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2nd September 2005 Archive

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  • iPod infestation almost dooms New Zealand

    Small army on the march

    The iPod's global popularity has been revealed as an agent of environmental destruction in which the entire country of New Zealand was only saved by a quick-thinking owner and his freezer cabinet. A report on the Pestnet discussion forum, where people in the Pacific region gather to discuss, well, pests, reveals that an …

    Bootnotes 2 Sep 2005, 00:02

  • Cordless videophone for broadband

    VoiP too

    Philips is to launch a cordless home videophone designed for making live video and Voice over IP calls via broadband Internet. The Philips VP5500 cordless videophone, announced yesterday at the Consumer Electronics Show IFA in Berlin, will be available in the fourth quarter of 2005. The VP5500 looks like a type of DECT phone, …

    Mobile 2 Sep 2005, 06:02

  • Hurricane + shuttle = delay

    Haven't we been here before?

    In a spectacular example of an organisation lining its excuses up early, NASA is already laying the groundwork for a further delay to a March 2006 Shuttle launch. The explanation, naturally, is Hurricane Katrina. It seems the pesky storm damaged a couple of NASA's storage facilities on the Gulf Coast: the Michoud Assembly …

    Science 2 Sep 2005, 06:02

  • GP budgets reveal map of chronic disease

    Follow the money?

    The first results from a new GP payment system were launched today, and were hailed by government spin doctors as "the world's most comprehensive database" on tracking and managing common chronic diseases. The "world's best database" claim is based on the way money is being allocated to doctors' surgeries. A practice can score …

    Public Sector 2 Sep 2005, 06:02

  • Skype signs-up first mobile carrier

    One way to cut those bills

    Skype, the Internet telephony software firm, has signed its first agreement with a mobile telecoms operator, taking its low-cost services beyond the desktop and on the road. Skype will next month deliver flat-rate services to E-Plus, Germany's third largest mobile operator - E-Plus has 9.8 million subscribers. Skype said it is …

    Mobile 2 Sep 2005, 06:35

  • DVD Jon hacks Media Player file encryption

    Repeat performance

    Norway's best known IT export, DVD Jon, has hacked encryption coding in Microsoft's Windows Media Player, opening up content broadcast for the multimedia player to alternative devices on multiple platforms. Jon Lech Johansen has reverse engineered a proprietary algorithm, which is used to wrap Media Player NSC files and …

    Music and Media 2 Sep 2005, 06:40

  • UK home workers now 'in the millions'

    Especially in the South-east

    Over five million Britons now work remotely from home, according to a new study. Research from internet analysts Point Topic found 4.3 million households, or 18 per cent of all homes across the UK, in which someone is working from home. Overall, 5.4 million individuals work from home, 70 per cent of whom use the internet as …

    Small Biz 2 Sep 2005, 07:15

  • Intel rejects AMD's antitrust allegations

    AMD vs Intel AMD's lack of success is its own fault, apparently

    Intel has filed its response to AMD's antitrust allegations and, unsurprisingly, has denied them. It claimed its business practices "are both fair and lawful". In essence, the chip giant says that while it has distributed money to its customers to help fund those company's own marketing programmes, it has never attached …

    System Builder 2 Sep 2005, 07:18

  • ComputerLand UK director resigns

    Trading update

    Gary Barrett, ComputerLand UK's IT services director, has resigned with immediate effect, the Nottingham-based reseller said today. Barrett, who joined the company from ATOS Origin, lasted just 13 months in the job. In a separate trading statement today, Computerland UK warned that growing sales and profits from its services …

    Channel Register 2 Sep 2005, 08:27

  • Dutch give football thugs a good talking to

    Putting the clog in

    Authorities in the Netherlands are turning to technology to keep the nation’s soccer hooligans in check. ADT Holland is working with the country’s Department of Justice on a voice recognition system that will call hooligans on their home phones to ensure they are complying with match day stadium bans. Voice verification …

    Bootnotes 2 Sep 2005, 09:10

  • Ofcom confirms Bulldog probe

    Billing and customer service issues cited

    Ofcom has launched an official investigation into broadband ISP Bulldog after receiving hundreds of complaints from customers. The regulator said today it would probe complaints about billing and the way the ISP handled customers' complaints. In a statement Ofcom said: "Ofcom has opened an investigation to consider whether …

    Telecoms 2 Sep 2005, 09:53

  • What kind of moron are you?

    FoTW Reg hack slammed for New Orleans bandwidth outrage

    Our story yesterday on the heroic battle of New Orleans hosting outfit directNIC.com - still operating from the city's business district despite the growing pandemonium - provoked a mixed mailbag ranging from admiration to horrified disbelief. One missive, though, caught us a bit by surprise. Take it away "Ryan": This ISP is …

    Bootnotes 2 Sep 2005, 09:57

  • BOFH: Hell hath no fury...

    Episode 26 ...like an administrator scorned

    It appears that the Boss isn't happy. For some reason the Online Electronic Document Storage project he inherited from his predecessor is somewhat behind schedule and all fingers seem to be pointing at the PFY and I as the source of the delay. I use the ruse of urgent lift maintenance as an excuse for the PFY and I to avoid the …

    BOFH 2 Sep 2005, 10:12

  • dabs.com in £500k makeover

    What not to web

    Online retailer dabs.com is revamping its website in a bid to increase the number of visitors who actually make purchases after visiting the site. It hopes to boost its conversion rate by up to 50 per cent and increase the value of sales by improving the site's search and navigation features using technology from software …

    Financial News 2 Sep 2005, 10:46

  • Itanium goes clubbing

    All together now

    If you want to build a market, start a club. That seems to be the motto now in the high-end processor business, for Intel and HP are set to follow IBM in setting up an organisation designed to promote the development of software, products and services around a processor family. If an ecosystem doesn’t grow naturally, create one …

    Servers 2 Sep 2005, 10:54

  • Chipset makers 'to raise prices' in Q3

    But higher oil prices could hit them hard in Q4

    Chipset prices look set to rise during the quarter, Taiwanese industry sources warn, with an inevitable knock-on effect on motherboard prices. Demand is outstripping supply, it seems, as Intel's low-end chipset production is cut, forcing buyers to turn to rival suppliers SiS, VIA, ATI and Nvidia. That, said the sources - cited …

    Financial News 2 Sep 2005, 11:01

  • Readers down South Korean black helicopters

    Letters Google Earth security risk? Pah!

