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11th January 2007 Archive

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  • HP demos touchy-feely, finger-friendly Vista media PC

    Video report Get TouchSmart

    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 …

    Reg Hardware 11 Jan 2007, 00:33

  • eBay scalps StubHub

    Ticketed attractions

    eBay is buying StubHub, the San Francisco sports, music and theater tickets reseller for $310m. It gets a rebate though - StubHub brings with it a dowry of $25m in net cash. StubHub has created an online after-market for events tickets, which turns over around $400m a year in ticket sales, from which it clips $10m in profits, …

    Financial News 11 Jan 2007, 00:52

  • Cisco goes to war over the iPhone

    Pick a new letter, Apple

    Cisco Systems wasted no time flexing its trademark claim to the iPhone moniker. The networking giant today revealed that it has sued Apple for "infringing upon and deliberately copying" the iPhone name with the announcement of its flashy new handset at Macworld. The technology world has been waiting to see if Cisco would act …

    Mobile 11 Jan 2007, 01:09

  • Intel fires back at Transmeta

    Countersues and alleges 'unclean hands'

    Three months after being accused by Transmeta of patent infringement, Intel struck back, alleging the maker of the Caruso processor is infringing more than a half-dozen of Intel's own patents and alleging the lawsuit is barred by a host of legal defenses. Intel accuses Transmeta of infringing seven Intel patents relating to …

    Hardware 11 Jan 2007, 01:36

  • Fluidata punts 'enterprise-ready' 40Mbps DSL

    My name is Bonding - Channel Bonding

    Aggregating an ADSL2 line with an SDSL can provide higher performance and resilience than a leased line, and at lower cost, claims British channel-bonding specialist Fluidata. The company says that its PureFluid Burst service gives 22Mbps download and 4Mbps upload for perhaps £600 a month, plus installation fees. It adds that …

    Data Networking 11 Jan 2007, 08:02

  • IBM tops gay-friendly employer poll

    Big pink

    Gay lobby group Stonewall has rated IBM top of a poll of gay-friendly employers in Britain. The survey indexed a host of measures including how they engage with gay customers, commitment to diversity training, monitoring of staff sexual orientation, support for gay staff, and the presence of openly gay, bisexual or lesbian …

    IT Director 11 Jan 2007, 09:48

  • HP investigator charged

    Federal charges...

    One of the private investigators hired to snoop on HP's board of directors and journalists has been charged with federal crimes. Bryan Wagner is accused of identity theft and conspiracy. He is alleged to have used a reporter's Social Security number to get hold of their phone records. Five other people including HP's ex- …

    Financial News 11 Jan 2007, 10:17

  • New restrictions on opposing trade mark applications

    Policies move closer to Community Trade Mark system

    The UK Trade Marks Registry will no longer object to applications because a third party has existing rights in a mark, it has said. The only person who can object on those grounds is the person who actually owns those rights. The change follows consultation into the grounds for trade mark refusal in the Trade Marks Act of …

    Financial News 11 Jan 2007, 10:28

  • Human error suspected in loss of Mars surveyor

    Upgraded to oblivion

    The disappearance last year of the Mars Global Surveyor may have been caused by human error. NASA says it is now checking to see whether the shutdown was triggered by someone back at mission control sending the craft the wrong message. Although the space agency is investigating other possibilities, a dodgy software upload has …

    Space 11 Jan 2007, 10:40

  • 1RT Group fined £5,000 for fax spam

    Abuse of premium-rate numbers

    A company has been fined more than £5,000 over the sending of fax spam. The company, 1RT Group Ltd, claimed not to be ultimately responsible for the faxes but regulator ICSTIS found that it was. Regulator ICSTIS (Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of the Telephone Information Services) classified two cases …

    Networks 11 Jan 2007, 10:41

  • LTO hits level 4

    Doubles capacity, boosts speed

    The industry collaboration Linear Tape Open (LTO) Program has released a new version of its Ultrium standard for tape storage. The IBM, HP and Quantum-led group's new release is fourth in a roadmap of six iterations. The new cartidges double the capacity of current LTO 3 tapes to 1.6TB, assuming 2:1 compression. Transfer …

    Storage 11 Jan 2007, 10:51

  • US warns on spooky Canadian coins

    Tiny transmitters implanted in loonies

    The US Defence Department is warning contractors of the danger of Canadian coins containing tiny radio transmitters being used to follow their movements. The claim comes in the appendix to "Technology Collection Trends in the US Defence Industry" - an annual look at high-tech spying developments. This warns defense …

