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16th January 2007 Archive

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  • Sundance shorts debut on iTunes

    iFilms

    Short films from the upcoming Sundance film festival will be released through Apple's iTunes for download. Documentary, animated and drama shorts from the 2007 Sundance Film Festival will go on sale at $1.99 each on the iTunes Store from Monday, 22 January. Movies will be drawn from a slate of 71 short films from 19 countries …

    Media 16 Jan 2007, 00:04

  • Woolworths punts must-have kids' book for £99m

    Plus £2.74 delivery, naturally

    The parents among you know how it is: your kid wants that must-have item and you will stop at nothing to ensure your offspring's happiness. Indeed, some long-suffering, cash-dispensing mums and dads will recall with a chill in their hearts the Thunderbirds Tracey Island emergency, which saw normally well-balanced adults …

    Bootnotes 16 Jan 2007, 00:06

  • Skype boys christen video venture

    Start-up formerly known as Venice Project

    The Venice Project - created by Skype and Kazaa founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis - has been renamed Joost.com. The service is one of several aiming to change the way we watch TV, or at least how we access video content online. The software is in beta and available for download from here.. Joost uses peer-to-peer …

    Networks 16 Jan 2007, 09:28

  • Pretexting banned in the US

    Privacy gets its Act together

    The kind of surveillance activities carried out on behalf of computing giant Hewlett-Packard which caused controversy last year have been made illegal in the US thanks to a new law. President George W Bush has signed an Act which outlaws pretexting, the practice of gaining information about a third party's phone use without …

    Law 16 Jan 2007, 10:03

  • Japan confirms H5N1 bird flu outbreak

    Nationwide farm inspections ordered

    Four thousand Japanese chickens have died from an illness confirmed as the H5N1 strain of bird flu. The chickens were all being reared at a poultry farm in the Miyazaki prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu. The farmer's remaining 8,000 birds have now been culled. As well as ordering a nationwide inspection of poultry …

    Science 16 Jan 2007, 10:14

  • Apple has toxic core: Greenpeace

    Still not green enough for greenies

    Despite Apple's launch of the eco-friendly iPhone last week, Greenpeace is demanding an environmental revolution that will shake the company to its core. In his keynote address at Macworld, Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs said the iPhone would be recyclable and partially solar powered, but the environmental lobby …

    Management 16 Jan 2007, 10:17

  • Water drinking death contest show taken off air

    Fatality over Wii to be investigated

    The Sacramento radio show behind a water drinking competition which saw one of the contestants die from apparent water intoxication has been taken off air indefinitely. "The Morning Rave" on local station KDND 107.9 "The End" held its "Hold your wee for a Wii" contest to win a videogames console on Friday. Runner-up and mother …

    Media 16 Jan 2007, 10:24

  • Sony readies CompactFlash card line

    Ready for digital SLRs

    Sony has decided to enter the CompactFlash market, an unusual move partly given the age of the format and its bulkiness in comparison to the latest memory cards but mostly because of Sony's penchant for its own design, Memory Stick. Sony will pitch its CF products at the digital SLR camera market. Its motivation appears to be …

    Hardware 16 Jan 2007, 10:26

  • Apple to charge for 802.11n Mac enabling software?

    Want faster Wi-Fi? Then cough up

    Apple is to allow owners of Macs equipped with 802.11n Wi-Fi adaptors to take advantage of the next-generation wireless technology, but it's going to charge punters for the privilege, it has been claimed. According to unnamed sources cited by troubleshooting website MacFixIt, Apple plans to charge a penny less than $5 for …

    Hardware 16 Jan 2007, 11:00

  • Scientists bring forward nuclear holocaust

    The Final Countdown

    The planet will move closer to an inevitable firey armageddon on Wednesday, when a group of atomic scientists move their "Doomsday clock" forward in response to the volatile international climate. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has operated the clock since 1947. The symbolic timepiece has been maintained at the University of …

    Science 16 Jan 2007, 11:03

  • Celebrity Big Brother in racism rumpus

    Ofcom probes 2,000 viewer complaints

    UK TV watchdog Ofcom is looking into accusations of racism levelled at Celebrity Big Brother, the BBC reports. Around 2000 viewers have complained that Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty is being targeted by some other contestants because she's Indian. Specifically, "Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara have ganged up on …

