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7th July 2005 Archive

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  • Moto aims Push To Talk at Symbian handsets

    Operators only

    It's two years since the mobile industry's giants agreed to agree on a common Push To Talk specification through the OMA. Now Motorola, which popularized the walkie talkie features on its iDEN network, wants to jump-start the process. Motorola is offering its carriers push to talk client software for Symbian smartphones for no …

    Mobile 7 Jul 2005, 04:19

  • Opera bakes in BitTorrent

    There's a P2P protocol in my browser

    Opera has released a version of its web browser with the BitTorrent client built in. Users clicking on a Torrent file will see the file load in Opera's traditional Transfer window, so for most file transfers, there's no need to install a third-party BitTorrent client. To Opera, it's simply another MIME type, like Gopher and …

    Music and Media 7 Jul 2005, 04:21

  • Sun UK cans Phoenix, 60 support engineers

    IT phone India

    Staffers at Phoenix IT in the UK have become the latest technology experts to start training their Indian replacements after Sun Microsystems informed the firm that it's looking for cheaper labor. Between 60 and 100 Phoenix staffers trained to handle Solaris/Sun support calls are fighting for their survival. The workers once …

    IT Director 7 Jul 2005, 08:20

  • ATI R520 to ship 'mid-Q3'

    90nm teething troubles

    ATI's upcoming next-generation graphics chip, codenamed the R520, may yet be launched later this month, but it won't ship until mid way through the quarter. The R520 has recently been the subject of speculation that ATI had delayed the part's introduction. Today, ATI's Taiwanese operation confirmed the 90nm chip would ship "mid …

    Peripherals 7 Jul 2005, 09:17

  • Crack Perl in 24 hours

    Site offer 30% off teach yourself guides

    Learn Perl programming quickly and easily with 24 one-hour lessons in Sams Teach Yourself Perl in 24 Hours. These step-by-step lessons will teach you the basics of Perl and how to apply it in web development and system administration. You will focus on real-world development, including how to: Effectively use Perl for large …

    Site News 7 Jul 2005, 09:18

  • London locks down after terror attack

    Deaths confirmed. Capital on full alert

    The entire London Underground network was shut down this morning following three explosions on tube trains between Aldgate and Liverpool St, at Edgware Road and between Russell Square and King's Cross. Bus services in the central Zones 1 and 2 are also suspended, as are National Bus coach services in and out of the capital. The …

    Financial News 7 Jul 2005, 10:00

  • TSMC, UMC Q2 sales slide

    Brighter times ahead?

    The world's top two chip foundries saw their second-quarter sales fall well behind the totals achieved during the year-ago quarter, the company's latest monthly sales figures reveal. TSMC achieved sales of TWD56.02bn ($1.76bn) during the three months to 31 May 2005, 13.6 per cent below the TWD64.87bn ($2.03bn) it reported for …

    Financial News 7 Jul 2005, 10:22

  • AMD ships 64-bit Semprons

    Head to head with Intel

    AMD has begun shipping 64-bit Sempron processors in a bid to counter Intel's launch of 64-bit Celeron chips earlier this month. Overnight, five Sempron desktop chips were added to AMD's official price list: the 2600+, 2800+, 3000+, 3100+ and 3300+. All five chips are Socket 754 parts, and were already available as 32-bit …

    PCs 7 Jul 2005, 10:27

  • European governments cautious on IT spend

    Outsourcing still popular

    Government IT spend is likely to increase again this year, according to analyst house IDC, but at a more cautious rate than has been seen recently. A pan-European survey found that almost a quarter of central government bodies plan to find extra money for new IT initiatives, but only one in ten expects to spend more on …

    IT Director 7 Jul 2005, 10:31

  • Lufthansa goes biometric

    Thumb scan check-in trial

    German airline Lufthansa and Siemens are testing fingerprint-based check-in and boarding procedures at Frankfurt Airport. After getting tickets encoded with their thumbprint data, passengers can check themselves in by placing their thumbs on a machine. The trial, called Trusted Traveler, will last for 14 days, but if all goes …

    Enterprise Security 7 Jul 2005, 10:37

  • OFT wins pledge from premium rate scammer

    Won't do it again, honest

    The operators of a premium rate phone service have pledged not to rip-off punters again with empty promises that they won some "major prize". London-based Churchcastle Limited - which traded as Fast Cash and UK Prize Bonanza - contacted 1.4m people telling them they'd won a fantastic prize. In reality, all that was on offer …

    Music and Media 7 Jul 2005, 10:40

  • MS downgrades Claria adware detection

    Prep for rumoured acquisition?

