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8th July 2005 Archive

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  • IBM to Apple: eat these chips

    PowerPC revved again

    As a parting shot to Apple, a piqued IBM today announced two new lines of its PowerPC 970 processor, better known as the G5. And they're impressive beasts. A new, low-power 970FX consumes between 13W and 16W at frequencies of 1.2GHz, 1.4GHz and 1.6GHz. That's more than the 10W that the Freescale MPC7448 found in today's 1.5Ghz …

    Mac Channel 8 Jul 2005, 02:45

  • Check Point beefs up spyware defences

    Behaviour blocking with a twist

    Check Point Software is to build improved spyware defences into the next version of its ZoneAlarm integrated consumer security software package. ZoneAlarm Security Suite 6, due to be released 18 July, will feature a spyware scanner and an "operating system" firewall. Gregor Freund, chief technology officer at Check Point, and …

    Malware 8 Jul 2005, 07:34

  • Microsoft must woo partners

    Feel the love

    Microsoft is rallying the partner faithful this weekend. Partners are descending on Minnesota for Microsoft's annual Worldwide Partner conference, where attendees will be given the word on strategy by the ministers of Redmond, culminating in a Sunday morning service by chief executive Steve Ballmer. Microsoft will stoke the …

    Small Biz 8 Jul 2005, 07:45

  • VoIP use on the up-and-up

    As predicted

    The use of internet telephony has doubled over the last year according to analysts at Point Topic. Its research found that more than 11 million people around the world use a retail voice over IP (VoIP) service compared to five million a year ago. The numbers exclude PC-based "soft-client" services such as Skype. With 7.2m …

    VoIP 8 Jul 2005, 08:02

  • Sharp develops 100GB optical disc

    Next-gen dual-layer Blu-ray Disc?

    Sharp has developed a two-layer optical disc which could boost the capacity of the next-generation Blu-ray format. The 100GB disc uses what the Japanese giant calls a "super-resolution functional film". Sharp came up with such a film for single-layer media last year, but this week's announcement centres on an extension of the …

    Storage 8 Jul 2005, 08:54

  • PC case maker caters to iPod owners

    Make your computer look like your MP3 player

    Enterprising Japanese PC case maker Scythe has come up with a design to cash in on iPod mania among Windows users: an all-white unit that mimics the player's clickwheel with its control and LED layout. The circular panel is divided into five segments. In the middle is a circular button - the case's power switch - surrounded by …

    System Builder 8 Jul 2005, 09:26

  • Pipex to invest in LLU

    'Compelling opportunity'

    Pipex is to invest in local loop unbundling (LLU), describing it as a "compelling opportunity" for the broadband ISP. With more than 215,000 broadband users, Pipex now has enough users concentrated in some areas of the UK to make it commercially viable to install its own kit in BT exchanges. Instead of reselling DSL services …

    Telecoms 8 Jul 2005, 09:33

  • Three critical patches for MS July Patch Tuesday

    In brief Details on delivery

    Microsoft plans to release three critical security patches on Tuesday, 12 July. Two of these affect Windows while one affects Office. News of the upcoming patches came in an advance bulletin notification issued Thursday which omits any details about the upcoming security fixes. Next Tuesday will also bring with it non-security …

    Malware 8 Jul 2005, 09:36

  • Scientologists drop copyright case

    Dutch website can link to material

    A day before the Dutch Supreme Court was to deliver its final verdict, the Church of Scientology has dropped its controversial case against writer Karin Spaink, who hyperlinked to what the church believe is copyrighted material. However, Spaink wants the case to continue, as it will establish a freedom of speech precedence for …

    Music and Media 8 Jul 2005, 09:52

  • Hurricane Dennis menaces Shuttle

    Another launch delay possible

    NASA's return to flight schedule is threatened again - this time by the approaching Hurricane Dennis. Yesterday, the space agency was getting ready to move shuttle from its launch pad at Kennedy Space Center to a more sheltered hangar. Mission controllers were still hoping the move could be avoided, since it would, once again, …

