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17th October 2007 Archive

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  • Yahoo! Does! Adsense! In! Reverse!

    Pleases Wall Street for a day

    Yahoo! today ushered in advertising network deals with three major publishers - Forbes.com, Cars.com and Ziff Davis Media, to add a little sparkle to its Q3 earnings. The deals represent an unusual twist on the way most advertising networks work e.g. Google or Google - which place bottom feeder ads to soak up the excess …

    Financial News 17 Oct 2007, 00:10

  • QLogic hypes 'network consolidation' with FCoE

    SNW No, that's not Friends of the Church of England

    QLogic is giving a preview of its latest gear at Storage Networking World in Dallas, including the claimed first complete Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) converged network. The 10Gb FCoE demo comes courtesy of QLogic's adapters, storage gear from NetApp and technology from Nuova Systems. QLogic also announced a new 8Gb …

    Storage 17 Oct 2007, 00:53

  • Microsoft throws unified communications party

    Bill Gates signs guitar

    Today, in downtown San Francisco, Microsoft's long-awaited lineup of "unified communications software" was officially announced by chairman Bill Gates, business division president Jeff Raikes, and a surly-looking guitarist in a red velvet jacket. As he officially introduced the world to this collection of interwoven VoIP, video …

    Data Networking 17 Oct 2007, 01:23

  • DMSL punts local IT support to small.biz

    This is a local shop for local people

    BT reseller DMSL has created a IT repair service that will compete with the likes of the Geek Squad and PC World's Tech Guys by offering support services for home users and small businesses across the UK. But unlike its competitors, which have engineers working out of central locations, DMSL has come over all touchy-feely by …

    Small Biz 17 Oct 2007, 07:02

  • NAS box with integrated encryption?

    Q&A

    I'm looking for a NAS box with encryption and the ability to back up to a remote server. I looked at the Freecom Data Tank, but I'm a little worried about the "encryption button" - does anyone know if this is, in fact, any good? I also can't find out anything about backup. Does anyone have any input on this?

    Reg Hardware 17 Oct 2007, 08:50

  • Nokia wants to reach out and Touch

    Not aping the iPhone at all, honest

    Nokia has announced that S60, the popular interface layer for Symbian smartphones, will from next year allow users to prod screens with their fingertips - though apparently this innovation owes nothing to Apple's uber-phone. It's not just about putting fingers on phones. S60 will be enabling manufacturers to implement …

    Mobile 17 Oct 2007, 08:52

  • Yahoo! accused! of! lying! to! Congress!

    D'oh

    The House Committee on Foreign Affairs is calling Yahoo! chief executive Jerry Yang to a hearing on 6 November to explain why the company lied to Congress in early 2006 about its knowledge of the investigation into Chinese journalist Shi Tao. Shi Tao ended up with a 10 year prison sentence, but Yahoo! told Congress it knew …

    Government 17 Oct 2007, 08:55

  • MiFID gives most firms a headache

    Record-keeping bamboozles, survey finds

    Firms across Europe have just two weeks to comply with a law that aims to create a single European market for financial services. But most are struggling with the directive's record-keeping duties, according to survey findings published today. The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) harmonises the regulatory …

    Business 17 Oct 2007, 08:56

  • Cisco Brazil hit by massive police raid

    40 arrests over alleged multi-million tax dodge

    Cisco offices in Brazil were raided yesterday and executives arrested during a massive raid against alleged illegal avoidance of import duties. Six hundred and fifty police and tax officers used 93 search warrants at Cisco offices and private homes. Police arrested 40 people, but no names were released. Investigators also …

    Hardware 17 Oct 2007, 08:59

  • Bone phone promises clearer conversations

    Japanese carrier KDDI has unveiled a 3G mobile phone that lets users hear a conversation through their bones, a technique it claims can give a much clearer conversation in noisy environments. KDDI's A1407PT: a new take on most 'dog and bone' designs The A1407PT clamshell, which is manufactured by South Korean firm Pantech …

