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6th October 2005 Archive

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  • How Dell repels attempts to buy its 'open source' PC

    We tried. We gave up

    Dell this week received much praise for releasing a new version of its "open source" PC. The computer fits into Dell's n Series range of Windows-less systems. These ship with a copy of FreeDOS in the packaging material - but not installed on the PC - which is apparently a bizarre concession to Microsoft. While Dell garners …

    System Builder 6 Oct 2005, 04:34

  • iTunes phone not shifting - analyst

    Too ugly, too expensive, and not enough memory

    Motorola's ROKR phone isn't exactly flying out of US stores, according to an analyst report. "Our checks indicated mixed to negative reviews of the much-anticipated Rokr phone, with some stores indicating strong early sales but more indicating disappointment in the product," reckons Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Walkley. …

    Mobile 6 Oct 2005, 07:28

  • Sms.co.uk domain sale could be a 'record breaker'

    Gr8

    The domain sms.co.uk is up for grabs and those behind the sale reckon it could net more than £100,000. Sms.co.uk belongs to Manchester-based Teleport UK Limited - which trades as Satellite Media Services. But the company is in administration and is looking to flog its domain to the highest bidder. According to David Carter, …

    Financial News 6 Oct 2005, 08:10

  • Unleash Microsoft SharePoint 2003

    Site offer Save 30% on collaboration guide

    Organizations have been talking about knowledge management and leveraging their IT investments to enhance team collaboration for years, but have had difficulty implementing effective solutions that tie together the wide range of information employees need to access. With the release of Microsoft's SharePoint Services v2.0 (2003 …

    Site News 6 Oct 2005, 08:13

  • Website seeks sex toy testers

    Orgasm Army, come on down

    First it was flogging the backless thong, then a search for seasoned w*nkers, now online sex toy outfit LoveHoney has successfully found its way onto El Reg for the third time with its new initiative - the Orgasm Army. Yes, we know we shouldn't be giving LoveHoney any more exposure, but its PR stunts have a kind of irresistible …

    Bootnotes 6 Oct 2005, 08:53

  • Muslim phone calls faithful to prayer

    Catholics missing a trick?

    Dutch Muslims are the first in Europe to benefit from a mobile phone which offers five daily prayer-time reminders, points the faithful in the direction of Mecca and has a copy of the Koran in both English and Arabic. The Ilkone (universe) is already on sale in Asia and the Middle East, and will shortly hit the prayer mats of …

    Mobile 6 Oct 2005, 09:16

  • Victims coughing up to online extortionists

    Botnet economy expanding

    Online bookmakers who become victims of online extortion attacks more often than not pay up, according to an IBM security researcher. Martin Overton of IBM Global Services said those at the receiving end of denial of service attacks also often fail to report assaults to police despite improved policy procedures to guard the …

    Security 6 Oct 2005, 09:25

  • Tories reject migrants as skills gap solution

    No thank you

    The majority of Conservative MPs dismiss economic migration as a way of overcoming UK skills shortages, new research reveals. According to the poll by Skills for Business, less than two in ten Tories believe migrant workers should be used to help plug the skills gap. In contrast, 87 per cent of Labour politicians support …

    IT Director 6 Oct 2005, 09:29

  • T-Mobile goes large on mobile net access

    It's gonna be massive, apparently

    T-Mobile is giving its mobile phone punters access to the net via their handsets in a move which the cellco claims will "redefine the mobile internet market". Web'n'walk, as it's known, goes live with five devices. A further three are due to be added before Christmas and all come complete with colour screens capable of …

    Mobile 6 Oct 2005, 09:41

  • Deadly 1918 flu virus lives again

    Only in the lab, but even so...

    Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention (CDP) have, apparently without a sense of irony, reconstructed the particular strain of the flu virus that was behind the 1918 flu pandemic. That outbreak killed between 20-50m people worldwide. The scientists rebuilt the virus using a process known as reverse …

    Science 6 Oct 2005, 09:47

  • Gator menaces Cornish duck pond

    Dragnet fails to locate rogue reptile

    The residents of a Cornish village are on full-scale 'gator alert following the discovery of a two-foot cayman in the local duck pond. According to the Daily Telegraph, 20-year-old Stacey Clayton and daughter Alanna were feeding the ducks in the village pond at St Blazey when mum saw what she thought was a large log floating in …

    Bootnotes 6 Oct 2005, 09:55

  • Level 3 depeers Cogent

    Hello, is there anybody out there?

