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28th March 2007 Archive

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  • MySpace sues Spamford Wallace

    Gone Phishing

    You've got to admire Sanford Wallace for his persistence. Despite a flurry of lawsuits over the years and his well-deserved status as one of the net's most loathed pariahs, the the self-proclaimed King of Spam is now being sued by MySpace, which alleges he phished user accounts and deceived users into visiting his websites. …

    Spam 28 Mar 2007, 00:03

  • Intellectual property debate heats up, as ICANN looks to the future

    ICANN Lisbon The future's better late than never

    The first day of the ICANN meetings in Lisbon had a certain predisposition to it. Lost luggage complaints, which oddly dovetailed with a certain ICANN-induced weariness, seemed to be more prevalent than concerns about the organization itself. A kind of internet industry bonding ritual had begun, along the lines of Monday morning …

    Law 28 Mar 2007, 05:02

  • AppForge 'goes titsup'

    VSLive Rival offers helping hand to customers

    Mystery surrounds the fate of AppForge, the mobile applications developer, with suggestions the company may have ceased trading. AppForge, whose partner list reads like a Who's Who in mobile platforms and devices, is thought to have gone out of business on March 15. Questions over AppForge's future surfaced today as partner …

    Mobile 28 Mar 2007, 05:14

  • Hospital laptop theft sparks concerns

    Kids' details at large

    A laptop containing data on 11,000 children between the ages of eight months and eight years old has been stolen from a Nottinghamshire hospital. Data contained on the laptop contained the names, addresses, and dates of birth of children from the Newark, Mansfield, and Ashfield areas, the BBC reports. The machine was one of …

    ID 28 Mar 2007, 06:02

  • WStore wants to wow public sector

    Recruits dedicated sales team

    Online supplier of business IT equipment WStore has said it will build-up a sales team working exclusively for the public sector. WStore was awarded Catalist IT supplier status in 2006 covering software, supplies, and office accessories. It has been steadily building sales in the public sector ever since, with an estimated …

    Channel Register 28 Mar 2007, 06:02

  • Microsoft: a successful low-maturity company?

    Like a fine wine

    In the comments on my blog about the CMMI Made Practical conference here, I quote Microsoft as an example of a very successful low-maturity company. I make no secret of my partiality for CMMI-style process improvement (almost 30 years in IT has convinced me that it’s far from a process-free zone) but it’s not the only way to run …

    Developer 28 Mar 2007, 08:02

  • Microsoft buys into cross-browser development

    VSLive Catches on

    Microsoft has added cross-browser support to its application lifecycle platform, in a further sign that Internet Explorer's hold on developers is slowly loosening. Microsoft has snapped up tiny devBiz Business Solutions, whose TeamPlain product enables Windows developers to look at code and evaluate software development …

    Developer 28 Mar 2007, 08:57

  • DCA stands by postal vote software

    Reported problems 'not an issue'

    The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) has defended the technology to be used in verifying postal votes in May's local elections. This follows reports that a number of councils have run into problems with the software to be used for the ballot. The DCA said in a statement that it was not, to its knowledge, an issue …

    Public Sector 28 Mar 2007, 09:06

  • EU proposes greater data sharing between police forces

    One body to rule them all

    The German Presidency of the European Union wants police forces across Europe to be able to share data more freely and wants a single body to be in charge of overseeing the process. The changes are contained in a framework decision proposed by the Presidency to the European Commission designed to outline the protections …

    Government 28 Mar 2007, 09:22

  • Code surgeons transplant Apple TV OS

    MacBook mutates into set-top box

    Apple's set-top box, the Apple TV, runs a modified version of Mac OS X - this we've known for a while now. However, hackers have figured out how to transplant the operating system from the ultra-slim Mac - if the cap fits... - and run it on a MacBook laptop. Not that this is meant to happen - the hack requires a patched …

    Reg Hardware 28 Mar 2007, 09:29

  • Elton John free to menace Tobago

    Church ban request denied

    Sir Elton John will appear at next month's Plymouth Jazz Festival on the Caribbean island of Tobago, despite local church objections that his presence on the sun-kissed Caribbean island might turn the entire population gay. Archdeacon Philip Isaac recently warned: "His visit can open the country to be tempted towards pursuing …

