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11th October 2005 Archive

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  • Sony Ericsson flagship sprouts 3G, Wi-Fi

    P990 unveiled

    Sony Ericsson has updated its flagship P-series smartphone line by announcing a model with 3G, 802.11b. The manufacturer has also beefed up the camera and display, and finally added BlackBerry Connect and VoIP support in the bundle. In its P800, P900 and P910 incarnations, this has become the single most popular smartphone …

    Mobile 11 Oct 2005, 00:44

  • Sun takes UltraSPARC IV+ upmarket

    New boards for old servers

    Sun Microsystems will finish what it started with the UltraSPARC IV+ chip, bringing it to midrange and high-end Solaris systems in the near future. In September, Sun pushed out the 1.5GHz UltraSPARC IV+ chip for four- to 24-way servers. Now it looks like existing customers of Sun's entire midrange and high-end server lines will …

    Servers 11 Oct 2005, 02:40

  • SAS sees Grids stopping 'paralysis'

    Snipe at rivals and be first on the Grid

    A technology sector is starting to become serious business when the competitors in that market start sniping at each other. It can often be dismissed as just one of the regular spectator sports put on by IT vendors, but it can also raise some serious questions for users. Some examples of this emerged last week during one of …

    Developer 11 Oct 2005, 07:26

  • Man with 130 IDs steals £1m

    Five years jail for fake passport fiend

    A conman who established 130 false identities to defraud UK banks out of £1.1m was jailed for five-and-a-half years on Monday. Kanagaratnam Ganan, 33, used 129 false Indian passports and one bogus Sri Lankan passport as well as forged utility bills to open up bank accounts. After establishing a history of paying bills he sought …

    Security 11 Oct 2005, 08:14

  • Yahoo! goes ga-ga for podcasting

    I want my MP3

    Yahoo! has launched a site that helps people find and listen to podcasts. The Yahoo! Podcast site, launched in beta on Monday, features a directory of podcasts and enables consumers to rate and review podcasts. The site is being pegged as a resource for all things podcast-related, providing users with tools such as a how-to …

    Financial News 11 Oct 2005, 08:17

  • Inland Revenue threatens EDS over tax fiasco (again)

    No I didn't, yes you did ...

    The Inland Revenue is again threatening to sue EDS over the failure of its tax credit system. The two have been at loggerheads for some time and the Revenue last let its frustrations leak out in June. The Inland Revenue sacked EDS in December 2003 and awarded the work to CapGemini, Fujitsu and BT. The two are still in talks to …

    Policy 11 Oct 2005, 08:21

  • PayPal buys VeriSign payment unit

    Token effort

    Paypal is paying $370m for VeriSign's payment portal business. It will incorporate the portal with its merchant services to better target small and medium businesses. The payment gateway provides a way for merchants to add simple, scalable payment pages to their websites. Verisign claims more than $40bn in transactions went …

    Financial News 11 Oct 2005, 08:55

  • Check Point Snorts up Sourcefire

    ... reassures open source security geeks

    Check Point has promised to support the open source Snort community following a $225m cash and stock acquisition of security tools firm Sourcefire last week. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in Q106. Sourcefire founder Martin Roesch developed the popular Snort intrusion prevention before …

    Security 11 Oct 2005, 09:25

  • Alternative Networks buys ICB

    Consolidation and jubilation

    Alternative Networks - a London-based business-to-business telecoms reseller - has acquired rival Integrated Communications for Business Ltd for £6m and an earnout of up to £5m. Targeting SMEs along the M4 corridor, Reading-based ICB operates as a mobile service provider for both Vodafone and O2, and also sells fixed line voice …

    Broadband 11 Oct 2005, 09:44

  • Seagate fattens Barracuda for high-spec PCs

    ... and low spec servers

    Seagate has begun shipping its latest desktop hard drive family, the Barracuda 7200.9. The new drives should start tipping up in "low-cost and Serial ATA servers, mainstream and high-performance PCs, PC gaming systems, and media PCs", within a few weeks. The Barracuda 7200.9 is fat - 500GB capacity – and fast – 3Gbit/second …

