9th December 2005 Archive

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'Are You Being Served?'

Comment 'Scuze me while I p*** off Sky

The Sky TV people have never been as difficult or frustrating as BT. But bless them, they do occasionally get close. After chronicling my nightmarish BT experiences while moving house recently, I am now happy to recount my disastrous activities with Mr. Murdoch’s operation. Well not happy exactly. My initial call to Sky about …

Networks 9 Dec 2005, 06:02
Mercury and BEA extend performance deal

Application profiling

BEA Systems will bundle application diagnostics software from Mercury Interactive with new versions of its Java application server and JRockit JVM toolkit. Under a cross-licensing deal BEA will ship Mercury Diagnostics Profiler with new versions of the JRockit Mission Control diagnostics toolset and WebLogic Server for users to …

Developer 9 Dec 2005, 09:12
Simplified RUP debuts with Windows programmers

Refining the process

Visual Studio 2005 Team System (VSTS) users will become the first large community of developers to experience a version of the Rational Unified Process (RUP) that has been streamlined to bring consistent application development processes to a "mass market". Ivar Jacobson Consulting (IJC) has customized its Essential Unified …

Developer 9 Dec 2005, 09:17
Creative restokes MP3 player patent threat

Rattling sabre to speed negotiations

Creative has once again touted its ownership of a key digital music player user-interface patent, though the comapny's CEO, Sim Wong Hoo, didn't go as far as to threaten any rival companies - guess who - specifically. Speaking in London yesterday at the launch of the video iPod-like Zen Vision:M player, Hoo said the company …

Peripherals 9 Dec 2005, 10:22
SonyBMG backtracks on buggy bug fix

Wearing out the rewind button

SonyBMG’s efforts to regain some credibility with PC users came unstuck again after it admitted that a patch for flawed content protection software included with some its CDs actually creates more problems for users. The academics who have uncovered the latest security hole say the only way Sony can dig itself out is to recall …

Security 9 Dec 2005, 11:14
Apple to extinguish FireWire?

Intel-based iBooks to be USB 2.0 only, website claims

Is Apple about to drop FireWire - the connectivity standard it created and for so long fostered - from the Mac line-up? Certainly, that's what Apple notebook-oriented website O'Grady's PowerPage suggests, without citing specific sources. Apple has already dropped FireWire from the latest iPods - much to the annoyance of …

Peripherals 9 Dec 2005, 11:19
UK 'on target' for 1m unbundled lines in 2006

Bulk migration taking off too

The UK is on target to hit one million unbundled lines during 2006, according to the organisation responsible for overseeing the development of Local Loop Unbundling in the UK. In its latest update the Office of the Telecommunications Adjudicator (OTA) reported that there are now more than 163,000 unbundled phone lines in the …

Networks 9 Dec 2005, 11:25
Kick the Dog: a Reg flame special

Letters The Rotting Dog gets roasted

Poor old Rotting Dog: seems the lad has got his Koreas a bit mixed up - a fact not lost on our well-educated readership who can tell their Pyongyangs from their elbows. So, young man, here are a few choice cuts to set you on the road to cartographical redemption, arranged for readers' reading pleasure in ascending order of ire …

Letters 9 Dec 2005, 11:38
MS punts 'sub-$300 PDA phone' plan

Looking for vendors to pick up the tab

Microsoft is reported to be looking for a smart-phone manufacturer to produce a low-cost Windows Mobile device. The motivation: to boost the company's share of the mobile-device operating system market. Citing sources from among Taiwan's ODM community, DigiTimes reports the software giant wants to see Windows Mobile smart- …

Mobile 9 Dec 2005, 11:43
Siemens to carve up services arm

Pass the problem

Siemens is expected to break up its IT services division after failing to offload the business as a job lot. The German industrial giant has been touting the Siemens Business Services business all year, even as it has slashed costs and jobs at the unit. The FT reports today that the is ready to sell the product related …

Channel Register 9 Dec 2005, 12:23
Publishers scrap over DTI ecommerce initiative extension

Analysis Aggravated over aggregators

Online publishing could be set for revolution next spring if the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) extends the Electronic Commerce Directive to online service providers. Such a move would give them the same limited liability as ISPs, which are protected under the current directive if they unwittingly host, transmit or …

Music and Media 9 Dec 2005, 13:39
BT to spend £££s plugging VoIP

Simplifies branding

BT plans to spend millions plugging its broadband telephony service next year as it looks to ramp up its investment in VoIP. The UK's dominant fixed line telco currently runs two VoIP services - BT Communicator (which enables calls to be made via a PC) and BT Broadband Talk (which enables internet calls using a standard phone …

VoIP 9 Dec 2005, 13:42
Sony still primed for Spring 2006 PS3 debut

Launch to co-incide with Blu-ray roll-out?

