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7th February 2007 Archive

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  • iPass adds T-Mobile and Inmarsat to global network

    3G fills the little gaps, while satellite fills the big ones

    iPass customers will soon be able to roam onto T-Mobile's UK network using their existing credentials, should they be too far from a Wi-Fi hotspot and wanting faster speeds than a satellite connection can provide. iPass is a connection aggregator: companies, and individuals, can sign up for iPass credentials which let them …

    Wireless 7 Feb 2007, 00:02

  • Cisco pumps up the profits

    Great quarter

    Cisco has had a good quarter, correction, a bloody good quarter, with Q2 net income 40 per cent up on last year to $1.9bn and sales up 20 per cent to $8.4bn. Scientific Atlanta, bought in fiscal Q3 last year, brought in net sales of $639m in this quarter ended January 27. The networking equipment maker looks like it has a …

    Financial News 7 Feb 2007, 00:32

  • IBM hits Lenovo with $123m stock sale shocker

    You didn't get our email?

    IBM hit Lenovo with a jarring share sale, unloading $123m of stock in the PC maker. Shares of Lenovo dipped seven per cent today on the Hong Kong markets after word of IBM's sale reached investors. Lenovo requested that trading of its shares be halted with the price at HK$3.2. The exact nature of IBM's sale came as a surprise …

    Financial News 7 Feb 2007, 00:33

  • Sun stuns with on-time arrival of Niagara III

    Out of Africa and the labs

    Just weeks after posting a profit, Sun Microsystems has dealt out another shocker – a future version of its UltraSPARC T1 chip should arrive on time. Sun's server chieftain John Fowler today revealed that "Victoria Falls" – the third version of the UltraSPARC T1 – taped out in October. That puts the chip right in line with Sun' …

    Servers 7 Feb 2007, 01:26

  • DDoSers bombard Military root server (and more)

    Flooded for 12 hours

    At least three DNS root servers, including one maintained by the US Department of Defense, were flooded with data for about 12 hours in an attack that was notable more for its audacity than any noticeable degradation of internet traffic. The DOD's G server was among those sustaining the most damage, according to an analysis …

    Enterprise Security 7 Feb 2007, 02:03

  • Symantec: Microsoft conflict of interest is damaging internet

    RSA Lack of consumer confidence

    Symantec's chief executive has lambasted Microsoft for a dangerous conflict of interest as both the provider of an operating system and seller of software designed to secure its users. John Thompson effectively blamed Microsoft for damaging consumers' confidence in the internet by going it alone and providing its own security …

    Malware 7 Feb 2007, 02:09

  • AMD counters Intel with Opterons in all sizes

    Four-core coming

    AMD has grown tired of hearing about Intel's four-core Xeon wonders and so countered today with some faster Opterons and some lower-voltage ones. If you can't beat them with cores, beat them with variety. The little chip maker that could has ratcheted up the top speeds of its high-end, standard power Opteron chips from 2.4GHz …

    Servers 7 Feb 2007, 05:02

  • Acer tries to drag up PC ASPs

    The price isn't right

    Acer is looking to buck the laws of the channel this year by driving ASPs up. The vendor, which has been the hardware supplier in some of the more spectacular cheap offers from the likes of supermarket giant Tesco, is banking on customers developing a taste for the finer things in life to help it defy PC gravity. Semmy Levit …

    Channel Register 7 Feb 2007, 10:23

  • Samsung settles DRAM price-fixing lawsuit

    Agrees to cough up $90m

    Samsung will pay $90m to bring to an end lawsuits brought against it by 41 US states as a result of its role in a worldwide DRAM price-fixing cartel. It will also aid the plaintiffs in ongoing legal action against its co-conspirators. Samsung, Elpida, Hynix and Infineon were all found guilty by the US Department of Justice of …

    Financial News 7 Feb 2007, 10:27

  • Cybercrime? Forget it

    Police too snowed under to cope

    I would imagine that some reading this would be old enough to remember the hard hitting TV series The Sweeney. Each episode was action packed with crashing and banging as the heroes went from "manor to manor" "spinning drums" and "executing Ws" after showing "their briefs"*. This program was supposed to represent policing as it …

    Crime 7 Feb 2007, 10:32

  • Truphone starts talking to Google

    VoIP interoperability a go-go

    Mobile VoIP provider Truphone has teamed up with the Google Talk network to offer customers free calls. Truphone, which works on Symbian handsets (including the E60, E61, E70, and N80ie), offers VoIP calls to other Truphone customers, as well as cheap calls everywhere else, by routing the majority of the call over the internet …

