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23rd August 2007 Archive

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  • Sonnet intros Firewire+USB, 12-in-1 card reader ExpressCards

    Mac accessory specialist Sonnet Technologies has rolled out a pair of ExpressCard add-ins: a 12-in-one memory card reader for one, and a USB 2 and Firewire port adaptor for the other. Sonnet's 12-in-1 card reader The memory card reader's not unlike one released by Griffin Technology earlier this year - reviewed here - but …

    Hardware 23 Aug 2007, 09:01

  • UK IP office offers trade mark guidance

    New rules call for vigilance from trade mark holders

    The UK Intellectual Property Office will be offering advice and practical help on forthcoming changes to the Trade Marks Act in a series of events being held around the country in September. The reforms take effect on 1 October 2007 and reduce the number of cases in which the Trade Marks Registry will oppose a trade mark …

    Law 23 Aug 2007, 09:07

  • Apple readies Mac OS X-based iPods?

    Revamp could come next month, moles maintain

    Apple's iPod line-up will be revamped next month, it has been claimed, and the biggest change of all will be the replacement of the players' operating system with a version of Mac OS X, as per the iPhone. The scheme - announced by company sources cited by AppleInsider - will see the original iPod OS, based on technology from …

    Hardware 23 Aug 2007, 09:26

  • Tidal power project fails to start on schedule

    Better than wind: power cuts will be predictable

    The UK's first working tidal power project, which was supposed to begin construction this week, has suffered a delay. Marine Current Turbines (MCT), a Bristol-based company developing tidal power machinery, had planned to commence installation of its initial SeaGen system in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland. However, the …

    Science 23 Aug 2007, 09:34

  • Foxy Brown hauled off to jail

    BlackBerry-chucking rapstress's probation revoked

    Foxy Brown is today languishing in jail after a Manhattan judge yesterday revoked her probation for "violating the terms of her release" following an alleged BlackBerry assault on a neighbour, Yahoo! reports. Brown, née Inga Marchand, was already on probation after copping an assault plea for attacking two manicurists in 2004 …

    Security 23 Aug 2007, 09:46

  • Wrinkly, faulty geology uncovered on the moon

    Analysing SMART-1 pictures

    High resolution images sent back by ESA's SMART-1 lunar probe are helping scientists piece together the geological and volcanic history of the Moon. SMART-1 AMIE image mosaic of the edge of Mare Humorum. The pictures, combined with data from the US's Clementine mission, have revealed small-scale geological features on the …

    Science 23 Aug 2007, 09:52

  • Stolen satnav guides thieves to owner's home

    The perils of programmed return routes

    Police have warned drivers not to leave their journey home programmed into their satnav systems following the theft of a device from a car at Alton Towers theme park which directed ne'er-do-wells to the owner's Shropshire home where they promptly made off with a £20k Saab convertible. According to the Telegraph, West Mercia …

    Security 23 Aug 2007, 09:55

  • Microsoft and Nokia team up for Windows Live

    And create network operator bypass

    Nokia, in conjunction with Microsoft, has released a version of Windows Live for its Series 60 handsets, with Series 40 to follow next year. The deal gives punters easy access to Windows Messenger, Hotmail, Contacts and Spaces, without so much as a nod to the network operators. Your friends on your mobile The application …

    Networks 23 Aug 2007, 10:01

  • Intel shakes up multi-core chip branding

    No more Duo, Quad, Pro, apparently

    So farewell then, Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad: come 1 January 2008 you will be no more, leaked Intel presentation slides reveal. The Centrino Duo and Pro brands are out too, it seems. The move appears to be an attempt by the chip giant to streamline its branding for a world where multi-core processors are not de rigueur. …

    Hardware 23 Aug 2007, 10:02

  • Astronauts bring space-grown bugs home

    They just Flu in

    The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour has arrived back on Earth safe and sound, but not alone. The astronauts have brought a raging case of strep with them. Well, not so much a case, as sealed containers of space grown Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. The cargo is being shipped to the University of Texas' microbiology and …