    Security 11 Jan 2007, 11:02

  • Blade innovations highlight energy efficiency opportunities

    As green pressures grow

    Pressures are growing for greater energy efficiency on the back of increasing concerns over the effects of global warming and likely energy shortages. Data centres are big energy users of course, drawing on lots of power not just to run the servers and systems but also to cool down the environment as they generate heat by the …

    Servers 11 Jan 2007, 11:07

  • Belkin PureAV HDMI Interface 3-to-1 Video Switch

    Review Blah

    This is a classic 'it does what it says on the tin' product. As the name indicates, it has three HDMI inputs and one output, and it allows you to switch signals between them so you can connect multiple devices to a single display. It's completely plug-and-play: just hook the HDMI sources into the inputs, plug the output into the …

    Reg Hardware 11 Jan 2007, 12:02

  • Skype not ready for mobility

    Mobile chief says network tariffs make it impractical

    Skype's head of mobile access has said that until network operators stop charging by the quantity of data transmitted then Skype won't be available on mobile phones. Skype is a popular VoIP service which offers free calls to other Skype users, but if the user is paying their network operator for the data they use then the calls …

    VoIP 11 Jan 2007, 12:12

  • Virtualization and ILM 2006: Looking Back

    Virtualization will continue to normalize across more areas

    One of the hottest topics in computing in 2006 was virtualization. Like many other trends before it, it had many definitions, many disguises, and the FUD factor was significant. Some advances were made, much confusion was added to the system by companies jumping on bandwagons or squandering precious marketing time wandering …

    Servers 11 Jan 2007, 12:15

  • IT volunteers rack up £2m in projects

    IT skills for charities

    IT professionals have donated £2m in time to the charity sector helping small organisations with a wide variety of technology projects. iT4Communities is celebrating reaching the £2m figure since its launch in November 2002. Volunteers have completed 340 IT projects and have another 148 still going on. John Davies, programme …

    IT Director 11 Jan 2007, 12:18

  • Rush job MI5 security alert service wide open to snoopers

    Shambolic service violates user privacy, Spyblog warns

    MI5 new e-mail alert service sends web subscription forms to the US without encryption, according to an investigation by Spyblog. The service, launched by MI5 on Tuesday, is designed to allow subscribers to receive email notification of changing national security threat levels by email. This information is already available …

    Security 11 Jan 2007, 12:24

  • UK airport iris biometric system flunks its exams

    Buried evaluation reveals awful truth

    An evaluation of the Home Office scheme to operate border controls via iris recognition "pretty much fails" Project Iris, according to Tory MP Ben Wallace. Wallace has been doggedly pursuing the results of the evaluation since autumn 2005, and these were quietly placed in the House of Commons library in late December. They …

    Music and Media 11 Jan 2007, 12:26

  • 101 uses for a dead iPhone

    NSFW In the event of product failure, click here

    It's official: paradigms were shifted, technologies redefined and, if the Macheads are to be believed, the world momentarily stopped turning on its axis this week at the unveiling of the long-awaited Apple iPhone™®©. And very pretty it is too, although some commentators are suggesting that the price - coupled to the Cingular …

    Mobile 11 Jan 2007, 13:00

  • PHP apps: security's low-hanging fruit

    Why PHP apps accounted for 43% of security issues in 2006

    PHP has become the most popular application language on the web, but common security mistakes by developers are giving PHP a bad name. Here's how PHP coding errors have become the new low-hanging fruit for attackers, contributing to the phishing problems on the web. PHP became one of my favorite languages because of how …

    Security 11 Jan 2007, 13:17

  • How to roll back and replicate a Windows server

    Double-Take reps SBS, even on dissimilar hardware

    Best known for its data replication technology, Double-Take Software has jumped into the snapshot business by adding the ability to replicate system state as well. It said that its Server Recovery Option allows it to recover an entire Windows server either to a real-time image or to a snapshot of its state at any time in the …

    Storage 11 Jan 2007, 13:39

  • Jobs triggers new appliance genre with Apple TV

    May sell even more than the iPhone

    Apple announced a 40GB digital video player this week, but it also told us about a radical upgrade to its Wi-Fi product line, taking early adoption of the as yet incomplete 802.11n standard and offering it with MIMO (using multiple dynamic antennas) which can stream video wirelessly through the home without the risk of major …

