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26th July 2005 Archive

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  • GTA porn row - whose responsibility is it?

    Analysis Give me some sugar, honey

    Who'd have thought that a simple cup of coffee could cause suck a ruckus? The debate over the ins and outs (no pun intended) of the 'Hot Coffee' section in the new Grand Theft Auto is still raging. Background The Hot Coffee mode was first discovered in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for the PC, released last month. In the …

    Personal 26 Jul 2005, 06:59

  • Eircom to buy Meteor for €420m

    Return to Irish mobile market

    Eircom's acquisition of mobile operator Meteor has set pulses racing in Ireland as the former monopoly re-enters the lucrative Irish mobile market. Eircom's successful €420m bid for Ireland's third mobile operator Meteor was officially announced at the company's AGM (annual general meeting) on yesterdy. The news was widely …

    Mobile 26 Jul 2005, 07:28

  • Software user did not acquire ownership, says court

    What's yours is mine?

    A Lancashire software house has defeated a claim by its customer to ownership of a database system that took four years and over £1 million to write. The High Court refused to imply an assignment or exclusive licence into their contract. Darwen-based BusinessLinx Limited wrote the software for ClearSprings (Management) Limited …

    Developer 26 Jul 2005, 07:51

  • Dell leaked email shows channel plans

    Direct threat haunts dealers

    A leaked email reveals Dell wants to get closer to UK resellers. The company, which prides itself on its direct relationship with customers, is running a reseller event at the end of August. The event is for a "select number of partners" and will include an overview of service and support offerings, a factory tour and a meeting …

    PCs 26 Jul 2005, 08:38

  • MS website trumpets 'pyramid' company

    Quest for gold turns nasty

    A case study on Microsoft.com is unwittingly promoting a company which has been accused of operating a pyramid scheme targetting people in south-east Asia and Africa. This page on Microsoft's website explains how Hong Kong-based GoldQuest International Ltd made big savings by moving to Windows Server 2003. The page proudly …

    Financial News 26 Jul 2005, 08:47

  • Intel plans $3bn 300mm-wafer fab in Arizona

    First 45nm production plant

    Intel is to build a 300mm-wafer fabrication facility in Chandler, Arizona, the chip giant said yesterday. The $3bn plant, dubbed Fab 32, is Intel's sixth 300mm-wafer fab, but will be the first to mass-produce 45nm chips when it goes on stream in H2 2007. Other 45nm lines are already in development at Intel's R&D fabs. Some 1, …

    PCs 26 Jul 2005, 08:55

  • AMD to raise Athlon prices?

    Balancing August Sempron price cuts

    AMD has confirmed it is to cut the prices of its Socket 754 Sempron processors next month. The chip maker has also formally brought its Socket A line to an end, KJ Chou, AMD Taiwan's general manager said, according to DigiTimes. K7 production will come to an end this month, Chou said, though the company will respond positively …

    PCs 26 Jul 2005, 09:37

  • Intel quietly ships Pentium M 778

    Celeron M 380, too

    The Pentium M 780 hasn't yet appeared on Intel's public price list, but the 2.26GHz chip has started to appear on the chip giant's website following its quiet launch this weekend. The 780 popped up in Japanese PC retailers' stores yesterday, though Intel has yet to formally introduce the chip. Intel has also shipped the …

    PCs 26 Jul 2005, 09:40

  • UK overseas passports go biometric from 2006

    No fingerprints, just faces

    The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has announced a £5m deal with 3M to kit out its embassies and consulates overseas with the technology needed to issue "biometric" passports. However, the scope of the deal largely confirms that the biometric element is less high tech than we might have imagined. There will be no …

    Public Sector 26 Jul 2005, 09:49

  • Ofcom sent 135 Bulldog complaints

    Time for regulator to act

    More than 130 individual complaints have been sent to Ofcom detailing problems faced by customers of broadband ISP Bulldog. The 100-page document was compiled by Steve Collis from Dartford who has spearheaded a campaign to notify the regulator about the problems experienced by some punters. In the last week Collis has been …

    Telecoms 26 Jul 2005, 09:55

  • Time shutters stores

    Shop closure only temporary

    Time Computers has closed its retail stores, which trade as The Computer Shop, because they can no longer process card payments. A spokesman for Time said: "All stores are currently closed. We have a problem with card processing and we're talking to the bank about it. It shouldn't take more than a few days to sort out." Asked …

    PCs 26 Jul 2005, 10:40

  • Motorola unveils would-be Blackberry beater

    Go to the back of the Q

    Motorola yesterday announced the Q, a smart phone it hopes will do for RIM's Blackberry and Palm's Treo devices. Well, not until Q1 2006 at the very earliest, which is when the company plans to ship the product, network support permitting. Motorola claims the Q is the "thinnest, lightest" handset with an integrated QWERTY …

