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5th March 2008 Archive

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  • Huawei merges mobile data with mobile telly

    CeBIT HSDPA downloads and EastEnders

    Connectivity kit maker Huawei, best known in the UK as the manufacturer of Vodafone's 3G modems, has launched a 3G HSDPA/HSUPA add-on that'll also pick up mobile TV transmissions. Huawei's E510: HSDPA, HSUPA and... mobile telly The E510 hooks up to a host computer by USB. It provides 3G downloads of up to 7.2Mb/s and …

    Mobile 5 Mar 2008, 00:02

  • Ex-Wikipedia staffer harpoons Wales over expenses

    'All of my expenses were appropriate and fully accounted for'

    A former employee of the Wikimedia Foundation has taken Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales to task over the way he handled his expenses. On Saturday morning, the very public breakup of Wales and former Fox News pundit Rachel Marden sparked a blog post from onetime foundation exec Danny Wool. "At one point, [Wales] owed the …

    Business 5 Mar 2008, 00:10

  • Caesar's Palace security confronts Dell over HP gig invasion

    Propaganda police

    The once docile Dell has turned ultra-aggressive in its war with HP. Dell staffers were confronted by Caesar's Palace security forces, as they tried to invade the HP Americas Partner Conference in Las Vegas this past week. The "highly-efficient and professional" Roman troops prevented Dell from bombarding all 1,100 HP partners …

    Servers 5 Mar 2008, 00:17

  • Seagate's big disks pump up outlook

    EPS loves ATA

    Seagate raised its third quarter financial outlook today, citing a healthy market for high-end ATA disk drives. The world's largest HDD firm increased its non-GAAP earnings per share forecast to between 63 cents and 67 cents per share, up from 57 cents to 61 cents per share predicted earlier. Seagate still expects net revenue …

    Storage 5 Mar 2008, 01:11

  • Google gears up for mobile security smackdown

    Danger, Will Robinson!

    Tired of spotty network performance interrupting your web service's performance and of navigating the maze that is mobile application development? Google can help - just don't rely on the giant's Android mobile Software Development Kit (SDK) when it comes to building in security. Google has released a version of the Google …

    Applications 5 Mar 2008, 01:28

  • Should Europeans pay to receive phone calls?

    EU report calls for an end to termination fees

    A new report commissioned by the EU recommends the abolition of termination fees, the proportion of call costs which is paid to the receiving network, on the grounds that the internet survives without them and the internet is going to be everything, anyway. The report (summary: pdf), conducted by the German telecoms research …

    Broadband 5 Mar 2008, 08:02

  • Most British filesharers would stop if warned - survey

    It's a game, innit?

    Could the UK record industry's Three Strikes policy halt file sharing? Few give the idea much hope, at least not unless some compelling alternatives are offered - but a survey of British file-sharers suggests otherwise. Seven out of 10 British file-sharers say they would stop infringing if they received a termination warning …

    Media 5 Mar 2008, 08:02

  • Greenies give IT industry a black eye

    CeBIT Try harder next time guys

    Greenpeace told the computer industry to try harder today, as its latest report into the electronics industry showed just three products reaching the half-way mark in reducing their environmental impact. The report, unveiled at CeBIT this morning, said there had been some progress towards making Green IT more than a marketing …

    The Channel 5 Mar 2008, 09:32

  • Privacy watchdog slams European border control plans

    Will put privacy at risk for no added security

    Europe's top privacy watchdog has condemned planned European border controls as weak and based on inconclusive evidence, claiming they will put Europeans' privacy at risk with no guarantee of increased security. European Data Protection Supervisor Peter Husinx has said proposals announced last month by the European Commission …

    Law 5 Mar 2008, 09:55

  • AMD intros DirectX 10 integrated chipset

    CeBIT 'RS780' arrives at last

    AMD has launched its 55nm-fabbed 780G desktop chipset, aka 'RS780', its pitch for mainstream motherboards and DirectX 10 gaming on the cheap. AMD's 780G: DX10 integrated AMD's calling the 780G's integrated GPU the ATI Radeon HD 3200. In addition to DX10, the 3200 supports Hybrid Graphics, AMD's technology to allow the …

