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11th August 2006 Archive

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  • Borland defines what apps require

    DefineIT

    DefineIT is the latest tool to come out of Borland's move away from being a developer tools company and into a software services, management and support company. It will come as no shock to any developer or user that perhaps the biggest failure of any software project is the failure to define and understand system …

    Developer 11 Aug 2006, 05:02

  • 10 Ways to make yourself a YouTube Star

    Fight strangers in the street, do weird things with animals...

    Top 10s brought to you by Britain's leading gadgets blog Tech Digest and gadget review blog TechReviews I'll spare you the blurb about YouTube being a revolution in online media, a truly democratised broadcasting platform, and the pinnacle of user-generated content. You know this, and if you didn't, 768 high-brow articles in …

    Entertainment 11 Aug 2006, 06:02

  • Red Hat ramps up JBoss support

    Reality check

    Red Hat is on an engineer recruitment spree to boost the support operation for JBoss and drive measured growth for its open source applications business. The company expects to add at least 100 people per quarter to provide deep support for JBoss along with its Linux distribution. Dion Cornett, Red Hat's vice president for …

    Operating Systems 11 Aug 2006, 08:16

  • Peaceniks take on Rockstar in violent games row

    No Bully beef for Christmas?

    Campaigners against thuggery have revived their campaign for a computer game depicting child-on-child violence to be banned in time for Christmas. Bully, expected to be released in October by the violent game developer Rockstar, uses the setting of a remedial school to play out a subversive plot. Bullyonline, which advises …

    Music and Media 11 Aug 2006, 08:24

  • Orange broadband punters left stranded for weeks

    Surfin' without the board

    It seems Orange, formerly Wanadoo, is still having problems with its local loop unbundling. The Register has learned that a number of Orange's Broadband customers have at best patchy access to their services, with some being cut off for literally weeks at a time. In the most extreme case, one customer who upgraded her system …

    Telecoms 11 Aug 2006, 08:28

  • Apple's MacBook to get an early Merom upgrade?

    Consumer computer joins MacBook Pro for Core 2 Duo

    Apple will not only ship Core 2 Duo-based MacBook Pro notebooks next month, but also versions of its consumer-oriented MacBook fitted with Intel's latest mobile processor - and its first 64-bit laptop chip - Asian reports have claimed. According to a story in the Chinese-language newspaper the Commercial Times, Taiwanese …

    Reg Hardware 11 Aug 2006, 09:07

  • Nvidia probes executive stock option practices

    Admission overshadows record-revenue announcement

    Nvidia announced last night it had received record quarterly revenues during Q2 FY2007, which ended 30 July 2006. However, the statement was overshadowed by the company's revelation that it has begun to investigate stock options it has offered to staff since it went public in 1999. Indeed, the graphics chip maker failed to …

    Financial News 11 Aug 2006, 09:30

  • Breaking phones, banned laptops and scary slang

    Letters The neo-luddite revolution cometh

    There is an obvious place to start this week, and that is with the madness that has overtaken UK airports following claims frm the police, home office et al that a terror plot has been foiled. We say 'claims', because much as we'd love to believe everything the government is telling us (no, really) we can still remember the …

    Letters 11 Aug 2006, 09:31

  • Big Brother investigated for housemate's insertion

    Hold that phone!!

    Forget pop bottles filled with liquid dynamite on aeroplanes, the explosive situation which really has the nation talking has really blown up. ICSTIS has confirmed it will launch a formal investigation into Big Brother's voting operation. The producers' plan to reintroduce a previously evicted housemate has reduced the show's …

    Telecoms 11 Aug 2006, 10:19

  • Vodafone readies 'super 3G' handset

    HTC TyTN turns up in grey and red

    Vodafone is preparing to follow Orange and T-Mobile with an own-brand version of the HTC TyTN keyboard-equipped, HSDPA-enabled, Windows Mobile-based 3G handset. The Vodafone version is dubbed the v1605, according to the carrier's website. Vodafone has yet to announce the device, and it's keeping mum about the specification. …

    Reg Hardware 11 Aug 2006, 10:36

  • US kids subjected to more online porn

    Eeuughhhh, that's soooo gross

    While US children are less likely to encounter sexual predators online than in 2000, they are increasingly being exposed to sexual material while surfing the net According to a survey conducted by University of New Hampshire researchers for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), the number of kids exposed …

    Music and Media 11 Aug 2006, 10:47

  • Florida laptop loss sparks ID theft fears

    Miami vice

    The theft of a laptop containing the unencrypted personal details of 133,000 Florida residents has sparked a major security alert. The PC was stolen from the car of a worker at Florida’s Department of Transportation, making it the latest in a spate of US organisations airing the private credentials of individuals in public. The …

    ID 11 Aug 2006, 11:04

  • Betonsports retreats from US

    All bets are off

    Betonsports Plc has decided to shut down its US operation, which accounts for around three quarters of its business. The London-listed firm has axed 800 workes in Costa Rica and Antigua, where it ran the US service from. The company said after reviewing its options the Caribbean operations were no longer viable. A restraining …

    Financial News 11 Aug 2006, 11:20

  • Apple's other Duo-branded laptop

    Forgotten Tech It's 1992 and the PowerBook Duo has just been announced...

