The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

10th August 2005 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • Transmeta turns a profit!

    Anyone need a LongRun license?

    Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes of a toxic silicon bonfire, Transmeta has turned in a profit. The former CPU designer posted record revenue of $24.7m in 2Q 2005, and a net income of $6.8m. Transmeta also deferred $15.5m worth of revenue. Well, maybe Phoenix analogies are a little premature. It's the first reporting period …

    Financial News 10 Aug 2005, 00:12

  • Microsoft, Apple 'spar over iPod patent'

    Don't bring on the clones, just yet

    According to AppleInsider, a patent filed in 2002 by a Microsoft researcher has prompted the US Patent and Trademark Office to reject an Apple application to patent its iPod user interface. But leave the black helicopters grounded for a moment: the conspiracy theories may not be flightworthy. The AppleInsider story says the …

    Applications 10 Aug 2005, 02:09

  • HP and Red Hat create blade server bundle of the future

    Lump of Linux

    HP and Red Hat have engineered something they're calling a blade server bundle that aims to make software licensing easier on customers. The companies plan to sell a per chassis license for management software and Red Hat's Enterprise Linux operating system instead of moving this code on a per server or per processor basis. …

    Small Biz 10 Aug 2005, 07:00

  • Business improves at Nortel

    From pain comes gain

    Telecoms equipment maker Nortel Networks got a boost on Monday when it reported vastly improved results for its second quarter. The beleaguered company almost tripled profit, fuelled by demand for enterprise and wireless products. The second quarter results saw net earnings hit $45m, which translates into $0.01 per common share …

    Data Networking 10 Aug 2005, 07:09

  • Searching for Intelligence in Edinburgh

    Artificial Intelligence celebrates new advances

    Last week the top researchers in Artificial Intelligence (AI) gathered in Edinburgh to analyse the state of their subject. The topics under discussion ranged from robotic exoskeletons, to what tool-using crows can teach us about our own brains. Impressive results were reported in several fields, with previously intractable …

    Science 10 Aug 2005, 07:28

  • Lawsuit claims Google overcharges advertisers

    'Without merit', Google says

    A group of advertisers last week filed a class action suit against Google, accusing the search engine of overcharging advertisers who use its paid search advertising services, according to Reuters. Google offers two paid search advertising services. The AdSense system allows advertisers to display targeted ads on content …

    Financial News 10 Aug 2005, 07:41

  • Man dies playing computer games

    Game over

    A man dropped dead from exhaustion after playing computer games for more than two days. The 28-year-old South Korean man known as Lee began his online session on August 3 at a cybercafe in the southeastern city of Taegu, reports Reuters. He only budged from playing the "battle simulation games" to go to the toilet and to catch …

    Bootnotes 10 Aug 2005, 09:04

  • Blu-ray backers announce DRM details

    Same as HD DVD and then some

    The Blu-ray Discs Association (BDA) has chosen the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) to protect movies and music stored on the next-generation optical storage format. That's no great surprise. The BDA has hinted in the past that it was likely to adopt AACS, which is being developed specifically for the successors to today's …

    Peripherals 10 Aug 2005, 09:22

  • Linux-head runs Doom on iPod

    Click wheel of death

    While pundits ponder whether Apple's market-leading iPod music player faces imminent doom, tech-savvy Linux users are hacking colour-screened versions of the device to explore another kind of Doom - this time from ID Software. Hard-working iPod Linux developer 'Kyle' has reworked Doom so that it will play on the device, albeit …

    Operating Systems 10 Aug 2005, 09:44

  • Computer games get classroom trial

    Can you learn anything from The Sims?

