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25th January 2007 Archive

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  • Symantec plans $200m worth of cuts

    Incredibly shrinking data center sales

    Symantec is to implement $200m worth of cuts as the security provider copes with flagging demand for its data center offerings and a deluge of free security programs from Microsoft and ISPs. The savings will come from cutting jobs and new hires, reducing spending on contractors and consultants and paring travel costs. The …

    Financial News 25 Jan 2007, 00:09

  • Exec slaps HP with pretexting and Dell hunting charges

    Analysis While his ex-wife discloses HP’s TV sham

    Sex, lies and flat panel TVs. Dear lord, what has become of HP? In November of 2005, HP struck out at a group of former executives. It alleged in a lawsuit that the employees used HP's intellectual property, research and funds to create a flat panel TV start-up on the side. At the same time, the workers advanced HP's own flat …

    Hardware 25 Jan 2007, 01:28

  • Is old code automatically good code?

    Teaching an old dog new tricks

    The "old dog&" in this case is Marcus Ranum, inventor of the proxy firewall and the man who implemented the first commercial firewall product. He’s now the CSO at Tenable Network Security, the company that produces the Nessus security scanner, and author of the book The Myth of Homeland Security. He's also on the technical …

    Developer 25 Jan 2007, 07:02

  • PlayTech goes mobile with Masabi

    Lose money on the move

    PlayTech, the largest supplier of online casino software, has launched mobile versions of all its games. The gaming company, which supplies games for dozens of casinos around the world, has inked a deal with UK development company Masabi to enable players to play on the move. Masabi has spent the last year getting the PlayTech …

    Mobile 25 Jan 2007, 07:02

  • Bug brokers offering higher bounties

    Buyers locking up flaws to increase their shelf life?

    Adriel Desautels aims to be the go-to guy for researchers that want to sell information regarding serious security vulnerabilities. The co-founder of security group Secure Network Operations Software (SNOSoft), Desautels has claimed to have brokered a number of deals between researchers and private firms - as well as the odd …

    Malware 25 Jan 2007, 07:02

  • Massachusetts' top prosecutor laughs off credit card fraud

    Cheery news for would-be crooks

    Any would-be credit-card thieves will be cheered by the news that Massachusetts' chief prosecutor reckons the chances of catching crooks who steal credit card details to make purchases online are next to nil - even when they're attempting to defraud the attourney general herself. Martha Coakley was a week away from being …

    Crime 25 Jan 2007, 09:58

  • Looking Forward: Power, Cooling, and the Data Centre

    Where energy efficiency meets cost efficiency

    In the future, we may look back on 2006 as the year that power consumption, cooling, and energy efficiency in the data centre ceased being a back-burner issue for IT and facilities managers and elevated itself to become one of the forefront, if not leading, issues for many. While those “in the know” have always been aware of …

    Servers 25 Jan 2007, 10:18

  • Cameras to watch cameras in Scotland

    Who watches the watchers who watch the watchers?

    The Scottish Borders are considering putting in CCTV cameras to keep an eye on speed camera installations, the BBC reports. The Lothian and Borders Safety Camera Partnership is weighing up the move after having to replace seven of the Gatso cameras in the last three years. Machines have suffered various attacks including being …

    Law 25 Jan 2007, 10:29

  • No 20GB PS3 for Europe, Sony reveals

    Launch date: 23 March

    The PlayStation 3 will appear on UK store shelves on 23 March, Sony has said. The next-generation console, delayed last September, will cost punters £425 for the 60GB model. The 20GB version will not be made available until later in the year - if there's a demand for it. Australians will pay AUD999.95; New Zealanders NZD1,199 …

    Reg Hardware 25 Jan 2007, 10:35

  • Sony announces Euro PS3 game launch line-up

    What software will go on sale on the big day... Title Publisher Network or Disc based Resistance: Fall of Man SCEE Disc MotorStorm SCEE Disc Genji: Days of the Blade SCEE Disc FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION SCEE Disc Ridge Racer 7 SCEE Disc Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection SCEE Network Lemmings SCEE …

