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30th May 2007 Archive

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  • Broadcom verdict broadsides Qualcomm

    $19.6m patent slap

    Broadcom won $19.6m today from Qualcomm, after a jury found the chip design rival guilty of infringing three patents for cell phone technology. If the judge upholds the verdict, federal law allows Qualcomm to be charged up to three times as much — that's $58.8m — for willfully stepping on the IP's toes. Broadcom also seeks a …

    Law 30 May 2007, 00:06

  • Phony BBB email dupes more than 1,400 execs

    Gone Spear phishin'

    A provider of online security services has uncovered a highly sophisticated phishing scheme that has already duped at least 1,400 US executives. They were fooled into sending sensitive information in response to an email purporting to come from officials at the Better Business Bureau. The ruse starts with an email addressed …

    Security 30 May 2007, 00:13

  • CDW goes private for $7.3bn

    Bid premium etc.

    CDW, the big US computer dealer, is selling itself to a private equity firm for $7.3bn. That's a 16.1 per cent premium over CDW's closing price on Friday. The deal is an all- Illinois affair - CDW is based in Vernon Hills and its prospective new owner, Madison Dearborn Partners LLC, hangs out in Chicago. Approval from …

    The Channel 30 May 2007, 00:45

  • Apple plugs two QuickTime holes

    Second security patch in less than a week

    Apple has plugged two holes in its QuickTime media player that could create serious security problems for people tricked into visiting malicious websites. The release, which is available for both Windows and Mac platforms, is Apple's second security patch in less than a week. The most serious of the two vulnerabilities …

    Hardware 30 May 2007, 01:09

  • Pentagon: China threatens space and cyberspace

    Commies get nukes, sat-kill lasers, 'electromagnetic dominance' virus units

    A Pentagon report into Chinese military capability says that the People's Republic "is expanding from the traditional land, air, and sea dimensions of the modern battlefield to include space and cyber-space." The "ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS: Military Power of the People’s Republic of China 2007," was released by the Office of …

    Government 30 May 2007, 02:05

  • Mobile games set for simultaneous launch

    End of operator exclusivity

    Four of the largest mobile games publishers (EA, Glu, Gameloft and I-play) have agreed to launch games simultaneously on all the UK networks, removing one more avenue for network differentiation and, hopefully, reducing customer confusion. Network operators have traditionally looked to exclusive content to differentiate …

    Mobile 30 May 2007, 06:02

  • Peer-to-peer networks co-opted for DOS attacks

    DC++ flaw sees massive data storms

    A flaw in the design of a popular peer-to-peer network software has given attackers the ability to create massive denial-of-service attacks that can easily overwhelm corporate websites, a security firm warned last week. Over the past three months, more than 40 companies have endured attacks emanating from hundreds of …

    Security 30 May 2007, 07:02

  • Bomb squad disables suspect sex toy

    Explosive climax to Post Office scare

    Here's a top tip for those of you thinking of sending battery-operated sex toys via the Royal Mail: take out the power source before popping the package in the post, or you might enjoy a more explosive climax than anticipated. This piece of advice comes via the BBC, which reports that Post Office staff in Hasland, Chesterfield …

    Bootnotes 30 May 2007, 08:37

  • Westminster blows £29m to save £20k

    The suspect maths of energy-saving street lighting

    Westminster City Council is doing its bit to save the planet by installing energy-saving street lamps in every thoroughfare in the borough, the BBC reports. The bold initiative follows a "successful trial" of the £1,000-a-pop Furyo Lanterns on Harrow Road which saved "on an average day", enough juice to light a house for two …

    Science 30 May 2007, 08:38

  • Sophos apologises for going legal on school techies

    School of BOFH

    UK security software developer Sophos has apologised for drafting in its lawyers after a member of a forum for IT technicians in schools posted a foul-mouth rant criticising recent changes in its anti-virus technology. One of the members of EduGeek, the largest site for ICT technicians in schools, with over 2,000 members, …

    Security 30 May 2007, 08:43

  • Tesco's old timers get yoof slang pamphlet

    'Lingo-lean staff to get word-savvy'

    Tesco has issued old timers working at some of its 1,500 stores with a handy guide to the kind of English guaranteed to have Middle England choking on its cocoa - that favoured by hoodies, wannabe homies, and anyone under 21 who considers the baseball cap to be the US's greatest contribution to English street culture. The …

