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20th December 2005 Archive

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  • Oracle begins Phase IV of per processor pricing offensive

    x86 discount and a huge headache

    Pull out your calculators, friends. Oracle has released another new pricing model. In its ongoing effort to come to grips with multicore chips, Oracle has developed Phase IV of its per processor licensing schemes. Phase I revolved around pretending multicore chips didn't exist. Phase II centered on cutting a break to some dual- …

    Servers 20 Dec 2005, 01:27

  • Fully featured Windows Vista CTP coming

    Wait for it, wait for it...

    Developers are closer to getting a full, pre-release copy of Microsoft's next client operating system with Microsoft's latest Windows Vista Community Technology Preview (CTP). Microsoft on Monday re-committed itself to delivering a "feature-complete" Windows Vista CTP in "early" 2006, hinting this could be around the time of …

    Operating Systems 20 Dec 2005, 08:02

  • Santa running short on surveillance gear this year

    Crisis at the North Pole

    Every year at about this time, we try to bring our beloved readers a story or two to boost the holiday cheer. And this year is no different. Our first heart-warming tale centers on an undergraduate at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The unnamed student requested a copy of Mao's Little Red Book from the school's …

    Music and Media 20 Dec 2005, 08:28

  • Microsoft targets pirate partners

    Tears up dodgy MAPS

    Microsoft last week filed 10 lawsuits against firms accused of involvement in pirating software and people who had allegedly breached a subscription agreement with the company by selling not-for-resale software on auction sites. Seven of the suits targeted nine people over their supposed breach of a software agreement relating …

    Channel Register 20 Dec 2005, 10:03

  • iPod headphones may damage hearing

    I heard that. Pardon.

    Music lovers are being warned that the popular 'earbud' headphones worn by users of iPods and MP3 players could lead to hearing loss. The warning comes from Dean Garstecki, a Northwestern University audiologist and professor, who said that because earbuds are placed directly into the ear, they can boost the sound signal by as …

    Peripherals 20 Dec 2005, 10:12

  • OFT guidance on selling kit online

    How to write small print

    Selling IT equipment to consumers online: OFT guidance OUT-LAW News, 19/12/2005 Any business selling IT goods and services over the internet, by mail order or by telephone may wish to review its terms and conditions for consumer sales in light of new guidance published by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on Friday. Legal teams …

    Channel Register 20 Dec 2005, 10:35

  • RIM 'close' to revealing injunction-busting technology

    US PTO rushes to final judgement on NTP patents

    Research in Motion (RIM) has said it is "pretty close" to being able to spill the beans on the technology it believes will allow it to stay operational should its legal antagonist, NTP, persuade the US District Court to shut down the patent-infringing service. So said RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie in an interview with the Reuters …

    Mobile 20 Dec 2005, 10:45

  • Thus to buy Your Comms - report

    More festive fun

    Thus - the Scottish telco behind the Demon internet brand - is on the verge of buying Your Communications, according to The Scotsman. It reports that the deal could be announced as early as this week, although a spokeswoman for Thus - which tried and failed to acquire rival telco Energis earlier this year - declined to comment …

    Financial News 20 Dec 2005, 11:23

  • NASA eyeballs lost Beagle 2

    Evidence of crash landing

    Brit boffin Colin Pillinger - the man behind the failed Beagle 2 mission to Mars - says NASA may have discovered the remains of the vehicle in a crater in which it appears to have crashed, Reuters reports. The ill-fated Beagle 2 was due to bounce-down on the Red Planet on Xmas Day 2003, safely cushioned within a ball of airbags …

    Science 20 Dec 2005, 11:58

  • It's a dog's life on eBay

    Dogs fight nanos and 360s for top eBay spot

    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. A dog is for life, not just for Christmas. With the exception of dogs that need a couple of batteries sticking up their behinds …

    Bootnotes 20 Dec 2005, 12:39

  • EU chief criticises net firms over China actions

    Google, MS and Yahoo! slammed for double standards (again)

    A senior European Union official has taken hi-tech firms to task for helping China suppress dissent. In an internet posting about corporate responsibility, EC vice president Margot Wallström criticised net giants such as Microsoft, Google and Yahoo! for being too willing to bend ethical guidelines where potential profits in new …

    Music and Media 20 Dec 2005, 12:57

  • AOL / Google deal 'a disastrous decision'

    Icahn rubbishes tie-up

    Execs at Time Warner have are "on the verge of making a disastrous decision" by flogging a slice of AOL to Google, a dissident shareholder has warned. Carl Icahn, the billionaire financier who represents a group of investors who together own three per cent of Time Warner, has his own ideas how the business should be run. And he …

    Financial News 20 Dec 2005, 13:01

  • NEC unveils first 'Yonah' notebook

    But when will it actually ship?

