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14th September 2007 Archive

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  • NASA gives jet-setting Googlers the presidential treatment

    Larry Ellison fumes

    At NASA, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are getting the same treatment as The President of the United States. As first reported by online gossip hound Valley Wag, the Google boys are free to land their unusually-large Boeing jet at Moffett Field, the NASA-run airport that's just a few miles from Google's offices - …

    Space 14 Sep 2007, 00:21

  • Flash memory makers propose common card

    Or maybe the market's 20th card format...

    Nokia said today it is collaborating with several of its rivals to create a common Flash memory card format. First virtual machines, now Flash, what is the world coming to? The proposed specification is being backed by Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Micron Technology, Spansion, MTMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments. The …

    Storage 14 Sep 2007, 00:27

  • Microsoft dispels rumors of stealth Windows updates

    It's all about updating the updater

    Microsoft officials are seeking to dispel rumors the company is performing stealth updates on Windows machines. They are also pledging to be more transparent in the future to prevent such misunderstandings from happening again. Reports of secret updates began circulating after at least two sites reported that Windows Update …

    Operating Systems 14 Sep 2007, 00:42

  • SWsoft prepares for psychotic server episode

    We'll go both ways

    Virtualization software maker SWsoft has scheduled its bout with multiple personality disorder to take place in 2008. Early next year, SWsoft will introduce the production version of Parallels Server - the upmarket complement to today's Parallels Desktop most often used to run Windows applications on Macs. The Server product, …

    Servers 14 Sep 2007, 01:40

  • BEA to tempt developers with Essex server

    WebLogic weight loss

    Next year will see BEA Systems' first implementation of a slimmed down application server. Codenamed 'Essex', WebLogic Server version 10.3 will launch by March 2008 - BEA said at BEAWorld this week - and marks the debut of an architecture that lets developers remove modules they don't want prior to installation. BEA promises …

    Developer 14 Sep 2007, 01:48

  • Be kind to your stomach: eat chilies

    A curry a day keeps the doctor away?

    Red hot chili peppers (not the band, the actual peppers) could be good for the stomach, according to new research. According to website chosun.com, medical research has shown that capsaicin, the part of chilies that makes them hot, can help to control the disease-causing bacterium, helicobacter pylori*. And the more capsaicin, …

    Biology 14 Sep 2007, 07:02

  • Sony pitches Blu-ray deskops, laptops

    Countering Toshiba

    Sony has brought its Blu-ray Disc equipped all-in-one desktop PC, the Vaio LT, to the UK, part of a promotional programme for the next-gen optical disc format that will see more laptops fitted with BD drives too. Sony's Vaio LT: iMac inspired? Unveiled in the US last month, the LT packs in an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 2007, 08:02

  • Open source prima donnas to crush IBM, BEA and MS in 2008

    Meat Cast And David Beckham's issues with FLOSS

    If you have anything at all to do with open source software, you'll want to listen to Episode 2 of Open Season because there's a good chance we said something good or bad about you. Yes, Mulesource's Dave Rosenberg, Alfresco's Matt Asay and I are back again, building on the tremendous success of our first show. In Episode 2, …

    Open Season 14 Sep 2007, 08:04

  • McLaren fined $100m for spying

    Kicked out of constructors' championship

    Formula One team McLaren must pay a $100m fine and has been kicked out of the constructors' championship for spying on rival team Ferrari. The decision by the governing body of the Federation Internationale de L'Automobile (FIA) means McLaren is out of the constructors' championship this year but drivers Lewis Hamilton and …

    Entertainment 14 Sep 2007, 08:06

  • Kung fu monks battle Colombian karate assassins

    Reader poll Who is the hardest of them all?

