30th March 2007 Archive

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Exploit for latest Windows vuln already animated

Curse the cursor

A vulnerability in the way Windows handles animated cursors puts users at risk of being pwnd, and several nefarious websites are already trying to exploit the flaw, according to the SANS Internet Storm Center. The flaw is present on virtually the entire line of Windows OSes, including Vista, which has been held up as Redmond's …

Enterprise Security 30 Mar 2007, 00:27
BEA unveils cubefarm 2.0 trio

More sharing

BEA Systems has been stoking up the hype for a trio of long-promised technologies that add Web 2.0 capabilities to its middleware. The middleware vendor used an emerging technology event in Southern California to unveil AquaLogic Ensemble, AquaLogic Pages and AquaLogic Pathways - previously known as projects Runner, Builder and …

Applications 30 Mar 2007, 00:35
SugarCRM aims big with developers

Simplified tools

Developers will feature big in SugarCRM's plan to penetrate the enterprise, through greater customization capabilities and scalability for its software. The hosted and on-site customer relationship management (CRM) start-up promises a major upgrade, version 5.0, this summer. Due in beta next month, SugarCRM 5.0 will scale to …

Applications 30 Mar 2007, 05:12
ICANN ready to shut up and move on

ICANN Lisbon Bye-bye bureaucrats

"Turistas, if you cannot respect the silence of the Portuguese, go to Spain" - graffiti spotted at the entrance to the midieval Alfama neighborhood of Lisbon ICANN may not be heading to Spain, but Lisbon will soon be rid a few more noisy turistas. The ancient city of Lisbon - a name derived originally from that of the city's …

Law 30 Mar 2007, 05:23
Dead dinos no help to emerging mammals

Challenging conventional wisdom

The triumphant rise of the mammals had nothing to do with the extinction of the dinosaurs, according to new research, published in the journal Nature. The paper's co-author, Kate Jones, told BBC Radio 4: "The meteor impact that killed off the dinosaurs has traditionally been thought to have given mammals the edge they needed …

Biology 30 Mar 2007, 05:31
LG is next major to take a licence to Intertrust DRM

Breaks deadlock around OMA patent pool

LG Electronics has licensed Intertrust's patents for its mobile voice and data products. The patents will allow LG rights for a number of digital rights management systems supported on its products. In February, Intertrust announced a new cut price licensing program for its patents, the most important of which relate to how …

Mobile 30 Mar 2007, 06:02
Orange puts the Beeb in your pocket

Mobile TV gets 'stenders

L'Orange has done a deal to put selected BBC content onto some of its handsets. Orange customers who sign up to a mobile telly package get access to BBC1, BBC3, and BBC News24. They will also be able to listen to streams of eight radio stations: Radio1, 1Xtra, Radio2, Radio3, Radio4, 6 Music, BBC7, and the Asian Network. All …

Mobile 30 Mar 2007, 06:02
AMD updates Catalyst graphics software

AMD has posted the latest version of its ATI Catalyst graphics chip driver package. The new release, 7.3, allows OpenGL applications to run in CrossFire mode under Windows Vista whatever ATI Radeon X1000-series graphics cards they're working with. AMD claimed that would yield "significant performance gains in a number of …

Reg Hardware 30 Mar 2007, 06:02
Boeing to test fuel-cell powered publicity plane

Reveals distinct lack of interest in fuel-cells

Boeing's European research centre has developed an experimental fuel-cell-powered manned aircraft, which is about to begin testing. The US aerospace giant's Madrid-based Boeing Research & Technology Europe (BR&TE) business unit has been working on the "Fuel Cell Demonstrator Airplane" (FCDA) project since 2001. A clutch of …

Science 30 Mar 2007, 06:02
Expect a wave of Apple TV imitators waving Atheros chips

Comment More to come

All the talk this week about Apple TV has been highly entertaining. Will it or won't it create a new genre for watching TV wirelessly? But there are two problems with all the talk. Firstly, most of it is about the wrong product and, secondly, much of it is about the wrong company. People keep on pointing out to me that it is …

Networks 30 Mar 2007, 07:02
Spend £100k+ and save £0.02!

