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18th October 2006 Archive

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  • Free virus with some iPods

    Apple blames Windows, contract manufacturer, self ...

    Apple today apologised for selling a "small number" of video iPods infected with the RavMone.exe virus. Pox-ridden ipods accounted for less than one per cent of the video iPods hitting the streets after September 12. The company says it has seen "less than 25 reports" concerning this problem. Well, we've had one from Reg …

    Malware 18 Oct 2006, 00:09

  • Oracle's mega-patch shuts 101 doors

    Never mind the password, come on in...

    Oracle today published the mother of all security patches containing 101 fixes for flaws in its database, application server, E-Business Suite and PeopleSoft and JD Edwards applications. Almost half - 45 - of the flaws can be can be exploited by a hacker over a network, while at least six errors in the Oracle database http …

    Enterprise Security 18 Oct 2006, 01:56

  • AllofMP3 sends out peace feelers. Enemies prefer Cold War

    iTuneski's foes gain strength

    AllofMP3.com may hail from Russia, but the rebel retailer is the North Korea of the music industry. The record labels accuse it of online piracy and hate what it does, but only now are they figuring out how to deal with this internet phenomenon. AllofMP3 denies the copyright theft claims: it obeys the laws of its country, …

    Music and Media 18 Oct 2006, 06:53

  • Database state could go pear-shaped, says police chief

    Power corrupts

    The boss of UK police technology has warned that government attempts to use surveillance and databases to impose law and order could backfire unless those with access to the system are prevented from abusing the power it gives them. But authorities are not using the means already available to penalize organisations that abuse …

    Music and Media 18 Oct 2006, 07:02

  • Motorola's Q3 doesn't cut it

    Wall St slashes Razr vendor

    Motorola took a kicking yesterday night when analysts decided a 17 percent rise in third quarter sales just wasn’t enough. The comms vendor turned in revenues of $10.6bn for the quarter ending September 30, up 17 per cent on the year. However, Wall St’s spreadsheet meisters had been expecting $11.07bn. Motorola’s forecast for …

    Mobile 18 Oct 2006, 09:15

  • Queen ends hunt for an IT director

    But new web editor post opens up

    The Queen has ended her search for an IT director, with applications for the post closing on Monday, and the advert already removed from her website. However, the head of the British Monarchy is still looking for a web editor to tart up her website - www.royal.gov.uk - which claims 1.5m page views a week. The job pays £30,000 …

    IT Director 18 Oct 2006, 09:17

  • Intel readies refresh for Core 2 Duo desktop line

    TET offensive planned

    Intel will next year extend its Core 2 Duo desktop processor line, rolling out four CPUs in the Q2 2007 timeframe, three with support for the 1,333MHz frontside bus speed due to be introduced with the 'Bearlake' chipset series, it has been claimed. Having seen the chip giant's latest desktop roadmap, DailyTech reports Intel …

    Reg Hardware 18 Oct 2006, 09:21

  • Poor IT caused 'chaos' for farmer payments

    NAO report slams Rural Payments Agency

    Computer problems played a significant role in the chaos affecting England's Rural Payments Agency (RPA), according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) Changes to the specification, inadequate testing, and the lack of a contingency plan all contributed to the failures that caused delays in payments to farmers and …

    Public Sector 18 Oct 2006, 09:22

  • Magical green lights peg 25 Oct RTM for Vista

    Microsoft scrolling

    A Microsoft campus billboard has confirmed that Vista does exist and may even ship to manufacturers later this month. Well-connected hacks at the Seattle Times received a tip off that a "scrolling electronic reader board" at Microsoft HQ displayed the message "9 Days Until Vista RTM!!!" Do some back of the envelope math, and …

    Developer 18 Oct 2006, 09:50

  • Gutted SGI 'blasts out' of, er, bankruptcy

    Fewer staff, fewer debts, same problems

    Grumpy naysayers will argue that SGI shouldn't have bothered. It should have put the purple logos away, handed its old contracts to IBM or Sun Microsystems and called it a day. Never mind this bankruptcy emerging business. SGI's public relations team did its best yesterday to counter such server cynicism with one of the …

    Servers 18 Oct 2006, 09:59

  • McAfee dismisses Microsoft's security overtures

    As does Symantec...

