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3rd May 2007 Archive

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  • Glastonbury hippies force-fed spam

    We didn't even tick a box, man

    It seems that data protection and music festivals don't dance merrily off into the sunset together. Cries of "I didn't tick any box" have been flooding into Vulture Central with many readers telling us they had only registered for this year's Glastonbury festival via the official website. Despite this, lots of people still …

    Spam 3 May 2007, 00:19

  • Symantec revenue hop can't stop profit flop

    Restructuring costs cramp company coffers

    Symantec closed fiscal 2007 with fourth quarter profit plummeting 49 per cent from the period a year earlier, but beating analyst expectations with a five per cent increase in revenue. The company posted net income of $60.9m in the quarter which ended in March, compared with $119m last year. Major increases in restructuring …

    Financial News 3 May 2007, 00:21

  • Danes 'prove' sudden iBook death syndrome

    Danish turnover Apple

    The Consumer Complaints Board in Denmark claims to have evidence of a original design defect in the iBook G4 that has been hotly denied by Apple. Many iBook G4 customers complained that after about one year's use, the laptop acquired the nasty habit of powering down and greeting the users with a blank screen and a loud …

    PCs & Chips 3 May 2007, 00:43

  • Pandora shuts box on users outside US

    Record cartels kneecap streaming service

    Pandora.com, the popular net radio station that helps users discover new music and build custom playlists, will block most people outside the US from accessing its service because of legal pressure being exerted by record labels. Launched in 2005, Pandora has always billed itself as a service for US listeners only, but until …

    Music and Media 3 May 2007, 01:01

  • Right-to-reply website launches

    Canofworms.com

    A website launches today which aims to offer "an impartial, web-based right-to-reply service". Newscounter.com is run by a bunch of Tories, and Matthew Taylor - a former advisor to Tony Blair (so a bunch of Tories then - Ed). The site will "provide an authoritative means of publishing a full response, alert relevant bloggers …

    Music and Media 3 May 2007, 04:02

  • Euro Data watchdog warns of database creep

    Unbridled development a problem for EU

    State databases, the way the European Data Protection Supervisor talks about them in its annual report quickly grow beyond their function and not always with benign consequences for the people they have numbered. The EDPS' 2006 Annual Report, published yesterday, noted (100-page pdf) how the data guardian's attention had been …

    Government 3 May 2007, 05:02

  • Researchers, spooks favour satnav-based road pricing

    Could be popular - easiest to hack

    A group of transport experts and researchers has come out in favour of road-pricing using satellite tracking. The transport panel run by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET, representing "the profession of electrical, electronic, manufacturing and systems engineering and related sciences") briefed reporters on …

    Government 3 May 2007, 07:02

  • Intel preps lower power Core 2 Quads

    Intel is set to release in two months' time a version of its Core 2 Quad four-core processor that consumes less power than the chip available today. Due mid-July, the new version is called G0 - the current is B3 - and knocks the Core 2 Quad's Thermal Design Power - how much power the chip consumes when it's running flat out …

    Reg Hardware 3 May 2007, 07:02

  • Apple pledges green glasnost

    But eco-activists still not satisfied

    Apple has pledged to be more open about the steps it's taking to become more environmentally responsible. But despite the company's claim to be greener than the likes of Dell, HP and Lenovo, its eco nemesis, Greenpeace, wasn't entirely satisfied with the move. Admitting that Apple hasn't done enough to let its stakeholders …

    Reg Hardware 3 May 2007, 08:34

  • Sealand dismisses McKinnon asylum offer as 'rumour'

    Sanctuary at sea plan sunk

    Gary McKinnon, the British hacker facing extradition over allegations he broke into US Military and NASA sites, will have to look elsewhere for salvation after the government of Sealand dismissed reports it was prepared to offer him asylum as "rumours". Gary McKinnon at Infosec A technician working for a hosting business …

    Law 3 May 2007, 08:49

  • Programming in Haskell

    Book review Yes, Melinda, there is a choice: Functional Programming

    While it may appear that object oriented programming has achieved dominance in terms of programming language paradigms, there still exist outposts that refuse to submit to the benefits of polymorphism, encapsulation, and object inheritance. It's not just that there is a hard-core group sticking to procedural coding in C and …

    Developer 3 May 2007, 08:56

  • Intel consigns Cornish town to oblivion

    Panic in Penryn at Google search relegation

    You know things are bad when something's value is predicated by its standing in the Google search rankings, but that's exactly what's happening down at the Cornish town of Penryn - apparently consigned to oblivion by Intel's chip of the same name. This is Cornwall explains: "A week ago, typing Penryn into the Google search …

    PCs & Chips 3 May 2007, 09:03

  • RIM reveals BlackBerry Curve

    More consumer than corporate?

