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28th January 2008 Archive

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  • 'Coercion' plan to force ID cards on first time drivers

    Not compulsion - sign here to end the pain...

    "Various forms of coercion" could be used to accelerate the rollout of ID cards, the idea being that ID cards will remain 'voluntary' for as long as possible, while not having an ID card will become more and more uncomfortable. This, precisely what the government has intended to do all along, is stated baldly in an Identity & …

    Government 28 Jan 2008, 07:56

  • IPS leak suggests ID card fingerprint chop

    Prints might just be needed for 'special' groups

    A key component of the UK ID card scheme, the central database of fingerprints, may be abandoned, according to a leaked Home Office document obtained by the Observer. The document doesn't suggest entirely scrapping fingerprints, but instead suggests that their value should be assessed for each group of the population enrolled …

    Government 28 Jan 2008, 07:57

  • Dell sees red over Aids

    Product (Red) that is

    Dell has jumped onto the (Product) Red bandwagon and created a range of red-tinted laptops and desktop PCs, sales of which go towards fighting Aids in Africa. Dell's XPS 1530 laptop with its sexy red shading Product (Red), which already counts Apple as a member, essentially sees high-profile electronics companies design red …

    reghardware 28 Jan 2008, 10:08

  • Amazon to take MP3 downloads international

    DRM-free service to roll out this year

    Presenting possibly the biggest threat to the dominance of iTunes so far, Amazon.com has announced it will commence an international roll-out of Amazon MP3, it's DRM-free digital music store, this year. Amazon MP3 will offer customers MP3s free from the constrains of digital rights management from all four major music labels …

    reghardware 28 Jan 2008, 10:12

  • Vote now for your top Bond movie title

    Quantum of Solace? Pah

    The recent announcement that Bond 22 will be known as Quantum of Solace raised a few eyebrows among 007 movie buffs. Reaction among our beloved readership seemed to indicate that the film's producers couldn't have done any worse if they'd hired the bloke who thought it was a good idea to call a motion picture Don't Be a Menace …

    Entertainment 28 Jan 2008, 10:18

  • Cisco punts massive Nexus 7000 switch

    'Data Center 3.0' initiative gets rolling

    Cisco is selling a new obscenely large switch, tapped as the lynchpin of its "Data Center 3.0" virtualization initiative the company has been gabbing about for months The Nexus 7000 is the biggest switch from Cisco yet, according to the company's data center senior director, Doug Gourlay. It's also tapped as the eventual heir …

    Data Networking 28 Jan 2008, 10:23

  • ABC fined $1.43m for NYPD Blue a*se flash

    Pre-watershed buttock outrage

    The Federal Communications Commission declared last Friday it would fine Disney-owned ABC network $1.43m for broadcasting a revealing episode of cop show NYPD Blue before the watershed in violation of regulations prohibiting the broadcast of obscene material between 6am and 10pm. Specifically, material is deemed indecent if it …

    Entertainment 28 Jan 2008, 10:27

  • M&S rapped for data loss

    This is not just security...

    Marks and Spencers has been told it must encrypt all company laptops containing personal information by April 2008. In May 2007 the knicker-seller admitted it had lost records relating to 26,000 staff when a laptop was nicked from a contractor's house. The laptop contained information on members of the company pension scheme …

    CIO 28 Jan 2008, 10:56

  • '100% accurate' face recognition algorithm announced

    Glasgow trick-cyclists' amazing claim

    Psychology researchers at Glasgow University say they have increased the accuracy of automated face recognition to 100 per cent. If the claims are true, this development will have far-reaching consequences for privacy and security in modern society. Mike Burton, Professor of Psychology at Glasgow, and lecturer Rob Jenkins say …

    Applications 28 Jan 2008, 11:03

  • Phoenix flies steady course in Q3

    Expects tasty growth for year ahead

    Phoenix IT Group said today that it saw a 16 per cent increase in third quarter like-for-like revenues buoyed by brisk sales. The Northampton-based managed services outfit said in an interim management statement that the Q3 period ended 31 December brought in a modest one per cent rise in orders compared to the same time in …

