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8th August 2007 Archive

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  • Free download empowers black hat hackers

    Two out of three white hats don't care

    The folks at Immunity, a company specializing in tools for penetration testing, have released a free application advertised to streamline the development of software exploits. Immunity Debugger, as the app is called, will cut exploit development time by half, according to this product announcement. The debugger is designed with …

    Security 8 Aug 2007, 00:19

  • Packard Bell jilts Acer for Lenovo

    Worldwide PC love triangle

    It looks like Packard Bell will soon tie the knot with Lenovo - not Acer. Today, Lenovo announced that it's in discussions with "third parties and/or government bodies" as it prepares to purchase the Netherlands-based electronics manufacturer, leaving arch-rival Acer to navigate the European PC market all on its own. Speaking …

    PCs & Chips 8 Aug 2007, 00:23

  • Oracle claims no Linux ulterior motive

    LinuxWorld Mixed messages

    Oracle is using LinuxWorld to try and calm concerns its Enterprise Linux and Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN) will fork Red Hat and fragment the Linux market. The database giant is playing up fixes it's making to Red Hat's Linux through ULN and its track record contributing code to the Linux kernel as proof of its good …

    Operating Systems 8 Aug 2007, 00:30

  • XenSource calls VMware a cash-hogging automobile

    LinuxWorld Open source explained through car talk, bandits

    XenSource CTO Simon Crosby wishes all the best for the folks at VMware. But he has one simple request; please stop hogging all the money. Open source virtualization has a long way to catch up with VMware's slice of market pie, but Crosby assured a panel at LinuxWorld the industry will be a happier place if open code does keep …

    Servers 8 Aug 2007, 00:46

  • Sun adds bargain line to StorageTek family

    Thumper given SMB storage duty

    Sun wants to squeeze its StorageTek boxes into some tighter spaces with a new virtual tape library box aimed at the SMB market and back office environments. The new StorageTek VTL-Value uses the same code and capabilities as its heftier StorageTek counterparts, but is the first in the family to be built on the Sun Fire X4500 …

    Storage 8 Aug 2007, 04:02

  • Biometrics tackle immigration abuse

    Fingerprint visas 'first line of defence'

    Fingerprint visas are becoming a first line of defence against illegal immigration, according to the Home Office. The Home Office said it has taken more than half a million sets of fingerprints from visa applicants, equivalent to a set checked every 30 seconds, since the programme began last year. "New fingerprint visas are …

    Public Sector 8 Aug 2007, 08:53

  • Line rental cost a barrier to broadband

    Most would forgo DSL if price increased

    Over three-quarters of respondents to an online survey have said an increase in line rental charges would discourage them from getting DSL broadband. In addition, nearly all of the respondents (96 per cent) said they would be unwilling to pay for any future increases in the cost of line rental, while 25 per cent said they were …

    Networks 8 Aug 2007, 08:56

  • Merchants remain angry over Protx outage

    Analysis Root cause analysis

    The fallout from the outage of UK payment processing firm Protx is continuing. Thousands of online merchants were unable to take payments last Wednesday as a result of a mishandled upgrade that left payment systems at Protx unavailable. Several Reg readers also reported they were unable to reach the firm by either phone or …

    Security 8 Aug 2007, 09:00

  • Programmer granted royalties from commissioned software

    Despite no copyright agreement

    A computer programmer has been granted royalties in systems he developed even though no proper copyright agreement existed when the material was commissioned. The programmer was awarded more than £45,000. The case was fought between programmer Stephen Landamore and the man who commissioned the software, Laurence Wrenn. The …

    Software 8 Aug 2007, 09:18

  • Microsoft defends vendor standards lead

    LinuxWorld Interoperability by another name

    Microsoft has defended vendor-led standards and interoperability work rather than waiting for industry bodies to reach an open consensus. Sam Ramji, Microsoft director of platform technology strategy, said vendors with complicated products like, say, Windows that implement thousands of standards can quickly identify and solve …

