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20th November 2006 Archive

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  • A phone call from Islamabad

    Mobilink celebrates 20 million customers, and growing fast

    "We advise you to reconsider your need to travel to Pakistan at this time due to the very high threat of terrorist attack and the unpredictable security situation." – Australian Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade Luckily the UK Foreign Office is made of sterner stuff and simply recommends you stay near large cities and don't …

    Mobile 20 Nov 2006, 04:11

  • Startup takes Reg's coveted 'Top FLOP' award

    SC06 SiCortex's supercomputing sauce

    SiCortex has bucked one of the more disturbing supercomputing trends - the disconnect between form and function. The Massachusetts server start-up last week unveiled a system that would moisten the eyes of both Seymour Cray and John De Lorean. Its SC5832 crams 5,832 processor cores into a "Pimp My Cluster" chassis with …

    Servers 20 Nov 2006, 07:34

  • Vodafone fesses to premium rate SMS overcharging

    Txt 0907 RIP OFF

    Vodafone has been charging its pay as you go customers an extra 12p for texting premium rate numbers. Customers are usually charged 12p for the delivery of the message, and then the premium rate charge. However, it seems the mobile operator has been tagging on an extra 12p. The overbilling came to light when a customer …

    Mobile 20 Nov 2006, 10:06

  • Software market will double between 2003 and 2010, says expert

    Strong, but not silly

    The market for large enterprise software is set to grow at up to nine per cent a year until 2010, but the software support service will suffer a slump in growth, according to market research company Ovum. Ovum's David Mitchell told technology law podcast OUT-LAW Radio that in certain sectors the technology market would enjoy …

    Software 20 Nov 2006, 10:10

  • The real time reporting utopia?

    Accounting big four push for financial reporting changes

    The so-called big four global accounting firms, together with two of the major second tier firms, have recently proposed that the current historic reporting of corporate financial results, quarterly or half yearly, should be replaced by real time reporting. Moreover, they argue that financial reporting should be augmented by …

    Financial News 20 Nov 2006, 10:29

  • Toshiba unveils fastest 8GB SDHC

    Second-generation memory card

    Toshiba has announced what may be the world's second 8GB SDHC memory card. Alas, Pretec announced just such a product back in September, but Toshiba's card is faster. It's a Class 4 device - Pretec's was a Class 2. Toshiba's card has a guaranteed data transfer speed of at least 4MBps, compared to the Pretec product's 2MBps …

    Hardware 20 Nov 2006, 11:05

  • Murdoch in ITV takeover spoiler

    When billionaires attack

    It emerged over the weekend that media bounder Rupert Murdoch had bought up a slice of ITV, putting the kybosh on Richard Branson's dreams of moguldom. Murdoch's son James, who runs BSkyB, told the City on Friday he had bought out US investment groups Fidelity and Brandes, bagging a 17.9 per cent stake in the commercial …

    Financial News 20 Nov 2006, 11:18

  • Bank boss joins HP board

    Seat emptied by spying scandal filled

    The chairman and chief executive of Wachovia – the fourth largest retail bank in the US – is joining the board of HP. G Kennedy Thompson, known as Ken, is the first replacement after HP lost three directors in the wake of its spying scandal. He is not sitting on any HP committees and is apparently not a replacement for a …

    Financial News 20 Nov 2006, 11:29

  • Intel said to be preparing Pentium price cuts

    January timeframe matches past reports

    Intel may be set to slash the prices of its current Pentium 4 processors in January 2007, it has been claimed by Chinese PC manufacturer sources. The allegation essentially re-iterates claims we reported on back in September. The latest price-cut claim comes via the Chinese-language Commercial Times. The P4s are said by the …

    Hardware 20 Nov 2006, 11:37

  • Cambridge incubator spawns spinoffs aplenty

    Are you allergic to VoIP?

    A trip to St John's in Cambridge (England) provides an opportunity to see innovation in action. And one of the pioneers of Cambridge Technology - Dr Herman Hauser of Amadeus - was there this year to explain how it all came about - and to take modest credit for the effect. It was ironic that in the same week as Bill Gates was …

    Financial News 20 Nov 2006, 11:50

  • Nvidia preps Q1 2007 debut for G84, G86?

