25th April 2006 Archive

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Migrating EJB 2.1 Entity and Session Beans to EJB 3.0

The nuts and bolts

In this tutorial, migration of EJB 2.1 specification EJBs to EJB 3.0 specification is discussed. EJB 3.0 Session and Entity beans require JDK 5.0 as metadata annotations are used in the specification. The EJB 2.1 specification is implemented in the javax.ejb package classes and interfaces. A session bean is required to …

Developer 25 Apr 2006, 06:02
TGT targets Eircom with hybrid phone

Three-pronged attack

Cork-based Trans Global Technologies is launching an assault on the telecoms market with a combined landline, broadband, and mobile phone package. The company revealed its Phoenix M1 unit on Monday, comprising a wireless base unit/recharger and mobile camera phone with MP3, FM radio, and internet capabilities. The final model …

Networks 25 Apr 2006, 08:45
Intellect calls for OGC changes

Challenges 'one fits all' approach

The IT industry association has launched a best practice guide for suppliers that challenges some aspects of Office of Government Commerce (OGC) guidelines for public sector contracts Intellect published "Contracting Best Practice - Guidance for Suppliers" on 24 April. It said that it consolidates the ICT industry view of …

Public Sector 25 Apr 2006, 09:08
Detecting mischievous activity

Comment Authorised fraud

Computing magazine recently ran a major feature on security. In particular, it focused on internal as opposed to external threats, reflecting the fact that, according to the (former) National Hi-Tech Crime Unit, some 38 per cent of financial fraud in the UK is a result of internal security breaches. The article(s) then went on …

IT Director 25 Apr 2006, 09:29
Missing traders leave hole in VAT receipts

First annual drop in 33 years

Spiralling missing trader fraud has led to the first year on year drop in VAT receipts since the tax was launched over 30 years ago, latest government figures show. The fiddle, typically carried out around shipments of small high value items such as computer chips and mobile phones, could amount to £2bn a year, HM Customs and …

Small Biz 25 Apr 2006, 10:03
NHS docs in online poll rig scandal

Vote themselves massive pay hike

The Nursing Times is currently running an online poll to gauge public opinion on whether or not GPs should be allowed, in some cases, to trouser a whopping £250k. An anonymous sawbones writes: hiya i see the nurses hitting the headlines today with their big conference on in bournemouth if you remember the recent government …

Public Sector 25 Apr 2006, 10:07
Wireless ISP signs Commonwealth deal

Tackling the digital divide

A UK internet firm could be on the verge of installing hundreds of low-cost wireless broadband networks in the developing world after it signed a deal with the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC). The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will see Norfolk-based Newman Concepts working with the CBC - set up by the Commonwealth Heads …

Telecoms 25 Apr 2006, 10:10
Intel launches pro PC brand

Rebadging the business desktop

Intel’s marketing department has added the finishing touches to the vendor’s revamped business PC strategy. The vendor revealed yesterday that it will target IT managers under the Intel vPro moniker. The vendor will be pushing security, manageability and energy saving when it markets the platform, which is centred on its dual …

IT Director 25 Apr 2006, 10:40
Blackstone buys slice of Deutsche Telekom

Promises to sit on shares for two years

A private investment group has splashed out €2.7bn (£1.9bn) on a 4.5 per cent slice of German incumbent Deutsche Telekom (DT). The investment, by US group Blackstone, is thought to signal greater acceptance by the German Government of overseas investment. For its part, Blackstone has agreed to hold onto the shares for at least …

Financial News 25 Apr 2006, 10:42
An action plan for Ofcom

Industry comment Turning the retriever into a greyhound

The government had its heart in the right place in consolidating all the major communications agencies into one. Broadly speaking, Ofcom has done relatively well, whether its palace of a reception area cost half its yearly budget or not. LLU lines are growing rapidly, our digital television market is the most developed in the …

Music and Media 25 Apr 2006, 11:02
Black holes actually green: official

Fuel-efficient galactic monsters

Scientists studying the energy output of black holes have discovered to their surprise that "the conversion of energy by matter falling toward a black hole is much more efficient than nuclear or fossil fuels" - so much so that "if a car was as fuel-efficient as these black holes, it could theoretically travel more than a billion …

