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5th December 2005 Archive

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  • Intellectual property rights to be reviewed in UK

    IP dip do

    The Chancellor Gordon Brown announced on Friday that he has commissioned an independent review into intellectual property rights in the UK. Andrew Gowers, former editor of the Financial Times, will lead the review. The review, which will run for 12 months, will look at the way in which Government administers the awarding of …

    Media 5 Dec 2005, 06:02

  • IBM goes open with office suite

    Microsoft doc questions linger

    IBM is adopting OpenDocument Format (ODF) for the first generally available release of its network-based collaboration and office productivity suite. IBM said Sunday its Workplace Managed Client 2.6, due in early 2006, would adopt ODF so users could easily share files and information. The Workplace Managed Client is currently …

    Developer 5 Dec 2005, 09:40

  • World chip sales exceeded $20bn in October

    'Robust' consumer demand

    The world's chip makers together sold just under $20.1bn worth of semiconductors in October, up 6.75 per cent on October 2004's total and 2.5 per cent more than the sum sold in September this year. The sales figure, reported by the US Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), represents a dip in sequential growth from the …

    Hardware 5 Dec 2005, 10:13

  • Toshiba wins review of Lexar trial damages

    May not have to pay out $465m after all

    Toshiba has won the right to a new trial to appraise the "erroneous" $465m damages awarded to Lexar after the Japanese giant lost a NAND Flash trade secret misappropriation dispute. The Superior Court of California, which last week granted Toshiba the fresh trial, also set aside the original damages ruling, announced by a jury …

    Financial News 5 Dec 2005, 10:59

  • NTL and Virgin Mobile confirm bid talks

    Quadruple play - beat that, Sky!

    NTL and Virgin Mobile have confirmed they are in buy-out talks that could lead to a giant multimedia business better placed to slug it out with satellite broadcaster BSkyB and dominant telco BT. The deal values Virgin Mobile - which is 72 per cent owned by Richard Branson's Virgin Group - at around £800m and would give the …

    Financial News 5 Dec 2005, 11:02

  • Hynix readies GDDR 4 samples

    512Mb graphics memory chips to ship early 2006

    Hynix will soon sample what it claims is the world's first 512Mb GDDR 4 memory chip, the South Korean chip-maker said yesterday. Hynix's part runs at 1.45GHz, the company said, and can shuffle up to 11.6GB of data every second. GDDR 4 can process almost double the data than GDDR 3 can in the same amount of time. GDDR 4 is …

    Hardware 5 Dec 2005, 11:04

  • HMRC slams tax credit portal shut

    DWP staff IDs swiped

    HM Revenue & Customs shut down its tax credit portal website last week after uncovering an attempt to defraud the system using the identities of Department of Work and Pensions staff. It is understood that the scammers obtained enough information about individual DPW staff to be able to make fraudulent claims in their names. …

    Security 5 Dec 2005, 11:36

  • Swisscom calls time on Eircom take-over talks

    It's over

    Swisscom has ditched plans to buy Irish incumbent telco Eircom after being blocked from expanding abroad by the Swiss Government. Last month the Swiss Government - which owns 66 per cent of Swisscom - said it would vote against any plans to invest overseas. The Government's position has now been confirmed and Swisscom has been …

    Financial News 5 Dec 2005, 11:41

  • Analyst blames Intel for missed chip sales forecast

    But is something more fundamental happening?

    Intel's chipset shortage was the reason investment house Handelsbanken Capital Markets' October global chip sales forecast overshot the mark, HCM strategist Bruce Diesen told clients last week. HCM had predicted sales of $20.3bn for October 2005. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), however, the month's …

    Financial News 5 Dec 2005, 11:47

  • iPod shuffle voted top 'Chav Gadget'

    PSP and nano are most wanted though...