    Channel Register 28 Jan 2008, 11:33

  • Veteran defence hacking suspect cuffed in Greece

    Per ardua ad ASTRA

    A man suspected of using computer hacking techniques to steal corporate secrets from a French defence contractor was arrested in Greece last Friday. Police are continuing to hunt for a suspected accomplice reckoned to be living in the UK. The as-yet-unnamed 58-year-old mathematician was wanted for questioning for the theft of …

    Enterprise Security 28 Jan 2008, 11:35

  • Spy satellite to slam Earthside

    Could contain hazardous materials, just like The Andromeda Strain

    A large US spy satellite has lost power and could hit the Earth in late February or March, government officials have said. The satellite, which is now out of control, could contain hazardous materials, and it's unknown where on our planet it might come down. Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council said …

    Space 28 Jan 2008, 11:37

  • Don't expect privacy law overhaul in the wake of HMRC

    Opinion Politicos just blowing smoke

    Data protection, privacy and information law have never been so high profile as in recent months. Following the loss of 25 million people's personal details by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), there has been what seems like a tide of gaffe after slip-up, all resulting in private personal details spilling out into the public domain …

    Law 28 Jan 2008, 11:51

  • Virgin Media dishes out free bandwidth boost

    Upgrade for 'L' punters

    Virgin Media has announced plans to upgrade its mid-range "L" broadband from maximum 4Mbit/s downstream to maximum 10Mbit/s at no extra cost to customers. The upgrade will start in late February on a region-by-region basis, and will take until late summer to complete. Upstream speeds will also get a boost to 512Kbit/s, from …

    Telecoms 28 Jan 2008, 11:52

  • Germany flicks off-switch on DAB

    Struggling to be heard

    Germany will end Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) next year after a ten years experiment. Public radio stations demanded another €180m to keep it going, but the independent commission responsible for the allocation of licence fees says it is over. DAB has been under development since 1981, and Germany was the first country in …

    Networks 28 Jan 2008, 11:57

  • Asus EN8800GT/HTDP/1G 1GB graphics card

    Review Nvidia's 'G92' gets a gig to play with

    The headline feature of the Asus EN8800GT 1GB is - as the name suggests - the fact that it packs in 1GB of GDDR 3 memory instead of the 512MB that you’ll find on standard GeForce 8800 GT-based graphics cards. When we unpacked the graphics card from the usual enormous Asus box, the memory did indeed grab our attention but not …

    reghardware 28 Jan 2008, 12:02

  • T-Mobile sells more than 70,000 iPhones

    Most popular multimedia device on the network, carrier claims

    T-Mobile Germany has sold at least 70,000 iPhones, the German carrier announced this weekend. T-Mobile, part of the Deutsche Telekom group, launched the Apple handset in Germany on 9 November, and the figure reported on Saturday represents the number of customers who've signed up to its iPhone airtime package. Of course, sign …

    reghardware 28 Jan 2008, 12:02

  • Line up for full-windscreen satnav

    No need to take your eyes off the road

    Safe, simple and intuitive is the umbrella promise of a new form of satnav, which replaces the traditional PDA-sized display and matron-like voiceover with a full-size heads-up display on your windscreen. Making Virtual Solid's Virtual Cable: your route's the red line Virtual Cable has been developed by the US company …

    reghardware 28 Jan 2008, 12:08

  • Hercules beefs up outdoor iPod dock

    As hard as nails?

    Speaker docking stations for iPods are ten-a-penny. However, the i-XPS 120 Outdoor is the first that’s claimed to have Apple’s golden 'Made for iPod' certification. Hercules' i-XPS 120: rugged enough for the great outdoors? Manufactured by Hercules, the robust unit’s designed for outdoor use and is coated in shock-resistant …

    reghardware 28 Jan 2008, 12:14

  • US looks to old Herr Kohle for energy security

    Analysis Is clean coal worth slagging off?