    Internet backbone firm Level 3 has fallen out with Cogent Communications, leaving some users in danger of being isolated in network cul de sacs. Level 3 dropped its peering arrangement with tier 1 ISP Cogent Communications yesterday, because it felt it was carrying more traffic under the deal than Cogent, and wanted …

    Networks 6 Oct 2005, 11:00

  • Be nice to Taiwan, you [terribly rude expletive]!

    FoTW Reg staffer dismisses relocation plan

    What follows is a lovely illustration of the futility of the quest for the "average Register reader". We can run the numbers from our reader research, and work out the demographics and see just who it is that is reading our stories. We can learn a lot about the average reader: the things you like to read about, what kind of …

    Bootnotes 6 Oct 2005, 11:07

  • Police foil £1m mobile phone theft

    The future's not so bright for someone

    A man is appearing before magistrates today in connection with the theft of £1m worth of Orange mobile phones. The phones were nicked after a robbery at a motorway service station on the M5 at around 4pm on Tuesday. A lorry driver stopped at Frankley Services after a car flashed its lights at him. He was then threatened with a …

    Mobile 6 Oct 2005, 11:25

  • MS goes a bundle on malware protection

    Security plans inch forward

    Microsoft is to combine spyware and virus protection in a new enterprise security product due out next year. Microsoft Client Protection will also defend against the emerging threat of rootkits, hacker tools that try to hide themselves from anti-virus programs. Redmond's decision to offer a combined anti-virus and anti-spyware …

    Security 6 Oct 2005, 11:41

  • Star Trek parody hits 450k downloads

    Interstellar

    A Finnish Star Trek spoof, released by its amateur makers into the wilds of the internet a week ago, has already been downloaded 450,000 times. According to reports, the film's makers estimate that a further 250,000 copies have been downloaded from mirror sites. Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning, has been a labour of love. With a …

    Bootnotes 6 Oct 2005, 11:53

  • FTC clamps down on spyware firm

    Journey's end for Odysseus

    The US’ Federal Trade Commission has gone after what it claims is a spyware and adware operation that invaded users’ machines and served up bogus search pages. The FTC has asked a US district court judge to “halt” the “unfair and deceptive” activities of Stratham, New Hampshire-based Odysseus Marketing, and its principal, …

    Malware 6 Oct 2005, 12:20

  • Golfers to get their own broadband

    Pitch and punt

    Thousands of golfers in the UK are to get their own tailor-made broadband service. The Professional Golfers Association (PGA) has hooked up with Viatel as part of a three-year deal to supply golf pros and players with high speed net access. Available from the middle of next month, PGA Broadband will also supply golf-related …

    Telecoms 6 Oct 2005, 13:19

  • All aboard the Enterprise Service Bus

    Analysis Event processing, anyone?

    Sonic Software has a good claim to the invention of the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) and has done more than anyone else to evangelise the concept, backed by the resources of its parent company, Progress Software. Sonic runs regular seminars (we attended one, entitled “SOA: Best Practices, an Architect's forum” in London this …

    Developer 6 Oct 2005, 13:28

  • Motorola zaps 1,900 jobs

    'Productivity improvement plans'

    Motorola is axing 1,900 jobs world-wide as part of "various productivity improvement plans". The job losses will hit 29 locations in 20 countries although a spokesman for Motorola refused to say whether any jobs in the UK would be affected by the cuts. All four of Motorola's business divisions - Mobile Devices, Networks, …

    Financial News 6 Oct 2005, 13:55

  • Sony loses Aussie PlayStation mod chip case

    Not a g'day for regional coding

    Australia’s High Court has ruled that modifying PlayStations to bypass Sony's regional coding mechanism does not violate the country’s copyright laws. Sony sued a Sydney-based supplier of mod chips four years ago, claiming the chips violate its copyright. It initially lost, then won the case on appeal. However, the chip …

