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21st June 2007 Archive

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  • Dell's vertical line issues lengthen

    More notebooks | affected

    If you haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary, there might be a problem with your monitor. May we suggest you are a victim of the heavily caterwauled vertical line problem affecting several Dell laptops?

    Hardware 21 Jun 2007, 00:55

  • Trusted storage specs near completion

    New HDD security guidelines drafted

    The Trusted Computing Group has finalized a draft specification for implementing encryption and security services directly onto future storage devices. The specification was developed by more than 60 of TCG's 175 member companies and supports security services for a number of storage platforms including hard drives, flash, …

    Storage 21 Jun 2007, 00:58

  • Hacking WoW and the pursuit of knowledge

    USENIX The Warden vs. The Governor

    Once upon a time, rising through the ranks in World of Warcraft was largely a matter of patience and stamina. For some beginners aspiring to online greatness, it meant spending hours in a virtual forest gathering leaves and later finding the elf who'd pay gold for them. But spending hours huddling over a keyboard pecking at …

    Security 21 Jun 2007, 01:12

  • American gamble or bluff: WTO members bet on Antigua

    Analysis EU, Japan, and India join sanctions call against US

    Antigua yesterday filed for formal trade sanctions against the United States, demanding $3.4 billion in compensation from the truculent, recalcitrant super power for failing to open its domestic market to remote gambling services. Antigua, as expected, was not alone; the hottest online gaming market in the world, the EU, also …

    Law 21 Jun 2007, 03:34

  • Toshiba laptop line to go totally HD DVD in 2008

    Counter to PS3?

    Toshiba has pledged to equip its entire laptop range with HD DVD drives next year. Right now, only one of its notebook's comes with a next-gen optical disc reader, with four more coming in a month or two. The announcement comes after Toshiba admitted it won't sell as many HD DVD devices this year as it previously forecast. …

    Hardware 21 Jun 2007, 07:02

  • One in four web merchants do not know web shopping laws

    Most e-shoppers unaware of right to cancel

    Most internet shoppers do not know about their right to cancel and 28 per cent of UK-based online traders are not aware or only slightly aware of the laws applying to internet shopping, according to a report (pdf) published by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) yesterday. While 56 per cent of internet shoppers surveyed did not …

    The Channel 21 Jun 2007, 07:38

  • Apple releases Mac OS X 10.4.10

    First palindromic version number?

    Apple has posted Mac OS X 10.4.10, the first palindromic - well, sort of - version number to be applied to its Unix-based operating system. The update includes fixes and tweaks for both Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs. What's it do? Apple is as terse as ever, but the patch incorporates bug fixes for the OS' Bluetooth software …

    Hardware 21 Jun 2007, 09:01

  • Companies failing to exploit value of IP, says PwC

    While tech execs think lawsuits are harassment techniques

    Over half of all technology companies do not extract the full value from their intellectual property, and 69 per cent of executives believe their IP management is too often treated as a legal issue, according to research (pdf) published by PricewaterhouseCoopers this week. Forty-seven percent of the 195 technology executives …

    Law 21 Jun 2007, 09:07

  • NetSuite pitches at being easy

    Everyone's a 'developer' now

    More evidence that the nature of applications development is changing has come with the announcement of the latest version of NetSuite's SaaS (Software as a Service) offerings, which take some significant steps along the road to bridging the gap between business users and applications development. It also marks a point where …

    Developer 21 Jun 2007, 09:11

  • Councils need performance management buy-in

    Report recommends private sector input

    Performance management in local authorities needs more buy-in from across the organisation, concludes a new report from the National Computing Centre. The NCC report, Performance Management in Local Authorities, looks at the way central government uses its key indicators by which to measure the performance of local authorities …

    Policy 21 Jun 2007, 09:34

  • Harry Potter and the Pedant of CIX

    Column Psychic spoilers

    What's the worst thing you can say about Harry Potter? How about claiming that spells are rather like computer programs? Or how about saying that Slytherin, the school house for all the bad guys, is a "cliche of fantasy"? Or maybe, pointing out that the name of Alecto (the female half of the brother-and-sister Death Eater …

    Bootnotes 21 Jun 2007, 09:53

  • Yahoo! buys! Rivals!

