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3rd January 2008 Archive

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  • Microsoft readies Hal 9000

    The corporate lie detector

    It gives a whole new meaning to the word "micromanager." Judging from a recent patent application, Microsoft hopes to build some sort of "activity monitoring system" that keeps an eye on worker productivity using various "physiological or environmental sensors." These sensors would track everything from heart rate, respiration …

    Software 3 Jan 2008, 00:30

  • Microsoft scoffs at antitrust extension seekers

    With a little kick to Netscape's corpse

    Microsoft is pshawing claims that it needs another five years of legal babysitting. A legal coalition including 10 US states and the District of Columbia is asking Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to extend US government oversight of Microsoft imposed under a 2001 antitrust judgment against the software giant. In a court …

    Servers 3 Jan 2008, 00:50

  • Sears admits to joining spyware biz

    On page 10 of 54-page diatribe

    A Harvard researcher has accused one of America's biggest retailers of sneaking privacy-stealing spyware from ComScore onto customers' machines. Sears Holding Corporation, owner of Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart, makes the pitch in an email sent to people shortly after they provide their address at Sears.com. Clicking the " …

    Malware 3 Jan 2008, 01:04

  • Music industry hails China deep-linking victory

    Never mind Baidu, look at Yahoo!

    A Chinese court last month found Yahoo! China liable for copyright infringement by deep-linking to songs. Both Yahoo! and Baidu, China's largest search engine, provide search tools for finding music, most of which is unlicensed. The court found that under a previous law Baidu is not liable for copyright infringement by deep …

    Music and Media 3 Jan 2008, 01:29

  • Oz crematorium menaced by exploding dog

    When mutts go bang

    We're very much obliged to Oz's ABC News this morning for clarifying something which has been bothering us for some time: do frozen dogs present an explosion risk? The answer is a chilling yes, as proved by the case of the Darwin pet crematorium which last night got an unscheduled visit from three fire trucks and police after …

    Bootnotes 3 Jan 2008, 09:24

  • Dixons shares spanked after profit warning

    Share price down a fifth

    Dixons Store Group International saw its shares fall more than 20 per cent this morning after the company admitted Christmas trading had been poor. DSG International told the London Stock Exchange today that trading was down one per cent on a like-for-like basis. Group chairman Sir John Collins said: "Like for like sales were …

    Channel Register 3 Jan 2008, 09:43

  • MPs call for stronger data protection laws

    And more cash for ICO

    A committee of MPs has dismissed government denials that recent data losses were the result of individual failures and called for legislation to punish such reckless treatment of private data in future. The Commons Justice Committee recommended the introduction of new offences so that a data controller could be charged for …

    Government 3 Jan 2008, 09:55

  • Lenovo readies IdeaPad laptop line

    ThinkPads for consumers

    Lenovo's otherlaptop brandname, the 3000 series, doesn't quite have the same ring to it as ThinkPad. Enter, then, IdeaPad, the new name for the company's consumer notebooks, three of which debuted in the US yesterday. The new machines are the U110, Y510 and Y710, all based on Intel's Centrino platform and equipped, …

    Reg Hardware 3 Jan 2008, 10:27

  • Telltale signs your model is stuck

    Analysis paralysis: part two

    Teams can get stuck wallowing in trivial details when modeling in UML. Sweating such details can lead to frustration and premature, and rash, decisions on using UML later in a project. But how do you know when a particular nuance is inconsequential and when it's an important item to specify? You learn to recognize the signs of …

    Software 3 Jan 2008, 10:42

  • Nokia snaps up Apertio for €140m

    Finns take plunge into Bristol channel

    Nokia Siemens Networks is to buy customer-management company Apertio for about €140m, with the cash deal set for completion before April. UK-based Apertio provides databases and software for managing customers on phone networks, including components such as the Home Location Register (HLR) and Authentication servers, all …

    Networks 3 Jan 2008, 10:56

  • Hitachi hypes 'world's most capacious' laptop hard drive

    500GB drive coming to Asus laptops

    Hitachi's Global Storage Technologies group has rolled out what it claims is the world's most capacious laptop-friendly hard drive - a 500GB monster that notebook maker Asus has already said it will build into future machines. The 2.5in Travelstar 5K500 spins at 5400rpm and contains three disc platters and six read/write heads …

    Reg Hardware 3 Jan 2008, 11:17

  • Former beauty queen cuffed for torturing ex

    'Promising' Arizona law student on five felony raps

    A University of Arizona law school student and former Miss Arizona contestant has been indicted on five felony charges for kidnapping her ex-boyfriend, holding him for ten hours in Tuscon "while torturing and robbing him", the Arizona Daily Star reports. Kumari Fulbright, 25 (right) appeared in Pima County Court on 18 December …

    Bootnotes 3 Jan 2008, 11:34

  • USB 'compact cassette' promises 1980s nostalgia, home taping

    Phony Sony, Maxel, TDK etc.

