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21st August 2006 Archive

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  • Men removed from jet for 'speaking Arabic'

    Passengers act swiftly to tackle terror threat pair

    Two men removed from a Monarch Airlines flight from Malaga to Manchester last Wednesday were targeted because of passenger concerns over their behaviour and the fact that they may have been speaking Arabic, the BBC reports. Monarch Airlines said passengers had "demanded the men were removed because they were acting suspiciously …

    Music and Media 21 Aug 2006, 08:29

  • Martian pole freckled with geysers

    Unlike anything on Earth

    Every spring, the southern polar cap on Mars almost fizzes with carbon dioxide, as the surface is broken by hundreds of geysers throwing sand and dust hundreds of feet into the Martian "air". The discovery was announced in the journal Nature by researchers at the Arizona State University, based on data from the Thermal Emission …

    Space 21 Aug 2006, 08:30

  • Dear Sir Bill Gates: invoice enclosed

    Prompt payment is expected

    Please find enclosed my invoice for £1,200 sterling for administrative and consulting work, caused by the need to repair Microsoft sabotage. I dare say you'd like details: Last night, your organisation destroyed about three hours worth of work I'd done. The work was a set of notes being made in a text editor which I am …

    Applications 21 Aug 2006, 08:52

  • ATI posts driver update for Linux, Windows

    Catalyst 6.8 released

    ATI has released its Catalyst 6.8 driver package for both Windows and Linux. The Windows release targets performance improvements, while the version for the open source operating system - the driver itself isn't open - is more about adding features and broadening hardware support. ATI said Catalyst 6.8 yields OpenGL …

    Reg Hardware 21 Aug 2006, 09:08

  • Two arrested over fake hols website

    Summer's here for scamming

    Two people are in court this morning charged with offences connected to scam holiday websites which could have conned as many as 3,000 people. The two, a man in his sixties and a woman in her thirties, were arrested at separate London addresses on Saturday. Charges relate to websites such as "sunmedresorts.com" and "holidayezs …

    Security 21 Aug 2006, 09:34

  • Morgan Stanley punters get refund over computer cock-up

    Migration mix-up

    Morgan Stanley has apologised after 15,000 customers had extra interest added to their accounts as a result of a botched computer migration. The company recently moved its core technology platform off Experian and onto its inhouse Discover system. A migration problem meant 15,000 customers had extra interest added to their …

    Security 21 Aug 2006, 09:38

  • Dell to ship more than 3m AMD-based PCs by year's end?

    According to analysts...

    Dell has asked AMD to send it more than 3m desktop and notebook microprocessors, a number of financial analysts have separately claimed. The total is split down the middle between desktop and notebook CPUs, and represents Dell's demand through to the end of the year. The desktop figure comes from Bank of America, which last …

    Reg Hardware 21 Aug 2006, 09:39

  • Amazon attempts antenna connection using kitten

    Updated RSPCA alerted

    Here's something you shouldn't try at home, unless you want an RSPCA SWAT team kicking in your front door: connecting an antenna using a nine-metre kitten with a male N-Series connector at one end and a female equivalent at the other: Disgraceful. We have no doubt that the animal lovers among you will do the right thing and …

    Music and Media 21 Aug 2006, 10:02

  • Intel unveils Q963-based mobo

    Business-friendly integrated-graphics mainboard

    Intel has announced its first own-brand motherboard based on its Q963 chipset and designed for Core 2 Duo processors, and the shrinking number of Pentium D and Pentium 4 chips on the company's desktop CPU list. The Desktop Board DQ963FX supports a 1,066MHz frontside bus clock but will run at 533MHz for older CPUs. The board …

    Reg Hardware 21 Aug 2006, 10:06

  • Google loses ground in search battle, AOL continues to freefall

    Writely open for business

    Google lost one per cent of its share of the US search market last month. Its the first time Google has slipped in almost a year, after 11 consecutive months of gains. According to market research firm comScore, 43.7 per cent of Americans' 6.7bn searches went through Google this July, up from 36.5 percent a year ago. …

