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13th November 2007 Archive

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  • Google sweet-talks Spice Girls king

    'Could change TV forever'

    Google is in top-secret talks with the man who invented the Spice Girls. According to The Observer, the world's largest search engine has been whispering with new-age impresario Simon Fuller for about a year, negotiating a deal that "could change the way TV is watched over the internet." Our guess is that it will change …

    Music and Media 13 Nov 2007, 01:07

  • DoubleClick caught supplying malware-tainted ads

    Updated 'Your PC is hosed. Click here to fix'

    DoubleClick, the massive internet advertising platform that recently agreed to be bought by Google, has been caught serving rogue ads designed to trick users into buying unneeded software, according to an article on eWeek. The maliciously crafted ads originated with an outfit known as AdTraff.com. After holding itself out as …

    Security 13 Nov 2007, 01:24

  • Oracle takes open source love to virtualization

    OpenWorld Not just a database

    Charles Phillips today reminded the army of delegates at Oracle OpenWorld in San Francisco that the company is much more than just a database vendor. Now it does virtualization too. The Oracle president pointed to a product family that includes a full middleware suite and a broad collection of business applications. Middleware …

    Virtualization 13 Nov 2007, 01:38

  • FAST cracks down on pirates near Penzance

    Trims software losses on Celtic fringe

    A Cornish roofer has become the latest target in the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST)'s ongoing piracy smackdown. FAST said yesterday that it had busted an "unlawful software ring" at Philip Rogers' home in Redruth, Cornwall. An investigation was launched after Primal Pictures discovered Rogers was allegedly selling …

    Channel Register 13 Nov 2007, 07:02

  • The Wii Shaft controller

    Ditch your Nunchuck

    Don’t let its name throw you, because the Wii Shaft has nothing to do with 1970s private detectives. It’s actually an arcade-style joystick for the Nintendo console. The Shaft lets gamers ditch the unique style of play that’s helped catapult the console up the sales charts. The Wii Shaft controller Instead, the accessory …

    Reg Hardware 13 Nov 2007, 07:02

  • GSM jumps from the pocket to the desk top

    Fixed-line bypass

    British firm Burnside Telecom has launched its latest GSM handset, but it's one to replace the phone on your desk, not the one in your pocket. The Burnside P350 The P350 is a desk top phone which happens to use a GSM network. It's quickly deployed in temporary offices, but can also allow a company in rented space to bypass …

    Mobile 13 Nov 2007, 08:02

  • Programming with Marigold gloves on

    Stob Martha Stewart clicks your button

    We were quite awestruck and overcome with jealousy when Wired magazine managed to get in that guru of the grated nutmeg, high priestess of the investment handbag, and archdeaconess of the artichoke salad to host its annual 'How to' issue. Wired came straight out and asked Martha, who is photographed putting the finishing …

    Verity Stob 13 Nov 2007, 09:02

  • The ICONIX Process in pieces: Domain modelling

    Book extract, part I Keep refining

    Reg Developer regular and Agile Iconoclast Matt Stephens admits to being something of a code fiend since he was 11. Recently, Matt and his colleague Doug Rosenberg decided to commit the experiences of their youths spent coding software rather then jetting around the park on their BMX bikes to their latest book explaining the …

    Software 13 Nov 2007, 10:02

  • Government rejects retreat on e-voting

    'Further pilots will be necessary'

    The government has dismissed the Electoral Commission's call to pull back from e-voting. It has rejected the commission's view that no further e-voting pilots should take place until the government has a comprehensive electoral modernisation framework covering the role of e-voting. It has turned down a number of proposals made …

    Government 13 Nov 2007, 10:07

  • Bell Micro waves new marketing tool at resellers

    Do it on the cheap in-house

    Bell Micro yesterday announced a new online marketing tool for its reseller partners to use to punt their wares and keep costs low. Dubbed campaignWORKS, the new site has been set up for channel sales, marketing and management staff to create inhouse campaigns. Resources available to Bell Micro partners include a template …

    Channel Register 13 Nov 2007, 10:08

  • Adobe boss quits

    Pdf co. gets new CEO

    Bruce Chizen is stepping down as chief executive of Adobe. Chizen, who has been boss of Adobe since 2000, will be replaced by Shantanu Narayen, currently president and COO. Narayen takes over 1 December, but Chizen will remain on the board of directors until the end of fiscal year 2008. Chizen told reporters he wanted to take …

    Software 13 Nov 2007, 10:10

  • Lily Allen 'in talks' to become Doctor Who's assistant

    With Rhys Ifans as new Time Lord?