    Reg Hardware 25 Jan 2007, 10:43

  • 'We aren't waiting for Viviane Reding': Awayphone

    A local number for non-local people

    "The trend of voice call costs is to be free," Awayphone CEO Sherry Madera says - a pioneer of roaming call charge reduction, aiming to beat the European Commissioners to a fair deal for business travellers. Awayphone sells subscribers a SIM card which routes over the internet whenever possible and offers a local phone number …

    Mobile 25 Jan 2007, 10:48

  • Computer-based exam discriminated against blind candidate

    US company found liable under UK law

    A qualifications body discriminated against a blind systems manager when it failed to make its computer-based exam accessible to her. The tribunal ruling is the first to find a US company with no presence in the UK liable under the UK's Disability Discrimination Act. Sam Latif, 30, works as an IT project manager with Proctor …

    Law 25 Jan 2007, 10:55

  • HTC's Dopod to launch Athena UMPC-phone 'next week'

    Vendor spills beans

    HTC subsidiary Dopod will launch the device maker's Athena UMPC-like PDA phone next week, Dopod's president has revealed hot on the heels of the early appearance of the T-Mobile version of the device, dubbed the Ameo. Dopod's version of Athena matches will be called the U1000, Dopod president Jack Tong said in an interview …

    Reg Hardware 25 Jan 2007, 11:06

  • Subway sues ex-franchisee for trademark infringement

    Chooses High Court over WIPO

    Sarnie maker Subway is taking an former UK franchise holder to the High Court for copyright infringement over a website he has set up complaining about the way the multinational has treated him. The company is seeking an injunction and up to £100,000 in damages. It claims the site - www.subwayuncovered.com - infringes its …

    Law 25 Jan 2007, 11:16

  • Managing the change to connected mobile working

    It's worth it

    Background Mobile working is nothing new. Travelling sales people and tradesmen have been with us for as long as anyone can remember and, in industry today, we have many more examples of workers operating outside of a fixed base - consultants on projects, accountants conducting audits, engineers on construction sites, and so on …

    Business 25 Jan 2007, 11:30

  • US fires up crowd-roasting microwave gun

    'Less than lethal' Silent Guardian unveiled

    The US military has finally rolled out its Silent Guardian - a 95GHz millimetre wave "active denial system" designed to "repel individuals or crowds without causing injury". The weapon - mounted atop a Humvee - reportedly has a range of 500 metres within which it heats its targets' skin to 50°C. According to the BBC, …

    Science 25 Jan 2007, 11:32

  • e-voting to be stripped bare at UCL event

    Just in time for May elections

    The Open Rights Group (ORG) and the Foundation for Information Policy Research are teaming up for events to raise awareness of electronic voting. Already commonplace in the US, electronic voting has been deeply controversial and the machines have been hacked by activists. The systems will be piloted in the UK in the May local …

    Law 25 Jan 2007, 11:33

  • Fox sinks teeth into YouTube

    Subpoena demands name of Simpsons uploader

    20th Century Fox yesterday served YouTube with a subpoena demanding the company reveal the identity of a user who "uploaded copies of entire recent episodes of primetime series 24 and The Simpsons", Reuters reports. The subpoena - filed on 18 January on the basis of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act - was granted by the US …

    Law 25 Jan 2007, 11:37

  • Fujitsu hails HDD capacity breakthrough

    Patterned media technique evolves

    Fujitsu has developed a technique it claims will allow the company to produce hard drives with an areal data density of 1Tb per square inch - almost seven times the density of today's latest perpendicular-recording hard drives. Fujitsu's approach is based on what the company calls 'patterned media'. Essentially, the technique …

    Reg Hardware 25 Jan 2007, 11:37

  • Software company fails to prove it wrote its own software

    No experts in sight

    A dispute between two software houses remains unresolved after the Court of Appeal refused to rule that one company definitely did not copy the other's software. The ruling does not mean that copying did take place, though. In an unusual case centring on a software development outsourcing contract, a development company pulled …

