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25th March 2008 Archive

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  • US government cools on Real ID threats

    That's Uncle Sam in the corner

    As a showdown shapes up over federally mandated requirements for state-issued IDs, the US government is signaling it may be ready to compromise. States have until next Monday to ask that the deadline for complying with the Real ID Act be extended to 2010. The Feds have threatened that a failure to meet the deadline will result …

    Law 25 Mar 2008, 00:30

  • FCC opens curtain on Google puppetmaster

    Comment Verizon plays the puppet

    Late last week, the US Federal Communications Commission revealed that the battle for the much-discussed 700-MHz wireless spectrum played out just as The Register suspected. Verizon won the coveted C Block, but it was Google that pushed bidding past the FCC's reserve price, officially hooking an "open access requirement" to this …

    Broadband 25 Mar 2008, 00:38

  • VMware and Dell on the road to India

    Like Sulekha Yellow Pages, they're Bangalore bound

    Both Dell and VMware are heaping affection on the booming South Asia economy today. While Dell is expanding its retail partnerships in India, VMware is adding research and development funding there. Let's have a peek at how the two companies are cutting dependencies on the US economy to beat a looming recession: VMware …

    The Channel 25 Mar 2008, 00:50

  • Juniper acquires Sun's chip chief with one Yen

    Routers prepare for delays

    Sun Microsystems' long-time chip chief David Yen has left the building for an undisclosed role at Juniper Networks. Yen most recently served as the EVP in charge of Sun Microelectronics. In the past, he has been responsible for Sun's storage division, UltraSPARC-based servers and microprocessor efforts. Sun has tapped …

    Data Networking 25 Mar 2008, 02:02

  • AJAX patent threat to giants under the hammer

    IP 101 for Web 2.0

    A patent scheduled for sale next month in San Francisco could threaten some of the biggest players on the internet leading Web 2.0. Listed in Ocean Tomo's spring auction catalog as lot number seven, patent number 6,418,462: "Discloses methods allowing clients to perform tasks through a sideband communication channel, in …

    Software 25 Mar 2008, 06:02

  • UK CCTV numbers 'may be overstated'

    Police seek electronic access to council cameras

    Police forces are seeking electronic transfers of data from local authority cameras to police forces, according to Nick Garvan, assistant chief constable of Thames Valley Police. Describing such cameras as "an indispensable investigative tool", he told the Home Affairs Select Committee last week: "Any perception on the part of …

    Law 25 Mar 2008, 07:02

  • Network Solutions pulls anti-Koran website

    Breaches Ts and Cs of course

    Network Solutions has pulled the plug on a promotional website for a film made by extreme-right wing Dutch politician Geert Wilders. Wilders film is expected to very critical of Islam - last year he called for the Koran, which he compares to Mein Kampf, to be banned. Network Solutions said it had taken action because it …

    Media 25 Mar 2008, 10:00

  • Reg Jobs gets a facelift

    Nip and tuck for a fresh new employment outlook

    El Reg's jobs tentacle Reg Jobs has undergone some light cosmetic surgery to offer you, our beloved jobseeking readers, an altogether fresher employment hunting experience. We teamed up with CV Library whose tech allows you to trawl the latest vacancies from across the tech world and, if you find something you like, get your …

    Site News 25 Mar 2008, 10:27

  • Endeavour undocks and heads for home

    Touchdown tomorrow

    Space Shuttle Endeavour last night undocked from the International Space Station at the end of a 12-day stay at the outpost and in anticipation of a landing tomorrow at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The shuttle bade farewell to the station at 20:25 EDT (00:25 Tuesday GMT) at the end of mission STS-123 which saw astronauts …

    Science 25 Mar 2008, 10:33

  • LG's slider promises 'feel of human skin'

    Well, silicone...

    Skinny handsets have been around for ages. However, a phone that resembles the feel of human skin is something else altogether. LG's SH240: its silicone keypad 'feels like real skin' The SH240 is LG’s latest slider handset. The phone's party trick is that the keypad is crafted from silicone to make it feel as though the …

    Phones 25 Mar 2008, 11:08

  • US airline pilot pops a cap in cockpit

    'Accidental discharge' of terror-busting pistol

    A US airline pilot has the dubious honour of being the first person to fire a weapon issued under a federal programme designed to thwart 9/11-style hijackings after his piece accidentally went off in the cockpit during an internal flight on Saturday. According to the LA Times, the incident occurred aboard US Airways Flight …

    Law 25 Mar 2008, 11:11

  • MoD opens pork incubator in UK 'Golden Triangle'

    Incubate, unlock, harness, gorge - your taxes at work

    The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) intends to scramble aboard the new Brown gov concept of "Innovation" as soon as it can, through the medium of a new "pilot centre for defence enterprise". The Centre will be situated at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, and will hand out taxpayer pork to fund only the most …

    Government 25 Mar 2008, 11:33

  • Dear Hull, all your typos are belong to Karoo

    Something fishy about DNS hijacking

    Hull's broadband monopoly, Karoo, has joined the ranks of Verisign, Tiscali and Orange in redirecting net users' mistyped URLs to pages displaying advertising. Karoo, part of the K-Com group, is doing the hijacking in partnership with Ask.com. Instead of seeing a plain error, customers are seeing their spelling mistakes …

    Broadband 25 Mar 2008, 11:33

  • Turkey bans Facebook app

    Insults to Ataturk not welcome

    Turkey has banned access to Slide, a presentation application, for hosting offensive content. Slide is one of the most popular applications on Facebook. According to the company's blog it was accused of "harboring pictures and articles that are considered to be insulting to Ataturk". Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is the founder of …