    Hardware 5 Mar 2008, 10:01

  • Poor data handling keeps prisoners inside

    Parole Board not receiving vital info

    The National Audit Office says the work of the Parole Board is hampered by the lack of timely information from other parts of the criminal justice system. Prisoners who may be eligible for parole are having their case hearings delayed because of poor information handling by the criminal justice system. One of the most common …

    Policy 5 Mar 2008, 10:08

  • Flores Hobbits were stunted humans

    Cretin offspring of normal mothers, say Oz researchers

    A group of Oz researchers has thrown its hat into the Flores "Hobbit" ring by claiming the diminutive inhabitants of the Indonesian island were not a new species at all but rather "cretin offspring of normal mothers". The first Hobbit skeleton, dating back 15,000 to 18,000 years, turned up in a cave back in 2003. Its discovery …

    Science 5 Mar 2008, 10:51

  • Prosecutors target first 'Facebook harassment' conviction

    Poke, poke, poke, poke, poke, poke...

    A Birmingham man is set to be the first in the UK to stand trial for harassment using Facebook. Michael Hurst, 33, of Edgbaston, has pleaded not guilty to harassing ex-girlfriend Sophie Sladden. Appearing before magistrates, he was granted conditional bail to stand trial later in March, The Birmingham Mail reports. He is …

    Law 5 Mar 2008, 10:56

  • AMD heralds its first working 45nm CPUs

    CeBIT But you still won't get your hands on 'em for months

    AMD's 45nm quad-core processors may not yet be ready to buy, but the chip maker said this week it has working versions in the lab running on test machines. It re-iterated its plan to ship the CPUs in the second half of the year. The desktop version of the part is codenamed 'Deneb', a Socket AM3 part that'll ship as a Phenom …

    Hardware 5 Mar 2008, 11:01

  • RIM out to patent BlackBerry slider

    Sidekick-style communicator planned

    What do you get if you mesh a dual-orientation handset together with a slide-out keyboard and a tracker ball? Potentially, the next BlackBerry from Research in Motion (RIM), if its latest patent application is anything to go by. RIM to add a slide-out keyboard to the BlackBerry? The patent, filed as number 20080051041 with …

    Mobile 5 Mar 2008, 11:25

  • Tech Data 'cautiously optimistic' after Q4 boost

    Shares jump

    IT distributor Tech Data saw shares rise more than three per cent on Wall Street yesterday after it posted strong fourth quarter results and a positive sales outlook. The firm said it expects revenue in the first quarter, which ends 30 April, to be between $5.65bn and $5.8bn – ring-fencing analyst predictions of $5.71bn. It …

    The Channel 5 Mar 2008, 11:38

  • eBayer offers carbon fibre-clad Eee PC

    Limited edition

    If you're a fan of Asus' elfin Eee PC and you want to stand out from the crowd without having to wait in line for the larger, 8.9in model, how about a standard unit kitted out in carbon fibre instead? One enterprising eBayer is offering just that: an Eee covered in the hi-tech material and with a memory and storage upgrade …

    Hardware 5 Mar 2008, 11:49

  • My First DSLR, from Olympus

    The DSLR for beginners

    Olympus has launched its latest pitch to photographers keen to move up from compact cameras to the world of digital SLR snapping. Olympus' E-420: beginners in mind The DSLR camera is officially targeted at “seasoned photographers and beginners to the DSLR domain”, which means the E-420 comes equipped with a ten-megapixel …

    Hardware 5 Mar 2008, 11:55

  • Chinese mobile users targeted by Trojan

    Smart mobile malware

    Miscreants have created a ransomware Trojan for mobile phones which has been seen in the wild in China. Kiazha-A, attempts to extort money from users of Symbian Series 60 phones. Infected smartphones display a message saying that victims need to send RMB 50 ($7) to the malware authors in order to regain use of the phone. The …

    Security 5 Mar 2008, 11:57

  • Microsoft offers free Office storage to web plebs

    Live Workspaces public beta is go!