    Certified gadget obsessives Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny scour Gizmoville for the oddest digital goodies, TV Scoop features all that’s cool in British telly and Propellerhead answers your PC queries. iPod shuffle is top Chav Gadget Put on your Burberry scarf and switch on your iPod Shuffle. While the iPod nano may be the king …

    Peripherals 5 Dec 2005, 11:51

  • ICANN Meeting blog: Indecision and insults

    Vancouver Riddles, fiddles and diddles in British Columbia

    According to my computer's calendar, I have been in Vancouver for three days. And according to a search on the Internet, I have written six stories about events at the ICANN conference here. Which is all incredibly useful because on sitting down in the press room at the Westin Hotel, my horribly jet-lagged mind casually …

    Media 5 Dec 2005, 12:14

  • Mutant rats menace Belfast

    The size of cats and fearless

    Residents in east Belfast have been "living in a horror movie" for more than a month after an invasion of fearless giant rats. Kids have been dragged off the streets by fearful parents and a dog attacked by the invading rodents - believed to have been displaced from their former abode when transport outfit Translink did work on …

    Bootnotes 5 Dec 2005, 12:23

  • US Patent Office rejects remaining NTP vs RIM patent

    Preliminary finding, not final judgement

    The US Patent and Trademark Office has rejected another patent owned by Research in Motion sparring partner NTP, effectively rendering invalid all eight patents RIM was judged to have infringed in whole or in part. The USPTO's ruling was made public last week, though it's merely a preliminary judgement, not the last word on the …

    Phones 5 Dec 2005, 12:23

  • Killer squirrel pack guts dog

    Russian tree rat horror

    A pack of Russian black squirrels is reported to have piled into a dog mob-handed, bitten it to death and then eviscerated the unfortunate animal after it ill-advisedly barked at them, the BBC reports. That, at least, is according to journo Anastasia Trubitsina who told Komsomolskaya Pravda: "They literally gutted the dog," …

    Bootnotes 5 Dec 2005, 12:25

  • ITV close to buying Friends Reunited

    Just get on with it

    ITV's bid to acquire Friends Reunited could be about to inked, according to the Sunday Times. The paper reports that the £120m take-over could be announced as early as this week after months of speculation about the future of the reunion site. The deal is expected to tie-in senior execs and key staff, who, in return, can also …

    Financial News 5 Dec 2005, 12:33

  • Asus preps carbon-fibre cased laptop

    EMI shielded - but what about Wi-Fi?

    Asus has rejected standard plastics, impact-resistant materials like polycarbonate, and even metals like aluminium and titanium to kit out its latest notebook computer opting instead for carbon fibre. The Taiwanese manufacturer last week introduced the W1 Carbon family, a line of Centrino laptops based on a range of Pentium M …

    Hardware 5 Dec 2005, 12:37

  • JBoss goes upscale with Arjuna deal

    Tuxedo this, sucker

    JBoss is zeroing in on BEA Systems sacred transaction middleware business with the acquisition of software from Arjuna Technologies - once part of the Hewlett Packard (HP) fold. The open source application server upstart has bought Arjuna Transaction Service Suite (ArjunaTS) and plans to both integrate ArjunaTS with its own …

    Applications 5 Dec 2005, 12:57

  • Microsoft Xbox 360

    Review It's here. It's impressive

    Unless you've been living in a Buddhist Temple in the mountains of Tibet for the past few months you will be well aware that the Xbox 360 has launched in the UK. Although there has been a massive amount of coverage and speculation in the technology press regarding the 360, the general marketing has been slightly subdued. OK, so …

    Games 5 Dec 2005, 13:32

  • Adobe completes Macromedia acquisition

    Goes a bundle

    Adobe has completed the acquisition of Macromedia Software and is marking territory on day one by hawking three bundles combining software from both companies. The hard stuff comes a little later with the two operations beginning their integration later this week. This will see them "ensure a smooth transition and immediate …

    Applications 5 Dec 2005, 14:33

  • Entire porn outfit for sale on eBay

    Lock, stock and many smoking barrels

    Fancy a change of career? Well, if you've got more than $100k hanging around doing nothing, and have always fancied going into the movie business, then point your browser at eBay in the US where someone is flogging an entire porn company - lock, stock and (judging by the description) plenty of smoking barrels. You'll get plenty …

    Bootnotes 5 Dec 2005, 14:37

  • Bush administration control will cause net to split

    Arab warning over ongoing US government control

    The continued control of the internet's organisational structure by the US government - in particular the Bush administration - could result in the splitting of the Net, one of the leading Arab internet voices has warned. CEO of the Multi-lingual Internet Names Consortium (MINC) and member of the recently created international …

    Media 5 Dec 2005, 14:52

  • Investigations into ICANN transparency continue

    Freedom of information request

    A new lobbying body calling itself itself the Campaign for ICANN Transparency (CFIT) has expanded its investigation into the internet overseeing organisation with a freedom of information request served on the US Department of Commerce. The organisation has already served ICANN with a lawsuit in its home state of California …

    Media 5 Dec 2005, 14:59

  • OneTel sale in doubt

    What? No interest?