    Reg Hardware 17 Oct 2007, 09:01

  • Symantec pushes Backup Exec with Altiris

    SNW One console shall manage them all

    Symantec plans to integrate its latest Windows recovery software into the Altiris management platform next month. The move was made today in step with Storage Networking World in Dallas. The two products will marry using Backup Exec System Recovery Integration Component for Altiris — which conveniently is both the name and a …

    Servers 17 Oct 2007, 09:10

  • Hardware slowdown sours IBM numbers

    Services, software soar but mainframes really hurting

    IBM's customers are putting off big hardware buys until the firm refreshes its processor line, the company's latest financials show. Figures out yesterday showed overall revenues at the giant were $24.1bn for its third quarter ending 30 September, up 6.6 per cent on the year. Net income was up 6.3 per cent to $2.4bn. The …

    Hardware 17 Oct 2007, 09:51

  • AMD to launch DirectX 10 integrated chipsets next January?

    780G debut

    AMD will roll out DirectX 10-compatible integrated chipsets for its desktop processors early next year, it has been claimed. We've already heard of the 780G chipset - aka 'RS780' - but according to an X-bit Labs story, it'll be accompanied by the 740G and, later, the 790G. The report cites unnamed sources said to be familiar …

    Reg Hardware 17 Oct 2007, 10:09

  • Bell Micro still working on accounts probe

    Results look good though

    Bell Micro is still investigating its accounts and restating previous results, but yesterday gave preliminary figures for the third quarter of 2007 ending 30 September. Revenues for the period were up 30 per cent to between $1.015bn and $1.025bn. Stripping out money made as a result of the takeover of ProSys, revenues grew 17 …

    Channel Register 17 Oct 2007, 10:23

  • Sony Ericsson feels margins pinch

    Net profit slips

    Sony Ericsson has started to feel the margins pinch from its shift to lower-priced handsets, although it is still managing to keep a more successful balance than most of its rivals. Strong demand for its phones were the highlight of mixed third quarter results at Samsung, which remains hobbled by weakness in the semiconductor …

    Mobile 17 Oct 2007, 10:28

  • Seagate says storage demand better than expected

    What could possibly go wrong this quarter?

    Seagate surprised itself in the last quarter by shipping 47 million disk drives, more than it had actually planned for. The storage vendor's results for the first quarter ending 28 September showed revenues up 17.6 per cent to $3.3bn, with net income leaping from $19m last year to $355m. This turned in earnings per share of $ …

    Storage 17 Oct 2007, 10:29

  • Panasonic preps 4x dual-layer Blu-ray burner

    Panasonic has launched its second Blu-ray Disc burner capable of writing a BD-R disc at 4x speeds. This time, the drive can handle dual-layer, 50GB media. The LF-PB271 is a 5.25in internal unit that connects to its host computer over a SATA link. The unit will write to rewriteable BD-RE discs, be they single- or dual-layer …

    Reg Hardware 17 Oct 2007, 10:42

  • Ofcom: no comeback for TV on analogue spectrum

    Headed for HD showdown with BBC

    Britain's communications watchdog has warned broadcasters they have no God-given right to reoccupy the analogue TV spectrum that they began vacating this week. Delivering the Ofcom annual lecture on Tuesday evening, the regulator's chief executive Ed Richards said he was not persuaded that TV should be allowed to use the " …

    Telecoms 17 Oct 2007, 10:44

  • Opera and Mozilla step up mobile browser pressure

    Competition heats up

    The first key milestone on the road to a genuinely appealing mobile web experience is an effective browser, and the competition to provide that vital tool is heating up. The Apple Safari open source platform has made the running so far, both in the iPhone and Nokia's homegrown browser, which is Safari-based. Microsoft is still …

    Applications 17 Oct 2007, 10:47

  • OSI gives nod to Microsoft shared source licences

    Lions lay down with lambs

    The Open Source Initiative (OSI) has approved two of Microsoft's shared source licenses. The controversial move paves the way for developers to use the Microsoft Reciprocal License and the Microsoft Public License as a valid methodology for creating open source applications. Microsoft's relationship with the open source …