    Bootnotes 16 Jan 2007, 11:10

  • Scottish IT firms hit by Dell effect

    Staff jumping ship

    Scottish IT firms are struggling to hold onto staff tempted by the recent arrival of Dell. Dell is on track to hire 850 staff for its Glasgow call centre and was given a grant of £7.5m from the Scottish executive to do so. But Scottish firms say this makes it harder for them to keep staff they've spent good money on training …

    The Channel 16 Jan 2007, 11:21

  • Japan scales back lunar ambitions

    Spaceship fails MOT

    Japan is reportedly scrapping plans to visit the moon. Problems in developing the science package for the planned lander have delayed the project by so much that the spacecraft earmarked to make the journey has become dilapidated. Repairing the craft would be too costly, the agency says. The Japanese Space Exploration Agency ( …

    Science 16 Jan 2007, 11:24

  • Hamsard picks up the rest of CSF

    Buys services biz

    Hamsard is paying £3.3m for the managed services business of CSF - the solutions part of the company was bought by Logicalis in December. CSF managing director Mike Northall joins Hamsard's management team and Hamsard, Blue River, NSA, and CSF Managed Services will be integrated into one group and brand. More from Hamsard here …

    The Channel 16 Jan 2007, 11:26

  • Gigabyte, Asus JV pitches 'next-gen' gaming mobo

    Quad-everything

    Football team soundalike Gigabyte United - it's actually a joint venture between Gigabyte and Asus - has launched its self-styled "richly featured next-generation gaming platform" dubbed the Gigabyte 6-Quad. The first board based on the platform's array of technologies is the GA-N680SLI-DQ6. It's unwieldly model number …

    Hardware 16 Jan 2007, 11:33

  • Trojans fuel ID theft boom

    Phishing season

    Identity theft, both offline and online, is on the rise with keylogging Trojan software often forming the weapon of choice for would-be fraudsters, according to a new study by net security firm McAfee. McAfee reckons the number of keylogging malware packages increased 250 per cent between January 2004 and May 2006. The number …

    Security 16 Jan 2007, 11:55

  • 3 culls roaming charges

    Make yourself at home

    3 customers will no longer pay to receive calls, and will be able to use their bundled minutes, text, and data, when roaming onto a 3 network abroad. The new deal applies to both pay as you go and contract customers, and means customers travelling to Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Italy, Hong Kong, Australia, and the UK can …

    Mobile 16 Jan 2007, 12:12

  • Sony PS3 sales pass 2m mark... two weeks late

    Still on course to sell 6m by April?

    Sony has shipped 1m PlayStation 3 consoles in Japan, the consumer electronics giant said yesterday, the day it hit that mark. However, the announcement was a tacit admission it has failed to hit the 2m-machine target it last year said to would reach by the end of 2006. Last week, Sony said it had shipped 1m PS3s in the US by …

    Games 16 Jan 2007, 12:38

  • Do you own these bookshelf must-haves?

    CashnCarrion Programming classics

    Though IT is one of the fastest changing industries, there are some things that endure the test of time. The books included here fall into that category and are as relevant now as when they were first published. Here's your chance to pick up some classic programming titles with Register Books at a massive 40 per cent off …

    Site News 16 Jan 2007, 13:08

  • AOpen readies Car PC for Mitsubishi motors

    Voice-activated navigation, entertainment centre

    Mini PC specialist AOpen today joined Mitsubishi to unveil a voice-controlled in-car computer designed to provide driver and passengers with travel information and keep them entertained - and connected - while they're out and about. Called the Car PC, the unit's designed to slot into a range of vehicle Mitsubishi said it …

    Hardware 16 Jan 2007, 13:15

  • Microsoft picks IBM top brain

    Grey matter land grab

    Microsoft has bagged one of the brains behind IBM's application server and middleware strategies to land a bigger punch in corporate computing. The chief architect for IBM's software group, Donald Ferguson, has quit the computing giant after 22 years, during which time he architected and helped establish the WebSphere …

    Developer 16 Jan 2007, 13:47

  • Naomi Campbell up before the beak

    Updated Pleads guilty to 'reckless assault'

    Battling supermodel Naomi Campbell is finally up before the beak today in a New York court on a second degree assault rap, The Evening Standard reports. The appearance follows a no-show last September which nearly resulted in the judge issuing a warrant for her arrest. Campbell, 36, is accused of assaulting her housekeeper with …

    Bootnotes 16 Jan 2007, 13:58

  • IBM offers storage kit to tiddlers

    How low end can you go?

