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5th October 2006 Archive

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  • HP's head swells as inkjet speed increases

    And shoots out more lasers

    HP is to launch a super-fast inkjet colour printer for the business market in the Spring. The company has also extended and upgraded its current product lines with six new printers. The planned super-fast printers use a technology HP calls Edgeline to push full-colour printouts through at the rate of 70 or more per minute, …

    Hardware 5 Oct 2006, 00:02

  • California AG shows five the HP way to felony charges

    Former Chair floored

    California's Attorney General has hit five people tied to HP's spy probe with felony charges. Leading the list of the accused is former HP Chairman Patricia Dunn, who resigned from her position as a director last month. Former HP counsel and ethics chief Kevin Hunsaker was also named in the lawsuit, as were Ron DeLia, director …

    Financial News 5 Oct 2006, 01:25

  • Vodafone's BlackBerry customers in a jam

    A special kind of upgrade

    Vodafone's BlackBerry customers have been forced to collect all their email on their BlackBerries after an upgrade last weekend (September 23/24) put the web email service out of action. The issue appears so far to be confined to the consumer, not business, service. The apparent glitch means that subscribers are no longer able …

    Mobile 5 Oct 2006, 07:21

  • DataCore plays a SANmelody for smaller SANs

    Even small servers can be virtual iSCSI storage

    DataCore says a new entry level version of its SANmelody iSCSI storage software can turn a basic x86 server into a virtualised IP-based SAN, with features such as automated thin-provisioning and reuse of spare disk capacity. The software, called SANmelody Virtual Infrastructure Foundation, costs just £500 and can be used with …

    Storage 5 Oct 2006, 07:24

  • The policy is...get some

    Apps upgrades will need policies, even if you don't want them

    Further indications that the coming upgrades of the major business applications such as SAP and Oracle could cause unsuspecting IT managers more problems than they have planned for, first noted here, have come from SOA Software. Acknowledging that the next round of upgrades will all be enabled to run within - or even run - …

    Developer 5 Oct 2006, 07:26

  • Widespread growth likely in global ICT sector

    OECD report predicts heady times ahead

    Heady days of 20 and 30 per cent growth in the 1990s remains unlikely, but the worldwide ICT sector is expected to grow a vigorous six per cent in 2006, according to a new report. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's biennial Information Technology Outlook report predicts the highest growth areas will be …

    IT Director 5 Oct 2006, 08:18

  • Mozilla flaws more joke than jeopardy

    Firefox attack a 'stand up comedy routine'

    Two presenters razzed developers of the open source Mozilla browser this weekend at the ToorCon hacking convention in San Diego with claims that the browser's Javascript implementation is flawed, but the lecture appears to have been more stand-up comedy routine than substantiative research. The two researchers - college …

    Security 5 Oct 2006, 08:42

  • Mag names Mac Pro 'fastest PC in UK'

    Halves previous 3D rendering record

    Apple's four-core Intel-based Mac Pro desktop has been named the UK's fastest PC after it was lined up against a top-of-the-line Windows machine by British magazine PC Pro. According to the publication's upcoming November issue, out in two weeks' time, the 3GHz Mac Pro was run alongside a Pentium D-based machine. The Mac Pro …

    Reg Hardware 5 Oct 2006, 09:04

  • US rattles sabre at North Korea

    Choose between nuclear weapons and a future

    The US has warned North Korea that it can have nuclear weapons or it can have a future - "but it cannot have them both", the BBC reports. The sabre-rattling comes after the Pyongyang regime announced earlier this week it would conduct a nuclear warhead test. North Korea's foreign ministry declared: "[North Korea] will in the …

    Music and Media 5 Oct 2006, 09:08

  • BT + HP + PepsiCo = $$$

    Fizzy revenue stream

    The alliance between BT and HP, which was fanfared earlier this year with a huge inhouse press seminar in Venice, was supposed (at the time) to be simply a way of selling IMS (IP multimedia subsystem) to desperate mobile telcos - so it's quite a surprise to find a big contract announced with Pepsico. Normally, a contract …

