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10th January 2007 Archive

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  • Penguin lays an Opteron low-ender

    Thinned for the HPC herd

    Penguin Computing has dished out its lowest-end Opteron box to date, billing the system as the no frills answer for high performance computing customers. The two-socket Altus 600 runs on 2000 Series Opteron chips from AMD and takes up just 1U of rack space. It boasts up to 64GB of memory, two SATA hard drives, an Nvidia …

    Servers 10 Jan 2007, 00:05

  • Windows Vista to connect to Xbox Live

    Video report Console and PC gaming

    Reg Hardware CES video reports All of CES - in five minutes! Bill Gates: a man and his music devices Honda unleashes stair-climbing 'droid HP demos touchy-feely, finger-friendly Vista media PC Windows Vista to connect to Xbox Live Xbox 360 to become internet telly Microsoft previews Halo 3 at CES Want to see more …

    Hardware 10 Jan 2007, 00:20

  • iPhone... but what happened to the iPod scroll wheel?

    Squaring the circle

    It's crunch time for the iPod. Can a single device be as easy to use for music as an iPod, and also as easy as a Mac for email, and also work as a phone? Steve Jobs has said yes, and to do this, he's dropped the famous scroll wheel. Enthusiasm for a new Apple launch is taken for granted. Jobs himself has a charisma that the …

    Mobile 10 Jan 2007, 00:36

  • Sun packs blade with new Opterons

    And old sales tactics

    Sun Microsystems has started 2007 by bouncing out a new blade server and a new blade server buying option. The hardware maker now offers the four-socket Sun Blade X8420 server module. The most gripping thing about the new box is its use of Rev F Opteron chips from AMD. The previous X8400 module runs on Rev E chips. Both …

    Servers 10 Jan 2007, 01:09

  • Computer takes a back seat at Apple

    Macworld Apple downplays roots

    Despite all hype surrounding the iPhone, this year's MacWorld conference was more notable for what it downplayed -- the computer that put Apple in the limelight in the first place. The annual confab has emerged as the chief showcase for the hottest new Apple products, and yet this year's event paid nary a word to the …

    Hardware 10 Jan 2007, 01:55

  • Warner pitches adhesive to bring HD DVD, Blu-ray Disc together

    Analysis Glu-ray Disc, anyone?

    CES 2007 Glue is the solution to the next-generation optical disc format war. Glue, or whatever Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WHE) is planning to use to bond - literally and metaphorically - the HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats to create a unified product, THD - Total HD disc. As a solution to two, mutually incompatible …

    Hardware 10 Jan 2007, 04:32

  • Web mobilises to save condemned Iranian teen

    Former Miss Canada fights for Nazanin Fatehi

    A campaign led by former Miss Canada and Miss World runner-up Nazanin Afshin-Jam aimed at saving the life of condemned Iranian teenager Nazanin Mahabad Fatehi (pictured) yesterday released a 30-minute documentary in a last-ditch attempt to avert the young woman's execution. In January 2006, 18-year-old Fatehi "was sentenced to …

    Media 10 Jan 2007, 09:55

  • Government to create 'super websites'

    And close 551 existing .gov.uk sites

    Whitehall is to shut down 551 websites to make access to information easier for citizens and businesses, a Cabinet Office minister has said. Launching the delayed Transformational Government annual report 2006, Pat McFadden said over half of central government websites will face closure over the next year. 90 of the 551 …

    Policy 10 Jan 2007, 10:12

  • Wiki ordered to remove link to drug documents

    EFF argues right to free speech breached

    A wiki about a controversial prescription drug has been ordered by a US court to remove a link to documents which originated with Eli Lilly, the drug's manufacturer. The drug, Zyprexa, has been the subject of payouts by Eli Lilly in cases over its alleged side effects. The pharmaceutical company still faces a large number of …

    Media 10 Jan 2007, 10:32

  • Steady as she goes at Computacenter

    Less rosy in France, Germany

    Computacenter said today it had a decent enough 2006, and expects to report pre-tax profits of £38.2m before exceptional charges, in line with market expectations. The firm said a move away from lower margin volume sales had improved overall income as the year progressed. Computacenter's services division slightly improved …

