1st March 2006 Archive

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MySQL close to SAP certification

Good for business

MySQL AB is inching closer to certification with SAP's mighty business applications suite, nearly three years after the companies first united. The open source database vendor, making in roads among developers, told The Register it had completed 10 out of a total 12 tests in order to become officially certified with SAP. MySQL …

Developer 1 Mar 2006, 08:57
UK punters avoid VoIP in droves

Awareness does not equal usage

Half of UK consumers are aware of VoIP, but take-up of internet telephony remains low, according to Ofcom. The regulator's Interim Report into the UK's Communications Market found that 49 per cent of UK consumers are aware that calls can be made over the internet. This rises to 59 per cent among internet users and 63 per cent …

VoIP 1 Mar 2006, 09:09
Apple end-of-lifes G4 Mac Mini

And other snippets from the Steve J Show

With yesterday's introduction of Intel-based Mac Minis, Apple quietly killed off its PowerPC-based predecessor. The G4-based Minis have gone from Apple's online stores, leaving just the Power Mac G5 and the 20in iMac G5 as the remaining legacy desktops. Apple's clearly getting better at this sort of thing. It took a month to …

Hardware 1 Mar 2006, 10:09
Napster blames Microsoft shortfalls for its problems

With friends like these...

Struggling music subscription service Napster is blaming Microsoft for its problems. Napster chairman and chief executive Chris Gorog said: "There is no question that their execution has been less than brilliant over the last 12 months. Our business does rely on Microsoft's digital rights management software and our business …

Hardware 1 Mar 2006, 10:10
ICANN approves dotcom contract

9-6 in favour. All hell about to break loose

ICANN has approved a controversial dotcom contract that will see VeriSign handed control of the internet's most famous product forever. The Board of the Internet overseeing organisation held a special meeting last night where the contract received nine votes in favour, five against and one abstention. The contract still has to …

Media 1 Mar 2006, 10:20
'World's smallest' Windows phone to debut next month

Step forward, Malaysia's Axia 308

Malaysian phone maker Fifth Media has announced what it claims is the world's smallest Windows Mobile 5 smart phone. The compact handset's profile measures 11.3 x 4.9, but it's 2.1cm thick. It squeezes in quad-band GSM, GPRS and EDGE connectivity, along with Bluetooth 1.2 and 802.11b Wi-Fi. The Axia 308 handset will be …

Phones 1 Mar 2006, 10:30
Managing the RFID opportunity

Don't let hype overshadow risk

The use of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags is becoming a hot topic for developers and business (visit the independent - sponsored by both the UK Government and commercial organisations - UK RFID Centre here). IT vendors, who've been suffering fairly flat sales recently, are also honing in on the opportunites it …

Developer 1 Mar 2006, 10:45
Moto touts salmon SLVR

Carphone Warehouse gets pink product

The public's passion for all things pink has found a new outlet: a salmon-hued version of Motorola's SLVR phone. A sibling of the better-known L7, the rose-tinted release - to be offered exclusively through UK retail chain Carphone Warehouse, it seems - is the L6. Unsurprisingly perhaps, the handset is being offered with a T- …

Phones 1 Mar 2006, 10:49
HP-OuterBay merger shows market nous

Comment Packing the storage portfolio

From where I've been sitting, HP has never had the best track record in enterprise software. The next 'e' never was e-services, and HP has acquired many a product only to let it wither on the vine - Bluestone was a prime example. Meanwhile, the company has struggled to bring together its OpenView service management portfolio …

Storage 1 Mar 2006, 11:04
Colon family in exploding toilet ordeal

Ay caramba!

