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20th December 2006 Archive

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  • Reg embeds hack in Second Life

    NSFW An offer we couldn't refuse

    We welcome freelancer Destiny Welles to Vulture Central. She will contribute an occasional column from within Second Life: thus we join our colleagues CNET and Reuters with a correspondent embedded in the popular online universe. As a budding young journo, Destiny has already earned a remarkable reputation for hard-thrusting …

    Media 20 Dec 2006, 06:46

  • The Top 20 Weirdest gadgets of 2006

    Robot guinea pigs, solar-powered insect theatres and more

    It's been one of those years when technology came on in leaps and bounds. Around the world, thousands of pointy-headed scientists and product designers beavered away in high-security laboratories, investing time, money and effort to create... more silly USB gadgets. Yes, 2006 has been the year when gadgets got a bit …

    Hardware 20 Dec 2006, 08:51

  • Nintendo faces Wii Remote wrist-strap class action lawsuit

    Flying Remote hit wife, whacked TV, killed cat claims coming?

    US law firm Green Welling (GW) has filed a class action lawsuit against Nintendo, alleging the videogames pioneer breached its own product warranty by shipping its Wii games console with a Remote wrist-strap that breaks even when used as directed. "The class action lawsuit seeks to enjoin Nintendo from continuing its unfair …

    Games 20 Dec 2006, 09:47

  • CMDB implementation? What do you think

    Reg Technology Panel Is there a wrong way to do it...

    If you've had any encounters recently with vendors who sell service management solutions, you'll undoubtedly have had the acronyms "ITIL" and "CMDB" thrown at you on quite a few occasions. ITIL is the best practice framework that basically tells you how to deliver IT services effectively and efficiently, and one of the basic …

    Tech Panel 20 Dec 2006, 10:30

  • Thinktank kicks off robotic civil rights debate

    Must be Christmas

    A wide-ranging government-sponsored futurology effort has fingered a campaign for robots' rights as a policy headache for 2056. The conclusion comes from one of 270 papers commissioned by the Office of Science and Technology's Foresight Centre in a bid to anticipate the major social and technological trends of the next 50 years …

    Law 20 Dec 2006, 10:37

  • Virgin foxes Firefox?

    Pot luck site compatibility

    Anyone planning to collect a picture message sent by a Virgin Mobile subscriber will need to have a range of web browsers available, as the operator's site compatibility seems to be changing daily. We were first alerted to the problem with the Virgin GetMessage site yesterday morning when a reader informed us that the site wasn …

    Mobile 20 Dec 2006, 10:40

  • Do you have a mature testing process?

    Or is it just an overhead getting in the way of release?

    How mature is your testing? Do you slip in a few tests if you have time after the final compile, or are your requirements each defined by a set of tests before you start? Do you review the quality of what you delivered afterwards with a view to doing better next time – or avoid such post-mortems, in case they provide a further …

    Developer 20 Dec 2006, 10:53

  • Ericsson buys Redback to challenge Cisco

    Sound and vision

    Ericsson has agreed to buy multi-service router firm Redback Networks for around $1.9bn in cash. The deal, announced Wednesday, values Redback's stock at $25 per share, a tidy 60 per cent premium on its average price over the last three months, and is expected to close in February 2007, subject to the approval of Redback's …

    Data Networking 20 Dec 2006, 11:11

  • Swiss roll over for mobile music service

    Students too lazy to create play lists though

    Social networking service Phling has published usage figures from the first 30 days since the launch of its service on Swisscom's mobile network. The Phling service allows mobile users to listen to music streamed from their home computer onto their mobile phone, but also embodies all the social-networking features which are so …

    Mobile 20 Dec 2006, 11:13

  • All I want for Christmas...

    Security wish list

    Mark Rasch takes a step back and offers his holiday and New Year's wish list of all things security - items that should exist, be made available and be easy to use for everyone over the coming year. It is traditional this time of year for people to make lists of what they want for the holidays. You know, a Nintendo Wii, a PS3 …

    Security 20 Dec 2006, 11:24

  • Irish company aims to free eBay's flow

    Takes control of sales and admin

    Irish firm Freeflow has teamed up with eBay in a deal that will see it offer pre and post-auction business services to the e-commerce site. Under the agreement, Freeflow will provide sales and administrative services to eBay, while gaining the advantage of the company's private marketplace. Freeflow helps clients liquidate …

    Business 20 Dec 2006, 11:38

  • Home Office to register biometrics of foreign nationals in UK

    Where's your fingerprint?

    The Home Office is considering the possibility of compelling foreign nationals in the UK to register their biometrics. It said the power would be introduced on a rolling basis and would build on biometric IDs for foreign nationals, which will be introduced from 2008. The policy would target groups such as migrant workers …

    Government 20 Dec 2006, 11:41

  • Christmas comes early for IT supplier

    Capgemini unwraps profit present from UK.gov

    Profits from its contract with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are providing Capgemini with an early Christmas present, according to a member of the Committee of Public Accounts The costs of HMRC's outsourced IT programme, known as Aspire, have spiralled to £8.5bn, against the £3.5bn planned when the contract was awarded in …

    Financial News 20 Dec 2006, 12:03

  • How fat is my DRM?