    Reg Hardware 11 Jan 2007, 14:04

  • Stem cells face second Bush veto

    Numbers game

    President Bush faces a congressional challenge to his veto on the use of human embryos in stem cell research on Thursday. But the pro-research lobby in the House of Representatives looks set to fall short of the two thirds majority it needs to override the Presidential veto. Commentators say Democratic midterm gains in the the …

    Biology 11 Jan 2007, 14:42

  • Adobe Reader update lances multiple bugs

    PDF peril prevention

    Adobe has fixed a security vulnerability in its Reader software that created a mechanism for hackers to commandeer vulnerable systems. The unspecified heap corruption flaw affects Adobe Reader versions 6.x and 7.x and means users tricked into opening malformed PDF documents might be exposed to malware. Credit for discovering …

    Security 11 Jan 2007, 14:47

  • Titan makes earthly debut for Microsoft partners

    Hosting opportunity

    Selected Microsoft partners have been given access to the next major edition of Microsoft's customer relationship management (CRM) software, taking it into hosted territory for the first time. Three hundred partners have got their hands on the suite, codenamed Titan, with Microsoft planning to make it available to 1,000 …

    Applications 11 Jan 2007, 14:52

  • NCR cuts 650 Scottish jobs

    Offshored

    NCR has slashed 650 jobs at its manufacturing plant in Dundee so it can move production of its cash points and registers to cheaper overseas factories. The $6bn firm will retain 700 jobs in Dundee, just 100 of which will be kept on a low-volume production line, where NCR has been manufacturing since 1947. Management, …

    Servers 11 Jan 2007, 15:03

  • Linux Live CDs

    Development systems in your pocket

    I can still remember the wow factor when first seeing a copy of Knoppix booting up on a Windows machine. It was many moons again and the idea of a bootable Linux CD seemed strangely miraculous. Assuming you had a BIOS that could boot from a CD, (pretty much a standard now but not so common a few years ago), Knoppix would …

    Developer 11 Jan 2007, 15:08

  • German child porn ring busted

    22m credit cards checked

    German police have arrested over 300 people in ten different states after detectives analysed credit card transactions from 22m customers. The 322 suspects paid $79.99 for 20-day access to a child porn website in the Philippines, according to Saxony-Anhalt state Interior Minister Holger Hoevelmann. German data privacy laws do …

    Music and Media 11 Jan 2007, 15:27

  • Sony develops little'n'large OLED TV panels

    HD ready

    CES 2007 Sony this week used the Consumer Electronics Show to demo a pair of large-format widescreen OLED panels it's developing for future TVs. The two displays, bevels included, were just 5mm thick. The first display is a compact, 11in model with a native resolution of 1,024 x 600. It will be pitched at portable …

    Reg Hardware 11 Jan 2007, 16:02

  • India stamps claim on space with satellite launch

    No unscheduled explosions

    India has made its space-going intentions clear early in 2007, with the launch of four satellites atop a single rocket. The launch went off without a hitch. The PSLV-C7 rocket blasted off from a launchpad in Sriharikota. On board were two Indian satellites, plus one each from Indonesia and Argentina. Speaking after the launch …

    Space 11 Jan 2007, 16:03

  • VeriSign offer bounty on Vista and IE7 bugs

    Pay-per-flaw

    VeriSign's iDefense unit is offering an $8,000 bounty to researchers who discover previously undocumented vulnerabilities in either Windows Vista or IE7. The flaws need to be serious enough to allow the remote execution of malware on up-to-date installations of the targeted platforms. Bugs that only crash systems, require …

    Security 11 Jan 2007, 16:45

  • Skinny W particle offers thinspiration for US physicists

    Mass matters, y'see

    It seems even elementary particles resolve to lose weight* in the new year. A new calculation of the mass of the W particle (instrumental in radioactive decay) suggests that it is lighter than scientists had thought up until now. This has implications for the particle physicists' particle: the elusive Higgs Boson. It too might …

    Science 11 Jan 2007, 16:51

  • Shure readies three-driver in-the-ear 'phones

    Splendid isolation

    CES 2007 Shure has launched its latest line of pro-quality in-the-ear noise isolation earphones, pitching the range's superior sound reproduction and lower prices than its current E series line-up. The SE range comprises four models: the SE210, SE310, SE420 and SE530, the latter offered in two forms, one with Shure's Push-to- …

    Reg Hardware 11 Jan 2007, 18:58

  • IBM beats patents record

    Do as we say, not as we do

    IBM surpassed itself by winning more patents last year than anyone else. Announcing the record haul, it called today for "sensible" patent reform. The computer giant is to host an online initiative that encourages "smaller" - i.e. just about everyone else on the planet - enterprises to debate efforts to help improve the …

