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20th February 2007 Archive

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  • Microsoft's dirty tricks archive vanishes

    What don't they want us to see?

    Last week Microsoft settled its only outstanding anti-trust case, a class action lawsuit brought in Iowa. Comes vs Microsoft was resolved seven weeks into trial, and the terms of the settlement will not be revealed until April. However, the settlement has already had one fortunate outcome for Redmond. The plaintiffs' evidence …

    Law 20 Feb 2007, 02:34

  • Neteller waves goodbye to 250 staff

    House of Cards Drops the hammer

    Neteller canned 250 employees this week, as the crippling seizure of Neteller funds by the Department of Justice last week continued to impact the company's bottom line. The DOJ is trying to avoid the mistakes it made in the BetonSports case, where customer funds seem to have vanished into thin air. Of course, with the …

    Media 20 Feb 2007, 03:06

  • SanDisk cuts 250 jobs on falling prices

    Memory problems

    SanDisk is to axe 250 staff - 10 per cent of the payroll - to combat plunging memory stick prices. Executive salaries will be cut by between 10 and 20 per cent while the salaries of all other employees will be frozen with a hiring freeze introduced in most parts of the company, in measures aimed to save $35m annually. …

    Financial News 20 Feb 2007, 03:34

  • Carphone Warehouse in pr0n demo outrage

    Dial 8008135 4ABJ

    Somebody has been making merry down at Carphone Warehouse, and no mistake. The mobile phone outfit has thoughfully provided a demo of its MyMobileAccount facility (hit "view demo") which offers a rather interesting account name and phone number: By the Lord Harry and Saint George. As is the local custom, we have made out …

    Bootnotes 20 Feb 2007, 09:40

  • BT Rakes in new chair

    Bye-bye Bland

    BT's current chairman Sir Christopher Bland will be replaced by Sir Michael Rake, the current chair of accountants at KPMG. Rake will take over in September 2007, replacing Bland who took the top job in May 2001. Rake has been at KPMG since 1972 and was hired by BT for his "extensive international experience". He is a member …

    Financial News 20 Feb 2007, 09:53

  • Collar the lot of us! Blair adds whole UK to police suspect list

    You're on an identity parade. Forever.

    The National Identity Register will allow police to add the entire adult population of the UK to their suspect list, giving them the opportunity to check fingerprints left at scenes of crime against those collected from ID card and passport applicants, says Tony Blair. Nor are fingerprints in other EU countries necessarily safe …

    Government 20 Feb 2007, 09:53

  • Larry Page unweaves the rainbow his coloured balls

    AAAS Dodgeballs

    Larry Page, the most reclusive of Google's ruling triumvirate gave a rare public speech at the AAAS meeting in San Francisco on Friday. During an hour long session he revealed an instinctive allergy to the firm's political significance. Presumably referring to his firm's cooperation with the Chinese regime's censoring of the …

    Science 20 Feb 2007, 10:09

  • Police track 100mph urban joyrider

    YouTube biker questioned

    A man has been accused of driving his motorcycle through a built-up area at over 100 miles per hour, filming the ride and posting the footage on the internet. Jeremy Parrott, 37, of Somerset, was questioned by police after they saw the video on YouTube. The film shows a Yamaha R1 superbike driving through traffic, squeezing …

    Bootnotes 20 Feb 2007, 10:14

  • Microsoft's WGA changes today

    Genuine Advantage not proven

    Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage is being updated today, in what the company claims is response to customer feedback. The original WGA was hugely unpopular, especially when it emerged the software was secretly "phoning home" - sending information about users' computers back to Redmond. It also caused problems for some …

    Software 20 Feb 2007, 10:42

  • Hampshire fights misguided HGV menace

    'Do not follow sat nav. Very narrow lane'

    Hampshire County Council has been forced to erect signs warning HGV drivers to stay out of a narrow lane - despite their satnavs' insistence it's a full-fat link road. The powers that be acted "after Beacon Hill Lane residents in the village of Exton, near Winchester, complained about HGVs getting stuck", the BBC reports. The …

    Bootnotes 20 Feb 2007, 10:43

  • Sex offenders' register to include senders of indecent email

    You've got a SOPO

    The sending of emails of a sexual nature could earn the sender a place on the sex offenders' register under changes to existing legislation that came into force today. An order has amended the Sexual Offences Act of 2003 to make it possible for offences which are not primarily sexual in nature to be punishable by a sexual …

    Law 20 Feb 2007, 10:47

  • Tories attack ID card fingerprint plans

    'We will abolish this costly plastic poll tax'

    Shadow home secretary David Davis has criticised the government's plan to make people travel to interview centres to provide a biometric for the national identity card. He said it would force people to travel, in some cases hundreds of miles, at their own expense to an interview centre, and would hit the elderly and the less …

