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21st July 2006 Archive

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  • Google doubles down on Q2 profit

    Investors not moved

    The time when Google doubling profits year-over-year impressed investors has passed. The ad broker-cum-search engine today reported a surge in second quarter profits to $721m from $343m in the same period last year. As a reward, investors sent Google's shares higher a paltry one per cent in the after-hours markets. But it's not …

    Financial News 21 Jul 2006, 00:21

  • Brocade is just the beginning - warns SEC chief

    Valley to feel 'full weight' of the Feds

    The feds have put Silicon Valley on notice: there'd better be a damn good reason for putting the wrong date on share allocations and then hiding options from Wall Street, otherwise you're in big trouble - the kind of trouble that lands a man in jail for 20 years and costs him $5m. Officials from the FBI and Securities and …

    Financial News 21 Jul 2006, 00:41

  • Buyer nailed down for Borland tools biz

    Near done deal

    Borland Software has found a buyer for its development tools business, although the company will not - as was expected - take a stake in the new firm. Borland is expected to announce a deal during the next few weeks having picked a buyer from a shortlist of three candidates narrowed from 10, sources told The Register. The deal …

    Developer 21 Jul 2006, 00:57

  • Bogus PI coughs to ID theft charges

    Merlin hacker faces stiff sentence

    A US man who fraudulently accessed the details of thousands on a credit reference database pleaded guilty this week to ID theft-related charges. Brian Dill, 33, of Simi Valley, California, claimed to be a private investigator in order to access privileged information on the Merlin Information Services database. As part of a …

    ID 21 Jul 2006, 01:02

  • Seeking good bots

    Design a bot and win a prize

    One good thing about being a developer these days – if real work gets too tedious there’s always a competition going to try your luck at. One of the latest is from Microsoft – the company must have a full-time department which thinks them up. This is `Invasion of the Robots’, a worldwide compo with a $40,000 prize at stake. …

    Developer 21 Jul 2006, 05:02

  • Mobile phone shipments soar

    Moto catches up on Nokia

    On average, more than 2.5 million mobile phones were shipped every day during the second quarter of 2006. Figures from researchers at Strategy Analytics show an annual industry growth rate of 26 per cent based on 235 million handsets shipped during the three-month period. Market leaders Nokia, Motorola and Sony Ericsson all …

    Mobile 21 Jul 2006, 08:37

  • Philips loses right to amend TV menu patent

    Too wide-ranging

    Philips has lost a case to amend a patent for its television menu technology. The electronics giant had attempted to change its existing patent, but the alterations were ruled to be too wide ranging. Rival electronics company Pace Micro took the case against Philips to the Patent Office, where a Hearing Officer ruled largely …

    Music and Media 21 Jul 2006, 08:47

  • San Fran degenerate bites El Reg

    Letter of the Week Abbreviate this!

    We should have known better than to abbreviate "San Francisco" to "San Fran" in our shock report earlier this week into the UK's first Masturbate-a-thon. Oh yes, and we accused the locals of sexual degeneracy, which turned out to be a bad move: As an American, as well as a San Franciscan--that is, a resi of the cit whos nam …

    Letters 21 Jul 2006, 08:48

  • Wayne Rooney sees red over domain namesake

    Prepares to stamp on cybersquatter

    Football star and petulant pug-face Wayne Rooney is seeing red again - this time over his internet domain namesake. The English striker has taken the owner of WayneRooney.com - a Mr Huw Marshall from Wrexham - to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva in order to get the name back. Following in the …

    Music and Media 21 Jul 2006, 08:53

  • Will your company be hit by an ASBO?

    Sidestepping fair trials?

    The Home Office wants to issue control orders to businesses as well as individuals. An ASBO for businesses is the central proposal of a parliamentary Green Paper from the Home Office published this week. Home Secretary John Reid wants to tackle organised crime, and has proposed a series of measures that can be taken against …

    IT Director 21 Jul 2006, 08:55

  • US government urged again to end net role

    High-profile insiders add to pressure.

    The United States government is under pressure again, this time from two high-profile insiders, to end its overseeing role on the internet and transistion its role to an international body. A paper [pdf] co-written by the ex-government lawyer that originally drew up the contract between the US government and internet overseeing …

    Music and Media 21 Jul 2006, 09:06

  • Mobile Instant Messaging? Not mentioned in Microsoft study...

    Why so shy?