Amazon UK makes cashtastic offer

Those of you who'd been thinking of splashing out a few quid on albums or books could have availed yourselves yesterday of a sensational offer which wowed customers down at the UK tentacle of etailer Amazon: Remarkable. Thanks very much to all those who wrote to selflessly share this once-in-a-lifetime offer with other …

Bootnotes 30 Mar 2007, 08:55
Forget WiMax, Stockholm's got cable to spare

Column Red Ken, take notes

You could not think of a better place to demonstrate the wonders of WiMAX. A district, 84 kilometers across, divided into 24,000 plots of land with open, deep water between each plot. It's the Stockholm archipelago, East of Sweden, and almost every island is inhabited. Intel, Cisco and Stockholm Cable (Stokab) have turned this …

Telecoms 30 Mar 2007, 09:12
What's the quickest route from California to Stockholm?

Turn right then swim the Atlantic, according to Google

Google Maps seems to have got itself a sense of humour, if its recommended route from Stanford, California, to Stockholm is anything to go by. The entire journey is estimated at 7,826 miles (about 31 days 18 hours), but that calculation doesn't appear to take into account step 33: Spendid. For the record, back in 1969 Brit …

Bootnotes 30 Mar 2007, 09:15
Government may back down on 'neutering' of FOI

Possible U-turn on widely-opposed plans

The government has stepped back from controversial plans to change the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. It has launched a supplementary consultation (pdf) that could result in a U-turn on some of its widely-opposed plans. Following a government-commissioned report which identified journalists as a likely source of the most …

Government 30 Mar 2007, 09:18
Sony hints at 80GB PS3

No future for the 20GB model?

Sony is to introduce an 80GB version of the PlayStation 3, documents filed earlier this month with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reveal. The single-page letter is a request that Sony be allowed to retain the wireless certification already obtained for the PS3 despite the addition of an alternative Bluetooth …

Reg Hardware 30 Mar 2007, 09:21
ICANN rejects .xxx

ICANN Lisbon Gets back into the content regulation business

In an unusual open board meeting today, ICANN once again rejected the establishment of a .xxx top level domain (TLD). The vote was 8-4 with a single abstention, that of CEO Paul Twomey. The open meeting provided an opportunity to hear a debate that in the past had been conducted behind closed doors. The debate seemed to follow …

Law 30 Mar 2007, 09:38
Google rebuilds New Orleans

Hurricane? What hurricane?

Google has casued a bit of a kerfuffle down in New Orleans by apparently rebuilding the city overnight and removing post-Katrina satellite images from both Google Maps and Google Earth, according to an Associated Press report. Some locals are none too happy about the miraculous transformation, as an "incredulous" Ruston Henry …

Bootnotes 30 Mar 2007, 09:41
Bluetooth 2.1 promises painless pairing

Power savings too

A new version of the Bluetooth short-range wireless connectivity standard has been published. The update promises to boost battery life and make pairing gadgets a doddle. Bluetooth 2.1 improves pairing in two ways: better security and automatic pairing. Devices like headsets that simply extend the capabilities of a phone, say …

Reg Hardware 30 Mar 2007, 09:50
Brown blames foreigners for small.biz tax hikes

Eastern Europeans get savvy with tax dodge

Chancellor Gordon Brown blamed pesky foreigners for the increased tax burden imposed on small businesses in the Budget, when speaking to the House of Commons Treasury Committee yesterday. Brown was asked about the benefits of immigration by the committee, which was meeting to discuss the Budget. Brown quoted Alan Greenspan, …

Small Biz 30 Mar 2007, 09:52
Payday delayed for 400,000

BACs cockup means empty pockets and pubs tonight

Nearly half a million people will not be paid their salary today due to a spectacular cock-up with the UK's key banking processing system. The Association for Payment Clearing Services (Apacs), which is the industry body for payment systems in the UK, said: "The entire banking and payments industry is extremely sorry that this …

Financial News 30 Mar 2007, 10:00
Retailer sues registrars in $12m domain tasting suit

