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9th January 2008 Archive

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  • Xbox 360 could back Blu-ray

    CES Microsoft covers its high-definition derrière

    The format wars have taken another turn this afternoon as Microsoft announced its Xbox 360 console might feature Blu-ray in the near future. Albert Penello, group marketing manager for Xbox hardware said the console still supports HD DVD, but would gain a Blu-ray add-on if HD DVD fails as a next-generation format. "It should …

    Games 9 Jan 2008, 01:51

  • Covenant energy sword added to Halo 3 replica arsenal

    CES If we could get the Chief's MA5K carbine too...

    If you've already got the Xbox 360 special edition console and Lego-like Master Chief figures, but you still feel like you hadn't quite satisfied your Halo habit, you need a Covenant plasma pistol, rifle... or energy sword. Covenant energy sword: slice through your enemies with ease The plasma pistol and rifle have actually …

    Games 9 Jan 2008, 01:56

  • LG lifts skirt, reveals watchphone

    CES But don't tell anyone...

    The wristphone is back, this time courtesy of LG. But while the manufacturer showed off its idea of what such a gadget should look like, there's no guarantee it'll ever come to market. LG's watchphone: off the wrist Locked away behind glass and protected by a pair of minders, six watchphones were on display at the Consumer …

    Hardware 9 Jan 2008, 04:44

  • Excuse me sir: there's a rootkit in your master boot record

    Undetected by most AV apps

    Security mavens have uncovered a new class of attacks that attach malware to the bowels of a hard drive, making it extremely hard to detect and even harder to remove. The rootkit modifies a PC's master boot record (MBR), which is the first sector of a storage device and is used to help a PC locate an operating system to boot …

    Security 9 Jan 2008, 05:34

  • Dengue fever threatens continental US

    West Nile virus - the sequel

    US health officials have warned that the global warming and inadequate control of mosquito populations could see dengue fever spread from the tropics to the continental US, Reuters reports. According to Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and his senior scientific adviser, …

    Science 9 Jan 2008, 09:04

  • Six firms cough for unlicensed software

    BSA hands out the fines

    Three US financial services firms have paid large fines for using unlicensed software in their offices. IBG LLC of Chicago, Illinois was caught with dodgy copies of Symantec and Microsoft software and agreed to pay $175,000. American Mortgage Consultants, Inc., based in Liberty, Illinois, paid $136,750 to settle claims that it …

    Software 9 Jan 2008, 09:06

  • Fluorescent sow drops glow-in-the-dark piglets

    China hails transgenic porker breakthrough

    One of the three transgenic "glow-in the dark" pigs born back in 2006 in China's Northeast Agricultural University in Harbin has given birth to fluorescent piglets, indicating the "technology to breed transgenic pigs via cell nuclear transfer is mature", according to professor Liu Zhonghua. The original trio of transgenic …

    Science 9 Jan 2008, 09:08

  • Reaper airborne war-droids to patrol 2012 Olympics

    Now we could all be Olympic torches

    The RAF will use its new force of MQ-9 "Reaper" robo-planes to patrol the skies above the London Olympics in 2012, according to reports. The Herald of Scotland reports today that the five-tonne unmanned drones will fly above the capital providing surveillance as part of the enormous security effort planned for the Games. The …

    Science 9 Jan 2008, 10:50

  • Noxon 2 and iPod Touch trouble

    Q&A

    I recently purchased a TerraTec Noxon 2 internet radio and iPod dock but seem to be having problems in playing music from my iPod Touch - reviewed here. The Touch registers on the Noxon - reviewed here - but only goes as far as '90's hits playlist and then just shows that this section is empty. Any ideas on what I may be …

    Hardware 9 Jan 2008, 11:02

  • Google turns Irish town 3D

    Whatever next?