    Hardware 5 Oct 2006, 09:13

  • REALbasic 2006 gets Mac Universal binary support

    Make your Mac apps run faster

    REAL Software has begun shipping REALbasic 2006 Release 4, offering developers targetting the Mac platform the opportunity to create apps ready to run natively on both PowerPC- and Intel-based boxes by selecting a single checkbox. With Release 4, REALbasic 2006 is itself now just such a Universal binary, yielding compile …

    Developer 5 Oct 2006, 09:27

  • Bill and Ballmer's bonuses shrink

    Poor billionaires

    Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer saw their salaries go up slightly, but watched their bonuses shrink by $50,000 in 2006. The top two at Microsoft got paid $616,667 in salary and received a $350,000 bonus - down from $400,000 in 2005. Ballmer also got some $9,482 for "all other compensation" - while Bill Gates got $2,112. A proxy …

    Software 5 Oct 2006, 09:27

  • Nvidia stock jumps on Intel takeover rumour

    Wall Street eyes deal as AMD-ATI merger nears completion

    If your arch-rival buys one of two highly competitive graphics chip companies, what else can you do but acquire the other GPU maker? That's exactly what it was yesterday claimed Intel would do: snap up Nvidia after AMD's move to acquire ATI. The Wall Street rumour put $2.32 on Nvidia's share price and saw stock trades double …

    Reg Hardware 5 Oct 2006, 09:45

  • Vendor unveils USB Serial-ATA dongle

    Hook big, fast drives up to your USB port

    Japanese storage specialist Novac has figured out an easy way to connect eSATA drives to PCs without a suitable port: a USB-connected adaptor dongle. The manufacturer even suggests hooking up four 3.5in SATA drives to the NV-US2020, as the dongle's dubbed, via a hub. That would make for one heck of a USB Flash drive. The …

    Reg Hardware 5 Oct 2006, 10:07

  • Dolphins, dinghies and underground water levels

    Ionian Blog And why cabbage is bad

    Inmarsat now working nicely, thank you. A little longer on deck, and I will be too, but right now I'm a little queasy...and no, it's not the dolphins that are to blame. I only wish the cook was being a little less smug! The good news: I won my argument with my crew, and got enough power to transmit this bulletin; and we're …

    Data Networking 5 Oct 2006, 10:20

  • Hubble spies more extra-solar planets

    Galaxy stuffed full of them

    The Hubble Space Telescope has spied sixteen candidate extra-solar planets during a survey of 180,000 stars in the central bulge of the Milky Way galaxy. The findings suggest there could be as many as six billion Jupiter-sized planets in our galaxy. The candidates were all identified during the Sagittarius Window Eclipsing …

    Space 5 Oct 2006, 10:22

  • AMD to conjure a constellation of K8L desktop chips

    Twinkle, twinkle, little star

    AMD's stellar codename sequence for its upcoming K8L desktop processor family continues with 'Antares', 'Arcturus' and 'Spica', reports coming out of Taiwan allege. These chips will join 'Altair', which we reported on earlier this week, in AMD's constellation of next-generation 65nm processors. According to a Chinese-language …

    Reg Hardware 5 Oct 2006, 10:27

  • MS builds tougher piracy protection into Vista

    Redmond's latest plan to scuttle pirates unveiled

    Microsoft has announced plans to tighten up anti-piracy features in its forthcoming operating systems Windows Vista and Windows Server "Longhorn". Redmond's upcoming Software Protection Platform is designed to make software piracy harder while making software licensing less of a chore. The technology, which is also designed to …

    Enterprise Security 5 Oct 2006, 10:40

  • Prof. Wendy Hall receives Borg award

    Irresistible

    Professor Wendy Hall, head of the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, will today receive the Anita Borg Award for Technical Leadership at a ceremony in San Diego. The award was established in 2004 in memory of Anita Borg, a computer scientist who spent much of her time working to …

    Science 5 Oct 2006, 10:42

  • Nvidia to make quantum leap with GeForce 8800?

