25th October 2006 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

SaaS goes customisable

Get it the way you want it

The (generally speaking uncustomisable) user interface of online business services is the last significant stumbling block they have had to face. This has meant that users of services such as those from Software as a Service (SaaS) vendor NetSuite have had to use the UI that comes with the service, even if it didn't really fit …

Services 25 Oct 2006, 00:02
Seagate slams profit-ignorant rivals

Knocks out 39m hard drives in Q1

Seagate gave itself a pat on the back today in its September quarter report for holding the revenue line against hard drive competitors "who seem intent on trying to capture market share without regard to profitability". Fighting fire with fire , Seagate is determined to retain market share, and that will mean more price cuts …

Channel Register 25 Oct 2006, 00:36
AMD and ATI fuse

Acquisition complete, CPUs to become integrated chipsets

AMD has completed its purchase of ATI. It spent $4.3bn in cash and 58m AMD shares on the graphics chip company, taking on $2.5bn in debt to help pay for it all. Farewell, the ATI, retained only as a product brand. And with acquisition comes integration. AMD said it plans to announce a number of platforms next year that will …

Reg Hardware 25 Oct 2006, 08:26
Pointing fingers at corporate security

Authenticate this

Fingerprinting firm DigitalPersona has launched a new version of its fingerprint authentication system, Digitalpersona Pro 4.0, which it says is faster and more reliable than its predecessor. Designed for use in a corporate environment, version 4.0 is more accurate, the company says, supports individual sign-on, is highly …

ID 25 Oct 2006, 09:18
3G routers the ticket to the mobile office

Quocirca's changing channels Get on board

Despite all the fuss a few years ago when 3G networks first became available, the take up of 3G services across Europe has been slow, the UK and Italy being the most advanced. Two of the main reasons for this were a lack of coverage (in the early days) and lack of need. The extra bandwidth and speed offered by 3G networks was …

Hardware 25 Oct 2006, 09:22
Amazon profits dip

Margin pressure

Bookseller Amazon.com saw profits fall in the third quarter despite increasing sales. The company made sales of $2.31bn in the third quarter ended 30 September 2006 - up 24 per cent on the same period last year. But net income was down to $19m compared with $30m in the third quarter of 2005. US sales were up 21 per cent to $1. …

Financial News 25 Oct 2006, 09:24
Financial regulators draft proposals on outsourcing

Operational risk

There is growing concern among some commentators at the impending growth of regulatory scrutiny of outsourcing in the securities industry in the USA and Europe through introduction of additional regulation governing outsourcing. It is important to put these impending regulatory changes in context. MiFID requires investment …

Business 25 Oct 2006, 09:37
QinetiQ pulls in ex-CIA boss

Another CIA coup?

QinetiQ has burnished its intelligence credentials, boosting its board with the man who told Bush “yes, there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq”. The one time MoD research arm, which controversially floated earlier this year, has recruited former CIA director George Tenet as a non-executive director. QinetiQ’s chairman …

Financial News 25 Oct 2006, 10:25
iSoft hit with another investigation

Auditors probed with pointy stick

iSoft's ex-auditor RSM Robson Rhodes is facing a probe from the Accountancy Investigation and Discipline Board (AIDB). iSoft is already being investigated by the Financial Services Authority. iSoft is supposed to be playing a central role in the world's largest public sector IT project - Blair's National Programme for IT ( …

Channel Register 25 Oct 2006, 10:44
Mac OS X 10.4.8 runs on any PC...

...well, all but the GUI

Mac OS X 10.4.8 will now run on any generic x86-based PC. Well, almost. Kernel coder Semthex has posted what he claims is an entirely legal release of the Mac operating system's foundation layer. The only snag: you can't boot into the familiar GUI. To date, the version of Mac OS X for x86 processors has relied on kernel add- …

Reg Hardware 25 Oct 2006, 11:04
SEC, Nasdaq gently coshing NEC

Dance of the acronyms

The SEC has moved up the pressure on NEC a notch, sending the Japanese firm an "informal inquiry letter". The letter asks NEC to disclose certain documents to the US markets regulator, the firm said yesterday, adding it would cooperate fully with the SEC inquiry. NEC has had a tricky few weeks in the US. Last month it received …

Financial News 25 Oct 2006, 11:18
Vista vouchers for Christmas PC buyers

All I want for Christmas is a low-cost Vista upgrade voucher...

