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6th March 2006 Archive

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  • AMD kicks Opterons up a notch

    A wee notch

    AMD handed Intel a minor slap one day ahead of the Intel Developer Forum by announcing three, speedier versions of its Opteron chip. In thirty days, AMD will start shipping 2.6GHz Opterons that span across its full line from one-socket designs on up to eight-socket server products. The 885, 285 and 185 Series chips just beat …

    Servers 6 Mar 2006, 06:42

  • AT&T back together again

    $67bn merger

    Unlike Humpty Dumpty, the United States' former telecomms monopoly looks set to reassemble itself, only 22 years after being broken up by a historic anti-trust action - and less than ten years since Congress permitted the RBOCs, or 'Baby Bells', to merge. AT&T and BellSouth have announced their intention to join forces in a …

    Networks 6 Mar 2006, 07:56

  • Next-gen video iPod spotted on web

    If they're fakes, they're good ones

    Tantalising photos of what appears to be the video-optimised next-generation iPod have surfaced on the web. Past pictures have been exposed as fakes, but if the new set of shots are hoax images, they're very good ones: they clearly show the device's rumoured virtual UI, including a shot in regular music mode. The images were …

    Reg Hardware 6 Mar 2006, 08:52

  • Anti-virus groups fight over Crossover sharing

    MARA's 'membership' ruling has industry up in arms

    A virus that spreads from PCs to mobile devices has become the focus of a power play between the anti-virus industry and the relatively young Mobile Anti-virus Research Association, which obtained the only sample of the program. This week, the Mobile Anti-virus Research Association (MARA), a collection of professors, authors …

    Malware 6 Mar 2006, 10:04

  • Microsoft versus EC

    Comment Adequate response - but who remembers the question?

    I went to a very interesting briefing with Microsoft last week, following up on the EC case documented here. Essentially, to comply with EC requirements the company has documented parts of its Windows Server code that were previously invisible to the outside world, and made this documentation available to its source code …

    Malware 6 Mar 2006, 10:07

  • Profits and revenues drop at Novell

    But results 'solid', firm says

    Software firm Novell saw its profits slump in the first quarter of 2006, but the firm was adamant that it was pleased with its performance. In a conference call discussing its first quarter figures, the firm described the results as "solid quarterly performance" and drew attention to growth in the identity management sector. It …

    Financial News 6 Mar 2006, 10:09

  • Vodafone shares up on Japan sale

    Markets welcome confirmation

    Vodafone shares are up almost four per cent this morning after the firm confirmed it is in talks to get rid of Vodafone Japan. On Friday, the mobile giant said it is talking to investment group Softbank about selling the troubled division. The three line statement did no more than note the press speculation and confirm that it …

    Financial News 6 Mar 2006, 10:19

  • Yahoo! boosts Freedom of Information awareness

    Pay-per-click adverts promoting FoI

    The UK's Cabinet Office is using paid-for search engine placements to promote public awareness of the Freedom of Information Act. Directgov, the government’s central internet portal, has been using Yahoo!’s Overture sponsored links service to direct web users to its FOIA page. The government has revealed that it pays 10p per …

    Public Sector 6 Mar 2006, 10:21

  • MSN promises Google-beating search

    Holy Grail and moon on a stick, coming soon too

    Microsoft president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Neil Holloway last week promised that Microsoft's next search engine will be significantly better than Google. Holloway said Microsoft would launch the Google-beating search engine in the US and UK before a European rollout. He said: What we're saying is that in six …

    Financial News 6 Mar 2006, 10:49

  • Oscar winner Clooney takes control of Hamas

    A busy boy, our George

    We at El Reg would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to George Clooney for his best supporting actor Oscar triumph last night. We're also delighted to congratulate the Hollywood A-lister for, well, read on... Hey, Spooky. Check out the small piccie on right hand column. After putting on a few pounds and sporting …

    Bootnotes 6 Mar 2006, 11:05

  • Sony Ericsson reveals Walkman phone speaker

    Dock holiday

    Sony Ericsson has followed Apple and launched a portable speaker system, this time for its Walkman music phone series. The 25W RMS rig - described by the manufacturer as "room filling" - has a pair of 5W stereo speakers backed by a 15W sub-woofer. Boasting of the Cradle Audio CPF-MP001's "exceptional depth and quality" …

    Reg Hardware 6 Mar 2006, 11:11

  • Samsung to demo 8GB HDD handset

    Windows Mobile 5.0, too

    Samsung will this week unveil a Windows Mobile 5.0-based smart phone that also incorporates an 8GB hard disk, stereo speakers, digital amplifier and the ability to support Bluetooth-connected wireless stereo headphones. The SGH-i310 will be shown at the CeBIT show, which kicks off in Hannover, Germany, this week. Samsung has …

    Reg Hardware 6 Mar 2006, 11:46

  • Pope plugs in to iPod Nano

    'Computer technology is the future' says 2-gig Pontiff

    It's official: computer technology is the future. And, if you've got any doubts about that, ask God's main man on Earth - Pope Benny 16 - cos that's what he said when Vatican staff presented his Pontificateness with a personalised iPod Nano packed with Vatican Radio broadcasts and classical music. Sadly, God's Rottweiler will …