    IBM has extended its storage offering downmarket with the announcement of the cheapo DS3000 range for small and medium sized businesses (SMBs). Starting at just under $5,000, two models will be available January 30 and come with simplified management software. The DS3200 is direct-attached only with a serial attached SCSI (SAS …

    Storage 16 Jan 2007, 14:08

  • US man badly burned by self-combusting cell phone

    Mobile provokes serious fire

    A US man has been badly burned in a fire resulting from a spontaneously-combusting mobile phone, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Fifty-nine-year-old Luis Picaso, of Vallejo, California, who had been sleeping in his house on a white plastic lawn chair last Saturday night, was rudely awoken by a fire which melted the plastic …

    Mobile 16 Jan 2007, 14:31

  • You've left your prints all over that flaming Mac

    Letters And is this your crispy mole?

    The fire just won't go out. We've tried pouring sand on it, water, throwing blankets at it, but all we got was the odd feeling we'd been on an English seaside holiday. We're talking of course, about the flames licking up the edges of the pages we used to publish any mention of the new phone from that company. You know, the …

    Letters 16 Jan 2007, 15:21

  • 1and1 says problems are over

    And relax...

    Hosting provider 1and1 says it has sorted out problems which were delaying email today and yesterday and said it was sorry for any hassle caused. The Reg received several emails from people unable to get onto the company's Pop3 servers over the last two days. 1and1's PR sent us the following statement: Yesterday, a number of …

    Broadband 16 Jan 2007, 15:22

  • Beatles lyrics auctioned for $300,000

    While My Wallet Gently Weeps

    The handwritten lyrics to While My Guitar Gently Weeps - penned by George Harrison - have been auctioned in the US for a cool $300,000, the BBC reports. This earliest-known version of the 1968 White Album classic features Harrison's corrections and lines subsequently left out of the final recorded version: I look from the …

    Bootnotes 16 Jan 2007, 15:47

  • Apple attacks iPhone UI emulators

    Look'n'feel wars... round 99

    Apple is apparently taking a dim view of software developers emulating the bright Mac OS X user interface it's developed for its upcoming iPhone handset. Attempts to post graphics that bring the look of the iPhone to existing Palm OS, Windows Mobile and Symbian devices are being repulsed by legal threats. Take the case of …

    Phones 16 Jan 2007, 15:50

  • US Navy seeks help in developing e-warfare systems

    Come jam with me

    The US Navy is looking for help from the IT industry to develop technologies that can block mobile phone signals or broadcast transmissions. The request from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) is part of plans to develop so-called next generation electronic warfare capabilities, extending existing technologies to cover a …

    Mobile 16 Jan 2007, 16:32

  • UK consumers bought 200,000 Nintendo Wiis over Xmas

    Even more DS consoles sold

    Nintendo sold almost 200,000 Wiis in the UK and more than 500,000 of the next-gen console across the rest of Europe during December 2006, the company has claimed. However, it also admitted it's still having a job shipping out enough of them. Nintendo launched Wii on 8 December but almost immediately some retailers questioned …

    Games 16 Jan 2007, 16:40

  • Page 3 girl in net sex vid shocker

    Keeley Hazell a 'sobbing wreck' after leak

    Page 3 girl Keeley Hazell was reduced to a "sobbing wreck" after an explicit sex video of her and a former boyfriend escaped onto the internet, The Sun reports. Hazell, 20, yesterday "obtained an injunction on grounds of privacy preventing any further publication or promotion of the video". This proved too late to stop …

    Law 16 Jan 2007, 16:57

  • HP gets denser, faster...

