28th June 2006 Archive

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Child porn control goes too far, says privacy chief

Seize card, not whole account

The Information Commissioner advised the Home Office against a key measure of its recent Data Protection Act amendment giving banks the power to administer an account without the knowledge of the account holders. The measure has been put in place to prevent the re-use of payment cards to purchase child pornography and is …

Music and Media 28 Jun 2006, 04:02
eBay.ie introduces 'Skype Me' function

Haggle via VoIP

Buyers and sellers cruising the dedicated Irish eBay site can now haggle using Skype free internet voice calls and instant messaging service. Sellers will be able to include a "Skype Me" button on the eBay.ie listings page accessible to buyers. By clicking the button, buyers can talk to sellers or use Skype instant messenger at …

VoIP 28 Jun 2006, 05:02
MySpace case opens security can of worms

Opinion It's time to face reality

A fourteen-year old girl is suing MySpace for £30m after she was allegedly assaulted by a man she met on the popular teen hangout site. Here's a great idea for all you harassed single-parent readers. Why not send the kids off to the pub? It's a social centre, with many intelligent, and also many interesting characters. And you …

Music and Media 28 Jun 2006, 05:02
NHS IT charade re-played

But does not stand up to PAC scrutiny

The £12.4bn National Programme for IT might not have been good value for money, said the National Audit Office on the publication of its report on the scheme only 10 days ago. This story had changed when the report's findings were quizzed by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee earlier this week. Sir John Bourne, …

Public Sector 28 Jun 2006, 08:51
Germany registers 10 millionth .de domain

Linden transport cases hit milestone

Germany has registered its 10 millionth domain name, making the .de top-level domain the second largest in the world following dotcom. The lucky registrant was huettenberger-case-fabrik.de - unwittingly demonstrating the scarsity of .de domain names - and was taken by a transport case maker from Linden, just outside Frankfurt, …

Music and Media 28 Jun 2006, 08:55
Apple patches Tiger

Mac OS X 10.4.7 posted

Apple has posted Mac OS X 10.4.7, the latest update for the Mac maker's 'Tiger' operating system. The list of tweaks is as long as your arm, and the update weighs in at a 131MB download for Intel-based systems and a more modest 64MB file for PowerPC Macs. Full details of the Apple-recommended update can be found here. As …

Reg Hardware 28 Jun 2006, 09:09
Internet firms to crack down on child porn

Create $1m image database

A group of US internet giants have come together to form an alliance in a bid to combat child pornography. AOL, Yahoo, Microsoft, EarthLink and United Online have teamed up to create a database of known child pornography images, with each image being assigned a unique mathematical signature within the database. The new …

Music and Media 28 Jun 2006, 09:17
Acer unveils 'pure, clean' laptop

It'll be all white on the night

Acer has unveiled its first all-white notebook, the MacBook-like TravelMate 3020. According to the company, the colour scheme conveys "images of pureness, cleanliness and maximum lightness". Apparently. Hype aside, the spec's decent. The compact machine sports a 12.1in, 1,280 x 800 widescreen display driven by the 3020's …

Reg Hardware 28 Jun 2006, 09:24
The application migration market

Comment It's bigger than you think

Data migration is usually considered to be a homogeneous market. It isn't. There are, in fact, two major types of data migration: migration from one database to another and migration from one application to another. In this article I want to concentrate on the latter, because it is estimated that there are 8,000 SAP …

Developer 28 Jun 2006, 09:35
Clowns attack US nuke missile silo

Krusty versus Minuteman III

Three anti-nuke activists dressed as clowns broke into a Minuteman III facility close to the White Shield, North Dakota, earlier this week and set about a missile silo's cover with hammers, daubed a suitably pacifist slogan on said lid and then began to eat gravel when confronted by security operatives, Defensetech.org reports …

Bootnotes 28 Jun 2006, 09:43
Intel ships top-of-the-line Core Duo

'Yonah's last fling before 'Merom'

Intel has added the 2.33GHz Core Duo T2700 mobile microprocessor to its list of available CPUs after quietly launching the part this month. The 'Yonah' processor consumes 31W of power and operates over a 667MHz frontside bus. It's almost certainly the last Core Duo to be released - 'Merom', the next-generation architecture …

