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21st February 2006 Archive

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  • BT stubs out smoking

    Telco adopts pub rules

    BT is banning its 85,000 staff from smoking in any company building or vehicle. The edict comes into force next month and follows the UK government's decision last week to ban smoking in English and Welsh pubs. BT offices are already smoke-free although smoking rooms are provided. About one in three BT staff currently smoke …

    Networks 21 Feb 2006, 09:34

  • UK SMEs 'penalised' by inflexible licences

    A patch in time saves nine

    The majority (59 per cent) of small and medium sized businesses in the UK are failing to apply security patches in a timely manner because the process is too time consuming and hard to manage. That's according to a recent survey of 449 SME IT managers commissioned by internet security firm intY that found small businesses …

    Small Biz 21 Feb 2006, 10:09

  • Active cookies aim to thwart cyber-crooks

    Animal pharming

    Boffins have come up with a new technique to protect users against more sophisticated forms of cybercrime. Indiana University School of Informatics and affiliated start-up RavenWhite have developed an "active cookie" as a countermeasure against online scams such as pharming and man-in-the-middle attacks. Phishing involves …

    Security 21 Feb 2006, 10:13

  • RadioShack boss quits for porkies on CV

    Degree in theology involves degree of untruth

    RadioShack chief executive David Edmonson resigned yesterday after failing to fight off allegations that he lied on his CV. Edmonson claimed two degrees, including one in theology, but local paper the Fort Worth Star and Telegram found that although he had attended the Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College for a couple of terms …

    Channel Register 21 Feb 2006, 10:20

  • Intel lines up late May Core Duo price cuts - report

    Up to 33 per cent off

    Expect Intel to cut the prices of its Core Duo mobile processor line-up at the end of May, the Chinese-language Commercial Times said today. According to the paper, the prices of the 65nm dual-core successors to the Pentium M will fall by up to 33.1 per cent. The T2600's price is set to drop from $632 to $423, a reduction of …

    Channel Register 21 Feb 2006, 10:34

  • Sleuths tangled in NHS-IT can o' worms

    Comment NAO report due a year late

    Official auditors assigned to assess the multi-billion pound National Programme for IT* might have been forgiven for thinking that this one was going to be straightforward. The National Audit Office chose in summer 2004 to "examine the procurement process" for NPfIT, decide whether its supplier contracts would give "good value …

    Public Sector 21 Feb 2006, 11:20

  • Fiftysomethings' sexual satisfaction high

    Old boys still rockin'

    Men in their thirties and forties are less sexually satisfied than those in their fifties, a study has found. In fact, the baby boom generation are the most sexually satisfied of anyone outside their twenties, according to the research in the British Journal of Urology. On a scale of zero to four – zero presumably being very …

    Bootnotes 21 Feb 2006, 11:22

  • Private identities become a corporate focus

    'It's going to get scarier'

    During his keynote during the RSA Conference, Scott McNealy seemed almost apologetic. The Sun Microsystems CEO, infamous for his pronouncement, "You have zero privacy anyway - Get over it," took a conciliatory tone on the stage here, allowing that privacy might be something for which consumers should fight. He warned companies …

    Security 21 Feb 2006, 11:37

  • Broadband soars ahead in Europe, says EU

    Bless

    Some 20m new broadband lines were wired up in Europe last year taking the total to almost 53m connections, according to a report published by the European Commission (EC). Its eleventh tome exploring Europe's telecoms sector found a "significant increase in broadband take-up in 2005", thanks to lower prices and increased …

    Networks 21 Feb 2006, 11:39

  • Sony touts 'thrills'n'stills' HD camcorder

    Take photos while you're shooting video

    Sony today unveiled the compact HD camcorder it hopes will bring high definition video mainstream when it goes on sale across the world in April. That's thanks to the machine's compact size, picture resolution and ability to take stills while shooting video, Sony claimed. The HDR-HC3E contains a two megapixel, 1.3in image …

    Reg Hardware 21 Feb 2006, 11:41

  • IBM scientists claim chip breakthrough

    Really microprocessors

    Scientists at IBM say they have figured out how to produce smaller and more powerful microchips than previously thought possible. It is hoped IBM's announcement at San Jose on Monday will mean the creation of miniscule microprocessors which will save the IT manufacturing sector billions of dollars. The breakthrough revolves …

    Servers 21 Feb 2006, 11:55

  • Creationists want your children

    The Royal Society strikes back

    The Royal Society has spoken out against the increasingly vocal UK creationism lobby, which it says seems to be gaining a foothold amongst university and college students. Apparently, “the vast majority” of students at one London sixth-form centre are now fully paid-up members of the Adam and Eve club. Royal Society vice- …

