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22nd January 2008 Archive

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  • Brazil bans the evil sold in EverQuest and Counter-Strike

    No, this isn't a repost from 1999

    Brazil is taking a hard line against two nearly decade-old computer games that federal officials say incite violence and harm consumer health. Since 17 January, the games Counter-Strike and Everquest have been banned from sale in Brazil. The order comes into effect following an October 2007 Brazilian federal court decision, …

    Media 22 Jan 2008, 00:28

  • Toshiba touts oddball handset that's also a modem

    Make calls and get online

    One of the wackiest handset designs to hit the market since Nokia’s 7380 has been unveiled by Toshiba: the G450. It may look odd, but it also functions as a modem. Toshiba's G450: is it a phone or a modem? It's both The dual-keypad handset measures 98 x 36 x 16mm and provides tri-band GSM/GPRS connectivity, with Edge and 3G …

    Phones 22 Jan 2008, 08:02

  • Paul Burrell pulls website amid 'hate mail' blitz

    Di's former butler 'shocked' by public anger

    The Queen of Hearts'™ former butler Paul Burrell has been forced to temporarily shut down his website following his humiliating appearance at the Lady Di inquest, the Sun reports. While the site currently offers the message "Temporarily closed, for updates and a new look... come back soon", the paper claims Burrell attracted …

    Bootnotes 22 Jan 2008, 09:54

  • 3 fails in court bid to uncover evidence of alleged collusion

    Requests not specific enough

    Mobile phone network 3 has been refused permission to force its rivals to disclose emails and documents in a process that would have cost each of them £200,000. The High Court ruled that 3's requests were not specific enough. The network is engaged in a legal battle to prove that O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone colluded to …

    Mobile 22 Jan 2008, 10:22

  • MoD coughs to laptop triple whammy

    Updated: 'We lost three unencrypted laptops, not one'

    Defence minister Des Browne has admitted that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has lost not one, but three laptops containing unencrypted information since 2005. Last week, it emerged that the MoD had lost a laptop containing the personal details of 600,000 people who had expressed an interest in joining the armed services. The …

    Government 22 Jan 2008, 10:33

  • eBay's dotcom survivor boss to quit auctioneering

    Going... going...

    Long-serving eBay sultana Meg Whitman is set to hang up her hammer within weeks, it's reported, as the web's number one tat bazaar struggles to restore trust and respond to new challengers in the online jumble racket. The 51-year-old has been gradually handing over her day-to-day responsiblities to her deputies, according to …

    Financial News 22 Jan 2008, 10:35

  • Seagate releases 250GB laptop HDD

    Playing catch-up

    Seagate is now selling 250GB laptop-friendly hard drives, including a model with integrated automatic data encryption, the company announced this week. The 250GB drive is part of Seagate's Momentus line. It spins at 5400rpm and connects to the host computer using a 3Gb/s SATA interface. They contain 8MB of cache. Seagate's …

    Hardware 22 Jan 2008, 10:58

  • Japanese to launch paper plane from ISS

    Splendidly pointless origami re-entry mission

    Researchers from the University of Tokyo have hooked up with the Japan Origami Airplane Association for what is quite possibly the most splendidly pointless space experiment of all time - the development of a paper plane capable of surviving re-entry into Earth's atmosphere after launch from the International Space Station. …

    Science 22 Jan 2008, 11:00

  • A green solution? So what?

    That don't impress me much... yet

    With vendors falling over themselves to demonstrate their green credentials, it's interesting to consider how much customers really care when they are looking to buy IT products and services. According to our recent survey on computing and the environment, the answer is "not that much" at the moment. Based on responses from …

    Servers 22 Jan 2008, 11:03

  • Latest iPhone firmware unlocked

    More jailbreaks than a spaghetti western

    The latest version of the firmware for Apple's iPhone has fallen to hackers less than a week after its release. Two hackers working separately have both succeeded in jailbreaking version 1.1.3 of the firmware, iPhone Atlas reports. One of the hacks requires hardware modification, so it's not suited for those of a nervous …

    Mobile 22 Jan 2008, 11:05

  • Couple sue over Shanghai metro snog vid

    Caught on camera, exposed on YouTube

    A rather hacked-off Chinese couple is suing the operator of the Shanghai metro after CCTV footage of them indulging in some light snogging was uploaded onto YouTube: The vid, shot in September, became an instant hit last week after popping up on the web. China Daily explains: "A mocking voice can be heard in the background …

    Bootnotes 22 Jan 2008, 11:34

  • Hackers KO Panama's National Assembly website

    US ne'er-do-wells suspected

    The website of Panama's National Assembly has been out of action since 9 January after hackers briefly posted the US flag there. According to Reuters, unnamed officials accordingly suspect the attack may have come from the US, possibly provoked by the election to the legislature's presidency last September of Pedro Miguel …

    Security 22 Jan 2008, 11:48

  • Nokia touts 'loose change' handsets

    Spare some change for a Nokia?

