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23rd October 2006 Archive

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  • MPAA scouting for young hearts and minds

    Copyright badges for everyone!

    The top brass at the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) must have spent the entire weekend drinking champagne and smoking Cuban cigars after their latest spectacular PR coup. Because the MPAA understands the Jesuit saying "Give Me the Child Until He Is Seven and I Will Show You the Man", Los Angeles Boy Scouts can now …

    Financial News 23 Oct 2006, 09:08

  • Researcher attempts to shed light on security troll

    It's all in the writing style

    For over a year, subscribers to the Full Disclosure security mailing list had to endure the taunts and rants of a self-styled vulnerability researcher known as "n3td3v." The troll - as such taunting posters are dubbed - would frequently ignite massive angry email responses, or flame wars, at times limiting the usefulness of …

    Security 23 Oct 2006, 09:12

  • FoI changes could block release of controversial info

    Media targeted with new 'rationing' laws

    Changes planned to the rules surrounding Freedom of Information legislation will prevent the most controversial information from being made public, according to legal and political experts. The media is likely to be hardest hit by proposed changes, they said. "[Changes] would knock out a significant volume of the most important …

    Public Sector 23 Oct 2006, 09:38

  • Computer factory workers show 'elevated' risk of cancer

    As if wearing a bunny suit wasn't bad enough

    A study of workers at computer plants in the US has shown an “elevated” chance of contracting and dying of cancer. A study conducted by a US academic, Richard Clapp, and published in Environmental Health, covered 31,941 individuals who died between 1969 and 2001, and who had spent five years or more working in computer or …

    Financial News 23 Oct 2006, 10:30

  • UK launches science scholarships

    Importing expertise

    The government has announced a new science scholarship scheme, backed by £100m, to attract top scientists to work in the UK, the BBC reports. The Rhodes-type scholarship comes in an atmosphere of increasing concern for the future of science in the UK. The numbers of students taking science subjects at university has failed to …

    Science 23 Oct 2006, 10:37

  • 'Carousel' bank's founder due in court

    VAT fraudsters' favourite bank

    John Deuss is due in court in Holland later today to face charges relating to the First Curacao International Bank (FCIB). Deuss, who founded the bank, was arrested by Dutch police on his arrival from Bermuda. Dutch and UK tax authorities took action against the bank in September. UK Customs accuse FCIB of being the favoured …

    Channel Register 23 Oct 2006, 10:47

  • Mobile snap nails dog sex man

    Wife catches hubby with pit bull terrier

    A Washington state man faces prosecution for bestiality under a new animal cruelty law after his wife discovered him having sex with the family's pit bull terrier, kirotv.com reports. According to the Pierce County sheriff's office report, Michael Patrick McPhail, 26, of Spanaway, Pierce County, was caught red-handed last …

    Music and Media 23 Oct 2006, 10:53

  • Firefox 2.0 goes live

    Updated Get it while it's hot

    Firefox 2.0 was due to be released on Tuesday but the final version of the source browser was available from Mozilla FTP site early on Monday. Demand was such that the ftp.mozilla.org site appears to have buckled under the strain. However the software remains available from mirror sites such as one run by Oregon State University …

    Applications 23 Oct 2006, 10:54

  • SMB budgets fall short of storage growth

    Brief But bigger is not always better

    Demand for storage capacity is continuing to rise, but SMB (small to medium sized business) budgets are failing to keep up, according to a Gartner survey. Though 55 per cent of the 1,100 IT managers surveyed rated keeping up with demand as their biggest storage challenge, estimating their capacity needs would increase by an …

    Servers 23 Oct 2006, 11:03

  • Pure play apps could eat IT budgets

    Buy more apps, get more maintenance

    Here is an interesting little conundrum that is probably worth a straw poll of some sort among our readers. A simple observation was put to me recently by HP software pre-sales manager Dave Clarke, which suggested that the greater the number of "pure play" applications packages an enterprise employs, the greater the percentage …

    Developer 23 Oct 2006, 11:17

  • Biologists propose alternative to 'cloning'

