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8th November 2007 Archive

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  • Program automating online jihad found in the wild

    Electronic jihad 3.0

    Security researchers say they have discovered a program that could be used by Islamic terrorists to launch data attacks against Western targets. The "Electronic Program of Jihad," as its creators have dubbed it, asks for a username and password once it's installed, according to this entry on the McAfee Avert Labs Blog. The …

    Security 8 Nov 2007, 00:46

  • US banks stay away from Cisco in Q1

    Sub-prime takes the shine from quarter

    Cisco System profit rose 37 per cent in its first quarter '08, with growth in the networking equipment maker's international segments offsetting a "lumpy" US enterprise market. On conference call today CEO John Chambers attributed the lumpiness US enterprise spending to a "dramatic" fall in orders from US banks in the quarter. …

    The Channel 8 Nov 2007, 01:24

  • AMD cancels party as act of analyst preservation

    Barcelona debacle not implicated

    From the gossip files: We've learned that AMD has canceled an analyst extravaganza meant to be held next week in Silicon Valley. Is it odd for a company to cancel an event of this type at the last minute? You bet it is. AMD has already forked out on plane tickets and hotels for the analyst horde. In addition, Intel plans to …

    Servers 8 Nov 2007, 01:25

  • Intel does small storage box with EMC

    Entry-level NAS storage SS4200x

    Intel is making a second charge at home and small-business storage with a new box for distributors, resellers and channel partners to re-brand. The prosaically named Intel Entry Storage System SS4200x ships as either a hardware-only unit or in coderific mode with Linux-based server software from EMC. Either way, it's going to …

    The Channel 8 Nov 2007, 01:39

  • Verizon hijacks your browser

    Makes like VeriSign

    Verizon is shamelessly hijacking web browsers on its new fiber-optic internet service. With posts to the online forums at BroadbandReports and WebmasterWorld, FIOS subscribers claim that when they carelessly mistype web addresses, Verizon redirects their browsers to its very own ad-driven search pages. As reported by …

    Broadband 8 Nov 2007, 01:52

  • BlackBerry boss blows raspberries at iPhone

    Sticks it to Microsoft too

    The iPhone? Undoubtedly a very nice product, but there is no virtual substitute for a real keyboard, reckons RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis: "Try typing a web key on a touch screen on an iPhone, that's a real challenge. You cannot see what you type." Lazaridis told European reporters in Waterloo, Canada last week, that he isn't too …

    Mobile 8 Nov 2007, 08:02

  • Hospital radio station struggles with Yahoo! email 'blockade'

    Cap don't fit

    A small UK-based hospital radio station has fallen foul of the overzealous spam-blocking policies of internet giant Yahoo!. Reg reader Brian Purvis looks after the IT needs of Radio Haslar, a hospital radio station that (as so many in the UK) operates as a charity. Over the last few weeks email messages sent to either …

    Broadband 8 Nov 2007, 08:02

  • MoD's Baron techwealth quits for Le Mans biofuel bid

    Wants to spend more time with his alcohol car

    The UK's tech-millionaire aristocrat defence procurement minister has quit, saying that he wants to spend more time racing biofuel cars. Paul Drayson holds a PhD in Robotics from Aston University and made an estimated £80m personal fortune during a business career that included a management buyout at Trebor, the sweets maker. …

    Government 8 Nov 2007, 08:02

  • Which multi-port external HDD enclosure?

    Q&A

    I'm wondering what the best external hard drive enclosure there is for an internal SATA and external FireWire and USB combo option. If it has eSATA that would be nice as well. I have a 500GB drive at the moment, but the option to put a larger capacity drive in there eventually would be nice. I've done research in the past and …

    Hardware 8 Nov 2007, 09:02

  • HMRC extends Aspire deal to 2017

    Cost cutting drive

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has decided to restructure its IT outsourcing contract. The move comes in response to HMRC's aim to cut its IT running costs by about 10 per cent by 2010-11. The Aspire contract with Capgemini and other IT service suppliers was originally signed in 2003-04 and was due to run for 10 years. It will …

    Policy 8 Nov 2007, 10:04

  • Mac OS X Leopard - Time Machine

    Review Part 2 - the World's best back-up tool?

