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22nd February 2006 Archive

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  • Oracle would be smart to love Sleepycat

    Put your 'trust' in the pussy

    With the dust settling on Oracle's Sleepycat Software acquisition, attention has focused on the future open source developers and products can expect in the closed source camp. Former Sleepycat chief executive Mike Olson has said employees of open source companies and developers supporting their software tend to get itchy when …

    Developer 22 Feb 2006, 01:06

  • HP dishes up iSCSI infusion for EVA systems

    XP kit gets fat cache

    With its storage business on the mend, HP today announced a few additions to its StorageWorks EVA and XP lines. First off, HP has started touting the "EVA iSCSI Connectivity Option." This lets customers turn an EVA system into a dedicated iSCSI box and means they can tap into data stored on Fibre Channel SANs (storage area …

    Storage 22 Feb 2006, 02:02

  • Weird scenes inside the BI gold mine

    Comment The rush for Business intelligence

    If there is a gold mine in the software industry right now it is surely business intelligence. However, the business intelligence market is supposed to be consolidating and commoditising. In that case, why is it that there are a whole bunch of new vendors and products entering the market? I have spoken with four in just the …

    Developer 22 Feb 2006, 05:02

  • Strict liability for data breaches?

    Comment 'An ounce of protection is worth a kilogram of cure'

    A recent case involving a stolen laptop containing 550,000 people's full credit information sheds new night on what "reasonable" protections a company must make to secure its customer data - and what customers need to prove in order to sue for damages. Let's say you open your mailbox, and there is a letter from the financial …

    Security 22 Feb 2006, 09:01

  • Core Web Application Development With PHP and MySQL

    Book review Solid overview

    PHP and MySQL provide the development language and database components of the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP/Perl/Python) stack that drives huge chunks of the web. Over the years they have each evolved and grown in complexity and functionality and yet they are still tied together to provide a powerful and flexible platform …

    Developer 22 Feb 2006, 09:02

  • Apple to unveil 'fun products' next week

    Pippin reborn? Just kidding...

    Apple's anticipated February product launch will take place on Tuesday, February 28, not today, as previous speculation had hinted. The event, which will be held on Apple's Cupertino campus, will see the Mac maker unveil a number of "fun new products". Data security has been particularly tight this time round, with the usual …

    Hardware 22 Feb 2006, 09:58

  • Microsoft faces another anti-trust suit

    You almost feel sorry for them don't you?

    Microsoft, still mired in arguments with the European Commission as to whether or not it has complied with EC demands, faces yet more court action. Tangent Computer has filed suit in the court of Northern California asking for damages against Microsoft for damaging its business. Tangent accuses the software giant of pushing up …

    Software 22 Feb 2006, 10:30

  • Micron sets RICO on Rambus

    Alleges anti-racketeering law violations, evidence tampering

    Memory maker Micron has accused Rambus of foul play after being sued by the memory technology developer last month. In a lawsuit filed with the US District Court of Eastern Virginia, Micron claims Rambus “engaged in a pattern of destruction of evidence, false testimony and other improper activities designed to mislead courts and …

    The Channel 22 Feb 2006, 10:42

  • Judge rejects US govt Blackberry ban immunity request

    DoJ unconvinced by RIM's contingency plan?

    RIM vs NTP trial judge James Spencer has denied a US Department of Justice demand that all the parties concerned work out a way to ensure DoJ staffers can continue to use their Blackberries even if the judge orders the service to be shut down. The request, reported by Reuters, speaks volumes not only about RIM customers' …

    Phones 22 Feb 2006, 10:52

  • Euro cops seize Razorback P2P servers

    Site owner arrested in Switzerland

    Belgian and Swiss police yesterday shut down Razorback 2, a hugely popular source of content on the eDonkey and other P2P networks. Law enforcement officials mounted early morning raids on sites in the two countries, and seized servers and network equipment. The action was instigated by the global Motion Picture Association ( …

    Broadband 22 Feb 2006, 11:10

  • PlusNet ups sales and profit

    Looks ahead to 8 meg roll-out

    PlusNet racked up increased sales and profit last year as broadband users flocked to its service. Publishing its prelims to the end of December, the Sheffield-based ISP reported that turnover was up 27 per cent to £35.2m compared to the year before. At the same time, operating profit before exceptional items increased by 69 per …

    Broadband 22 Feb 2006, 11:12

  • EU Commission eyes MIT-style research powerhouse

    'Perverse', say academics

    The European Union will get its own research hub, in an attempt to compete with the US' MIT and emerging academic powerhouses in China and India. Proposals are due to be presented today for a centrally funded and administrated body, with up to €1bn budget. Today's announcement from the commission will address whether the …

    Science 22 Feb 2006, 11:22

  • Wanadoo punter slips through LLU net

    Isolated case or first of many?