    Offputting terminology

    Biologists would like people to stop talking about "therapeutic cloning" because it gives too many the heebie-jeebies. Instead, a group of biologists would like to refer to the process as "somatic nuclear cell transfer", New Scientist reports. This would distinguish the process of cloning embryos for harvesting stem cells from …

    Biology 23 Oct 2006, 11:22

  • AMD pares processor prices

    Up to 35.8 per cent off

    AMD has cut the prices of its Turion 64 X2, Athlon 64 FX, Athlon 64 and a number of its Sempron chips, the company announced today. CPU prices fell by up to 35.8 per cent. The four-strong dual-core Turion 64 X2 line is now 16.3-25.7 per cent less expensive than before, with the biggest reduction being made to the top-of-the- …

    Reg Hardware 23 Oct 2006, 11:57

  • Nvidia readies nForce 650i pair?

    One for SLI, one not

    Nvidia will next month unveil two Intel-oriented nForce 600 series chipsets alongside the nForce 680i SLI, pictures of which leaked out last week. The other chipsets are the 650i SLI and the 650i Ultra, both budget parts, it has been claimed. According to a DailyTech report, the 650i parts are identical in all but one regard …

    Reg Hardware 23 Oct 2006, 12:14

  • Intel bares Tigerton

    Server four by four

    Intel is sticking with its roadmap for the quadcore Tigerton and demonstrated a server running four of the little blighters on Friday, according to reports. Quad-core processors for single processor and dual processor systems are due to appear sometime after Halloween. But while Intel has moved its lines to its Core …

    Servers 23 Oct 2006, 12:27

  • Sony defeats PSP importer in UK court

    Judgement goes against Lik-Sang

    The English High Court has ruled that importing Japanese and North American PlayStation Portable handheld consoles into Europe through unofficial channels is unlawful - the latest outcome of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's (SCEE) battle with Hong Kong-based online retailer Lik-Sang.com. SCEE initiated legal proceedings …

    Reg Hardware 23 Oct 2006, 12:45

  • Lenovo retires from CeBIT

    Another one bites the dust

    The news that Lenovo is backing out of CeBIT, Europe's biggest IT trade show, begs the question: Is CeBIT bleeding to death? Lenovo is the latest major company to pull the plug on the show, to be held in March 2007 in Germany. It joins Nokia and Motorola who have already announced they would not be at next year's show. BenQ …

    Channel Register 23 Oct 2006, 12:58

  • SpamThru Trojan bundles own virus scanner

    Blocks rival malware

    Internet miscreants have created a spam-sending Trojan that comes fitted with an anti-virus scanner. The SpamThru Trojan attempts to reserve control of compromised machines by blocking infection by other forms of malware using a pirated copy of a commercial anti-virus scanner. Security researchers at SecureWorks reckon the …

    Malware 23 Oct 2006, 13:06

  • Child safety pop quiz violates child safety laws

    FBI safe surfing drive goes awry

    An FBI website designed to help children to learn safe surfing tips is pointing users towards a website that violates US child safety laws, Wired reports. The FBI's Safe Online Surfing site invites young surfers to take part in a quiz run by the Common Knowledge Scholarship Foundation on how to become an FBI agent. To take …

    ID 23 Oct 2006, 13:07

  • Borland goes for ALM 2.0

    Is it deja vu all over again?

    Nine months ago, Borland announced it was spinning off its IDE tools into a separate business to focus on ALM (Application Lifecycle Management) products and services. The divestment is taking longer than planned and, as I write, the Borland Developer Tools Group is still part of Borland. But is the focus on ALM still on track …

    Developer 23 Oct 2006, 13:27

  • Intel to ship 'Bearlake' chipsets as 3x series?

