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6th October 2006 Archive

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  • Up close and personal with a leaking magnetosphere

    Cosmic plumbing

    You may or may not know that Earth's magnetosphere leaks. You might think it is therefore time to send for the intergalactic plumbers. And in a manner of speaking, that is what the European Space Agency has done, in collaboration with its counterparts in China. Between them, the two groups have tracked the leak to its source: …

    Space 6 Oct 2006, 06:02

  • Daily Mail blogrant worries Reg readers

    Letters And did Apple buy the eBay TARDIS?

    Let's start with the bloggers. Such an easy target - there are so many that any mud slung is bound to stick to some of them. Still, as Ashley Norris points out, Daily Mail columnists really should be careful about any kind of projectiles they launch, lest they turn out to be boomerangs: Thanks to this article I wandered over …

    Letters 6 Oct 2006, 07:02

  • IPS completes biometric passport move

    ePassport the 'most secure passport ever'

    The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) has completed its transition to the production of ePassports, replacing the production of traditional passports with those containing a facial biometric. This means the UK has beaten the US Visa Waiver deadline for the introduction of ePassports, and means British citizens issued with …

    Public Sector 6 Oct 2006, 08:44

  • Northamber watches profit and revs fall

    Ouch...

    Distie Northamber has had to cut its dividend after falling sales and margins hit profits. The company complained that tough trading combined with pressure on prices pushed profits down to £430,000 from £2.61m last year. Revenue was down too, despite higher volume. Northamber sold £204.4m worth of kit compared to £236.3m in …

    Channel Register 6 Oct 2006, 08:48

  • DVD Forum kicks off HD DVD region-coding scheme

    Open market set to close

    The DVD Forum, the organisation which oversees the DVD and HD DVD formats, looks set to introduce a region-coding system for the next-generation optical disc technology next year. The moves was signalled in May this year, when the Forum set up a working group to "develop a specification and enforcement plan for RPC [Region …

    Reg Hardware 6 Oct 2006, 09:23

  • Why, why, Wibree?

    Analysis Is Nokia's new wireless standard really mature enough?

    We're not short of wireless standards these days, so quite why Nokia felt the need to launch another one on Tuesday is open to question. Wibree is a low-power option for Bluetooth, at least that's how it's being pitched by Nokia. But in reality there seems little similarity between the two. Wibree will use the same antenna and …

    Mobile 6 Oct 2006, 09:24

  • 'Casual games' to fuel mobile gaming market

    Industry 'coming of age'

    Mobile games revenues are expected to grow from $3bn in 2006 to $10bn by 2009, according to new research. The forecast comes in Juniper Research's latest study of the global mobile games market. Analysts from the firm claim that the rise in mobile gaming will be driven by continued growth in subscriber numbers, an increase in …

    Mobile 6 Oct 2006, 09:24

  • Nokia gets closer to Orange, which endorses Symbian

    One in the eye for Microsoft?

    Nokia has announced it will be working with Orange to customise Symbian S60 handsets, allowing Orange to remotely manage and update interfaces to highlight new services as well as provide an individually customised user experience. Current Orange signature handsets are all Microsoft Windows Mobile-based, but this deal should …

    Mobile 6 Oct 2006, 09:35

  • Europe's MetOp satellite gets new launch date

    Third, fourth, or maybe fifth time lucky

    Europe's first polar orbit satellite has been given a new launch date after a "mechanical incident" at the Baikonur cosmodrome caused delays. The MetOp satellite, which will improve weather forecasting and provide data for those monitoring changes in the Earth's climate, will now launch on 17 October, 10 days after its …

    Space 6 Oct 2006, 09:39

  • UK and Ireland welcome roaming cuts

    Operators slash costs ahead of EU legislation

    Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey has praised Irish mobile operators for introducing new tariffs designed at reducing roaming costs in Ireland and the UK. Following a meeting held on Thursday between the minister and his Northern Ireland counterpart, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, Marie Eagle, MP, it was …