A family from Charlotte, North Carolina, is currently engaged in a stand-off with the local utilities company over who is responsible for cleaning up the aftermath of a toilet explosion which has forced them from their home. Mum Marilyn Colon told local news outfit WCNC.com: "We heard a thump. Feces, urine, oil… …it went all …

Bootnotes 1 Mar 2006, 11:18
Four plead guilty in US piracy case

Pirates smell porridge

Four US citizens have pleaded guilty to piracy charges following an investigation by the Department of Justice. Investigators from Operation Fastlink snared Derek Borchardt (21), Matthew Howard (24) and Aaron Jones (31). All three pleaded guilty of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement as part of the Apocalypse Crew which …

Media 1 Mar 2006, 11:25
Lip-reading footie fans spot racial abuse

Police probe Liverpool player

Police are looking into an allegation that a Liverpool player racially abused a Manchester United team member during the two teams' clash at Old Trafford on 22 January, the BBC reports. The tip-off came neither from the player allegedly at the receiving end of the insult, nor from a match official, but rather two deaf footie …

Bootnotes 1 Mar 2006, 11:26
Provocative paperbacks from chez Reg

Cash'n'Carrion Here we go again...

Couldn't resist this little gem to kick things off: "People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like." - Abraham Lincoln. Brilliant. So, if it's algorithms, regular expressions, or programming UNIX, .NET Visual Basic or REXX you like, then you'll definitely like this week's list of titles. And …

Developer 1 Mar 2006, 11:34
ECS touts eco-friendly, Viiv-benign mobo

RoHS compliant 945G-M3 ships

Want to build your own Viiv system? Elitegroup (ECS) has the motherboard, at least: its RoHS-compliant 945G-M3, which it has just begun shipping in the UK, the Taiwanese supplier said today. As its name suggests, the 945G-M3 is based on Intel's own 945G chipset with its ICH7-DH South Bridge - the 'DH' is for 'digital home', …

Hardware 1 Mar 2006, 12:11
JVC tunes in to mid-size LCD HDTVs

New DynaPix models support HDMI, HDCP

JVC today unwrapped a pair of LCD TVs with integrated digital tuners. It pitched the products' inclusion not only of twin HDMI ports, but also their support for the HDCP copy-protection system. And JVC lauded the screens' bass-boosting sound systems and picture enhancement technology, too. The 32in LT-32DX7 and the 26in LT- …

Hardware 1 Mar 2006, 12:18
MS boffins develop foot-powered interface

Nothing to do with Ballmer putting the boot in

Microsoft boffins are working on a foot powered user interface as an alternative or adjunct to computer mice. The interface, dubbed StepUI (Step User Interface), works with off-the-shelf dance pads and allows users to navigate through email or navigate through photo collections by stepping on particular areas of the mat. Users …

Applications 1 Mar 2006, 12:34
Bird flu: your painful death not inevitable

Top virus expert launches investigation

A leading virus expert has said that anyone claiming a human pandemic of bird flu is inevitable "is saying more than they can possibly know". Sir John Skehel made his comments at the Royal Society in London, at the launch of the society's new joint investigation with the Academy of Medical Sciences into the science behind the …

Science 1 Mar 2006, 12:44
'Fake' emails MP hits reply

Right stink over Writetothem.com

The Conservative MP caught rigging his popularity rating by sending emails to himself was told to do so by the website that shopped him, the MP's spokesman has claimed. Bridgwater MP Ian Liddell-Grainger sent emails to himself through Writetothem.com, a website that helps people get in touch with their MPs, in order to change …

Media 1 Mar 2006, 12:45
Opposition to AOL's 'email tax' grows

AOL annoys gun owners, greens, farm unions...almost everyone...

More than 50 organisations are joining forces to protest against AOL's plan to start charging for email. AOL is planning to charge mass-emailers a fee to avoid the ISP's spam filters and guarantee that their marketing emails arrive straight in AOL subscribers' inboxes. But 54 groups - ranging from Gun Owners of America to …

Security 1 Mar 2006, 12:49
Feed your PC free-to-air satellite TV

Sky-less DVB-S

AVerMedia has begun shipping just the card you need to connector your computer to freebie satellite TV channels. Its DVB-S Pro PCI card hooks up to your reception dish and get the kind of PVR and programme archiving features you don't get from the standard FreeSat box. The DVB-S Pro hooks into AVerMedia's AVerTV 6 software …

Hardware 1 Mar 2006, 13:02
TomTom redesigns Go in-car GPS kit

Shipping 1 April, apparently

Dutch satellite navigation specialist TomTom today said it will ship an updated TomTom Go range of in-car route-planning devices on 1 April. No fooling, the new 510, 710 and 910 models will feature a "world first" 4in screen, "greatly improved" GPS performance and a new computer dock. The new Gos will sport a new design …

Hardware 1 Mar 2006, 13:37
UK parents to get online check of 8m child workers records

Monumental security and privacy disaster ahoy...

