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22nd January 2007 Archive

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  • Sun and Intel go crazy over Solaris on Xeon

    Lonesome dove makes an old friend

    Sun Microsystems once again has eyes for Intel, and this time it's serious. According to the street's word, Sun and Intel will announce a partnership Monday centered around Sun slotting Xeon chips into its servers and Intel backing Solaris x86. Such a relationship would mark Sun's most significant Intel embrace to date. It …

    Servers 22 Jan 2007, 06:48

  • Jack & Jill to fetch old phones

    Not going up a hill, but making a mountain of mobiles

    The Jack & Jill Children's Foundation has kicked off a month-long drive to recycle over half a million old or unwanted mobile phones. The charity cares for families with terminally ill babies suffering irreparable brain damage, referred to by doctors as SDD. It aims to raise €500,000 from its recycling project. The foundation …

    Mobile 22 Jan 2007, 10:10

  • AMD cuts Athlon, Sempron prices

    Seasonal adjustment

    AMD has pruned the prices of a number of its desktop processors by up to 26.8 per cent, focusing the adjustment on its low-end Sempron CPUs and its Athlon 64 dual-core lines. The Athlon 64 X2 5200+ saw is price fall from $403 to $295, a drop of 26.8 per cent, but the other changes were much more modest, ranging from 10.4 per …

    Reg Hardware 22 Jan 2007, 10:49

  • Rio de Janeiro honours Naomi Campbell

    Appointed ambassador of world's most violent city

    Battling supermodel Naomi Campbell was on Friday appointed ambassador for Rio de Janeiro - allegedly the world's most violent city. According to an announcement on Rio's official website, Mayor Cesar Maia and Campbell enjoyed a cosy chat in the Palácio da Cidade during which the chuffed Streatham clotheshorse willing accepted …

    Entertainment 22 Jan 2007, 10:58

  • 2007 - the year of...?

    Comment An IT wish list

    As we bid farewell to 2006 and begin to see the realities of 2007 (ie, no real change to the problems we had in 2006), I thought I would have a look at what could change 2007 into a more interesting year in the IT space. First, wouldn't it be great to get more IT and line of business people working together? For this to happen …

    Financial News 22 Jan 2007, 10:58

  • Vendors pledge to make Flash as easy to upgrade as RAM

    Open Flash spec published

    Intel, Hynix, Micron, Sony and the other companies behind the Open NAND Flash Interface (ONFI) have announced the specification is complete and ready to use to break the proprietary link between Flash memory and controller chips. It now plans to make Flash as easy to upgrade as RAM. If widely adopted, the ONFI 1.0 spec will …

    Reg Hardware 22 Jan 2007, 11:03

  • Is Solaris really a bright choice for developers?

    All the best operating systems come on USB...

    So, you're tired of Windows and thinking of trying Linux. There are lots of good distros, RedHat or Novell have all the enterprise cred you might need. And there's a support community too, it's a no brainer.... Well, that's all true enough – but why not try Solaris - in its OpenSolaris form - too? It's just as available, at …

    Developer 22 Jan 2007, 11:05

  • PCA expels two members

    Not up to scratch

    The Professional Computer Association (PCA) is throwing out two companies for failing to follow its code of practice. Vantage Computers, or Vantage Direct, of Westgate in Kent, has been kicked out for failing to respond to association complaints about customer service and failing to refund at least one customer's pre-payment. …

    Channel Register 22 Jan 2007, 11:16

  • Intel ships low-end Core 2 Duo

    FSB clocked to 800MHz

    Intel appears to have quietly rolled out a low-end Core 2 Duo desktop processor, the E4300. The part, which supports no more than an 800MHz frontside bus clock and contains just 2MB of L2 cache, went on sale in Japan this weekend. The E4300 is clocked at 1.8GHz, according to a report on Japanese-language site Akiba PC Hotline …

    Reg Hardware 22 Jan 2007, 11:22

  • BI and CPM markets to get cozy in 2007

    Analysis When two become one

    For years analysts have asked suppliers "so which market are you in - BI or CPM?" Suppliers were somewhat coy about the answer. BI and CPM were perceived as distinct and separate markets. BI was the high margin cash cow and CPM was the question mark in the portfolio. Suppliers did not want to risk cash flow from the large $ …

    Applications 22 Jan 2007, 11:24

  • Belgian! newspapers! warn! Yahoo! over! links!

    Copyright crusade continues

    Belgium's French language newspapers are continuing their copyright crusade and this time want compensation from search engine Yahoo!. The Copiepress group, which includes La Derniére Heure, La Libre Belgique, and Le Soir, is demanding Yahoo! stops publishing articles from Belgian newspapers without prior authorisation, AFP …

    Law 22 Jan 2007, 11:34

  • Dell probes alleged Inspiron screen issue

    The line's share

    Buyers have begun complaining that the displays Dell installs in its Inspiron notebooks may not be up to scratch, and a groundswell of internet users are asking the computer giant to sort out the situation. Affected LCD panels develop one or more pixel-wide vertical lines. Typically, each line will appear as a single colour …

    Reg Hardware 22 Jan 2007, 11:44

  • Cash for honours investigation 'hacks' Downing Street

    Blair 0wn3d

    Police hacked into Downing Street computer systems during their investigation into allegations of cash for honours against the Labour Party. Officers were authorised to break into the network. The search was made before the arrest of Ruth Turner, a top Blair aide, on suspicion of perverting the course of justice on Friday. The …

    Law 22 Jan 2007, 12:00

  • New Zunes, Euro debut due next Xmas?

