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9th October 2006 Archive

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  • C++ Generic Coding vs. Java Frameworks

    Column Why are there so many things that C++ developers should do by hand?

    As an ardent C++ developer, I’m often traumatized by the amount of potentially useful software infrastructure that simply doesn't exist. When working in Java there are multitudes of frameworks and reusable libraries that allow many problems to be solved at high levels of abstraction without reference to the underlying …

    Developer 9 Oct 2006, 05:10

  • Youth, age and technology

    Comment A newer older generation

    There have been a few debates recently about the impact of a highly tech/internet savvy generation entering the workplace. The argument is that youngsters brought up in the PC/Web/IM/blogging/mashing culture of interactive electronic 2000’s will expect (need?) all this stuff when then eventually join the ranks of the working …

    Management 9 Oct 2006, 07:30

  • Scotland to map intrusive noise

    In search of the quiet life

    The Scottish Executive is to produce maps showing environmental noise around major conurbations and transport networks. A spokesperson for the Executive told GC News that the maps are likely to be in digital format and available through its website, plus public information points such as libraries. Details of the technology to …

    Policy 9 Oct 2006, 08:17

  • Vendors support VMware consolidated backup

    Show of faith

    Earlier this year VMware announced the release of VMware Infrastructure 3 Enterprise Edition, the company's flagship virtualization software for x86 architecture platforms. Among the new features in the release, perhaps the most interesting is VMware Consolidated Backup. This week VMware announced that many of the leading …

    Storage 9 Oct 2006, 08:46

  • Investors were cheated by Murdoch buyout, MySpace founder says

    $580m sale price 'eye-popping theft'

    Brad Greenspan, founder of social networking giant MySpace, has claimed that the sale of the business to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation last year for $580m was a scandal and has demanded an investigation into his allegations that it was sold too cheaply. "[This is] one of the largest merger and acquisition scandals in US …

    Financial News 9 Oct 2006, 09:01

  • Next-gen BlackBerry specs leak?

    RIM's 8800 detailed, apparently

    Research in Motion (RIM) looks set to ship its next-generation standard-size BlackBerry, said to be called the 8800, in Spring 2007, if a leaked presentation slide turning up in the in-trays of a number of fansites over the weekend are to be believed. As expected, the 8800 is a stretched - it's 6cm wide - version of the …

    Phones 9 Oct 2006, 09:23

  • Washing machine attacks Icelander

    Reykjavík spin cycle of death

    Here's a cautionary tale for those mothers who are in the habit of telling their long-suffering offspring that to exit the house wearing anything less than whiter-than-white underwear could result - in the event of fire-breathing bus attack - in attendant paramedics recoiling in horror from your smoking remains with a "Jesus, …

    Science 9 Oct 2006, 09:29

  • You can have any dinghy you like, as long as it's beer

    Ionian Blog The final installment

    It's our last day on the water. All today, we were frustrated in our attempts to sail by an absence of wind. Floating around on a glassy sea is not what we signed up for! So the cook and I sustained morale by reciting encouraging stories of the Hobie 15 catamaran we would be able to play with when we got into port. The Hobie is …

    Data Networking 9 Oct 2006, 09:36

  • Securing your corporate database

    Spotting and blocking potential abuse

    Much is written about network security. There are many classes of product that have been developed to manage network access and to inspect traffic in order to identify anomalous behaviour. This approach starts from the outside of the network and moves inwards. With security at the gateway delivered by a variety of appliances …

    Data Networking 9 Oct 2006, 09:41

  • Rover 'Opportunity' pictured from space

    NASA mission snaps NASA mission

    NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has snapped pictures of the Mars Rover Opportunity, poised on the edge of the Victoria Crater that scientists hope will shed new light on the environmental history of the Red Planet. NASA says having a bird's eye view will help it to plot the rover's route through the crater. "This is a …

    Science 9 Oct 2006, 09:43

  • Bloggers unite! Governments ask for advice on future of net

    Have your say today

    A meeting of the internet's top brass as well as UK politicians, businessmen, and academics will take place in London at 2pm today - and bloggers have been asked to make their voices heard. Discussion will cover the future of the internet and seek answers to the problems the medium has thrown up, including spam, phishing, …

    Media 9 Oct 2006, 10:01

  • Salesforce ups developer tools

    Demand for on-demand...