    Nokia believes that if you want a cheap-as-chips handset, then you’ll also want to share it with your friends. So it’s unveiled two low-cost handsets for anyone unwilling to stump up the wonga for a luxury Vertu. Nokia's 2600 Classic: Xpress-On covers and a camera Both the 2600 Classic and 1209 offer dual-band GSM/GPRS …

    Phones 22 Jan 2008, 11:57

  • Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H3 'superzoom' camera

    Review Is it a compact? Is it a DSLR? No, it's a 'superzoom'

    Some people want a camera that’s small enough to fit in a pocket, but they also want the features of a SLR. In other words, they want the impossible. Or do they? Enter the 'superzoom', which in the days of film would have been described as a 'bridge camera'. Sony's DSC-H3: bigger than a compact, but still fits in your pocket …

    Hardware 22 Jan 2008, 12:02

  • Swedes to probe cow-belch threat to planet

    Bovine methane menace

    Swedish researchers have secured $590,000 to determine just how much methane is emitted by belching cows, AP reports. While it's well known that cows pump out rather a lot of methane as a side product of digestion, 95 per cent of their gaseous output actually comes via belching. That's according to project leader Jan …

    Science 22 Jan 2008, 12:19

  • Mobile phone signals prevent sleep, claim boffins

    Updated Keeps the Sandman at bay

    If you’re wondering why you rarely get a good night’s sleep, then a group of boffins may have the answer: it’s because of your late-night mobile phone calls. A joint study by the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and Wayne State University in the US studied small groups of men and women between the ages of 18 and 45. It found …

    Phones 22 Jan 2008, 12:35

  • Star Trek XI teaser trailer beams onto web

    Enterprise: The Early Years

    A teaser trailer for much-anticipated new Star Trek film has finally found its way onto the web. Directed by JJ Abrams - the man behind Lost and more recently, the mysterious and virally marketed Cloverfield - Star Trek XI will detail the early days of James T Kirk and his crew and will chronologically sit after the TV series …

    Hardware 22 Jan 2008, 12:43

  • Love lure used to spread mobile malware

    Symbian slimeware spreads slowly

    A strain of mobile malware targeting Symbian-based phones is "actively infecting" a small number of smartphones, according to security vendor Fortinet. The worm, dubbed Beselo-A, is capable of infecting Symbian S60 devices including, but not limited to, a range of Nokia smartphones (Nokia 6600, 6630, 6680, 7610, N70, and N72 …

    Security 22 Jan 2008, 12:53

  • EU debates privacy of IP numbers

    Google says 'there's no black and white answer'

    The European Union moved closer to labelling Internet Protocol addresses as personal information yesterday at a public hearing of the Civil Liberties Committee. Peter Scharr, Germany's data protection commissioner and the man behind an EU group considering the privacy policies of major search engines, told the meeting that if …

    Law 22 Jan 2008, 13:06

  • Tiscali bandwidth throttling flub fix flops

    You fail at internet

    Tiscali's attempts to restore anything close to reasonable internet service for its customers following a botched software upgrade have failed. Reg readers are still complaining of blockages and pathetic line speeds on the budget ISP. We reported on Monday how some of the most popular internet applications including iTunes, …

    Broadband 22 Jan 2008, 13:08

  • Former top brass call for first-strike nuke option

    Nato to fight WMD with instant sun?

    A group of former senior military officials has said that Nato must be prepared to launch pre-emptive nuclear strikes to "ward off the use of weapons of mass destruction by its enemies", the Telegraph reports. The authors of the "blueprint for reforming Nato" - which was written after its authors were "briefed by senior …

    Science 22 Jan 2008, 13:09

  • IBM snubs OS/2 open source plea

    A Warped view of history

    IBM has dashed the hopes of a bunch of software nostalgics by refusing to open source its coulda, woulda, shoulda OS/2 platform. Online OS/2 community OS/2 World.com first petitioned IBM to throw open the OS back in 2005, when the firm stopped selling the product. It gained just over 11,600 signatories. It followed up last …

    Operating Systems 22 Jan 2008, 13:14

  • Man wields soldering iron, welds eight new devices into Eee PC

    Mother of all mods?

    You've got to admire Ivan Cover's soldering ability if not his ability to work out how and then cram no fewer than eight extra components into his Asus Eee PC. He also upgraded the tiny laptop's 802.11b/g Wi-Fi to 802.11n, but that's more about replacing an existing component with a new one rather than adding the functionality …

    Hardware 22 Jan 2008, 13:47

  • Israel electric car project aims to wipe out oil

    DLD08 Sell them like mobile phones, kill oil by 2020

    Israel today announced backing for Project Better Place, intended to switch motor transportation from oil to electric, and by a massive coincidence one of the project's prime movers, Shai Agassi of Better PLC, was evangelising at the DLD (Digital Life, Design) show in Munich. His objective, he says, is to "take one country off …

    Science 22 Jan 2008, 14:20

  • Spirit discovers life on Mars

    Panoramic snap reveals mystery 'figure'

    A Chinese website has reportedly posted the first sighting of Martian life in the form of a mysterious figure caught on camera by the Spirit rover: According to the Mail on Sunday, the sighting came after alien hunters spent "years" scouring NASA images for evidence of little green men before unearthing this example. In fact …

    Science 22 Jan 2008, 15:11

  • EU moves to establish gibberish as lingua franca

    Brussels docs to teach translation software

    The European Commission is seeking to make us all speak in Brusselsese by donating millions of its documents to translation software developers. The commission described the donation of its "collection of about one million sentences and their high quality translations in 22 of the 23 official EU languages" as a step further in …

    Applications 22 Jan 2008, 15:14

  • Apple colours iPod Nano pink

    One for the ladies?