    I was planning to leave my appraisal of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard's Time Machine feature until the end, but necessity has just forced me to look at it in depth straight away. Put simply, if it wasn't for Time Machine, you wouldn't be reading this article. Earlier today, I experienced one of about three kernel panics I've …

    Operating Systems 8 Nov 2007, 10:15

  • UK gov greenlights 450MW wind farm

    Ready to scare Don Quixote by 2013

    UK energy minister Malcolm Wicks (who did a brief turn as science minister just before Mr. Blair got his eviction notice from No. 11 stepped down) has given his blessing for a 450MW wind farm to be built off the coast of Cumbria, 14km from Walney Island. Wicks also gave the nod to the overhead connection line that will link a …

    Government 8 Nov 2007, 10:42

  • BT jobs axe slashes profits

    Sacking 5,000 people is expensive, y'know

    BT's second quarter profits have been spanked 29 per cent by its cull of middle management and accompanying restructure, the firm revealed today. In the three months to 30 September, BT's net income was £435m, down from from £629m a year ago. Pre-tax, and not including the outlay on job cuts and other reorganisation charges, …

    Financial News 8 Nov 2007, 11:04

  • Aussie boffins translate whale chat

    'How you doin'?'

    Aussie boffins have been eavesdropping on our underwater cousin the humpback whale, and think they've managed to decode a bit of what the swimming mammals are saying to each other. According to Reuters, the researchers have clearly identified the sounds of a mother issuing a warning to her calf, and of a male trying his luck …

    Science 8 Nov 2007, 11:07

  • Intel investigates Rambus XDR memory

    PlayStation 3 tech a possible successor to DDR 3?

    Intel is once again exploring Rambus memory technology, this time the memory developer's XDR offering, currently used in Sony's PlayStation 3 games console. Rambus yesterday announced it had signed a "memo of understanding" with the chip giant to "explore possible uses for... XDR". The company said it will "dedicate certain …

    Hardware 8 Nov 2007, 11:08

  • eBay fingered for QXL bid

    Bid received for online auctioneer

    Online auctioneer QXL confirmed yesterday that it has received an offer for its business, but refused to name the suitor. The statement said: "The company notes the recent movement in the company's share price and confirms that it has received a preliminary approach which may or may not lead to an offer being made for the …

    Financial News 8 Nov 2007, 11:10

  • Carphone Warehouse banks on US, iPhone to lift H2

    Did they just mention they're selling iPhones?

    Carphone Warehouse shrugged off any taint of economic gloom this morning as it predicted its second half will be buoyed by US expansion and the launch of new products like the iPhone in the UK. The mobile phone chain/operator/broadband provider struck its bullish stance as it unveiled first half results that showed revenues of …

    Networks 8 Nov 2007, 11:14

  • Canadian hi-tech gentleman jewel thief finally nabbed

    But gets silver lining of plod-adoration

    A hi-tech gentleman jewel thief was sentenced yesterday in Canada, after an exchange of compliments with police in court. Detectives described Gerald Blanchard as "charming", "gifted" and one of the most technically-accomplished master criminals they'd ever seen. For his part, Blanchard thanked police for their diligence in …

    Bootnotes 8 Nov 2007, 11:18

  • 'I'll be back' is most-quoted movie line

    'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn'

    Arnold Schwarzenegger's famous "I'll be back" line from Terminator has been fingered as the movie quote people use most in everyday chat. A poll of 2,000 film buffs by the UK Film Council's myfilms.com also revealed that people were wont to utter "Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn" in the style of Rhett Butler from Gone …