    No, not the Jilly Cooper tome

    Yahoo! has bought college and high school sports site Rivals.com. Yahoo! says the buy will bolster its existing sports coverage, which mostly focuses on national sports. Rivals, which opened in 2001, claims two million visitors a month and concentrates on college football and basketball. The deal, we're told, is all about …

    Bootnotes 21 Jun 2007, 09:56

  • No BlackBerries for Sarkozy cabinet, say French spooks

    Nous crachons sur la baie noire - tool of Anglo spies

    French ministers and other government bigwigs (perruques-grands?) will no longer be allowed to use BlackBerries, in sharp contrast to British MPs. The French ban, however, is a matter of security rather than one of politeness or the dignity of government. The servers which BlackBerries rely on are located outside France, in the …

    Security 21 Jun 2007, 10:01

  • Bush kills stem cell research bill

    Debate will now be political

    President Bush has used his veto to kill another bill that would have lifted some of the restrictions on research using human embryonic stem cells. The news has been greeted with dismay, but not surprise, by the scientific community. In announcing his use of the veto, Bush told reporters: "Destroying human life in the hopes of …

    Science 21 Jun 2007, 10:04

  • Nvidia GPGPU line sparks into life with Tesla

    GeForce 8800 to power engineering apps

    Nvidia has made its pitch for the hearts, minds and wallets of scientists and engineers with its first line of graphics chips designed not for games but for high-level number crunching: the so-called GPGPU - General Purpose Graphics Processing Unit. Nvidia's Tesla C870: GeForce 8800 by any other name The product line's …

    Servers 21 Jun 2007, 10:06

  • US car thieves floored by manual gearbox

    Stick shift dummies

    Two US would-be car thieves failed dismally to make off with a Honda Accord after discovering it had a mysterious manual gearbox, RTÉ reports. Having menaced the owner with a gun outside a pizza restaurant in Georgia, and relieved him of his wallet and car keys, the pair of teen master criminals prepared to make good their …

    Security 21 Jun 2007, 10:06

  • Ofcom responds to threatened luvvies

    But still wants free market to decide on wireless specs

    UK telecoms regulator Ofcom has published a supplement to its Digital Dividend Review, looking specifically at the needs of the entertainment industry, and presenting options which might preserve the wireless microphone in theatres and TV. Entitled Programme-making and special events: future spectrum access, the supplement runs …

    Mobile 21 Jun 2007, 10:21

  • Levi's announces mobile phone

    But is it pre-shrunk?

    First Prada, now Levi's. The jeans maker is to launch a mobile phone, it said this week, but the doyenne of demin is remaining tight-lipped about many of the device's capabilites. Levi's Phone: iPod white for the ladies... Dubbed simply the Levi's Phone, the device will be manufactured under licence by the Paris-based …

    Phones 21 Jun 2007, 10:34

  • Computerland racks up profits

    product margin dip

    Computerland PLC made pre-tax profits up 26 per cent to £2.80m, according to preliminary results released by the IT managed services firm. Turnover rose 13 per cent to £67m for the year ended April 2007, the figures showed. Computerland said it performed strongly in contracted revenues, up 49.3 per cent, largely due to O2 …

    The Channel 21 Jun 2007, 10:35

  • Eta Carinae brightens Chandra's day

    New pics of an old explosion

    NASA has released a striking new image of explosive neighbouring star Eta Carinae. The star is huge: somewhere between 100 and 150 times the size of our own sun. It is also consuming its fuel at a truly astonishing rate. The star is currently teetering along a knife edge, almost at equilibrium: its gravity just about balanced …

    Science 21 Jun 2007, 10:37

  • Intel to chop 1066MHz FSB CPUs earlier than expected?

    Big push for 1333MHz FSB chips

    Intel wants to get us all computing over a 1333MHz frontside bus pronto and to that end is to drop a stack of 1066MHz-only processors through Q3 and Q4, Taiwanese motherboard maker moles have claimed. The chip giant is expected to introduce 1333MHz FSB Core 2 Duo CPUs on 22 July, and according to a DigiTimes report, many …

    Hardware 21 Jun 2007, 10:57

  • Who needs an iPhone when you can get married by a robot?

    To subscribe to Channel Register's weekly newsletter - seven days of channel news in a single hit - click here.