    If your outfit doesn't yet match any of the colours the iPod Nano 8GB currently comes in, then maybe the player's new hue will tug your heart strings. Apple's pink iPod Nano: perfect for Valentine's Day? Yes, Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and the Nano now comes in pink. Actually, the Product(Red) charity version is …

    Hardware 22 Jan 2008, 15:36

  • Microsoft prints get-out-of-jail card for Vista Home

    Vista's virtual escape to victory

    Microsoft execs admitted today that its decision to open its Windows Vista Home Basic and Home Premium editions up to virtualisation was a "get-out-of-jail" card for the unloved platforms. Redmond appears to be placating customers who are stubbornly unwilling to upgrade to Vista by bringing virtualisation to the flagging party …

    Servers 22 Jan 2008, 15:48

  • MoD laptop losses expose government data indifference

    We don't care so they don't care

    The latest data giveaway by the UK's Ministry of Defence shows that not even the most basic IT policies are being followed. There are various ways to ensure laptops do not go astray when loaded up with sensitive information. The most basic is that such information should not be on any machine unless absolutely necessary. The …

    Government 22 Jan 2008, 16:06

  • General Electric brings blink-recognition digicams to UK

    Blink and you'll miss it

    Super-sized manufacturer General Electric (GE) today marked its launch into the UK's very crowded digicam market by unveiling seven compact models, each sporting a unique 'blink recognition' feature. GE's A735... According to GE, the cameras notice when a subject blinks in response to a flash or does so anyway. The camera …

    Hardware 22 Jan 2008, 16:17

  • Heathrow PC security probe launched

    Hacker discovers 'wide open' public access terminal

    Public access internet terminals at Heathrow airport may be vulnerable to hacking attacks. An Italian hacker stumbled on flaws that create a possible means for miscreants to load key logging software or other malware on a PC that allowed members of the public to access the internet. The same flaws create a means for the …

    Security 22 Jan 2008, 16:50

  • Software pirates put sizeable dent in UK economy

    Shiver me timbers, they're taking our jobs

    The UK is missing out on more than £1bn in lost taxes and the creation of over 13,000 new high-paying jobs over four years if we all took software piracy more seriously, according to a new report. The Business Software Alliance (BSA) claimed today in its annual "Global Software Piracy Study" – which was carried out by analyst …

    The Channel 22 Jan 2008, 17:26

  • Librarians challenge Web 2.0 youf-work myths

    Search reality check

    From BEA Systems and its soon-to-be owner Oracle, from mighty IBM to a myriad of social network and online office start-ups, vendors have been telling us how the "Google generation" and Web 2.0 will change the way we work. Many have been flogging applications and middleware products, strategies and marketing puff to back this up …

    Software 22 Jan 2008, 19:36

  • Apple cripples Sun's open source jewel

    Hollywood love inspires DTrace bomb

    It was all hookers and balloons at Sun Microsystems when the company first found out that Apple would pick up its well-regarded DTrace analysis tool for use with Mac OS X. Now, however, one of the lead DTrace developers has expressed some regrets after Apple "broke" his software in an apparent bid to protect big media and ISVs …

    Servers 22 Jan 2008, 19:54

  • EMC limps into SaaS game

    'There's a new acronym we can hitch our disk to?'

    Storage behemoth EMC clearly wants to ride the wave of successful on-demand web applications that made headway in 2007. Or at least it wants to cash on the SaaS hype. Today EMC is launching an online data protection service. You can consider this move a SaaS (software/storage as a service) toe-dipping exercise for EMC, …

    Storage 22 Jan 2008, 20:12

  • 'Highly critical' security bug bites HP Virtual Rooms

    More ActiveX insecurity

    A security researcher has uncovered a serious security bug in a Hewlett-Packard website used to host virtual meetings that could allow an attacker to remotely run malicious code on the machines of people who use the service. The vulnerability in HP Virtual Rooms resides in the ActiveX client used to install the service on …

    Security 22 Jan 2008, 20:27

  • HP to, like, totally buy Exstream Software

    In brief Will sign a few papers then hit the half pipe

    Hewlett-Packard says it plans to buy Extstream Software, a firm that makes apps to assist large businesses with creating personalized documents for customers. The software streamlines the mass production of totally radical bank account statements, gnarly government applications and wicked-rad utility bills! Financial details …

    Financial News 22 Jan 2008, 20:41

  • Major HTML update unveiled

    Media mark-up

    The first major update to HTML in 10 years - factoring in changing tastes around rich-media applications and online collaboration - has been unveiled by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The group has published the first public working draft for what it termed a "major revision" to the mark-up language. Much has changed …

    Applications 22 Jan 2008, 21:36