    Science 8 Jul 2005, 10:11

  • Commission names and shames 11 EU countries

    Legal threat over telecoms failures

    Eleven European countries face the threat of legal action over their failure to offer liberalised telecoms services to consumers and businesses. The EU Commission is in a huff over number portability and directory services among other things, it said in a statement yesterday. France "still does not have a comprehensive printed …

    Telecoms 8 Jul 2005, 10:44

  • Trojan downloader spam poses as admin email

    Taking BOFH's name in vain

    Two new strains of Trojan downloader have reached near epidemic proportions following an aggressive spamming campaign by hackers this week. Email security firm MessageLabs has intercepted over 54,000 copies of email-borne malware since early Thursday (7 July). Both downloaders pose as email from the administrator of a user's …

    Malware 8 Jul 2005, 10:51

  • UK biometric ID card morphs into £30 'passport lite'

    So what price the £93 passport?

    The Home Office appears to have invented a £30 'Passport Lite' - possibly accidentally, given that a severe decline in the numbers of people paying for the the full-price passport (which we can perhaps now call the Passport World Traveller) would make its ID card costings looks even more implausible. The existence or non- …

    Music and Media 8 Jul 2005, 11:28

  • Yahoo unveils SMS search service

    Find: Pizza

    Yahoo has launched a new search feature which enables people to send text message queries to its search engine and receive results back on their mobile phones. Yahoo SMS Search, which is similar to the Google SMS service launched late last year, is currently only available for use by users in the US. The free service allows …

    Mobile 8 Jul 2005, 11:34

  • BBC to show comedy via broadband

    Not a laughing matter

    The BBC is to premiere some TV shows online before they are broadcast on its traditional channels. The webcasts will be the first of a series of programme shown online as the Beeb gets to grip with video over broadband. From July 19 the BBC is to show the new series of its comedy The Mighty Boosh a week ahead of its …

    Telecoms 8 Jul 2005, 11:44

  • Don't let bombs become political ammo

    Letters Reg readers get cynical

    Since yesterday's bombings of the transport network in London, we have received several letters from our readers offering sympathy and condolences to London and the UK. We'll get to those in a moment, and thank you for your kind thoughts. But first, we need to address another issue, one that is certainly floating around in the …

    Letters 8 Jul 2005, 11:57

  • Sasser suspect walks free

    Probation and no fine for 'world's worst' VXer

    The teenage author of the infamous Sasser worm has been sentenced to one year and nine months probation following his conviction for computer sabotage offences. Sven Jaschan, 19, escaped a prison sentence after confessing to computer sabotage and illegally altering data at the beginning of his trial in the German town of Verden …

    Malware 8 Jul 2005, 12:03

  • Sony Ericsson K750i

    Review The best multimedia handset yet?

    It seems that Sony Ericsson has been hard at work on their latest batch of handsets, recently announcing no fewer than seven new models. Always the chameleon, Sony Ericsson seems to have perfected the art of squeezing the same technology into suitably different shells, so that four of the handsets being cat-walked were in fact …

    Reviews 8 Jul 2005, 13:24

  • Rockall first day cover surfaces on eBay

    Signed by Terry Pratchett, by jingo

    The Rockall Ho! team - including our very own Lester Haines - which on 16 June successfully landed on the sacred islet of Rockall; way, way out in the North Atlantic - has evidently been mixing it up with the philatelic world. In what must be one of the world's most unlikely alliances, UK satire outfit The Rockall Times have …

    Site News 8 Jul 2005, 13:36

  • Google invests in electric broadband

    Socket to 'em

    Google has joined a gaggle of other companies to invest in a US broadband company that provides high speed net services over electricity cables. Exactly how much search engine outfit Google, investment bank Goldman Sachs and comms outfit The Hearst Corporation have ploughed into Current Communications has not been revealed. …

    Telecoms 8 Jul 2005, 13:39

  • Rubber-clad Reg hack seeks playmates

    FoTW 'You dirty communist'

    Regular readers may remember that late last week it emerged that a woman in Utah tattooed her face with the logo of the online-casino-that-shall-remain-nameless. The inimitable Lester Haines covered the story, and in it expressed a measure of disbelief at the things people will do for money. Particularly for the rather paltry …

