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19th January 2007 Archive

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  • Stuffed investors refuse IBM's chipper Q4

    Belch over bite

    A thunderous performance from IBM's software group could not save the company's fourth quarter - at least in the eyes of demanding investors. Shareholders today appeared to show their displeasure with IBM's fourth quarter results, even though revenue rose four per cent (adjusted for currency) to $26.3bn and net income rose to $ …

    Financial News 19 Jan 2007, 00:24

  • For Sale: p2pnet.net

    Cash crunch

    Time and money has run out for Jon Newton, the owner of p2pnet.net, who has put the site up for sale. He is inviting offers in excess of $30,000 and would prefer to sell the pro- fileswapping site as a going concern, or team up with "a collaborator(s) or partner(s) and/or someone willing to hire me as a writer, editor, or …

    Financial News 19 Jan 2007, 00:27

  • California pitches plea at accused HP probers

    How does guilty and a handshake sound?

    After publicly flogging former HP executives and investigators, California looks set to let off those charged in the company's spy scandal with nothing more than misdemeanors. Multiple reports cite sources involved in the case confirming that the California attorney general's office has offered all five people charged in the …

    IT Director 19 Jan 2007, 04:55

  • Virgin Lobster fails to spawn

    Less then 10K sold, mobile TV not a hit

    Virgin mobile has sold "considerably less" than 10,000 of their mobile-TV-enabled Lobster handsets, despite Pamela Anderson’s advertising and cutting the price to below a hundred quid, according to The Guardian. Virgin won't confirm the figures, but it's clear that sales are disappointing. This should not come as any surprise …

    Mobile 19 Jan 2007, 07:02

  • Five-day strike to hit Fujitsu

    They don't like it up 'em

    Members of the Amicus union have balloted for a five-day strike Fujitsu's Manchester office, which supports its government customers. The ballot was held following a "successful" two-day strike last week, when "hundreds" of members downed tools in protest at pay, recognition, relocation and redundancy arrangements, the union …

    IT Director 19 Jan 2007, 07:02

  • Signs that Sky will go mobile?

    Raising the bar

    Why would Sky suddenly get aggressive about letting UK cable viewers take Sky TV programs? Could it be something to do with a plan to go quad-play? The report which causes this alarm comes from Media Week, which reports that although Sky is obliged (by UK regulations) to make its programming available to cable operators, it is …

    Mobile 19 Jan 2007, 07:02

  • Minister warns against IT defeatism

    Invents 'default nostalgia'

    Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said there is still a strong case for government investment in IT. McFadden, who is the lead minister for transformational government, said in a speech on Wednesday that problems with major projects should not deter the government from continuing to look for new ways to use technology to …

    Government 19 Jan 2007, 07:02

  • ID theft nets £85,000 a head: study

    Lawyers a prime target

    Identity fraud can net criminals £85,000 for each identity stolen, research has found. That is the average amount criminals can expect to gain from impersonating someone in the UK, according to anti-ID theft company Garlik. Garlik was founded by Tom Ilube and Mike Harris, who founded internet bank Egg, and it commissioned …

    ID 19 Jan 2007, 09:47

  • Phoenix IT confirms talks to buy ICM Computer

    Up against a management buyout

    Managed services group Phoenix IT has confirmed it is in talks with the board of ICM Computer about acquiring the firm. In a statement to investors on Friday, Phoenix said: "There can be no certainty that these discussions will lead to an offer being made by Phoenix for ICM." ICM said yesterday it had received an approach …

    Channel Register 19 Jan 2007, 10:17

  • China rattles America's cage with satellite shot

    Look what we can do

    China is reported to have shot down one of its own satellites, sparking international criticism and concern over the strength and sophistication of the nation's military. Although there is nothing to suggest the test was carried out with hostile intentions, the fact that China feels able to demonstrate the capability to destroy …

    Space 19 Jan 2007, 10:27

  • Spam on IP telephony

    To Spit or not to Spit

    Spam filters can easily be trained to give better than 90 per cent effectiveness with zero false positives, and for those who still suffer from a lot of spam in their inboxes, they are either not updating their spam databases often enough, or they just do not see the value of getting 90 per cent fewer email messages. There …

    Spam 19 Jan 2007, 10:28

  • Net wags pile into Jade Goody

    NSFW Big Brother housemate crucified online

    With a certain terrible inevitability, internet wags have wasted no time making plain their opinion of Celebrity Big Brother contestant Jade Goody - currently making press worldwide for her alleged racist treatment of Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty. For starters, try Jade's MySpace page, packed with fascinating insights: SORRY …

