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19th July 2005 Archive

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  • IBM evens the keel in Q2

    No layoffs this time

    IBM's workers may be safe for another 90 days after the company met its targets for its second quarter. IBM's revenue for the period hit $22.3bn - a 4 per cent drop from the $23.1bn reported in the same quarter last year. IBM's net income proved more impressive, jumping to $1.82bn from $1.74bn in 2004. These income totals …

    Financial News 19 Jul 2005, 04:45

  • HP boss on motivation, human capital, and staff retention

    News from Hurdistan

    Hewlett Packard staff in the US waiting to hear the extent of the much-anticipated redundancies face the longest night of all. Tomorrow morning, at 8:45am Pacific Time (4:45pm British Summer Time) the company will brief analysts, and the press an hour later, on "details of a company restructuring plan". (Some HP watchers had …

    Business 19 Jul 2005, 04:47

  • IT pros need a cuddle

    You're valued, honest, you are

    IT pros need a cuddle - or at least an arm around the shoulder - to let them know just how much they're loved. So says a survey by online learning outfit, SkillSoft, which found that more than half of IT workers don't feel valued at work. In fact, three quarters of those quizzed said they were discriminated against because of …

    Management 19 Jul 2005, 05:02

  • PC sales saved by Asia, Latin America

    Lower prices attract first-time buyers

    PC sales showed much better growth in the second quarter of 2005 than expected, according to figures from IDC and Gartner. IDC estimates PC sales grew 16.6 per cent in the second quarter. Gartner put the figure slightly lower at 14.8 per cent. Growth worldwide was greater than expected - back in May IDC predicted growth of 12.3 …

    PCs 19 Jul 2005, 08:44

  • Cornice readies 4GB 1in HDD

    Names new CEO too

    Cornice, the specialist in compact hard disk drives, will begin shipping a 4GB micro-drive later this month, the company said yesterday. It also announced the appointment of a new CEO. The 1in, 4GB Storage Element (SE) is Cornice's first release after resolving its legal battle with Seagate - a fight that saw it agree not to …

    PCs 19 Jul 2005, 09:15

  • Finns probe illegal mobile marketing

    Advertising or customer relations?

    Finnish officials are probing illegal direct marketing via SMS, Finnish broadcaster YLE reports. The Data Protection Ombudsman, which operates along with the Ministry of Justice, says it is looking into dozens of companies that recently sent out messages to mobile phones. One investigation includes a promotion by Pohjola. The …

    Financial News 19 Jul 2005, 09:34

  • Murdoch buys blogs

    Bloggers get proprietor's touch

    News Corp is bolstering its newly-formed internet unit by spending $580m on Intermix - the company behind blog site myspace.com. Intermix owns and runs about 40 websites but current best performer is myspace.com. Myspace is a blogging and networking site. It brought in 15.6m viewers in May, according to comscore Media Metrix. …

    Financial News 19 Jul 2005, 09:36

  • SDK claims world first for perpendicular HDD production

    Punching out 40GB, 1.8in platters

    Japan's Showa Denko KK (SDK) has become the first manufacturer in the world to put a hard drive using the perpendicular recording technique into mass production, the company claimed today. The 1.89in platter is pitched at small, mobile devices and offers a storage capacity of 40GB, double the capacity of a platter using the …

    Storage 19 Jul 2005, 09:44

  • Want top-notch net porn? Try ITV News

    ITN apologises for smut link gaffe

    Independent UK news outfit ITN has escaped sanction by watchdog Ofcom after admitting to broadcasting a link to a XXX website during a 9 June news bulletin. The full scale of the outrage is explained in Ofcom's broadcast bulletin number 39 (PDF), released yesterday. The fun-packed issue declares: A viewer complained that a …

    Bootnotes 19 Jul 2005, 09:57

  • Toshiba invests in holographic disc firm

    HVD to be future of HD DVD?

    Toshiba has invested in Optware, the company developing a holographic optical disc claimed to offer significantly greater storage capacity than next-generation formats like Toshiba's own, HD DVD. Toshiba was one of four companies who together pumped $14m into Optware earlier this month. The other investors are Japanese banks …

    Peripherals 19 Jul 2005, 10:04

  • Gates: You just can't get the staff

    Not enough nine year olds to go round

    Microsoft founder Bill Gates has again complained about the shortage of computing graduates in the US. Speaking at Microsoft's Research Faculty Summit to an audience of academics Gates said it was important to "capture the imaginations of the next generation of computing innovators by exposing them to inspirational research …

