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9th November 2005 Archive

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  • Sony digital boss - rootkit ignorance is bliss

    But IT Depts beg to differ

    The President of Sony BMG's global digital business division Thomas Hesse has weighed into the storm over the 'rootkit'-style copy restriction software introduced on some recent audio CDs. Sony's software installs itself by stealth, conceals itself, then intercepts low level Windows systems calls. Removing it causes the CD …

    Music and Media 9 Nov 2005, 01:45

  • Dell embraces AMD chips for courtroom duty?

    Opinion Anti-trust Athlon mystery

    Dell has begun to offer AMD Athlon processors via its online store. But the decision has many people scratching their heads. Why would a computer maker with such a staunch Intel-only stance offer chips that can't even slot into its own products? And why would it fail to promote this change in policy if it's actually trying to …

    Music and Media 9 Nov 2005, 01:59

  • IBM targets brand conscious with search

    Takes pain out of reading blogs

    IBM has become the latest big name IT vendor to try and cash in on the "Web 2.0" hype, tapping companies' paranoia about the potential impact that a growing wall of online noise can have on their brand. The Public Image Monitoring Solution from IBM sifts millions of blogs, consumer reviews and news wires from Factiva, compiling …

    Applications 9 Nov 2005, 02:26

  • Boffins debunk cow-tipping myth

    Not possible, even when drunk

    Two scientists at the University of British Columbia have rather disagreeably debunked the myth that you can - when suitably refreshed after a night on the sauce - stagger into a field and tip over a sleeping cow. According to the Times, Margo Lillie, a doctor of zoology, and her student Tracy Boechler did a few calculations …

    Bootnotes 9 Nov 2005, 05:02

  • Bill Gates' lunchbox on eBay

    Tech Digest Get your MS powered sandwich container

    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 Propellerhead answers your PC queries. Bill Gates’ lunchbox on eBay Over on eBay US, 'Foodbankny' has 17 lunchboxes designed by mostly American stars, which are being …

    Personal 9 Nov 2005, 08:51

  • Easynet ISP cranks broadband to 22 meg

    Sky's the limit

    UK Online - the broadband ISP owned by LLU operator Easynet - has cranked up the speed of its broadband service to 22 meg. From today, punters living in urban areas and connected to a BT exchange unbundled by Easynet can now tap into the ISP's ADSL2+ network. As ever with these things, the speed on offer depends on various …

    Telecoms 9 Nov 2005, 09:02

  • Dell UK slammed for 'hiring and firing' lifestyle

    Redundos

    So the rumours flooding out of Dell's UK headquarters in Bracknell turned out to be true. The company is waving goodbye to around 230 staff. But it has told Bracknell business officials that it also aims to hire another 150 staff over the next six months. Bracknell's business community is up in arms over the cuts. Mary Flavelle …

    IT Director 9 Nov 2005, 09:14

  • DCC keeps the faith

    Irish distie stays positive

    DCC, the Irish distribution and sales group, saw its share price moving upwards yesterday despite posting a a small fall in profits. Profit before exceptional items was down 3 per cent but turnover was up an impressive 37.5 per cent. DCC warned in the summer that its IT division was suffering. For the six months ended 30 …

    Channel Register 9 Nov 2005, 09:19

  • Operational BI for the masses

    Comment Power users to the People!

    I'm always more interested in failure stories than success stories, because you learn more from failure than you do from success. If you're successful, you might just have been lucky. But there's no real incentive to think about any issues and the next person to try could fail. However, failure often highlights bigger issues …

    Developer 9 Nov 2005, 09:54

  • Gates memo warns of future threats

    Where's our bloody leaked email?

    In an email apparently leaked to almost every media outlet and their dogs, Bill Gates and Ray Ozzie warn that the current move to a services-based world poses a serious threat to Microsoft's business. Gates's email to senior staff, dated October 30, described the move to Web-based services as "the next sea change" and as …

    Software 9 Nov 2005, 10:10

  • Transmeta profit warning clouds positive Q3

    Net loss coming in Q4

    Transmeta's decision to stop making and selling microprocessors and focus on licensing chip-design technology was once again validated during the company's most recently completed quarter. However, the company warned it expects to make a loss in its current quarter. For the three months to 30 September 2005 - the third quarter …

    Financial News 9 Nov 2005, 10:14

  • Intel 975X chipset slips out 'early'

    Chip giant restarts low-end chipset production, too

    Intel will this quarter begin making 865GV mainstream desktop PC chipsets again, even as it brings forward the release of the high-end 975X chipset. So claim Taiwanese motherboard maker sources, cited by DigiTimes. Whether they're the same sources who in June claimed Intel was getting out of the low-end chipset market …

    Channel Register 9 Nov 2005, 10:39

  • Venus Express is on its way

    Heading sunwards

    Europe's Venus Express mission successfully blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in the small hours of this morning. Mission controllers received a signal from the craft some 90 minutes after launch, confirming that all was well. It will spend the next five months en route to our sister planet where it will …

    Science 9 Nov 2005, 10:41

  • Why Yahoo! should call Identify

    Comment Hello, stock pickers!

