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16th May 2007 Archive

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  • Oracle to get Agile with $495m deal

    Paying for PLM

    Oracle is buying product lifecycle management (PLM) specialist Agile Software in a deal likely to result in an overhaul of its existing PLM suite. The database giant, which has bought more than 30 companies in three years, is spending $495m, or $8.10 per share, for Agile. It hopes the purchase will squeeze SAP. The deal serves …

    Financial News 16 May 2007, 00:43

  • Cisco borgs ________

    Reg to fill in blank several more times in 2007

    What's for dinner at Cisco in 2007? More small companies. The switch maker's appetite remains as voracious as ever. Chief Development Officer Charles Giancarlo told an audience today that Cisco plans to make about as many acquisitions in 2007 as it did in 2006, when it announced eight deals. "The temperature feels about the …

    Data Networking 16 May 2007, 01:17

  • Wi-Fi group launches 802.11n compatibility brand

    Interoperability testing to kick off next month

    Wi-Fi overseer the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) will in June begin testing pre-standard next-generation 802.11n wireless networking kit to make sure the products all work with each other, the organisation said today. The WFA announced earlier this year that it would begin interoperability tests despite the fact that 802.11n has yet …

    Reg Hardware 16 May 2007, 05:02

  • Motorola sharpens Razr

    Razr²

    Motorola has sliced 2mm off the thickness of its original Razr handset and spliced in a raft of improvements - including an external display to match the quality of the main screen - to re-release the popular phone as the Razr², which made its debut last night.    Motorola's Razr² V8: in the round Two versions will be …

    Reg Hardware 16 May 2007, 08:02

  • Teen embeds car in Edinburgh basement

    Reg reader snaps spectacular prang

    We're obliged this morning to reader Paul Moran for sending us a snap of what happens when you try and park a Ford Focus at an inadvisably high speed: According to the Beeb, the car was stolen in Wallyford in East Lothian on Monday, and eventually ended its journey on the corner of Edinburgh's North Castle Street and Hill …

    Bootnotes 16 May 2007, 08:45

  • IntelliContact hit by rebranding madness

    LogoWatch You are the 'i' in iContact

    It may be a "leading on-demand email marketing service", but that hasn't afforded IntelliContact immunity from infection by rebranding madness. As you can see, 5 June is the big day for IntelliContact iContact, and this redefinition on the company's brand frontage paradigm is accompanyed by trademark Strategy Boutique guff …

    Bootnotes 16 May 2007, 08:47

  • French outwhine Brits in the workplace

    Bah, we can't even moan properly any more

    The French have confirmed their position as the world's top workplace whiners, beating whinging Brits into second place on the international scale of dissatisfaction. Research group FDS probed 14,000 moaning employees in 23 countries and rated their overall "whinginess" on various factors, including "percentage of workers …

    IT Director 16 May 2007, 08:51

  • MP questions police computer policy

    Records not being removed from system

    An MP has said police forces need to be more consistent in handling requests for removal of records from the Police National Computer (PNC). Stephen Crabb, Conservative member for Pembrokeshire, said figures provided by the Home Office suggest that not enough cases are being removed from the system, even when the people …

    Public Sector 16 May 2007, 08:52

  • The MiFID opportunity

    Deadline is fast approaching...

    You can say one thing for a business disaster these days: it's usually a lucrative "opportunity" for IT people. The next such opportunity is going to be MiFID – the EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, which goes live in November 2007. MiFID affects only a subset of UK companies, those in financial services (check out …

    IT Director 16 May 2007, 09:02

  • Motorola remasters Rokr music phone

    Linux meets Microsoft

    Not content with simply revamping its Razr, Motorola has updated its Rokr handset - the original iTunes phone - this time bringing it more in tune with the latest Moto look.   Motorola's Rokr Z6: front and back Released in the West next month, the Rokr Z6 ditches Apple's technology in favour of Microsoft's Windows Media - …