    Mobile 6 Oct 2006, 09:43

  • Vodafone UK takes a shine to RIM's Pearl

    Carrier starts pre-order round

    Vodafone has quietly begun offering Research in Motion's BlackBerry Pearl email phone to new customers. The carrier is currently taking pre-orders for the handset on its UK website. Pearl is RIM's first device to offer media playback features and to focus more on consumers than executives. It's got a 1.3 megapixel camera, …

    Reg Hardware 6 Oct 2006, 09:44

  • Hitachi recalls Sony laptop batteries

    Overheating risk

    Hitachi has asked for 16,000 Sony-made laptop batteries which may pose a fire risk to be returned for a free replacement, the Japanese computer company said today, the second notebook maker to launch such a recall this week. Hitachi's announcement, reported by Reuters, follows a similar one from Fujitsu a few days ago. …

    Reg Hardware 6 Oct 2006, 09:57

  • SOA is the future - but what exactly is it?

    Survey says business just doesn't 'get' it

    Service-oriented architectures (SOAs) are the subject de jour with IT vendors, who have been using the term as if the concept has been totally understood by the buying audience and is well along the way to general implementation. However, research carried out by Quocirca on behalf of Oracle earlier this year shows a rather …

    IT Director 6 Oct 2006, 10:14

  • Rectal hiccups cure secures Ig Nobel Prize

    Improbable Research where the sun don't shine

    Two studies which demonstrated that rectal massage was a cure for "intractable hiccups" last night secured the prestigious Ig Nobel Prize for Medicine at the annual Annals of Improbable Research awards ceremony. Francis M Fesmire of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine was honoured for his medical case report …

    Biology 6 Oct 2006, 10:28

  • Pentagon confirms Beijing's anti-satellite laser

    Wi jammin', and I hope Yu like jammin' too

    The US has confirmed China has successfully blocked one of its spy satellites using a ground-to-space laser. The high-powered light was able to blind onboard cameras, acknowledged National Reconnaissance Office director Donald Kerr, responding to a report in Defense News. He said: "It makes us think." Alluding to wider …

    Space 6 Oct 2006, 10:30

  • NASA seeks students for low gravity tests

    Fancy a trip on the vomit comet?

    NASA is calling for US undergraduates to design and then take part in a series of lunar and zero gravity experiments. It wants submissions by 30 October. NASA has run low gravity experiments for students for many years, but this time it wants students to design experiments for lunar gravity, one sixth of that on Earth. But don …

    Space 6 Oct 2006, 10:36

  • ATI targets next-gen Athlon 64 FX with four-GPU chipset?

    Roadmap ATI leak neatly coincides with AMD's

    ATI will target AMD's Socket AM2+ interconnect with its RD790 chipset - a part with the abiility to host four graphics cards, allegedly leaked company roadmap slides reveal. Socket AM2+ is expected to debut in Q3 2007 so support the HyperTransport 3.0 bus AMD's K8L 65nm dual- and quad-core processors. The ATI slides, posted …

    Reg Hardware 6 Oct 2006, 10:39

  • BOFH: The mystery of the impenetrable data safe

    Episode 33 Impenetrable? Yeah right

    "Check it out," the PFY says, pointing at the pair of fat blokes who are levering a large crate into the Boss's office on a heavy duty trolley. "What do you think it is?" "I'm not sure - It's carefully packaged and very heavy so whatever it is is probably bloody expensive,” I reply. No sooner is it in the Boss's office than …

    BOFH 6 Oct 2006, 10:44

  • Busy Patch Tuesday looms

    11 updates, some critical

    October's Patch Tuesday, Microsoft's monthly security update, will see the release of 11 security updates, some of which are critical. Six of the bulletins deal with flaws in Windows (at least one, and possibly more, one of which is critical), four deal with flaws in Microsoft Office (again with at least one critical update). …

    Security 6 Oct 2006, 10:45

  • Aggregates: the not-so-forgotten DBA issue

    Reducing aggregates can relieve the headache

    Aggregates are probably the second biggest headache for database administrators in data warehouses after indexes and the tuning thereof. However, while there has been lots of discussion about indexes there has been very little about aggregates. For example, the data warehouse appliance vendors remove indexes more or less …

    Developer 6 Oct 2006, 10:56

  • ATI next-gen chips said to back Vista Flash cache tech

    SB700 ready for ReadyDrive?