    Popstress Lily Allen is 'in talks to be Doctor Who's next assistant' according to the Sun. A show insider told the paper: "Lily is multi-talented. She comes from more of a TV background than a musical one. After the chat show we hope she'll take over from Catherine [Tate] as Dr Who's assistant. We've talked to her and she was …

    Entertainment 13 Nov 2007, 10:13

  • OLPC offers one-for-two to generous North Americans

    Give One. Get One.

    For the next 15 days, it's not just One Laptop per Child. It's One Laptop per Donor. Early Monday morning, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) association launched its Give One, Get One programme for donors in the US and Canada. Over the next two weeks, if you donate $399 to the foundation, one nifty Nicholas Negroponte laptop …

    Reg Hardware 13 Nov 2007, 10:15

  • HP buys into data centres

    And more to come

    HP is buying consultancy EYP Mission Critical Facilities Inc, which specialises in designing big data centres. The company has 350 staff in the US and UK and has clients in finance, telecoms, manufacturing, and healthcare. EYP specialises in energy efficiency - a hot topic as vendors try to paint themselves green. Financial …

    Channel Register 13 Nov 2007, 10:16

  • Woolworths flogs Disney Princess chair for £100m

    Cash-flush royalty click here

    Those of you who saved a few bob on last week's yuletastic Xbox 360 offer down at Tesco may well have been considering how to spend the cash you'd otherwise have spunked with the UK supermarket monolith. Well, what about something for the little princess in your life, like a magical Disney Princess Folding Chair? Mind you, …

    Bootnotes 13 Nov 2007, 10:19

  • US man blasts stubborn wheelnut with shotgun

    'Severe' injuries for Darwin Award near-miss

    A US man has been "severely injured" after blasting a stubborn wheelnut on his Lincoln Continental with a 12-gauge shotgun at an inadvisably close range, the Telegraph reports. The unnamed 66-year-old, from Southworth in Washington state, had been repairing the vehicle for two weeks and apparently lost his rag with the last …

    Bootnotes 13 Nov 2007, 10:20

  • Skynet 5B still on ground after Arianespace snags

    'System has been delivered on time'

    The UK armed forces' Skynet 5B military communications satellite, which was due to be launched on Friday night, has suffered a second delay over the weekend and remains on the ground in French Guiana. A revised launch date and time are not yet available. Skynet 5B was to join the 5A spacecraft launched earlier this year, …

    Space 13 Nov 2007, 10:25

  • Solwise pushes powerline Ethernet security - literally

    Instant network encryption

    Networking specialist Solwise has introduced a powerline Ethernet adaptor it claims offer compete security literally at the push of a button. Solwise's PL-200AV-Push: 128-bit AES encryption at the push of a button The PL-200AV-Push is based on the 200Mb/s HomePlug AV networking-over-mains-cabling standard and like other …

    Reg Hardware 13 Nov 2007, 10:31

  • Blogger warned to delete Avis logo

    But is using a picture of a logo trademark infringement?

    A US blogger who reported on a court ruling has been ordered by car rental firm Avis to remove an image of its logo from his blog posting to avoid charges of trademark abuse. Eric Turkewitz is a lawyer who writes a personal injury blog. In a recent post he discussed a ruling on the constitutionality of car rental firm immunity …

    Law 13 Nov 2007, 10:50

  • Net giants argue for user-generation immunity

    Surely, we're not responsible for our users?

