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27th January 2006 Archive

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  • Xbox dearth takes edge off Microsoft's record quarter

    Big sales everywhere else

    A shortage of components for the Xbox 360 took some of the shine off Microsoft's record second-quarter business results. Revenue came in below Wall St expectations at $11.83bn - analysts had anticipated $11.93bn - for the period to December 31, the all-important holiday shopping season. Microsoft sold 1.5m Xbox 360 consoles, …

    Financial News 27 Jan 2006, 01:00

  • Canadian music giant funds battle against RIAA

    Lawsuits should be shield not sword

    Canada's biggest record label, publisher and management company is helping out a family sued by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)for copyright infringement. The privately-owned Nettwerk Music Group is intervening, it says, because the songs downloaded by the Gruebel family include Avril Lavigne, a Nettwerk …

    Media 27 Jan 2006, 02:32

  • Cingular applies to patent smileys :@

    All your emoticons belong to us?

    Cingular, the United States' largest mobile phone network this week applied to patent emoticons, better known as smileys. The application refers to selecting emoticons on mobile phones or handheld devices over a wireless, and makes 35 claims in all. Although it uses the word 'emoticon', the application doesn't acknowledge that …

    Media 27 Jan 2006, 05:47

  • Fishing for POI

    Creating Excel or Word files from Java...

    Have you ever needed to create a Microsoft Excel or Word file from Java? If you have, did you try to do it from scratch yourself? If you were working with Excel, did you end up creating comma-separated data in a file (CSV files)? CSV files work very well as long as all you are interested in is the raw data. But what if you …

    Developer 27 Jan 2006, 07:02

  • Wanadoo faces ad slap over 8MB service

    Rival ISPs lead complaints

    Wanadoo UK is facing a slap from the advertising watchdog over ads for its 8MB broadband service. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has received more than half a dozen complaints including three from rival ISPs (BT, Bulldog and Tiscali) as well as those from members of the public. Although the exact details of the …

    Broadband 27 Jan 2006, 10:17

  • HTC Q4 sales, income rocket

    Making Windows Mobile smart-phone market its own?

    Taiwan's HTC saw sales leapt 66.2 per cent sequentially during the fourth quarter of FY2005, according to the PDA-phone maker's provisional, unaudited financial results. For the three months to 31 December 2005, the company realised revenues of TWD27.53bn ($862.32m), well up on the previous quarter's TWD16.56bn ($518.71m). Then …

    Phones 27 Jan 2006, 10:18

  • AMD quad-cores to use DDR 2-oriented Socket F interconnect

    Product demos coming mid-year, says AMD exec

    AMD's quad-core server processors, due to be demonstrated later this year, will be based on the chip maker's upcoming Socket F infrastructure. So says Marty Seyer, the head of the company's server products operation, in an interview with US publication CRN. He didn't mention the unannounced Socket F, of course, but he did say …

    Hardware 27 Jan 2006, 10:36

  • Google cache not a breach of copyright

    Use of material fair, says court

    A US district court has ruled that Google’s cache feature, which allows users to access snapshots of web pages taken when they were viewed by Google robots, does not breach copyright in those web pages. The ruling could help its Google Print dispute. Use of the material is a fair use, said the Court. About Google's cache …

    Media 27 Jan 2006, 10:43

  • Western Digital ships 500GB desktop hard drive

    Ups notebook line to 120GB, too

    Western Digital (WD) has upped the capacity of its Caviar Serial ATA desktop hard drive range to 500GB, pitching not only the part's storage but also its low power consumption and low operational noise level - features it also highlighted for its new 120GB Scorpio 2.5in notebook drive. The 500GB Caviar SE16 runs at 7,200rpm and …

    Hardware 27 Jan 2006, 11:05

  • Researchers say rootkits are headed for BIOS

    Flash warning

    Insider attacks and industrial espionage could become more stealthy by hiding malicious code in the core system functions available in a motherboard's flash memory, researchers said on Wednesday at the Black Hat Federal conference. A collection of functions for power management, known as the Advanced Configuration and Power …

