20th September 2007 Archive

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SAP fails to unveil on-demand service

Swiss-cheese time for A1S

SAP has crashed Salesforce.com's annual Dreamforce conference with its own event, trumpeting its long-awaited on-demand business applications challenger. But despite years in the development labs, SAP failed to deliver a knockout blow. It talked up the importance of its own on-demand service - and the shortcomings of Salesforce …

Applications 20 Sep 00:31
Dell US peddles recycling for Small.biz

The Brave Little Toaster is horrified

Dell is launching a new online computer recycling program for small businesses looking to securely curb their unused electronics on the cheap. The program charges $25 per item for up to 10 pieces of computer hardware and promises to thoroughly wipe data in the process. Dell will remove tags and labels from equipment, overwrite …

Services 20 Sep 01:56
Apple coughs up G4 refunds to dissatisfied Danes

Still denies sudden ibook death syndrome

Apple will admit no wrongdoing, but has agreed to return money to Danish customers with allegedly defective iBook G4s. The concession comes after months of fighting a report from the Consumer Complaints Board (CCB) in Denmark that claims evidence of an original design flaw in the laptops. A number of iBook G4 customers …

Hardware 20 Sep 02:05
Rackable starts moving ICE

IDF White trash part two

Rackable continues to wear its wife-beater with pride, shipping a second take on the white trash data center concept. Back in March, the plucky server start-up introduced the world to – booming voice – Concentro. Like Sun Microsystems, Rackable packed all of the data center essentials into a shipping container to provide …

Servers 20 Sep 02:15
OpenOffice builds extensions for v2.3

Everyone-hates-Redmond week

It's been a good week for anyone praying for the demise of Microsoft Office. Google unveiled its long-awaited, web-based PowerPoint competitor. IBM took the wraps off the free Lotus Symphony, a complete suite of MS-battling tools. And now we have a new version OpenOffice.org. Version 2.3 popped up on the OpenOffice website …

Applications 20 Sep 02:17
American-style casino opens in Iraq

Kalashnikovs checked at door

Not to be outdone by the establishment of the American University of Iraq in the northern Iraqi city of Suleimaniya, a ballsy Russian businessman, Vitaly Kouznetzov, has helped bring another, sexier, slice of American life to the Iraqi Kurds: he's brought a touch of Las Vegas to that same Kurdish cultural capital with the launch …

Financial News 20 Sep 02:29
Freescale simplifies embedded 32-bit applications

CodeWarrior v7.0 offers better interface, faster code

Semiconductor giant Freescale aims to make it easier to build embedded 32-bit applications with a new version of its CodeWarrior Development Studio toolkit announced this week. Version 7.0 of CodeWarrior features an upgraded user interface and a batch of built-in utilities to speed up development of applications for its ColdFire …

Developer 20 Sep 06:15
Motorola launches home phone range

Motorola has created a range of digital cordless home telephones. The Motolivn range can be positioned anywhere in your house and includes a special power-saving mode for environmentally-aware chatterboxes. Motorola's Motolivn D8: crdlss The D7 and D8 use location-free bases, which enables them to connect wirelessly to …

Reg Hardware 20 Sep 07:02
Sony expands CompactFlash range

Snap more, store more

Sony has revealed the technical specs of its latest CompactFlash card. The 300x card will be available in a range of storage capacities, has a top data write speed of 45MBps and is targeted at digital SLR camera users. Sony's 300x CF: storage for SLRs As far as existing CompactFlash card capacities go, the 300x card range …

Reg Hardware 20 Sep 08:02
LG readies pink Shine for UK, gold for Asia

LG has brought some colour to its silver Shine line of mobile phones, announcing plans to bring a black, a gold and - inevitably - a pink version of the handset to the UK. LG's Shine: flying new colours Well, sort of. British buyers are going to be offered the pink version, but you'll have to travel to Asia if you fancy …

Reg Hardware 20 Sep 09:02
Police watchdog urges use of data recorders

'Black box' for police vehicles

Data recorders should be fitted to all police vehicles, says a report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). The IPCC has made the recommendation as one of several in a study on serious and fatal injuries from police road traffic incidents, published on 19 September 2007. Data recorders capture the speed at …

Public Sector 20 Sep 09:04
Mobile TV to reach 120 million users by 2012: report

DVB-H to dominate

Mobile TV is expected to reach almost 120 million users by 2012 - a significant increase from the current 12 million. The broadcast services are expected to be available throughout 40 countries worldwide, with consumer spending on mobile TV predicted to top $6.6bn within the five-year period. According to a report from Juniper …

