19th November 2007 Archive

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Sun's top brains salivate over storage kit and code

SC07 Fishworks eyed as cure to disk stank

Sun's hardware chief John "I don't comment on unannounced products" Fowler has storage on the brain. The longtime Sun exec recently took over the company's storage business, adding tape and disk to his responsibilities as server chief. Fowler, during an interview here at Supercomputing, confessed to having an unfulfilled …

Storage 19 Nov 2007, 02:38
AMD reveals 'Spider' platform

For the wicked gamer in your house

AMD is introducing its 'Spider' high-end gaming platform today, one week after Intel released its 45nm 'Penryn' processors. It's the official outing of three new products under the Spider moniker: AMD's Phenom processor, the company's RD790 chipset and a pair of graphics cards. None of this is a secret, though. We've known …

PCs & Chips 19 Nov 2007, 06:16
Disability law can protect alcoholic workers

For the symptoms, not the disease

Alcoholic workers could receive protection from the Disability Discrimination Act despite the fact that alcoholism is specifically barred from protection, employment experts have said. They say workers could claim protection for the disease's symptoms. The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) excludes a number of medical …

Law 19 Nov 2007, 08:02
Wii regains US next-gen console arena leadership

Xbox 360 sales plunged in October

Microsoft's Xbox 360, having enjoyed enhanced demand on the back of Halo 3, last month fell back behind Nintendo's Wii in the US monthly sales charts. So the latest figures from local market watcher NPD show. In September, Xbox 360 sales totalled 527,800 units, taking it ahead of the Wii, which racked up sales of 501,000 …

Reg Hardware 19 Nov 2007, 10:17
Q3 revenues looking rosy at Salesforce

48% rise

Online customer relationship management provider Salesforce.com saw revenue rise by a whopping 48 per cent during its third fiscal quarter. The firm's chairman and chief executive Marc Benioff said on Friday that he expects Salesforce.com to become the first ever on-demand company to exceed $1bn in annual revenue in fiscal …

Financial News 19 Nov 2007, 10:35
Local govt think tank slams road pricing plan

It's 'a sledgehammer to crack a nut'

A new think tank report says government should drop the idea of a national road pricing scheme and allow councils to make decisions on local schemes. The New Local Government Network (NLGN) has made the recommendation as part of a broad emphasis on local authorities dealing with traffic management. In The Politics of …

Government 19 Nov 2007, 10:43
AMD preps DirectX 10.1 'Radeon HD 3600' GPU pair

'RV635' probably not branded XT and Pro

AMD is expected to launch the successor to its ATI Radeon HD 2600 in January, and now the two new parts' speed details have emerged. Graphics card maker sources cited by DigiTimes point two versions of the 'RV635' GPU one an XT model, the other a Pro. The former will be clocked at 800MHz, the latter at 600MHz. The chips …

Reg Hardware 19 Nov 2007, 10:43
123-Reg takes weekend off

Updated Domain name servers

Pipex's hosting service 123-Reg suffered a weekend of downtime thanks to broken hardware. The Reg received emails from many of those hit. One said: "Nameservers have been down for 48+ hours this weekend, loosing [sic] me around £3k across my four more popular domain names. "No explanation on there [sic] website as to what …

Telecoms 19 Nov 2007, 10:45
Bumblebee boogie analysis in webserver boost

Drone dancefloor plan is the proverbial insect limb joint

Researchers in Georgia, USA, reckon they can increase the efficiency of web servers by mimicking the methods used by honey bees to collect nectar. It seems that the new hive-mind technology was the brainchild of Professor Craig Tovey of the Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT). “I studied bees for years, waiting for the …

Servers 19 Nov 2007, 10:50
MoD defends £5bn IT system

It's not an 'unmitigated disaster'

The Ministry of Defence has moved to quash claims that its Defence Information Infrastructure programme is an 'unmitigated disaster'. It has told GC News that thousands of new IT terminals are being installed each month, and that changes in the programme have been made to respond to the demands created by the wars in Iraq and …

Public Sector 19 Nov 2007, 10:51
Singapore allows sale of 'lesbian' video game

Xbox 360 game gets go-ahead

Singapore’s authorities have relented and reversed their decision to ban Xbox 360 game Mass Effect because it contains a steamy girl-on-girl love scene. The country’s Media Development Authority (MDA) originally banned the game because it felt that a scene where a human woman and female alien kiss and caress each other was too …

Reg Hardware 19 Nov 2007, 10:53
Nano cancer-bombs and mini organs from MIT

Honey, I shrunk my liver...

Scientists at MIT have developed remote-controlled nano particles that, with the push of a button, can deliver drugs directly to a tumour. The same research director has also found a way to build tiny human "livers" just 500 micrometres across. This work should lead to more reliable toxicity testing for new drugs. According to …

Biology 19 Nov 2007, 11:25
LG models twin-screen phones

Voyager the product of a union twixt iPhone and Nokia Communicator?