    A clutch of secondary schools across the UK will start their autumn term by testing how computer games could be used to support education. The project, Teaching with Games, is the brainchild of NESTA Futurelab, a lottery-funded education research group. The basic premise is: games are already being introduced into the classroom …

    Music and Media 10 Aug 2005, 10:08

  • EC approves Monsanto GM maize

    Eurocattle to enjoy MON 863

    The European Commission on Monday authorised the import of Monsanto's GM maize MON 863 for use in animal feed after tests declared it "as safe as conventional maize and unlikely to produce adverse effects". MON 863 is now cleared for "import, processing and feed use but not use in food or for cultivation". MON 863 has been …

    Science 10 Aug 2005, 10:13

  • Sony sounds fake Handycam warning

    eBayers beware

    Sony has warned UK eBay users to take care when bidding for Handycam camcorders - the devices on offer may not be what they purport to be. The company believes a number of counterfeit Handycams, possibly sourced from China, are being offered for sale on eBay's UK site, a number of other retail web sites and by a "small number" …

    Financial News 10 Aug 2005, 10:23

  • Six patches - three critical - in MS August patch batch

    Sys admin summer hols put on hold for patching

    Microsoft's patch bandwagon rolled into town yesterday loaded with three critical updates among a total of six security alerts. A cumulative security update for Internet Explorer (MS05-038), a buffer overflow vulnerability in Windows Plug-and-Play (MS05-039) and a security bug in the Print Spooler service (MS05-043) all pose a …

    Security 10 Aug 2005, 10:34

  • NTL to vet new punters

    Giz a look at yer wad

    NTL is to vet future customers to weed out any with a dodgy credit history. Although the UK's biggest cable company accepts that the credit screening is likely to reduce the numbers of new punters signing up to its service, it should "improve the quality of customer adds, decrease bad debt and improve involuntary churn". "Even …

    Telecoms 10 Aug 2005, 10:42

  • ATI releases Radeon X800 GT

    Ssh! Don't tell anyone...

    ATI has quietly launched the Radeon X800 GT, The Register has learned. News of the part emerged last month, and today at least one Taiwanese board maker finally launched products based on the new chip. A visit to ATI's web site reveals a reference to the X800 GT, but only among products which its hardware partners will ship. …

    Peripherals 10 Aug 2005, 10:47

  • AOL raffles spammer's gold bars

    Confiscated booty up for grabs

    AOL is planning to give away assets seized from spammers in a US sweepstake due to launch Wednesday. A 2003 Hummer H2, $75,000 in cash and $20,000 in gold (pictured here) are up for grabs in a give-away of the illicit gains of junk mailing. It's the second time AOL has given away assets confiscated from a spammer. Last year, AOL …

    Spam 10 Aug 2005, 11:13

  • NY radio station fined $240k for female 'Smackfest'

    Slaps win prizes

    NY radio station WQHT Hot 97 has been fined a whopping $240,000 (£134,480) for running an on-air contest where young women were encouraged to slap each other silly to win cash and other prizes. The "Smackfest" entertainment initiative - which ran from April 2004 to January 2005, attracted the attention of Attorney General Eliot …

    Bootnotes 10 Aug 2005, 11:21

  • iTunes-friendly artists rebel against laggard labels

    Japanese bands want to come on board quickly

    Sony Music Entertainment's failure to agree with Apple Japan about getting its artists onto the iTunes Music Store is forcing artists and agencies to deal with the online music store direct. Sony-signed Japanese rocker Motoharu Sano said on his website this week he will make some of his songs available for download on ITMS. "I …

    Financial News 10 Aug 2005, 11:27

  • The Art of Computer Programming

    Site offer Knuth fascicles at 30% off

    Donald Knuth's Art of Computer Programming books have long been recognized as the definitive description of classical computer science. The three complete volumes published to date already comprise a unique and invaluable resource in programming theory and practice. Countless readers have spoken about the profound personal …

    Site News 10 Aug 2005, 11:27

  • Thus TUPEs IT jobs to Computacenter

    It's about 'cost efficiencies'

    Twenty IT workers at Scottish telco Thus have been told their jobs are to be transferred to IT services outfit Computacenter. The workers - many of whom provide internal tech support for Thus' ISP Demon - were told on Monday that they would be moved under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) regulations …