    Security 27 Jan 2006, 11:15

  • Insurance underwriter trips over accident claim forms

    Then sues employer

    An insurance underwriter who tripped over a stack of accident claim forms at work has won compensation for the "pain and loss of earnings" caused by the incident, the BBC reports. Linda Riley, of Newburgh, Scotland, was working at Norwich Union's Perth office three years ago when she "tripped over files which had been left …

    Bootnotes 27 Jan 2006, 11:17

  • Malaysians seek jungle Big Foot

    Hantu Jarang Gigi, come on down

    The Malaysians have confirmed they will mount a dedicated expedition to track down the legendary local "Big Foot" - 3m-tall "King Kongs" covered in black fur and known as Hantu Jarang Gigi, or "ghosts with widely-spaced teeth", as the BBC puts it. Malaysia has been gripped with Big Foot fever since last November when three …

    Science 27 Jan 2006, 11:23

  • Jobs axed at Telstra Europe

    Not such a G'day then

    Telstra Europe axed 19 of its staff earlier this week, sources have told The Register. Details are still sketchy, but insiders have told us the job losses are across the whole company and include techies as well as legal and finance staff. In a statement the London-based arm of Australia's incumbent telco said: "Telstra Europe …

    Financial News 27 Jan 2006, 11:27

  • Sony's Stringer kills (robot) dog

    Aibo axed in profitability push

    Sony has killed off its Aibo robo-doggie, the consumer electronics giant reported yesterday. The computerised canine was one of many victims of the company's attempt to get back into profitability. Aibo won't disappear just yet: while the development of new models of the mechanical mutt has now ceased, Sony said production of …

    Hardware 27 Jan 2006, 11:32

  • BOFH: Automated attendant abuse

    Episode 4 'I'm sorry, that serial number is not recognised'

    "Uh... " the Boss says, sneaking into Mission Control "...there's been a complaint." "A complaint?" I respond. "It may not be about you. It's about a phone call that came from your phone." "Really, how can you be sure?" "I called our telecommunications helpdesk who dialled in and looked up the call - and it came from this …

    BOFH 27 Jan 2006, 12:02

  • Intel Core Duo: no balls, just bumps, says analyst

    First trans-gender silicon?

    It's official: Intel's latest 65nm dual-core desktop chip, 'Presler', shipping as the Pentium D 9xx series, has no balls. Neither, it seems, has 'Yonah', the chip giant's 65nm dual-core mobile part aka Core Duo. The verdict comes from Canadian chip analyst Chipworks, and it's not as harsh as it might at first sound. While Intel …

    Hardware 27 Jan 2006, 12:15

  • Google pulls 'we don't censor' statement

    Updated Do be evil!

    Google's support centre has pulled an answer to the topical question "Does Google censor search results?" Since the answer clearly stated the company "does not censor results for any search term", and given the company's recent foray into the lucrative Chinese search engine market, it seems fair that the internet monolith would …

    Media 27 Jan 2006, 12:31

  • ChoicePoint fined $15m over data security breach

    800 hit by ID theft

    Data broker ChoicePoint was yesterday fined $15m over a data security breach that led to at least 800 cases of identity theft. ChoicePoint agreed to pay $10m in civil penalties (a record fine) and $5m to compensate consumers as part of a settlement with US consumer watchdog the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It also agreed to …

    Security 27 Jan 2006, 12:33

  • BT's VoIP service goes titsup

    Wot? No dial tone?

    BT is keeping its fingers crossed that its Broadband Voice VoIP service is working again after its went titsup earlier this week. Thousands of BT punters have struggled with the service since last week when the broadband telephony service started to drop calls after around three minutes. Problems got worse at the weekend when …

    VoIP 27 Jan 2006, 12:43

  • UK file-sharers told to pay more than £20,000

    Music biz heralds anti-piracy legal victory

    The English High Court has ordered two men to pay a combined £6,500 in damages after deciding they illegally distributed music through P2P file-sharing networks. The two cases were brought separately by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the UK's equivalent of the Recording Industry Ass. of America (RIAA), and are the …

    Broadband 27 Jan 2006, 12:50

  • Framework Design Guidelines

    Book review Conventions, Idioms and Patterns for Reusable .NET Libraries

    While Framework Design Guidelines: Conventions, Idioms and Patterns for Reusable.NET Libraries hardly rolls off the tongue, it has the obvious virtue of faithfully describing the contents. And while the subject of coding and design guidelines might not get the juices running in the same way as a tome on the latest scripting …