    It is said that certain events put your town on the map, but one Irish town is taking things even further. It’s set to be immortalised in 3D on the Google Earth mapping application. Westport's location, as shown by Google Maps The town council of Westport in West Ireland worked with digital computer modelling company AMT3D …

    Applications 9 Jan 2008, 11:02

  • Ion readies USB-connected VHS player

    CES Rip your old tapes

    Ion, the company behind those USB turntables much loved by those of us old enough to not only know what vinyl is but to have invested in an LP collection, is hoping to win over folk with home movies and films recorded on VHS. Ion's VCR 2 PC: transfer your old tapes The VCR 2 PC may look like an early Amstrad video recorder …

    Hardware 9 Jan 2008, 11:02

  • Lord Triesman on P2P, pop-ups and the Klaxons

    Interview The Great Copyright Debate

    Convincing internet users who are used to gorging themselves on free movies and music that they shouldn't do it may be like telling Pope Urban VIII the Earth goes round the Sun, but the government claims it's possible - by rejigging the copyright laws. The Reg grabbed 20 minutes with the minister tasked with this religious …

    Law 9 Jan 2008, 11:15

  • Digital cert glitch trips up UK passport site

    Secondary IPS site in shared credentials snafu

    Digital certificate glitches have affected the operation of a secondary website used for UK passport applications. Reg reader Marc discovered the anomaly when he needed to renew his passport and did a quick Google search. The search turned up a link at Direct.gov.uk. Clicking on this link to begin the application process opens …

    Policy 9 Jan 2008, 11:28

  • Apple cuts UK iTunes prices

    Heads off EC investigation

    The European Commission has ended its antitrust investigation into Apple after the computing giant agreed to cut the price UK consumers pay to download music for their iPods. Apple said it would cut UK prices to bring them into line with the rest of Europe. But it warned record labels: Apple currently must pay some record …

    Media 9 Jan 2008, 11:33

  • Computacenter shrugs off economic fears

    But dealer's shares follow market down

    Computacenter today shrugged off any suggestion that it could be hit by the credit crunch crisis, even as evidence mounted that the contagion is spreading from the financial sector to the High Street. The City this morning appeared to disagree with Computacenter's stance, with its shares falling by nearly three per cent …

    The Channel 9 Jan 2008, 11:45

  • NY corpse attempts to cash welfare cheque

    Two cuffed for wheeling dead pal to Pay-O-Matic

    Two men were arrested yesterday in New York's Hell's Kitchen district after failing to convince staff at a "check-cashing store" to honour the welfare cheque of a deceased friend, the New York Times reports. Virgilio Cintron, 66, recently popped his clogs at his apartment at 436 West 52nd Street. His roommate James P. O’Hare …

    Bootnotes 9 Jan 2008, 11:46

  • Blackberry Pearl 8120 smartphone

    Unwired Video Review Now with Wi-Fi and other refinements

    Everyone knows that the Blackberry is de rigeuer for corporate types, but now RIM is making a real push to get the mobile email devices into the hands of consumers too. The Pearl 8120 builds on the original slimline Pearl and adds some cool new features - like Wi-Fi and a better camera. Can't see the video? You'll need Flash …

    Phones 9 Jan 2008, 12:02

  • Email security: Where are we @?

    Reg Guide It's trouble, but we love it anyway

    Email is no longer an option in the business environment. Like many technologies that have grown by individual demand rather than organisational imposition, email crept up on corporations by stealth, becoming an essential tool before anyone cared to notice. Which is a shame, because it's pretty rubbish really - in security …

    Security 9 Jan 2008, 12:15

  • RSA loses sales and security jobs in EMC restructuring

    Corporate indigestion

    RSA Security is to scrap staff as part of a restructuring plan aimed at boosting efficiency across parent firm EMC. The redundancies affect security researchers as well as sales and support staff across each of RSA's business units, according to reports. The layoffs are part of an ongoing restructuring process across EMC that …

    Security 9 Jan 2008, 12:25

  • UK gov scraps '£1bn' prisoner tracking system

    Strategic review orders strategic retreat

    David Hanson, minister of state at the Ministry of Justice, told the Commons yesterday that the over-budget project to link prison and probation IT systems is being canned. C-NOMIS aimed to provide one system for tracking offenders whether they were in prison or out on probation. The National Offender Management Service (NOMIS …