    Applications 21 Aug 2006, 10:08

  • Palm: 3G Euro Treo to launch 12 September

    Launch, yes - ship, not necessarily

    Palm has confirmed it will launch its next Treo smart phone in the UK next month, a move revealed first by Reg Hardware in July this year, just after the device was announced. According to a Palm spokeswoman cited by Reuters, the formal unveiling will come on 12 September. So far Palm and partner Vodafone have only said the …

    Reg Hardware 21 Aug 2006, 10:14

  • i-mate turns from HTC for Jaq smart phone

    Vendors new gadget pre-announced on web

    Smart phone supplier i-mate may have turned away from long-time device partner HTC for its next handset, it has emerged. Certainly, i-mate's next major launch, dubbed the Jaq, has appeared on a Hungarian retail site in all its as-yet-unannounced glory. According to the retailer, called PDAmania, the Jaq is based on a 200MHz …

    Reg Hardware 21 Aug 2006, 10:44

  • FDA approves viruses as 'food additive'

    Just plain weird, this one

    The US Food and Drug Administration has approved bacteriophages - bacteria-killing viruses - for use as a food additive. The idea is that cold, cooked meats will be sprayed with a combination of viruses to get rid the Listeria monocytogenes bacterium. The Listeria bacterium causes an infection called Listeriosis, which can be …

    Biology 21 Aug 2006, 10:56

  • Romanian police cuff 23 ID fraud suspects

    Clampdown

    Romanian police arrested 23 people in the southern city of Pitesti as part of a clampdown on internet scam rings operating in the eastern European country. The arrested individuals are among a group of 63 suspects wanted for questioning over allegations they ripped off in excess of $120,000 from 120 foreign marks. FBI and US …

    ID 21 Aug 2006, 10:58

  • Sandisk unveils 8GB Flash MP3 player

    Updated Big anti-Nano price cuts too

    Sandisk will today introduce an 8GB Flash-based digital music player, launching the device ahead of the anticipated roll-out of an 8GB iPod Nano from Apple. Sandisk will also slash its prices, it has been claimed. The 8GB Sansa e280 will retail in the US for around $250 - the same price as the 4GB Nano. Sandisk currently …

    Reg Hardware 21 Aug 2006, 11:03

  • Sony tickled pink over rose-tinted PS2

    Targeting a 'diverse demographic', firm claims

    Pink is the new black - at least as far as Sony is concerned. The consumer electronics giant today launched a pink PS2 complete with a pair of coral-hued controllers and a rose-tinted 8MB memory card. Sony says the "limited edition" colour scheme "reflects the growing and diverse demographic that PlayStation 2 has developed". …

    Reg Hardware 21 Aug 2006, 11:27

  • Wanted: Master of the Belgian language

    Google invents lingua novo

    Those sales reps that were excitedly reading down Google's job advertisement for a possie at its Dublin headquarters thinking "oooh yes, I can do that", "mmmm, standing on my head", would have sighed in disgust at the last line of the job description - the successful candidate should be able to "speak and write Belgian and …

    Music and Media 21 Aug 2006, 11:45

  • Samsung shows 'world's biggest' LCD HDTV

    70in monster

    Samsung today claimed to have produced the world's first 175cm (70in) LCD panel for high-definition TVs - 12.5cm (5in) bigger than the largest LCD TV currently on the market. The monster telly has a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080, the company said. The display has a contrast ratio of 2000:1 and a brightness of 600cdmpm². The …

    Reg Hardware 21 Aug 2006, 12:10

  • DWP embarrassed by prisoner overpayments

    Taxpayers fork out £13m to ineligible inmates

    The management of the benefits system has come under more pressure with the revelation that prisoners have been receiving millions of pounds in payments to which they are not entitled. The taxpayer has handed out £13m of income support and Jobseeker's Allowance over the past three years, despite inmates not being eligible. …

    Public Sector 21 Aug 2006, 12:14

  • Computer-based models to replace the investment advisor?