    Bootnotes 8 Jul 2005, 13:53

  • $250K reward for Sasser virus informants

    That's what friends are for

    The two people who helped identify the creator of the infamous Sasser worm in 2004 will share a reward of $250,000, Microsoft confirmed Friday. News of the payment under the software giant's Anti Virus Reward Program comes after a German court sentenced Sven Jaschan, 19, self-confessed author of Sasser to 21 months probation and …

    Malware 8 Jul 2005, 14:31

  • Engineers repair Pakistan net connection

    At last

    A major undersea fibre-optic cable linking Pakistan to the rest of the world has been repaired ten days after it went titsup. The damage to the Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe-3 (SEA-ME-WE3) cable had interrupted communications services in the country since it went down on 27 June and made life extremely tricky for …

    Telecoms 8 Jul 2005, 14:52

  • Microsoft looks to partners to force Office upgrades

    Helping you to help us

    Microsoft is calling on its partners to overcome customer inertia in the Office franchise, and help drive sales of its desktop and server productivity system. Microsoft opened its Worldwide partner conference with tantalizing tales of $140bn in unrealized market opportunities for companies building applications and services …

    IT Director 8 Jul 2005, 15:29

  • Borland disappoints again in Q2

    CEO retooled as ex-CEO

    Dale Fuller gave up the CEO job at Borland Thursday as the company revealed a bad revenue miss in its second quarter which resulted in a major stock hit. The software maker yesterday revealed that second quarter figures would not come in as expected. Preliminary figures show Borland's revenue coming in between $65m and $67m - …

    Financial News 8 Jul 2005, 15:42

  • VXers release 'London bombing' Trojan

    Scumbags spread spambot

    Virus writers have created a Trojan which poses as London terrorist attack news footage. Infected emails harbouring the Trojan pose as a CNN Newsletter which asks recipients to ‘See attachments for unique amateur video shots’ (example below). If executed, the malicious attachment turns infected Windows PCs into spam zombies. …

    Malware 8 Jul 2005, 16:42

  • SGI shares plummet as deal closing malady lingers

    Eyes penny stock status

    SGI today lurched towards penny stock territory after announcing a huge fourth quarter revenue miss. The server maker, in a preliminary forecast, warned investors to expect revenue between $170m and $175m for the period. Previously, SGI had predicted revenue to come in between $180m and $200m. Shares of SGI dropped more than 15 …

    Servers 8 Jul 2005, 16:52

  • Microsoft urges partners to make business app run

    Must beat-off Oracle and SAP

    Microsoft's head of business applications has appealed to partners to team-up and sell Microsoft's full suite of e-commerce software to beat-off Oracle and SAP. Doug Burgum, senior vice president of Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS), said Friday companies who decide not to create their own internal MBS practice should work …

    Applications 8 Jul 2005, 17:01

  • Sun's software deputy quits

    DeWitt-Kohn syndrome claims another over July 4

    Sun Microsystems' ongoing effort to build a strong software business hit a snag this week as the company's number two code executive resigned, The Register can confirm. Mark McClain's official title at Sun was vice president of software marketing. He served under both EVP of software John Loiacono and CMO Anil Gadre. McClain …

    Software 8 Jul 2005, 20:43

  • Look out IBM, here comes Microsoft's OzFest

    Enough with the Notes

    Microsoft is gunning for IBM's Lotus Notes users in an effort to quadruple the size of its ISV partner community around the Office desktop productivity suite. The company will launch a sales and marketing campaign in September that encourages 100m Notes customers to build their future collaborative software applications and …

    Applications 8 Jul 2005, 20:48

  • For ambulance-chasing bloggers, tragedy equals opportunity

    Rush of blood to the Wiki

    No human disaster these days is complete without two things, both of which can be guaranteed to surface within 24 hours of the event. First, virus writers will release a topical new piece of malware. And then weblog evangelists proclaim how terrific the catastrophe is for the internet. It doesn't seem to matter how high the …

    Music and Media 8 Jul 2005, 21:51