27th September 2004 Archive

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O2 shuns 3G hype

'3G is not just a new toy for watching video'...It's not?

O2 is breaking ranks with other UK mobile operators by not offering consumer 3G services in time for Christmas. The company will offer business data services but does not believe the technology will be ready for mass adoption until late 2005 and it criticises rivals for over-hyping 3G services. O2 is offering "O2 Connection …

Mobile 27 Sep 2004, 09:25
NTL customers told to 'f**k off'

Class

NTL has launched an urgent investigation into why one of the company's recorded messages told punters to "f**k off". Customers in the North East of England were shocked by the verbal assault when they reported faults yesterday . The Sun managed to get a transcript of the message before it was pulled. The message said: "Hello. …

Telecoms 27 Sep 2004, 09:26
419ers enjoy a five-finger shuffle

Lads from Lagos shoot their load

Nigerian 419ers' less than perfect command of the English language has in the past allowed us to make merry at their expense. The following bog-standard advance fee fraud email contains all the classic elements - deceased African general, suitcases packed with readies, etc, etc. Not much to provoke a fit of the giggles there, …

Bootnotes 27 Sep 2004, 09:27
Virgin launches digital music service

'Me too' offering, but leads on price

Virgin's digital music service, Virgin Digital (VD), opened its virtual doors today, offering US consumers a Napster-style mix of a la carte downloads and an 'all you can eat' monthly subscription package. VD's initial offering is a beta preview release, presumably because it's based on Microsoft's still-in-beta Windows Media …

Financial News 27 Sep 2004, 09:38
Adobe proposes universal digicam 'raw' image format

'Digital negative'

Adobe is to promote a 'standard' alternative to digital cameras' numerous 'raw' photo formats. Dubbed Digital NeGative (DNG) format, Adobe's proposal would not supersede the JPEG format used by almost all digicams these days, but the native formats such cameras offer users who want maximum, image fidelity. These raw formats …

Applications 27 Sep 2004, 10:40
BT 'unlikely' to be broken up

Whatever

Ofcom is expected to shy away from calling for BT to be split when it publishes the findings of its review into the UK's telecoms sector next month. In April, the telcoms regulator published the first phase of its consultation into the year-long review into the sector. One of the five key questions posed by the regulator was: " …

Telecoms 27 Sep 2004, 11:12
BOFH 2004: The whole shooting match

That fun-filled year in full

How to get an upgrade, BOFH-style Episode 1 Heatsink moment BOFH and the pointless questionnaire Episode 2 It doesn't pay to ask too many questions BOFH and the cyberchair Episode 3 Please take your seats BOFH and the coffee machine Episode 4 La Bella Machina BOFH: Interviewing for Helpdesk Episode 5 Easy when you know …

BOFH
ATI Radeon X700 XT

Review Mainstream price, maximum performance?

There's a definite 'halo effect' when it comes to graphics cards, just like with cars. Take Subaru, for example. It leverages off the back of its WRC pedigree by producing the Impreza WRX STi - a very fast road-going version its rally car. Subaru knows that only a small number of its customers will be able to justify the cost of …

System Builder 27 Sep 2004, 11:29
Ingram buys Aussie distie for $493m

Doubles Asia Pac business

Ingram Micro is shelling out $493m cash including assumption of debt for Tech Pacific, an Australian distie. The deal will see Ingram's Asia Pac operations double in size. Sydney-based Tech Pacific turned over AUS$3.1bn ($2.2bn) in 2003, generating operating margins of two per cent. It is the market leader in Australia and New …

Channel 27 Sep 2004, 11:59
Toshiba tilts digital music player line at iPod

Big drives, unusual contoller, pastel shades

Toshiba will update its Gigabeat line of hard drive-based music players in November, the company said today, matching an iPod Mini-like range of colours to a line of high-capacity hard disks. The new F series comprises three models offering 10, 20 and 60GB 1.8in drive capacities. All three machines sport a 240 x 320, 2.2in …

Mobile 27 Sep 2004, 12:18
Intel cans Grantsdale WLAN plan

Bows to OEM pressure to drop delayed soft AP feature

Intel has formally dropped Wi-Fi support from its 'Grantsdale' chipset family and from its 'Alderwood' chipset. The chip giant will now not ship the promised add-in module which would allow PCs based on its i915 and i925 families of chipsets to operate as WLAN access points, primarily to enable the sharing of broadband internet …

Wireless 27 Sep 2004, 12:37
Vodafone eyes annual savings of £2.5bn

Squeeeeze the suppliers

Vodafone is to cut costs by £2.5bn per year by March 2008. It will do this a combination of £1.4bn through cost-saving measures and £1.1bn through revenue initiatives. The mobile network operator will exploit its size to buy in bulk, and will generate additional revenue by eliminating duplicated effort. In other words, the …

Mobile 27 Sep 2004, 12:51
MS has Media Player - less Windows, just in case...