    Government 20 Feb 2007, 10:59

  • Snort bug is nothing to sniff at

    Watching the detectives

    Snort and Sourcefire users are urged to update their intrusion detection software following the discovery of a potentially serious security vulnerability. A stack-based buffer overflow security bug in the preprocessor handling DCE/RPC traffic means hackers could inject hostile code onto systems running the popular open source …

    Security 20 Feb 2007, 11:03

  • Video game vets make better surgeons

    Laparoscopy skills linked to gameplay experience

    A study into laparoscopy surgeons has shown a "strong correlation" between video game skills and the sawbones' ability to perform delicate, TV guided keyhole surgery. The results, published in the February issue of Archives of Surgery, showed that "video game skills translated into higher scores on a day-and-half-long surgical …

    Science 20 Feb 2007, 11:07

  • Cuba government to go open source

    Red hat revolution

    The Cuban government has found another way to thumb its nose at the US, its bullyboy neighbour - opt for open source and throw its Microsoft software in the dustbin. According to the Associated Press, Cuban ministers believe their national security depends on ditching Microsoft because its software could be made with …

    Software 20 Feb 2007, 11:31

  • An open API for networking technology?

    Futures Procurve's 'bold new security vision strategy'

    Although I concentrate mainly on development these days, in previous lives I was involved in internal control and network management in a City financial institution and I like to keep up to date with networking and network security – especially as I believe that networking technology represents a long-neglected opportunity for …

    Developer 20 Feb 2007, 11:49

  • Born again Business Intelligence

    Reg Reader Studies Are you ready to try it again?

    Business Intelligence (BI) was one of those hot areas in the 90s that dominated the headlines for a while. Then it went all quiet – until recently. With mantras like "a dashboard on every desktop", BI appears to be going through somewhat of a revival, at least if you take the enthusiasm of vendors as a measure. But are …

    Tech Panel 20 Feb 2007, 11:51

  • Laptop losses and phishing fruit salad

    The need for accurate risk assessment

    Dr Neal Krawetz takes a look at the numbers behind reports of laptop thefts and phishing attacks, showing inconsistent metrics and the difficulty in using numbers to determine the real level of threat. Security is about evaluating risks. And who knows more about evaluating risks than insurance companies? For example, the …

    Security 20 Feb 2007, 11:54

  • iGo Boomtube portable speakers

    Review Less ghetto-blaster, more garden-groover

    Personal music players maybe designed to be just that, personal, but sometimes you just want to throw down your white headphones and share your music with the world. Well, a few gathered folks anyway. Preferably not on a number 38 bus – and depending on your musical taste of course... The Boomtube allows you to do just that, …

    Hardware 20 Feb 2007, 12:15

  • Microsoft + Toshiba = Portégé R400

    First of the Vista native Portégé range is a looker...

    Toshiba has launched a new laptop specifically to run Windows Vista: the Portégé R400 is the result of a collaborative effort between Microsoft and the Japanese electronics manufacturer. The a sleek-looking Portégé R400 has an "email push service" that uses Microsoft Active Notifications. This enables users to receive real- …

    Hardware 20 Feb 2007, 12:59

  • New Nikon camera for new Nikon user

    Manufacturer develops 'prosumer' demographic

    "If you're looking to take high-quality photos without the hassle of carrying an SLR..." Nikon has just launched a 10-megapixel "prosumer" camera it claims does just that. The COOLPIX P5000 comes with vibration reduction and a light sensitivity range up to ISO 3200 for poor lighting conditions – although this only works at 5- …

    Hardware 20 Feb 2007, 13:35

  • Scotland to float 'world's biggest' wave farm

    £13m for Orkney green 'leccy plant

    Scotland will enjoy the "world's biggest wave energy farm" after Scottish ministers agreed to fund a major installation at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney. The £13m package will allow further deployment of Leith-based Ocean Power Delivery's Pelamis system, one of which is already installed and tested at the site, …

    Science 20 Feb 2007, 14:02

  • Microsoft orders ROM removals

    Not meant for mortal man

    Microsoft has ordered the removal of ROM images from popular Windows Mobile development site XDA-Developers. The site is aimed at developers wanting to get more out of devices from HTC; the largest manufacturer of Windows Mobile devices, and offers forums, information, documentation and advice, as well as the various ROM images …

    Mobile 20 Feb 2007, 14:53

  • Phish fighters floored by DDoS assault

    Botnet hits CastleCops under the belt

    Castlecops, the volunteer security community that runs a well-known phishing website investigation service, has been hit by a denial of service attack. The latest phase in an ongoing botnet powered onslaught that began on 13 February rendered the site largely inaccessible on Monday (19 February). By Tuesday, the website …

    Security 20 Feb 2007, 14:57

  • Logica offloads telecoms biz

    Ditching products, beefing services

    LogicaCMG has sold its telecoms products division to a private equity consortium for £265m. The firm said in a statement today that it would use proceeds of the sale to pay £130m into a buyback scheme for shareholders, reduce debt, and buy-out minority interests. Atlantic Bridge Ventures, which led the buying consortium, has …

    The Channel 20 Feb 2007, 15:00

  • Samsung YP-K3 digital audio player

    Review Nice curves, but does it have anything worthwhile inside the casing?