LG has shown off Voyager - its take on the classic Nokia Communicator design - and Venus - a touchscreen-based, music-oriented slider phone - both of which it plans to release in the US soon in partnership with Verizon. LG's Voyager: iPhone meets Nokia Communicator? Voyager - aka the LG-VX10000 - sports a 2.8in LCD on its …

Reg Hardware 19 Nov 2007, 11:40
UN mandates stability control in trucks - cars to follow

'I'm doing nearly 30'

The United Nations has agreed the roll-out of Electronic Stability Control on passenger vehicles from next year, meaning psycho boy racers will have to drive even faster before they can cause mayhem on Euro-roads. A UN meeting in Geneva last week agreed to require the fitting of electronic stability control to heavy vehicles, …

Science 19 Nov 2007, 11:42
Powering the mobile experience

Reg Technology Panel Our pollsters' assault on battery life

Deep in the heart of Gotham City, a gang of arch-criminals descends on the central bank. The plan: to execute the most audacious heist ever. What can stop them? Nothing! Unless... across the windswept street, from the darkest confines of a garbage-strewn alleyway emerges our masked hero, the caped crusader. "Not today!" he …

Networks 19 Nov 2007, 11:51
Spain goes mad for King versus Chávez

'Why don't you shut up?' - you've seen the YouTube vid, now buy the t-shirt

The unseemly spat at the recent Ibero-American summit in Chile, which saw Spanish King Juan Carlos ask a gobby Hugo Chávez "Why don't you shut up?", has proved a big hit down at YouTube, as well as spawning a spin-off industry punting t-shirts, mugs and ringtones to impressed Spaniards. For those of you who may have missed it …

Bootnotes 19 Nov 2007, 11:55
UK charity acts on YouTube bullying

Beatbullying

A UK charity has launched a channel on YouTube to encourage kids to stop putting up with bullying on social networking and video sharing websites. Assorted celebs like Ronan Keating, Girls Aloud, Danni Minogue, and Patrick Stewart are included in a video urging children not to put up with online abuse. Kids are reminded that …

Bootnotes 19 Nov 2007, 11:56
O2 to launch Stella/Stellar in December

Carrier doesn't know Rs from elbows?

UK network operator O2 has announced that its latest XDA smartphone will be available next month - even though the company is unable to decide on the handset's name. O2: is it 'Stellar' or is it 'Stella' The 3G handset, which appears to be based on HTC's TyTN II design - reviewed here - is referred to as both the Stella and …

Reg Hardware 19 Nov 2007, 11:57
Capgemini CEO claims 'truly tremendous' October

HMRC cuts not even a blip on the landscape

Capgemini's chief executive said Friday that the IT outsourcing firm had a "truly tremendous" October in the face of current economic uncertainty in the US. But he failed to mention the significant job slashes made at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), where up to 600 UK workers are expected to take compulsory redundancy. Last …

Channel Register 19 Nov 2007, 12:06
Mozilla hits back at Firefox 3 quality slur

No rush job on 700 'blocker' bugs

Mozilla has hit back at claims that multiple bugs in its forthcoming Firefox 3 browser will be ignored in order to meet release schedules. IDG analyst Gregg Keizer reported that fixes for as many as eight in ten identified bugs would be ready in time for the scheduled release of Firefox 3 (Gran Paradiso) next year. Keizer …

Applications 19 Nov 2007, 12:08
NZ bans Brit immigrant's overweight missus

Fat people 'a significant drain on health resources'

The wife of a British man who moved out to New Zealand in September will have to shed a few pounds if she wants to join him after the authorities ruled her too fat to enter the country. According to the Telegraph, rugby-playing Welshman Richie Trezise, 35, was himself initially turned down for a skills visa after his body mass …

Bootnotes 19 Nov 2007, 12:25
Frenchman spit-roasts 550kg camel

Morocco hosts world's largest barbecue

A French chef hopes to claim the "world's largest barbecue" title after expending 15 hours, three tons of wood, and 15 litres of cooking oil to spit-roast a 550kg camel. Christian Falco, 63, from Perpignan, cooked up the cameline feast at a seaside town south of Rabat. He said he was "recreating a centuries-old tradition begun …

Bootnotes 19 Nov 2007, 12:45
Brown blushes over green cuts

Was that cut emissions, or cut the budget?