    Business 10 Jan 2007, 10:54

  • Bell Micro beats the Street

    Strong fourth quarter

    Bell Microproducts beat expectations with a strong fourth quarter. The company made revenues in the range of $1bn to $1.015bn - better than the expected $920m to $970m. Full year revenues are expected to be over $3.4bn - up eight per cent on 2005. But Bell is still investigating share options and accounting practises up …

    The Channel 10 Jan 2007, 11:02

  • UK plots first Moonshot

    Updated Pillinger: don't call us, etc.

    Britain's first Moon mission is being considered for funding by the government's Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council. A proposal from space technology firm Surrey Satellite Technology would see an orbiter sent to our nearest neighbour around 2010, the BBC reports. The orbiter, dubbed Moonlight, would release four …

    Science 10 Jan 2007, 11:40

  • Evesham iPlayer HD 80GB DVR

    Review Extra definition for couch potatoes

    Evesham's iPlayer is a Freeview box with a difference. With a built in hard drive, HDMI output and the ability to receive HD broadcasts it would be remarkable enough, but it also manages to fit an internet connection and network media player into the box too, making it potentially the only set-top box you'll ever need... The …

    Hardware 10 Jan 2007, 12:02

  • MS January patch update omits critical Word fix

    Half measures

    Microsoft released four patches on Tuesday - half the number initially expected - that address a number of critical flaws in its Windows OS, Outlook and Office software. None of the three is critical and one important security fix published by Microsoft addresses a trio of Word flaws, which have been left flapping since early …

    Security 10 Jan 2007, 12:15

  • BEA wins Nasdaq reprieve

    Nothing to declare

    BEA Systems has cheated the hangman after Nasdaq officials ruled the company's shares could continue to be traded on the market. The Java middleware company has failed to file full financial results since last summer, covering the quarters ended July 31 and October 31 2006. As a result, BEA received two letters warning it …

    Software 10 Jan 2007, 12:34

  • BT clocks up a million VoIP customers

    Or rather a million registrations...

    BT is claiming that over 1m punters have signed up for their VoIP services BT Broadband Talk and BT Softphone, but with the latter being a free download it’s hard to tell how many paying customers are using the service. The company is certainly pleased with the result, which is 6 months ahead of projections, but what proportion …

    Networks 10 Jan 2007, 12:46

  • EU data retention laws 'too costly' for telcos

    Flack over anti-terror tax

    EU laws that mean service providers will need to retain communications data for the purposes of possible criminal investigation will place a huge burden on carriers, market watchers warn. The controversial measures, enacted to aid the fight against terrorism, would compel telecom firms to keep customer email logs, details of …

    Networks 10 Jan 2007, 15:08

  • Why I want the iPhone to succeed

    Opinion This bling deserves better

    I'm glad the iPhone's is here - and I have very selfish reasons for wanting it to succeed. That's because even without the cellular telephony, it looks like something I've been wanting to buy. But it's also because after years of writing about smartphones, I've seen the established players become lazy and complacent, go down …

    Mobile 10 Jan 2007, 15:26

  • Editor's Blog: SEEDing graduates

    Soft skills in IT

    One really goes to conferences like Microsoft TechEd to meet people you didn’t know you were going to find interesting… One such serendipitous conversation I had at TechEd this Autumn was with Iain Kelwick of the University of Hull, about SEED Software. This is an EU- and Microsoft-sponsored initiative for unemployed Comp Sci …

    Developer 10 Jan 2007, 15:29

  • Scientists spot pulsar with 4 magnetic poles

    Double bubble

    The 209th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in Seattle has been entertained by the news that the neutron star within the Crab Nebula may have twice the normal complement of magnetic poles, the BBC reports. The nature of the star's radio pulse emissions leads the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico to conclude …

