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17th February 2006 Archive

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  • IBM finds the strength to make another $1bn pledge

    Peace, love and information management

    Six years ago it was Linux. Five years ago it was Java tools. Fast-forward to 2006, and it's information management. What are we talking about? IBM's latest spending pledge. IBM has said it will spend $1bn on development of "information management software" during the next three years. Investment will materialize through " …

    Applications 17 Feb 2006, 00:07

  • ActiveState achieves independence

    Scripts own future

    Open source language and development tools specialist ActiveState has squeezed clear of its Sophos' ownership following a $2.25m venture capital deal. ActiveState is to resume its status as an independent company after its purchase by Canadian venture capitalist Pender Financial. ActiveState was acquired in 2003 by Sophos, …

    Applications 17 Feb 2006, 01:11

  • 'Passport' system to make switching telco easier

    Consultation kicks off

    Ofcom is thinking of introducing a simple "passport" system that would make switching telcos and ISPs easier. Publishing its long-awaited consultation into switching and mis-selling, the communications watchdog wants to ensure the process involved in moving between different firms does not dissuade consumers from opting for new …

    Networks 17 Feb 2006, 09:51

  • A new breed of network-aware developer

    Network devices run applications too

    HP is very much number two in networking after Cisco (which, according to IDC, has over 50 per cent market share), but its market share is growing rather than falling, and Gartner is moving it upwards and rightwards in its magic Quadrant. Some competition for Cisco is healthy. Now, as part of an assault on Cisco, HP has …

    Data Networking 17 Feb 2006, 09:58

  • Thinking of Ada

    Not just for things that go 'bang'

    You’re not designing software for an aeroplane, so what does a bug or two matter between friends, eh? There are many who should be forgiven for assuming that this is the standard mantra of software developers. Bugs in applications happen, and continue to happen, and the world does keep turning. But as applications have become …

    Developer 17 Feb 2006, 10:02

  • Aping The Apprentice is the name of the game

    Geek TV The best and worst of this week's TV

    Last week's favourite game among the suits who run Britain's telly channels was Pretend Your Show Is Doctor Who. This week, it's Pretend Your Show Is The Apprentice, as channel after channel pluck 'ordinary' folk off the streets and force them to jump through hoops to get gainful employment. Five, the channel formerly known …

    Hardware 17 Feb 2006, 10:32

  • Nvidia trumpets record quarter

    Big sales, income gains

    Nvidia last night posted record sales and net income for the fourth quarter of its 2006 fiscal year. During the three months to January 29, the company earned $98.1m (53 cents a share) on sales of $633.6m. That amounts to a revenue increase of 11.9 per cent year on year and 8.6 per cent sequentially, from $566.5m and $583.4m …

    Hardware 17 Feb 2006, 11:31

  • Call for reform as unlicensed software use rises

    'Couldn't care less' attitude needs to change

    There was a 25 per cent increase in the number of companies settling for unlicensed software use in the UK last year, according to the Business Software Alliance. But the sums paid go some way to showing how UK law provides little deterrent to such piracy. The Business Software Alliance (BSA) figures were published on Monday …

    Small Biz 17 Feb 2006, 11:40

  • Sony pledges 2006 launch for PS3

    Expects to outsell PS2, too

    Sony has promised to ship the PlayStation 3 in 2006. Sony Computer Entertainment Asia head Tetsuhiko Yasuda told reporters at the Taipei Game Show that the console will launch this year, though no specific date or price point have been decided, he claimed. He also said the company expects the new machine to out-sell the PS2. …

    Games 17 Feb 2006, 11:40

  • Auntie outsources outsourcers

    Capita to take over BBC HR

    UK business IT services giant Capita has won the contract for BBC human resources outsourcing, with 260 jobs set to shift to to the private firm and 180 posts cut altogether. It's certain 100 of these jobs will be based at Capita's Belfast centre, with the rest dotted about other UK offices. The BBC told El Reg that none of …

    The Channel 17 Feb 2006, 11:42

  • DVLA to review data access

    Clampdown on clampers

    The agency responsible for drivers' personal information is proposing to stop dodgy clamping firms getting access to its databases The Department for Transport wants to update the rules for accessing official vehicle databases after widespread concern that companies that had broken the law were given access to personal …

    Policy 17 Feb 2006, 11:47

  • BOFH: Birthday present backfire

    Episode 7 Snap...happy?

