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6th December 2006 Archive

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  • ATI lost graphics market share to Nvidia in Q3

    Reaction to AMD acquisition?

    Investors who argue that AMD should sell off its ATI discrete graphics operation will take heart from market research published today which shows the chip maker's GPU division saw its market share fall in all segments during Q3. According to Jon Peddie Research, ATI's share of the computer-oriented graphics market dropped …

    Hardware 6 Dec 2006, 08:49

  • Buffalo bullish over skinny scrollwheel mouse

    Ergonomically egregious?

    No, it's not Apple's next-generation iPod Shuffle, but add-on maker Buffalo's latest mouse, a slimline 8mm-thick rodent with an iPod-style scrollwheel in place of the more usual vertically placed rotary control. The wheel rotates to control a window's vertical scroll bar, but pressing the left or right edges scrolls …

    Hardware 6 Dec 2006, 09:43

  • Rational desktop tools tweaked for SOA

    More process

    IBM has announced its Rational Software Delivery Platform 7.0 for desktops, to help developers design and deliver service oriented architectures (SOAs). The platform features a set of Eclipse-based offerings and best practices to help in the management and delivery of systems in a distributed environment. It wraps up and …

    Developer 6 Dec 2006, 09:56

  • Yahoo! restructures!

    Says goodbye! to chief operating officer

    Yahoo!'s chief operating officer Daniel Rosenweig and entertainment group head Lloyd Braun are both leaving the company. Yahoo! is splitting into three segments to try and improve, and speed up, decision making. The new divisions will be an audience division, advertiser and publisher group, and technology team. The appointments …

    Financial News 6 Dec 2006, 09:59

  • ICSTIS launches a child's guide to premium rate services

    And a new code of practice

    ICSTIS, the UK's premium-rate regulator, has launched a site to explain to children how premium-rate services operate, and how to avoid being ripped off. It is also publishing an updated code of practice, which will come in to force next year. PhoneBrain was set up to encourage children to use their brain before they use their …

    Networks 6 Dec 2006, 10:07

  • Nvidia Quadro FX 3500M debuts in Dell workstation

    GPU line's core clock increased

    Nvidia has extended its family of Quadro FX workstation-class mobile graphics chips and already begun supplying the part - the 3500M - to Dell for the PC giant's Precision M90 notebook, the chip maker said yesterday. The Quadro FX 3500M builds on the previous top-of-the-line model, the 2500M, be delivering higher rendering …

    Hardware 6 Dec 2006, 10:07

  • Superheroes: protect your hidden HQ by... er... USB

    Evil Geniuses beware

    This has to be one of the daftest USB gadgets we've come across: the Secret Base Emergency Button. Plug it in, press the top to open the shutter and reveal the red emergency key, hit that and... your PC shuts down. Yes, but it's the way it shuts down that matters. Up pops an incoming message from your comrades informing you …

    Hardware 6 Dec 2006, 10:30

  • UN reports on dismal state of web accessibility

    97% of websites fall short of guidelines

    Ninety-seven per cent of websites fail to achieve a minimum level of accessibility, according to the first ever global web accessibility survey. A new UN convention aims to change that. UK-based web accessibility agency Nomensa released its report today based on research commissioned by the United Nations. Using a combination …

    Management 6 Dec 2006, 10:39

  • Christmas shopping: Vista over XP?

    Security pros have their say

    Anti-Virus vendors Carmen Maierean (BitDefender product manager): Microsoft Vista from a security standpoint is above Microsoft XP mainly because of the new rights management system which will prevent unauthorised applications from running with administrator privileges. Nevertheless, the customer has to take in consideration …

    Security 6 Dec 2006, 11:09

  • Storage revs up in third quarter

    Unless you're HP

    The world’s insatiable appetite for storing compliance data, viral emails and jpegs of Britney helped the external storage market boost revenues another 7 per cent in the third quarter. Total external controller-based disk storage revenues hit $3.7bn in the third quarter, Gartner said yesterday. EMC took the top spot, surprise …

    Storage 6 Dec 2006, 11:10

  • Christmas decorations scupper Wi-Fi

    What a load of baubles

    A new study from AirMagnet has demonstrated that Wi-Fi signal strength can drop by up to 25 per cent when seasonal decorations are in place. Shiny baubles can reflect wireless networking signals, while flashing lights generate all sorts of interference. Sticking to the traditional holly and ivy won't do you any good either, as …

    Management 6 Dec 2006, 11:30

  • Feel as though you've missed the SaaS bandwagon?

