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8th November 2005 Archive

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  • Grokster closes, goes legal

    This P2P has ceased 2B

    Grokster, the largest and the best known of the P2P networks, has closed today as part of a legal agreement with the Hollywood studios. WinMX suspended operations six weeks ago. MGM pursued Grokster all the way to the Supreme Court, with the judges considering the case in the summer. While the Supremes declined to make a ruling …

    Music and Media 8 Nov 2005, 00:28

  • Fabric7 bets on Opteron smackdown with Unix giants

    Analysis I/O, I/O, it's off to work we go

    Fabric7 has arrived on the server scene as something of a rarity. It's a start-up with a pitch that actually makes a lot of sense. Linux on x86 chips has eaten away at the low-end sales enjoyed by Unix server makers. So with x86 gaining performance, and Linux software gaining maturity, why not go after the higher-end systems? …

    Servers 8 Nov 2005, 01:17

  • AOL preps LLU broadband launch

    Begins UK trial, places exchange orders

    AOL could be about to unveil its own broadband service in the UK by investing in local loop unbundling (LLU), The Register has learned. The ISP - which has more than a million broadband users - has just kicked off a small trial in London to test its broadband service. It's also just placed its first orders with BT to unbundle …

    Telecoms 8 Nov 2005, 07:02

  • Nokia's Linux Tablet due stateside Thursday

    Looking for a few good hackers

    Nokia's Linux-based Tablet will be available in the USA this Thursday, a week after its European debut. The imaginatively titled Internet Tablet is an unusual move for Nokia in a number of ways. Linux PDAs such as Sharp's Zaurus haven't shown much staying power on the market, and have in recent years been hard to find outside …

    Mobile 8 Nov 2005, 10:10

  • AMD's Opteron-oriented Socket F surfaces on web

    Eye-spy 1207 pin connectors

    AMD's Socket F processor interconnect has appeared on the web. Dutch-language site Tweakers.net has the pictures, which reveal the 1207-pin - count 'em - socket in all its glory. Socket F is expected to debut in 2006 as the interconnect for future dual-core AMD Opteon 2xx and 8xx server processors, all with 'Pacifica' …

    Channel Register 8 Nov 2005, 10:12

  • Apple iPod Nano lawsuit spreads

    Plaintiffs in the UK and Mexico join the fray

    The class-action lawsuit brought against Apple following the iPod Nano 'scratch scandal' has crossed the Atlantic. Seattle-based lawyers Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro (HBSS) said yesterday they had filed a parallel complaint from UK resident Ben Jennings. The lawsuit was filed with the US District Court for Northern California. …

    Financial News 8 Nov 2005, 10:14

  • Taiwan's DRAM makers see fastest market growth

    But Samsung still top of the tree

    Taiwanese memory makers may have seen big sales gains during Q3, but they remain a long way from market leadership, according to quarterly statistics from market watcher Gartner Dataquest. Out of the top ten DRAM makers, Taiwan's Nanya, PowerChip and ProMOS all saw the biggest sequential revenue growth in Q3, Gartner's numbers …

    Channel Register 8 Nov 2005, 10:25

  • Card fraud grows online

    But ID theft falls...

    Fraudulent use of credit cards online is increasing because Chip and PIN technology makes other forms of fraud more difficult. The six-monthly survey from Apacs, the UK payments association, found that card-not-present fraud, which covers internet, mail order and telephone scams jumped nearly a third compared to the same period …

    ID 8 Nov 2005, 10:35

  • Burglar kidnaps talking parrot

    'I didn't want it grassing me up'

    Criminal mastermind David Carlile kidnapped a talking African Grey parrot he encountered during an uninivited visit to a remote country house because he thought it would grass him up to the Old Bill, UK tabloid the Sun reports. The 32-year-old blagger took antiques, jewellery and wonga from the house belonging to Diana Winter …

    Bootnotes 8 Nov 2005, 10:49

  • Nvidia pitches GeForce 6800 GS at Xmas buyers

    Mid-ranger shipping

    Nvidia yesterday said it is shipping its latest mid-range graphics chip, the GeForce 6800 GS, and the part is now available for consumers to buy. The 130nm 6800 GS chip is said to be clocked at 425MHz with memory set to 500MHz (1GHz effective). The chip has five vertex engines and 12 pixel shader pipelines, setting it between …

