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18th November 2005 Archive

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  • HP makes layoffs pay in Q4

    Hardware up but printing powerhouse slows

    HP today proved that layoffs pay as it managed to squeeze bigger profits out of its hardware businesses during the fourth quarter. Overall, HP's results weren't too impressive, but they fell inline with analysts' expectations and pleased investors. HP reported revenue of $22.9bn. That total marks a seven per cent year-over-year …

    Financial News 18 Nov 2005, 01:10

  • Media freedom issue blows up in Tunis

    Swiss delegates hounded by Tunisian media

    The fall-out from pointedly critical remarks made at the opening ceremony of the World Summit in Tunis by Swiss prime minister Samuel Schmid continues. Following Swiss criticism that the host government censored the speech when it was relayed on Tunisian television to remove remarks critical of press freedom in Tunisia, Tunisia …

    Music and Media 18 Nov 2005, 09:05

  • BEA turns branding iron on Plumtree

    Licensing fee growth

    BEA Systems has shifted its chief technology officer (CTO) to help squeeze success from this summer's $200m Plumtree acquisition. Mark Carges will now lead BEA's Business Interaction Division that is "central" to BEA's AquaLogic brand and which was formed following the Plumtree purchase. At the same time Plumtree's products …

    Applications 18 Nov 2005, 09:13

  • Sony's CD rootkit infringes DVD Jon's copyright

    How did that happen?

    Sony's rootkit-style DRM software, XCP, designed to prevent copyright infringement, looks like it's breaching the terms of a copyright agreement itself. In fact it contains code written by the Motion Picture Ass. of America's villain of the week for several years running, 'DVD Jon' Johansen, who was dragged through the …

    Music and Media 18 Nov 2005, 09:16

  • Cut-down smartphones from T-Mobile and O2

    Tech Digest The Vario and Xda mini S arrive

    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 Corrie blog keeps you up to date as to what’s happening on the street... Cut-down Windows smartphones from T-Mobile and O2 If you like the look of one of those HTC …

    Mobile 18 Nov 2005, 10:25

  • Wal-Mart employee fired for Christmas email

    Happy Holidays!

    We may be two peoples separated by a common language, as Shaw once suggested, but the US propensity to find teeth-grindingly literal explanations for the world around us never ceases to cause the British mirth. The caricature of a fearful United States where every I must be dotted, and every T must be crossed, where coffee cups …

    Bootnotes 18 Nov 2005, 10:31

  • Infineon confirms memory biz spin-off

    Just when the DRAM market is about to slump, says analyst

    Infineon's supervisory board yesterday voted to split the company in two and create a separate, independent company out of its troubled memory products division. This will see the DRAM operation become a legally independent entity on 1 July 2006. It will not go public immediately, Infineon said, although an IPO remains the …

    Financial News 18 Nov 2005, 10:33

  • Einstein endorses development tool

    On Collabnet and blame culture

    Collaborative development is increasingly popular but perhaps a hosted services model helps it really work. It's not often you see a software development product endorsed by a world-famous physicist, especially a dead one, but it's a feat Collabnet appears to have pulled off. Perhaps we shouldn't laugh: Albert's soundbites are …

    Developer 18 Nov 2005, 10:53

  • CSI in computer forensics gaffe

    Hey Greg, don't turn on the PC

    A team of computer forensic investigators has pointed out that a character in a recent episode of hit TV show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation failed to follow a basic rule of looking for evidence: don't switch on the computer. Experts at CY4OR, based in Bury, England, praised CSI for bringing computer forensics to the forefront …

    Enterprise Security 18 Nov 2005, 10:54

  • ABC broadband conference cancelled

    Clashed with Govt-backed summit

    The organisers of a broadband conference have been forced to abandon the event because it clashed with a Government backed "Broadband Summit". The "Broadband End Game" conference was due to take place next Tuesday (November 22) in London. Its theme was for Government and the industry to look beyond ADSL and consider what …

    Telecoms 18 Nov 2005, 10:55

  • Panasonic preps Blu-ray, DVD, CD chip

    Writes any format... except HD DVD

    Panasonic will next month begin sampling what it claims is the first optical drive control chipset capable of writing to any recordable or re-writeable disc format. Well, all except HD DVD, that is. No great surprise there, since Panasonic parent Matsushita has its feet firmly in the Blu-ray camp - unlike, it seems, HP. …