    Applications 25 Jan 2007, 11:48

  • Siemens buys UGS and pays fine

    You win some, you lose some

    German giant Siemens AG is spending $3.5bn on Texan firm UGS which makes industrial automation software. UGS turned over $1.2bn and made earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization of $241m in fiscal 2005. In other news Siemens is planning a share float for its automotive division Siemens VDO Automotive. It is …

    Financial News 25 Jan 2007, 11:59

  • Cisco squishes bug trio

    SOS for IOS

    Cisco released three security advisories on Wednesday designed to fix multiple vulnerabilities in its core Internetwork Operating System Software (IOS). Worst of the trio is a "Crafted IP Option" vulnerability that creates a potential means for hackers to load hostile code onto a range of Cisco routers and switches running …

    Data Networking 25 Jan 2007, 12:03

  • Scientists store whole image on a single photon

    Whoa...slow down there

    An entire image's worth of data has been encoded into a single photon, without information being lost, for the first time. Credit: University of Rochester The image "UR", for New York's University of Rochester, where the work was carried out, was also decoded (pictured above) after being stored briefly. The team behind the …

    Physics 25 Jan 2007, 12:07

  • Uniface goes Vista

    Venerable tool gets set for the future

    Compuware aims to be one of the first out of the blocks with full Microsoft Vista support for its Uniface development tool. Announced this week, Uniface 9.1, the latest version of the well-established application building tool, also offers upgraded features for developing web applications. "The two key areas for Uniface have …

    Developer 25 Jan 2007, 14:12

  • 'Sir Cliff cost us copyright battle' - Motown boss

    Interview Plain talking

    Keith Harris says the poorest people in music, musicians, will be the losers if the EU fails to extend copyright on sound recordings - and he says the music industry should have chosen a better figurehead than Cliff Richard. Harris is one of the best known figures in the British music business. A former general manager of …

    Music and Media 25 Jan 2007, 14:31

  • BBC to launch immersive world for children

    Experiences second childhood, announces second life

    BBC is to launch an immersive world for children this summer, according to reports in The Guardian. CBBC World will be aimed at children from six to 13. The environment will let them create avatars which can play games and music, as well as create their own content. The report highlights the similarity to Second Life, though …

    Entertainment 25 Jan 2007, 14:32

  • More than 1bn phones shipped in 2006 - report

    Sony Ericsson slugs it out with Samsung

    Over one billion mobile phones shipped during 2006, more than any year previously. Q4 2006 was a record-breaking period too, with 300m handsets shipping out of vendors' warehouses, up 22 per cent on the year-ago quarter. The numbers come from market watcher Strategy Analytics (SA), which named Nokia - again - as the world's …

    Reg Hardware 25 Jan 2007, 14:35

  • O2 decides not to reward prodigal sons

    New and old treated the same

    O2 has announced that existing customers will be offered the same handset and tariff deals as new customers in a bid to reduce network churn. Churn is rife in the mobile phone business, and UK network operators lose an average of 30 per cent of customers each year as punters search for a better handset or tariff. Attracting …

    Mobile 25 Jan 2007, 14:47

  • Telecom Italia espionage scandal deepens

    Former chairman denies illegal activity

    The former chairman of Telcom Italia has denied any involvement in an escalating industrial espionage scandal surrounding the telco. Marco Tronchetti Provera, the current chairman of Pirelli and former chairman of Telcom Italia, issued a strongly worded statement published by Italian Daily La Stampa on Sunday stating that he …

    Financial News 25 Jan 2007, 15:09

  • Man dressed as The Joker gets ID card

    Batman beyond

    A Dutchman dressed as the unpredictable master criminal The Joker from Batman managed to get himself a national ID card, despite supposedly stringent new rules which outlaw grins, funny faces, and head coverings from passport pics. To avoid confusing facial recognition scanners, travellers in Europe have been ordered not to …

    Law 25 Jan 2007, 15:28

  • Paris Hilton laid bare on net

    Parisexposed.com dishes the dirt - at a price

    If you feel the overwhelming desire to see Paris Hilton cavorting naked in a bubble bath, partaking of a broad spectrum of narcotics or pleasuring herself with sex toys, then ParisExposed.com is the place for you. The website - launched earlier this week - offers voyeurs Hilton's private videos, photos, diaries (and more) which …