Reg Hardware 28 Jun 2006, 09:47
Nintendo preps pink DS Lite

Ladies not laddies

Nintendo's Japanese staff are cruising for chicks, apparently. Certainly, the games console pioneer has women in mind as the audience for the latest DS Lite handheld. Having shipped white, and both sky and navy blue versions of the console, next month it will release a "noble pink" version. The machine goes on sale in Japan …

Reg Hardware 28 Jun 2006, 10:10
Spitzer spies jets of matter around neutron star

Relatavistic, baby

Researchers at the University of Southampton have discovered a neutron star* that is producing jets of matter at its poles. Previously, it was thought that this behaviour was exclusive to black holes, specifically those in X-Ray binary systems. An X-Ray binary system is one in which a collapsed star (a white dwarf, neutron star …

Space 28 Jun 2006, 10:13
State officials join net neutrality scrum

Back net giants ahead of Senate vote

Two US states have been dragged into the net neutrality battle as the dispute widens to state-level officials. Later this week a Senate panel will vote on net neutrality legislation, and two state attorneys general have lent their support to a neutral internet. In a letter to the US Senate Commerce Committee, New York attorney …

Music and Media 28 Jun 2006, 10:24
Killer asteroid hunter takes first snaps

Near-Earth objects beware

The first of four powerful telescopes which will eventually be capable of locating 99 per cent of potentially-threatening near-Earth objects (NEOs) bigger than 300 metres has captured its first test images, New Scientist reports. The Hawaii-based PS1 telescope - part of the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System ( …

Space 28 Jun 2006, 10:34
AMD to back FB-DIMM when it's as cheap as DDR 2?

Just in time for 2008's next-gen architecture, apparently

AMD will bring support for fully-buffered memory to its Opteron processor line-up in 2008, the timeframe it reckons the FB-DIMM products will have fallen in price to about what we pay for DDR 2 nowadays. So claims an allegedly leaked AMD presentation slide posted by Chinese-language site HKEPC headed, "Introducing …

Reg Hardware 28 Jun 2006, 10:38
Governments to decide future of net

ICANN Marrakech Major shift in power in ICANN

In an historic shift of power, international governments will this week argue that they should take the lead role in "public policy" issues on the Net - effectively deciding the future course of much of the internet. The request will come in an official communique from the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) of internet …

Music and Media 28 Jun 2006, 10:46
Bad music and full mouths

ICANN Marrakech Muddling through in Morocco

"Cause baby, I feel wonderful tonight..." The man singing this is lying. He doesn't feel wonderful at all. He feels like a musician who has been reduced to playing old-favourites to a small bunch of indifferent tourists, sat tapping away behind two sythesisers, only one of which he ever plays, but both of which are bathed in …

Music and Media 28 Jun 2006, 10:49
MS re-spins WinFS

We (still) have the vision

The man who blogged that Microsoft is killing WinFS is back, applying some corrective spin to reassure developers that Microsoft has not lost its direction. Quentin Clark, Microsoft product unit manager, has insisted the company's vision for richer storage in Windows "is very much alive" with the much-hyped tools for desktop …

Software 28 Jun 2006, 12:50
NHS mobile data security is pants

Safe in their hands?

Sensitive medical and personal details are in danger of exposure because of lax data security among health sector workers, according to a new survey. The study, sponsored by mobile security firm Pointsec, found that almost two thirds of health sector workers use inadequate security. Half of those in the NHS use their own mobile …

Public Sector 28 Jun 2006, 12:52
Beer better for you than wine: official

'Zut alors!'

A beer specialist has told food scientists a swift ale is a better choice than fermented grape juice for health-conscious booze hounds. At the Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting on Tuesday, Professor Charles Bamforth said: "Beer, if you looked at it holistically, is healthier than wine. But it is not perceived that …

Biology 28 Jun 2006, 12:52
EC proposes massive telco shake-up

Incumbents face 'structural separation' showdown

The European Commission (EC) could be on a collision course with Europe's biggest telcos after publicly backing the idea of breaking-up incumbent operators. Speaking last night, Viviane Reding, the commissioner responsible for Information Society and Media, said she planned to publish proposals that that would "for the first …

Telecoms 28 Jun 2006, 12:52
Long argument lists - who needs 'em?

