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5th December 2007 Archive

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  • Winners and losers in Sun's OpenDS spat

    Not sticking it to the man

    The brouhaha (here and here) surrounding Sun Microsystems and ex-employee Neil Wilson over governance of the OpenDS project - first reported in The Register - continued to bubble this week, not least among Reg Dev's readers. Many of you took the harsh, but arguably fair, point of view that Sun was in the right as work done …

    Software 5 Dec 2007, 01:27

  • Cisco grabs Motorola ex-technology chief

    After one grueling day of unemployment

    Cisco Systems is filling its head of technology spot with the one-day former CTO of Motorola. The Cisco CTO position will be given to Padmasree Warrior, who jumped ship at Motorola just days after its board of directors said they were ousting CEO Ed Zander. Warrior announced her leave from the troubled mobile-phone maker on …

    Data Networking 5 Dec 2007, 01:31

  • Tracking down the Ron Paul spam botnet

    Elephant Viagra

    Six weeks ago, a small blizzard of spam promoting Ron Paul, the Republican underdog running for US president, touched off a lot of head scratching. Had politics finally stooped to a place where candidates would resort to such a reviled means of communication? Or worse, were the missives the beginning of a new type of smear …

    Channel Register 5 Dec 2007, 01:34

  • Information Commissioner calls for more money and more powers

    And questions use of ID cards

    Giving evidence to the House of Commons Justice Committee hearing on the protection of private data, Information Commissioner Richard Thomas called for changes in the law and a rethink on government data-sharing between departments. During more than an hour of evidence Thomas said his budget was insufficient and his powers too …

    Financial News 5 Dec 2007, 04:26

  • Grisoft acquires LinkScanner

    'Antivirus is dead'

    Grisoft is to acquire Exploit Prevention Labs, a maker of software that gauges the safety of websites before end-users visit them. Grisoft will fold the technology into its AVG family of security software. The acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of the month, will help Grisoft compete against its three bigger …

    Channel Register 5 Dec 2007, 05:02

  • Robo-troubleshooters back up London fire brigade

    Bob the Builder-style droid team scoff at fleshies' fears

    Perhaps somewhat tired of fighting humanity's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, combat robots are now following the path trodden by many a retiring meatsack warrior: they are joining the fire brigade. However, just as in the military, the droids tend to get used for the most dangerous jobs. In the case of the London fire brigade, …

    Science 5 Dec 2007, 09:02

  • BT goes to Asia

    Buys Singaporean reseller

    BT is buying Singapore-based IT services and consulting firm Frontline Technologies for $202m(£98.9m). BT said in a statement that the takeover complemented its existing Asian operations and would broaden the kind of solutions it can offer in the region. Three executive directors of Frontline will keep their existing roles. …

    Channel Register 5 Dec 2007, 09:18

  • Cybercrime fears over hi-tech cop job cull

    SOCA ruled offside

    Rumoured cuts at the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) will hurt the fight against cybercrime, security experts warn. Speculation that 400 jobs may go at SOCA (the UK's answer to the FBI) has raised concerns that UK businesses will be placed at greater risk of attack from international cyber-criminals. Encryption …

    Crime 5 Dec 2007, 10:02

  • Dell punts $4450 World of Warcraft notebook

    Christmas shopping... for the horde

    For the hardcore World of Warcraft fan who has everything (but regular access to fresh air and sunlight, of course): How about a WoW-themed gaming notebook? Dell is punting a special edition of the XPS M1730 emblazoned with World of Warcraft artwork and a goodie bag of extras. You'll need to dish out at least $4,450 for the …

    Reg Hardware 5 Dec 2007, 10:07

  • Oqo adds HSDPA to Model 2 UMPC

    When in Roam...

    UMPC maker OQO has today launched a version of its Model 2 handheld computer with integrated 3.6Mb/s HSDPA 3G connectivity. Oqo Model 2: now with HSDPA The unit is identical to the regular Model 2 - reviewed here - with the exception of a pull-out antenna fitted into the right-hand side of the keyboard section of the machine …

    Reg Hardware 5 Dec 2007, 10:23

  • Chancer punts 'lucky' Wii for $1,234,567...