    Science 10 Jan 2007, 15:35

  • Malware: Windows is only part of the problem

    On coding secure and resilient applications

    We’ve all been hearing a lot about secure applications recently, or more accurately about insecure applications; specifically those that are exploited in identity theft raids or that we can be “tricked” into running on our PCs. Insecure applications are such a problem that Microsoft has spent the last five years and many …

    Security 10 Jan 2007, 15:36

  • NHS Direct all better

    Back after a little lie down

    NHS Direct is back online this afternoon after going on the sick with a server error earlier today. According to Netcraft, the Windows 2000 server at the bargain basement hypochondriac magnet modern, accessible public healthcare resource was rebooted today. See here. Whatever malady did for the box, it was "unexpected", as …

    Servers 10 Jan 2007, 15:39

  • Microsoft dusts off Smart Objects

    Run SPOT, Run

    Microsoft has managed to convince Garmin to embed SPOT technology into some of their GPS devices, while also expanding their transmission network with Clear Channel to broadcast SPOT content over their HD Radio network. Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) was a service launched by Microsoft back in 2003 when they managed …

    Mobile 10 Jan 2007, 15:46

  • ID cards to stop ex-cons migrating for anonymity

    While police call for limit to its database powers

    John Reid, the UK Home Secretary, told Parliament Wednesday that ID Cards could stop people with seriously sinful criminal records from sneaking across borders to escape scrutiny after they leave prison. His comments followed Tuesday's revelation by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that it inherited a backlog of …

    Media 10 Jan 2007, 16:16

  • 6TB in a pizza box

    Tandberg's keeping tape alive - and highly squashed

    Tandberg Data reckons its latest autoloader can get 6.4TB of removable storage into a 1U rackmount space - that's 6.4TB in a 1.75 by 19-inch pizza box. It's thanks to the arrival of half-height LTO-3 drives, and it highlights just how dense tape storage has become - although as usual with tape the capacity is nominal. LTO-3 …

    Storage 10 Jan 2007, 16:25

  • The iPhone: a Naomi Campbell of a product

    Pretty enough to look at, but you wouldn't want to do business with it

    Several readers have been in touch to ask if I've revised my opinions of the iPhone, now we've seen prototypes and heard the spiel, but the basic premise remains the same: the iPhone needs to appeal to operators, not customers, to be successful. It certainly does appeal to consumers, and I will probably get one myself to put …

    Mobile 10 Jan 2007, 16:40

  • Duo deny LA traffic hack charges

    The Hollywood Job

    A pair of Los Angeles traffic system engineers have been charged with manipulating traffic signals to disrupt transportation across the city in the run-up to a union protest last August. Gabriel Murillo, 37 and Kartik Patel, 34, were each charged with one count of unauthorized access of a computer. Mutillo also faces an …

    Security 10 Jan 2007, 17:46

  • Bubble bursts on Web 2.0 site membership claims

    Is there anybody there?

    The latest snapshot of teenagers' web surfing habits should further debunk sky-high valuations of, and membership clams by, popular social networking sites. Barely half of US teenagers have used a social networking site while just over half, 55 per cent, own a profile on MySpace, Facebook or YouTube, according to the latest Pew …

    Media 10 Jan 2007, 17:55

  • Acer 'preloads vulns' onto notebooks

    Ripe for exploitation

    Acer has been called out for pre-loading a vulnerability on its notebooks. A library file, called LunchApp.ocx, on the devices is set up to turn on the "safe for scripting" feature that means users are more vulnerable to ActiveX exploits. The "feature," designed to make it easier to browser Acer's site means systems can …

    Security 10 Jan 2007, 18:49

  • Griffin to make second-gen iPod Shuffle dockable - universally

    CES 2007 It is, in a word, genius, and will come as a godsend to anyone who owns a second-generation iPod Shuffle. Yes, it's a universal dock adaptor. The $20 part slots into any modern Apple or third-party dock in place of all the other iPod-specific adaptors, linking the standard dock connector to the 2G Shuffle's unique 3. …

    Hardware 10 Jan 2007, 18:58

  • AMD moots SFF PC mobo standard

    DTX launched

    CES 2007 AMD is following arch-rival Intel into the PC form-factor defining game. Today, the company launched DTX, a would-be standard for quiet, low-power small form-factor systems. DTX will take advantage of energy-efficient processors from AMD and other chip makers to provide system builders with a template for SFF PCs …

    Hardware 10 Jan 2007, 19:22

  • Sling preps TV show-snippet sharing service

    How short's a clip?

