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13th March 2006 Archive

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  • And the winners of the (UK bit of the) Imagine Cup are ...

    What happened in your drug-induced coma

    Sadly, there was no Terry Wogan around to make incisive comments about the entries, but that did not stop the winners of the UK heat of another important international competition emerging last Friday. This is Microsoft’s Imagine Cup, an international arm-wrestle for a $125,000 prize fund covering six different technology …

    Developer 13 Mar 2006, 09:25

  • Telewest TVDrive HDTV-enabled PVR

    Review HD and more from the cable co

    Sky might be making all the noise about HDTV in the UK but, in classic tortoise versus hare scenario, its cable rival Telewest has got there first. Telewest's HDTV enabled hard disk based video recorder, the TVDrive, went on sale last week. It is available to four million homes with viewers signing up via Currys, Dixons or …

    Reg Hardware 13 Mar 2006, 10:07

  • When 'enterprise' is self-defeating

    Solutions for end-users - who would have thought?

    Companies like to describe their products as being suitable for enterprise-wide deployment. However, this is by no means always a good thing. Indeed, an "enterprise" product, by its very nature, may be precisely the reverse of that. Consider the nature of "enterprise" products. They have the performance to supports thousands, …

    Developer 13 Mar 2006, 10:17

  • Virtual rootkits create stealth risk

    MS researchers grapple with phantom malware

    Security researchers have uncovered new techniques to hide the presence of malware on infected systems. By hiding rootkit software in virtual machine environments, hackers have the potential to avoid detection by security software, boffins at Microsoft Research and the University of Michigan warn. To validate their concerns the …

    Security 13 Mar 2006, 10:23

  • More sign against AOL's email tax

    Ground...swell...

    The campaign to stop AOL charging to guarantee delivery of emails is growing with more than 500 groups and almost 37,000 people signing up. The opposition, organised by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, launched in early March with 1,500 individuals and 50 groups. AOL and Yahoo! announced in early February that they would …

    Spam 13 Mar 2006, 10:24

  • Mobile TV gets thumbs up

    Trialists 'happy to pay' for the service

    Participants in pan-European trials of mobile television say they would gladly sign up for such a service and many would be prepared to pay for mobile TV. These were some of the findings from a number of mobile phone pilot schemes run by Nokia in Finland, England, France and Spain. Each of the pilots involved a mobile operator …

    Mobile 13 Mar 2006, 10:29

  • eBay buys into meetup

    Networking is the new networking...

    eBay, with five other investors, has bought a ten per cent stake in networking company Meetup.com. Meetup groups share an interest or hobby and meet regularly - they could be pregnant mums or French-speaking bikers. Categories range from adult entertainment to paganism and chihuahuas. eBay is investing along with Allen and Co …

    Financial News 13 Mar 2006, 10:31

  • Man survives satanic BMW crash-and-burn

    Accelerator jammed at 135mph

    It's official: the German automotive industry fell to the Lizard Alliance on 5 March when a 26-year-old UK man recorded the first incident of murderous Teutonic automobile: an R-reg BMW 318 which took its terrified victim on a high-speed white knuckle ride of near death before self-destructing on a roundabout. According to a …

    Rise of the Machines 13 Mar 2006, 10:39

  • Women improve your performance

    If you become like them

    Male dominated workplaces have more trouble with their performance than more gender balanced offices, business leaders said at the UK Resource Centre for Women last Wednesday, which was also International Women's Day. Science, engineering and technology (SET) firms in particular should reduce the brimming levels of …

    IT Director 13 Mar 2006, 10:42

  • VIA ships C7-M ULV with Intel-like model numbers

    ULV for UMPC, says VIA

    VIA has begun mass production of an ultra-low voltage version of its C7-M mobile processor, the Taiwanese chip maker said late last week, allowing it on the ultra-mobile PC bandwagon and target Intel's performance-per-Watt strategy too. It's even adopted Pentium M-style 77x series model numbers for the CPU line. The C7-M ULV …

    Reg Hardware 13 Mar 2006, 10:47

  • End point security attracts new vendors

    Quocirca's changing channels Start-up securing market share

    End point security is a fast maturing market and is becoming big business. Many of the major vendors have products, or at least future plans. But it is still worth resellers looking at some of smaller vendors who have interesting new products and ideas. End points include everything from desktop PCs, printers, wireless access …

    Enterprise Security 13 Mar 2006, 11:02

  • Gent quits Voda

    Denies 'whispering campaign'

    Sir Christopher Gent has quit his role as life president of Vodafone, following ongoing speculation about boardroom rifts and bust-ups. The man who took Vodafone from a £7.5bn business to one valued at more than £75bn issued a statement yesterday announcing that he was walking away from the Newbury-based company. Along with …

    Financial News 13 Mar 2006, 11:16

  • British Rail flying saucer unearthed

    Scotched by the wrong kind of space-snow?