    Unified shaders to work on game physic too, it's suggested

    Nvidia will initially launch two graphics boards based on its next-generation 'G80' GPU when the graphics chip maker brings the product to market in the middle of November, it has been claimed. The boards may also be the first to tout a new physics processing system. According to a DailyTech report, the GeForce 8800 GTX will …

    Reg Hardware 5 Oct 2006, 10:50

  • X Prize punts cash for medical breakthrough

    Millionaires' club sets genome target

    A $10m carrot is being dangled at biotech firms to encourage them to redouble efforts to make genome sequencing available to individuals. The X Prize Foundation is behind the reward, which will be handed to the first to sequence 100 human genomes in 10 days. It's the next top priority for the millionaire-packed coterie after it …

    Biology 5 Oct 2006, 11:02

  • Nokia jazzes up 5500 Sport jogger phone

    New Music Edition model

    Nokia has announced its latest Music Edition handset - this time a version of the 5500 Sport the company launched in May this year. The new model features a revised colour scheme and bundles a 512MB Micro SD card for song storage. Nokia has also put "a fitness carrying strap, bicycle holder and sports headset" in the box. The …

    Reg Hardware 5 Oct 2006, 11:07

  • Crystal balls with HP

    HP looks to utility, aggregation and legacies

    Following on from the formal launch earlier this month of the latest version of its Integrity Servers equipped with dual-core Montecito processors, HP put on a users' bash in London to drum up business from both existing and new customers. This provided the chance to ponder future trends for the company with Don Jenkins, VP of …

    Servers 5 Oct 2006, 11:41

  • Microsoft will police licenses through SMS

    That's Systems Management Server to you

    Microsoft is beefing up policing for Windows licensing after going back to the drawing board on its asset management strategy. Upcoming editions of Systems Management Server (SMS) will introduce metadata and workflow tools and capabilities for management of software licenses in a three-phase plan. Starting with an SMS 2003 R2 …

    Applications 5 Oct 2006, 12:06

  • Vonage calls up USB key phone

    VoIP app and 250MB of storage space

    VoIP telephony company Vonage has launched its V-Phone USB calling kit in the UK. It's the size of a Flash drive - there's 250MB of free storage space on there - but also includes all you need to use your Vonage account on any PC, anywhere. The host needs to be connected to a broadband internet link, of course, and if it's …

    Reg Hardware 5 Oct 2006, 12:16

  • 'Bloggers do not have original thought between them'

    Tech Digest Waterhouse takes a pop at 'Googlers' too

    Oh how I love the Daily Mail. What a splendid newspaper. No, really. Its online offering is now very good to the point where a US-exiled liberal friend of mine confessed to me the other day that after the Gruniard, it is his first online stop for UK news. If the Fleet St gossip is right too, the Mail's site is really starting …

    Music and Media 5 Oct 2006, 12:34

  • AMD said to have approved foundry's 65nm fab

    Chartered Semiconductor's process validated, sources claim

    Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor looks set to continue its foundry partnership with AMD into the 65nm era, if industry-insider claims that the chip maker has validated Chartered's 65nm production facility. AMD signed Chartered to produce 90nm CPUs almost two years ago, in November 2004. In July this year, AMD said …

    Reg Hardware 5 Oct 2006, 12:52

  • A compromise in European patenting debate?

