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3rd December 2007 Archive

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  • CodeGear bets on Application Factories to transform JBuilder

    Optimus primed

    CodeGear is betting on something called Application Factories to distinguish its Eclipse-based JBuilder developer suite from the rest of the Java tools herd. Application Factories will be part of JBuilder 2008, now going into beta, and be "a major leap in development paradigm" according to CodeGear principal architect Ravi …

    Applications 3 Dec 2007, 00:02

  • Remembering the CDC 6600

    This Old Box The Craying Game

    You smell that? That's the tangy aroma of aging silicon, cigarettes and loneliness. This week we're traveling back to the 1960s to look at one of the crown jewels of the high performance computing world. You'll notice that — Hey! Don't touch that. Has Jean Claude Van Damme's Time Cop taught you nothing about tooling with the …

    Vintage 3 Dec 2007, 00:52

  • New mobile app to track carbon footprints

    Walk this way

    Irish mobile operators have welcomed the introduction of a new application to allow mobile users to track their own carbon footprint. The new application, called mobGAS, has been developed by scientists working for the European Commission. The application is available in 21 European languages and allows users to see how their …

    Mobile 3 Dec 2007, 08:38

  • Bluetooth marketing window could be shut

    Privacy regulations under scrutiny

    A window of opportunity for marketing by Bluetooth technology that opened in October could be closed once more, the UK Government has said. Definitions in privacy regulations are being checked, stakeholders are being consulted, and the law could change. Bluetooth is a standard that lets devices share data wirelessly. Most …

    Law 3 Dec 2007, 08:51

  • No Fusion illumination for Oracle users

    Information company confounds

    Customers' opinion of Oracle's licensing has hit a new low in the UK while the company's Fusion plans remain a mystery to half of its users - notably developers, who'll be on the sharp end of implementing Fusion-based software. The UK Oracle User Group's (UKOUG) annual poll of Oracle customers has found just 15 per cent either …

    Applications 3 Dec 2007, 09:57

  • Laptop power cranks up a gear

    Put the pedal to the... er... laptop

    There’s never really been a reliable way of losing weight and saving the planet - and certaintly not one that works while you're sat working at your desk. Until now - a Spanish Polytechnic has invented a laptop that runs on a miniature bicycle. No need for the gym after work now The Polytechnic of Madrid’s design means a …

    Hardware 3 Dec 2007, 10:31

  • Capita targets SMEs after public sector losses

    Predicts strong performance in 2008

    Capita Group has spat out a bullish 2008 forecast and said private sector deals had pushed up the value of new contracts to £1.89bn for the year, an increase of 38 per cent on 2006. It said in a trading statement that despite corporate and government spending being squeezed, it was confident opportunities would increase at the …

    Small Biz 3 Dec 2007, 10:39

  • Intel 'Penryn' Core 2 Extreme QX9770 and X48 chipset

    2007's Top Products Say hello to the 1600MHz desktop FSB

    Intel has been busy sending out a batch of 'Penryn' Core 2 Extreme QX9770 processors to every tech site in the known universe, and if you take a look at some of the reviews that have popped up you’ll spot a common theme. The QX9770 is the first desktop processor to run on a 1600MHz frontside bus (FSB) but right now there are no …

    Hardware 3 Dec 2007, 11:02

  • Blu-ray widens US disc sales lead

    Big share of Thanksgiving viewing

    Blu-ray Disc player owners bought more discs during the US Thanksgiving holiday period than their HD DVD-owning counterparts did, numbers from market watcher Nielsen VideoScan reveal. Some 72.6 per cent of all HD discs purchased during the period were BDs, while 27.4 per cent were HD DVDs, according to Nielsen figures relayed …

    Hardware 3 Dec 2007, 11:02

  • MI5 warns over China hacking menace

    PLA implicated in targeted Trojan assault

    MI5 has warned UK businesses of the threat posed by state-sponsored Chinese hackers. The UK security service has sent an advisory to banks and law firms warning them to guard against attack from "Chinese state organisations". Jonathan Evans, the director-general of MI5, took the highly unusual step of writing to 300 UK chief …

    Security 3 Dec 2007, 11:10

  • Sellers price up 8GB Eee PC

    Black and white models coming Q1 2008

    Even though the 4GB version of Asus' elfin Eee PC isn't exactly easy to get hold of, some system sellers have started taking advance orders for the as-yet-unreleased 8GB model. Set be available in both white and black versions, the 8GB solid-state disk Eee PC comes with 1GB of DDR 2 memory - double that installed in the 4GB …

    Hardware 3 Dec 2007, 11:24

  • Home Sec: Tasers could become standard police kit

    Whistle? Check. Truncheon? Check. Cattleprod gun ..?