    Mobile 26 Jul 2005, 10:53

  • Russian spammer murdered

    Bludgeoned to death

    Notorious Russian spammer Vardan Kushnir was found bludgeoned to death in his Moscow apartment on Sunday. He was killed by repeated blows to the head, Russian news agency Interfax reports. Kushnir, 35, headed the Center for American English, whose aggressive spamming practices have angered net users. In the past the Center’s …

    Spam 26 Jul 2005, 10:56

  • Alienware Aurora Star Wars Edition gaming PC

    Review Impressive... most impressive

    I've got a bad feeling about this, I thought to myself when I first heard that Alienware was going to build a Star Wars-branded PC. I know how much licences like these cost - my wife used to work in licensing for LucasFilm. Believe me, Mr Lucas knows all too well the power of his brand, and he's never likely to undervalue it. …

    Reviews 26 Jul 2005, 10:57

  • Vodafone kicks Beckham into touch

    Midfielder sent to the bench

    David Beckham is no longer the face of Vodafone's live! service. The contract was ended by mutual consent but brand Beckham probably won't miss the estimated £1m a year it brought in. A spokesman for Vodafone told the Mirror: "He did a good job for us in promoting Vodafone live! when we first launched it. But we have decided …

    Mobile 26 Jul 2005, 11:00

  • PlusNet posts improved numbers

    BB numbers up too

    PlusNet - the Sheffield-based ISP - added almost 50,000 new broadband punters over the last year as it continues to pursue its strategy of being a "best value" ISP. The number of high broadband punters grew 68 per cent to 113,084 from 67,383 in June 2004. The increase in numbers helped takings for the six months to the end of …

    Financial News 26 Jul 2005, 11:05

  • Fakers beware: no more MS updates for you

    WGA goes live

    Microsoft is no longer providing updates to non-genuine versions of its Windows XP operating system. From today, the company has switched over to a full launch of its Windows Genuine Advantage Programme as part of its ongoing anti-piracy campaign. Users will now have to join the WGA authentication program if they want to …

    Software 26 Jul 2005, 11:07

  • Student in '£250m' software piracy scam walks free

    Gumshoes unravel trade in counterfeit IBM code

    An electrical engineering student who acted as an online reseller of counterfeit software has been given a 140-hour community service order. Alexandros Samras, 33, from Loughborough, Leicestershire, pleaded guilty to four counts of copyright infringement and one of assisting an offender to retain the benefit of criminal conduct …

    Applications 26 Jul 2005, 12:15

  • US army gets raygun for Iraq

    Set phasers to roast..

    US troops in Iraq are set to use a non-lethal energy beam weapon mounted on a Humvee. The ray uses a beam which heats up the skin to a depth of 1/64 of an inch. This burning sensation is very painful but won't cause actual damage unless the subject stays in the beam for as long as 250 seconds. It is hoped it will provide a less …

    Science 26 Jul 2005, 12:21

  • BT hits back at Bulldog jibes

    Blame game continues as punters lose out

    BT has hit back at claims made by Cable & Wireless (C&W) that it is to blame for the problems facing broadband ISP Bulldog. In a statement sent to The Register BT rejected accusations that it is responsible for problems experienced by Bulldog customers who have switched their phone and broadband services to the LLU ISP. BT …

    Telecoms 26 Jul 2005, 12:50

  • Firms warned over SAP flaw

    Action stations

    Organisations running the popular SAP R/3 enterprise software package risk exposing sensitive information because of a new security vulnerability, a UK government UNIRAS alert warns. The UK's National Infrastructure Security Coordination Centre (NISCC) said the vulnerability stems from an input validation error with the SAP …

    Enterprise Security 26 Jul 2005, 13:46

  • Game adds on Addon

    Acquires French retailer

    Game is expanding its retailing empire in France with the acquisition of video game outfit Addon for €6.2m (£4.3m). The deal adds an extra 20 outlets to Game's existing presence in France in areas where the computer entertainment retailier does not currently operate. In the 12 months to the end of March Addon generated …

    Financial News 26 Jul 2005, 14:04

  • IT jobs on the up

    Go west young man, go west...

    The majority of IT organisations in the US expect to recruit more staff in the next year but they believe any growth will be modest. The best place to look for a new job is the financial industry with 63 per cent of firms expecting an increase in IT staff. Among these firms 22 per cent expect to increase numbers by more than 10 …

    IT Director 26 Jul 2005, 14:14

  • Leeds Council aims for IT integration nirvana

    And Hackney wants your bids

    Leeds City Council has awarded Novell a six year contract to completely overhaul its internal and external IT services as it approaches the government's end-of-2005 deadline for making eGovernment services available online. The value of the contract was not disclosed. The council says the Novell contract is just one part of a …

    IT Director 26 Jul 2005, 14:45

  • CA aims to curb spam with Qurb

    Liked IT so much it bought the company

    Computer Associates today announced the acquisition of anti-spam firm Qurb for an undisclosed cash sum. Qurb’s identity-based email security technology is designed to block spam and protect users against phishing attacks. The software builds a list of approved senders by scanning existing email and contact folders. People on …

    Financial News 26 Jul 2005, 15:06

  • Shuttle actually lifts off

    Hooray!