    Software 8 Aug 2007, 09:30

  • Cameraman drops first YouTube suit to join class action

    While Google maintains its innocence

    Eight new groups of rights holders have joined the legal action against Google-owned video sharing website YouTube. Among the eight is Robert Tur, the cameraman who has dropped his existing suit against YouTube to join the case. Tur began the first copyright infringement case against YouTube, but his suit was lodged before the …

    Law 8 Aug 2007, 09:32

  • It's not easy being green

    Minimising heat and power waste

    Green is the new black, it would seem. With many organisations now trying to "out-green" the competition, we are rapidly running into the problem seen with the majority of bandwagons - just how real are some of the arguments coming in from the vendors on the topic? Rationalising hardware and consolidating data centres are …

    Hardware 8 Aug 2007, 09:46

  • FaceTime exposes prospect contact info

    Red faces over coding snafu at IM security firm

    IM security firm FaceTime has explained how programming errors led to the exposure of contact information for potential customers on its website. A script in the firm's white paper request page submitted the contact information of interested parties to a .csv file on FaceTime's site. Worse still, comments within the script …

    Security 8 Aug 2007, 10:03

  • Toshiba touts third-generation HD DVD

    Whatever will Blu-ray say?

    It may feel like Blu-ray and HD DVD have only been around for the blink of an eye, but Toshiba is already on its third generation of HD DVD players. The manufacturer has unveiled three new boxes that it claims offer exceptional video performance and greater ease of use. Tosh's ‘exclusive’ third generation range includes the …

    Reg Hardware 8 Aug 2007, 10:09

  • Websites could be required to retain visitor info

    Even if it would break their privacy policies

    A series of legal events means that companies that have no business reason to retain documents or records may be compelled to create and retain such records just so they can become available for discovery. Companies routinely create, maintain and store electronic records. Some records are consciously created – like memoranda …

    Law 8 Aug 2007, 10:26

  • Customer exodus hits Virgin Media

    Sky gloomy

    Virgin Media (VM) took another sound kicking from Sky last quarter, losing customers and money in the battle for broadband and pay-TV supremacy. The firm's cable network surrendered 70,300 net customers during the three months to 30 June. VM estimated 40,000 of the refugees were motivated by Sky's withdrawal of the Basics …

    Networks 8 Aug 2007, 10:35

  • Sony VGN-TZ11XN/B laptop

    Review Gimme, gimme. Wait... is that the price or my phone number?

    Sony has certainly pushed the limits with the TZ11 and the result is generally extreme in every department. Extremely thin, extremely light, extremely long battery life...and an extremely high price tag. Nice lines: the Sony VGN-TZ11XN/B The photos of the Vaio VGN-TZ11XN/B show a classic, smart Sony laptop, but they don’t …

    Reg Hardware 8 Aug 2007, 10:44

  • Yangtze river dolphin is an ex-cetacean

    Nature pays the price of progress

    Scientists have today declared the Yangtze river dolphin extinct after an intensive survey failed to find evidence of a single animal in the waterway. Pollution, shipping, and over-fishing have all been fingered as culprits. The dolphin's demise marks the first large vertebrate species obliterated by human activity for 50 years …

    Biology 8 Aug 2007, 10:54

  • Apple unwraps trio of aluminium iMacs

    Good news for Apple fans?

    Apple ended weeks of speculation yesterday by finally taking the wraps off three new iMac models. Steve Jobs took to the stage at Apple's Cupertino HQ to announce the immediate availability of two 20in models, and a 24in iMac. All three models come in shiny aluminium cases. The 20in iMac in available with either a 2.0 or 2. …

    Reg Hardware 8 Aug 2007, 11:46

  • Cisco's Web 2.0 enthusiasm helps profits climb

    CEO hails second major internet phase

    Cisco Systems said yesterday that it saw a 25 per cent jump in net income in its fourth quarter, buoyed by the growing popularity of Web 2.0 technologies. The San Jose, California-based networking behemoth reported a $1.4bn jump in sales (more than 18 per cent) for the Q4 period ended 28 July 2007 as customer demand for …

    Networks 8 Aug 2007, 11:49

  • Sharp sues Samsung over patent claims

    Another day, another patent dispute

    Sharp has filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics for allegedly infringing its liquid crystal display patents. This row between the world's third and second biggest LCD TV makers respectively, could escalate as the Seoul-based company said it might countersue. Sharp alleges that Samsung has infringed five of its LCD- …

    Reg Hardware 8 Aug 2007, 12:20

  • USAF seeks control of aerial kill-bots

    Pilots love drones? Something's fishy here ...

