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26th September 2006 Archive

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  • Micron samples 1Gb DDR 3 chip

    2Gb part coming early next year

    US memory maker Micron today took the wraps of what it claimed is the world's first 1Gb DDR 3 chip well ahead of full-scale production of the part, which the company said will begin "early next year". In the same timeframe, Micron will sample a 2Gb chip, it added. The chip maker said the 78nm part will clock between 400MHz …

    Hardware 26 Sep 2006, 00:08

  • Trend Micro to kick butt on botnets

    BASE thinking

    Trend Micro has declared war on botnets, opening a zombie PC pest control service for ISPs and other big network providers. The security software firm's weapon of choice uses in-house-developed software called the Behavioral Analysis Security Engine (BASE). This is bundled with a hardware appliance and per-seat pricing to form …

    Security 26 Sep 2006, 00:23

  • Nokia dials up Express Music phone family?

    Yoof-friendly design

    Nokia is gearing up to launch a pair of music-centric mobile phones, according to a Russian handset retailer's website. The site's pictures of the products certainly tally with blurry photos of the devices that popped up on the web last month. According to Russian-language retail site Dixis, the Nokia 5300 Express Music …

    Phones 26 Sep 2006, 00:50

  • Apple equips iMac with next-gen Wi-Fi?

    Even more extreme AirPort Extreme

    Do Apple's latest iMacs ship with an 802.11n Wi-Fi card? Photos of the Core 2 Duo-based all-in-one consumer computer certainly imply as much, but users will have to install and run Windows Vista to see it for themselves. That's what a MacRumors.com forum-poster did, and sent the site a photo of Vista's Device Manager showing …

    Hardware 26 Sep 2006, 01:18

  • Revenue and profits jump at Calyx

    UK market focus pays off

    Gaining a strong foothold in the British market has contributed to strong interim financial results for Irish IT services firm Calyx. For the six months ending in June, Calyx reported a 61 per cent increase in turnover to €29m compared to €18.2m for the same period last year. The company, which has offices in Dublin, Limerick, …

    Security 26 Sep 2006, 08:15

  • StreamBase touts a standard language for event processing

    Comment But is SQL the right starting point?

    StreamBase has just, amidst much fanfare, announced that it is pushing for the establishment of a standard development language for event processing applications. While the company does not necessarily expect that its StreamSQL will be adopted for this purpose, it does contend that SQL should be the starting point for such a …

    Developer 26 Sep 2006, 08:43

  • NASA's trip to China is stirring things up

    Politics, morality, and military supremacy

    NASA officials are to visit China for the first time, with a view to possibly establishing some sort of cooperative approach to exploring space. The move has provoked profound criticism from some in the home camp. NASA administrator Michael Griffin notes that the US has so far not had any significant discussions with China …

    Science 26 Sep 2006, 09:14

  • Ebbers starts porridge

    Worldcom boss goes to prison

    Worldcom ex-CEO Bernie Ebbers starts a 25-year prison sentence today for his role in the $11bn collapse of the firm. Ebbers was found guilty of conspiracy and fraud in early 2005 for massively overstating the company's results in order to keep in line with market expectations. US officials have not said where Ebbers will serve …

    Media 26 Sep 2006, 09:37

  • Three-year-old buys £9k car on eBay

    Spendthrift toddler hits the internet

    A three-year-old Lincolnshire computer whizz bought a £9k car on eBay while his mum's back was turned, the BBC reports. Rachel Neal, 36, left her computer logged into the online tat bazaar and son Jack duly hit the "buy it now" button to secure a Barbie pink Nissan Figaro. Jack's parents discovered their son's spendthrift ways …

    Media 26 Sep 2006, 09:37

  • MS mulls emergency IE fix

    Out-of-band

    Microsoft is considering plans to release an unscheduled security patch to address a serious security vulnerability in its ubiquitous Internet Explorer web browser. Malicious hackers are taking advantage of a security bug in the Vector Markup Language (VML) component of IE to infect users visiting specific pornographic, or …