    By now we all know the United States has no energy policy for the future. Rather, it does and it's a humiliating one: Global warming is a conspiracy by other countries trying to squelch the American dream and the right to buy elephantine SUVs. As one journalist covering autos for the Los Angeles Times put it in late December: "[ …

    Science 28 Jan 2008, 12:15

  • Tiscali executes stealth LLU migrations

    Penny-pinching or 'essential maintenance' for ex-Pipexers?

    Thousands of ex-Pipex customers have been suffering unexplained interruptions in their broadband service in recent weeks, as their new provider Tiscali stealthily works to cut costs. People suffering a broadband outage as a result of the work are told by customer services, recently outsourced overseas, that their line is …

    Telecoms 28 Jan 2008, 12:28

  • Commuter jetpacks offered: $100k, August delivery

    Mountain View rush hour goes ballistic

    Despite a lifetime of waiting we don't yet have our flying cars, our rayguns, our space holidays, nor even our robot/brainchipped-monkey butlers. However, from August - if the manufacturers are to be believed - ordinary consumers will finally be able to buy a (marginally) useful jetpack, for just $100,000. The "Thunderpack™", …

    Science 28 Jan 2008, 12:34

  • Microsoft delays SQL Server 2008 release again

    Wobbling roadmap diverted to Q3

    Redmond has scaled back its ambitious plans to get the server party started by sidelining its 2008 version of sequel server – which was originally supposed to hit manufacturing at the end of last year – to the third quarter. SQL Server 2008 had been expected to join the biggest single day of launches in the software giant's …

    Software 28 Jan 2008, 13:02

  • MoD asks UK Forces personnel to submit DNA samples

    Only if you like, in the sense that you really oughta

    The UK Ministry of Defence is "strongly encouraging" all its personnel to have their DNA recorded. This is supposed to make identification of their remains easier if they should die in a manner - a disastrous air crash, explosion, etc. - which would inhibit recognition by other means. "Although the risk of death is small for …

    Government 28 Jan 2008, 13:32

  • Honest startups versus City bastards - the CGT conundrum

    Analysis And how Alistair Darling didn't exactly solve it

    Why the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, had to propose altering capital gains tax (CGT) back in the autumn is pretty simple to explain. There was a certain amount of vociferous shouting (led by the Guardianistas, of course) that the sight of private equity barons paying less tax than their cleaners was a moral …

    Small Biz 28 Jan 2008, 13:48

  • 'Wii workout' for overweight pupils plan slammed

    Wii shall not be moved

    Any students hoping to go for a Wii during lesson time will have to hold it for now. A campaign group claims that a scheme suggested by the UK Department of Health (DoH) to introduce the console into classrooms is simply a gimmick. The DoH is backing the trial introduction of Wiis into four Worcestershire high schools, in a …

    reghardware 28 Jan 2008, 13:49

  • Woolworths stores to stop selling HD DVD

    That's it man, game over, game over

    Woolworths has thrown its high street heft behind the Blu-ray Disc format. From March, it will no longer sell HD DVDs in its shops. The change will coincide with the release of Pixar's Ratatouille, but while Woolies's shops will go Blu-ray only, the company will continue to sell HD DVDs online. This move is the a result of a …

    reghardware 28 Jan 2008, 14:22

  • Nokia spends €105m on mobile Linux developer

    Trolltech gets borged

    Finnish handset giant Nokia is buying mobile Linux developer Trolltech, in an all-cash deal valuing the company at about €105m. Nokia is offering 16 Norwegian Kroner per share - about £1.47 - for the company. Trolltech shares were are up 56 per cent today at 15.6 Norwegian Kroner. Over 66 per cent of shareholders have already …

    Mobile 28 Jan 2008, 14:28

  • Driller Killer unleashed on UK public

    Video nasties approved for DVD release

    The British Board of Film Classification has caused a bit of a rumpus by approving for general release on DVD the famed "video nasties" which were 20 years ago deemed unfit for human consumption. According to the Evening Standard, movie buffs can now legally enjoy the delights of titles including SS Experiment Camp, Driller …

