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10th December 2007 Archive

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  • Mind your languages with Microsoft LINQ

    Data-access sticking plaster?

    We've been hearing a growing amount this year about LINQ - Microsoft's Language Integrated Query. You can expect a lot more next year, starting in February as Microsoft launches Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008. LINQ promises to close the skills and knowledge gap for developers using C# and VisualBasic trying to connect to …

    Software 10 Dec 2007, 01:02

  • VMware clobbers the world, while big, solid disks rise

    Year in review IBM, Intel, AMD - all there

    Our most recent orbit around the sun has been a busy one for the world of servers, chips and storage. New (old) technology has invaded the data center, disks got bigger, chips got smaller and everyone decided to become a Planeteer. Virtualization - Like you didn't know it was coming EMC finally sold shares of its x86 …

    Servers 10 Dec 2007, 09:28

  • Brown knew data loss was disaster waiting to happen

    Weak procedures highlighted in 2004

    The loss of the child benefit was a disaster waiting to happen and the Prime Minister was warned about inadequate data protection procedures years ago. Prime Minister Gordon Brown was told three years ago that weak data protection procedures governing the child benefit database made fraud or mistakes more likely and, if they …

    Government 10 Dec 2007, 10:01

  • Qinetiq wins Watchkeeper drone test contract

    Flying porkbarrel-bot heads for Wales

    The UK's ongoing effort to develop a domestic flying-robot business - and, incidentally, to supply a small number of such robots to the British forces - has handed out some more nourishment to the arms-tech biz. It was announced on Friday that ground and flight testing for Project Watchkeeper will be handled by Qinetiq, the …

    Government 10 Dec 2007, 10:10

  • We can reQall it for you wholesale

    Voice memos transcribed by new service

    A new service, launching in the UK today and the USA come January, aims to remember all those things you're destined to forget in the run-up to Christmas by taking voice memos over your mobile and transcribing them into emails and a to–do list. The reQall service is pretty simple to understand: After registering at the website …

    Mobile 10 Dec 2007, 10:53

  • Zep fans warned off touted tickets

    Don't even think about it

    Led Zeppelin have warned that anyone buying illicit tickets for the band's O2 Arena gig will likely not get past the tout-busting "stringent security measures", the Daily Telegraph reports. The tickets were allocated in a online ballot in which lucky winners were given a pass code enabling them to buy a couple of seats for £ …

    Media 10 Dec 2007, 10:54

  • AMD anoints Accelerated Computing chief

    Uhler, Uhler, Uhler

    AMD has hired former MIPS CTO Mike Uhler to spearhead efforts around co-processors. The chip maker today announced the Uhler grab, heralding the fella as AMD's first ever VP of Accelerated Computing. Uhler will be charged with overseeing products such as graphics chips and other types of co-processors that can function as …

    Servers 10 Dec 2007, 11:21

  • Labour hit by another anonymous donor scandal

    And this one's got an IT angle

    The Labour Party has been receiving secret donations from another anonymous donor. The party has already suffered from revelations that David Abrahams funnelled more than half a million pounds in donations through various intermediaries. Now, it seems Labour has also been taking money indirectly from Picsel founder Imran Khand …

    Government 10 Dec 2007, 11:55

  • Nvidia G92-based GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB

    Review The 8800 GT and then some

    The GeForce 8800 GT slipped into Nvidia’s line-up towards the top of the range by offering similar performance to the existing 8800 GTS with 320MB of memory. This was achieved with an updated version of the 'G80' chip called 'G92', which moved the fabrication process to 65nm, changed the memory controller, raised the core speed …

    Hardware 10 Dec 2007, 11:57

  • Skype update plugs critical bug

    On the QT

    Users running older versions of Skype risk attack from a newly disclosed vulnerability. A boundary error involving the Skype4COM URI handler creates a buffer overflow risk. This, in turn, provides a means for hackers to attack users running vulnerable versions of Skype who visit maliciously-constructed websites. The …

    Security 10 Dec 2007, 11:57

  • MoD: Frontline troops must have silent Xmas crackers

    Exploding planes yes, exploding cargo no

    Friends of the UK forces seeking to send a bit of festive cheer to troops fighting on the front line have almost been thwarted by bureaucracy. Volunteers were forced to defuse 650 Christmas crackers before the British Forces Post Office would accept them, on "safety" grounds. "Christmas crackers are classified as dangerous air …

    Science 10 Dec 2007, 12:03

  • Nintendo kills Wii ads due to console shortage

    But eBay's got plenty

    Nintendo is replacing a series of ads for its Wii console this Christmas, despite the games machine being the subject of the most searched for term on eBay. A spokesman for the company told Marketing Week that demand for the console is already too high and that it wants to take a “responsible stance this Christmas and not fuel …

    Games 10 Dec 2007, 12:13

  • Asus: memory upgrades will not void Eee PC warranty

    Well, in some countries, at any rate...