    Channel Register 8 Nov 2005, 10:51

  • NTT DoCoMo buys music retail chain

    Getting ready for CD-to-download sales shift

    Japanese mobile phone network NTT DoCoMo is to buy a majority stake in Tower Records Japan. The telco said it will pay ¥12.8bn ($108.84m) for a 42 per cent stake in the privately held retailer which was founded by the US record store chain in August 1979 but since October 2002 has been an entirely independent entity. DoCoMo …

    Mobile 8 Nov 2005, 10:52

  • C&W continues LLU investment despite ISP woes

    The Bulldog spirit

    Cable & Wireless (C&W) is pressing ahead with its investment in local loop unbundling (LLU) despite suffering a miserable summer when its Bulldog service was savaged by customers. The telco has already installed its kit in 408 exchanges and intends to double this number within the next ten months. Rival operators including …

    Telecoms 8 Nov 2005, 11:01

  • PETA seeks Europe's hottest veggie

    Cruelty-free phwooooar!

    Fun-loving and fur-free animal rights outfit PETA is looking for Europe's hottest veggies or vegans because, as the campaigning organisation puts it: "Vegetarianism has become synonymous with sexy." Well, you might go and explain that to Paris Hilton, responsible earlier this year for millions of adolescent tumescences …

    Bootnotes 8 Nov 2005, 11:26

  • Xbox 360 to play songs off iPods

    But not DRM-protected tracks, natch

    Microsoft has confirmed that the Xbox 360 will not play songs downloaded from Apple's iTunes Music Store because the Mac maker won't license its DRM technology, at least not for a price the software giant is willing to pay. When the Xbox 360 was formally announced in May 2005, Microsoft said it was compatible with the iPod. …

    Consoles 8 Nov 2005, 11:41

  • Wanadoo LLU live in Leeds

    Tres bon

    Wanadoo is now a fully fledged local loop unbundling (LLU) operator after it flicked the switch in 15 exchanges in Leeds yesterday. The move means that anyone signing up to the Wanadoo service in Leeds - which was originally used to test the ISP's unbundled broadband service - will be able to get download speeds of up to 8 meg …

    Telecoms 8 Nov 2005, 11:49

  • My BOFH is a bogus Baron

    Mystery over ID of security consultant who posed as a Duke

    Mystery surrounds the identity of a security consultant who posed as a peer of the realm throughout his adult life. The bogus aristocrat lived for 23 years as Christopher Edward, Earl of Buckingham1, marrying under this false name and fathering two children. He even promised his oldest son that one day he would inherit a …

    ID 8 Nov 2005, 12:14

  • The crap IT circle of abuse and despair

    Apoplectic users, sobbing helpdesk staff

    It's official: IT doesn't work properly and as a result you're glued to your desk trying to resolve some technical issue when you should be in the pub, effing and blinding and occasionally throwing things, and pausing only to ring some hapless helpdesk operative and give him or her a piece of your mind. The ultimate loser? Yup …

    IT Director 8 Nov 2005, 12:27

  • Sony to end PlayStation game region-coding?

    Come PS3, HDTV, we may, says exec

    Sony PlayStation 3 games may ship without codes that fix releases to specific geographical territories. According to Sony Computer Entertainment Australia chief Michael Ephraim, the company sees the emergence of a global HDTV standard as the basis for dropping region-coding, in an interview with Australian IT. "If you look at …

    Consoles 8 Nov 2005, 12:45

  • South Korean P2P service powers down

    Court-ordered closure

    South Korea's largest online music service, Soribada, yesterday shut down its P2P file-sharing operation, seven days after it was ordered to do so by the Seoul Central District Court. Soribada had some 22m users, South Korean paper the Chosun Ilbo reports. The court order was the result of legal action brought against Soribada …

    Financial News 8 Nov 2005, 13:48

  • C&W/Energis merger to be finalised shortly

    Mixed bag of numbers though

    Cable & Wireless' acquisition of Energis looks set to be completed within the next couple of days, the UK telco announced today. Two weeks ago the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) gave the OK for the £600m deal to proceed without any further scrutiny. In an announcement today C&W said that it "anticipates completion within the …