    The UK Home Secretary has said Taser electric shock stunguns "could become standard equipment" for British police officers. Speaking to Jane's Police Review (subscription only) last week, Ms Smith said: I have talked to some of the police officers I work most closely with and it is pretty clear... using a baton on someone is …

    Government 3 Dec 2007, 11:37

  • Dell marries WPP in big ads push

    Bachelor days are over

    Dell has climbed into bed with ad agency WPP in an estimated $100m a year deal that will bring the computer giant's global marketing, advertising, and communications ventures under one group. WPP will set up a separate company to deal exclusively with Dell, while the computer maker will see its sprawling PR empire, currently …

    The Channel 3 Dec 2007, 11:43

  • Nokia N95 update speeds apps with virtual memory

    Sorry, 'on-demand paging'

    Nokia has posted a software update for its N95 handset which, it claimed, makes the "multimedia computer" load applications more quickly and play music for three more hours on a single battery charge. The update, version 20.0.015, focuses on "battery, stability and performance improvements". Among them is the addition of "on- …

    Mobile 3 Dec 2007, 12:00

  • Facebook founder loses court battle to keep personal data offline

    Poked by his own petard... bitch

    Mark Zuckerberg has been given a taste of his own medicine: his personal information is being plastered all over the web forever. The Facebook boss has failed in a court bid to gag a magazine that published data including drunken extracts from his college diary and his social security number. Federal judge Douglas Woodlock …

    Law 3 Dec 2007, 12:05

  • ID sales sites start loss leader marketing programme

    Journalists find thousands of IDs online

    The Information Commissioners' in-tray got a little bigger today as it confirmed it would be investigating a series of ID trading sites unearthed by journalists. The Times screamed today that "the financial details of tens of thousands of Britons" were being sold on the internet. The paper detailed how it had been able to …

    Security 3 Dec 2007, 12:33

  • Bought some uranium ore? You'll need the anal douche, then

    NSFW Strange goings on at Amazon.com

    We're obliged this chilly Monday to reader Arthur Chance for alerting us to the agreeable fact that Amazon.com is doing a nice line in discounted uranium ore. Well, the glowing testimonials speak for themselves, but what really caught our eye was the "Customers Who Bought Items Like This Also Bought" bit at the bottom: …

    Bootnotes 3 Dec 2007, 13:20

  • Best Buy kicks out misbehaving Geek Squaders

    Video killed the downloading staff

    A number of porn-obsessed Geek Squaders have come unstuck following a US-wide internal investigation by computer retail giant Best Buy. The firm mounted the inquiry after the Consumerist.com published a video sting operation which caught a Best Buy employee stealing nudie pictures and MP3s from their computer. Not liking the …

    The Channel 3 Dec 2007, 13:25

  • NASA pondering electro-hypersonic jet boosters

    Spinoffs? Mach-7 raygun fighter planes

    NASA will revisit an engineering technique which could solve many of the problems associated with hypersonic flight, according to reports. The research might offer genuinely re-usable space launch vehicles, among other benefits. At present, the only method humanity has to accelerate things up to the Mach 25+ speeds required to …

    Science 3 Dec 2007, 13:32

  • UK justice ministry investigates non-updating of PNC

    Warrant withdrawals and a resulting mess

    The UK Justice Secretary has launched a nationwide investigation into how the court system updates the Police National Computer after a review earlier this year threw up flaws in the process. Jack Straw late last week announced the investigation would cover the "national process and practice for withdrawing warrants, involving …

    Policy 3 Dec 2007, 13:39

  • Dear customer: you owe us $211 trillion

    Wachovia Bank chases record-breaking overdraft

    Most of us know what it's like to receive one of those "your account is £X overdrawn and unless we get the cash by noon tomorrow we're going to sell your kids for scientific experiments and break your mother's arms and legs" letters, so spare a thought for Joe Martins of Cobb County, Georgia, who was rather surprised to learn …

    Bootnotes 3 Dec 2007, 13:40

  • Welcome to the El Reg bumper demographic survey

    Just who are you and what do you want, exactly?