Gordon Brown is preparing to give his first major speech on the action the government is taking to tackle climate change, but it will be against a background of massive cuts in the government agency charged with managing the environment, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). According to a …

Environment 19 Nov 2007, 12:47
Tories call for mobile phone ban in schools

Respect my authority, kids

Mobile phones would be outlawed in UK classrooms under Conservative Party plans to beef up discipline in schools. The Tories said in an education policy document that they wanted to see authority returned to teachers. They reckoned an important part of that proposal would include a crackdown on the use of mobile phones. David …

Mobile 19 Nov 2007, 13:09
Promote your local synthetic biologist

Analysis Oh, hold on. You don't need to

If your news filter is set to "bioterrorism" you may have seen a recent column by Madeleine Bunting in the Guardian. Spurred by a London visit by Craig Venter, it was the usual journalistic script on synthetic biology. Having delved into Lexis, we can say with authority that a couple of hundred major stories have run on synbio …

Biology 19 Nov 2007, 13:20
Samsung SGH-F210 mobile phone

Review Just too small

Phone or MP3 player? That, as the Immortal Bard would say, is the question. Looking at it lying on the table like a tiny toppled megalith, albeit a highly polished one, it's difficult to imagine a more MP3-player-esque looking phone. The question is, has this desire to combine styles led to any compromises that delight us. As …

Reg Hardware 19 Nov 2007, 13:44
Pioneer creates iTunes, YouTube rival

Web-based telly

A Pioneer-created TV service will soon enter public testing and allow consumers to download unlimited numbers of TV shows for a monthly fee. SyncTV: how the service could look Dubbed SyncTV, the project began inside Pioneer’s research labs, and will eventually enable users to subscribe to individual channels for between $2 …

Reg Hardware 19 Nov 2007, 13:49
US man dies in Taser incident

Maryland deputy on admin leave following fatal intervention

A 20-year-old man died yesterday in Frederick City, Maryland, after being tasered by a police deputy, the Frederick News Post reports. The victim, identified by friends and relatives as Jarrel Gray, was allegedly involved in a fight with three other people in Gresham Court East early on Sunday morning. The unnamed deputy …

Law 19 Nov 2007, 14:02
US Navy buys 'Metal Storm' grenade-gasm gun

Robots to get krazy kannon tech, too

Metal Storm, an Australian company looking to market a radical gun design, has announced delivery of production weapons to the US military. The firm has also announced a deal to work with famous US robotics maker iRobot. However, its future remains far from assured. Get your gun off really fast with electrical assist. …

Science 19 Nov 2007, 14:48
Dutch mull radical cash for kidneys plan

Donate organ, get free health insurance

Dutch health minister Ab Klink is mulling a Dutch Health Council recommendation to offer "free health insurance for life to anyone who donates a kidney for transplant", the Sunday Times reports. The plan is a reponse to the Netherlands' "chronic shortage" of organ donors, which means around 200 people die every year while on …

Biology 19 Nov 2007, 14:49
Vonage to stump up $120m to Verizon

Court refuses to reconsider ruling

Vonage has been ordered to pay $120m to Verizon for patent infringements, as the US Court of Appeals rejected its call for the case to be reconsidered. The final bill was expected to be between $80m and $120m, and Vonage had put aside $88m to cover the cost. The additional $32m is going to hurt, even as the company tries to …

VoIP 19 Nov 2007, 15:20
911 phone phreakers face jail

SWAT chaos 'mastermind' pleads guilty

An Ohio man faces an extended spell behind bars after pleading guilty to making emergency calls using spoofed caller ID numbers as part of a prank designed to make sure his victims were raided by SWAT teams. Stuart Rosoff (AKA Michael Knight) of Cleveland, Ohio was part of a gang of "swatters" that used social engineering …

Crime 19 Nov 2007, 15:55
iPhone to get 3G in May 2008

Telefonica spills the beans

Apple is asking for 30 per cent of subscriber revenue and can't provide enough iPhones for a Christmas 2007 launch in Spain, according to Spanish technology company SevenClick, which reports that it got the information from a senior manager at Telefonica. It also claims the May 2008 launch will see a 3G version of Apple's super- …

Mobile 19 Nov 2007, 16:00
Amazon's $399 ~~folly~~ book reader

Just a lot of Kindling

Reading has never been cheaper, and for most of us, requires no additional machinery - only the source material itself. So why do we need to pay the online retailer Amazon.com $399 to read books? That's the cost of the company's Kindle, a gadget with an 800 x 600 E Ink screen. Apparently the company has been working on the …

Music and Media 19 Nov 2007, 16:13
T-Mobile suspends Sidekick Slide sales

Power cycle problem

T-Mobile has suspended sales of its recently unveiled launched Sidekick Slide handset, following reports of power faults on the device. Sidekick Slide: its sliding face has been causing power problems Currently, the announcement has only been made by T-Mobile USA. The handset is still listed as “coming soon” on T-Mobile’s UK …

Reg Hardware 19 Nov 2007, 16:42
Stuff string theory - try E8 to explain the universe