    Reg Hardware 16 May 2007, 09:25

  • Evesham plots rocky road back from HCI havoc

    Gordon Brown's legacy for the British PC industry

    Evesham Technology, one of the UK's last remaining PC manufacturers, is clawing its way back to profit after Gordon Brown's overnight closure of the Home Computer Initiative (HCI) left it with a £30m hole in its accounts. When the firm publishes its 2007 results in three months time, for which it is just closing its year end …

    PCs & Chips 16 May 2007, 09:46

  • Fujitsu claims 'world's smallest Vista PC' title

    Eye-squint inducingly tiny screen

    Fujitsu has taken the wraps off what it claims is the world's smallest Windows Vista PC: a tablet PC-styled "microminiature" machine with a 5.6in display and weighing just 580g. It's not great surprise to learn that the FMV-U8240 - part of Fujitsu's LifeBook range - is based on Intel's Ultra Mobile Platform, announced this …

    Reg Hardware 16 May 2007, 09:52

  • Dell faces fraud case

    New York Attorney General not impressed

    Dell is facing a lawsuit from Andrew Cuomo, the New York Attorney General, on behalf of consumers in the state. The computer maker, and its finance wing, are accused of fraud, false advertising, and failing to honour warranties and service contracts. New York state is seeking an injunction against Dell to stop it continuing …

    Channel Register 16 May 2007, 09:54

  • Sony posts big Q4 loss, blames PS3

    But future's bright

    Sony today reported widening losses for Q4, blaming reduced sales of its last-generation PS2 games console and costs associated with the launch of the PS3. The electronics and games industry giant booked operating losses of 113.4 billion yen (£475m) for January-March, compared with a loss of 51.9 billion yen (£217m) for the …

    Networks 16 May 2007, 09:59

  • Former Grateful Dead muso sues YouTube

    Claims 'unspecified amount' in copyright spat

    A mandolin player who once recorded with The Grateful Dead has joined the growing queue looking to give YouTube a legal shoeing. According to AP, David "Dawg" Grisman filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco on 10 May, and is seeking "an unspecified amount" for illegal postings of his videos. …

    Music and Media 16 May 2007, 10:09

  • Elgato add-on takes axe to Apple TV, PSP video conversion times

    Tired of waiting for your Mac to convert your videos into an Apple TV-friendly format? AV add-on specialist Elgato claims it has the answer: a plug-in video transcode accelerator. Elgato's Turbo.264 looks like one of the company's TV tuner dongles, but this puppy speeds up movie conversion by an extra 300 per cent. It said a …

    Reg Hardware 16 May 2007, 10:18

  • Spoken revelation from Genesys

    Partners with IBM to deliver VoiceXML

    Alcatel-Lucent's contact centre software subsidiary, Genesys Telecommunication Laboratories, says companies can now afford to build their own voice-based, self service applications with its VoiceXML Sandbox. Announced last week, the package combines IBM's Websphere Voice Server with the Genesys Voice Platform and a whole …

    Developer 16 May 2007, 10:23

  • Spaniard buys flat complete with mummy

    Previous owner fails to give vacant possession

    A Spanish man has described himself as "shocked" on discovering the mummified corpse of the previous owner sitting on the sofa of his new flat, the BBC reports. Jordi Giro bought the property in the Costa Brava resort of Rosas sight unseen at auction. However, Maria Luisa Zamora had failed to leave the flat when he arrived to …

    Bootnotes 16 May 2007, 10:35

  • MS names Halo 3 day

    Won't see us for dust (and echoes...)

    Halo 3 will go on sale in the US on 25 September, Microsoft proclaimed last night, two months ahead of the US holiday buying season, when it hopes to sell a lot more Xbox 360 consoles on the back of the game. European buyers will have to wait 24 hours for the game - it'll hit these shore on 26 September. Tasters are already …

    Reg Hardware 16 May 2007, 10:59

  • MPs cosy up with Sir Cliff on copyright term

    BPI tub-thumper in extension recommendation shocker

    Like Sir Cliff Richard, its biggest cheerleader and biggest embarrassment, the record industry campaign to extend copyright term on sound recordings refuses to die. A report released today by the Commons Culture, Media, and Sport Select Committee attempts to torpedo the recommendations of last year's wide-ranging intellectual …