    A coalition of the biggest names in internet publishing is campaigning for the reversal of a US court ruling that leaves some publishers liable for comments made by internet users. Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Yahoo! have all petitioned the court. A Californian court ruled (pdf) earlier this year that flat-share matching …

    Law 13 Nov 2007, 10:53

  • Rackspace flattened by Texas trucker

    Keep on hostin'...or not

    A major US data centre in Texas was taken out when a truck driver hit a utility pole, sending it crashing into a power transformer. The Dallas/Fort Worth facility, owned by managed hosting outfit Rackspace, automatically switched to power from its own generators when the accident happened, but chiller units failed to re-start …

    Hardware 13 Nov 2007, 11:07

  • Eurostar cancels 29 Feb 2008

    No leap year luuurv trains to gay Paree

    The unmarried gals among you who were thinking of availing yourselves of the 2008 leap year by booking a romantic train excursion over the Channel with the other half, and popping the question on the one day which, as tradition dictates, you're allowed to get down on one knee and whip out an engagement ring, are advised to make …

    Bootnotes 13 Nov 2007, 11:09

  • Intel readies 45nm 'Diamondville' CPU for low-cost PCs

    Foundation for Asus' desktop Eee PC?

    Intel will next year launch a low-cost desktop PC platform, it has been claimed. The news comes days after Asus said it's developing a desktop version of its Eee PC ultra-compact laptop for a 2008 release. Intel's platform is codenamed 'Shelton' and is set to centre on a 45nm processors dubbed 'Diamondville', described by …

    Reg Hardware 13 Nov 2007, 11:13

  • Data makes the tills ring at Vodafone

    Chalks up £1bn in six months

    Vodafone made £1bn from data in the six months to September this year, with data revenue up 48.8 per cent across the group, and 40.8 per cent in Europe alone. The figures come from the company's six monthly financial report, which shows things are going swimmingly for the world's largest mobile phone operator. In Europe, …

    Mobile 13 Nov 2007, 11:37

  • EC threatens legal action against airline websites

    Study: Over half misleading the consumer

    Some of Europe's leading airlines could be forced to shut down their websites next year if they fail to respond to damning criticism dished out in a report from the European Commission (EC). Results of the EC's consumer watchdog investigation, which is due out tomorrow, found that about 200 European airline websites were …

    Law 13 Nov 2007, 11:54

  • Pentax Optio M40 compact camera

    Review Good looks aren't everything...

    If skinny stuff does it for you, be it spray-on jeans, slim-line coffee or even soccer players, you're going to like the Pentax Optio M40. In fact, it’s so slender, you'll want to sit it down at a table and give it a good nourishing meal. Measuring just 18mm front to back, the Optio M40 is easy to slip it into a pocket and …

    Reg Hardware 13 Nov 2007, 12:02

  • Samsung intros WiMax gadget quartet

    Samsung has rolled out the anticipated update to its UMPC-style WiMax-connected mobile internet gadget along with a PDA-style handset that also used the mobile broadband technology for access to the net. Samsung's SPH-9200: contains all the wireless standards under the sun? The SPH-9200 is the successor to the SPH-9000, …

    Reg Hardware 13 Nov 2007, 12:03

  • O2 chief dampens iPhone hype

    Always look on the bright side of life...

    Peter Erskine, CEO of UK operator O2 said it's "early days" for the iPhone in the UK - and shot down some of the larger sales numbers being touted for the device. iPhone sales were below tabloid guesstimates of 100,000 (The Sun & The Guardian) and 70,000 (The Mirror) - Erskine said the number was in the "tens of thousands". …

    Mobile 13 Nov 2007, 12:04

  • Nokia unveils glamour-puss phone pair

    Put one next to your Bentley

    Nokia is hoping to seduce spendaholic customers with plenty of Euros to spare - today it launched two designer handsets, follow-ups to its Sirocco phone. Nokia's 8800 Arte: fingerprint-proof? Both have a special coating on their metal and glass surfaces, which Nokia claimed will stop unwanted smudges. However, only the …