    System Builder 18 Nov 2005, 11:09

  • Industry body to certify adware

    It's all about TRUSTe

    An industry group formed to promote trust between consumers and websites will begin certifying adware programs starting next year, the organization announced on Wednesday. The group, TRUSTe, will put programs that meet certain criteria - such as only installing themselves after users accept an explicit agreement and allowing …

    Malware 18 Nov 2005, 11:18

  • Mobo maker confirms next Pentium Extreme Edition

    PEE 955 to slug it out with Athlon FX-60

    Motherboard maker Asus this week confirmed the existence of the next Intel Pentium Extreme Edition by saying its latest mobo will support the part. The chip, dubbed the PEE 955, is expected to go head-to-head with AMD's Athlon 64-FX in early 2006. Intel quietly launched its 975X chipset on Monday. Later in the week, Asus …

    Reg Hardware 18 Nov 2005, 11:23

  • Gravity lenses focus attention on galaxy formation

    Astronomers ID 19 more examples

    A US and Netherlands-led team of astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have identified 19 new examples of gravitationally lensed galaxies. Among the new examples are eight so-called Einstein Rings, a rare phenomenon where an image of a hidden galaxy is stretched in a complete circle around the lensing object. Only three …

    Science 18 Nov 2005, 11:34

  • Creative launches Flash, OLED Zen Neeon

    New models join HDD-based line-up

    Creative has extended its Zen Neeon MP3 family into Flash territory, the better to compete with the similarly diminutive iPod Nano. Already available with either a 5GB or 6GB hard drive, the Neeeon family now includes three new members offering 512MB, 1GB and 2GB of music storage capacity, respectively. The Neeeeon weighs in at …

    Peripherals 18 Nov 2005, 11:59

  • CeBIT to compete with IFA

    Show within a show

    Messe AG is expanding its Hannover CeBIT CeBIT trade fair in March with a seperate show called Digital Living, showcasing the latest consumer electronics. Experts say this is a clear sign CeBIT is competing head on with IFA in Berlin - the world's biggest consumer electronics show, which will be held annually from next year. …

    Personal 18 Nov 2005, 12:10

  • Exploit code targets unpatched Windows flaw

    Persistence of memory

    Hackers have developed proof-of-concept code that attempts to take advantage of an unpatched Windows vulnerability to crash systems, Microsoft warned yesterday. Fortunately the risk of attack is low. The experimental code shows it's possible to knock over machines running Windows XP SP1 and Windows 2000 SP4 in certain …

    Enterprise Security 18 Nov 2005, 12:23

  • Website campaigns for squirrel genocide

    Tufty gets tough on tree-dwelling rats

    There is a fine old country saying - often to be heard emanating from old boys leaning thoughtfully on farm gates - that rats are rats, pigeons are rats with wings, and squirrels are rats with good PR. Indeed, the non-native grey squirrel has long been a source of delight to innocent kiddies who ply the tree vermin with peanuts …

    Bootnotes 18 Nov 2005, 12:31

  • Apple's iTunes 'owns' UK digital music market

    Higher share than its competitors combined

    Apple's iTunes Music Store has a larger share of the UK digital music download market than the rest of its competitors put together, recently published figures from London-based researcher Xtn Data reveal. Xtn's research, based on a late September survey of more than 1,000 British consumers who buy music online and offline, …

    Financial News 18 Nov 2005, 12:46

  • Review Evesham BlueMedia BM-6380 GPS navigator

    Low-cost GPS satellite navigation systems have largely kept the European PDA market afloat for the past few years. Connecting a cheap GPS receiver to a Palm OS or Windows Mobile-based handheld and bundling some route-planning code has proved a popular, inexpensive alternative to high-end, high-price dedicated navigation systems …

    Reviews 18 Nov 2005, 12:53

  • $11.5bn bid for TDC

    Group bear hug

    TDC could be about to become the latest operator to be snapped up after a group of businesses offered almost $11.5bn (£6.7bn) for the Danish telco. The FT reports that a group comprising Apax, Blackstone, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Permira and Providence have all chipped in to make the bid although a rival group of investors is …

    Financial News 18 Nov 2005, 12:56

  • The Bastard, in the Comms Room with the Cooling Pipe

    Episode 31 J'accuse

    It's that time in the early morning when mistakes are made - mistakes outside of still being at a lock-in in a darkened pub in Soho. Every decision counts and you know that you can't afford to take time off to smell the roses. More importantly, you can't take time to go to the bog - even if your bladder feels like its the size …