    Centrica is on the verge of scrapping the sale of its OneTel telco operation after failing to receive a decent bid for the business. The Sunday Telegraph reports that parent company Centrica only received one offer for the telco and that was just a smidgen over £100m - well down on the £300m - £350m valuation put on the company …

    Financial News 5 Dec 2005, 15:51

  • Codename cornucopia reveals Intel's 65nm CPU plans

    More CPUs, more supported L2 cache sizes

    Intel may be preparing to segment its next-generation 65nm desktop and mobile processor lines by taking a leaf out of arch-rival AMD's book and offering chips with a range of different cache sizes. So we might conclude from the list of upcoming Intel CPUs for 2006 and 2007 published by Tom's Hardware. The list is a veritable …

    Hardware 5 Dec 2005, 16:01

  • Eolas patent ruling provokes IE tweak

    Minor changes

    Microsoft is planning to launch a slightly amended version of Internet Explorer that works around a disputed patent for technology allowing web browsers to access interactive application programs, according to reports. In September, the US Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it had reexamined the patent and …

    Applications 5 Dec 2005, 16:20

  • Intel's 45nm shift will mean octo-core desktop CPUs

    From 'Wolfdale' to 'Yorkfield'

    Intel isn't due to begin shipping processors produced using its 45nm process until 2008, but it's already naming the chips that will be made using the technology. According to a list of upcoming Intel CPUs for 2006 and 2007 published by Tom's Hardware Guide, the ballooning transistor budget made possible by the 45nm process …

    Hardware 5 Dec 2005, 16:33

  • 'Game manager' flogs Xbox 360 consoles on eBay

    Retailer investigating

    UK computer game retailer Game is looking into claims that one of its store managers is flogging eight Xbox 360 bundles on eBay. The auction - which closes Tuesday evening - is for "brand new, factory sealed, Xbox 360 Premium Pack with three games". "I have 8 units for sale, these were obtained from a store of which I am the …

    Games 5 Dec 2005, 17:28

  • El Reg launches site for professional software developers

    Site News Coded message

    The Register has launched a sister publication for professional software developers. Called Reg Developer, the site is co-edited by veteran IT journalists David Norfolk and Martin Banks and lives at www.regdeveloper.co.uk. David and Martin formerly edited Application Development Advisor (ADA), a well-respected UK print-based …

    The Company 5 Dec 2005, 18:53

  • WStore swallows Inmac France

    Quadruples in size

    WStore, the online reseller, has bought Inmac France, a company almost three times its own size, for an undisclosed sum. WStore, which is headquartered in France was supported in the purchase by its existing investors. And Inmac France's previous owner, the US private equity firm The Gores Group, will have a stake in the …

    The Channel 5 Dec 2005, 22:03

  • TSG buys Accounting Answers

    Reseller-tastic

    Technology Services Group has bought its 18th reseller, Southampton and London-based Accounting Answers. The move gives Newcastle-headquartered TSG a bigger foothold in the South - to date it has concentrated on buying companies in Scotland, the North and the midlands. Established in 1989, Acounting Answers is a Pegasus and …

    The Channel 5 Dec 2005, 22:34

  • Quantum prepares for tape storage lock down

    How not to go postal

    Tired of the delivery man pocketing your precious tape cartridges and selling them to the highest bidder? Yes, aren't we all. Well, Quantum has stepped up with a new arsenal of security technology meant to keep data stored on tape devices safe via both simple locks and encryption. Quantum has developed a three-phase attack for …

    Storage 5 Dec 2005, 23:03

  • IBM mainlines on SOA

    Comment Theme tune

    This is the first of several articles following on from IBM’s recent Software Group annual analyst conference. Typically at these events there is some sort of theme that runs through all the presentations but this is usually as much notional as a reflection of reality. When it comes to individual product or product group …

    Developer 5 Dec 2005, 23:06