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3rd August 2006 Archive

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  • eBay scamming automation primed for fraud

    Bots it all about, Alfie?

    Fraudsters are starting to use automated bots in a bid to establish a bogus eBay reputation that will later allow them to dupe gullible punters through bogus auctions. Once upon a time, one of the easiest ways to make an illicit buck on the net was to set up an auction for a non-existent item, pocket the money a buyer sends, …

    Security 3 Aug 2006, 08:58

  • Two more laptops light up

    Dell breathes a sigh of relief: one of them's an Apple Mac

    More notebook computers are spontaneously bursting into flames, possibly in a bid to show solidarity with similar self-combusting comrades. Is it, we wonder, a sign that the portables we take for granted have had enough of their human masters? One tale certainly reads that way. According to a report on US website …

    Hardware 3 Aug 2006, 09:20

  • Star Trek stuff up for auction

    Set headlines to cliche

    To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Star Trek, Christies is auctioning off over 1,000 items of memorabilia from CBS Television Studios. The auction will happen in New York 5-7 October but the items can be viewed in London from today until 8 August. Highlights include models of the Starship Enterprise, costumes worn by Captain …

    Bootnotes 3 Aug 2006, 09:24

  • Big shows and little legs

    Comment The bell tolleth for some

    If you have legs, you will be delighted to hear that another big IT show is being cut down to size: it looks like the big computer games show, E3, is changing. The good news: no more LA Convention Centre. The bad news: it will be spread around a couple of dozen different hotels. And the inevitable: once again, the organisers …

    Bootnotes 3 Aug 2006, 09:25

  • Plextor preps CD, DVD zapper

    Blitz the data on to-be-binned optical media

    Storage specialist Plextor has announced an external optical drive designed to delete all the data stored on a recordable or rewriteable DVD or CD - permanently. It does it quickly, too - single layer CD-R/RW and DVD±R/RW media take just three minutes to wipe, the company claimed. Dubbed the PlexEraser PX-OE100E, the product' …

    Hardware 3 Aug 2006, 09:44

  • Woman forces US record industry to drop file-sharing case

    Dangerous precedent set

    A group of US record labels agreed to drop a music piracy case in the US after the alleged file-sharer argued that it could not be proved that she downloaded any illegal music. The case may set a precedent that undermines scores of other music piracy cases. Tammie Marson of Palm Desert, California refused to pay the initial $3, …

    Media 3 Aug 2006, 09:50

  • IT is a cost not a money-spinner, biz says

    And compliance a huge drag on IT budget

    Most large Irish companies consider IT as a business cost rather than a possible revenue generator, according to a new survey. The Coleman Parkes study revealed that only one in 10 major companies in Ireland spends more of their IT budget on potentially money-making ideas than on non-revenue generating activities. The report …

    Business 3 Aug 2006, 10:03

  • Wales seeks broadband deal

    Open for tenders

    The Welsh Assembly Government has launched a procurement for public sector broadband connections. It has published an OJEU notice inviting tenders to supply high capacity links to sites across the country as part of a Public Sector Broadband Network for Wales. The deal, which could be worth up to £150m, is part of the Public …

    Policy 3 Aug 2006, 10:09

  • TabletKiosk adds Intel CPUs to UMPC line-up

    Celeron M, Pentium M join VIA C7-M

    Ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) maker TabletKiosk this week extended its line of handheld computers, bringing a pair of machines based on Intel processors to the two VIA-based UMPCs the company launched in May this year. The new models - the eo UMPC i7209 and i7210 - are equipped with a 900MHz Celeron M and 1GHz Pentium M, …

    Phones 3 Aug 2006, 10:11

  • Tech Data profits melt in Q2

    Curse of EMEA strikes again

    Tech Data has given up hope of turning a profit in the second quarter after its figures were scuppered by a poor performance in EMEA. The distributor’s preliminary results for the quarter ending July 31 show net sales of $4.94bn, compared to the $4.95bn to $5.1bn it had predicted. Last year it reported sales of $4.8bn. Net …

    Financial News 3 Aug 2006, 10:18

  • Can phones challenge iPods?