    Even as Apple appears to be preparing to adopt Intel's Core 2 Duo mobile microprocessor, let's not forget the Mac maker's earliest portable computing products with the Duo brand: the PowerBook Duo 210, 230 and 270c. Introduced in October 1992, the Duos were Apple's attempt to attract buyers after a notebook that not only …

    Reg Hardware 11 Aug 2006, 11:27

  • Laptops grounded for good? Let's head to the Anger bar

    To subscribe to The Register's weekly newsletter - seven days of IT in a single hit - click here

    If you thought we were entering the dog days of summer, you were wrong. If you thought you were going to go on your summer holidays, you were also wrong. Even as we write business and leisure travellers into and out of the UK are fighting over the last bottle of Evian in the airport WH Smith. Short-term disruption all round, …

    Business 11 Aug 2006, 11:31

  • Arctic goes cold on Fusion Supporter

    Gadget would have provided 'no end-user benefit', firm admits

    Swiss cooler maker Arctic Cooling this week said it wouldn't offering its Fusion Supporter voltage peak suppressor after all. The product, hyped at CeBIT in March this year and later at Computex Taipei, actually delivers "no value" to end-users, and had "no market potential", the company admitted today. Such an admission is …

    Reg Hardware 11 Aug 2006, 11:59

  • What are zombie behaviours?

    Unleashing internal demons

    Also in this week's column: Is it possible to swallow while standing on your head? Why do women have smaller feet? What is the use of the hymen? What are zombie behaviours? Asked by Arthur Wasnegel of New York City Zombie behaviours? Sounds like the action from B-grade horror movie. Or perhaps what The Stepford Wives get …

    Biology 11 Aug 2006, 11:59

  • Is it possible to swallow while standing on your head?

    Warning: Don't try this at home

    Also in this week's column: What are zombie behaviours? Why do women have smaller feet? What is the use of the hymen? Is it possible to swallow while standing on your head? Asked by Troy Landis, age 12, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin Do not try it! Do not even think about trying it! But it is possible to swallow while standing …

    Biology 11 Aug 2006, 12:00

  • Why do women have smaller feet?

    Don't breasts add extra frontal weight?

    Also in this week's column: What are zombie behaviours? Is it possible to swallow while standing on your head? What is the use of the hymen? Why do women have smaller feet? Asked by Nick Pettefair of Swindon, United Kingdom On average, human females are smaller in stature, have smaller bones, smaller skulls, and have …

    Biology 11 Aug 2006, 12:00

  • What is the use of the hymen?

    And can virginity be restored?

    Also in this week's column: What are zombie behaviours? Is it possible to swallow while standing on your head? Why do women have smaller feet? What is the use of the hymen? Asked by Marc Savage of Northampton, United Kingdom The hymen (or maidenhead) is a ring of tissue around the vaginal orifice. "Hymen" is a Greek word …

    Biology 11 Aug 2006, 12:01

  • Firm offers ExpressCard adaptor add-in for desktops

    If you can find an ExpressCard...

    Japanese desktop PC owners can now try out all the ExpressCard 54 devices still unvailable to many notebook owners, courtesy of local firm Kuroutoshikou. Its Excard-LPCIE is a low-profile PCI Express x1 add-in board with an ExpressCard 54 slot. There's a USB 2.0 port on board for good measure. The PCMCIA organisation …

    Reg Hardware 11 Aug 2006, 12:24

  • IBM PC celebrates silver anniversary

    Nostalgia Misty eyed hack remembers when....beer was 60p a pint

    The IBM compatible PC turns 25 this weekend. Yes, a quarter of a century ago IBM interrupted the start of the grouse shooting season to launch its first green screen little counting machine. The first PC was a mere snip at around $1,500. To put that in perspective a pint of lager back then would have set you back around 60 …

    Music and Media 11 Aug 2006, 13:21

  • Ruby on Rails derailed by URL glitch

    Points failure

    Developers are being urged to update their Ruby on Rails software following the discovery of a potentially serious security vulnerability. Ruby on Rails is a popular open source framework for developing database-backed web applications. Users are urged to update to version 1.1.6 of the software after checking that this upgrade …