    Security 26 Sep 2006, 10:45

  • Novell raises exec pay under shadow of delisting

    NASDAQ, Wells Fargo not happy bunnies

    Novell's board has approved pay rises for the company's CFO and CEO just days after NASDAQ handed the company a delisting notice for its delay in filing its third quarter results. President and CEO Ronald Hovsepian will now earn a base salary of $825,000, and interim CFO Dana Russell now cashes cheques every year to a minimum …

    Financial News 26 Sep 2006, 10:47

  • Mobile gaming initiative gains OMA backing

    Yet another attempt to standardise mobile gaming

    The Mobile Gaming Initiative has gained backing from the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and formed a Game Services Working Group within the OMA to look at standards in mobile gaming. Nokia, Samsung, SK Telecom, Square-Enix, Symbian, Tao Group, and Texas Instruments have all signed up to the working group which will "define and …

    Phones 26 Sep 2006, 11:42

  • The haunting issue of latency

    Ionian Blog Unmasking The Ghost

    A storm forced us to spend two days here, on the island of Cephalonia. This is the second day. It was the day we discovered the importance of the word "latency" in broadband communications. Also, the drawbacks of non-tidal waters. And, finally, the Ghost was revealed. The Ghost has woken me up several times in the night. It …

    Data Networking 26 Sep 2006, 11:47

  • Carphone Warehouse buys Aussie telco

    CPW goes down under

    Carphone Warehouse has bought Newtel Communicaciones for £370,000. Newtel has operations in Australia, Ireland, Spain, and the UK. From its website it appears to offer business, residential and internet services. The full statement, which doesn't give too much away, reads: "The Carphone Warehouse announces that it has acquired …

    Mobile 26 Sep 2006, 11:48

  • China going blogging mad

    'Today, the great and handsome government...'

    Despite scant internet access outside major metropolitan centres, blogging in China is enjoying a boom to match its manufacturing industry. Bejing trumpeted - via its PR machine Xinhua - that 17m Chinese have a weblog, a 30-fold increase on four years ago. The sites are read by 75m - that's almost four and a half readers each …

    Media 26 Sep 2006, 12:00

  • Scottish MPs cop an eyeful of Red Hot Wives

    Parliamentary porn teaser

    Hard working Scottish MPs were over the weekend treated to a bit of light relief when their Holyrood TV system offered ads for porn channels, The Scotsman reports. In addition to the "range of channels" normally available on the parliament building's 320 monitors, politicos were served up 10 minute teasers and "channel labels" …

    Bootnotes 26 Sep 2006, 12:01

  • Buy your piece of the .mobi internet today

    The net on your phone from 3pm

    The latest addition to the internet - new .mobi domains - will go on sale from 3pm today (GMT). The .mobi top-level domain will be exclusively for use with mobile phones and other mobile devices, rather than relying on cut-down versions of normal websites, and so will "revolutionise the use of the internet on mobile devices" …

    Mobile 26 Sep 2006, 12:28

  • Malware lurks behind safety seal

    A question of TRUSTe

    Sites handed the TRUSTe seal of approval are twice as likely to host malware or engage in spamming as those not endorsed by any security certificate, according to a study by spyware researcher Ben Edelman. Edelman reached this conclusion after cross-referencing a sample of 500,000 top websites, as reported by a major ISP, that …

    Security 26 Sep 2006, 13:16

  • Private space rocket crashes in desert

    Commercial space race not quite up to speed

    A privately funded rocket, bound for (sub)orbit, has crashed into the New Mexico desert after something went wrong at 40,000 feet. The UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL rocket was carrying cremated remains, which at least will be materially unchanged by the crash, and school kids' science projects, which will not. The team behind the …

    Science 26 Sep 2006, 13:46

  • Britain became island in 24 hours

    Scientist proposes 'Biblical-style flood'

