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21st December 2006 Archive

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  • Ofcom reserves spectrum for future inventions

    Forward planning

    Technologies that have yet to be invented may be reserved their own piece of spectrum when analogue television is switched off. Regulator Ofcom has said it could reserve spectrum specifically for as-yet-unimagined services. Switch-off will occur in stages between 2008 and 2012, releasing a huge amount of very valuable spectrum …

    Wireless 21 Dec 2006, 10:01

  • Astronomers spot weirdo gamma ray burst

    Baffled

    NASA boffins have spotted a new type of explosion which they are calling a hybrid gamma ray burst. The explosion was detected by the Swift satellite in June this year (2006). Scientists are only just beginning to understand what happens in a gamma ray burst, so finding a new type is not altogether surprising. It has a baffling …

    Space 21 Dec 2006, 10:05

  • Mobile entertainment market will hit $38.1bn by 2011

    Report predicts revenue surge

    The mobile phone entertainment market will double over the next five years reaching $38.1bn in 2011, according to a report from Informa Telecoms and Media. The mobile entertainment market generated worldwide revenues of $18.8bn during 2006, according to the report. Music and images dominate the space, accounting for 64 per …

    Mobile 21 Dec 2006, 10:20

  • Companies to update websites and email footers before 2007

    An aide memoire

    Companies in the UK must include certain regulatory information on their websites and in their email footers before 1 January 2007 or they will breach the Companies Act and risk a fine. Every company should list its company registration number, place of registration, and registered office address on its website as a result of …

    Small Biz 21 Dec 2006, 10:36

  • NHS 'filth peddler' fights back

    NSFW Porn-based counter-attack

    It seems Andy Lawler, the man responsible for the Worcestershire Health Authority's Sexual Health Online minge outrage... ...has rather taken exception to our coverage of his covert filth peddling. First up, when we ran the original story, he sent this email: Dearest Mr Haines, I have taken action to address your concerns …

    Music and Media 21 Dec 2006, 10:38

  • Lufthansa shuts down internet access

    As Boeing phases out Connexion

    Lufthansa will start the New Year without internet access on its flights. The German company had equipped 66 of its 80 long-range jets with a fast Internet connection that even worked over the Atlantic. However, Lufthansa took the service from Connexion by Boeing, which will end the business on December 30. The end of service, …

    Mobile 21 Dec 2006, 10:44

  • Intel to drive down Core 2 Quad price in Q2 07?

    Anti-AMD action

    Intel may be set to drive down the price of its Core 2 Quad Q6600 four-core processor in Q2 2007, reducing what it charges volume buyers for the chip by up to 37.7 per cent, industry moles have claimed. Intel has yet to announce the Q6600's launch price, but leaked information points to an entry price of $851, above the top- …

    Reg Hardware 21 Dec 2006, 10:45

  • Spamty Claus is coming to town

    Inboxes to be spam-slammed over holiday season

    Spammers are set for a Christmas bonanza this year as they take advantage of the holiday season to send out more nuisance email. Although statistics for spam email landing in Irish inboxes won't be released until January, experts are predicting we could see a surge in the proportion of junk email that businesses need to …

    Spam 21 Dec 2006, 10:45

  • Time to denationalise the software monopolies

    Analysis From utility to commodity

    As PR stunts go, Sun Microsystems' Blackbox trailer park computing launch this autumn wasn't bad. Sun pumped up some rather dull AMD Sun servers by unveiling a black, spray-painted, branded shipping container that could be crammed with Sun storage and server devices. Sun director of web technologies Tim Bray summed up the …

    Applications 21 Dec 2006, 10:54

  • Escape from Access DB

    The relational database that polarises programmers

    Do you like Microsoft Access? Well, thanks to an intuitive and powerful user interface and being bundled as part of Office, it has established a niche for itself in many organisations, sometimes unofficially. The combination of recordable macros, wizard-generated reports, query-by-example and, crucially, the provision of …

    Applications 21 Dec 2006, 11:02

  • AMD reportedly revising CPU performance ratings

    New numbering scheme for 'star' processors?

    Is AMD about to ditch or radically revise its relative-performance related processor number schemes? That's what some sources cited by a Far Eastern website claim, stating the chip maker will move to an alternative approach when it ships its 65nm quad-core chips mid-2007. As yet there's nothing whatsoever to corroborate the …

    Reg Hardware 21 Dec 2006, 11:06

  • Global PC market growing

    But US static

    Growth in the worldwide PC market has increased by 9.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2006 despite stagnant growth in the US. The latest figures from tech sector market intelligence firm IDC show that in the US overall PC shipments remained unchanged year-on-year for the third quarter of 2006, compared to more than five per …

    Financial News 21 Dec 2006, 11:07

  • PHP security under scrutiny

    PHP = pretty hard to protect?