    Microsoft has said it could launch its Zune wireless digital media player and online song store in Europe by the end of the year, potentially much earlier than the company previously indicated. New US models may debut in the same timeframe. The software giant's marketing chief, Jason Reindorp, this weekend told the Reuters …

    Reg Hardware 22 Jan 2007, 12:07

  • Net security from one of the fathers of the biz

    Interview Bill Cheswick on firewalls, logging, DDOS, and the future of security

    Many people have seen internet maps on walls and in various publications over the years. Federico Biancuzzi interviewed Bill Cheswick, who started the Internet Mapping Project that grew into software to map corporate and government networks. They discussed firewalling, logging, NIDS and IPS, how to fight DDoS, and the future of …

    Enterprise Security 22 Jan 2007, 12:28

  • Man loses weight playing Wii Sports

    'Exercise good for you' shock

    Nintendo's Wii games console will help you lose weight, at least if you play the bundled Wii Sports title on a regular basis. So claims a North American fan of the machine, and he's posted the results of a six-week weight-loss experiment conducted with the console to prove it. Mickey DeLorenzo, 25, began his fitness regime on …

    Reg Hardware 22 Jan 2007, 12:46

  • Netgear HDX101 200Mbps powerline Ethernet adaptor

    Review HD-ready wired networking via your home's power ports

    It's a neat trick being able to transmit data around your home or office via the mains power wiring. You get a more stable, less interference-prone connection than Wi-Fi and a potentially faster link too. The downside is that there's no roaming, at least not beyond the reach of an RJ-45 cable and however many powerline adaptors …

    Reg Hardware 22 Jan 2007, 12:48

  • Linux lobby pitches single standards camp

    Penguin pool

    Two vendor-backed Linux groups will join forces today to get more sway over the standards and direction taken by the open source OS. The Open Source Developer Labs (OSDL) and the Free Standards Group (FSG) will become a single entity called the Linux Foundation. The organisation will aim to accelerate take up of enterprise …

    Operating Systems 22 Jan 2007, 12:49

  • Microsoft wants Wi-Fi 'filling stations' for Zune II

    MidemNet P2P, meet M2M

    So Microsoft's strategy for its Zune player is becoming clear. Just dig up what Register readers were talking about five years ago. Having attempted to add "BluePod" features ("squirting" music between devices wirelessly) to Zune, Microsoft is now promoting another concept that may sound familiar to long-time readers. On …

    Wireless 22 Jan 2007, 12:57

  • US tops spam relaying and malware leagues of shame

    Land of the free, home of the botnet

    The US hosted more than one third of the websites containing malicious code identified during 2006. The country also relayed more spam than any other nation last year, according to a study by net security firm Sophos. Sophos's Security Threat Report 2007 reveals that the US hosts 34.2 per cent of malware sample detected last …

    Security 22 Jan 2007, 13:14

  • Sony Ericsson eyes TV-phone market with Bravia handset

    Brand on the run

    Sony Ericsson has made use of almost every other key Sony product brand - we're thinking Walkman, we're thinking Cyber-shot - for a mobile phone, so it's no great surprise that it's borrowed the Bravia brand for a handset with the ability to show TV programmes. The Japan-only SO903iTV sports a 3in widersceen display and a fold …

    Reg Hardware 22 Jan 2007, 14:14

  • Asus confirms AMD ATI Mobility Radeon X2300 imminent

    Next-gen mobile GPU pre-announced

    Asus has thoughtfully pre-announced AMD's next-generation mobile graphics chip, the ATI Mobility Radeon X2300, which the Taiwanese vendor today said it's planning to build into an upcoming Core 2 Duo-based notebook. The laptop, the A8Jr, promises a "visual feast like no other", courtesy of its unannounced AMD GPU. Asus didn't …

    Reg Hardware 22 Jan 2007, 14:32

  • For Real, DRM no cure for music biz blues

    MidemNet Fine for subs, bad for downloads

    Real Networks' CEO Rob Glaser summed up the music business' ambivalence towards DRM this weekend, and said digital music needed the shackles taken off. Glaser predicted that the first year of DRM-free downloads would be the first year digital overtook physical. And only with DRM-free music would customers get the flexibility …

    Music and Media 22 Jan 2007, 14:42

  • IBM tries to turn your workspace into MySpace

    Social networking for suits

    IBM polished up another facet of its Lotus product suite today with a promise to turn every corporate network into a bubbling MySpace clone. The vendor kicks off its Lotusphere conference in Orlando with Lotus Connections at the top of the agenda. IBM describes the product, due later this year, as the industry’s first …

    Applications 22 Jan 2007, 15:26

  • AOL gets new Europe, international chiefs

    Dana international - corrected

    AOL Europe has appointed its sixth boss in a year as it repositions itself as an advertising-supported portal business. A retiring Philip Rowley is replaced by Dana Dunne, who most recently presided over Belgian telco Belgacom [see correction below]. He was also a leader of management consultants McKinsey and Co's telecoms …

    Telecoms 22 Jan 2007, 15:43

  • BT's Home Hub runs on Linux

    But is it violating GPL?

