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12th December 2005 Archive

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  • Microsoft updates local search service

    Where am I? What can I buy here?

    Microsoft has expanded its Windows Live Local service, adding enhancements to its local search tools. The new service is powered by the company's Virtual Earth database, adding a new locator and directions tool. Available at http://local.live.com, Windows Live Local uses maps and images from the Virtual Earth database, creating …

    Applications 12 Dec 2005, 09:54

  • Branson ready to break Virgin Mobile/NTL stalemate

    Wants to do a deal

    NTL's take-over of Virgin Mobile could be back on track again even though the cellco has "unanimously" rejected the cableco's approach. Last week Virgin Mobile rejected NTL's £817m bid for the business saying it wasn't enough. On Friday NTL responded saying £817m was a fair price representing "better value for all Virgin Mobile …

    Financial News 12 Dec 2005, 10:15

  • Tibco unleashes the power of SOA

    SOA ... what are you doing later?

    Except in press release land, the words "unleashed" and SOA – (OK so it is an acronym)- are rarely seen in the same sentence. But conjoined they are in the announcement for Tibco’s latest product "unleashed", Portal Builder 5. This offers a way to build a service-oriented architecture (SOA) for “information assets” using a …

    Applications 12 Dec 2005, 10:50

  • HP iPaq handset hyped on web

    Watch out, Nokia?

    A number of blurry pictures have popped up on the web suggesting HP is about to enter the smart-phone market. The handset appears to be a rebadged version of an HTC phone - some websites have suggested 'Feeler', but that shipped in 2004. It's more likely to be HTC's 'Tornado', or a version of it, as this has yet to go on sale …

    Mobile 12 Dec 2005, 10:52

  • NTP rejects RIM settlement offer

    Proposed deal 'unacceptable'

    NTP has described a revised settlement offer made by legal rival Research in Motion (RIM) as "unacceptable" and told the world the two companies are not talking to each other. So said NTP co-founder Don Stout this past Friday, the Reuters news agency reports. According to Stout, RIM put its offer in writing on Thursday. "They …

    Financial News 12 Dec 2005, 11:38

  • Northgate, Dixons rocked by oil depot blast

    3Com hit too

    The HQ of IT services outfit Northgate Information Solutions has been seriously damaged following yesterday's massive blast at the Buncefield oil depot in Hemel Hempstead. Four Northgate employees were on-site at the time of the explosion which happened shortly after 6.00am Sunday morning, blowing out windows for miles around …

    Financial News 12 Dec 2005, 11:52

  • Small security bug in Firefox, users unscathed

    History repeating

    Mozilla has warned of a flaw in the latest version of its open source web browser software, Firefox 1.5. The security bug is liable to cause a browser to freeze up under certain conditions but all indications are that it fails to expose systems to more invasive hacker attacks. The medium to low risk vulnerability is the first to …

    Enterprise Security 12 Dec 2005, 11:55

  • Music downloader loses appeal

    Must pay $22,500 in damages

    The US Court of Appeals has rejected a Chicago woman's claim that she only downloaded music tracks to see whether she wanted to buy them. The Court told Cecilia Gonzalez, 29, she must pay the $22,500 damages won by the music industry at an earlier District Court hearing. At her appeal, Gonzalez' lawyers argued that her …

    Music and Media 12 Dec 2005, 11:58

  • IT Suppliers: who rocks and who sucks?

    Reg Reader Studies Your chance to give it some stick

    Yup, it's that time of the month once again when we ask you - our beloved and IT-savvy readership - for your two bits' worth on a matter of import. However, this time around we have a real treat: your chance to really give it some stick about IT suppliers who really have their act together and those who've totally lost the plot …

    Tech Panel 12 Dec 2005, 12:01

  • Avecho Group in administration

    'Employees' appeal for saviour

    Directors of secretive anti-virus vendor Avecho Group Ltd put the firm into administration on 2 December, barely three years since the business was founded. The Essex-based firm had caused a stir by claiming its email virus-checking system was 100 per cent proof. But its methods where a closely guarded secret. A spokesperson …

    Malware 12 Dec 2005, 12:34

  • Philips launches DVB-H chip at US market

    TV on the move

    Royal Philips Electronics today introduced a DVB-H chipset that enables mobile handhelds to receive digital TV broadcasting over the air. The chipset is specifically designed for the network Crown Castle Mobile Media is building in the US. Crown Castle has acquired terrestrial rights to 5 megahertz of L band spectrum and is …