Space 25 Apr 2006, 11:02
Qualcomm issues Nokia licensing warning

May not reach CDMA agreement

Qualcomm has warned, in a financial filing, that there is no guarantee it will come to agreement with Nokia over its CDMA patents licensing deal, which is due to be renewed in April. It has taken the unusual step of singling out Nokia in the statement as a potential financial risk factor, indicating how strained relations …

Mobile 25 Apr 2006, 11:25
Telewest coughs to PVR 'teething problems'

'Effectively unusable' say punters

Telewest has admitted that its new TVDrive hard disk based video recorder has suffered some "teething problems" and that a new software patch has been issued to try and fix the snag. Telewest, which merged with NTL to create a single UK cableco, launched its TVDrive PVR (personal video recorder) in March after a three month …

Telecoms 25 Apr 2006, 11:53
Intel backs Z-Wave

Comment Tells ZigBee to buzz off

The past year has seen Intel going cold on the IEEE as the best playground for its efforts to dominate wireless standards, and a new tendency to back smaller groupings in order to bring platforms to market more quickly. It broke away from the IEEE altogether with the WiMedia group that it leads, and only returned to the fold in …

Data Networking 25 Apr 2006, 12:08
Bendy bus attacks Leeds cake shop

Killer public transport alert

We've warned in the past of the dangers posed to humanity by the new generation of hi-tech bendy buses, but it seems that the good burghers of Leeds were not listening. A BBC report just in says a First Group vehicle this morning assaulted "Ainsleys bakery as it turned a corner into Infirmary Street", smashing its way through …

Rise of the Machines 25 Apr 2006, 13:14
UK PLC security prognosis mixed

Infosec DTI biennial round-up reveals all

The annual total cash loss to the UK economy from security breaches has swollen to £10bn, the DTI estimates. This figure, according to the DTI Information Security Breaches Survey 2006 (ISBS), indicates that small companies in particular still haven't gotten wise to the threats posed by malware. According to the report, a …

Anti-Virus 25 Apr 2006, 13:37
Stolen laptops hand hackers keys to the kingdom

Infosec Peril of purloined PCs

As web apps are becoming more secure stolen laptops have become among the easiest ways to break into corporate networks. High profile firms such as Fidelity and Ernst and Young along with celebrities such as Kevin Costner have lost laptops over recent months. Concern over these thefts has focused on the exposure of data left on …

Enterprise Security 25 Apr 2006, 13:52
Titanic director spies 3D iceberg

Cameron ponders future of cinema

Iceberg-worrying film director James Cameron has declared that he has seen the future of movies - and that it's in glorious digital 3D, the BBC reports. He reckons Hollywood should release "more digital 3D movies as a way of luring people back into cinemas and reducing piracy", describing a three-dimensional format as "a …

Entertainment 25 Apr 2006, 13:55
EDS and HMRC skewered by MPs - again

Overpayments to top £2.2bn - again

The Public Accounts Select Committee has become the latest group of MPs to lay into the HMRC and its serially unlucky former IT partner, EDS, in the latest report on tax credits debacle. A report by the committee says that overpayments for 2004 to 2005 are expected to be around £2.2bn – the same as the 2003-2004 overpayment …

Public Sector 25 Apr 2006, 14:30
Game suffers profit slump

Revs up though

Game has suffered a slump in profits as consumers wait for a new generation of games consoles to hit the shelves and old gear is sold off at knock down prices. Publishing its results for the year to the end of January, the high street game retailer reported that pre-tax profits plunged to £5.4m compared to £29m a year earlier …

Financial News 25 Apr 2006, 14:31
EMC gets smart analysis tools

EMC World Fruits of the Smarts acquisition

EMC is launching two products to help assess storage problems across SAN environments, the company said at the EMC World Conference in Boston. Smarts Storage Insight for Availability and Smarts Application Discovery Manager each map different elements of the complex environments that result from SANs (Storage Area Networks) and …

Storage 25 Apr 2006, 14:54
Cybercops alive and kicking

Infosec blog Senses working overtime

Infosec is often a challenge to the senses. Despite charging the public £20 for entry on the door this year, Olympia was crowded with people fighting to make their way through a hall packed with vendors vying for their attention. Journalists had a harder job than usual this year. The writing on the floor map of the brochure …

InfoSec 25 Apr 2006, 15:05
IE7 Beta 2 is go

Form an orderly queue

Microsoft is flaunting the latest results of its Explorer explorations. To wit: IE7 Beta 2 is now available for download. The new version has implementations of all the features that will be available in the final release. It'll now run on the whizz-bang 64-bit Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 SP1. Phwoarrr. They've also …

Applications 25 Apr 2006, 15:08
New guidance on data protection and outsourcing

Info commissioner issues advice for small.biz

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published advice to businesses on how to comply with data protection rules when outsourcing the processing of personal information, aimed primarily at smaller companies without an inhouse data protection expert. The good practice note follows requests for clarification on …

Small Biz 25 Apr 2006, 15:12
OGC: hiatus? What hiatus?