Neiman Marcus bemoans 'willful and malicious' acts

US retailer Neiman Marcus is suing two domain name registrars for more than $12m over their registration of names containing variations of its brand. The two linked companies are accused of improperly registering more than 40 domain names. The case takes Name.com and Spot Domains to task over the relatively new phenomenon of " …

Law 30 Mar 2007, 10:02
Technobullies on the rise in school yard stripping games

Exploiting anonymity

Canadian researchers studying online bullying have found that teenagers are happily exploiting emerging technologies, such as texting, emails, and social networking sites in their playground power struggles. The ease with which a bully can hide his or her identity is also changing the game. According to Professor Faye Mishna, …

Law 30 Mar 2007, 10:07
Visa takes a punt on m-payments

Invests in dotMobi

Visa is pushing for closer collaboration between the wireless and credit card industries and has invested in the Dublin-based dotMobi domain registry. The world's leading payment card company is taking active steps to ensure that it remains at the forefront of cashless payments solutions by launching a mobile phone platform and …

Mobile 30 Mar 2007, 10:07
In-car iPod handling hinders driving ability - study

Impacts driver performance as much as phones do

A US university has proved what most of us realised already: using an iPod while driving makes you more likely to have an accident. According to a study conducted by Philadelphia's Drexel University, it's as dangerous as handling a mobile phone. Computer science professor Dario Salvucci put 12 people into driving simulators, …

Reg Hardware 30 Mar 2007, 10:18
British blogger wins dismissal case

Victory for la petite anglaise

The English woman sacked for blogging by the accountants she worked for in Paris has won her case for unfair dismissal. Catherine Sanderson ran what she considered an anonymous blog while working in Paris for accountancy firm Dixon Wilson. When the beancounters were told of her blog she was sacked for gross misconduct. …

Law 30 Mar 2007, 10:47
US military tests ground-penetrating monster bomb

Now why would they want one of those?

The US military's effort to build what may become the largest conventional bomb ever used is making progress. Boeing announced on Monday that its Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) demo weapon had successfully completed a "static tunnel lethality test" at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The MOP, which also goes …

Science 30 Mar 2007, 11:00
MS dangles desktop-like browsing for mobiles

Trawling for Deepfish

Microsoft has taken the wraps off a prototype version of a browser for mobile devices that it claims will make it easier and faster to view full-fat web pages on a small screen. The Deepfish browser displays thumbnails on a web page as a point of reference. Users can then highlight a section of a page and zoom in or out as …

Applications 30 Mar 2007, 11:14
Asus auctions unique red laptop for Comic Relief

Red nosebook?

There's literally only one red Asus S6F laptop on the planet, and if you want to avail yourself of the opportunity to win it - and do some good into the bargain - visit eBay or Harrods this weekend. Asus is offering the machine for auction, with bidding taking place online at ebay.co.uk and at retailer MicroAnvika's store- …

Reg Hardware 30 Mar 2007, 11:35
Show me the way to go home: GPS on test

Group Test Ten gadgets to get you from A to B

Gone are the days of thumbing through your dog-eared 1988 AA route map while trying to navigate the fast lane of the M25 in search of your pal's new London pad. For now is the time of satellite navigation. Over the past three years, the market has been flooded with a vast array of navigation units employing the Global …

Reg Hardware 30 Mar 2007, 12:05
Chinese space force developing fast, Congress told

Commie black-hats brewing mischief, too

China is developing impressive high-tech military capabilities, according to analysis given to an American congressional commission. And, unsportingly, the inscrutable communists refuse to tell anyone what they're up to. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission heard testimony from a variety of officials and …

Space 30 Mar 2007, 12:43
A week of bots, Blunkett and rotting teeth

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EMC's RSA hangover A relatively quiet week on the acquisition front, with Cisco the only one of the big boys to make a swoop. It coughed an undisclosed sum for IP networking chip start-up SpansLogic. Perhaps everyone was given pause for thought by EMC CEO Joe Tucci's admission that he paid well over the odds when he splurged $2 …

Business 30 Mar 2007, 13:05
Grum worm poses as IE7 beta

Spamvertised malware spreading fast

Hackers are trying to trick prospective marks into loading malware that poses as a "beta" version of Internet Explorer 7. Widely circulated emails, which pose as messages from admin@microsoft.com and feature subject lines such as "Internet Explorer 7 Downloads", display an image which invites gullible users to download beta 2 …