    Pay a premium, but download tunes over the air

    Verizon has managed to get positive headlines for its attempt to make music downloads popular "over the air" by announcing that it is dropping its original "pay up front" demand - a monthly $15 subscription fee. But a song which costs $0.99 to download to a PC still costs $1.99 to buy via CDMA data. The phone which is the …

    Mobile 3 Aug 2006, 10:21

  • PartyGaming buys Gamebookers

    Plays its hand outside the US

    PartyGaming has acquired Gamebookers for €102m as it tries to reduce its dependency on the US market, where the future of the online gaming sector is unclear. The acquisition is the first major deal by incoming CEO Mitch Garber since he joined PartyGaming in April this year. Under the terms of the deal, PartyGaming will acquire …

    Financial News 3 Aug 2006, 10:52

  • Apple rejects Norway's 'unfair iTunes' charge

    But admits it could make the iPod-only limitation more obvious

    Apple has admitted it needs to make clear in iTunes Music Store promotional material destined for the Nordic nations that downloaded songs will only play on a Mac or PC running iTunes and on iPods. However, it rejected claims that such a limitation is unfair. The company's comments come from a response sent to the Norwegian …

    Hardware 3 Aug 2006, 11:27

  • Online child safety card debuts

    Net-ID-me

    A virtual ID card design to protect kids from paedophiles online was launched in four countries yesterday. Net-ID-me is touted as the first system that allows children to check the age of the person they are talking to online. Card details can be exchanged when youngsters enter chat rooms, social networks, or when they swap IM …

    Security 3 Aug 2006, 11:29

  • PDA sales in freefall

    All a bit sluggish

    Shipments of handheld mobile devices in Western Europe have taken a record tumble this quarter. Manufacturers who were hoping sales of converged devices (i.e. smartphones) would help offset the decline, are also in for a disapointing time, according to analyst house IDC. Handheld shipments in Q2 2006 slumped 49 per cent on …

    Mobile 3 Aug 2006, 11:35

  • Norway knuckles down for long iTunes fight

    Shape up, consumer council tells Apple

    Apple isn't just breaking Norwegian consumer law - it's breaking promises Steve Jobs once made about digital music, the country's consumer watchdog says. Torgeir Waterhouse, senior advisor to the Norwegian Consumer Council, chivvied the private sector for its myopic approach to digital music. "The digitalisation of culture and …

    Media 3 Aug 2006, 11:37

  • Photonic crystals pave way for lab-onna-chip

    Clever stuff

    Researchers at Georgia Tech have made a breakthrough in optical technology by shrinking a key sensor component to less than a millimetre in all directions. The work paves the way for integrating sophisticated bio-sensors onto so-called lab-on-a-chip devices that could be used for roadside drugs testing, on the spot …

    Science 3 Aug 2006, 11:50

  • Avid buys Sibelius for a song

    Shareholders score $23m

    Sibelius, the world’s favourite music notation software, has a new owner. Avid Technology, the US video editing firm, is shelling out $23m cash (£12.2m) for London-based Sibelius. The surprise here is that Sibelius went so cheaply: around one-and-a-half times turnover. Just about every British secondary school - and many …

    Applications 3 Aug 2006, 12:40

  • An introduction to rules engines

    And why not

    Businesses run on rules. They define business processes, and describe just what happens if something goes right - or if it goes wrong. Do all the gold-rated customers get a 10% discount, and what happens if one calls customer support? Business rules are part of the decision support systems that underpin every business process. …

    Developer 3 Aug 2006, 13:34

  • Evolution reinstated in Kansas

    Nearly - it's a slow process after all

    The Kansas electorate has voted to get rid of two of its anti-evolution school board reps in the State's primary elections. The result has been welcomed by pro-evolution board members and science advocacy groups. Although it is just a primary, it means the two ousted candidates will not stand for re-election come the General …

    Science 3 Aug 2006, 13:40

  • Razr cuts deep into Sprint Nextel

    Q2 profits slump

    Sprint Nextel blames merger and disposal costs for a slump in Q2 profits. It also acknowledges lower than expected subscriber growth for the quarter. The US cellco claimed 210,000 new contract customers in the quarter, rather worse than analysts had anticipated. It also signed up 498,000 cheapo pre-paids through its Burst brand …

    Mobile 3 Aug 2006, 13:43

  • Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot K800i photo phone

    Review And the best 3G handset yet?

    I was reminiscing recently on days gone by when the only thing you considered before buying a mobile phone was its ability to make and receive calls. Today, such simple factors are taken for granted and have long been supplanted by how many MP3s it can store, what the games are like and whether it takes a good photo or not. Case …

    Phones 3 Aug 2006, 14:25

  • PlusNet admits customer emails are lost forever

    But don't worry half of it was spam anyway...