    Long-term Reg aficionados will be aware that roughly once a year we nag you, our beloved readership, into completing a demographic survey the better to understand just who's popping on down to the site, their likes and dislikes, and how we can improve The Register. So, if you want to chip in your two bits' worth and give us …

    Tech Panel 3 Dec 2007, 13:52

  • MS Word edit history snares Scottish Labour on donations

    Curse of Clippy fires funding scandal

    Scottish Labour chief Wendy Alexander stands on the shakiest of political ground today after her leadership campaign became further embroiled in the escalating donations scandal over the weekend. If she is forced to fall on her claymore for accepting an illegal £950 from a tax exile, she'll have long the Scottish winter to rue …

    Government 3 Dec 2007, 14:13

  • Public says no to ID cards, No2ID says 'starve the beast!'

    Time to cut off IPS' air supply...

    No2ID has launched a new campaign of civil disobedience* against ID cards, as a new poll shows that for the first time, opponents of the cards outnumber supporters. The poll - carried out by YouGov for the Daily Telegraph, shows 48 per cent against versus 43 per cent for. The poll turnaround bears out a long-standing …

    Government 3 Dec 2007, 14:20

  • Apple iPhones offered up for hire

    Try it out for 30 quid a day

    Want to try out Apple's iPhone but are put off by the price? Hop over to German company Erento's UK site and you'll be able to rent one. Though at £29 a day, it's almost as pricey a proposition as a purchase. Erento set up (virtual) shop in the UK last month. Its site allows supplier A rent any product to consumer B. Think of …

    Phones 3 Dec 2007, 14:45

  • Mozilla rubbishes IE Firefox security study

    The fix is in

    Mozilla developers have hit back at a Microsoft study that suggests Internet Explorer is more secure than Firefox. The study, Internet Explorer and Firefox Vulnerability Analysis, is based on a comparison between the number and severity of security updates issued for IE and Firefox since the release of Firefox in November 2004 …

    The Channel 3 Dec 2007, 14:53

  • Galileo funding finally agreed

    Farm-money snatch OK'd in pork carve up

    The transport ministers of the European Union nations managed to reach agreement regarding the Galileo sat nav project on Friday, following Byzantine porkbarrel manoeuvres and an eleventh-hour spanner in the works from Spain. Galileo is now fully funded and can move forward. The controversial multibillion-euro plan to place in …

    Government 3 Dec 2007, 14:59

  • Gibson plugs in self-tuning roboguitar

    Tuning fork industry beware

    Legendary guitar manufacturer Gibson is reporting plenty of interest in its self-tuning Robot Guitar. The technical details of how the axe keeps the strings nicely in tune - via pitch-monitoring bridge, CPU, and servo-motored machine heads - is available here. All the guitarists among you need to know is that it boasts six …

    Hardware 3 Dec 2007, 15:34

  • Microsoft's sex-obsessed RoboSanta spouts filth at children

    Updated MSN bot in festive fellatio outrage

    Disturbing news has reached our Yuletide youthful innocence bunker that Microsoft's new artificial intelligence-powered Santa bot is subjecting the world's children to an unprecendented torrent of filth. Reg reader Iain blew the whistle on the foul-mouthed software after his nieces - just 11 and 13 years old - were drawn into a …

    Bootnotes 3 Dec 2007, 15:49

  • Samsung readies 'fastest' graphics memory

    Samsung will next year put GDDR 5 into mass production, it said today after announcing 6Gb/s 512Mb chips based on the graphics memory spec. Samsung's GDDR 5: due next year It's not the first. Qimonda began sampling a 512Mb GDDR 5 chip early last month and was quickly followed by Hynix, which upped the ante with a 1Gb part. …

    Hardware 3 Dec 2007, 16:37

  • Microsoft wireless keyboards crypto cracked

    Tapping up

    Security researchers have cracked the rudimentary encryption used in a range of popular wireless keyboards. Bluetooth is increasingly becoming the de-facto standard for wireless communication in peripheral devices and is reckoned to be secure. But some manufacturers such as Logitech and Microsoft rely on 27 MHz radio …