Mobile 20 Sep 09:08
People are biggest threat to IT security

You are the weakest link

The biggest threats to the security of financial institutions' electronic systems are the mistakes that people make, according to a survey (pdf) of banks' IT security. The survey by consultancy Deloitte has found that customers are the common weak link in allowing the viruses, worms, and hacking attacks on to financial …

Security 20 Sep 09:19
ROK invites you to chat

Symbian app makes conferences easy, wants Reg reader testers

ROK, best known for video streaming over 2G networks, is trialling "ROK Talk", a phone conferencing system which uses a Symbian application to set up and manage conference calls without recourse to PINs or passwords, and has invited 50 Reg readers to take part in the closed beta. Instead of relying on a central management …

Mobile 20 Sep 09:49
Come celebrate the web...

By pishing on a dying disabled woman

Two items arrived in our inbox today. In one, we're invited to tug our forelocks in awe at the World Wide Web this weekend. Scheduled for Saturday, OneWebDay is "a global day to celebrate online life" - and why not? We're invited to film our ritualistic songs of praise to network technology, which has permitted us to express …

Bootnotes 20 Sep 09:56
Lawyers attack Nominet plan for domain name disputes

Saves a little time and money, but not enough

The registry for .uk domain names has proposed a change in the way that name disputes are handled, but the proposed fast-track system faces criticism for not being radical enough. Nominet is consulting on a plan to streamline the dispute resolution process so that unopposed disputes are automatically resolved in favour of the …

Law 20 Sep 10:01
UCL preps clustered Dell supercomputer

Putting those teraflops to work

UCL is to install a Dell supercomputer, called Legion, to boost the university's number crunching power to an expected peak performance of 42.9 TeraFlops (TF). As well as supplying the kit, Dell has signed off plans to collaborate with UCL on various research projects. When it comes to supercomputers, we know you like the …

Servers 20 Sep 10:05
EC competition commissioner slams US dissing

Get your tanks off my bailiwick

Competition Commissioner 'Steely' Neelie Kroes hit back at US politicians who criticised this week's verdict from the Court of First Instance. On Monday the court roundly rejected Microsoft's appeal of anti-trust charges and upheld the decision to fine the software giant €497m, forcing it to change its behaviour in Europe. …

Law 20 Sep 10:09
Misys revenue up six per cent

But healthcare arm still under the weather

Healthcare and banking software firm Misys plc said yesterday that its first quarter revenues had beaten market expectations. It said Q1 revenues were up six per cent to £104m compared to the same period in 2006. The UK-based company attributed much of its growth to a strong performance within the banking arm of its business …

Software 20 Sep 10:18
Report: Steve Jobs gets SEC subpoena

Apple boss to testify in backdating suit

Steve Jobs has been served with a subpoena by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to testify in a backdating lawsuit against Apple's former top lawyer Nancy Heinen, according to a report. Bloomberg reports "people familiar with the matter" saying the subpoena is not part of an investigation, rather a demand for Jobs' …

Law 20 Sep 10:25
Brainstorm with Mindstorms

Books LEGO robots made easy

LEGO has been taken to the next dimension with the Mindstorms NXT intelligent bricks. These brick-shaped computers allow you to program your LEGO robot using the menus provided. If you wish, more complicated programs and sound files can be downloaded using a USB port or Bluetooth. Robotics has never been more fun, and the books …

Developer 20 Sep 10:51
Sony shakes up PS3 controller market

Get ready to rumble

Sony has confirmed that vibration is coming to the PS3 controller. While the wobbly controller looks the same as the existing SixAxis controller, the device will now be called the DualShock 3 and features two styles of vibration. DualShock 3 controller: Still essentially a SixAxis, but with vibration The handset is due to …

Entertainment 20 Sep 11:07
Light Sabre wars for your Wii

Set your nunchuck to “schwvving”

Not to be outdone by Sony's rumbling DualShock 3 controller, LucasArts has confirmed that a Star Wars game based around use of a Light Sabre is on its way to the Wii. The game will be a reincarnation of one already discussed for existing platforms, but will spur gamers to use the Wii’s controller as a Light Sabre. LucasArts …

Hardware 20 Sep 11:23
Microsoft comes a cropper in Strasbourg as a hole in Peru wipes the :-) off 600 faces

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No prizes for guessing this week's big story. Yes, that's right, the meteorite that landed in Peru causing 600 people to suffer from headaches, nausea and vomiting after inhaling gas at the scene of the strike. Locals reported seeing "a fireball in the sky coming towards them", and the impact left a 98ft (30m) wide by 20ft ( …

Channel Register 20 Sep 11:23
MIT builds load-carrying mechanical boots

JackBoot™? March-o-Matic™? YompBot™?

