12th March 2008 Archive

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Democrats refuse immunity for warrantless wiretappers

Telco showdown with Bushie

Democrats in the US House of Representatives defied President Bush on Tuesday by refusing to pass an overhauled surveillance law that shields telecommunication companies from lawsuits alleging they aided government eavesdropping without the required court order. Instead, they proposed the establishment of a bipartisan …

Broadband 12 Mar 2008, 00:33
Microscope-wielding boffins crack Tube smartcard

The keys to London Underground, and plenty more

Security researchers say they've found a way to crack the encryption used to protect a widely-used smartcard in a matter of minutes, making it possible for them to quickly and cheaply clone the cards that are used to secure office buildings and automate the collection of mass transportation fares. The attack works against the …

Security 12 Mar 2008, 05:02
Steve Jobs rescues freetards from BBC iPlayer wilderness (for now)

iPhone streams start DRM-free download party

Enterprising Linux hackers have built a new way to download BBC iPlayer programmes that lets online viewers store shows indefinitely - and it's all thanks to Steve Jobs. Last week, Auntie launched the streaming version of iPlayer for the Jesus Phone and iPod Touch. It's meant transcoding shows to the H.264 format used by Apple …

Applications 12 Mar 2008, 07:02
Mac security site littered with malware

Gamekeeper turned poacher

A Mac security site has a forum full of links to actual malware which targets Apple computers. Discussion forum posts on Macvirus.org seek to trick users into downloading the RSPlug-Gen Trojan, a type of malware capable of infecting Apple Macs. For good measure, the site also harbours posts designed to dupe prospective marks …

Security 12 Mar 2008, 09:28
Home Sec: British rings to be tightened against intrusion

The 39 Plods, by Jacqui Smith

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith yesterday announced the hiring of 39 new policemen for border-protection duties. "With this crucial police support, alongside tougher checks at our border, and the approaching roll out of ID cards for foreign nationals, there will be a triple ring of security around Britain," Smith said. According …

Policy 12 Mar 2008, 09:29
Triple play puts iPhone ahead of Android

SDK, App Store, and the Holy phone

Make no mistake, Apple's iPhone SDK is a big deal. Finally, developers can get serious about a device stealing the hearts and minds of business and consumer end users. When I last wrote about the iPhone, I suggested that because there were a sufficient number of unanswered questions about key development parameters, the iPhone …

Developer 12 Mar 2008, 09:36
Notts police seize mobile phone stun gun

'This could potentially kill someone'

Notts police are in a state of semi-shock after seizing a "potentially lethal" stun gun disguised as a Sony Ericsson W700. The weapon was recovered from two young men on 28 February in the Hyson Green area of Nottingham, according to the Nottingham Evening Post. It looks like a normal mobile phone but boasts a handy "Stun" …

Law 12 Mar 2008, 09:49
Rugby lock gets early bath for YouTube punch

Fan's vid prompts three-week ban

The Rugby Football Union has banned Bristol lock Gareth Llewellyn for three weeks after he admitted whacking Bath prop David Barnes during Bath's 19-9 defeat of Bristol on 2 March - an incident rather ill-advisedly posted on YouTube by a delighted Bristol fan: The vid was apparently spotted by Bath supporters and …

Bootnotes 12 Mar 2008, 10:03
iPod Nano electrical discharge sparks new battery fear

Japanese player goes 'fzzzt'

An original first-generation iPod Nano shot out sparks while being recharged in Japan back in January, the country's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry revealed today. The incident took place on 8 January, and was duly reported to Apple, which finally got round to letting the Ministry know about the matter on 7 March. …

reghardware 12 Mar 2008, 10:17
Thumb-ring accessory points to handset harmony?

A TAD silly?

If the condom-like iPhone Phone Finger passed you by then check out the latest phone-oriented finger-enhancing accessory, the TAD. TAD: Choose a colour, then pick a pointer Each TAD compries a silicone ring that can take one of three different plastic pointers. These can be selected according to device and function: for …

reghardware 12 Mar 2008, 10:26
iPhone emulator firmware jailbroken

Paves way for unlocked iPhone 2.0?

