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2nd March 2006 Archive

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  • Small.biz ill-equipped for IT threats

    Risk-e business

    Seven out of every 10 small firms risk losing their business because they are not equipped to cope with security threats from viruses, fraud and system failure, new research suggests. According to a study by the National Computing Centre (NCC), 70 per cent acknowledge this risk despite agreeing that IT is critical to their …

    Small Biz 2 Mar 2006, 07:02

  • iTunes' long march to market share

    DMF Behind the numbers

    Apple's iTunes Music Store has been hailed as "the future of music" so many times that you might conclude the future has already been written. But a few statistics we gleaned at this week's Digital Music Forum (DMF), held only days after Apple boasted of its billionth download, help put it all in perspective. The first, and …

    Music and Media 2 Mar 2006, 09:19

  • The Google menu exposed

    What's eating the search giant

    An army marches on its stomach, Napoleon Bonaparte famously declared. Silicon Valley's more benevolent employers put this maxim into practice with on-campus dining facilities to keep staff happy, and therefore, productive. Of all the companies in the Bay Area, Google is the most famed -envied, even - among the tech chattering …

    Bootnotes 2 Mar 2006, 09:29

  • Solaris ported to Itanium?

    Anything for good marketing

    Sun Microsystems has turned "good cop" in its campaign against Hewlett Packard's UX by offering the prospect of porting Solaris to Intel's dreaded Itanic. Sun chief executive Scott McNealy has invited HP to work with Sun, combine R&D and "converge" the company's UX operating system with Sun's Solaris 10 in an open letter …

    Servers 2 Mar 2006, 09:46

  • Improvements to council websites 'slowing'

    Get your Better Connected results here

    Local authority internet services are showing signs of improvement, though the overall level of progress is slowing, a major survey reveals. The eighth annual Socitm Insight survey of local authority websites - Better Connected 2006 - also concluded that general improvements in the functionality of council websites is being …

    Public Sector 2 Mar 2006, 10:02

  • Auditor applauds Walsall

    But what lessons learned?

    The Audit Commission has applauded Walsall council for jilting Fujitsu Services after three years in which the two haggled as the services that were counting most on the deal suffered. Nevertheless, Walsall has improved most of its services without needing to use private companies at all. The auditor's support for Walsall's …

    Public Sector 2 Mar 2006, 10:29

  • Hynix staffers to plead guilty to DRAM price-fix charges

    $250,000 fines, jail terms all round

    Four Hynix staffers will do time in a US jail and together pay $1m in fines after agreeing to plead guilty to US Department of Justice charges that they conspired to fix memory prices, the DoJ said yesterday. D S Kim, Hynix's General Manager, Worldwide Sales and Marketing; C K Chung, Hynix's Director, Global Strategic Account …

    Channel Register 2 Mar 2006, 10:55

  • OSA pushes open source

    New site for local authorities

    A website has been launched to help local authorities make decisions on the use of open source software. Open Source Academy (OSA), a consortium of organisations with experience of the technology, unveiled the site on 1 March 2006. It said the site, which includes a free 'ask an expert' service, will provide answers to council …

    Public Sector 2 Mar 2006, 11:23

  • Cellcos prepare for IM onslaught

    Shut out portals to whip up ARPU

    Steve Ballmer told the audience of 3GSM recently that Microsoft should be considered a friend, not a foe, of the global mobile operator community. "We come as friends. We see opportunity to change the world together in a positive way." One positive way was something else he demonstrated at the show, the use of VoIP over …

    Mobile 2 Mar 2006, 11:41

  • AMD calls on Skype for Intel anti-trust evidence

    AMD vs Intel VoIP firm gets subpoena

    AMD has subpoenaed VoIP software developer Skype in a bid to seek evidence to back its allegations that Intel abused its dominant position in the x86 chip market to hinder its smaller competitor. The move follows an announcement that Skype 2.0 contains features that are only available to PCs fitted with Intel CPUs. Early last …

