Nokia hails winning Java applications

The winners of the first Nokia Mobile Challenge contest (using the Java Micro Edition) are... ...more

AltaVista: the fall-out

AltaVista's announcement that it is canning its unmetered Internet access service has prompted a flurry of activity. Early this week Andy Mitchell, MD of AltaVista UK, blamed the demise of his company's service on BT's failure to provide flat-rate circuits to Internet Service Providers (ISPs), a claim dismissed by BT as "ridiculous". Oftel, the telecommunications regulator, has now entered the fray in support of BT, insisting that its current offer of a wholesale flat-rate product "provides a sound basis to promote competition in unmetered Internet access. ...more

Vista DRM cracked

A security researcher has found a way of bypassing the means Windows Vista uses to verify that video and audio content is properly protected by digital rights management (DRM). Writing in a blog post, Alex Ionescu said that he had written code that meant that users of the new operating systems could play back HD-DVDs on 'uncertified' computers. The code was meant to be a workaround for the 64-bit Driver Signing/PatchGuard part of the new OS. ...more

Spammers marshal zombies to hijack ISP email servers

In a new twist to the spam arms race, spammers have discovered a new way of getting their message across. By using zombie networks to send spam via ISP's servers, they can bypass one of the major tools used by spam filters. Until now, the spammers have simply used a zombie machine to send emails directly. ...more

BT plugs SDSL into 150 exchanges

BT has announced that following successful trials SDSL broadband services will be available at 150 exchanges in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffiled, York, Birmingham and 'key locations' throughout Scotland. SDSL provide equal bandwidth both up- and downstream and is aimed squarely at business customers, as the prices reflect: ?170 per month for 512Kbit/sec, ?230 for 1Mbps and ?345 for 2Mbps. The connection charge is ?595, not including a router. ...more