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21st October 2005 Archive

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  • EMC takes on paper with $275m Captiva buy

    Start the presses

    The insatiable beast that is EMC's mergers and acquisition department has fed again - this time gorging itself on Captiva Software. EMC will shell out close to $275m in cash for the "input management solutions" company. Input management solutions? Yes, we were curious too. As it turns out, Captiva's software can pull data from …

    Storage 21 Oct 2005, 02:18

  • Web 2.0: It's ... like your brain on LSD!

    Friday Poll But what is it really?

    There's much fretting about what Web 2.0 really is. It's twice as cosmic, but what is it? Conference co-organizer Tim O'Reilly's first attempt to explain it spanned five pages, and produced the following. Apparently it's a fridge magnet game, and Business Week, which is positioning itself as the indispensable weekly for the …

    Music and Media 21 Oct 2005, 05:54

  • Open source taking over Europe

    We just don't know it

    Nearly half of European local government bodies are using open source software while nearly a third don't know that they are using open source at all. A Maastricht University survey of 12 counties has reportedly found 49 per cent using Free/Libre/Open Source Software (FLOSS) while 70 per cent said they expect usage to increase …

    Software 21 Oct 2005, 08:40

  • Google tops $1.5bn in Q3

    It's considerably richer than Yahoo!

    The Google money making machine stormed through Q3 2005, grossing $1.578bn in revenues and clearing a profit of $381m. That's up from $1.384bn and $342m in Q2, and $1.256bn and $369m in Q1 respectively. Earning per share was $1.32 (diluted), up from $1.19 per share in Q2. Google's own sites provided most of the growth, …

    Financial News 21 Oct 2005, 08:46

  • Murdoch gets Easynet

    Pays £211m for 'triple play'

    BSkyB has agreed to shell out £211m to acquire broadband ISP Easynet in a deal that catapults the satellite broadcaster into the UK's telecoms sector. The deal, which still needs shareholder approval, gives BSkyB the opportunity to offer its punters the all important "triple play" of TV, phone and internet in a move to rival …

    Financial News 21 Oct 2005, 08:49

  • Two get death sentence for cybercafe fire

    Chinese business dispute ends in tragedy

    Two men have been sentenced to death while a third man faces life behind bars for burning down an internet cafe in China. The three men, all farmers, were hired to burn down the cybercafe by Xie Wenyi, the owner of a rival cybercafe. Four people died in the fire in Longchuan County, Guangdong Province, last November, reports …

    Music and Media 21 Oct 2005, 09:42

  • How ATM fraud nearly brought down British banking

    Phantoms and rogue banks

    This is the story of how the UK banking system could have collapsed in the early 1990s, but for the forbearance of a junior barrister who also happened to be an expert in computer law - and who discovered that at that time the computing department of one of the banks issuing ATM cards had "gone rogue", cracking PINs and taking …

    ID 21 Oct 2005, 09:52

  • Orange takes on the iPod (again)

    Tech Digest Mobile music mayhem

    Certified gadget obsessives Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny scour Gizmoville for the oddest digital goodies, while Bayraider keeps tabs on the best and worst of eBay. Shiny has also just launched three new blogs: The first place to go when you have PC problems, Propellerhead is a veritable treasure trove of hints, tips and cheats …

    Peripherals 21 Oct 2005, 10:14

  • Nano-crystals stake claim in solar panel research

    Cheap and easy to make

    Researchers in the US have developed ultra-thin solar cells made entirely of inorganic nano-crystals. The team says it is the first time something like this has been accomplished, and hints that it is the first step towards cheap and efficient solar paneling. The new material can't yet convert sunlight into electricity as …

    Science 21 Oct 2005, 11:09

  • nCipher taps Abridean to enter ID management

    The crypto factor

    nCipher, the UK-based niche crypto-security hardware house, is moving into the identity management market by acquiring Chicago-based firm Abridean. nCipher intends to purchase all the outstanding stock of Abridean in a deal valued at up to $17.9m (£10.2m). nCipher also intends to repay a $1.5m loan owed by Abridean to MMV …

    ID 21 Oct 2005, 11:13

  • Investors bet on e-casino

    PartyGaming reports surge in revenues

    Lady luck appears to be smiling on PartyGaming after the online poker and casino operation reported a surge in revenues. In September shares in PartyGaming nose-dived after the company reported that while the online gaming market and poker "continues to show strong year on year growth, the rate of growth is continuing to …

