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12th September 2006 Archive

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  • Intel sends networking chip biz to Cortina

    Still purging

    Intel found a suitor for another one of its less flashy business lines. The chipmaker today revealed that Cortina Systems has bought its optical-networking components operation. Cortina, which focuses on carriers, plans to use Intel's products to broaden its communications processor product line. The company gains access to …

    Data Networking 12 Sep 2006, 00:14

  • Chickens and guinea pigs menace civil liberties

    Letters Or was that the EU?

    We'll start with the paranoid and then roll out the black helicopters. How does that sound? First, the EU opened a consultation on whether or not surveillance technology is intruding on our lives, or infringing our civil liberties. The balance of your responses can be summed up with this letter: 'The EC, however, said its …

    Letters 12 Sep 2006, 00:40

  • Germans hand EC evidence on Intel

    AMD vs Intel All Markt up

    The EC's anti-trust probe of Intel is growing and taking on a German flavor. European regulators have agreed to investigate claims made by AMD that Intel persuaded Metro AG to make sure PCs sold at its Media Markt stores had Intel Inside only. German anti-trust officials were already been looking into the matter and have now …

    Financial News 12 Sep 2006, 00:53

  • Climate change heads for the Supreme Court

    Politics, science and the law

    The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear the arguments in the case of Massachusetts vs the Environmental Protection Agency. The suit, brought by Massachusetts and eleven other states, along with a few cities and environmental lobby groups, accuses the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of failing to regulate CO2 emissions …

    Science 12 Sep 2006, 08:57

  • Being mobile in a secure and managed fashion

    More heated debate

    Well, we're back! Thanks to those who registered and responded to last week's debate and workshop on mobile email. You can see a round up of this here, but meanwhile, we want to pick up on the question of mobile security and the need for device management. The big question here is how you're creating mobile policies and …

    Mobile 12 Sep 2006, 09:02

  • Attempt to redefine .eu rules fails over sex.eu case

    What's in a name?

    A company which claimed a right to the domain name sex.eu under an unusual legal interpretation of the rules has lost its case. It has emerged that the firm behind the attempt had failed in a previous attempt to win casino.eu on the same basis. Topeu.com took a case to the Czech arbitration panel which rules on .eu domain …

    Music and Media 12 Sep 2006, 09:08

  • Teenagers wary of new children's database

    Confidentiality and security concerns

    Lack of trust may hinder the children's index, according to a new survey. Teenagers have said they might stop telling practitioners about their problems because they do not trust the confidentiality of the new national children's database. Research by the Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC) has revealed that the …

    Public Sector 12 Sep 2006, 09:28

  • Nortel in SMB reseller draft

    Tel me more

    Comms kit maker Nortel will is pimping itself out to SMB resellers more agressively by teaming up with its partner distributors for a new marketing push. The campaign credo is "Grow your business. Think small." What the groundbreaking plan boils down to is providing European resellers with a truckload of new marketing bumph …

    Channel Register 12 Sep 2006, 09:33

  • Bank fined $50m for buying drivers' data

    Payout strengthens anti-stalker law

    A bank which purchased the names and addresses of more than 650,000 people in the US has been ordered to pay a $50m fine. The case was brought by a Florida resident against Fidelity Bank and also included the Electronic Privacy Information Centre. A court in the US has ordered the payment because it said the bank had violated …

    ID 12 Sep 2006, 09:43

  • Computacenter turns the corner

    Turnover down but profits up

    Computacenter insisted it is back on the straight and narrow yesterday following a tumultuous 2005. Interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2006 showed a dip in revenues - down to £1.11bn from £1.15bn in 2005 - but an increase in before tax profits which were up from £8.2m for the first six months of 2005 to £14.5m …

    Channel Register 12 Sep 2006, 09:53

  • CSC eyes NPfIT cluster

    Looks to feed on Accenture scraps

    A director of Computer Science Corporation (CSC) has confirmed the company's interest in taking over another region of England's NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT). The systems integrator has confirmed it will compete for the north east and eastern cluster for the programme should IT consultants Accenture withdraw from its …

