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4th July 2005 Archive

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  • Internet rap threatens Dutch MP

    Wilding on Wilders

    Dutch MP and hard line critic of Islam Geert Wilders has lodged a police complaint against an internet hate rap. The rappers, who dubbed themselves Youssef and Kamal, threatened to cut or even "saw off" Wilders' trademark wig-like peroxide-blond hair. The young MP, who represents the one-man faction Groep Wilders in Dutch …

    Music and Media 4 Jul 2005, 05:02

  • Dismissal of deaf developer was discrimination

    Sign of the times

    A profoundly deaf database developer, who sent email from a colleague's computer using remote access, has won an unfair dismissal and disability discrimination appeal brought by his employer. He won because his employer failed to facilitate his involvement in the investigation and disciplinary process by not making reasonable …

    IT Director 4 Jul 2005, 08:47

  • AMD wants Intel evidence from 30 firms

    Delaware court agrees

    Chip maker AMD has won the backing of a Delaware court to preserve evidence held by third parties which may be relevant to its ongoing legal battle with Intel. The chip firm went to court in Delaware for Motion for Leave to Serve Document Preservation Subpoenas which was granted. This allows them to ask 30 named companies to …

    Channel Register 4 Jul 2005, 09:54

  • July date for NTL / Telewest wedding

    A real weepy

    NTL and Telewest are weeks away from cementing their merger, according to a report by The Independent on Sunday. The paper cites insiders who say that the deal looks set to be inked by the end of July, just in time for those behind the £6.8bn merger to complete the paperwork before pushing off for a well-earned rest and a month …

    Telecoms 4 Jul 2005, 09:56

  • Deep Impact makes an impression on Tempel-1

    (Big) bang on target

    At around ten-to-seven this morning (BST) the NASA space probe Deep Impact lived up to its name and smashed into the Comet Tempel-1. The impact sent up a cloud of dust and gas far bigger than anyone had expected, making the comet, briefly, almost 11-times brighter than it was previously. Deep Impact is a two-spacecraft …

    Science 4 Jul 2005, 10:45

  • UK Inland Revenue may sue EDS

    Divorce might go to court

    EDS could end up being sued by the Inland Revenue over the failure of its Tax Credit system. EDS and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs are still talking about who pays the cost of their expensive falling out. The Revenue picked EDS to make a tax credit system but problems got so bad that in December 2003 the Revenue sacked EDS …

    Public Sector 4 Jul 2005, 10:52

  • Warning over unpatched IE bug

    Mother, it's happening again

    An unpatched vulnerability in Internet Explorer creates a means for hackers to take over vulnerable Windows PCs, security researchers warn. The flaw stems from a security bug in a COM Object (Javaprxy.dll) that might be exploited by a malicious web site to cause a memory corruption. Successful exploitation may allow hackers to …

    Enterprise Security 4 Jul 2005, 10:55

  • 'Matrix' gadget sites shut down

    If it's too good to be true...

    Two UK web sites running dodgy matrix schemes have been pulled following an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The sites - Pulsematrix.com and phones4everyone (at themobilematrix.com) - promised punters the chance of getting their hands on a snazzy "free digital gift" such as a mobile phone or iPod in return for …

    Small Biz 4 Jul 2005, 11:12

  • Robo massager tickles Gizmoville

    Tech Digest Very silly kit, and much more

    Certified gadget obsessives Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny scour Gizmoville for the oddest digital goodies, while Bayraider keeps tabs on the best and worst of eBay. Here are this week's top gadget picks: Obligatory iPod Accessory of the Week: Nyko iPod movie player Fancy watching movies on your iPod? You'll be needing one of …

    Bootnotes 4 Jul 2005, 11:53

  • EU lays down the law on green PCs

    And boilers, and washing machines, and...

    Politicians in Europe are set to ink new regulations governing the efficiency of computers and a variety of other electrical goods and components, as part of a Directive aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions throughout the region. UK Environment Minister Elliot Morley said that the Eco-Design for Energy Using Products …

    PCs 4 Jul 2005, 12:08

  • Germany greenlights mobes on planes

    Ja, bin ich auf Lufthansa

    The German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing will next year lift the ban on the use of mobile phones on commercial flights, according to German newsmagazine Focus. The German Aerospace Centre (DLR) says that mobile phone signals do not interfere with onboard electronics. Several European airlines say that they …

    Mobile 4 Jul 2005, 12:29

  • Symbian Trojan drains the life from phones

    Warez doodz beware

    Virus writers have created a new Symbian Trojan called Doomboot-A that loads an earlier mobile virus (Commwarrior-B) onto vulnerable smartphones. Doomboot-A also preventing infected phones from booting up properly. This cocktail of viral effects spells extra trouble for Symbian Series 60 smartphone users, especially those who …

