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15th August 2006 Archive

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  • Why Google is right to rebuke brand abuse

    Opinion Fighting against genericide

    Google has been accused of lacking a sense of humour after setting its brand police on publishers who used its name as a verb. But the company has to protect its name. When the Washington Post reported that "Google" had entered the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, it observed that the word has become a descriptor for its …

    Music and Media 15 Aug 2006, 00:02

  • Ofcom finds the generation gap

    Noticed your bills going down? Thought so...

    Ofcom research has found that spending on communications equipment is falling - for the first time in five years. In 2004, 4.63 per cent of total household expenditure was on communications, but this fell slightly in 2005 to 4.60 per cent. The Ofcom report, entitled "The Communications Market 2006" said this decrease was …

    Mobile 15 Aug 2006, 05:02

  • BT email demands accelerated convergence

    'Role modelling the very best of customer-focused behaviours'

    Here's a real beauty for those of you who like your management lingo straight out of the Strategy Boutique Newspeak dictionary: a slighty over-excited email demanding an immediate acceleration of convergence within the telco's Business Sales tentacle. Read on in wonder: Dear (name withheld to protect the innocent victim) …

    Telecoms 15 Aug 2006, 06:02

  • Team Three Pair - Fin

    Imagine Cup The final blog entry of Team Three Pair

    We've been in India for the past week taking part in the Imagine Cup 2006 finals. Unfortunately we were knocked out and didn’t make it through to the top three. After a few hours of depression we came to terms and set about enjoying the events that had been organised for us. We had great fun on a trip to an ancient temple to …

    Developer 15 Aug 2006, 08:52

  • China gets tough on Simpsons

    Mickey Mouse also hit by primetime ban

    China has decided to ban foreign cartoons from primetime TV slots in an attempt to protect its indigenous animation industry, the BBC reports. From 1 September, imports such as The Simpsons and Mickey Mouse will not be aired between 5pm and 8pm, a proscription which carries the added benefit of reducing local kids' exposure to …

    Entertainment 15 Aug 2006, 08:57

  • AMD retaliates against Intel with Rev F release

    Less magical, more practical

    A more modest, less magical AMD released the new Revision F Opteron processors on Tuesday. The days when AMD could crow about broad, breathtaking performance advantages over Intel have vanished. Now AMD sells Opteron with a humbler pitch, one that revolves around consistency and high-end server gains for customers. With Rev F …

    Servers 15 Aug 2006, 08:58

  • NASA mislays original moon landing footage

    Tape archive goes awol

    NASA has mislaid the original recordings of the Apollo 11 moon landings, The Los Angeles Times reports. The magnetic tapes of the recorded transmissions were stored in 700 boxes and, despite a year of searching, have failed to turn up. The tape material - shot by a camera atop the Eagle Lander - is reckoned to be a much higher …

    Space 15 Aug 2006, 09:03

  • ATI shifts X1950 XT launch to 14 September

    ATI has told board partners it will launch its Radeon X1950 XT and X1950 CrossFire products on 14 September. The announcement went out last week on the day after ATI was set to brief European journalists on its product plans, though for some of them London's terror alert got in the way. According to the customer-focused …

    Reg Hardware 15 Aug 2006, 09:14

  • London cabbies shun satnav

    'I had that TomTom in the back once...'

    London's highly-respected Hackney carriage operators have dismally failed to embrace satnav technology, preferring instead to rely on "The Knowledge" by which they are required to memorise the shortest route between any two points in the capital and then add a five mile detour to it "cos there's a right roadworks palaver up …

    Mobile 15 Aug 2006, 09:14

  • Fraudsters pose as Companies House

    Scam targets small business

    The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned its members about the threat of company identity fraud, following reports of bogus calls from people pretending to be Companies House officials. Fraudsters have targeted small businesses to try to get hold of secure authentication codes for Companies House files, which could …

    Channel Register 15 Aug 2006, 09:19

  • A draw in the next-generation DVD war?

