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10th November 2006 Archive

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  • Oracle must eat Red Hat or fork, says Ubuntu man

    Shuttleworth rounds Sun

    Oracle's decision to trigger a Linux turf war has thus far produced the exact results Larry Ellison desired. Red Hat investors freaked out, and Red Hat customers gained a new avenue for putting pricing pressure on their Linux supplier. Despite such concrete turns in the Linux market, Oracle's support plan continues to be more …

    Operating Systems 10 Nov 2006, 00:08

  • NEC adds VoIP to thin clients

    Prefers VMware to Citrix for virtual PCs

    Why provide thin clients only with remote access to applications, when you can give them a full VoIP-enabled Windows XP environment on which to run standard PC software? That's the question posed by NEC with its Virtual PC Centre, or VPCC, which combines thin clients with VMware and VoIP. The company claimed that its converged …

    Servers 10 Nov 2006, 04:38

  • Software developer asks Lords to hear patent appeal

    Last chance saloon

    Neal Macrossan is seeking leave to appeal to the House of Lords after his application for a patent was rejected by the Court of Appeal. Macrossan's invention is an automated system that compiles the necessary documents for incorporating a company in the UK. The appeal court judges ruled that this was both a business method and …

    Software 10 Nov 2006, 06:02

  • IPTV/VoD: The world that's on its way

    Industry comment Part three: We're only 1% of the way there

    A lot of frustration is levelled at content providers and it's very easy to see why. Dealing with the studios and production companies can be like pulling teeth if the approach isn't correct. Surprisingly, dealing with record labels is actually very easy as they've had five years or so of violent erosion into their sales from …

    Networks 10 Nov 2006, 07:02

  • Eclipse dreams up new schemes of disruption

    First five years was a warm up

    After turning the Java tools market upside down and putting more than a few people out of work in its first five years, Eclipse hopes to cause more mischief during its next five. Eclipse executive director Mike Milinkovich has earmarked three burgeoning open source projects in the areas of web development, Web 2.0 and on the …

    Developer 10 Nov 2006, 09:32

  • BPI lobbies Gowers for a 'private right to copy'

    Rip your own CDs legally

    The UK's main recording industry body wants to authorise UK music buyers to copy CDs for personal use. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has recommended to a government investigation that a private right to copy be created. "We certainly agree with the line that something needs to be done," Richard Mollet, the BPI's …

    Music and Media 10 Nov 2006, 09:33

  • Web touts face £5,000 fines

    And hacking penalties raised

    Touts selling football tickets on websites will be liable for a £5,000 fine under new legislation passed yesterday. The Violent Crime Reduction Act outlaws the internet sale of the tickets. "The transfer of touting from the street corner to the internet rendered the original legislation out of date," said Lord Pendry, a peer …

    Small Biz 10 Nov 2006, 09:46

  • UPC Ireland grows broadband customers by 20%

    And invests almost €1bn in upgrading its network

    UPC Ireland, the parent company of NTL Ireland and Chorus, has brought nearly 8,000 new broadband customers into its fold in the third quarter of 2006. The firm's broadband customer figures stood at 48,200 as of 30 September - a sequential jump of 20 per cent. The number of homes currently enabled for broadband rose 23,100 to …

    Telecoms 10 Nov 2006, 10:05

  • Voda lays bare broadband bundle

    8Mb and UK calls for £25 a month

    Vodafone unveiled details of its broadband bundle this morning. We can probably expect its rivals' complaints to the Advertising Standards Association to be in by this afternoon. The mobile operator's Vodafone at Home service will offer its consumer contract customers 8Mb unlimited broadband service nationwide, on the back of …

    Mobile 10 Nov 2006, 10:33

  • Covert coppers reach for surveillance lead

    ICO looks on

    One of the UK's top covert coppers has defended his record of spying on citizens as privacy officials wonder whether surveillance technology is giving him too much power. Just 21 years after Britain's spooks were reined in by the Interception of Communications Act (1985), the means of state surveillance have become so powerful …

    Music and Media 10 Nov 2006, 11:15

  • Britain wide open to alien invasion

    Actual aliens this time, not an enlarged EU

    The British government is shockingly underprepared for an attack by extraterrestrials, an ex-MoD man has claimed. Nick Pope, a career civil servant who spent four years heading up the MoD's research into UFO sightings, is concerned that credible evidence of an alien threat is being ignored and that Britain is "wide open" to …