    ...and 89 cents

    We're not quite sure exactly what this is all about, but someone has decided to flog a "lucky" Wii on eBay for the magical "buy it now" price of $1,234,567.89: The blurb continues: BUY IT NOW! It's your LUCKY day! Only you can have the satisfaction of being the one who spent $1,234,567.89 on Ebay to purchase the Lucky …

    Bootnotes 5 Dec 2007, 10:39

  • Sperm-derived power system for nanobots patented

    Emissions issue overcome by spunky boffins

    Cybernetics designers have long tended to copy successful anatomical features from living creatures. Now nano-robotics boffins are getting in on the act, seeking to make use of the process which drives sperm. Apparently your regular sperm makes use of a process called "glycolysis" to generate energy with which to swim …

    Science 5 Dec 2007, 10:42

  • Stripogram copper walks on offensive weapon rap

    'No case to answer' for prop batons

    The 24-year-old stripogram charged with possessing offensive weapons after Aberdeen's finest spotted him en route to a gig carrying two batons and a spray canister has been cleared on all charges, the Telegraph reports. Aberdeen uni genetics student Stuart Kennedy was clocked wearing a fake police uniform by two officers on 17 …

    Bootnotes 5 Dec 2007, 10:45

  • Catholic schism over mobile icons

    Virtual saints spark litany of complaints

    A new service is about to launch in Italy offering downloadable images of saints for display on mobile phone screens, to the annoyance of some in the Italian church who feel that technology has no part to play in reinforcing faith. The Guardian newspaper quotes the bishop of Adria-Rovigo, on Lucio Soravito, who describes the …

    Mobile 5 Dec 2007, 11:00

  • First mobile Intel 'Penryn' processors to launch in January

    Laptops to go 45nm

    Intel has already launched its first desktop 45nm 'Penryn' processor, the Core 2 Extreme QX9650 and has begun seeding next year's QX9770 - reviewed here. And now we know what it's planning for laptops. While these desktop CPUs are quad-core parts, the mobiles will be dual-core chips, DailyTech reports. They'll debut on 6 …

    Reg Hardware 5 Dec 2007, 11:01

  • Scottish Labour leader bets on email absolution

    'I raised alarm on dodgy donation'

    Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander is staking her political future on emails that she says prove that as soon as she knew about a gift to her campaign from a tax exile, she flagged it as potentially shady. She promised yesterday to make the files available to the Electoral Commission in a bid to clear her name in the …

    Law 5 Dec 2007, 11:03

  • TomTom shakes hands with Google

    Internet giant carves new route

    TomTom has announced plans to incorporate Google Maps into its sat nav hardware. The idea is to let users plan, say, a long trip to visit the mother-in-law on their PC using Google Maps, building in stops for points of interest or petrol stations along the way. No video? You'll need to download Flash Player from www.adobe. …

    Reg Hardware 5 Dec 2007, 11:16

  • ICO warns of more 'datagate' breaches

    May be trouble ahead...

    Richard Thomas, giving evidence to the House of Commons Justice Committee yesterday, warned that more government data could have gone missing. Thomas said that as a result of the HMRC scandal, "several departments have come to see us on a confessional basis, but none on anything like the scale of the HMRC loss". He said that …

    Government 5 Dec 2007, 11:29

  • 999 comes to VoIP

    Emergency calls are go, barring break-ups

    Ofcom, the UK regulator, has decreed that VoIP services are going to have to connect 999 calls to the emergency services, though not until September 2008. VoIP services have been improving in quality and usability to the point where many are indistinguishable from the traditional phone service, depending on the bandwidth …

    Telecoms 5 Dec 2007, 11:34

  • Asus P5E-VM HDMI motherboard

    Review Integrated DX10 graphics from Intel. Who'd've thought it

    At first glance, Asus' P5E-VM HDMI looks like a regular Micro-ATX design with the usual crop of integrated features. But when you take a good close look you’ll see just how much Asus has managed to cram in. Asus' P5E-VM HDMI: packs in features a-plenty The board's Intel G35 chipset supports LGA775 Core 2 processors, …

    Reg Hardware 5 Dec 2007, 12:02

  • World's Dumbest File-sharer megafine gets DoJ thumbs-up

    It's what Ben Franklin would've wanted

    The US Department of Justice has given government backing to the $222,000 fine slapped on Minnesota woman Jammie Thomas. She was successfully sued by the Recording Industry Ass. of America earlier this year for illegaly sharing 24 songs. In a brief filed in federal court in Minnesota yesterday, acting assistant Attorney …