    The next generation of ATI's South Bridge core logic technology will support Flash memory as a fast-loading, power-conserving hard drive data cache, if allegedly leaked company roadmap slides are to be believed. ATI's current South Bridge, SB600, debuted in May this year, though it didn't show up in chipsets until a little …

    Reg Hardware 6 Oct 2006, 11:01

  • Oono MiniDAB pocket digital radio

    Review The Archers in your pocket, in 1s and 0s

    The MiniDAB is slighly smaller than early iPods, and while it's very much lighter than the Apple device - it feels like it's missing the battery, even though it isn't - it has none of the iPods looks. Apart from the iPod-like black and white colour schemes, the MiniDAB has a rather 1990s look about it: simplicity is out, …

    Reg Hardware 6 Oct 2006, 11:02

  • How does a cross-eyed person's view differ from others?

    Looking at life from another angle

    Also in this week's column: What are the scientific reasons for having sex? What can you learn from the sound of someone's voice? What are the most widely practiced religions of the world? How does a cross-eyed person's view differ from others? Asked by Michel Durinx of Leiden, The Netherlands The medical term for " …

    Biology 6 Oct 2006, 11:07

  • What can you learn from the sound of someone's voice?

    Voice a 'multidimensional fitness indicator'

    Also in this week's column: What are the scientific reasons for having sex? How does a cross-eyed person's view differ from others? What are the most widely practiced religions of the world? What can you learn from the sound of someone's voice? Quite a bit it seems. There is considerable evidence that the sound of a …

    Biology 6 Oct 2006, 11:07

  • What are the most widely practiced religions of the world?

    Big believers

    Also in this week's column: What are the scientific reasons for having sex? How does a cross-eyed person's view differ from others? What can you learn from the sound of someone's voice? What are the most widely practiced religions of the world? Asked by Charlene Dupree of Toronto There are some 4,300 religions of the …

    Biology 6 Oct 2006, 11:07

  • What are the scientific reasons for having sex?

    The benefits of making the beast with two backs

    Also in this week's column: How does a cross-eyed person's view differ from others? What can you learn from the sound of someone's voice? What are the most widely practiced religions of the world? What are the scientific reasons for having sex? Asked by Jill Howard of Alexandria, Virginia, USA The reasons for not …

    Biology 6 Oct 2006, 11:10

  • Hams drafted into US emergency comms network

    Scraping the pork barrel?

    President Bush has approved legislation that will make amateur radio hams part of the emergency communications network in the US. The provision was tucked away in a section of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 2007 Appropriations Act (HR 5441), which was signed into law on Wednesday following earlier Congressional …

    Mobile 6 Oct 2006, 11:14

  • ATI RD580 set to star in AMD's '4x4'?

    Alleged roadmap points to three-GPU, two-CPU update

    ATI's ageing AMD-oriented RD580 discrete chipset will soon be upgraded to support three graphics cards and two CPUs, it has been claimed. The part will join the upcoming RS690 to lead ATI's sales drive during H1 2007. According to a roadmap presentation made public by Spanish-language website ChileHardware, RD580 will …

    Reg Hardware 6 Oct 2006, 11:31

  • Parents prepare to sue fingerprint grabbers

    Schools to be challenged over biometrics

    Parents are preparing a legal challenge to schools that have fingerprinted their children without their consent. Janine Fletcher, a solicitor and concerned parent who instigated the legal response, said she became concerned when she learned that 70 schools in her home county of Cumbria had taken childrens' fingerprints without …

    Music and Media 6 Oct 2006, 11:47

  • HP criminal charges, Microsoft licensing and Bulgarian airbags

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

    HP comes home to roost We're not sure we'd have a weekly summary to write without the help of HP. This week we learnt a bit more about the company's sickly sweet relationship with a reporter on the Wall Street Journal. IM conversations never look as good in the cold light of day – just ask Mark Foley. This week also saw the …

