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9th February 2006 Archive

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  • Ad happy Napster turns Q3 profit to loss

    Spending sonic boom

    Despite adding tens of thousands of customers, Napster continued to cough up tons of cash in its third quarter. Napster's revenue increased 94 per cent year-over-year to $23.5m. Its net loss, however, grew to $17m from a profit of $12.8m in last year's Q3. Management preferred to focus on the addition of 66,000 premium …

    Financial News 9 Feb 2006, 00:21

  • EC marks copyright monopoly's cards

    Pounces on internet music coterie

    The European Commission's competition police have opened a formal investigation into the network of companies that collect copyright royalties for music broadcast on the internet. Antitrust investigators sent a Statement of Objections to the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), which …

    Music and Media 9 Feb 2006, 09:56

  • WidowPC to ship world's first SLI laptop in 60 days

    The race is on

    US system builder Widow PC has announced an SLI-equipped gaming notebook that it claims will be "the first on the planet". The graphics guzzler is going to ship with a monster 19in "fast-response" display, the company added. And it's coming within the next 60 days, Reg Hardware can reveal. For the moment, the machine - …

    Reg Hardware 9 Feb 2006, 10:01

  • Borland gambles without developers

    Analysis From the beginning

    Anyone hoping Borland Software's decision to exit the integrated development environment (IDE) game will meet the same fate as its plan (subsequently dumped) to re-invent itself as Inprise in 1998, is likely to be sorely disappointed. Under a new chief executive, ex-Microsoft luminary Tod Neilson, Borland has finally accepted …

    Software 9 Feb 2006, 10:03

  • Brocade and ex-CEO could square off in court over failed Cisco buy

    SEC moves in

    The controversy between Brocade and its former CEO Greg Reyes has been kicked up a notch, following a report the parties could face off in court over Brocade's handling of acquisition talks with Cisco. Reyes intended to sell Brocade to Cisco for $9 a share back in November 2004 - a move that would have caused serious rumbles in …

    Storage 9 Feb 2006, 10:26

  • VIA pitches P4M890 chipset at mainstream PCs

    Mobos following shortly?

    VIA has begun shipping its P4M890 integrated chipset for mainstream Pentium 4- and Celeron-based desktop systems, the chip maker said today. The part has support for HD audio and video, with an output resolution of up to 1080p, VIA said. With an eye on the media centre market, the chipset has two video capture ports and three …

    Reg Hardware 9 Feb 2006, 10:32

  • Man eats 50-year-old chicken for golden wedding anniversary

    How romantic

    A sentimental husband in Denton, Greater Manchester, has celebrated his golden wedding anniversary by eating a 50-year-old can of chicken. Les Lailey had been saving the tin of Buxted Whole Cooked Chicken in Jelly from a buffet he and his bride Beryl received as a wedding gift – in 1956. They kept hold of the tin through …

    Science 9 Feb 2006, 10:36

  • Bloke installs PC in whisky bottle

    We'll drink to that

    Those of you who have ever wondered what they do in Finland to pass those endless winter nights will be delighted to learn that, thanks to reader Mark Morgan, we can now reveal the astounding truth: the activity of choice is to get plastered on imported scotch and then install a PC in the empty bottle. Yes, it's as simple as …

    Bootnotes 9 Feb 2006, 10:38

  • Sony plans Taipei Game Show splash for PS3

    Working units on show?

    Will Taiwan play host to the first working, playable PlayStation 3 consoles? Sony will be presenting the next-generation entertainment device next week at the Taipei Game Show, and Chinese-language paper the Commercial Times said Sony will devote a quarter of its extensive 80-booth show space to the PS3. The show won't mark …

    Reg Hardware 9 Feb 2006, 10:54

  • BT Fusion batphone dials up 13,000 punters

    Gee whizz Batman, that's Fusion-tastic

    More than 13,000 punters have signed up to BT's Fusion batphone, the UK's dominant fixed line telco confirmed today. In the last week or so, BT has tinkered with the pricing for its consumer product and also repackaged BT Fusion for small businesses as part of plans to increase sales. BT has high hopes for Fusion - the mobile …

    Financial News 9 Feb 2006, 11:06

  • AMD to ship 65nm Athlon 64 and FX CPUs 'H1 07'

    Roadmap 'Brisbane'-bound, apparently

    AMD's first 65nm Athlon 64 and FX processors will debut early next year, followed by 65nm Semprons in the second-half of 2007, according to alleged company roadmap presentation slides that have popped up on Chinese-language website HKEPC. Coming sooner, though, is the next incarnation of AMD's Athlon 64 FX gaming processor, the …

    Reg Hardware 9 Feb 2006, 11:20

  • Fossett's farewell fatalities

    Birds killed by round-the-world plane

    Steve Fossett's non-stop flight distance record attempt has entered its second day, but was nearly scuppered on take off, it has emerged. As soon as Fossett had got off the ground a flock of birds at the Kennedy Space Centre could have brought him crashing back down, the Virgin GlobalFlyer website reports. Fossett told his team …