    Science 10 Nov 2006, 11:17

  • Former Bond girl in laptop-lobbing outrage

    WSA Flying hardware hit OAPs, police allege

    Former model and Bond girl Denise Richards had a bit of a Naomi moment when she lost her rag with paparazzi and chucked two laptops from a second floor balcony, news agencies report. The incident took place at a casino near Vancouver during filming for Blonde and Blonder, in which the 35-year-old is starring with Pamela …

    Music and Media 10 Nov 2006, 11:21

  • MS preps six fixes for November Patch Tuesday

    Deliver us from XML exploit

    Microsoft plans to deliver six patches next Tuesday, at least two of which are critical, as part of its regular patch Tuesday update cycle. Redmond plans to issue a critical update to "XML Core Services" and five patches involving Windows, one or possible more of which also earn the dreaded critical tag. Hopefully the XML …

    Enterprise Security 10 Nov 2006, 11:22

  • IBM boss parachutes into virtual Devil's Island

    Careful where you land, Sam

    IBM is packing chairman and CEO Sam Palmisano off to Second Life. Yes, the CEO of the world's most venerable technology company faces the prospect of rubbing virtual shoulders with middle-aged men pretending to be teenage girls, deranged Big Brother contestants, and the ubiquitous giant furry penises. Of course, that's not the …

    Music and Media 10 Nov 2006, 11:52

  • Hornby rescues Airfix

    £2.6m deal saves plastic Spitfire for Britain

    Model train manufacturer Hornby has rescued plastic kit legend Airfix from oblivion, Reuters reports. Hornby announced today it was acquiring "several assets from the administrators of toymaker Humbrol", including Airfix and Humbrol paints, for £2.6m. Airfix owner Humbrol went into administration at the end of August after a …

    Financial News 10 Nov 2006, 11:55

  • BOFH: Dessert storm

    Episode 38 Guerrilla warfare

    "Oh this is bad," the PFY says. "Yep, this is bad," I concur, looking at the pile of rubble a floor below what used to be the floor of our 'Operations Rest and Recreation facility' - or to be more technically correct, the cleaner's room the floor below Mission Control that we had walled in by an accommodating builder when the …

    BOFH 10 Nov 2006, 12:02

  • Reg unveils a new look bookshop

    Site News Nip, tuck

    Hold on to your hats and prepare for lift-off. The Reg has given its Cash 'n' Carrion bookstore a major facelift. Get down to the Register Books for a choicer array of titles, new products, and cheaper prices than ever before. 'Cause we're looking so good, we're offering a massive 40 per cent off almost all books, as well as …

    Site News 10 Nov 2006, 12:11

  • The myth of the home-bake terror nuke 'cookbooks'

    Analysis Who needs Iraqi A-bomb plans anyway?

    Predictably, the Nov. 3 New York Times revelation that sensitive documents on a-bomb design, recovered from Saddam Hussein's regime and released on-line, became a political football. If there was value in it, as opposed to red meat for Democrat blogs, it was swept away by the mania inspired by a Times source, one anonymous …

    Music and Media 10 Nov 2006, 12:12

  • BBC in Radio 4 messageboard punch-up

    Freedom of speech curtailed, licencepayers claim

    There's a bit of a punch-up going on down at a BBC Radio 4 Today messageboard, after the corporation announced some "important changes" to the same: There are some important changes taking place to the Today messageboard from November 16 2006. We want to make the message boards more relevant to the Today audience. We want to …

    Music and Media 10 Nov 2006, 12:13

  • Set the TiVo: NASA plans HDTV broadcast from space

    Beyond-sky TV

    Next week, NASA will make the first ever high definition TV broadcast from space, in a collaboration with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency and Discovery HD theatre. The two live broadcasts are scheduled for November 15, when ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter will serve as cameraman. The footage will be streamed live back to …

    Space 10 Nov 2006, 12:34

  • IBM rolls in Clover with Dell

    Big Blue brings forth five quads – servers, that is

    The inevitable has happened: following Dell's winning of the "first to announce Clovertown servers" race, the other contenders have now joined in. IBM, for example, has chipped in with four new servers – two rack systems and two towers – together with a Clovertown BladeServer. The announcement comes at an interesting, possibly …

    Servers 10 Nov 2006, 12:38

  • UK science minister steps down

    Updated Will pursue charity and business interests

    Lord Sainsbury has stepped down as science and technology minister, saying he wants to spend more time with his businesses and charities. The minister has dismissed suggestions that his resignation is connected with the investigation into the cash-for-peerages row, or with a £2m loan to Labour that he had failed to disclose. He …

