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29th November 2007 Archive

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  • Expressive e-commerce safe after judge sides with Amazon

    Unfrosted keyboards

    Thanks to a First Amendment-waving judge, US prosecutors have given up their efforts to subpoena the names of thousands of people who've purchased used books on Amazon.com. Last year, as part of an investigation into the online book selling habits of a city official in Madison, Wisconsin, a federal grand jury subpoenaed …

    Law 29 Nov 2007, 00:29

  • P2P file-sharing recognizes no borders

    Everyone is doing it

    Peer-to-peer applications dominate internet traffic even in generally lower-bandwidth areas, according to a recent study by German web traffic analyst ipoque. The firm studied three petabytes of anonymous data from ISPs and universities in Southern and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Australia between August and September …

    Data Networking 29 Nov 2007, 00:51

  • BEA portal product springs a leak

    Think Dumpable

    Organizations using a popular portal server made by BEA Systems may be interested to learn that researchers have figured out a simple way for unauthenticated users to obtain every user name stored on their systems. The user name leak resides in an advanced search function in the BEA Plumtree Portal 6.0, according to this …

    Channel Register 29 Nov 2007, 01:00

  • Iron Mountain lands ICANN data escrow agreement

    Long time coming

    Iron Mountain announced today that it has begun providing long-awaited data escrow services to ICANN and its panoply of approved registrars. Ever since the RegisterFly debacle exposed ICANN’s failure to account properly for the data escrow requirements of its Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA), data escrow has been at or …

    Storage 29 Nov 2007, 01:11

  • Inside job suspected in email database hack

    Red Cross leak tied to attack on marketing firm

    Hackers working on the inside of marketing software firm Convio appear to have lifted emails addresses and passwords from a client database. The breach, which took place between 23 October and 1 November, was carried out using an employee's password, the AP reports. Convio specialises in developing marketing software to …

    Enterprise Security 29 Nov 2007, 01:17

  • Man sentenced to 20 years in murder of online rival

    Web of lies

    A 48-year-old man caught up in an internet love triangle was sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing his rival after being dumped by the woman they both competed for. Thomas Montgomery of Cheektowaga, New York, pleaded guilty in August to the shooting death of 22-year-old Brian Barrett while he sat in a pickup truck …

    Crime 29 Nov 2007, 02:11

  • How can I completely clear my PC of private data?

    Q&A

    As a Dad I'm pretty concerned about having my family's private information stolen. I'm also about to sell the family PC, which has loads of personal files on, like Excel/Word docs, saved bookmarks to my online accounts, etc. I've deleted all these, but a friend told me they aren't really gone and could be recovered with the use …

    Reg Hardware 29 Nov 2007, 06:02

  • LG switches on 5000:1 screen

    LG has stayed true to its word and launched the first monitor from its 5000:1 contrast ratio range in the UK. LG's L227WT: has 5000:1 contrast ratio When LG first told Register Hardware of its plans for a 5000:1 ratio monitor earlier this month, it claimed it would unveil one before the year’s out. It also said the contrast …

    Reg Hardware 29 Nov 2007, 07:02

  • Norway apes American gambling folly

    Copycat UIGEA proposed by culture minister

    Norway's Minister of Culture and Church affairs has decided that the future of online gambling is American-style ineffectual regulatory madness, according to iGamingBusiness, among others. Minister Trond Giske had initially intended to adopt a full-fledged version of the much-derided American legislation but, perhaps due to …

    Law 29 Nov 2007, 09:24

  • Net watchdog goes pig-sticking on Comcast

    BitTorrent lovers unite

    The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has amped up the crusade against P2P-throttling ISPs. This morning, the plucky internet "watchdog" published a new report on the BitTorrent bagging exploits of American ISP Comcast, but it's also released a detailed account of the tests it ran on Comcast traffic, so net users across the …

    Telecoms 29 Nov 2007, 09:26

  • Latest QuickTime Exploit targets both Macs and PCs

    Equal opportunity pwner

    A US-based security researcher has published a single piece of code that can remotely compromise both PCs and Macs as long as they are running Apple's QuickTime media player. The exploit is at least the fourth to target a newly discovered security flaw in the way QuickTime interacts with servers that stream audio and video. Up …