    Neither Blu-Ray nor HD DVD likely to be a 'knock-out'

    The ongoing battle for next-generation DVD supremacy could ultimately result in an uneasy stalemate, according to a new report from media analysts. A report from Screen Digest predicts that the struggle between the latest generation of rival and mutually incompatible DVD formats - Blu-ray and HD DVD - will not mirror the …

    Reg Hardware 15 Aug 2006, 09:39

  • Barclays scripting SNAFU exploited by phishers

    Read trawl about it

    Online scammers are exploiting a redirection script on Barclays' site to make fraudulent emails look more convincing. An alert Reg reader noticed the trick in scam emails he received. We have yet to hear back from the bank, despite notifying Barclays of a potential problem last Tuesday (8 August). Meanwhile, the exploit ( …

    Spam 15 Aug 2006, 10:01

  • Flight delayed by terror alert? Watch World Trade Center

    A Yahoo! News top tip

    You know how it is - you're at Heathrow en route to New York when an announcement comes over the Tannoy that some blokes have been arrested for buying three cans of lighter fluid in one go at their local corner shop and, accordingly, the entire UK is on Defcon al-Qaeda/Taliban Critical Red and you'll have to wait three days in …

    Music and Media 15 Aug 2006, 10:08

  • Apple sets lawyers on pod-people

    Invasion of the trademark defenders

    Apple is stepping up legal threats against companies it accuses of infringing its trademarks. The computer giant has written to two US companies asking them to stop using the word 'pod'. Mach5 Products makes the Profit Pod, a device for wirelessly collecting data from arcade games or other vending machines. The device keeps …

    Music and Media 15 Aug 2006, 10:13

  • Oracle ups stake in Indian firm

    Paying for acquistions

    Oracle is increasing its stake in Indian software firm i-flex from 52.5 per cent to 55.1 per cent. The database giant will pay $125m for 4.45m shares in i-flex. In turn, i-flex will use most of the money to pay for its acquistion of US firm Mantas which makes behaviour detection software to help banks counter money laundering …

    Financial News 15 Aug 2006, 10:16

  • HTC roadmap 'leak' signals Muse music phone revival?

    Shame it all looks so fake...

    Rumours of the demise of HTC's 'Muse' music phone - the one equipped with 4GB of on-board NAND Flash storage, just like an MP3 player - may have been greatly exaggerated: the device is simply being renamed and rescheduled for a Q4 2006 launch. And it's no longer a 3G device. Well, that's if an allegedly leaked HTC roadmap is …

    Mobile 15 Aug 2006, 10:17

  • Near field communications gets nearer

    New specs edge NFC standard towards reality

    The Near Field Communication (NFC) Forum today published the four data-exchange formats of its burgeoning short-range radio standard, intended to turn a mobile phone into a wallet, a set of keys, and a handful of credit cards. But while the technical standard is rapidly coming together, the business model remains a mystery. …

    Mobile 15 Aug 2006, 10:51

  • Planet heating: how bad is bad?

    A round up of models and a range of risks

    Climatologists at the University of Bristol are warning that a hotter planet will mean more damage to fragile ecosystems, and a higher risk of natural disasters such as forest fires, floods and droughts. Drawing on data from more than 50 models of the Earth's climate, the researchers were able to make predictions about how the …

    Science 15 Aug 2006, 11:03

  • BenQ fetes femmes with Hello Kitty handset

    Tickled pink

    BenQ Mobile has allied itself with the Hello Kitty franchise much loved by Western infants and Japanese of all ages and genders. This month, it will ship the AL26, a pink-hued slider phone splashed with HK decals, HK screen themes and a Chav-friendly HK phone charm.    The BenQ-Siemens AL26 sports a "large" 130 x 130, 65,536 …