A team of researchers at MIT have developed a rather clever new twist on the conventional powered exoskeleton idea*. Rather than seeking to amplify the strength of the wearer's own muscles, the relatively simple MIT rig is intended merely to transfer the load of a heavy backpack directly to the ground, which allows very low …

Physics 20 Sep 11:27
The Curse of Bono strikes Palm

Falling sales to blame

Palm has issued a profits warning ahead of its Q1 results, due in full on 1 October. It now expects merely to break even, or report a small loss. A year ago Palm reported a slim profit of $18.2m. However, this time round it expects net income of $3.4-4.4m before adjustments. Revenue is expected to be between $359m and $361m …

Hardware 20 Sep 11:43
Legal threat to 'Green nuke' consultation

Vote twice if you have two heads

Greenpeace is considering taking legal action over the Government's expensive "consultation" process on reviving the nuclear power industry. Opinion Leader Research carried out nine meetings and surveyed about 1,000 members of the public on behalf of the Government. In answer to the question whether energy companies should be " …

Law 20 Sep 11:48
ESA readies super-chilled space telescope

Building blocks falling into place

The European Space Agency's (ESA) next big project is a step closer to being launch-ready, as scientists in Germany complete the "mating" of Herschel's two most fundamental modules, the cryostat and the service module. Artist's impression of the observatory out in space. Credit: ESA Herschel is an infrared space observatory …

Space 20 Sep 11:57
Japanese wrinklies spurn robot helpers

Might yet go for obedient droid butlers, though

One of the main drivers of the Japanese - and hence the world's - robotics industry is the increasingly elderly population in the land of the Rising Sun. In order that workers of the future needn't all be tied up caring for the oldsters, the Japanese government is funding research targeted at medical and geriatric-care …

Physics 20 Sep 13:07
Persona analysis

The vital practice, or worse than doing nothing?

At the risk of sounding cynical, if you cast an eye over a typical project's practices and perceptions, it can make for ugly viewing. Pick a random sample, and I bet it'll look something like this: Interaction design: First create the system, then make the UI look nice. Documentation: No need, we're selectively Agile(TM). …

Developer 20 Sep 13:18
FCC unveils Asus P550 smartphone

Large display, impressive features

The boys over at the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have done the mobile community proud, again. Its website has revealed the details of an upcoming Asus smartphone, the P550, which runs on the Windows Mobile 6 Professional OS and incorporates Wi-Fi connectivity. Asus P550: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and UMTS all feature …

Reg Hardware 20 Sep 13:47
IT risk becomes board-level issue

Risky business

IT systems have become so integral to businesses that their failure can have disastrous consequences for an organisation, according to analysts Gartner. The run on UK bank Northern Rock, resulting from saver fears after the firm went to the Bank of England for finance after loans on the money markets became unobtainable, is …

Security 20 Sep 13:53
Verizon converges on global 3G

Farewell, WiMAX?

US giant Verizon Wireless should one day use the same mobile phone technology standard as the rest of the world, Vodafone's chief hinted yesterday. It just might take a very long time. Today Verizon uses the CDMA-EVDO flavour of 3G, in contrast to the W-CDMA flavour (also called UMTS) used in Europe and Asia. However, Vodafone …

Networks 20 Sep 13:57
RIAA eyes radio's billions

Column Big Broadcasters ready to cuff labels again

Although the recording industry is thought by some to be all-powerful, American broadcasters actually wield far greater power. Radio has been able to get away with not paying labels for music they play: specifically, performance royalties that broadcasters elsewhere in the world owe to the labels for broadcast music. But is this …

Music and Media 20 Sep 14:10
Ofcom moots the 900MHz boot for O2 and Vodafone

Let's have another spectrum auction!