    Policy 9 Jan 2008, 12:55

  • Amiga explains AmigaOS 5 AmigaAnywhere

    CES on Video Bill McEwen's elevator pitch

    It's the next generation of the Amiga operating system - company President Bill McEwen reveals what it's all about... Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com CES on Video WowWee wheels in Tribot DisplayLink demos multi-monitor USB dongle Guitar Hero gets true air axe WowWee demos FemiSapien robotrix …

    Operating Systems 9 Jan 2008, 13:02

  • Sysadmin jailed for 30 months over failed logic bomb

    Tick, tick, tick, tick... oh

    A former sysadmin at Medco Health Solutions, a US prescription management and health information firm, has been jailed for 30 months over a failed attempt to destroy its systems using a "logic bomb" computer virus. Yung-Hsun Lin, 51, of Montville, New Jersey, was sentenced this week after earlier pleading guilty to booby- …

    Security 9 Jan 2008, 13:24

  • Parents to get classroom spynet in 2010

    Schools minister sets all-seeing-eye targets

    Every parent of a secondary school pupil will have online access to real-time data on their child's behaviour by 2010 under new targets set today by schools minister Jim Knight. The government wants all schools to provide secure access to information on "behavioural events" as they happen, in the belief that parents feel shut …

    Policy 9 Jan 2008, 13:33

  • Qualcomm quietly buys up Bluetooth experts

    While everyone distracted by patent spats

    C-Net is reporting that last December Qualcomm quietly bought up audio-streaming specialists Open Internet North America, though neither company has made a formal announcement about the purchase. The deal would make sense for Qualcomm, who have big ideas for the mobile phone as a home-media server which will need high-quality …

    Phones 9 Jan 2008, 13:52

  • LG laptop goes up in flames

    Journalist on the scene in less than seconds

    A journalist was awoken by a hot news story yesterday: the realisation that his LG Electronics laptop had just exploded. The so-far anonymous journalist had apparently put the laptop into sleep mode. Unfortunately, the device was not ready for bye-bye and instead blew itself sky high, belching smoke and flames. The specific …

    Hardware 9 Jan 2008, 14:03

  • A Bluetooth headset just for women

    It's not for girls - oh wait, yes it is.

    Sony Ericsson hopes to draw the ladies in with its latest gadget: a Bluetooth headset designed with a lady's needs in mind. Sony Ericsson HBH-PV712: a design just for women The HBH-PV712 Style Edition headset features several ‘innovations’ that supposedly make it suitable for and appealing to women. For example, it’s …

    Hardware 9 Jan 2008, 14:04

  • Is it or isn't it? Brown keeps bottling the ID card question

    Straight answers not compulsory either

    For the third time in four days, Gordon Brown has sown doubts about the future of compulsory ID cards for UK citizens. Speaking at prime minister's question time today, Brown confirmed that it was "policy" for ID cards to become compulsory, but added the rider that this was subject to a vote in parliament. As indeed is the …

    Government 9 Jan 2008, 14:21

  • Alienware heads off on a curve with gaming screen design

    CES on Video PC maker makes its pitch

    It's curved an it has got an enormous resolution. Yes, it's Alienware's monster monitor, and here's what all the fuss is about... Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com CES on Video WowWee wheels in Tribot DisplayLink demos multi-monitor USB dongle Guitar Hero gets true air axe WowWee demos FemiSapien …

    Hardware 9 Jan 2008, 15:02

  • GM sees future: Cars and drivers full of booze

    Autopilot alcomobiles for drunk drivers

    US motor heavyweight GM is determinedly presenting itself as a technological innovator ready to break with its old-school, big iron image. The car colossus' CEO, Rick Wagoner, has been giving speeches and briefings in recent days boosting his firm's efforts in development of new, greener prime movers and radical electronics. …

    Science 9 Jan 2008, 15:11

  • IT contractors cry foul over HMRC income splitting law

    'Stop crippling us, we're not tax dodgers'

    IT contractors are up in arms about government legalisation that will overhaul income splitting arrangements among individuals following a landmark case that Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) lost. In July last year, Arctic Systems beat the taxman which had pursued the small, family-run IT services firm for what it …