    A sonar probe of the bed of the English Channel has produced evidence that Britain may have become an island is less than 24 hours, the Daily Telegraph reports. The survey, led by Imperial College London's Sanjeev Gupta, revealed the "remains of a huge valley, running south-west from the Strait of Dover" plus "deep bowls, scour …

    Science 26 Sep 2006, 14:05

  • Nokia to ship 8GB hard drive music phone by year's end

    Updated Revamps N series handsets as Music Editions

    Nokia today unveiled a version of its N91 mobile phone fitted with an 8GB hard drive. The handset was joined by Music Edition versions of a number of other N series devices, part of Nokia's plan to pitch the phone family as a viable alternative to Apple's iPod. All three Music Edition handsets - the N91, N73, N70 - all sync …

    Phones 26 Sep 2006, 14:18

  • Olympic Games committee shortlists IT firms

    Winner to be chosen next month

    Leading IT firms have been shortlisted to run the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics Game's (Locog) back office system. The four shortlisted companies are Accenture, BT Global Services, IBM and Logica CMG. Locog is looking for an information system supplier to provide a single repository of …

    Policy 26 Sep 2006, 14:26

  • Nokia unwraps feature-filled N95 smart phone

    Everything on board but the kitchen sink

    Nokia has taken the wraps off its new top-of-the-range N series handset, attempting to wow buyers with the gadget's two-way slider mechanism, five megapixel camera, integrated GPS receiver and support for HSDPA-enabled 3G networks. The Finnish phone giant stressed the N95's role as the multi-blade knife of mobile phones: " …

    Phones 26 Sep 2006, 14:36

  • Koreans power up 'small-sized fondling robot'

    What's it for? We haven't got the foggiest

    Those readers who like a challenge can apply their intellects to this poser: what exactly on God's green Earth is the purpose of IZIrobotics Azzang?: It gets worse. Try this out for size: With above basic of the robot which is started together it is a condition which it moves. When new operation order widely known it is not …

    Media 26 Sep 2006, 14:37

  • Yahoo! shuts! for! Christmas!

    HR grinch mandates utilisation of floaters

    Yahoo! is making sure all its staff get a bit of Christmas cheer this year by sending them all home for a week's holiday between Christmas and New Year. The internet bellwether is shutting all its US offices for the week and asking all employees to take either paid or unpaid leave. In email to staff, Libby from HR said: "This …

    Financial News 26 Sep 2006, 14:54

  • AOL sued over search engine data release

    Privacy breach suit launched

    A trio of AOL subscribers are suing the media giant over the public release of search engine queries. The Californian lawsuit (PDF), which seeks class action status, is the first to cry foul over AOL's release of some 19m search queries by around 650,000 AOL subscribers over a three month period, AP reports. The data was …

    Media 26 Sep 2006, 14:58

  • UK's top web retailers failing the disabled

    Accessibility report slaps wrist of online shops

    The UK's top 30 shopping websites exclude disabled users, new research has found. Usability agency Nomensa tested the retail websites and found that none fulfilled the most basic accessibility guidelines. Websites from retailers including Ryanair, British Airways, Currys, Apple Computer, and Amazon.co.uk all failed the test. …

    Management 26 Sep 2006, 15:00

  • Teddy bear slaughters 2,500 trout

    They look cute, but they can kill

    A teddy bear dropped into a pool in a New Hampshire fish farm managed to kill 2,500 trout, The Mercury News reports. The killer cuddly toy, "dressed in a yellow raincoat and hat", blocked a drain at the Fish and Game Department's hatchery in Milford and suffocated the pond's piscine residents. Supervisor Robert Fawcett told …

    Science 26 Sep 2006, 15:22

  • Stuff ID cards in Faraday cages

    Letters An alternative take on the week so far...