    Analysis Man versus machine

    A number of recently published features and surveys evidence the continued growth in quantitative investment. Quantitative investment is based on the deployment of computer generated investment decisions. It is reputed to be growing at 20 per cent per year. Major conventional fund managers as well as hedge funds are …

    Business 21 Aug 2006, 12:31

  • ATI revives TV tuners for HD, DVR era

    The TV Wonder years

    ATI today launched a pair of TV tuner cards, pitching the products at punters who want to turn their PCs into DVRs but don't want the very latest in 3D graphics acceleration. The TV Wonder 200 and TV Wonder 650 go on sale in the US today, but ATI promised the cards would be offered to European buyers later in the year. …

    Reg Hardware 21 Aug 2006, 12:35

  • IBM buys MRO Software

    Comment Gives Big Blue more depth

    IBM has announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire MRO Software Inc. The all-cash deal will see IBM pay $25.80 per share, valuing the acquisition at approximately $740m. As is ever the case in such circumstances, the acquisition is subject to the usual raft of shareholder and regulatory approval and closing …

    Business 21 Aug 2006, 12:52

  • EDS keeps MOD schtum over settlement

    Corporate America clouds British transparency

    The details of a financial settlement given to EDS by the Ministry of Defence have been withheld from British taxpayers because corporate America likes to keep its cards close to its chest. EDS said in March it was seeking "adjustments" to compensate for the "financial impact" of changes made by the Ministry of Defence to its …

    Public Sector 21 Aug 2006, 13:20

  • LogicaCMG buys its way into top ten

    Buys WM Data

    LogicaCMG is paying £882m for WM Data - a pan-Scandanavian services company. The price is about 25 per cent higher than shares have been trading at for the last three months. The takeover bid is unaminously backed by the WM Data board of directors. The deal will make the new firm the seventh largest IT services company by …

    Financial News 21 Aug 2006, 13:24

  • Ignorance is bliss for dolphins

    Stupid and happy, apparently

    Dolphins are stupid but happy, according to a South African researcher, and their brains are only as large as they are to keep them warm in the sea. Paul Manger from Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand, argues that dolphins' large brains have fooled us into thinking they are smart. In reality, he says, the marine …

    Biology 21 Aug 2006, 13:27

  • Uri Geller sues over Elvis pad

    Bid to claim possession after eBay auction win

    Cutlery molester Uri Geller and two partners are hitting the US courts in an attempt to claim ownership of Elvis Presley's former Memphis home, which they bought on eBay for $905,100, Reuters reports. Geller and his chums have filed a federal lawsuit "seeking to rescind the sale of the property to Nashville record producer Mike …

    Music and Media 21 Aug 2006, 13:36

  • Spend £11,700 now and save £30! enthuses Waitrose

    Irresistable email offer

    Ocado.com, the ecommerce tentacle of UK supermarket chain Waitrose, has got itself into a bit of a pickle with one Reg reader after sending his elderly mother an email with the following irresistable, money-saving offer: Thank you for your recent Ocado order. We're always looking at ways to improve our service. We know that …

    Music and Media 21 Aug 2006, 13:52

  • Access to Apple's iTunes goes bananas

    And Orange broadband completes the fruitbowl

    Apple's discussion forums are alive with users who are mysteriously unable to access the company's iTunes Music Store. The problems appear to have started about ten days ago, when one dixiechicksfan posted: "Everytime I try to connect to the music store, it says the connection has timed out. I was just looking at the music …

    Music and Media 21 Aug 2006, 14:13

  • Nokia E61 smart phone

    Review The Finnish firm's would-be BlackBerry beater

    It has taken the major handset makers some time to respond to the success of Research in Motion's BlackBerry. Having tried to convince buyers that what they really want is a regular handset that can also send and receiver email, phone makers like Nokia have just had to accept that there is a demand for devices with big screens …