    Bootnotes 8 Nov 2007, 11:28

  • Sharp updates DVR with Freeview Playback 'series link'

    Sharp has upgraded its Freeview DVR to incorporate support for Freeview Playback, the digital TV network's DVR logo and associated system for recording an entire series of programmes. The TU-R10HA was launched last June, but now it's known as the TU-R160HA. The unit has a 160GB hard drive to hold up to 80 hours' of recorded …

    Hardware 8 Nov 2007, 11:41

  • Surge in encrypted torrents blindsides record biz

    Exclusive BPI claims losing is winning in P2P arms race

    The legal crackdown and publicity blitz aimed at people who share music, videos and software online may be having an unintended consequence for the troubled record industry. The number of file-sharers disguising their BitTorrent activity with encryption is skyrocketing. Figures from a large UK ISP obtained by The Register show …

    Law 8 Nov 2007, 11:53

  • Sony posts PS3 firmware 2.0

    Added: remote control and more

    PS3 owners need no longer worry about being separated from their console, because Sony’s latest firmware update - version 2.0 - lets users remotely start their PS3. Dubbed Remote Start, the firmware feature builds on Remote Play – an existing feature allowing gamers to stream content from their PS3 to a PSP – by letting PSPs …

    Games 8 Nov 2007, 12:00

  • Start-up rolls out meaty desktop cluster

    For geeks like you and you

    Scalable Servers Corp. has removed its cloak of stealthiness to reveal a company focused on taking care of engineers, workgroups and SMBs with tabletop clusters. Tabletop cluster? Yes, that's right. These little beasts of GHz goodness have started to become all the rage. Orion Multisystems pioneered the idea of giving an …

    Servers 8 Nov 2007, 12:02

  • IBM's global message: the UK versus the US

    Two events, four similar messages

    A few weeks ago I was in Stamford, CT, at the IBM US STG (Systems and Technology Group) IT analyst conference, which featured a review of IBM market and product strategies across its System p, i, x, and z and storage product lines. The event also focused attention on new IBM green (environmentally sensitive) initiatives …

    The Channel 8 Nov 2007, 12:08

  • Clinton calls for Kyoto successor

    As China topples US from number 1 on the pollution charts

    Bill Clinton has called on the international community to draw up and sign up to a successor to the Kyoto Protocol to tackle climate change. Speaking at the Greenbuild Conference in Chicago on Wednesday, Clinton was clear on the need for action: "The sale's been made, otherwise Al Gore wouldn't have gotten the Nobel Prize," he …

    Science 8 Nov 2007, 12:42

  • US manned spaceflight after Shuttle could be delayed

    Not so solid crew module launcher

    The planned Ares I rocket - which will be the USA's only way of putting people into space after the Shuttle retires in 2010 - faces "significant threats" to its performance, according to an internal NASA document. The problems have already led to significant delays. Fuel's solid: design not so much? The Ares I first stage …

    Science 8 Nov 2007, 12:45

  • Camelot pulls scratchcard amid numerical anarchy

    '-6 higher than -8? I'm not having it'

    Camelot has withdrawn its short-lived "Cool Cash" scratchcard after it required a higher than absolute zero grasp of how numbers work to understand it. According to the Manchester Evening News, to qualify for a prize, punters had to "scratch away a window to reveal a temperature lower than the figure displayed on each card". …

    Bootnotes 8 Nov 2007, 12:49

  • HTC TyTN II smartphone

    Review TyTN II: sounds like an ICBM

    Don’t you just love it when a good product is tweaked ever-so-slightly to make it much better? Not just gadget tick-list bonus points, or fashion-conscious dabbling, but genuine changes that do the business. HTC's TyTN II, first announced back in August, is evidence that the Taiwanese manufacturer has done just that. Like the …