    Bootnotes 30 May 2007, 08:45

  • Firms urged to tighten up access policies

    Survey reveals worrying lack of security

    Half of us keep our passwords on Post-It notes and over a third of IT professionals say they could still access their company's network if they left their job. These are just some of the worrying findings of a survey released on Tuesday by Cyber-Ark Software, which carried out the research at last month's Infosecurity …

    Management 30 May 2007, 09:37

  • Pesticide link to Parkinson's disease

    Gardeners join boxers on at-risk list

    Researchers from the University of Aberdeen have found an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease among those exposed to pesticides. Previous research has shown that pesticides, which can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin, may affect the way a cell's mitochondria function, the Telegraph reports. In Parkinson's …

    Science 30 May 2007, 10:26

  • Microsoft waves in Minority Report-style computing era

    Another Minority operating system?

    Microsoft launched Surface Computing last night, and with a new computing paradigm - the table-top. Surface Computing allows users to interact by waving their hands around. The technology, which Redmond has been working on for last five years, has been top secret until now. The basic premise is a PC built into a coffee table …

    Operating Systems 30 May 2007, 10:33

  • Tiscali coughs to spam blacklisting after a week without email

    Updated 'Er...try Hotmail...for another week'

    Tiscali has admitted the reason many of its customers have been unable to send outgoing email for over a week is because it has been blacklisted as a spammer. According to Reg contacts, Tiscali is known in the anti-spam community as slow to act against abuse of its network. In a statement, it said: "We...have been targeted by …

    Security 30 May 2007, 10:39

  • BT chief speaks fluent PowerPoint

    CISAC Boss sets telco against royalty share

    BT's Dutch chief executive Ben Verwaayen may be the first keynote speaker to talk entirely in PowerPoint™: He's reduced his speeches to a series of motivational slide headings. Verwaayen was delivering a keynote to the Copyright Summit, CISAC's global event for authors, writers and composers. The problem is his slide headings …

    Broadband 30 May 2007, 10:52

  • Google Maps hits the streets

    New ground-based city views wow the crowd

    Google yesterday announced the immediate availability of "Street View" - ground-level, photographic panoramas of Denver, Las Vegas, Miami and New York which allow Google Maps surfers to "navigate around a city, 'virtually' walking the streets, checking out restaurants and landmarks and even zoom in on bus stops or street signs …

    Applications 30 May 2007, 10:55

  • Zune to sell one million by June

    Microsoft MP3 player exceeds expectations

    Microsoft expects sales of the Zune MP3 player to hit the one million milestone by the end of June, almost eight months after the product made its debut. Apple on the other hand has sold 100 million iPods since its launch in October 2001. Microsoft's iPod-killer took the form of the Zune MP3 player, which we looked at back in …

    Hardware 30 May 2007, 11:26

  • CSC details iSoft objections

    'It's in the interests of NPfIT'

    CSC insists its blocking of the takeover of key health provider iSoft is in the best interests of the "successful delivery of the NHS National Programme for IT". The company says it carried out due diligence on the impact of IBA's takeover of iSoft on the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) and decided to vote against the plan …

    The Channel 30 May 2007, 11:33

  • VCPoker.com busts on saucy ad campaign

    Gambling is not sexy, especially for the socially inept

    The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ordered the firm behind VCPoker.com to stop advertising online gambling as likely to get you laid. A complaint was levied at betting house Victor Chandler, which ran a VCPoker.com campaign featuring a scantily clad young lady with the strapline: "You love sex. She loves sex. You …

    Financial News 30 May 2007, 11:35

  • Terra Firma ups ante for EMI

    Don't bite the Hands that feed you...

    A private equity buy-out at EMI is looking increasingly likely with Guy Hands - the money man behind Terra Firma - hiking the bid to buy the music firm with a new offer of £3.7bn. Just last week the British music group had asked its shareholders to mull over a smaller offer of £2.4bn from Terra Firma. According to today's …

    Financial News 30 May 2007, 11:38

  • Google Earth unearths crashed Darfur gunrunning plane

    Leaked UN report, US gov says pranged Antonov was arming Janjaweed

    A crashed Antonov transport plane at the centre of US and UN allegations of gunrunning into war-torn Darfur is visible on Google Earth. The US State department yesterday announced specific measures against a Sudanese air-freight operation, the Azza Air Transport Company. The Sudanese air-cargo firm was "sanctioned under …

    Government 30 May 2007, 11:42

  • Judges define scope of McKinnon appeal

    Arguing a legal point again

    Accused Pentagon hacker Gary McKinnon's final appeal against extradition edged forward on Tuesday after judges defined the two points that might merit consideration by the Law Lords. The Administrative Court (one of the High Courts) certified two questions of being of public importance in the McKinnon case. The first point ise …

    Law 30 May 2007, 11:57

  • It was Microsoft wot done it

    Database myths and legends (Part 9) What did happen to that Bloor Report?