    Developer 17 Oct 2007, 11:00

  • US Patent Office decimates Amazon's 1-Click Patent

    Only five of 26 claims survive

    Most of the claims in Amazon's controversial patent for shopping with a single mouse click have been rejected by the US Patent Office. It follows a campaign by a New Zealander who filed evidence of prior art with funding from readers of his blog. There are 26 claims in Amazon.com's patent for Method and system for placing a …

    Law 17 Oct 2007, 11:33

  • Orange's Apple deal to bear unlocked iPhones

    French law bites Mac maker, again

    Orange will indeed offer Apple's iPhone on France, but the most interesting aspect of the two firms' partnership will be the availability, for the first time, of officially unlocked handsets. French law prevents carriers from tying handsets exclusively to their networks - consumers have to be able to move to a different …

    Reg Hardware 17 Oct 2007, 11:34

  • Skype in MySpace hook-up

    Losers together

    MySpace has agreed to let eBay's IP telephony damp squib Skype plaster its pages with click-to-call buttons. The two companies are toiling to continue their membership growth after topping the hype curve in 2005. To use the buttons, people will need both a MySpace and a Skype account, so they should both suck in a few more. …

    VoIP 17 Oct 2007, 11:37

  • Pennsylvania woman in legal doo-doo for lav profanities

    What a pisser

    While swearing at work is apparently good for you, swearing in your bathroom isn't. Pennsylvania housewife Dawn Herb is preparing to fight charges of disorderly conduct brought against her after she swore at her unruly loo, and shortly afterwards a law enforcement officer. Herb, a resident of West Scranton*, was tackling her …

    Bootnotes 17 Oct 2007, 11:39

  • Facebook promises stronger safeguards

    Attorney General ends complaint

    Social networking site Facebook has reached agreement with the New York Attorney General to strengthen the way it polices its site to make it easier to remove obscene or offensive content. AG Andrew Cuomo issued a sub poena to the site last month after investigators posed as young teenagers and "received online sexual …

    Law 17 Oct 2007, 11:47

  • George Lucas announces Star Wars TV spin-off

    No Darth Vaders, however

    George Lucas announced yesterday he'd "just begun work" on a live action TV spin-off set in the Star Wars universe, but warned fans not to expect a cathode ray tube outing for Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader. According to the LA Times, Lucas revealed only that the series would be about the "the life of robots". He said: "The …

    Entertainment 17 Oct 2007, 11:52

  • Boffins plot to disrupt underground black markets

    Fake IDs to thwart trade in stolen IDs

    Academic researchers are developing techniques to disrupt underground black markets frequented by malicious hackers and virus writers. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed two approaches to interrupt the operation of black market sites that hawk viruses, stolen data, and attack services. One tactic …

    Crime 17 Oct 2007, 12:42

  • Fasthosts admits email destruction fiasco

    Human error × no backup = whoops

    Fasthosts, "the UK's number 1 web host", has admitted to a botched update to its mail server that permanently deleted customer emails. The cockup last week was compounded when the firm's backup system failed, meaning about half of the affected emails are lost forever. Fasthost sent us its side of the story: Following a …

    Servers 17 Oct 2007, 12:44

  • SAP sings 'Only You' to Yasu

    Indian buy to stiffen rules tech

    SAP has snaffled up Indian rules management vendor Yasu Technologies, its second acquisition in a week. The ERP giant said it would embed Hyderabad-based Yasu’s technology into its Netweaver platform. SAP reckons this will make it easier for its customers to ensure they’re complying with regulatory requirements, as well as …

    Applications 17 Oct 2007, 12:57

  • LHC@home gets new home

    Moves to London

    The distributed computing project LHC@home is moving to London from CERN in Switzerland. Researchers at Queen Mary University have been trialling the system since June, but are now ready for the official launch. LHC@home is a distributed computing project set up to simulate different possible scenarios which will be faced when …