    Telecoms 10 Aug 2005, 12:34

  • Nuke news ruse used to spread Trojan

    Muck rakers

    Emails purporting to offer breaking news of an Iranian nuclear crisis are really the latest attempt by virus writers to use topical events to spread malware. Widely circulated spam email posing as info about Iran's controversial decision to continue work at its Ishafan nuclear plant attempt to direct users to a site harbouring …

    Malware 10 Aug 2005, 13:19

  • US schoolkids run amok on internet

    'Kutztown 13' bypass net filters, crack admin passwords, threaten democracy

    US authorites are preparing to throw the book at 13 high school kids for "computer trespass" after the Dirty Baker's Dozen - aka the Kutztown 13 - bypassed school computer security measures to indulge in an orgy of net surfing and online chat. The Pennsylvania perps face a 24 August meeting with the beak in the rather agreeably …

    Bootnotes 10 Aug 2005, 14:08

  • NASA delays Mars mission by 24 hours

    Dodgy rocket parts need to be ruled out

    Today should have seen the launch of the next mission to Mars, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. However, NASA has elected to delay the launch by 24 hours because of problems with the new Atlas V rocket launcher. NASA said that a test at the manufacturers had revealed a problem with a part similar to those used in the flight …

    Science 10 Aug 2005, 14:34

  • VAT fraud changes shape of trade deficit

    Missing traders means figures miss the point

    An unexpectedly large drop in the UK’s deficit on trade in goods has prompted the government to investigate whether changing patterns of VAT fraud are distorting the figures. Lastest figures from the Office of National Statistics show a surge in exports from May to June, with the deficit on trade in goods for June improving by …

    Financial News 10 Aug 2005, 14:47

  • Humble VMware offers to make itself an industry standard

    Friends peek at code for free

    VMware this week had the look of a popular yet insecure child as it paraded some of its largest allies in front of the press to tout a new virtualization standards movement and a new source code sharing program. If you're looking for big name friends, VMware has them. AMD, BEA, BMC, Broadcom, Cisco, CA, Dell, Emulex, HP, IBM, …

    Servers 10 Aug 2005, 15:25

  • Anti-bully group gives Bully game publicity boost

    Well done, Rockstar

    Not content with picking a fight with Middle America with the so-called Hot Coffee version of Grand Theft Auto, games developer Rockstar has launched an assault on sensitive Brits too, with a soon-to-be-released offering called "Bully". Anti-bullying campaigners are truly up in arms about the game, screen shots of which show …

    Bootnotes 10 Aug 2005, 15:30

  • US.gov funds VoIP tracking research

    Sigint

    The US government is to fund research into how to trace IP telephony calls. Researchers at George Mason University will get a $307K grant from the National Science Foundation to develop surveillance tools that can pinpoint the destination of a VoIP call even if it passes through an anonymizing service. The grant will fund the …

    VoIP 10 Aug 2005, 15:56

  • Yahoo! buys! into! Chinese! ecommerce! giant!

    If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em

    Chinese web marketplace Alibaba has cut a deal with running dogs of Yankee imperialism Yahoo! in exchange for a cool billion. Western web giants have failed to replicate their dominant positions in the Chinese market, where the market leaders are all home-grown - so if you can't beat them, buy a stake. Yahoo!'s $1bn investment …

    Financial News 10 Aug 2005, 18:04

  • Dell throws more desktop dual-cores at server market

    Print-serving dynamos

    Without a true dual-core server chip to play with, Dell has decided to push a dual-core desktop Pentium as far as it can go. Dell this week announced two more PowerEdge servers running on Intel's dual-core Pentium D processor. The PowerEdge 830 tower server and PowerEdge 850 rack mount box join the PowerEdge SC430 that Dell …

    Small Biz 10 Aug 2005, 19:20

  • Is my brain analog or digital?

    Letters Testing 1-2-3

    The suggestion that we think in analog, not digital, inspired you to one of the most interesting postbags of the year. An emergent type at Cornell University, Dr Spivey, suggests that the mind "should be thought of more as working the way biological organisms do: as a dynamic continuum, cascading through shades of grey." …

    Letters 10 Aug 2005, 21:03