    Music and Media 16 May 2007, 11:13

  • Panasonic previews next-gen Blu-ray players

    Panasonic has revamped its Blu-ray Disc player line, with new models targeting consumers in the US and Japan. Stateside buyers can now get their mitts on the DMP-BD10A, a $600 player that comes with five bundled discs, including the first two Pirates of the Caribbean films, Transporter, Fantastic 4 and the (slightly) more …

    Reg Hardware 16 May 2007, 11:28

  • Argentinian commuters fight back

    Train delays provoke 'arson, looting and fighting'

    Argentinian commuters have expressed dissatisfaction at their country's privatised rail services, by last night indulging in "arson, looting and fighting" following rush-hour delays at Buenos Aires's Constituçion station. According to The Guardian, enraged passengers "shattered windows, set fire to a ticket sales area, looted …

    Bootnotes 16 May 2007, 12:09

  • MPs must act on runaway ID project

    LSE advice to government

    The London School of Economics has called for Parliament to intervene in the government's identity card scheme to find out if it is "getting out of control". In its response to the government's six-monthly report on costs of the ID scheme, which said last week that estimates had risen by nearly £1bn since October 2006, the LSE …

    Government 16 May 2007, 12:23

  • iPhone demand in the UK is 'soft', survey finds

    Even die-hard fans may not convert

    The UK's largest iPhone survey undertaken by iPhone blog iphonic.tv has found that while interest in Apple's upcoming mobile is very high, even Apple die-hards won't invest in the handset unless it is competitively priced and available on their network. While 72 per cent of the 487 respondents (74 per cent of which already own …

    Mobile 16 May 2007, 12:27

  • MySpace stands firm on paedophile data pressure

    You got a search warrant?

    MySpace has refused to act on demands from eight US states that it hand over user data which they say will help catch predatory paedophiles. Citing federal privacy laws, MySpace said the attorneys general who made the demand had not followed proper legal process. Security chief Hemanshu Nigam told AP: "We're truly disheartened …

    Security 16 May 2007, 12:29

  • New North Korean missile tested in Iran

    Could threaten Guam, but not continental US

    Reports are emerging that a new North Korean ballistic missile may have been test-fired from a site in Iran. The new weapon, reportedly dubbed 'Musudan' by intelligence analysts, after the well-known North Korean missile facility, was first seen during a military parade in North Korea last month. No photography was allowed at …

    Science 16 May 2007, 12:36

  • Sony Vaio SZ4 slimline laptop

    Review It's slim but is it a lightweight?

    Sony's slender Vaio SZ4 is geared to folk who don't like their laptops to weigh them down. It's not the most compact of models, but at very portable 1.7kg, the SZ4 is eminently suited not only to the portability-over-performance crowd but also to those who want their laptop to be a looker. Case in point: there is no case. …

    Reg Hardware 16 May 2007, 12:50

  • PlusNet shuts down webmail indefinitely

    Fingers unpatchable flaw in third party software

    The spam crisis at PlusNet has taken its webmail service offline indefinitely after security auditors found unpatchable flaws in software provided by @Mail. It has announced that it is replacing the offending software and has apologised to customers. A service update (posted here) tells customers the emergency measures have …

    Networks 16 May 2007, 13:57

  • Foxconn first to forge Intel P35-based mobo?

    Foxconn has become one of the first mobo makers to tell the world it's about to bring a board based on Intel's next-gen P35 chipset to market. It's pipelined two products for a 4 June appearance: the Core³ P35A and the P35A-S - the latter incorporates the RAID support missing from the former, and has six 3Gbps SATA ports to …

    Reg Hardware 16 May 2007, 14:00

  • Norway endorses ODF

    Open format war continues

    Norway is considering whether to make the use of the Open Document Format (ODF) compulsory in its government agencies. The Ministry of Government Administration and Reform will make a final decision later in the year after recommendations from the Norwegian Standards Association committee. Several European countries are also …