    Science 23 Aug 2007, 10:07

  • Sony intros smallest 'high-zoom' digital SLR-alike

    Sony's Cyber-shot digital camera range shows no signs of expanding - at least in physical dimensions that is. The H3 is the manufacturer's smallest ever digicam with a 10x optical zoom, but packs in an 8.1-megapixel lens and an output mode to display images on HD Ready displays. Sony's Cyber-shot H3 The camera measures …

    Hardware 23 Aug 2007, 10:16

  • Sony unveils PlayTV telly tuner for PS3

    Record and play digital TV on your console

    Sony has unveiled its forecast TV tuner for the PlayStation 3, enabling users in Europe to record and watch digital TV on their games console, Sky+ style. Sony's PlayTV The announcement was made at the Leipzig games show in Germany - a show being heralded by many as the new E3, or at the very least a respectable European …

    Games 23 Aug 2007, 10:32

  • Ofcom: the internet is for coffin dodgers and girls

    Do you know where your grandmother is?

    The unstoppable rise of the internet as the umbrella medium for communications and entertainment is gathering steam, according to Ofcom's annual industry report. Across the whole population we're spending on average 36 minutes online every day - a 158 per cent increase on 2002. The 16 per cent of over-65s who surf manage to …

    Broadband 23 Aug 2007, 11:18

  • Toshiba to launch 32GB SDHC card next year

    Toshiba has announced what it claims - and it certainly looks that way from where we're sitting - is the world's first 32GB SDHC memory card. The catch: you'll have to wait until January 2008 for it. Toshiba's SDHC cards: all the way up to 32GB Unwilling to do so? Then Toshiba may be able to satisfy you with the 16GB …

    Hardware 23 Aug 2007, 11:21

  • Seagate to start shifting SSDs

    Not a Flash in the pan

    The CEO of hard disk drive (HDD) maker Seagate Technology has declared the firm's intention to enter the Flash memory market. Bill Watkins said in an interview with CNET that Seagate will begin shifting solid-state drives (SSD) based on Flash memory chip technology from next year. It's a marked move away from the world's …

    Storage 23 Aug 2007, 11:42

  • Hackers prowl for Trend Micro vuln

    Lock up your servers

    Hackers have begun actively scanning for recently announced vulnerabilities in Trend Micro's ServerProtect product. Security watchers at the Internet Storm Centre (ISC) have noted a huge upsurge of traffic on TCP port 5168, associated with security bugs in ServerProtect (an enterprise software product designed to protect …

    Security 23 Aug 2007, 11:45

  • Sony claims cameras able to 'see for smiles'

    Subject smiles, camera snaps

    Researchers in Sony's digital camera labs must be suffering from aching jaws after developing its new Cyber-shot T200 and T70 cameras. The new snappers sport a smile mode that recognises grinning subjects and then automatically takes a shot, ensuring your album will only feature pearly white choppers from now on. Sony's …

    Hardware 23 Aug 2007, 11:47

  • 3 confirms tenner-a-month data deal

    'Not just for suits'

    Table of 3's mobile broadband tariffs, to be launched on 3 September. UK mobile operator 3 has officially disclosed details of its new tenner-a-month data deal for laptop users. Our story on Monday prompted punters to call the 3 sales line, only to be answered by reps who didn't know anything about it as the new tariffs had …

    Mobile 23 Aug 2007, 11:50

  • August is great for holidays but it's no damn good for song titles

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

    If you look it up on Wikipedia - the great reference source for people who can't be bothered trying to learn about anything - you'll find there's very little of interest about August. That's probably why so many people go on holiday during the month. Not that you'd know it from The Register. News never takes a holiday. So to …