    Phones 8 Nov 2007, 13:32

  • Hushmail open to Feds with court orders

    Open secret

    US federal law enforcement agencies have obtained access to clear text copies of encrypted emails sent through Hushmail as part a of recent drug trafficking investigation. The access was only granted after a court order was served on Hush Communications, the Canadian firm that offers the service. Hush Communications said it …

    Security 8 Nov 2007, 13:36

  • BAE in South Coast mouse-click drone spy plan

    There'll be ro-birds over the white cliffs of Dover

    BAE Systems, the multinational arms mammoth, has announced a new vision for a south coast of England patrolled by fleets of autonomous robot sky-eyes. The plan, called the South Coast Partnership, would see self-piloting drone aircraft deployed above the white cliffs of Dover in just five years. “From 2012 fully autonomous …

    Science 8 Nov 2007, 13:59

  • The Champions heads for the silver screen

    Guillermo del Toro to direct celluloid adaptation

    Guillermo del Toro - director of acclaimed Pan's Labyrinth - is on board to take the helm of a celluloid adaptation of UK cult classic The Champions, the BBC reports. Those of you who remember when it was all fields round here will doubtless recall how the minxacious Alexandra Bastedo (playing Sharron Macready) got teen pulses …

    Bootnotes 8 Nov 2007, 14:03

  • HP to quit digicam business... sorta

    Photography by proxy

    It's cake-and-eat-it time. HP wants to get out of the digital camera business without giving up on the brand. It's keen to hear from any manufacturer who fancies making cameras and slapping the HP logo on them for a fee. HP said it will take a $30m hit during its fourth quarter to cover the move, which it hopes to have made by …

    Hardware 8 Nov 2007, 14:09

  • Europe helps boost Systemax Q3

    Profits jump 41%

    Systemax said strong growth in both Europe and North America helped lift sales in its third quarter. The PC and components vendor said sales climbed 20 per cent on the year to $687.3m in the quarter ending 30 September, while net profits jumped 41 per cent to $17.6m. The company said North America technology group sales grew …

    The Channel 8 Nov 2007, 14:11

  • Call recording on the iPhone... or other mobiles

    Q&A

    Is it possible to record a phone conversation on the Apple iPhone? If not, which mobiles or PDAs are the best at recording phone calls?

    Hardware 8 Nov 2007, 14:21

  • Is Sprint getting cold feet about Pivot and Xohm?

    Comment As another bad quarter bites

    Sprint Nextel announced another disastrous quarter, its problems only highlighted by the strength of Verizon and AT&T, and appears to be in danger of sacrificing its only routes out of its "also-ran" rut, as a peace offering to understandably angry but short termist investors. The carrier is pulling back on Pivot, the …

    Broadband 8 Nov 2007, 14:27

  • Bluetooth SIG backs Wi-Fi as fast WPAN choices proliferate

    Comment Turns to 802.11n

    Controlling the technology that will underpin the next generation of fast wireless networks, especially for the multimedia home and HDTV, will be a critical competitive advantage, and the jostling for position is already starting. IBM and others are putting their weight behind 60GHz options, and the Wi-Fi community is examining …

    Data Networking 8 Nov 2007, 14:44

  • Controversial Russian Business Network drops offline

    'Bulletproof' host struck down. For now

    Russian Business Network (RBN) - the Controversial hosting firm fingered by many as a nexus of malware exploits and cybercrime more generally - has suddenly dropped offline. Trend Micro reports that the infamous network dropped off the net at around 0200 GMT on Wednesday, possibly after its upstream service providers pulled …

    Security 8 Nov 2007, 14:46

  • Sony rolls out Walkman handset duo

    Play, snap and chat

    Sony has announced the latest pair of phones to be offered under its Walkman brand, the W890 and W380, one a slimline 3G device, the other a 2.5G clamshell. W890: updated W880? The W890 has built-in stereo speakers and ships with a 2GB Memory Stick Micro - aka M2 - card. They both have an FM radio with RDS. They also support …

    Phones 8 Nov 2007, 15:07

  • Sony Ericsson illuminates web with K660

    Light-up keys...