    In this series we're looking at the myths and legends of the database world - some are true, some false. The myth under the spotlight today is: Bloor Research once produced a report that slammed SQL Server so much that Microsoft had it suppressed. OK, let's start at the top. Bloor Research is a highly respectable analyst …

    Developer 30 May 2007, 12:18

  • Is Avaya up for grabs?

    Shares jump as tongues wag over possible buy-out

    Avaya has seen its shares rocket by more than 15 per cent amidst speculative reports that a takeover bid for the network firm is imminent. The market capitalisation of the firm shot up to just over $7bn after Avaya postponed its annual Wall Street analysts' meeting which was originally set for today. The Financial Times said …

    Data Networking 30 May 2007, 12:32

  • Creative Zen Stone MP3 player

    Review More of a pebble than a stone really

    If you never consider an MP3 unless it comes with a screen...then stop reading now. But if, on the other hand, you may be interested in a highly portable, cheaper version of the second gen iPod Shuffle, walk this way. The Zen Stone from Creative really does just what it says on the tin – it plays audio tracks and stores …

    Hardware 30 May 2007, 13:12

  • Morocco unbans YouTube

    Was Western Sahara to blame?

    Video sharing website YouTube has been unbanned by the Moroccan government after five days of unavailability in the desert kingdom. The site has been offline since 25 May, reportedly prompted by videos from the Western Saharan independence movement including footage of Moroccan police beating female independence protestors in …

    Law 30 May 2007, 13:16

  • US cities in Web 2.0 battle against graffiti

    Flickr style GPS scrawl mashup metatags the taggers

    American cities have begun to wage war against graffiti artists using the latest consumer tech: namely, integrated digital photography and GPS platforms feeding into a central database run as an online service. Graffiti Tracker, the company behind this initiative (motto: "every wall tells a story"), says on its website that …

    Law 30 May 2007, 13:30

  • Gov. resists ID card scrutiny

    Will Brown sign up to Blair's baby?

    The Office of Government Commerce has appealed against an order by the Information Tribunal that it must publish official documents that assess the justification for the government's identity card scheme. Meanwhile, speculation over Prime-Minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown's support for the programme has been see-sawing for lack …

    Government 30 May 2007, 13:46

  • VeriSign boss signs off

    Shock departure

    Stratton Sclavos, boss of VeriSign for the last 12 years, has unexpectedly quit the security and domain registrar firm with no explanation. The board announced yesterday he had been replaced with immediate effect by William Roper, an non-executive director who was an EVP at defence contractor firm Science Applications …

    Financial News 30 May 2007, 13:52

  • Man barely survives hamster attack

    Severe allergic reaction ends in hospital

    A Worcestershire man may well have saved his own life after suffering a "severe allergic reaction" to a hamster bite - by self-administering anti-allergy drugs before paramedics arrived. The unnamed 50-year-old was "trying to retrieve his pet from under the floorboards of his home near Evesham" after his daughter accidentally …

    Science 30 May 2007, 13:53

  • USB stick security suite puts squeeze on software

    Yoggie Pico offers baker's dozen

    Security startup Yoggie Systems has squashed 13 security applications - covering functions such as personal firewall, anti-spam, and anti-virus - onto a USB stick. The Yoggie Pico is a slimline version of the firm's existing line of hardware security products (targeted at home office, road warrior, and consumer markets) as an …

    Security 30 May 2007, 14:23

  • CafePress drops Buddha-snap doggie G-strings

    Thailand outraged by 'offensive' canine apparel

    US online apparel outfit CafePress today dropped "G-string underwear and T-shirts for dogs* emblazoned with [a] picture of Buddha" after Thailand went ballistic at the outrage. According to Reuters, Thailand's Foreign Ministry spokesman Piriya Khempon yesterday said the products had "offended Thais and Buddhists" and duly …

