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13th September 2006 Archive

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  • Promoting Hurd is not a fitting punishment for HP

    Opinion A spanking only investors can be proud of

    Miss Manners tells us that when caught with your pants down, you're meant to pull them back up all the way. Under no circumstances should one allow gaudy, suggestive bits to remain dangling out for public consumption. So why then has HP promoted its top executive to Chairman and trimmed the number of people on its board? That' …

    Financial News 13 Sep 2006, 00:19

  • Europe may mandate data breach notification

    Dear Sir, you personal data has been made public...

    The European Commission has published proposals for a law change that would force telecoms firms to notify regulators and customers of all breaches of their data security. A similar law in California has resulted in a stream of data breaches being made public. In a consultation on changes to the EU framework on telecoms …

    Media 13 Sep 2006, 07:02

  • Microsoft sues British spammer for Hotmail breach

    Fined £45,000 for porn spam scam

    Microsoft has won what it described as the largest reported civil award against a spammer in Europe. The software giant says it won a court order requiring spammer Paul Fox to pay £45,000. Rather than pursue a case under Britain's limited anti-spam laws, Microsoft filed a complaint that Fox had breached the terms and conditions …

    Security 13 Sep 2006, 08:02

  • Sky movies paused by DRM security flaw

    Microsoft to patch...again

    BSkyB has suspended its Sky by Broadband movie service until Microsoft patches a security loophole in its Windows DRM technology. A notice posted on the Sky Movies website reads: "In order to make an essential update to the Sky by Broadband security system, we are sorry that access to all movies and some sports content has been …

    Security 13 Sep 2006, 08:14

  • SAP says no big ERP updates 'til 2010

    Thinks modular for NetWeaver

    There'll be no more big updates for SAP's ERP software until 2010, as SAP entices customers and developers to adopt new products and initiatives for its NetWeaver SOA strategy. SAP product and technology group president Shai Agassi said Tuesday mySAP ERP 2005, launched in June, is the core of SAP's software and that this core …

    Developer 13 Sep 2006, 08:33

  • Police probe Schwarzenegger audio 'hack'

    Sex, lies and audio-files

    The leak of an audio file containing embarrassing comments by California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to news media has triggered a police probe. In the recording, the Governator refers to Hispanic Americans as "hot", with "black blood in them", the BBC reports. Cathy Calfo, campaign manager for Phil Angelides, …

    Security 13 Sep 2006, 08:39

  • F-Secure picks Malaysia as Asian hub

    Gateway protection

    European anti-virus specialist F-Secure is looking to service providers to help expand its presence in Asia with the official launch of a technology centre in Malaysia on Tuesday. The offices, in the country's capital Kuala Lumpur, include a security research centre and technical support operation. The company is in the process …

    Security 13 Sep 2006, 08:57

  • SanDisk presents 4GB Mini SD card

    SDHC-compatible

    SanDisk yesterday took the wraps off a 4GB Mini SD memory card based on the "high capacity" version of the technology. So far, card makers have prepared SDHC incarnations of regular-sized SD card, but this is the first we've seen to use the half-size form-factor. Don't expect to see it on sale any time soon, though: SanDisk …

    Hardware 13 Sep 2006, 09:18

  • Blueprint for first global internet forum laid out

    Openness, security, diversity, and access

    The blueprint for the world's first Internet Governance Forum (IGF) to be held at the end of October in Athens has been thrashed out. The IGF's advisory group of governments, business, and civil society agreed at the end of last week to hold four main three hour sessions covering the broad subjects of openness, security, …

    Media 13 Sep 2006, 09:28

  • Intel reportedly readying low-end mobile Core 2 Duo

    T5200 to tackled entry-level Turion X2s?

    Intel will ship its anticipated low-end mobile Core 2 Duo T5200 dual-core processor next month, it has been claimed by Taiwanese notebook manufacturer moles. The part has not, apparently, been listed on recent Intel mobile roadmaps. According to sources cited by DigiTimes, the T5200 is intended to bolster Intel position in …

    Hardware 13 Sep 2006, 09:37

  • Chinese court deploys sentencing software

    'Computer says 10 years, comrade'

    China has tested a software programme designed to "help decide prison sentences", Reuters reports. According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, judges in Zichuan District Court in the city of Zibo, Shandong province, have for the last two years entered details of a crime into a computer which then delivers its verdict. …

    Media 13 Sep 2006, 09:46

  • A slippery slope for RIM and the BlackBerry?