    Microsoft has a software platform called Windows Mobile, which includes - free - an Instant Messenger client for MSN or Windows messenger. Microsoft has a research study out on IM. Mobile? Doesn't get a mention. Why so shy? This research was conducted by Vanson Bourne amongst 800 Information Workers in the UK, on behalf of …

    Mobile 21 Jul 2006, 09:07

  • Intel shakes up senior staffers

    All change

    Intel yesterday played music chairs with its senior management. As CEO Paul Otellini prepared to pause the looped tape of the chip giant's infamous five-note jingle, Bill Siu and Richard Wirt, respectively head of the company's Channel Platforms Group and chief of the Software and Services Group announced their retirement, …

    Financial News 21 Jul 2006, 09:18

  • Salesforce.com reaches out to the channel

    Comment Feel the love

    Over the last eighteen months Salesforce.com has made a number of high profile and, more importantly, highly significant announcements as the company has rapidly developed its ability to deliver applications “on demand” to a wide community of users. This week the company has launched a Partner Relationship Management (PRM). …

    Channel Register 21 Jul 2006, 09:18

  • Readers mull Chinese black helicopter mystery

    Letters The Huangyangtan plot thickens

    The mystery Chinese military installation near the village of Huangyangtan this week provoked a bit of a speculationfest among El Reg Google Earth aficionados: So, just what is this remarkable scale model for? Let's consider some possibilities: I think you will find that it is used to help train remote pilots of UAVs, the …

    Letters 21 Jul 2006, 09:21

  • Nvidia posts Quad SLI beta drivers

    Got two GeForce 7950 GX2s and a 700W PSU?

    Nvidia has offered enthusiasts a pre-release version of Quad SLI drivers that allow two GeForce 7950 GX2 cards to work together in perfect harmony - or as near to it as beta-test software allows, at any rate. To run drivers, do-it-yourselfers will need two 7950 GX2s, natch, but also motherboard fitted with an Nvidia nForce …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2006, 09:41

  • The IT manager's guide to social computing

    Analysis Behind the firewall

    If your company is averse to openness and transparency and is unlikely to change, then this article is not going to interest you much. Unless, of course, you are considering a change of direction. The fact is that 'social computing' cannot be implemented without trust between employers and employed, between colleagues and …

    IT Director 21 Jul 2006, 09:42

  • Naomi Campbell 'goes berserk' outside ex's London pad

    WSA 3.30am rumpus ends in arrest

    Naomi Campbell was treated to a short ride in a police car after allegedly "going berserk" outside the Belgravia home of ex-boyf Badr Jafar, The Sun reports. Dubai prince Jafar dumped the supermodel earlier this month - a decision which may have been provoked by a recent Italian cuisine-based tantrum aboard his yacht in the …

    Entertainment 21 Jul 2006, 09:53

  • Intel tweaks Core 2 Duo chipsets

    P965, 946P and 946GZ updated

    Intel is to update its desktop Core 2 Duo-friendly P965 chipset, the chip giant informed its customers this week. The change, which will take the part from version C-1 to C-2, also affects the 946GZ and 946PL chipsets too, Reg Hardware has learned. Intel didn't state what the changes involve, but it noted all the updated …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2006, 10:04

  • Chinese CE vendors courted with cheaper HDMI

    Annual fee cut by a third

    Expect to see even more HDMI video ports on consumer electronics kit - the organisation in charge of licensing the technology has just knocked 30 per cent off the annual admin fee it makes manufacturers pay. HDMI Licensing said the cut, from $15,000 to $10,000, was made possible by the port's "growing success in the …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2006, 10:55

  • UK webmaster faces extradition on terror-support charges

    Second arrest in Azzam.com case

    A British webmaster accused of supporting terrorism was arrested in his London home on Wednesday. Syed Talha Ahsan, 26, is accused by the US of aiding and abetting the Taliban and Islamic fighters via the creation of various fund raising and propaganda websites. He's also accused of illegally possessing classified US Navy troop …

    Music and Media 21 Jul 2006, 10:56

  • Daniel Craig confirmed for second 007 outing

    Blond Bond back in May 2008

    Bond producers say Daniel Craig will play 007 in a second film slated for a May 2008 release, the BBC reports, despite widespread outrage among diehard fans who questioned the blond actor's suitability for the role. Craig's Bond debut - Casino Royale - will hit the silver screen in November. His co-star Caterina Murino admitted …

    Entertainment 21 Jul 2006, 11:01

  • Mystery mobiles to embark on carbon trading rampage

    Letters If they can get off the NHS database, that is

    Hands up, then how many of you, honestly, know what your mobile phone's model number is? Not many, it seems, according to a survey we covered this week. Does it matter if you don't know your RAZR from your 6330i? You had Views on this: Even knowing your handset model doesn't help, because finding accurate information about …

    Letters 21 Jul 2006, 11:02

  • BOFH: Lawsuit ahoy!