    There may still be more than a week to go before the launch of the iPhone, but there's no way of avoiding it. The damn thing is everywhere even though it isn't officially anywhere yet. Apart from in Steve Jobs' pocket - and Eric Schmidt's. The Google CEO whipped his out in Paris the other day (still not an arrestable offence …

    The Channel 21 Jun 2007, 10:58

  • Chileans mislay large lake

    Last seen in March, current whereabouts unknown

    The Chileans have rather carelessly mislaid an entire lake in the Magallanes region of Patagonia, Reuters reports. The body of water in question (seen here before and after) had a surface area of around 4 to 5 hectares (10-12 acres) or, if you prefer, roughly 10 soccer pitches*. It was last seen in March, according to Juan Jose …

    Science 21 Jun 2007, 10:59

  • United grounded by computer failure

    Unfriendly skies

    An as-yet-unidentified computer failure grounded all departing United Airlines flights on Wednesday morning. The two hour glitch was confined to the carrier, but caused chaos across US airports as arriving planes were stuck on the tarmac waiting for gates - occupied by United flights that weren't moving anywhere - to become …

    Management 21 Jun 2007, 11:00

  • Manhunt 2 rated 18+ in US

    Slasher game maker wanted 17+

    Rockstar Games' Manhunt 2 may have been banned for sale in Britain, but it has been rated Adults Only (AO) in the US, the developer's publisher, Take-Two Interactive, has confirmed. Take-Two said it believed an M rating - for Mature - was a more appropriate classification, and said it was "exploring its options with regard to …

    Games 21 Jun 2007, 11:27

  • Iraq collapse may pose new WMD threat, say UN monitors

    Failed state plus expertise plus insurgency equals...

    As soon as 63-year old Russell Defreitas was arrested in early June for an alleged plot to destroy JFK through fuel explosions, terror beat journalists couldn't resist their favorite hobby: telling stories about how everything in the US is at risk. The description "elderly patsy" immediately came to mind when eyeballing …

    Security 21 Jun 2007, 11:36

  • Sun loses UK head

    Surprise departure

    Sun Microsystems' UK managing director Trudy Norris Grey has left the firm after nearly two years' service. According to CRN, Sun confirmed that "Trudy-Norris Grey, president and managing director, Sun Microsystems UK and Ireland has left the company to pursue other opportunities. "We are grateful for the contribution Trudy …

    The Channel 21 Jun 2007, 11:57

  • Police deploy thin Bluetooth line

    Lock your doors and windows, criminals are everywhere

    Police in West Yorkshire are planning to use Bluetooth to alert people that criminals are lurking behind every tree and they should lock their doors and windows. Apparently, one in four burglaries is carried out by an opportunist, noticing an open door and brazenly walking through it. Unsurprisingly, the incidence of such …

    Data Networking 21 Jun 2007, 12:01

  • Torex takeover angers shareholders

    Banks win, we get nothing

    Shareholders in Torex Retail have reacted angrily to news that the company has been sold in a private equity deal which will see the banks get paid off but leave little for ordinary shareholders. A pressure group - UK Shareholders Association (UKSA) - is calling for an extraordinary general meeting to be held within three …

    The Channel 21 Jun 2007, 12:03

  • Atlantis ready to come home

    Dodging thunderstorms en route

    The space shuttle Atlantis is packing up and heading for home. The bird is due to land at Florida's Kennedy Space Centre this afternoon, but the exact time of the landing will depend on weather conditions. Hollywood smiles from the Atlantis' crew. Credit NASA TV The pilots will have two opportunities to de-orbit and head for …

    Science 21 Jun 2007, 12:04

  • NZ couple fight to name kid '4Real'

    Are you for real?

    A NZ couple are fighting the powers that be for the right to name their son "4Real", the New Zealand Herald reports. Pat and Sheena Wheaton claim the Department of Internal Affairs has deployed the Births, Deaths, and Marriages Registration Act 1995 in refusing to register the name. The law forbids "names that resemble an …

    Bootnotes 21 Jun 2007, 12:07

  • LG locates Google phone in Europe

    Vodafone gets first shout

    It's here, it's the Google phone. Yes, LG's KU-580 handset, which incorporates Google Search, Google Mail and Google Maps - watch out, iPhone - has come to Europe. LG's KU-580: Google'n'Chocolate The device sports a red-on-black color scheme not unlike LG's popular Chocolate phone, but it's larger, sporting a 2in …

    Phones 21 Jun 2007, 12:55

  • Sony NAS-50HDE Gigajuke audio system

    Review If stereos were Stetsons, this would be a ten gallon hat

    Of late, the compact Hi-Fi system has struggled to find a place in the affections of consumers keener on more sophisticated home cinema audio rigs. However, the technology that looked like it was about to drive the last nail into the compact Hi-Fi coffin is set to breath new life into the format as products like the Gigajuke …

    Hardware 21 Jun 2007, 12:58

  • Dell's vertical line issues lengthen

    If you haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary, there might be a problem with your monitor. May we suggest you are a victim of the heavily caterwauled vertical line problem affecting several Dell laptops? Impossible you say? After all, back in January you anxiously stroked your computer as we reported a dodgy batch of …