    One of the first and last things I do every working day is to log on to Yahoo! Finance to check what is happening to the stock market. One of the features of the page is that it continuously shows the prices of the last ten stocks I have expressed an interest in. The only problem is that it doesn’t work. There are two obvious …

    Developer 9 Nov 2005, 10:55

  • Critical MS patch fixes graphics bugs

    Cracked rendering

    Microsoft has released a patch to address two critical vulnerabilities in Windows, both related to the processing of graphics files, that might by used by hackers to take control of vulnerable systems. The first vulnerability involves a flaw in Windows' Graphics Rendering Engine which comes into play when rendering certain …

    Enterprise Security 9 Nov 2005, 11:39

  • Re-marked Intel CPUs surface in China

    In Brief Not all they purport to be

    Re-marked Intel Pentium M processors have turned up in China, the chip giant admitted this week. However, the company maintained the number of dodgy chips in circulation is small. According to an Intel spokeswoman, cited by IDG News, the chips are engineering samples sent out to Chinese PC makers. Somewhere in the supply chain …

    Channel Register 9 Nov 2005, 11:40

  • Nvidia GeForce 7200, 7600 due 'Feb, March 2006'

    Big CeBIT splash?

    Information has come to light about Nividia's mysterious G72 and G73 graphics chips. According to an AnandTech report which quotes a number of industry insiders, the G72 and G73 will ship as the GeForce 7200 and 7600, respectively. The 7200 will launch in February 2006, the 7600 a month later. Past reports have suggested the …

    Channel Register 9 Nov 2005, 11:48

  • Dover school board booted out in elections

    But Kansas mandates teaching of intelligent design

    All eight Dover, Pennsylvania school board members up for re-election have been booted out after introducing intelligent design to the science classroom. In their place are a number of those who campaigned against the policy. The original school board ruled that intelligent design could be taught alongside Darwinian evolution, …

    Science 9 Nov 2005, 12:16

  • MS has three months to ship 3m Xbox 360s

    CFO's proud prediction

    Microsoft hopes to sell up to 3m Xbox 360 consoles by the end of February 2006 - three months after the next-generation machine machine debuts in the US in two weeks' time. The 360 arrives in the US on Tuesday, 22 November, and the UK and Europe on Friday, 2 December. Japanese consumers will be able to get their hands on the …

    Consoles 9 Nov 2005, 12:23

  • Capgemini revs up ten per cent

    Outsourcing gets the credit...

    Capgemini increased turnover ten per cent in the third quarter, compared to the same period a year ago. For the third quarter ended 30 September Capgemini brought in €1.67bn against €1.59bn for the third quarter of 2004. The company said outsourcing grew fastest at 15 per cent and contributes 39 per cent of group revenues. By …

    Channel Register 9 Nov 2005, 12:28

  • Cambodian backwater in euthanasia website rumpus

    Come to sunny Kampot - then kill yourself

    The governor of the Cambodian province of Kampot has initiated legal action against an American internet cafe owner who promoted the area as the ideal place to commit suicide, Reuters reports. Roger Graham's www.euthanasiaincambodia.com and www.asian-hearts.com (both currently offline) both carried the banner: "You're going to …

    Bootnotes 9 Nov 2005, 12:33

  • Dennis Thatcher has bequeathed you £950k

    Lads from Lagos find new line of attack

    Now, this may sound strange and unbelievable to you, but the late Dennis Thatcher has left you a cool £950k in his will. How can this be, you gasp - I never even met the bloke. No matter, the Lads from Lagos reveal all: SS Peter& Paul Catholic Parish 7 Tetlow Lane, Wimbome DORSET BH21 ILF London ,UK. Dearest, On behalf of …

    Bootnotes 9 Nov 2005, 12:36

  • Bogus Baron BOFH banged up

    Phoney peer gets 21 months' imprisonment

    A phoney English Lord who stole a dead baby's identity to lead a fantasy life has been jailed for 21 months for passport fraud. 'Christopher Edward Buckingham' was sent to prison by a judge yesterday without revealing his true identity, after living 23 years under the assumed name. The self-styled Earl of Buckingham married …

    ID 9 Nov 2005, 13:03

  • US court rules for 'gripe website' owner

    Disgruntled customer's right to free speech

    A US court has ruled that a disgruntled customer of an insurance firm cannot be sued for defamation over statements he made on his “gripe site” because those statements are protected free speech. The case dates back to May 2000, when Ronald DiGiovanni obtained a service warranty – provided by Pennsylvania insurance company Penn …

    Music and Media 9 Nov 2005, 13:57

  • Lichens love life in space

    Could they survive on Mars?