    McAfee has dismissed Microsoft's release of information to allow security vendors to build products that will interoperate with Vista. The security vendor says the information is not fit for purpose. A statement from McAfee worldwide corporate communications vice president Siobhan MacDermott said: We did receive a document …

    Operating Systems 18 Oct 2006, 10:14

  • NEC shines light on high res handheld LCDs

    System-on-glass

    NEC's LCD Technologies division will next year begin mass-producing its latest low-temperature poly-silicon TFT displays for PDAs and other handheld gadgets, the company said today. The devices' unique selling point: the circuitry is embossed on the glass. The company showed off four displays: two 3.5in parts and a pair of 2. …

    Reg Hardware 18 Oct 2006, 10:23

  • Austrian nails testicle to roof

    Favourite thing now tied up with string

    An Austrian roofer who slipped on the job ended up nailing himself to the roof - through his wedding tackle. According to Ananova, 59-year-old August Voegl of Jennersdorf "shot the four-inch nail into his left testicle with the compressed air nail gun" and was thereafter "unable to extract it or pull himself away from the roof …

    Music and Media 18 Oct 2006, 10:39

  • Navicore readies 'world's smallest' Bluetooth GPS receiver

    Nokia wants it for the 770 Internet Tablet

    Nokia hopes satellite navigation will attract consumers to its 770 Internet Tablet. The Finnish phone giant will next month ship a GPS add-on kit for the machine based on route-planning software specialist Navicore's code. Separately, Navicore launched what it claims is the world's smallest and lightest Bluetooth-connected GPS …

    Reg Hardware 18 Oct 2006, 11:07

  • Logicalis urges customers to take their greens

    Reducing carbon footprint by selling silicon

    Logicalis will offer environmental training to its customers in an effort to reduce their carbon footprints. The integrator has teamed with environmental charity, Global Action Plan, to offer the subsidised training as part of new business proposals and contract negotiations. The training should equip employees to measure …

    Channel Register 18 Oct 2006, 11:14

  • Intel invites partners to cook its I/OATs

    TCP/IP overdrive

    Intel's era of openness continues. The company this week freed up some homegrown technology for improving the networking performance of servers. Regular Chipzilla watchers will recall Intel's release last year of I/OAT – aka I/O Acceleration Technology. The company hoped the technology would lessen the networking burden server …

    Servers 18 Oct 2006, 11:20

  • More e-voting pilots proposed

    How to get youngsters interested

    The Department of Constitutional Affairs is urging local authorities to pilot e-voting schemes in the May 2007 local elections. Bridget Prentice, Democracy Minister at the DCA, said in a statement she wanted to make it easier for people to vote if they can't get to polling stations. She also mentioned youngsters, who like to …

    Public Sector 18 Oct 2006, 11:24

  • Intel prices up quad-core desktop chips

    Top dollar

    So how much are Intel's upcoming quad-core processors going to set you back? Top dollar, it seems, according to reports coming out of Taiwan citing industry sources who've seen the chip giant's latest roadmap. Not that it takes much mental activity to work out the gamer-oriented 'Kentsfield' Core 2 Extreme's price. The QX6700 …

    Reg Hardware 18 Oct 2006, 11:24

  • Operators sign up for cheap 3G handsets

    3G for All

    Twelve operators have announced their support for the GSMA-sponsored "3G for All" programme to develop a cheap 3G handset with video, music, instant messaging and fast(ish) internet access. Cingular Wireless, Globe Telecom, Hutchison 3G, KTF, MTN, Orange, Smart, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telenor, T-Mobile, and Vodafone will …

    Mobile 18 Oct 2006, 11:36

  • Casino tycoon sticks elbow through £74m Picasso

    That's torn it

    A US casino mogul has blown a deal to offload a Picasso painting for £74m ($139m) after accidently sticking his elbow through it, the BBC reports. Steve Wynn was showing off Le Reve (The Dream) to guests at his Las Vegas office last month when the expensive mishap occured. Wynn suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, "an eye disease …