    VoIP 7 Feb 2007, 10:47

  • AMD rolls out top-of-the-line Opterons

    Prices slashed by up to 30 per cent too

    AMD has taken the axe to its Opteron processor price list today - and rolled out a stack of low-power server chips into the bargain. It also topped a number of lines with new speed-bump CPUs. The second-generation lines, for example, are all now headed by the 1220, 2220 and 8220, clocked at 2.8GHz, equipped with 2MB of L2 …

    Reg Hardware 7 Feb 2007, 10:56

  • Acer out to push laptop prices up

    Acer is looking to buck the laws of the channel this year by driving product prices up. The vendor, which has been the hardware supplier in some of the more spectacular cheap offers from the likes of supermarket giant Tesco, is banking on customers developing a taste for the finer things in life to help it defy PC gravity. …

    Reg Hardware 7 Feb 2007, 11:03

  • Asus flows in water-cooled GeForce 8800 GTX

    Overclocked, of course

    Asus has announced an Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX-based graphics card overclocked from 575MHz to 630MHz thanks to a built-in water cooling system. The new card, which will ship under the AquaTank brand, ships with 768MB of GDDR3, likewise clocked above the standard 1.8GHz effective to 2.06GHz. And there's headroom to drive clock …

    Reg Hardware 7 Feb 2007, 11:21

  • Dell denies handheld games console plan

    Just evaluating technologies

    Dell has distanced itself from claims apparently made by one its own executives that it is developing a handheld games console to challenge Sony's PlayStation Portable and Nintendo's DS. In a statement sent to Reg Hardware, the PC giant said simply: "Dell is constantly evaluating new technologies. However, we have no plans to …

    Reg Hardware 7 Feb 2007, 11:44

  • PHP security from the inside

    Stefan Esser gets set for the month of PHP bugs

    Stefan Esser is the founder of both the Hardened-PHP Project and the PHP Security Response Team (which he recently left). Federico Biancuzzi discussed with him how the PHP Security Response Team works, why he resigned from it, what features he plans to add to his own hardening patch, the interaction between Apache and PHP, the …

    Security 7 Feb 2007, 11:47

  • Love triangle astronaut released on bail

    Nappy-wearing mission was 'completely out of character'

    Astronaut Lisa Nowak was released on $25,500 bail after appearing in court in Orlando on charges of attempted first-degree murder, attempted kidnapping, and three other offences. The conditions of her release required Nowak to wear a tracking anklet as she left court hidden under a coat on Tuesday evening local time. NASA has …

    Space 7 Feb 2007, 11:50

  • PlusNet goofs on passwords

    Hole in forum software

    ISP PlusNet is warning customers who use its forums that their passwords could, theoretically, have been accessed by a hacker. The company was warned by a customer that the vulnerability existed and fixed it quickly. But it has still sent an email to several thousand customers who could be affected by the glitch. Several …

    Telecoms 7 Feb 2007, 11:51

  • 10GBase-T: overheated and out of spec?

    New silicon means less power, more range, Solarflare says

    Companies touting full TCP offload engines (TOEs) for 10Gig Ethernet are barking up the wrong tree - and worse than that, they do not comply with the specs for 10GBase-T, a chipset supplier has claimed. "When Gigabit Ethernet came out, servers could only handle 300Mbit/s [of TCP processing], so people are worried about how to …

    Data Networking 7 Feb 2007, 11:56

  • Third letter bomb at DVLA

    Updated Mad motorist? Mad, as in angry...

    A letter bomb has exploded at the DVLA headquarters in Swansea. The attack is the third this week, following an explosion at Capita on Monday and another at accountancy firm Vantis on Tuesday. Vantis counts speed camera firm Speed Check Services among its clients. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) maintains the …

    Law 7 Feb 2007, 12:01

  • US surveillance of soldiers' blogs sparks lawsuit

    Rock the Kasbah

    The US Army is being sued by a privacy group that wants the military to come clean about how it monitors websites and soldiers' blogs for potential military leaks. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) lawsuit (PDF) against the Department of Defense comes after the Department of Defense and Army failed to respond to Freedom …

    Law 7 Feb 2007, 12:11

  • Network operators to create mobile search engine

    Desperately seeking revenue

    A consortium of network operators are banding together to back their own mobile internet search, according to The Telegraph. Vodafone, France Telecom, Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom, Hutchison Whampoa, Telecom Italia, and Cingular are listed to be involved in secret discussions to take place at 3GSM next week, with the intention …

    Mobile 7 Feb 2007, 12:12

  • Shuttle XPC X200M mini PC

    Review Shuttle revises its small form-factor X100 by... um... removing the AMD GPU

    We gave a brief rundown of the Shuttle X200 at the beginning of January and now it's time for a proper look at the new media centre PC. Externally, the X200 is near-identical to the X100HA that we previously reviewed as it uses the same sleek case. So it's still absolutely tiny, with dimensions of 21 x 30 x 6cm. The small …

    Reg Hardware 7 Feb 2007, 12:30

  • Telecom Italia set to launch 'cellular book'

    Hitch-hikers' Guide to the Galaxy, anyone?

