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25th July 2007 Archive

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  • Red Hat flags OSI offenders on partner site

    OSCON Users force enlightenment

    Sometimes being the open source software leader means distancing yourself from open source claims. Red Hat has bowed to pressure and improved the way it describes partner software licenses on the Red Hat Exchange (RHX). The licenses of companies such as SugarCRM, Zimbra and Alfresco used to be buried on the RHX site, requiring …

    Servers 25 Jul 2007, 01:19

  • MySpace erases 29,000 sex offenders

    Major cull

    MySpace yesterday announced it had "detected and deleted" 29,000 convicted sex offenders on the social networking site, Reuters reports. The figure is considerably higher than the 7,000 it said it had identified back in May, after coming under strong pressure to tackle the sex offender menace. A coalition of Attorneys General …

    Crime 25 Jul 2007, 08:51

  • Brit IT millionaire dies on Chinese mountain

    Suspected heart attack claims 'very fit' adventurer

    A British millionaire who made his fortune supplying IT services to banks has died on the slopes of China's Mount Muztagata, the Telegraph reports. Father-of-two Jonathan Peacock, 39, was on a "climb and ski" expedition to the 24,757ft peak in the country's mountainous west. Mount Muztagata is considered a relatively easy climb …

    Small Biz 25 Jul 2007, 08:54

  • MP slams school biometric guidance

    'Lacks clarity'

    An MP has attacked the government's biometrics advice to schools for failing to enshrine in law a parent's right to be consulted. Lib Dems MP Greg Mulholland told the Commons on 23 July 2007 that the guidance failed to introduce a legal requirement for schools to acquire parental consent before collecting their child's …

    Public Sector 25 Jul 2007, 08:55

  • Oz cans porn filtering trial

    ISPs shoot the Internet Sheriff

    A proposed net content filtering trial which was supposed to begin protecting Tasmanian surfers from smut last year was canned after ISPs Telstra and Optus refused to play ball, The Australian reports. The main tech supplier for the government-championed pornbusting operation, Internet Sherrif, intended to demonstrate "if it …

    Government 25 Jul 2007, 08:57

  • Transformation feeds outsourcing surge

    New contracts and renewals to see 10% increase

    Public sector spending on ICT and business process outsourcing (BPO) is ready for a surge in 2008, according to research from Kable. New contracts and renewals are set to produce a 10 per cent increase in business to £5.79bn in 2008, followed by growth rates of 6-8 per cent over the next four years, to take the total to £7.53bn …

    Public Sector 25 Jul 2007, 09:11

  • Mozilla confirms own URL handling bug

    'Turns out it's a problem with Firefox as well'

    The Mozilla Foundation acknowledged over the weekend that its own Firefox browser allows links that can send malicious code to external programs, a security issue that the group had previously argued should be fixed by the browser maker. In early July, three researchers found a way to execute code in Firefox - and potentially …

    Security 25 Jul 2007, 09:23

  • LogicaCMG hit by boardroom row

    Didier Herrmann told to leave

    LogicaCMG's board continues to reshuffle its members with the announcement that executive director Didier Herrmann has been asked to step down with immediate effect. Herrman had joined the board after LogicaCMG acquired Unilog in 2005. It is understood Herrman was not getting on with the newly-appointed interim chief …

    Channel Register 25 Jul 2007, 09:39

  • Suit blows £105k in London bar

    Vodka, Red Bull plus £80k in champagne

    An unnamed businessman and around 18 friends last Saturday set an "all-time record" in alcoholic extravagance by working their way through £105,805 worth of booze in London's Crystal nightclub, the Telegraph reports. During the marathon spendfest, which kicked off with a bottle of Pinot Grigio (£25), they quaffed £80,000 worth …

    Bootnotes 25 Jul 2007, 09:50

  • ROK Media Store launches, sans content

    BYO music, for the moment at least

    ROK Media, a company best known for giving away dubious video content for mobile phone viewing, has launched an online music shop - but you can't buy any music as yet. ROK Media Store seeks to compete with iTunes, in that you can rip your CDs and manage music on your (Windows XP) PC, as well as transfer tracks and albums onto …

    Networks 25 Jul 2007, 09:56

  • Facebook in court over IP theft allegations

    Rival Harvard Web 2.0 geeks say they wuz robbed

    Fast-growing social networking site Facebook goes to court today, facing allegations that its founder stole software code and his business plan from fellow students at Harvard University. Brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra operate ConnectU, a rival social site. They say that Zuckerberg agreed to complete …

