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30th September 2005 Archive

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  • EMC dishes up Exchange storage special for the little guy

    'Hard for us, easy for you'

    After an extended incubation period, Storage Administrator has arrived in all its rebranded glory from EMC with the promise of making Microsoft Exchange Server easier to manage for small- to medium-sized businesses. In its previous life at Allocity, Storage Administrator shipped under the Live!Ex brand. EMC bought Allocity in …

    Storage 30 Sep 2005, 00:28

  • UK SMEs unprepared for disaster

    Ever unready

    Most UK firms are ill-prepared for disruption or disaster. Nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of mid-sized UK businesses make no provision for staff to work from home in the event of disruption or disaster, according to a study commissioned by telco Cable & Wireless and supported by the Institute of Directors. Two in three (63 per …

    Small Biz 30 Sep 2005, 08:06

  • ConSentry aims to contain malware outbreaks

    Cisco NAC 'in a box'

    Networking start-up ConSentry Networks is challenging Cisco with the launch of an appliance device designed to contain malware outbreaks within internal networks. The firm's Secure LAN Controller product also controls user access to resources on a network. ConSentry’s flagship CS-2400 and entry-level CS-1000 products are the …

    Enterprise Security 30 Sep 2005, 08:07

  • EU deal threatens end to US dominance of internet

    Last-minute talks at PrepCom3

    Check out Kieren's radio report on Prepcom 3 A dramatic last-minute deal drawn up by the EU may mark the end of the US government's control of the internet. The UK, acting as European representative, stunned delegates from around the world during a late-night session on Wednesday when it produced a series of paragraphs that …

    Music and Media 30 Sep 2005, 08:12

  • Mobiles challenge iPod hegemony

    But do people really want a coffee-making toaster?

    "Hello, yes, I'm on the train. We're just about to go into a tunnel... hello? Hello?" Now that we've sorted out whether anyone will want to download music onto their mobile while travelling, let's move on to the meatier issue: are people going to use them in the manner of iPods to listen to music, and thus replace that and …

    Mobile 30 Sep 2005, 09:54

  • Thus looks to spend and grow

    Eyes strategy-accelerating potential

    Thus - the Scottish telco behind the Demon ISP - is still on the lookout to acquire new businesses. Or, as the company so eloquently put it in a trading update today: "We are continuing to explore opportunities to create additional value for shareholders from acquisition opportunities but only if this offers the potential to …

    Telecoms 30 Sep 2005, 09:58

  • Showgirls clinches worst movie sex scene award

    Pool romp 'like a scene from Jaws'

    It's official: the pool romp scene from Showgirls - featuring Elizabeth Berkley and Kyle MacLachlan going at it like two dolphins caught in a tuna net - is the crappiest movie sex scene of all time. In awarding the crown to Paul Verhoeven's lamentable waste of celluloid, Empire magazine has at least ensured that it will go down …

    Bootnotes 30 Sep 2005, 09:59

  • Nvidia quietly ships GeForce 6800 XT, LE

    Ssssh! Mum's the word...

    Nvidia quietly shipped its latest GeForce 6800 series graphics chip, the GeForce 6800 XT, this week - or, at least, this was the first week anyone else noticed the part was available. The XT is understood to contain eight pixel pipelines fed by four geometry engines. The core is believed to be clocked at 325MHz, the memory at …

    System Builder 30 Sep 2005, 10:05

  • Gorillas tool up in the wild

    When in doubt, poke it with a stick

    Scientists working in the Republic of Congo have seen gorillas using tools in the wild for the first time. The scientists recorded two separate instances of tool use., including one gorilla using a stick to test the depth of a pool before wading across. Chimps and orangutans have been seen using tools in the wild, and even …

    Science 30 Sep 2005, 10:07

  • Soaring sales lifts Micron into the black

    DRAM demand rising

    Micron returned to profitability during its most recently completed quarter, the US memory maker announced yesterday. Sales rose 20 per cent over the previous quarter, Micron said, reaching $1.26bn during Q4 FY2005, which ended 1 September. Net income came to $43m (seven cents a share), well above the $128m (20 cents a share) …

    Channel Register 30 Sep 2005, 10:22

  • Toshiba confirms US HD DVD delay

    Roll-out 'February or March'

    Toshiba yesterday confirmed its next-generation optical disc format, HD DVD, will not launch in the US until "February or March". The technology had previously been expected to hit the market before the end of this year. However, HD DVD players will ship in Japan, as set down in the original launch timetable. "We have been …

    Peripherals 30 Sep 2005, 10:35

  • Firefox loses momentum

    Running out of Microsoft haters

    Firefox's early inroads against Internet Explorer are beginning to show signs of losing momentum, according to web analytics firm WebSideStory. The firm reckons the open source browser has increased its market by only a single percentage point - from 6.75 per cent in April to 7.86 per cent in September - over the last five …