    Telecom Italia and Philips subsidiary Polymer Vision - though it's soon to be spun off - will next week launch Readius, the first mobile device with cellular connectivity and a roll-out high-resolution, high-contrast 5in display. Nicknamed the "cellular book", the always-connected gadget is designed to make it easy to read …

    Reg Hardware 7 Feb 2007, 12:47

  • Nine charged with massive VAT fraud

    £250m scam

    Following raids and ten arrests yesterday, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is charging nine people with cheating the public revenue. Three people are also being charged with money laundering offences. The nine are: Curtis Laurent (49) of Cardiff, Marcus Hughes (36) of Uttoxeter, Keith Bennett(46) of Beaconsfield, Hashib …

    Channel Register 7 Feb 2007, 13:14

  • ID theft fears as VA loses another hard disc

    Security breach veterans do it again

    A hard drive containing the personal data of up to 48,000 veterans is missing, presumed stolen, the Department of Veterans Affairs admitted last week. The external hard disc was used by a worker at a VA medical facility in Alabama to back up information until it went missing on 22 January. Data included on the drive may have …

    ID 7 Feb 2007, 13:17

  • Norwegian regulator gives Steve Jobs cool response

    Do your job, Jobs

    The Norwegian Consumer Council, which complains Apple and its iTunes music store acts illegally under Norwegian law, has reacted cautiously to Steve Jobs' letter calling for an end to Digital Rights Management. The Norwegian Ombudsman ruled in favour of the consumer council complaint last month. Germany and France both support …

    Music and Media 7 Feb 2007, 13:22

  • Replace your broken biometric passport? Just say no...

    Analysis How can they tell with no readers, anyway?

    Widespread reports (proving at least that the press and opposition parties can speed read executive summaries) damn the Identity & Passport Service for only securing a two year warranty for a product with a ten year lifespan. Ah, but that's by no means the only thing about the project that's broken. The National Audit Office …

    Government 7 Feb 2007, 13:56

  • eBay in gearbox sex doll snap shocker

    NSFW 'Modded at rear' but box unaffected

    Any reader looking for a second-hand "Ford/Westfield/locost/kitcar type 9 gearbox" with a bit a added va-va-voom is advised to get down sharpish to this eBay auction where there's one available right now complete with "standard ratios, short nose" and "shortened gear lever included". There's more, though. Try the alternative …

    Bootnotes 7 Feb 2007, 14:18

  • Amazon unboxes films for TiVo

    Digital downloads direct to the living room

    US TiVo users will soon be able to download films direct to their TiVo box for viewing on their TV, using the Amazon Unbox service. Once the service is configured, content bought or rented through Amazon Unbox Video simply appears in the Now Playing list on the subscriber's TiVo Series 2 or 3. Amazon launched its Unbox Video …

    Entertainment 7 Feb 2007, 14:53

  • PC World in non-misleading TV ad shocker

    What in the world?

    The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has rejected complaints against a PC World laptop advert which claimed the technology on offer was "pretty much future-proof". Gripers posited there's no such thing as a "future-proof" laptop, because hardware and software are being constantly updated. The ASA gave PC World the benefit …

    Law 7 Feb 2007, 15:02

  • Met Office crashes at mention of snow

    Website buried in bandwidth blizzard

    Hot on the heels of the recent Southern Railway website debacle - where inclement weather provoked a rush of information-seeking commuters to the company's online information resource, thereby instantly derailing it - we're delighted to report that just the threat of some white stuff falling from the sky has buried the Met …

    IT Director 7 Feb 2007, 15:04

  • LG shows Shine in Europe

    Chocolate follow-up launched in London

    LG launched its Shine metal-cased slider phone in Europe today, though the handset began shipping to mobile phone networks and retailers on Monday. The Chocolate follow-up's key features: a shiny 2.2in, 262,144-colour, 240 x 320 display and a cylindrical scroll control. The South Korean giant launched Shine in its native …