    Music and Media 18 Oct 2006, 11:37

  • Adware rumpus over Battlefield 2142

    It's all in the game

    Online games enthusiasts are up in arms over Electronic Arts's (EA) decision to bundle monitoring software with its latest game. Retail packages of Battlefield 2142 come with a leaflet explaining that the game comes with an adware package. The software, developed by IGA Worldwide, is used to deliver in-game advertising so that …

    Malware 18 Oct 2006, 11:41

  • EMC plots essential centralised decentralisation

    Moving on from cupboard fitting

    EMC's Tuesday job cull would have been long expected by many in the company. The firm has splurged $10bn in three years implementing Joe Tucci's grand vision of EMC as the go-to-guy for information lifecycle management. After two inventory misfires in a row, yesterday's results will be viewed as a qualified success by Wall …

    Storage 18 Oct 2006, 11:47

  • TVR abandons UK

    Sports cars follow Smarties into exile

    Sports car outfit TVR has announced it will cease production in the UK, meaning redundancy for the 250 workers at its Blackpool plant, the BBC reports. The company - founded in 1947 by Trevor Wilkinson - was acquired in 2004 by Russian Nikolai Smolensky and, despite temporarily laying off 71 members of staff back in April "due …

    Financial News 18 Oct 2006, 11:50

  • Shuttle XPC SN27P2 small form-factor PC

    Review Build-your-own AMD Socket AM2 box

    With the demise of Airfix, we blokes are left with few hobbies to pursue. Happily, we can still build our own PCs. If you want to work on the cheap you can use a beige tower, but should you fancy a modicum of style then there's no better starting point than a Shuttle barebone... The Shuttle XPC SN27P2 is externally …

    Reg Hardware 18 Oct 2006, 11:50

  • LG debuts Shine ultra-slim slider phone

    RAZR slicer?

    Say hello to Shine, LG's follow-up to the hugely popular Chocolate series: a metal-cased slimline slider that's a mere 1.4cm thick. In place of the usual multi-way control button, the handset uses a scroll bar. The silvery aluminium-cased SV420 - it'll also be available as the KV4200 and LV4200 for different South Korean …

    Reg Hardware 18 Oct 2006, 12:34

  • ICANN votes on domain tasting solution

    Board decision to close loophole

    Internet overseeing organisation ICANN will vote later today on whether to introduce a new system aimed at closing a loophole in domain name rules that enables speculators to register thousands of domain names effectively for free. The method, called "domain tasting", has proved highly controversial in the past year and, its …

    Financial News 18 Oct 2006, 13:26

  • Orange gets broadband back

    Jolly well done...

    Orange has got its broadband network back up and running, with access restored early this morning. The problems began on Monday afternoon and Orange would only say publicly that "network issues...are affecting a number of customers". Orange's status page continues to claim full availability for all broadband, dial-up, email, …

    Networks 18 Oct 2006, 13:29

  • 802.16 momentum shadowed by platform trade-offs

    Large players waiting for wave two

    Officially, 802.16e - or Mobile WiMAX as the vendors insist on calling it, even though its greatest advantage is that it spans fixed and mobile operations - is almost with us. The standard is frozen, many of the forum's profiles are close to completion, certification testing is supposed to start towards the end of the year, …

    Data Networking 18 Oct 2006, 13:38

  • UK retail giant canes Canis Canem Edit

    DSG will not stock title in 'family friendly' outlets

    Controversial game designer Rockstar will not see its take on Bash Street, Canis Canem Edit - aka Bully - on sale in shops owned by UK retail giant DSG, it has emerged. The reason? The chain believes the title is "not appropriate" for its "family-friendly image". Canis Canem Edit goes on sale in Europe on 27 October. It puts …

    Reg Hardware 18 Oct 2006, 13:45

  • Trojan download site spoofs IE7 release outlet

    Is there a difference?