    Research in Motion (RIM) has taken the wraps off the smallest, lightest full QWERTY BlackBerry yet: the Curve, a more stylish but less feature-filled alternative to the existing BlackBerry 8800. The model number gives Curve away: it's the 8300, so technically a lesser product than the 8800. So while both devices come with …

    Reg Hardware 3 May 2007, 09:05

  • AMD picks Phenom, axes Athlon as high-end handle?

    Uninspiring

    It's time to wave farewell to AMD's Athlon brand and welcome in its place... er... Phenom. According to online reports, that's what AMD is going to start calling its high-end desktop chips. The idea is that the name implies phenomenal performance, we guess, but f'nom doesn't work for us - it's too easy to glance at and read …

    Reg Hardware 3 May 2007, 09:34

  • Capgemini and HP gain ground in public sector marketplace

    Two winners in ICT supply battle

    Capgemini and Hewlett Packard have gained the most ground in the rankings of top suppliers to the public ICT market. New research from Kable shows that Capgemini rose from seventh to fourth place, while HP shot up from thirteenth to fifth place. BT, EDS and Fujitsu retained the first three positions, while IBM, Dell and …

    Financial News 3 May 2007, 09:37

  • Google asks court to dismiss Viacom suit

    Floats 'safe harbour' defence

    Google has said it will defend itself against a $1bn lawsuit filed by media conglomerate Viacom and has asked a judge to throw the case out without a full trial. Viacom is suing Google for copyright infringement over the posting of video clips on YouTube, which is owned by Google. Viacom owns television stations MTV, Comedy …

    Law 3 May 2007, 10:01

  • Creative slings Stone at iPod Shuffle

    Zen and the art of digital music

    Creative is to cater for those "with an active lifestyle" with a new entry-level MP3 player range dubbed the Zen Stone - a compact gadget designed to take the fight to Apple's iPod Shuffle. The Stone is also remarkably reminiscent of the similar sounding Pebble, but it's the Shuffle that Creative has its eye on. The tiny …

    Reg Hardware 3 May 2007, 10:02

  • Living on the wrong side of the technology tracks

    Computers, Freedom and Privacy Digitally disenfranchised

    Simon Davies, executive director of Privacy International, waved his hands in a general blessing before announcing global Big Brother awards for Choicepoint (most invasive company), Stewart Baker (worst public official), the UK (most heinous government), the International Civil Aeronautics Organisation (most appalling project), …

    Law 3 May 2007, 10:19

  • Orange simplifies data charging

    Unmetered access for all

    Orange UK has followed the other major operators in simplifying its data charging tariffs, and opened up unmetered data access to non-panthers as well as those on pre-paid contracts. The new bundles include free evening and weekend browsing for £5 a month, or £8 to be able to browse during the day too. Pre-paid customers can …

    Mobile 3 May 2007, 10:22

  • 80% of complaints to EU privacy watchdog are misdirected

    Should have gone to national bodies instead

    The number of complaints to the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) almost doubled in 2006, but only 20 per cent were valid complaints for the privacy watchdog of the EU institutions, its annual report has said. The number of complaints remained small, rising from 27 in 2005 to 52 in 2006. All but 10 of the complaints …

    Public Sector 3 May 2007, 10:25

  • MoD to publish secret UFO files

    Tinfoil mob likely unruffled by flimsy cover story

    The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) plans to release its classified files regarding UFO sightings to the public. According to an article in yesterday's Guardian, the MoD will publish its files dating back to 1967 "within weeks", following the French government's decision to do so in March. David Clarke, a lecturer in journalism …