    Security 29 Nov 2007, 09:31

  • Tesco in X-rated Lawnmower Simulator shocker

    If it's got grass on it, you've got to mow it

    We think someone is having a laugh down at Tesco, where aficionados of hot grass action can apparently get the X-rated Wii version of Lawnmower Simulator 2007: Well, as the old joke goes, if it's got grass on it, you've got to mow it. For the uninitiated, the game synopsis explains: "Ever had dreams of being the Head …

    Bootnotes 29 Nov 2007, 09:32

  • Gateway Inc fails to block rival's Gateway brand

    Door closed on 'gateway' challenge

    Gateway Inc cannot stop Fujitsu-Siemens' registration of the words ACTIVY Media Gateway, the European Court of First Instance ruled yesterday. The tech companies' marks will not confuse consumers, the court ruled. Computer maker Gateway Inc owns numerous trademarks incorporating the word "Gateway" and objected to its rival's …

    Channel Register 29 Nov 2007, 09:55

  • Mobile growth outpaces fixed lines

    14-fold boom

    Mobile phone use within the EU is continuing to rise as reliance on fixed lines eases off, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. Use of mobile devices has surged in recent years, increasing almost 14-fold over the period between 1996 and 2005. In 1996, when mobile phones were less common and accessible than at present, …

    Mobile 29 Nov 2007, 10:07

  • Qinetiq announces UK layoffs, US sales

    Techies bailing out with GPS-assisted parachutes

    Controversial war-boffinry spinoff firm Qinetiq has announced a contract to sell a US-designed precision-parachute system to the RAF, just as it decided to eject 400 of its UK staff. The layoffs came the same day it announced a rise in interim sales and profits. The Times quotes Graham Love, Qinetiq CEO, as saying: "We are …

    Financial News 29 Nov 2007, 10:17

  • Audit bodies should merge, report says

    'Super agency' could save £20m

    A think tank has urged the government to merge the Audit Commission and National Audit Office (NAO). A new report from the New Local Government Network (NLGN), Expecting more from Inspectors?, calls on the government to create a super audit agency under the banner of Audit UK. It says this would provide cashable savings of …

    Public Sector 29 Nov 2007, 10:19

  • Carphone slated over iPhone porkies claim

    Buy some insurance, go on, go on, go on...

    Carphone Warehouse staff have been accused of confusing customers in order to get them pay extra cash for insurance. The BBC's Watchdog programme sent researchers to five Carphone stores and in three of them were told that if their iPhone was stolen they would have to shell out for another 18 month contract if they wanted to …

    Reg Hardware 29 Nov 2007, 10:19

  • Vista provokes user synaptic collapse

    Logic feedback loop brain bomb

    Those of you with memories like elephants may recall the case of the Microsoft Knowledge Base Article which contained the following classic: A Connection Manager Connection Does Not Connect After Being Disconnected There was a rumour going around back then in 2003 that Microsoft had planted such error messages to subjugate …

    Bootnotes 29 Nov 2007, 10:20

  • AMD tri-core Phenoms due February '08

    Two CPUs in initial run

    AMD's first three-core processors, due to go on sale as part of its Phenom line-up, will arrive in February 2008, it has been claimed. There will be two of them: the 7600 and the 7700. So claim motherboard maker moles by way of Taiwanese site DigiTimes. The two tri-cores will be clocked, they say, at 2.3GHz and 2.5GHz, …

    Reg Hardware 29 Nov 2007, 10:28

  • QVC gets exclusive on Venturer budget HD DVD player

    But misses pre-Chrimbo deadline

    Venturer Electronics' promised cut-price HD DVD player will finally go on sale on 29 December, but you'll have to switch on your TV to buy one. The SHD7001 will only be sold through the QVC home shopping channel. Venturer's SHD7001: buy it for your telly via your telly Venturer launched the player back in September, pledging …

    Reg Hardware 29 Nov 2007, 11:05

  • Vodafone sends Manchester back to the 90s

    Third generation, what third generation?