    Hackers have created a bogus Internet Explorer 7 download site that attempts to load Trojan code onto the PCs of visiting surfers. Traffic to the malicious website is being driven by a spoofed email message, claiming to be from support@microsoft.com, offering a link to download Release Candidate 1 (RC1) of Microsoft Internet …

    Malware 18 Oct 2006, 13:51

  • Trapeze latest to join 'new wave' of switched WLANs

    Model on the rise, but there's still work to be done

    Enterprise uptake of wireless Lans (WLan) has never taken off at the speed that was anticipated a few years ago, and the equipment vendors face the unpleasant prospect of margins plummeting before they have achieved sufficient volume to compensate. Security, once the biggest brake on corporate adoption of wireless, is now …

    Data Networking 18 Oct 2006, 14:05

  • VoIP services are go

    So says IDC

    Spending on support services for VoIP will hit $1.27bn by 2010, analysts at IDC say. IDC reckons the difference between traditional IT and telco services will continue to blur. It predicts a growing market for supporting and servicing VoIP customers. It says that equipment makers have kept most of support spending because of …

    VoIP 18 Oct 2006, 14:10

  • Japan's Brulé touts would-be crème of UMPC crop

    Ladies and gentlemen, the world has another UMPC. The latest is the Vega from Japanese supplier Brulé - the crème de la crème of ultra-mobile PC providers, perhaps? - which is based around a 4.3in, 800 x 480 display and an AMD Geode LX800 processor. There's 512MB of RAM on board and a 4,200rpm 30GB hard drive. As you can …

    Reg Hardware 18 Oct 2006, 14:19

  • UK army seeks terror bomber sniffing tech, £10m reward

    Multifunction threat detection bot also sought

    Armed forces Procurement Minister Lord Drayson, recently described as "quite preposterous" by fellow peers, has kicked off a £10 million ideas competition to accompany this week's launch of the UK's Defence Technology Strategy. The Strategy itself starts from the premise that "Current threats emphasise that science and …

    Music and Media 18 Oct 2006, 14:23

  • HSBC's cash crash forced me to work off my dinner

    Letters No money, honey

    For HSBC, keeping thousands of customers from their money is just part of doing regular business with the bank. The company explained away Sunday's multi-hour ATM and credit card outage by telling us that it resulted from a "standard server" issue. HSBC issued no apology and called the whole kerfuffle "a minor" incident. Oh, …

    Letters 18 Oct 2006, 14:46

  • Bridgehead ends Quest for storage partner

    Brief Convergence ahoy

    BridgeHead Software has done a worldwide distribution deal with Quest. Quest customers and partners will now get access to BridgeHead's "integrated storage management" products. Additionally, Quest and BridgeHead have worked together to integrate Quest's srchive manager product with BridgeHead's file archiving product. Recent …

    Channel Register 18 Oct 2006, 14:48

  • Welcome to the Fourth Reich

    Comment Congress, Bush defile Constitution with security bill

    "It is a rare occasion when a President can sign a bill that he knows will save American lives; I have that privilege this morning," US President George W Bush trilled as he consigned 200 years of judicial oversight to the scrap heap of history. For the bill that he signed with such evident satisfaction has relieved the federal …

    Music and Media 18 Oct 2006, 15:53

  • NetApp mounts up for virtual tape land grab

    Storage Expo Big rivals still playing catch-up

    NetApp punted a new virtual tape library (VTL) offering today, as it continues to perform noisy running bombs into a growing pool of custom the really big lads have so far just dipped a toe into. A trio of Nearstore VTLs will go up against EMC's Clariion VTL range, aimed at mid to enterprise-class storage operations. NetApp …

    Storage 18 Oct 2006, 16:12

  • Spamhaus fights US court 'pro-spammer' ruling

    Change of tack

    Spamhaus has switched legal tack and decide to appeal an $11.7m judgment against it by a US court obtained by a firm it labelled a spammer. The London-based anti-spam organisation had argued that the court has no jurisdiction over it, but the threat of domain seizure has forced it to take action. In a default ruling made by a …

    Spam 18 Oct 2006, 16:40

  • Quantum tapes up future with ADIC

    Storage Expo Live together, die alone

    When two of the last two swingers in tape town tied the knot earlier this year, some interpreted the move as the bell tolling for independent tape vendors. When Quantum bought ADIC for $770m in May, the move was not well received on Wall Street. The same day as the deal was announced, Quantum announced losses of $23m on the …

    Channel Register 18 Oct 2006, 17:13

  • Sun's 'white trash' server trailers impress

    While Opteron and virtualization sell

    With a well revamped server line behind it, Sun Microsystems has reached a point of contentment. You can tell that Sun is happy with itself because the company has started flinging lots of far out concept gear. The best and most recent example being the White Trash Data Centers announced earlier this week. Those buying the …

