9th January 2007 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site. Or try the full archive of all our sister sites.

Fujitsu UK workers prepare strike banners

Company accused of bullying union rep

IT union Amicus expects up to 300 members working for Fujitsu in Central Park, Manchester to strike on Thursday and Friday this week, following a protracted dispute over pay and conditions. Fujitsu is also embroiled in a row with Amicus members over its decision to invoke disciplinary procedures against a union rep at the …

IT Channel 9 Jan 2007, 07:02
Brocade captures Silverback

Fibre channel switch gorilla buys into iSCSI

Storage switch vendor Brocade has bought privately-held network accelerator chip start-up Silverback Systems for an undisclosed sum. Silverback's gear is aimed at speeding up iSCSI storage area networks. The Massachusetts-based firm was founded in 1999 with venture capital and has offices in the UK and Netherlands. …

Enterprise 9 Jan 2007, 10:24
Record sentence for VAT fraudster

15 years

The man behind a £54m VAT fraud gang has been sentenced to 15 years in prison - the longest ever UK sentence for such a crime. Emmanuel Hening, who has dual French and Belgian nationality, was found guilty on three counts of missing trader fraud at Worcester Crown Court. He was extradited from France in December 2005. The …

IT Channel 9 Jan 2007, 10:34
Systems Solutions acquires Medicom

Merger 'will help drive development'

Systems Solutions and Medicom are set to merge and form Ireland's largest indigenous provider of IT services to the healthcare industry. The companies announced on Monday that Systems Solutions will acquire a majority stake in Medicom. Together, the companies employ over 100 people and generate annual revenues of €10m. …

IT Channel 9 Jan 2007, 10:43
Security vendors talk up VoIP threats

Phantom menace?

Security vendors are talking up the potential for attacks on IP telephony systems, reckoned to be the next major market for security defences. The number of business IP phones sold will grow from 9.9 million in 2006 to 45.8 million in 2010, according to market watchers InStat. Although VoIP systems are becoming increasingly …

Software & Security 9 Jan 2007, 11:43
Second Life dips a toe in open source

And opens a can of flying penises?

Linden Lab is to make some of the code which powers its online game Second Life available under the GPL. Linden Lab CTO Cory Ondrejka said: "Open sourcing is the most important decision we’ve made in seven years of Second Life development. While it is clearly a bold step for us to proactively decide to open source our code, …

Software & Security 9 Jan 2007, 13:28
Mysterious drop in fraud and spam

Botnot?

Spam levels suddenly dropped 30 per cent last week, according to managed security firm SoftScan, which attributes the let-up to a "broken" botnet. SoftScan is still investigating the possible cause of the significant drop in junk mail volumes it's recording but reckons the most likely explanation is that hackers have …

Software & Security 9 Jan 2007, 13:35
Dell's secret Linux fling

A Chinese affair

Dell's love affair with Linux is a clandestine affair these days, conducted in secret, away from disapproving eyes. But now the pair have been spotted in China. When Michael Dell first saw the web-footed beauty, he fell head over heels. Six years ago Dell pledged a series of strategic investments in Linux companies, including …

Enterprise 9 Jan 2007, 13:54
MS and Ford team on in-car software

Will it be crash-proof?

Microsoft is to work with Ford to supply voice-activated software that will allow drivers to make mobile calls or play songs stored on digital music players without taking their hands off the wheel. The system, dubbed Sync, will be included in around a dozen 2008 models of Ford cars, including the Focus and Explorer, with …

Software & Security 9 Jan 2007, 16:14
Microsoft and AMD club together for space-flight ticket

Vista hype already reaching for orbit

Microsoft really wants to put a rocket up its users. The software giant, together with AMD, has launched a competition to promote Windows Vista, with the tag line “Most of you won’t figure this out” and the opportunity to win a sub-orbital flight with Spaceplane Limited. The details of the competition have been slipping …

Software & Security 9 Jan 2007, 17:14
AMD launches PC sticker programme

Better by (graphical) design

CES 2007 AMD today launched its latest promotional programme, Better by Design, which, it said, will highlight "outstanding performance and superior technologies in desktop and notebook PCs designed by leading global OEMs". No explicit connection there to AMD products, you'll note, but we'll give the company the benefit of the …

PC Builder 9 Jan 2007, 18:20
Jobs unveils iPhone to 4,000 drooling fans

Macworld Apple rings the changes

Ending months of rampant speculation and anticipation, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled plans for the iPhone, a svelte and sexy device that melds the features of an iPod, a smart phone and an internet communicator. Tuesday's announcement at the annual Macworld conference in San Francisco ends months of rumors and prognostication …

Reg Hardware 9 Jan 2007, 21:18
NSA field-tests Windows Vista for security

War on Trojans

National Security Agency (NSA) spooks have taken time out from eavesdropping on US citizens to field-test Microsoft's latest operating system. The intelligence unit, granted authority in the "War on Terror" to listen to the phone calls of American citizens, was brought in to keep hackers out of Windows Vista. According to …

Software & Security 9 Jan 2007, 22:45