    British Rail patented a design for a flying saucer powered by thermonuclear fusion back in 1973. The public transport body submitted Charles Osmond Frederick's maverick contraption, the Guardian reports. The fact that sustainable fusion hasto this day eluded scientists was no deterrent to such a ferociously inventive mind. …

    Science 13 Mar 2006, 11:28

  • Apple drops 20in iMac G5

    Still a few available in the US, apparently

    Bid farewell to the PowerPC-based iMac G5, ladies and gentlemen. Apple has dropped the 20in model from its online stores in the UK, Europe and Japan, though the machine remains on sale in the US. Not for long though, we'd guess. Apple pulled the 17in iMac G5 early in February, almost a month after introducing the Intel-based …

    Reg Hardware 13 Mar 2006, 11:33

  • DEA dragnet hunts fugitive Larry Ellison

    Distribution of cocaine rap shocker

    We were shocked this morning to learn that the DEA is hunting Larry Ellison on a distribution of cocaine rap. The Ellison in question is a 6'1", 235lb black man, last seen in Philly. We were aware that plastic surgeons can work miracles, but this transformation is nothing short of astounding. So, keep your eyes peeled and be …

    Bootnotes 13 Mar 2006, 11:44

  • Gateway UK unveils dual-core desktop

    Latest laptops ship too

    Gateway UK today unveiled its latest notebook and desktop PCs, pitching the products at consumers and small businesses needing performance on a budget price. The roll-out also takes in Intel's latest dual-core desktop processor technology. That said, the notebooks feature previous-generation CPUs: the new MX6640b, MX6638b and …

    Reg Hardware 13 Mar 2006, 12:09

  • Compulsory and centralised - UK picks hardest sell for ID cards

    Study finds scheme design hits public's hot buttons

    By using both compulsion and a central identity register in its ID card scheme the UK Government has opted for the combination least popular with the public, according to a study carried out by the Open University. The results of the study, Privacy Attitudes and the Acceptance of Identity Cards in the UK, are due to be published …

    Music and Media 13 Mar 2006, 12:16

  • Freecom FSG-3 Storage Gateway

    Review More than your average NAS box

    Network Attached Storage - NAS for short - has become immensely popular of the last couple of years, especially as hard drive sizes have increased and prices have come down. Consumer-oriented devices have been around for some time now, but most of them have been fairly basic units that you attach to an existing network. The …

    Reg Hardware 13 Mar 2006, 12:39

  • Samsung to bring HD Ready CRT TV to Europe

    Better picture than an LCD - and much cheaper too

    Yes, we know the consumer electronics industry wants us all to upgrade our TVs to brand spanking new LCD jobs - with HDTV dangled before us as bait - but some of us prefer the better picture quality, greater screen longevity and, frankly, lower price benefits of good old CRT technology. It seems Samsung, for one, has been …

    Reg Hardware 13 Mar 2006, 13:08

  • NASA relieved as probe makes orbit

    Dodges the 'Mars curse'

    The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has successfully entered orbit round the Red Planet, NASA has announced. Eggheads at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena cheered the news, a boost after a series of Mars-related mishaps. JPL chief Mars man Dan McCleese explained the collective relief: "It's almost like dodging a bullet. …

    Science 13 Mar 2006, 13:14

  • BT, Skype woo SMEs

    If telecoms be the food of love, play on

    BT has unveiled a computer security service that remotely checks the status of PCs using a broadband line. Typically, a test takes around half an hour and checks a range of potential online threats, including spyware and other known vulnerabilities. PC Security Check is aimed at small businesses and costs £50 (excluding VAT) …

    Small Biz 13 Mar 2006, 13:20

  • Sprinklers blamed for Level 3 'leak'

    Data centre flooded

    The "leak" at Level 3's Braham Street data centre in London was caused by sprinklers being accidentally set off, El Reg can confirm. Last week, Level 3 was forced to write to punters explaining that some customer kit might have been damaged following a leak. Insiders said the leak was due to sprinklers, but Level 3 declined to …

    Telecoms 13 Mar 2006, 13:25

  • Intel marks Pentium D 920 for termination

    Chip giant 'absolutely will not stop' until part is EOL'd

    Intel has confirmed earlier hints that its 65nm dual-core Pentium D 920 is nearing the end of its useful life. The chip giant last week told customers that it will stop taking orders for the part on 30 June this year. Company documentation seen by Reg Hardware reveals that orders for boxed and tray-mounted 920s become non- …

    Reg Hardware 13 Mar 2006, 13:25

  • Met police warned on blogs

    'ello, 'ello, 'ello, what have we got here then?

    The Metropolitan Police is the latest organisation to warn its members about blogging. The "guidance" was issued earlier this month and some blogging coppers have already stopped updating their online diaries. World Weary Detective said: "It is therefore with deep regret and great sadness that I must announce that I will no …

    Music and Media 13 Mar 2006, 13:38

  • 419er mugged by rubbers

    Elastic human tragedy, send cash ASAP

    Here's a refreshing new angle on the 419 advance fee fraud email: a "show me the money" variant which takes our beloved English language round the back of the bike sheds and gives it a right shoeing. Enjoy: The compliment of the day, How are doing an also running of your company, hopping all is wall. I received you mail that …

    Bootnotes 13 Mar 2006, 14:29

  • Sony readies PSP-friendly MemoryStick video recorder

    A VCR for the solid-state storage era?