Surfing boffin touts new Theory Of Everything

The mathematics that underlie the E8 Lie Group, a 248-dimensional puzzle that was finally solved in March this year, have already been put to use in developing a new Theory Of Everything. A representation of E8. Credit: John Stembridge, based on the work of Peter McMullen Garrett Lisi, a theoretical physicist who is also a …

Physics 19 Nov 2007, 16:57
Tune your service oriented applications with SQL

Bottleneck, meet database

Performance is one of the more insidious problems that a developer can face. We don't seem to have time for it with all work just getting an application's functionally correct. The problem is that it's a non-functional requirement and as with all non-functional requirements the specification is often either vague or non- …

Software 19 Nov 2007, 17:02
Vodafone CEO sticks head in sand, goes 'La la la'

'No one can take our customers'

Arun Sarin has told the FT that he has nothing to fear from Apple's iPhone/iTunes combination, or Google's Android, or even Nokia's Ovi, as no one can ever take their customers' billing relationship away from them. Network operators have long felt no one could compete in providing services to their customers - they have the …

Mobile 19 Nov 2007, 17:04
Nvdia launches latest laptop graphics chip

Nvidia has introduced its new top-of-the-range GeForce 8M-series mobile graphics processor, as forecast. The GeForce 8800M GTX and the 8800M GTS both have cores clocked at 500MHz, but while the GTX incorporates 96 Stream processors - what Nvidia calls its unified shaders - the GTS has but 64. Both GPUs connect across a 256-bit …

Reg Hardware 19 Nov 2007, 17:06
Americans clueless on NASA budgets

Space: Not as expensive as you think

A recent survey, carried out on behalf of The Space Review, has revealed that the average American believes a quarter of the country's public purse goes towards funding NASA. The survey found that most people reported the belief that NASA is almost as well funded as the military. The Department of Defense does receive roughly …

Space 19 Nov 2007, 17:17
BBC HD channel gets green light

Only on satellite and cable

The BBC's governing body gave a thumbs-up today to limited plans for a high definition TV channel over Sky, Freesat and cable. Terrestrial TV viewers will be frozen out until at least 2009 because regulators and industry are yet to decide how to divvy up the spectrum freed by switching off analogue transmitters. Ofcom has …

Music and Media 19 Nov 2007, 18:25
Prince and fan sites could unite

When doves cry

Prince is said to be in talks with three unofficial fan websites which could lead to a settlement over an ongoing copyright dispute. In what has been seen by many as an aggressive campaign to clamp down on the unauthorised use of his image and music all over the pesky interweb, the pint-sized warbling funkster has kept himself …

Music and Media 19 Nov 2007, 18:28
Now let us praise the humble, jetless Google founders

Comment Eh?

Casting around for an example of the simple life to use in an Arab-bashing column, veteran columnist and editor Alexander Chancellor alighted on what he must have thought was the perfect foil to the free-spending Saudis. It appeared right there in front of him, on his PC, nestling between some coloured balls. Unlike Prince …

Music and Media 19 Nov 2007, 18:54
IBM challenges HP to virtual I/O blade duel

Open Fabric Manager enters arena

IBM is releasing an I/O virtualization tool for its BladeCenters to compete against HP's Virtual Connect technology. IBM's Open Fabric Manager, which is set to ship mid-December, helps tame the albatross of moving workloads across blade servers by abstracting the interaction of virtual and physical servers with storage boxes. …

Servers 19 Nov 2007, 19:54
Microsoft lets slip Visual Studio 2008

Data play

Microsoft on Monday gave developers early access to the next version of its Windows development tools and framework, for the first time tying in both Windows Vista and the upcoming Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008. The company has released to manufacturing code for Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5, while …

Applications 19 Nov 2007, 19:57
Thumb twiddling Mozilla promises fix for privacy-biting bug

Your door is a jar

Mozilla's head of security has promised a patch for a dangerous vulnerability that's been lurking in the popular Firefox browser for more than eight months. The new urgency in fixing the jar: protocol handler comes after bloggers in recent weeks demonstrated how the vulnerability could wreak real-world havoc, including …

Enterprise Security 19 Nov 2007, 20:28
Google builds very own Ethernet switches

Could rattle networking biz

Google seems to be building its very own Ethernet switches. But you already knew that. We told you in June. On Friday, a blog post from telecom/datacom research outfit Nyquist Capital breathlessly announced that Google is using Google-designed switches to link servers inside its top-secret data centers. "It is our opinion …

Servers 19 Nov 2007, 21:28
Everything still fine and dandy with HP in Q4

On the up and up and up

Ongoing cost-cutting measures at Hewlett-Packard continue to make their quarterly earnings a cheerful affair for stockholders — although probably not for the 15,000 former employees sacrificed since 2005 to buoy profits. The largest PC vendor's fourth quarter results beat analyst expectations today, and the company offered a …

Financial News 19 Nov 2007, 23:37