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13th December 2006 Archive

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  • Calyx buys Mentec

    Revises figures

    Calyx, the Irish-owned reseller, warned its results for 2006 would be lower than anticipated, and announced it was to buy British firm Mentec for €16m. Calyx, which has offices in both Britain and Ireland, said trading was in line with expectations for both the firm's Irish-based business and its recently acquired Matrix …

    Channel Register 13 Dec 2006, 00:02

  • Final deal close on EU roaming rates

    UK lobbies for cellcos

    Roaming charges are set to plummet after European ministers supported plans to cap the fees, but some countries are supporting watered down proposals. EU Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding wants to cut prices by up to 70 percent before next summer, allowing European mobile users to make cheaper phone calls on their …

    Mobile 13 Dec 2006, 07:02

  • Samsung dealt RIM lawsuit over BlackJack

    Handset's name too close to BlackBerry, plaintiff claims

    Research in Motion (RIM) has taken Samsung to task over the name of the South Korean giant's latest smart phone. RIM reckons Samsung's BlackJack has a name that's too close to its own smart-phone brand, BlackBerry, for comfort - and it's asked the US District Court for Central California to force a change of handle. RIM filed …

    reghardware 13 Dec 2006, 08:52

  • AMD rebrands ATI CrossFire chipsets

    Mine, all mine

    AMD has formally begun renaming ATI's CrossFire 1600 and 3200 chipsets as AMD products, a month after news of the scheme first broke. As expected, the two parts will now be called, respectively, the 480X and the 580X.      The single-chip 480X supports two 8x PCI Express slots for graphics and four more lanes for general- …

    reghardware 13 Dec 2006, 09:49

  • Intel announces Celeron D cull

    More 90nm CPUs for the chop

    Intel is to oust its Celeron D 326, 346, 351 and 355 processors, the company has told its customers. Orders for the products become unchangeable on 2 February 2007, and no further orders will be accepted after 6 April 2007, Intel documents reveal. News of the chip giant's plan to EOL the budget CPUs comes a day after it …

    reghardware 13 Dec 2006, 10:00

  • HP will keep cleaving

    Hurd knows best

    HP's CEO Mark Hurd plans to stick with what he knows best: cost cutting. Hurd – who sharpened his fat cleaver at NCR – plans to squeeze HP even more in the coming year. Some might think this impossible after HP cut its workforce by 10 per cent, sliced into the company retirement plan and consolidated its internal IT functions. …

    Financial News 13 Dec 2006, 10:18

  • AMD slips Athlon 64 X2 5400+, 5600+ into price list

    Quiet - someone might notice...

    AMD has quietly added a pair of top-of-the-line Athlon 64 X2 processors to its public price list. Missing from the list when AMD introduced its 65nm processors on 5 December, the 5400+ and 5600+ have now been added to the line-up. Shhhh, don't mention it - someone might want to buy one... The two new dual-core parts are …

    reghardware 13 Dec 2006, 10:18

  • Sony readies USB, Firewire 18x external DVD burner

    Sony will ship its latest external DVD writer, the DRX-830UL-T, later this month, the company announced today. It's pitching the drive at both Mac and Windows users, bundling suitable burning software for both platforms, and equipping it with USB 2.0 and Firewire ports. The DRX-830UL-T has an 18x writing capability designed …

    reghardware 13 Dec 2006, 10:33

  • Microsoft launches Windows Live package

    Latest salvo in war with Google

    Microsoft has hit back at rival Google's bundled packages of online services by releasing one of its own. The latest salvo fired in the war between these two giants of the industry is called Windows Live. The free package includes e-mail, instant messaging, PC-to-PC phone and video calling, search services and a social …

    Applications 13 Dec 2006, 10:50

  • Three critical patches star in MS update

    No word on Word fixes, yet

    Microsoft issued seven patches on Tuesday - one more than expected - as part of its monthly Patch Tuesday update cycle. Three of the updates earn the dreaded rating of critical. As expected, Redmond is yet to address two critical bugs in its Word office application that have become the subject of Trojan attacks over the last …

    Enterprise Security 13 Dec 2006, 10:56

  • IXOS all a-glow over light-up disco iPod speaker

    Groovy

    Light up your life this Christmas with an iPod and IXOS' Disco Cube, an multi-hued speaker unit that pulses colour in time to the music. It'll keep your player fully charged and with a Dock pass-through point it will happily be your sync cradle too. Exclusively available from the Debenhams UK store chain, the Disco Cube - …

    reghardware 13 Dec 2006, 11:14

  • NHS urged to use more simple ICT

    Royal Society hopes ICT will save doctors' time

    The Royal Society has said everyday technologies such as mobile phones and personal computers should be used more in healthcare. It has published a report, Digital healthcare: the impact of information and communication technologies on health and healthcare, which suggests the UK has been slow to adopt simple ICT in its …