    Vodafone customers in Greater Manchester are having to rely on 2G services as a hardware fault has brought down the whole area's 3G coverage. Users of the 3G network are reporting dropped calls and incoming connections being routed direct to voice mail, though switching the handset to use 2G, GSM, seems to fix the problem. …

    Mobile 29 Nov 2007, 11:27

  • Google wants to make renewable power cheaper than coal

    Plans to spend several thousandths of ad revenue

    Google.org, "the philanthropic arm of Google", plans to sink some of the company's billions in ad fees into advancing renewable energy technology. The aim is to make cleanly-generated electricity cheaper than that derived from burning coal. In classic Googley style, the new plan is called RE<C. Google says it will plough in " …

    Science 29 Nov 2007, 11:44

  • Video games blamed for England Euro flop

    A goalkeeper's fear of the Xbox

    West Ham shot-stopper Robert Green has blamed England's pitiful failure in qualifying for the Euro 2008 finals on the increasing popularity of video games among English boys. Since England's 3-2 defeat at home to Croatia, all sorts of theories have been advanced to explain the national side's shortcomings, including lack of …

    Bootnotes 29 Nov 2007, 11:46

  • Publishers punt new web crawler blocking standards

    Rusty robots.txt for the scrapheap?

    A long-awaited new standard designed to give webmasters more control over how search engines and newsreaders access their content will be unveiled in New York today. After a year-long pilot the Automated Content Access Protocol (ACAP) will be launched at the headquarters of the Associated Press. It aims to improve on the …

    Applications 29 Nov 2007, 11:50

  • Major chip maker seeks similar for SuperSpeed USB tryst

    Non-smokers preferred. No time wasters

    The USB 3.0 standard could be completed by the end of June 2008 - but the companies behind the specification need more of their fellows to pitch in and help get it done on time. Dubbed SuperSpeed USB, the third major incarnation of the serial bus standard is set to deliver data transfer speeds of around 4.7Gb/s - ten times …

    Reg Hardware 29 Nov 2007, 11:58

  • Chilean hooker plans 27-hour charity sexathon

    Shagfest to aid disabled kids

    A Chilean prostitute has caused a bit of a stir by selling 27 hours of rumpy-pumpy in aid of tomorrow's annual TV Teletón campaign for the country's disabled kids. According to the Santiago Times, big-hearted hooker María Carolina (seen right) said: “I will work during the time that the program lasts in order to earn money for …

    Bootnotes 29 Nov 2007, 12:07

  • Telecom Italia heads split

    New heads better than none

    A number of senior executives have walked out of Telecom Italia, which according to the firm is a positive move that opens the way for fresh leadership at Italy's leading telecoms provider. Telecom Italia said in a brief statement that chairman Pasquale Pistorio, CEO Riccardo Ruggiero, and deputy chairman Carlo Buora had quit …

    Telecoms 29 Nov 2007, 12:12

  • BT puts old phone books online

    Burial records from 1538 available too...

    BT is putting its entire archive of old phone books online for genealogists, or anyone else, to browse, and a commercial genealogy company is opening up access to all UK burial records since 1538. The phone books date back to 1880 and contain 280 million names. They can be used to track down relatives, but you can also use the …

    Telecoms 29 Nov 2007, 12:14

  • Galileo pork punchup takes unexpected twist

    UK, Germany in mutual backstab as Spaniards leap in

    Yesterday it appeared that the troubled Euro-collaborative sat nav project Galileo had finally achieved a way forward - but then reports of fresh disagreements surfaced. The plan at the start of this year was for Galileo to be a public-private partnership, with business interests kicking in a substantial proportion of the …

    Space 29 Nov 2007, 12:37

  • Boffins report lightning on Venus, our non-identical twin

    Mission accomplished for Venus Express

    The European Space Agency's Venus Express probe has confirmed that there is lightning on our twin planet. This means that lightning has been confirmed on four of the solar system's eight official planets, but Venus' storms are unique. While lightning on Earth, Jupiter and Saturn is all associated with water clouds, the …

    Space 29 Nov 2007, 12:45

  • Microsoft offers $300m for web-washing ad campaign

    Reader challenge Marketing 101: If you can't innovate, advertise

    Microsoft is touting $300m in advertising pork to the shiny suits of Madison Avenue in return for a smart way to pimp its lacklustre web services. "They are trying to make Windows cool, relevant and internet-centric," one contender agency is reported as saying in the New York Post. "They don't want to be seen as a stodgy …

    Software 29 Nov 2007, 13:08

  • Google Maps Mobile knows where you are

    Roughly

    The latest version of Google Maps Mobile has a menu item which shows you where you are, without recourse to GPS or deals with network operators, but those with GPS will be asked to lend a hand in keeping the database up to date and improving its accuracy. Google Maps Mobile version 2 is currently in Beta, but available for …