    Hardware 21 Jun 2007, 13:01

  • CSC to slash hundreds of jobs

    Blue Monday

    Up to 300 UK staff at outsourcing colossus CSC face the sack on Monday, as the firm ramps up a programme of brutal cutbacks. Sources say compulsory redundancy notices, part of a company-wide restructuring, will be handed out across Regional and Global Operations, Global Solutions & Technology, Global Security Services, and …

    Developer 21 Jun 2007, 13:31

  • Registration open for reality TV style Mars mission trial

    ESA offers £29k pay for 17-month Big Brother simulator ordeal

    The European Space Agency (ESA) has formally opened registration for wannabe Mars-mission astronaut guinea pigs, willing to spend up to a year and a half in a "hermetically sealed" spaceship simulator with strictly limited communications. The plan was flagged up two months ago, but the ESA is now taking applications. There will …

    Science 21 Jun 2007, 13:39

  • Wind-powered phone-charger coming to market?

    Designer gauging interest

    Gotwind, the organisation behing the wind-powered mobile phone recharger prototypes Orange will be spinning at this weekend's Glastonbury gathering, has said it may put the product into production - if there's a demand for it. Getwind's Orange wind-powered phone charger The Orange wind chargers were developed by Gotwind's …

    Hardware 21 Jun 2007, 13:40

  • Citizen Kane declared greatest US movie

    Godfather pipped into second spot

    It's official: Citizen Kane is the greatest US movie of all time, pipping The Godfather into second spot. That's according to the American Film Institute (AFI), which has just released its latest list of the top 100 American flicks, selected by "1,500 ballots sent to film-makers, actors, writers and other Hollywood players, who …

    Bootnotes 21 Jun 2007, 13:45

  • Alaskan man guilty of flogging seal penises

    Illegally handled aphrodisiac 'oosiks'

    An Alaskan man faces a possible one year's jail and a $20,000 fine after pleading guilty to one count of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act, viz: flogging 100 fur seal penises, aka "oosiks", to a gift shop "that intended to sell the items as an aphrodisiac". According to Reuters, Michael Richard Zacharof, "an Aleut and …

    Science 21 Jun 2007, 13:46

  • Teenagers prefer mobiles to sex

    But what if there wasn't a vibrate function?

    One in three people would want £1m to give up their mobile, and those aged between 16 and 24 would prefer to give up sex for a month than do without their handset, according to Carphone Warehouse's Mobile Life survey. Mobile Life, a six monthly survey, this time also convinced 24 people to give up their mobile phones for a …

    Mobile 21 Jun 2007, 14:18

  • VoIP firm launches headset smashathon

    Jajah deploys leggy SWAT team

    As part of a Skype-bashing push to cast-off VoIP's image of PC-bonded geekery, Jajah has launched a bid to find the most creative way to destroy a headset. Cheap publicity gimmicks? They've heard of them The Austro-Californian start-up, which recently got big name backing from Intel and Deutsche Telekom (DT), has set its …

    The Channel 21 Jun 2007, 14:21

  • UK firm pays biggest ever fine over 'pirate' software

    Keel-hauled

    An unnamed UK firm has agreed to pay a record fine of £250,000 ($498K) for running unlicensed software. The company (which operates in the infrastructure and public services sector) was running unlicensed copies of Adobe, Autodesk, and Microsoft software on hundreds of PCs across several UK locations. The Business Software …

    The Channel 21 Jun 2007, 14:27

  • Israeli futurologist predicts terror horror

    Run for the hills

    Western nations have less than 20 years to prepare for the next generation of terror threats, according to Dr Yair Sharan, director of Tel Aviv University's Interdisciplinary Centre for Technology Analysis and Forecasting. These could consist of suicide bombers remote-controlled by brain-chip implants and carrying nano- …

    Government 21 Jun 2007, 14:34

  • Toshiba 'world's lightest' laptop wafts down

    Toshiba has bulked up its Portégé notebook range, albeit only slightly, with the unveiling of the R500 - a 779g featherweight that the company claims is the world's lightest laptop. The 12.1in Portégé R500 line, the successor to the R200 and R400 - reviewed here - consists of a model fitted with a 120GB HDD and a second …

