7th August 2003 Archive

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HP to take care of Unix, Linux and Windows with Nimbus

Exclusive HP World's secrets

When HP World starts in a few days, users can expect to hear about some new server management software that covers Unix, Linux and Windows in one go, and it's called Nimbus. The Register has had a good run of late with HP NDA documents popping into our inbox on a regular basis, and this week is no different. The latest set of …

Servers 7 Aug 2003, 09:19
Vodafone: acquisitions in the face of heavy competition

Keep that pressure on

Vodafone continues to expand its presence in the UK mobile phone market with the acquisition of mobile services provider Project Telecom. Like other independent resellers, Project Telecom has already suffered due to intense price competition in the market - competition that is set to get even worse in the run up to Christmas. …

Mobile 7 Aug 2003, 09:21
IBM to partner with Infineon on 65, 45nm tech

Shuffles chip division managers too

IBM has signed a deal with Infineon and Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing to jointly develop 65nm fabrication techniques. The news was accompanied by a management reshuffle at IBM Microelectronics' command centre which will see the division's technology chief taking charge of the business' R&D operation. IBM, Infineon and …

Channel 7 Aug 2003, 10:08
Nintendo to announce ‘new game product’ in spring

GameCube successor?

Nintendo will reveal details of a "new game product" in spring next year, president Satoru Iwata has told a Japanese news conference while discussing the Kyoto-based firm's ongoing business strategy. This would tie in with what he told Reuters earlier this year about launching a next-generation console in 2005 or 2006, and …

Personal 7 Aug 2003, 10:11
Motorola ships first camera phone

Destined for Taiwan initially

Motorola has finally followed its cellular handset rivals and begun shipping a cameraphone, the E365. Aimed initially at the Taiwanese market, the phone contains a 640 x 480 digicam, a 16-bit colour screen to show the pictures on, and MMS support to allow users to send them on to friends and relatives. At the E365's Taiwan …

Mobile 7 Aug 2003, 10:25
Intel faces $600m bill for unpaid tax

IRS challenges US-made chip count

Intel may have to cough up $600 million in unpaid taxes if the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) gets its way, the company has admitted. The IRS claims Intel paid insufficient tax in 1999 and 2000 because the chip giant incorrectly calculated how much tax credit it was due on chips fabbed in the US but sold overseas. Intel and …

Channel 7 Aug 2003, 10:54
Sun-Apple rumors set markets jangling

But what could they possibly want from each other?

A few spontaneous remarks by Sun Microsystems' pony-tailed software marketing whizz-kid Jonathan Schwartz have set analysts a-flutter. Sun used the LinuxWorld show in town this week to showcase its Linux desktop, codenamed 'Mad Hatter', for the first time. There's nothing particularly interesting about Mad Hatter, which is …

Mac Channel 7 Aug 2003, 11:04
Sysadmins in the dark about network problems

Killer apps strain bandwidth

Most IT managers are in the dark about what applications are running on their corporate networks. This lack of knowledge leaves sysadmins with few clues about traffic that could be causing application performance problems, Packeteer claims The network software firm has conducted a survey which reveals that 75 per cent of IT …

Data Networking 7 Aug 2003, 11:09
Let's hear it for the designers

Logo Letter And shoot the PR bunnies

Re: Innovation Blue is the colour and Innovation Blue: What new logo? I feel obliged to proudly stand up for all of us Reg readers who work at "award-winning design consultancies". With the LogoWatch series running for some time now, it feels like we're unfairly getting a bad name. Most of the design houses that I know or have …

Letters 7 Aug 2003, 11:21
Ex-Intel staffer admits trying to aid Taliban

But not to waging war on US

Ex-Intel engineer Maher 'Mike' Mofeid Hawash has pleaded guilty to one of three charges that he conspired to aid and abet the Taliban. Hawash, 38, admitted that he travelled to Afghanistan in 2001 with the intention of fighting against the US' invasion of that country. Apparently he got as far as China but failed to get into …

Channel 7 Aug 2003, 11:27
The strange case of eBay, zippymilk and the missing DVDs

Excuses wear thin

Hundreds of eBay UK users are up in arms after handing over money for DVDs to the same Norfolk-based seller who banked their cheques, but failed to deliver the goods. Patience is wearing thin among the estimated 800 customers of zippymilk (AKA Adrian Bailey, 33, of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk) who are growing tired of a succession …

Music and Media 7 Aug 2003, 11:52
‘Smart’ glues to drive unleaded chips

Buffalo solder

'Smart' glues developed by British boffins could soon rid silicon chips of the lead-based solder that is currently used to attach each die to the pins that ultimately connect the chip to the host system. The glues can be used to replace solder because they conduct electricity. They are dubbed 'smart' because they can be …

Channel 7 Aug 2003, 12:19
70% of Brits don't know what a WiFi hotspot is

Trouble with the missus?

Let this be a warning to all would-be and actual inflators of the Wi-Fi Bubble: nearly three-quarters of British consumers don't know what a Wi-Fi hot-spot is, according to a poll conducted by well-known pollster Mori. The company spoke to 985 home computer users on behalf of UK PC vendor Packard Bell. They were asked what they …

Wireless 7 Aug 2003, 13:33
Computer virus cramps Pan-Am Games

False start

The 2003 Pan American Games this week have been disrupted by a computer virus. The unnamed virus interfered with the results service at the international sporting event being held in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Press from around the world were unable to access the latest scores and results from competitions …

Anti-Virus 7 Aug 2003, 13:49
Notebooks drive UK PC sales revival

System shipments up 15.7 per cent

The UK PC market grew 15.7 per cent year on year during the second quarter, IDC's latest market stats show. Notebooks seem to have struck a chord with buyers leading to a 41.4 per cent increase in shipments year on year. Consumers in particular opted for notebooks - consumer laptop sales rose 94.8 per cent. Business notebook …

Small Biz 7 Aug 2003, 16:01
Vodafone to double overseas text charges

Next month

Vodafone is to double the its charges for texting from UK to international phones next month. From 1 September, Vodafone contract subscribers will pay 24p instead of 12p to use the service. A Vodafone spokeswoman described the change as a price increase the company is making for "commercial reasons". She said the increase …

Mobile 7 Aug 2003, 16:08
IBM sues SCO for selling Linux

IP thieves are everywhere

IBM has thrown itself right into the middle of the legal trainwreck that is SCO with a countersuit seeking to protect its own IP. In an almost comical turn of events, IBM is charging that SCO cannot claim bits of the Linux operating system are proprietary since SCO once sold a version of Linux under the GPL. IBM is also looking …

Hardware 7 Aug 2003, 18:04
RIAA ignores court battles, picks Verizon to host site

The one thing we didn't want to happen

In its endless quest to keep the RIAA's Web site up, hosting company TST manages to set new records not in uptime but in third-party service blunders. The latest gaffe has TST moving the RIAA's servers onto Verizon's network - an ISP the music labels have fought in court. Verizon has confirmed that, as of July, TST's own Web …

Music and Media 7 Aug 2003, 18:08
IBM's Power5+ to hit 3GHz

Has nothing on Power6

The road ahead for IBM's Power chip line is full of speed boosts with the Power5+ chip hitting 3.0GHz and its successor going well beyond that, The Reg can reveal. Another handy NDA document has fallen into our hands, laying out the roadmap for IBM's Power5 and Power5+ processors along with some Power6 details. IBM has already …

Channel 7 Aug 2003, 23:00