    Mobile 12 Dec 2005, 13:09

  • World Cup ticket scramble kicks off - again

    Fußball frenzy

    The last major phase of World Cup ticket sales opens on Monday (12 December), with 250,000 seats up for grabs. Previous sales rounds have been massively oversubscribed (only one in five applicants got tickets in the first sale, where 812,000 seats were sold) and with the draw for matches now complete the scramble for tickets is …

    Financial News 12 Dec 2005, 13:33

  • Computacenter MBO team says no new bid

    No early Xmas pressies here

    The leaders of an MBO bid for Computacenter have rejected reports they are considering raising their bid for the struggling reseller. Sunday newspaper The Business reported yesterday that a group led by Computacenter’s founders Peter Ogden and Philip Hulme were preparing to raise their offer for the company to 270p to 275p per …

    Channel Register 12 Dec 2005, 13:56

  • Intel Viiv, 'Centrino 3' launch dates leak

    CES events planned?

    Intel key Q1 2006 product launches will come on 6 and 9 January, respectively, it has been claimed. First comes the debut of 'Yonah', the 65nm dual-core Pentium M processor, to be launched alongside the next incarnation of Intel's Centrino platform. So claim "a few Intel partners", cited by CoolTechZone. The following Monday …

    Reg Hardware 12 Dec 2005, 14:01

  • Samsung serves up 8GB memory modules

    Fully buffered

    Samsung has built an 8GB fully buffered memory module for servers - said to be the highest capacity DIMM designed for server use. The monster module packs in 32 80nm 2Gb DDR 2 SDRAM devices - 16 on each side - along with the Advanced Memory Buffer (AMB) chip that allows the FB-DIMMs to be daisy-chained together across a two-way …

    Channel Register 12 Dec 2005, 14:06

  • Richer Sounds site downed by oil depot blaze

    Don't sound good

    The web site of retailer Richer Sounds - which flogs sound systems, amps, home cinema systems and the like - has been floored following the fire at the Buncefield fuel depot in Hemel Hempstead. Richer Sounds' site is hosted by Northgate Information Solutions whose buildings adjacent to the oil depot have been seriously damaged …

    Financial News 12 Dec 2005, 14:11

  • There's no Wikipedia entry for 'moral responsibility'

    Seigenthaler libeller unmasked - thought it was a joke site

    No single raindrop believes it is to blame for the flood - Despair.com On Monday, in one of his now-weekly appearances on cable news defending the latest Wikipedia scandal, the project's figurehead Jimmy 'Jimbo' Wales expressed his desire to find the anonymous internet user who had libeled John Seigenthaler. Seigenthaler, a …

    Music and Media 12 Dec 2005, 14:25

  • Asus MyPal A636 GPS PDA

    Review Neither fish nor fowl?

    Low-end GPS satellite navigation systems fall into two categories: PDAs with bundled route-planning kit, and dedicated navigation devices. Asus' MyPal A636 falls between the two: it's a Windows Mobile 5.0 device, incorporating Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, so it has all the hallmarks of an up-to-date PDA. But the hardware has clearly …

    Reviews 12 Dec 2005, 14:39

  • AT&T strikes new deal with 11k workers

    Industrial action avoided

    US telco AT&T Inc. looks to have headed off strike action by more than 11,000 workers following a "tentative agreement" with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). An existing deal between the unions and AT&T was due to expire at the weekend amid concerns that …

    Financial News 12 Dec 2005, 15:03

  • New institute eyes 4G and beyond

    Irish initiative

    A new multi-million euro Irish institute is aiming to help develop new wireless technologies, including the next generation of mobile phones. The Institute of Microelectronics and Wireless Systems, launched by the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, will carry out research into wireless technologies and microelectronics, …

    Mobile 12 Dec 2005, 15:27

  • Apple readies '13.3in widescreen Intel iBook'

    Rumours gathering momentum

    Another day, another Intel-based Mac launch progress rumour. The latest points to a widescreen iBook, to surface "early next year". So suggest sources cited by Apple-watching website Think Secret. Their take on the situation: Apple will deliver a widescreen iBook with a 13.3in, 1280 x 720 display. The 13.3in model will …