    Developer 11 Jan 2007, 19:09

  • 'Spyware' teacher found guilty of exposing kids to smut

    Perverse verdict

    A teacher whose classroom PC displayed pornographic images to school children faces up to 40 years imprisonment. The pop-up images of couples fornicating will the likely result of spyware infestation, according to defence witnesses testifying on behalf of teacher Julie Amero, 40, Windham, Connecticut. But the six-person jury …

    Malware 11 Jan 2007, 19:14

  • SGI gives Microsoft the squeeze

    Joins the crowd

    SGI's rebirth won't be a Linux-only affair. The hardware maker today revealed plans to ship Microsoft's fancy cluster operating system with its servers. Where the old SGI focused on selling high-end systems running its own Irix flavor of Unix and then later Linux, the new SGI will focus on selling just about anything to …

    Servers 11 Jan 2007, 19:16

  • The Screwpole Emails - Project Types

    Episode 2 in our everyday story of project sabotage.

    By following his demonic uncle Screwpole’s advice, devil initiate Mugwort has had much success in eroding the quality of his victim’s payment engine project and has written an excited e-mail to his uncle. Here is Screwpole’s reply… To: Mugwort From: Uncle Screwpole Subject: As promised, how to categorise projects… [spam?] My …

    Developer 11 Jan 2007, 19:25

  • ICT dawdlers teach schools a lesson

    In your own time, laddie - no really, in your own time

    The UK government has eased the pressure on children to learn IT skills and considered using them as an example for other subjects, including Maths and English. A pilot, running since 2002 to trial the online testing of children in ICT, looked like it was knocked back yesterday when schools minister Jim Knight said it would no …

    Public Sector 11 Jan 2007, 19:41

  • Creative rolls out X-Fi audio booster kit for iPod

    Wireless units too

    CES 2007 Creative is set to bring its iPod-friendly wireless music and dock accessories to the UK this spring, the company told Reg Hardware after launching the line-up in the US at the Consumer Electronics Show. The entire range centres on Creative's X-Fi sound processing technology, launched in 2005 and made more …

    Reg Hardware 11 Jan 2007, 19:42

  • Seamless shows fold-up wireless communicator

    It's a phone. It's a PDA. It's a laptop replacement. Apparently

    CES 20076 The Leatherman Tool of the mobile device world, Seamless Interet's S-XGen handheld communicator was demo'd at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. The 398g clamshell unit opens to reveal its display and PDA-like control keys and media playback buttons. Below the fold, the device opens out again to …

    Reg Hardware 11 Jan 2007, 20:02

  • Honda unleashes stair-climbing 'droid

    Video report One up on the Daleks...

    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 …

    Reg Hardware 11 Jan 2007, 20:12

  • SAS shuts EMEA HQ

    Three hundred jobs affected

    Almost 300 of SAS Institute's European staff are to be disbanded this quarter, as the business intelligence and analytics company closes its EMEA HQ. SAS expects to complete the closure of its Europe, Middle East and Africa head quarters in Heidelberg, Germany, by March. Responsibilities are to be devolved to SAS's regional …

    Financial News 11 Jan 2007, 20:35

  • Jobs's Extreme Makeover plans for mansion rebuffed again

    No, you can't knock it down

    Apple CEO Steve Jobs has suffered another setback in his five-year attempt to raze his 17,000-square-foot mansion so he can build something smaller. Jobs, whose glowing image has been plastered on news outlets nonstop since Tuesday's keynote at Macworld in San Francisco, was told yesterday by a California state appeals court …

    Bootnotes 11 Jan 2007, 21:13

  • Teens charged with breaking into school computer

    File under life imitating art

    Two New Jersey teens have been accused by police of illegally tapping in to a school computer to change grades. Jonathan To, 18, and another teen who wasn't identified because he's a juvenile, were charged with computer theft after a routine audit discovered a discrepancy between grade reports and school transcripts, according …

    Security 11 Jan 2007, 21:30

  • Apple swipes Visual Voicemail from Citrix

    Exclusive Class action with Cisco?

    Apple appears unable to "think different" on the cell phone front. First the computer maker nicked the iPhone name for the actual device from Cisco, and now we find it's grabbed an application name from poor old Citrix. Earlier this week, Apple bragged about teaming with Cingular on its Visual Voicemail software that runs on …

    Mobile 11 Jan 2007, 21:38