    Applications 30 Sep 2005, 10:39

  • Liberty Global snaps up Swiss cableco

    Cablecom IPO shelved

    Cablecom - Switzerland's largest broadband cable company - has agreed to be gobbled up by cable TV giant Liberty Global. Details of the $2.2bn deal came a day after the Swiss TV, phone and internet outfit announced plans to float the business. That IPO has now been scrapped and instead Cablecom looks set to join the growing …

    Telecoms 30 Sep 2005, 11:35

  • iRiver T10 1GB digital music player

    Review One for the road?

    iRiver's Flash-based T10 is one of the chunkier digital music players I've seen. It's clearly pitched at a more sporty audience - it's got yellow trim, always visual shorthand for a 'sport' model - and both its size and heft are intended to appeal to folk who maintain an 'active' lifestyle, whatever that is. Actually, I quite …

    Reviews 30 Sep 2005, 11:36

  • Liars' brains really are made of different stuff

    Fibbing ability linked to the leetle white cells

    Pathological liars' brains are different from normal people's. The fibbers had up to 26 per cent more white matter than the honest folk, a study has found, suggesting that it is the white matter that allows people to deceive, and that pathological liars may not always be in complete control of their porkies. The findings, …

    Science 30 Sep 2005, 11:42

  • Danish F-16s total Rudolph

    Santa compensated for outrage

    The Danish air force has coughed up £2,850 in compensation after two of its F-16s did for Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. Professional Santa Olovi Nikkanoff pocketed the cash after the flyboys admitted liability for scaring Rudolph to death as they flew over the happily-grazing animal in February. A shufti at the flight records …

    Bootnotes 30 Sep 2005, 11:43

  • Sony unveils Memory Stick Micro

    What, another memory card format?

    Sony and SanDisk today launched the latest Memory Stick format, the Micro. The compact memory card measures just 15 x 12.5 x 1.2mm, so it's not as small as the Micro SD card, also developed by SanDisk and previously known as TransFlash. Micro SD cards measure 15 x 11 x 1mm. Like Micro SD, Memory Stick Micro will be pitched at …

    Mobile 30 Sep 2005, 11:43

  • Computerised beer mat gets a round in

    Two pints please, love

    Two German boffins have developed a pressure-sensing beer mat which automatically demands a refill when you're nearing the dregs of your pint, New Scientist reports. Andreas Butz at the University of Munich and Michael Schmitz from Saarland University had the bright idea while sinking a few liveners with their students. The mat …

    Bootnotes 30 Sep 2005, 12:05

  • i-mate Jasjar PocketPC phone

    Review Wireless wonder?

    HTC has been tempting its fans with the Universal handset since the beginning of the year. The prospect not only of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GSM/GPRS connectivity but also 3G, and with them a landscape-oriented display and full QWERTY keyboard, not to mention Windows Mobile 5.0, has fuelled interest in the machine since T-Mobile …

    Reviews 30 Sep 2005, 12:34

  • Shopaholic 'eBay hacker' menaces German pensioner

    Doppelganger

    A German pensioner was sent an eclectic mix of goods including four boats, 12 bicycles and a mobile home after an impostor posing as the senior citizen spent € 400,000 ($477,000) on a series of eBay auctions in one night of shopping debauchery. Horst Lukas from Iserlohn near Dortmund also supposedly ordered dozens of rock …

    Music and Media 30 Sep 2005, 12:45

  • Demon broadband disquiet grows

    New website airs customer concerns

    There's growing disquiet among some Demon broadband customers that the service is just not up to scratch. A number of users have contacted El Reg complaining about the quality of Demon's Home 2 meg broadband service. One hacked-off punter told us: "The connection is utterly abysmal and getting worse by the day," Another said …

    Telecoms 30 Sep 2005, 13:10

  • Sorting the ETL men from the boys

    Comment Diverging paths

    The ETL (extract, transform and load) market, far from commoditising, is diverging. To begin with, ETL is no longer an appropriate term to use, both because operations are no longer limited to the order indicated but also because the technology encompasses far more than just moving data into a warehouse. However, I don't like …

    Developer 30 Sep 2005, 13:14

  • RIAA files 757 more P2P lawsuits

    Still chasing alleged copyright infringers

    The P2P networks may be fizzling out, but that hasn't stopped the Recording Industry Ass. of America (RIAA) continuing to pursue alleged copyright infringers through the courts. The organisation, which represents the US divisions of the world's major recording multinationals, this week issued lawsuits against 757 individuals it …

    Music and Media 30 Sep 2005, 13:14

  • Leadtek Xeye movie-viewing goggles

    Review Films in your face

    Many dubious products have stumbled on the rocky road to true innovation. Before the mobile phone reached mass-market saturation, yuppies lugged around lumps of plastic that were closer to army field radios than items of desirable personal technology, writes Jonathan Bray. Once, Sony marketed the infamous shoulder-mounted ' …

    Reviews 30 Sep 2005, 13:45

  • BT unveils 3G Wi-Fi combo

    And why Openreach is 'No cheaper'

    BT has launched a combined Wi-Fi, 3G and GPRS tariff for road warriors and other business folk on the move. Known as "BT Datazone", punters are able to access the internet and check emails via more than 7,800 BT Openzone Wi-Fi hotspots in the UK and Ireland, or "on the move" through a 3G or GPRS connection. The service - which …

    Mobile 30 Sep 2005, 14:02

  • Dell, HP slam Intel, MS' 'erroneous' HD DVD claims

    Our format's better. Isn't. Is. Isn't. Is. Isn't. Is...