    VoIP 2 Mar 2006, 11:51

  • Softek launches message archiving service

    Deal to distribute Global Relay system

    Security and archiving specialists Softek has signed a deal to distribute services firm Global Relay's hosted message management solution in the UK and Europe. As well as easy day to day access, the Message Archiver system makes regulatory compliance more simple, they say. All messages are sent to the system over an encrypted …

    Channel Register 2 Mar 2006, 11:57

  • Overland Storage romances resellers

    Incentives on margins

    San Diego-based data backup firm Overland Storage today announced a reseller recruitment drive beginning next week. Overland's reseller program offers a 10 per cent margin. compared to what it says is the usual 5 per cent. However, if a reseller signs up before March 31, this will be increased to 20 per cent. Overland said: " …

    Channel Register 2 Mar 2006, 11:58

  • Scots deploy snow-busting remote technical assistant

    Aberdeenshire battles Arctic freeze

    Those government IT departments who have of late been battling to keep services running in the face of inclement and Arctic weather would do well to drop a line to Aberdeenshire Council who, we're delighted to report, have once again proved that the UK truly is at the cutting edge of technological innovation: Hi, Due to all …

    Bootnotes 2 Mar 2006, 12:06

  • MS to unfold Origami at CeBIT?

    Updated Revelation date moved to 9 March

    Microsoft has pushed back the unveiling of its mysterious Origami Project, believed to be a consumer-friendly tablet PC, to next week. The website dedicated to the project last week said we would "learn more" today, 2 March, but the site now says we'll "find out" about it on 9 March. Next Thursday is, of course, the opening …

    Reg Hardware 2 Mar 2006, 12:10

  • Europe's PC retailers pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap

    Sales surge

    Europe's top retailers are expected to sell $100bn-worth of IT kit this year. And computer specialists are not solely responsible for this "strong performance": computer goods now account for 28-40 per cent of turnover of electrical retailing specialists. The big supermarkets are also getting in on the act: they are making " …

    Channel Register 2 Mar 2006, 12:11

  • Photo standards war

    The next round begins at PMA

    For those of us that don’t follow photo standards every day, there appears to be a new standards war forming among the picture takers of the world, with Kodak firmly holding up one side of the war, and representatives from the PC printing world led by Epson and HP, supporting the other. Their two statements read virtually …

    Financial News 2 Mar 2006, 12:20

  • Morse continues services shift

    Revs down, profits up

    Morse plc saw revenues slip but profits increase in the last six months of 2005, figures released yesterday showed. Turnover was £187.5m, compared to £194.4m last year (excluding discontinued operations). However, revenue from services, which the company is now focussing on, were up 18 per cent. Pre-tax profits were £6.1m, up …

    Channel Register 2 Mar 2006, 12:48

  • Gun clip found near ex-Gizmondo exec's crashed Ferrari

    Plot thickens

    US police have found a gun magazine near the site of a crash that totalled a $1m Ferrari Enzo in which former Gizmondo executive Stefan Eriksson was riding. Local law enforcement officials believe the clip is connected with the smash, the Los Angeles Times reported this week. The crash took place at dawn on Tuesday, 21 …

    Reg Hardware 2 Mar 2006, 12:53

  • Apple update fixes 'critical' security bug

    Rumble in the jungle

    Apple released a security update on Wednesday that fixes multiple vulnerabilities, including a critical flaw in its Safari web browser that created a means for hackers to attack vulnerable systems. The security bug meant malicious hackers could rename "safe file" extensions stored in ZIP archives, creating a way to trick …

    Reg Hardware 2 Mar 2006, 13:00

  • MS in geek sex hard sell shocker

    Old-school NZ Office ad - pure filth

    There was a time when Microsoft ads were a bit more entertaining than the current "dinosaur head" offerings which have of late been baffling adults and scaring small children worldwide. The proof comes in this hitherto-unseen-in-the-civilised-world shocker for MS Office Student and Teacher Edition 2003: Fantastic. For the …