    Our recent piece on the verbal spat between China's kung fu monks and an anonymous gobby net ninja provoked a certain amount of reader speculation as to who might in fact be the meanest kick-ass mutha on the planet. Well, we have a certain amount of clout ourselves down at Vulture Central, and a quick phone call to Don King …

    Entertainment 14 Sep 2007, 09:20

  • Intel readies successor to unlaunched gaming chipset

    X38 to launch next week, X48 by year's end

    Gamers have been waiting for Intel's X38 high-end desktop chipset to show up for some time, and it finally looks like the part will begin shipping any day now. But it had better be quick - there's apparently an updated version coming by year's end. That, it turn, should allow those companies to get boards out of the door by …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 2007, 09:49

  • AMD Phenom CPUs to support DDR 3?

    AMD's Phenom processors weren't expected to gain DDR 3 support until H2 2008 when the chip maker introduces its Socket AM3 interconnect. But documents posted on the company's website show the upcoming, Socket AM2+ versions are DDR 3 compatible too. AM2+ is all about supporting HyperTransport 3, the latest version of the …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 2007, 10:15

  • Retail giants to crack whip over digital dawdlers

    Dropping analogue kit early

    Consumers won't have much time left to buy an analogue TV set if The Digital Switchover Supply Chain Group (DSSCG) gets its way. The group, backed by the likes of DSGi, Comet, Sony and Panasonic, said it plans to phase out the manufacture and sale of analogue equipment long before the UK's digital switchover is complete. …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 2007, 10:33

  • Czech falls off motorbike, wakes up with British accent

    Bohemian rhapsodises in cut-glass English

    A Czech speedway racer discovered his inner British toff after another rider ran over his head. Non-English speaker Matej Kus, 18, took the spill during a race in the UK. Paramedics were stunned when he came round and asked where he was – in perfect English. It soon became apparent that Kus had lost his memory, forgetting he …

    Science 14 Sep 2007, 10:50

  • Revolutionary label to focus on streaming as downloads falter

    'How much do you want to pay for music?'

    A record label which uses Creative Commons licences and allows consumers to choose how much they pay for music is focusing on streaming music because its downloading business has dipped dramatically. Magnatune founder John Buckman told technology law podcast OUT-LAW Radio that the company would soon release streaming products …

    Music and Media 14 Sep 2007, 11:05

  • Want a free iPod Shuffle? Ask Tesco

    Rent DVDs, get a Shuffle

    Supermarket giant Tesco is offering new members of its online DVD rental service a free 1GB iPod Shuffle - but only until 10am, 16 September 2007. Apple's iPod Shuffle: Tesco is only offering the silver model Mind you, it pays to read the small print. The player, which was unveiled by Apple last week, will only be sent out …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 2007, 11:10

  • BOFH: Building changes

    Episode 31 Gotta watch those professionals...

    "Just before you go," the Boss cries, waving some building plans at me as I'm ducking out to lunch. "Can you just take a look at this?" "What is it?" "We're just looking at making a few small alterations on the third floor," he responds. "And I'd like to get your thoughts on them." "Didn't we make some 'small' alterations …

    BOFH 14 Sep 2007, 11:22

  • Google touts Asian privacy model

    What? Protecting personal data, Beijing style?

    Google is recommending that global privacy regulators take a leaf out of Asia's book when they are drawing up the rules. The firm is set to make its proposals at a meeting of policy makers in France today, according to Reuters. It says that a variety of Asia-Pacific countries have already agreed a set of broad principles, and …

    Law 14 Sep 2007, 11:31

  • Storm Worm linked to spam surge

    Russian teens fingered as likely suspects

    A recent upsurge in Storm Worm activity was accompanied by a spike in spam levels 48 hours later, according to an analysis by managed security services firm MessageLabs. After the August 15 outburst, which involved the distribution of 600,000 Trojans in only 24 hours, junk levels increased on August 17 by more than 30 per …

    Security 14 Sep 2007, 11:34

  • Japan, Google head for the moon

    Probing X-Prizes

    Everyone is going to the moon. Japan has launched its first lunar probe, Selene, and the X-Prize foundation has persuaded Google to put up a $30m fund to reward any private enterprise that manages to land a probe in lunar-land. The Japanese space agency, JAXA, watched Selene blast off from Tanegashima, a remote southern island …