    Servers 17 Oct 2007, 13:27

  • Met's de Menezes photo 'manipulated', says prosecution

    Claims of 'stretching or resizing'

    A composite image of Jean Charles de Menezes and Hussain Osman "was manipulated so as to mislead", it was claimed at the Old Bailey today. The composite was produced by the Metropolitan Police in evidence in order to illustrate similarities between the two men, and to show that police could have difficulties distinguishing the …

    Law 17 Oct 2007, 13:30

  • Exchange Server 2007 - it's here, and it's waiting

    Site offer Don't get behind the eight ball

    Microsoft's Exchange Server has become a key component of IT with today's business world relying more and more on mobile computing and 24-hour connectivity. The 2007 incarnation has taken the key features of this collaborative software product and improved the security, adaptability, and overall IT experience. Exchange …

    Developer 17 Oct 2007, 13:31

  • Sony Ericsson S500i mobile phone

    Review All flash and no features?

    With its pulsing lights and back-to-nature themes, Sony Ericsson’s S500i is aimed at the supposed style-savvy consumer. But does this sliderphone have the functionality and appeal to really grab fashion-phone followers? Sony Ericsson has been busy of late peppering its handset range with new Walkman and Cyber-shot models, …

    Reg Hardware 17 Oct 2007, 13:40

  • iTunes battles Amazon with DRM-free price drop

    Still more expensive

    Apple has responded to the launch of Amazon's DRM-free music download store with a price cut to its own iTunes Plus. Amazon finally opened its store last month - though only to US customers - charging $0.89 per song. It'll surprise few Apple watchers to learn that its discount from $1.29 to $0.99 has only been announced for …

    Music and Media 17 Oct 2007, 14:18

  • Serial typosquatter settles FTC charges

    Tangled web

    An internet hijacker who allegedly registered 5,500 copycat web addresses in a bid to divert lost surfers onto a porno site has agreed to hand over $164,000 to settle charges brought against him by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Defendant John Zuccarini also agreed to refrain from dodgy business practices and abide by …

    Crime 17 Oct 2007, 14:43

  • Mobile content site offers chance to bypass operators

    Call me Mr 30 per cent

    Kiwi-based Voeveo will flick the switch tonight on a portal where anyone can upload mobile content and charge people to download it, in return for 30 per cent of the sale price. The idea is to encourage more buyers to turn seller; with payments made as soon as a seller shifts £20 worth of content, the site is clearly aimed at …

    Mobile 17 Oct 2007, 14:52

  • Samsung shows Symbian satnav smartphones

    The i550 and i560

    Samsung has expanded its smartphone range with two new models, the SGH-i550 and SGH-i560, both unveiled at this week’s Symbian show in London. Samsung's i550: the serious one? Naturally, the company’s decision to unwrap both 3.6Mbps HSDPA devices at the event means each run the Symbian OS – version 9.2, to be exact. Both …

    Reg Hardware 17 Oct 2007, 14:58

  • Revenue IT boss gets top job

    IT chief to chief chief

    Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs' IT boss Steve Lamey has been promoted to chief operating officer. Deepak Singh is taking over the IT job on an acting basis. Lamey was formerly head of IT at British Gas. He started at Customs and Excise in 2004, just ahead of the merger with HM's Revenue in early 2005. He was in the hot …

    Government 17 Oct 2007, 15:00

  • LEDs replace hands in bonkers Japanese watches

    These watches may look as though they’re from a future era, but the LED-based timepieces could be just the thing to adorn your wrist and compliment your I-LUV-UNIX T-shirt. Do you know what time it is? Japanese firm Tokyo Flash has been selling an extensive range of LED watches locally for some time, but it’s now working …

    Reg Hardware 17 Oct 2007, 15:11

  • Symbian CEO finds his 'inner caveman'