    Science 10 Nov 2006, 13:24

  • Linux gets loved up while BBC gets trashed

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

    Larry and Bill love Linux This week saw a big Linux investment from Microsoft – it is putting $348m into Novell. The money pays for vouchers for SUSE Linux. The company is also spending over $90m in marketing the open source software. It's good news for Novell – the deal represents about quarter of its annual revenue – but less …

    Business 10 Nov 2006, 13:59

  • Humans taste of bacon, says gourmet robot

    RoTM Hmmm, delicious

    There's a commonly-held belief that just about every animal on Earth tastes of chicken* - except, of course, those which taste like steak, or bacon. In the latter category, according to popular myth, are people - something only Uruguayan rugby players know for certain. Until now, that is, because NEC earlier this year unveiled …

    Rise of the Machines 10 Nov 2006, 14:03

  • Democrats win majority in US Senate

    Analysis A clean sweep

    It was only by a whisker, but Democrats managed to pull off a clean sweep of Congress in the midterm election. Two exceptionally tight Senate races, in Montana and in Virginia, ended yesterday with the Republican candidates conceding. Democrats now enjoy a razor-thin majority in the Senate, and a substantial one in the House. …

    Music and Media 10 Nov 2006, 14:20

  • Bush taps ex-CIA man to head DoD

    Analysis 'Heckuva job, Rummy'

    "It was a thumpin'," President George W Bush said of the mid-term elections, as he made Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld his first burnt offering to a Democratic Congress. Rumsfeld had served as a lightning rod for criticism of the war in Iraq, and Bush no doubt believes that chucking him will be seen on the Hill as a positive …

    Music and Media 10 Nov 2006, 14:30

  • Trojan pervert jailed for child abuse

    Spyware scumbag sent down

    A pervert who used computer malware to prey upon young girls has been jailed for ten years. Adrian Ringland, 36, from Ilkeston, Derbyshire, admitted blackmailing teenage girls into sending him increasingly exploit pictures after infecting their PCs with Trojan horse malware. The unemployed father of two tricked youngsters into …

    Malware 10 Nov 2006, 14:55

  • How can objects in the same room be different temperatures?

    Conductors versus insulators

    Also in this week's column: Why are some people more attractive to mosquitos? Does eating fish improve brain function? What is a Cro-Magnon man? How can objects in the same room be different temperatures? Asked by David Webb of Hayle, Cornwall, UK The sense of touch allows us to recognise temperature differences of …

    Biology 10 Nov 2006, 14:57

  • Does eating fish improve brain function?

    Oh my, Omega-3

    Also in this week's column: Why are some people more attractive to mosquitos? What is a Cro-Magnon man? How can objects in the same room be different temperatures? Does eating fish improve brain function? Asked by Tammy Courtland of Boston, Massachusetts It is no wonder that health authorities usually recommend the …

    Biology 10 Nov 2006, 14:57

  • What is a Cro-Magnon man?

    Indistinguishable descendants

    Also in this week's column: Why are some people more attractive to mosquitos? Does eating fish improve brain function? How can objects in the same room be different temperatures? What is a Cro-Magnon man? Asked by Nikki Jackson of Mosman, NSW, Australia Cro-Magnon humans are regarded as the earliest form of modern humans …

    Biology 10 Nov 2006, 14:58

  • Why are some people more attractive to mosquitos?

    Buzz off

    Also in this week's column: Does eating fish improve brain function? What is a Cro-Magnon man? How can objects in the same room be different temperatures? Why are some people more attractive to mosquitos? Asked by Sarah Charles of Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK Science is still working on the definitive answer to this Odd Body …

    Biology 10 Nov 2006, 15:00

  • AMD: Don't blame Dell for our problems

    We screwed up all on our own

    Chip maker AMD has admitted it is suffering from inventory problems but is hopeful they'll be sorted out in the next few weeks. There has been speculation that AMD has been throttling supplies of chips to smaller manufacturers to bolster relations with its newest love Dell. AMD European channel marketing manager Richard Baker …

    Reg Hardware 10 Nov 2006, 15:16

  • Outlook takes 136 years to sync email

    Be patient, be veeery patient

    Microsoft has again found itself at the heart of a time-related SNAFU. The software behemoth has previously tried to assume control of the fourth dimension by turning the clocks back a week early, and turning the clocks forward a few thousand years to release its new operating system Windows Vista. This time around its Outlook …