    Entertainment 19 Jan 2007, 10:29

  • Apple confirms $2 fee for 802.11n upgrade

    Accounting rules indeed to blame

    Apple has decided it's not going to charge $5 to enable owners of Macs with 802.11n-capable Wi-Fi adaptors to use the new wireless technology, it's going ask they cough up $2 instead, the company has confirmed. an Apple spokeswoman told CNET the company will indeed charge for the 802.11n enabler code, as previously reported. …

    Reg Hardware 19 Jan 2007, 10:38

  • Apple iPhone costs $246-$281 to make, analyst claims

    Very nice margin

    Apple's margins on the iPhone will be almost 50 per cent, market watcher iSuppli has forecast after being given a glance an an early list of components the Mac OS X-based smart phone will contain. According to iSuppli's calculations, the 4GB iPhone will cost $229.85 to source and assemble. That's just the hardware - factor in …

    Reg Hardware 19 Jan 2007, 10:56

  • Motorola makes Linux breakthrough with RIZR Z6

    Could gain a headstart on low-cost smartphones

    Motorola's first Linux handset for the US market, the RIZR Z6, is also likely to be the first in the industry to run an "open" operating system - Linux, Symbian OS or Windows on a single- rather than dual-processor architecture. This shows that Linux is making significant improvements in its suitability to be an operating …

    Mobile 19 Jan 2007, 11:08

  • Slow road to online film service at an end for Netflix

    Comment Watch Now

    It was in 2004 that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings first talked about its film download service, and back in July 2005 when beta trials were first leaked and the system was taken a look at, but it is only now that a truncated, half hearted movie on demand system is finally emerging from the US online DVD rental leader. And in the …

    Music and Media 19 Jan 2007, 11:09

  • AMD begins to ship ATI Radeon Uber Edition bundle

    Fanboys' dream

    AMD's ATI Radeon X1950 Uber Edition - a pair of overclocked graphics cards shipped in a lockable James Bond-style attaché case - have started to appear in appear in the wild. The "limited release" bundle comprises two X1950 XTX cards, and ATI "wide-area" mousemat and sticker, a "VIP customer care card", and a number …

    Reg Hardware 19 Jan 2007, 11:32

  • Spice Girls movie voted worst ever

    Titanic also sunk

    Spice World The Movie has been voted the worst movie ever in a poll of 12,000 discerning Brit moviegoers. The MSN Movies survey also honoured Titanic* with a second spot, while Grease 2 mounted the podium in third place. MSN spokesman Mike Lok said: "I'm sure most viewers would admit to getting guilty pleasure from at least …

    Entertainment 19 Jan 2007, 11:37

  • BOFH: The mystery of the vandalised office

    Episode 3 Sherlockian

    It is a cold morning when my assistant and I arrive at our rooms to commence yet another day of solving the problems of the masses. "Good Lord," Watson cries upon entering Mission Control. "Whatever has happened?!?" Entering after him I note overturned chairs, upended drawers and tabletops cleared to the floor... "Curious …

    BOFH 19 Jan 2007, 12:02

  • 1and1: readers stick the boot in

    Letters Email host apologises (again)

    A quick recap: This week unfortunate souls in the UK have suffered at the hands of an email snafu at hosting provider 1and1. It's not just poor service though; everyone knows technical faults can happen. The way the firm variously failed to communicate and told porkies about the issue (like when it said on Tuesday it was …

    Telecoms 19 Jan 2007, 12:33

  • Clarins unveils anti-aging satellite defender

    Those pesky EM waves at work again

    Worried about the ageing effects of electromagnetic radiation? Fear no longer. Youthful looking skin is just a spray away...apparently. Cosmetics company Clarins has launched Expertise 3P, a product that claims to protect you from indoor and outdoor pollution, as well as nasty electromagnetic waves, by creating an " …

    Science 19 Jan 2007, 12:40

  • Palm patches Treo 680 camera power bug

    Battery boost

    Palm has uncovered a battery-depleting glitch in the camera code installed on its latest Palm OS-based smart phone, the Treo 680, the company confirmed today. The camera may continue to draw power even when the handset's in stand-by mode. The PDA pioneer has now posted a 57KB patch it recommends users download and install …

    Reg Hardware 19 Jan 2007, 13:03

  • AMD rolls out low-end Vista-friendly GPUs

    Radeon X1050, anyone?