    CIO 13 Dec 2006, 11:50

  • Neo models micro phone

    Renders to be realised next spring, firm pledges

    Anyone - well, almost - can come up with a stack of sexy looking handset designs lovingly rendering in a 3D graphics package and given extra shine in Photoshop - witness all the fanboy-created pics out there. However, phone biz newcomer UK- and Dubai-based Neo is adamant its visualisations will see light to day as real …

    reghardware 13 Dec 2006, 12:02

  • Small companies embracing VoIP

    Still not clear on the convergence advantage though

    Small companies are keen to embrace VoIP, but still aren’t seeing the real advantages of convergence. An Orange-commissioned report, which goes under the catchy title of Small and Medium Enterprise Business Communications in the UK, is drawn from on-line interviews with 181 UK SMEs and asks about their current spending as well …

    Small Biz 13 Dec 2006, 12:07

  • Training our sights on Vista

    Opinion Bucking the system

    How long would it take to train you to be a Vista trainer? How about: how long would it take you to learn how to train Vista trainers? Does it matter? Surely, it wouldn't take long. And even if it takes a month - surely there are plenty of trainers! It turns out that the figures are hard to glean. After a while spent …

    CIO 13 Dec 2006, 12:23

  • Dell calls in EDS man to head up services

    An exceedingly agile partner

    Dell has named Steve Schuckenbrock, late of EDS, as the new head of its global services division. Schuckenbrock was one of two chief operating officers at EDS - he left the company in May. EDS joined forces with Dell, and other hardware companies, in late 2004 to form the Agility Alliance whereby EDS provided services on top of …

    Channel Register 13 Dec 2006, 12:31

  • LG GBW-H10N internal Blu-ray disc burner

    Review You pay for Blu-Ray...

    We previewed LG's Blu-ray drive a few weeks ago and it's the third Blu-ray burner we've tested, the first was the SH-B022 from Samsung, the second being Pioneer's BDR-101A. That had a 2x BD-R burn speed and cost £699 back in August, although it now fetches £520. In comparison, this new LG has a faster burn speed and retails for …

    reghardware 13 Dec 2006, 13:27

  • Geek gifts for Christmas 2

    Cash'n'Carrion Still more prezzies!

    Due to the overwhelming success of our last Christmas Gifts ideas promotion (well, we sat there for 5 minutes and thought “what would we like to receive instead of the everlasting socks?”), we thought we’d treat you with another helping of slapstick fun, computing history and items of interest, still with up to 40 per cent off …

    Site News 13 Dec 2006, 13:43

  • Webmail hijack ruse leads to blackmail

    Pay up or you'll never see your data again

    Pond-dwelling scammers have developed a new cyber-extortion ruse. Unlike previous cases where end users were targeted with malware that encrypted files, which hackers claimed could only be recovered if victims yielded to extortionate demands for money, the latest trick involves attempts to milk money from the victims of …

    Enterprise Security 13 Dec 2006, 13:47

  • The Cloud moves into the enterprise

    Do you allow visitors on to your network?

    WiFi hotspot aggregator The Cloud sees a future in providing guest access to company networks, but do they just have a solution in search of a problem? The problem works like this: you have a nice WiFi network running in your office, and in walks a contractor who’s only going to be there for a day or two but will need internet …

    CIO 13 Dec 2006, 14:10

  • Naomi Campbell secures Foot in Mouth award

    Plain English Campaign honours battling supermodel

    Battling clotheshorse Naomi Campbell has been honoured by the Plain English Campaign with its annual "Foot in Mouth" award. The supermodel secured this year's crown for "a baffling quote made by a public figure" by reportedly declaring: "I love England, especially the food. There's nothing I like more than a lovely bowl of pasta …

    Music and Media 13 Dec 2006, 14:11

  • Novell: in it for the interop, not the money

    Stats show unanimous support for MS deal

    A jointly sponsored Microsoft and Novell survey purporting strong customer support for the companies’ controversial alliance looks like back firing on Novell. While the poll of 201 IT executives with “significant” purchasing power found near unanimous support for interoperability between Linux and Windows, relatively few said …