    Law 25 Jul 2007, 10:42

  • Serena plans Agile marketplace breakout

    Old dog, new trick

    Serena Software is reaching outside its enterprise IT base with new Agile tooling and betting on a online market to challenge Borland Software and IBM. Serena is re-writing its TeamTrack software configuration management (SCM) tool for non-technical, line-of-business managers to inject more planning and greater refinement …

    Software 25 Jul 2007, 10:53

  • Wiki tool makes adding services easy

    Elementary, my dear Hayes

    "Service-orientation" often assumes the status of being something very grand and, well, expensive, but that is not always the case. Take the latest iteration of the MindTouch tool, Deki Wiki, which allows users to integrate external services as and when required. Known, for some reason, as Deki Wiki "Hayes", the new version …

    Developer 25 Jul 2007, 10:58

  • Neon's Oracle guru called in to beef up Titan

    You know you're an Oracle geek when...

    Dave Moore is a self-confessed Oracle geek. According to his blog, you are an Oracle geek if "instead of looking at the clock on your PC for the current time, you run a sysdate query because you believe it is more accurate". Since last week, Moore has, specifically, been Neon Enterprise Software's Oracle geek - brought in to …

    Developer 25 Jul 2007, 11:01

  • Liferay and ICEsoft team up to take Ajax to the enterprise

    A helping hand for enterprise developers

    Building mashups is all very well, but the bigger the organisation requiring them the more complicated it can get to create them, particularly if there is a strong need to maintain enterprise programming models. This is the target of a technology collaboration that brings together Liferay and ICEfaces to create a combined set …

    Developer 25 Jul 2007, 11:03

  • Your very own R2 unit multimedia machine

    Practical purchase or overweight glob of grease?

    Japanese firm Nikko has created an all-in-one multimedia device incorporating projector, DVD player, media card reader and oh, so much more. So what's new, you might say, well this particular product is shaped like R2-D2 from Star Wars. The driod has a front-loading disc slot, with compatibility for DVD-R/RW and CR-R/RW discs …

    Reg Hardware 25 Jul 2007, 11:13

  • AllofMP3.com owner faces jail time

    iTuneski in trouble again

    Denis Kvasov, the former owner of Russian music site AllofMP3.com, has been charged with violating intellectual property laws in a Moscow court. He faces a three year jail sentence and a 15 million rouble (€420,000) fine in damages to record companies EMI, Warner, and Universal. AllofMP3.com, the UK's second most popular …

    Music and Media 25 Jul 2007, 11:25

  • BBC Trust backs calls for Linux iPlayer

    Exclusive OSC hails positive meeting

    The BBC Trust met with the Open Source Consortium (OSC) yesterday to discuss the controversy raised by the BBC's iPlayer, which will only work on Windows XP. The Trust expressed surprise at the strength of feeling raised by the issue and promised to take it up with senior BBC management. The BBC Trust oversees the BBC and: " …

    Software 25 Jul 2007, 11:35

  • Qantas spunks AU$100m on 'pterodactyl'

    LogoWatch Roo lovers hopping mad at revamped logo

    Designers have reacted with somewhat less than enthusiasm to Qantas's revamped logo - rolled out this week with the usual fanfare of trumpets. The new-look roo, the fifth incarnation of the original 1944 marsupial, is an adaptation of the 1984 design which saw Skippy's wings clipped but remaining resolutely kangarooesque. The …

    Bootnotes 25 Jul 2007, 11:49

  • First Airbus seats to be auctioned for charity

    On eBay, of course

    The airline which will operate the first passenger flight of the Airbus A380 super-jumbo jet is to auction the seats online. Singapore Airlines has announced that all proceeds will go to charity. The places will be offered on everyone's favourite internet jumbleshop, eBay. "Be a part of history," says the company release. " …

    Hardware 25 Jul 2007, 11:53

  • UK gov rejects Cliff Richard's copyright extension

    UK gov refuses to extend oldie-pop copyright

    The UK government has rejected the idea of extending music copyright beyond 50 years, prompting protests from ageing rockers whose work will soon be in the public domain. Ministers yesterday issued a response (pdf, page 11) to recommendations made by the Parliamentary culture'n'media committee, which said the government should …