    The Channel 23 Aug 2007, 12:02

  • Egg.com server cracks

    Updated Techies scramble to blame C&W for downtime cock-up

    Online banking service Egg.com is currently unavailable to its customers and the firm is pointing the finger of blame at telecoms provider Cable and Wireless (C&W). Many users have contacted The Register to complain that the service has been down since 7pm yesterday evening, indeed a visit to the website throws up a "server …

    Servers 23 Aug 2007, 12:14

  • Intel said to have roadmapped 11 mobile Penryn processors

    Intel will launch five 45nm laptop processors based on its 'Penryn' chip design it has been claimed, with a further three coming when the chip giant introduces the next generation of Centrino, codenamed 'Montevina'. So the company's latest roadmaps, relayed by Taiwan's DigiTimes, indicate. Designed for current Centrino …

    Hardware 23 Aug 2007, 12:19

  • PlusNet blasts email into blackhole (again)

    Same as it ever was

    PlusNet, the terminally scatterbrained ISP, has permanently deleted customers' email again after it bungled the installation of an anti-spam appliance, it admitted this morning. The Sheffield firm said it had blackholed about 10 per cent of the backlog of mail which built up yesterday daytime while its engineers worked on the …

    Broadband 23 Aug 2007, 12:54

  • Enceladus' icy threat to Cassini

    Sandblaster effect

    The Cassini spacecraft could be at risk of damage when it makes its next closest approach to the moon Enceladus. Mission managers have warned that the larger particles of dust and ice emanating from the southern pole of Enceladus pose a real threat to the craft. Enceladus, and all that dust. Credit: Ciclops The craft is due …

    Science 23 Aug 2007, 13:00

  • Is US Army ordering robot spy blimp?

    Inflatable airborne Peeping Tom flotillas forecast

    The US Army seems to be moving to acquire a robotic spy blimp, able to float high in the sky for lengthy periods and monitor activities on the ground below. According to a routine Pentagon summary dated yesterday, Telford Aviation of Dothan, Alabama was awarded an $11,195,164 contract for "operational support for Medium …

    Science 23 Aug 2007, 13:12

  • Google enjoys summer of mobility

    Mobile traffic up 35% over summer months

    Google's vice president of search products, Marissa Mayer, has revealed a jump in mobile access to Google's services during May and June; a time when traffic usually drops off as users go on holiday. Google Maps has done particularly well, with the iPhone launch increasing traffic by almost 50% at the end of June. Google Maps …

    Mobile 23 Aug 2007, 13:37

  • AOL ID thief faces 7 years

    Trojan powered scam man heads for slammer

    A 23 year-old faces up to seven years imprisonment after pleading guilty to targeting AOL members via an elaborate and long running phishing scam. Michael Dolan, formerly of West Haven, Connecticut and North Miami Beach, Florida, admitted stealing names, credit card details and social security numbers from AOL members. He …

    Security 23 Aug 2007, 13:58

  • SAP to show some A1S at last

    Board promises 'live demo' action

    After much talk, and with expectations growing, SAP has pledged a long awaited, "comprehensive update" on its planned A1S on-demand applications suite. Senior members of SAP's board will provide a "live demonstration" of A1S and trot out early customers at a stage-managed event in New York on September 19. SAP told The …

    Applications 23 Aug 2007, 14:10

  • Broadband over power turns on both sides of the Atlantic

    Alternative currents

    Sending broadband signals over electricity cable has always confused people. The Home Plug Alliance, began life offering a way of sending broadband signals around a home, and then started working on ways to bring broadband to the home with a related technology, while the Universal Powerline Association sort of did the opposite …

    Data Networking 23 Aug 2007, 14:23

  • Xbox 360 Halo 3 kick-ass console priced

    Bundle not too spartan

    Amid the increasing interest in the Xbox 360 Elite UK launch tomorrow, pricing details and technical specifications for the Halo 3 special edition console - first seen back in July - have finally been released. MS' Halo 3 Xbox 360: feast your eyes... Carrying a price tag of £280, the special edition console sports an …