    Science 21 Feb 2006, 11:59

  • Nikon puts Wi-Fi, anti-blur digicams in the frame

    Compact camera cornucopia

    Nikon today unveiled its latest assault on the digital compact camera market: seven new Coolpix models, including the 8.1 megapixel, shake-resistant and Wi-Fi enabled P3, and the slimline S5 and S6 with their "wave-surface design" - it's curved, in other words - and a supercharged slideshow facility. The L2, L3 and L4 are …

    Reg Hardware 21 Feb 2006, 12:45

  • Logitech Wireless Headphones for iPod

    Review Bluteooth ends tangled earphone cable misery?

    Logitech's wireless headphone set is more iPod-specific than the company's Wireless Music System (WMS), which Reg Hardware reviewed last week, though the underlying technology is the same: Bluetooth with its optional Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) protocol to allow stereo music to be beamed from a compact transmitter …

    Reg Hardware 21 Feb 2006, 13:10

  • Man reports crap dope to cops

    In brief 'Absolutely mediocre quality'

    A German pothead was cuffed after reporting his dealer to cops for supplying seven ounces of "completely unenjoyable" weed. Darmstadt resident Hans-Juergen Bendt, 52, complained of the "fraud" after the retailer refused to refund him the £270 he'd shelled out for "absolutely mediocre quality" toke. The police decided to ignore …

    Bootnotes 21 Feb 2006, 13:15

  • City of London gets Wi-Fi

    The Cloud gets the gig

    The Corporation of the City of London has chosen The Cloud to install a Wi-Fi network to cover the Square Mile. The project will go live within the next few months with full coverage within six months. Equipment will be installed in lamp posts and street signs in the Square Mile, giving City workers and visitors wireless …

    Wireless 21 Feb 2006, 13:20

  • AOL to launch AIM for business

    Uh-huh

    AOL is to launch an instant messaging (IM) service aimed at business users, the internet giant confirmed today. Teaming up with WebEx Communications, the new service is due to be unveiled before June, although pricing has yet to be confirmed. Currently knows as "AIM Pro", the IM service will come in two flavours - a …

    Telecoms 21 Feb 2006, 13:39

  • Doctors pull plug on California execution

    Participation 'ethically unacceptable'

    California: The planned execution of convicted rapist and murderer Michael Morales has been halted after two court-appointed doctors refused to participate, the BBC reports. The anaesthesiologists were scheduled to be present at the termination at the behest of a US federal judge who agreed with defence arguments that the …

    Science 21 Feb 2006, 14:16

  • Thwart burglars with sticky DNA

    Yuck - not your DNA

    Police in the London borough of Richmond upon Thames have launched a burglary-reduction scheme using DNA to trap light-fingered ne'er-do-wells. Kits will be distributed later this month to allow householders to mark property with synthetic sequences that last for up to 30 years. The unique DNA stretches are suspended in an …

    Science 21 Feb 2006, 14:24

  • Nominet faces rebellion over rule changes

    Extraordinary general meeting next month

    Nominet, the company in charge of the .uk registry, is facing a grassroots rebellion over proposed changes to company rules that will see it enter a more commercial phase. Last week, Nominet announced an extraordinary general meeting on March 16, where members would be invited to vote in favour of changes to its Articles of …

    Financial News 21 Feb 2006, 14:40

  • BBC Dragon hails UK start-ups

    Roll-up, roll-up!

    Start-up businesses in the UK offer better investment prospects than those in the United States, a panelist from the BBC’s Dragon’s Den programme has told a London conference on innovation. Doug Richard, chairman of Library House and the keynote speaker at yesterday’s UK Technology Innovation and Growth Forum, told an audience …

    Small Biz 21 Feb 2006, 14:41

  • MS avoids Oz PC time shift catastrophe

    Patch issued, humanity saved

    Now, we at El Reg have been known to have a go at Microsoft for not issuing patches for humanity-threatening vulnerabilities with sufficient alacrity, so we are absolutely delighted to report that Redmond has acted with panther-like speed to plug a Commonwealth Games-related doomsday scenario. Here's the background: The …

    Bootnotes 21 Feb 2006, 14:44

  • Google concedes desktop security risk

    Mind how you go

    Cross-computer file searching features in the latest version of Google desktop search tool represent an "unacceptable security risk" to large enterprises, analyst Gartner warns. Google concedes the analysts' concerns are valid but argues that large firms are free to control the application of the technology. Google Desktop 3 …