Apple iPhone owners worried that the release of an official software development kit (SDK) for the handset will mean an end to attempts to 'jailbreak' the device need fear not. Hackers have opened up version of the iPhone firmware that comes with the SDK. A screenshot posted by a member of the iPhone Dev Team, a band of …

reghardware 12 Mar 2008, 10:48
Boffins demo OLED-on-a-roll production process

Cheaper flat-panel TVs coming

General Electric scientists have worked out how to manufacture OLED displays on a roll, a process that they hope will one day allow panels to be punched out cheaply and cut to size like cloth. So far, GE's researchers have simply demonstrated such an approach is possible. But they believe that, with further development, the …

reghardware 12 Mar 2008, 11:17
Northamber announces £2.94m cash return

Surplus to requirements

Computer distie Northamber intends to return £2.94m, or ten pence a share, to shareholders because it is surplus to working capital requirements. The Surrey-based firm said yesterday that the proposed return of cash will be made by splitting existing ordinary shares into new ordinary shares and C shares, as well as the expected …

Channel Register 12 Mar 2008, 11:21
Critical Outlook and Excel bugs star in March Patch Tuesday

Black Tuesday updates focus on MS Office

Microsoft released four updates on Tuesday as part of its regular Patch Tuesday update cycle. The quartet of updates - all critical - concentrates on Microsoft Office and addresses 12 distinct vulnerabilities. The most pressing of these (MS08-014) covers patches for Excel against vulnerabilities that have become the focus of …

Security 12 Mar 2008, 11:38
MoD loses 11,000 ID cards

Is that good?

The Ministry of Defence has lost 11,000 military ID cards in the last two years, the government has admitted to parliament. Although this seems like a paltry loss compared to the 25m records lost by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, it is still rather a lot, particularly when you consider the armed forces amount to less than …

Government 12 Mar 2008, 11:41
John Denver classic provokes Thai karaoke gun massacre

'Take me home, country...'

A Thai rubber tapper who got rather tired of his neighbours' karaoke version of John Denver's Country Roads resolved the noise pollution problem by shooting eight of them dead, the Telegraph reports. Weenus Chumkamnerd, 52, blew away a respected female doctor and seven of her guests at a rowdy singalong in the town of Hat Yai …

Bootnotes 12 Mar 2008, 11:47
1&1 says sorry to one in ten

Another outage, another apology

Web hosting outfit 1&1 suffered another outage yesterday, but told us this time it only affected ten per cent of customers. Several Reg readers got in touch to complain they could not access their databases and that support lines were overloaded from 1.00pm yesterday. 1&1 sent us the following statement: Due to an unexpected …

Small Biz 12 Mar 2008, 11:48
American-German biometric database share deal inked

No word on US access to polizei pong-print BO bank

The United States and Germany have announced they will share access to national criminal biometrics databases. A bilateral agreement between the two nations was intialled in Berlin yesterday. "Terrorists who threaten our way of life see no barriers in borders between countries, neither should our efforts to stop them," said US …

Government 12 Mar 2008, 11:55
Palm Centro smartphone

Review Treo goes mainstream

Palm's been making its smartphones less like a clunky PDA and more like a regular, slim handset with each new model. The big step forward was the Treo 600. Now comes the latest version, this time with a new name as well as a new look. Superficially, the Centro looks like Palm's other 'new design' smartphone, the Treo 500 - …

reghardware 12 Mar 2008, 12:02
Hacking attacks can turn off heart monitors

Lock up your grannies

American researchers have proven it's possible to maliciously turn off individuals' heart monitors through a wireless hacking attack. Many thousands of people across the world have the monitors, medically known as implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs), installed to help their hearts beat regularly. ICDs treat abnormal …

Security 12 Mar 2008, 12:05
Why I downgraded from Vista to XP

More like an upgrade?