    Wanadoo is busy trying to reconnect one of its punters who has been left without broadband for more than a month. The punter (we've decided to withhold his name) from Manchester, received an email on January 5 telling him that his broadband connection would be upgraded to 8 meg on January 16. The upgrade is part of Wanadoo's …

    Networks 22 Feb 2006, 11:28

  • Supreme Court greenlights mind-expanding tea

    Refreshing news for Brazilian church

    A US branch of a Brazilian church can use hallucinogenic tea as part of its religious rituals, the Supreme Court has decreed. The court ruled that the government "must allow the use of the tea under religious freedom laws", the BBC reports. Around 130 members of O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal quaff "hoasca" tea …

    Bootnotes 22 Feb 2006, 11:30

  • Google Perfect 10 thumbnails 'breach copyright'

    Search engine giant stung by nude pics ruling

    Google has been held liable for infringing the copyright of images purloined by others from adult website Perfect 10. Thumbnail images displayed in Google Image Search breached Perfect 10 copyright, according to a preliminary ruling in a US Federal Court this week. But US District Court Judge Howard Matz held Google was not …

    Media 22 Feb 2006, 11:37

  • Morgan Stanley offers $15m to make up for missing emails

    Footnote to one of the 'dumbest moments in business'

    Investment bank Morgan Stanley has offered to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) $15m to settle an investigation by the regulator into an alleged failure by the firm to produce email evidence during a legal dispute. According to an Annual Report filed by Morgan Stanley with the SEC earlier this month, the …

    Management 22 Feb 2006, 11:53

  • Round up all the Fortescues! DNA crime scene surname matching

    Are you the owner of this surname, sir?

    DNA could be used by police, today's public prints tell us, to 'predict the name of suspects', according to a new study from the University of Leicester Department of Genetics. And indeed it could, but only up to a point, and the way the police would do it involves different, slightly worrying, ways of looking at the data, …

    Media 22 Feb 2006, 11:58

  • Tul ships Radeon X1300 board overclocked 150MHz

    HyperMemory boosts buffer to 512MB

    Taiwan's Tul has begun shipping PowerColor ATI Radeon X1300-based graphics cards that overclock the GPU by more than 33 per cent. The PowerColor X1300 HyperMemory 2 card's 90nm graphics chip runs at 600MHz, well above the customary 450MHz. The PCI Express card contains 128MB of DDR 2 SDRAM, but it can access up to 384MB of …

    Hardware 22 Feb 2006, 11:58

  • 'Millions suffer RSI' from text messaging

    Xrcises 2 prolng yr txtin life

    Almost four million Britons suffer from text-related injuries, according to Virgin Mobile. Its report follows recent warnings about BlackBerry Thumb and iPod Finger. Listen to your body, say the experts: numb fingers and aching wrists are a signal to stop. RSI, the symptoms of which include pain and immobility in the joints, …

    Mobile 22 Feb 2006, 12:00

  • Have sex, live longer

    If you're a mole-rat

    Scientists have confounded the long-held tenet that sex is bad for your health. For Zambian mole-rats at least, a bit of the other extends lifespan. The work by German researchers, to be published in the journal Current Biology goes against accepted wisdom that carnal gymnastics are biologically expensive and tend to decrease …

    Science 22 Feb 2006, 12:07

  • Japanese space telescope is go

    Astro-F to probe early universe

    Japan this morning sucessfully launched its Astro-F infrared imaging surveyor from its Uchinoura Space Centre. The satellite, nicknamed "Akari" or "light" took to the skies at 06:28 local time atop an M-5 rocket. The Astro-F's 500-day mission is to participate in the international All Sky Survey of the heavens "with much better …

    Science 22 Feb 2006, 12:13

  • Nintendo DS Lite to hit Europe well before 16 August?

    Manufacturer stays mum

    Nintendo's DS Lite handheld games console may launch in Europe much sooner that the Wednesday, August 16 ship date circulating on a number of websites. The rumoured debut is "way off", according to a UK retail source cited by GamesIndustry.biz. The mid-August deadline - along with an €130 price point, the same as the current …

    Games 22 Feb 2006, 12:17

  • Shuttle next-gen SFF PC exposed

    Exclusive Media Center PC bound

    Shuttle has taken the wraps off its upcoming next-generation small form-factor PC which crams an Intel 65nm dual-core processor, memory, hard drive, optical storage and other goodies into a case that's just 5.4cm high and has a footprint the size of an A4 page. The XPC X100 is pitched at a new era of home entertainment …

    Hardware 22 Feb 2006, 12:49

  • EC gets fresh Microsoft complaint

    Oh dear...

