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10th February 2006 Archive

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  • SourceLabs puts its SASH around Oracle

    Larry returns the favor

    A services start-up has certified four increasingly popular open source frameworks for "out-of-the-box" interoperability with Oracle's Java and middleware portfolio. SourceLabs has added Oracle's Application Server 10g and Fusion Middleware to the latest edition of its Spring, Apache Axis, Struts and Hibernate (SASH) …

    Applications 10 Feb 2006, 00:07

  • Oracle in talks to consume three open source darlings - report

    JBoss, Zend and Sleepycat targeted

    Oracle is in talks to buy three open source companies in a strategy that would potentially reinforce the company's middleware against low-priced competitors, according to a report in BusinessWeek. The database and applications giant is talking to JBoss, Zend Technologies and Sleepycat Software about deals that could exceed $ …

    Applications 10 Feb 2006, 02:03

  • Wi-Fi for dummies

    Securing network access while on the run

    The average user has no idea of the risks associated with public Wi-Fi hotspots. Here are some very simple tips to keep network access secure. My friend Philip is an expert at community activism and is a cracker-jack financial advisor as well. One thing he is not, however - and he would be the first to admit this - is a …

    Enterprise Security 10 Feb 2006, 09:32

  • UK.gov in partial ID card climbdown

    Bill before compulsion concession

    The UK government is reportedly poised to accept key concessions in an effort to ease the passage of its controversial ID card plans through parliament. Amendments to the legislation, due to be tabled by a home office minister, would mean a new bill would have to be enacted in order to make it compulsory for Britons to carry …

    ID 10 Feb 2006, 09:36

  • CD-Rs to get cheaper as Philips backs down on licensing

    Discs going for a song

    An anti-trust investigation into the licensing of Philips' recordable CD technology has been shelved after the firm changed its tune. The result is that CD-Rs are going to get even cheaper. The European Commission anti-trust investigators said in a statement that the end of restrictive licensing woud bring prices down. Philips …

    Reg Hardware 10 Feb 2006, 09:40

  • Toshiba, LG to share CD, DVD, HD DVD toys

    Global patent cross-licence signed

    Toshiba and LG have agreed to share their respective optical disc patent portfolios the better to make each company's product development budget go further. The deal covers not only discs, but players and recorders too, and even extends to HD DVD - an interesting move given LG's preference for the Blu-ray Disc format. For …

    Reg Hardware 10 Feb 2006, 10:11

  • Fossett faring fine

    GlobalFlyer over the Pacific

    The Virgin GlobalFlyer and its pilot Steve Fossett have passed the halfway point in their bid to break the record for the world's longest flight. The experimental plane is currently over the Pacific, with next land sighting set for Mexico's Baja peninsula at about 1800 GMT. The team at mission control in Kent report that …

    Science 10 Feb 2006, 10:23

  • Geek TV is back

    What to program your PVR for

    Hoping to leave the living room at some point this year? Not a chance. This spring, the Tellyville honchos have two main ways of getting you off your computer and making you watch the box - assuming they're not one and the same, of course. Plan A, I hardly need remind you, is HD TV. Sky is busy unleashing an ever-growing line …

    Reg Hardware 10 Feb 2006, 10:32

  • Does Cisco need consumer electronics?

    Apparently not...

    Does Cisco really have any desire to enter the consumer electronics business, as many analysts, and Cisco itself have been saying of late? We've put some numbers together, and don't think it does. The acquisition of both Kiss and Scientific Atlanta, which was approved by shareholders this week, have led to lots of rhetoric …

    Data Networking 10 Feb 2006, 10:45

  • Web suicide pacts sweep Japan

    Desperate individuals

    The number of Japanese people who killed themselves after making suicide pacts forged over the internet almost doubled last year. Ninety-one people topped themselves in groups after meeting on the net during 2005, compared with 55 in 2004 and 34 in 2003, when the National Police Agency in Japan began keeping records of the …

    Music and Media 10 Feb 2006, 10:48

  • Intel offers Pentium D discount promo

    Mind your Ts&Cs

    Intel is offering resellers instant cash rebates for purchasing its boxed dual-core Pentium D processors. Dealers can get up to $80 off the price of a chip just by ordering one from an Intel Authorised Distributor. Sounds good? Well, it pays to check out the Ts&Cs. The offer is limited to three chip models: the Pentium D 820, …

