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24th February 2006 Archive

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  • Services carry BEA in Q4

    In Brief As expenses grow

    BEA Systems claimed accelerating growth in its software sales while services continued to dominate the middleware company's revenue mix. The company saw an 18 per cent increase in revenue from sales of its WebLogic and AquaLogic products to $155m for its fourth quarter, running to January 31, 2006. Services grew 16.7 per cent, …

    Financial News 24 Feb 2006, 01:37

  • IDC's missing Itanium report found at rival analyst firm

    Clabby gets crabby

    Last week, we feared the worst. We feared that IDC - in a bid to tout Itanium for customers HP and Intel - had completely ignored the major issues facing the chip in the coming years. We feared that IDC's latest forecast for the server marketplace had once again missed the mark, continuing an ignominous seven-year tradition. …

    Servers 24 Feb 2006, 02:51

  • Avecho goes titsup

    RIP: Controversial anti-virus service

    Avecho.com, the controversial UK anti-virus service, is to cease operating on March 17. Avecho Group slipped into administration on December 2, barely three years after the business was founded, but its flagship email filtering service continues after the business was sold to Stylish Limited (a new firm) for an undisclosed …

    Malware 24 Feb 2006, 07:02

  • MPAA strikes in Europe, targets search engines

    eDonkey network downed

    The Motion Picture Ass. of America has struck in Europe - forcing the closure of what it described as the largest eDonkey P2P file sharing network. The Razorback2 network, with over a million users at any one time, was hosted at Zaventem, near Brussels, and Swiss police arrested its owner. "We are very grateful to the Swiss …

    Music and Media 24 Feb 2006, 08:16

  • Sun finds safe hands in R&D reshuffle

    Exclusive Farewell, digital ectoplasm, as Sproull takes charge

    Sun Microsystems' has turned to a renowned computer scientist to safeguard its crown jewels - its research division. Bob Sproull, who founded and led Sun's Boston labs for a decade, has been appointed the new Director of Sun Labs. Sproull succeeds the PT Barnum-quoting Glenn Edens, who after a two-year spell in the post will …

    Hardware 24 Feb 2006, 09:03

  • Sugar wins the ratings war

    Geek TV And loads more from TV land

    Mixed fortunes this week for unshaven Amstrad boss Alan Sugar. The good news is that his wildly compelling BBC2 show The Apprentice - an X Factor for people who use the phrase "at the end of the day" without feeling embarrassed - slaughtered all rivals in the TV ratings. Over on the supposedly populist BBC1, hyped chatshow …

    Bootnotes 24 Feb 2006, 09:46

  • Data Retention Directive receives rubber stamp

    But support not universal

    The controversial Data Retention Directive received its final seal of approval on Tuesday, when ministers at the Justice and Home Affairs Council adopted the directive with a qualified majority. Irish and Slovak Ministers voted against the measure. The terms of the directive In general terms, the directive aims to harmonise …

    Music and Media 24 Feb 2006, 10:06

  • Netgear readies 200Mbps powerline Ethernet

    QoS for video built-in

    Netgear will next quarter ship network adaptors capable of transmitting information at up to 200Mbps through home-installed mains power cables, the company said this week. The units, which are based on chips developed by Design of Systems on Silicon (DS2), mark a big leap forward for powerline networking technology which …

    Reg Hardware 24 Feb 2006, 10:23

  • Top Indian scientist turned away by US immigration

    Any chemical weapons to declare?

    An Indian professor of organic chemistry was denied a visa by US immigration. Goverdhan Mehta, 62, was hoping to attend a scientific conference in Florida, but was denied permission by the embassy in New Dehli. Now a row has erupted between US officials, who say the application was merely delayed, and the Paris-based …

    Science 24 Feb 2006, 10:26

  • Durant takes data protection battle to Strasbourg

    The case continues...

    Michael Durant is taking on the UK Government in the next instalment of his ground-breaking data protection battle. His next venue is the European Court of Human Rights, following defeats in a County Court, the Court of Appeals and the House of Lords. According to his lawyer, Tamsin Allen of Bindmans Solicitors, an application …

    Music and Media 24 Feb 2006, 10:32

  • Broadband driving e-retail boom

    Signs point to a bumper year ahead

    Increasing use of broadband has been the single, biggest influence on the dramatic growth of online shopping, according to a retail analyst. A poll by distance shopping expert Zendor showed that over half of consumers say taking up a faster internet connection has allowed them to broaden their shopping habits. Zendor said …