    Asus has bowed to the desire of Eee PC buyers to tinker with their teeny laptops and said it will continue to honour the machine's warranty even if users open the unit's memory hatch. That cover currently has a tiny sticker applied over one of the two screws that hold it in place. The sticker reads: "Warranty Void if Removed …

    Hardware 10 Dec 2007, 12:37

  • Football horns could spread Black Death, says Interpol chief

    Crackers? No, he hasn't thought of them yet...

    Bioterrorists stand poised to unleash plague bacteria, killing "thousands, even millions" with the aid of "hundreds of simple horns, the kind that children use at sporting events", Interpol secretary general Ron Noble appeared to claim last week. Speaking in Lyon, sane and rational Ron was kicking off a measured and realistic …

    Law 10 Dec 2007, 12:41

  • Fark attempts to trademark NSFW

    WTF?

    Fark.com has filed an application to trademark "Not Safe For Work", offering the delicious possibility of mass litigation against roughly half of net content providers including, of course, El Reg (link NSFW, natch). The audacious move was spotted by Trademork, which not unreasonably points out that it "might be a little …

    Bootnotes 10 Dec 2007, 12:43

  • Samsung's Wi-Fi VoIP mobile pops up on T-Mobile

    UMA, eh?

    The rumoured Samsung Katalyst slider handset finally appeared on the radar this morning courtesy of a partnership with T-Mobile. Samsung's Katalyst: Wi-Fi VoIP calls on your home network Katalyst - or the SGH-T739, to give it its official name - is being marketed principally on its Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) capability …

    Phones 10 Dec 2007, 12:47

  • Sony website leaks PS3 DualShock debut date

    The PS3’s upcoming DualShock 3 controller will offically arrive in early 2008, according to a morsel of text on a US Sony website. Sony’s PS3 version 2.01 firmware update website already explains what’s available in the release, which appeared last month, ranging from custom themes to an information board. However, it’s since …

    Games 10 Dec 2007, 12:52

  • Radiohead backs WW2-style austerity program

    Music for a new society?

    Misery will be compulsory, if top rockers Radiohead have their way. The band have thrown their weight behind a "World War 2"-style programme of austerity measures: including restrictions on behaviour, and higher taxes. Last week, two newspaper columnists called for a return to the kind of social coercion only ever seen before …

    Science 10 Dec 2007, 13:43

  • Forces pay mess blamed on human error

    £250m EDS system or MoD bureaucrats - who to trust?

    Reports of problems with the British forces' new pay and personnel computers continue to rumble on, with some personnel saying that pay has been withheld for months. The Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system was provided for £250m by EDS, everyone's favourite gov-IT provider. “I haven’t been paid properly for months and …

    Government 10 Dec 2007, 13:55

  • Got a supercomputer in the closet?

    Mini-poll

    When we think of supercomputing we think of water-cooled Crays and Deep Thought, but features that once used to be reserved for lab-coated researchers are today often found in the most unexpected of places. However, such compute-intensive systems can be elusive, disguised as rendering engines or batch processing servers hidden …

    Data Center 10 Dec 2007, 14:07

  • Ex-Microsoft manager in $1m expenses fraud rap

    Alleged domain name scammer denies charges

    A former Microsoft worker who managed the IT giant's domain name trades faces charges over an alleged $1m expenses scam. Carolyn Gudmundson, 44, of Kirkland, Washington, faces 11 counts of wire fraud and seven counts of mail fraud over allegations she systematically ripped off Microsoft, Expedia, and a Californian domain name …

    Security 10 Dec 2007, 14:17

  • Small IT biz gets voice in Europe

    Euro trade body

    A pan-European trade body aims to be a better voice for the views of smaller IT businesses across the continent. National trade bodies, including UKITA, representing some 200,000 people are joining up as founding members. The group hopes to represent European technology SMEs, help such firms interact better with larger …

    Small Biz 10 Dec 2007, 14:26

  • Toshiba roadmaps 128GB SSDs for March '08

    More laptop-friendly versions coming soon after

    Toshiba will next year become the latest hard disk maker to embrace Flash technology as an alternative to magnetic media when it puts solid-state drives of up to 128GB in capacity into mass production. Toshiba's roadmap has 32GB, 64GB and 128GB SATA-connected 71 x 54 x 3mm "modules" sampling in February 2008 before going into …

    Hardware 10 Dec 2007, 14:48

  • ESA hoping for Galileo sat nav on line in 2013

    Brussels still predicting 2008... oops

    Following outline agreements on funding between EU member states, the revised schedule for Euro-collaborative sat nav project Galileo is emerging. Planners hope to have the system globally operational in 2013. Galileo has been mired in funding disputes for most of 2007, following the breakdown of negotiations with private …