    Bootnotes 19 Jul 2005, 10:33

  • Gizmoville buzzes to iPod vibrator

    Tech Digest Clitoral stimulation from your MP3 player, and much more

      Obligatory iPod Accessory of the Week: Audi-Oh Vibrator for your iPod Yes, that's right, someone's created a wearable vibrator that works in harmony with your music player. Strap the silicone butterfly in place, plug it into your favourite music player and get jiggy with the musical beat. It will also work in rhythm with …

    Peripherals 19 Jul 2005, 10:35

  • Systems Union trading in line with expectations

    Etcetera

    Systems Union Group has updated the Stock Exchange ahead of its results statement in mid-August. Revenues and operating profits are in line with market expectations and its new customers and sales pipeline is ahead of last year. The board intends to pay a dividend of 0.75p per share.® Related stories Microsoft Business …

    Financial News 19 Jul 2005, 10:45

  • Wanadoo UK punts 2 meg broadband

    Existing users have to pay to upgrade

    Wanadoo UK - the ISP formerly known as Freeserve and due to morph into Orange next year - is doubling the speed of its broadband service. New punters signing up to the service can now get 2 meg broadband for £17.99. "With this new offer we want to demonstrate our continuing commitment to giving our customers more for their …

    Broadband 19 Jul 2005, 10:55

  • Fatalities rise in speed camera hotspots

    More Gatsos, more splatsos

    The UK government recently suspended the deployment of more speeds cameras pending the outcome of of a University College London probe into whether they actually save lives. We have no doubt, then, that the investigators will be taking a close interest in the Motorcycle News revelation that road deaths have risen dramatically …

    Bootnotes 19 Jul 2005, 11:09

  • Online gaming addiction smokes out Evil Dragon

    Heaven-sent raid on Taiwanese blagger

    An armed fugitive's fondness for online games led to his capture by Taiwan police last week. Cops had been searching for Chang Hsi-ming (AKA Evil Dragon) on suspicion of murder, illegal possession of weapons and multiple kidnappings for more than a year, Reuters reports. A $300K reward for information leading to Chang's capture …

    Bootnotes 19 Jul 2005, 11:17

  • Growth slows as Virgin Mobile 'thrives'

    MVNO ARPU down too

    Virgin Mobile - the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) which is the UK's fifth largest mobile outfit - reported today that it "continues to grow strongly and thrive", according to a stock exchange statement. The number of active punters grew 21 per cent over the last year from 3.4m in June 2004 to 4.1m at the end of last …

    Mobile 19 Jul 2005, 12:08

  • EA signs Verizon, Sprint for mobile games

    Jamdat today

    US mobile carriers Verizon and Sprint have inked deals to sell Electronic Arts games to their subscribers. Verizon, part owned by Vodafone, will offer the likes of Madden NFL, NBA Live, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, FIFA and The Sims to subscribers of its V-Cast high-speed service. Sprint will offer Tiger Woods PGA Tour and Pogo.com …

    Mobile 19 Jul 2005, 12:15

  • Emperor Hurd decimates HP

    Support and benefits to suffer

    HP today bowed to the will of Wall Street and revealed plans to decimate its workforce by 14,500 people - a figure no doubt thought more palatable than 15,000. Employees around the globe will be affected by the move with most of the cuts hitting support staffers. Those working in HP's sales and research and development …

    Financial News 19 Jul 2005, 12:22

  • Industry and govt must converge on convergence

    Process needs kick-start, says report

    The UK must do more if it is to become a world leader in technology convergence, according to report published today. Intellect, the UK's technology industry trade association, is calling on government and industry to get together to create the right environment, in terms of regulation, policy and infrastructure, to support …

    Management 19 Jul 2005, 13:06

  • Write down your password today

    No-tech solution to security conundrum

    Security guru Bruce Schneier has backed calls from Microsoft's Jesper Johansson urging users to write down their passwords. In years gone by scribbling down passwords on Post-It notes was often cited as a top security mistake but the sheer volume of passwords people are obliged to remember means people often use easily-guessed …

    Security 19 Jul 2005, 13:53

  • O2 wins £390m ambulance deal

    On the crest of an Airwave

    O2 has won a £390m deal to provide a new secure communications system - Airwave - for ambulance services in England. The contract is due to run for 13 years and includes the provision of kit and network access. Airwave is a national digital radio network specifically for emergency services. It has already been rolled out to all …

    Mobile 19 Jul 2005, 13:58

  • O2 XM music phone

    First UK Review Intel Mobile Media Technology debuts

    Intel's XScale processors have traditionally been incorporated into PDAs and smart phones, and promoted by the chip giant as the ideal CPU to handle the heavy lifting these devices' operating systems require. But a few years back, Intel decided it ought to widen XScale's target market. The result was 'Manitoba', a feature-phone …

    Reviews 19 Jul 2005, 15:12

  • Don't tag workers, urges union

    'Dehumanising'

    The European Commission is being urged to outlaw electronic tagging in the workplace by companies that monitor their employees' every move. The GMB union - which has some 700,000 members - wants Eurocrats to introduce legislation against the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and GPS satellite-linked wearable …

    Media 19 Jul 2005, 15:37

  • Copycat BT doubles broadband speeds

    If that's what they Wanadoo...