    Bootnotes 6 Mar 2006, 11:55

  • Intel US retail desktop market share plummets

    Swaps places with AMD, says researcher

    AMD's share of the US retail desktop PC market jumped to a massive 81.5 per cent during the first two months of the year, pushing Intel's share of the market to just 18.5 per cent, researcher NPD Techworld has revealed. Intel's share of the US retail notebook fell to 63 per cent in the same period. Publication of the figures …

    Reg Hardware 6 Mar 2006, 12:01

  • AOL's email tax - charities get reprieve

    Not-for-profits, not charged

    AOL has said it will continue free delivery of emails from charities and "qualifying non-profits". AOL said last week it was introducing a system of two-class emails - bulk email senders will have to pay a small fee per email to guarantee their marketing messages get into AOL inboxes and don't fall foul of spam filters. But …

    Spam 6 Mar 2006, 12:08

  • I can't use an iPod, admits Blair

    Would you trust this man?

    Simple question: would you allow a man who by his own admission cannot use an iPod to: Sell you a used car? Marry your daughter? Run the country? No, of course you wouldn't. Which is why we report with an icy chill of fear in our hearts that none other that UK President Tony "God will judge me" Blair revealed this shocking …

    Bootnotes 6 Mar 2006, 12:09

  • LG Blu-ray Disc player to support HD DVD too?

    Ditched single-format product, apparently

    LG has apparently abandoned plans to ship a Blu-ray DIsc player this Spring, and appears instead to be preparing a dual-mode system that incorporates HD DVD support too. So, at any rate, claims a memo allegedly sent by the company's US sales chief to staff last week. The memo, cited by consumer electronics industry-watching …

    Reg Hardware 6 Mar 2006, 12:25

  • Reg readers: 'Amazon in Ireland? More like Amazon in liarland!'

    Speaking in forked tongues?

    A reassuringly cynical bunch, Register readers. No sooner had we reported Amazon's plans to shift customer services operations from Slough to 2005 European Capital of Culture Cork for the 'superior language skills', than the Doubting Thomas SWAT team rocked up with a whole pitcher full of scorn. Here's Reg reader Graham Dawson' …

    IT Director 6 Mar 2006, 12:51

  • Email worm threatens lawsuit against victims

    Tort-uous

    The latest version of the Bagle mass mailer worm attempts to threaten potential victims by posing as a lawsuit against the recipient. Bagle-DO worm spreads in emails featuring subject lines such as "Pay your debts before we come to you", "Call to your lawyer immidiately", "Lawsuit against you" and "We wait your response". Users …

    Malware 6 Mar 2006, 12:53

  • eBay wins against opticians

    Blind leading the blind...

    The General Optical Council declined to present evidence today at the opening of its case against eBay for "aiding and abetting" illegal contact lens sales so all charges against the auction house were dismissed. A spokeswoman for the group admitted they had overlooked the European Ecommerce Directive which states that …

    Music and Media 6 Mar 2006, 13:46

  • US man faces IRC Trojan charges

    Dark dealings on DarkMyst

    A US man has been charged with releasing Trojan horse malware onto an IRC channel. Richard Honour, 30, from Washington state, is accused of using unnamed malware on a chat room called DarkMyst in an attempt to obtain confidential banking and identity information, The Seattle Post reports. Honour was indicted for distributing …

    Malware 6 Mar 2006, 13:49

  • Cruise and Hilton triumph at Razzies

    I'd like to thank...

    Paris Hilton may have been secretly gutted for her failure to earn an Oscar nomination for a stunning performance in House of Wax, but the highly-talented heiress is surely beside herself with joy to have secured a coveted Razzie just hours earlier - the Oscar antidote celebrating all that is truly diabolical in film. She was …

    Bootnotes 6 Mar 2006, 13:53

  • Sony beefs up Bravia LCD TV line

    Seventh-generation panels

    Sony today unveiled a range of Bravia LCD TVs, pitching the pricey but skinny alternative to standard CRT tellies. All but one of the new models sport seventh-generation LCDs with wide viewing angles and souped up backlights to deliver more realistic colour, Sony said. The consumer electronics giant launched TVs in its Bravia …

    Reg Hardware 6 Mar 2006, 14:49

  • NBC wraps arms round iVillage

    TV giant engages with women - millions of them

    Media giant NBC is hoping to boost its appeal to the ladies by paying $600m for iVillage, the “online destination” aimed at woman. iVillage has been around since 1995, and aims to “enrich the lives of women, teenage girls and parents through the offering of unique content, community applications and interactive features". …

    Financial News 6 Mar 2006, 14:56

  • Wild ride over for Google?

    TechScape Gates says so, but is he right?