    AMD has quietly rolled out the ATI Radeon X1050, an entry-level graphics chip intended for board makers to offer as a minimum-specification Windows Vista Aero Glass-friendly upgrade. The X1050 contains 16 pixel shaders in four pipelines and fed by a pair of vertex shaders. It's a PCI Express part, but the connection of a …

    Reg Hardware 19 Jan 2007, 13:07

  • California blaze probe clears mobile phone

    Nokia 2125i not source of fire

    The mobile phone which appeared to have caused a fire in which a California man suffered serious burns has been cleared of blame for the blaze. Despite previous claims by Vallejo Fire Department investigator and spokesman Bill Tweedy that the Nokia 2125i could have been the only possible source of the fire, tests subsequently …

    Mobile 19 Jan 2007, 13:15

  • Intel next target as Opti sues Apple over CPUs?

    Same patent infringement claim AMD faces

    Apple has become the latest target of technology holding company Opti, two months after AMD also found itself on the recieving end of an Opti lawsuit alleging infringement. Opti's lawsuit, filed with the US District Court for Eastern Texas yesterday, claims Apple makes and sells products that incorporate its technology, …

    Reg Hardware 19 Jan 2007, 14:12

  • Mobile phone bacteria threat uncovered

    HELLO? I'M DYING! DYING! NO, IT'S MRSA!

    Most Brits carry vile harbours of pestilence with them everywhere they go according to a shocking investigation by a portable telephone seller. The study compared swabbed bacterial cultures taken from mobiles with those taken from other everyday objects. Joanne Verran, Professor of Microbiology at Manchester Metropolitan …

    Mobile 19 Jan 2007, 14:38

  • 10GBase-T server NICs go on sale

    All we need now is something to connect them to

    The first 10Gig PCI-Express cards for the new 10GBase-T Ethernet standard are out, even though there's not yet any commercially-available switches to connect them to. Chelsio Communications said its two new server adapters feature a single dual-speed 10Gig port and the company's T3 hardware accelerator, which offloads the …

    Data Networking 19 Jan 2007, 14:43

  • Inboxes battered by Trojan spam deluge

    When the wind blows

    Virus writers are taking advantage of the winter storms ravaging Northern Europe to launch a malware blitz of their own. The attack attempts to trick users into executing malicious files containing Trojan horse code, that pose as information about the inclement weather. The Trojans are being distributed in messages with …

    Malware 19 Jan 2007, 14:51

  • Phishers haul in money from Nordic bank

    Trojan hijacks log-in details

    Phishing gangs have managed to steal about €900,000 from accounts at Swedish bank Nordea since last autumn using a Trojan horse, according to Computer Sweden. Swedish police say they are still receiving reports of losses to the scam. At least 250 customers have been affected; the accounts of another 121 customers are under …

    Malware 19 Jan 2007, 14:58

  • Tesco USA to deploy 'world's biggest' solar roof

    500,000 square foot sun trap

    Los Angeles-based Solar Integrated Technologies today announced it had signed a deal with British supermarket chain Tesco to install the "world's biggest" roof-top solar panel set-up. The $13m contract will provide eco-friendly juice for Tesco USA's new distribution center in Riverside, California. According to Solar Integrated …

    Science 19 Jan 2007, 15:01

  • Amsterdam claims net data record

    Our internet exchange is meatier than yours...

    The Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX) is claiming to be the world's largest public Internet exchange, after setting a new traffic record earlier this month of 233Gbit/s. It says it now shifts more than 1.5 Petabytes a day, on behalf of over 250 ISPs and carriers. To support that load, AMS-IX has had to invest in yet more …

    Telecoms 19 Jan 2007, 15:04

  • NY antique shop sues bums for $1m

    Keeping Madison Avenue alkie-free

    The owner of an upmarket New York antiques shop has filed a lawsuit aimed at keeping four down-and-outs at least 100 yards from his emporium, the Daily Telegraph reports. The lawsuit is also claiming $1m a pop from the booze-swilling bums, although this has been included purely for "technical reasons". According to the court …

    Bootnotes 19 Jan 2007, 15:09

  • Salesforce polishes developer shop window

    Apex launch makes starting small smaller

    Salesforce.com wants application developers. But instead of recruiting them in the traditional way it is making its on-demand platform available as a free service to aspiring Software as a Service (SaaS) developers. It even sees this as a developer "shop window" aimed at venture capitalists. The approach is straight forward: …

    Developer 19 Jan 2007, 15:15

  • IT firms blown over by leaves on the bottom line

    To subscribe to The Register's weekly newsletter - seven days of IT in a single hit - click here

    As teenagers quake in their boots at the thought of exam results, the same is true of big companies when quarterly earnings are announced. This week we've seen some of the tech industry's A students sent to the back of the class for failing to hit earnings targets, while shareholders have praised other boffin blue chips for …

    Business 19 Jan 2007, 15:25

  • HP snooping team offered plea bargain

    Dunn fighting?