    Good news for interplanetary Reindeer: researchers in the Netherlands have discovered that Lichens can survive in the harsh environment of space. This raises the possibility that Lichen could survive on the surface of Mars, the European Space Agency says, and might also widen the focus of exobiology research beyond the realm of …

    Science 9 Nov 2005, 13:59

  • Automatic graylisting of unwanted software

    Maximum security, minimal effort

    As network perimeters become ever more porous, and endpoint security becomes even more critical, companies today are struggling with the problem of unwanted software - whether it's new, unknown, and potentially malicious software, or simply known but non-business applications. Now, a new approach to endpoint security known as …

    Enterprise Security 9 Nov 2005, 14:09

  • xMax - wireless voodoo?

    Remarkable claims for WiMAX-busting system

    Over the weekend, several stories of a "new low power wireless revolution" have appeared on the internet, sparked by a Florida demonstration by a startup wireless company, xG Technology. Unfortunately, the demo only allowed observers to see a black box. Black magic, is what it seemed to be. It's using less than a watt of power …

    Wireless 9 Nov 2005, 14:26

  • Ofcom demands greater cuts to line rental charges

    Looking after the pennies

    The cost of renting a fixed phone line in the UK could fall by a few pence a month following the intervention of regulator Ofcom. It wants the cost of Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) - which enables telcos to invoice customers for line rental and phone charges on the same bill, as opposed to having to pay for calls and line rental …

    Telecoms 9 Nov 2005, 14:33

  • Sony Ericsson Walkman W550i music phone

    Review Entertaining and stylish

    Placed firmly in the musical youth market, the W550i is one of latest edition to the Sony Ericsson Walkman series: a tri-band GSM phone with music, Java, web and email capability. As with the K750i/D750i, Sony Ericsson has again introduced a cluster of phones with a common theme and brand, all based upon the same internal …

    Reviews 9 Nov 2005, 14:55

  • Microsoft takes on enterprise - again

    Norfolk and Banks watch from the safety of London

    I'm glad that it was our San Francisco correspondent, Gavin Clarke, who got to hear Steve Ballmer in person, challenging his competitors to have any doubts as to whether Microsoft's SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2005 (and the latest Beta of Biztalk Server 2006) are "enterprise ready". Ballmer is one of the few IT execs who …

    Developer 9 Nov 2005, 15:14

  • Movie downloading? You'll have to wait

    Analysis European market will trail music for some time

    Movie downloading in Europe is set to grow but not as quickly some would like Screen Digest believes that the market for movie downloads will be worth £60m in the UK and €250m in Europe as a whole by 2010. This is considerably smaller than the market for music downloads, which are forecast to reach €900m by 2010. A recent …

    Financial News 9 Nov 2005, 15:23

  • Caudwell to flog entire phone business

    Phones4U? or U? Or U...?

    Billionaire John Caudwell is bailing out of the phone business after announcing today that he intends to flog his whole empire. In September, Caudwell confirmed that he was looking to sell his fixed line telecoms business after receiving "a number of approaches from third parties interested in acquiring Caudwell Communications …

    Financial News 9 Nov 2005, 15:25

  • O2 to offer UK 'super 3G' data network by Q3 06

    Genuine broadband download speeds

    O2 will roll out HSDPA across its national 3G networks by Q3 2006, the network operator has revealed. The carrier has been testing HSDPA (High Speed Data Packet Access) technology on the Isle of Man, which also played host to its original 3G trials. Next year's roll-out will see the service launched in the UK, Germany and …

    Mobile 9 Nov 2005, 15:28

  • Home Office 'confident' of ID card costs

    KPMG report on programme estimates published

    The Home Office has published an extract of the independent report which assessed the costing estimates of the National ID card scheme as "robust and appropriate." Charles Clarke used this report to underline the basis for the cost estimates of £30 for a stand alone ID card and £93 for a passport and ID card package that was …

    ID 9 Nov 2005, 15:53

  • HP job cuts hit factory staff

    Where do you want to go today? India or the Czech Republic?