Back in court with the EC this week

Microsoft is ready to comply with demands that it alters its Windows software in line with the ruling from the European Commission. Microsoft legal eagle Brad Smith told Forbes magazine that Microsoft has spent millions of dollars preparing a version of Windows without Windows Media Player (WMP). He is still hopeful that the …

Operating Systems 27 Sep 2004, 13:05
Tesco extends RFID chip roll-out

Pallet-able

Tesco is dipping its toes in spy-chip waters again, despite suffering a storm of bad publicity when it tried attaching RFID chips to Gillette razors in July 2003. Britain's biggest supermarket chain ran a trial in Cambridge which took a picture of anyone who took a pack of razor blades from the shelves Gillette Mach3 razor …

Security 27 Sep 2004, 13:11
HFC bank loses its marbles over customer CC details

You think they've heard of phishing?

Customers of HFC Bank, a subsidiary of HSBC, are threatening legal action after an "operator error" exposed personal information in emails from the bank. The bank emailed 2,600 of its Marbles credit card customers with a message marked "Urgent", asking them to contact the bank within 24 hours. But the sender somehow included …

Security 27 Sep 2004, 13:51
AT&T Wireless ships mobile IM gadget

Email, SMS, IM - no voice

US mobile network operator AT&T Wireless today launched Ogo, its first non-voice messaging device, pitched at the 'yoof' market - in particular those who only like to communicate by text. The $129 clamshell unit provides a QWERTY keypad ready for instant messaging using AOL, MSN or Yahoo! protocols and email from those three …

Mobile 27 Sep 2004, 13:53
Tiscali OKs H1 numbers

That's it

Tiscali execs have have rubber-stamped the ISP's results for the first half of the year (H1). The figures - broadly in line with the numbers released for Q2 results - show that H1 revenues rose 25 per cent to €538m (£365m) compared to a year ago. Despite this improvement, Tiscali only managed to shave a couple of million off …

Financial News 27 Sep 2004, 14:24
Virgin to offer space flights

Hop aboard the 'VSS Enterprise' - for £100k

High-flying Brit entrepreneur Richard Branson today announced the imminent take-off of the "VSS Enterprise" - a scaled-up version of Burt Rutan's SpacShipOne - which will offer well-to-do wannabe astronauts the chance of zero-grav flights for a mere £100,000. The Virgin boss has signed a £14m, 15-year licensing deal with Mojave …

Science 27 Sep 2004, 14:26
Virus-free, spam-free, secure email a step closer

Holy Grail spotted in Leeds...

A British-based startup believes it has found the Holy Grail - safe, secure email that is spam and virus-free. Jeftel says it can solve the problems which have plagued email since it began. Subscribers to the service pay £25 annual licence fee for the downloaded software. This will enable them to send emails directly to other …

Spam 27 Sep 2004, 15:11
Induce Act tweaks fail to stem concern

Sell a VCR, go to jail

Clouds of ambiguity hover over Senate Bill S.2560, known as the "Induce Act", despite the latest tweaks. The Bill (Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act of 2004, to give its full title) adds the same liabilities for copyright infringement to anyone who "intentionally induces", via a product or service, acts of copyright …

Music and Media 27 Sep 2004, 16:28
Scientists send Buckyballs to detox

Taking the sting out of venomous footballs

Researchers at the Centre for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN) have demonstrated a way to dramatically reduce the toxicity of buckyballs. Earlier this year, Eva Oberdoerster, an environmental toxicologist with Southern Methodist University, found brain damage in fish exposed to the fullerene molecules. Until …

Science 27 Sep 2004, 16:34
Oz conservatives demand porn-busting net levy

AU$10 per user

A conservative Australian party is demanding a levy on all internet users to fund a AU$45m blockade on smut and general web nastiness at server level, news.com.au reports. Family First - which holds seats in South Australia - has close ties to the Pentecostal Assemblies of God and reckons that: "As a society, we have …

Music and Media 27 Sep 2004, 16:50
Judge - IBM must pay for Compuware software probe

Digging Down Under

Compuware Corp. today has claimed a small victory in its lawsuit against IBM over software IP (intellectual property) issues with a court ordering IBM to pay costs related to the discovery of evidence. Oddly, Compuware only today issued a statement about its "win" even though Magistrate Wallace Capel Jr. in Michigan delivered …

Business 27 Sep 2004, 17:25
L-I-N-D-O-W-S goes up for sale on eBay

Spell the dirtiest word

How much does it cost to spell "Microsoft bites"? Well, for $641 (at the time of writing), you could be the proud owner of a piece of anti-Microsoft history. The seven, large letters that once topped Lindows' San Diego campus are currently up for sale on eBay. The company's campus now, of course, has its Linspire flag flying …

Bootnotes 27 Sep 2004, 19:42
Is SunnComm a sham or the next, big DRM success?

Feature From hell to hell and maybe heaven

You might expect one of the world's leading digital rights management (DRM) technology makers to have a rich history in either the computing or music fields or both. This is not the case for SunnComm International Inc. Instead, the firm's experience revolves around a troubled oil and gas business, an Elvis and Madonna …

Financial News 27 Sep 2004, 20:09
PalmSource reboots Cobalt, but no phones until 2005

Integration delays to blame

Palm kicks off its European developer conference in Munich this week with details of a new release of its Cobalt OS. Cobalt 6.1 will feature new GSM and 802.11 APIs, a revamped browser based on NetFront's core, and a new IDE based on the open source Eclipse Project. Cobalt is the ground-up revision of the Palm OS, the result of …

Mobile 27 Sep 2004, 22:01