    Quocirca's changing channels Don't worry, it's moving slow enough you can jump on

    If you're an independent software vendor (ISV) and concerned that you are about to miss the software as a service (SaaS) bandwagon, rest assured there is no shortage of organisations out there ready to lend a hand. It might be that you simply do not have the facilities to host a robust 24/7 server environment. All you need to …

    Data Networking 6 Dec 2006, 11:36

  • Unpatched Word flaw menaces civilisation

    Not just Windows - Mac too

    Microsoft has warned of a serious - and as yet unpatched vulnerability - in Word. Hackers (albeit to a limited extent) are exploiting the zero-day flaw in its ubiquitous Office application, Redmond warns. The flaw - which stems from an unspecified memory corruption bug - doesn't just affect Windows users. Microsoft Word 2000, …

    Security 6 Dec 2006, 11:39

  • i-mate roadmap reveals slick quad-band communicator

    Media phone too

    What has smart-phone seller i-mate got on its product roadmap for the coming months? According to a copy of what's said to the supplier's near-term release schedule, it has a number of interesting handsets in the pipeline, including a slick, black clamshell communicator, the K-Jar. The details come via Arabic-language site …

    Phones 6 Dec 2006, 11:41

  • Heathrow gets fingerprint scanners

    Limited trial

    Passengers booked on one of two flights out of Heathrow will be able to skip queues if they hand over fingerprint and other biometric data. The trial only lasts until 31 January and only includes two flights out of Heathrow - one to Hong Kong and the other to Dubai. It is only open to residents of the European Economic Area and …

    Security 6 Dec 2006, 11:58

  • iPod Shuffle sprouts dock-defeating Bud

    Accessory heaven

    Top marks to accessory maker Incipio for coming up with a handy adaptor that will allow anyone who owns a second-generation iPod Shuffle to take it travelling without Apple's dock and cables. Dubbed the Bud, the adaptor has a USB port on one end and a special 3.5mm jack on the other ready for data transfer and recharging. …

    Hardware 6 Dec 2006, 12:18

  • Dell Inspiron 6400 Core 2 Duo laptop

    Review An inspired Inspiron?

    With the advent of Intel's Core 2 Duo processors we're at last beginning to see the kind of power and portability that was being claimed, somewhat optimistically, back in the early days of notebook computing. Not one to miss out, Dell has rolled out its Core 2 Duo based Inspiron 6400... The 6400, like so much of the Dell …

    Hardware 6 Dec 2006, 12:34

  • Mobile phones safe to use, says study

    No 'evidence of risk' of cancer

    A long-term study, carried out by the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Denmark and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, has found no increased incidence of cancer among mobile phone users. With a sample size of over 400,000, the study found that long-term mobile phone users had a slightly lower …

    Mobile 6 Dec 2006, 13:04

  • BT gets into transformation game

    Now we can all be 21st century boys

    BT may only have a couple of hundred Welsh people connected to its 21st Century Network, but that hasn't stopped the telco trying to flog its "transformation" expertise to other telcos worldwide. BT has unveiled its 21C Global Venture business unit, which will pull together the experience it has gained developing its new IP …

    Data Networking 6 Dec 2006, 14:08

  • Sun accused of copyright fraud

    StorageTek sued

    A development tools maker is suing Sun Microsystems, alleging its StorageTek arm has infringed its copyright and defrauded it through misrepresentations in negotiations aimed at settling the dispute. California-based Netbula filed a suit in US district court in Oakland saying StorageTek's LibAttatch software infringes the firm' …