    HP is shifting 200 manufacturing jobs from its Erskine factory to Pardubice in the Czech Republic. Jim Sheridan, MP for Paisley and North Renfrewshire told the Daily Record the decision was: "one of the worst cases of corporate deceit I have ever come across." Sheridan had previously been assured by HP managers that jobs were …

    Financial News 9 Nov 2005, 16:13

  • Palm chief denies Palm OS pull-back

    Windows Mobile will build on Palm OS business, not replace it

    Palm CEO Ed Colligan has pledged his company's whole-hearted support for the Palm OS - in particular when it comes to its Treo family of smart phones. Colligan promised a "rich product roadmap" of Palm OS-based Treos - and PDAs and Mobile Managers. "Our Palm OS customer loyalty is extremely high, and we intend to continue to …

    Mobile 9 Nov 2005, 16:14

  • Defra gets interested in climate change

    Have you prepared? Well have you?

    The government is beginning a 12 week period of consultations with industry and some public sector institutions to find out exactly what is being done to prepare the UK for the effects of climate change. In a press notice issued today, the Department for Food, the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) argues that the UK must …

    Science 9 Nov 2005, 16:18

  • Mystery over 'hidden booty' in email scam trial

    Francis-Macrae takes stand, refuses to spill the beans

    Peter Francis-Macrae, the 23-year-old who's allegedly the UK's biggest spammer, has testified that he may have "over stepped the mark" in posing as an approved domain registrar at his trial at Peterborough Crown Court this week. Francis-Macrae faces a variety of charges ranging from threats to kill to fraudulent trading. …

    Spam 9 Nov 2005, 16:27

  • Darkness singer buys own album on eBay

    Spandex panted frontman plugs leak

    Spandex-clad, falsetto rock singer Justin Hawkins has paid £350 to win an eBay auction of an advance copy of the Darkness's soon-to-be released album. Hawkins said he had acted to stop the CD being leaked before its official release at the end of this month. We notice that we have now drawn attention to the album's impending …

    Bootnotes 9 Nov 2005, 16:51

  • France Telecom fined €80m in broadband access row

    Plans to appeal

    France Telecom has been fined a whopping €80m (£54m) for failing to open up its network to rival broadband providers. The incumbent telco - which owns mobile giant Orange and ISP Wanadoo - has already said it plans to appeal the ruling issued by France's Competition Council yesterday branding the fine as "disproportionate". …

    Financial News 9 Nov 2005, 17:09

  • Liberty Alliance pushes authentication standard

    ID-SAFE combination

    The Liberty Alliance Project has launched a program designed to develop open specifications to allow different strong authentication products to interoperate more easily. Liberty’s new Strong Authentication Expert Group has been created to speed the worldwide deployment of more secure log-in technologies. It aims to create an ID …

    ID 9 Nov 2005, 17:13

  • Grokster to be reborn by year's end

    Mashboxx merger pulls P2Per's fat out of fire

    Grokster is set to be reborn as a fully legitimate P2P service before the end of the year, The Register has learned. Sources familiar with the service's operations revealed that Grokster 3G, as the new service will be branded, is scheduled to be released as a public beta before 31 December. Currently, the Grokster web site …

    Music and Media 9 Nov 2005, 18:36

  • DRM maker denies plans to shatter iPod users' eardrums

    Sunncomm misses 250 decibel joke

    DRM maker SunnComm has denied that it is behind a new form of technology that would paralyze iPod users downloading illegal songs with high-pitched screams pumped through their headphones. SunnComm on Tuesday issued a statement that "published reports circulating online that state SunnComm is creating a new kind of DRM under …

    Bootnotes 9 Nov 2005, 19:22

  • Swisscom confirms Eircom acquisition talks

    In brief High-speed merger mania

    Swisscom has confirmed it's in talks to buy Irish carrier Eircom, continuing an accelerating trend of acquisition and consolidation in the telecoms sector. The companies have entered into discussions, Swisscom said Wednesday, but warned that talks would not necessarily result in a deal. Swisscom is Switzerland's largest …

    Financial News 9 Nov 2005, 19:37

  • Software testers become 'rock stars' for Microsoft

    Bum note on VSTS?

    Microsoft hopes to do for software testers what it's done for developers - turn them into "rock stars". However, it may have to get its own house in order before preaching to the industry. Fresh from launching its first application lifecycle management (ALM) suite, Visual Studio 2005 Team System (VSTS), Microsoft said it wants …

    Applications 9 Nov 2005, 22:34

  • SuSE co-founder leaves Novell

    'Not the company I founded'

    Novell has insisted it's business as usual for the SuSE Linux operation despite the loss of SuSE co-founder and kernel team member Hubert Mantel. A Novell spokesperson told The Register on Wednesday that Mantel's exit "won't have a significant impact on our strategy or our ability to execute." Mantel resigned from Novell, …

    IT Director 9 Nov 2005, 23:26