    California state prosecutors have offered to drop felony charges against former chairwoman Patricia Dunn and four others accused in the HP spying scandal if they plead guilty to lesser misdemeanour charges. Stephen Naratil, the lawyer for private investigator Bryan Wagner, told Associated Press that Deputy Attorney General …

    Financial News 19 Jan 2007, 15:47

  • Camelot investigated over 'underhand' emails

    It could be who-who?

    Regulators have tough questions for Camelot, operator of the UK's National Lottery, over allegations of underhand conduct just weeks before bidding for the next lottery franchise closes. The National Lottery Commission (NLC) is looking into a complaint that a member of its PR team posed as a business student in order to extract …

    Financial News 19 Jan 2007, 15:56

  • Pluto probe closing in on Jupiter

    Taking pictures while shifting into top gear

    The New Horizons space probe, hurtling through our solar system towards Pluto, is about to slingshot around Jupiter. As it passes by our largest planet, NASA mission managers are planning to test all its systems with a series of detailed observations of Jupiter's ring and moon system and scans of its turbulent atmosphere. …

    Space 19 Jan 2007, 15:56

  • Hacked to the TK Maxx

    Retail chain warns of credit card security breach

    TJX, the multi-national which operates the popular clothing store TK Maxx in the UK, is warning its customers that computer systems involved in processing credit card transactions have been broken into by hackers. The discount retailer discovered the intrusion, which remains under investigation, in mid-December. The breach …

    Enterprise Security 19 Jan 2007, 16:06

  • Network analyser gets trigger happy

    Fluke handheld has text strings in its sights

    Fluke Networks says it has added security features to the latest version of its OptiView handheld network analyser, including the ability to use string matching to trigger the capturing of network traffic. The idea of searching for, or filtering on, text strings is hardly new. However, Fluke says OptiView Series III can use …

    Enterprise Security 19 Jan 2007, 16:23

  • Goodbye YourWAP, I'm glad I knew you

    Comment Pioneer of mobile email bites the dust

    I recently got an email telling me that YourWAP is closing at the end of this month, and that if I've got anything important stored there I need to retrieve it before it goes. YourWAP was a pioneer of mobile email. In the days before BlackBerry - or at least, before BlackBerry hit Europe - it was one of the first services to …

    Mobile 19 Jan 2007, 17:34

  • US court withdraws 'legal child porn' opinion

    Antics over semantics

    A US court has withdrawn its controversial recent opinion that viewing child pornography is legal as long as it is not intentionally saved. The judge had said there was ambiguity in the law over what constitutes "knowing possession" of material. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania has withdrawn the opinion issued in November of …

    Law 19 Jan 2007, 17:38

  • Would you rather watch Titanic or Celebrity Big Brother?

    Letters Important questions, answered

    The biggest fuss (we would say story, but it'd be hard to keep a straight face) of the week has undoubtedly been the mess that is Big Brother. It could be argued that when a reality TV show manages to take up time in the Houses of Parliament, you know something is slightly out of kilter in your country. Nevertheless, rubbish …

    Letters 19 Jan 2007, 17:40

  • When is seeing not seeing?

    Inattentional blindness

    Also in this week's column: Are women who are forty, fat and fair more likely to get gallstones? Why is the human face hairless? Is the human skull made up of one bone or two? When is seeing not seeing? Do you ever wonder how a magician is able to fool you with a trick, as they say, “right before your very eyes”? …

    Biology 19 Jan 2007, 17:44

  • Moto's profits plummet in Q4

    Axing 3,500 jobs

    Motorola, the world's second largest mobile phone maker, is cutting 3,500 jobs, following a drastic fall in profits for the fourth quarter. The company released its results for the three-month period ending 31 December and the full year, on Friday. Profits for the quarter dropped 48 percent compared with the same period in 2005 …

    Financial News 19 Jan 2007, 18:37

  • NY GPS thieves tracked and cuffed

    'At the next junction, go straight to jail'

    Three master criminals who stole 14 GPS units from cars in a New York garage hadn't considered the possibility of a satellite-guided police bust, Tom's Guide reports. In mitigation, we should note that the trio thought they were stealing mobile phones from the Town of Babylon Public Works in Lindenhurst when they lifted 14 …

    Crime 19 Jan 2007, 20:04

  • SCO faces new setback in IBM case

    No nefarious destruction of evidence

    Things have not been going well for SCO of late, and yesterday the provider of Unix products and services faced another body blow when a magistrate judge hearing its copyright case against IBM again ruled in favor of Big Blue, rejecting claims it had destroyed damning evidence. Magistrate Judge Brooke Wells of the U.S. …

    Operating Systems 19 Jan 2007, 20:15