    Entertainment 28 Mar 2007, 09:35

  • Toadzilla conquers world's media

    Major triumph for El Reg headline-writing department

    It's always been an ambition of mine to write headlines for UK tabloid The Sun, and I'm delighted to report today that this long-held wish has finally been granted. Compare and contrast our "Oz vigilantes capture Toadzilla" with "Toadzilla: Giant toad captured". For shame. And in case you think it's just The Sun who …

    Bootnotes 28 Mar 2007, 09:38

  • MS confirms black Xbox 360 Elite

    Homage to wireframe space-trading game of yore?

    It's official - Microsoft has announced the black Xbox 360. Dubbed the Elite, the machine does indeed feature the rumoured HDMI port, 120GB hard drive and $480 price tag. As expected, the unit will be offered alongside a stack of colour-coordinated accessories, most of which will work with existing 360s. Unlike Sony, …

    Reg Hardware 28 Mar 2007, 09:52

  • Accounting probe costs iSoft its co-founder

    Heads roll at health provider

    iSoft has sacked Steve Graham, the company's co-founder and commercial director. iSoft issued a statement to the London Stock Exchange which said: "The company is today announcing that Steve Graham has been removed as a director and has ceased to be an employee of iSoft." The company is currently being investigated by the …

    Public Sector 28 Mar 2007, 09:57

  • Gambling Commission consults on data protection for punters

    Match fixing clampdown could breach Act

    The Gambling Commission has launched a short consultation on what rules should govern the sharing of information to prevent match fixing. New gambling legislation which comes into force in September allows betting companies to share data with sporting organisations so that match rigging can be identified and stopped. Such …

    Law 28 Mar 2007, 09:59

  • Regulators probe Vodafone - Hutch Essar deal

    Indian mobile operators for Indian people

    Indian industry watchdogs will investigate whether Vodafone's $11bn deal for mobile operator Hutch Essar violates laws designed to regulate foreign control. The world's largest mobile operator agreed to buy a controlling holding in Hutch Essar in mid-February. The 67 per cent stake comprised Hutchison Telecommunications' 54 per …

    Financial News 28 Mar 2007, 10:00

  • Installing desktop Linux

    Comment Does it pass, or should I?

    It's funny how you can find yourself transported back, when faced with a set of stimuli. Pick up an old book, listen to a piece of music, or put on a jacket, and sometimes a wealth of memories and feelings can come rushing back. It can be slightly disorienting and it's not always pleasant, but for me at least, it never ceases to …

    Operating Systems 28 Mar 2007, 10:07

  • Japanese net suicide pact murderer to hang

    Suffocated three victims

    A Japanese man who arranged suicide pacts via the internet with three people he subsequently killed has been sentenced to death, AFP reports. Hiroshi Maeue, 38, met a 25-year-old woman online and "proposed that they kill themselves together". However, when they entered the car chosen to host the suicide, he "bound her with …

    Law 28 Mar 2007, 10:28

  • Mexican cops offer Xboxes for guns

    Ne'er-do-wells trade shoot-'em-ups

    Mexican ne'er-do-wells are being offered the chance to trade their traditional shoot-'em-ups for a less lethal alternative, Reuters reports. Mexico City's newly-elected mayor Marcelo Ebrard has decided to purge the city's mean streets by dishing out cash or a free Xbox for every handgun, while anyone surrendering a heavy …

    Bootnotes 28 Mar 2007, 10:33

  • Sony to bring last year's Blu-ray Disc player to UK this year

    Sony is to bring its lounge-friendly Blu-ray Disc player - no, not the PS3, the other one - to the UK this summer. But we're not talking the new, slimline machine Sony is promising US consumers, just the one that went on sale in the US last year. Over there, it was dubbed the BDP-S1. Here, it'll be the BDP-S1E. It's capable …

    Reg Hardware 28 Mar 2007, 10:50

  • TI to demo 'pico-projector' tech at CTIA

    Company sees the light...then has to turn it off

    Texas Instruments (TI) believes it may have an answer to one of the besetting snags of mobile tech. The electronics giant says it intends to demo DLP "pico-projector" technology at the CTIA Wireless Convention, which opened today in Orlando. The kit might be deployed in pocket gadgets of the future, potentially sidestepping the …