    Servers 18 Oct 2006, 17:15

  • MySpace: social sites will never be friends

    Like the posters in your bedroom

    A leading MySpace executive has said it is extremely unlikely that there will ever be integration between social networking websites. Jay Stephens, vice president of sales and operations with MySpace, told attendees at the Empathy Marketing conference in Dublin on Wednesday that sites such as Bebo, Facebook and MySpace are …

    Financial News 18 Oct 2006, 17:26

  • Web viruses drop off despite IE exploit flap

    Hacker holiday confounds expectations

    Web viruses fell by half in September, despite recent high-profile Microsoft vulnerabilities. But spyware infections grew 21 per cent over the same period last month, according to a study by UK-based web filtering firm ScanSafe. Much attention was paid to Microsoft vulnerabilities and zero-day exploits last month but this didn' …

    Malware 18 Oct 2006, 18:47

  • Great WMD failures: Casey, the castor oil killer

    Chemical Alley 'Terrorism Lite' makes US Homeland Security stats anyway

    Be now assured that America is safe from a drug addict trying to make a weapon of mass destruction from castor oil, a laxative. This comes by way of the example of Casey Cutler, a drug addict from Mesa, Arizona, who wound up in the Department of Justice's 2006 count of WMD terror cases broken up by the government. It was …

    Music and Media 18 Oct 2006, 18:56

  • Net is terror training tool - US security chief

    'Combination of hatred and technical skills'

    The internet is a dangerous tool of radical ideologies, according to the US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. He said that last summer's attacks on London was an example of a domestic terrorist threat in action. Speaking to the International Association of the Chiefs of Police, Chertoff said that the internet is a …

    Music and Media 18 Oct 2006, 19:14

  • EFF to probe FBI's new monster database

    That'll teach them

    The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is suing the US Department of Justice to learn more about the FBI's new monster database, called the Investigative Data Warehouse, or IDW. The Bureau has been eager to showcase its new counterterrorist gimmick, after expensive and largely humiliating efforts to launch its Trilogy and …

    Music and Media 18 Oct 2006, 19:17

  • Steal my ID, steal my fingers - the public gets nervous

    So how many fingers do you need anyway?

    The public fears losing their fingers to ruthless biometric ID thieves in the fingerprint-controlled future, apparently. Or at least, so says Frost & Sullivan analyst Sapna Capoor, who argued unconvincingly that "A dead finger is no good to a thief." If you have a fingerprint scanner protecting your family jewels, your data …

    Music and Media 18 Oct 2006, 19:55

  • Costs up with investment for Citrix

    'Strategic' third quarter

    A jump in sales and income for Microsoft partner Citrix Systems last quarter was accompanied by increased costs, following M&A and product launches. Citrix, known for thin-client computing software, recorded a 23.7 per cent increase in operating expenses to $206m as it bought privately held Orbital Data in August, and added the …

    Financial News 18 Oct 2006, 21:21

  • AMD profits, shipments up

    On Q

    AMD has turned in a good Q3 with sales of $1.33bn and net income of $134m, or 27 cents a share. Processor shipments rose 18 per cent from Q2 and revenues climbed nine per cent from Q2 and, on a like-for-like basis, 32 per cent from Q3, 2005 (last year's figures included the lossmaking memory business, since spun off). AMD …

    Financial News 18 Oct 2006, 21:21

  • Ballmer: Microsoft helped security partners on Windows Vista

    Lack of knowledge

    Steve Ballmer has pitched into the row over Microsoft's willingness to cough up vital Windows Vista APIs for partners to lock down the operating system against attack. The Microsoft CEO said his company had done everything necessary to help security partners and to get Windows Vista out on time in Europe next month. He added he …

    Operating Systems 18 Oct 2006, 22:09

  • VoIP revolution leaves US behind

    Symbian Show SIP on this

    Born and hyped in the USA, mobile VoIP over Wi-Fi looks set to create waves everywhere … except the USA. That's one, unexpected conclusion you can draw from the Symbian Smartphone show this year, which drew 4,000 attendees to London's Docklands, and finished today. At CTIA last month, US delegates were wondering aloud whether …

    VoIP 18 Oct 2006, 22:34