    Space 14 Sep 2007, 11:41

  • TwinMos Boom 1 2.1-channel iPod audio system

    Review This could be the walrus

    The iPod. Yes, it's arguably the most successful portable music player of all time. Yes, it's easy enough for your granny to use. And yes, everyone on the planet has one - or so it seems. But therein lies the inherent problem for any iPod accessory manufacturer... Because the iPod is so popular and the add-on market already …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 2007, 12:00

  • Opportunity rolls into Victoria

    Checking out the rocks

    The Mars Rover Opportunity has started its exploration of the Victoria crater. The images it is sending back suggest any previous (or current, but hidden) inhabitants of the red planet had a bit of a thing for crazy paving. NASA says it has checked to make sure the rover can climb back out of the crater once it is done …

    Space 14 Sep 2007, 12:10

  • Samsung iPhone rival to hit UK in November

    Vodafone gets the gig

    Samsung's would-be iPhone beater, the F700 smartphone - aka the Croix - will come to Europe in two months' time through the Vodafone network, the company revealed today. The Ultra Smart F700, launched back in February this year, sports an iPhone-esque, Flash-based user interface and an HTC-style casing, complete with big, 3. …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 2007, 12:19

  • Webcam conundrum

    Q&A

    A very basic question here. I run Windows XP Home SP2 on a Fujitsu LifeBook. I just bought the Creative Live!Cam Vista IM webcam. It captures (fine quality) whatever the camera is pointed at but I cannot persuade it to transmit outbound when talking on Skype. I get the incoming live stream from correspondents on their …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 2007, 12:35

  • PC shipments set to jump

    Notebooks and laptops show biggest growth

    Worldwide PC shipments are expected to rise by 12.6 per cent this year, according to new research by analysts IDC. The projected figure of 257.5 million units is up on IDC's prediction in June, which estimated growth of 12.2 per cent in 2007. The rise in the number of units shipped is being led by notebooks and laptops which …

    PCs & Chips 14 Sep 2007, 12:43

  • Pentagon to hold event prior to battery tech prize

    Million-buck battery-bomb bonanza beano

    The Pentagon has announced that it will hold an "Information Forum" event at a Washington hotel to kickstart its portable power-source innovation competition. With the Wearable Power Prize, the American brass aim to encourage development of technology which could reduce the crippling load of batteries carried in the field by …

    Science 14 Sep 2007, 12:57

  • Facebook gags verbal dissent group

    'Quit it! You're mean!'

    Facebook has silenced a 20,000-strong campaign group dedicated to the seemingly innocuous goal of stopping the site from forcing people to use the verb "to be" in their status updates. The group, entitled "Campaign to lose the mandatory 'is' from facebook updates!", disappeared overnight on Wednesday without any warning to its …

    Applications 14 Sep 2007, 14:05

  • It's virtually all about virtualisation, EDS job cuts and EMC court cases

    To subscribe to The Register's weekly newsletter - seven days of IT in a single hit - click here

    Need air? Open your Office, er, Windows Outsourcing outfit Cap Gemini said it will start selling Google Apps to its corporate customers in a move that could help companies negotiate better deals with the big mama of office apps, Microsoft. Serena Software has laid out a roadmap founded on Web 2.0 representing the software …

    Business 14 Sep 2007, 14:36

  • Philips looks to build 'huge' video database for video ID service

    Aims to fingerprint all video

    When Philips Research fell out of the audio fingerprinting business in 2005, it obviously left something of a scar, with the business sold for an unspecified amount, but since it was just as the buyer, audio database specialist Gracenote, had just raised $10.9m, that was taken to be the amount. But talking to Alex Terpstra, the …

    Music and Media 14 Sep 2007, 14:40

  • Senate to call Boeing's 2009 raygun nuke-zap bluff?