    A group of IT companies has complained to the European Commission that Microsoft is still engaged in anti-competitive practices. The European Committee for Interoperable Systems has filed a complaint claiming that Microsoft "threatens to deny enterprises and individual consumers real choice". The group called on the EC to take …

    Financial News 22 Feb 2006, 12:50

  • Amazon.co.uk Xbox 360 order cancellations a 'mistake'

    Exclusive Demands £12 'sourcing fee' for some 360 games

    Amazon.co.uk today admitted that the cancellation of a raft of Xbox 360 'standard edition' orders had been a "mistake". The company told Reg Hardware it would contact all affected customers to re-instate their aborted orders. However, the online giant has also courted controversy by demanding a "sourcing fee" for certain Xbox …

    Games 22 Feb 2006, 13:16

  • Unpatched Mac OS X hole poses critical risk

    Hackers go on Safari

    Security researchers have discovered a vulnerability in Mac OS X that creates a means for hackers to compromise vulnerable systems. The critical security flaw is unpatched but workarounds have been issued. The flaw stems from errors in the processing of metadata file association meta data in ZIP archives. By renamed "safe file …

    Security 22 Feb 2006, 13:57

  • Nextel gives Sprint profits indigestion

    Customer surge

    Sprint today blamed the cost of integrating Nextel, the US cellco for missing analyst profit forecasts for Q4. But the US telco hailed a “solid quarter”, in which it gained more than two million net wireless subscribers. Net income for the three months to December end, 2005 fell 55 per cent to $197m (Q4 FY2004: $437m) on sales …

    Networks 22 Feb 2006, 15:03

  • Canadian Uni hot under the collar over Wi-Fi safety

    Tin-foil hats all round

    A Canadian university has limited Wi-Fi networks on campus, not out of information security concerns, but because the long-term safety of the technology is "unproven". Fred Gilbert, president of Canada's Lakehead University, made the order on the basis of possible health risk from the technology, especially to young people. …

    Broadband 22 Feb 2006, 15:18

  • The Business Intelligence (BI) scandal: why pay more to get less?

    Comment Ignorance is not bliss

    The eye-catching headline above recently appeared in a press release from “business data specialists ICS". What!? A scandal in the moral world of BI? Surely not. It turns out that the burden of ICS's song is that it has a product that "puts information in the hands of the user rather than confined to business analysts away …

    Developer 22 Feb 2006, 15:44

  • Yahoo! unbans! Allah!

    Thank god for that!

    Yahoo! has reversed its decision to stop people registering Yahoo! IDs which include the letters "allah". The Reg was contacted yesterday by a reader - Ed Callahan - who was having trouble registering his mum - Linda Callahan - for a Verizon email address - provided through a Yahoo! portal. But Yahoo! got in touch with us this …

    Media 22 Feb 2006, 15:47

  • IBM goes after small biz

    Channel rejig ahoy!

    Big Blue is changing its channel strategy to better serve small and medium businesses. Joe Senior, of IBM's integrated partner team, said: "This is a global initiative with significant investment of dollars and people." IBM wants to double the numbers of partners it has serving the Small and Medium Business market. Senior said …

    The Channel 22 Feb 2006, 16:09

  • Nominet responds to rule-change concerns

    No conspiracy, just good business, claim chief exec and chairman

    Nominet's chairman and chief executive have hit back at claims that changes to the company's Memorandum and Articles of Association will over-commercialise the not-for-profit company. Chairman Bob Gilbert told us: "There is a lot of disinformation being peddled that is completely erroneous." Instead, both he and chief …

    Financial News 22 Feb 2006, 16:32

  • Yahoo! Go? Yahoo! No!

    Review If this is the future of mobile data - mobile data doesn't have a future

    About a year ago, a man I'd never met before showed me pictures of a dramatic episode in his life. These showed him driving his wife to the hospital, where she was about to give birth. There were dozens and dozens of these pictures, and in each one his wife was looking progressively more grumpy. As you'd be, too, if your waters …

    Mobile 22 Feb 2006, 18:07

  • EFF Awards 2006: Nominate a Founder!

    Buggin's turn?

    It's that time of the year again. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is seeking nominations for its prestigious Pioneer Awards for 2006. Last year, the award went to Electronic Frontier Foundation co-founder Mitch Kapor - a decision vigorously defended by another Electronic Frontier Foundation co-founder, John Perry Barlow. Who …

    Bootnotes 22 Feb 2006, 18:47

  • Reduce your risk of alcohol-related injury: stay drunk

    Reckless amateurs a danger to themselves

    Weekend drinkers are more likely to injure themselves when hammered than full-time pro boozehounds, Swiss researchers have found. Admissions to the emergency department at Laussanne University Hospital over an 18-month period from pool cue related mishaps and the like were much more frequent amongst less committed schnapps …

    Science 22 Feb 2006, 21:02

  • Windows Vista is for businesses - honest

    Microsoft accentuates the positive

    Microsoft is using its latest Windows Visa beta code release to highlight the operating system's money and labor saving features for business users and IT departments. Announcing the fresh Windows Vista Community Technology Preview (CTP), Microsoft talked-up improved user controls and settings along with mobility controls …

    Operating Systems 22 Feb 2006, 22:23

  • Sun buys Linux and Solaris patch whiz

    IBM client defects

    Ever on the prowl, Sun Microsystems has picked up a small patch management company called Aduva. Aduva, based in Sunnyvale, specializes in keeping Linux and Solaris servers current. In particular, the Aduva OnStage product handles the installation and testing of patches across large numbers of servers. “By acquiring Aduva, Sun …

    Operating Systems 22 Feb 2006, 23:06