    Reg Hardware 15 Aug 2006, 11:07

  • CA profits crash

    1,700 casualties

    Business software giant CA is to cull 1,700 of its workforce. News of the massive restructure came as the firm released its Q1 2007 results and reported a 64 per cent drop in net income compared to the same period in 2006. About half the cull will take place in North America, with the rest drawn from global operations. In all, …

    Financial News 15 Aug 2006, 11:11

  • US gets RFID passports

    Freedom fried

    The US Department of State has started issuing passports containing RFID chips and remains confident the technology "will take security and travel facilitation to a new level". Despite the problems with the chips - that they can be read from a distance, potentially identifying US citizens, and that they can be copied - the …

    Music and Media 15 Aug 2006, 11:34

  • Google offers discount vouchers

    Local shops for local people

    Google is offering discount vouchers to shoppers who locate a store using Google Maps. Coupons are a popular way to promote shops and services in the US and Google hopes to attract small businesses that don't otherwise have a web presence. Browsers can print a voucher they want and take it to the relevant shop. There are no …

    Financial News 15 Aug 2006, 12:04

  • Iran president's weblog spews malware - false

    Farsi-cal

    Reports that the new website of the President of Iran is trying to install malicious scripts on the PCs of visiting infidels are almost certainly the result of a false alarm by security packages rather than a hostile attack. The new weblog of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a splash in Western media when it launched …

    Enterprise Security 15 Aug 2006, 12:11

  • One km = 600m miles, says CNN

    Stretching it a bit

    We're obliged to the various readers who have since yesterday alerted us to a CNN piece on the possible demotion of Pluto to the status of minor planet. The article in question notes that the recent discovery of Xena - hailed by some as the tenth planet - actually calls into question Pluto's status as a proper, grown-up body in …

    Music and Media 15 Aug 2006, 12:12

  • Fujitsu Siemens Pocket Loox N100 handheld GPS

    Exclusive Review A serious contender for the established players?

    The GPS gadget market is dominated by brands like Garmin, TomTom, Navman and Magellan, so it's unlikely you'd have the name Fujitsu Siemens topping your shortlist as you head down to the shops. But perhaps you should. With the introduction of the N100, Fujitsu Siemens has a real contender on its hands that will give the …

    Reg Hardware 15 Aug 2006, 12:28

  • The parable of the beer and diapers

    Database myths and legends (Part 3) Never let the facts get in the way of a good story

    BI (Business Intelligence) is about extracting information from data and data mining is an important part of that process. Data mining is a process that looks for patterns in data, so in a sense it is like querying the data. The crucial differences between simply querying the data and data mining can be summed up as intent and …

    Developer 15 Aug 2006, 13:20

  • FBI doubts cellphone terror scheme

    Update Nuts to Barney Fife

    The FBI has expressed reservations about the alleged cellphone terror plot uncovered by a Wal-Mart cashier working with small-town cops in Michigan, which we reported recently. The purchase of an unusually large number of TracFones at a Wal-Mart store led to terrorism-related felony charges against three men of Middle-Eastern …

    Security 15 Aug 2006, 13:24

  • Satellite protection scheme threatens radio comms

    Boffins worried

    A scheme designed to protect the Earth's communications infrastructure from an excess of highly charged particles in orbit could lead to communications blackouts across the globe lasting for up to 10 days, according to scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). Conditions in Earth's orbit are hostile at best, and …

    Physics 15 Aug 2006, 13:53

  • Disk drive researchers turn up IDs, child porn

    Old hard drives handed to police

    Academics wanting to make a point of how careless people are with their personal data have uncovered what they suspect could be pornographic images involving children. They also discovered details of a US defence contract along with personal information about a defence contractor that could be used for blackmail. About 300 …

    ID 15 Aug 2006, 13:58

  • Revenue pinches 22 in VAT fraud raids

    Huge mobile phone carousel

    Twenty-two people are in custody today after the Revenue's biggest operation against carousel fraud. Early this morning more than 400 investigators from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, backed by 100 police officers, used 60 search warrants at business and residential addresses across the country. Police officers from Greater …