    Law 5 Dec 2007, 12:16

  • Google Book Search reveals scanner's sleight of hand

    Rush job to digitise world's literary heritage

    Google appears to be in a bit of a hurry to achieve its ultimate dark aim of indexing all of the world's knowledge, including humanity's entire literary output, as this image of an 1855 issue of The Gentleman's Magazine demonstrates: Quite what "Sylvanus Urban", the editor of this fine London periodical, would have made of …

    Bootnotes 5 Dec 2007, 12:22

  • Nokia: Keep the music, pay to burn

    Analysis Reinventing the bundle?

    You could be forgiven for thinking that Nokia's music announcement yesterday was yet another subscription service. The phone giant didn't help dispel the notion by omitting some details from the official press material. However, we were able to put more flesh on the bones of the announcement last night. It's beginning to look as …

    Music and Media 5 Dec 2007, 12:43

  • Fasthosts customers still frozen out of websites

    More support staff drafted over password reset cockup

    Fasthosts has promised it will bring in more support staff to deal with the volume of calls it is still receiving following its poorly-handled password reset on Friday. Many customers haven't received the replacement passwords that the Gloucester webhost said it had sent in the post. We asked for an update on the debacle, and …

    Telecoms 5 Dec 2007, 12:45

  • Ofcom wants to see more unlicensed frequencies

    Giving away spectrum?

    UK regulator Ofcom has published a statement suggesting two new blocks of unlicensed spectrum, 59-64 GHz and 102-105 GHz, be reserved for unlicensed use before anyone works out how to make money out of them. The popularity of 2.4GHz, which is unlicensed and is used for a multitude of applications including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi …

    Networks 5 Dec 2007, 12:57

  • Man opens Eee PC, adds internal USB ports

    Solder of fortune

    Want to boost the storage capacity of your Eee PC in a cheap and - more to the point - upgradeable way? Want to add Bluetooth while you're at it? Then follow the lead of one enterprising owner who added a pair of internal USB ports to the compact computer. The Eee PC's memory bay is also home to the machine's Mini PCI slot. …

    Reg Hardware 5 Dec 2007, 13:00

  • DivX comes to the Xbox 360

    Video playback options widen

    Microsoft’s Xbox 360 dashboard update has sneaked in something extra: the hoped-for addition of DivX playback functionality. The Xbox Team’s official blog includes an AVI file support FAQ, which says the console now “supports files encoded using MPEG-4 Part 2, Simple and Advanced Simple Profile”, which the team adds are “often …

    Reg Hardware 5 Dec 2007, 13:14

  • Net Asbo slap for boasting Bebo teen

    Bigged up criminal exploits, dissed police

    A 17-year-old from Norfolk who "boasted of his criminal exploits on Bebo" has been slapped with a two-year anti-social behaviour order (Asbo), banning him from publishing material online which is "threatening or abusive" and "promotes criminal activity". According to the Telegraph, Norwich Youth Court imposed the order after …

    Law 5 Dec 2007, 13:18

  • HMRC offers £20k reward for ID goldmine CDs

    Insult, meet injury

    Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is offering a reward of £20,000 for information leading to the recovery of the lost child benefit data discs. The discs, with information on 25m people, were lost in mid-November en route from a child benefit office in Sunderland to the National Audit Office. Estimates of the potential value …

    Government 5 Dec 2007, 13:25

  • Flying robots get aerial highway code

    Call-centres for UAV pilots on horizon?

    Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs - flying robots) are here to stay. Thus far, however, they have mainly been a military phenomenon. Most UAV flights take place in airspace where civil air-traffic control (ATC) is either vestigial or completely absent. If UAVs are ever going to fly much above the countries which - at the moment - …

    Science 5 Dec 2007, 13:28

  • Nokia sees a good future for Nokia

    Swallows red pill, sees Web 2.0 everywhere

    By the year 2012 a quarter of all content will be user-generated and passed between friends, rather than being created and distributed by today's media brands, according to interviews with "trend-setting consumers". The Future Laboratory spoke to 9000 consumers on behalf of Nokia, all of whom are described as "active users of …