    CES 2007 Slingbox maker Sling Media is to turn its internet TV box into a content sharing platform, the company said this week. It announced Clip+Sling, a feature that will allow Slingbox owners to share short segments of TV shows with anyone connected to the net. Watching Sling get this one past the broadcasters may well prove …

    Hardware 10 Jan 2007, 20:09

  • Toshiba demos 'first' HD DVD-R notebook drive

    CES 2007 Toshiba demonstrated what it claimed the first notebook capable of burning HD DVDs, a Qosmio laptop with an integrated HD DVD-R drive, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week. The prototype set-up can record onto 30GB HD DVD media, the company said. Toshiba wouldn't say when it's going to ship the machine …

    Hardware 10 Jan 2007, 20:32

  • AMD posts Catalyst 7.1 update

    Drivers tweaked for Windows and Linux

    AMD has shipped the latest version of its Catalyst driver package for ATI Radeon graphics chips. The new release, version 7.1, covers both Windows XP and Linux - the latter now supporting version 2.6.19 of the open source operating system's kernel. Catalyst 7.1's key Windows enhancements include a claimed 12 per cent …

    Hardware 10 Jan 2007, 20:42

  • How AT&T chewed up, and spat out Net Neutrality

    Analysis Masterpiece of misdirection

    It sure would be nice, but it doesn't have much chance of happening because of market power, size, etc. I think it would be real hard to do. I don't think the regulators would let that happen, in my judgment." - Ed Whitacre on the possibility of taking over BellSouth, 2005. The definition of a Southern Gentleman, it's said, …

    Networks 10 Jan 2007, 20:57

  • Yelp reviewers paid for their opinions

    Pays greens for Astroturf campaign

    Yelp - the review site that relies on people just like you and me to help readers find the hippest shops, bars and restaurants - has been paying marketers to write reviews and post comments, BusinessWeek reports. Yelp, one of a half-dozen Web 2.0 outfits started by co-founders of PayPal, recently placed an ad in Atlanta seeking …

    Financial News 10 Jan 2007, 21:28

  • Dell calls on customers to contribute to carbon-neutral computing

    PC giant twigs on to global warming

    CES 2007 Dell has announced it will plant sufficient trees to absorb all the atmospheric carbon dioxide generated by power plants producing the electricity used to drive its computers for a three-year period. The scheme, dubbed Plant a Tree for Me, will see notebook and desktop buyers given the chance to donate $2 or $6, …

    Hardware 10 Jan 2007, 21:38

  • Carly of La Mancha

    Review Tough Choices is a tough sell

    It's good to see that a couple years away from the executive ranks haven't diminished Carly Fiorina's embrace of the delusional. Her recent memoir Tough Choices confirms that the same quixotic persona behind HP's yo-yo impression lives on safely in semi-retirement. Regular readers will know that Fiorina has received a …

    Data Center 10 Jan 2007, 22:56

  • Bell tolls for SCO, Novell claims

    Fork over $26m while you still can

    SCO, whose claim to the Linux kernel has touched off a firestorm in the open source realm, is on the verge of bankruptcy, according to court documents filed by legal opponent Novell, several publications reported. SCO has also failed to pass on more than $26m in licensing fees from Sun Microsystems and Microsoft, as required …

    Operating Systems 10 Jan 2007, 23:39

  • 'Pay with PayPal and you're covered'

    eBay payment protection doubled

    PayPal is doubling payment protection in the US and Canada for most eBay transactions to $2,000. Buyers can claim if the goods they buy do not arrive or are "significantly not as described". Which is nice, but a few get-outs remain for PayPal. The improved terms cover 95 per cent of items listed on eBay. To qualify for (free …

    Financial News 10 Jan 2007, 23:41