    Channel Register 15 Aug 2006, 14:18

  • Nvidia revamps Opteron server, workstation chipsets

    Socket F friendly

    Nvidia today launched the nForce Pro 3000 chipset family for servers and workstations based on AMD's recently announced DDR 2 SDRAM-supporting dual-core Opteron processors. The chipsets are aimed at machines containing one to eight or more CPUs. The line-up comprises the 3050, 3400 and 3600 MCP chips. All three chipsets …

    Reg Hardware 15 Aug 2006, 14:27

  • Samsung sleek speaker-sporting MP3 player spotted

    Touchscreen control too

    Samsung has revealed it will demo a digital music player equipped with a built-in speaker at next month's IFA show in Berlin. Or will it? Google has revealed some tantalising glimpses of the player missing from the page the online advertising broker's search engine links through to. The YP-K5 is fitted with up to 4GB of …

    Reg Hardware 15 Aug 2006, 15:10

  • China wants remote control for video sites

    Censor extends reach

    The Chinese regulator of broadcast services is looking to extend its patch to include web-based video services. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) is looking at new regulations to include online video sites. Although technically covered by existing laws, changes are expected because SARFT is asking …

    Music and Media 15 Aug 2006, 15:12

  • Hey, spammer, leave those kids alone

    Michigan sues firms punting booze to minors

    A pair of firms accused of sending unsolicited emails about gambling and alcoholic drinks to children are being sued by the State of Michigan. RR Media Inc of Cathedral City, California, and Data Stream Group Inc of Bonita Springs, Florida, allegedly violated criminal and civil anti-spam laws by spamvertising gambling websites …

    Spam 15 Aug 2006, 15:16

  • Reg readers suffer technology separation anxiety

    Letters And vigilante envy

    No prizes for guessing the topic of the week for the readers of El Reg. Yes, the still-mysterious alleged terror plot that closed Heathrow, grounded hundreds of passengers, and caused Telegraph journalists to renounce plane travel for ever and always. Let's start with the restrictions on what you can take onto the planes. …

    Letters 15 Aug 2006, 15:29

  • US Robotics ships Skype-ready USB handset pair

    One with a screen, one without

    US Robotics has begun shipping a pair of USB-connected Skype handsets, one with a screen, the other without, but at least they're a tad more stylish than most add-ons for the popular VoIP app. The USR809601 is the one with the display to make checking your SkypeOut minutes, online status and so on easy. The USR809602 has no …

    Reg Hardware 15 Aug 2006, 15:39

  • OpenOffice hits back at viral risk claims

    Safe as houses

    OpenOffice.org has hit back at claims that the alternative office applications suite is riddled with security holes. Researchers at the French Ministry of Defense say that OpenOffice is subject to security weaknesses that make it at least as susceptible to computer viruses as the commercial, more widely used, Microsoft Office. …

    Enterprise Security 15 Aug 2006, 16:42

  • Wanted: Reg hardware hackers for set top fun

    Exclusive What Peter Dawe did next

    Fancy yourself as a hardware hacker? Peter Dawe, who brought the internet to the UK in the 1980s when he founded Pipex, the country's first ISP, is looking for a few good women and men to experiment with his latest venture the Babelbox. He also gave us a sneak run down. BabelBox is effectively a Linux-based "set top box", …

    Reg Hardware 15 Aug 2006, 16:57

  • Turning Che Guevara into a GIF for therapy

    And ninthly Or how I deal with Bro-Magnon Man

    How do you follow up an album that was a massive - if unexpected - hit? Since its 2004 debut, Hot Fuss has gone platinum over five times and has been released in nearly every format in every country. On their road-weary follow-up, Sam's Town, the Killers stay focused and maintain their epic sounds; the album's powerful surges of …

    Bootnotes 15 Aug 2006, 21:18