    Space 3 May 2007, 10:26

  • Northgate continues shopping spree

    Mangetout

    Payroll software giant Northgate has bought yet another firm, acquiring management consultancy Kendric Ash in a deal that could be worth up to £14.2m. Under the deal, Northgate will initially pay £9.2m for the firm, with a deferred payment of £500,000 to come later on, and a further payment of up to £4.5m once certain …

    Financial News 3 May 2007, 10:29

  • Tesco teams up with MyThings to 'trace' your valuables

    Online item registry

    Tesco has teamed up with global item registry MyThings to allow customers of its online Tesco Direct shop to keep track of their valuables online. The Tesco Direct store sells everything from electronic goods to home furnishings, while MyThings helps users protect their valuables. Under the deal, shoppers who buy through the …

    Security 3 May 2007, 10:54

  • Nokia unveils 'emerging market' handset septet

    clamshells and candybars

    Nokia is all candybars and clamshells today after it launched seven handsets for developing-world markets - some designed to make it easy for them to be shared by families. Nokia 1208 The dual-band GSM Nokia 1200 and 1208, for example, each have five phonebooks on board. Both handsets have a 96 x 68 display - a monochome …

    Reg Hardware 3 May 2007, 10:55

  • 3 CEO to retire in June

    Deputy steps up

    3 UK's CEO Bob Fuller is to step down at the end of June, the month of his sixtieth birthday. The position will be filled by his current deputy Kevin Russell. During his four year tenure, 3 - and the entire UK phone business - has changed radically as network operators have strived to become "communication companies". 3 …

    Mobile 3 May 2007, 10:58

  • Silly season starts early as IT goes strictly business

    To subscribe to Channel Register's weekly newsletter - seven days of channel news in a single hit - click here.

    This week was awash with silly stories - UFOs over Guernsey, dogs defecating on eBay, police charging a stripagram for wearing a police uniform in the street (maybe he should have whipped it off there and then), people being duped into buying sheep thinking they were poodles - you name it, it was there. No wonder there was so …

    Channel Register 3 May 2007, 11:14

  • Oz boffins unleash the power of beer

    2kW microbial fuel cell to run on brewing waste

    Australian boffins from the University of Queensland have teamed up with beer outfit Foster's to power up a "battery" by brewing waste, Associated Press reports. The scientists yesterday unveiled the experimental microbial fuel cell at Foster's Yatala brewery near Brisbane. The "complex technology" involved feeds alcohol, …

    Biology 3 May 2007, 11:16

  • Granny waxes lyrical in 'txt laureate' challenge

    'O hart tht sorz, My luv adorz...'

    A 68-year-old grandmother from Accrington, Lancashire, has rather agreeably secured runner-up spot and £350 in T-Mobile's "txt laureate" contest, Reuters reports. The hunt for the UK's most romantic handset owner challenged would-be Betjemans to wax lyrical in the "ultimate SMS love poem", and Eileen Bridge saw off all but one …

    Mobile 3 May 2007, 11:22

  • Time for new network security certification

    Comment Since GIAC messed up

    I wrote a column for Securityfocus some time ago that aired my concerns over GIAC dropping the practical portion of their certification process. That column resulted in a lot of feedback, with most agreeing about how GIAC bungled what was up till then, the best certification around. GIAC was until then known for a stringent …

    Security 3 May 2007, 11:34

  • Mars is caked in patchy ice, say NASA scientists

    Not a god awful small affair, scans show

    Up to half the Martian surface could be covered with ice, according to the latest results released by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. And thanks to new scanning techniques, scientists can say where the ice is with greater precision than ever before. This more detailed map should help NASA's Phoenix lander to work out where to …

    Space 3 May 2007, 11:43

  • Cigarette fire takes out Internet2

    Redundancy is so net 1.0

    The experimental Internet2 high-speed network was taken out on Wednesday by a fire started by a homeless man. A lit cigarette carelessly discarded on a mattress is blamed for starting a conflagration which knocked out services on Internet2 (Abilene Network) between Boston and New York after it burnt cables which run through the …

    Telecoms 3 May 2007, 11:45

  • NASA to go into the space business?

    Advertising space, that is

    In the future, astronauts will travel to the moon and beyond in spacecraft painted with advertising slogans, if a California Congressman has his way. At present, NASA is not permitted to carry advertising: it is a publicly-funded organisation, and selling advertising space is a commercial business. But Congressman Ken Calvert …

    Space 3 May 2007, 11:53

  • US flies visa control kite over Pakistani Brit 'terror suspects'

    Tough talk cloaks the next data grab?