    Unexpected move

    A week ahead of the European Parliament's vote on the European Patent Litigation Agreement (EPLA), the three major groups of MEPs that had been opposing the EPLA have unexpectedly reached a compromise agreement that means they will instead vote for the proposal. Anti-software patent campaigner Florian Mueller described the …

    Software 5 Oct 2006, 12:56

  • Tesco self-scan tills 'open to card fraud'

    Lets thieves help themselves

    Security shortcomings involving Tesco self-service tills make it easier for crooks to pay for groceries using stolen credit or debit cards, according to UK consumer group Which?. At around 200 of the supermarket’s stores, shoppers can scan their shopping themselves before paying for groceries using cards. The problem is that …

    ID 5 Oct 2006, 13:02

  • AOpen touts 'speed-limit breaking' 18x DVD writer

    But Sony broke it first

    AOpen today announced its first DVD burner capable of writing DVD±R media at 18x speed. It will also read and write DVD-RAMs at 12x. A sort of 18, 12 overture perhaps? Oh well. According to AOpen, it's "a new limit of optical disk drive". Maybe, but Sony got there first with its AWG170A, launched in August this year. Just …

    Reg Hardware 5 Oct 2006, 13:14

  • Researchers find link between teeth and memory loss

    Now where did I leave my dentures?

    There may be more meaning to the word "wisdom teeth" then previously thought. Dentists, psychologists and neurologists in Stockholm and Umeå in Sweden and Tromsø have been trying to determine why there is a link between tooth loss and memory loss. Simply put: those who keep a full set of teeth have better powers of memory than …

    Biology 5 Oct 2006, 13:40

  • Big Brother voting ruled misleading

    ICSTIS delivers £40k slap on the wrist

    Premium rate regulator ICSTIS has ordered Big Brother's phone and text lines to pay for the cost of its investigation, which today found misled voters over the reentry of an evicted housemate. During this summer's series, the British public voted to give more oxygen to the TV career of mewling fat free fruitcake Nikki Grahame, …

    Telecoms 5 Oct 2006, 13:46

  • Top Gear back on the road

    Filming resumes

    Filming has resumed on Top Gear 15 days after presenter Richard Hammond pranged a 300mph jet-powered dragster, the BBC has confirmed. There were fears among the show's fans that it might be canned following the serious accident at Elvington airfield, near York, which hospitalised the 36-year-old speed merchant. However, a BBC …

    Entertainment 5 Oct 2006, 13:51

  • German police hunt runaway breast implant patient

    NSFW Have you seen these jubs?

    German police are hunting a quartet of surgically-enhanced women who legged it without paying for their treatment, Bild reports. To help them in their search, Cologne-based plastic surgeon Michael Koenig has provided law enforcement officials with post-operative pics of the four - including 26-year-old "Tanya's" splendid new €8 …

    Music and Media 5 Oct 2006, 14:15

  • UK consumers are Europe's top tech spenders

    More than $31bn spent on electronics this year

    Brits spend more on consumer electronics than any nation in Europe, market watcher GfK has claimed. Together, we have spent £16.8bn ($31.7bn) on high-tech toys this year. Every UK household has spent, on average, £325 ($612) this year on gizmos, gadgets and assorted electronic equipment - £42 ($81) more than their nearest rivals …

    Reg Hardware 5 Oct 2006, 14:42

  • Indian data theft 'exposed'

    Britain gripped by fear of keyboard-wielding foreigners

    A man in India offered to sell the front man of a Channel 4 sting operation the credit card details of 200,000 people, the programme Dispatches will reveal tonight. The programme makers were inspired by a sting operation mounted on an Indian call centre last year by The Sun newspaper, in which a man allegedly sold the bank …

    ID 5 Oct 2006, 15:08

  • 2006: journos' year of living dangerously

    75 fatalities to date

    2006 has so far proved the "deadliest on record" for journalists worldwide, the Guardian reports. According to the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), 75 have so far cast off this mortal coil, as compared to 72 during the whole of 2004. The Iraq conflict accounts for a good percentage of the fatalities, having claimed 26. …

    Music and Media 5 Oct 2006, 15:09

  • Apple admits iPod Nano colours may 'change over time'

    Coughing up before the complaints?