    We'll see your $0.5bn, and raise you a laser jumbo

    Senators are planning to cut budgets for the space interceptor portion of the controversial US missile defence programme, according to reports. However, it appears that a complementary scheme to blast enemy ICBMs shortly after takeoff using a giant laser cannon mounted in a jumbo jet will be fully funded. According to a report …

    Science 14 Sep 2007, 14:45

  • Sony dumps DVD for Blu-ray Disc

    Sony is steaming ahead with plans to transform the video landscape into HD as soon as possible - so long as it's based on Blu-ray Disc. To that end, the company has announced it will ditch DVD from its video recorders in Japan, in favour of BD. A Sony representative, speaking at the manufacturer's launched of four Blu-ray …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 2007, 14:46

  • Take pot luck with the USB Greenhouse

    Calling all budding - literally, perhaps - horticulturalists. Now you can see just how green your fingers are with the USB Greenhouse. For once the computer connection isn't simply an alternative to batteries - it can be used to monitor your plant's progress too. The USB Greenhouse: weed free The egg-shaped herbarium comes …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 2007, 14:47

  • The trusting, the diligent and the downright paranoid

    Mobile Workshop The notebook security poll numbers are in

    The results of the mobile security connectivity poll earlier this week revealed some findings that were to be expected and others that were a bit of an eye opener. When we asked you how comfortable you were with various notebook PC connectivity options, while some wouldn't entertain the concept at all, most, on balance, said …

    Workshop 14 Sep 2007, 14:54

  • Root-locked Linux for the masses

    The future: managed desktops?

    Eddie Bleasdale, open source evangelist and the man behind NetProject, has a new plan. Secure, managed desktop computing: Linux for the non-techies. At the heart of the Trusted Computing Project is a £200 black box, about the size of those funny little Mac boxes, running a root-locked Ubuntu distribution. The user pays an …

    Hardware 14 Sep 2007, 14:59

  • Self-powered Wi-Fi adaptor?

    Q&A

    I have a PC with a woefully underpowered and not upgradeable power supply. It freaks out with a PCI Wi-Fi card installed. Is there such a thing as a wireless access device that has its own power supply?

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 2007, 15:08

  • Great British fry-up under threat

    Getting eggspensive

    The cost of a full English is set to soar, as animal feed prices push up the cost of eggs, bacon and dairy produce. Wheat has also hit a record high, so toast isn't going to be the budget option, either. According to The Times UK egg producer Noble Foods, which supplies roughly 40 per cent of the UK's eggs, said that farmers …

    Bootnotes 14 Sep 2007, 15:12

  • Care home workers in web campaign victory

    Small mercies

    A hosting firm caught up in a row over the pay of carers for the elderly has reversed a decision to shut down an online campaign against cuts. Old people's home provider the Fremantle Trust has been involved in a dispute over wages and conditions for about 140 workers in north London since March. Employees said they were …

    Law 14 Sep 2007, 15:15

  • O2 takes it to the EDGE

    We don't need no stinkin' 3G for our iPhone

    EDGE connections are popping up on O2's network as the company prepares to deploy the 2.5G technology. The sudden outbreak of edginess comes despite the firm paying over £4bn for a 3G license and dismissing EDGE as a redundant technology, and can only be related to the imminent launch of Apple's iPhone. Mr. Jobs promised a …

    Mobile 14 Sep 2007, 15:32

  • Microsoft awaits European Court decision

    Split decision possible

    The European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg will rule on Monday whether the guilty verdict against Microsoft should be overturned. The software giant was found guilty of anti-competitive practices in 2004. The Court ruled Microsoft was in breach of article 82 of the EC Treaty for abusing its dominant position in the PC …

    Software 14 Sep 2007, 15:47

  • Next generation BBC iPlayer gets MS man on board

    Billingsgate

    The BBC has hired another Microsoft executive in a shakeup of its digital media technology teams earlier this week. The Register has learned that Jon Billings was appointed to a new team responsible for the development of the next generation of the BBC iPlayer earlier this week. He is a former program manager in Microsoft's …

    Applications 14 Sep 2007, 16:00

  • Germany nets ten phishing suspects

    Trojan spam scam nipped in the bud

    German police have arrested ten people suspected of running a phishing scam designed to raid the contents of online bank accounts that netted hundreds of thousands of euros. The group, including two women, were cuffed by officers from Germany's Federal Crime Office (BKA) over allegations they distributed Trojan code designed …