    Operating Systems 13 Dec 2006, 14:27

  • Mile-high mountains pop up on Titan

    Cassini captures ice-capped sierra

    NASA's Cassini spacecraft has snapped a mile-high mountain range on Saturn's moon Titan, the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced yesterday. Titan's sierra - possibly capped with methane "snow" - runs just to the south of the moon's equator for around 150km (93 miles). It's about 30km (19 miles) wide and reaches 1.5km …

    Space 13 Dec 2006, 14:33

  • Radio RTFM episode 2: Panto fun for all the family

    Plus: Beware the Wikifinder General

    Well, you asked for it, and now you've got it: Radio RTFM Episode 2 is available for download right now, right here, or hit the player below for an instant fix. Before you do, though, bear in mind that it's probably NSFW... Episode 2 in all its glory And when you've recovered from that, you can get your favourite bits in bite …

    Radio RTFM 13 Dec 2006, 14:51

  • USB pole dancer struts funky stuff, geeks drool

    Not Safe For Work... or Wives

    The reaction of many people to the idea of playing sports games on Nintendo's new Wii console is to shout: "Get a life and go do it for real." Well, you could say they same thing about this USB pole dancer toy, launched today. But for those worried about the effect such sordid entertainment might have on wives and/or …

    reghardware 13 Dec 2006, 14:59

  • EC smothers copyright levy reform

    Reformers shift battleground to Court of Justice

    The European Commission has quietly iced plans to reform copyright levies, just days before they were due to go into effect. The proposals would have allowed governments to dump levies on electronic media devices. The levies are collected by copyright groups to compensate artists for private reproduction of their work, and the …

    Law 13 Dec 2006, 15:25

  • UK pigeons spread AIDS, malaria and mad cow disease

    Kingston moves to contain flying rat menace

    The council of Kingston in Surrey is to carry out a "humane cull" of pigeons in the town's Memorial Gardens, the Surrey Comet reports. The cull will be carried out by "a private pest control contractor from Cobham as part of a three-year programme to reduce Kingston's pigeon population". Town centre manager Graham McNally said …

    Music and Media 13 Dec 2006, 15:35

  • Compuware puts developers into factories

    Aims to save developer effort

    Compuware has opted for the software factory approach to increase the level of automation it can provide in applications development with the latest version of its Java-based OptimalJ development suite, version 4.2. This is also to be known as the Architecture Edition. Its arrival marks the transition of all OpitmalJ editions …

    Developer 13 Dec 2006, 15:43

  • Judge backs Biscit, leaves NetServices with crumbs

    As Ofcom rules on MACs

    ISP Biscit has won its High Court case against NetServices. The case started after London-based Biscit bought ISP V21 in October. NetServices sent Biscit an invoice for "burst bandwidth" charges accrued by V21, which Biscit disputed. In November the dispute escalated when Salford-based NetServices switched off V21's wholesale …

    Networks 13 Dec 2006, 16:17

  • FTC launches crackdown on work-at-home scams

    Abandon Fal$e Hope$

    US consumer rights organisation the Federal Trade Commission has joined up with law enforcement agencies to launch a crackdown on bogus job opportunity scams. Project FAL$E HOPE$ encompasses 100 law enforcement actions against various bogus work-at-home scams. The bogus business opportunities targeted include vending machines, …

    CIO 13 Dec 2006, 16:19

  • East European ID theft scam gang jailed

    Crime and punishment

    The leader of one of the world's most prolific ID theft gangs was sentenced to six years imprisonment at a hearing in London's Harrow Crown Court on Wednesday. Two other members of the same gang have been jailed for five years and eighteen months respectively. Anton Dolgov (AKA Anton Gelonkin), a former boss of the ill-fated …

    ID 13 Dec 2006, 16:36

  • Massive security breach at UCLA

    Details on 800,000 may have been exposed

    UCLA has warned 800,000 current and former students that their personal details might have been exposed to a hacker who broke into the university's computer systems. Staff members are also affected by what's being described as one of the biggest information disclosure breaches on record. The names and personal details ( …

    ID 13 Dec 2006, 16:48

  • Home Office to clean up Sadville?