    With nanowire chip advance

    HP claims to have made a chip design breakthrough that could result in integrated circuits up to eight times denser than those currently in production. The new technology would also use less energy per transaction than today's chips, if HP's computer models are correct. The research has been published in the 24 January issue …

    Servers 16 Jan 2007, 17:07

  • Cattle branding comes to the 21st Century

    High-tech tattoo more than a pretty picture

    Somark Innovations, a small company working out of Saint Louis, has successfully tested an RFID tattoo, on cows, mice and rats: enabling an identifying number embedded under the skin to be read from over a meter away. Implanting identification numbers into animals is nothing new: in the UK pets travelling abroad, and returning …

    Security 16 Jan 2007, 17:37

  • X-ray exposes ring-swallowing thief

    With this ring, I thee nick

    A jewellry-swallowing ne'er-do-well who tried to make off with a £1,750 engagement ring from a shop in Dorchester, England was collared when police ran a metal detector over his stomach. And when Simon Hooper, 28, denied he'd swallowed the ring, police subjected him to an X-ray which confirmed its presence, The Telegraph …

    Security 16 Jan 2007, 17:55

  • Apple's iPhone: theoretical risks of unreleased handset

    Symantec stokes Apple hype engine

    Apple's iPhone is unlikely to become a gateway device for mobile malware, Symantec says. The handset will run an operating system based on Mac OS X, thus opening the possibility that the small number of viruse targeting the platform might be re-purposed to infect iPhone. However, Concerns about possible mobile infestation of …

    Mobile 16 Jan 2007, 18:06

  • Symantec blames deferrals for missing Q3 target

    Analyst says there's more to it

    Symantec said its third-quarter revenue and profit fell below its forecast, as sales of data center management products failed to perform as expected. Sales for the period that ended Dec. 29 were in the range of $1.29bn to $1.31bn, lower than a forecast of $1.315 bn to $1.345bn. Revenue was $1.149bn in the year ago period. …

    Financial News 16 Jan 2007, 21:09

  • Transmeta clocks another CEO

    Crudele's Rule

    In the midst of making war with Intel, Transmeta has tapped a new CEO. The former chip maker and now chip IP specialist has picked Lester Crudele as its new president and CEO. Crudele takes the helm on Feb 1, when current prez and CEO Arthur Swift steps down. The CEO shift comes at an odd time. Last October, Transmeta lobbed …

    Financial News 16 Jan 2007, 21:17

  • Netflix puts the Net into Flix

    Instant playback for 1,000 movies, TV progs

    Netflix, the online movie rental business, is to offer films and TV episodes over the internet. Subscribers download a browser applet, which lets them watch stuff using a real-time playback technology. According to Netflix, this immediate viewing feature means that customers can watch films on their PC within 10-15 seconds of …

    Media 16 Jan 2007, 21:27

  • SAP in Salesforce.com thunder-stealing exercise

    Competitors any day, now

    SAP has tried to deflate Salesforce.com's latest update event by announcing competing products and services for the mid-market. The business software giant has launched the long-awaited update for its mid-market All-in-One suite, introducing integration with Microsoft's ubiquitous Office. Integration is based on the same …

    Applications 16 Jan 2007, 22:16

  • Tradedoubler shareholders snub AOL's $900m bid

    Has the world gone completely mad?

    AOL, which yesterday agreed to pay $900 million for Swedish company Tradedoubler.com is pledging to hold firm on the hefty sum, despite opposition from some shareholders of the acquisition target. Swedish pension fund Alecta, which holds about 10.01 per cent of Tradedoubler shares, says it will reject the deal because the fee …

    Media 16 Jan 2007, 22:38

  • Intel makes income disappear in Q4

    Copperfieldian quarter

    Intel performed a disappearing act during its fourth quarter, hiding revenue and income from investors. The chip giant saw Q4 revenue drop five per cent to $9.7bn. More stunning, however, was Intel's 39 per cent net income slide to $1.5bn (EPS of 26 cents). These results capped off a difficult year for the company, as it tried …

    Financial News 16 Jan 2007, 23:03