Anti-Virus 30 Mar 2007, 13:20
Busy day at DSG HQ

Fraud in Paris, photo biz acquisitions, and Vodafone deal

Electrical retailing giant DSG said it has identified "a significant fraud operation" at its Paris-based Fotovista warehouse. French police are investigating what DSG has described as "an isolated incident", and several arrests at the warehouse have already been made. DSG, which is Europe's biggest electrical retailer and …

Channel Register 30 Mar 2007, 13:22
Vote now for your fave Reg headline

Poll Stiff competition for 'Black Cocks' title

Well, you've had plenty of time to nominate your all-time fave Reg headline in our "Black Cocks" awards and the time has come for you, our beloved readers, to decide the winner. First up though, our goodie bag goes to Sven, who most closely predicted the top picks. We had so many suggestions that we decided to offer 20 …

Bootnotes 30 Mar 2007, 13:48
The Lizard People are after your Linux distro

Letters Only Ubuntu, though

We hope you are all sitting down, for this first page is all about Linux. See, we told you. Take a seat. We ran a piece in which a relative noobie has a go at installing Linux on the desktop. Plenty of comments from the floor on this. We've had to be fairly ruthless in deciding which to run, since the volume was so high. …

Letters 30 Mar 2007, 14:34
Football hooligans to get data protection rights

The referee's a spammer, the referee's a spammer

Police across Europe are being urged to respect the civil liberties of suspected football hooligans when they stalk them over the run-up to the 2008 European Championship in Austria and Switzerland. European police forces were given the remit to share intelligence about football fans in 2002. The Austrians, wanting more …

Law 30 Mar 2007, 14:41
Scart issue: transforming the Apple TV

Register Hardware The week's hottest personal technology stories

Register Hardware - it's just like The Register, only harder - brings you the hottest personal technology news and reviews every day. The gadgets that grabbed the headlines this week: Brits to get year-old Sony Blu-ray Disc player The consumer electronics giant released its BDP-S1 Blu-ray Disc player in the US last autumn, …

Hardware 30 Mar 2007, 15:02
Brits pay 73% more for a PS3 than Hong Kong buyers do

Tax and spend

Where's the best place to purchase a PlayStation 3? Hong Kong, according to the Wall Street Journal. No prizes for guessing the worst: London. In Hong Kong, the PS3 retails for an average price of HKD3,780 - or €363. In London, the local price is £425 - or €627. In short, Brits have to pay almost twice as much for the next- …

Reg Hardware 30 Mar 2007, 15:06
Woolies enters home software market

Get your pick 'n' mix apps here

Woolworths, the UK-based family and entertainment retail behemoth, is set to release its own range of home PC software. The firm has teamed up with white label software developer Formjet Innovations to offer seven software products including word processing, internet security, anti-virus, and "edutainment" packages. Formjet …

Channel Register 30 Mar 2007, 15:08
Fifty foot Michael Jackson robot to stalk Vegas

Lasers, cyborg army, the whole bit

Michael Jackson is considering the construction of a 50 foot robot replica of himself, it has been reported. The idea is for the droid colossus to promote concerts Jackson might give in Las Vegas. "It would be in the desert sands," Mike Luckman of Luckman Van Pier, a consultant company to large entertainment firms, told the New …

Entertainment 30 Mar 2007, 15:21
Secpoint touts Portable Penetrator

Are you ready for the next step?