    Smartphone Show Ugg! It's Andrew's round-up

    The 1990s mania for Flintstones anthropology has been on the wane for some time. It was freighted with too many dodgy agendas, and people twigged fairly quickly that you can simply make up any "evolutionary psychology" you wanted. Studies such as the one that suggested rape provided evolutionary advantages didn't exactly help …

    Networks 17 Oct 2007, 15:52

  • SNIA forms green coalition

    SNW To complement its *other* green coalition

    Trade organization SNIA, the Storage Networking Industry Association, has formed yet another eco-cause group. The newly —ahem— minted SNIA Green Storage Initiative* will span all shared storage technologies, including disk and tape systems, server connectivity, storage appliances, fabrics, file services and storage applications …

    Storage 17 Oct 2007, 19:08

  • Apple opens up iPhone to app developers

    'Unneccessary' SDK to ship February, says Stevie

    The iPhone and iTouch are to get a Software Developers Kit in February next year, allowing developers to create proper native applications for the platform and allowing it to properly compete with other smart phones, Steve Jobs announced on the company's website today. Just four months after declaring that "...no software …

    Mobile 17 Oct 2007, 19:27

  • Skype Trojan steals login credentials

    Insecurity plug-in

    Skype users, Beware a new Trojan that uses subtle social engineering tricks to try to steal your login credentials The malware, which calls itself ‘Skype Defender’, poses as a security plug-in. Infected users are prompted to log-into their Skype accounts. Cleverly the Trojan displays what looks like a Skype login screen, the …

    Malware 17 Oct 2007, 19:31

  • Ex-Linspire chief defects to Ubuntu

    Mitt Romney is next

    Former Linspire CEO Kevin Carmony has shown all the loyalty of a free agent athlete. Just a few months after resigning from Linspire, Carmony has traded in his old company's Linux operating system for Ubuntu. Carmony, who seems awfully keen to get a job at Ubuntu's parent company Canonical, made his OS reveal on an Ubuntu …

    Operating Systems 17 Oct 2007, 19:34

  • US ID theft bill seeks redress for victims

    Senators aim to tighten cybercrime law

    Senators on both sides of the House have backed a bill that would allow American victims of identity theft to seek restitution for the money and time they waste repairing their credit histories. Last year, an estimated 8.4 million Americans were victims of identity theft, reckoned to be one of the fastest growing types of …

    ID 17 Oct 2007, 19:38

  • Removable hard disks make a come-backup

    Disk caddies cheaper than tape cartridges, claims Idealstor

    There's always something a little off-beat around the edges of these shows, and this time it was a small company, called Idealstor, pushing an ejectable hard disk called Teralyte as a replacement for tape backup. Teralyte is a different approach both from the removable disk cartridges offered by Tandberg and Iomega, and from …

    Storage 17 Oct 2007, 20:45

  • Early Visual Studio 2008 to bolster Vista?

    Solves several key developer problems

    It's been a long time coming - but the much-anticipated proper release of Microsoft's Visual Studio 2008 could make it to market before the end of the year. Officially the Visual Studio 2008 is slated to be part of a massive Microsoft product launch at the end of February 2008. But there has been talk that it will arrive earlier …

    Developer 17 Oct 2007, 22:29

  • RIAA aims lawyers at usenet newsgroup service

    'Worse than P2P'

    The Recording Industry Ass. of America has now attacked a company that provides access to internet newsgroups. Last Friday, RIAA lawyers chucked a federal lawsuit at Usenet.com, claiming that the Fargo, North Dakota newsgroup service "enables and encourages" people to swap copyrighted music. The organization that represents …

    Music and Media 17 Oct 2007, 22:42

  • Azul investor removes invisibility cloak

    How many Poles does it take to form a VC?

    When Java server appliance maker Azul Systems announced a new round of funding last month, one investor caught our attention - JVax Investment Group. JVax stood out for a couple of reasons. First off, it was the lone new investor to pad Azul's funding round. We had documented Azul's struggles in closing this funding round and …

    Servers 17 Oct 2007, 23:13