    Mobile 28 Mar 2007, 10:55

  • Pop-up ads told to pop off, as online ad spend soars

    MySpace gets milked

    Online advertisers are turning their backs on pop-up marketing, according to UK figures released today. The propotion of UK spend funneled at pop-ups fell more than 35 per cent to 0.7 per cent of the total online budget in 2006. So-called interruptive formats - a hangover strategy from radio and TV campaigns - often infuriate …

    Small Biz 28 Mar 2007, 10:57

  • McCain 'comes out for gay marriage on MySpace'

    Revenge prank pokes fun at presidential hopeful

    Republican presidential hopeful John McCain's MySpace page was commandeered on Tuesday to display a satirical message suggesting the Conservative was now in favour of gay marriage, particularly between "passionate females". The prank was orchestrated by Mike Davidson, chief exec of Newsvine, after he noticed that the Senator' …

    Enterprise Security 28 Mar 2007, 11:00

  • Samsung shows self-adjusting phone display

    Samsung will offer phone makers a 2.1in, 320 x 240 LCD panel capable of automatically adjusting its own brightness level by measuring ambient lighting, the South Korean giant has said. Samsung calls the technology Adaptive Brightness Control (ABC) but didn't quite go so far as to claim it will make handsets legible in bright …

    Reg Hardware 28 Mar 2007, 11:12

  • Norwegian nutter skis 300ft down Tube escalator

    London Underground unimpressed by YouTube vid

    YouTube footage of a "nutter skiing down Angel Tube Station escalator" has not impressed London Underground officials, The Sun reports. LU officials described the stunt - featuring Norwegian Peter Olenick on a 300-ft white-knuckle descent of Europe's longest escalator - as "a dangerous, stupid and irresponsible act that could …

    Bootnotes 28 Mar 2007, 11:19

  • Palm to bring HSDPA to 3G Treo 750

    Windows Mobile 6 into the bargain

    Palm will be bringing Windows Mobile 6 to its Vodafone-branded Treo 750v and its own version, the 750. As a bonus, upgraders will also gain HSPDA high-speed downloads, network permitting. Of course, Palm didn't say when the upgrade will be made available - it just noted the software will be ready to download "later this …

    Mobile 28 Mar 2007, 11:37

  • HANNspree HANNSlounge designer LCD TV

    Review Style over substance?

    Ever felt that boring old black and silver just wasn't you? When you go telly shopping are you uninspired by the me-too-ness of the models on offer? Want something in your lounge that makes a statement? Then Taiwanese manufacturer HANNspree could have just the model for you. The HANNSlounge is actually one of its more …

    Reg Hardware 28 Mar 2007, 11:39

  • Yahoo! email! unlimited!

    Keep! spam! forever!

    Yahoo! customers will get unlimited email storage from this May. Punters already get 1GB but plunging costs of storage technology mean the company can now remove the upper limit. The company says most of its users don't get anywhere near the upper storage limits anyway. The offer is for personal, non-commercial use only - …

    Music and Media 28 Mar 2007, 11:42

  • Small biz loves VoIP

    Smaller the biz, the bigger the love

    Small businesses in the UK are increasingly embracing making phone calls over the internet. Right now 25 per cent of small businesses are using Voice over Internet Protocol to make calls. This is expected to almost double to 48 per cent by this time next year. Smaller companies seemed more enthusiastic - 57 per cent of firms …

    Small Biz 28 Mar 2007, 12:09

  • Ricoh extends SLR-wannabe compact camera line

    Compact digital cameras a silver, right? And digital SLRs are black, OK? What part of that simple fact doesn't Ricoh understand? Today it launched a compact model that looks, at first glance, like an SLR job. Say hello to the Caplio GX100, a ten-megapixel machine with a lens that's described in terms of f numbers - 5.1-15. …

    Reg Hardware 28 Mar 2007, 12:11

  • Lift-off for Adobe's Apollo

    (P)review One giant leap for webapplicationkind...