    Sad shaking of the head

    The news that RIM is launching a consumer/prosumer device called the "Pearl" (aka BlackBerry 8100) has got me all mixed up. As an industry analyst, I can see the logic of what our Canadian friends are doing – releasing a device that is more likely to appeal to the masses than the BlackBerry QUERTY classic and RIM's first …

    Mobile 13 Sep 2006, 09:51

  • User convenience versus system security

    Mobile Workshop The mobile technology trade-off?

    A few months ago, a Reg Reader study told us that sorting out the user authentication and identity management challenge was pretty high on the list of IT priorities, especially for larger organisations. From this study, we learned that two thirds of enterprises were suffering from a proliferation of sign-on mechanisms, with …

    Mobile 13 Sep 2006, 09:55

  • Netgear to ship Wi-Fi Skype phone next month

    US pre-orders being fulfilled now, though

    Netgear has finally begun shipping its anticipated Wi-Fi enabled wireless Skype handset to North American buyers and will be reaching consumers in Europe and Asia next month, the company said today. The handset, the SPH101, was originally expected to ship in June this year. Netgear began touting the SPH101 earlier this year, …

    Phones 13 Sep 2006, 09:55

  • .mobi domain looking for advisors

    Anyone welcome, provided you fork out the fee

    Mobile Top Level Domain (mTLD), the body which runs the .mobi domain, is looking for individuals and companies to participate in discussions about the emerging technology. .mobi domain names were created in November last year, and differ from the other top level domains (such as .com, .org and .gov) in that all the content …

    Mobile 13 Sep 2006, 09:58

  • UK truck dealer pitches to 'pink van man'

    Website waggery from Grays Truck & Van

    A light round of applause is in order this morning for wags down at Grays Truck & Van of Guildford for injecting a bit of levity into white van sales. The company's website is a pretty bog-standard affair, but worth a visit for the content of its scrolling text marquee: You get the idea. Here's the full text: Test Drive …

    Media 13 Sep 2006, 10:18

  • MS preps internal disc burner for second-gen Xbox 360?

    Archive your Zune-friendly movie downloads

    Microsoft has begun seeking manufacturing partners to make an internal HD DVD drive for a redesigned Xbox 360 console, whistle-blowers from among Taiwan's optical disk drive production community have claimed. And the software giant may be looking at incorporating disc-burning technology in the console. It has to be said, of …

    Games 13 Sep 2006, 10:21

  • Korean airline says no to Apple, Dell laptops

    Even machines not affected by battery recalls

    Korean Air has become the latest airline to effectively ground notebooks from Apple and Dell. The carrier has banned travellers from bringing those companies' portable computers into aircraft cabins unless the laptops' batteries have been removed first. The ban applies to all Apple iBook and PowerBook notebooks and all Dell …

    Hardware 13 Sep 2006, 11:00

  • Asus P5B Deluxe Wi-Fi AP motherboard

    Review Core 2 Duo ready

    There’s no place for loyalty and fond feelings in a serious reviewer’s armoury but based on their past few generations of hardware it’s difficult not to expect great things when Asus create a new motherboard then prime your salivary glands by hitching the word ‘Deluxe’ after the model number. With the buzz from Intel’s recent …

    Hardware 13 Sep 2006, 11:11

  • ASA rules against O2 over streetmap promo

    Out-of-date ad kerbed

    O2 has been rapped over the knuckles by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for a recent advert promoting its deal with Streetmap.co.uk. The ad features an animation of a chap unfurling a landscape, with a voiceover suggesting you will always know where you are going with free maps from O2 and (exclusively) streetmap.co. …

    Mobile 13 Sep 2006, 11:34

  • Dell 4 EMC 4 eva?