    Entertainment 28 Jan 2008, 14:31

  • PayPal buys Israeli security firm

    Online payments get more secure

    PayPal is paying $170m for an Israeli security analysis company called Fraud Sciences Limited. Fraud Sciences' risk products will be used on PayPal and eBay sites. This is likely to be welcomed by many PayPal users who do not consider the company does enough to protect them against fraud. Several Fraud Sciences staff will …

    Applications 28 Jan 2008, 14:57

  • Yes! It's... er, the VoIP mouse

    Weird concept

    Every now and then a gadget comes along that makes us wonder what on Earth its purpose is, and here's the latest: a three-in-one mouse with integrated speaker and microphone. Not just a pointing device then, it's also a VoIP unit. The 3-in-1 VoIP mouse Online retailer USBfever.com doesn’t give much away about the mouse’s …

    reghardware 28 Jan 2008, 15:03

  • The internet's up sh*t creek, but at least we have aliens

    Comments No 'dwarven underlords' jokes, please

    Alien hunters trawling NASA images for evidence of life have posted what appears to be a little green humanoid in a snapshot taken by the Spirit rover on Mars. The image has since been the focus of a great deal of debate, both informed and otherwise, and you lot were full of interesting theories: It's the Virgin Mary! How long …

    Letters 28 Jan 2008, 15:03

  • UK withdraws from Gemini telescope programme

    Astronomers 'aghast' at Northern Hemisphere blackout

    The UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has decided to plug a gap in its finances by withdrawing from the Gemini telescope programme, the BBC reports. The shock move, which will leave British astronomers unable to view the Northern Hemisphere sky with Gemini's 8.1m telescopes in Hawaii and the Chilean Andes ( …

    Space 28 Jan 2008, 15:32

  • It's official! DVD plus/minus war ends in a draw

    Final whistle blown

    The battle of the recordable DVD formats - DVD+R/RW versus DVD-R/RW - is finally and officially over more than five-odd years after it began, and several years after the fight became largely symbolic. Late last week, DVD6C, the consortium of DVD intellectual property holders, said that it had added DVD+R and DVD+RW to its list …

    reghardware 28 Jan 2008, 15:46

  • Tighter controls likely after SocGen debacle

    London banks warned

    London investment banks face the likelihood of closer regulation of derivatives trading in the wake of the rogue trader debacle that cost French bank Société Générale an estimated €4.9bn ($7.2bn). Bosses at the Financial Services Authority (FSA) including chief exec Hector Sants called senior execs at London banks on Thursday …

    Law 28 Jan 2008, 15:57

  • Dallas man accidentally shoots self in head

    Dead cert Darwin Award nominee

    A Dallas man who accidently shot himself in the head while "showing off his pistol to friends" at a party last Saturday looks certain to make the 2008 Darwin Awards nominations. According to the Dallas Morning News Andreous Robinson, 20, had been partying with chums in West Dallas when he decided to pop outside at around 1am …

    Bootnotes 28 Jan 2008, 16:02

  • Is the Mac good for business?

    Q&A

    I have been using a PC all my life. I'm a businesswoman and use PowerPoint, video conferencing, Excel, Eord etc as the core media of communication. A friend has advised that I should buy a MacBook instead of another PC laptop. Would it be wise for me to switch over to the Mac as a first time user? My office is still on PC. …

    reghardware 28 Jan 2008, 16:02

  • UK.gov on Galileo: We can't stop it, just sign the cheque

    Orbital gravy train off the rails

    The British government has responded to MPs' concerns regarding the ongoing Galileo Euro sat nav programme. In the view of Her Majesty's ministers the scheme can't be stopped, so there isn't much point arguing about it. MPs on the parliamentary transport committee last year handed Galileo a slamming in their report into the …