    Relive music piracy the way it used to be done, back in the days when even Shawn Fanning was a glint in someone's eye*, let alone his original Napster app and the P2P world it spawned. Yes, we're talking cassette tapes and a 21st Century take on this format of yesteryear. USB Mix Tape: relive the 80s... the 80s. It's a 64MB …

    Reg Hardware 3 Jan 2008, 11:56

  • WiHD boys signal imminent arrival of 'wireless HDMI' tech

    WirelessHD 1.0 ready for implementation

    The companies behind the Wireless HD (WiHD) standard - Intel, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, LG, Matsushita and NEC among them - have completed the first full version of the specification. WiHD delivers 4Gb/s data transfers via the globally unlicensed 60GHz band of the spectrum and was developed to provide a way of connecting HD …

    Reg Hardware 3 Jan 2008, 12:53

  • Archos to launch against Apple TV next week

    French media player maker Archos will next week take on the Apple TV with a small white Wi-Fi-enabled box designed to be connected to your telly of its own. Archos' TV+: full DVR Apparently dubbed the TV+, the unit scores over the Apple box is three major ways, even though it doesn't look as good. First, it's much more …

    Reg Hardware 3 Jan 2008, 13:29

  • Mobile phone users should drive faster says prof

    Drivers go slow when on a call

    People who use mobile phones while driving are spoiling it for the rest of us - by driving more carefully and slowing down traffic, according to US researchers. A study from the University of Utah reports that drivers speaking on a hands-free mobile drive, on average, two mph slower than those not engaged in conversation - …

    Mobile 3 Jan 2008, 13:44

  • Creative X-Fi ExpressCard soundcard

    Unwired Video Review We sound out Creative's slip-in soundcard

    Creative’s X-Fi has been a darling of the desktop world, particularly when it comes to gaming. This notebook soundcard promises uprated sound and more flexible outputs. Will it have the same appeal? Can't see the video? You'll need Flash player from Adobe.com Video Reviews • Blackberry Pearl 8120 smartphone • Samsung ML- …

    Reg Hardware 3 Jan 2008, 14:04

  • HMRC union calls for strike

    Data losses exacerbated by job losses

    The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union will on Monday begin balloting members on possible strike action to protest at continuing redundancies at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The PCS's HMRC group executive committee is asking all members within HMRC to vote yes to the proposed action. The PCS union has …

    Government 3 Jan 2008, 14:56

  • Kent council approves 'cleaner' coal-fired plant

    Greenpeace unimpressed

    Kent's Medway Council has controversially voted in favour of building the UK's first new coal-fired power station for 24 years at Kingsnorth, near Rochester. The application by E.ON UK proposes two new "cleaner" coal units to replace the existing station on the site, which would be supplying electricity to 1.5 million homes by …

    Environment 3 Jan 2008, 14:59

  • LCD monitor biz squeezed at both ends

    Demand for TVs and laptops to blame

    The LCD monitor industry could be set for a bumpy ride in the year ahead with a forecast shortage of panels expected to cut deep into the second quarter of 2008. According to a number of reports, makers have slowed down capacity expansion for fifth-generation (5G) and 6G plants as they set their sights on building capacity at …

    Channel Register 3 Jan 2008, 15:03

  • Chinese shun sex for a good, old-fashioned bank

    Google.cn word search results

    The Chinese appear to have dismally failed to grasp the primary use of Google, with searches on the word "sex" ranking way down the list of most-Googled terms in the country last year. Leading the overall searches list was "QQ", apparently an "instant message service and a brand of car", according to Reuters. Next up was the …

    Bootnotes 3 Jan 2008, 15:03

  • Ransomware Trojan locks up infected PCs

    UK regulator probes pay-by-phone extortion

    A new strain of "Ransomware" that attempts to coerce victims into paying $35 to unlock their Windows PC, is doing the rounds. The scam uses a variety of premium rate numbers in different countries, and UK regulator PhonePayPlus is investigating the suspected misuse of a type of premium rate line normally used for sex lines in …

    Malware 3 Jan 2008, 15:08

  • World's Dumbest File Sharer loses lawyer, sells knickers

    Maritime attorney sets sail

    Things are looking up for the World's Dumbest File Sharer, Jammie Thomas, who became the first American to go to court in a P2P case in October A jury of her peers found Thomas guilty of copyright infringement and set a fine of $222,000 - but now she's been dumped by the person most responsible for leaving her in this …

    Music and Media 3 Jan 2008, 15:16

  • Debian update addresses multiple flaws

    Back from the holidays

    Debian users returning from the holidays need to update their Linux software following the release of a batch of security updates. The updates address vulnerabilities in a number of packages including inotify-tools, typo3-src, tar, libsndfile, and peercast. Most of the flaws pose only a moderate risk, but flaws in the …

    Operating Systems 3 Jan 2008, 15:21

  • What's the best way to unlock a UK iPhone?