    Here's one for the conspiracy theorists. Microsoft has downgraded detection of the Claria adware application by its anti-spyware software days after reports began circulating that Redmond might buy the online marketing firm. Under its former name Gator, Claria became synonymous with pop-up web advertisements and spyware and …

    Malware 7 Jul 2005, 11:22

  • Phone networks jammed following London blasts

    Infrastructure 'unharmed'

    Phone networks have been jammed today following a series of blasts that hit London's public transport network this morning. Mobile networks in particular have been put under pressure as people use their phones to contact friends and family following the explosions. In a statement Vodafone said: "Understandably we are …

    Telecoms 7 Jul 2005, 11:31

  • DataViz ships RoadSync

    Exchange synching for cost-conscious smart-phone users

    DataViz has begun shipping RoadSync, its budget-priced push email system for Symbian-based smart phones running the UIQ user interface. RoadSync taps into Microsoft's Exchange Server 2003's ActiveSync system to transmit email, contact and meeting data to mobile devices that don't inherently support the Microsoft technology. …

    Mobile 7 Jul 2005, 11:43

  • Rambus unveils 8GHz XDR 2

    Five times faster than GDDR claim

    Rambus has announced the second generation of its XDR high-speed memory technology, which the company claims will run five times faster than today's GDDR graphics memory. Dubbed XDR 2, the technology will provide initial clock speeds of 8GHz. XDR 1 operates at up to 6.4GHz. The new version of XDR incorporates four key …

    Channel Register 7 Jul 2005, 12:02

  • iRiver launches compact Flash video player

    Get ready to squint

    iRiver will begin shipping its Flash-based personal video player, the U10, in the UK next month, the company said today. The iPod-white U10 sports either 512MB or 1GB of Flash memory for songs and video files. The latter are presented on the unit's 320 x 240 2.2in LCD. The whole unit measures a 6.9 x 4.7 x 1.6cm. The screen is …

    Mobile 7 Jul 2005, 12:04

  • Adamond ZK1 2GB Flash MP3 player

    Review Watch out, low-end HDD-based devices?

    Asian-made MP3 players are more than ten a penny these days, all compact, feature-packed and, generally, offering decent sound quality. Finding a stand-out feature is hard, but Swedish supplier Adamond has managed it: the ZK1 is the first Flash-based music player to ship with 2GB of storage capacity, the company claims. The ZK1 …

    Reviews 7 Jul 2005, 12:18

  • Identical twins grow up to be different

    More proof that genes are weird

    New research from Europe and the US suggests that identical twins become less identical as the years go by. In a study of 80 sets of identical twins, the researchers found that there were significant epigenetic differences between those older twins, while younger pairs are still identical. Epigenetics is the study of …

    Science 7 Jul 2005, 12:21

  • Orange UK touts SPV M500 music phone

    Rock me, HTC 'Amadeus'

    UK mobile network Orange is to offer a version of HTC's ultra-compact PDA phone, 'Magician', as the SPV M500. Unlike other versions of the HTC handset, which has been rebadged by T-Mobile, O2 and i-Mate, among others, the Orange incarnation sports a black shell and a slightly modified case design. The internals appear the same …

    Mobile 7 Jul 2005, 13:05

  • Spyware fears prompt changing net habits

    Up to a point, Lord Copper

    The threat of spyware and other unwanted software programs is changing the way people use the internet, according to a survey of US net users from the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Nine out of ten internet users quizzed said they'd "adjusted their online behavior" out of fear of falling victim to malware attacks. Pew …

    Malware 7 Jul 2005, 13:48

  • Sony Network Walkman NW-HD5

    Review Third time lucky?

    You've got to hand it to Sony. The iPod may be the portable music boss, but it's not stopped trying to take Apple's baby out. It was some time before it seriously plucked up the courage to do so, with the release last year release of the NW-HD1. That was back in late 2004, and it was followed only a few months later by the NW- …

    Reviews 7 Jul 2005, 15:26

  • Linux lovers must wait until 2007 for SCO vs IBM showdown

    Trial delayed for bit of Palmisano

    The SCO Group's quest for software IP righteousness looks set to linger on until at least 2007 after a judge pushed back the trial date for the company's battle with IBM. A five-week jury trial will now begin on Feb. 26, 2007, as a result of a recent ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Dale Kimball. As the case hobbles to trial …

    Software 7 Jul 2005, 19:44

  • Microsoft rejigs Windows pricing for midsize companies

    Can you conform for a discount?

    Microsoft wants to attract midsize companies to its server software, but how far is it willing to bend? A new Windows Server System promotion lets midsized businesses pick up three copies of Windows Server 2003, one Exchange Server 2003 and one Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 at a 20 per cent cut off the Open License …

    Servers 7 Jul 2005, 22:31