Sony has re-iterated its plan to ship the PlayStation 3 by Spring 2006. The announcement follows Electronic Arts CEO Larry Probst's prediction that the console won't debut until next Autumn. Sony yesterday told the Reuters news agency that the company is gearing up for a Spring launch, but that doesn't necessarily refute Probst …

Consoles 9 Dec 2005, 13:50
Intel readies rootkit- rooting hardware

System protection chips due 2008-09

Intel has begun developing rootkit-detection technology with a view to preventing malicious code from modifying the host system's memory. According to an IT Observer report, the system will monitor the OS and other software that could be covertly modified by a rootkit to hide its presence and any security holes it has created. …

Security 9 Dec 2005, 13:54
Holy potato set to wow eBay

Crucifix appears in humble spud

Verily, the Lord moveth in mysterious ways, and nowhere has his mysteriousness manifested itself more clearly than in the land of fruits and nuts. Read on: It was 7:30 PM, December 4th, 2005. The second Sunday of advent, in Joshua Tree, California. Personal Chef Karin Winkler started to prepare dinner. While thinking about …

Bootnotes 9 Dec 2005, 13:56
Software piracy: BSA walks the plank

Letters Figures don't add up, cry readers

We have a bulging sackful of letters this Friday for your reading pleasure, so let's get straight down to it with the BSA's claim that cutting software piracy would boost the UK economy. Well, it would say that, wouldn't it? Funny how these "studies" always produce the results that the organization funding them wants them to …

Letters 9 Dec 2005, 14:13
Govt call centres fail to handle call numbers

119m calls ditched, say Lib Dems

More than a third of calls to UK Government helplines fail to connect, according to information obtained by the Liberal Democrats. It shows that since the beginning of 2003, more than 119m calls to Government departments about pensions, taxes and benefits ended in failure with callers either getting an engaged tone or …

Public Sector 9 Dec 2005, 15:09
Napster launches in Germany

1.5m songs available to rent or buy

Napster has opened its 1.5m-song catalogue to music downloaders in Germany, the company said today. The tracks are available to buy on a one-off basis for €0.99 a song, and Napster is offering its usual unlimited-download rental service for €9.95, or €14.95 with the opportunity to transfer songs to digital music players. …

Financial News 9 Dec 2005, 15:13
BOFH: Beware the lie-detecting mouse

Episode 34 Busted!

"You've got to be kidding!" the PFY slurs, putting down his glass of port. "It's Friday at 4:30 - you can't expect me to do anything!" "It's just a quick job," the user gasps, extricating his laptop from his briefcase. "Quick as in 'which is the space bar?' or quick as in reinstalling XP on your laptop including non- …

BOFH 9 Dec 2005, 15:26
Wikipedia waddles onto DVD and print in Germany

Almost for free

German publishing house Directmedia is taking Wikipedia offline. The German version of the online encyclopedia will be available on a DVD and in print, Heise online reports. The DVD is available as a free 7.5GB ISO image which you can burn on a DVD. A previous version, which was released in the spring, contained only 2.7GB of …

Music and Media 9 Dec 2005, 15:36
Government pitches ID cards as fix for online ID fraud

But not entirely convincingly...

The Home Office is considering pitching the UK identity card scheme as a fix for online and 'card not present' fraud, according to answers given to parliamentary questions by Home Office Minister Andy Burnham earlier this week. The Home Office has previously indicated that it foresees the possibility of ID cards being used to …

Music and Media 9 Dec 2005, 15:56
Alienware Area-51 m5500 notebook

Review Lacking that special Alienware 'something'?

Eagle-eyed - and slightly geeky - viewers real-time drama show 24 of would have noticed the evil terrorists led by Marwan all used Alienware notebooks to hatch their evil plans. The goodies used Dell. Hmmm. And in the popular game F.E.A.R, the notebooks lying round the offices of the company whose troops are shooting at you are …

Reg Hardware 9 Dec 2005, 16:02
Microsoft tackles pirate software firm

See that there plank, me hearty...

A Microsoft investigation into the sale of counterfeit software on eBay has led to the closure of an online operation responsible for the sale of over £3 million worth of fake Microsoft software. The activities of internet trading outfit Zoobon first came to light after Microsoft received a number of complaints from Zoobon …

Software 9 Dec 2005, 16:30
Click fraud suit changes hand

'These ad figures make no sense'

Click Defense, a web analytics firm that intiated proceedings against Google in June, alleging that the search engine was failing to stop click fraud, is to be replaced as lead plaintiff in the suit by web hosting firm Advanced Internet Technology (AIT). "We are only withdrawing as a representative plaintiff," said Scott …

Financial News 9 Dec 2005, 16:40
NTL stands by £817m bid for Virgin Mobile

'Better value for all Virgin Mobile shareholders'

NTL reckon its £817m bid for Virgin Mobile is a good offer representing "better value for all Virgin Mobile shareholders" - even though it's been rejected by the cellco. On Monday both NTL and Virgin Mobile confirmed they were holding talks that could lead to the creation of a mega media business offering punters a four-play …

Mobile 9 Dec 2005, 16:44
DfES to build index of the UK's kids - all 11 million of them

How do you secure a multi-disciplinary information exchange system?

Government plans for an "Information Sharing Index" identifying every child in England will be subject to trials early next year, with a full scale system intended to be live by the end of 2008. The Index, which is intended to help a wide range of workers in education, health, social services and youth offending exchange …

Music and Media 9 Dec 2005, 17:49
The sophist and the open source baking farce

Into the Valley Don't take the biscuit

One of the biggest threats to open source software has arisen from a most unlikely place - the food and beverage industry. Steve Gundrum, CEO of food engineering house Mattson, has teamed with sophist and celebrity author Malcolm Gladwell to bastardize the fundamental concepts behind open source software development, turning the …

Applications 9 Dec 2005, 22:58