    "I'd like a bit of birthday advice," the Boss asks, after the PFY and I show up to his office in response to a call. "Keep having them?" the PFY chips. "Wa?" "Forgive my assistant," I say calmly. "His battery's almost flat and needs a good recharging with a high voltage device. What he meant to say was that we'd prefer cash …

    BOFH 17 Feb 2006, 11:58

  • EDS to stay at CSA

    Services giant has govt by 'the short and curlies'

    The minister in charge of the Child Support Agency(CSA) has said its redesign will not involve ending the IT contract with EDS. CSA is likely to remain in its contract with EDS but can expect to have the existing £456m IT systems replaced, work and pensions secretary John Hutton said this week. Hutton has commissioned Sir …

    Policy 17 Feb 2006, 12:05

  • Nurse attacks colleague with frozen fish

    A trout, if you must know

    A 55-year-old Tunbridge Wells nurse was today hauled before the Nursing and Midwifery Council's professional conduct committee in London for allegedly slapping a colleague with a frozen trout, the BBC reports. The fish-assisted assault - after which the acccused reportedly said "give us a kiss" while moving the fish's mouth - …

    Bootnotes 17 Feb 2006, 12:13

  • Intel trims Pentium D 950 mobo power envelope

    C-1 core update to cut power draw

    Intel is to add its Enhanced SpeedStep Technology (EIST) to its 65nm dual-core Pentium D 950 processor to enable the chip to operate within design guidelines for motherboards, with a maximum power consumption of 95W rather than 130W. The change arises from Intel's decision to equip the chip with its Pentium D 9xx series C-1 …

    Hardware 17 Feb 2006, 12:19

  • Techies in Microsoft licence reading bombshell

    Motherboard = PC, says Redmond

    Tech blogs are fizzing with rage at the 'revelation' that Microsoft small print says a new Windows OEM licence must be purchased if a motherboard is changed or upgraded. The software behemoth is quoted as saying that the 'heart and soul' of a PC lies therein, and so changing it - other than in the case of a failure - amounts to …

    Operating Systems 17 Feb 2006, 12:20

  • Police warn telcos about phone fraud

    Told to be vigilant

    Network operators have been warned they might be committing offences if they continue to do business with premium rate service (PRS) operators suspected of ripping off punters. The warning came as officers from the City of London Police Economic Crime Department (COLP ECD) met with network operators at the offices of regulator …

    Networks 17 Feb 2006, 12:30

  • Old Dogs - New Tricks

    Over the last month or so we've written about Mumps, which generated a great deal of interest and prompted Lord Norfolk to sharpen his quill to pen a follow-up feature, and now a piece on Ada. OK, so these 'old dogs' will still have their place, but the level of interest poses an issue - is the future for these old languages …

    Developer 17 Feb 2006, 12:38

  • AMD preps low-power desktop processors

    Getting ready to counter Intel's 'Conroe'?

    AMD will begin punching out Socket AM2-based processors at the end of April in preparation for a June 6 launch - a date that will also see the introduction of "energy efficient" desktop chips to help the company counter Intel's performance-per-Watt strategy, the latest roadmap leaks suggest. So claims DailyTech. Its …

    The Channel 17 Feb 2006, 12:54

  • OSx86 Project forum halted after DMCA violation claim

    Lawyers target 'Mac OS X on generic x86 kit' site

    The OSx86 Project, a website set up to co-ordinate coders' efforts to get the Intel version of Mac OS X to run on any x86-based hardware, has been partially shut down. The project's principals pulled the site's forum after being served with a cease and desist notice alleging violation of the US' Digital Millennium Copyright Act …

    Hardware 17 Feb 2006, 13:25

  • Vodafone to announce big deal with IBM

    3GSM Takin' care of business...