The spirit of Frankie Howerd lives on in the marketing department of Danish security appliance vendor Secpoint. Most security appliances feature product names about as interesting as the car numberplates in the Slough branch of Asda. Secpoint has eschewed such a dull approach by naming its products Penetrator and Protector …

Enterprise Security 30 Mar 2007, 15:23
DVD copier scales to thousands

What every demagogue, pirate, and aspiring popster needs

There's a new reason to fear the chief executive's annual pep-talk to the company – being sent away with a CD, or better yet a DVD, of the event so you can enjoy it again at home. British company Verity Systems has come up with a relatively cheap way of copying up to 2,550 CDs or DVDs at once. At £732, its LinxTower contains …

Storage 30 Mar 2007, 15:25
Swarm of file sharers spurred UK crackdown

Earth 2160 - straw that broke the camel's back

Pinball game publisher Zuxxez decided to chase down British file sharers after discovering that illegal downloads of its best-selling Earth 2160 outstripped its retail sales 35 times, clocking up nearly one million Jolly Rogers. Zuxxez found 891,414 people who had attempted to download Earth 2160 between its release on 1 June …

Law 30 Mar 2007, 15:58
Solar-powered cell phones are on the horizon

TI step-up chip can drive electronics on as little as 0.3v

TI has developed an ultra-low-voltage DC/DC booster chip that could lead to mobile phones and other electronic devices that never need recharging. The TPS61200 step-up chip can work with input voltages as low as 0.3v at over 90 percent efficiency, TI claimed. That means it can run directly off low power energy sources such as …

Mobile 30 Mar 2007, 17:16
MoD announces air-to-ground upgrade for Eurofighter

Makes superjet useful; doesn't make it cheap

The Eurofighter Typhoon combat jet is to receive a major update, gaining the ability to effectively attack ground targets – a thing it currently cannot do. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced today that the governments of Britain, Spain, Italy and Germany have agreed to pay the Eurofighter consortium £830m to sort out the …

Government 30 Mar 2007, 17:34
Italian police raid 'major pirate' P2P site

Discotequezone shut down

Discotequezone, a big Italian file-sharing site, has shut down in the wake of police raids this week. Some 600,000 allegedly pirated tracks were swapped daily through the P2P network, resulting in $1m-plus losses to copyright holders, the IFPI, the international lobby group for record companies, claimed. Police targeted five …

Law 30 Mar 2007, 18:48
Will the RIAA kill net radio?

Analysis Taking control

If this movie looks familiar - it's because it is. A royalty increase for songs played over Internet radio stations is declared, followed by doomsday predictions that the increase will bring about a cataclysmic collapse of the entire industry. It's like 2002 all over again. That was when Copyright Royalty Board first set …

Music and Media 30 Mar 2007, 19:04
Can Big Telco do Perestroika?

Analysis Part 1: Wrestling with IP-zilla

While the CTIA Wireless jamboree took place in Florida this week, European telcos were drawn in a huddle in London at one of the most intriguing events of the telecoms calendar. The theme at STL's twice-yearly Telco 2.0 Brainstorm is familiar: "How to making money in an IP-based world". But it has an added piquancy now. And …

Telecoms 30 Mar 2007, 21:23
Your song's in the cloud

Mercora looks to the skies

Mercora, the P2P internet radio service, is borrowing a trick from MP3Tunes. The service already allows users to access their music collections from any web browser, a feature offered by Sling Media and Orb. Within the next month, Mercora will begin to upload music that users play directly to Mercora servers. "Once we have …

Music and Media 30 Mar 2007, 22:06
Brocade readies 10Gbit/s warchest

Regrouping after Cisco pinched McData clients

Brocade is confident their regime in the storage switch market assures a place as a leader in the upcoming 10Gbit/s Ethernet push. Despite the chest thumping prediction at an analyst meeting in San Jose, Thursday, Brocade CEO Michael Klayko conceded the company won't be ready to share a clear strategy for the new technology …

Storage 30 Mar 2007, 22:21
California's $1.4bn IT boondoggle

More dollars than sense

California, with its booming computer industry and an economy that ranks among the world's top 10, has wasted almost $1.4bn over the past decade because it can't build a statewide network to administer child support payments. Besides the tremendous drain on tax dollars, the inability to implement the federally mandated system …

Business 30 Mar 2007, 22:45
Symantec Backup Exec gets Vista-tized

Fresh release Exchanged and x64ed too

Symantec Backup Exec users waiting patiently for Vista compatibility can now brick their systems while enjoying the style of Window's Aero glass effect. The finger of blame for the long wait falls partly on Microsoft, who's latest OS offering shot out of the stable with all the speed and grace of a three-legged horse. Vista's …

Storage 30 Mar 2007, 23:47