Microsoft today announced the voucher scheme which will let punters upgrade some computers bought this Christmas when Vista and Office 2007 are released early next year. Express Vista Upgrade will offer vouchers for free or discounted copies of the Vista operating system and Office 2007 - the bundle of applications. Sales to …

Operating Systems 25 Oct 2006, 11:23
Los Alamos docs turn up in meth lab bust

Another security debacle for nuke researchers

A search of a suspected meth lab turned up classified documents from Los Alamos National Laboratory, where, among other things, nuclear weapons research is conducted. According to the Associated Press, a researcher at the lab was under investigation for methamphetamine related offences, and the documents were discovered when …

Music and Media 25 Oct 2006, 11:34
BT buys Counterpane to bolster security services

Anti-hacking market attack

BT is to acquire managed security services firm Counterpane Internet Security for an undisclosed sum as part of plans to beef up the security expertise of its global professional services capabilities. Post-acquisition, company founder and well-known security guru Bruce Schneier will continue in his role as CTO, while Paul …

Financial News 25 Oct 2006, 11:36
AMD: we will not kill ATI brand

To be kept for chipsets, discrete graphics products

So is ATI gone forever, as a brandname at least? Apparently not, AMD Chief Technology Officer Phil Hester revealed today. He also indicated the two companies' fusion may not necessarily mean it's curtains for ATI's Intel-oriented chipsets. Speaking in London today, Hester told Reg Hardware the ATI name will continue to be …

Reg Hardware 25 Oct 2006, 11:51
Verisign backs Vista security green streak

Firefox's turn to play catch-up on security?

The Mozilla Foundation risks losing the browser battle if it fails to keep up with Microsoft by incorporating new security technology into Firefox, a Verisign exec has claimed. According to Verisign product marketing director Tim Callan, the "loose collection of technoanarchists" which make up the open source development …

Operating Systems 25 Oct 2006, 12:04
Hitachi rolls out 3.5in HDDs

Deskstar, CinemaStar

Hitachi's Global Storage Technologies division has finally begun shipping its latest 3.5in hard drives, some six months after the Deskstar and CinemaStar models were originally anounced. The Deskstar T7K500 is available in capacities from 250GB to 500GB. The drives are available with either an ATA-133 or a 3Gbps Serial ATA …

Reg Hardware 25 Oct 2006, 12:16
Sony slams Lik-Sang 'sour grapes'

Admits execs bought PSPs from grey importer

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has failed to deny claims that senior employees used Hong Kong-based online games hardware retailer Lik-Sang.com to buy PSPs more than nine months before the device finally shipped over here. In a statement, the consumer electronics giant said "the purchasing of PSP consoles by SCE employees …

Reg Hardware 25 Oct 2006, 12:34
SavaJe falls quiet

Still waiting on Jasper

SavaJe, pioneer of the concept of a Java-based mobile phone, appears to have gone into hibernation, leaving a few million lines of code and a bunch of arguing venture capitalists. UK staff have been sent home and told to keep their laptops in lieu of pay owed, at least until the dust settles, sources say. The SavaJe concept …

Mobile 25 Oct 2006, 12:46
Nokia N73 3G smart phone

Review Does it have the X-Factor?

Nokia is sponsoring X-Factor TV talent show this year, to promote its N series phones in general and the N73 in particular. Nokia's would-be star certainly has the looks to get it in the studio, but can it take it on the chin from the judges or will it be let down by a fickle public who got bored of waiting for it to respond to …

Reg Hardware 25 Oct 2006, 13:05
Belkin gears up to ship Wi-Fi Skype phone in UK

Only a hundred quid

Belkin will ship its Skype-friendly Wi-Fi VoIP phone this coming Monday, the accessory specialist's UK operation said today. The 802.11b/g device also supports Wi-Fi's various security schemes for secure calling, while its Skype support extends to the full range of telephony services offered by the VoIP company. The handset …

Reg Hardware 25 Oct 2006, 13:27
US, EU sketch plans for global immigration database

Exclusive If your print ain't down, you ain't coming in

The US is to corral "like-minded" nations behind a global immigration database after proving with a trial link to British computers that such an ambitious, global plan is technically feasible. Allies of the US have joined it in talks to formulate an international policy framework that would allow the sharing of immigration …

Public Sector 25 Oct 2006, 13:48
PowerColor brings ATI X1950 Pro to AGP users

Older mobos not ignored

Tul's PowerColor operation has launched a version if its Radeon X1950 Pro graphics card for punters who've resisted the urge to go with PCI Express and are sticking to AGP 8x. The GPU has 36 pixel shaders on board fed by eight vertex shaders. The chip connects to the board's 256MB of GDDR 3 video memory across a 256-bit bus …