    Just when you thought the new metal-made iPod Nano marked an end to screen scratches, there's another threat to the diminutive music player's colorful good looks - and this time Apple's admitted it up front. Yes, the TOY boy came back from a sojourn Stateside with bag full tech toys for himself and a single girl-friendly …

    Reg Hardware 5 Oct 2006, 15:13

  • Rigby sets stage for SCH dynasty

    Eldest son takes major role

    Specialist Computer Holdings (SCH) boss Sir Peter Rigby has put his eldest son James in charge of the British business, fueling speculation that he is being lined up for the top job when his dad retires. The UK arm turns over €1.3bn and employs 3,000 people, according to the FT. James Rigby told the paper that part of his …

    Channel Register 5 Oct 2006, 15:18

  • Arnie terminates RFID bill

    It'll be back, vows sponsor

    Legislative proposals to regulate government use of RFID technology in California have been vetoed by state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Identity Information Protection Act of 2006 (SB 768), which would have introduced privacy laws to safeguard personal data stored on radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in …

    ID 5 Oct 2006, 15:20

  • US judges rule on warrantless surveillance

    Spy on the wire

    A US appeals court has allowed the government to continue its controversial warrantless surveillance program pending a full review of a ruling by a lower court that the practice is unconstitutional. The unanimous ruling by three judges ruling sitting in the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals means the Bush Administration can …

    Music and Media 5 Oct 2006, 16:47

  • HP's 'ethics' chief emerges as spy scandal star

    We did it my way

    On September 6 - Carly Fiorina's birthday - investigators involved in the HP spy scandal could hear the butcher's footsteps. Quite a few people would be sacrificed because of the public relations mess, and those closest to the probe would likely be cut across the neck first. "We are being hung out to dry, the politics, smokes …

    Financial News 5 Oct 2006, 18:12

  • Play chess on your nearest e-voting machine

    Dutch go Irish

    IT professionals in the Netherlands have demonstrated that the type of e-voting machines chosen by the Irish government for election counts can be secretly hacked. Using documentation obtained from the Irish Department of the Environment, Dutch IT experts from anti e-voting group, "Wij vertrouwen stemcomputers niet" (We don't …

    Security 5 Oct 2006, 19:01

  • Microsoft blesses Datacenter users with limitless OS copies

    Go virtual, go nuts

    Microsoft, of all companies, continues to lead the way with free and loose licensing terms around server virtualization software and multi-core processors. As of Oct 1, Windows Server Datacenter Edition operating system customers will have the right to run "an unlimted number of virtualized Windows Server instances." This …

    Servers 5 Oct 2006, 20:27

  • SOA software guy from Sun walks up to The Reg and says ...

    My punchline is better than theirs

    Rich Green, Sun Microsystems' new software chief, thinks his rivals are "hung up" on service oriented architectures (SOA), and are failing to grasp the bigger picture. In an interview with The Register, Green said that Oracle, IBM, SAP and others are using SOAs to integrate existing components. But the long-term goal should …

    Developer 5 Oct 2006, 21:10

  • Bugging offices is not a crime (in UK)

    Pretexting is for kids

    Bugging offices in the UK is not a criminal offence, according to surveillance and legal experts speaking to OUT-LAW radio. While recording a phone conversation is a criminal offence, someone could place a recording device in an office legally, they said. In an investigation into corporate surveillance techniques, the weekly …

    IT Director 5 Oct 2006, 21:35

  • Micro pretexter makes micro payment to FTC

    One down, four to go

    A tiny business that sold consumers phone records and records of credit card accounts over the Internet is very sorry and promises not to do it again. And no more pretexting, either. The willfully misnamed Integrity Security & Investigation Services ISIS and its owner, Edmund Edmister, will cough up all ill-gotten gains - a …

    Music and Media 5 Oct 2006, 22:29

  • RIM boss buys Pittsburgh Penguins

    Gets his skates on

    Jim Balsillie, head of Research in Motion, the Canadian BlackBerry maker, has bought an NHL ice hockey team, the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is shelling out $175m for the privilege - or so says the Canadian press. But chill-out, he's a billionaire, and what's the point of being a billionaire if you can't have a trophy asset, or two …

    Financial News 5 Oct 2006, 23:26