    In the postbag this fine Tuesday, we discovered a multitude of mail on the subject of cutting the cost of the ID card scheme. You had much to say about minister Liam Byrne's suggestion that using existing government databases might help trim the budget a little: I wonder how much experience Liam Byrne's consultancy work gave …

    Letters 26 Sep 2006, 15:39

  • Nokia opens up on N75 multimedia flipper

    Music and video clamshell

    In addition to the phones announced earlier today, Nokia also unveiled the N75 in New York. This S60 phone has front mounted music controls and an external 1.36 in (160 x 128 pixel) display which allows you to control your music playback without having to open the flip. The N75 will play back MP3, M4A, AAC, eAAC+ and WMA files …

    Phones 26 Sep 2006, 16:01

  • Merging your landline and mobile

    Mobile Workshop We're really talking mobile convergence

    For the last part of our mobile workshop we’re looking at mobile convergence. After our customary market observations, we’d love to hear your experiences with converged mobile and fixed voice and data. What exactly is convergence? The term convergence is used in many contexts. A rich vein of marketing spin surrounds a lot of …

    Mobile 26 Sep 2006, 16:09

  • Kid-only tone firm bids for the charts

    If only they could silence Justin Timberlake

    What to do when you’ve discovered you own a sound that only children can hear? First you make a nifty device to stop youths gathering where you don’t want them, then a ring tone that teachers can’t hear, but where do you go next? Quite obviously your next stop should be the hit parade. Compound Security, owners of such a sound …

    Bootnotes 26 Sep 2006, 16:15

  • Greenpeace wants Apple to clean up

    What, they're not made of organic hemp?

    Apple is a grubby polluter and isn't doing enough to change that, according to environmental pressure group Greenpeace. A new campaign comes on the back of a Greenpeace investigation into the contents and destination of hardware which ranked Apple below less hippyish brands like Dell and HP for environmental responsibility. …

    Hardware 26 Sep 2006, 16:38

  • California mulls RFID privacy law

    Scrambling for safety

    California is on the brink of introducing privacy laws to safeguard personal data stored on radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in government-issued documents and identification cards. The Identity Information Protection Act of 2006 was passed by state legislators last month and only needs the approval of California …

    Security 26 Sep 2006, 16:46

  • Bluetooth SIG gets serious

    Chinese factory raided, 20,000 items seized

    The Bluetooth SIG showed its muscle today when the manufacturing facility of Shenzhen Bluebird Hi-Tech. Co. in Shenzhen was raided by officers from the Shenzhen City Economic Crime Investigation Department of the Public Security Bureau (a unit which will never make for a snappy TV title). Over 20,000 items were seized from the …

    Mobile 26 Sep 2006, 16:48

  • Intel's Otellini accelerates performance-per-Watt plan

    IDF First 45nm CPU designs to tape out next quarter

    Intel will tape out its first 45nm microprocessor designs during Q4, company CEO Paul Otellini revealed today. That's the first step on the road to delivering a CPU that consumes a tenth of the power today's chips do. Otellini promised such a part a year ago. Today, he said it will arrive in 2008, two years earlier than forecast …

    Hardware 26 Sep 2006, 17:42

  • Intel offers $1m for a Viiv-based Mac Mini killer

    IDF Someone else can make sexy systems, surely?

    Intel will pay whoever designs what it reckons is the world's coolest living room computer $1m. Apple's Mac Mini might be a candidate, but despite the appearance of VP Phil Schiller during CEO Paul Otellini's Intel Developer Forum - a first for the Mac maker - the contest is only open to Viiv-branded machines. They also have …

    Hardware 26 Sep 2006, 18:10

  • Intel goes public with quad-core roadmap

    IDF Too hot for mobiles just yet

    Intel's first mainstream quad-core processor will be branded Core 2 Quad, the company confirmed at its bi-annual developer forum today. The chip family will ship in Q1 2007 - at least two months after the first Intel quadie, a new Core 2 Extreme, debuts in November 2006. Quad-core Xeons - codenamed 'Clovertown' - will also …

    Hardware 26 Sep 2006, 18:57

  • US politicians go to bat for Microsoft

    Friends in high places

    Microsoft's lobbying of the Bush Administration to intervene on its behalf in its antitrust battle with the EU, is bearing fruit. Yesterday, European competition commissioner Neelie Kroes said that representatives of the US government contacted her before she fined Microsoft $357.3m in July for non-compliance with the EU's …

    Financial News 26 Sep 2006, 20:05

  • Crash! Bang! MySpace! Wallop!