    Music and Media 25 Jul 2007, 13:44

  • Samsung parades 30in screen with DisplayPort

    Another reason to dig yourself an arse groove

    Samsung has raised the bar for LCD display resolutions giving square-eyed screen-addicts another reason to drool uncontrollably. It has unveiled the world’s first 30in LCD display, capable of providing a 2560 x 1600 resolution through the next-generation DisplayPort video interface. To provide such high resolution, the screen …

    Reg Hardware 25 Jul 2007, 13:50

  • Project management expertise at your fingertips

    Books Be on time, on budget, and on target

    Competent Project Management is a key skill in today's business world. From the multi-billion pound 2012 Olympic project to a small-scale software rollout in an office of 10 people, every project has its own distinct requirements that must be met to ensure the continuity of the business around it. It is to ensure this continuity …

    Developer 25 Jul 2007, 13:52

  • Skype violates open source licence

    Linux fundamentalist strikes again

    Skype has been convicted of violating the open source GPL (General Public License) by a regional court in Munich. However, it is not its popular peer-to-peer VoIP software that was addressed in court, but a VoiP phone from SMS Networks that the firm sells on its website. The phone uses the Linux kernel, but Skype failed to …

    Software 25 Jul 2007, 14:05

  • Oki mobilises iris scanner software

    Whole new meaning to eye phone...

    Oki has been eyeballing the mobile phone market and witnessed an opportunity for increased security. As a result, it has developed an iris recognition software that may help ensure undesirables are prevented access from our most cherished communications devices. Although technical details are still somewhat scarce, the …

    Reg Hardware 25 Jul 2007, 14:25

  • China Mobile dials up bumper June

    Adds 5.5 million subscribers

    China Mobile had a cracker month in June, adding 5.5 million subscribers and taking its total to 332.4 million. Subscribers are expected to balloon to 711.6 million by 2010, but even then that will only represent 52.5 per cent of the population, according to research and consulting firm ROA Group, which specialises in …

    Networks 25 Jul 2007, 14:50

  • Mobile-mast danger is all in your head

    'If you believe something's going to harm you, it will'

    Researchers investigating the health effects of mobile phone masts have found that sufferers report symptoms regardless of whether the equipment is actually on or off. The academic investigators were led by Professor Elaine Fox of the University of Essex, and their report (pdf) was published by Environmental Health Perspectives …

    Networks 25 Jul 2007, 15:28

  • Motorola signs up for tiny projectors

    To fit into tiny phones

    Motorola has teamed up with Microvision to put laser-projector technology into mobile phone handsets. The idea of putting a tiny projector into a mobile phone is nothing new - science fiction has been doing it for decades - but the practicalities of fitting an entire projector into the case of a phone and making it work from …

    Mobile 25 Jul 2007, 15:31

  • AMD says virtualisation will win SMB hearts

    Uses Barcelona as chat up line

    AMD is extolling the virtues of virtualisation for small businesses (SMBs). The chipmaker said today it hopes to step up its presence in the SMB space within the next 18 months as it brings Barcelona – the firm's four-core version of the Opteron server chip – to market. It said the best way to do that was through responding …

    Small Biz 25 Jul 2007, 15:36

  • Sage gets mergers and acqusitions director

    Board room shuffles

    Sage has hired David Clayton as its new group strategy and mergers and acquisitions director. He steps down from the accountancy and small business specialist's board with immediate effect and will take up his new role from 1 October. Clayton had been wearing two hats at Sage, the other being senior independent director at …

    Small Biz 25 Jul 2007, 15:45

  • Can Osama keep Bush afloat?

    Part 2 The buddy system

    As we discussed in part one, terrorism in general, and al Qaeda in particular, are again dominating the news. It's now just about impossible to find a report of any terrorist act (or quasi-terrorist act, like the recent failed car bombings in London), without reference to Osama bin Laden or his famous franchise. Interestingly …

    Government 25 Jul 2007, 16:02

  • Western Digital tear it up with 2TB HDs

    More storage sir? Ooh. You know you want it sir.