    BT's wireless broadband router Home Hub may be in breach of the terms of Linux's General Public License, after it emerged the device runs on open source code. The telco was reported to gpl-violations.org on 5 January. Under the General Public License companies must publish the code they are using. In its simplest terms, the …

    Software 22 Jan 2007, 16:06

  • US deals foreign banks gaming blow

    House of Cards Subpoenas cause a stir

    Only days after two former executives of an Isle of Man based online payment service were arrested on money laundering charges, the American government dealt another black eye to the European financial services industry. On Friday, the Federal Government issued subpoenas to major European banks, including Credit Suisse and …

    Law 22 Jan 2007, 16:34

  • 2007: the year you go out of business?

    Interest rates threaten SMBs

    Fears have been voiced that last week's unexpectedly early interest rate rise will send more small and medium-sized businesses down the tubes this year. The doomsaying comes from online credit-checking firm E-bcm. The Bank of England's independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) bumped up the base rate by quarter of a per cent …

    Small Biz 22 Jan 2007, 16:35

  • Chip dynamo loses ex-AMD execs

    Exclusive Brass dulled at PA Semi

    Flashy chip start-up PA Semi has started losing some of its top executives ahead of the release of its first product, The Register has learned. PA Semi's VP of engineering Jim Keller and customer engineering chief Wayne Meretsky left the chip maker late last year. According to our sources, the two former AMD executives have …

    Servers 22 Jan 2007, 18:08

  • Sun deals Xeon server line to Intel for Solaris ad

    The chip deal that isn't

    Server buffs have spent years wondering when Sun and Intel would finally bury their hatchets in each other's back and form a partnership. Now the deal is done, but it wants for excitement, controversy . . . anything. The Sun/Intel question was interesting back when Sun dominated the server game on a SPARC-only stance. It …

    Servers 22 Jan 2007, 19:25

  • Storm Trojan gang declare start of World War III

    VXers hire editor bot

    The virus writers behind last week's Storm Trojan outbreak showed off some neat tabloid headline-writing skills in a string of similar attacks over the weekend. The original attack tried to trick users into executing malicious files containing Trojan horse code, posing as information about the inclement weather. The malware …

    Malware 22 Jan 2007, 19:48

  • MySpace sues Spam King

    You'll never guess what for...

    MySpace.com has sued self-proclaimed spam king Scott Richter for allegedly using compromised user accounts to send millions unsolicited ads touting ringtones, polo shirts among other things. We were surprised - nay shocked - when we heard the identity of the defendant. We've heard neither hide nor hair from Mr. Richter since …

    Spam 22 Jan 2007, 19:59

  • Data governance definitions

    Mixed messages

    I am getting mixed messages about data governance. IBM recently published the results of a survey it had conducted into the use of data governance, which it conducted in conjunction with the NCC. Out of 141 respondents, from companies of all sizes, only seven per cent reported that data governance was neither implemented nor on …

    Developer 22 Jan 2007, 20:32

  • Bloggers unite to save astroturfing for Mankind

    Silicon Justice Is this a bandwagon you really want to jump on?

    Apparently, the blogosphere buys into every press release they read. In an all-too-familiar scene, bloggers, Slashdot readers and several news outlets were taken in by the hype surrounding a provision in the Senate ethics reform bill that would have required grassroots lobbying firms to register with the US Congress. …

    Law 22 Jan 2007, 21:26

  • PSI sues IBM in mainframe emulator spat

    Unfair, monopoly, anticompetitive, predatory, FUD, etcetera...etcetera

    Platform Solutions Inc (PSI) the mainframe emulator maker, has come out fighting in its legal battle with IBM, alleging all manner of anti-trust abuses in a suit announced today. IBM last month filed a patent infringement suit against the Sunnyvale, Calif. upstart. It sought a "judicial declaration that its refusal to license …

    Servers 22 Jan 2007, 22:38

  • Vonage swaps local for long distance charges

    Intros virtual calling card

    Vonage, the indie broadband telco, is turning itself into a Skype-alike by offering cheap-as-chips long distance and international calls to any Vonage number (or 800 number). Callers don't have to have a Vonage line to call a Vonage number. They ring a local access number and then piggyback to the local Vonage number and so pay …

    VoIP 22 Jan 2007, 23:38