    Reg Hardware 13 Nov 2007, 12:12

  • Merkel-Sarko confab could yield Galileo rescue plan

    Brits, cloggies may need wits about them come December

    German chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday that Germany and France were working together to deliver a rescue plan for Galileo, the proposed European sat nav constellation. "We are going to ask our transport ministries to draw up concrete proposals for the council of European transport ministers," said Merkel during a joint …

    Space 13 Nov 2007, 12:20

  • Infamous RBN quits China

    Nexus of evil may be broken up

    Infamous cybercrime hosting outfit Russian Business Network (RBN) has disappeared again, days after quitting Russia and setting up shop in China. RBN obtained seven net blocks of Chinese IP addresses. Last Wednesday (8 November), some of RBN's clients began popping up on some of the 5,120 IP addresses it had acquired. But a …

    Security 13 Nov 2007, 12:23

  • Marvel launches digicomics initiative

    Vintage issues hit the web

    Marvel today launched a "Digital Comics" initiative which will offer certain vintage content online for $9.99 a month or $4.99 a month if you stump up for an annual subscription. Among the stuff on offer is the "first original run of X-Men", and issues one to 100 of both Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four, as well as "so …

    Entertainment 13 Nov 2007, 12:23

  • Plastic police to enforce London bag ban?

    Updated Hippy councils force Cockneys to use hemp

    The M25 will become the UK’s biggest environmental fault line if London Councils decide to press ahead with plans to ban plastic bags in the capital. The proposed ban will result in some kind of bag police patrolling London to make sure retailers and shoppers carry all their purchases, gym kit, old clothes, nappies, household …

    Science 13 Nov 2007, 12:34

  • Sozzled Oz footie fan tattoed with 'gay' team tribute

    Beware Thais bearing pricks

    An Aussie rules footie fan has cause to regret a drunken visit to a Phuket tattoo parlour after the Thai needlesmith misread his written instructions and labelled his beloved Geelong Cats the "Gay Premiers". According to the Geelong Advertiser, the unfortunate bloke - known only as Neville - wanted to celebrate his team's …

    Bootnotes 13 Nov 2007, 12:51

  • Prosecutor sets date for Pirate Bay showdown

    Copyright broadside in January

    Swedish prosecutors say they will file charges against five individuals involved in BitTorrent tracking operation the Pirate Bay by the end of January. According to IDG (in Swedish), prosecutor Hakan Roswall will name the Pirate Bay's adminstrator Peter Sunde, also known as Brokep, in the copyright infringement suit. Swedish …

    Law 13 Nov 2007, 12:52

  • Oracle database roadmap builds over Raw Iron

    OpenWorld Access for all

    Oracle has acknowledged past mistakes by laying out a database development roadmap intended to make high-end capabilities more generally available. Having "done" grid in 10g, the database giant said Monday it's now working to "surround" the core database with additional features, such as automatic storage management, while …

    Developer 13 Nov 2007, 13:14

  • Don't give booze to elephants, sobs Paris Hilton

    Conservationists hail heiress's heartfelt appeal

    Conservationists have welcomed Paris Hilton's apparent concern for elephants who, tanked up on rice beer, rampage around the Indian countryside with sometimes tragic results. During the highly-talented heiress's trip last week to Tokyo, she highlighted the pachyderm piss-up problem which recently accounted for six animals in …

    Entertainment 13 Nov 2007, 13:26

  • S Korea joins hunt for stuff with frikkin' laser beams on it

    Raygun lust goes global

    South Korea plans to join the exclusive club of nations possessing battlefield raygun technology, according to reports at the weekend. AFP reported that a joint gov/biz team is said to be at work on a "mobile truck-mounted laser weapon capable of destroying North Korean missiles and artillery shells". A South Korean fridge. …

    Science 13 Nov 2007, 13:31

  • Optimise your mobile content for free

    Volantis server goes open source

    Volantis, a specialist in making the same content work on every mobile phone, is open sourcing its server, allowing anyone to download and run their content-optimising system for free. The Mobility Server: Community Edition is initially available as a free binary, with source code to follow next year under the GPL. It's the …

    Mobile 13 Nov 2007, 13:46

  • Scientists unearth 'missing link' jawbone

    Possible common ancestor of great apes and humans?