I blogged a while back on how a Vista upgrade effectively rendered my old desktop machine useless for business purposes (see Retiring Leonardo from last year). I got a lot of feedback at that time as many people out there were obviously trying to get a handle on the viability of upgrading older kit. While this debate …

CIO 12 Mar 2008, 12:10
Bill Gates goes to Washington, again

Pushes for education and immigration reform

Bill Gates is expected to testify before the US House Committee on Science and Technology later today, giving Microsoft’s view on the need for education and immigration reform. Although the committee – which will today be celebrating its 50th anniversary – has no jurisdiction over immigration, Gates will argue that the US …

Government 12 Mar 2008, 12:36
Foreign losses jack UK plastic fraud up to £535.2m

Negative cash flows

Fraud abroad has pushed up losses on UK credit and debit cards following a two year fall, according to the latest stats from UK payments association APACS. Card fraud losses last year rose 25 per cent from £427m in 2006 to reach a total of £535.2m last year, an increase mainly explained by a £90.5m rise in fraud overseas by …

Security 12 Mar 2008, 13:06
Qualcomm buys into Phorm-alike firm

Data gathering on the hoof

The ad-fatigued may groan at the news that Qualcomm has splashed out $32m on data-gathering outfit Xiam. The Irish company specialises in analysing the habits of mobile phone users in order to target advertising at them, and has customers including Orange UK. Targeted advertising is all the rage these days, but the ways in …

Mobile 12 Mar 2008, 13:14
Poland's ex-PM condemns online polling

Internet just for porn, claims Kaczynski

A former Polish prime minister has poured scorn on the idea of the country’s citizens voting online, claiming net users are too busy boozing and surfing porn. Arch conservative Jaroslaw Kaczynski was ousted from his post last year, though his twin brother, Lech, retains the presidency of the country. The brothers’ party is …

Government 12 Mar 2008, 13:16
Nyko beats Sony to PS3 rumble controller release

Zero ships ahead of DualShock 3

The impending Western release of Sony’s DualShock 3 controller has been overshadowed by accessory maker Nyko, which has unveiled a shockingly similar looking rumble controller for the PS3 just weeks before Sony’s official offering goes on sale in the US. Sony has already confirmed that the long-awaited DualShock 3 will be …

reghardware 12 Mar 2008, 13:43
Samsung kills second-gen Blu-ray, HD DVD combo player

No release for the BD-UP5500

Samsung has knocked its dual-format HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc player line on the head. In a statement, the Korean consumer electronics giant said: "In light of recent announcements, Samsung will not introduce the BD-UP5500 Duo HD Player." Recent announcements include those from major studios who'd previously backed HD DVD but …

reghardware 12 Mar 2008, 13:44
Wider London c-charge mooted as road pricing bounces back

New tag tech makes paying easier, or maybe more frequent

London Mayor Ken Livingstone is secretly planning to roll congestion charging out across London, claims the Times , citing a source "close to Mr Livingstone." Livingstone's manifesto for the upcoming mayoral election makes no mention of such a plan, but it does refer to a "new, hassle-free system for paying the congestion charge …

Policy 12 Mar 2008, 13:49
Darling talks, UK growth slows

Budget 2008 Global woes spread to Number 11

Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, forecast slower economic growth in the UK this year when he delivered his first Budget speech in the House of Commons. Darling said the turbulence in financial markets was having an impact all over the world. He said the problems, or total failure, of credit markets was a …

Government 12 Mar 2008, 13:55
KontrolFreek pimps up Xbox 360 controller thumbpads

Thumb-twitching fun

If you’re constantly crashing into barriers driving Project Gotham Racing 4 for example, then perhaps your Xbox 360’s dual thumbpads just aren't right for your particular opposable digits. KontrolFreek's FPS Freek: adds height to your Xbox 360's thumbpads Fortunately, help is at hand from peripherals specialist KontrolFreek …

reghardware 12 Mar 2008, 14:01
Chancellor props up SMBs with loans, gov work

Budget 2008 Helps the medicine go down

The UK government will temporarily increase Small Firms Loans Guarantee funds by 20 per cent in the next year to help small businesses (SMBs) that are feeling the pinch from tightening credit conditions. In his first budget speech, Chancellor Alistair Darling said in the Commons at lunchtime today that the government would also …