    "Refined, Stylish, Classy, Sleek" - are all words that have gone to describe Samsung's latest offering to the digital audio player world... mostly by the Seoul-based manufacturer. So, after all that hype is there anything besides aesthetics to drive sales of the Samsung K3 in this Apple iPod dominated market? Read on... The …

    Hardware 20 Feb 2007, 15:37

  • DDoS attacks deemed illegal in Sweden

    Bots operators face jailtime

    Distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS), where targets are deluged with requests for information, will be made a criminal offence in Sweden from 1 June. According to a draft amendment to existing hacking laws, perpetrators will face a maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment. There are currently no laws banning the …

    Security 20 Feb 2007, 16:45

  • NHS barcodes cause daylight saving havoc

    Letters And should 'solutions' be banned?

    Who would have thought that time would tick you off so much? Daylight saving - do we like it? No we don't! Bryan, you wrote: "It wouldn't be the first time that servers have got their clocks out of step, either. After all, the US and Europe only managed to synchronise their shift to DST a few years ago, after decades of being a …

    Letters 20 Feb 2007, 16:59

  • The phony economics of Second Life

    Analysis What the business press didn't tell you

    Two weeks ago, business leaders at Davos gave their blessing to Linden Lab's Second Life. They hailed the spectacular growth of its virtual economy while politicians spoke of democracy itself moving into its online world. But little of this coverage questioned its true popularity, or how sustainable its "virtual economy" …

    Media 20 Feb 2007, 17:49

  • Windows Defender spyware-blocking under fire (again)

    Who tests the testers?

    Microsoft's Windows Defender has once again come under criticism for alleged shortcomings in blocking invasive spyware applications. In tests sponsored by anti-spyware vendor PC Tools, and carried out by independent testing facility Enex Testlabs, Microsoft’s Windows Defender blocked less than half (46 per cent) of current …

    Security 20 Feb 2007, 18:52

  • Sirius, XM resort to FCC-baiting merger

    Oprah and Howard Stern in 'merger of equals'

    As we predicted on Friday, subscription satellite radio providers Sirius and XM have announced a plan to merge in the face of rapidly propagating entertainment delivery platforms. The combined outfit would be worth about $13bn if the stock swap deal completes, as the two firms expect, by the end of this year. Whether the deal …

    Bootnotes 20 Feb 2007, 20:28

  • Vista security overview: too little too late

    Review But some progress has been made

    Microsoft has gone out on a limb to promote Vista not merely as "the most secure version of Windows ever" (every recent version is marketed with that tired slogan), but for the first time as an adequately secure version of Windows. "We've got the message and we've done our homework", the company says. So let's see if the reality …

    Security 20 Feb 2007, 20:30

  • When is a dollar not worth a dollar?

    When you're a UK company trying to buy US computer gear

    Microsoft's shameless assumption of a 1:1 exchange rate when re-pricing Vista for the UK market brought back memories of the bad old days when most IT companies simply swapped the dollar sign for a pound sign when preparing their UK price lists. It also rang alarm bells when a call came in about an item we published yesterday …

    Storage 20 Feb 2007, 20:48

  • 'Hoax' stuns classical music world

    Joyce Hatto: the greatest pianist no-one has heard of

    Gramophone magazine has unearthed what one sound recording expert describes as "the biggest attempt at recording theft ever." Thanks to the internet, the formerly obscure British classical pianist Joyce Hatto had become a critical favorite shortly before her death last year. In 2005, the Boston Globe described her as "the …

    Media 20 Feb 2007, 21:05

  • Hacked eBay accounts give rise to conspiracy theories

    Roswell, the Kennedys and a hacker named Vladuz

    Eagle-eyed conspiracy buffs have pounced on a recent rash of compromised eBay user accounts as proof of a mile-wide hole in the auctioneer's front lines, giving new life to a theory that could one day rival the intrigue surrounding Roswell UFO crashing and Kennedy assassinations. Details remained sketchy, and of course, eBay …

    Small Biz 20 Feb 2007, 22:38