    Sony Ericsson’s latest is aimed squarely at youngsters, to provide “web for youth”, as the company puts it. The K660 packs HSDPA connectivity and a host of web-friendly features. Sony Ericsson's K660: lime highlights The quad-band handset can link to RSS news feeds, helping give it a wider appeal than just a portable email …

    Phones 8 Nov 2007, 15:27

  • Mum sends stripper to teenage son's school

    A 16th birthday treat to remember

    A Nottinghamshire lad had a "birthday to remember" after a stripper turned up at his school, burst into his drama class and proceeded to flaunt herself like a two-buck hussy as shocked teacher and students looked on. According to the Telegraph, the clothes-shedding strumpet was dispatched to Nottingham's Arnold Hill School and …

    Bootnotes 8 Nov 2007, 15:32

  • Music DRM 'dead by next summer'

    Let's get ready to album bundle

    Killing DRM is saving digital music, reckons British retailer 7Digital. The company says DRM-free music sales now outnumber sales of DRM-enumbered music by 4:1 , and credits EMI with the shift. Removing the locks and keys also helps shift albums, with 70 per cent of MP3 sales by value being full albums. A recent report …

    Media 8 Nov 2007, 15:39

  • Quacks probe brain-boosting tech ethics

    Soma time?

    UK doctors have launched an investigation into the ethics of new drug and surgical technologies aimed at improving brain function. The British Medical Association's ethics committee has produced a paper entitled "Boosting Your Brainpower: Ethical Aspects of Cognitive Enhancements" in a bid to kick off a debate on noggin turbo- …

    Science 8 Nov 2007, 15:59

  • ID Cards cost cut to £5.6bn

    UK.Gov thanks Lastminute.com for helping slash costs

    The cost of the government's planned ID card scheme has dropped to a bargain £5.6bn the government's latest six monthly report into the project's progress reveals. The £5.6bn figure covers the total cost of providing ID cards and biometric passports to UK and resident Irish citizens and foreign nationals wishing to extend …

    Government 8 Nov 2007, 16:16

  • Sony goes green with... er... leopard skin look laptop

    PETA-bytes

    Apple may have completely left the planet with its nebulous, spaced-out Leopard branding, but thankfully folk who favour the fake feline look can still rely on Sony, which today rolled out a leopard-skin print laptop - the special edition 'Spotted Life' Vaio FZ. The machine is part of what the Japanese giant calls its "Graphic …

    Hardware 8 Nov 2007, 16:28

  • Security researcher cuffed in Telecom Italia spying probe

    Preatoni held by carabiniere

    High profile security industry personality Roberto Preatoni was among those arrested on Monday by Italian police investigating an ongoing spying scandal involving Telecom Italia. Preatoni, founder of security start-up WabiSabiLabi and defacement archive Zone-H, was charged on suspicion of computer hacking and wiretapping, …

    Security 8 Nov 2007, 16:40

  • Why do we think virtualization is new?

    Opinion Define your terms

    There are very many different communities involved in IT, ranging from those on the sharp-end user side of things to the many more engaged in the vendor and channel. Plus, of course, several different groups, including analysts like myself, that sit somewhere between the two. As with life everywhere else, all of these different …

    Virtualization 8 Nov 2007, 17:01

  • XP guru to developers: 'Shape up'

    QCon No longer the wizard

    Kent Beck, agile programming guru, author, and co-creator of Extreme Programming (XP) has ordered developers to pay attention to broad trends and to shape up socially. "Historically, we have been the wizards," Beck told the QCon Conference in San Francisco, California. "We could talk, act, and dress funny. We were excused for …

    Developer 8 Nov 2007, 17:27

  • Shooting report reveals glaring failures in Met's operation

    Analysis Ian Blair's command under the microscope

    The UK Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has released the "Stockwell One" report of its investigation into the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes by armed Metropolitan Police officers in 2005. Releasing the report, Nick Hardwick - chairman of the IPCC - made several comments to reporters, giving the IPCC's view …

