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22nd December 2005 Archive

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  • Datawarehouse useful after all

    On my way to the newly-reinstated annual journo/PR bash at the Cheshire Cheese, I stopped off to talk to Simon Wilkinson (head of IR Solutions at the London Stock Exchange, LSE; and Dan Norris-Jones (MD of Priocept) about their Corporate Responsibility Exchange platform. Basically, this seems to be a hosted platform which …

    Developer 22 Dec 2005, 00:12

  • Salesforce suffers gridlock as database collapses

    On demand complaining

    Salesforce.com rushed Wednesday to assure customers that all is well with its online CRM service one day after a severe outage infuriated customers. Salesforce watched as one of its four data hubs collapsed on two occasions Tuesday, leaving customers with "intermittent" access to their information. By the late afternoon, access …

    Applications 22 Dec 2005, 01:15

  • Mortal Kombat viral ad glorified violence, says ASA

    Blood on the carpet indeed

    An online video ad for computer game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks has been slammed by the Advertising Standards Authority as condoning and glorifying violence. It is the first time that a complaint over a viral ad campaign has been upheld by the watchdog. The ad, entitled Blood on the Carpet, was created for games developer …

    Consoles 22 Dec 2005, 10:01

  • Santa worm is coming to IM

    Someone's been naughty. Very, very naughty

    A new virus is taking advantage of the Christmas-time custom of sending cards and joke attachments to spread itself among users of instant messenger software. The IM.GiftCom.All, or Santa Claus worm presents itself as a harmless image of Santa Claus and appears to be sent from someone known to the recipient. If victims click …

    Malware 22 Dec 2005, 10:16

  • ATI to add CrossFire to 'all' X1000 GPUs

    Standard feature from now on

    All of ATI's Radeon X1000-class graphics chips will support the company's multi-GPU technology, CrossFire, the company has revealed. The move, announced yesterday by Edward Chou, ATI Asia-Pacific's marketing director, will presumably end the separation of the X1000 GPU lines into standard and "CrossFire Edition" cards. Chou' …

    Reg Hardware 22 Dec 2005, 10:40

  • ATI back in the black

    Sequential sales surge fuels profitability

    ATI returned to profitability during the three months to 30 November 2005, the first quarter of the graphics company's 2006 fiscal year. Sales for the period totalled $591m, making Q1 FY2006 ATI's second-best quarter in the last three years - it reported record revenues of $613.9m this time last year, 3.9 per cent higher than …

    Financial News 22 Dec 2005, 10:43

  • Orascom buys slice of Hutchison

    Looking to expand into Asia

    Egypt-based Orascom Telecom has forked out $1.3bn (£750m) to acquire a 19.3 per cent stake in Hutchison Telecommunications International as the pair forge closer ties between their mobile businesses. Not only will the deal give the pair greater buying clout when procuring telecoms gear, it will also help the firms expand into …

    Financial News 22 Dec 2005, 11:09

  • Scientists issue chilling crop top warning

    Fashion can kill: official

    Brit readers who have ever wondered just what the NHS does exactly with all that taxpayers' hard-earned cash should rest assured that anything which doesn't go on middle management and tabulating waiting list data is dedicated to generating life-saving advice for unwary youngsters. Not, we hasten to add, that unprotected sex …

    Bootnotes 22 Dec 2005, 11:11

  • RIM cuts Q4 subscriber forecast - again

    Despite buoyant Q3 results

    Research in Motion (RIM) saw its sales continue to rise during its most recently completed quarter despite the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of its legal battle with patent holder NTP. However, the company once again cut the number of new subscribers it hopes to sign up in the current quarter. For the three months to 26 …

    Financial News 22 Dec 2005, 11:21

  • Undelete those deleted emails, FOIA ruling tells Government

    But only if it's not too much trouble...

    'Deleted' Government records needn't necessarily be treated as deleted after all, according to a ruling by the Information Tribunal, which deals with appeals against rulings under the Freedom of Information Act. But don't get too excited - although in theory this means that data that can be undeleted, restored from backups or …

    Music and Media 22 Dec 2005, 11:38

  • Intel Inside seen stamped on loo lid

    What you buy for the geek who has everything?