    Google Earth: force for democratic good or running dog lackey of Commie North Korea? That was the question we posed earlier this week on hearing that South Korea is to have a right good moan to the US about Google's satellite images of its military facilities. You can check out the full chilling background right here, but Hugh …

    Letters 2 Sep 2005, 11:10

  • Hitachi touts micro HDDs' 'bling' factor

    Higher capacity iPod Minis on the way?

    Hitachi Global Storage's addlepated attempt to define "hard drives as the new 'bling'" - 'it's me 'ard drive, innit' - shouldn't detract from the fact that the company has begun to ship its promised 8GB 1in HDD. The Microdrive 3K8 - which Hitachi is calling 'Mikey' in a lame attempt to gain urban cool - is also available with a …

    Peripherals 2 Sep 2005, 11:23

  • PCCW takes wireless broadband to London

    That's it for 'now'

    UK Broadband - which is owned by giant Hong Kong-based telco PCCW - has begun rolling out its wireless broadband network in London. Ads are popping up all over London as the company installs its kit in the capital as part of a measured roll-out expected to last until the end of the year. As part of the network expansion the …

    Mobile 2 Sep 2005, 11:34

  • Zotob worm perps: hanging's too good for 'em

    Letters Straight talk on violence, surveys and 'mobes'

    From time to time, we at Vulture Central get emails berating us for printing what readers say are straight plugs for companies disguised as fascinating and informative surveys or analysis pieces. This one is typical: Shame on you for publishing such a shameless ad posing as a news item: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/30 …

    Letters 2 Sep 2005, 13:31

  • Katrina-themed malware attack hits the net

    Incoming

    Hurricane Katrina is bringing out the worst in people on the net as well as on the streets of New Orleans. Spam emails purporting to offer links to news about Katrina are been used to tempt potential victims onto a site hosting Trojan malware. The site exploits well-known IE vulnerabilities to install a variety of Trojans …

    Malware 2 Sep 2005, 13:31

  • VIA ships P4M800 Pro chipset

    Low-end line adds DDR 2 support, gears up for HDTV era

    VIA today began shipping its latest low-end Intel-oriented chipset, bringing DDR 2 SDRAM and faster frontside bus speeds to its budget line-up. The P4M800 Pro builds on the P4M800 with the addition of the faster, less power-hungry memory specification, with clock speeds of up to 533MHz supported. While the previous version uses …

    System Builder 2 Sep 2005, 13:41

  • Tiscali targets P2P bandwidth hogs

    'For the good of all other customers'

    Tiscali UK is cracking down on broadband users who hammer the service at peak times. Its "three strikes and you're out" policy means that bandwidth hogs will receive three warnings if they are found to be abusing the service. If punters fail to moderate their usage, then the ISP plans to restrict their usage during peak hours " …

    Telecoms 2 Sep 2005, 13:52

  • Infinium to bring game rental downloads to Europe

    Interview New broom, but same old story?

    Infinium Labs' plan to target "yesterday's gamers" with its long-promised console/online game rental service will involve a European roll-out the company revealed this week. Speaking to The Register yesterday, CEO Kevin Bacchus and European MD Greg Koler remained tight-lipped on the service's launch window here - and, for …

    Consoles 2 Sep 2005, 14:47

  • 419-lite fraudsters target Camelot

    You have to be in it to win it

    Advance fee fraudsters are turning their attention to the UK's National Lottery with scam emails that pose as winning notifications. Recipients are told they've won sums beyond the dreams of avarice simply by having the right email account. A Camelot representative confirmed that you have to purchase a ticket to win anything in …

    ID 2 Sep 2005, 15:00

  • Verizon takes legal action over phone spam

    Consumer rights and wrongs

    Verizon Wireless is taking legal action against two US companies for allegedly bombarding its customers with automated telemarketing calls. In two separate lawsuits filed earlier this week, Verizon Wireless is seeking injunctions against Intelligent Alternatives of San Diego, California, and Resort Marketing Trends of Coral …

    Mobile 2 Sep 2005, 15:26

  • Smartballs come to relief of footie refs

    They think it's all... bugger, the system's crashed

    FIFA is trialling technology which could relieve football refs of the onerous task of deciding if the ball is actually on the pitch. The worldwide football body is trialling Adidas’ smartball technology at a tournament in Peru this month, according to The Sporting Life, and could draft in the system for next year’s World Cup. …

    Bootnotes 2 Sep 2005, 15:57

  • Trusted Computing standards won't apply to Vista - Schneier

    Machiavellian software machinations

    Microsoft is dragging its heels about applying guidelines it helped develop for trusted computing to the next version of Windows, according to noted crypto guru Bruce Schneier. The Trusted Computing Group (TCG) - which includes Microsoft, Sony, AMD, Intel, IBM, Sun and HP reps - has developed a set of guidelines (Design, …

    Security 2 Sep 2005, 16:10