    Public Sector 12 Sep 2006, 10:07

  • Freescale bidding war declared

    Hot chips, cold cash

    Computer chip maker Freescale Semiconductor, a spin-off of Motorola, has announced that it is in talks with several possible investors. According to reports the company, which makes chips used in mobile phones, computer networks and automotive markets, could attract a $16bn price tag. If acquired this could be the largest …

    Financial News 12 Sep 2006, 10:33

  • 3 shifts phones through Xtra-vision video stores

    X-clusive

    While most companies are looking to rent films over their mobile phone networks, 3 has started selling phones through a film rental network. 3 is already selling films and video content, and Xtra-vision (the Irish division of Blockbuster) has seen the need to diversify in the video rental business and has been expanding into …

    Mobile 12 Sep 2006, 10:34

  • iPods now doubling as alcohol breathalysers

    For late nights out

    Those with a few pints under their belts on a Friday night can now gauge how much liquor they've consumed by using their iPod. David Steele Enterprises is selling the iBreath – an alcohol breathalyser, which also has a wireless transmitter to send your tunes on to any FM radio. To make use of the breathalyser, a user needs to …

    Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2006, 10:43

  • Logitech touchscreen Harmony

    Automated bliss in the home

    Logitech's latest addition to the Harmony family of remote controls will be available later this autumn. The Harmony 1000 remote is packaged with a 3.5 inch colour touch-sensitive screen, and can control any device with an infrared receiver. Using radio frequency (RF) technology it can control multi-room entertainment …

    Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2006, 10:45

  • HDMI video editing on the cheap

    Blackmagic for high definition video

    Blackmagic Design has launched a High Defintion Multimedia Interface (HDMI) editing card for those on a budget. The card, dubbed Intensity, is designed for low cost consumer cameras with HDMI video connections. This means they can move beyond the quality limits of HDV compressed video into uncompressed editing and design, which …

    Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2006, 10:53

  • Business jets get inflight 3G

    Prole class to follow suit

    TriaGnoSys and 3Way Networks have announced a collaboration on the world's first 3G service in the air - providing a 4Kg box which offers 3G connectivity for up to 10 passengers in their private jet. Since 2001, business jet travel has grown at twice the rate of prole-class, according to air traffic management agency …

    Mobile 12 Sep 2006, 10:56

  • Blind driver ordered to take extended test

    Also banned for three years, naturally

    The eyeless Iraqi driver pulled for operating a motor vehicle without MOT, licence, insurance, or eyes has been slapped with a suspended jail sentence, the BBC reports. Omed Aziz, 31, attracted the attention of officers for driving on the wrong side of the road in Oldbury, West Midlands, at 35mph. One of the officers at the …

    Bootnotes 12 Sep 2006, 11:35

  • Scientists probe causes of solar flares

    Solar-B to launch next week

    Next week, Japanese space agency JAXA will launch Solar-B, an orbital observatory designed to investigate the causes of solar flares and coronal mass ejections, the huge eruptions from the surface of the Sun. Although flares themselves are reasonably well understood, the mechanism that produces them is not, and scientists are …

    Space 12 Sep 2006, 11:39

  • Exploding meteor wows NZ

    Sonic boom, purple and red flames, the works

    New Zealand was earlier today treated to a suspected meteor crash-landing which "rattled windows across the Pacific nation's South Island", Reuters reports. The meteor broke the sound barrier during its rapid descent, leaving a "long white trail" as it disintegrated in "purple and red flames", as one eyewitness recalled. The …

    Space 12 Sep 2006, 11:41

  • Feds investigate the HP way

    World + dog joins in

    The FBI, a House of Representatives committee, and the US Attorney General for northern California are all now investigating HP. They join the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is looking at how HP told the markets about the resignation of director Tom Perkins. The board had a phone conference yesterday and excluded …

    Financial News 12 Sep 2006, 11:46

  • Peter Jackson: please call The Dambusters

    617 Squadron wants a chat

    Our recent piece on Peter Jackson's forthcoming remake of The Dam Busters provoked quite a flurry of emails - much of it concerning how the screenplay writer will deal with the delicate matter of Guy Gibson's dog. It's a tricky one, especially since Jackson has already declared that his version will be "as authentic as possible …