    Model numbering comes to core logic products

    Intel's 'Bearlake' chipset family, due to debut in Q2 2007, will bring Intel's 9xx chipset naming scheme to an end, reports coming out of the Far East suggest. Instead, Intel will apparently code what will ship as the 3x Express series according to market position and feature set. So, the business-oriented models, which will …

    Reg Hardware 23 Oct 2006, 13:40

  • Irish passports go RFID, and naked

    Analysis Mug me, my house is currently worth a fortune

    The Irish government has begun issuing RFID passports with biometric data that can be read at a distance to comply with US regulations for its visa waiver programme. But unlike the RFID passports the USA is now issuing, the Irish ones lack a security feature preventing them from being skimmed, or read surreptitiously. The US …

    ID 23 Oct 2006, 13:45

  • Vodafone outage caused by robbery

    Cable theft floors wireless network

    Cable stealing thieves were responsible for a network outage that left some Vodafone UK customers without service for most of yesterday. A spokeswoman was unable to explain what the cables were for, but confirmed that the theft in north Wales caused the network downtime for most of Sunday. She said: "There was a robbery of …

    Mobile 23 Oct 2006, 13:47

  • Sony Vaio VGC-LA1 all-on-one PC

    Stylish slimline desktop wonder?

    Review Let's suppose you're a City high-flyer and you want a computer for your Docklands loft. Or perhaps you're a hip and happening teenager who wants to watch TV and use the internet in the privacy of your bedroom. Maybe you're a student who has moved away from home and you don't have the space to house a TV and a PC. …

    Reg Hardware 23 Oct 2006, 13:58

  • Europe holds summit on future of print

    Old skool vs the web

    The European Commission is hosting a meeting today with eight editors-in-chief from some of Europe's more established and respectable newspapers and magazines, including The Times, to discuss the future of printed media. The discussion is expected to cover sources of advertising revenue, and the rules "distinguishing editorial …

    Financial News 23 Oct 2006, 14:25

  • BT offers online storage

    For customers and non-customers alike

    BT is offering consumers a simple way to store important files and photographs to protect against accidentally deleting things or losing hardware. BT Digital Vault Basic is a free service open to BT and non-BT customers. It offers 2GB of space if you sign up before 7 January 2007 or 1GB if you sign up after that and are not a …

    Storage 23 Oct 2006, 14:29

  • Skype offers Brits free yak

    Brief UK landlines from UK

    Skype users who buy Skype Credit to pay for international and mobile calls will get six months free calls to UK landlines. The offer includes any calls to landlines in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, and Northern Ireland. The offer is available until 31 December. Skype users already get free calls to Skype or other VoIP …

    VoIP 23 Oct 2006, 14:35

  • HP to join 18x DVD writer league

    This time with LightScribe on board

    HP will next month ship its first internal DVD writer that not only burns at up to 18x speeds but also supports the LightScribe label etching system. Says who? Says Lite-on IT, the Taiwanese optical disc drive maker that manufacturers HP's drives. 18x "will" be HP's new writing speed standard, the PC giant's supplier has ruled …

    Reg Hardware 23 Oct 2006, 14:39

  • 3Com flips for Wi-Fi clamshell VoIP phone

    Not cheap, mind

    3Com is hopping on the VoIP bandwagon, this time hoping to steal a lead over its rivals by pitching a Wi-Fi equipped clamshell device rather than the more common candybar form factor. Prosaically called the 3Com 3108 Wireless Phone, the handset looks like a mobile phone circa 2004, but if you don't mind the pre-RAZR looks, …

    Reg Hardware 23 Oct 2006, 14:55

  • Cisco gets into the body language market

    Virtual chambers

    If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to feel the actual presence of John Chambers, wonder no more. Cisco has finally launched its TelePresense Meeting system, which it claims will create “live, face to face meetings experience” over the net. The firm has been trailing the technology for a while, promising it will convincingly …

    VoIP 23 Oct 2006, 15:18

  • IBM wades into Amazon for patent infringement

    Oi - we invented ordering things online...

    IBM today announced it had filed two patent infringement lawsuits against ecommerce monolith Amazon.com. The lawsuits reportedly accuse Amazon of "willfully" violating IBM patents for "such services as allowing users to order items from an electronic catalog and displaying internet advertising". IBM listed the patents it …

    Financial News 23 Oct 2006, 15:26

  • NetKernel - taming XML and Web 2.0

    Out with the app server, in with a REST

    After seven years in the making, and three years quietly simmering in production environments, 1060 Research's NetKernel is set to take on the corporate middleware mess. No one can deny that enterprise middleware is in a crisis. Each silver bullet has failed to stem the growing complexity and ever-rising cost of incremental …