    Salesforce.com wants developers to create more online business applications using its AppExchange platform. The company makes its revenue from offering Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software as a web-delivered service rather than an application. It hopes developers will use the platform to create other business …

    Applications 9 Oct 2006, 10:04

  • Brits buzz off with OhMiBod iPod-driven vibrator

    NSFW She-bop

    It's 8in long, powered by a pair of AA batteries and gives off a distinct buzzing sound. No, it's not the latest Microsoft Zune knock-off coming out of China, but US adult toy maker OhMiBod's debut product, the OMB411 iPod-driven vibrator, which has just begun shipping in the UK. With a claimed insertible length of 5.5in - I …

    Hardware 9 Oct 2006, 10:26

  • Vodafone Palm Treo 750v smart phone

    Review The Windows Mobile Treo comes to the UK

    Palm's Treo 650 was undoubtedly the company's best smart phone release in the UK, and while the 750v offers only a couple important new features - Windows Mobile 5.0 and 3G connectivity - it's nonetheless a big step forward. But it's not the leap ahead that its predecessor was over the 600, and there are still some surprising …

    Phones 9 Oct 2006, 10:29

  • Fired women of HP heap scorn on the dirty old men

    They did it to us behind our backs

    The HP spy scandal has turned personal with the well-manicured female former leaders of the company striking out against the company's old boys club and the manly Mark Hurd. With a new book to sell, former CEO Carly Fiorina hit the airwaves last night on 60 Minutes to dish dirt on the board that forced her from the company. …

    Financial News 9 Oct 2006, 10:39

  • Chinese crackers attack US.gov

    Incoming!

    Chinese hackers have launched a sustained attack against the web systems of the US Department of Commerce. Security experts reckon attacks originating from computer crackers largely located in China's Guangdong province are aimed at extracting sensitive information from targets such as the Commerce Department's technology …

    Security 9 Oct 2006, 10:50

  • LG decants burgundy red Chocolate phone

    Tasty

    LG is preparing a fourth version of its KG800 Chocolate slider phone. Joining the original black handset and the pink and white models the company unveiled last July is a "wine red" varietal. With its burgundy styling, it's undoubtedly aimed at the commmunications connoisseur. It's due to go on sale in South Korea this month, …

    Phones 9 Oct 2006, 11:04

  • Patentmeister weighs in on Euro IP system

    EPLA just the ticket, says Pompidou

    The European Patent Office (EPO) is ramping up its PR activity ahead of this week's parliamentary vote on proposals to harmonise patent litigation across Europe's states. EPO president Alain Pompidou addressed the annual EPO online services conference in Lisbon today, arguing for an "enhanced patent culture" in Europe. "If …

    Financial News 9 Oct 2006, 11:05

  • North Korea detonates nuclear weapon

    Pyongyang walks it like it talks it

    North Korea this morning carried out a successful underground test of a nuclear weapon, news agencies report. The detonation came less than a week after the Pyongyang regime promised to "in the future conduct a nuclear test under the condition where safety is firmly guaranteed". The country's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) …

    Science 9 Oct 2006, 11:09

  • Back to build, not buy

    Packaged analytics 'do not always scale'

    Analytics is no longer an obscure "black art" perpetrated by pointy-headed rocket scientists for whom the term "applications developer" is totally inadequate. It is now a big part of everyday production environments and is getting bigger and more important. The number of factors that need careful analysis when running a major …

    Developer 9 Oct 2006, 11:48

  • Catholic Church bemoans call centre Bacchanalia

    Indian 'dens of iniquity'

    The Catholic Church in India has decided the time has come to address the problem of call centre promiscuity which, as we previously reported, has pretty well reduced the local outsourcing industry to something resembling a scene from Bob Guccione's Caligula. Back in June 2005, the India Times described the steamy case of 24- …

    Management 9 Oct 2006, 11:51

  • Microsoft Vista final beta released

    Get 'em while they're hot

    Microsoft is making the last trial version of Vista available to developers and beta testers before it releases the finished product. RC2 version of Vista can be downloaded by TechNet and Microsoft developer network members. A letter from Jim Allchin, platform and services co-president at Microsoft, posted on a Microsoft forum …

    Operating Systems 9 Oct 2006, 11:58

  • ID Cards to cost £5.4bn

    Home Office guesstimate

    The Home Office has announced how much it thinks ID cards are going to cost us - a mere £5.4bn. This is a snip compared to what some independent observers reckon the program will cost. Last year The London School of Economics (LSE) put a price tag of upto £19.2bn on the ID card scheme. The Home Office reckongs it will cost £ …

    Policy 9 Oct 2006, 12:30

  • UK's biggest wind farm is go

    Work to begin on 322MW project

    The UK's biggest wind farm will in three years be pumping out 322MW from 140 turbines towering above Eaglesham Moor, south of Glasgow, the BBC reports. The £300m Whitelee project will be launched by Trade and Industry secretary Alistair Darling who said that it would make a "major contribution" to the government's target of …

    Science 9 Oct 2006, 12:48

  • Trekkie pays £308,000 for Enterprise model

    Set cheque book to stunned

    An unnamed trekkie has coughed up £308,000 for a model of the Starship Enterprise, the Daily Telegraph reports. The 78 inch space vessel, "which made its television debut in 1987 and was also used in the pilot and title sequences of Star Trek: The Next Generation", sold for 20 times the estimated sale price during a Christie's …

    Bootnotes 9 Oct 2006, 13:09

  • RFID software market 'poised to explode'

    There's gold in them there chips

    The market for business software to handle data generated by RFID (radio frequency identification) chips is predicted to reach $192m in 2010, a big increase from the $24m the nascent market generated last year. A study by analyst Venture Development predicts that IT giants such as Cisco and IBM will adapt their technologies to …

    Applications 9 Oct 2006, 13:26

  • Internet crime: scarier than mugging?