    Malware 4 Jul 2005, 12:34

  • Cardiff picked for 21CN launch

    Good-o

    BT has picked Cardiff and to kick off the regional roll-out of its all-singing, all dancing 21st Century Network (21CN). Some 350,000 phone lines are set to be migrated onto the new digital platform in the second half of 2006 as part of BT's £10bn investment in the new network. Once the switch-over is completed BT phone users …

    Telecoms 4 Jul 2005, 12:38

  • Volcano erupts underwater, boils ocean

    Steamy goings on in Japan

    A volcano has erupted underwater near the Pacific island of Iwo Jima off the coast of Japan, sending a column of steam rising a kilometre into the air. The Japanese Coast Guard sent a plane to investigate, according to reports, after Defence officials reported that the surface of the water appeared red in the region of the …

    Science 4 Jul 2005, 12:42

  • Java gets mobile at 10

    New decade, new challenges

    As Java celebrated its tenth birthday last week at the Java One conference, the software technology was in a very different position to that envisaged by its creators at Sun in 1995. Few then could have hoped that it would have taken such a commanding position as the primary software environment outside the Microsoft world – but …

    Mobile 4 Jul 2005, 13:01

  • Deutsche Telekom 'may sell T-Mobile USA'

    Or face huge upgrade bill

    Deutsche Telekom is reportedly toying with the idea of either selling its US mobile arm T-Mobile or upgrading the operator's network to be more competitive. Reports suggest that selling T-Mobile USA could potentially net the German telecommunications firm up to $30bn. However, if Deutsche Telekom holds on to the US mobile …

    Mobile 4 Jul 2005, 13:43

  • Silicon beats carbon in chess battle

    Ouch

    In the battle of man vs. machine, man has been utterly trounced. In fact, supercomputer Hydra's five triumphs out of six over human grandmaster Michael Adams dwarfs even the All Blacks' recent demolition of the British Lions. Adams managed to squeeze a draw in the second bout, salvaging some pride. Hydra was well equipped for …

    Bootnotes 4 Jul 2005, 14:16

  • China signs anti-spam pact

    Uh-huh...

    China - the world's second biggest producer of spam behind the US - has signed up to an international agreement to crack down on unsolicited email. Beijing has added its name to the list of countries that have adopted the London Action Plan on Spam Enforcement Collaboration - a group that works to target spammers. In February …

    Spam 4 Jul 2005, 14:18

  • British man sacked for having opinion

    Shut up or shove off

    A British man has been sacked for speaking out against heavy-handed copyright actions in the US after appearing on Newsnight last week. Alex Hanff was asked to appear on last Monday's Newsnight programme to talk about the recent Supreme Court decision against Grokster. Hanff, who is from Lancaster, was of interest to Newsnight …

    Music and Media 4 Jul 2005, 15:04

  • BOFH: Resurrection

    Episode 20 We've got a pulse!

    Bright white light surrounds me and ahead I see a lift with the UP button greyed out. Entering the lift, I press the only option available, 'B', and go down. The air gets appreciably warmer. Exiting the lift, I see nine rooms. The one immediately in front of me has an endless pile of service packs which have to be applied to …

    BOFH 4 Jul 2005, 15:12

  • Flogging Exchange Server 2003

    Quocirca's changing channels Strong business case, so jump to it

    Over 60 per cent of businesses who manage their email internally use Microsoft Exchange Server for all or part of their requirement. Less than half of these are using the latest version – Exchange Server 2003. There is a significant opportunity for resellers if these organisations can be persuaded it is worth the money and …

    Small Biz 4 Jul 2005, 15:22

  • MS accused of killing pen computing pioneer Go

    More anti-trust action

    The founder of tablet computing pioneer Go Corporation has revived long dormant allegations of corporate wrongdoing with an anti-trust lawsuit against Microsoft. Jerry Kaplan alleges that Go technology demonstrated to Microsoft technicians under non-disclosure was used to help develop competing products. The lawsuit, seeking …

    Software 4 Jul 2005, 15:29

  • CA boss charges detailed

    Unpleasant discovery

    Sanjay Kumar, the former boss of Computer Associates, has been accused of paying a $3.7m bribe in a failed attempt to cover up the company's dubious accountancy practices. US prosecutors have filed revised indictments against Kumar and Stephen Richards, former head of worldwide sales, including securities fraud, conspiracy and …

    Financial News 4 Jul 2005, 15:35

  • Pop-up smut tops spyware chart

    Panda's giant list

    A strain of spyware that displays pornographic pop-ups has retained its place as the top spyware nuisance on the net last month. ISTbar was responsible for 3.5 per cent of infections detected by Panda Software's free online malware scanner, more than any other spyware or adware application. ISTbar, which poses as an ActiveX …

    Malware 4 Jul 2005, 15:53