    Aimed at entry-level, mid-range, moles claim

    Nvidia will bring its DirectX 10-compliant unified shader graphics chip architecture to the mid-range and entry-level market segments in Q1 2007. That's the timeframe for the company's G86 and G84 GPUs, Taiwanese graphics card maker moles have alleged. So suggests a DigiTimes report which adds the two parts will sample in …

    Hardware 20 Nov 2006, 11:55

  • eBay in Children in Need charity appeal outrage

    Pudsey poses with pedo.com

    We're obliged to reader Spenno who this morning popped down to eBay UK and noted that the online tat bazaar was doing its bit for the BBC's Children in Need charity appeal. Good show, although we think the company might in future want to avoid this Featured Items juxtaposition: Oh dear, oh dear. Quite what Pudsey would make …

    Media 20 Nov 2006, 12:05

  • Check Point bids $586m for PointSec

    Security beyond the firewall

    Check Point has made a bid to acquire Protect Data, the holding company for mobile security firm PointSec Mobile Technologies, in a cash deal valued at $586m (SEK 4,152m). The offer is subject to the agreement of 90 per cent of Protect's shareholders, as well as regulatory approval. Protect Data has urged shareholders of the …

    Security 20 Nov 2006, 12:19

  • HTC announces 'Herald'

    P4350 to you and me

    HTC today unveiled its latest smart phone with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, this time driven by a spring-loaded mechanism. Dubbed the P4350, it appears to be the same device phone supplier Dopod announced earlier this month as the C800M. According to HTC, the P4350 - codenamed 'Herald' - is a quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE device …

    Phones 20 Nov 2006, 12:26

  • Linux-running PS3 offered on eBay

    Dual-boot guaranteed, apparently

    Want to run Linux on the PlayStation 3 but can't be bothered with the hassle of installing it? Then head over to online auction site eBay where one of Sony's next-generation consoles is on offer pre-loaded with Fedora Core 5 Linux. The console on offer is a 60GB machine, the seller says. He claims the hardware's hard drive …

    Games 20 Nov 2006, 12:58

  • Adobe boss won't rule out suing over Vista

    Microsoft launch not home and dry yet

    Adobe chief executive Bruce Chizen will not rule out suing Microsoft over the "save as pdf" feature of Vista, the operating system slated for arrival next year. Speaking to a German business paper, Chizen said the company was working with regulators but could take to the courts if this failed. He said there were two options – …

    Software 20 Nov 2006, 13:03

  • Bushies push NSA wiretap extravaganza

    Comment Freedom's just another word for nothing left to hide

    True freedom is protecting Americans by letting the NSA monitor their email and phone calls by the millions without a warrant, US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales explained to Air Force Academy cadets in a speech last week. It's a mistake to regard such Gestapo tactics as compromising freedom, he told the young officers in …

    Media 20 Nov 2006, 14:13

  • Nintendo to ship DS Lite MP3 player on Wii day

    Nintendo will next month ship software that will turn its DS Lite handheld games console into an MP3 player, the company's UK wing said late last week. The app will ship on 8 December - the same day the Wii goes on sale over here. The application comes on a cartridge that incorporates an SD card slot for song storage, though …

    Games 20 Nov 2006, 14:15

  • Microsoft makes claim on Linux code

    And sets alarm bells ringing in open source community

    Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said that every user of the open source Linux system could owe his company money for using its intellectual property. The statement will confirm the worst fears of the open source community. Microsoft recently signed a deal for SUSE Linux, a Novell-owned distribution of the Linux operating …

    Operating Systems 20 Nov 2006, 14:31

  • E-Ten guns for HTC with Glofiish M700

    PDA phone with slide-out keyboard and GPS, anyone?