    Storage 11 Oct 2005, 10:15

  • Estonia's local elections to be settled online

    High-tech nation

    Estonia's online voting machinery is being put through its paces for the first time, as the country readies itself for local elections this weekend. Traditional ballots will be cast on Sunday 16 October, but technophiles can have their say a little earlier, with the internet voting option already live. This is thought to be …

    Policy 11 Oct 2005, 10:17

  • Texas Chain Saw Massacre voted best horror film

    Wicker Man also honoured

    Entertaining 1974 gorefest the Texas Chain Saw Massacre has secured top spot in a Total Film poll of the best horror films ever, pipping Halloween to the post in a top ten which includes The Shining, Rosemary's Baby and the splendidly-titled Cannibal Holocaust. Agreeably, UK classic The Wicker Man is honoured at seven, although …

    Bootnotes 11 Oct 2005, 10:23

  • Users want ISPs to filter spyware

    I don't know what it is but get rid of it

    A majority of net users want their ISPs so block spyware traffic. Half (51 per cent) of 1,000 consumers quizzed by NOP said their service providers should block spyware apps - invasive programs that covertly snoop on user's online activities - while only one in 10 of those quizzed reckon employers should take responsibility for …

    Security 11 Oct 2005, 10:25

  • Japanese giant WLTM UK reseller with view to LTR

    When Sony met Jim

    Sony is running a UK reseller day to promoted its IPELA Networked Video Monitoring and CCTV product line up. The gig takes place at HQ on 3 November, and speakers include Sony UK operations director Paul Hennessy, and enterprise channel manager, Helen Sheldrake. Also in attendance will be Sony specialists who can talk you …

    The Channel 11 Oct 2005, 10:53

  • Fibernet ups revs, trims losses

    Yes but no but yes but no but yes...

    Fibernet - the network services outfit that operates in the UK and Germany - has increased turnover and narrowed losses. Revenue for the year to the end of August was up £5.7m to £47.9m compared to £42.2m last year. At the same time the company made a loss before exceptional items of £4.4m which is a modest improvement on the £ …

    Financial News 11 Oct 2005, 10:56

  • Nations squabble over internet management

    US vs most of the world

    Delegates at a meeting in Geneva on Monday failed to reach an agreement on who should control the internet's addressing system. The meeting, which is being held in preparation of the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis next month, degenerated into a farce when delegates argued over the right of the US to control the …

    Financial News 11 Oct 2005, 12:13

  • BT names Openretch 'Famous Five' prefects

    Jolly good show

    BT has named the five people charged with ensuring that the UK's dominant fixed line telco provides the industry with equal access to its network. Their job will be to key to ensuring that BT abides by the 230 legally-binding undertakings it has given Ofcom to help foster greater competition in the UK's telecoms sector. In …

    Financial News 11 Oct 2005, 12:24

  • Kettles, frogs and fridges unite on the dark side

    Letters The kitchen is not enough

    The world was rocked yesterday by the news that PG Tips had designed a kettle that can be controlled by text message. Well, we were confident that this utterly astonishing news would provoke much serious and sensible discussion among our beloved readers. And boy, did it. Well, not so much of the sensible or serious, but you …

    Letters 11 Oct 2005, 12:32

  • Can we have another go at CryoSat, please?

    Pleading with beancounters

    The lead scientist on the CryoSat mission, Duncan Wingham, has called for the programme to be relaunched, arguing that the research it would have done is too important to leave aside. CryoSat, which was felled mid-launch on Saturday by "an anomaly in the launch sequence", was to be the first of three European "Earth Explorer" …

    Science 11 Oct 2005, 14:11

  • Thailand pulls plug on unregistered mobiles

    Insurgency-busting move

    From mid-November, unregistered mobile phones will not work in Thailand's southernmost three provinces - Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala - as the government pulls the plug as part of its ongoing war against insurgents in the region. Deputy prime minister Chidchai Vanasathidya told AFP: "Starting November 15, no matter if you're …

    Bootnotes 11 Oct 2005, 14:14

  • Infosys beats estimates

    Outlook good too...