    Applications 10 Nov 2006, 16:10

  • Security rivals tried to 'castrate' Vista - Gates

    OS keeps its cojones

    Despite antitrust pressures and complaints from competitors, Microsoft will be able to ship Vista without dropping features, according to Microsoft chairman Bill Gates. Gates told reporters attending Microsoft's TechEd conference in Barcelona that the software giant had discussed features in the next version of its operating …

    Operating Systems 10 Nov 2006, 16:12

  • Biometric ID cards an insecure menace, says EU ID outfit

    Don't do it, and fix the passports ASAP, apparently...

    The EU-funded FIDIS (Future of Identity in the Information Society) project has warned that implementation of the current generation of biometric travel ID will dramatically decrease security and privacy, and increase the risk of identity theft. In the Budapest Declaration, which derives from FIDIS' September meeting in Budapest …

    Music and Media 10 Nov 2006, 16:22

  • Alien pope abductors want open Wi-Fi access

    Letters Chewing the cud

    Let's start the letters bag with some good news from a couple of weeks ago. We've got masses of grumbling, papal madness and alien invasions to come, so we thought we'd start with an easy one. Hands up who wants some free money? Then get down to the west, where a cash machine in Bristol was handing out £20s instead of £10s. Nice …

    Letters 10 Nov 2006, 16:31

  • ITV-NTL merger talks confirmed

    The Branson Factor

    Sir Richard Branson has given his backing to, er, Sir Richard Branson's plan to become a TV mogul by merging NTL with ailing end-of-the-pier telly outfit ITV. The Financial Times and Reuters reported the "Rebel Billionaire" was pushing for a deal and a source at Virgin says he is "quite excited about it". Owning 11 per cent of …

    Financial News 10 Nov 2006, 16:42

  • Cassini snaps extra-terrestrial hurricane

    Saturn's swirling storm

    Cassini has sent back incredible images of a monster storm that has developed at Saturn's South Pole. The swirling storm is some 5,000 miles across, around two thirds the size of Earth. NASA estimates that near the eye the wind is blowing clockwise at around 350 miles per hour. The image clearly shows distinctive eye-wall …

    Space 10 Nov 2006, 16:45

  • Pennsylvania court says viewing child porn 'not illegal'

    Cache loophole

    A US court has ruled that viewing child pornography on a website without deliberately saving it to a computer is not a crime. The judge said that the state penal code was ambiguous, so he must rule in favour of the defendant. Anthony Diodoro, a 26-year-old from Delaware County, Pennsylvania admitted knowingly viewing 370 child- …

    Music and Media 10 Nov 2006, 17:16

  • Googling yourself fitter?

    Medical study needs health warning

    Can you do science with just 26 case studies? Two doctors in Australia seem to think so. "Searching with Google may help doctors to formulate a differential diagnosis in difficult diagnostic cases," they conclude. The study, published in the British Medical Journal today, appears to give the search engine a clean bill of health …

    Music and Media 10 Nov 2006, 17:34

  • Free software still legal - judge

    Silicon Justice GPL passes bizarro world anti-trust test

    Daniel Wallace certainly gets points for effort and determination. After suing the Free Software Foundation (FSF) in 2005 for price-fixing and finally losing earlier this year, Wallace filed an action against IBM, Novell and Red Hat alleging that the companies' distribution of Linux under the GNU General Public License (GPL) …

    Operating Systems 10 Nov 2006, 17:35

  • SMC WSKP100 Skype phone

    Review Another white Skype Wi-Fi phone

    It’s getting difficult to move for Wi-Fi Skype phones here at Vulture Central. Belkin has announced its Wi-Fi Phone for Skype and Lars has reviewed the Netgear SPH101 and now we have the SMC WSKP100. The Belkin and SMC products appear to use the same Accton handset so there is precious little to tell them apart and to date the …

    Reg Hardware 10 Nov 2006, 17:49

  • Sun polishes off St. Pauli Girl blade

    Niagara box with a nice rack

    Sun Microsystems' mainstream Niagara-blade approacheth. The Register has discovered the presence of St. Paul. This blade server will run on Sun's current UltraSPARC T1 chip and fit into Sun's Opteron-based blade chassis. Officially, the server looks to be called the Sun Blade T6300. The one-socket blade will have 8 DIMMs, 4 …

    Storage 10 Nov 2006, 19:31