    Hardware 21 Jun 2007, 14:41

  • Ebuyer in hard-drive warranty debacle

    Sells Seagate OEM drives to end users

    Online retailer Ebuyer.com has many disgruntled customers knocking at its door after a cock-up with the manufacturer warranty on some of its Seagate hard-drives. According to a thread on the firm's website forum, Ebuyer has been flogging Seagate drives that are intended only for Original Equipment Manufacturers, or PC makers, …

    The Channel 21 Jun 2007, 15:24

  • Czech authorities report bird 'flu at turkey farm

    Samples sent to Surrey for confirmation

    The European Commission has announced that an outbreak of bird flu at a turkey farm in the Czech Republic appears to be of the the virulent H5N1 strain. The farm is in the Pardubicky Region, district Ústí nad Orlicí, in the centre of the country. Lab tests yesterday at the State Veterinary Institute in Jihlava and at the …

    Science 21 Jun 2007, 15:28

  • Blogosphere is the net spawn of Satan: official

    Only 'folksonomy' inspires more fear and loathing

    It's official: "folksonomy", "blogosphere", "netiquette" and "blook" are among the net-spawned terms which should be cast down into the eternal fires of hell, AFP reports. That's the conclusion of a poll on behalf of the Lulu Blooker Prize which asked 2,091 adults to vote for the most hideous words which have escaped from …

    Bootnotes 21 Jun 2007, 15:31

  • Creative rocks on with Zen Stone... Plus

    Coinciding product launches with significant dates is nothing new, but Creative's Zen Stone Plus launch today comes on what is - apparently - European Music Day. The Zen Stone Plus now sits as the follow on to the Zen Stone. The main difference is the Plus' circular OLED screen, which should help it attract slightly more …

    Hardware 21 Jun 2007, 15:38

  • Congress chops economy-class nuke programme

    Cheap, reliable atom bombs strangely unpopular

    The US Congress has decided not to fund development of new nuclear warheads until a firm US nuclear-weapons roadmap is in place. The Washington Post reports that the House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to cut funding for the continuance of the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) programme. The RRW is the only ongoing US …

    Government 21 Jun 2007, 15:38

  • Austrian domain registrar 'aids' phishers

    Spamhaus gives black mark to Nic.at

    Anti-spam organisation Spamhaus has taken the unusual step of putting an entry for Austrian Domain Registrar Nic.at on its Spamhaus Block List (SBL). Nic.at was listed1 for "knowingly providing services" to hundreds of spam phishing domains run by a Russian cybercrime phishing gang, called 'Rock Phish'. Rock, paper, scissors …

    Security 21 Jun 2007, 18:07

  • SiCortex sticks to Summer supercomputer ship

    USENIX Ready to wow

    Tied to such a bizarre supercomputer design, SiCortex seemed certain to miss its product ship target. Not so, according to engineer Win Treese, who promised the boxes will arrive this Summer (beta systems out now) as planned, during a speech here at the Usenix conference. Some of you will remember that SiCortex took our TopFLOP …

    Servers 21 Jun 2007, 18:08

  • AMD chief condemns Intel 'abuses'

    Calls for end to illegal monopolies

    AMD boss Hector Ruiz today called for an end to “illegal abuses” by Intel - the AMD competitor that controls 80 percent of the worldwide x86 microprocessor market. Speaking at the annual conference of the American Antitrust Institute in Washington, D.C., he proclaimed: There is no proper or defensible place for illegal …

    The Channel 21 Jun 2007, 20:32

  • A Mariner from Serena

    Developments in Portfolio Management

    Ever since I first read Geoff Reiss’ Programme Management Demystified, I’ve felt there was something wrong with most conventional approaches to IT project management – most IT projects aren’t discrete units of work but share resources (including people) with other projects - including past projects, now in “maintenance”. And, …

    Developer 21 Jun 2007, 21:51

  • Google goes global with new-fangled ad engine

    You pay only for results

    Google has extended its Pay-Per-Action ad beta to non-US advertisers, giving them the option paying only when they get results. With Pay-Per-Action, an AdWords optional extra that launched stateside in March, advertisers aren’t charged unless an ad generates some sort of action on their website, such as a sale or a sign-up. “ …

    Small Biz 21 Jun 2007, 23:45

  • About those 844 security breaches... 'fess up, Congress tells DHS

    Once more unto the security breach, DHS

    At Department of Homeland Security, we will lead the unified national effort to secure America. We will prevent and deter terrorist attacks and protec — Hey, hot deals on mortgages and penis enlargement pills? I'd be crazy not to click this executable! Congress put Homeland Security's chief information officer Scott Charbo to …

    Security 21 Jun 2007, 23:56