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18th December 2007 Archive

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  • Get stuck in to Visual Studio 2008

    Review LINQ big, better teamwork needed

    Visual Studio is more than an integrated development environment. It is a strategic tool intended to promote the Microsoft platform. As such, the latest version of this IDE - released to MSDN subscribers late last month and due for widespread availability next February - draws together several different themes. One is Windows …

    Software 18 Dec 2007, 00:02

  • Heavily armed cops raid IM chat

    Closet swatting

    A California family that found their apartment surrounded by more than a dozen heavily SWAT armed officers are among the latest victims of swatting, a crime designed to elicit an emergency response by reporting a bogus 911 call. Officers from the Salinas Police Department rushed to the apartment last Wednesday after receiving …

    Crime 18 Dec 2007, 00:43

  • US fails to reverse online gambling ban

    EU bone thrown

    Unwilling to allow foreign countries into the stateside internet gambling market, the US has struck a compensation deal with the European Union, Canada, and Japan. But, as The Associated Press reports, Uncle Sam is still discussing the issue with India, Antigua and Barbuda, Macau, and Costa Rica. Last October, the US Congress …

    Law 18 Dec 2007, 01:00

  • How to avoid the model quagmire

    Part one: Analysis paralysis

    One of the goals behind UML is to help stamp out ambiguity in specifications and designs. This is a good and noble goal, but UML is nobbled by its own nobility. Booch, Rumbaugh and Jacobson, who donned matching aprons and cooked up UML, baked in some pretty subtle constructs to distinguish between even subtler concepts that - …

    Software 18 Dec 2007, 06:02

  • New DARPA scramjet-drone contract award

    'Hypersonic tech vehicles' for test in 2009

    DARPA*, the wacky Pentagon research bureau where it's always white-coat-and-propellor-hat Friday, has doled out $6m (as part of a $40m "increment" to an earlier "other transaction") to US aerospace colossus Lockheed. The payment is in support of the renewed US military hypersonic-plane programme, variously known as "Falcon" or " …

    Science 18 Dec 2007, 09:58

  • Bikini-clad pin-ups cover old school jailbreak

    New Jersey lags do a Shawshank Redemption

    Two inmates of New Jersey's Union County jail last Saturday night pulled off a classic old school jailbreak with the help of a couple of dummies and some strategically-placed, bikini-clad pin-ups, CNN reports. Otis Blunt, (pictured left), and Jose Espinosa (right) did a bunk from the facility's "most secure area" by simply …

    Bootnotes 18 Dec 2007, 10:01

  • MoD trumpets 'Innovation Strategy' for buying kit

    Analysis 5 pillars, 6 towers, 4 centres and 'ginger groups'

    In the wake of the recent, highly-controversial departure of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) kit-purchasing chief - erstwhile drugs'n'sweets multimillionaire Lord Drayson, who claimed he was quitting to race bio-alcohol cars - there has been a good deal of silence from the MoD war-tech offices. Publication of the updated …

    Public Sector 18 Dec 2007, 10:02

  • CSC throws mince pies at diminishing workforce

    Fruit and nutty bonus scheme

    Outsourcing firm CSC has sprinkled a little bit of Christmas cheer on its thinning UK workforce by sending a mince pie to each of its employees. A source told The Register that "CSC has really gone overboard with a xmas bonus scheme this year". The company, which in recent months has slashed hundreds of jobs, told its staff …

    Channel Register 18 Dec 2007, 10:23

  • Do composting toilet worms get the blues?

    NZ council probes 'psychological impact' of crap job

    Auckland Regional Council (ARC) has required the inventor of a worm-driven composting toilet to get professional confirmation that his workforce was not "traumatised or stressed" by its crap job, the Sunday Star Times reports. Colin Bell was looking for official approval for his "wormorator", which relies on a colony of tiger …

    Biology 18 Dec 2007, 10:34

  • Ichitaro vuln used to launch Trojan

    Latest regionally-targeted attack hits Japan

    Trojan-touting miscreants are actively exploiting a flaw in Ichitaro, a word processing package from JustSystems that's widely used in Japan. Preliminary analysis suggests the flaw means that malware might be installed if users running Ichitaro 2006 on a Japanese version of Windows XP open a malicious .JTD file. The flaw has …

    Enterprise Security 18 Dec 2007, 10:35

  • Sony posts PS3 DivX firmware update

    Better Blu-ray support too

    Sony has formally announced the firmware update that will bring support for the DivX video format and for the Blu-ray Disc Profile 1.1 - aka Bonus View - to the PlayStation 3. Firmware 2.10 is available for download immediately, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe said - though at the time of writing it had yet to be added to …

    Reg Hardware 18 Dec 2007, 10:38

  • Fayrewood in talks with North Atlantic Value LLP

    Possible bid to follow?