    Channel Register 24 Feb 2006, 10:42

  • US judge allows Rambus evidence inclusion request

    While Micron sues Rambus in Italy

    Rambus has persuaded a US District Court judge to make public documents it believes provide evidence that a number of memory makers conspired against it. Separately, a new front was opened in the company's war with Micron, with a lawsuit being filed in the Italian court. Micron took Rambus to court in Italy, claiming the …

    Channel Register 24 Feb 2006, 10:44

  • America can lick the Asian peril by training Mexican smarties

    And ninthly Stronger, faster and with papers

    We will add that the working class in the United States, because of its high standard of living, does not clearly see the contradictions existing in US society. To the US working class, these contradictions, which are blunted, appear incomprehensible and they cannot gain clear consciousness of their own exploitation as long as …

    Bootnotes 24 Feb 2006, 11:02

  • California wants green iPods

    No hi-tech dumpage allowed

    California Democrats have introduced legislation to the state assembly tightening the rules on the manufacture and disposal of toxic substances used in electronics. Super-hazardous heavy metals like mercury, cadmium, lead and chromium would be covered by regulations that would come into force in 2008, if passed. If such …

    Reg Hardware 24 Feb 2006, 11:13

  • BOFH: Being root

    Episode 8 Seminar sabotage

    Don't you just hate it when you rock up to a training course only to find out that the person taking the course knows about as much about the topic as you can tattoo on a DIMM with a jackhammer? And so it is that the "advanced linux" administration that I've booked myself onto is complete crap. Mind you, I'd never be on the …

    BOFH 24 Feb 2006, 11:28

  • Orange offers SMEs fixed line phone service

    Kicks off NeXT restructuring

    Orange is to offer fixed line phone services to business users in the UK, the France Telecom owned mobile operator announced today. Piggybacking on Cable & Wireless' (C&W) network, Orange Landline for Business will provide fixed line services with call charges up to 20 per cent cheaper than BT. Based on Wholesale Line Rental ( …

    Networks 24 Feb 2006, 11:34

  • Lenovo unveils 3000 series notebooks, desktops

    First globally marketed own-brand systems

    Lenovo yesterday introduced the first of its own-brand notebook and desktop PCs to be offered globally. The move comes as market watcher iSuppli said the company had become the world's third-largest PC maker, behind Dell and HP. The 3000 J series desktops are pitched at small businesses, Lenovo said. They're offered with a …

    Channel Register 24 Feb 2006, 11:36

  • Koreans prep cylindrical media-playing HDD case

    Bin there, done that

    It looks a bit like a dustbin - or maybe one of R2-D2's ancestors - but South Korean manufacturer DVICO's TVix M-5000U is a full media player equipped with 64MB of RAM, a 3.5in hard drive and the ability to pump out pictures at up to 1920 x 1080i HD resolution. The 18.5cm tall unit - it's 13.1cm in diameter - has its own 7 …

    Reg Hardware 24 Feb 2006, 12:06

  • Astronomers spot weird near-Earth explosion

    Fundamentalism ruled out

    A mysterious new kind of cosmic explosion has been spotted by scientists, according to NASA. The baffling blast was detected about 440m light years away in the constellation Aries, on 18 February. Investigators using NASA's space-based Swift Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope say the signal is similar to a gamma-ray burst. However, …

    Science 24 Feb 2006, 12:11

  • Zen snatches three gongs at ISPAs

    Congrats

    Lancashire-based ISP Zen Internet walked away with three awards last night as the UK's internet industry came together to celebrate another year in business. Established in 1995 and one of the UK's oldest ISPs, Zen snapped up the award for the Best Uncontended Service, Best Heavy Business Broadband and Best Business ISP. …

    Telecoms 24 Feb 2006, 12:19

  • Machines poised to invade pubs

    The end is nigh for the humble landlord

    Students at a German university have facilitated the downfall of human civilisation by developing a robot to replace the pub landlord, Ananova chillingly reports. So far though, the Hermann the barman can only pour pressurised German wheat beer - child's play relative to the fine art of pulling a pint of foaming nut-brown ale …

    Bootnotes 24 Feb 2006, 12:36

  • Dyslexic eBayer punts bird flu licence plate

    Excelent investtment for ther futur!