    Developer 27 Jan 2006, 13:02

  • Aramiska pulls plug on sat broadband service

    Rural broadband users hit

    Satellite broadband firm Aramiska is pulling the plug on its service today leaving businesses in rural parts of the UK without high speed internet services. In a shock announcement, which gives customers little notice to make alternative arrangements, the firm said that it would not be providing broadband services after today …

    Networks 27 Jan 2006, 13:12

  • HP confirms iPaq hw6900 series

    CE conformity declared

    HP has tacitly admitted it has plans to ship the rumoured iPaq hw6900 Mobile Messenger PDA phone family by posting a document on its website that declares the devices conform to a variety of European Union and other regulations. The successor to the current iPaq hw6500 series, the hw6900 line comprises at least two models: the …

    Phones 27 Jan 2006, 13:20

  • UK immigration intros compulsory tags for asylum cases

    Not volunteering hard enough, apparently...

    The UK Immigration Service is now imposing electronic tagging without the subject's consent in a range of immigration cases, including asylum seekers, overstayers and illegal workers, following a rule change last year. The National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns (NCADC) reports that it has been contacted recently by a …

    Media 27 Jan 2006, 13:57

  • FujiFilm FinePix F11 Zoom digital compact camera

    Review Does it fix the F10's faults?

    FujiFilm's F11 Zoom steps into the company's line-up alongside the F10, its predecessor. It addresses a few issues with the F10 that were not exactly problems, more just missing features, such as a manual shooting control. So, the camera boasts more or less the same design and control layout of the F10 but with a smorgasbord of …

    Hardware 27 Jan 2006, 14:13

  • 97% of readers say surveys are rubbish

    Letters Evolution and nuclear energy polemic

    Surveys - where would we be without them? A lot better off, many of you reckon, but more of that a bit later. First up, a couple of fun-sized snippets from the mailbag, starting with two more missives on Thomas C. Greene and his Steve Gibson bashing, as previously discussed in letters: Your readers seem quite correct that …

    Letters 27 Jan 2006, 14:18

  • Seven cough to copying Star Wars DVD

    Revenge of the MPAA

    The loan of an illicitly obtained pre-release copy of Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith has left seven friends each facing up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $100,000 (£56,000). Albert Valente, 28, took a copy of the final Star Wars film from the Los Angeles post-production facility where he worked last May, a week before …

    Media 27 Jan 2006, 14:25

  • Auction planned for 1,000 patents

    Hammer time for IP

    An estimated 1,000 patents spanning software, hardware and networking are destined to be sold to the highest bidder in San Francisco by a merchant bank this spring. Ocean Tomo is hosting the first in a series of two planned patent auctions this year, in a move the company believes will help - not hurt - innovation in IT. The …

    Developer 27 Jan 2006, 14:29

  • Authorities search German anti-piracy group

    Anti-pirates baited warez merchants

    German authorities searched the offices of the German Federation Against Copyright Theft (GVU) this week following a world-wide series of raids on warez operations. But the group, a federation commissioned by the film and entertainment software industry, has rejected claims it is being investigated for bribing administrators of …

    Media 27 Jan 2006, 14:39

  • Government outlaws Photoshopped passport pics

    But baulks at debate on representative art

    Since the UK Passport Service started to go digital last year, some applicants have run into a little Rise of the Machines-related trouble. Maybe your skin's the wrong colour (which takes you back, but they don't mean it in the old sense), or your baby's too shiny, or for some reason won't look straight at the camera. People …

    Media 27 Jan 2006, 15:15

  • UK goes into reverse on VAT fraud fight

    Throws spanner in works for carousel scams

    The UK government plans to overhaul the VAT regime in an attempt to clamp down on missing trader scams which are costing it over £1bn per year. HMRC has asked the European Commission to let it to move to a “reverse charge” procedure for VAT on certain items, such as mobile phones, computer chips, and other high-value electronic …

    The Channel 27 Jan 2006, 15:32

  • Astronauts turn spacesuit into satellite

    ISS prepares to launch 'SuitSat'

    Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will next week chuck an empty spacesuit out of the airlock and thereby create the world's first "SuitSat". The Russian Orlan suit features "three batteries, a radio transmitter, and internal sensors to measure temperature and battery power," as Frank Bauer of NASA's Goddard …

    Science 27 Jan 2006, 15:33

  • Norway accuses iTunes of consumer-rights violations

    Consumer Council complains

    The Consumer Council of Norway (CCN) has accused Apple's iTunes Music Store operation of violating the country's Marketing Control Act, and it has asked Norway's consumer ombudsman to intervene on behalf of digital music buyers. It also asked the ombudsman to investigate three other download services. The CCN reckons ITMS …

    Media 27 Jan 2006, 15:39

  • Kama Sutra wipeout

    Warning over 3 Feb viral payload explosion

    Windows users are been urged to make sure their systems are clean from an email worm which is programmed to overwrite user's files on 3 February. Blackworm (AKA Nyxem, MyWife or Tearec) has infected more than 300,000 systems worldwide, based on analysis of logs from counter web sites used by the worm. Blackworm arrives as the …

    Security 27 Jan 2006, 15:40

  • Lara Croft, Ally McBeal or Missus Beaton?

    A lesson in social engineering

    Do-gooding social engineers have bungled an attempt to get more women into sci/tech industries with a TV soap that depicts them making a success of careers traditionally pursued by men. Lobbyists trying to break the masculine mould in sci/tech jobs came up with the idea that in order to get more women into nerdy jobs, they …

    Management 27 Jan 2006, 16:18

  • Los Angeles sues Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas makers

    Smut controversy continues

    Los Angeles has taken the makers of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to task over the game's infamous but now deleted "hot coffee" sex scenes. LA City Attorney Rockard J Delgadillo this week filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court against GTA:SA developer Rockstar Games and publisher Take-Two Interactive, alleging the …

    Games 27 Jan 2006, 16:31

  • CBN steps in as Aramiska crashes

    Dozens of community networks hit

    Dozens of community broadband networks and hundreds of businesses are busy looking for new broadband providers today following the shock announcement that Aramiska is pulling the plug on its satellite service - effective, today. The exact scale of the problem is not yet known but wireless ISPs, community broadband networks and …

    Broadband 27 Jan 2006, 16:39

  • Insight holding out

    Can't see the forest for the GAAP in Q405

    Insight Enterprises, the IT mail-order giant, has reported a decline in year on year earnings of 64 per cent. Net sales were up 3.4 per cent to $832.9m for final quarter of 2005, most of the increase appearing to come from the SME business in the US. But a mealy-mouthed press statement said: "Growth rates in our large …

    The Channel 27 Jan 2006, 17:35

  • Police collar AOL phishing suspect

    Billing update scam

    A California man who allegedly duped AOL users into handing over credit card details to a fraudulent website has been arrested in the US. Police charged Jeffrey Brett Goodin, 46, of Azusa, with wire fraud and other charges over allegations he masterminded an aggressive phishing scam. Goodin allegedly sent thousands of emails …

    Security 27 Jan 2006, 20:05

  • Cingular emoticon grab not so serious :-) say experts

    Letters Keys and palettes

    Cingular's attempt to patent emoticons isn't as bad as it sounds, expert readers. European patent attorney John Cooper writes: The exclusive rights that a patent application seeks to secure are defined by the "Claims" of the application. These are usually amended during examination of the application so as that the terms of the …

    Letters 27 Jan 2006, 20:09

  • Verizon numbers show some fiber

    Subs up, but ARPU slips

    As expected, Verizon edged even closer to cellular leader Cingular in the quarter ending December 31. Verizon added 2 million net mobile subscribers, 200,000 more than Cingular, bringing the total to 51.3 million. That's an addition of 7.5 million over the year, 17.5 per cent up. For the final quarter of FY 2005, Verizon booked …

    Financial News 27 Jan 2006, 20:23

  • Cellcos and senate vs social engineering

    Your call record for sale

    New legislation proposed by Senator Chuck Schumer (D, NY) and backed by heavyweights from both major parties, seeks to criminalize both the practitioners and the dupes of "social engineering". That's just a fancy way of smooth-talking someone out of some information they shouldn't normally impart, but it has been the most …

    Security 27 Jan 2006, 22:04