    BT has doubled the speed of its entry-level broadband service just hours after Wanadoo UK announced plans to offer new punters 2 megs for £17.99 a month. Responding to Wanadoo's move earlier today, the UK's dominant telco said it is boosting the speed (and not the price) of its no-frills Broadband Basic product. From tomorrow …

    Broadband 19 Jul 2005, 15:44

  • Apple bounces back into US PC vendor top four

    Jumps ahead of IBM/Lenovo

    Apple took 4.5 per cent of the US PC market during Q2, establishing it as the fourth most successful vendor of the quarter, figures from market watcher IDC reveal. The Mac maker still has a long way to go to challenge Dell and HP, respectively the number one and number two firms in the US chart, with 34.7 per cent and 18.7 per …

    Mac Channel 19 Jul 2005, 15:57

  • MOD greenlights wind farms

    How refreshing

    The Ministry of Defence has agreed that wind farms can be built on its land near the Eskdalemuir seismic array site, which monitors the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The decision was taken after a University of Keele study demonstrated that the turbines would not interfere with the sensitive equipment, provided they …

    Science 19 Jul 2005, 15:59

  • Could free massages solve IT skills shortage?

    Letters Making work a nicer place to be

    As a nine-year old Pakistani girl passes the exam to become a Microsoft Certified Professional, Bill Gates publicly bemoans the fact that there just aren't enough decent software engineers out there. You, as always, have a few suggestions for Mr. Gates to consider: Why would anyone go into the Computer field these days. Just …

    Letters 19 Jul 2005, 16:11

  • Visa cuts CardSystems over security breach

    Didn't do nicely

    Visa USA has dumped a card processing firm blamed for a security breach affecting anything up to 40m credit card numbers from MasterCard, Visa and other card issuers. Payment processor CardSystems Solutions admitted it wasn't supposed to hold the compromised data, so it comes as no great surprise that Visa USA has stopped …

    Security 19 Jul 2005, 16:33

  • Three-headed monster takes over IBM Global Services

    Joyce jumps in Silver Lake

    IBM has appointed a trio of executives to head its massive Global Services business, following the departure of 30-year veteran and former head of IGS John Joyce. A three-executive team of Ginni Rometty, Mike Daniels and Bob Moffatt will report directly to IBM chief executive Sam Palmisano, the company said on Tuesday. Rometty …

    Data Center 19 Jul 2005, 16:39

  • Search Wars - the Empire strikes back

    Update Microsoft takes Google to court

    Microsoft is moving to slap a gagging order on an ex-vice president hired by Google, ostensibly to protect trade secrets. Microsoft has filed a suit against Google and former vice president of Natural Interactive Services Division (NISD) Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, who has been recruited by Google to head-up the company’s new R&D …

    Software 19 Jul 2005, 17:26

  • Broadcom offloads $76m for Ethernet dynamo

    TCP/IP, iSCSI, iWarp, iWhatever

    Broadcom bought a little bit of its future on Tuesday, acquiring networking chip start-up Siliquent Technologies. The $76m cash deal, expected to close by October, gives Broadcom one of the more interesting offloaders. Siliquent specializes in designing Ethernet chips that can handle different types of data such as TCP/IP, …

    Data Networking 19 Jul 2005, 18:24

  • Sun plans more hardware rentals

    Bits by bit

    Sun Microsystems is planning more hardware and software bundles this fall, having experimented with subscription-based offerings in the recent past. John Fowler, executive vice president for Sun’s Network Systems Group (NSG), called initial offerings such as the Ultra 20 Workstation launched at JavaOne in June “only the …

    Servers 19 Jul 2005, 22:09

  • Yahoo! numbers! chill! investors!

    Steady growth isn't enough

    Yahoo!'s stock sank 10 per cent after it posted Q2 numbers today. The company earned $1.3bn in the quarter ending in June, Q2 FY2005, a 51 per cent increase year-on-year. After advertising affiliate fees (or "traffic acquisition costs") of $485m, and operating expenses of $505m are deducted, Yahoo! earned $261m from operations …

    Broadband 19 Jul 2005, 23:58