    NEC has announced what may well be the first notebook to be based on Intel's upcoming 65nm, dual-core processor, 'Yonah'. The Japanese manufacturer's LaVie RX LR900/ED, announced yesterday, will contain the new CPU, backed by 512MB of DDR 2 SDRAM - the upper limit's 1.5GB - and Intel's 945 Express chipset, aka 'Callistoga' and …

    PCs 20 Dec 2005, 13:31

  • Club 3D unveils mid-range Radeon graphics card

    X1600 XT is CrossFire-ready

    Club 3D has begun shipping its ATI-based mid-range X1600 XT graphics card loaded with 256MB of GDDR 3 video memory and ready to work with any compatible CrossFire-enabled card. The memory is clocked at 700MHz (1.4GHz effective) and connects to the 600MHz, 12-pipeline GPU across a 128-bit bus. The board sports a pair of DVI …

    Reg Hardware 20 Dec 2005, 13:50

  • Sober worm prompts net perv confession

    Malware outs malfeasance

    A child porn suspect turned himself in to the police after mistaking an email generated by a prolific internet worm for an official notice he was under investigation. The unnamed 20-year-old German man mistook a message produced by the Sober-Z worm for an email from Germany's Bundeskriminalamt (Federal Crime Office) supposedly …

    Spam 20 Dec 2005, 13:52

  • Bloke finds self on Google Earth

    Satellite snaps sunbathing ne'er-do-well

    Here's something interesting for all you Google Earth aficionados, courtesy of hard-drinking student layabout Matthew Wilkes: This is a bit random, but think this might be a first. I've found myself on a google earth satellite photo. How you might ask! Well, I'm a student in Bristol, UK, and was living here over the summer …

    Bootnotes 20 Dec 2005, 14:01

  • Apple ponders 1GB iPod Nano

    Shuffle sweet spot

    Apple is wondering whether to offer a 1GB iPod Nano early next year, even as it prepares a redesigned iPod Shuffle with the same song-storage capacity. Certainly, the current 1GB Shuffle has proved popular, with not only Apple's own online store running out of stock, as reported by numerous websites, but also a number of third- …

    Peripherals 20 Dec 2005, 14:13

  • NASA Pluto mission looks good to go

    January launch for New Horizons

    NASA is making final preparations for the launch of its New Horizons mission to Pluto and moon Charon - the first dedicated trip to the distant planet. The New Horizons will blast off atop an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral no earlier than 17 January next year, and within a 35-day launch window. Once on its way, New Horizons …

    Science 20 Dec 2005, 14:21

  • Identity management bandwagon on a roll

    Comment You can't do that

    Who does what with an enterprise IT system can be quite important. This is even more the case given the glut of new regulations and laws governing how businesses are run in a post-Enron/Worldcom world, even if it only means that the right company director can be taken outside and shot. So knowing which people should have access …

    Developer 20 Dec 2005, 14:24

  • BT's 'reputation damaged' by India outsourcing deal

    CWU says it's 'angry and disappointed'

    BT's decision to export some 900 jobs to India has damaged the British company's reputation, according to the Communications Workers Union (CWU). Last week BT awarded a major broadband tech support contract to Indian outsourcing outfit HCL after ClientLogic, which had manned BT's broadband technical helpdesk for all consumer …

    Financial News 20 Dec 2005, 14:49

  • Computer forensics firm Guidance hacked

    Crackers make merry with unencrypted database

    Computer forensics firm Guidance Software has itself become the subject of a hack attack, prompting warnings to its clients in law enforcement and computer security that their financial details may have been exposed. In a letter sent out last week, Guidance warned its customers that a November attack on its databases might have …

    Channel Register 20 Dec 2005, 15:04

  • Sony Walkman NW-A1000

    Review The best MP3 player from the big S yet - but is it an iPod killer?

    When Apple's iPod began to take off in a big way, it left the rest of the market standing. Sony and most other 'serious' audio electronics manufacturers were either over-sceptical about computer-based music formats or were too conservative in their approach to catch the first bandwagon as it rolled on by. It hasn't helped that …

    Reviews 20 Dec 2005, 15:34