    Space 28 Jan 2008, 16:17

  • High Court approves software patents

    Opens up playing field/can of worms

    Technology firms will be able to patent software programs following a High Court decision on Friday that could see the UK having closer ties with Europe when it comes to the handling of computer-related inventions. The Honourable Mr Justice Kitchin ruled in a case brought by five small UK businesses that the Intellectual …

    Software 28 Jan 2008, 16:36

  • Pirate Bay hits ten million peers, one million torrents

    Swedish prosecutor hopes to crash party

    The Pirate Bay thumbed its nose at the authorities again this weekend, claiming it now has more peers worldwide than there are people in its home turf of Sweden. The notorious website, a long-time thorn in the side of film and music execs throughout the globe, claimed on Saturday that it had passed ten million peers and one …

    Law 28 Jan 2008, 18:02

  • Scientology website shielded against DDoS attack

    Updated After the storm

    The Church of Scientology has restored it website to normal after a campaign of denial of service attacks prompted it to use DDoS mitigation service Prolexic. Web sites associated with the Church of Scientology were intermittently unavailable last week after an internet group calling itself Anonymous declared war on the …

    Enterprise Security 28 Jan 2008, 18:09

  • Nokia acquires Trolltech

    Dials up Linux support

    Nokia is to acquire Trolltech, makers of the popular cross-platform Qt GUI API and widget set. Qt (Cute Toolkit) is used by KDE, one of the two most widely used Linux desktops. It is also used in many cross-platform applications. The announcement states that Qt will continue to be open source: We will continue to actively …

    Mobile 28 Jan 2008, 18:52

  • FCC unveils NudeTube

    Dangles bare ass at children

    The US Federal Communications Commission has encouraged children to watch naked women on YouTube. On Friday, nearly four years after 52 American TV stations broadcast images of a woman's naked buttocks between the hours of 9pm and 10pm, the FCC suddenly decided it was time to slap these stations with a $1.43m fine. The end …

    Music and Media 28 Jan 2008, 19:30

  • The 'blem wit' error messages

    Things get terse

    When I was young I built up a collection of system error messages. Ok, look, it's not as sad as collecting stamps! It is? Really? Oh well, never mind. Anyway, my recent piece about Borland putting rude words in Quattro Pro got me thinking it was time to revisit that collection. Some of them date back to the days of the …

    Software 28 Jan 2008, 19:42

  • Dell unleashes blades of fury

    Analysis Rivals and readers perform dissection

    When Dell last week issued a new blade chassis and servers, we knew a certain amount of competitive fury would hit the internet. There's something about blade systems that makes HP, IBM, Sun and Dell particularly hostile. Perhaps that's because blades are some of the more unique and more profitable systems in the x86 market or …

    Servers 28 Jan 2008, 20:31

  • CommVault adds remote monitoring to Simpana

    Service will stay when admins are at play

    CommVault today is adding a web-based subscription backup and troubleshooting service to its Simpana software suite. The Remote Operations Management service (ROMs), as it's called, automates data center error sniffing for overnight, weekend and holiday monitoring. The ROMs database runs on a master server (which the company …

    Storage 28 Jan 2008, 21:12

  • American Jezebel solicited 'freelance' hit men on Craigslist

    Will pay for death of Butte lover's wife

    A 49-year-old Michigan woman has been arrested after she tried to hire a hit man on Craigslist. Last November, Ann Marie Linscott posted an ad to the famous classifieds site in the hopes of finding someone who would agree to kill the wife of her internet-savvy lover, The Associated Press said. Linscott's Craigslist ad said …

    Crime 28 Jan 2008, 23:42

  • U2 manager blasts telco pigopolists

    Midem Don't play the innocent with me

    There's another kind of pigopolist, U2's manager Paul McGuinness said today: the giant network operator who profits from music, but doesn't give anything back. McGuinness used a keynote slot at the world's biggest music festival in Cannes today to call for network operators to pay musicians a slice of the pie. McGuinness said …

    Music and Media 28 Jan 2008, 23:47