    Reg Hardware 21 Aug 2006, 14:24

  • SEC sues over stock market spam scam

    Pump-and-dump

    A US couple have been charged over an allegation they made $1m via a stock market pump-and-dump scam, promoted using spam emails. Jeffrey Stone, 42, of Greenwich, Connecticut, and his missus Janette Diller Stone face a civil lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over their alleged use of junk mail tactics to …

    Spam 21 Aug 2006, 14:39

  • Sony pushes PS2 under £100

    Memory card price cut too

    Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has cut the price of the PS2 by a tenner, knocking the price below the £100 barrier to £95. The European price is now €130. The price of the 8MB memory card has come down too, to €20. The move follows today's announcement of a pink special edition PS2 priced at £130/€160 and which is due to …

    Reg Hardware 21 Aug 2006, 14:47

  • Milton Keynes gets WiMAX

    Wery wapid wireless

    Milton Keynes will be the first place in the UK to enjoy city-wide wireless super-broadband. Pipex, with the help of Intel and Airspan Networks, is setting up a WiMAX network which should be working within a month. The same group has already tested the technology in Stratford-upon-Avon. It found it could provide almost …

    Networks 21 Aug 2006, 15:08

  • BBC cans Rose Tyler Doctor Who spin-off

    'A spin-off too far'

    The Beeb has canned the planned Rose Tyler Doctor Who spin-off after series producer Russell T Davies "got cold feet" over the project. Ms Tyler, played by Billie Piper, exited the Tardis earlier this year and has been replaced by Freema Agyeman for the next series. The show - called Rose Tyler: Earth Defence - "was actually …

    Entertainment 21 Aug 2006, 15:10

  • Class action aims at Operation Ore

    UK's biggest child porn case called into question

    Names are being collected for a class action case against the police involved in Operation Ore. Operation Ore, the UK's largest investigation into online child pornography, was the result of US authorities handing over credit card details on over 7,000 individuals whose details they had found on a child porn website. Over 30 …

    Music and Media 21 Aug 2006, 15:42

  • Flores' 'hobbits' on endangered list

    Pinheaded pygmy

    Researchers are claiming fossils found on the Indonesian island of Flores, which caused a sensation when they were described as a new human species, are actually just pygmies. At the time, the international team examining the discoveries said an unusually small fossilised skull from one individual showed the island was home to …

    Biology 21 Aug 2006, 15:45

  • Synaptics gets touchy-feely with smart phone concept

    The real iPhone design?

    Spurned by Apple, which now makes its own iPod clickwheels, touchpad maker Synaptics today turned to mobile phone by touting a handset concept based around its ClearPad "optically clear, capacitive touchscreen", a gesture-based input system and a UI that adapts entirely to the needs of the application in the foreground. …

    Reg Hardware 21 Aug 2006, 15:45

  • Nuclear Holocaust starts today: WSJ

    Public Service Announcement Put your affairs in order

    The Register regrets to report that the world is about to end. It seems that Iran is going to attack Israel today, 22 August, with nuclear weapons, and initiate World War III, as famous Islamic scholar Bernard Lewis explains in his recent Wall Street Journal editorial. "...confrontation seems to be looming between a nuclear- …

    Music and Media 21 Aug 2006, 15:52

  • Trojan exploits unpatched PowerPoint vulnerability

    Vicious circle

    Virus writers have developed Trojan horse malware designed to exploit an unpatched vulnerability in Microsoft's PowerPoint software. The MDropper-BH Trojan spreads in malformed PowerPoint files either downloaded by the internet or pushed out by other malware. If opened, these infectious PowerPoint files attempt to exploit an …

    Security 21 Aug 2006, 15:54

  • Mainstream press goes down on Dell

    LinuxWorld stinks too

    Not even processor superstar AMD could rescue Dell last week. Abuse for the Titan of Texas flew in from all sides after it posted second quarter results so lackluster that they could almost be confused with a Sun Microsystems earnings report - almost. How bad was Dell's quarter? Well, CNET managed the headline "Dented Dell …

    Servers 21 Aug 2006, 17:35