    Channel Register 10 Feb 2006, 10:55

  • Qinetiq kicks off £1.3bn IPO

    Qinell

    Shares in Qinetiq began trading today as the UK tech firm kicked off its £1.3bn IPO. The shares were valued at 200p each - at the top end of 165p-205p range set for the float - but surged ahead in brisk early trading. By mid morning shares were changing hands at 216p. Qinetiq - the science and technology outfit formed from the …

    Financial News 10 Feb 2006, 10:56

  • ATI tweaks Catalyst, adds set-up Wizard

    Driver time

    ATI has updated its Catalyst graphics card driver package. The new release, 6.2, incorporates tweaks for more than half a dozen games titles, including World of Warcraft, Half-life 2 and City of Heroes, and fixes a whole series of glitches. For the non-technical, ATI has added a Wizard-based interface for Catalyst Control Center …

    Reg Hardware 10 Feb 2006, 11:37

  • IBM bids for personal area network crown

    Short range radio chips?

    IBM's bid to open up chip technology that could be used as a basis for high speed in-room networks, seems destined to flounder. IBM stood up at the Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco this week and said it had a component that would allow electronic devices to transmit and receive ten times faster than today's Wi- …

    Wireless 10 Feb 2006, 11:37

  • Google to get a handle on handwriting

    Manuscripts set to be searchable

    Google is funding research aimed at making handwritten documents searchable. The Dublin City University project is a rare external collaboration for Google, which in the past has preferred to simply buy in the expertise it needs. Computer scientists are adapting technology originally developed to recognise objects like cars and …

    Science 10 Feb 2006, 11:47

  • The Final Countdown: case closed

    Letters And the correct transcription is...

    Those of you who have been closely following the ongoing debate as to how exactly Europe's The Final Countdown goes (and let's face it, bird flu is a worry but this really matters) will be delighted to learn that we have the definitive answer. Before revealing the astounding truth, let's recap. We originally offered the …

    Letters 10 Feb 2006, 11:49

  • Video surveillance outfit chips workers

    RFID implant scheme

    A Cincinnati video surveillance company CityWatcher.com now requires employees to use Verichip human implantable microchips to enter a secure data centre. Until now, the employees entered the data centre with a VeriChip housed in a heart-shaped plastic casing that hangs from their keychain. The VeriChip is a glass encapsulated …

    Music and Media 10 Feb 2006, 11:57

  • 40-metre profanity spotted from space

    NSFW Strange goings-on in Yorkshire

    Here's a Friday poser for you: you're a member of a highly-advanced alien civilisation and have just travelled to Earth in your hyperdrive-powered craft intending to enjoy a long-weekend break. The trouble is, you can't decide whether to: a) nip over to rural Idaho, abduct a farmhand and anally probe him before modifying his DNA …

    Bootnotes 10 Feb 2006, 12:02

  • Intel 'Sossaman' Core-Duo-for-servers chip surfaces

    Dual-core part spotted in Japan

    Intel is getting ready to release its 65nm Core Duo-derived 'Sossaman' server processor as the Xeon LV - if the latest announcement from Supermicro is anything to go by. The server motherboard maker this week launched a pair of products that will support the new chip and its 31W power envelope. The boards and the Xeon LV were …

    Reg Hardware 10 Feb 2006, 12:05

  • BT Openreach faces first Ofcom probe

    Regulator to rule on 'discriminatory' dispute

    BT Openreach is facing its first formal investigation by telecoms regulator Ofcom - less than a month after the official launch of BT's access services division. Openreach installs and maintains telecoms services on behalf of the UK's phone companies and ISPs and its creation was part of a regulatory deal with Ofcom following …

    Telecoms 10 Feb 2006, 12:17

  • Yahoo! in second Chinese dissident rumpus

    More flack for internet 'grass'

    Yahoo! has been accused of assisting Chinese authorities for a second time to apprehend a Chinese dissident. Li Zhi was given an eight-year jail sentence in December 2003 for "inciting subversion" over comments criticising official corruption posted on online discussion groups. The case against Li (a 35-year-old ex-civil servant …

    Music and Media 10 Feb 2006, 12:22

  • NHS launches web page for w**kers

    NSFW Please yourself at the taxpayers' expense

    The NHS has incurred the wrath of at least one MP by offering a page on its NHS Direct which advises Brits to set aside a bit of "me time" for some light "going solo". According to UK tabloid The Sun, this outrage has provoked Tory MP Adam Holloway to pile into the "wonks" responsible for the "crazy" idea. He thundered: "If …

    Bootnotes 10 Feb 2006, 12:23

  • MS: Halo 2 for PC a Windows Vista 'exclusive'

    But it's not forcing you to upgrade, honest...