    Storage junkies will sleep a little easier from now on, safe in the knowledge that their insatiable capacity requirements are to be met by Western Digital (WD) and its 2TB My Book hard drive range. The launch, WD claims, is based on “insatiable” consumer demand for more storage capacity. The dual-drive 2TB hard drives will be …

    Reg Hardware 25 Jul 2007, 16:03

  • Yahoo to start optimising for mobile

    Same technology as Vodafone, but without the glitches

    Yahoo is planning to use Novarra's mobile-optimising technology, as Vodafone did last month, though hopefully without causing so many problems for m-commerce sites. The technology will automatically repurpose sites which are visited by clicking on search results from Yahoo's oneSearch mobile portal; and should be activated in …

    Mobile 25 Jul 2007, 16:06

  • Unisys gets a first

    The only TPC-E entrant, so far, `wins’

    I feel strangely sorry for Unisys, even though it has just won a race that is, arguably, well worth crowing about. But you see, it is the first company to run the new TPC-E benchmark that replaces the aged and venerable – and to be honest somewhat discredited – TPC-C benchmark. It is, together with its partner in the process, …

    Developer 25 Jul 2007, 16:10

  • US gov's flying laser hit by delays, problems

    Aerial raygun flotilla scheme savaged

    US government researchers have highlighted serious problems with the Pentagon's controversial Airborne Laser (ABL) programme. The ABL project is intended to produce a high-powered, chemically-fuelled laser weapon which would be capable of blasting hostile ballistic missiles out of existence shortly after launch. In order to …

    Government 25 Jul 2007, 16:21

  • Toshiba, Fujitsu, NEC want 32nm friendship

    Can't keep up with Intel on their own

    Toshiba said today it is considering a partnership with Fujitsu and NEC to develop and produce 32 nanometer chips, a way of competing with rival companies who've already formed similar pacts. All three deny a report published yesterday by business newspaper Nikkei that they've already reached an agreement. They acknowledge, …

    PCs & Chips 25 Jul 2007, 18:44

  • Latins prefer Microsoft to Google

    Talk about spicy

    It seems that Google magic doesn't work quite as well in the rest of the world. At least, not yet. Earlier this month, internet research firm comScore released a new study that put Google a few steps behind the competition in Asia-Pacific, and now it says that Larry, Serg, and the gang are also trailing in Latin America. …

    Music and Media 25 Jul 2007, 19:03

  • Intel aims parallelism aid at open source fans

    OSCON Help us, help you, help us

    Hoping to inspire people to write code that can run on its multi-core processors, Intel has open sourced one of its development packages. Users of all shapes and sizes can now download the code for Intel's Threading Building Blocks (TBB) – a C++ template library that caters to the design of parallel code. By open-sourcing this …

    PCs & Chips 25 Jul 2007, 19:07

  • OSI approves 'badgeware' license

    OSCON Socialtext wins with CPLA

    The Open Source Initiative (OSI) shocked the world today by approving a "badgeware" style license. Members of the OSI board, speaking here at OSCON, announced that Socialtext's Common Public Attribution License (CPAL) received its blessing this morning. The license proves similar to non-OSI approved badgeware or attribution …

    Servers 25 Jul 2007, 21:27

  • HP offers 3-D thermal mapping for data centers

    Tracks data center heat, Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer

    Hewlett-Packard is expanding its IT operations services business, offering 3-D thermal mapping tools that detect and manage data center hotspots. HP Thermal Zone Mapping displays a three-dimensional model of the data center that identifies the flow of hot and cold air. This allows customers to locate potential trouble spots and …

    Servers 25 Jul 2007, 21:40

  • Zero-day security flaw leaves Firefox wide open

    Uri: Russian thug or hacker's paradise?

    Security researchers have disclosed a zero-day vulnerability in the latest version of Firefox that gives miscreants complete control of Windows-based computers when the Mozilla browser visits a booby-trapped website. The vulnerability resides in the way Firefox handles uniform resource identifiers, the protocols that allow the …

    Security 25 Jul 2007, 22:27

  • SugarCRM trades badgeware for GPL 3

    OSCON A hero is born

    SugarCRM has transformed from open source whipping boy to free software hero – in an instant. The software maker revealed today that it will release the upcoming Sugar Community Edition 5.0 – due in beta in two weeks – under Version 3 of the General Public License (GPL). This makes SugarCRM one of the biggest names to back the …

    Servers 25 Jul 2007, 22:48

  • Mac and iPod save Apple's quarter

    Remember them?

    June's headlines may have belonged to the iPhone but Apple's third-quarter results served as a handy reminder it's the record-breaking Mac and unstoppable iPod that are driving business. Apple said Wednesday it sold 270,000 iPhones during the 30 remaining hours of its June quarter when the iPhone shipped, with 146,000 iPhones …

    Hardware 25 Jul 2007, 23:54