    Everyone knows about the current rise of the aerial killer robot. These machines are now in operation across the US military, and have already reaped a deadly harvest in Southwest Asia. But the big deathbot battle isn't, in fact, in Iraq of Afghanistan; it's between the various branches of the US armed services, regarding who …

    Hardware 8 Aug 2007, 13:39

  • UK VPN security is outstandingly mediocre

    BOFHs struggle with TLAs

    The security of corporate remote access setups has slipped over the last 12 months, according to security audits by penetration testing firm NTA Monitor. NTA's VPN Security Report 2007 shows that IT organisations have a third fewer vulnerabilities per test than cropped up in the equivalent study last year. But organisations …

    Security 8 Aug 2007, 13:43

  • Court finds Qualcomm guilty of standards abuse

    First create a standard, then sue the adopters

    Qualcomm kept its patents on H.264 a secret until the video standard had been adopted by the industry, and then sued users for breaching those patents, a San Diego federal court has ruled. Qualcomm was an active member of the Joint Video Team (JVT) which defined the H.264 video standard, now used extensively in mobile phone …

    Mobile 8 Aug 2007, 14:30

  • IBM and Novell team up for chunk of open source market

    Tout free app server software, taunt Microsoft

    Computer giant IBM has linked up with Novell to take a bite out of the open source application server market. The deal, which was announced at yesterday's opening of LinuxWorld in San Francisco, will see Novell deliver and support WebSphere Application Server Community Edition as part of Suse Linux Enterprise Server. IBM …

    Software 8 Aug 2007, 14:33

  • We'll never get alien telly, says Zagreb boffin

    Tentacle'n'slime smut bonanza hopes dashed

    A Croatian tech boffin has spoiled the party for those hoping to tune into TV signals broadcast by alien civilisations, publishing a pessimistic analysis (brain-ache pdf) of the subject. As the boffinry newshawks of New Scientist noted from Marko Horvat's paper: "If, for example, 10 civilisations, each with a lifespan of 250, …

    Entertainment 8 Aug 2007, 14:46

  • Dell UK dances with Linux

    Open source touches down

    Dell has taken its first major step into the open source world beyond the good ol' US of A. The PC assembler is to begin shipping the Ubuntu 7.04 Linux operating system on two of its Inspiron brand PCs. The company said that because there are no software licence costs associated with Ubuntu, it is able to offer the Inspiron …

    Reg Hardware 8 Aug 2007, 14:56

  • SurfControl dips into the red ahead of WebSense takeover

    All under control

    SurfControl announced improved sales but a dip into the red on Wednesday, in what's expected to be the censorware firm's last quarterly earnings report before the completion of its acquisition by Websense. For its fourth quarter, which ended 30 June, SurfControl brought in revenues of $33.9m, up 23 per cent on sales of $27.6m …

    Security 8 Aug 2007, 15:24

  • Sacked PlusNet boss blasts BT sale 'stitch up'

    Exclusive Blood on the carpet

    The ousted boss of PlusNet has branded its management liars and new owner BT deceitful in an angry email sent to former colleagues at the ISP. The extraordinary missive, obtained by The Register, was fired off by Lee Strafford on Sunday evening. He was sacked from PlusNet in March this year after being accused of plotting to …

    Telecoms 8 Aug 2007, 15:27

  • Samsung phone offers easier messaging

    Wil it rly wrk?