    Offshoring specialist Infosys is predicting growth of 34 per cent for its full year after posting revenues of $524m for the second quarter ended September 30 2005. The firm increased sales by 38.3 per cent compared to the same quarter last year. Profits grew 36 per cent in the quarter to $135m. It brought in an extra 34 new …

    Financial News 11 Oct 2005, 14:22

  • Security pros savage Tsunami hacker verdict

    Analysis Could conviction divide police and IT professionals?

    Last week Daniel Cuthbert was convicted of breaking the Computer Misuse Act, fined £400, and ordered to pay £600 in costs. As an IT security consultant, it will be a long time before Cuthbert's reputation is restored and it is possible he will never work in the industry again. But it is going to take just as long for the police …

    Security 11 Oct 2005, 14:23

  • Dell, HP and IBM hitch a ride to Intel's dual-core kegger in Paxville

    Sweet Xeon party, ya'll

    At long last, Intel has delivered a dual-core Xeon processor and moved a step closer to matching rival AMD's Opteron chip. That's great news for Intel's largest server processor customers, particularly Dell which has loafed along without dual-core chip powered gear. Even though they have Opteron systems, HP and IBM benefit from …

    Servers 11 Oct 2005, 14:37

  • Skills shortage is back

    It's all about convergence

    The UK will need thousands more workers with IP telephony, mobile and security skills by 2008. A survey of European CIOs by IDC for Cisco has found demand for people with these skills is likely to outstrip availability by about 40,000 people in the UK. Across Europe there will be a shortfall of half a million people. Nick …

    Management 11 Oct 2005, 15:11

  • Microsoft to shelve per processor prices for users willing to get virtual

    Redmond gets licensing friendly?

    Microsoft continues to surprise by being one of the most aggressive large software vendors on the virtualized software licensing front. The giant this week revealed a new licensing scheme that should save some customers money, if they use VMware or Microsoft's own Virtual Server partitioning products. In the past, Microsoft …

    Servers 11 Oct 2005, 15:32

  • Group pushes for faster Wi-Fi

    The need for speed

    A group of Wi-Fi manufacturers have formed a coalition in a bid to boost wireless speeds. The Enhanced Wireless Consortium (EWC), which includes 27 Wi-Fi industry leaders such as Apple, Cisco Systems and Intel, is attempting to speed up the development of the proposed IEEE 802.11n standard. The new wireless standard is expected …

    Broadband 11 Oct 2005, 15:45

  • China to launch two-man space-pod

    Crew will spend several days in space

    Early tomorrow morning, China will send its second crewed mission into space. It says two astronauts will spend several days living and working in orbit, conducting microgravity experiments. The astronauts, who still have not been named, will blast off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert at around 1AM, …

    Science 11 Oct 2005, 15:53

  • Automatic software licence checks are 'users' choice'

    Well dangle my dongle

    Most business enterprises are finding it increasingly difficult to keep track of software licence compliance, with 72 per cent of firms manually tracking compliance, or carrying out no tracking at all, according to a report from the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA). The report, “Key Trends in Software …

    Software 11 Oct 2005, 18:51

  • Microsoft gets Real for $761m

    Pride gives way to playlists

    Real Networks has reached a $761m agreement to settle worldwide antitrust actions with Microsoft and integrate the company's media player and music services with Windows and Microsoft's search services. Microsoft is paying Real $460m to resolve claims that Microsoft abused its monopoly position by forcing PC OEMs to ship …

    Financial News 11 Oct 2005, 20:26

  • For Apple, Halo effect eclipses Osborne effect

    Stock drops 10pc on iPod anxiety

    There can be little doubting that the iPod 'halo effect' now shines a positive light on Apple's Mac sales. Strong US educational sales, particularly into Higher Education, also helped the company shrug off fears of an 'Osborne Effect' prior to next year's move to Intel processors. In fact, Mac sales were up 48 per cent year-on- …

    Financial News 11 Oct 2005, 22:11

  • AMD cheers banner Q3

    Mobile, PC and server chips on the rise

    AMD enjoyed broad success during its third quarter with notebook, PC and server chip sales increasing and driving record revenue totals. The strong processor group performance helped offset a still flagging memory business. Total third quarter sales were $1.52bn, while net income came in at $76m. The sales figure stands as a 23 …

    Financial News 11 Oct 2005, 22:18