    Entertainment 12 Sep 2006, 11:56

  • Crazy Frog leaps into deal with Murdoch

    News Corp to buy Jamba

    News Corp is expected to announce today that it is to buy Jamba, the ringtone vendor that unleashed Crazy Frog on the world. Rupert Murdoch's firm will secure a majority share in Jamba of 51 per cent in a purchase set at $187.5m, according to the Wall Street Journal. Jamba (known as Jamster in the US) is the Berlin-based …

    Financial News 12 Sep 2006, 12:05

  • Stop press: Planktic foraminiferal biostratigraphy data!

    Catastrophic mass extinction horizon synchronicity

    It's bad enough down here at Vulture Central having to deal every morning with an inbox packed to the gunwales with breathless emails describing just how some company's exciting new product will cure AIDS, reverse climate change, and restore peace in the Middle East, but for the love of all that's Holy, can the people …

    Science 12 Sep 2006, 12:09

  • Encore processor upgrade for Apple G4

    For those not ready to retire

    Sonnet Technologies is to launch a new line of dual processor upgrade cards for the PowerMac. A CPU upgrade, from 1Ghz to 1.8 Ghz for example, can be a cheap way of increasing the performance of a machine without replacing everything. The the Encore/MDX G4 Duet 1.6 GHz and 1.8 Ghz are both designed for the G4 MDD (Mirrored …

    Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2006, 13:01

  • Steve Irwin fans turn on stingrays

    'Revenge attacks' suspected in 10 ray deaths

    Stingrays found dead on two Queensland beaches may have been the victims of "revenge attacks" for the Crocodile Hunter's untimely death, the BBC reports. Ten of the animals have been discovered "mutilated" - two on a beach north of Brisbane and eight at another undisclosed location. Irwin was killed by a stingray while diving …

    Biology 12 Sep 2006, 13:10

  • eMusic debuts across Europe

    Knives being sharpened for iTunes

    American music download second fiddle eMusic finally gets a pan-Europe launch today. iTunes' closest challenger in the US follows the Napster monthly subscription model. It touts itself as the place to go for independent labels, with a focus on acts from the likes of Beggars Banquet, Rough Trade, XL and Domino. The relationship …

    Entertainment 12 Sep 2006, 13:23

  • The NFC revolution is running late

    Not going to change the world...yet

    ABI Research has downgraded its forecast for Near Field Communications (NFC) enabled handsets to 450m units (or 30 per cent of all handsets) in 2011. In May this year, the company had predicted that 500m (or 50 per cent) of handsets would sport NFC. ABI attributes the slow growth of the technology to the inability of network …

    Mobile 12 Sep 2006, 13:51

  • Penis-pump driver crashes into bus

    'Auto-sex' Slovak pile-up

    A Slovak driver who ignored a give way sign and crashed into a bus was subsequently extracted from his car unconscious, half naked, and "with a vacuum pump on his penis", Channel 4 reports. The unnamed 42-year-old was driving his old Citroen in the Slovak town of Levice when the accident occurred. Police officer Peter Polak …

    Music and Media 12 Sep 2006, 13:57

  • ViewSonic teases with 'made for iPod' displays

    19 and 22in widescreen models coming soon

    ViewSonic is showing off "Made for iPod" desktop displays at Apple's Expo in Paris. Dubbed the ViewDock, the displays have an integrated iPod dock that links to the monitor, which is up 65 times larger than an iPod screen, depending on model. The ViewDock will be available in 19 and 22in widescreen models, but no resolution …

    Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2006, 14:50

  • HP chairman apologises, promises to go (sort of)

    Dunn-leading

    HP chairman Patricia Dunn will leave the position in January next year and be replaced by current CEO Mark Hurd. Dunn's position has been shaky since her role in the snooping scandal became public - Dunn hired private detectives to spy on directors and reporters. HP is facing investigation by the Stock Exchange Commission, the …