    Microsoft has opened its beta of a suite of new online Office features to all comers. Office Live Workspaces has been in private testing since October. It allows desktop Office owners to share and collaborate on documents. It's the future. Well, basically its some free online storage (about 1,000 average-sized Office files), …

    Small Biz 5 Mar 2008, 11:59

  • Nokia N810 internet tablet

    Review Fills a gap you didn't even know you had

    Nokia's approach for the N810 is pretty simple: phone screens are too small for decent web browsing, so surely a separate portable device that has a bigger screen and Wi-Fi connectivity is needed for serious portable web access. Nokia hasn't regarded size and weight as such restrictive factors. At 228g the metal-cased N810 …

    Phones 5 Mar 2008, 12:02

  • Panasonic preps rugged Atomic UMPC

    Ultra-mobile, ultra-tough - apparently

    Intel announced its Atom processor on Monday and now hardware makers are stepping forward to unveil their upcoming Atom-based UMPCs. Today's contestant: Panasonic, with a Toughbook-branded handheld. Panasonic's Toughbook UMPC: based on Intel's Atom Not that Panasonic actually said much about it, beyond the name, the …

    Hardware 5 Mar 2008, 12:26

  • Old Bill break up Bournemouth Bebo bash

    Gatecrashers invade web-punted party

    A small student party in the Bournemouth suburb of Winton attracted the attention of 200 rampaging gatecrashers and subsequently 20 coppers, dog handlers and the police chopper after the organiser advertised the bash on social networking site Bebo. According to the Press Association, the get-together last Friday got a little …

    Bootnotes 5 Mar 2008, 13:17

  • Nvidia lets DX10 mobile GPU specs slip

    Details posted ahead of launch

    Details of Nvidia's upcoming GeForce 9300M and 9500M DirectX 10-compatible mobile graphics chip series have surfaced ahead of the GPU's launch... on Nvidia's own website. The 9500M GS will contain 32 stream processors running at 950MHz, while the core as a whole is clocked at 475MHz. The GPU will be linked to 512MB of GDDR 3 …

    Hardware 5 Mar 2008, 13:55

  • TETRA defends itself against RIM onslaught

    While Motorola deploys secret hardware

    TETRA, the radio network used by public services in Europe, has been defending itself against allegations that it lacks the capacity needed by modern police networks. In the UK, police forces routinely use both TETRA, branded Airwave, and commercial GSM networks for data access, the latter using RIM equipment. TETRA operates …

    Law 5 Mar 2008, 14:01

  • Malaysian woman jailed for worshipping teapot

    Apostate cult member's second spell in chokey

    A Malaysian woman has been jailed for two years for hooking up with the "teapot worshipping" Sky Kingdom cult, contrary to Sharia law which prohibits born Muslims converting to other religions. Former teacher Kamariah Ali, 57, was cuffed in 2005 when the powers that be clamped down on the cult and demolished its two-storey …

    Bootnotes 5 Mar 2008, 14:02

  • IBM gets back into PCs

    'Highly competitive alternative to Microsoft'

    IBM is getting back into the PC game - or at least it is in Eastern Europe. The company sold its PC business and brands to Chinese hardware maker Lenovo in 2005 and this time round is partnering with an Austrian company to make the actual boxes and with a Polish firm to distribute them. The Microsoft-free boxes will be made …

    The Channel 5 Mar 2008, 14:07

  • Snap up Crocs trendy 'o-dial' handset holder

    No hippy chicks

    They're incredibly ugly, but middle class parents just can't stop themselves dressing their kids in 'em. Yes, we're talking last summer's de rigueur fashion accessory, Crocs clogs-cum-sandals. And now you can put your phone in them too. Crocs' o-dial: store your mobile in 'style' Dubbed, cunningly, Crocs o-dial, the ‘shoe’ …

    Hardware 5 Mar 2008, 14:09

  • Road charging, the sequel - Kelly unveils 'wired m-way' plans

    Dynamic management and surveillance. Of you.