    Science 10 Dec 2007, 15:10

  • Top Five Digital Compact Cameras

    Digital cameras make superb Christmas presents and are a great way of capturing those treasured family moments. But if the seemingly unlimited choice of models available makes your head spin, fear not. Register Hardware asked expert Suzanne Bohknecht of Jessops photography store to name the five best snappers for Christmas and …

    Hardware 10 Dec 2007, 15:15

  • Virgin Media eases off bandwidth throttling

    New big cheese feels need for speed

    Fewer Virgin Media subscribers will fall foul of the cable company's bandwidth-throttling policies for shorter periods when they are rejigged in the new year. High speed internet is at the centre of new boss Neil Berkett's plan to turn around VM. From "early 2008" the top three per cent of uploaders and the top three per cent …

    Broadband 10 Dec 2007, 16:00

  • Microsoft wins seven figure sum from distie

    Large settlement agreed

    Microsoft has won a seven figure sum from a distributor found guilty of selling tens of thousands of items of dodgy software. Netcom Distributors was found guilty of grey importing software from outside the European Economic Area, distributing unbundled and recycled certificates and distributing media kits to unlicensed users …

    The Channel 10 Dec 2007, 16:33

  • CompUSA goes titsup

    'Orderly wind-down'

    CompUSA has thrown in the towel on the hypercompetive US electronics retailing scene. The store giant has sold itself for an undisclosed amount to Gordon Brothers, a Boston-based restructuring specialist, which will close its 103 retail stores in an "orderly wind-down". The number of expected job cuts has not been disclosed, …

    The Channel 10 Dec 2007, 16:54

  • Violin plays AMD for memory monster

    10TB of DRAM? Why not?

    AMD and Violin Memory have ignited a love affair around Hypertransport that should result in what the industry technically refers to as huge DRAM appliances being connected to Opteron-based servers. Violin Memory Inc. had eluded us before today's announcement, which is either the fault of the company's PR staff or our lack of …

    Storage 10 Dec 2007, 17:06

  • Warner to back a single HD disc format?

    Sony, Toshiba eager to get it off the fence

    Warner Home Video, the only major content distributor supporting both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, is rumoured to be about to put its full weight behind one of these next-gen optical disc formats, a senior studio exec has claimed. Cue Michael Burns, vice-chairman of Lionsgate - a Blu-ray Disc backer, it should be noted - quoted by …

    Hardware 10 Dec 2007, 17:15

  • Gates' spontaneity highlights IE data gap

    Strategy on the fly

    In the old days just before you left military service, you were expected to become "demob" happy and go a little crazy. With only six months to go before he "transitions", it seems Bill Gates is showing the first signs of being demob happy - or at least losing touch with what Microsoft is up to. In response to a question from …

    Applications 10 Dec 2007, 18:09

  • IBM to get high-k with all its friends at 32nm

    Hafnium forever!

    IBM and Intel love their nanometer wars. One week IBM is straining something first in order to make faster, smaller chips, and the next week Intel has found some forgotten element and placed it at the center of a revolutionary effort. You won't find Big Boys getting excited about shrinkage very often in the real word, but in the …

    Hardware 10 Dec 2007, 18:15

  • ITIL deeds don't go unpunished

    Of carts and horses

    It shouldn't be a surprise as to why IT's automation needs often fall to the bottom of the stack: because most companies are not in the technology business, investments in people, processes, or technologies that are designed to improve IT only show up as expenses on the bottom line. And so while IT is the organization that is …

    Applications 10 Dec 2007, 18:38

  • Ministry of Defence leaks counter terrorism traffic

    Bulgarians lurking

    For the past 20 months, the Ministry of Defence has been generous enough to provide detailed information about visits to its Counter Terrorism Science & Technology site. We're not sure, exactly, what to make of the logs showing some of the site's most popular pages and most prolific visitors. On the one hand, such details aren …

    Security 10 Dec 2007, 19:34

  • Build your PDF and Excel reports with PHP

    Hands on Office 2.0 without the fluff

    The Portable Document Format (PDF) and Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet are commonly used for presentation of reports and data. PHP, meanwhile, has become one of the most commonly used scripting languages on the web today, with 35 per cent of web sites running PHP. The TIOBE index of programming languages also indicates an …

    Applications 10 Dec 2007, 19:43

  • Media player users beware: more vulns ahead

    Targeting Windows Media Player and Winamp

    Security researchers are warning that popular media players offered by Microsoft and AOL are vulnerable to attacks that can completely compromise a user's PC. Attack code has already been released for the bug, which has been confirmed in a codec used by older versions of Windows Media Player, made by Microsoft, and in AOL's …

    Security 10 Dec 2007, 23:59