    There was a bit of a buzz in the air on Monday when Adobe rolled out the first public alpha release of its Apollo desktop internet application client – along with a whole truckload of developer tools and documentation. Apollo is an interesting proposition, a platform that mixes Flash (though you do need to use code that's …

    Developer 28 Mar 2007, 12:50

  • DLO flips for dual-cover iPod case

    iPod accessory maker DLO has brought a new twist to the iPod case - literally. Its Twister for iPod Nano has a turnaround front panel with a different hand-stitched material on either side. So on one side we have a "high-quality" black leather, and on the other a Burberry lookalike tartan. It's the perfect social mixer: …

    Reg Hardware 28 Mar 2007, 12:52

  • Topless roadsigns tackle Danish speeding menace

    NSFW 'Speed Control Bikini Bandits'

    Every country has its own particular method of tackling the menace of speeding motorists: in the UK, it's millions of "safety cameras" dishing out fines and penalty points by the bucketload, while in Iraq they still prefer the traditional roadside bomb method for calming Baghdad's traffic. Over in Denmark, though, the powers …

    Bootnotes 28 Mar 2007, 13:05

  • Lotus gets a virtual IP PBX

    System-i mini runs IP PBX as a virtual Linux machine

    3Com and IBM have pulled together a converged set of IP telephony, email, messaging, and business apps, all running on IBM's System-i – the AS400, as it used to be called. The duo say it allows Lotus Sametime users to make voice calls by clicking on IM contacts, for example. "The significant bit is it's all on one platform …

    Telecoms 28 Mar 2007, 13:22

  • Ten things Sony execs may regret saying about the PS3

    'It's probably too cheap'. Apparently

    Sony's management aren't generally known for their passive attitudes and humble outlook. We've got a small sample of their finest public moments below. Quotes collated by PS3 blog pspsps.tv. 10 "The first five million are going to buy it [the PS3], whatever it is, even [if] it didn't have games." Sony executive David Reeve …

    Reg Hardware 28 Mar 2007, 13:23

  • Scammers target domain name owners

    Warning over domain appraisal spam

    Fraudsters are targeting domain owners in a new spam-based scam. Typically the sophisticated fraud, which is still under investigation, starts with an email message to domain owners offering to purchase a domain. Prospective marks are directed to a forum ostensibly set-up to discuss domain appraisal services. These …

    Crime 28 Mar 2007, 13:31

  • Dell woos Yahoo! and Amazon with cloud making service

    The evolution begins

    Dell's "evolution" apparently includes the growth of fins, scales, and a tail, because the vendor has started swimming upstream with a new custom server and storage design service aimed at the hungriest data center customers. The company has dubbed its latest effort the Dell Cloud Computing Solution, although constructing …

    Storage 28 Mar 2007, 13:51

  • Bebo squeezes Orange in exclusive deal

    Friends with benefits

    Orange has paid Bebo to provide its customers with an exclusive mobile version of its popular social network - for a while at least. The move follows a similar tie-up between Vodafone and MySpace, which was announced in February. The French-owned operator told The Reg it had secured fidelity for "a number of months", as it aims …

    Mobile 28 Mar 2007, 14:01

  • MoD: seized personnel were in Iraqi waters

    Here's the proof

    The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has released evidence backing up its assertion that the 15 Royal Navy sailors and marines recently seized by Iranian forces were in Iraqi waters at the time. The naval personnel, a boarding party from HMS Cornwall, had just completed a routine inspection of a merchant ship anchored off the …

    Government 28 Mar 2007, 15:03

  • Computacenter keeps BT contract

    Five-year deal

    Computacenter is today celebrating a five-year contract to supply BT with desktop services around the world. The giant reseller will manage 112,000 BT desktop computers and related services. BT and Computacenter have worked together for 13 years. The new contract promises BT cost savings year on year. Part of the deal is …

    Channel Register 28 Mar 2007, 15:06

  • Games firm pursues 500 pinball 'pirates' through UK courts

    Exclusive 18 ISPs served with court orders

    Zuxxez, the German games software distributor, has hired lawyers to chase down about 500 British file sharers, launching the first in a series of swoops by computer forensic experts. Law firm Davenport Lyons will use this case, its first "volume" job to stalk file sharers, to launch a specialist practice. A partner at the …