    Mac Channel 12 Dec 2005, 15:36

  • EasyGroup refused entry to easyhotel.ch

    WIPO rejects trade mark claim

    EasyGroup has lost an attempt to eject the resident of easyhotel.ch, the director of a Swiss technology firm who was using the domain name to promote his firm's services to Swiss hotels. EasyGroup was accused of trying to monopolise the word "easy". EasyGroup IP Licensing Ltd, the brand police for Stelios Haji-Ioannou's …

    Music and Media 12 Dec 2005, 15:40

  • Hackers target Christian charity

    Donors' details swiped

    The Charity Commission has warned charities to protect themselves against internet risks after hackers attacked the online security systems of a Christian charity, Aid to the Church in Need, and stole details of over 2,000 online donors. In some cases, the fraudsters have used these details to contact benefactors directly, …

    Enterprise Security 12 Dec 2005, 15:43

  • This SMS will self-destruct in 40 seconds

    StealthText

    A UK developer has come up with a "self-destruct" text messaging service it hopes will prove a hit with both businessmen dealing with sensitive information and celebrity love cheats. StealthText from Staellium UK is positioned as a means to give a sender control over text messages they send instead of relying on a recipient to …

    Mobile 12 Dec 2005, 15:50

  • Ajax In Action

    Book review Pleasure to read

    There's no denying the Ajax buzz at the moment. All of a sudden the future of programming, the next generation web and just about everything in between are going to be down to the Ajax combination of JavaScript, DOM, XML, CSS and backend datastores. Who would have thought it that JavaScript was going to save the world? And for …

    Developer 12 Dec 2005, 16:07

  • Insight glitch hangs up customers' credit cards

    Stuffed at Christmas

    A glitch in Insight UK's accounting system has charged customers multiple times for the same order and eaten up their credit limits in the run up to Christmas. The reseller played down the error, saying that some of its customers had merely had orders authorised more than once. But credit card authorisations are treated as …

    Channel Register 12 Dec 2005, 16:21

  • Sesame Software: going against the flow

    Comment What, no drag and drop?

    Is the accepted way of doing things always the best way to do things? Intuitively, one would have to answer 'no' to that question. One company that certainly thinks so is Sesame Software. Sesame offers two products: 'Relational Junction for Salesforce' and 'Relational Junction ETL Manager'. Neither of these products fits the …

    Developer 12 Dec 2005, 16:50

  • Linux zealots proud to be as miserable as planes

    Stern response Ineptitude is a five-man job

    What's the difference between an open source zealot and a 747? That's how one of the more famous jokes in the technology industry begins, and we explored the underpinnings of the laugher in my astonishing column penned last month. Slow planes stink. Crap pieces of open source code stink just as much. All it took was me …

    Bootnotes 12 Dec 2005, 17:00

  • Sony BMG 'diligently re-evaluates' CD anti-piracy tech

    Finds itself in a hole, stops digging

    Music label Sony BMG is to reconsider its approach to copy protection technology following weeks of negative publicity over flaws with its anti-piracy software. Thomas Hesse, head of Sony BMG's global digital business, said the firm planed to "diligently re-evaluate" how it protects music on CDs, the BBC reports. Hesse declined …

    Security 12 Dec 2005, 17:05

  • Replacing 'rip and replace'

    Comment Osmosis can junk upgrade risks

    There is a major problem with building an agile business model – agility demands the ability to change and adapt the IT systems not just rapidly, but also safely. That means being able to upgrade hardware and software resources with ease, and more importantly, without damaging IT’s primary job - running the existing business …

    Servers 12 Dec 2005, 17:06

  • Intel's CSI to outperform AMD's Hypertransport

    So Chipzilla tells OEMs

    Intel has an answer for AMD's Hypertransport and thinks its technology stacks up pretty well. In fact, Intel is telling customers that it has AMD beat, starting in 2008. Intel's CSI high-speed serial interconnect was first meant to appear in a Xeon chip code-named Whitefield. That processor, however, met an untimely death as …

    Servers 12 Dec 2005, 21:26

  • A Quirky Dinner

    Met Mark Quirk of Microsoft today for lunch today. Good to remind oneself that there are many good technicians at MS who aren't just marketroids - and that in the triumvirate of sales, macketing and engineerin, all three are important if everyone is going to get paid. But I'd hope that the marketing people always pass their …

    Developer 12 Dec 2005, 23:34