28th March 2005 Archive

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This phone is stolen

Meet Simwatcher

A Dutch company has introduced a small downloadable program for mobile phones, called SimWatcher, which sends out an SMS message when someone steals a mobile phone and replaces the SIM card. The software reveals the number of the person who stole the phone and will also display a message on the stolen phone, saying tha it …

Mobile 28 Mar 2005, 12:52
Using 3G wireless for domestic broadband

Can Voda, O2 crack the German market?

Vodafone and O2 have now rolled out the 3G-based home broadband service they promised earlier this year: prices look more aggressive than first expected. But can it succeed? Well, maybe, just maybe, in some apartment blocks. The device looks like an ordinary broadband connection, with a box on the wall. One socket is Ethernet …

Mobile 28 Mar 2005, 12:52
Dell gives Xeon servers a 64-bit injection

Opteron? We've heard of it

Dell last week juiced up the high-end of its server line with a pair of new 64-bit systems. To be accurate, Dell has done more announcing than juicing so far. It revealed plans to ship the PowerEdge 6800 and 6850 servers. Both boxes will hold four of Intel's x86-64-bit Xeon processors and sit atop Dell's server line, unless you …

Servers 28 Mar 2005, 16:02
Billionaire backs P2P firm's battle with Hollywood

Mickey Mouse told to suck on a Cuban

Technology entrepreneur, Dallas Mavericks owner, billionaire, blogger and sometime blowhard Mark Cuban has pledged to finance P2P software maker Grokster's legal war with the major record labels and movie studios. The Supreme Court tomorrow will hear arguments surrounding Grokster and StreamCast's dispute with the media …

Music and Media 28 Mar 2005, 17:47
DHS comes clean on CAPPS, lets self off hook

A regrettable mess, but perfectly legal

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has done a bit of institutional soul searching, and concludes that it did nothing wrong in demanding, and later disseminating, passenger data from JetBlue, Delta, and numerous other airlines, or in misleading the public and Congress about the extent of its data-mining …

Music and Media 28 Mar 2005, 19:31
Dial N for Windows 'reduced'

It's the letter of the law

Microsoft will brand the EU-antitrust-complaint version of Windows XP, "Windows XP [Home | Professional] N". Last year's provisional verdict from the Commission's antitrust division requires Microsoft to ship a version without Windows Media Player in the European Community. Agreement comes at the tenth attempt. Microsoft had …

Operating Systems 28 Mar 2005, 20:02
HP eyes 'younger man' for CEO post - report

Mini-stud could arrive tomorrow

After being Fiorinaless for almost two months, HP might introduce a new CEO as early as Tuesday, according to a report. BusinessWeek reckons that HP will dangle a fresh body in front of employees, customers, investors and analysts in the near future - maybe even tomorrow. The new top dog will be a "surprise choice, little-known …

Hardware 28 Mar 2005, 20:19
MIT invents computer that runs away

User friendly

MIT has taken the unfriendly computer interface to its natural conclusion: and created a computer that runs away from you. We've all had experiences with user interface elements that run away from us: toolbars in Windows, or the drive icons on the Mac OS X desktop, for example. But "Clocky" goes all the way - it's an alarm …

Bootnotes 28 Mar 2005, 22:19