    Enterprise Security 21 Feb 2006, 15:06

  • NEC to shutter Co. Meath chip plant

    Updated 350 pairs of eyes ain't smiling

    NEC has confirmed it is to close its Ballivor, Co. Meath semiconductor plant at the end of September with the loss of 350 jobs. The chip maker blamed the move on the plant's "high operating costs". As reported earlier today by The Register, staff at the facility were alerted to the possibility of redundancies this afternoon …

    IT Director 21 Feb 2006, 15:21

  • Commodore rises from the dead

    Comment Calls itself 'mobile media'... aka Chickenhead

    The Chickenhead company, Commodore, chose 3GSM to launch into the mobile games business as a distributor. So, what is a Chickenhead? It's the popular name for the Commodore logo. And why is that a "mobile media provider"? Ah, that's quite a story! - it goes like this... Refugee Jack Tramiel escapes the gas chambers, comes to …

    Reg Hardware 21 Feb 2006, 15:56

  • Eircom confirms takeover talks - again

    If at first you don't succeed...

    Eircom is once again at the centre of a takeover bid after confirming it has received a preliminary approach from Australian investors Babcock & Brown. In a statement issued this afternoon, the Irish telco said: "The board of Eircom confirms that the company has received a preliminary approach from Babcock & Brown Capital, …

    Financial News 21 Feb 2006, 16:01

  • BT flogs ID theft insurance

    But consumer group says firms should pay, not punters

    BT has hooked up with Card Protection Plan Limited (CPP) to flog insurance to protect punters against ID theft. For £50 a year, users are covered for up to £50,000 to help meet the cost of restoring their identity if it's nicked via online fraud, "bin raiders" looking for statements and receipts, or by skimming credit cards. …

    ID 21 Feb 2006, 16:03

  • An answer to spreadsheet hell

    Mobius makes life easier

    Since I wrote my white paper (available for free download) on the problems of spreadsheets last year, a number of vendors have come up with a variety of solutions, not least Microsoft, which has substantially improved the security and auditability of Excel in Office 12, though it still lacks facilities like cell level locking. …

    Applications 21 Feb 2006, 16:22

  • Bird flu menaces British monarchy

    Revealed: it's all a dastardly Republican plot

    The Tower of London's famous ravens have been locked up in a bid to isolate them from the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza that is sweeping the world. Rest assured though, the ravens enjoy an immune boosting diet of blood-soaked biscuits, boiled eggs and cod liver oil. Legend has it that when none of the birds are left, …

    Science 21 Feb 2006, 16:37

  • The ugly face of crime

    Homely teens more likely to be homies

    There might be some truth in caricatures from films such as Dick Tracy after all. Ugly teens are more likely to grow up to commit crime, according to study by a pair of US economists who tracked the life history of youngsters through to early adulthood. "We find that unattractive individuals commit more crime in comparison to …

    Bootnotes 21 Feb 2006, 17:07

  • Chinese hackers allegedly make a game of ID theft

    Dodgy Lineage

    Names and national identity numbers of 2,000 South Koreans have been stolen by sneak thieves who used the information to play the popular online computer game Lineage for free. Seoul-base game developer NCSoft issued a warning after getting numerous, and rising, reports of unauthorised players last week. It reckons the purloined …

    Enterprise Security 21 Feb 2006, 21:40

  • Sun recycles CFO

    In Brief Lehman rejects retirement

    Once a Sun Microsystems CFO, always a Sun Microsystems CFO. Or so seems to be the case with Mike Lehman. Lehman has emerged from retirement to take back the CFO post he held between 1998 and 2002. Lehman's return allows current CFO Steve McGowan to go through with his own retirement plans. It's unclear why Lehman decided to …

    IT Director 21 Feb 2006, 22:03

  • Microsoft leak shows Vista eight-pack

    Six for you, two for the EC

    Microsoft's next desktop operating system will ship in eight flavors, according to a company leak. The eight flavors of Windows Vista will range from versions aimed at home and business tastes to two versions designed to comply with the European Commission's (EC) ruling against the bundling of Media Player. The EC-friendly …

    Operating Systems 21 Feb 2006, 22:53

  • Microsoft Office Snaps into back office

    Challenge to SAP

    Microsoft has released code for developers and ISVs that continues its strategy of turning Office into the window on customers' back-end business data. Microsoft has shipped four programs, collectively called Dynamics Snap, that integrate calendar data in the Office 2003 edition of Outlook with business processes in Microsoft's …

    Applications 21 Feb 2006, 23:26