    Scientists are postulating that a 10 million year old jawbone unearthed in Kenya's northern Nakali region may belong to the so-called evolutionary "missing link" - the common ancestor of African great apes and humans. The fragment, along with 11 teeth, was discovered in 2005 in volcanic mud flow deposits by Japanese and Kenyan …

    Biology 13 Nov 2007, 14:25

  • Capgemini makes HMRC job cuts

    Exclusive Compulsory redundancies loom for 600 staff

    IT outsourcing outfit Capgemini is to slash its workforce at the Inland Revenue by more than 20 per cent following the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) decision to restructure its Aspire contract. An announcement made to UK-based Capgemini staff yesterday confirmed that up to 600 jobs would be cut at the firm. Public and …

    Channel Register 13 Nov 2007, 14:28

  • Boffins refine mind-to-prosthetic link

    Cogito ergo moveo

    Scientists in the US have developed a technique that could massively improve the control amputees have over their prosthetic limbs. The technique, known as targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) allows a motorised prosthesis to respond directly to the brain's signals. The research has been led by Dr Todd Kuiken, a physiatrist at …

    Biology 13 Nov 2007, 14:29

  • TomTom tackles traffic jams in HD

    We want your data

    Vodafone subscribers driving through the Netherlands may soon find themselves helping TomTom customers beat traffic jams, following the satnav specialists unveiling of the TomTom One XL HD Traffic navigation unit. TomTom's One XL HD: traffic updates provided via Vodafone The company claims its service uses “anonymously …

    Reg Hardware 13 Nov 2007, 14:34

  • Project Astoria a hit at TechEd

    Cleaner than SOAP

    There was a buzz last week at TechEd about Project Astoria. The reason is that it promises to simplify development of web applications that deal with data - which is most of them. Astoria is a REST API for ADO.NET, and hooks into the new Entity Framework object-relational mapping layer. Therefore, it solves two problems in one …

    Applications 13 Nov 2007, 14:45

  • Nintendo creates online catwalk for Wii Miis

    Brickbats or bouquets

    Nintendo has launched a Wii channel for fanboys - and girls - that lets them post their Mii avatars online and have other users praise or pillory them. For anyone not in the know, a Mii is a Wii-centric cartoon representation of yourself. Your Mii can be personalised by changing, say, eyebrow shape or hair colour and is then …

    Reg Hardware 13 Nov 2007, 15:17

  • Oracle Fusion: resistance is futile

    OpenWorld Ten assimilation tips

    If there's a theme to the sprawling Oracle OpenWorld conference this week in San Francisco, it's get ready for the Fusion transition. It feels like a Borg cube is hovering nearby, or that girl with the bad hair in The Ring is about to crawl through your TV. In her session, 10 Things You Can Do Today to Prepare for Oracle …

    Applications 13 Nov 2007, 15:39

  • Deadly planet-smash asteroid was actually Euro probe

    Patrick Moore on high alert in space boulder flap rumpus

    Asteroid-apocalypse experts were struck by a shower of eggs last week, as they prepared to sound the alarm over an incoming space boulder potentially capable of wiping out life on Earth - only to find that the object was a well-known European space probe on a planned flyby. The Minor Planet Centre (MPC) - which is to asteroids …

    Space 13 Nov 2007, 15:40

  • Beseiged Bavarian village preps anti-millipede defences

    Foot-high wall to hold back invading hordes

    The Bavarian village of Obereichstaett is constructing a foot-high wall around the entire hamlet to prevent the entry of thousands of millipedes which have each autumn "for hundreds of years" invaded the sleepy corner of Germany. Bernhard Koderer, 45, who lives in Obereichstaett with his wife and two kids, said: "Last year was …

    Biology 13 Nov 2007, 15:49

  • Foreign Office web security failed Data Protection Act, says info office

    Visa details exposed

    The Foreign Office has promised (pdf) to keep data safer in future, after its website exposed the details of those seeking visas for entry into the UK. An investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) found a breach of the Data Protection Act. The ICO investigated the security breach that affected the UKvisas …