    Music and Media 6 Oct 2005, 14:41

  • Virus naming scheme gets mixed reception

    A rose by any other name

    A group dedicated to curing virus-naming confusion enjoyed its official launch on Wednesday. The Common Malware Enumeration (CME) aims to mitigate confusion in responding to viral outbreaks by providing a common name for high profile threats that can then be used in vendor products or their websites. Users have been asking for …

    Malware 6 Oct 2005, 14:45

  • UK court slaps Asbo on lawyer

    'Drunk and abusive' solicitor menace contained

    It's not just slap-happy baseball-capped teen ne'er-do-wells high on alcopops who find themselves at the receiving end of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (Asbos) - they can also be used to control the menace of drunken and abusive solicitors, the Mirror reports. Personal injury specialist Colette Cowap, 38, faces five years in …

    Bootnotes 6 Oct 2005, 14:47

  • Galileo project threatened by funding row

    So the Italian space agency says

    A row over funding is threatening the future of the Galileo satellite constellation, according to the head of the Italian space agency (ASI). In an interview with German newspaper Die Welt, Sergio Vetrella warns that if the dispute, ostensibly about additional costs, but possibly having more to do with national pride, is not …

    Science 6 Oct 2005, 14:52

  • Finland bans DRM fiddling in all its forms

    Even 'organised discussions' thereof

    The Finnish government voted yesterday to make it illegal to copy media, even for personal use, if you have to subvert copy protection to do so. The legislation was passed by 121 votes to 34. Forty-four MPs were absent. The updated copyright protection laws have been criticised for ignoring consumers' rights, and the bill …

    Music and Media 6 Oct 2005, 15:09

  • US ISP sues for defamation

    The Eagle wants to land someone in court

    US-based Eagle Broadband Inc has filed a defamation lawsuit against 25 unnamed net users for allegedly posting misleading information about the company. In a lawsuit filed with the Superior Court of California the company alleged that the postings on bulletins boards and website were done to "drive down the value of its stock …

    Telecoms 6 Oct 2005, 16:00

  • AOL confirms Weblogs Inc buyout

    And...relax

    AOL has confirmed it is to acquire blog network outfit Weblogs, Inc as part of a plan to keep subscribers and advertisers locked into its content. Financial details were not disclosed although earlier reports claim the US internet giant was prepared to shell out $25m for the company. Jim Bankoff, an AOL bigwig with a long job …

    Financial News 6 Oct 2005, 16:01

  • Sober worm comeback poses as schoolfriend pic

    Old boy

    Virus writers have created a duo of email worms which pose as pictures of old schoolfriends. The Sober-O and Sober-P worms were bulk mailed to thousands of potential victims overnight in an attempt to seed infection. Like earlier versions of the Sober worm, the bilingual virus can travel in both English and German language …

    Malware 6 Oct 2005, 16:04

  • Tsunami hacker convicted

    Fine + costs for Daniel Cuthbert

    Daniel James Cuthbert was convicted today of breaking Section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act of 1990 by hacking into a tsunami appeal website last New Year's Eve. District Judge Mr Quentin Purdy said: "For whatever reason Mr Cuthbert intended to secure access, in an unauthorised way, to that computer...it is with some …

    Enterprise Security 6 Oct 2005, 16:24

  • Show us your paperwork - AMD

    AMD vs Intel Freshly baked subpoenas

    AMD continues to push forward in its anti-trust battle against Intel, announcing today that it has shifted from customer document preservation mode to customer document production mode. The law permits AMD to ask companies that it either does business with, or has tried to do business with, to hold onto their e-mails, papers …

    Servers 6 Oct 2005, 17:18

  • Adaptec to offload costly systems growth engine

    Anyone need a kick in the NAS?

    Adaptec has issued a systems SOS, asking a financial services firm to help it offload a pair of storage lines once meant to be the future of the company. Adaptec this week recruited Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) to find a suitor for its Snap Server network attached storage (NAS) boxes and Eurologic block systems hardware …

    Storage 6 Oct 2005, 22:39