    Storage 6 Dec 2006, 14:21

  • Romanian hacker disrupts NASA communications

    Lost in space

    A Romanian hacker has been charged with running amok on more than 150 US government computers. Victor Faur, 26, of Arad, Romania, allegedly launched attacks that disrupted the systems of NASA, the Energy Department, and the Navy. Victims were faced with bills estimated at $1.5m to sort out the mess. Faur, suspected leader of a …

    Security 6 Dec 2006, 14:28

  • Windows Trojan masquerades as Vista hack

    Pirates sink 'selves

    A week after Windows Vista's official launch hackers have devised their first attack, targeting pirates trying to install illegal copies of Microsoft's operating system. A supposed Windows Vista crack called Windows Vista All Versions Activation 21.11.06 is reportedly doing the rounds, offering those tempted by the chance of …

    Security 6 Dec 2006, 14:34

  • Gowers: crack down on pirates

    But legalise home taping

    Gordon Brown delivered his last pre-budget report this afternoon, and launched the findings of the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property. Former Financial Times editor Andrew Gowers recommended to the Treasury that penalties for illegal downloading should match those for physical piracy. [That's flogging dodgy disks at car …

    Financial News 6 Dec 2006, 15:45

  • Brown hits contractors in pre-Budget speech

    And pirates, and call centre staff

    Gordon Brown has delivered his pre-Budget speech warning of a clampdown on copyright fraud and tax avoidance by managed service, or composite, companies. Managed service companies are used by some contractors as way to reduce tax and National Insurance contributions. Brown also said he could release £400m by cutting 25 per …

    Financial News 6 Dec 2006, 15:57

  • Child catcher handset launched in UK

    Order now and have your kids tracked by Christmas

    Paranoid parents can now track their children even if the little dears give the nanny the slip or escape from the loving embrace of the Chelsea tractor. i-Kids is a new handset being launched by Mobiles2Go, along with a service specifically aimed at providing parents with the ability to track their children on demand using an in …

    Mobile 6 Dec 2006, 16:25

  • Novell profitable as revenue drops

    Flat new year

    Novel expects a drop in revenue for its current, fourth quarter and is predicting a flat 12 months, despite rising Linux sales and a Microsoft sales boost. Announcing preliminary fourth quarter results, Novell expects to swing from a $6m loss to a $25m profit on net revenue that dropped 15 per cent to $245m. The drop was …

    Financial News 6 Dec 2006, 16:34

  • Carphone Warehouse makes up with Vodafone

    At least for existing customers

    Just a couple of months after Vodafone announced that Phones4U would get the exclusive right to sell its connections it has back-peddled and will allow CW to sell contract renewals and pre-pay connections. According to the The Financial Times the firms have stepped back from an acrimonious divorce, and have opted for some sort …

    Mobile 6 Dec 2006, 17:13

  • Azul opens 768-core diner with Vega 2

    Humble and willing to talk about it

    Java crusher Azul Systems has birthed a second generation of hardware and proven that it's a start-up capable of learning lessons. Azul this week unveiled the 3200 Series versions of its servers. These systems run on the 48-core Vega 2 chip - also new - and eat up 5U of rack space. The Model 3210 gives customers 96 processor …

    Servers 6 Dec 2006, 17:13

  • Liquid water thrives beneath Mars surface - NASA

    'Squirting Gun'

    NASA today unleashed its "squirting gun" by making bold claims about the presence of very liquid, very flowing water on Mars. Photographs taken over the past seven years reveal changes in Mars' landscape that seem to indicate the presence of an underground water supply. The subsurface "water" has crept up to feed two gullies …

    Science 6 Dec 2006, 19:25

  • SCO's web site shows signs of life

    Cluster Watch: Day 6 Almost fully functional

    It may have been CEO Darl McBride or attorney David Boies, but someone has stepped up to fix the SCO Group's web site. SCO today fixed the broken homepage link for its High Availability Clusters so that customers can actually learn about the software. For at least a week, the link had been down, tossing up a "Document Not …

    Servers 6 Dec 2006, 20:15