    Samsung has released a QWERTY keypad inspired slider phone which should make text messages, instant messages and e-mails as easy as child’s play. So if you’re differently abled in the text messaging department or just part of the firm’s “message-centric” target market, the Blast handset could be right up your alley. The …

    Reg Hardware 8 Aug 2007, 15:53

  • Russian firm targets wooden phones at posers everywhere

    Hold your Gresso next to your Breitling

    You've got the watch, you've got the car, but have you got a sultry model from Eastern Europe on the passenger seat? If not, Russian company Gresso has created the Avantgarde handset collection, a pair of phones featuring everything from gold screws to an African Blackwood case. The two models, Luna and Sol, both use Gresso’s …

    Reg Hardware 8 Aug 2007, 15:54

  • Fist-sized monkey flies from Florida to New York

    Do you know there's a marmoset on your head?

    A small monkey enjoyed a free trip to New York courtesy of a man who smuggled the animal under his hat for a flight from Florida to the Big Apple's LaGuardia airport. The marmoset monkey did not remain hidden for long, however, with passengers spotting the animal clambering out on to the man's ponytail mid-flight, reports …

    Biology 8 Aug 2007, 15:56

  • 419-lite scammers target pet lovers

    How much is that doggy?

    Email con-men are targeting animal lovers in new variants of advance fee fraud scams. Bogus offers that began circulating earlier this week typically pose as hunts for a new home for a puppy called Timi. The purported owners don't want any money themselves, or so they claim, but there's the small matter of export costs, …

    Spam 8 Aug 2007, 18:27

  • Google News fails to Digg-ify itself

    Expects business card from Tooth Fairy

    Google News is allowing Digg-style reader comments. Sort of. Today, on the official Google News blog, software engineers Dan Meredith and Andy Golding announced a "new, experimental feature" that gives readers the power to publicly comment on stories turned up by the site's news aggregator - if they're actually involved in the …

    Music and Media 8 Aug 2007, 18:28

  • PC buyers: 'Vista Capable' machines weren't Vista capable

    Judge calls for trial

    How misleading was Microsoft's "Windows Vista Capable" campaign? Misleading enough for a judge to approve a federal trial. On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that two PC buyers, Dianne Kelley and Kenneth Hansen, can proceed with a lawsuit that accuses Microsoft of deliberately deceiving the public with the "Window Vista Capable …

    PCs & Chips 8 Aug 2007, 22:05

  • Novell CEO confirms that Microsoft is a reality

    LinuxWorld Come to our world

    Novell's chief executive has justified his company's contentious Microsoft hook-up to open source devotees by claiming the deal is critical to the long-term success of their favorite operating system. Ron Hovsepian today, during a speech, warned LinuxWorld attendees against complacency over Linux's perceived success in both …

    Servers 8 Aug 2007, 22:15

  • Free software darling SugarCRM blasts OSI

    LinuxWorld Restrictive hypocrites

    Full of free software pride, SugarCRM CEO John Roberts has revitalized his attack against the Open Source Initiative (OSI) characterizing the organization as weak and confused. After being the open source community's whipping boy, SugarCRM now enjoys a position of power. Last month, the software maker agreed to place a fresh …

    Applications 8 Aug 2007, 22:17

  • Novell squirrels its way into the virtual datacenter

    LinuxWorld Zen for Xen

    Fresh from warning against complacency over Linux's success, Novell has launched software to improve management of data centers running SUSE, its flavor of Linux. Announcing ZenWorks Orchestrator 1.1 and ZenWorks virtual manager, chief executive Ron Hovsepian today promised "raise the bar in the management paradigm". …

    Servers 8 Aug 2007, 23:21

  • Cisco patches serious holes in voice-enabled offerings

    Four updates in all

    Cisco issued four updates that patch a raft of security holes in products running its Internetwork Operating System (IOS). Impacts included sustained denial of service attacks, data leakage and remote execution of code. The most serious vulnerabilities reside in voice-enabled devices and Cisco Unified Communications Manager, …

    Enterprise Security 8 Aug 2007, 23:59