    Small Biz 9 Jan 2008, 15:15

  • T-Mobile bundles Wi-Fi with Web 'n Walk

    Don't be using Voip though

    T-Mobile customers signing up to Web 'n Walk Plus (or Max) will get free access to the operator's 39,000 hot spots from January. So for £12.50 a month users can get 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, and be allowed to use instant messaging too... Web 'n Walk is already one of the more attractive options for users wanting mobile …

    VoIP 9 Jan 2008, 15:19

  • SoBig anniversary marks birth of the botnet

    Five by five

    Wednesday (9 January) marks the fifth anniversary of the SoBig-A virus, an item of malware experts reckon marked the transition to money rather than mischief as the main drive behind malware creation. While it wasn't until August 2003 that a variant of the malware (SoBig-F) caused disruption on a massive scale, the first …

    Security 9 Jan 2008, 15:27

  • Ofcom's radio carve-up could cut out mesh

    Consultation doc hits doormats

    Ofcom has published the first of its consultation documents looking at how Spectrum Usage Rights (SURs) are going to work in the real world, and the future looks bad for mesh networks with their lack of centralised control. The document is a follow-up to the Ofcom statement on SURs, published last December, and represents a …

    Data Networking 9 Jan 2008, 15:34

  • Toshiba raises colours in portable storage battle

    320GB 2.5in HDD

    Toshiba has added a touch of style to its portable hard drives, whilst also breaking a record. It claims to be the first manufacturer to launch a 320GB 2.5in form factor portable HDD. The drive expands Toshiba’s existing range of portable 2.5in storage units, upping the range’s largest capacity from 250GB to 320GB. Each unit …

    Hardware 9 Jan 2008, 15:48

  • Wii Fit sells 1m copies in Japan

    The virtual flab fighter

    Traditional exercise is officially dead, at least in Japan. Nintendo’s Wii Fit video game has already sold one million copies to Japanese customers hungry for some virtual physical activity. Wii Fit: The Balance Board The game was only released in the region at the beginning of December and the Nintendo sales figure could …

    Games 9 Jan 2008, 15:51

  • Cash-strapped NHS seeks Project Manager

    Modest salary for Leeds IT gig

    The "Essential & Specialist IT Skills Service Co-ordinators" among you will be delighted to learn that, if you're feeling charitable, NHS Connecting for Health is offering a seven-month gig up in sunny Leeds: Yup, things really are that bad in the UK's creaking health service. Expect further requests for brain surgeons ( …

    Bootnotes 9 Jan 2008, 16:00

  • Lenovo waves around ultra-light sub-laptop

    CES on Video Pitching the IdeaPad

    Lenovo has big things planned for it's consumer-friendly little laptop, the IdeaPad U110... Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com CES on Video WowWee wheels in Tribot DisplayLink demos multi-monitor USB dongle Guitar Hero gets true air axe WowWee demos FemiSapien robotrix Eye-Fi pitches camera- …

    Hardware 9 Jan 2008, 16:02

  • LG shows gadget based on next-gen Intel UMPC chip

    CES 45nm 'Silverthorne' not even out yet

    LG has craftily shown off an ultra-mobile PC based on Intel's as-yet-unlaunched '45nm Silverthorne' processor at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The UMPC is based around a 4.8in, WVGA touch-sensitive display, but as you can see it also has a slide-down Qwerty keyboard. The rectangular space at the top-right of the …

    Hardware 9 Jan 2008, 16:51

  • Panasonic unveils web-enabled Plasma TVs

    CES Telly-based surfing

    Panasonic claims to have created the industry’s first internet-enabled plasma TVs, part of its Viera range of displays. The PZ850 includes 46in, 50in, 58in and 65in models, each providing direct access to the internet. Panasonic said that the introduction of IPTV gives telly-lovers access to an endless stream of internet …

    Hardware 9 Jan 2008, 17:06

  • Revealed: USB 3.0 jacks and sockets

    CES Next incarnation of the bus standard makes an appearance

    USB 3.0, the upcoming version of the universal add-on standard re-engineered for the HD era, made a small appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). It wasn't demonstrated in operation, but we did get to see what the new connectors look like. Not, alas, the optical one, we have to report, but the electrical connectors …