    Games 23 Aug 2007, 15:05

  • Motorola tunes up the Q

    Smartphone becomes music phone

    Motorola has unveiled its latest handset Q-series handset, the Q Music 9m. The handset is a fusion of Treo and Blackberry looks, and an update to its original Q model targeted directly at mobile music lovers looking for plenty of storage and multimedia capabilities. Moto's Q Music 9m For music lovers, the 9m incorporates a …

    Phones 23 Aug 2007, 15:06

  • Yoga rug gets hi-tech overhaul

    Inhale, exhale, download, inhale...

    There aren't many - or even any - yoga-buffs at Register Hardware. We always thought it pushed us too far outside of our IT comfort zone - until now. A design concept for a 21st Century yoga mat has been created, incorporating music, video and even conferencing facilities - but no mini-bar. Yanko Design's hi-tech yoga mat …

    Hardware 23 Aug 2007, 15:19

  • Eclipse's audio kit promises 'unstylish' music

    It's all about the music

    The key to designing a stylish desktop speaker system is to not even consider style in the design. Apparently. So says manufacturer Eclipse, which claims there's no "styling" in its latest rig, only functionality. Eclipse's TD307PAII speaker set: not styled, honest... Yeeeaaassss... Why not put the two speakers and 12W …

    Hardware 23 Aug 2007, 15:49

  • Cargo Cult Communicator stalls on runway

    E90 production 'halted - will restart'

    Production of Nokia's troubled E90 "Communicator" has been halted, the company has confirmed to Dutch trade paper Telecom. The device has been plagued by small production problems, but one rather larger design problem. Early adopters, some of whom have paid over $1,000 for the latest incarnation of the "brick", have complained …

    Mobile 23 Aug 2007, 15:56

  • Hotmail hack punts person in peril scam

    Attacked by Nigerian Arm Robbers

    The Lads from Lagos have apparently expanded their repertoire to incorporate hacking into Hotmail accounts. Fraudsters broke into the account of a Register reader's colleague to punt a person in peril scam. It's a far more subtle scam than offering promises of wealth for minimal effort to the credulous. Instead of receiving …

    Security 23 Aug 2007, 16:05

  • EC accuses Rambus of 'patent ambush'

    Chip maker slapped with Statement of Objections

    The European Commission has confirmed formal "patent ambush" charges against US memory chip designer Rambus. In a Statement of Objections issued to Rambus on 30 July 2007 the EC alleged that the firm had claimed "unreasonable royalties" for the use of certain DRAM chip patents. It said that "Rambus engaged in intentional …

    Hardware 23 Aug 2007, 16:11

  • Sun boots workstation roots in favor of JAVA ticker

    So long SUNW

    In a rather odd marketing ploy, Sun Microsystems will change its ticker symbol from SUNW to JAVA. The ticker switch takes hold next Monday on the NASDAQ exchange. We're not sure what the flip gives Sun other than a constant reminder that it's the company behind Java. Sun already drives that point home pretty well - every chance …

    Financial News 23 Aug 2007, 16:18

  • VIA shows 1W x86 CPU

    VIA has pledged to provide a version of its Eden x86-compatible processor that consumes just 1W when running flat out at 500MHz. Idling, the chip eats up a tenth of that total, making it what VIA claimed was "the world's most power-efficient x86 CPU". The latest in VIA's Eden ULV family runs on top of a 400MHz frontside bus …

    Hardware 23 Aug 2007, 16:22

  • Datanet downed by power outage

    Start from scratch

    Datanet, the UK business ISP, suffered a power outage in of its server racks this morning which crocked its customers' internet access and email for most of the day. MD Conlema McCallan said the failure affected the power distribution circuit, rendering the rack's uninterruptible power supply useless. The glitch has affected …

