Technology News

By Dave Wilby and Sean McManus

Dell starts selling AMD chips

Despite its reputation as a long-time supporter of Intel, Dell has mysteriously begun selling processors made by rival chip-manufacturer AMD on its US website. Although it isn’t possible to configure or buy systems featuring AMD chipsets from Dell at this stage, the PC vendor is offering six Athlon 64 chips packaged individually for retail sale. The CPUs available range from the 2.2GHz Athlon 64 3500+ up to the 2.8GHz Athlon 64 FX-57, but do not include any Opteron server processors, or Turion laptop chips.

Dell had been the only major PC manufacturer in North America offering pure Intel product lines, but now claims customer demand sealed a change of heart. Any further moves toward selling fully-equipped AMD desktop systems would represent a sizeable shift in Dell policy (founder Michael Dell has famously ranted about AMD’s unproven track record), and would certainly cause a stir in the global PC market. But industry observers feel that in an increasingly tight industry, Dell simply can’t afford to exclude any potentially new customers any longer. One reason why Dell hasn’t come straight out with a ‘Dimension FX-57’ style desktop, could be the logistics involved in bringing in new motherboards to accommodate the different CPUs. This stop-gap will at least enable Dell’s core market of home entertainment and gaming enthusiasts to upgrade existing AMD-based rigs.

File sharing under attack

A man in Hong Kong has been sent to prison for three months after reportedly being the first person to be prosecuted for sharing films using BitTorrent. Chan Nai-ming was found guilty of uploading Daredevil, Red Planet and Miss Congeniality. BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing system that enables people to share large files by breaking them into chunks hosted on different machines. It’s a relatively quick and efficient way to distribute large files, such as films. BitTorrent has been hounded by the Motion Picture Association of America which claims its members are losing US$900m (£515m) a year in piracy in Asia alone.

Another file sharing service, Grokster, has thrown in the towel: it’s agreed to stop distributing its software to settle a lawsuit brought against it by representatives of the entertainment industry. It will also pay US$50m (£29m) in damages. Grokster is hoping to reinvent itself, as Napster did, as a legal service working with copyright owners to distribute their content.

Firefox browser celebrates birthday

The brilliant Mozilla Firefox open source browser was launched just a year ago this week. The next version, Firefox 1.5, is now due and should hit a desk near you by the end of the year, according to Tristan Nitot, president of Mozilla Europe. Firefox is already estimated to account for around 10 per cent of the overall browser market, with one analyst firm, OneStat.com claiming a global market share for Firefox of 11.5 per cent. It’ll be interesting to see just how high Mozilla Firefox can push this percentage prior to the launch of Microsoft Windows Vista, and the arrival of tabbed browsing in Internet Explorer 7.

Internet gods are awarded Presidential Medals of Freedom

TCP/IP inventors Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn are each being awarded America's highest civilian honour this week, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The two men were jointly responsible for creating the basic TCP/IP networking protocols, the building blocks that hold the Internet together to this day. The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP) ensure that packets of data reach the appropriate net address and check that no information is lost during transmission. The medals are generally given to people who have made an exceptional impact on the cultural life of the US through their efforts. The citation for the medals reads: "Dr Cerf and Dr Kahn have been at the forefront of a digital revolution that has transformed global commerce, communication, and entertainment." Other recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom this year include three-time heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, soul diva Aretha Franklin, and record-breaking golfer Jack Nicklaus.

Microsoft could still buy AOL stake, but deal remains shaky

After months of rumour, Microsoft has once again emerged as the front-runner in talks over the possible sale of a stake in Time Warner’s Web business AOL. Microsoft approached AOL several months ago to discuss joint ventures, but any agreement is still likely to be weeks away, with the New York press in particular remaining sceptical that Time Warner would even enter into discussions unless it was absolutely sure the deal would finalise. The NY Times reported that Time Warner's chairman and chief exec Richard Parsons had acknowledged the talks, but said discussions were 'very fluid', and that they 'don't know whether a deal would be reached'.

Palm will not abandon Palm OS

Handheld computer specialist Palm has felt the need to reassure its customer base over future plans, after throwing them into turmoil with the forthcoming launch of the Windows Mobile-based Treo smart phone. Palm president and CEO Ed Colligan is so keen to appease Palm OS fans worried about the discontinuation of the core operating system, that he has even written a letter to the company’s developer community in which he personally promises to continue releasing Palm OS products. The letter commits Palm to developing Palm OS-based PDAs and smart phones after the launch of the Windows Treo early next year. As the PDA market continues to plummet, vendors like Palm are ploughing time and money into smart phones such as the Treo. Business IT managers often prefer to purchase Microsoft-based devices that readily integrate with other MS products already in use, such as the popular MS Exchange email server.

UK residential broadband speeds shift up to 22Mbps

Sky-owned service provider UK Online will be the first UK ISP to offer residential ADSL2+ broadband access nationally, delivering speeds of up to 22Mbps. The service tariff will be priced at £29.99 per month in most urban areas, although an ADSL2+ compatible modem will cost an additional £79.99, and a one-off connection charge will set customers back a further £75. Sky bought UK Online's parent company Easynet back in October of this year. UK Online's news follows recent announcements of high bandwidth broadband services from a number of UK ISPs including Bulldog Communications, Zen Internet and Wanadoo, all opting for local loop unbundling to deliver speeds of up
to 8Mbps.