    Dell 2.0 - the Rollins experience

    Dell gets to keep pretending to be an enterprise storage player with a new extension of its deal to rebadge low-end EMC kit. The arrangement, which began in 2001, will now run until 2011. It's an important deal for both players - Dell accounted for about $360m of EMC's Q2 revenues, or around 14 per cent. Analyst house TBR …

    Servers 13 Sep 2006, 11:38

  • Sky responds to DRM headache

    'We don't do unprotected'

    Sky by Broadband (BSKyB) customers are a quiet bunch, according to a BSkyB spokesman. In fact, they're as silent as the Sky Movies website right now as it continues to display a statement about waiting for an "essential update" from its "industry partner" Microsoft. BSkyB is a "free" service exclusive to Sky digital customers …

    Security 13 Sep 2006, 11:44

  • VIA touts eco-credentials with 'carbon-neutral' CPU

    Green machine

    VIA has begun shipping what it claims is the first ever carbon-neutral computer processor. It's balancing the reduced carbon emissions resulting from the use of its C7-D chip with carbon removal efforts such as reforestation and energy conservation programmes, the company said today. Running flat out at 1.8GHz, the C7-D …

    Hardware 13 Sep 2006, 12:05

  • Big Brother golden ticket draw not fixed, says ASA

    Light wrist slap for Channel 4

    The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that the controversial Big Brother golden ticket draw was not fixed, but upheld complaints that it was not properly conducted "under the supervision of an independent observer". As we previously reported, 100 golden tickets were hidden in special edition KitKat bars distributed …

    Bootnotes 13 Sep 2006, 12:09

  • Ofcom pops cap on mobile termination charges

    5.3p a shot till 2011

    Ofcom has slapped cap on mobile call termination fees, after deciding there is little chance of competition bringing the charges down naturally. UK comms regulator Ofcom has been controlling the amount that operators can charge for terminating calls ever since the initial investigation by Ofcom’s predecessor, Oftel, won an …

    Mobile 13 Sep 2006, 12:16

  • Samsung touts CDMA, GSM, JCDMA 'world phone'

    Multi-band, multi-mode

    Not for Samsung the simplicity of offering a phone with quad-band GSM support to allow the handset to be used all around the world. The South Korean giant today unveiled a device capable of connecting not only to GSM but also to CDMA and JCDMA networks. The SCH-V920 - also known as the World Phone - will be offered to South …

    Phones 13 Sep 2006, 12:50

  • Cell-based computer breaks out of IBM

    Cache heavy QS20 blinking in sunlight

    IBM has finally, finally, started shipping computers based on the Cell architectured it co-developed with Sony and Toshiba. In fact, the company claims, a number of high profile clients such as the University of Manchester and the Fraunhofer Institute are already running the much ballyhooed devices. Big Blue’s first Cell …

    Servers 13 Sep 2006, 12:54

  • Zotob perp jailed

    Hard time for bot ne'er-do-well

    One of the men behind the Zotob worm was jailed yesterday by a Moroccan court, Agence France-Presse reports. Farid Essebar, aka "Diabl0", received two years for perpetrating the Zotob outrage which exploited a Microsoft Plug and Play vulnerability and attacked computer systems including those of CNN, ABC, the Financial Times and …

    Security 13 Sep 2006, 13:08

  • QDOS unrolls 360° iPod sound cylinder

    Speaker centre

    Why take two speakers with you when you're out with your iPod when you can take four? That's audio-accessory maker QDOS' pitch for its Genesis 360° portable sound system. The Genesis packs in four 3W speakers and a 'universal' dock slot compatible with any dockable iPod - QDOS bundles a set of adaptors. The unit's powered by …

    Hardware 13 Sep 2006, 13:11

  • More nuts and bolts go AWOL on second space walk

    But everything still hunky-dory

    The crew of Atlantis should be just about wrapping up the second of their three planned space walks. Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean and his American colleague Dan Burbank left the relative safety of the International Space Station at 9:05 this morning (GMT), to continue work on installing the station's P3/P4 truss with its …