    Q&A

    Are there any updates on unlocking a new OTB iPhone with firmware 1.1.2 in the UK? There are so many forums and commercial websites with long convoluted solutions that I'm at a lost as to what set of instructions to follow. Most involve rolling back to version 1.1.1, performing the jailbreak to use a PAYG O2 Sim, unlocking and …

    Reg Hardware 3 Jan 2008, 15:48

  • French government decides mobiles 'may not be safe'

    As Air France trials in-flight mobile use

    The French health ministry has issued a statement saying that mobile phones might not be safe, and recommending the use of a hands-free kit at all times to keep the phone away from the body. This will come as a surprise to Air France, which has just started trials of in-flight calling on one of its Airbus A318 aircraft. The …

    Mobile 3 Jan 2008, 16:15

  • Microsoft patents Wish Lists

    Just what you always wanted

    Microsoft has been granted a patent for electronic Wish Lists. The patent, 7,315,834, was filed in April 2005 and granted on New Year's Day. While world+dog have been using Wish Lists and Gift Registries online for years, the patent text concedes, they're severely limited in their present form: Most item lists are limited to …

    Applications 3 Jan 2008, 16:46

  • Emacs diet for Visual Studio?

    A whole .Net less

    The grapevine is buzzing with the news Microsoft is looking for developers with knowledge of the Emacs Lisp-based editing tool. The big question is what Doug Purdy - Microsoft's group programme manager for Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and web services guru - wants with a 30-year-old text editor that is generally …

    Software 3 Jan 2008, 16:47

  • RealPlayer users warned over unpatched vuln

    Proof of concept exploit sparks full disclosure row

    Security watchers warn that an unpatched vulnerability in RealPlayer poses a severe risk. A flaw in RealPlayer 11 build 6.0.14.748 might be used to inject hostile code onto Windows boxes running the software, security notification firm Secunia warns. Other versions of the media player software may also be vulnerable. The …

    Security 3 Jan 2008, 16:51

  • SETI@home needs You!

    Search for alien life needs more processors

    SETI@home, the distributed computing project, is calling for more volunteers willing to donate their computers' downtime to the project which scans radio telescope data for evidence of intelligent alien life. Volunteers download a small programme which acts something like a screensaver - it kicks into life when your computer …

    Space 3 Jan 2008, 16:55

  • Facebook's phony Bhutto pranks media

    Journalism 2.0

    Lazy hacks have been suckered by the miracle of Web 2.0, again. This time it's not Wikipedia, but a phoney Facebook profile created for 19-year old Bilawal Lawalib that found its way onto the journalists' clipboards - and out back onto the Web. Following the assassination of his mother, Benazir Bhutto, 19-year old Oxford …

    Music and Media 3 Jan 2008, 18:17

  • Something awful happens to somethingawful.com

    Falls off the internet

    Somethingawful.com - the best place to go for something awful - is recovering from Domain Name Server problems yesterday that left the site unaccessible for many users. Its forum included six pages of annoyed users who struggled to get onto the site. It appears the problem was caused by changes to a DNS server at Network …

    Data Networking 3 Jan 2008, 18:19

  • Macworld invites kiddies to 'Make Bouncy Bouncy'

    The 'game you can control with one hand'

    We suspect they might lead rather sheltered lives down at Macworld, where one journo is quite innocently punting to wide-eyed kiddies the simple pleasures of making "Bouncy Bouncy". We should explain that Make Bouncy Bouncy is a new offering by ByDesign Games which can, in common with SmutStar's Virtual One Night in Paris, "be …

    Bootnotes 3 Jan 2008, 18:20

  • Novell congratulates itself for snogging Microsoft

    Dowry for Linux-Windows nuptials tops $350m

    Novell wants you to know that selling its soul to Steve Ballmer was a really good idea. On the last day of 2007, two separate Novell execs tossed up blog posts congratulating themselves for agreeing to that "interoperability partnership" with Microsoft, a year-old deal intent on forcing an unholy relationship between Linux and …

    Servers 3 Jan 2008, 18:27

  • IBM chases the little people with hardware re-org

    Division of labour

    IBM is rejigging its hardware business around customer types, rather than by product, according to an internal memo obtained by the AP. In a message delivered to the troops today, division chief Bill Zeitler said the re-org will improve IBM's ability to (AP's quote) "sell technology to small and medium-sized business and to …

    Channel Register 3 Jan 2008, 20:09

  • Nigerian firm demands $20m from OLPC

    Non-profit org slapped with infringement suit

    Lagos Analysis Corporation (Lancor) is continuing its legal attack against the One Laptop Per Child foundation. Lancor is demanding $20m in damages against OLPC through the Nigerian court and has obtained a temporary injunction banning the non-profit from selling its XO laptops in the country. The Nigerian-owned, Massachusetts …

    PCs & Chips 3 Jan 2008, 20:26