    Bootnotes 2 Mar 2006, 13:16

  • Pentagon to enslave shark-kind

    Uncle Sam mobilises remote control fish

    Sinister news has leaked out of the US Department of Defence, where plans are afoot to implant mind control devices into sharks in the hope of using them for underwater espionage. The DoD engineer-designed implant (developed in lab experiments on rats) will be deployed to harness a squad of shark spies, it was revealed at a …

    Science 2 Mar 2006, 14:13

  • Schizophrenic 419er moves to Isle of Wight

    As you do

    We're not entirely sure what exactly the Isle of Wight has done to merit a visit from the Lads from Lagos, but locals should be aware that the Newport correspondent of the Advance Fee Fraud Times may be suffering from a multiple personality disorder: vicent woods Associates and solicitor St. Cross Lane Newport Isle of …

    Bootnotes 2 Mar 2006, 14:19

  • US.gov probes Sourcefire acquisition

    Check Point under foreign investments microscope

    Israeli-based security firm Check Point faces a rare full-blown US government investigation over its proposed acquisition of intrusion detection firm Sourcefire. AP reports the Committee on Foreign Investments in the US is to look into the $225m deal following concerns raised by the FBI and Pentagon over the wisdom of allowing …

    Channel Register 2 Mar 2006, 14:40

  • LG ships multimedia sub-notebook

    Tiny TX Express strikes a chord

    We like sub-notebooks here at Reg Hardware, and LG's 2.3cm-thick, 1.1kg Xnote TX - it's called the TX Express outside Korea - quite caught our eye. It may not be based on the latest Core Duo processor, but it still packs in some impressive features in its compact casing. LG says the TX is based on an ultra-low voltage …

    Reg Hardware 2 Mar 2006, 14:55

  • US man faces five years for hacking supervisor's PC

    Hacking for fun not profit

    A former federal computer security expert faces a possible five year jail term after pleading guilty to hacking a US Department of Education computer. Kenneth Kwak, 34, of Chantilly, Virginia, admitted snooping on his supervisor's email and internet surfing activities while employed as a system auditor for the US Department of …

    Enterprise Security 2 Mar 2006, 15:16

  • HP, Gateway sign $47m patent pact

    Long-running legal dispute over

    HP and Gateway have agreed to settle their legal differences with a $47m payment, from Gateway to HP. The two firms fell out in 2004 over patent infringement allegations made by both companies against each other - both now have a licence to use the other's intellectual property. The deal was announced just as a ban on the …

    Reg Hardware 2 Mar 2006, 15:24

  • Slim Devices Squeezebox 3 network music player

    Review Computer-to-stereo music streaming goes mainstream

    I first reviewed Slim Devices' network music player, the Squeezebox, in April 2004. We're not quite two years on from that, but the machine has already undergone two major revisions: first, in March 2005, an upgrade of its networking capabilities and audio engine, and then, just seven months later, a complete case redesign …

    Reg Hardware 2 Mar 2006, 15:26

  • BT bumps broadband speed up

    In brief Except for 150 steam-driven exchanges

    BT says that 99.6 per cent of UK homes and businesses will be able to get higher speed broadband from the end of this month. The UK incumbent said that 78 per cent of BT customer lines should be able to support 4Mbit/s and above, while 42 per cent will get 6Mbit/s and above. Those special people who live or work very close to …

    Telecoms 2 Mar 2006, 15:53

  • Aircraft mobile ban ought to stay - study

    Turn that phone off before we all...

    A study by a US university has concluded that mobile phones and other portable electronic devices are liable to interfere with the operation of critical aircraft components. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found the effects of mobile transmissions of devices such as Global Positioning System receivers were worse than …

    Mobile 2 Mar 2006, 16:32