    ID 13 Nov 2007, 16:05

  • Bebo courts big media with 'we're different' plea

    Bebonic plague

    Bebo launched a bid today to further differentiate itself from Facebook by aligning itself with TV, film and music companies rather than software developers. The move sets the site on a collision course with MySpace in the race for TV's "lost generation" of consumers aged 13 to 24. Some 70 per cent of Bebo's 40 million users …

    Applications 13 Nov 2007, 16:29

  • Axe hangs over UK town's analogue TV signal

    Whitehaven forced to go digital tonight

    Residents of Whitehaven, Cumbria will tonight become the first UK inhabitants to lose analogue TV transmissions. At 2am, the region’s BBC 1, ITV 1 and Channel 4 analogue signals will be permanently switched off. The Whitehaven and Copeland TV region Last month, the town and surrounding area of Copeland lost its BBC 2 …

    Reg Hardware 13 Nov 2007, 16:30

  • Court date for challenge to 'new' patent rules

    UK conflict with Europe is 'absurd'

    A date has been set for a hearing in the High Court to determine the legality of a patent office review of the level of protection it offers to software patents in the UK. On November 19, the High Court will hear four small UK companies argue that the patent office's refusal to accept patent claims covering disks and downloads …

    Law 13 Nov 2007, 16:32

  • Is the world ready for a 1TB iPod?

    Radio Reg How to deal with storage overload

    We're barreling toward a world where 1TB files fly make their way across the internet, while devices like the iPod prepare to handle your favorite 267,000 songs and movies. And, according to industry experts, the storage vendors are not quite ready to deal with all of these massive files or to construct the types of systems that …

    Semi-Coherent 13 Nov 2007, 17:06

  • Nvidia to launch top-of-the-line mobile GPU on Monday?

    GeForce 8800M GTX imminent, apparently

    Monday, 19 November looks set to see the launch of Nvidia's latest top-of-the-range mobile GPU, if muted conversations we've overheared in the vicinity of London's Tottenham Court Road are to be believed. The chip's the GeForce 8800M GTX, and it's believed to be the 65nm die-shrink of the 90nm mobile 'G80' chip Nvidia released …

    Reg Hardware 13 Nov 2007, 17:30

  • LG monitors to attain 5000:1 contrast ratio

    Don't sit too close

    LG has developed a range of high contrast LCD monitors, which it claims boosts the highest contrast screen currently available from 3000:1 to 5000:1. Some of the monitors included in the range The company isn’t giving much away about the monitors just yet, but a spokesman for LG told Register Hardware that all its existing …

    Reg Hardware 13 Nov 2007, 17:36

  • VMware dangles Server 2 beta

    $28 cheaper than Microsoft

    Virtualization types will now find a fresh beta of VMware's Server 2 software out in the wild. VMware Server has been VMware's response to rivals who opted to give away their base server virtualization software. VMware used to sell GSX Server - a lower-end package than its flagship ESX Server - until replacing it with Server …

    Virtualization 13 Nov 2007, 17:44

  • Open source Java - one year later

    Plus ça change

    A year ago this week Sun finally bowed to pressure and agreed to make Java a free, open source project. It was an odd move given Sun's strong resistance to making Java open source for a more than a decade. Twelve months on, open source Java has made things a little easier for developers and attracted some expressions of support …

    Software 13 Nov 2007, 19:20

  • Get into data with Groovy

    Hands on Part 2: Object grabber

    In the first part of this two-part series we looked at how Groovy provides a simple and intuitive approach to accessing MySQL. Compared to Java, Groovy is less verbose and more focused on what the developer wants to do with the database. Additionally, things like opening and closing database connections, writing boilerplate …

    Software 13 Nov 2007, 19:56

  • EU Google-DoubleClick probe calls for Google-DoubleClick probe

    $3.1bn merger could 'harm consumers'