Small Biz 12 Mar 2008, 14:07
Northrop: battlefield rayguns to demo this year

Laser-cannon 'building block' test success

US weaponry goliath Northrop Grumman says it has achieved the "first major building block" necessary for manufacture of a 100 kilowatt solid-state laser - that is, a viable battlefield raygun. The company said yesterday that its Joint High-Powered Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) programme has "exceeded all target requirements of …

Government 12 Mar 2008, 14:24
Darling budget fails to paint Brown government green

Budget 2008 Greenpeace sees red, despite hopes for 1m envirojobs

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling outlined several green-pleasing moves in today's budget, but postponed a fuel-duty increase which had been strongly supported by environmental campaigners. Seeking to present the Brown government in as eco-friendly a light as possible, Darling said he would "ensure the UK continues …

Government 12 Mar 2008, 14:52
Beeb's DAB failfest 'costs £25 per set'

20th time lucky?

The New Year has seen another BBC TV campaign to persuade radio listeners to move to digital. This means moving to DAB, the obsolete broadcasting technology the world has snubbed, and Britain has, too. Thanks to Steve Green, we can begin to gauge the extent of this campaign. The latest salvo is the corporation's 20th effort …

Media 12 Mar 2008, 14:58
Work and pensions IT projects £315m over budget

As completion date slips from 2007 to 2011

An MP has revealed that a single Department for Work and Pensions project is responsible for £169m cost overruns. The project, which is intended to help improve customer service and deliver efficiencies, was planned for completion in March 2007. It is now scheduled to be finished in 2010 or 2011, and cost £598m rather than the …

Government 12 Mar 2008, 15:23
Afghan networks start nightly shutdown

Taliban threats turn into action

Mobile phone companies in Afghanistan have started shutting down their networks at night in response to attacks from the Taliban, who believe the masts are being used to locate their bases and guide night-time attacks. The BBC reports that ten mobile-phone masts have been attacked in the last few weeks - other reports vary, …

Mobile 12 Mar 2008, 15:27
Top security firm: Phorm is adware

Home Office advice suggests RIPA worries for webmasters

In a fresh blow to its hopes of winning consumer acceptance, a top three anti-malware firm has said it will very likely include Phorm's targeting cookies in its adware warning database. Trend Micro told The Register: "The nature of Phorm's monitoring of all user web activity is certainly of some concern, and there is a very …

Broadband 12 Mar 2008, 15:38
Devolo preps satellite TV-over-mains kit

Coax out, powerline Ethernet in

Networking specialist Devolo has come up with a new gadget that'll let you stream a satellite TV feed around your home's mains wiring to TVs and PCs in other rooms. The dLAN TV Sat sits between the link from a satellite dish and the mains. It has a built-in 200Mb/s HomePlug AV powerline Ethernet adaptor that connects to …

reghardware 12 Mar 2008, 16:07
Camera gets camcorder, MP3 player features and more

Picture the Picto

Carrying a number of devices will stretch your pockets, so manufacturers have begun incorporating devices into single gadgets. Korean firm Digix is the latest and has created the multi-function Picto DigiArt i90. Digix's i90: camera, camcorder, MP3 player and a dictaphone The i90 is mainly sports a seven-megapixel CMOS …

reghardware 12 Mar 2008, 16:12
IBM buys Encentuate to accumulate

Lands security lab on Singapore

IBM today snapped up privately-held security software firm Encentuate for an undisclosed sum. Redwood City, California-based Encentuate provides identity and access management software that simplifies the process of remembering different passwords and usernames. Encentuate products will be folded into IBM’s Tivoli software …

Security 12 Mar 2008, 16:29
Hulu says hello

Big TV muscles in on online video

Hulu, the US online video effort set up as a joint venture by NBC and News Corp, launched in full today. Hulu, which we're told means "precious" in Hawaiian, has been in private beta since October. Its development was first announced in March 2007. As well as its primary big studio backers, Warner Brothers TV and film studio …

Media 12 Mar 2008, 17:22
Apple fans roast Apple fans

Fix for overheating MacBook Airs

Apple has issued a software update for the MacBook Air, following reports of overheating. The update, released on Monday, "fine tunes the speed and operation of the internal fan" in the MacBook Air models. This should enable the fan to correctly regulate the temperature and stop the notebook locking up. Released in January, …