    UK national road pricing is, for the present, a dead duck. Or - as Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly put it yesterday - "many years away". Instead, new car sharing and toll lanes figured high in Kelly's publicity - but the actual plans are a deal more interesting, effectively proposing a graduated switch to a managed motorway …

    Law 5 Mar 2008, 14:19

  • BT targets 10,000 data pimping guinea pigs

    Privacy policy being ripped up for Phorm

    BT is preparing to test Phorm's advertising targeting technology on 10,000 of its customers this month, to gauge people's reaction to their web browsing being exploited for extra revenue. The trials will begin mid-March and guinea pigs will be drawn from BT Retail's consumer broadband subscriber base. The firm believes …

    Broadband 5 Mar 2008, 14:22

  • Motorola sinks £55m into Malaysia

    In exchange for £150m contract

    Ougoing Malaysian chief minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon asked that a £150m contract for upgraded police radios be awarded to Motorola in a confidential letter to the country's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Motorola had apparently threatened to abandon the country, causing 10,000 job losses immediately before …

    Mobile 5 Mar 2008, 14:26

  • Networks left open to SNMP scans

    Minority of networks leave out welcome mat for hackers

    Some sysadmins are leaving their networks open to hacking attack by allowing Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) configurations to be read across the internet. Using SNMP scans, a range of devices including Windows servers, BT Voyager 2000 routers, and HP JetDirect printers might be prompted to cough up username …

    Security 5 Mar 2008, 14:27

  • Schools warned of chilling 'Strawberry Meth' menace

    Thames Valley's finest fall for classic net hoax

    Eighty Oxfordshire schools were warned of the possible threat of deadly "Strawberry Meth", aka "Strawberry Quick" - crystal meth disguised as mouthwatering fruit-flavoured sweets - after an officer fell for a classic web hoax. The unnamed plod was alerted to the menace by email, and promptly forwarded the missive "via a …

    Law 5 Mar 2008, 14:30

  • Are IT security requirements changing?

    Reg Tech Panel Sanity checking the basics

    It used to be that IT security discussions were all about the basics – firewalls, anti-virus, content filtering, etc – but vendors and the media have now moved on, with much more focus on higher level stuff like policy management and the "human factor". Beyond all this noise, however, where are we really with IT security? Do …

    Security 5 Mar 2008, 14:34

  • Asus Lamborghini handset phones in an appearance

    CeBIT Calling all petrol-heads

    Here it is, Asus' Lamborghini ZX1 phone. The Taiwanese company hasn't launched the handset yet, but it did post a small piccy of the thing when it announced its new phone UI at the CeBIT show this week. Asus' Lamborghini ZX1: calling all petrol heads Last week, we heard that the ZX1's nearing launch and likely to sport a …

    Phones 5 Mar 2008, 14:46

  • Airport staff to be first with compulsory ID cards, say Tories

    Smokescreen for a retreat?

    Airport workers could be the first to be issued with compulsory ID cards, claimed Tory shadow home secretary David Davis today, citing government documents leaked to his party. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is due to make a speech on the future of ID cards tomorrow, and Davis suggests that she is likely to announce a postponement …

    Government 5 Mar 2008, 15:41

  • IBM takeover of Telelogic is cleared

    Doesn't stifle competition

    EU competition regulators have approved IBM’s takeover of Swedish software company Telelogic. The European Commission said in a statement that, following an anti-trust investigation that kicked off last October, “the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition.” Big Blue had, through its wholly-owned …

    Applications 5 Mar 2008, 16:28

  • Selling off spare spectrum will fail

    Will cost more than society can afford

    The European Broadcasting Union believes the auction of spare radio spectrum will reduce original TV programming, and damage society as a whole, without even providing the expected boost to rural broadband. The report (pdf) argues that digital terrestrial TV should receive special treatment as broadcasters can't make money …