    ID 14 Sep 2007, 16:02

  • Quantum computing spectre looms over ecommerce

    Factor 15 protection

    Two team of boffins have independently set up quantum computers running proof of concept versions of an algorithm for factorisation. The development poses a threat to the security of the cryptographic codes, based on public key cryptography, that protect ecommerce. Both teams used rudimentary laser-based quantum computers to …

    Enterprise Security 14 Sep 2007, 18:26

  • Tech gets steamier with mp3 vibrators and strap-on kit

    Comments And idiots break themselves against martial artists

    An armed robber, evidently going for the soft targets, attempted to hold up a karate school in the Columbian town of Bucaramanga. For his pains he received a dis-arming and further pain when the students "put their knowledge to use". A bit of practical experience probably did them some good, although the robber might have …

    Letters 14 Sep 2007, 18:39

  • Attacking multicore CPUs

    Get exploited on time

    The world of multi-core cpus we have just entered is facing a serious threat. A security researcher at Cambridge disclosed a new class of vulnerabilities that takes advantage of concurrency to bypass security protections such as antivirus software The attack is based on the assumption that the software that interacts with …

    Enterprise Security 14 Sep 2007, 18:41

  • Universal charges into legal P2P

    Then charges back out again

    The world's biggest record label is touting a scheme that would permit internet users to swap DRM-free music under a blanket license, according to a report. Universal Music Group's "TotalMusic" program would allow customers of ISPs who signed up to the program to exchange files freely - but only if the ISP signed up. The report …

    Music and Media 14 Sep 2007, 18:50

  • SanDisk subpoenaed in US antitrust probe

    Canada, US courts want a piece too

    SanDisk and its CEO Eli Harari have received grand jury subpoenas from the US Department of Justice for possible anti-trust violations in the NAND flash memory market. The looming probe was disclosed today in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. SanDisk also revealed the Canadian Competition Bureau has begun …

    Channel Register 14 Sep 2007, 20:10

  • Judge OKs Sprint's $30m overcharging settlement

    Pre-paid

    A federal judge has given Sprint Nextel initial approval to pay $30m to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing it of colluding with other phone companies to overcharge customers. Qualified customers will receive prepaid calling cards from a cache worth $25m. Attorneys get the remaining $5m for fees and costs. The case, struck …

    Telecoms 14 Sep 2007, 20:24

  • Salesforce.com uses Force to disappear

    Not the interface you're looking for

    Salesforce.com's incredible disappearing act will continue next week the announcement of its latest platform and tools initiative to target developers. Silicon Valley's on-demand poster child will kick off its annual Dreamforce event in San Francisco, California, by unveiling a hosted development environment that lets ISVs …

    Developer 14 Sep 2007, 20:31

  • SCO files for US bankruptcy protection

    Lawyers got theirs

    SCO Group today filed for bankruptcy protection. With less than $10m cash left to call on, SCO said that Chapter 11 protection and reorganization would protect assets as it addresses, ahem, "potential financial and legal challenges". The move comes after a US judge last month found Novell, not SCO, is the owner of the Unix …

    Channel Register 14 Sep 2007, 22:35

  • Brazilian physicists boycott Dell

    'Don't ask, don't Dell' policy

    A group of Brazilian physicists is trying to launch a boycott by the country's academic community to fight Dell Computer's war on terror. The campaign is a response to Dell's security checks, which take a hard line against Anti-American scheming with an impregnable barrier of drop down options and radio buttons. The story …

    PCs & Chips 14 Sep 2007, 22:53

  • AMD gives itself Web 2.0rhea

    Micro-bogged news feeds

    While struggling to get its chip machismo back, AMD has decided to distract itself as much as possible by rolling out a new Twitter-based news service. Yes, friends, it has come to this. The same company that set up a huge - now vacant - shop in Sadville wants to grab hold of hacks via the worthless craze known as micro- …

    Bootnotes 14 Sep 2007, 23:19