Hardware 12 Mar 2008, 17:37
Unpatched RealPlayer bug paves way for drive-by downloads

ActiveX-ploit

An unpatched bug in RealPlayer leaves the media player open to drive-by-download attacks, which hackers use to trick prospective marks into visiting maliciously constructed websites. The vulnerability stems from coding errors in a RealPlayer ActiveX control (rmoc3260.dll), which enables content to be played within a user's …

Security 12 Mar 2008, 17:59
Microsoft buys virtualization tot for help with Vista

Get inoculated with a Kidaro injection

Microsoft has tapped into its vast cash reserves and found some coin to drop on Kidaro - a young desktop virtualization software maker. Kidaro first revealed itself to the world in late 2006, talking up a "virtual workspace for enterprise desktop computing." Like so many start-ups, Kidaro's website suffers from a condition …

Virtualization 12 Mar 2008, 18:01
Nine Inch Nails slam Radiohead's 'bait and switch'

Industrial quality

Trent Reznor has taken a swipe at English whingers Radiohead for using the internet as a cynical marketing stunt. Like Radiohead, Reznor has released a digital version of his new album first, following it up with a physical release. Like Radiohead too, you can legally download the music for free. And it's brought Reznor …

Media 12 Mar 2008, 19:21
HP punches reseller for lying over customers

Discounting the truth

HP has administered a public thrashing to a computer dealer for lying over where the vendor's kit was going to gain bigger reseller discounts. The errant company is called Maxicom PC Inc - no we hadn't heard of them either - and HP wants it to return $4m in pricing discounts for "computer equipment that Maxicom PC had received …

Channel Register 12 Mar 2008, 21:02
Skype blames eBay for killing 'our innovation buzz'

eComm 'But now we rumble'

Skype has admitted that eBay put a cramp in its style. But it also wants you to know that those days are over. Today at eComm2008, a Silicon Valley geek gathering dedicated to "emerging communications," one geek made the point that Skype hasn't exactly set the world on fire since it was swallowed by eBay back in the fall of …

Broadband 12 Mar 2008, 21:04
Wikileaks exposes Scientology's zeal to 'clean up rotten spots of society'

A billion-year commitment

Talk about commitment. A former Church of Scientology investigator was required to contract himself to a group linked with the organization for one billion years, according to documents recently posted to whistleblower website Wikileaks. Of course, the employee was completely lucid when he made the promise to the CoS-related …

Media 12 Mar 2008, 21:22
Back to batch with Java

QCon 2008 Putting a spring in your mainframe's step

SpringSource has talked up some early user experiences with its Spring Batch framework ahead of next week's launch. Dave Syer, one of Spring Batch's lead committers, said around 40 organizations are working with Spring's Java-based framework, which aims to replace aging mainframe batch applications written in Cobol. It works …

Software 12 Mar 2008, 22:10
New NetApp logo already used by lubricating genie shop

'Our generic N is storage safe'

Workers at Novatio stores throughout Holland may have been perplexed this week, as flocks of heavyset punters wandered inside to inquire about the latest in NAS boxes. Little did the automotive supply company realize that across the ocean NetApp was busy reinventing itself with an all-too-familiar logo as its new crowning …

Bootnotes 12 Mar 2008, 22:12
Desktop Support: The Hub of IT

Webcast Attack your desktop support woes

Desktop Support. There it is. We said it. In December we surveyed Reg readers about desktop IT support, and we made a webcast to discuss the results. It's here and it's free (reg req'd). So what's it all about? In the grand scheme of things, the old - and we mean old - desktop support processes often face neglect. Your …

Site News 12 Mar 2008, 23:00
Twittercide results in banality bloodbath

eComm Witness: 'Ideas helpless against short attention spans'

Earlier this week, the Twitter sickness made a mockery of one tech conference. And now it's made a mockery of another. Today, at eComm2008 in Mountain View, the communications elite couldn't stop talking about Twitter - otherwise known as Web 2.0rhea. Those who couldn't stop talking about Twitter included Twitter lead …

Applications 12 Mar 2008, 23:25