    Reg Hardware 7 Feb 2007, 15:08

  • IPTV: Creating a flexible network core

    The practicalities of next generation services

    "There's nothing decent on TV," is a common refrain in our house. Even though we have heeded the BBC adverts and invested in some Freeview boxes, it seems that even increasing the available channels from five to roughly 50 does not guarantee a cosy evening in front of the box. It wasn't much different when we lived in America, …

    Telecoms 7 Feb 2007, 15:54

  • MGM floored over Wargames.com

    David 1 : Goliath 0

    The owner of Wargames.com - a website dedicated to selling, well, wargames - has won the right to retain the domain name despite the best attempts of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to wrest it from him. Rogers Cadenhead, aka the "Popesquatter" following his cheeky registration of BenedictXVI.com back in 2005, had been challenged by MGM …

    Law 7 Feb 2007, 15:58

  • Vodafone moves into MySpace

    Teenage angst on Vodafone Live!

    Social networking site MySpace will be exclusively available through Vodafone Live!, the companies announced today. The deal will allow Vodafone customers to upload photographs, respond to emails, and post blog entries to MySpace pages using their mobile phone. Software to access MySpace will be available for download to some …

    Mobile 7 Feb 2007, 16:04

  • Austrian police bust international child abuse ring

    2,360 suspects

    Austrian investigators have uncovered a child porn network involving an estimated 2,360 suspects in 77 countries. Clips posted by a Russian firm, which used servers in Austria, illustrated "the worst kind of child sexual abuse", according to interior minister Guenther Platter. Videos hosted by the site included images of …

    Law 7 Feb 2007, 16:16

  • OCZ goes for gold

    Vista-ready RAM

    Memory specialist OCZ has announced its latest gamer-oriented memory module pack: a pair of 2GB DIMMs clocked at 800MHz and offering latency ratings of 5-5-5-18, ready for dual-channel configurations. The PC2-6400 Gold Edition DIMMs sport OCZ's "gold-mirrored" heatspreaders, and the company claimed each one was "hand-tested …

    Reg Hardware 7 Feb 2007, 16:26

  • Letter bombs: an expert writes

    Analysis Reg UXB man delivers the facts

    Bomb-disposal operators quite like letter bombs, or "postals" as they are known in the trade. A postal device – especially if it's in an actual letter, as opposed to a parcel – is usually not very powerful. Even unprotected civilians are seldom killed by postals, and an operator in full armour can feel fairly relaxed when …

    Crime 7 Feb 2007, 16:38

  • Nintendo patents games console phone

    Wii Remote-like handset

    Forget about the iPhone, does anyone fancy an nPhone? Yes, Nintendo has successfully patented a handset design that incorporates not only all the usual phone buttons but also a trio of game controller keys too. The Japanese videogames pioneer has actually held the patent for some time. Filed in November 2001, the intellectual …

    Reg Hardware 7 Feb 2007, 16:59

  • Firefox popup exploit allows file snooping

    Pop goes the weasel

    A vulnerability in Firefox's popup blocker software creates a means to read files from affected systems, security researchers warn. The flaw, coupled with some tricksy coding, establishes a mechanism for hackers to read user-accessible files on vulnerable system, thereby creating a means to swipe sensitive information. Firefox …

    Enterprise Security 7 Feb 2007, 19:35

  • EMC tries to appease investors with VMware IPO

    Follows our advice

    EMC will set its VMware subsidiary somewhat free via an IPO (initial public offering). The storage giant will sell close to 10 per cent of VMware through the IPO of newly issued VMware stock. EMC plans to keep the remaining shares of VMware and stressed that it has "no intention of spinning out" the server software maker. The …

    Servers 7 Feb 2007, 22:06

  • Nokia goes Communicator crazy

    E-series expands

    Under fire from financial analysts for the tepid performance of its Enterprise group, Nokia is set to add two new products to its business range and revamp its hit communicator, the E61. The long awaited successor to the Series 80-based 9000 range, the E90, offers a full QWERTY keyboard and widescreen display in a device with …

    Reg Hardware 7 Feb 2007, 22:07

  • UK to jail data thieves for two years

    Cyber bullies put in their place

    People who steal personal data in the UK will face up to two years' jail, the Government announced today. The move is intended in particular to clamp down on the illegal trade in personal data by private investigators for whatever unscrupulous means their clients have in mind. The Information Commissioner Office has long …

    Government 7 Feb 2007, 23:06