    A week after a prominent bug finder and developer left the PHP Group, data from the National Vulnerability Database has underscored the need for better security in PHP-based web applications. A search of the database, maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), found that web applications written …

    Security 21 Dec 2006, 11:22

  • Sapphire preps 'quad-CrossFire capable' dual-GPU board

    Two ATI Radeon X1950 Pros on a single card, anyone?

    Graphics card maker Sapphire is preparing to launch a board built around two CrossFire-connected AMD ATI Radeon X1950 Pro graphics chips. Called The Godfather, the board needs two power feeds and, as you'd expect, takes up two PCI Express slots but only one connector. Sapphire demo'd Godfather in the Far East today, according …

    Reg Hardware 21 Dec 2006, 12:03

  • HTC UMPC revealed on web

    Athena in all her glory

    HTC's eagerly anticipated entry into the ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) market has made an early, unscheduled appearance on the web, adding weight to the company's own admission that it could release a UMPC-like product as early as 2007. The pictures shown here come courtesy of Polish-language website PDAclub, which presented them …

    Reg Hardware 21 Dec 2006, 12:07

  • Creative ships stylish wireless earphones

    From iPod to you, by Bluetooth

    Already bought the one you love an iPod, Zune, Zen or somesuch? Want to know what to get 'em next? Ask Creative, and it'll suggest a pair of its new Bluetooth 'phones, among the least bulky wireless cans we've seen. The SE2300 set comprises the usual transmitter dongle, which plugs into any player's 3.5mm earphone socket, …

    Reg Hardware 21 Dec 2006, 12:33

  • Financial firms back Microsoft Linux deal

    Joining in on the SUSE Q

    Three big financial firms have come out of the closet and confirmed they have taken delivery of SUSE Linux subscriptions from Microsoft. Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and AIG Technologies have all signed up to the Franken-deal in the belief that it will make it easier to run Linux-based systems alongside Microsoft software. …

    Operating Systems 21 Dec 2006, 12:45

  • Vodafone weighs up Indian acquisition

    To buy or not to buy?

    The Vodafone board is to consider launching a $13bn bid for Hutchison Essar, India's fourth largest mobile operator, at a meeting next week, the Financial Times reports. With growth in Europe waning, a greater investment in developing markets makes sense. And India is developing rapidly. October saw 6.7 million new subscibers …

    Mobile 21 Dec 2006, 12:47

  • Fender bender crooks swipe $190K in chips

    Old school blag

    Crooks in California stole $190,000 in chips after staging what investigators reckon was a planned car collision. A silver Mazda car containing around 100,000 microchips was rear-ended by a white van in Santa Clara on Tuesday. But when the victim left his car to inspect the damage and exchange insurance details, one of the …

    Channel Register 21 Dec 2006, 12:49

  • BAA website grounded by fog

    Adverse flying conditions

    BAA's website earlier today crashed and burned under the weight of anxious flyers attempting to get info on whether their flight had been cancelled due to fog. The site now has a temporary landing page which says: Important Message 21st December 2006 Last Updated: 11:40 BAA Our website is experiencing a high volume of …

    Music and Media 21 Dec 2006, 14:00

  • Verisign signs on to movie download business

    Opens up puritanical video shop

    SSL certificate flogging firm Verisign will provide the technology behind a new family friendly movie download service launching in the new year. AP reports the firm has done a deal with Axiom Entertainment to distribute kiddie-friendly movies over its peer to peer network. Axiom and Verisign's subscribers will be offered the …

    Entertainment 21 Dec 2006, 14:44

  • Firefox update guards against critical flaws

    Patch issued, calamity averted

    Firefox users need to upgrade their browsers following the discovery of multiple security vulnerabilities. The flaws affect both Firefox 1.x and the latest Firefox 2.0.x releases. Surfers need to upgrade to version 1.5.0.9 or 2.0.0.1 of the browser, respectively. Users also need to upgrade to a new version of the Mozilla …

    Enterprise Security 21 Dec 2006, 14:56

  • UK government puts kybosh on NHS monkeys plan

    Aping a great idea

    Someone in Downing Street has a sense of humour - and we have proof. Regular readers (you know who you are) may recall stories of a beta test site where members of the general public can petition the prime minister about things dear to their hearts. Hunting, ID cards, and road tax are the three big ones. After a certain period …