Arg!

Long argument lists are a pain. Using them can be a test of memory or an exercise in guess work. In recent years, attention has increasingly been paid to the usability of user interfaces, exploring how users actually use — or work around — user interfaces in practice, tracking how long certain tasks take or how many errors are …

Developer 28 Jun 2006, 12:52
Dell probes incendiary laptop incident

Burn, baby, burn

Dell is investigating allegations that one of its laptops underwent spontaneous combustion in Japan earlier this month. Pictures purporting to show the machine in conflagrante, as it were, popped up on the internet last week. According to Reuters, the naughty notebook is now back in the manufacturer's hands. Dell technicians …

Reg Hardware 28 Jun 2006, 13:05
Man cuffed in Bangalore call centre scam probe

HSBC customers robbed

Police in Bangalore say they have arrested a man allegedly involved in "financial scam" operating from an HSBC call centre, the BBC reports. Data operator Nadeem Kashmiri was charged with "hacking the computer system which allegedly led to money being stolen from customer accounts". Kashmiri allegedly supplied data to …

Enterprise Security 28 Jun 2006, 13:07
Review Antec Performance One P150 'super quiet' chassis

The way we all see our PCs has changed over the last three years. It's not all just the performance inside that matters, it's also about what's on the outside. The change in the chassis manufacturers' portfolios has seen the introduction of HTPC case as well as the newer generation BTX format... So what does that mean for the …

Reg Hardware 28 Jun 2006, 14:12
Beta Pictoris accused of harbouring planets

Dusty ring is a giveaway

The Hubble Space Telescope has found circumstantial evidence for a Jupiter-sized orbiting nearby star, Beta Pictoris, in a new image showing two dust disks orbiting the star. Scientists have speculated that what appeared to be a warp in the main disk of dust was in fact a second disk. Confirmation of its existence has sparked …

Space 28 Jun 2006, 14:31
Tosh pledges 4GB SDHC card in September

FATter card

Toshiba will next September release a 4GB SDHC memory card around the world, the Japanese giant said today. Based on the SD Card 2.0 spec, the 4GB card uses the FAT 32 file system and meets the standard's 4MBps Class 4 speed setting, though Toshiba said it will write at up to 6MBps. Toshiba's not the first to announce an …

Reg Hardware 28 Jun 2006, 14:46
IT's so hard, say SMEs

Can't live with it, can't live without it

Small businesses are finding it hard keep pace with changes in technology. At the same time, though, SMEs accept that IT is of value even if firms are not even able to make full use of it. This mixed picture comes from a survey by Lloyds TSB Business and the Open University which found that Britain's small firms are proving …

Small Biz 28 Jun 2006, 14:53
MS fixes phone-home nagware

WGA patch issued

Microsoft has patched a controversial nagware update that "phoned home" every time Windows started. Redmond has also issued an advisory with instructions on how to remove the software. The component was designed to enforce its 'Windows Genuine Advantage' anti-piracy program, by nagging users into a state of obedience. Every …

Security 28 Jun 2006, 14:58
Alienware beams in Core Duo laptop trio

14, 15 and 17in species

Alienware today said it will soon ship a set of three new notebooks based on Intel's Core Duo processors available with 17, 15.4 or 14.1in widescreen displays driven by a choice of Intel, ATI or Nvidia graphics chips. LAN party-ready they all ship with 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet. The 17in and 15.4in models are …

Reg Hardware 28 Jun 2006, 15:07
Exposed: techniques to silence Microsoft 'haters'

Trout takes lead in grouse shoot

Embattled Microsoft partners have been issued a handy guide on how to deal with "grumbling" customers and address annoying questions about costs, security, and repeated delays affecting Microsoft products. A pro-Microsoft magazine has published a list of steps partners and certified professionals can take in order to defend …

IT Director 28 Jun 2006, 15:08
Ellison withdraws $100m Harvard gift

Namesake's resignation blamed

Following the resignation of Harvard president Larry Summers, Oracle boss Larry Ellison has decided not to donate over $100m to the university after all. Ellison's cash was to fund research into the quality of worldwide government healthcare problems, and according to Oracle's spokespeople, Ellison viewed Summers' participation …

Software 28 Jun 2006, 15:13
What's happened to the wireless running bra?