    Sony is gearing up to help Japanese PlayStation Portable owners get more video content onto their handheld gadgets. The consumer electronics giant has announced a digital video recorder that stores programmes on MemoryStick in a PSP-friendly format. If all this sounds familiar, it's because US-based Neuros Audio has been …

    Reg Hardware 13 Mar 2006, 14:34

  • Google lands on Mars

    Fuelled by LSD, it appears

    Google has added another body to its planetary roster with the launch of Google Mars - an extraterrestrial resource which allows punters to have a shufti at probe landing sites, mountains, plains and canyons, among other exciting features. Rather disturbingly, though, the surface of the Red Planet is rendered by default as a " …

    Science 13 Mar 2006, 14:45

  • Email marketing firm settles data mining lawsuit

    Datran gets blitzed by Spitzer

    Email marketing firm Datran Media has agreed to reform its business practices after paying $1.1m to settle a lawsuit that alleged it used personal data and email addresses gathered from other companies to mount junk mail campaigns. Datran "mined" around 6m US email addresses from "customer acquisition" firms that offered a …

    Spam 13 Mar 2006, 14:48

  • Twitchers in a flap over elusive pecker

    'Very rare' bird actually extinct all along?

    It was with great fanfare last summer that the US Fish and Wildlife service trumpeted the rediscovery of an apparently 'extinct' species: the ivory-billed woodpecker. Until a Cornell team reported the sighting in a Arkansas swamp, the iconic bird had not been spotted for more than 60 years. The revelation was the hottest news …

    Science 13 Mar 2006, 14:59

  • CIA offers studies in inteligence

    Marvelous

    It's good to see that the US taxpayer is getting plenty of bangs for his/her bucks from the CIA - apart from Talibanning it up in Afghanistan and smuggling exploding cigars into Cuba. The proof can be found at its "Studies in Intelligence" webpage, which kicks off: CIA University is pleased to make available this electronic …

    Bootnotes 13 Mar 2006, 15:34

  • London SMEs: get yer free MCP training here

    Site offer Free exams, too

    Those London companies who have less than 250 employees, an annual balance sheet total of less than €43m, or an annual turnover of less than €50m are offered another chance to grab some free "accredited high level IT MCP training, exam; and business and management courses". Regular readers will realise that we've done another …

    Site News 13 Mar 2006, 15:36

  • Mobiles ring changes for dealers

    Less hardware, more data...

    The mobile industry, worth about $126bn in 2005, will move away from an integrated, vertical business model towards complex, layered structures with more distributors and retailers, according to research carried out by analyst Informa Telecoms. Mobile operators and handset makers have traditionally run the business, but this is …

    Channel Register 13 Mar 2006, 15:52

  • Net blows CIA agents' cover

    Felix Leiter fingered by data aggregators

    A trawl of the net has allowed a US paper to compile a list of the personal details of 2,653 CIA workers. The Chicago Tribune said it compiled its dossier from public records (such as telephone listings, property tax records, voting rosters, legal judgments and business incorporation papers) accessible to anyone with the nous …

    Music and Media 13 Mar 2006, 16:24

  • Ariane 5 launches; doesn't explode

    Enormous rocket fires up Hot Bird

    The European Space Agency's (ESA) Ariane 5 rocket, the Shire horse of space freight, has blasted off from French Guiana carrying two communications satellites. Originally pencilled in for 21 February, technical problems with ground support equipment, the payload, and the upper stage of the launcher forestalled the beast's …

    Science 13 Mar 2006, 16:30

  • Dell sells file server to man with two PCs

    You've heard of direct selling...

    Dell's growth figures have long been envied by others flogging boxes, but a posting on a forum reveals just how they manage to increase sales so fast. A poster on Digital Spy forum, normally concerned with Big Brother gossip and Freeview hacks, revealed that a friend rang Dell to buy two PCs. Then the naive punter asked Dell to …

    Small Biz 13 Mar 2006, 16:36

  • Citibank ATM fraud 'just tip of iceberg' - analyst

    PIN block card scam fears grow

    An ongoing ATM fraud problem that forced Citibank into reissuing an unspecified number of US credit and debit cards is only part of a larger ongoing threat, a leading analyst warns. Avivah Litan, a research director at Gartner, said that Citibank is only one of a number of victims and that the banking industry is "less than …

    ID 13 Mar 2006, 22:20

  • Panicked analyst ravaged by AMD chip pricing fears

    'Raging Buy' flips to 'Apocalypse Near'

    AMD's recent share price slide accelerated Monday after a pair of financial analysts cut their ratings on the chip maker. AMD dropped $2.63 or more than 7 per cent to $34.00. The significant selloff appeared to be driven by downgrades from Punk, Ziegel & Co. and ThinkEquity Partners. Both analysts cited concerns that Intel …

    Financial News 13 Mar 2006, 23:51