    Science 9 Feb 2006, 11:41

  • Islamist hackers attack Danish sites

    Cartoon protest spills onto cyberspace

    Protests over cartoon images of the prophet Mohammed have spilled onto cyberspace with a series of attacks against Danish and other western websites. Islamist ire over the publication of the "satiric pictures" portraying the prophet Mohammed, first published in Denish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, has resulted in 1,000 attacks …

    Enterprise Security 9 Feb 2006, 11:44

  • Intel's 'Conroe' to end dual-core, single-core split

    Roadmap Both types members of same Core E6xxx series

    Intel's next-generation architecture-based 'Conroe' desktop processor will ship as the Core E6000 series, the latest desktop roadmaps to leak out of the chip maker reveal, and finally begin to blur the distinction between single- and dual-core processors. The chips will debut, as expected, in Q3, at speeds of up to 2.66GHz. …

    Reg Hardware 9 Feb 2006, 11:47

  • BT cool on Pipex buyout rumours

    Are they bothered?

    BT has played down speculation that it is eyeing up broadband outfit Pipex as a possible £350m take-over target. Weekend press reports suggested the UK's dominant fixed line telco is mulling a bid for the ISP, which is one of two operators (the other is PCCW) to hold a licence to develop WiMAX networks in the UK. BT wants to …

    Telecoms 9 Feb 2006, 11:52

  • Cuts help EDS

    Corporate coppicing lets green shoots breathe

    Job cuts have helped double profits at IT services giant EDS during a quarter of stagnant revenues. EDS chairman and CEO Mike Jordan said dealing with "legacy overhangs" had contributed to the rise in profits. Profit in the fourth quarter was $112m, contributing to most of what it earned in the year. Profits were down on the …

    Financial News 9 Feb 2006, 12:00

  • Intel moves mobile 'Merom' back to Q4

    Roadmap Next-gen architecture to debut on desktops

    Intel's next-generation architecture-based 'Merom' notebook processor will not ship until Q4, leaked roadmap documentation suggests, lending weight to recent claims that 'Santa Rosa', the next generation of the chip maker's Centrino platform, will not debut until March 2007. According to a report on Japanese-language website …

    Reg Hardware 9 Feb 2006, 12:14

  • Biostar Intel-oriented nForce 4 Ultra mobo ships

    Nvidia cock-a-hoop

    Nvidia was quick to point out yesterday that motherboard maker Biostar has begun shipping a board based on its recently announced nForce 4 Ultra for Intel chipset. Nvidia announced the part mid-January, and its debut in retail comes a year after the first nForce Intel chipset - aka 'C19' - was granted PCI Express certification …

    Reg Hardware 9 Feb 2006, 12:44

  • Software packages 'left to gather dust'

    Roll nowt

    Two in three IT departments are squandering money and resources by delaying the deployment of new software by a year or more. Many organisations leave software gathering dust on shelves for six months before taking a further six months to introduce it, according to a new survey commissioned by enteo Software. enteo's technology …

    IT Director 9 Feb 2006, 13:14

  • Microsoft runs out of EC time

    Three strikes and you're out

    Microsoft is facing fines from the European Commission after failing to get an extension on a deadline it had been set by the competition police. The Competition Directorate had already extended, from December 15, a deadline for Microsoft to comply with the terms of a previous ruling, Reuters said. The software firm, which had …

    Developer 9 Feb 2006, 13:17

  • Nominet flip-flops on industry code of conduct

    Time to consult

    Nominet UK, the outfit that administers the .uk domain, says it's committed to "raising standards in the UK internet industry" four years after insisting a code of conduct was "not feasible". Ten years after Nominet was created it is now consulting the industry on how to improve standards in the domain name industry. Clearly …

    Financial News 9 Feb 2006, 13:25

  • Opera preview bakes in BitTorrent

    Merlin zaps pop-ups

    Opera this week announced plans to integrate BitTorrent into the next version of its browser, Opera 9. A BitTorrent search engine will be available from the browser’s user interface in a development Opera said will allow for faster and more efficient downloads of large files. Once a file has been selected, Opera's Transfer …

    Applications 9 Feb 2006, 13:30

  • Slim Devices to put Pandora in its network music box

    Lifts lid on music discovery service

    Slim Devices, maker of the Squeezebox family of network music players, will next month link its web-based internet radio service, Squeeze Network, to the Pandora music discovery service, the company said today. From March 1, Squeezebox will provide customers old and new with three months' free access to Pandora. Pandora's …

    Reg Hardware 9 Feb 2006, 14:23

  • RIM prepares to post ban-beating Blackberry update

    Firm to send switch-over signal if court grants injunction

    Research in Motion has finally come clean - sort of - as to how it plans to side-step the effects of its infringement of NTP intellectual property and keep its Blackberry service in business. It will ship a software patch that converts Blackberries into what it calls "multi-mode" devices. New product will get the code …

    Reg Hardware 9 Feb 2006, 15:12

  • ID fraud conmen target TV comic Hill

    What are the chances of that happening?