Comment U-turn? U reckon?

The government procurement sheriff is working on a revision of its vexing model contracts for IT projects in order to reconsider views it ignored in its last consultation. Unsurprisingly, the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) is staying tight-lipped over the debacle, which has seen it at loggerheads with the IT industry for …

Public Sector 25 Apr 2006, 15:22
Stripping security down to the data level

EMC World The IP revolution starts in Boston...maybe

Today’s security software is ineffective when it comes to protecting data, according to EMC vice president for information security Dennis Hoffman. He says data protection should be inherent in the data and be capable of being moved with it to ensure a constant level of protection. The EMC World Conference in Boston is the …

Storage 25 Apr 2006, 15:23
'Lumpiness' blamed for Fibernet sales slide

Unpleasant in business and custard

Fibernet has admitted that it suffered a "disappointing" six months thanks to "lumpiness" in the market. The Basingstoke-based firm - which provides carrier services to large enterprises, other telcos and ISPs, and is also a potential take-over target - has struggled to turn sales opportunities into firm orders, it said today …

Data Networking 25 Apr 2006, 15:25
Peak Wi-Fi SOHO Internet Camera

Review A low-cost net-enabled security camera

Internet enabled security cameras have gained quite a bit of popularity as prices have come down, not least because of the ability to use them as an affordable home security device. PEAK has gone one step further than most by adding Wi-Fi to its camera, which means it’s much easier to put it where you need it to be. It still …

Reg Hardware 25 Apr 2006, 15:31
Media Player summed up

MS v EC Day two: MS questions EC data

The second day of Microsoft's attempt to overturn the European Commission remedies heard a summing up of both sides on the tying of Windows Media Player - tomorrow we move onto interoperability. Mr. Bellis, Microsoft's advocate, began by reiterating Microsoft's belief that its Media Player is not a separate product to its …

Operating Systems 25 Apr 2006, 16:04
Bulldog to block premium rate calls

Give us £50 and we'll unblock 'em

Bulldog is to block calls to all premium rate phone numbers from tomorrow - unless punters stump up £50 in advance to "opt-in" to the service. In an email sent last night, the Cable & Wireless (C&W) owned service provider - which provides both phone and broadband services via local loop unbundling - told punters that the new …

Telecoms 25 Apr 2006, 16:12
Sanjay Kumar pleads guilty to CA fraud

Former CEO puts hands up

Computer Associates (CA) former CEO and head of sales both added their guilty pleas to those of five other former company executives yesterday, admitting fraud, obstructing justice, and perjury. Former CEO Sanjay Kumar and his head of worldwide sales Stephen Richards presided over a "systemic, company-wide practice of falsely …

Financial News 25 Apr 2006, 16:20
When is an application not an application?

MS v EC Day two: Judges move…and speak!

After the first day with Court judges strangely silent, it was a relief to finally hear them speak and see them move. The only light relief yesterday was watching the glamorous Spanish interpreters who looked like they were commentating on a football match while fighting off a swarm of bees. We heard first from Irish judge John …

Software 25 Apr 2006, 16:51
Why a new CEO is right, Wall St is wrong and America needs more jails

Exclusive McNealy's exit interview

The emails have poured in all day. "Thanks for the memories, Scott. It was fun." Sun Microsystems Chairman Scott McNealy says that most well-wishers seem to be treating his relinquishment of the CEO post as some kind of sad departure from the company he helped start. This reaction surprises McNealy to a degree - given that he …

Servers 25 Apr 2006, 21:45
Microsoft faces its Scopes moment

Europe vs MS 48 hours that will shape IT

Microsoft begins the most important 48 hours in its history on Wednesday in Luxembourg. It's not exaggerating to say that the future shape of enterprise IT hinges on the decision the 13 Judges will make, based on this week's public hearings. The crucial decision rests on interoperability, and it could lean one of two ways. A …

Hardware 25 Apr 2006, 23:12