    Hardware 9 Jan 2008, 18:37

  • Fully patched PCs are a rare breed

    Security: We've heard of it

    A small minority of users - as few as one in 20 - is running fully-patched Windows PCs. Just five per cent of newly-registered users of an online security inspection service Secunia came out with a clean bill of health, while more than 40 per cent have at least 11 insecure applications installed. The data is based on scans of …

    Security 9 Jan 2008, 19:08

  • Sadville bans usury

    Virtual money-lenders must go

    Is nothing sacred? The global financial crisis has encroached on that escapist Garden of the Id, Second Life. Linden Labs is to ban virtual banks from the virtual playground, the operator said in a statement yesterday. The problem is that the virtual money-lenders operate rather too much like their real world counterparts. " …

    Media 9 Jan 2008, 19:22

  • Feds to probe Comcast's BitTorrent busting

    What is "reasonable network management"?

    At long last, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will investigate claims that Comcast has put a choke hold on P2P file-sharing traffic. Speaking yesterday at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), FCC chairman Kevin Martin finally acknowledged four-month-old press reports questioning the American ISP's …

    Broadband 9 Jan 2008, 19:36

  • SWsoft strokes Apple with Parallels Server beta

    Into the hypervisor fray

    SWsoft has issued the sort of anticipated beta release of a hypervisor-style server virtualization product - Parallels Server. We say sort of anticipated because it's not at all clear how SWsoft's latest play will be received by the market. To date, the company has focused on selling server virtualization software (Virtuozzo) …

    Virtualization 9 Jan 2008, 20:21

  • Build a Silverlight media player

    Hands on Going for gold

    Microsoft's deal with US media giant NBC Universal to stream this summer's Olympic Games online using Silverlight represents a major demonstration of the potential of Microsoft's emerging browser-based runtime and streaming service. In keeping with the news, and following on from my earlier introduction to Silverlight, I …

    Applications 9 Jan 2008, 20:32

  • Xbox Live account takeovers put users at risk

    Celebrity gamer wants his virtual armor back

    Hackers have hijacked the Xbox Live account of a celebrity gamer and made off with a prized piece of virtual armor in a brazen act that suggests the online Microsoft service still puts the security of its users at risk. Colin Fogle gained widespread acclaim in gaming circles after posting a video showing how it was possible …

    Security 9 Jan 2008, 20:44

  • Aruba Networks takes to AirWave for $37m

    Will use white flag of neutrality to shoot at Cisco

    Wireless switch specialist Aruba Networks is buying AirWave Wireless, a multi-vendor WLAN management firm, for $37m. AirWave software manages different types of wireless networks built with equipment from a variety of manufacturers including Aruba, Cisco, Motorola, HP, Avaya, 3Com, Juniper and several others. The software also …

    Data Networking 9 Jan 2008, 22:19

  • Google's Android - big name, big question on payment

    Inside the mobile matrix, part 2

    If you're a Trekkie it may have already occurred to you that Google is a little like the Borg. The company, it seems, is determined to assimilate all information-, advertising- and search-based services in its path. And now, mobile has fallen under the company’s rapacious gaze. In the second part of my three-part overview …

    Mobile 9 Jan 2008, 23:09

  • UK spooks deliberately leaked 'Squidgygate' tapes

    So says Diana's bodyguard

    The infamous "Squidgygate" tapes of Princess Diana speaking intimately with an alleged lover were recorded by the Government Communications Headquarters and deliberately leaked over the public airwaves, her former bodyguard told an inquest panel looking into her death. The UK spy agency regularly bugged and taped Diana and …

    Security 9 Jan 2008, 23:16

  • Microsoft set to milk mobile Messenger mavens?

    'We don't want your money now. But we might sometime soon'

    Mobile Windows Live Messenger users are reporting that Microsoft wants to take their money. But Redmond says it hasn't decided whether to take their money or not. Microsoft-loving mobile types at MoDaCo - an online forum dedicated to smartphone and PocketPC news - claim that their mobile Messenger clients have been invaded by …

    Applications 9 Jan 2008, 23:46