    Fraudsters siphoned £280,000 from the bank account of TV comic Harry Hill as part of a scam targeting wealthy people that netted an estimated £500,000. A court heard that an unnamed pair of crooks allegedly used threats to obtain answers to confidential security questions needed to control the bank accounts of prospective marks …

    ID 9 Feb 2006, 15:31

  • Apple gears up to launch 'true video iPod'

    Will sport a 3.5in display and virtual clickwheel, claims site

    Time to drool, iPod fans. Apple is preparing the long-anticipated video-specific iPod, complete with a 3.5in, colour touch-sensitive display that covers the entire front face of the device and sporting a virtual clickwheel, according to a report posted on the web today. At this stage, it's not clear how much storage capacity …

    Reg Hardware 9 Feb 2006, 15:37

  • Sun butts against IBM in integration

    Automatic for the people

    Sun Microsystems is today expected to make the first fruits of its SeeBeyond Technologies acquisition available with software targeting IBM. Sun is launching four separate modules as part of the new Java Composite Application Suite (Java CAPS), serving web, application and enterprise integration. Java CAPS updates the former …

    Developer 9 Feb 2006, 16:02

  • Motorola posts slimline slider phone specs

    Z revealed

    Motorola's Z ultra-slim slider phone will sport a 2.2in, 262,000-color 240 x 320 display, incorporate up to 128MB of memory, be capable of operating as an e-book reader and be able to play 128-voice polyphonic ringtones, the company's South Korean subsidiary, which designed the phone and launched it earlier this week, said today …

    Reg Hardware 9 Feb 2006, 16:15

  • EU's Reding gets tough on roaming

    New law proposal to cap charges

    As consumer grumbling grows over roaming call charges, the European Commission is flexing its muscles to force down international charges. This is one of several points to emerge from Thursday's announcement by the EU's Viviane Reding that ERG, the European Regulators Group, has run out of patience with mobile operators who …

    Mobile 9 Feb 2006, 16:30

  • Google sued for selling Check 'n Go keyword

    'Lawful' policy, search engine claims

    The company behind US cash-advance firm Check 'n Go has sued Google for selling its trademarks as keywords in search advertising, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Such sales do not breach Google's own policy for the US and Canada. The dispute has been brought by parent company CNG Financial Corp over Google's AdWords …

    Music and Media 9 Feb 2006, 16:38

  • Ofcom acts to improve consumer protection

    Slowly does it

    Ofcom has published a stack of proposals about how to improve consumer protection for millions of UK phone and broadband users, kicking off ten weeks of consultation during which it will look to thrash out a number of proposals to keep UK consumers safe from rogue or incompetent operators. In a nutshell, the regulator wants …

    Networks 9 Feb 2006, 16:53

  • Fossett fuel fears

    Record attempt loses juice

    Steve Fossett has given a first conference from aboard his record-chasing aircraft. He told assembled reporters, via webcam, that he was now enjoying the ride, despite technical problems. GlobalFlyer's leakage problem appears to have resurfaced, with 750lbs of jet fuel lost in the first four hours of flight. Lead engineer Jon …

    Science 9 Feb 2006, 17:11

  • Koreans conduct 'dawn raid' of Intel offices

    AMD vs Intel Over tea and cookies

    South Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) officials today mounted raids on Intel's local offices, as part of the authority's investigation into allegations that the giant abused its leadership position in the chip market, the Korea Economic Times newspaper reported today. Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy confirmed that the Korean …

    Financial News 9 Feb 2006, 18:15

  • Gateway starts CEO hunt after Inouye quits

    'Other interests' beckon

    Wayne Inouye - he of the cheap box - has quit as Gateway's CEO, leaving the company with an interim chief. Rather than opting to spend more time with his family, Inouye will "pursue other interests," Gateway said. Rick Snyder, a former president and COO at Gateway, will take over the CEO duties as the company searches for a …

    IT Director 9 Feb 2006, 19:04

  • Oracle welcomes Siebel staff with 2,000 job cuts

    Update There's no 'you' in Oracliebel

    Oracle will layoff 2,000 staffers as it works to bring Siebel Systems on board. The workers will be trimmed from both the Oracle and Siebel sides of the house, although Oracle workers will face the "majority" of the cuts, according to Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. Close to 10 per cent of the workers from Siebel's support, sales and …

    Financial News 9 Feb 2006, 20:06

  • Microsoft hands out patent protection to mobile chums

    Avoid a RIM job

    Microsoft is expanding its patent disputes and IP litigation protection to manufacturers and distributors of mobile and embedded devices running Windows. The company said it would defend more than 4,000 partner companies against intellectual property (IP) claims in countries where its Windows Embedded and Windows Mobile …

    Music and Media 9 Feb 2006, 23:57