    Law 8 Nov 2007, 17:28

  • Tesco punts Xbox 360 bundle for £33.24

    Updated Get 'em while you can

    Those of you looking for an Xmas Xbox bargain could do worse than get down to Tesco where the supermarket monolith has had an attack of Yule philanthropy: Yup, that's quite a bundle for the price, and no messing. We have no doubt this is a limited-period-only offer, so you'd better flash the plastic quick. ® Update Too …

    Games 8 Nov 2007, 18:15

  • AMD readies 'stream processing' chip for HPC clan

    High-end FireStream chip targets poor scientists

    Packed full of ATI goodness, AMD is continuing on with its push to move graphics processors into the co-processor realm for common high performance computing applications. The chip maker has pumped out it second generation stream processor. This time it's shifting focus from hardened developers to a broader HPC market — your …

    Servers 8 Nov 2007, 19:44

  • Fatten or strip - the great Java debate

    QCon Sugary syntactical goodies

    Fundamental divisions over whether Java should be fattened up or have bits ripped out to suit changing requirements have emerged at an industry show. A panel of industry experts at Qcon in San Francisco agreed Java should be left to enter its middle years without major changes and the industry should look for a "new language, …

    Developer 8 Nov 2007, 20:10

  • HP counters Intel's 'Montvale' omerta with love

    Still on the horse

    If anyone should be excited about Intel's new Itanium chip, it's HP. And, in fact, the Palo Alto powerhouse is giddy as can be over "Montvale" even though the processor appears underwhelming by most metrics. HP reckons that El Reg needs a spanking for grumbling about the Montvale release. Intel has shipped a part that at 1. …

    Servers 8 Nov 2007, 20:59

  • Website for computer security experts hacked

    Triple F get F for security?

    First Forensic Forum - a UK based association of computer security professionals - has been hacked. F3.org's website was defaced (screen shot here) with a message poking fun at the association of computer forensic experts. The timing of the defacement on Thursday was fortuitous (or well planned) since the organisation is …

    Security 8 Nov 2007, 22:16

  • Vint Cerf and Co. sic the world on Comcast

    The Net Neutrality Squad

    Beware, Comcast. Here comes the Net Neutrality Squad. Earlier this week, an ad hoc collection of tech gurus - including internet founding father Vint Cerf, programming pioneer David Farber, and security specialist Bruce Schneier - announced a new plan to mobilize everyday net users in the fight against nefarious ISPs. Dubbed …

    Broadband 8 Nov 2007, 22:24

  • Ukrainian eBay scam turns Down Syndrome man into cash machine

    Exclusive 'How a mule made an ass of me'

    In late September, Mark Hartman received an email from eBay's Trust and Safety department informing him that his bid on a high-end road bike had been canceled because the auction was suspected to be fraudulent. There was only one problem: He had already mailed a cashiers check for for more than $1,500 to a man 2,300 miles away …

    Security 8 Nov 2007, 22:58

  • IBM adds 'autonomic' tools to data center gear

    And it knows what you're thinking

    IBM is rolling out a new set of autonomic computing tools for some of its key Tivoli data center products — er, that's adding self-management software if you want to be less grandiose about it. "Autonomic computing" is IBM's preferred term for applications that make data centers more self-managing and self-healing. It's a …

    Servers 8 Nov 2007, 23:04

  • 17 charged over multi-million card fraud racket

    Cybercrime Inc.

    A group of 17 people has been indicted in New York for alleged involvement in a credit card counterfeiting and an ID theft racket that raked in millions. The defendants allegedly trafficked more than 95,000 stolen credit card numbers and caused banks losses estimated at $4m, the 173-count indictment alleges, Reuters reports. …

    Security 8 Nov 2007, 23:07