    Bill Gates was recently quoted as saying that Google's honeymoon is coming to an end. I almost never agree with Bill Gates. And though he would dearly love to see Google vanish entirely, I think he may have a point here. A few days ago, Google's stock plummeted like a shot bird, wiping more than $900m off of each of Brin & …

    Financial News 6 Mar 2006, 14:56

  • Beer combats heart disease: official

    Excellent news

    More good news for those of you who like a swift pint or two: beer doesn't just fight cancer and make you clever but also blocks "interferon-gamma-induced chemical processes". This is a good thing, trust us, because what the Innsbruck Medical University team behind this revelation has shown - in layman's terms - is that beer …

    Science 6 Mar 2006, 15:00

  • Flypast honours Spitfire maiden flight

    Classic aircraft marks 70 years

    Five Spitfires yesterday took off from Southampton International Airport - formerly Eastleigh airfield - to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Spit's maiden flight, the BBC reports. The first ever Spitfire to take to the air did so on 5 March, 1936, at 1630 GMT, and more than 20,000 of the aircraft were subsequently built …

    Science 6 Mar 2006, 15:01

  • Couple microwave urine-filled fake penis

    Attempted drugs test fraud ends in court

    Here's a cautionary tale if you're a woman planning to use a fake penis filled with someone else's urine to pass a drugs test as part of a job application: don't take it to the local convenience store and ask the clerk to microwave it "so the urine inside would be body-temperature and fool those giving the drug test". So now …

    Bootnotes 6 Mar 2006, 15:07

  • Cybercrooks spur anti-virus market growth

    Fear of a black hat

    The anti-virus market will grow to reach $7.49bn by 2012, according to market analyst Frost & Sullivan (F&S). Last year, the market was worth $3.27bn. Increasinlgy, Malware is written as a tool to obtain confidential user information by phishing fraudsters and the like. Greater awareness of this trends will drive enterprise and …

    Malware 6 Mar 2006, 15:09

  • Lords fights back on compulsory IDs

    Tells Blair to back manifesto pledge

    Tories in the House of Lords are hoping to throw out the Labour government's proposals for compulsory ID cards this afternoon - in part by pointing to Labour's manifesto commitments. Originally, the proposed ID card was to be voluntary, but new plans mean that anyone applying for a new passport from 2008 will also get an ID …

    Music and Media 6 Mar 2006, 15:12

  • China delays space walk for six months

    Shenzhou VII launch off until 2008

    China's planned space walk mission has been put back by six months and will not now take place until 2008. The scheduled launch of the Shenzhou VII rocket will be the country's third manned mission, but senior consultant to the country's space programme, Huang Chunping, admitted that "Shenzhou VII was a complicated program that …

    Science 6 Mar 2006, 15:34

  • Olympus E-500/EVOLT E-500 8mp digital SLR

    Review Anti-dust vs anti-shake

    The E-500, announced in September 2005, was the third E-series digital SLR from Olympus; the fourth, the E-330, was announced in January 2006. The E-500 offers eight megapixel resolution and employs a 'FourThirds' mount which can accommodate an increasing range of lenses... Unlike the older E-300 and the latest E-330 models …

    Reg Hardware 6 Mar 2006, 16:04

  • Orange puts the squeeze on customers

    Unleashes ludicrous marketing menagerie

    Orange is to overhaul its pay monthly tariffs and services as of 1 April. Details of the new range of packages were released today, each with its own animal theme (see below). Orange is cutting the minutes new and migrating customers get from lower-priced tariffs. From April, £19 a month will buy 50 rather than 60 minutes, and …

    Mobile 6 Mar 2006, 16:39

  • No backdoor for Vista - MS

    'Nonsense', scoffs developer

    Microsoft developers have stepped forward to dismiss suggestions that the next versions of Windows might feature backdoor features to allow police access to encrypted files which might other be impossible to access. A BBC report last month suggested the Home Office was in talks with Microsoft over ways to overcome any obstacles …

    Security 6 Mar 2006, 17:02

  • PathScale takes Infiniband cluster booster to Xeon

    Out of the Opteron HTX shadow

    Networking start-up PathScale is escaping the shackles of the Opteron market with a new version of its Infiniband adapter that slots into Xeon-based servers. Starting next month, PathScale will begin shipping the InfiniPath Adapter for PCI Express. As the product name suggests, the adapter will fit into the PCI Express slots of …

    Data Networking 6 Mar 2006, 20:04

  • OK, RIM. How about that 'public interest' audit?

    Opinion We demand Always On Justice

    No one expects advertising to represent anything other than a glossy fantasy, but a TV campaign now running in the United States ought to win some kind of award for its disconnection with reality. At the climax of this big budget 30 second spectacular, a white collar executive hands a female employee - presumably a new …

    Music and Media 6 Mar 2006, 21:39

  • Cassatt calls for shift from Java manual to an automatic

    Give us your tired, muddled J2EE masses

    Software start-up Cassatt has slotted a new Java software management product into its virtualization line. The Collage Web Automation Module (WAM) marks the company's attempt to give customers greater control over the performance of their Java applications, allowing them to cut down on the number of servers needed to run Java …

    Servers 6 Mar 2006, 23:56