    Financial News 8 Nov 2005, 13:49

  • BBC to offer High Definition TV

    Cable and satellite viewers can tune in next year

    Certified gadget obsessives Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny scour Gizmoville for the oddest digital goodies, Bayraider keeps tabs on the best and worst of eBay and HDTVUK charts the latest High Definition TV news. The BBC has confirmed that it is to offer High Definition TV to satellite and cable viewers at some point during 2006. …

    Telecoms 8 Nov 2005, 13:59

  • Doctor Who Children in Need ETA revealed

    VCRs on stand-by

    Get set to program your PVR, the new Doctor Who returns for a half-hour special next week. Part of the BBC's Children in Need charity event, the Doctor Who story is scheduled to be broadcast at 9pm on 18 November, according to listing magazine Radio Times online TV guide. Says the site: "Billie Piper and David Tennant star …

    Bootnotes 8 Nov 2005, 14:02

  • CA divests Ingres database

    Sail away

    Computer Associates has announced plans to divest itself of a majority stake of its Ingres open-source database unit. Private equity firm Garnett & Helfrich Capital is financing the deal which will see it become the majority shareholder in Ingres Corp. CA will retain a minority stake in the new business and a seat on its board. …

    Applications 8 Nov 2005, 14:14

  • DTI hands Serco £125m IT deal

    Lots riding on this one

    Serco has won an IT services deal with the DTI that could be worth as much as £125m over the next nine years. The services vendor is now responsible for delivering the government's business.gov programme. This will mean working with plenty of government departments, including the DTI, the Treasury, the Cabinet Office and HM …

    Channel Register 8 Nov 2005, 14:16

  • BT ex- CTO 'for sale' on eBay

    Bidders wanted

    Peter Cochrane - the former CTO of BT and a keen supporter of the Access to Broadband Campaign (ABC) - is up for sale on eBay. Well kinda. Cochrane is delivering a keynote speech at the Broadband End Game conference on November 22 in London. And according to the sales patter: "Bidders have the chance to bid on sponsoring that …

    Bootnotes 8 Nov 2005, 15:06

  • Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T5 digital camera

    Review Slim and sweet

    Ultra-compact digital cameras don't come much thinner than the 1.5cm-thick Sony Cyber-shot DSC T5 a supremely pocketable 5.1mp digital camera that will really turn heads towards the lens. The T5 has swooping curves to the slimline body edges and a sliding lens cover on the front that also provides extra rigidity for its …

    Reviews 8 Nov 2005, 15:16

  • Dot-coms' VAT-swerve hurts small biz

    Ecommerce giants not paying tax

    The Forum of Private Business, which represents small and medium-sized businesses, is calling on the Treasury to close a loophole which allows ecommerce firms based in the Channel Islands to sell goods VAT-free to UK consumers. It cites the example of Tesco.com, based in Jersey, which is selling the latest Oasis dirge for £8.07 …

    Financial News 8 Nov 2005, 15:31

  • Flash, bang, wallop - you're own3d

    Macromedia patches 'critical' security bug

    Security researchers have discovered a vulnerability in Macromedia's Flash Player that creates a mechanism for hackers to attack the PCs of users running the popular application. The security bug - described as critical - affect Macromedia Flash Player 6.x and 7.x. Macromedia has issued security updates. The flaw stems from a …

    Enterprise Security 8 Nov 2005, 15:34

  • Broadband management buoys Plusnet

    Hogs tied

    PlusNet's tight rein on its network and its willingness to curtail the activities of broadband hogs has contributed to increased revenues at the Sheffield-based ISP. Publishing results for the three months to September the ISP reported turnover of £8.8m - up 22.2 per cent on the same period last year. At the same time the …

    Telecoms 8 Nov 2005, 15:50

  • Holocaust denier faces German court

    Internet material provokes raft of charges

    German Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel - whose website (extreme political views and NSFW) pretty well claims outright that the Nazi extermination of the Jews didn't happen - is on trial in Germany on charges relating to 14 pieces of printed and internet written material which use "pseudo-scientific methods to try and rewrite the …

    Music and Media 8 Nov 2005, 15:53

  • Science is all rubbish, let's go live in caves

    Letters It could only be letters. Patent pending, of course

    The anti-software patent campaigners have long drawn a parallel between patenting software and patenting a story. Their plan was to use the notion as an exaggerated and hypothetical illustration of the nonsense of patenting software. But that hasn't stopped someone actually going out and trying to patent a plotline. Yes, you …