    Selective online disclosure

    A Microsoft spinout is adding to the social networking detritus with an ads-free service intended to challenge MySpace for internet traffic. In true Web 2.0 style, Wallop on Tuesday launched a beta version of its social network and music-sharing service aimed at young adults that allows people to join only through invitation. …

    Financial News 26 Sep 2006, 20:18

  • Intel on top of the server world again

    IDF At least in terms of publicity

    Put a marketing man in charge of Intel, and you get a marketing-based product launch. Come November, Intel will reclaim the x86 server processor buzz with the release of a four-core chip. Will customers buy loads of the pricey, hot high-end chip? Not likely. Intel, however, will be able to claim a major advance in the x86 …

    Servers 26 Sep 2006, 20:33

  • Intel fabs 80-core teraflop processor

    IDF Proof of concept

    Quad-core? Pah! Intel has produced an 80-core chip, the world's first programmable microprocessor with teraflop performance capabilities, the chip giant claimed today. It's not compatible with the x86 instruction set - it's a proof of concept part designed to show how a production processor might operate. The monster part …

    Hardware 26 Sep 2006, 20:44

  • DIY and nearly BI

    Column A useful sub-set of BI for those who don't need the Full Monty

    My esteemed colleague on Reg Developer, Martin Banks, has argued that do-it-yourself BI (Business Intelligence) is a trend worth watching: As he said… “The premise being put forward by companies looking to move into DIYBI is that BI so far is only being performed by the largest enterprises, and then only by white-coated …

    Developer 26 Sep 2006, 21:17

  • Intel names new chips after failed Israeli political party

    IDF Bridge to controversy

    Intel's tradition of issuing confusing and innocuous processor code-names has been derailed. Oh, the code-names are still confusing because of their quantity, but they've shifted from innocuous to loaded. Up to now, Intel has largely relied on small cities, rivers and mountains on the West Coast for its code-names. Customers …

    Hardware 26 Sep 2006, 21:32

  • Sony ships first EV-DO Rev A equipped laptop

    WAN, WLAN? Thank you, ma'am

    Sony has begun pitching the first EV-DO Revision A-enabled notebook to Sprint customers, touting the machine's readiness for the carrier's soon-to-be-upgraded PowerVision network. The Vaio VGN-TXN10 sports a carbon-fibre chassis into which Sony has fitted an 11.1in XBrite display, an ultra-low voltage Core Solo single-core …

    Mobile 26 Sep 2006, 21:41

  • Boeing closes Connexion - and I thought they were just being rude!

    Comment Missing the boat

    I recently interviewed Boeing (Farnborough International Air show) and couldn't get a word out of them about Connexion By Boeing - their inflight WiFi/satellite service. Now, I find that Connexion has gone bust. You really hate it as a journalist when you get to a scoop, interview the rignt people, and simply don't realise that …

    Broadband 26 Sep 2006, 22:19

  • LimeWire slams RIAA members' 'illegal online cartel'

    Counterblast in counterclaim

    LimeWire LLC has returned fire in its copyright dispute with Recording Industry Ass. Of America (RIAA), accusing its members of operating an illegal cartel to control the online distribution of music. In a recent lawsuit, The RIAA attacked LimeWire and its top developers for facilitating copyright theft, through its peer-to- …

    Media 26 Sep 2006, 22:23

  • Rackable and Intel scratch each other behind AMD's back

    IDF Feels like the first time

    Dangle the promise of a few thousand customers in front of a vendor, and just about anyone will show up to the Intel Developer Forum. Case in point, longtime Opteron backer Rackable Systems, which graced IDF with its CEO Tom Barton – in the midst of Intel CEO Paul Otellini's keynote no less. In fairness, Rackable has long sold …

    Servers 26 Sep 2006, 22:54