    Developer 23 Oct 2006, 16:01

  • Windows in HA does go

    High availability without the rocket scientists

    High Availability (HA) environments can obviously be classed as a `good thing’. For most users, however, the balance between need and the cost of implementation usually ends up tipping them towards the `not bother’ side of the fence. One of the cost issues that plays an inevitable part in this process is that of applications …

    Developer 23 Oct 2006, 17:55

  • EMC goes whole hog with hardware upgrade

    Shows its metal

    EMC has gone brash and bold with its latest product rollout, pumping up all of the company's main hardware lines. Big spenders will find new Symmetrix boxes, while the mid-tier crowd receives a fresh Clariion. Away from this core kit, EMC has also pushed out a new virtual tape library system and a number of Celerras. The influx …

    Storage 23 Oct 2006, 19:09

  • Oracle bulks up telecoms unit with MetaSolv buy

    Nuts and bolts

    Oracle is buying another company: this time a provider of back-end software for telcos called MetaSolv Software. By Oracle's standards, this is a small purchase, around $219.2m cash. Based in Plano, Texas, Metasolv specialises in OSS software, which in the telecoms world means Operations Support System (not Open Source …

    Financial News 23 Oct 2006, 19:10

  • Dell and AMD celebrate their love in front of thousands

    Choice means buying AMD, not relying on Intel

    Michael Dell and new best buddy, AMD's Hector Ruiz, cozied up on stage today at Oracle OpenWorld to celebrate customer choice. While they didn't mention Intel by name, AMD's arch-rival was the butt of some badly-scripted managerial improv intended to highlight the wisdom of hardware vendors in picking AMD too. Michael Dell is …

    Servers 23 Oct 2006, 19:18

  • Nokia gets another chance to stop Qualcomm lawsuit

    Phone bloc

    Nokia will have another chance to stop a lawsuit brought by chip maker Qualcomm in the latest twist in a long-running patent battle between the companies. A US appeals court has ordered a reconsideration of an earlier decision in Qualcomm's favour. The dispute centres on patents owned by Qualcomm which it sought to protect in a …

    Mobile 23 Oct 2006, 19:22

  • Fiorina: 'However bad it was for me, it was worse for you'

    Cry baby Carly

    Change is good. Unless it means me getting fired. That was the theme of a talk delivered by former HP chief Carly Fiorina last week to a crowd of San Francisco lawyers. While on the road promoting her new memoir, Tough Choices, Carly stopped off to address the San Francisco Bar Association, to impart some wisdom, and sign some …

    IT Director 23 Oct 2006, 19:54

  • Oracle releases 11g database beta

    OpenWorld DBA and information workers of the world unite

    Oracle has kicked its next major database out to developers for testing, with features intended to improve the lot of DBAs and information workers. The Oracle Database 11g beta sees compression technology that can reduce the amount of storage required for data sets by up to two thirds, the ability to conduct upgrades online, …

    Applications 23 Oct 2006, 20:35

  • SGI gives NASDAQ a go

    Nicer than NYSE

    SGI has returned to a major stock exchange for a second go at being a hardware star. The beleaguered server seller emerged today under the SGIC ticker on the NASDAQ. It handed off 11m new shares in common stock and opened at $20 per share. By day's end, SGIC had dropped 2.5 per cent to $19.50. The once glorious company was …

    Servers 23 Oct 2006, 20:58

  • Dell finally discovers Opteron servers

    These things save energy. Who knew?

    Dell on Monday finally gave AMD the big squeeze, when it popped out a pair of Opteron-based servers. Chairman Michael Dell unveiled the AMD gear with relatively little fanfare during a keynote at the Oracle Open World event in San Francisco. He touted the four-socket PowerEdge 6950, talked up the two-socket PowerEdge SC1435 and …

    Servers 23 Oct 2006, 22:59

  • Ex-Enron CEO gets 24 years in hi-tech prison

    Skilling to make new markets and friends

    Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling can look forward to making markets around dynamic cigarette allocation and tender love auctions now that he's been sentenced to 24 years in prison. US District Judge Sim Lake hit Skilling with his punishment today, saying the executive's "crimes have imposed on hundreds if not thousands, a life …

    Financial News 23 Oct 2006, 23:24