    Next week, expect Vodafone to announce the complete outsourcing of its operations - everything except the network itself, sources at the 3GSM Congress in Barcelona said. If it gets a green light, the deal is almost certain to be seen as an attempt to buy "breathing time" for CEO Arun Sarin. How well the deal will work, …

    The Channel 17 Feb 2006, 13:25

  • Toshiba readies large HD Ready digital LCD TVs

    Gilt-free purchase

    Toshiba has earmarked April for the launch of a new line up of HD Ready LCD TVs. Despite the Picture Frame branding, they're not kitschly kitted out in gilt curlicues, but the four models in the WLT66 range do feature integrated digital TV receivers and a pair of HDMI ports. The four models offer 32, 37, 42 and 47in screens, …

    Hardware 17 Feb 2006, 13:48

  • Greengrocer gets lethal injection of Pherotones

    Letters Plus China and Bravia's bouncy balls-up

    Before kicking of this Friday's dip into the Vulture Central mail bag here's some breaking news for Tom Cruise fans: the Trapped in the Closet episode of South Park in which the celebrated heterosexual locks himself in said closet will "air in Australia on Monday night on SBS Feb 20", as Ed Taylor explains. This is very good …

    Letters 17 Feb 2006, 13:58

  • Le Misancalculation: A one act Itanium tragedy by IDC

    Deus ex muckupina

    Scene I. The Itanic Oracle IDC analyst Pat has spent hours climbing Mount Mass and has just entered the cave that houses the Oracle at Framingham. With sweat dripping from his every pore, Pat approaches the Oracle's altar. He displays a stern yet hopeful countenance. Pat: Great, great Oracle of Framingham, I have come …

    Servers 17 Feb 2006, 14:20

  • Don't be scared of Sky

    Comment Now's the time to ground the high-flyer

    Wherever you go and whoever you talk to in any of the media, telecoms and television industries, people are absolutely terrified of Sky. Not just scared, absolutely terrified. Not that they'd ever admit it, of course. The fear of Murdoch extends further than you'd think was possible for an old man, and no company inspires …

    Broadband 17 Feb 2006, 15:34

  • Slow start for Choose and Book

    0.007 per cent take-up

    Take-up of the NHS' Choose and Book system by GPs is off to an extremely slow start. A report by the membership magazine of the British Medical Association, BMA News says only 67,820 referrals have been made by GPs in England out of an estimated yearly total of 10 million. The figures are from data collected by the Department …

    Policy 17 Feb 2006, 15:37

  • LaCie Little Big Disk 200GB

    Exclusive Review The portable hard drive for video pros?

    When is a mobile hard drive not a mobile hard drive? When it's LaCie's Little Big Disk, it seems. While the product is certainly portable and - crucially for a mobile unit - doesn't need a separate mains power supply, anyone who's used one of LaCie's compact Pocket Drives will surely look at the chunky, metal-cased LBD and …

    Hardware 17 Feb 2006, 15:53

  • Apple after handwriting recognition coder for Mac OS X

    Fuel for tablet mac rumour fire?

    Apple is still keen to recruit a full-time software engineer who's up for "advancing gesture and handwriting recognition on Mac OS X" and who believes "using a stylus and a tablet is the way to interact with computers", Reg Hardware has learned. The job posting is sure to further kindle claims the company is developing a tablet …

    Hardware 17 Feb 2006, 16:16

  • Homeland security urges DRM rootkit ban

    Give it up

    US government officials took Sony BMG to task over its controversial use of rootkit-style copy protection at a security conference this week. If the technology proves harmful to consumers, tougher laws and regulations might be proposed, a senior Department of Homeland Security exec warned. "Legislation or regulation may not be …

    Security 17 Feb 2006, 16:29

  • Mac OS X malware latches onto Bluetooth vulnerability

    Lab rat poses low risk

    A second strain of malware targeting Mac OS X has been discovered days after a Mac OS X Trojan appeared on the scene. The latest malware, Inqtana-A, is a proof-of-concept worm that attempts to spread using a Bluetooth vulnerability. The worm is not spreading in the wild and uses an internal counter that means it will expire …

    Security 17 Feb 2006, 16:45

  • Panic spreads over Windows Vista 'back door' that never was

    MS caught not evildoing again...

    Who'd be a Microsoft? There you are, strolling along minding your own business and the next thing you know you're in a top level conspiracy with the UK security forces to put a back door into Windows Vista. Or so, anyway, the web bush telegraph would have us believe. But disorientating as we find it to be leaping to Microsoft's …

    Operating Systems 17 Feb 2006, 19:17