    Financial News 21 Oct 2005, 11:17

  • UK celebrates Trafalgar anniversary

    200 years on

    Britain is today marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar with a series of events around the country and a wreath-laying ceremony off Cape Trafalgar itself. Her Maj will take luncheon aboard HMS Victory on Portsmouth and later light the first of a series of 1,000 beacons around the country to honour those who …

    Bootnotes 21 Oct 2005, 11:38

  • How to check your customer is over 18 and still alive

    1, 2, 3... clear

    By adding less than two seconds to an e-commerce process, website operators can now check the age, identity and vital status of customers against the UK Electoral Roll, BT directory enquiries, a credit reference database and a mortality database. The new service to reduce card fraud and assist compliance with legal age …

    ID 21 Oct 2005, 13:21

  • Monkey brains explain nutty laws

    Why politicians go bananas

    American scholars have blamed the woes of the world on the primate in all of us. A paper in the Chicago Kent Law Review say that government decisions in crisis situations are directed by the primitive inner brain. The paper was produced by a lawyer and a psychologist, who obviously know what they're talking about. Lawmakers …

    Science 21 Oct 2005, 13:46

  • Windows mobile unplugged

    USB glitch afflicts latest MS gizmos

    A glitch with Microsoft's PC to mobile device synchronisation software is preventing users from synchronising their device as normal. Microsoft has issued a software update designed to resolve the issue. Some users of Microsoft ActiveSync 4.0 have reported problems when using the USB connection of their PC to connect to a …

    Mobile 21 Oct 2005, 14:34

  • BT and Sky to scrap joint marketing deal

    That was then and this is now

    BT and Sky may be forced to ditch their joint marketing agreement once the satellite broadcaster acquires broadband ISP Easynet. The pair have been plugging each other's products for a couple of years now in a bid to try and offer a "triple play" service to rival cablecos NTL and Telewest. BT punters were offered promos to join …

    Telecoms 21 Oct 2005, 14:37

  • Yellow dots a symptom of technology bird-flu?

    Letters And get ready for a Time Lord fist-fight

    Here's a weird thing we found out this week: if you are Cuban, and want to buy a mobile phone in Cuba, you need a foreigner to sign up for one for you. How's that for user-friendly? Almost as good as the Qatar city of Doha where, in the 1980's at least, you had to be a registered alcoholic in order to buy a drink: Exactly how …

    Letters 21 Oct 2005, 15:03

  • Private eye fined for illegal sleuthing

    Targeted medical centres, HMRC

    A private detective was fined this week for unlawfully obtaining information relating to "vulnerable women" from medical centres. Ray Pearson, a director of North London-based Pearmac Ltd, was prosecuted by the Information Commissioner’s Office. Pearson also persuaded an employee from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to …

    IT Director 21 Oct 2005, 15:42

  • Intelligent design debate hits Aussie news stands

    And the Pennsylvania trial continues

    The argument about whether or not the so-called "intelligent design theory" (ID) of evolution should be taught in schools has spilled out of the Pennsylvania courtroom and into the Australian media. Australian federal education minister Dr. Brendan Nelson yesterday restated his view that he has no problem with ID being taught …

    Science 21 Oct 2005, 16:07

  • Hunt for Swedish file sharers steps up

    ISPs can't be bothered

    The Swedish branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the games and film industry body Antipiratbyrån (APB) have won the right to collect the IP addresses of Swedish citizens found to be sharing copyright-protected material and report them to officials. Both organisations no longer need prior …

    Music and Media 21 Oct 2005, 16:09

  • Warner backs Blu-ray

    That's all folks

    Film studio Warner Brothers yesterday announced plans to produce high-definition DVDs in the Blu-ray format backed by Sony as well as the rival HD DVD standard backed by Toshiba. The commitment to both camps by Warner follows a similar fence-sitting move by Paramount Home Entertainment three weeks ago. Universal Studios, the …

    Peripherals 21 Oct 2005, 16:19

  • EMC's Chief adds Chairman title to collection

    Tucci Benucch

    EMC will bestow the title of Chairman on current President and CEO Joe Tucci come January. Tucci will take over the Chairman role from longtime EMCer Mike Ruettgers, who will hang around as a senior advisor to the board. EMC's statement on this brass shuffling lacked the typical chatter about Ruettgers wanting to spend more …

    IT Director 21 Oct 2005, 19:49