    Microsoft looked to Bungie's Halo to sell its Xbox console, and it's now planning to see if the same trick will persuade gamers to upgrade to Windows Vista. Yes, Halo 2, which shipped for Xbox over a year ago, is coming to the PC - but you'll need Microsoft's next major operating system release to run it. The game will not run …

    Reg Hardware 10 Feb 2006, 12:33

  • Linksys preps VoIP handset pair

    WIP300 and WIP330 to ship next week?

    Linksys will ship a new, slimline standalone VoIP handset next week, according to at least one US e-tailer which this week said it was accepting advance orders for the product, the WIP300. The device operates across any 802.11b/g Wi-Fi network, includes a POP email facility and sports a 1.8in colour display. The WIP300 doesn' …

    Reg Hardware 10 Feb 2006, 13:04

  • BOFH takes a leaf from Captain Kirk's log

    Episode 6 New recruit lost on unexplored planet

    It's always the new guy that starts the trouble. OK, that's not entirely true - very occasionally it's the sleeper who's been happily working away in the company for years who suddenly gets his activation signal - but mostly it's the new guys. "I now know why Kirk always sent the new guy down to visit the unexplored planet," …

    BOFH 10 Feb 2006, 14:47

  • Vonage flags $250m IPO

    Juggles senior execs too

    Vonage is looking to raise $250m as part of an IPO, the US-based VoIP outfit revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The cash will be used to fund the continued marketing of the service, which boasts some 1.4m subscribers. According to documents lodged with the SEC, the broadband telephony …

    Telecoms 10 Feb 2006, 14:56

  • NTL trials 100Mb broadband

    Need for speed

    NTL is to begin field trials of ultra fast broadband next month in a bid to hit speeds of up to 100Mb. The UK cableco, which has received the thumbs up to acquire Telewest and is still holding talks to buy Virgin Mobile, is hooking up with US outfit ARRIS to run the trials. The firms have already completed testing in the lab, …

    Telecoms 10 Feb 2006, 15:31

  • EFF issues Google Desktop warning

    Configure it carefully, or forget it

    Google has released a revamped version of its desktop search tool which introduces the ability to search the contents of one computer from another. Previous versions of the tool indexed files on user's PCs, but using the optional "Search Across Computers" facility in Google Desktop 3 temporarily stores text copies of searchable …

    Music and Media 10 Feb 2006, 15:36

  • SiS confirms Socket AM2 chipsets to ship Q2

    Cat out of the bag

    SiS has let the cat out of the bag. Yesterday, it announced half a dozen chipsets all of which will support AMD's Socket AM2 microprocessors - none of which have yet been formally introduced by the chip maker - which will ship in Q2, SiS said. SiS' AM2 line-up includes two desktop parts and four mobile chipsets, with one …

    Reg Hardware 10 Feb 2006, 15:47

  • Nintendo preps navy, sky blue DS Lites

    Not just iPod white

    Nintendo will ship is DS Lite handheld console in light- and dark-blue hues in addition to the classic iPod white the videogames pioneer had already said the device will be decked out in when it debuts in Japan on 2 March. As its name suggests, the DS Lite isn't as heavy as the current version, weighing 218g to the standard …

    Reg Hardware 10 Feb 2006, 16:05

  • Fragile Flyer frightens Fossett

    Nearly bailed out, but still going strong

    Steve Fossett has told his team at mission control in Kent that he was close to bailing out of his experimental aircraft as it hit extreme turbulence over India. The lightweight and fragile Virgin GlobalFlyer apparently feels its effect four times as much as a commercial jet would. He said: "I was afraid it was going to break …

    Science 10 Feb 2006, 16:55

  • Archaeologists unearth King Tut's neighbours

    Unknown mummies in undisturbed tomb

    Archaeologists have discovered Egypt's first undisturbed tomb since Tutankhamun in 1922 – unbelievably just five metres away from that of the boy pharaoh. Authorities today gave journalists a first sight of the discovery, believed to date from the 18th dynasty (around 1500 to 1300 BC), which included the reign of Tutankhamun. …

    Science 10 Feb 2006, 17:05

  • Alaskans warm to volcanocam

    Hot net news from Mount Augustine

    Isolated Alaskan communities are using the internet to follow the ongoing eruption of Mount Augustine. The volcano, located in the Cook Inlet, 285km to the southwest of Anchorage, has been spewing out dust, ash and dangerous pyroclastic flows since mid-January. The Alaska Volcano Observatory website, provides images, seismic …

    Science 10 Feb 2006, 18:02