    Sony rootkit settlement prompts Bloatware Disclosure

    Some CD buyers in Texas and California can claim up to $175 each from record company Sony BMG as a result of a legal settlement this week. Both states took action against the music giant over its "rootkit-style" DRM, designed to prevent PC users from copying music CDs to their hard drives. The complaints allege that Sony BMG …

    Security 20 Dec 2006, 12:46

  • Hackers call on Skype to spread Trojan

    Dial M for malware

    Malware authors are using Skype to help spread a pair of Trojan packages. The malware does not exploit flaws in Skype as such, as a computer worm might do, but spreads by tricking users into agreeing to run hostile code, which poses as a "cool program" from one of their contacts. F-Secure reports that two different and …

    Security 20 Dec 2006, 12:57

  • Parcelforce: we'll deliver before Christmas

    Didn't mention which year

    Parcelforce has put a stop to ad-hoc collections in the face of unprecedented demand in the run-up to Christmas. The Royal Mail's package courier has pledged to honour all existing collection arrangements and have them delivered by the big day. The news means "last minute" orders from online retailers may not be possible. A …

    Small Biz 20 Dec 2006, 13:08

  • Citrix gets Ardence

    Boosts provisioning provisions

    Citrix is snaffling up provisioning vendor Ardence Inc for an undisclosed amount. Ardence, which has just 100 employees, has two divisions covering on-demand provisioning and real-time operating systems respectively. Citrix bumf announcing the acquisitions concentrates on how Massachusetts-based Ardence will bolster its …

    The Channel 20 Dec 2006, 13:50

  • Wikipedia semen shortage filled by User Generated Content

    NSFW The essence of DIY

    Who can fail to love the can-do spirit and have-a-go enthusiasm of Wikipedia? When the site found itself in need of copyright-free illustrations, one user simply generated his own. We were alerted to this cockle-warming tale via a Something Awful forum, where member Stick_Fig, sets the scene like this: A group of users has …

    Media 20 Dec 2006, 14:23

  • Palm's earnings slide

    Diversifying into 2007?

    Palm this week reported revenue and profits lower than a year ago. The smartphone and PDA manufacturer grossed $392.9m in Q2 2007, down from $446.3m a year ago. However, the intense competition in the communicator business was reflected in a profits squeeze: Palm reported $12.8m net income ($17.6m non-GAAP) for the quarter - …

    Financial News 20 Dec 2006, 15:01

  • Ireland overrun with HSDPA networks

    But who was first to deploy?

    3 Ireland's recent announcement that it would be deploying the country's first HSDPA network next year was met with a swift and curt response from Vodafone, pointing out that it's had the technology deployed for over a month and just because no-one is using it doesn't mean it's not there. Vodafone made its intentions clear back …

    Mobile 20 Dec 2006, 15:11

  • Outsourcing Scrooges consolidate Christmas

    Atos-ers

    If you're staring blankly at your monitor reliving recent Christmas party-induced humiliation in an atmosphere of ambient contempt, spare a thought for the poor souls of Atos Origin. The French outsourcing firm's UK staff didn't get a festive knees-up at all. It was all for their own good though, as the following internal …

    Management 20 Dec 2006, 15:39

  • Samsung SGH-Z560 'super 3G' phone

    Review Broadband clamshell

    HSDPA can deliver broadband to your mobile phone, and Samsung's SGH Z560 – enabled by T-Mobile's Web'n'Walk service – is leading the way. A two megapixel camera and some thoughtful features make the Z560 a one-stop-shop mobile multimedia prospect. But is the experience any good? Samsung's recently released SGH-Z560 clamshell …

    Phones 20 Dec 2006, 17:27

  • Month of Apple bugs planned for January

    A patch a day keep the hackers at bay

    Security researchers plan to release details of previously undisclosed Mac OS X or Apple application security bugs every day in January. The Month of Apple Bugs project is the brainchild of Kevin Finisterre and the folks behind November's Month of Kernel Bugs (MoKB) project. The security researchers told the Washington Post …

    Security 20 Dec 2006, 17:32

  • CNET interviewer assaulted by flying wang

    'Somebody block this c*ck'

    Airborne penises this week attacked CNET reporter and Second Life publicist Daniel Sadville, causing an unprecedented although not insurmountable interview interruption. Daniel Sadville looked to continue his groundbreaking work hyping the Second Life online game by interviewing alleged virtual millionaire Ailin Graef (aka …

    Media 20 Dec 2006, 17:36

  • Cable to bind US and China closer

    Electronically at least

    Verizon Business has joined with China Telecom and China Netcom to build a next-generation fibre optic link between China and the US. The Trans-Pacific Express will feature over 11,000 miles of cable and boast 60 times the capacity of the existing connection: initially carrying 1.23 Tb/sec (terabits per second) then ramping up …

    Data Networking 20 Dec 2006, 17:40

  • Sysadmin 'tried to boobytrap' drug firm database

    Prescription for disaster averted

    A former sys admin at Medco Health Solutions, one of the US's prescription drug management firms, has been charged over a failed attempt to to destroy its systems using a "logic bomb" computer virus. Yung-Hsun Lin allegedly planted malware on Medco's systems in October 2003 because of concerns he might lose his job after the …

    Security 20 Dec 2006, 19:02

  • 'Unprecedented' Rackable makes sense - CEO

    Interview Go figure

    Conventional wisdom would lead you to believe that Rackable Systems should have flopped. The company's motors kicked in post-bubble just as the server market started to contract. Two of the largest x86 server makers - Compaq and HP - merged, shrinking the x86 realm even more. The only start-ups thought to have a chance in such …

    Storage 20 Dec 2006, 21:28