    Mobile 29 Nov 2007, 13:16

  • Cyber cold war fears grow

    120 countries have cyber-espionage capability, warns McAfee

    Forget run of the mill cybercrooks, international cyber spying will pose the single biggest information security threat in 2008. That's according to security giant McAfee, which also predicts increased attacks against e-banking services and the growth of an increasingly sophisticated market for malware next year. McAfee's …

    Crime 29 Nov 2007, 13:24

  • Balls blames parents, computers for English literacy slide

    Bubblewrapping's too good for them

    Ed Balls has again weighed into parents who insist on bubblewrapping their children and leaving them in front of the computer, after research showed British kids have slipped down the world’s literacy league. The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study released this week shows that English schoolchildren had slipped …

    Government 29 Nov 2007, 13:25

  • Public school IT supplier goes titsup

    To [not] serve them all my days

    A leading provider of laptops and other computer services to private schools in the UK has gone into administration, leaving many with support headaches because existing warranty and support contracts are unlikely be honoured. BDO Stoy Hayward has been appointed administrators for Mansardon Limited which is the holding company …

    Channel Register 29 Nov 2007, 14:01

  • Solwise DMP-1120w UPnP/DLNA network media player

    Review Apple TV wannabe?

    From the Apple TV to D-Link's Media Lounge and Netgear's Wireless Digital Media Player there is currently no shortage of ways of getting PC-held content onto a TV screen and home audio system without wires. As with most things in life, while some of these products are of a truly fine vintage others prove to be merely vin …

    Reg Hardware 29 Nov 2007, 14:35

  • Facebook 'to drop' creeptech ad system

    Beacon extinguished

    Facebook looks set to scale back its advertising ambitions after one of a suite of new features aimed at milking cash from user data was slammed as creepy. The system, known as "Beacon", was only launched on 7 November. It's designed to follow users who click on third party ads inside the social network to outside seller sites …

    Applications 29 Nov 2007, 14:37

  • Financial turmoil won't crimp IT budgets in 2008

    But what are you spending it on?

    Most Reg readers don't expect to see their IT budgets cut next year, and nearly one third of you are expecting your IT budgets to be increased for 2008. The findings, from the latest Reg Technology Panel Barometer study, suggest the financial market shake up we're witnessing might not hit the tech market as hard as some feared …

    Tech Panel 29 Nov 2007, 14:42

  • Google trials GPS-without-GPS mobile navigator

    For all web-enabled handsets

    Google has begun testing a mobile phone mapping service which it promises will find your location and send you on your way, even if your handset’s not GPS-enabled. Dubbed My Location, the service initially requires you to download Google’s free Google Maps software onto your handset. Then, whenever you need to find a location …

    Reg Hardware 29 Nov 2007, 14:43

  • Spend-a-penny SMS service starts flowing

    From sat nav to Sat Lav

    If you’re caught short in central London tonight then just text Westminster Council (WC), because it has launched a loo-locating texting service. Mobile-enabled geeks out on the pi** now need only text the word ‘toilet’ to 80097 and the service will text you back the street name of your closest water closet. The service is …

    Reg Hardware 29 Nov 2007, 14:50

  • NASA reveals manned Mars mission plans

    Heading for the red planet

    NASA says it will send a 400,000kg crewed spacecraft on a 30-month round trip to Mars as early as February 2031. The details of the planned mission were announced at a meeting in Houston, Texas, the BBC reports. According to the plans, the spacecraft will be built in orbit, being far too large to ever be lifted from the bottom …

    Space 29 Nov 2007, 15:29

  • Wrappers offers padded add-on to keep your Eee PC cosy

    You may have a hard time getting your hands on an Eee PC at the moment, but at least you can start grabbing accessories for the tiny notebook in the meantime. The first we've seen are Wrappers' set of Eee-sized laptop sleeves. Keep your Eee PC snug The fabric slip-cases are made from cordura - a sort of nylon-canvas hybrid …

    Reg Hardware 29 Nov 2007, 15:45

  • Yahoo! and! Adobe! sign! ad-packed! PDF! pact!