    Intel's as yet unannounced new logo has appeared on the web... and on a toilet seat. The image comes courtesy of a reader of AMD fan site AMDZone, which unveiled the 'Intel Inside' bog top here. Apparently the khazi cover was made specially for an office party as a gift, though quite what the recipient thought of his or her …

    Bootnotes 22 Dec 2005, 12:19

  • Critical Symantec bug hits 40 products

    The security bug that RoARed

    A flaw affecting many Symantec security products - both consumer and enterprise - has been discovered. Users of Symantec's Norton Internet Security 2005, Norton AntiVirus 2005, Norton Antivirus for Macs, corporate anti-virus apps and Brightmail anti-spam software (among others) all need to apply patches following the discovery …

    Security 22 Dec 2005, 12:24

  • Finnish filesharers to be pilloried in public

    Trial by newspaper ad

    France and Finland are preparing to crack down on illegal firesharing with tougher punishments for hardcore miscreants. Finnish authorities recently developed new anti piracy laws which would allow record companies to place names of convicted file sharers in major newspapers, and then charge them for the ad. The cost to print …

    Music and Media 22 Dec 2005, 12:30

  • Next Microsoft IM passes auctioned on eBay

    Under the hammer

    Developers itching to test drive Microsoft's latest instant messenger can now bid for an invitation to join the test program on eBay. Some 70 invitations to the Windows Live Messenger 8 beta test program have been posted on eBay, with many sellers looking to make around $25.00 per invitation. The beta program has been made …

    Applications 22 Dec 2005, 12:35

  • Janet Jackson's jub tops Google search list

    Katrina pops out at number 2

    Anyone concerned that the internet is increasingly becoming a place where people go to find useful stuff out at the expense of the kind of material which made the web what it is today can rest assured that all is in fact well. The proof comes in the form of Google's top ten search items for 2005 - topped by Janet Jackson whose …

    Bootnotes 22 Dec 2005, 12:40

  • Evesham/AOpen Mini PC Plus

    Review The Intel-powered alternative to the Mac Mini

    It's finally arrived - the first Mac Mini clone. Our review system was supplied by Evesham, but the barebone chassis is manufactured by AOpen and has been known as the 'Pandora'. Sadly this catchy name is gone - AOpen has re-named it the Mini PC, which is just plain boring. Anyhow, name aside, this is a really cool-looking …

    Reviews 22 Dec 2005, 13:04

  • SBS splits off products business

    The parcel is passed

    Siemens has offloaded a chunk of its troublesome services business – but only to the computer maker it part-owns. Siemens Business Services’ Product Related Services Unit has been sold to Fujitsu Siemens Computers, where it will form the core of a new service unit. Siemens is a co-owner of Fujitsu Siemens together with, …

    Channel Register 22 Dec 2005, 13:24

  • Teen confesses to drink driving homicide on blog

    Crime and punishment

    A Florida teen pleaded guilty to manslaughter this week after using his blog to confess to causing an alcohol-fueled car accident. Blake Ranking, 18, a passenger in a car who seized the wheel and caused a crash that killed his friend and left another seriously injured told police he had no memory of the incident. But he …

    Music and Media 22 Dec 2005, 13:51

  • BT inks 21CN supplier contracts

    Four down, four to go

    BT has signed contracts with four of its preferred suppliers for its £10bn next generation network, the UK's dominant fixed line telco announced today. Negotiations have been inked between BT and Ciena, Huawei, Lucent and Siemens and the giant telco expects to conclude negotiations with the four remaining suppliers - Fujitsu, …

    Networks 22 Dec 2005, 14:45

  • EC threatens MS with daily fine

    €2m big stick

    The EC has threatened to impose a €2m (£1.36m; $2.4m) per day fine on Microsoft if it does not supply "adequate information about its server programs" by 25 January, the BBC reports. The EU declared it was "left with no alternative" in the matter. The threat comes after the 2004 ruling which obliged MS to open up its operating …

    Software 22 Dec 2005, 14:53

  • France votes to legalize flat-fee P2P downloads

    Zut alors!

    The French legislature has voted to amend the nation's copyright law to legalize internet file sharing with a pot of money being raised, and divided up, to compensate artists and other right holders. Parliament voted 30-28 to add the following statement, tabled by UMP Alain Suguenot, to article L-122-5: "Authors cannot forbid …

    Music and Media 22 Dec 2005, 22:35

  • SCO's Unix slide continues in Q4

    The future is Me and the lawsuit

    The SCO Group's revenue continued to fall in the fourth quarter and during fiscal 2005, as Unix sales slumped. Management, however, tried to put a positive spin on the results, released after Thursday's market close, saying that cost-cutting measures have made SCO's Unix business profitable again and adding that plenty of cash …

    Financial News 22 Dec 2005, 22:55

  • Tracked by cellphone

    Comment The astounding arguments of the US government

    We know that technology can be used to track people's location via a cellphone, but how difficult is it for law enforcement to get a court order and do this legally? An old physics joke recounts that Werner Heisenberg (of the uncertainty principle) is pulled over by the police for speeding one night. The police officer asks …

    Security 22 Dec 2005, 23:54