    Bootnotes 30 May 2007, 14:32

  • The Mirror website cracked

    Down all day

    The website for UK tabloid The Mirror has been unavailable all day. Visitors to www.mirror.co.uk are met by a blank page. A spokesman for Trinity Mirror Group, the paper's owners, could only tell us the site had been down since first thing this morning and techies were working to fix a "technical glitch". He did not know …

    Security 30 May 2007, 14:34

  • Epson adds to Stylus series

    D92 inkjet printer proudly presented

    The newest addition to Epson's entry-level Stylus series, the D92, has been announced. Continuing the theme of this general purpose printer range, it features four-colour delivery up to the size of A4 and print speeds up to 25ppm in black and white and 13ppm in colour. It requires four individual ink cartridges that cost £6 …

    Hardware 30 May 2007, 14:40

  • Mobility: what do you want exactly?

    Reader survey And how do you want to pay for it?

    We're all familiar with the imagery used to punt the mobile technology vision: a lone executive atop a hill, gazing contentedly at the limitless horizon to the sound of the skylark and the gentle rustling of trees as he communicates effortlessly with the furthest corners of the globe. For many, however, "mobility" actually …

    Tech Panel 30 May 2007, 14:51

  • Last.fm scrobbled for $280m

    CBS whips the long tail

    Media conglomerate CBS has bought Last.fm, the London-based social music network, for $280m. Despite falling well short of the daft $450m buy-out which rumours linked CBS rival Viacom with recently, the deal cuts a new high water mark 2.0 for UK internet companies. The move underscores how big media companies are subsuming the …

    Financial News 30 May 2007, 14:55

  • MIT eggheads build 'human-robot relationships'

    With Pixar style desk lamps, cyber-teddies, and droid flowers

    An MIT doctoral candidate has produced a robotic desk lamp, though its maker prefers to call it a "collaborative lighting assistant", or even "non-anthropomorphic robotic platform". See the Flash video: Click To Play New Scientist reports that the robo-lamp is the brainchild of Guy Hoffman, a member of the Robotic Life …

    Science 30 May 2007, 14:57

  • Toshiba gives price-cutting AMD the nod

    No longer just Intel inside

    Toshiba is to start shipping laptops with AMD processors, effectively bringing to an end its exclusive partnership with Intel. The computer giant said it will add AMD microprocessors and graphics chipsets in up to 20 per cent of its Satellite laptop models. It's a move that could bring significant savings for Toshiba which …

    Hardware 30 May 2007, 16:48

  • Germany declares hacking tools 'verboten'

    Crackers

    Updates to Germany's computer crime laws banning so-called "hacking tools" have been criticised as ill-considered and counterproductive. The revamp to the German criminal code is designed to tighten definitions, making denial of service attacks and attempts to sniff data on third-party wireless networks, for example, clearly …

    Security 30 May 2007, 16:52

  • HP grants little telcos NonStop rights

    Pay less for the very best

    HP wants to give the poor, huddled masses of telecommunications companies in developing countries a chance to buy its very best gear. So, the vendor today rolled out the NonStop NS3000AC server - a more moderately priced, always on system. The new box stands as HP's very first NonStop server targeted at small- to mid-sized …

    Servers 30 May 2007, 19:17

  • Brocade gives SAN FAN a one-two

    Blades, appliances and software — oh my

    Brocade left the product announcement spigot on over the Memorial Day break, churning a flood of new and upgraded software and hardware. This week's broad launch covers performance boosts, data protection and virtualization for the company's SAN (storage area network) and FAN (file area network) lineup. Grab a bucket. Brocade …

    Data Networking 30 May 2007, 19:40

  • IBM whacks 1,600 more services jobs

    Only 147,000 to go

    IBM has shed another 1,573 jobs as part of an ongoing push to thin its services organization. The layoffs, mostly in the US, follow a similar round of 1,300 cuts performed earlier this month. IBM described the firings as "business as usual" and noted that it hired 14,000 people worldwide during the first four months of this …

    Financial News 30 May 2007, 20:57

  • Palm reveals 'secret' smartphone buddy

    .25 pound device gets 2.5 pound accessory

    Two years after hinting that Palm was designing a "new category of mobile device," co-founder Jeff Hawkins revealed the the big secret today at the All Things Digital conference. Announced as "Palm's first smartphone companion product," the Foleo is sort of a smartphone and sort of of a laptop — but doesn't really have the …

    Phones 30 May 2007, 23:40