    Public Sector 21 Dec 2006, 14:58

  • No admin rights? No Wi-Fi, says D-Link

    Wireless networking is not for all

    The mysteries of wireless networking are many and arcane - ask anyone who's tried to type in a WPA key from memory - so much so that D-Link has taken the decision to restrict Wi-Fi usage to admins only. At least, that's the way it looks to Reg reader Ross Smith. He installed a D-Link DWL-G510 wireless LAN card in a machine …

    Data Networking 21 Dec 2006, 15:09

  • WHSmith defuses Xmas crackers

    Explosive risk to under-16s

    WHSmith has decided to clamp down on the unauthorised ownership of explosives by banning anyone under 16 from buying Christmas crackers, The Sun reports. The policy - provoked by the fact that said crackers contain a small amount of gunpowder - came as quite a shock to 18-year-old Hannah Thomas of Weymouth, Dorset. The till …

    Music and Media 21 Dec 2006, 15:33

  • BT Yahoo! customers stuck with old passwords

    Old version of SSL renders site untrusted

    BT broadband customers are unable to change their password if they've upgraded to the latest web browser versions. The browsers refuse to connect to what they consider to be an insecure version of SSL which the site is using. Attempting to visit BT's password changing site using IE 7 just gives a blank page, while Firefox 2 …

    Networks 21 Dec 2006, 16:01

  • US record labels file suit against Allofmp3.com

    Trying to stop the music

    Controversial music website Allofmp3.com is being sued by a collection of record labels. The suit has been filed in a New York court against the Moscow firm, which claims that it abides by Russian law. "Defendant's entire business amounts to nothing more than a massive infringement of plaintiffs' exclusive rights under the …

    Music and Media 21 Dec 2006, 16:03

  • Ofcom to get tough in 2007

    New chief exec says time for generosity is over

    Newly minted Ofcom boss Ed Richards laid out a tougher approach to UK media and telecommunications regulation in an interview with the Financial Times yesterday. Richards said: "We have been pretty generous over time and now is the time to start saying: 'Come on guys, get into line, make sure you comply with the codes'." He …

    Networks 21 Dec 2006, 16:09

  • HP grabs Bitfone

    Mobile software coup

    Hewlett Packard has acquired mobile device management software vendor Bitfone for an undisclosed sum. California-based Bitfone was founded by Gene Wang, its current CEO, and formerly a VP and general manager at Borland. It employs over 130 staff. The company provides software provisioning for phones and PCs, with both …

    Applications 21 Dec 2006, 18:23

  • Seagate takes EVault

    $185m pressie for hard drive maker

    In a last minute spot of Christmas shopping, Seagate has bagged online backup provider EVault for $185m in a bid to expand its services effort. The California-based outfit was founded in 1997 and employs 250 staff servicing 8,500 customers. Seagate CEO Bill Watkins said: "Over the past three years, Seagate has been executing …

    Channel Register 21 Dec 2006, 18:27

  • Blue vanishes into yonder and takes Telewest with it

    Failed router at Telehouse

    Blueyonder, the broadband service provided by NTL Telewest, suffered a country-wide failure this afternoon between 14.30 and 16.00. Customer were unable to connect, and both blueyonder.co.uk and telewest.co.uk web sites ceased to exist for a little over an hour. A failed core router at Telehouse was, apparently, to blame and is …

    Telecoms 21 Dec 2006, 18:33

  • Japanese scientists cage light

    Breakthrough for quantum computing

    Scientists have used silicon crystals to trap light and slow it down to the lowest speed ever recorded in the material. The breakthrough is a step towards light-based storage for quantum computers. Researchers at Japanese telco NTT used man-made photonic crystals, which contain nanoscale holes, to achieve the feat. The cavity …

    Storage 21 Dec 2006, 18:34

  • Open sourcing Second Life

    Comment Would a virtual economy survive?

    The panic that broke out in Second Life last month over a copybot raised many questions about the security of property in the virtual universe. Unlike most massively multiplayer games (if you can even call Second Life that), Second Life "residents" are allowed to actually own the stuff they create. So if you could copy …

    Applications 21 Dec 2006, 18:36

  • Novell's Allison quits in protest

    Sambas away

    Jeremy Allison, best known as co-lead of the Samba project, has quit Novell in protest at the company's recent partnership with Microsoft. Allison told Novell in a resignation letter leaked to Groklaw that he believes the deal violates the intent of the GPL license under which GPL is released, specifically the implicit …

    Applications 21 Dec 2006, 21:16