    The Shuttle Discovery successfully blasted off from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral's Kennedy Space Centre, at 10:39am local time, 15:39 BST, today. It is the first Shuttle to do so since the loss of the Columbia in 2003. NASA TV followed the flight from the ground as the Shuttle rose from the launch pad, and dwindled to a …

    Science 26 Jul 2005, 15:20

  • 3 goes live in Ireland

    Video phone-tastic

    3 - the video mobile network operator wholly owned by Hutchison Whampoa Group - has switched on its video mobile network in Ireland. The mobile operator claims that while its video network is available to six in ten of the country's population, its standard voice and text service can be accessed by almost everyone. Price plans …

    Mobile 26 Jul 2005, 15:21

  • Nokia, Symbian boom as smart phone sales rocket

    But PDA sales stutter

    Smart phones sales surged around the world during Q2 while the pure-play PDA market continued to contract, market watcher Canalys reported today. Worldwide shipments of mobile devices jumped 105.4 per cent over Q2 2004 to 12.19m units. Smart phone shipments were up 186 per cent, but PDA shipments were down 14 per cent, Canalys …

    Mobile 26 Jul 2005, 15:33

  • Apple updates iBook, Mac Mini

    More for your money

    Apple has updated its iBook, but the anticipated widescreen models were notable by their absence. The company also extended the Mac Mini range. The 12in and 14in G4-class PowerPC-based consumer notebooks now run 1.33GHz and 1.42GHz, respectively, and come with a beefier 512MB of 333MHz DDR memory. The machines' frontside bus …

    Mac Channel 26 Jul 2005, 16:01

  • Vanishing HQs, trendy hearing aids and buying Office 2003

    Letters You think we're hallucinating (again)

    Normally when it comes to be time to rummage through the emails you send us, looking for the funny, insightful or just plain interesting ones to use in the letters column, we tend to start serious, and get silly towards the end. For a change, we'll kick off with some daftness, spent a little time in the land of the sensible …

    Letters 26 Jul 2005, 16:13

  • Cisco pays $97m to pump networks full of its DNA

    Sheer intelligence

    Hoping to turn data centers from smart to super-smart, Cisco has bought flashy start-up Sheer Networks for up to $122m. The deal will see Cisco acquire some of the most bizarre marketing speak around along with complex networking software for shuffling data in an "intelligent" fashion. Sheer's entire pitch revolves around the …

    Data Networking 26 Jul 2005, 16:47

  • Oh, the 'maturing' middleware market

    The downs of getting old

    IBM, BEA Systems and Oracle continue to dominate the application deployment software market, although the big three face the challenges of a maturing market. Analyst IDC's annual survey of licensing and maintenance revenues found IBM top in 2004 with 37 per cent of the market (2003: 35.6 per cent), BEA second on 12 per cent ( …

    Applications 26 Jul 2005, 17:55

  • 3 signs up Sony Ericsson

    Three becomes four

    3, the 3G mobile operator, is adding Sony Ericsson handsets to its stable. S-E joins NEC, Motorola and LG as a preferred supplier of 3G video mobiles to the 3 group of companies. The K608i (pictured left) is the first handset to go on sale - it debuts in the UK at start of August. The handset features a 1.3 mega pixel camera, …

    Mobile 26 Jul 2005, 18:09

  • New Vista name, old Windows problem for Microsoft

    How to make an upgrade make sense

    It could have been so different. Longhorn came close to having an acceptable, if boring, name. Windows 07 and Windows Seven were in the frame. But after four-long years, Microsoft decided to call the next version of its delayed Windows client “Vista” because of the "emotional" feelings it evoked. According to an internal …

    Hardware 26 Jul 2005, 19:01

  • IBM's z9 mainframe monster roars to life

    54 processors of goodness

    IBM today shoved a new mainframe - the z9 - at the front of an army of hardware announcements that also included new blade server items, new virtualization software and an expanded partnership with Network Appliance. Big Blue disgorged this at an event in New York. As predicted here, IBM will spruce up the zSeries mainframe …

    Hardware 26 Jul 2005, 20:47

  • TI reaps wireless boom

    And increases dividend

    Texas Instruments reported a net income of $628m on revenue of $3.23bn in its 2Q 2005 earnings, announced yesterday. The revenue is almost exactly the same as a year ago, but an improvement on the previous quarter. Revenue from analog chips grew 13pc, and revenue from DSPs, the cornerstone of the company's revival over the past …

    Hardware 26 Jul 2005, 21:44

  • Amazon delivers shipshape Q2

    No nasty surprises this time

    Amazon.com reported higher sales, but slightly lower net income in its 2Q 2005 earnings statement. Net profit was $52m, down from $76m a year ago, largely because of a tax bill. Sales were up 26pc from the same time last year at $1.75bn for the quarter. But investors were cheered because revenue growth is outpacing the cost of …

    Financial News 26 Jul 2005, 23:48