    Backers of the Blu-ray Disc (BD) have hit back against "erroneous" claims from Intel and Microsoft that HD DVD is the superior next-generation optical disc format for PCs. The joint Intel/Microsoft statement was said to be "not aligned" with the "vast majority" of computer industry participants, Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) …

    Storage 30 Sep 2005, 14:04

  • EU outlines future net governance

    Big changes coming at the top

    Check out Kieren's radio report on Prepcom 3 An oversight body of international governments will decide the top-level of the internet from now on, pulling it away from the US government and enshrining the revolutionary medium in international law. That is the position taken by the EU, which is currently cutting a deal with …

    Financial News 30 Sep 2005, 14:09

  • NetSky-P tops moribund malware chart

    All quiet on the virus front

    September marked a quiet month on the malware front with virus levels at a yearly low and the long-running NetSky-P worm stuck at the top of virus nuisance charts. Virus-laden email volumes dropped for the third consecutive month from 2.01 per cent in August, to 1.75 per cent in September to reach their lowest levels this year …

    Malware 30 Sep 2005, 14:18

  • Carrier to offer fuel-cell mobiles by March 06

    Japan's KDDI peers into the future

    Japanese mobile phone network KDDI will next month demo a pair of handsets both powered by fuel cells. They're prototypes, of course, but the carrier hopes to have versions available for its consumers to try by the end of its fiscal year. The two phones were co-developed with Toshiba and Hitachi The Toshiba handset is a …

    Mobile 30 Sep 2005, 14:47

  • Confused hookers offer blogging to footballers

    Letters Very firefoxy

    Mobile users in Denmark and Sweden were apparently very upset this week when they had to pay roaming charges to, er, roam in a region called Øresund: Living in Denmark, I must admit that I occasionally see Swedes in Copenhagen, though they, because of Denmark's liberal alcohol laws, are usually either drunk or halfway there. …

    Letters 30 Sep 2005, 15:10

  • 50 new ways to leave your lover

    Keep the dirty mail, Dale

    There is a proven way you can catch a cheating lover by keeping your partner’s dirty mails or – even better - chat logs, at least in the state of Belgium. Erotic talk with a virtual partner in chatrooms on the web can constitute proof of "grossly insulting behaviour" and can be used as evidence in a divorce case, Belgium's top …

    Music and Media 30 Sep 2005, 15:11

  • Amber-entombed spider is 20m years old

    Creepy, crawly, and really old

    A Manchester scientist has found a 20-million year-old spider, perfectly preserved in a lump of amber. University of Manchester paleontologist Dr. David Penny, who found the spider in the Dominican Republic managed to extract some of the spider's blood, which was then tested to reveal the specimen's age. According to reports, …

    Science 30 Sep 2005, 15:59

  • Opera tunes up to overtake Firefox

    Interview Mini-me to the rescue

    Opera is looking to mobilise its existing community of users in order to overtake Firefox as the number two browser on the desktop. Last week, Opera decided to give away an ad-free version of its browser for the first time. Jon von Tetzchner, chief exec of Opera Software, said that by removing the inclusion of banner ads from …

    Software 30 Sep 2005, 16:55

  • IBM readies Power5+

    New chip, old Mhz

    Come October 4th, IBM will show off a new line of Unix servers centered around the Power5+ upgrade to the Power5 chip, according to various industry reports. Surprisingly, it seems the chip will arrive at speeds somewhere between 1.9GHz and 2.1GHz. That's going to disappoint many customers who had heard the chip would run …

    Servers 30 Sep 2005, 19:22

  • Patent Office upholds Eolas browser patent

    Scene set for re-trial

    Microsoft has suffered a blow in its battle against a claim that Internet Explorer infringes a web browser patent: the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced this week that it has re-examined the patent and found it to be valid. The patent relates to a method that allows web browsers to access interactive application …

    Developer 30 Sep 2005, 20:44

  • Oracle wants to 'crush' Salesforce.com for fun

    'And 'zis way, Mr Benioff, vill give me more pleasure...'

    At least one Oracle executive giddy over the company's acquisition rampage appears to have let some M&A machismo get to his head. Charles Phillips, president at Oracle, felt a power rush and launched into an assault on Salesforce.com during a speech this week in New York. Will Oracle buy Salesforce.com? Nope. It will destroy …

    Software 30 Sep 2005, 21:04

  • Radio Shack to hawk AMD's net appliance

    Old e-mailer made new

    AMD and Radio Shack have decided they're brave enough to give the fabled internet terminal another go. The vendors have teamed to sell a cheap, no frills box designed to function as an e-mail, word processor and internet workhorse. The Mercury News seems to have the scoop on the $299 Personal Internet Communicator (PIC). …

    Channel Register 30 Sep 2005, 22:13