    Acrobat Reader to display 'message from our sponsor'

    Despite my ma always saying ‘if you knew your times tables as well as your adverts’, people today still can’t escape advertising and the problem’s set to get even worse. Yahoo! has signed up with Adobe to incorporate targeted adverts into PDF documents. The scheme is optional, but unfortunately only for the advertiser. …

    Spam 29 Nov 2007, 15:54

  • US Army plans robot planes operated by non-pilots

    Pilots: 'This will set back robot planes for decades'

    Military pilots are up in arms* over US Army plans for substantial, powerful drone combat aircraft to be operated by mere mortals without wings on their chests. The flying death machines in question are the US Army's new version of the well-known US Air Force Predator. The army's "Sky Warrior" version is a somewhat enlarged …

    Science 29 Nov 2007, 15:58

  • Cisco VoIP bug poses eavesdropping risk

    Noise on the wire

    A bug involving 7900 Series IP phones from Cisco creates a means for hackers to eavesdrop on calls. The flaw stems from security shortcomings in the Extension Mobility feature of the phones, which allows users to configure a Cisco IP phone as their own. The feature is disabled by support, which is just as well because when …

    Data Networking 29 Nov 2007, 16:04

  • Anti piracy group grapples with virtual world

    So how do you crack down on virtual pirates?

    The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) has sunk its teeth into the fuzzy, grey world of virtualisation. The anti-piracy body said it has got together with a number of big name firms, including Hewlett-Packard, Symantic/Altris, and Computacenter to work out ways of tackling potential problems that could arise when running …

    Servers 29 Nov 2007, 16:21

  • Two UK web hosts go down

    Easynet and 1and1...

    Two UK web hosting companies - 1and1.co.uk and the Murdoch-owned easynet.com - are suffering a little downtime today, leaving customers without email or access to their websites. Easynet's support page says it's been suffering intermittent problems on its core network since 1.38pm but hopes to get things fixed by 5.38pm this …

    Telecoms 29 Nov 2007, 16:27

  • Peter Erskine calls it a day at O2

    Telefonica's European boss comes up for air

    Peter Erskine is to step down from his current role as head of Telefonica's European business, presumably to spend more time with the £12m he's reckoned to have made out of the O2 sale, though he'll remain on the Telefonica board. Erskine became CEO of O2 in 2001 and has been credited with turning a chunk of ageing telco, as …

    Mobile 29 Nov 2007, 16:39

  • The wireless Christmas tree

    When we first caught wind of a wireless Christmas tree, most of the Register Hardware team assumed someone had just downed too much Egg Nog. However, it could be the perfect present to brighten-up your gadget-laden home this Christmas. Wireless Chritmas tree: geek-up your spruce The Wireless Lighted Artificial Christmas Tree …

    Reg Hardware 29 Nov 2007, 16:48

  • Preacher jailed for £51m carousel fraud

    Thou shalt not make false VAT returns

    A lay preacher and law lecturer from Beeston has been jailed for six and a half years for defrauding the British taxpayer to the tune of £51m. 49-year-old Malcolm Edwards-Sayer, from Bramcote, admitted eight counts of conspiracy to cheat the Inland Revenue. The preacher was involved in a carousel fraud which for 18 months …

    Channel Register 29 Nov 2007, 17:16

  • Data breach costs soar

    Punters desert compromised firms

    There's more bad news for chancellor Alistair Darling in the wake of the HMRC data loss fiasco. A study by the US-based Ponemon Institute reckons information security breaches cost $197 per compromised record, compared to $182 per record last year. Ponemon's third annual Cost of a Data Breach study focuses on the results of …

    ID 29 Nov 2007, 17:20

  • Dell sits on cybersquatters

    ICANN? No you can't

    Dell has slapped a lawsuit on a number of website registrar firms, accusing them of trademark infringement and cybersquatting. Dell quietly filed the case with the US District Court for Southern Florida last month. The computer giant alleges a number of firms which buy and sell website addresses had unlawfully registered and …

    Channel Register 29 Nov 2007, 18:48

  • Paris and Britney top US kids' Santa naughty list

    No prezzies for you, you drunken knickerless strumpets

    US kids have delightfully voted exceptionally-talented heiress Paris Hilton, along with wobbly popstress Britney "Oops I forgot my knickers again" Spears, as heading Santa's Xmas "naughty list", thereby ensuring that neither of them will receive much-needed underwear or self-administered breath-test kits in their Christmas …