    There's always one, isn't there? As the world teeters on the brink of avian apocalypse, some eBay bright spark has decided to cash in on bird flu frenzy by offering the following tasty UK licence plate: Well, it's excitement almost beyond human endurance, as the blurb demonstrates: Bird Flu licence plate – HN51 FLU …

    Bootnotes 24 Feb 2006, 12:38

  • Of Java Annotations

    Drawbacks and drawfronts

    The J2SE 5.0 release of Java introduced many new language features, one of which is called annotations. At the time I noted their presence, but did not feel particularly excited about their appearance. Now that a little water has flowed under the bridge, I think it is time to revisit Java Annotations. In this column we will …

    Developer 24 Feb 2006, 12:46

  • EC approves plans for broadband aid in Wales

    'Fibrespeed' still awaits final go-ahead

    The European Commission (EC) has given the go-ahead for plans by the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) to wire up 14 Welsh business parks in North Wales with broadband. Due to their remote locations, these business parks are without broadband. But thanks to a scheme called "FibreSpeed Wales", the WDA is looking to hire a wholesale …

    Telecoms 24 Feb 2006, 12:49

  • Pond life: the future of energy

    Hydrogen-producing algae breakthrough

    Genetic engineers have made a leap in developing a strain of algae with the potential to supply fuel for a future hydrogen economy, Wired reports. Unpublished work from the University of California at Berkeley may have brought the technology past the economically viable 10 per cent efficiency level. By shortening the …

    Science 24 Feb 2006, 15:28

  • Telcos collaborate for IMS

    NetEvents But will it actually work?

    Monday will see a big shot in the arm for the "old guard" of telecoms, as the great white hope of the legacy services, IP Multimedia System (IMS), gets its chance to prove it might actually work. The proof of pudding will come in October, under the flag of the MultiService Forum, which will unveil plans for its "plugfest" next …

    Data Networking 24 Feb 2006, 15:33

  • UK awarded net villain gong

    Pesky data retention

    The UK's keenness to push through tough data retention laws during its stint in charge of the European Union (EU) has won it the "Internet Villain Award" at this year's net industry awards. It seems ISPs just couldn't stomach heavy-handed plans for an EU-wide data retention regime. Which is why last night the UK's net industry …

    Networks 24 Feb 2006, 15:41

  • Thus acquisition of Your Comms gets green light

    Hello and goodbye

    Thus's acquisition of Your Communications has been approved by shareholders, the Scottish telco confirmed today. As a result of the thumbs up, the acquisition of Your Communications from United Utilities is expected to done and dusted on 26 February. Three weeks ago, Thus, the Scottish telco behind the Demon ISP, announced …

    Networks 24 Feb 2006, 15:46

  • Vodafone UK deploys mobile-vending machine

    Hold on, that sounds familiar...

    Stop us if you've heard this one before: Vodafone is deploying a mobile vending machine for the benefit of the phone-hungry public of Manchester. Yes indeed, according to a press release just in, (which, incidentally starts: "The vending machine has come a long way since the Ancient Greeks invented an urn dispensing holy water …

    Mobile 24 Feb 2006, 15:54

  • 3Dlabs to concentrate on mobile graphics

    Workstation arena too crowded

    3Dlabs is to turn away from workstation-oriented graphics cards and steer itself toward the mobile graphics arena, the company's parent, Creative Technology, said today. The move will be accompanied by the loss of 100 jobs. Creative warned investors the restructure will cost it $9m. Writing down certain 3Dlabs assets and …

    Channel Register 24 Feb 2006, 15:58

  • US government dangles internet control contract

    Mind games over IANA

    The US government has taken the extraordinary step of dangling the contract for control of the internet above the heads of the world. In a "Sources Sought Notice" put out by the Department of Commerce (DoC) late on Tuesday and only just noticed by the internet community, it is asking for "potential respondents" for the contract …

    Music and Media 24 Feb 2006, 16:08

  • Oz set to run on Microsoft time

    Letters Plus mind-expanding statistical shenanigans

    A very special welcome this Friday to all our Australian readers who, as we recently reported were favoured by Microsoft with a special Commonwealth Games daylight saving time patch - or something like that. Suffice it to say, we thought this was a pretty straighforward matter. No so: I'm not usually one to defend Microsoft, …

    Letters 24 Feb 2006, 16:35

  • Colombians cage arse-grope bicycle courier

    Buttock-fondling ne'er-do-well gets four years

    Let's face it, they don't mess around in Colombia. To add to the many hazards of life in that sun-kissed paradise - including kidnap, death by coke-dealing guerillas, or getting shot by enraged footie fans (ok, that only applies to World Cup squad defenders, but still...) - is the very real possibility that a moment of macho …

    Bootnotes 24 Feb 2006, 16:45

  • Olympus Mju 700 7.1 megapixel digicam

    Review Weatherproof and anti-shake

    Olympus goes for another slice of the ultra-compact digital camera market with its new, wedge-shaped Mju 700, a weatherproof and very stylish high-resolution camera with plenty to shout about... The 700's 7.1 megapixel sensor can create image files easily large enough and with enough detail for prints up to and over A3 in …

    Reg Hardware 24 Feb 2006, 17:15