UK regulator Ofcom has opened a consultation on the future of the 900MHz band, currently allocated to Vodafone and O2 for their 2G services, and has suggested that a technology-neutral auction might be in order for 2009. 900MHz is a good frequency for building penetration and decent range, and is used in rural areas where the …

Networks 20 Sep 14:27
Music industry cripples eDonkey network

File sharing reduced

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has shut down six eDonkey servers in Germany through a series of injunctions from regional courts in Hamburg, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, and Frankfurt. The IFPI claims the actions have dramatically reduced file sharing. According to P2P Blog, the servers taken …

Music and Media 20 Sep 14:34
F1 secrets left on the web

Uncensored transcript posted online

Highly-sensitive documents that disclosed secret information about the inner workings of the technical strategies adopted by rival Formula One (F1) teams were exposed for all to see on the internet. Over the past few months F1 motor racing has been racked by controversy surrounding revelations that the McLaren team had been …

Security 20 Sep 14:46
Configuration management: a guru speaks

Seminar Get in on the action

We make no secret of the fact that Configuration Management (CM) is fundamental to IT governance generally [declaration of interest: which is why the author of this piece is on the committee of the BCS Configuration Management Specialist Group (CMSG)]. But even in the CMSG, people do not always agree on exactly what CM is - and …

Developer 20 Sep 14:58
Stem cells from testicles offer organ bonanza

Bollock-bothering boffin moves from mice to men

US medi-boffins believe they may have developed a new way of obtaining potentially useful stem cells, which could be key to a range of therapies in future. The catch is that they plan to harvest the basic material from human testicles. Stem cell research is considered one of the more exciting fields in medicine at the moment. …

Biology 20 Sep 15:11
Yahoo! In! Ninth! Circle! Of! Security! Hell!

Swiss cheese IM client menaced by umpteenth zero day bug

Trouble came in pairs for instant messenger users this week with the disclosure of unpatched flaws in chat software from both AOL and Yahoo! The Yahoo! vulnerability is by far the worst of the two, not least because exploit code was posted on the milw0rm full disclosure mailing list on Wednesday. A security bug in Yahoo!'s …

Security 20 Sep 15:29
Consumers confused by HD

Studies and stats at the ready

If you’ve bought an HD TV, but aren’t even considering buying a high definition disc player any time soon, then you’re not alone. A report by US market watcher NPD Group has revealed that consumers are still utterly confused by the HD message and that most are still happy with the traditional DVD format. Do you know what …

Reg Hardware 20 Sep 15:36
Scientists get bogged down about climate change

Ancient methane tells a story

It turns out that digging the channel tunnel was good for more that just a high speed rail link with the rest of Europe: it might help us understand one of the many interconnected strands of our planet's ecosystem and climate. During the (very slow) excavations on the British side of the tunnel, the engineers dug up a 55 …

Biology 20 Sep 15:45
Eye-O-Sauron™ spy towers still buggy

DHS huddled masses tracker further delayed

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s plan to build hundreds of all-seeing networked surveillance towers along American borders has run into further problems. The project in question is the technology portion of the Secure Borders Initiative (SBI). Under SBI, contractor Boeing would erect perhaps 1800 towers, each 98 …

Crime 20 Sep 15:53
PC superstore refuses to take sack in hand

Says bag is 'incompatible with Mac laptops'

Walking lopsided when carrying a laptop from A to B on important business trips is one of the modern-day perils many IT professional bods face. So, having the right bag for the thankless, sweaty-shirted journey to yet another anonymous hotel is crucial. And indeed, it's good to hear that computer box-shifter PC World agrees …

Channel Register 20 Sep 15:58
NetScout buys Network General for $205m

Give it a wash, good as new

NetScout Systems wants to purchase Network General for $205m, the company said today. The takeover will be the third time the once-leading packet monitoring firm has changed hands, 10 years after McAfeee purchased Network General for $1.1bn. The deal will consist of six million shares of NetScout stock, $50m cash and $100m of …

Data Networking 20 Sep 19:21
NBC unveils self-destructing, ad-addled anti-iTunes service

'Take that, Steveo!'

Less than a month after its very public breakup with Apple iTunes, NBC Universal has announced its own rights-restricting video download service. With the new NBC Direct, due for beta testing sometime in October, you'll have the power to download shows like "The Office" and "Heroes" immediately after they're broadcast on …

Music and Media 20 Sep 19:29
Google sued for 'crimes against humanity'

Brin and Page face $5bn payout

A Pennsylvania crusader has slapped Google with a $5bn lawsuit, claiming that the world's largest search engine is endangering his personal safety. With a suit filed in federal court, Dylan Stephen Jayne insists that the company is guilty of "crimes against humanity" because its name turns up when his social security number is …

Law 20 Sep 23:51