    Episode 24 You can't sue us!

    "Whew," the PFY says wiping the tears from his eyes as he steps into Mission Control. "I don't think I've laughed so much since you slapped an old scanner one top of our shredder and convinced on of the Bosses that it was a self-feeding photocopier." "Yes," I nod. "Who could have known he'd slip in late at night to copy some …

    BOFH 21 Jul 2006, 11:23

  • Insight scoops up Software Spectrum for $287m

    What took Level 3 so long?

    Insight Enterprises, the very big US reseller, is to buy its smaller rival Software Spectrum for $287m. The surprise here is just how long the owner, web backbone provider Level 3, held on to its subsidiary. In 2002, Level 3 bought Software Spectrum and Corporate Software, one of the first big resellers, and merged them into …

    Financial News 21 Jul 2006, 11:24

  • C2000 appoints new PC parts honcho

    Outlines growth strategy

    Computer 2000 have installed a new PC components and supplies chief in a bid to get a bigger slice of the systems building pie and tackle untapped industrial markets. Claudette Atkinson will be responsible for trying to flog more storage and memory to firms with digital photocopiers and CCTV particularly. She moves to C2000 …

    Channel Register 21 Jul 2006, 11:30

  • Dell said to have 'dozens' of burned laptop incidents on file

    It's probably not the only one

    Dell's December 2005 battery recall followed the recording of dozens of incidents over a two-year period of overheating notebooks, many resulting in melted or burned computers, it has been alleged this week as the company continues to investigate the case of a laptop that burst into flames in Japan. The incidents are detailed …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2006, 11:39

  • Samsung demos two-way folder phone for games

    Digital TV too

    Samsung yesterday showed off what it calls a "free folder" phone - a handset that can not only open up vertically, clamshell-fashion but can fold out horizontally the way devices like Nokia's Communicator do. The SGH-B450 is being pitched at phone owners keen to put some multimedia glitz into their mobile lives. The handset …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2006, 12:18

  • Five bags CSI for video on demand

    Geek TV ... and the best of the weekend's telly

    Jane Hoskyn, TV Scoop While Channel 4 is busy sending American TV execs Ferrero Rocher and M&S gift vouchers* in a bid to let them include Lost and Desperate Housewives in their telly-stroke-web simulcast, Five has nipped in to snatch video on demand (VOD) rights to CSI. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI Miami and CSI New …

    Entertainment 21 Jul 2006, 13:02

  • LG unveils DJ-friendly 3G music phone

    U400 comes to 3

    LG this week launched a bid to get 3G network 3's customers downloading music - and scratch-mixing the stuff afterward. Punters can even listen to tracks using wireless headphones or out loud through the built-in stereo speakers. The U400 slider phone is a 3 exclusive and comes pre-loaded with the carrier's own music download …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2006, 13:09

  • Execs sweat while Home Office keeps poker face

    To subscribe to The Register's weekly newsletter - seven days of IT in a single hit - click here

    Don't bet on Americans being dumb We started this week with news that David Carruthers, the managing director of online gambling website BetonSports, had been detained for questioning while changing planes in the US en route to Costa Rica. Gambling online is illegal in the US. The law is not entirely clear - Congress is looking …

    Business 21 Jul 2006, 13:12

  • Online gambler makes more money

    Easy does it

    Partygaming, the online poker and casino website, reported better off-season sales this year thanks to customers it picked up in Europe. The firm said that almost half of the new customers it got in the three months to 30 June 2006 came from outside the US, most of those being in Europe. It said it is going to get "aggressive" …

    Financial News 21 Jul 2006, 13:18

  • MySpace adware attack hits hard

    Purity check

    Online banner ads running on MySpace.com and web sites infected more than one million users with adware, according to net security firm iDefense. The attack exploited a Windows Metafile (WMF) exploit, fixed by Microsoft in January, to infect vulnerable Windows machines with malware from PurityScan/ClickSpring family of adware. …

    Malware 21 Jul 2006, 13:20

  • Addicted to antitrust, Microsoft outlines 12-Step Recovery

    No more interventions, please

    Antitrust addict Microsoft has outlined a 12-Step Recovery Program, which it says will help prevent it from lapsing back into anti-competitive practices in the future. The declaration follows three major "interventions" in fifteen years. A 1991 investigation by the Federal Trade Commission resulted in a Consent Decree signed in …

    Financial News 21 Jul 2006, 13:30

  • IBM continuously backs up consumers

    Inks deal to flog Tivoli to home users

    IBM will target home and small business users with its Tivoli backup software. A deal with Digital River, who run e-commerce for the likes of the Staples office superstore chain, means Tivoli Continuous Data Protection for Files will be hawked at online stores. The software does pretty much what it says on the tin, continually …

