AMD swings jobs axe

Cost cutting measures have lead struggling AMD to shed approximately 2,000 jobs worldwide. This represents 15 per cent of its workforce. AMD is hoping the move will save $350m and help it move towards profitability again in 2003. ...more

High-tech layoffs boost hacker ranks

Disgruntled employees pose risk to UK business As more high-tech companies are forced to make staff redundant, many are failing to protect themselves against that most insidious of hacker – the angry ex-worker. According to security consultants @stake businesses are forgetting that yesterday's system administrator could still have remote access to critical systems. This might mean sensitive data leaking out to the Internet, media reports of hacking and the theft of company strategies and other potentially valuable data. ...more

The gates open to the wireless village

Let's chat. Version 1.0 specifications for the Wireless Village - a mobile instant messaging and presence (IMPS) initiative - have been announced today, along with a successful demonstration using Ericsson's IMPS server and handsets from SonyEricsson, Motorola and Nokia. ...more

UPDATED: Microsoft to allow Windows XP SP2 to run on pirated copies

Microsoft is determined that the forthcoming Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) will make the operating system more secure - even if it costs the company money. Therefore Microsoft has decided that SP2 will run on pirated copies of Windows XP. The earlier SP1 didn't work with bootleg copies of the operating system. ...more

AMD and IBM claim 24 per cent chip speed breakthrough

A new faster version 'strained silicon' has been developed by IBM and AMD. The companies are claiming that the resulting transistors are up to 24 per cent faster than existing processes. The companies say that the new strained silicon process, named `Dual Stress Liner,` improves the performance of both n-channel and p-channel types of transistors by stretching the silicon atoms in one transistor and compressing them in the other. ...more