    Science 13 Sep 2006, 15:35

  • iSoft's £82m City sweetener

    Public money paid to private firm

    iSoft Plc, the beleaguered NHS software provider, has been given two large chunks of cash totalling close to £82m over the last two years, the government has admitted. An initial payment of £58m was made at the end of April 2005 with a further £23.8m paid out in April this year - just days before the company's financial year …

    Financial News 13 Sep 2006, 16:11

  • Irish panto star's phone diatribe wows cyberspace

    NSFW Estranged hubby cops an earful - and then some

    A veteran Irish actress has become an overnight internet sensation after a message she allegedly left on her estranged hubby's answer machine inexplicably found its way into the public domain. Panto queen Adele King, aka "Twink", is evidently not a woman to be messed with - as ex David Agnew found out to his cost. According to …

    Media 13 Sep 2006, 16:12

  • Sun keeps pumping servers full of Jalapenos

    The not so hot kind

    Sun Microsystems has sold 2m UltraSPARC IIIs and isn't ready to quit hawking the chips just yet. Sun today refreshed the low-end of its SPARC server line with 1.5GHz versions of the UltraSPARC IIIi processor. That gives the new Sun Fire V215, V245 and V445 systems a modest performance boost over their predecessors that ran on 1 …

    Servers 13 Sep 2006, 18:27

  • Egenera CEO makes dash for Tech Data

    Bye, bye blades

    Egenera - the blade server company created by Wall Street for Wall Street - has tapped a new CEO after chief Bob Dutkowsky ran off to run Tech Data. Current Egenera COO Mike Thompson will take on the roles of CEO and president, the company said. Meanwhile, Dutkowsky, a former IBM, EMC and JD Edwards exec, will head up computer …

    Servers 13 Sep 2006, 19:16

  • Canon to recall personal copiers

    200 million yen up in smoke

    Japan Canon is to recall up to 1.87 million personal copiers world-wide because they could produce smoke or catch fire. A faulty connection in the power cord of 11 different personal copier models has led to a costly recall, which is expected to set the Japanese manufacturer back an estimated 200 million yen ($1.71m). Some …

    Hardware 13 Sep 2006, 19:35

  • RIAA drops the dead eDonkey

    eDonkey seeks sanctuary, finds knackers' yard

    eDonkey is off to the knackers' yard, after a New York court ruled that the peer-to-peer (P2P) site enabled users to swap copyright material illegally. eDonkey’s owner, New York-based MetaMachine, is ponying up $30m to settle a copyright suit brought by six record companies. MetaMachine has another P2P network, called Overnet, …

    Media 13 Sep 2006, 21:55

  • Apple fans laud Disney deal

    Letters Here's Mickey. Again...

    Poor old Apple. The Guardian newspaper suggests that after yesterdays' movie service launch, Steve Jobs needs "a charisma download". That's harsh - Apple did the most important thing it needed to do yesterday, and make its iPod cash cow a lot more attractive - with plenty of time before Christmas. But it's the movie deal that …

    Letters 13 Sep 2006, 22:53

  • Earthlink takes Nevada spammer for $11m

    Which is nice

    A Nevada bulk email firm has been ordered to pay Earthlink $11m for spamming the ISP's customers. Earthlink won the judgment in a CAN-SPAM suit filed in a federal court in Atlanta against KSTM LLC. According to Earthlink, this business illegally sent millions of mortgage-touting emails and is now prohibited from: falsifying …

    Security 13 Sep 2006, 23:14

  • Digg founder dismisses Web 2.0 'me tooism'

    Digg - yes, tag - no

    Digg founder Kevin Rose today urged Web 2.0 wannabes to avoid the temptation of adding "me too" features to their sites. Rose, whose news-ranking service is home to more than half a million registered users, told delegates at The Future of Web Apps Summit in San Francisco, that they should think before adding the increasingly …

    Financial News 13 Sep 2006, 23:36

  • California close to charging HP officials

    Spy in our state, will you?

    It's looking less and less likely that HP will be able to fend off all of the legal issues around its spy scandal on the third parties it hired to investigate employees, directors, reporters and reporters' relatives. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said in an interview that his office is now armed with enough evidence …

    Financial News 13 Sep 2006, 23:59