    Law 28 Mar 2007, 16:05

  • Phoenix flies higher with ICM bid

    Fawkes waits and watches, City goes Potter

    Phoenix IT has jacked up its offer for business continuity firm ICM from 415 pence to 441.5 pence, further fuelling the bidding war for the firm. The offer, comprising 342.5 pence and 0.6176 of a new Phoenix share for each ICM share, values ICM at £94.3m in total. Phoenix’s bid come a day after Fawkes, which is partly a …

    Channel Register 28 Mar 2007, 16:06

  • UK government slated by own boffins on nanotech policy

    Teeny stuff, big issues

    The UK government has been castigated by its own picked scientists for spending too much on research into developing nanotechnology and not enough on looking into its dangers. The Council for Science and Technology (CST), "the UK government's top-level advisory body on science and technology policy issues", says the government …

    Small Biz 28 Mar 2007, 16:12

  • Dell in Vista RAID debacle

    Not very Dimensional

    Frustrated Microsoft Windows Vista Home PC users are pointing the finger at Dell for continuing to sell machines that foul up when configured with the RAID facility. The apparent issue with certain Intel RAID controllers and Microsoft's latest operating system, Vista - which got its long-awaited retail release on 30 January …

    Storage 28 Mar 2007, 16:24

  • Microsoft to 'acquire DoubleClick'

    Makes perfect AdSense...

    Microsoft wants to buy New York-based online advertising firm DoubleClick, according to the Wall Street Journal. DoubleClick, which is majority-owned by private equity firm Hellman and Friedman, is said to be exploring options and working closely with Morgan Stanley to secure a possible sale with Microsoft. A $2bn price tag …

    Financial News 28 Mar 2007, 17:56

  • Spyware Doctor 5 bug reports are storm in a tea cup, PC Tools says

    Jumps into bed with Google

    Anti-spyware vendor PC Tools is downplaying reports on its forums from users who found bugs in the latest version of its software, Spyware Doctor 5.0. Problems including conflicts with anti-virus packages, slow ups with IE7 and Opera, system freezes and more feature in a list of 41 issues with Spyware Doctor 5.0. Most of …

    Malware 28 Mar 2007, 18:27

  • Intel 45nm CPUs to clock above 3GHz

    More 'Penryn' beans spilled

    Intel will use its move to a 45nm chip production process primarily to increase performance rather than boost battery life or reduce energy consumption, the company admitted today. Upcoming Core 2 and Xeon processors based on Intel's 45nm 'Penryn' architecture are due to go into production later this year. The chip maker …

    Reg Hardware 28 Mar 2007, 19:02

  • Intel Hyper-threading to return with 45nm 'Nehalem'

    Memory controller, GPU to be added too

    Intel's next major processor architecture, the 45nm 'Nehalem', will see the re-introduction of the chip maker's Hyper-threading simultaneous multi-threading technology, the company confirmed today. Nehalem chips will also feature an integrated memory controller and a graphics core. Nehalem is due to go into initial production …

    Reg Hardware 28 Mar 2007, 19:02

  • Intel to complete AMD impression in 2008

    'Nehalem' has 8 cores, 16 threads and CSI

    Intel's long, strange journey toward mimicking AMD's processors will end in 2008 with a brand new chip architecture called "Nehalem," the company confirmed today. Intel's fresh chips will have up to eight cores and a number of other bits and pieces found today's in server, desktop and notebook chips from AMD. The "Nehalem" …

    PCs & Chips 28 Mar 2007, 19:28

  • Circuit City fires 3,500 'overpaid' staff

    Cheap but not cheerful

    Circuit City is firing 3,400 store workers because it thinks it's paying them too much. To rub salt into the wound, it is offering the retail fat cats some severance and the chance to apply for their old jobs - at lower wages. But only 10 weeks after they have been fired. This company is all heart. According to Circuit City, …

    Channel Register 28 Mar 2007, 20:38

  • Acer draws sting from HP's patent fury

    We're looking into it, OK?

    Acer came out with the blandest of responses to the patent lawsuit hurled its way by HP yesterday. To summarise: it respects intellectual property and is looking into HP's claims. The Taiwanese PC maker today supplied the market with a snapshot of last year's financial performance. Revenues advanced 16 per cent to $11.32bn (NT$ …

    Channel Register 28 Mar 2007, 21:31

  • Vista launch: a 'resounding' success?

