31st May 2007 Archive

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'Brown should rethink EU proposal on VAT'

Could be open season for fraudsters

Gordon Brown has been warned that plans to simplify VAT rules will severely impair the European Union's ongoing battle against tax fraud. In a letter to the Prime Minister in-waiting the International VAT Association (IVA) has urged Brown to reconsider the "B2B" (business to business) proposal on Europe's escalating VAT fraud …

IT Channel 31 May 2007, 07:02
CD WOW! vows to take £35m High Court defeat to Europe

'We make tiny margins on our goods and it is the consumer who benefits'

CD WOW!, the British online music retailer, will continue its legal fight against the music industry despite a £35m award against it in the UK courts this week. The firm says that it will take the battle to the European Court of Justice if it can. Trade body the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) took a case against CD WOW! …

IT Channel 31 May 2007, 07:02
Dixons Store Group loses head

Clare to retire in September

Dixons Store Group (DSG) is losing its long-serving chief executive John Clare. Clare will leave the firm after the annual general meeting on 5 September. He is retiring after 22 years with the retailer, which included 13 as its chief executive. When Clare took over as chief exec in 1994 the main brands were PC World and The …

IT Channel 31 May 2007, 10:07
US Stingray style sub motherships test missiles

But SEALs' ritzy mini-sub slated for defects, cost overruns

The US Navy's Stingray-esque SSGN underwater special-forces motherships have seen good news and bad news in recent days. SSGN launching missiles SSGNs* are heavily modified Ohio class ballistic-missile boats, retired from their old duties under the terms of nuclear-weapons limitation treaties. The nuclear-propelled subs …

PC Builder 31 May 2007, 11:14
World fails to implode during Gates-Jobs gagfest

We led as two kings

We were expecting to wake up to technological armageddon this morning, following the endlessly trailed public meeting of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates at the All Things Digital conference (D5) near San Diego last night. No such luck: instead of kicking off the final battle for dominion over the universe, the billionaires traded …

Software & Security 31 May 2007, 11:38
Google Gears up for offline web apps

Steps on Microsoft's toes...again

Google has poked its fingers into the offline web application pie with today's launch of browser add-on Gears. The search engine behemoth marked out clear intentions to enter territory dominated by Microsoft by offering free, open source technology that works without an internet connection. Gears will run online and offline …

Software & Security 31 May 2007, 12:38
Channel carousel sees resellers, execs change places

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Microsoft laid its cards on the table - or its pictures at any rate - with the announcement of its table-top computer technology, dubbed Surface Computing. The top secret technology uses IR cameras to recognise and identify objects when they are placed on the table top which is also a 30-inch back-projected screen for a built- …

Channel Reg Weekly 31 May 2007, 13:29
Spam King arrested in Seattle

Grand jury indictments

A 27-year-old man, dubbed the Spam King by investigators, has been arrested in Seattle where he has been indicted on charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, fraud in connection with electronic mail, and money laundering. Robert Alan Soloway owned Newport Internet Marketing Corporation (NIM) based in Seattle. He will appear before …

Software & Security 31 May 2007, 14:56
Dell's channel shake-up ripples across to Europe

'Not an open system'

Dell is considering an authorised resellers program for Europe, after taking the plunge into the channel in the US. "We haven't made any decisions yet, but Dell in general is entering a more differentiated strategy, in which the company will respond more directly to customer needs," Rainer Von Mielecki, communications …

IT Channel 31 May 2007, 15:30
PC Tools snags behaviour protection tech

You know I'm no good

Anti-spyware firm PC Tools has announced a deal to buy behavioural protection security technology from developer Novatix for an unspecified amount. Novatix’s flagship product, Cyberhawk, along with its development team will join PC Tools. Cyberhawk developers will remain in their Boulder, Colorado facility, which becomes PC …

Software & Security 31 May 2007, 16:19
Fedora 7 suppresses Red Hat separation anxiety

So communal it hurts

Fedora developers have performed a catch and release with their beloved operating system, unleashing today the final cut of Fedora 7. The new OS loses some of its sex appeal in that the Fedora team has focused more on form than function. For example, the "Core" designation (Fedora Core 5, Fedora Core 6) has been dropped from …

Enterprise 31 May 2007, 19:53
Dell cheers Q1 with workforce decimation

2.0 - 8,000 = more money

Dell will decimate its workforce over the next year, eliminating more than 8,000 jobs. The company released word of this restructuring as it dished out first quarter financial results that beat market expectations. Reinstalled CEO Michael Dell vowed to make cuts during a recent interview, saying Dell's headcount has grown by …

PC Builder 31 May 2007, 20:55
MySQL warns Microsoft on open source credibilty

Stick to the knitting

Microsoft must work with, not against, open source otherwise it risks sacrificing developer support and credibility among customers - even Windows loyalists. That's according to the chief executive of a fast growing open source competitor to Microsoft's popular, but closed-source, SQL Server database. Marten Mickos, MySQL …

Software & Security 31 May 2007, 21:01
OpenSolaris fans in a tizzy over 'Project Copy Linux'

Distro dysfunction junction

Sun Microsystems has moved one mailing list posting closer to explaining how it plans to mimic the Linux distribution model with OpenSolaris. Developer Glynn Foster, seen here molesting a beer, has described Sun's so-called "Project Indiana" in mostly coherent detail. Sun plans to back a more elaborate delivery mechanism for …

Enterprise 31 May 2007, 23:14
Brocade barges into HBA market

Flashes Silverback at Emulex and QLogic

Brocade intends to muscle in on more of the networking market by expanding its product catalog to include host bus adapters (HBAs) and intelligent server adapters. The networking equipment maker announced today a low power consumption iSCSI adapter, a line of Fibre Channel adapters and plans for high-performance intelligent …

Enterprise 31 May 2007, 23:16