    Business 6 Oct 2006, 13:02

  • Intel reveals wireless connectivity roadmap

    Comment Wi-Fi N, WiMAX and HSDPA on laptops next year

    Intel has used the platform of its developer conference to reveal a roadmap for future wireless connectivity that will take in at least three different types of broadband connectivity for PCs. Intel has long made it clear that it will support WiMAX in its next generation onboard radio chips, but is now also adding a 3G HSDPA …

    PCs & Chips 6 Oct 2006, 13:15

  • From little Estonian acorns Alcatel may grow WiMAX oaks

    Comment Small beginnings, big future

    It became obvious this week that although Alcatel is starting small in WiMAX, compared to say the Sprint contract for Motorola, it is still actively looking to build a head of steam. Alcatel said it had won a contract with Elion Enterprises, part of TeliaSonera telecommunications company in the Nordic and Baltic region, to …

    Data Networking 6 Oct 2006, 13:26

  • Marijuana may help 'stave off' Alzheimer's

    Here you go, grandad, have a toke on that

    New research into Alzheimer's disease suggests the active ingredient of marijuana may help "stave off" the disease, as Reuters puts it. Specifically, scientists at the Scripps Research Institute in California discovered that delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can prevent breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine - a …

    Biology 6 Oct 2006, 13:53

  • Rolls-Royce suspends A380 engine production

    Implications for workforce 'being assessed'

    Rolls-Royce has suspended production of its Trent 900 engine for a year in the wake of this week's announcement by Airbus parent company EADS that the A380 "Superjumbo" delivery schedule had been put back for a third time. The Trent 900 is one of two engine models due to be bolted to the A380 - the other being the GE-P&W Engine …

    Science 6 Oct 2006, 13:56

  • Airline passenger data deal struck

    Push-me, pull-you

    European Union and US negotiators have struck a new deal on sharing airline passenger data, resolving concerns that failure to reach an accord before a 1 October legal deadline might affect trans-Atlantic air travel. An agreement struck on Thursday replaced a previous agreement ruled unlawful by the European Court of Justice in …

    Music and Media 6 Oct 2006, 14:03

  • Wireless lobby paves the wave for reduced DUI fines

    And ninthly Cheers to you, CTIA

    Colonel Riley spent most of that week pretending to be a baby blue whale. His friends did not seem to mind, and neither did the real whales. As a whale, Riley was cheerful, agile and smooth. Things only turned ugly when he tried to swallow 20,000 gallons of brine in a single gulp with the help of a device of his own design. …

    Bootnotes 6 Oct 2006, 14:46

  • China selects top tunes for singing satellite

    Musical lunarcy

    China has celebrated today's Moon Festival by releasing a list of ditties to be broadcast back to Earth from its Moon-probing satellite due for launch in 2007, Reuters reports. According to Xinhua news agency, the songs were selected by public vote and a "panel of experts" not thought to include Simon Cowell. The winner was …

    Space 6 Oct 2006, 14:48

  • Big Brother investigation 'brings premium rate industry into disrepute'

    Was it ever in repute in the first place?

    The premium rate industry has hit back at ICTSIS for the charge it imposed yesterday over misleading Big Brother voting rules. Channel 4 said it would cough the £40k+ the regulator is demanding in investigation costs from the broadcaster's text and phone premium rate providers Minick UK and iTouch. Network for Online Commerce …

    Telecoms 6 Oct 2006, 14:50

  • UK govt says iTrip street legal... almost

    Draft regs posted, should by okayed by December

    UK wireless watchdog Ofcom has published draft regulations that, when added to local law, allow iTrip owners to use their compact FM transmitters legally in this country. Ofcom said hopes to have the new regulations, which will be implemented as a series of additions to the Wireless Telegraphy Exemption Regulations of 2003, …

    Reg Hardware 6 Oct 2006, 15:30

  • Allofmp3.com speaks out against US

    Downloads jeopardise trade talks, says White House

    Russian download store Allofmp3.com today responded with defiance to fresh US claims its activities are stalling Russia's attempts to join the World Trade Organisation. Allofmp3 sells music priced by file size at somewhere around a tenth of the cost per track of Western services like iTunes. America and record industry bodies …