Let's hope the project hasn't gone titsup

A true running geek has a pulse rate monitor like any running freak; but it has to talk to a running computer. Normally, to do that, you have to wear a chest strap to hold the heart sensor. So the world's joggers got quite excited last August when Adidas and Polar announced that the heart monitor of the future would be …

Bootnotes 28 Jun 2006, 15:27
Apple adjusts 17in MacBook Pro's fans

Thermal underware update

Apple has posted a firmware update for its 17in MacBook Pro. The patch adjusts the machine's System Management Controller (SMC), a device that monitors and manages Intel-based Macs' power-related functions. Its duty roster includes overseeing the battery, the sleep light in the lid latch and monitoring the hard drive's sudden …

Reg Hardware 28 Jun 2006, 15:30
Nokia sues Chinese 'copycats'

Manufacturers, disties named in suit

Nokia is suing two Chinese phone manufacturers and a number of distributors for copying its designs. Nokia also issued a cease and desist request in an attempt to stop the sale and distribution of the phones immediately. The lawsuit was accepted on 12 June, and names manufacturers Shenzhen Telsda Mobile and Song Xun Da Zhong Ke …

Mobile 28 Jun 2006, 15:39
UV breakthrough promises cheaper chips

Sunbeds for silicon

Researchers are claiming a breakthrough which could revolutionise how microchips are manufactured, potentially slashing their cost. A team at UCL says it has developed a new way to induce silicon to oxidise. Silicon oxide layers are a key in microchips, insulating and protecting the silicon, storing charge and controlling …

Physics 28 Jun 2006, 15:52
Palm pays $22.5m to end Xerox patent fight

Clearing the decks for a RIM takeover?

Palm is to cough up $22.5m to Xerox to settle a long-running patent spat over who really owns the Graffiti character entry system Palm used to bundle with its PDAs. Xerox sued Palm in April 1997, alleging Graffiti incorporated technology and techniques outlined in one of its many US patents, 5,596,656. In December 2001, Xerox …

Reg Hardware 28 Jun 2006, 15:56
Medical Excess loses records on 1m customers

EMC among the afflicted

Health insurance firm Medical Excess one-upped the laptop loss crowd by forking over an entire server with personal information on close to 1m people. Medical Excess - an AIG company - began notifying customers this month that a break in at one of its offices has resulted in the the theft of a camera, two laptops and a file …

ID 28 Jun 2006, 17:34
Intel gives up on world's biggest chip market. Why?

Comment Curtains for the 'tele-phone'

Intel's name looks forever to be associated with the PC, now that it's ended a nine year dalliance with the phone business. The firesale of its 1,400 strong XScale processor division, and the write down of its cellular investments, means that Intel has passed up the chance to play in the largest volume chip market of them all. …

Financial News 28 Jun 2006, 17:41
EC's big stick getting bigger

Microsoft sweating

With unnamed sources once again leaking the European Commission is "close" to following through and actually fining Microsoft millions of dollars for breaching antitrust laws, it comes as a surprise to learn Microsoft could actually be getting off light. The Commission is increasing its fines to 30 per cent of total annual turn …

Music and Media 28 Jun 2006, 17:49
IBM and HP monopolize Top 397 supercomputers list

Filler makes a showing

The latest Top 500 list of super-computing wins for IBM and HP has been released. Okay, it's really meant to be the list of Top 500 supercomputers in the world by all vendors. In reality, however, the list has degraded into a showcase for the world's two largest server companies. The glory days when SGI, Cray, Sun Microsystems …

Servers 28 Jun 2006, 19:51
White House calls for improved laptop security

In Brief Just friendly advice

Information security breaches over recent months have prompted the White House to issue recommendations calling for the encryption of data on laptops. New policy guidelines from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) also call for agencies to introduce two-factor authentication in securing access to databases …

Enterprise Security 28 Jun 2006, 19:56