    Mobile 5 Dec 2007, 13:47

  • 90mph police chief cops 42-day ban

    No excuses, admits South Yorkshire supremo

    Meredydd Hughes, the chief constable of South Yorkshire and former chair of roads policing at the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), has copped a 42-day driving ban for doing 90mph on the A5 at Chirk near Wrexham in May. He was also slapped with a £350 fine by Wrexham magistrates, the BBC reports. Hughes, 49, was off …

    Law 5 Dec 2007, 14:00

  • 'Swiss DMCA' fears overblown, says copyright authority

    Wording is ambiguous, argues petition author

    A petition to repeal Switzerland's new copyright law, described as "brutal" by BoingBoing.net and hotly debated on Slashdot, was dismissed yesterday as groundless and misguided by the Swiss copyright collecting authority, SUISA. The petition's submitter, however, claims a rewrite is needed to clarify the law's true scope. …

    Law 5 Dec 2007, 15:10

  • Auction watchdog says eBay is illegal in France

    Broker? Auctioneer! What's the difference ...

    A French Government watchdog is trying to shut down eBay in France. The Council of Sales regulates auction houses and has said that the site should be bound by strict French auction rules. The French eBay site does not have one of the Council's permits to operate as an auctions service and so does not have to abide by …

    Channel Register 5 Dec 2007, 15:49

  • Power cut hits Rackspace UK

    Ten per cent of customers affected

    A power cut in London's Park Royal area has knocked out half the servers in a Rackspace UK data centre. The web server hosting firm is telling customers it is "working to gain further information and updates will be provided in due course". About 10 per cent of Rackspace's UK customers, with servers housed at the company's …

    Small Biz 5 Dec 2007, 17:45

  • Novell delays Q4 results due to SEC missives

    Time to count beans

    Novell is delaying the release of its fiscal fourth quarter results due to an ongoing accounting review by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The Linux firm was scheduled to release results today for the quarter ended October 31. But slow correspondence between Novell and an accountant's least favorite pen-pal has …

    Financial News 5 Dec 2007, 19:22

  • Netezza doubles down on data warehouse doubling

    Moore's law on steroids

    Data warehouse appliance maker Netezza this week issued a self-congratulatory note for doubling the performance of its gear through some software trickery. In August, Netezza issued Release 4 of its Performance Server (NPS) system, providing customers with a major performance boost for sorting through database queries. How …

    Servers 5 Dec 2007, 19:23

  • French high court thumps Google Video

    Video fingerprints! Or else!

    A French high court has added some extra spice to the legal debate over online video sharing. In mid-October, the High Court of the First Instance of Paris issued a ruling against Google Video after it was sued by a Paris-based film company called Zadig Productions. Naturally, Zadig was peeved that Google was hosting one of …

    Music and Media 5 Dec 2007, 21:33

  • Sun dangles cash prizes for open source projects

    Still dwarfed by Google

    Sun Microsystems is the latest big name in Silicon Valley to dangle financial baubles before open source developers to stimulate pet projects. The company today announced it will award annual prizes worth more than $1m for "some of the most interesting initiatives" in six open source projects. The Open Source Community …

    Operating Systems 5 Dec 2007, 21:40

  • Phone phreaks spoof LSD-induced multiple homicide

    Dial-a-SWAT-team

    Three more individuals have admitted they participated in a series of phone phreak hoaxes that prompted raids by armed special weapons and tactic police teams on the homes of unsuspecting victims. Jason Trowbridge, of Louisiana and Texas, and Chad Ward of Texas pleaded guilty to multiple felonies, including conspiracy, access …

    Crime 5 Dec 2007, 22:25

  • Sun warns of voracious, collapsing data centers

    McDonalds may sell them

    Sun Microsystems loves to think ten years ahead of the market. Such technology philosophizing is natural for a research and development heavy. As of late, however, Sun has started to claim that its grand vision of computing's future will start to take hold not in the next decade but rather next year. During 2008, Sun expects …

    Servers 5 Dec 2007, 23:46

  • SAP curbs its enthusiasm with iPhone

    Data access without the entry

    Having been rapped on the knuckles for hacking Apple's iPhone, SAP is playing by the rules to make its next customer relationship management (CRM) software work with Apple's handset. Bob Stutz, a senior vice president for SAP’s CRM biz, has unveiled SAP CRM 2007 with a web rather than a portal-based interface to work on Apple' …

    Applications 5 Dec 2007, 23:55