    Millions and squillions

    Microsoft has released its first sales figures for its new operating system Vista - and has declared the launch a resounding success. More than 20 million units of the new OS have been shipped since its launch, more than double the number Windows XP managed to sell in its first month. Microsoft is keeping tight-lipped on the …

    Channel Register 28 Mar 2007, 21:34

  • HP unveils AMD small-business servers

    Special bonus: worm poop mentioned

    Hewlett-Packard has added an AMD-based system to their entry-level server product line. The sheet was yanked off the server along with entry-level switches at an HP "Art of Small Business" event at the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco. In the MoMA theater, HP touted business owners who use HP computers such as Orange …

    Small Biz 28 Mar 2007, 22:09

  • ICANN sued by irate RegisterFly customer, as class action rumble begins

    ICANN Lisbon And let's not forget the $6,000 chihuahua

    The Dummit Law Firm announced today on its website that it has filed a class action lawsuit against internet registrars Registerfly and Enom, as well as internet standards body ICANN. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Anne Martinez, a Registerfly customer and the registered owner of GoCertify.com, which provided the main …

    Law 28 Mar 2007, 22:24

  • So who sent you that spam? HP or Oracle?

    Exclusive Fortune 1000s host bots in the perimeter

    When it comes to bot-infested PCs that spew spam, most of us assume the owners are newbie users too naive or careless to follow basic security measures. Think again. There's a good chance that the penis enlargement email that just landed in your inbox is from a network maintained by Oracle, Hewlett-Packard or some other Fortune …

    Spam 28 Mar 2007, 22:45

  • EFF Pioneer Awards: And the winners are ...

    Read on, gentle reader

    Computer rights activist and science fiction writer Cory Doctorow, security expert Bruce Schneier, and Yale law professor Yochai Benkler are the latest to be given Pioneer Awards by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The 16th annual awards were handed out last night at the Emerging Technology conference in San Diego. These are …

    Law 28 Mar 2007, 23:10

  • Adobe gets Creative with its Suites

    Macromedia tools are Borged at last

    Adobe has brought together its own apps and those it acquired with Macromedia in Creative Suite 3, a toolkit which it said will suit designers and developers working in all facets of print, web, mobile, interactive, film, and video production. "This release reflects the powerful integration between Adobe and Macromedia, and …

    Applications 28 Mar 2007, 23:30

  • Microsoft and EMC go both ways with new tool

    Redmond gets some Smarts

    Microsoft and EMC plan to fuse EMC's Smarts diagnostics software with Windows System Center Operations Manager as part of a licensing and technology collaboration, the companies said this week. EMC Smarts is a network monitoring and mapping tool that pinpoints and prioritizes service problems. While its new B.F.F., Windows …

    Storage 28 Mar 2007, 23:34

  • And now we are 10: MS goes to work on Visual Studio

    VSLive Roadmaps for Orcas and Rosario

    Microsoft has let slip a couple of roadmaps to accompany celebrations for Visual Studio's tenth birthday. As is the way of all roadmaps, there are codenames to bandy about. So say hello to "Orcas, your next Visual Studio, and 'Rosario", which is to be the next iteration of - take a deep breath - the Visual Studio 2005 Team …

    Developer 28 Mar 2007, 23:48

  • Cisco borgs SpansLogic

    Cisco hungry. Cisco eat company

    Cisco has reached an agreement to acquire stealth start-up SpansLogic Inc. SpansLogic produces processors that improve packet processing speeds across a network. Cisco plans on embedding SpanLogic's tech into future network switches. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Cisco will get the keys to the 14-employee …

    Data Networking 28 Mar 2007, 23:57

  • SAP wunderkind Agassi abandons code for clean energy

    Hits pageant circuit

    Shai Agassi - the man once expected to take over SAP - has left the software maker. Agassi's resignation will take effect at the end of this week and open the door for the SAP executive member to chase after his dreams in the alternative energy market. It has long looked like SAP was grooming Agassi for the CEO post. Such …

    Applications 28 Mar 2007, 23:59