    Entertainment 25 Jan 2007, 15:41

  • Mobile phones cause cancer...or not

    One result of 'borderline statistical significance'

    People using a mobile phone for more than 10 years have a 40 per cent increased chance of developing glioma (a kind of brain tumour), according to research reported in the Telegraph. However, the study referenced would seem less clear-cut, and certainly the authors draw less compelling conclusions. The study involved …

    Mobile 25 Jan 2007, 15:45

  • BT still 'not fulfilling' GPL

    BT says yes, Freedom Taskforce not impressed

    BT has still not done enough to fulfill the requirements of the General Public License, according to the Freedom Taskforce. BT Home Hub - the telco's wireless internet router - runs using various bits of open source software. But under the terms of the General Public License, if BT is distributing such software it should also …

    Applications 25 Jan 2007, 15:52

  • Dutch consumer chief puts Apple through the mill

    Europe rises up against iTunes

    The Netherlands has joined Scandinavian led action against Apple's digital rights management lock on its iPod device and iTunes software. Apple is coming under increasing pressure from EU nations (including Germany, France, Sweden and Finland) who want to force the company to unlock its iTunes software so it can be used with …

    Law 25 Jan 2007, 17:00

  • Where's Wally / Waldo turns up on net search

    Now you don't see him, now you do

    The new owners of Where's Wally? are looking to make greater use of the character, and, according to The Guardian, have an internet search engine in mind. Entertainment Rights already owns Postman Pat and the Lone Ranger, not to mention He-Man and Lassie, and has recently acquired rights to Wally, or Waldo as our American …

    Music and Media 25 Jan 2007, 17:25

  • Phone biz booms, but Qualcomm rues Euro cabal

    Roundup Nokia rings ups the profits

    Nokia reported a net profit of €1.273bn in Q4, €4.3bn for 2006 on sales of €11.7bn for the quarter, and €41.1bn for the year today. That's up 13 per cent and 19 per cent respectively, year on year. Nokia's phones division contributed 7bn to the quarter, however profits in the $2bn-turnover networks division fell sharply ahead …

    Financial News 25 Jan 2007, 18:59

  • Michigan treasurer falls for Nigerian scam

    'Bilks' $1.9m

    A public treasurer in the Michigan county of Alcona stands accused of embezzling tax payers out of more than $1.2m, at least part of which was used to cover costs he incurred falling for a Nigerian banking fraud. Thomas Katona, the former Treasurer of Alcona County, was charged with nine felonies. According to the Michigan …

    Crime 25 Jan 2007, 19:42

  • Judge nixes former HP exec's racy claims

    'And be quiet about it, you two'

    Former HP executive Karl Kamb today had his initial counter lawsuit against the company dismissed by a district judge. HP and Kamb have both agreed to Judge Michael Schneider's order to withdraw Kamb's controversial lawsuit against HP. The lawsuit alleged that Kamb paid an informant - at HP's request - to deliver information …

    Financial News 25 Jan 2007, 20:58

  • User beware: Sun and Intel want to talk to you about Solaris

    Comment REALLY LOUDLY!!!

    Never was there a grander marriage forged in rhetoric than when Intel met Sun Microsystems. The lovebirds jettisoned years of marketing hyperbole by agreeing to hawk each others' products. Sun will actually sell something - Xeon-based servers - while Intel will play with and celebrate Sun's Solaris operating system. …

    Servers 25 Jan 2007, 22:52

  • Microsoft pulls in record Q2

    Deferred revenue? What deferred revenue!

    Microsoft drummed up record revenues in the December quarter - its fiscal Q2 - and could have done even better if it hadn't squirreled away some of its sales to 'recognize' in Q3. The company today announced Q2 revenues of $12.54bn, six per cent up on last year, and net income of $2.63bn - a 28 per cent drop. But it deferred $1 …

    Financial News 25 Jan 2007, 23:24