    After investigating Google's bid to buy DoubleClick, EU antitrust regulators have decided to investigate it again. The European Commission originally promised a ruling on Google's proposed $3.1bn purchase on October 26. Then it delayed things a bit, promising a decision would arrive today. And today, as reported by The Wall …

    Law 13 Nov 2007, 20:43

  • Intel celebrates 'Penryn' launch

    Manufacturing exec warns rivals forgoing new materials

    Intel celebrated the launch of its 45nm 'Penryn' processors last evening, whooping-up their chip shrinkage at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Francisco. The new processors are made with new materials and almost twice as many transistors by shrinking their size to 45nm from 65nm. Intel claims the technology will dramatically …

    PCs & Chips 13 Nov 2007, 21:26

  • Cig-lighter electropulse cannons offered to US plods

    Cold dead turkey strangely incapable of flight

    Electromagnetic weapons designed to zap circuitry have long been a favourite speculation of war-tech buffs. Consensus opinion suggests that the only energy source capable of powering a useful pulse strike is a nuclear explosion, or perhaps in the near future a largish conventional bomb. But a recent report in MIT Tech Review …

    Physics 13 Nov 2007, 21:36

  • Windows random number generator is so not random

    All too predictable

    The pseudo-random number generator used by Microsoft in Windows is flawed, according to security researchers. A team of cryptographers led by Dr. Benny Pinkas from the Department of Computer Science at the University of Haifa, Israel were able to unravel how the CryptGenRandom function Windows 2000 worked, without assistance …

    Enterprise Security 13 Nov 2007, 21:50

  • Reno 911: World's largest reboot underway

    SCO7 The sound of 10,000 OSes clapping

    You were up all night writing those last lines of code to ensure mega-demonstration success. And this code is a real pain in the ass to deal with because it has to spread across a 72-processor cluster. But, with a bit of perseverance, you nail it, pop open a beer and wait for the glories to follow when show attendees see your …

    Servers 13 Nov 2007, 22:03

  • HP whips out d*** in a box

    SC07 By d***, we mean cluster

    HP continues to celebrate the "Shorty" blade system in any way it can. At this week's Supercomputing show in Reno, HP unveiled a modified version of Shorty called the Cluster Platform Workgroup System that gives engineers and researchers direct access to a real workhorse. The new box holds up to 8 blade servers in the c3000 …

    Servers 13 Nov 2007, 22:18

  • Woven's big daddy switch retrofits GigE

    SCO7 Super speed at Sandia

    Mega switch maker Woven Systems has pumped out a couple of complementary add-ons to its flagship EFX 1000 unit meant to help the company address a wider market. Woven emerged from stealth mode back in April, talking up a 144 port 10-Gbit/s Ethernet switch. The system uses a custom ASIC to improve the flow of large numbers of …

    Data Networking 13 Nov 2007, 22:19

  • Cable & Wireless loses international boss

    Boardroom coup?

    The international chief executive of Cable & Wireless, Harris Jones, is leaving the company. In a note in its interim management report, C&W said Harris Jones is to step down from today and leave the business towards the end of 2007. "John Pluthero is to become Executive Chairman of International with immediate effect," it …

    Financial News 13 Nov 2007, 22:49

  • Yahoo! Settles! With! Jailed! Chinese! Journos!

    Though you're welcome to remove exclamations

    Yahoo! has settled a lawsuit from two Chinese journalists who went to the slammer after the company coughed up their online info. The terms of the settlement were not fully disclosed, as The Associated Press reports, though the web giant told us that it's "working to provide financial, humanitarian and legal support" to the …

    Law 13 Nov 2007, 23:21

  • Dell soups management platform for new servers

    OpenManage 5.3 kills extra update tools

    Dell's system management software is getting a point upgrade for the arrival of its new four-socket PowerEdge R9000 servers and company. OpenManage 5.3, will cull some extraneous UIs for server updating, as well as add tools for power management. It's all a part of Dell's omnipresent "simplicity" campaign the company has …

    Channel Register 13 Nov 2007, 23:40