    Broadband 23 Aug 2007, 16:29

  • DARPA looking to kickstart raygun tech

    Burn baby burn

    Rayguns are, um, on fire lately, with the US Army dishing out early contracts in its monster truck laser cannon race, Boeing planning a rather unimpressive blaster-equipped Humvee and the famous American nuke-toasting jumbo jet continuing to make headlines. Now the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon …

    Science 23 Aug 2007, 16:50

  • Ingres breaks ice with JasperSoft

    Appliance of science

    Ingres has rolled out its first software appliance using the Icebreaker open source chimera developed with start-up rPath. The database company has released the Icebreaker BI Appliance, integrating its Ingres 2006 database with rPath Linux and business intelligence tools from JasperSoft. The open source combo will, according …

    Developer 23 Aug 2007, 16:56

  • Yahoo! Buys! German! Mobile! Ad! Company!

    A time for Actionality

    In the ongoing war for online ad dollars, Yahoo! has acquired Actionality, a German firm that specializes in mobile advertising. "We can confirm the acquisition of Actionality as part of Yahoo!'s ongoing focus on becoming #1 in mobile advertising," said a company spokeswoman. "Actionality’s team and technology will enable Yahoo …

    Financial News 23 Aug 2007, 18:12

  • A wardriving we will go!

    Mama weer all leeches now

    One in three mobile workers worldwide routinely hijack wireless connections, according to a survey commissioned by the US National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Cisco. The Cisco-NCSA study paints a picture of lax attitudes for mobile security and disregard for the law - at a time when police on both sides of the Atlantic …

    Security 23 Aug 2007, 18:57

  • Dell makes headway in server market

    But still in fourth place

    Dell regained a healthy chunk of the server market according to the analysts at IDC, suggesting "the new Dell" push has taken a foothold. Dell's revenue for Q2 jumped a little over 20 per cent compared with Q2 last year. At its current rate for growth it could soon be pushing Sun for the number three spot on the server charts. …

    Servers 23 Aug 2007, 20:07

  • NSA surveillance and the dream police

    To what extent is memory subject to the state secrets doctrine?

    Memories are very personal things, over which we feel an intimate sense of ownership. Some people, such as spies, are sworn to secrecy over this or that incident, but, as one event or another washes over us, we typically aren't responsible one way or another for them. They are the historical cloth out of which we are cut. They …

    Law 23 Aug 2007, 20:24

  • Monster.com torpedoes rogue server as malware scam rolls on

    Apply here to empty your bank account

    Trying to contain damage amid reports that con artists are targeting online job sites, Monster Worldwide has shut down a rogue server that was siphoning personal information from the resumes of job seekers. The disclosure came amid new details of a Trojan that's amassed personal information on hundreds of thousands of people …

    Security 23 Aug 2007, 20:27

  • Vonage attacked by defunct rival

    A flare-up from SunRocket

    It's a bit like fending off a house fly while you're locked in mortal combat with Godzilla. As it continues to battle a multi-million dollar federal lawsuit from telecom behemoth Verizon, VoIP pioneer Vonage is now facing a suit from the remains of SunRocket, the Virginia company that recently shut down its internet-based …

    VoIP 23 Aug 2007, 22:39

  • Brocade Q3 profits down 56 per cent

    Legal fees and McData acquisition rob company purse

    Brocade's third quarter profits were down 56 per cent over last year, as the company coffers continue to be pounded by the purchase of McData and further compounded by hefty legal fees. The San Jose-based network storage firm today posted a GAAP net income drop to $10.7m, down from $24.5m a year earlier. The profits were hit by …

    Storage 23 Aug 2007, 23:23

  • Will VMware's sales double forever?

    Analysis Ask Microsoft

    My friends in the financial industry keep lobbing the same question - how long can VMware keep up its growth? The answer to that query revolves around Microsoft and how competent it decides to be. VMware has doubled its employee count and revenue just about every year of its existence. Today, you find a virtualization software …

    Servers 23 Aug 2007, 23:43