    BOFH 18 Nov 2005, 13:17

  • Satellite radar tracking sees off toothfish pirates

    Actual pirates, in boats, with earrings

    The endangered Patagonian toothfish is getting a helping hand from Envisat, one of Europe's research satellites. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), a radar monitoring scheme using data from Envisat and Radarsat-1 has reduced the illegal fishing in one region by around 90 per cent. Envisat is a polar-orbiting Earth …

    Science 18 Nov 2005, 13:36

  • Shadowcrew six plead guilty to credit card fraud

    Dragged into the light

    A further six people linked to the trade in stolen personal information and credit card details via the notorious Shadowcrew web site pleaded guilty on Thursday. The six are among 28 people charged last year following an undercover investigation, codenamed Operation Firewall, mounted by the US Secret Service against Shadowcrew. …

    ID 18 Nov 2005, 14:08

  • UK storage biz drags InTechnology deep into the red

    Whacks costs

    InTechnology, the storage distie and computer services group, is whacking overheads following a whopping operating loss of £13m for the six months ended 30 September. The Leeds-based company blames pricing pressure in its UK storage wholesale business for the loss - revenues in the division were 10 per cent down on the same …

    Channel Register 18 Nov 2005, 14:57

  • Timeshare spammer jailed

    CAN-SPAM convict incarcerated

    Testimony from US ISP Earthlink has led to a one-year prison sentence for a notorious timeshare spammer. Peter Moshou was also ordered to pay $120,000 in compensation this week following his June conviction for violation of the CAN-SPAM Act. Moshou's criminal prosecution was among the first under US anti-spam legislation. …

    Spam 18 Nov 2005, 15:16

  • Posh Richemont latest to sue Stelios

    Time for easyWatch to appear in court

    EasyGroup is facing yet another court case after being sued by Swiss luxury goods outfit Richemont. The company, headed by entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou, is already being sued by France Telecom's mobile division Orange over easyGroup's use of the colour "orange". Now it seems Richemont - the posh company behind brands …

    Telecoms 18 Nov 2005, 15:42

  • Sony's rootkit drives squirrels to new careers in adult movies

    Letters Your thoughts on the week's events

    Sony messing around with DRM software has probably been the biggest topic for discussion this week. (Can everyone say "Rootkit"?) Once we got over the initial shock of the scheme, everyone seemed to be enjoying dissecting the bits they deemed most odious, or speculating about the origins of the idea itself. For example: The …

    Letters 18 Nov 2005, 16:01

  • Password-stealing keyloggers skyrocket

    Breeding like phishes

    Hackers are on target to release more than 6,000 keystroke loggers in 2005, a 65 per cent increase from the 3,753 keyloggers released last year, according to security intelligence outfit iDefense. Five years ago iDefense (which was recently acquired by net infrastructure firm VeriSign) recorded only 300 such programs, …

    Malware 18 Nov 2005, 16:32

  • EMI irks Apple over iPod anti-rip CD compatibility claim

    Not playing fair with FairPlay?

    Macrovision's failure to deliver iPod compatibility appears to have got major music company EMI into a little hot water with Apple. EMI is using Macrovision's anti-rip CD system, and this week told the world: "Apple is nearly finished with the technical work necessary to enable consumers to transfer music from content-protected …

    Music and Media 18 Nov 2005, 16:45

  • Fears rise as Google tries to emulate Microsoft

    Stern response We prefer Exxon as our master

    I have faced the giant and won. That much is clear from your letters related to my incisive analysis last week, exploring Google's ills. Only sadists really like this company, while the rest of us approach it with caution. Do we need another choke point on the flow information? I don't think so. Having Google dominate the …

    Letters 18 Nov 2005, 17:54

  • Cisco charges the tube with $6.9bn set-top-box buy

    Scientific-Atlanta opens video portal

    Cisco has agreed to plunk down a whopping $6.9bn for Scientific-Atlanta, hoping to take a major share of the set-top-box market and push video efforts. The networking giant will pay $43 per share in cash for Scientific-Atlanta ($5.3bn) and swallow $1.6bn in debt. With the buy, Cisco acquires one of the more dominant set-top-box …

    Financial News 18 Nov 2005, 20:22

  • Cell server maker promises pint-sized powerhouse

    SC05 'Turismo' mightier than blades

    Mercury Computer Systems – the leading Cell-based server maker – has started showing off a new "Turismo" design that promises to pack an incredible amount of compute power in a small space. Mercury had pictures of the Turismo system on display this week at the Supercomputing event here in Seattle. The rectangular box can supply …

    Servers 18 Nov 2005, 22:04