    IT Director 16 May 2007, 14:02

  • Aussie bid for iSoft approved

    Calls flying doctors to save NHS software

    The board at peaky NHS software provider iSoft has approved an offer to buy the firm by Australian healthcare specialist IBA. The deal values iSoft at 58.1 pence per share, about £140m total. Because of its role in the trouble National Programme for IT, iSoft needs sign-off from the NHS as well as investors. Chairman John …

    Public Sector 16 May 2007, 14:06

  • US 'war czar' to attack internet safe havens

    Log off, Abdul! War On Terror goes digital

    The White House has at last managed to find a general willing to become "war czar". The administration had been having difficulty filling its new post, formally titled "assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser for Iraq and Afghanistan policy and implementation." At least three senior military officers …

    Security 16 May 2007, 14:12

  • Symantec pursues $55m copyright damages

    Claims copied software might break your computer

    Symantec is seeking $55m in damages against eight US and Canadian firms for selling illegal copies of its software. It has filed civil lawsuits for trademark and copyright infringement, fraud, unfair competition, counterfeit documentation, trafficking, and false advertising. Scott Minden, director of legal affairs at …

    Security 16 May 2007, 14:22

  • Suspect in case that helped sell Iraq war cleared, again

    No terrorist, no threat, no ricin - so where did Powell get the stuff?

    "An Algerian who was branded a terror suspect after being acquitted in the ricin plot trial, was yesterday cleared of being a threat to Britain's national security, reported the Guardian this week. "Mr Justice Mitting, chairing the special immigration appeals commission (SIAC), ruled that there were no national security grounds …

    Law 16 May 2007, 14:49

  • Blogosphere threatened by Google downtime

    And then my cat di...

    Google's Blogger.com has been offline this year more than any of the top 20 most popular websites. The self-publishing platform, beloved of spammers and Reg staffers, had taken 21 hours and 11 minutes holiday as of May 15, according to stats from uptime monitoring outfit Pingdom. The news is sure to generate panic among the …

    Software 16 May 2007, 14:53

  • Think thin, says EqualLogic

    Thin provisioning works on iSCSI disk arrays too

    EqualLogic is the latest storage vendor to adopt thin provisioning, but unlike HDS which offers it on high-end Fibre Channel storage, EqualLogic is adding it to its midrange PS-series iSCSI arrays. The company said as well as including thin provisioning in new arrays at no extra cost, it will also be available to existing …

    Storage 16 May 2007, 14:59

  • Powerpoint is the big Army bandwidth hog, not YouTube

    Analysis Milbloggers pushed aside in favour of PowerPoint and video conferencing

    The US forces' apparent moves to block frontline troops from accessing online media have been strongly criticised, and not just on free-speech grounds. US military bloggers, or "milbloggers", were at first, apparently, savagely muzzled - you didn't hear that here - and then supposedly freed to write again, as the US Army …

    Networks 16 May 2007, 15:11

  • Lancom targets UK with high-end Wi-Fi

    ELSA heir wears its Made in Germany tag proudly

    German networking company Lancom Systems has opened up in the UK with the aim of recruiting up to 50 resellers by the end of the year, and has already signed up TechstoreUK as a distributor. Lancom was founded five years ago out of the ruins of ELSA and specialises in developing high-end Wi-Fi, VoIP, and VPN systems, plus …

    Wireless 16 May 2007, 15:18

  • ID scheme not failing, just shifting

    Passport Service responds to LSE

    The Identity and Passport Service has claimed its identity card scheme is not "out of control", as the London School of Economics claims, but is being built on "uncertain" sands. In an argument for "common sense" criticism of complex government IT projects, the IPS claimed that its cost estimates were likely to change with time …

    Government 16 May 2007, 16:05

  • DLO debuts Nano-like iPod wireless remote

    There are iPod docks with remote controls, but there aren't many with remote controls that let you choose your music without getting up close to the music player's diminutive display. DLO's new HomeDock Music Remote is one of them. The dock unit itself is pretty standard. It'll take a range of iPods old and new, and connect …