    Enterprise Security 11 Aug 2006, 13:24

  • Tiscali eyes Homechoice for IPTV

    Today the world, tomorrow Stevenage

    European ISP Tiscali is in talks to acquire the British IPTV service Homechoice, according to reports. Privately owned by Video Networks, Homechoice already offers triple-play services in the UK, with broadband, phone and TV bundles starting at £14.99 per month. But its appeal has been limited by only being able to offer its …

    Telecoms 11 Aug 2006, 13:37

  • Sun takes Storagetek modular

    Wants to take EMC, Hitachi apart too

    Another day, another SMB storage launch. This time from Sun, which is hawking its new StorageTek modular storage family and its first two representatives, the 6140 and 6540 arrays. Modularity is the buzzword du jour here, meant to net customers with at least half an eye on expanding their needs in the relatively near future. …

    Storage 11 Aug 2006, 14:04

  • V21 takes the Biscit

    Ambitions converge

    ISP V21 and Biscit are to merge in a plan to take on the big boys for a slice of the converged broadband and VoIP market. The deal should go through in 60 days. Biscit hopes to flog its FreeMax combined voice call and broadband internet package to V21's 43,000 punters. Biscit, a BT ADSL reseller, has 6,000 customers. The …

    Telecoms 11 Aug 2006, 14:31

  • Abit on the side for Target

    Mobo signing

    Target Components has won UK wholesaling rights for Abit, the upmarket mobo maker. That's about it really, unless you want a canned quote or two. Here's one, from Target product manager Paul Waite. We are delighted to be able to add Abit motherboards to our product range. Abit have demonstrated a major ongoing commitment to …

    Channel Register 11 Aug 2006, 14:50

  • Samsung shows off model mobiles, mobile models

    Ultra edition

    Samsung today showed off its latest slimline mobile models. They were presented in a range of alluring designs tailored, the company indicated, to appeal not only to Asian but also to European and American consumers. Oh, some phones were demo'd too, apparently... ®

    Reg Hardware 11 Aug 2006, 14:53

  • Imagine Italy winning

    First the World Cup, now the Imagine Cup

    Well, the judges have spoken and the results are in, and the winners of this year’s Imagine Cup are….Italy. To be precise, the winners of the Software Design section of the event, in which the UK’s Team Three Pair were a contender, are the Italian students, Team Even .ctor, made up of Giorgio Sardo, Massimo Paternoster, …

    Developer 11 Aug 2006, 15:28

  • Apple to delay quarterly results filing

    Thanks to its stock options probe

    Apple has told the US Securities and Exchange Commission it will miss the deadline for filing its most recent set of quarterly financial figures. The admission follows last week's revelation that the company will "likely" restate its numbers for the past 15 quarters. Today, the Mac maker said it expects "significant changes …

    Financial News 11 Aug 2006, 15:40

  • BBC journo 'reveals' BBC DAB-on-iPod plan

    And doesn't claim an exclusive...

    Someone at the BBC has told someone else at the same organisation that the company is considering offering an add-on digital radio for iPods. Or maybe cars. Or maybe other devices. Staffer A could not tell staffer B when the gizmo will ship, how much it might cost, or whether it will be offered in black, white or both. One of …

    Reg Hardware 11 Aug 2006, 15:52

  • Industry group defends e-passports

    Counter-attack follows cloning demo

    A demonstration that the chips on upcoming electronic passports can be cloned does not add up to a threat to either border security or citizen privacy, according to an industry group backing the development of the technology. The Smart Card Alliance argues that e-passports planned for the US rely on multiple layers of security …

    ID 11 Aug 2006, 16:24

  • Aigo ships conical omnisphere MP3 player

    Tales from a topological ocean?

    Korean MP3 player maker Aigo has begun offering the Omnisphere F529, a conical digital music player with built in amplification and multi-directional sound. Joining it in the bizarre design department is Naf Naf's almost spherical CD player, the Hyp. Whether that's Hyp as is in 'hip' or 'hype' isn't clear. The 26cm diameter …

    Reg Hardware 11 Aug 2006, 16:40

  • Cisco's mushy 'spin-in' deals undermine acquisition heroics

    Analysis Lucrative friends and family program

    Forget trying to win the lotto. What you really want to do is sign up for Cisco CEO John Chambers' long-term "spin-in" plan. It's not clear if Cisco invented the "spin-in" term, but it has popularized it. Over the past decade, Cisco has fired up a few spin-ins where employees break off from the company for about two years to …

    Data Networking 11 Aug 2006, 18:24