    US representatives moved swiftly into denial mode in the wake of Monday's New York Times claim that homeland security secretary Michael Chertoff had proposed excluding UK citizens "of Pakistani origin" from the US visa waiver programme. The visa waiver programme allows visa-free travel to the US for citizens from a select group …

    Government 3 May 2007, 12:48

  • HTC S310 Windows Mobile smart phone

    Review Entry-level handset

    If first impressions are as important as some people claim, then the HTC S310 is in big trouble. Selling itself as having a 'compact design', when it first sits in the palm of your hand you can't help thinking you've been handed something that's at least a few years old. Despite measuring up at just 10.8 x 4.7 x 1.85cm and …

    Reg Hardware 3 May 2007, 12:56

  • Poisonous spiders invade Britain

    Global warming sparks arachnid warning

    A Natural History Museum expert has warned that global warming is giving invasive poisonous spiders the chance to thrive in Britain. The false widow spider, Steatoda nobilis, was first recorded in the UK in 1897, according to the museum. The female's bite can hospitalise an adult man. One victim reported: "Bitten on the …

    Biology 3 May 2007, 12:59

  • Cash machines get a voice

    But it's in Swedish...

    Swedish bank SEB has introduced 400 talking cashpoints, pitched at customers with sight problems, dyslexia, and other issues. Pressing a button before inserting a cashcard activates the speech synthesis option. Services available with voice synthesis include cash withdrawal, account balance options, and mobile phone top-ups …

    Financial News 3 May 2007, 13:03

  • US missile defences in successful Pacific test

    Aegis cruiser knocks down regional-power-type threats

    The Pentagon has moved a little closer to its eventual goal of a complete US missile-defence umbrella, carrying out a successful trial above the Pacific last week. According to a Raytheon release, Standard interceptors launched from the Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie destroyed both a "ballistic-missile target in space" and a " …

    Science 3 May 2007, 13:17

  • Google says iApologise for iGoogle cockup (again)

    Data still AWOL

    Google has apologised for continuing hiccups in the relaunch of its personalised homepage service, which has left some users unable to access their data for a week. Google had claimed to have fixed the problems on Friday and restored settings, but a number of homepages remain lost in the ether. The troubles started last week …

    Applications 3 May 2007, 13:18

  • Gutsy eBayer touts 'Royal Marine surrender kit'

    Just as commandos return en masse from Afghanistan. Oops

    An unidentified eBay seller is using the online tat bazaar to mount a web publicity campaign against the Royal Marines. "Blackoperation" has a home-produced "Royal Marines surrender kit" up for auction, consisting of "one white flag, plasty cuffs (enough for 15), hessian blind fold, an aid memoir and comes complete with its own …

    Bootnotes 3 May 2007, 13:39

  • Slam out power chords like Hendrix

    Now you too can spank your plank just like legendary axeman Jimi Hendrix. Well, almost. New software, released today, can make you sound like Hendrix, but riffing like the great man will take a bucket-load of talent too. The app you'll need is Italian software developer IK Multimedia's AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix. Connect your …

    Reg Hardware 3 May 2007, 13:43

  • Sir Alan Sugar unveils East End supercomputer

    Amstrad boss on 'robot prisons', boozy pilots and BBC's 'different brain sets'

    Everyone's favourite shouty TV star, Sir Alan "you're fired!" Sugar unveiled a supercomputer at Queen Mary, University of London this morning. Sugar cajoles wannabe entrepreneurs on BBC1's The Apprentice and is founder of computer maker Amstrad. But the hat he wore today was the one of chairman at Viglen, the company that …

    Servers 3 May 2007, 14:41

  • Murdoch makes high premium bid for Dow Jones

    $5bn surprise offer could tempt Bancroft

    It's a bit early to do much in the way of analysis yet, but Rupert Murdoch has made a bid through his News Corporation to buy Dow Jones, including the prestigious Wall Street Journal. The bid is for $5bn at $60 a share, and already the share price has risen to $56 a share. The company is more usually valued at around $35 a …

    Financial News 3 May 2007, 14:42

  • Yahoo! puts! IM! online!