    Taiwanese handheld maker E-Ten's Glofiish X500 PDA phone went on sale in the UK today even as the company gears up to announce its second Glofiish-branded device: the first model in the range to offer a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. E-Ten is clearly out to try and beat HTC at its own game. E-Ten claimed the 1.6cm-thick X500 is …

    Phones 20 Nov 2006, 14:40

  • Man buys PS3, smashes it with sledgehammer

    Updated with video Console craziness continues

    Two Canadians last week won their 15 minutes of fame by standing in line for two days to splash out CAD550 on a 20GB PS3s - only to take the machine straight out of the store and destroy it with a sledgehammer. "I did it for the thrill and to see people's expression," Victor Moukhortov, a 17-year-old part-time student, told …

    Bootnotes 20 Nov 2006, 14:43

  • Thus turns a profit

    Kinda

    Scottish telco Thus today told investors it is cautious about the broadband business in the current climate of fierce competition, as it revealed margins on its internet services have been squeezed down to 29 per cent from 44 per cent a year ago. Thus grew its broadband revenues in the six months ending 30 September 30 £10.2m …

    Financial News 20 Nov 2006, 15:05

  • Worm creates havoc on Second Life

    'Grey goo' gridlock

    Virtual world Second Life was forced to shut up shop for around 15 minutes on Sunday to clean up after a computer worm attack brought servers run by parent company Linden Labs to a virtual standstill. The worm resulted in spinning gold rings, of a type that appeared in the popular Sonic the Hedgehog games of the late 1980s, …

    Security 20 Nov 2006, 15:07

  • NetApp brings StoreVault to Blighty

    Hammer to crack SMB nut

    NetApp is bringing its StoreVault line for small and medium-sized business to the UK in a distribution deal with storage specialist Hammer. The StoreVault s500, which scales up to 6TB, launched in the US earlier this year. NetApp says it has received a warm welcome, signing up 250+ value-added resellers. StoreVault gear will …

    The Channel 20 Nov 2006, 15:08

  • Aussie cops deploy Lethal Weapon email server

    'This is a real badge, I'm a real cop...'

    Unlikely as it may seem, we have just acquired evidence that the cops in Western Australia have gone and got themselves a sense of humour. For proof, check out this search which reveals the mail server used by Australia's finest, viz: riggs.police.wa.gov.au. Nicely done. We were going to email the Aussie boys in blue for a …

    Servers 20 Nov 2006, 15:43

  • ADS touts iPod, PSP friendly USB video accelerator

    Dramatically speed up video transcoding

    Fed up with the hours it takes to encode video into the iPod- and PSP-friendly H.264 format? If so, the answer, according to video peripherals maker ADS Tech, is an H.264 encoding accelerator and, by sheer coincidence, it has one it would like to sell to you. The InstantVideo To Go is a USB dongle that ties into ADS' bundled …

    Hardware 20 Nov 2006, 15:58

  • Bank-card PINs 'wide open' to insider attack

    Crackers

    Security researchers have highlighted how corrupt bank insiders might be able to obtain bank card PINs using as little as one or two guesses. The flaw, which involves the way ATM PINs are encrypted and transmitted across international financial networks (by switches), is far more severe than previous attacks which created a …

    Security 20 Nov 2006, 16:55

  • Moglen: How we'll kill the Microsoft Novell deal

    Interview We'll fight them on the breaches...

    If Microsoft is aiming for a courtroom collision with the world of free software, it may be disappointed. Novell's decision to enter an agreement with Redmond that covers the mutual exchange of intellectual property - including a "covenant not to sue" [*]won't prompt a litigation offensive, we learn. Instead it's adopting the …

    Operating Systems 20 Nov 2006, 18:30

  • HP's newest board member a pretexting veteran

    Been there, seen that

    HP's freshest board member Ken Thompson won't need to take the company's Pretexting 101 course offering. As Wachovia's CEO, Thompson has become well acquainted with the legal concerns surrounding phone record fraud. Just months before the HP scandal materialized, Wachovia was found to be keeping curious company. The financial …

    Financial News 20 Nov 2006, 18:33

  • Craigslist ruling: Why the EFF is right to be pissed

    Silicon Justice Keep our websites free!

    Is this the dawning of the age of the defamation take-down notice? The Electronic Frontier Foundation seems to think so, based on its reaction to a decision last week absolving Craigslist.com from liability for discriminatory housing postings. Huh, you might ask? The EFF's side won (gasp!), and they're still bitching? Indeed …

    Media 20 Nov 2006, 19:15

  • Clusters get personal, while workstations go silent

    SC06 What the Tier 1s missed

    A couple of smaller time hardware players made a big impression on us during last week's supercomputing conference, showing their ability to extend out of just the high performance computing market. If you're in the market for speedy, compact x86 kit, then you want to check out both VXTech and Microway. VXTech – a division of …

    Servers 20 Nov 2006, 19:56