    IT distie Fayrewood Plc has confirmed that it is in talks with potential bidder North Atlantic Value LLP. Late last month, Fayrewood said it had been approached by a third party company that could lead to a possible buy-out, but the AIM-listed firm kept details of the mystery suitor secret. It said in a statement yesterday …

    Channel Register 18 Dec 2007, 11:00

  • Beeb censors Fairytale of New York

    'You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy f-----'

    The BBC has censored The Pogues' xmas classic Fairytale of New York lest the lyrics offend homosexuals, the Telegraph reports. The line in question is, of course, "You scumbag, you maggot you cheap lousy faggot, Happy Christmas your arse I pray God It's our last", now gracing the airwaves with "faggot" beeped out. A Beeb …

    Entertainment 18 Dec 2007, 11:02

  • Virgin Media network collapses nationwide

    Updated Silent night

    The Virgin Media cable network collapsed overnight, leaving up to three million people without internet access for several hours in the crucial final shopping days before Christmas. Both broadband and digital TV services took a lie down just after 10pm on Monday. Virgin Media says "some customers nationally" were affected. VM …

    Telecoms 18 Dec 2007, 11:03

  • Intel readies 16GB SSD for UMPCs

    Smaller-capacity versions coming Q1 2008

    Chip giant Intel has begun sampling a solid-state drive (SSD) designed for handheld devices. The product's known in the trade as 'a stack of Flash chips'. The Z-P140, as the module's known, connects to the host handheld via a parallel ATA link, but it doesn't follow any standard hard drive form-factor. Two versions are on …

    Reg Hardware 18 Dec 2007, 11:07

  • 'Death Star' galaxy blasts neighbour

    Black hole death ray caught on camera

    NASA has identified a rather unfriendly galaxy which is blasting its neighbour with a black-hole generated jet in what the agency calls "never-before witnessed galactic violence". The 3C321 system comprises two galaxies orbiting round each other at a relatively close 20,000 light years, with both packing super massive black …

    Space 18 Dec 2007, 11:19

  • T-Mobile and 3 hook up for 3G coverage

    Taking the best from both and still failing to cover the UK

    T-Mobile and 3 are to combine their 3G radio networks in the UK, increasing coverage for both companies and reducing running costs. The agreement follows a similar deal between Vodafone and Orange, announced earlier this year. Rather than being a coverage issue for these two operators however, the main driver was cost- …

    Networks 18 Dec 2007, 11:24

  • MS to bundle 'broken' random number tool in Vista SP1

    Developers urged to avoid built-in backdoor

    Microsoft plans to bundle a cryptographically flawed pseudo random number generator in its upcoming service pack for Windows Vista. Cryptographers have expressed concern about a possible backdoor in a standard for random number generators approved by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) this year. The …

    Security 18 Dec 2007, 12:04

  • EU mandates electronic IDs for sheep and goats

    Pilot program for the last judgement?

    The European Union has pledged to make life easier for both farmers and putative messiahs by ensuring that goats and sheep will in future be identified electronically. The council of ministers has set December 31, 2009 as “the obligatory implementation date for the introduction of electronic identification (EID) of sheep and …

    Public Sector 18 Dec 2007, 12:05

  • Samsung YP-T10 4GB MP3 player

    Review Another solid shot at the title

    Let's be honest, any new Flash-based 2, 4 or 8GB media player with a 240 x 320 screen has only one real aim in life: to be better than the equivalent device from that mob who slap a half-eaten Granny Smith on all their kit. So it is with the new Samsung YP-T10. The specification sheet suggests a pretty beefed-up player. The …

    Reg Hardware 18 Dec 2007, 12:13

  • Man uses networked 'crazy' toaster to hack PC

    Then gets grilled at hacker fest

    The more paranoid among us have long been wary of the possibility that networked fridges might spontaneously turn off, perhaps after becoming infected with a computer virus, ruining milk in the process. Other networked appliances might also pose a danger of sorts, security boffins have shown. A security expert from Check Point …

    Security 18 Dec 2007, 12:59

  • Watchdogs probe Sky dominance on pay-TV

    Should we be able to watch the football how we want?