    Download-free zone

    Yahoo! is offering its instant messaging service without the need to download and install a separate application. The change allows people working for companies which stop staff downloading and installing applications to use the service. It will also make the service usable for people in internet cafes that don't already have …

    Applications 3 May 2007, 14:45

  • Mobile phones no longer used for calls

    Too mundane for 21st century

    Mobile phone call volumes have dropped for the first time in 10 years, according to the annual JD Power survey. The survey, of nearly 3,000 UK mobile phone users, found that pre-paid customers are making an average of 10 calls a week, falling from 14 last year. Contract customers average 27, down from 35 in 2006, but those …

    Mobile 3 May 2007, 14:50

  • Space shuttle crashes in Alabama

    It was on a train at the time

    A train carrying the solid rocket boosters used on space shuttles has crashed in Alabama, injuring six people. The accident happened when a bridge collapsed over boggy ground, according to reports. One of the people is reported to have been critically hurt. The twin boosters, which are 150 feet tall when fully assembled, were …

    Space 3 May 2007, 14:51

  • IBM claims self-assembling chip leap

    Steals idea from nature

    IBM's highly boffinated research division delivered today when the firm said it would be first to deploy self-assembly microchip nanotechnology on an industrial scale. The self-assembling material can be coaxed by a scaffold to form vacuum cavities, which improve electrical transmission by reducing transmission between …

    PCs & Chips 3 May 2007, 15:22

  • Rivals dismiss MS Forefront security push

    Business OneCare

    Microsoft released the final version of Forefront Client Security, its anti-malware software for enterprises, to manufacture on Wednesday. Security rivals were quick to suggest that the software will prove little better than the company's consumer anti-virus software, which performed disappointingly in independent tests earlier …

    Security 3 May 2007, 15:40

  • From 1981: the World's first UMPC

    Forgotten Tech Epson's battery powered mobile computer

    It's the original UMPC: Epson's HX-20, announced in 1981 - 25 years before Intel and Microsoft formally launched the ultra-mobile PC category, in April 2006. Epson's machine wasn't the first portable computer - that honour goes to the Osborne 1. But while the Osborne was a beast of a machine, designed more as a desktop you …

    Reg Hardware 3 May 2007, 15:54

  • Sudanese goat wife pops her hooves

    Tragic death ends marriage made at the point of a shotgun

    The caprine wife of a Sudanese goat molester has died suddenly after more than a year of marriage, the BBC reports. Mrs Tombe, née Rose, got hitched in a shotgun wedding ceremony after her future husband was caught indulging in pre-marital sexual relations with the animal. Her owner, Mr Alifi, "described how he heard a noise …

    Bootnotes 3 May 2007, 16:36

  • Google resumes linking to Belgian newspaper sites

    Cash from cache

    Google and Belgian newspaper group Copiepresse have come to an agreement on a minor part of their dispute over copyright, but have not agreed on the major point of difference between them. Copiepresse members will use an automated system to keep Google from saving its content in its cache, but that is a technical fix that has …

    Law 3 May 2007, 17:55

  • Registrars victims of latest UK.gov IT fiasco

    IT modernisation abandons registrars at altar

    Half of the registries in England and Wales have been told to stop using a new computer system, following "performance difficulties", the Office of National Statistics (ONS) confirmed today. The ONS has not identified the source of the performance problem, according to spokesman, but he denied reports that the system had …

    Government 3 May 2007, 18:12

  • Microsoft preps seven bulletins for Patch Tuesday

    Critical fixes for Windows, Office, Exchange and more

    Next week's Patch Tuesday from Microsoft will include updates fixing a host of critical vulnerabilities in products that include Windows, Office and Exchange. In all, Microsoft will release seven bulletins. They include: Two affecting Windows with the maximum severity rating being critical Three affecting Office with the …

    Enterprise Security 3 May 2007, 20:13

  • Student expelled for high school Counter-Strike map

    Texas school's war on game's virtual war on terrorism

    A Texas high school that suspended and then expelled a student for creating a map of his school for the PC shooting game Counter-Strike has released new details of the incident. The 17-year-old boy's trouble started when the school received a phone call from a parent, one day after the Virginia Tech murders who complained her …

    Law 3 May 2007, 23:26