    Financial News 6 Oct 2006, 15:41

  • Worm automates Google AdSense fraud

    Click-fraud menace spreads using IM

    Virus writers have crafted a malware threat that serves up expensive Google AdSense web pages related to mesothelioma, a rare cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Industry workers affected by the disease have launched a series of lawsuits, a factor that means "ambulance chasing" lawyers pay through the nose to get a mention …

    Malware 6 Oct 2006, 15:53

  • Privacy group takes US to court over email spying

    After FoI request denied by FBI

    A privacy group is suing the US Government for information about surveillance programmes after the FBI failed to respond to a freedom of information request. Meanwhile, a separate surveillance programme can continue while a legal challenge is processed. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is taking the Department of …

    ID 6 Oct 2006, 18:22

  • Google to buy YouTube for $1.6bn - reports

    Goo Goo Ga-Tube

    Google is close to buying YouTube for $1.6bn, according to reports. Props for the scoop, if the talks pan out, go to TechCrunch, the Red Herring of the Web 2.0 Generation, which today reported this "completely Unsubstantiated Google/YouTube Rumor". The WSJ today also says that Google and YouTube are negotiating and mention $1. …

    Financial News 6 Oct 2006, 18:46

  • D-Link powers up for 10Gig

    It's cheerful, but is it cheap?

    D-Link reckons its latest 24-port stackable Gigabit Ethernet switch should be just the ticket for small and medium-sized businesses looking to their next-generation network. "The main things are it's Layer 2, all Gigabit, all PoE (Power-over-Ethernet) and it has modular slots on the back for 10Gig backbones," said product …

    Data Networking 6 Oct 2006, 21:33

  • Alcatel pushes 10Gig aggregation

    Baby version of big core switches

    Alcatel reckons it's time that 10Gig Ethernet reached the wiring closet, and has extended its Omniswitch 9000 series with a low-end five-slot chassis able to support up to 24 10Gig ports, 96 1Gig ports, or a combination thereof. Like other 9000 series switches, the new 9600 offers features such as wire-rate IPv4/IPv6 processing …

    Data Networking 6 Oct 2006, 21:39

  • Murtagh to take control of Smart Telecom

    Construction magnate to the rescue

    Millionaire entrepreneur Brendan Murtagh has offered to buy Smart Telecom for the grand sum of €1, as well as a 10 per cent stake in BidCo, the company formed to make the offer. The disposal recommended by Smart's directors means BidCo will assume Smart's estimated liabilities of €40m. Construction and property industry …

    Telecoms 6 Oct 2006, 21:55

  • Rockwell goes on the booze

    Futurama robots run on beer. These robots make their own brew

    Bad brews and wasted beer could be a thing of the past, according to Rockwell Automation, which claims that its packaged Brewhouse Solution covers 80 per cent of a brewery's production management needs. The Rockwell software talks to the brewery plant over Ethernet to track the beer production process in real-time, and connect …

    Data Networking 6 Oct 2006, 21:59

  • Google to subpoena Yahoo! and Microsoft in library battle

    Book 'em, Google

    New developments in online selling and the lawPublishers and authors are taking Google to court over its programme to digitise the libraries of four US universities, Oxford university library and the New York Public Library. Google has said that it will subpoena two of its fiercest competitors, Yahoo! and Microsoft, for …

    Music and Media 6 Oct 2006, 22:26

  • T-Mobile USA splashes the 3G cash

    $2.7bn here, $4.2bn there - it starts adding up

    T-Mobile USA, America's smallest cellco, is to splashing $2.7bn on a 3G network build-out. Until last month, the German-owned firm was constrained by a severe shortage of wireless spectrum - meaning crap reception in many areas and more network busy signals than its rivals. That was solved last month with the conclusion of the …

    Operating Systems 6 Oct 2006, 23:05

  • Microsoft lets slip Windows Vista RC2

    The final, final test build

    Microsoft today made available a new test build for Windows Vista, the mythical desktop operating system of legend. It's called RC2, or Release Candidate 2 (build number 5744), and it really is only for diehard Vista testaholics. And the stupid. The download page comes with a warning in bold type: Please note: This build may …

    Operating Systems 6 Oct 2006, 23:34