    Letters 8 Nov 2005, 16:20

  • AMD ups market share

    Growing in Europe, outsells Intel in US

    AMD has increased its market share to almost 15 per cent compared to just over 10 per cent last year. Figures from Context Research show 14.8 per cent of desktop computers sold through dealers in the third quarter of 2005 were powered by AMD chips. That compares to AMD's market share of just 10.5 per cent in the same period …

    PCs 8 Nov 2005, 16:27

  • Cisco's 'Black Hat' nemesis joins Juniper

    For a Few Dollars More

    A security researcher who earned fame by quitting his job to present a speech on the security shortcomings of Cisco's networking kit at this year's Black Hat conference has secured a job at Cisco chief rival, Juniper Networks. Michael Lynn will join Juniper in unspecified capacity, according to reports. Lynn gained the respect …

    Enterprise Security 8 Nov 2005, 16:58

  • ISS crew stretches legs in space

    First time out since Shuttle's return

    The crew of the International Space Station has performed the first spacewalk since Shuttle's return to flight. The mission was not an extraordinary one: NASA astronaut Bill McArthur and Russian cosmonaut Valery Tokarev installed a new camera on the station, removed a broken electronics box and took down a defunct science probe …

    Science 8 Nov 2005, 17:02

  • Ex-Microsoft man takes Borland's helm

    Just don't mention developer numbers

    Borland Software has appointed Tod Nielson, the man who helped turn Microsoft's Developer Network (MSDN) into a success, as its president and chief executive. Nielson replaces interim CEO Scott Arnold who took-over following Dale Fuller's resignation after Borland announced preliminary financial results that missed Wall St's …

    IT Director 8 Nov 2005, 19:09

  • IBM taps NetApp for midrange gear

    In Brief Protocols galore

    Next month, IBM will start selling a new fleet of storage systems aimed at the midrange market. The N5000 series systems mark the second set of gear to come from partner NetApp. Both the N5200 and N5500 will be sold with single and dual-controllers. The lower-end N5200 will start at $60,000, while the N5500 will start at $85, …

    Storage 8 Nov 2005, 19:16

  • Razr phone gets iTunes-lite

    'It sure is good to be out of that CROCKR'

    Motorola has announced an upgrade to its hit RAZR mobile phone that features the crippled version of Apple's iTunes software. The mobile iTunes was announced to great fanfare in September, but to date, is only available on one device - Motorola's ROKR E1. However the ROKR spent so long in development that its specifications …

    Mobile 8 Nov 2005, 20:52

  • Zend tempts PHP developers' corporate desires with refresh

    Studio database embrace

    PHP supplier Zend Technologies has updated its scripting environment, embracing web services along with support for both enterprise and open source database servers. Zend Studio 5.0, released Tuesday, generates Web Services Description Language (WSDL) files from PHP source code which can then be parsed for code completion and …

    Developer 8 Nov 2005, 21:40

  • In case of emergency, VoIP users can send smoke signals

    No 911, no new customers

    Voice over IP, or VoIP, promises to bring cheap phone calls to the digitally connected - but it's also opening up a new and unexpected fissure in the digital divide. The Federal Communications Commission today said it expects VoIP vendors to suspend their marketing in areas where they can't support 911 calls to emergency …

    VoIP 8 Nov 2005, 21:43

  • When Smurfs Attack!

    Father Abraham hires an IP attorney

    Having been toasted in a recent Belgian children's cartoon, Smurfs are now on the counter-attack, mounting an intellectual property rampage against domain name holders. Studio Peyo, which owns the rights to the Smurfs trademark and copyright, has been sending out threatening letters to webmasters who use the name in their web …

    Music and Media 8 Nov 2005, 23:28

  • HP trades in Transmeta chips for Athlons in PC blades

    Dial-A-Quote dials in

    HP has done the inevitable and replaced the Transmeta processors that once powered its blade PC products with low-power Athlon chips from AMD. The new line of bc1500 blade PCs are HP's latest attempt to reformat the desktop PC market. The systems with Transmeta-based chips seemed to have done as well as most Transmeta-based …

    Servers 8 Nov 2005, 23:55