Reg Hardware 25 Oct 2006, 13:54
ID theft scam hunt goes global

Follow the money

UK police are working with Interpol in a bid to track down the perpetrators of a malware-powered ID theft scam that has claimed thousands of victims worldwide. As previously reported, a computer seized in the US contained personal data - including names, addresses, credit card information, and transaction records - from around …

ID 25 Oct 2006, 14:03
3 gobbles over 90 shops from O2 via The Link

When the music stops, we all move round

Since O2 bought The Link in June this year, there have been some places in the UK where an O2 shop and a branch of The Link were uncomfortably close. But this has now been resolved with 73 The Link branches and 22 O2 stores being transferred to network operator 3 for conversion into 3 stores. The financial details of the …

Mobile 25 Oct 2006, 14:19
Korean sought mammoth meat from Russian mafia

Cloning extinct species no easy tusk

Disgraced South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-Suk told a court in Seoul that his attempt to clone extinct mammoths was based on material he bought from the Russian Mafia. Woo-Suk is on trial for allegedly faking results of his stem cell research and related misappropriation of public funds and private donations. He admitted …

Biology 25 Oct 2006, 14:26
Hot tip: ARSS up due to drilling program

Pump and, ahem, dump

Those readers who missed the chance to get their hands on some ARSS before it exploded have been given a second chance to buy at rock-bottom prices. And make no mistake, ARSS is definitely on the up-and-up. The reason? Well... Yup, a hot tip, and no messing. Thanks to Rosabel Walden for keeping an eye on ARSS. ®

Music and Media 25 Oct 2006, 14:41
Passport police wipe smiles off applicants' faces

Little girl and public enemy #1 both snubbed

A nine-year-old girl had her half term holiday cancelled because her teeth were showing in her passport photograph, reported The Sun newspaper. Alys Edwards paid a last minute visit to the passport office to renew her passport with her parents in Peterborough, but was told that a photograph with teeth would overload the machine …

Music and Media 25 Oct 2006, 15:44
People - not products - are most important to security

As Brit sec-pros get paid twice as much as the French

People and processes are more important than security products in securing enterprise systems, according to a global survey of IT security pros published on Wednesday. The third annual Global Information Security Workforce Study, sponsored by security certification organisation (ISC)2 and carried out by IDC, saw punters listing …

Hardware 25 Oct 2006, 15:47
Fedora stops the download madness

Red Hat's low availability Linux

You want to play with Fedora Core 6, Red Hat's newest distro for enthusiasts? Unless you were an early, early bird, who downloaded the software in the first hours of its release yesterday, it looks like you will have to wait a little longer. For the Fedora site has taken an entirely predictable pounding - according to CNET …

Servers 25 Oct 2006, 17:38
Six months in, Sun's CEO faces Wall Street's yo-yo test

Can he do the improbable?

Sun Microsystems could do something tomorrow that it hasn't done in years and years: please investors. Those watching the deflated Sun know the earnings drill. Sun's shares start their march from around $4 a share to just over $5 a share as the company approaches its quarterly earnings announcements. Time and again, gullible …

Servers 25 Oct 2006, 19:29
Canada's privacy chief hails Microsoft's Seven Laws of Identity

On surviving the identity Big Bang

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario has published a plan for automated internet privacy that is backed by Microsoft. Dr Ann Cavoukian has called for programmers to embed privacy capabilities in software. A Microsoft-led project to create an "identity layer" for the internet created Seven Laws of Identity, which …

ID 25 Oct 2006, 20:29
Ellison muscles in on Red Hat support biz

OpenWorld This time it's personal

Memo to Red Hat: never buy something Larry Ellison covets 'cos you'll regret it. Five months after Red Hat snatched JBoss from under the Oracle's nose, his company has struck back with a service and support package designed to gut Red Hat like a fish. Dressed in the guise of promoting adoption of Linux in mission-critical …

Operating Systems 25 Oct 2006, 21:51
Dell steals HP's blade boy Becker

Exclusive Help us sell!

Dell has poached one of HP's top blade boys in the form of Rick Becker, The Register can confirm. Becker, the VP and GM of blade systems in HP's software group, has gone West, leaving the old Compaq digs in Houston for Dell's Round Rock headquarters. In addition to his role as blade chief, Becker served as HP's CTO of x86 …

Servers 25 Oct 2006, 23:03