    Reg Hardware 16 May 2007, 16:08

  • G-Wiz electro-car fracas leaves Top Gear blubbing

    Top Gear Clarkson acolytes publicly slapped by Boris Johnson

    Motoring buffs and greens have gone head to head during the past week as green-hating petrolhead Jeremy Clarkson's Top Gear henchmen tangled with bicycling mediatart Boris Johnson. The vehicle at the centre of the brouhaha was the G-Wiz electric "car." The quotes aren't El Reg taking a position, as you'll see. Back on April 27 …

    Bootnotes 16 May 2007, 16:23

  • Warner sues Imeem

    Pay up, playlisters

    When Imeem launched last year, it appeared to be yet another pastel-coloured Web 2.0 technology looking for an application. Who needed a web-based IM service, we wondered? But by stealth, Imeem has quietly transformed itself into a music sharing network boasting 16m users. Although it signed a partnership with SNOCAP in March …

    Music and Media 16 May 2007, 17:23

  • Amazon plans iTunes rival

    Jumps on DRM-free wagon

    Amazon.com is prepping an MP3 music download store, offering DRM-free songs from EMI and 12,000 other labels. The e-tailer will open shop "later this year". In the meantime it is not commenting on pricing. But according to WebProNews, Amazon is said to be offering "full album downloads retailing at $4.99 to $8.99 and …

    Music and Media 16 May 2007, 18:07

  • Swedish rock band for sale on eBay

    Everything must go

    Is it a publicity stunt? Or are they seriously looking for a new investment? Swedish band Rednex are up for sale at eBay for $1.5m. The new owner gets the trademark, the record releases, the contracts and all the shares of the Swedish company Rednex AB, according to a website devoted to the sale of band and its assets. Rednex …

    Music and Media 16 May 2007, 20:06

  • How to fix your kids' education for $200m

    Analysis Open source brains

    Let's start with this sweeping statement: You can consider the money and time spent hyping internet-enabled education a failure. We all know that you can find ample information on just about anything via the Web. This information glut, however, does little to solve very basic problems such as the digital divide, where students …

    Servers 16 May 2007, 20:40

  • Microsoft satisfaction rates slip

    Vista and Office-weary

    Microsoft's satisfaction rating among the American public slipped in the first three months of 2007 - during which it launched Windows Vista and Office 2007. The American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), compiled by the University of Michigan, saw Microsoft's score slip four per cent to 70, compared to the same quarter …

    Software 16 May 2007, 20:50

  • 'Gay or straight?' ruling looks bad for all US social networking sites

    Analysis Immunity shot

    The world just got a little scarier for social network providers. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals just determined that Roommates.com - a networking site for people looking for, well, roommates - did not deserve immunity under Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act for information that users of the site provide on …

    Law 16 May 2007, 21:05

  • Hitachi fiscal loss goes nuclear

    Turbine repair, electronic media steal Hitachi's purse

    Hitachi fell into deep red during fiscal 2006, posting a net loss of 32.8bn yen ($271.6m), compared with a profit of 37.32bn yen ($309m) a year earlier. Japan's biggest electronics conglom attributes the money dive to the cost of nuclear reactor turbine repairs and the poor performance of its hard drive and flat panel TV …

    Financial News 16 May 2007, 22:08

  • Printers and PCs power HP's second quarter

    Healthy, happy Hurd

    A jovial Mark Hurd today celebrated a second quarter in which HP posted a double-digit rise in revenue. HP reported revenue of $26bn for the quarter, notching a 13 per cent year-over-year jump. Revenue increased 10 per cent year-over-year in constant currency. PCs, printers and x86 servers all did their part during the quarter …

    Hardware 16 May 2007, 22:52

  • Sun climbs buyback mountain

    $3bn 'I can't quit you' for investors

    Sun Microsystems will appease investors with a whopping $3bn share buyback. Investors and analysts have long wondered when Sun would direct some of its close to $6bn in cash toward repurchasing shares. Well, they've got an answer of sorts now with Sun committing to the $3bn figure but failing to provide a buyback roadmap. " …

    Financial News 16 May 2007, 23:28