    Financial News 12 Sep 2006, 14:58

  • Palm, Vodafone to ship 3G Treo 750v on 2 October

    Palm and Vodafone have launched the Treo 750v, the PDA maker's new 3G Euro-centric smart phone, and pledged to ship the gadget on 2 October in the UK. The pair had announced the launch back in July, touting the device as a UMTS-connected Windows Mobile 5.0 device. Palm and Vodafone confirmed those details today, but provided …

    Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2006, 15:17

  • Beijing Big Brother gets bigger

    New laws tighten grip on media, technology

    Beijing today attempted to defend sweeping new powers which gag foreign media and bar citizens from subscribing to news from abroad. The laws were published Sunday and went into effect immediately. The government says its new rules are designed to "promote the dissemination of news and information in a sound and orderly manner …

    Music and Media 12 Sep 2006, 15:24

  • i-mate touts two new handsets

    Make way for SPL and JAQ

    i-mate is releasing two smart phones into the wild in a bid to appeal to a wider market. The phones, which run Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0, will be cheaper than previous smartphones, the company said at the CTIA Wireless IT exhibition in Los Angeles today. The i-mate JAQ has a full QWERTY keyboard, 128 MB ROM, 64MB RAM, a …

    Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2006, 15:46

  • WD launches new external 2.5in hard drives

    As well as new internal 2.5in SATA drives

    Western Digital has released a new range of Passport Portable Drives, which it says have grown in storage capacity and shrunk in size. The company makes the announcement on the fiftieth anniversary since IBM shipped its first hard disk - the refrigerator-sized IBM RAMAC 650 HDD. The WD drives are now shipping in 60, 80, …

    Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2006, 15:57

  • HP 'leaker' shows himself the door

    Dunnygate

    The director fingered by HP as its boardroom leaker has agreed to abandon his post. George Keyworth resigned today as an HP director. The veteran HP board member has been reluctant to comment on the spying fiasco swirling around him and but abandoned this policy of silence at the very end. "The invasion of my privacy and that …

    IT Director 12 Sep 2006, 16:36

  • Symantec and Juniper to snoop networks together

    Inspired by Cisco and Microsoft

    Symantec and Juniper Networks have struck back against rivals Microsoft and Cisco with an astonishingly vague, sweeping partnership of their own. The Symantec and Juniper tie-up, announced today, should have it all. The companies have pledged to develop "unparalleled unified threat management (UTM) management solutions and …

    Data Networking 12 Sep 2006, 17:57

  • Apple goes iPod mad

    Now with movies and battery life

    Apple CEO Steve Jobs put on his mouse ears today and did his thang as the head of a computer consumer electronics company. First off, Jobs, at a San Francisco event, showed off three new iPods. Starting today, customers can secure new 2GB, 4GB and 8GB versions of the iPod Nano. Apple has started making these slim iPods with …

    Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2006, 18:42

  • Atlantis crew loses nuts on space walk

    Sounds worse than it is

    Proof that even the most exalted rank of astronaut does not make you immune to the horrors of flat-pack furniture. OK, the setting is rather more exotic than the average living room, and the kit isn't from IKEA, but somehow it heartens us to hear that the space-walking astronauts of the Atlantis mission have lost a bolt, a …

    Space 12 Sep 2006, 21:43

  • Crowdstorm: faith-based shopping

    The wisdom of badgers

    "So," the CTO asked me. "Don't you think Wikipedia is the most amazing thing?" There was a silence. A long silence, actually, as it dawned on me that halfway through our phone interview, the CTO regarded this as his argument-clincher. "Wikipedia is such an impressive site - it is so accurate. I would be very happy to attain …

    Music and Media 12 Sep 2006, 22:12

  • What if Apple held a movie party, but only Disney came?

    Comment It's No-Showtime

    Apple offered a hostage to fortune when it chose, as the teaser for the launch of its movie download service today, the tagline ''It's ShowTime!" Headline writers only needed to find one significant "No Show" for the pun writers to have a field day. Unfortunately for Apple, the "No Show" turned out to be quite hard to miss: …

    Entertainment 12 Sep 2006, 23:54