Microsoft rebrands and broadens anti-spyware tool

Microsoft is renaming and revamping its Windows AntiSpyware software, relaunching it as ‘Windows Defender’. The new-look application will now detect rootkits, keystroke loggers and other threats as well as match spyware and adware profiles. Windows Defender will ship as part of the forthcoming Windows Vista operating system, expected to launch commercially sometime before the end of 2006.Microsoft will also release Windows Defender for XP users as an update to the current edition of Windows AntiSpyware. Interestingly, Microsoft has also changed how it delivers signature updates for the anti-spyware application. These are now distributed through Windows Update, instead of through a separate tool unique to the software.

Xbox 360 demand outstrips production

Microsoft claims demand for its long-anticipated Xbox 360 consoles will far outstrip supply, certainly in the run-up to Christmas. Of course this ‘warning’ also happily doubles up as another stage in the build-up towards Xbox 360 hysteria, culminating in the expected Cabbage Patch Kid-style mayhem on shop floors in late December. But maybe there’s some truth in the prediction. Let’s look at the facts. Microsoft elves are reportedly knocking 360s together as quickly as their little hands will let them. Amazon has already announced that any orders placed after 2nd November will not arrive until next year, and even boxes pre-ordered months ago cannot be guaranteed delivery in time for Christmas. And consoles are already exchanging hands on eBay for over $1000 (£570) for fans who want them posted on the release date (22^nd November in the US or 2^nd December in the UK) from punters who have definitely secured sales. So, marketing bluff, or a genuine shortfall in production? Well, Microsoft’s chief financial officer Bryan Lee says up to three million Xbox 360s will be sold in the console’s first three months on the market, and up to five million by June 2006: "We are building thousands and thousands and thousands of 360s every day. They are on boats. They are on planes. They are in distribution centres. They are hitting retail," he gushed. So why bluff? Demand is certainly hysterically high, and even in Japan Microsoft is hoping for a bigger splash for the Xbox 360 than its rival Sony PlayStation 3, which crucially has a later
release date. Watch this space...

Media Update

By Annie Kasmai

Nintendo will offer free Wi-Fi gaming for users of its handheld DS console at hotspots around the country thanks to a deal struck between the games company, BT Openzone and The Cloud. The Nintendo Wi-Fi connection will launch on 25th November, with Wi-Fi gaming available at 7,500 hotspots throughout the country in locations such as train stations, airports, branches of McDonald’s and Coffee Republic cafés. The Nintendo DS is Nintendo’s first Wi-Fi enabled console, with the much anticipated Nintendo Revolution due sometime next year.

The Observer is currently busy launching a monthly fashion magazine, to complement its existing monthly supplements for Sport, Music and Food. It will face stiff competition from the Sunday Telegraph’s new weekly fashion title Stella, which launched last weekend. The Observer fashion supplement could appear as early as January and would be published on the remaining spare Sunday between publication dates for the Sport, Food and
Music showcases.

Head of BBC television news Peter Horrocks this week announced some radical changes to the corporation’s news broadcasting. The changes announced so far include putting a greater effort into breaking news stories on News 24, pooling journalists to work across the one o’clock, six o’clock and ten o’clock news, and appointing a new daytime editor to replace the current editors of the one o’clock and six o’clock news.

The changes apparently come as a result of numerous conversations that Horrocks has had with BBC staff since taking over as head of television news in September.

The Wall Street Journal Online has suspended its paid for service for one week only in a ploy to try and increase users and boost subscriber levels to its exclusive business content pages. The scheme gives users access to breaking news stories, analysis and feature articles, polls, columns, personal finance tools and a 90-day archive of the print and online edition. The suspended free service runs until
the 12th November.

Computeractive has appointed a new features editor. Ben Tudor previously worked as features editor for CRN. His new role involves looking after the features and letters sections on the fortnightly VNU title aimed at computer novices.

Prompt Guide to Corporate Doublespeak

With Lance Concannon

Organic Growth

The phrase 'organic growth' sounds nice and wholesome, conjuring up images of sustainability, harmony with the environment and so forth.

When applied to business, however, it means something else entirely. If your boss says: "We plan to grow the business organically", it’s time to start looking for a new job, because what he actually means is: "I have no idea how we’re going to get any new customers, so I’m kind of hoping that the business might just sort of grow by itself."

It's also worth remembering that unlike organic tomato plants, it takes more than a shovel full of BS to make a business grow.

Nanotech Corner

By Max McConnell

Nanometallic batteries pack more power at lower costs

The first patent from QuantumSphere should enable battery and fuel cell manufacturers to use new methods of producing uniform air cathodes. Unique features in nanopowder handling allow air cathodes to be produced in small test sample sizes up to continuous production capability using the same apparatus. This means battery manufacturers can carry out complex experimental designs using an innovative scalable method, which is
very economical.

The second patent improves gas diffusion electrodes for the fuel cell and metal air battery industry, using nano-sized transition metal catalysts and alloys. These nanometal-containing cathodes can be used in conjunction with a variety of types of battery and fuel cells. Also, because they are flexible, R&D teams gain more freedom in cell design to power a wider variety of devices
and gadgets.

These are both genuine inventions, each of which will inevitably lead to more efficient and more powerful fuel cells and metal air batteries.