    Small Biz 21 Jul 2006, 13:34

  • Dell warns of Q2 earnings bloodbath

    Mad at the world

    Rather than pointing a finger at itself, Dell has blamed a weakening global economy for its second quarter profit warning issued today. Dell sees second quarter revenue coming in at $14bn and predicts a Q2 earnings per share figure between 21 cents and 23 cents. It's that EPS range that's the real tragedy for investors. …

    Financial News 21 Jul 2006, 14:01

  • Home Office thinks it owns... well, just about everything

    Whitehall gravy boat sails on rivers of gold

    The Home Office briefly believed it owned all the money in the UK, World, and presumably the rest of the galaxy, a report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee has shown. The report on the department’s accounts for 2004 to 2005 details a financial shambles at the department. The summary of the report unsurprisingly adds that …

    Public Sector 21 Jul 2006, 14:12

  • Leeds swelters in 188°C heatwave

    Record-breaking BBC forecast

    It's Friday and it's damned hot, so what better way to end the week before slipping off to the nearest pub garden for a few liveners than with another bit of weather-based fun from the Beeb? Richard Cope explains: "I know it's hot, but bloody hell! Check out the minimum temperature predicted today in Leeds..." Blimey. Our …

    Music and Media 21 Jul 2006, 14:25

  • DMCA excluded from storage tape repair case

    Rewind

    A US federal court has ruled that a repair firm did not violate the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in performing maintenance on tape backup systems from StorageTek. The decision, reversing the court's earlier ruling, came after an appeal court told the lower court to review its injunction against Custom …

    Storage 21 Jul 2006, 14:56

  • Alienware Area 51 m5500 notebook

    Review Upgraded before it even shipped...

    Anyone planning to buy a hardcore gaming laptop will almost certainly have Alienware on their list of possible suppliers. Casual gamers and mainstream users might be put off by the machines' let alone the price, so Alienware's assembled the more mid-range Area 51 m5500. It doesn’t look as dull as your average laptop and offers a …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2006, 15:14

  • Investors buy into AMD-ATI tie-up rumour?

    ATI shares up as rival's dip

    Is ATI about to be acquired by AMD? You might well think so looking at the graphics chip company's share price in early Nasdaq trading today - and that of its arch-rival, Nvidia. ATI shares opened at $16.22 after closing yesterday at $15.77 - a jump of 45 cents. Relatively heavy trading subsequently lifted it to $16.55. …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2006, 15:21

  • Verizon wins voice spam lawsuit

    No nos llame

    US mobile operator Verizon Wireless has won a lawsuit against a telemarketeer that pestered its customers with Spanish language messages. All Star Vacations and Marketing Group, Inc. of Miami, Florida has agreed to a permanent injunction preventing it from making further calls. It also agreed to pay a $5,000 fine, which Verizon …

    Mobile 21 Jul 2006, 15:55

  • Java EE – no funeral planned

    Complexity is inevitable

    Not surprisingly, Sun’s response to the recent report from analyst Richard Monson Haefel of The Burton Group, which suggested that Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE) was effectively under a death sentence born of its over-complexity, have erred towards the dismissive. “Richard Monson- Haefel’s remarks were a little excessive …

    Developer 21 Jul 2006, 18:15

  • KDDI ties in partners for new phone OS

    Taking on Symbian, Windows Mobile, Linux et al

    Qualcomm, Toshiba, Sanyo and Japanese cellco KDDI, are planning to work on a new operating system for handsets, rivaling the Symbian OS, Linux and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile. The aim is supposed to be to cut the cost of designing new handsets, although initially at least, it is likely to increase costs, and what this seems to …

    Mobile 21 Jul 2006, 21:07

  • Whatever happened to... the smartphone?

    Analysis We try and find out

    At one time, the future of mobiles looked simple. The smartphone was a new kind of gadget that was subsuming the pager, the camera, the PDA, the Walkman, and almost every other iece of technology you could carry - and offering it in volume at an irresistible price. Often free. Over time, every phone would become a smartphone …

    Mobile 21 Jul 2006, 21:18

  • HP finally gets its own vision and can sell it too

    Analysis 'We learned'

    It used to take HP about two days, ten executives and 20,000 words to near a coherent explanation of the Adaptive Enterprise. Thankfully, the company has put that ugly past behind it and can now describe its overarching strategy in a quick, palatable fashion. The Adaptive Enterprise came to life under former CEO Carly Fiorina …

    Servers 21 Jul 2006, 22:08