    PlusNet has today admitted that it will not be able to restore 700GB of lost customer emails. Never. Ever. A PlusNet engineer accidentally deleted the emails on Sunday 9 July and the company has been struggling to restore them ever since. That struggle is now over. The PlusNet site explains why it has taken so long to (not) …

    Networks 3 Aug 2006, 14:26

  • VoIP hacking exposed

    Calling up exploits

    Businesses who switch over to internet telephony systems in a bid to slash telephony costs have been warned to guard against hacking attacks. The latest VoIP security threats and countermeasures were outlined at a presentation at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday. The talk, by security experts from …

    Security 3 Aug 2006, 14:38

  • Red Giant fails to devour Brown Dwarf companion

    Saving it for later

    Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large telescope have identified a star system in which a brown dwarf has survived being engulfed by its companion star's Red Giant phase. Now, both stars are planet sized, and orbit one another very closely, and very fast. The orbital period is around two hours. One is …

    Science 3 Aug 2006, 14:47

  • Gateway punts Core 2 Duo workstation at corporates

    High spec

    Gateway today laid out its pitch for corporate power desktops, presenting its E-6610 line of Intel Core 2 Duo-based machines. With a 975X mobo, 1GB of 533MHz DDR 2 with ECC, Nvidia Quadro FX 550 dual-DVI graphics, up to 500GB of 10,000rpm Ultra SCSI 320 storage and Gigabit Ethernet, it's a workstation to be reckoned with. …

    Hardware 3 Aug 2006, 14:49

  • Ford, Mazda to drive in-car iPod integration uptake

    General Motors too

    Ford today pledged to listening to what its customers are listening to and make it easier for motorists to hook up an MP3 player to their car stereos. Top of list of new features for its 2007 line-up are auxiliary audio input jacks, but the auto maker also promised tighter iPod integration for its higher-end motors. Cars …

    Hardware 3 Aug 2006, 15:22

  • Real inks Mozilla distro deal

    As Firefox gets stability update

    Real Networks is to offer Google Toolbar and Mozilla Firefox Web browser with RealPlayer, its popular media player app, under a new multi-year distribution agreement. The deal, announced on Wednesday, extends a previous distribution agreement with Google while establishing a new download agreement with the Mozilla Corporation. …

    Applications 3 Aug 2006, 15:28

  • Scientists create real-time arousal-adjusted artwork

    Come up and see my etchings...

    British boffins have built a digital picture frame that adapts its image to suit the mood of the viewer. Dubbed 'empathic art', the interactive image responds visually to eight distinct facial expressions. Created by a team from the UK's University of Bath computer science department with the help of workers from the Boston …

    Hardware 3 Aug 2006, 16:06

  • UK gov spoiler for critical ID report?

    Wait for the indi view tomorrow

    The Home Office has published the long-awaited results of its consultation with the IT industry over identity cards, on the eve of the publication of an independent report that is expected to criticise the government for failing to adequately consult industry and other stakeholders about its plans. In the House of Commons …

    Policy 3 Aug 2006, 16:07

  • What are we going to do about click fraud? Form a committee!

    Save the Golden Goose

    Internet bigwigs are banging heads together to see if they can kill click fraud before it kills them. Ask.com, Google, LookSmart, Microsoft, Yahoo!, "and others" have formed a working group under the auspices of the Interactive Advertising Bureau to agree on standard ways of measuring a click. The intention is to sort the good …

    Financial News 3 Aug 2006, 16:09

  • You're 0wn3d! Wi-Fi driver hack attack demoed

    Updated Third party, fire and theft

    White Hat hackers have demonstrated how to use low-level hacking exploits on wireless drivers to gain control of Apple MacBook PC, albeit one running a third-party wirless card. A presentation by Jon Ellch and David Maynor at this week's Black Hat security conference in Vegas omitted details of the security flaw. The security …

    Security 3 Aug 2006, 17:32

  • IBM nets MRO for $740m

    Minds the assets

    IBM has bought asset and service management specialist MRO Software for $740m. It's the company's second software purchase in as many days. IBM will establish MRO as a business unit within its Tivoli division under general manager Al Zollar. IBM plans to incorporate MRO's technology into Tivoli, sell MRO through IBM's channel …

    Financial News 3 Aug 2006, 22:01

  • Microsoft predicts 10-year road to online riches

    Stop waving your wand at us!

    Craig Mundie has said Microsoft is not slow in tackling new markets and that its bets will pay out in around a decade's time. Microsoft's chief research and strategy officer has echoed comments he made last week that it took 10 years to perfect Windows to the point where it out sold MS-DOS and 10 years before Excel became the …

    Operating Systems 3 Aug 2006, 22:09