    Art under the censor

    British Home Secretary John Reid today vowed to cleanse the internet of Entartete Kunst, or degenerate art. Reid says he wants "computer generated" images of child abuse prohibited. In the UK, it's illegal to harbour photographs, but legal to harbour artwork of child abuse. "I am currently consulting cabinet colleagues about …

    Music and Media 13 Dec 2006, 16:56

  • Symantec auditions for services residency

    Will look after data for cash

    Symantec made another effort to drop its “oh the virus guys” image today when it unveiled two services programmes pitched at enterprise customers. The Symantec Operational Services scheme is built along outsourcing lines, with customers handing over functions such as backup and recovery, remote monitoring of data, and data …

    Storage 13 Dec 2006, 17:35

  • IBM, Yahoo! do enterprise search

    Take that, Google

    While Google seeks to encroach on enterprise rivals with its SaS (Software as a Service) offerings such as Google Office, it needs to watch its rear. IBM and Yahoo! teamed up today for an attack on Google's home turf of search. The pair will give IBM's existing OmniFind corporate search engine away for free, targeting SMEs and …

    CIO 13 Dec 2006, 17:50

  • HP tattletale Perkins to probe ego in book

    'Valley Boy'

    Venture capitalist and HP watchdog Tom Perkins has signed on with Penguin to pen a tell all memoir. The book "Valley Boy: The Education of Tom Perkins" will start with Perkins' role in the HP spy scandal, according to a report in the NY Post. The former HP board member went first to HP CEO Mark Hurd and then the press with his …

    CIO 13 Dec 2006, 17:56

  • Piratebay takes on Allofmp3-blocking ISP

    Tit-for-tat

    A world famous Swedish file sharing links site has begun a campaign against a major Swedish internet service provider (ISP) after it blocked access to controversial Russian site Allofmp3.com. In what has become a war of attrition, Piratebay has blocked subscribers to ISP Perspektiv because Perspektiv blocked users' access to …

    Telecoms 13 Dec 2006, 18:12

  • Germany mulls online gambling ban

    States want to protect their lotteries

    German states have postponed a decision on whether or not to ban online gambling. The federal states met today to discuss the plan to outlaw the activity in a move that could destabilise a Europe-wide plan to harmonise gambling. Online gambling was controversially banned in the US in September of this year when a bill was …

    Music and Media 13 Dec 2006, 18:32

  • JBoss mines richer Seam for Web 2.0 goodness

    Revamps application framework

    With the likes of AJAX coming to the fore in Java-based Web 2.0-oriented enterprise applications there is little surprise in companies like JBoss revamping development tools to match the changes. That’s OK then, for this is exactly what the company has done with the Seam application framework. This upgrade, Version 1.1, …

    Developer 13 Dec 2006, 20:25

  • Sands and Cantor team on cross-pond online casino

    With us or against us?

    The announcement last week of a partnership between Las Vegas Sands, Inc., and British-based Cantor Gaming to start an online casino in the first quarter of 2007 is only adding fuel to the allegations on the part of European competitors that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act is primarily protectionist in nature. The Sands …

    Financial News 13 Dec 2006, 20:37

  • Forrester can't stand up for falling down over iTunes

    Collapse? What collapse!

    Besieged by hedge fund managers and anxious Apple stockholders, research outfit Forrester today sought to distance itself from reporting of its research into digital download sales at Apple's iTunes Store. It's standing by its figures - it just wishes the spin was different. And it's added some new spin of its own. On Monday, …

    Music and Media 13 Dec 2006, 22:35

  • IBM wallops Unix peers . . . again

    Survey says Sun and HP struggle

    While customers divide their sales almost equally between IBM, Sun Microsystems and HP, they like doing business with Big Blue best of all, according to a recent study. IBM once again ranked as the most favored Unix vendor from technology, sales, service and accuracy standpoints. Sun, however, redeemed itself by capturing a …

    Channel Register 13 Dec 2006, 22:39

  • UBS logic bomber jailed for eight years

    Real-life BOFH ordered to pay $3.1m restitution

    A disaffected former sysadmin at UBS Paine Webber was sentenced today to 97months without parole for unleashing a logic bomb on the company's network and causing $3m damage. Roger Duronio, 64, of Bogota, NJ who was found guilty of computer fraud in July was also ordered to make $3.1 million in restitution to UBS Paine Webber. …

    Enterprise Security 13 Dec 2006, 23:11

  • Symantec sues counterfeit ring for $15m+

    Profits-plus scheme

    Symantec is seeking damages of more than $15m from a gang of counterfeiters, for selling fake copies of its software worldwide. It has filed civil suit in the US District Court in Los Angeles against seven individuals, two companies, ANYI and SILI Inc., and eight associated business fronts. It says this group targeted the US …

    Channel Register 13 Dec 2006, 23:43