The UK Government today announces plans for a massive data, security and privacy own goal, in the shape of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill. The Bill, which is intended to widen and centralise the vetting of people working with children (approximately 8 million individuals), will allow (indeed, compel) employers, …

Media 1 Mar 2006, 13:58
AOL sues mystery phishers for $18m

Trawl

AOL filed three civil lawsuits against several major phishing gangs on Tuesday as part of the ISP's wider fight against identity theft scams and other internet security threats. The suits (overview) cite Virginia's anti-phishing statute, adopted in July 2005. AOL's suit also uses the Federal Lanham Act (trademark law), and the …

Security 1 Mar 2006, 14:16
ATI unwraps dual x16 CrossFire Xpress 3200

World's first single-chip dual PCI-I x16 implementation

ATI has announced its Radeon CrossFire Xpress 3200 chipset, as anticipated, with its support for twin PCI Express x16 slots for CrossFire configurations - the first single-chip North Bridge to do so - and provision of "unprecedented overclocking capabilities". The chip maker said the AMD Socket 939-oriented chipset - aka the …

Hardware 1 Mar 2006, 14:19
IPTV: killer apps and dead horses

Industry comment Proceed with caution...

Time and time again, industry talk comes back to what the one "killer app" will be for IPTV as a platform. Most assume it will be video-on-demand (VoD), as the historical business case has always rested on the fact that consumers love being able to have video whenever they want it, and it allows full VCR-like functionality over …

Broadband 1 Mar 2006, 14:53
Flying China saucer

Storm in a teacup?

A Beijing scientist has developed the country's first flying saucer, Chinese news agency Xinhau reports. The solar-powered nuisance (pictured right) will be ready to take to skies within two years. Professor Yan Lei of Peking University described his creation: "Unlike conventional aerocraft, which rely on high-speed movement …

Science 1 Mar 2006, 14:57
Serco results grow

Revs and profits up

Services giant Serco, which bought ITNET last year, managed to bring in £2.26bn in revenues - up 38 per cent - in the year ended 31 December 2005. Serco made a profit before tax of £77.9m, an increase of 22 per cent on last year's figure of £64m. The company claimed organic growth of 19 per cent and win rates of over 90 per …

The Channel 1 Mar 2006, 15:11
Suicide prompts South Korea mobile data cap

Call to action

The suicide of a young South Korean boy who racked up a huge phone bill playing games on his mobile has prompted local operators into revising their call plans. The unnamed 16 year-old student from the south western Korean town of Iksan toped himself on 15 February after running up a bill of 3.7m Won ($3,830), according to local …

Mobile 1 Mar 2006, 15:13
Driven to test-action

Comment A practical view of unit testing

Test-Driven Development (TDD) has increased in popularity both as a practice and as a term. Although there is a strong association with Extreme Programming, more generally there is a certain set of practices that can be honed in on and applied across various development models. Decoupling TDD from XP, which specifically …

Developer 1 Mar 2006, 16:04
Fore-get space exploration

Let's play extreme golf!

Never let it be said that the space programme is a waste of time and money. A Russian cosmonaut headed for the International Space Station plans to hit a golf ball into the Earth's orbit while on spacewalk, it has been announced. The record-breaking drive is raising eyebrows all round, with some experts warning of a " …

Bootnotes 1 Mar 2006, 16:06
Online CD sellers may lose offshore haven

VAT dodge may be ending

The States of Jersey has given CD sellers who have set up on the island in order to avoid VAT a year to close up and leave. Several firms including Amazon, HMV and Tesco have moved CD fulfilment for online orders to the island so they can sell CDs to British punters without charging them VAT. This means they can sell CDs for …