    Ofcom has launched an investigation today into whether consumers are being harmed by Sky's movie and sport rights-buying supremacy. There are "warning signs" that people's choice is being limited by the way the market operates, the communications watchdog said, though it has "not yet reached a view on the existence of …

    Telecoms 18 Dec 2007, 13:01

  • Germans debut kitesurf-powered autonomous windjammer

    Avast there, Mr Computer, unfurl the sails

    A new commercial cargo ship which will harness wind power to achieve greater fuel economy was christened in Hamburg on Saturday. MV Beluga SkySails will use an enormous, football-pitch sized tethered aerofoil to pull itself along, in much the same way as a kite-surfer. Whoa, dude - that's one big kitesurf rig. The company …

    Science 18 Dec 2007, 13:04

  • Ribbit leapfrogs into Web 2.0

    Voice 1.0 is so 20th century

    Silicon Valley start-up Ribbit has announced another $10m in funding, and the opening of a beta developers program for developers wanting to create telephony applications using Flash technology, for a "Voice 2.0" experience. The Ribbit service is based around a soft switch with an open API that can link together the various …

    VoIP 18 Dec 2007, 13:59

  • Data breach officials could be sent to the big house

    No, we don't mean a conference centre with golf course

    Civil servants responsible for the loss of public data could face prison sentences in future, instead of a brief period in sackcloth and ashes before being shifted into a consultancy role. In his update on the HMRC data loss to MPs yesterday, Alistair Darling said: "There will now also be new sanctions under the Data …

    Public Sector 18 Dec 2007, 14:07

  • MP3 players

    Top Five Music to your ears

    A demanding number of Christmas parties demands a music library fit for all occasions: getting ready, waiting for people to arrive and the event itself. Reg Hardware spoke to portable audio player expert Josh Welensky at online retailer Advanced MP3 Players for the lowdown on the five best MP3 players currently available. Josh …

    Reg Hardware 18 Dec 2007, 14:21

  • Brussels mandates Energy Star for green procurement

    Cooling the continent

    The European Council yesterday laid down new regulations for implementing strict energy efficiency rules for government authorities EU-wide. It said that under the new scheme, EU institutions and central member state bodies are now expected to use energy saving criteria, based on its Energy Star programme, when buying office …

    Channel Register 18 Dec 2007, 14:39

  • Ethernet dances the light fantastic

    Fibre protocols over Ethernet for the Linux set

    Intel has released Linux source code, and set up a community site, to allow Fibre Channel frames to be embedded in Ethernet packets. This means companies using Fibre Channel can make more use of the protocol while maintaining their existing kit. Open-fcoe will provide a home for developments, as well as the various tools and …

    Data Networking 18 Dec 2007, 14:59

  • Mio intros 'true' 3D GPS

    When every sat nav unit on the planet does what every other sat nav on the planet does, how do you differentiate your own offering? If you're Mio, you up the eye-candy count, adding 3D landmarks and topography to your maps. Mio's C620: piazza express The first of Mio's GPS gadgets to offer the feature, part of its Mio 2008 …

    Reg Hardware 18 Dec 2007, 15:21

  • Japan scores ballistic missile shootdown bullseye

    Navy Self-defence force in 100-mile-high skeet shoot

    Japan has become the second nation to acquire functioning ballistic-missile defence equipment, carrying out a successful shootdown yesterday. A target rocket representing a medium-range enemy missile was engaged and destroyed 100 miles above the Pacific by a Standard SM-3 interceptor fired from a Japanese warship, JS Kongo. The …

    Science 18 Dec 2007, 15:35

  • Dutch regulator slaps spyware purveyors with €1m fine

    Millions of PCs infected

    Telecoms watchdog OPTA has fined three Dutch firms and their two directors a total of €1m for the illegal distribution of spyware. It is the first time OPTA has imposed fines for spreading malicious Trojans, and has been called "one of the biggest cases of illegal software crime", by the regulator. In 2005, the two unnamed …