    Broadband 5 Mar 2008, 16:31

  • US dairyman inaugurates bovine biogas plant

    Methane will power 1,200 homes a day

    A California dairyman yesterday inaugurated his very own methane-producing plant - an industrial-scale facility which can produce enough natural gas to power 1,200 homes a day. David Albers, of Riverdale, is the brains behind the Vintage Dairy Biogas Project which processes the output of his 5,000 head of cattle, Reuters …

    Science 5 Mar 2008, 16:33

  • WaSP gives browsers 'fail' grade

    Microsoft must try harder

    Just when Microsoft thought it was on target with its forthcoming Internet Explorer 8 browser, the goalposts have moved. The Web Standards Project (WaSP) has released its latest browser standards compliance test - Acid 3 - and every browser that WaSP tested failed. IE 8 is, of course, not available for test yet. But given the …

    Applications 5 Mar 2008, 17:01

  • Biometrics plan for London Olympic builders

    Police push for 500,000 CCTV network

    Biometric screening - featuring palm and facial recognition - will be used to guard building sites for the London Olympics. Building workers must pass through a two-tier biometric access system featuring palm and facial recognition to gain access to sites for the 2012 Olympics. At the peak of construction in 2010, the system …

    Security 5 Mar 2008, 17:03

  • Microsoft architecture chief 'clarifies' online formula

    Mix 08 Silverlight + Yahoo! = $$$$

    Microsoft's chief software architect Ray Ozzie tried to clarify Microsoft's software plus services internet strategy. And guess what, it involves advertising and Yahoo!. Ozzie opened Microsoft's Mix 08 offering developers the "big picture" on a strategy he promised would culminate with massive software and service launches at …

    Applications 5 Mar 2008, 19:28

  • Yahoo! deflects Microsoft bid with iPhone dominatrix

    And Ninthly Follow the bouncing b . . .

    Shortly before nightfall, the small man emerged from his house, checked on his goats and prayed. His most pressing plea to the higher power? Stop the clowns from scaring his children and stop his children from scaring the goats - Julio Stantore, The Diving Bell and the Cabrito Buffet A number of organs today filled their pages …

    Bootnotes 5 Mar 2008, 21:17

  • Microsoft jump starts IE 8 with community push

    Mix 08 702 steps to comply

    Microsoft will not just support new and popular technologies in Internet Explorer 8, it's also attempting to build community support for the historically standards-challenged browser. Not only will IE 8 - unveiled and launched as a beta today - support cascading style sheet (CSS) 2.1 from release, but Microsoft has also …

    Applications 5 Mar 2008, 22:04

  • US.gov disappears European-owned Cuba websites

    Blacklists never lie

    Let's see this Treasury Department list again... Aiman Al-Zawahiri....Radovan Karadzic....Alexander Lukashenko.... ah, Tour & Marketing International. Steven Marshall, the owner of T&M and affiliated websites such as www.cuba-hemingway.com, www.cuba-oldhavana.com, and www.cubanculture.com, is a British travel agent with an …

    Law 5 Mar 2008, 22:07

  • US Air Force: Looking for a few good cyber warriors

    Military wants to fortify cyberspace against China

    Uncle Sam wants you ... to become a cyberspace warrior. In a document released this week, the US Air Force is laying out plans for a new cyber command, which is scheduled to become operational in October. It tries to make the case that the ability to wage war and parry attacks over electronic networks is crucial to maintaining …

    Government 5 Mar 2008, 22:11

  • Yahoo! seeks time out on Microsoft bid

    Proxy counter-attack

    Yahoo! is dropping an election date to buy more time against a hostile Microsoft takeover. The net giant today canceled a March 14 date for stockholders to nominate new candidates for Yahoo!'s board of directors. Yahoo! fears Microsoft will launch a proxy battle to try to usurp its 10-member board. Yahoo! wants more time to …

    The Channel 5 Mar 2008, 23:06