    Gis your e-wallet or the WeeMee gets it

    The British public fear phishing and 419 scams more than car theft, burglary, and even mugging, according to figures unveiled by government-backed campaign Get Safe Online. Speaking at the London launch of its first annual report, Get Safe Online MD Tony Neate told The Register: "It's bizarre, but it's what we've got to work …

    Security 9 Oct 2006, 13:43

  • Brit builder smashes balloon poodle bending world record

    6.75 second triumph

    A British builder has proved the UK can still produce world-beating sportspersons by smashing the world record for making a balloon poodle with his hands behind his back, the Daily Mirror reports. Geoff Pescud, 50, secured the title at a charity fundraiser on the Isle of Wight by knocking up a balloon poodle in just 6.75 …

    Media 9 Oct 2006, 13:47

  • Byrne sprinkles biometric ID pixie dust over immigration 'issue'

    Magics 'new' data from old pilots

    Home Office Minister Liam Byrne was today scheduled to pitch ID cards as a crucial weapon in the fight against illegal immigrants, according to the advance spin in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph. The paper, entirely forgetting about Tony's Fortress Britain, claims the switch to playing the immigration card is a "fresh approach" …

    Media 9 Oct 2006, 14:13

  • BusinessSolve hotdesks into the channel

    Roll up resellers

    In a bid to get its Hotdesk Manager software onto more business desktops, BusinessSolve is after resellers to help build a global channel. Partners in Europe, America and Australasia are all sought by the British firm. Its programs are aimed at making remote working and hotdesking easier with management tools. Its clients …

    The Channel 9 Oct 2006, 14:20

  • Physics institute slams Reading over dept closure

    'Ill-judged and precipitous'

    The Institute of Physics (IoP) has slammed Reading University's decision to shut its Physics department, saying the closure will waste £5m of public money that the department had attracted in grants and investments. IoP chief executive Dr Bob Kirby Harris is scheduled to meet with Reading's vice chancellor today to discuss the …

    Science 9 Oct 2006, 14:21

  • 3Com tries to reverse fortunes with unified switch

    Opinion Do or die

    Is it good news that 3Com is making a serious challenge to Cisco and Airespace in the WLAN part of the networking business? Nobody seems to think so, not even 3Com, because, when asked why the share price shot up at the weekend, a spokesman said: "It would be silly to guess why [3Com] stock goes up or down a few points on any …

    Data Networking 9 Oct 2006, 14:37

  • Biotech firm fights to challenge 'bad patents'

    Landmark case could upend US law

    Businesses based on the licensing of patented technologies could be able to sue the owners of the patents while still using those patents if a biotech firm wins its landmark US case. The case could upend the basis of much US patent law. Currently in the US, a company which licenses and uses a patented technology cannot sue its …

    Media 9 Oct 2006, 14:49

  • Biscit completes V21 swallow

    Scrapping for crumbs

    Biscit has completed the acquisition of rival ISP V21. Biscit gets 33,000 new punters for its trouble, which it'll be trying to flog its own combined broadband and voice package to. When the deal was first announced, Biscit had only 6,000 on its books. Biscit CEO Hugh Paterson said: "The principal changes V21 customers will …

    Broadband 9 Oct 2006, 15:01

  • Vonage V-phone hits UK streets

    It's mobile and, technically, it's a phone

    It's a phone on a USB stick, it looks just like any USB memory stick, and it has (at last!) shipped into the UK. It's the Vonage V-phone. Several people have tried to get excited about it, without really managing. They all approve of the low price - £19.99 in the UK, and they all agree it works. Where Vonage raves in its …

    VoIP 9 Oct 2006, 15:40

  • Google swallows YouTube for $1.65bn

    GooTube? YouGoog? Yougle?

    YouTube finally made its owners some cash today when search behemoth Google coughed up $1.65bn for the video clip mix-tape site. The deal, trailed all weekend, came within hours of both firms striking deals with what they’d probably describe internally as old media companies. As Google put it in when announcing the buy, “The …

    Financial News 9 Oct 2006, 15:42

  • Microsoft enters the anti-virus bear-pit

    Analysis Plus ça change

    Microsoft is setting the cat among the pigeons at this year's Virus Bulletin conference, the big chinwag for the security software industry. Ordinarily, blame for the lamentable state of awareness of internet security has fallen on Redmond, alongside clueless end-users and over-sensationalist journalists. Lately, though, …

    Security 9 Oct 2006, 18:16

  • Oracle buys hetero data specialist

    Here comes the Sunopsis

    Oracle has continued to stock up on acquisitions ahead of its developer fest this month by hovering up data integration firm Sunopsis. The database giant said it would use Sunopsis’ to add even more spice to its Oracle Fusion Middleware offerings, citing the target firm’s Extract Load Transform technology and its support for a …

    Developer 9 Oct 2006, 18:20