    Malware 18 Dec 2007, 16:01

  • Asus Eee PC as 'hard to get your hands on as a Wii'

    Meanwhile, Japan's getting a 16GB version

    Asus' elfin Eee PC is coming to Japan and it's going to get 16GB of solid-state storage, it has been claimed. Meanwhile, in the UK availability has reached Wii-like limits, according to insiders. A report by Akihabara News today claimed Asus' Japanese operation said that the Linux-based sub-laptop will be released over there …

    Reg Hardware 18 Dec 2007, 16:02

  • Toshiba borgs into IBM's 32nm alliance

    Intel stays outside the tent

    Toshiba confirmed yesterday that it had joined a 32-nanometre chip development group led by IBM and made up of a number of key industry players minus top dog Intel. The alliance has been formed over the past few months in an attempt to push down spiralling development costs in the switch to the new geometery, which are proving …

    PCs & Chips 18 Dec 2007, 16:39

  • Google spanks memory, disk and networking vendors

    Calls for proportional response

    Google has hit out at storage, memory and networking equipment makers with a grimace, a finger wag and a closing wallet. Two of the ad broker's leading data center researchers have published a paper chastising all of the aforementioned groups of hardware makers for failing to cater to the real needs of customers. Unlike chip …

    Servers 18 Dec 2007, 17:43

  • HMRC mislays 1.5kg of Bolivian marching powder

    Child benefit claimants not at risk, however

    HM Revenue and Customs has enhanced its international reputation for mislaying things by allowing 1.5kg of cocaine to go walkabout from a HMRC depot near Coventry airport, the Sun reports. Warwickshire Police have confirmed they're investigating the "complete one-off", which saw the Bolivian marching powder evaporate from a …

    Bootnotes 18 Dec 2007, 18:27

  • Best Buy churns out the profits in Q3

    Burnt out in Q4?

    Best Buy had a great Q3, propelled by strong sales of fat-margin games consoles, notebook PCs, flat screen TVs and GPS thingymajigs. An extra week of holiday shopping for the quarter ended December 1 did it no harm, either. Earnings were $228m (Q3 2006: $150m) on revenues up 17 per cent to $9.93bn (Q3 2006: $8.47bn). The …

    Channel Register 18 Dec 2007, 19:15

  • Truth, anonymity and the Wikipedia Way

    Comment Why it's broke and how it can be fixed

    Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions - Catch-22 If you've read Catch-22, you know what it's like in Wikiland. In Wikiland, if someone has a conflict of interest, they could be grounded. But the inhabitants of …

    Music and Media 18 Dec 2007, 19:43

  • eBay: A tale of two listings

    A balancing act deciding what auctions get pulled

    An eBay auction for a clay tablet was pulled just minutes before it was scheduled to close, after authorities flagged it as a 4,000-year-old endangered cultural object that was illegally smuggled out of Iraq. A German archaeologist spotted the tablet bearing wedge-shaped cuneiform script on eBay's Swiss website. The tip …

    Small Biz 18 Dec 2007, 20:19

  • US warrantless wiretapping predates 9/11

    Fuel to the fire

    Fresh evidence has emerged that the US government's warrantless wiretapping program predates the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Secret surveillance operations that enabled the National Security Agency (NSA) to access telecommunications traffic data have been in place since the 1990s, according to the New York Times. In an attempt to …

    Government 18 Dec 2007, 21:00

  • Peter Jackson to lord over 'Rings' prequels

    More than one way to skin a Hobbit

    Lord of the Rings helmsman Peter Jackson will produce a two-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit - but he will not write or direct. Plans to bring the Tolkien prequel to the big screen had stalled as Jackson and New Line Cinema fought a battle royale over royalties from the "Rings" trilogy, which grossed over $3bn …

    Entertainment 18 Dec 2007, 21:18

  • BusinessWeek novel turns Google's cloud into epic hero

    Comment Search giant invented science and the future

    In a rather desperate bid to attract wealthy technology advertisers, BusinessWeek lowered itself this month by publishing data center erotica. The business publication issued an immense cover story titled: Google and the Wisdom of Clouds. The piece covers Google and IBM's creation of a cluster for use by students and …

    Servers 18 Dec 2007, 22:02