Financial News 1 Mar 2006, 16:18
NASA plans three shuttle launches this year

'We've fixed it this time, honest'

The beleaguered NASA shuttle programme has received a boost today as a spruced up fuel tank arrived at Kennedy Space Centre by sea from New Orleans. Engineers are now buoyant about prospects. Barring further trouble, the space agency plans to get Discovery orbit-bound by the end of May. In a press conference on Tuesday, …

Science 1 Mar 2006, 16:26
LogicaCMG revives in 2005

Mixed continental performance

Britain and the Netherlands delivered a bumper year for LogicaCMG in 2005, as it also benefitted from its IT workshops on the Indian sub-continent. British and Dutch markets both did well for LogicaCMG in 2005. Increased demand in a tight labour market resulted in high utilisation of what is the most expensive resource for IT …

The Channel 1 Mar 2006, 16:40
Sting nets two spam scam suspects

Double jeopardy

The US secret service has arrested two men over accusations that they sent massive quantities of spam emails to more than 1.2m AOL subscribers. Todd Moeller (AKA Trill), of New Jersey, and his business partner Adam Vitale (AKA Batch1), 25, of Florida, were busted after agents used an informant to hire the duo to spamvertise a …

Security 1 Mar 2006, 16:45
Access and authentication: the big Reg survey

Reg Reader Studies Please click here to tap IT barometer

Regular participants of our Reg reader surveys will know that the titles which head our light tappings upon the IT barometer are not the stuff of literary legend. Sadly, this month's effort is not much better - "Access and Authentication Technologies: Issues, practicalities and solutions" - but this pot-chilling effort should …

Tech Panel 1 Mar 2006, 16:47
Songwriters to blame for digital music's pothole

DMF We'd have got away with it - if it wasn't for those pesky publishers

Jonathan Potter, head of the trade group DiMA which represents the big digital music download services, says greedy publishers are a roadblock to business, and could hand the illegal P2P networks ultimate victory. Asked what could help his members, (who include AOL, Napster and Real), Potter, put the blame on the collection …

Media 1 Mar 2006, 16:50
ATI CrossFire Xpress 3200 chipset

Review Asus' A8R32-MVP Deluxe mobo probed

The ATI CrossFire Xpress 3200 chipset has been a long time coming, but the bad news is that ATI is only halfway there. The CrossFire Xpress 3200 PCI Express bridge is ready and working, but ATI is still working on its new SB600 South Bridge. However, this isn’t too much of an issue for the time being at least, since most of ATI’ …

Hardware 1 Mar 2006, 17:12
Olive works 400GB into Opus digital music centre

Holds more ripped CDs than you can shake Karajan's baton at

Olive has announced the latest version of its latest high-end digital music separate, this time called the Opus and equipped with a 400GB hard drive - enough, the company claims, to hold 660 uncompressed CDs, 1,100 ripped using lossless compression, or 7,230 albums ripped to 128KBps MP3 files. Past Olive products were …

Hardware 1 Mar 2006, 21:01
BEA fires up for Fuego

BEAtification for middle wear firm

BEA Systems has splashed out $87.5m for Fuego, a business process management specialist, in a push into service oriented architectures (SOAs). Fuego's software will serve as the foundation for BEA's AquaLogic Business Service Integration suite. This will enable business staff to design, implement and manage business processes …

Developer 1 Mar 2006, 23:33
Universal music chief blasts Slashdot

DMF 'Pie throwers'

The president of Universal Music Group's digital division, Larry Kenswil, dipped into Slashdot to illustrate the kind of laggards who are holding up progress in digital music. How did he figure that out, exactly? Kenswil was speaking at the Digital Music Forum in New York, earlier today, where we're in town to take the pulse …

Media 1 Mar 2006, 23:52
Oracle opens embedded business unit

It all comes together

Oracle has opened an embedded systems unit serving Asia Pacific and Japan while simultaneously ramping up its capabilities with Sleepycat Software and its own small-footprint database. The Embedded Business Unit's (EBU's) goals are to establish licensing deals with ISVs and OEMs using its databases, application and RFID servers …

Software 1 Mar 2006, 23:56