    Music and Media 29 Nov 2007, 18:55

  • CBS to Pirate Bay: 'You're ok by us'

    BitTorrent site can use Last.fm API

    Last.fm, the music recommendation site owned by US media conglomerate CBS, has today given Pirate Bay the thumbs up to use its servers to add radio streams to BitTorrent searches. The Swedish anti-copyright site has added a Last.fm widget to results pages as part of a new drop-down of extra information on artists (blog post …

    Music and Media 29 Nov 2007, 19:14

  • Micron takes on solid state drives

    Another into the fray

    Memory maker Micron is leaping into the widening world of NAND flash-based solid state disks. The shiny new RealSSD brand comprises three products: SATA drives for desktops and laptops, embedded USB drives and module storage for servers. The RealSSD geared for computae domestica will be introduced in 1.8" and 2.5" form factors …

    Storage 29 Nov 2007, 19:47

  • Green irony? Tech vendors don't get it

    The new gulags of Siberia

    With approval poll ratings near record lows, it was only a matter of time before President George W. Bush's administration chose to hitch its fortunes to "IT-is-the-cause-and-cure-of-climate-change" bandwagon. In his speech to the United Nations this week, Alexander Karsner, Bush's assistant secretary for energy efficiency and …

    Software 29 Nov 2007, 20:02

  • Azul finds a new CEO

    DeWitt finds a Chair

    In Sept., we revealed that Azul Systems chief Stephen DeWitt would relinquish his CEO post. Today, Azul has confirmed that DeWitt will turn over the CEO duties to former second-in-command (COO and Prez) Scott Sellers. Following the reorganization, Sellers becomes President and CEO, while DeWitt moves into the Chairman, er, …

    Servers 29 Nov 2007, 20:14

  • I'm in privacy trouble ... bitch

    On Facebook's Beacon fiasco

    Three weeks ago, Facebook unveiled a three prong strategy to monetize its active base of 50m users. (See I'm a walking billboard ... bitch.) It hasn't taken long for one those prongs to go prang. As we reported earlier today, the privacy-busting referral scheme called Beacon is to be modified. If you buy something elsewhere on …

    Music and Media 29 Nov 2007, 20:16

  • How Web 2.0 evangelists make the Microsoft monopoly stronger

    Comment Delusions of grandeur

    One IT Manager, bemoaning his lot to me, recently compared the rise of Web 2.0 enthusiasts to the problem the Police has with Freemasons. The blog and wiki evangelists within are not as secretive, of course, but they're equally cult-like: speaking their own language, and using the populist rhetoric of "empowerment" for …

    Operating Systems 29 Nov 2007, 21:29

  • Small mainframe vendors huddle against IBM

    T3 joins PSI lawsuit against Big Blue

    Another upstart mainframe house wants to join the legal fracas between IBM and PSI. Florida-based T3 Technologies accuses IBM of dirty tricks, which have undermined its sales efforts. T3 Technologies says it was the #2 mainframe vendor prior to IBM's alleged anti-competitive angling. But recent stirrings at IBM have made the …

    Channel Register 29 Nov 2007, 22:28

  • Promiscuous Transitive beds Hitachi's boxes and sales folk

    The SPARC assault continues

    Transitive - the king of server software promiscuity - has signed on with Hitachi America to move Solaris/SPARC software over to x86- and Itanium-based servers. The Hitachi deal includes a sales and marketing angle. So, the vendors will team to push Transitive's QuickTransit software at you in tandem with Hitachi's …

    Servers 29 Nov 2007, 22:32

  • FBI crackdown on botnets gets results, but damage continues

    2 million zombies and counting

    FBI agents engaged in a crackdown on botnet crime issued a progress report of the ongoing initiative, reporting more than $20m in losses to consumers, businesses and other organizations and the identification of one million infected machines in the past five months. In addition, eight individuals have been indicted, have …

    Enterprise Security 29 Nov 2007, 22:32

  • Microsoft loses battle of the piggybacking passwords

    The $140m activation code

    Microsoft has been told to fork over $140m because Windows XP and certain versions of Microsoft Office require more than one activation code. You see, there are patents on the use of more than one activation code, and they're held by a clever company in Michigan that has successfully sued the bejesus out of the Redmond …

    Channel Register 29 Nov 2007, 22:36