deter passport fraudsters, chief admits

    ...burglars not afraid of locks, police, dogs

    The head of the UK’s passport agency has confirmed that a tightening up of passport standards, including the inclusion of biometric information, will not eliminate sophisticated fraud or terrorism. Bernard Herdan, chief executive of the UK Passport Service, told the Financial Times that tighter passport standards “will make a …

    ID 1 Jul 2005, 13:38

  • Rosetta gets in on the Deep Impact story

    Dodgiest picture ever

    ESA scientists announced yesterday that their Rosetta space craft has sent back a picture of Comet Tempel-1. The smudgy white dot might be almost indistinguishable from the rest of the stars in the sky, and it would probably be fair to describe it as one of the less impressive pictures from space we have seen in recent years, …

    Science 1 Jul 2005, 13:43

  • BPI sues MCPS in music biz blue-on-blue

    Mechanical reproduction charge punch-up

    Another day, another lawsuit from the record labels. Except this time - what's this? They're suing a different part of the music business. Yes, the BPI on Thursday announced that it is taking the MCPS (the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) to the Copyright Tribunal, complaining that the MCPS is charging too much for …

    Financial News 1 Jul 2005, 14:11

  • Judge bans company's deceptive anti-spyware claims

    Did not do what it said on the tin

    The Federal Trade Commission in the US has won an preliminary injunction against Trustsoft, freezing the company's assets and preventing it from making deceptive claims about its anti-spyware product. A district court judge in Texas issued the order, which the FTC is seeking to have made permanent. The FTC alleges that …

    Malware 1 Jul 2005, 14:51

  • LLU to take-off despite 'painful year'

    Watchdog rubs crystal ball

    The UK could be about to witness a "dramatic" explosion in local loop unbundling (LLU) despite a somewhat "painful" progress over the last year, according to the Office of the Telecoms Adjudicator (OTA). So far there are some 70,000 unbundled lines in the UK with numbers growing by around 3,000 a week. But the OTA reports that …

    Telecoms 1 Jul 2005, 14:51

  • Reverse engineering patches making disclosure a moot choice?

    Darned if you do. Darned if you don't

    When Microsoft released limited information on a critical vulnerability in Internet Explorer last month, reverse engineer Halvar Flake decided to dig deeper. Using his company's tool for analyzing the differences in the patched and unpatched versions of a program, Flake pinpointed the portable networked graphics (PNG) …

    Security 1 Jul 2005, 15:04

  • ET turns nasty

    Film review War of the Worlds

    War of the Worlds is really a disaster movie in the garb of a science fiction blockbuster. Steven Spielberg's contemporary reimagining of the H.G. Wells classic puts one family's fight for survival in centre frame as the Earth is menaced by alien tripod fighting machines. Tom Cruise plays Ray Ferrier, an immature divorced …

    Bootnotes 1 Jul 2005, 15:14

  • easyMobile puts up prices

    Promo ends at discount cellco

    easyMobile.com - the discount mobilephoneco backed by no frills airline entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou - has ended its promo price offer and increased the cost of making calls for its punters. The service launched in March with the cost of making UK calls set at 9p a minute with texts charged at 3p a throw. However, …

    Mobile 1 Jul 2005, 15:55

  • IBM UK mainframe workers train their South African replacements

    Exclusive Do high-profile users know they went South?

    If you're one of IBM UK's highly skilled mainframe specialists, then you may well be out of a job. IBM has shuffled a huge chunk of its mainframe support operations off to South Africa in a bid to cut costs. As a result, some of IBM's highest profile customers will find their critical mainframe support calls traveling south to a …

    IT Director 1 Jul 2005, 16:03

  • Crispy vulture beats bald eagle

    Letters Priorities get sorted, Reg stylie

    The US government has decided to hang on to control of the net's root servers. Not an entirely unanticipated move, but one that will, as they say, have repercussions. Lots of cross Americans immediately wrote to us to explain why we should be pleased that Uncle Sam is still in charge: The US created the internet. Next thing …

    Letters 1 Jul 2005, 16:28

  • Feds deploy massive anti-piracy dragnet

    Operation Site Down

    A US-led crackdown on online piracy led to raids in 11 countries this week. Operation Site Down is targeting "leading criminal organizations" that illegally distribute and trade in copyrighted software, movies, music, and games on the net. Since Wednesday 29 June, the FBI and law enforcement from 10 other countries (Canada, …

    Music and Media 1 Jul 2005, 16:34

  • Microsoft uses $850m to kiss and make up with IBM

    Well puckered

    Microsoft and IBM can be friends again - or at least less bitter partners/rivals after Redmond agreed to hand over an $850m antitrust apology. Microsoft will pay IBM $775m and dole out a $75m software credit. These gifts stem from Microsoft's antitrust trial in which IBM was deemed to have been unfairly punished by Microsoft's …

    Software 1 Jul 2005, 16:44