    Security 3 Dec 2007, 17:06

  • Beeb coughs to Panorama WiFi-scare travesty

    Wrists red raw with self-administered slappings

    The BBC has admitted that the infamous Panorama programme in which Beeb investigators boosted public hysteria regarding health dangers around Wi-Fi in schools was "misleading". The BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit (ECU) found against Panorama chiefs in a recent ruling. In essence, the ECU thought it was OK to make the programme …

    Broadband 3 Dec 2007, 17:10

  • LiveJournal flogged to Russians

    Blogging problem child sent to gulag

    San Francisco blogware firm Six Apart has offloaded LiveJournal, the fiesty community it bought only two years ago, to the Russian media group SUP. LiveJournal already beats Google's Blogger and others for the title of Russia's most popular blogging site. It claims more than 14 million registered users worldwide. It makes no …

    Applications 3 Dec 2007, 17:16

  • Pedophile gets 110 years in MySpace extortion scheme

    'Tools of Terror'

    A 33-year-old North Carolina man has been sentenced to 110 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges that he terrorized more than 100 underage girls by hacking into MySpace accounts and extorting nude pictures from them. Ivory Dickerson, a civil engineer, received the maximum sentence on three counts of manufacturing …

    Security 3 Dec 2007, 17:54

  • XBRL could learn from XML's success - Bray

    Controlled approach stalling

    Supporters of extensible business reporting language (XBRL), the proposed standard for electronic filing of financial information, need to learn lessons from the development of the Web if they want to promote it successfully. Tim Bray, Sun Microsystems' director of Web technologies and one of the original architects of …

    Software 3 Dec 2007, 19:15

  • Google officially quashes PageRank passing

    Sell at your peril

    Google has officially proclaimed that it doesn't like webmasters trying to hawk their lofty PageRank status to other sites. In an update to its Webmaster Guidelines, the world's largest search engine says that any attempt to "pass PageRank" could result in a PageRank plummet. "Some SEOs [search engine optimizers] and …

    The Channel 3 Dec 2007, 19:25

  • What’s in a name, asks Bodog founder Calvin Ayre

    Is a seized domain worth the paper it’s written on?

    The strange and underreported case of 1st Technology v. Bodog continued its legal sojourn this week with another response by 1st Technology to the gambling giant's continued claims of ownership to its one-time domains, such as Bodog.com. The case, in which 1st Technology has managed to wrest at least temporary control over …

    Law 3 Dec 2007, 19:51

  • IT departments poised to fly past airlines on CO2 emissions

    How green is your love?

    Carbon emissions from computing looks set to overtake aviation, a UK environmental charity claimed today. According to Global Action Plan, IT now accounts for 10 per cent of energy consumption in the UK. Speaking at the House of Commons this afternoon, Trewin Restorick, the author of "An Inefficient Truth" report, said IT …

    The Channel 3 Dec 2007, 19:55

  • LogLogic eyes new CEO Sueltz as IPO propeller

    Data dominatrix

    Seasoned software whiz Pat Suetlz has turned up as LogLogic's new CEO. Most recently, Sueltz served as CEO at British censorware firm Surf Control - a company bought in April by Websense. Before that role, Sueltz worked as President of Salesforce.com and before that as the head of software and then services at Sun Microsystems …

    Servers 3 Dec 2007, 20:09

  • TJX agrees to pay banks $41m to cover Visa losses

    Up to 100 million accounts stolen

    TJX, the US retailing giant, has agreed to reimburse banks nearly $41m in losses stemming from the theft of as many as 100 million credit- and debit-card accounts in the world's largest data breach. The tentative deal, which still must be approved by issuers representing 80 per cent of affected Visa cards, calls for TJX to pay …

    The Channel 3 Dec 2007, 22:08

  • Activision and Vivendi Games merge into Activision Blizzard

    $18.9bn union to out earn EA

    Early Sunday, a surprising and still yet-to-be-approved merger between Activision and Vivendi Games was announced. Vivendi Games (which owns Blizzard Entertainment, the creators of the uncannily popular World of Warcraft) will buy a majority stake in Activision to create a new company, Activision Blizzard. Providing …

    Financial News 3 Dec 2007, 22:53