    Government 25 Mar 2008, 11:37

  • US Wi-Fi piggybacking won't put you in pokey

    Proposed bill likely to be blown down

    A US politician who tried to make Wi-Fi piggybacking punishable with three years in jail looks set to have his proposed bill overturned. Maryland-based LeRoy Myers proposed in the bill, heard last week, that those who used others' Wi-Fi connections without permission should face up to 36 months behind bars plus a fine of up to …

    Law 25 Mar 2008, 11:53

  • Majority of NHSmail accounts are inactive

    And few employees even have one

    The secure email and directory system for England and Scotland's health services has 153,000 active accounts, less than half the 337,000 registered users The number of active users is a small fraction of the NHS employees within the two nations, which exceeds 1m. In April 2006, then director general of NHS Connecting for …

    Government 25 Mar 2008, 12:00

  • Oregon man stripped by Craigslist looters

    Fake ads provoke giveaway stampede

    An Oregon man is attempting to regain possession of his worldly goods after fake Craigslist ads provoked a stampede of looters who stripped his property of pretty much eveything that wasn't nailed down, local news channel Kgw.com reports. According to Jackson County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Colin Fagan, the fake adverts popped …

    Bootnotes 25 Mar 2008, 12:10

  • Civil Serf blogger faces disciplinary action

    Suspended pending investigation into conduct

    A senior civil servant who detailed the inner workings of Government has reportedly been suspended pending an investigation into her conduct. The author of the popular Civil Serf blog is reported to have confessed to a Government investigating team. The disciplinary action raises questions over what employers should and are …

    Law 25 Mar 2008, 12:22

  • Cuba, India vote no on OOXML

    Aligning up against Microsoft

    Cuba and India are the latest countries to vote against Microsoft’s Office Open XML (OOXML) file format being adopted by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Meanwhile Germany and the US confirmed that they won't be backing down on their call for the format to …

    The Channel 25 Mar 2008, 12:38

  • China unbans the Beeb

    English language news available for first time

    The BBC's English language news website is available in China for the first time. The Register received reports late last week that former restrictions had been lifted, but the BBC was unable to confirm the news. The blocking of BBC sites was always intermittent in China - if you had good political connections you could …

    Government 25 Mar 2008, 12:46

  • Sony rocks en route with Bluetooth car stereo

    In-car audio

    If you’re thinking of driving Route 66 this summer, then you’ll need lots of travelling music. Sony has created an in-car stereo system that boasts more connectivity than you can shake a stack of truck-stop pancakes at, lashings of maple syrup and all. The MEX-BT3600U is an in-car CD tuner at heart. However, under the hood …

    Broadband 25 Mar 2008, 12:48

  • IBM chips into EnterpriseDB love fund

    OSBC GridSQL for all

    IBM is putting some of its financial muscle behind the business trying to rival Sun Microsystems' MySQL, pushing PostgreSQL. The systems giant and a trio of VCs have pledged $10m in the latest round of funding for EnterpriseDB. That brings the start-up's total funding to $37.5m. The size of IBM's commitment has not been …

    Applications 25 Mar 2008, 13:02

  • VuPoint Solutions FS-C1-VP slide scanner

    Review Bring your old snaps out of the analogue era

    If the 1980s revival has you itching to show how cool you were 20 years ago and the only evidence is on strips of celluloid, VuPoint’s slide converter can bring your past into the present. If you’re of a certain age, photography still means F-stops, shutter speeds and a ‘click’ that isn’t just an amusing option. It also …

    Hardware 25 Mar 2008, 13:12

  • Israel won't buy US laser cannons to defend borders

    Toxic-waste 'Nautilus' raygun plan dumped again

    Israel's defence ministry has quashed a simmering debate regarding laser-cannon defences for the Israeli border, according to reports. Pinchas Buchris, a senior Israeli defence official, said yesterday that his ministry had made a firm decision not to buy American raygun technology. He had just returned from a trip to the US, …

    Government 25 Mar 2008, 13:21

  • Awed fraudsters defeated by UK's passport interviews

    No fakes detected - terrorists all move to Belgium

    Interviews for first time passport applicants have been massively successful - because, er, no fraudulent applications at all have been detected since the government introduced the system last May. In answer to a Freedom of Information request, the Home Office said last week that 38,391 interviews had been held to date, 222 …

    Government 25 Mar 2008, 13:23

  • Fujitsu fetes 'first' 320GB, 7200rpm laptop drive

    Or will a rival ship first?

    When Fujitsu puts its MHZ2 BJ 320GB laptop hard drive on sale at the end of June, it'll be a world-first, the company chirped today: the first ever 2.5in 320GB HDD that spins at 7200rpm, apparently. Easy to say that now, we'd point out, but there's still the best part of three months for a rival hard drive maker or makers to …

    Storage 25 Mar 2008, 13:33

  • WD touts 320GB 'elite' pocket hard drive

    Status warranted by encryption app and capacity readout

    An external hard drive with a "soft-touch finish" that's "easy to grip, comfortable to hold and fashionable to carry", anyone? That's what Western Digital is now offering, in the form of its WD Passport Elite. The drive will be available in two capacities: 250GB and 320GB. They have a mini USB port for data and power, but you' …

    Storage 25 Mar 2008, 13:56

  • Yes! It's the handgun camcorder!

    Point-and-shoot photography given new meaning

    The term 'point and shoot' has been used by photographers for years. However, snappers’ images were never fatal - until the invention of a compact camera-cum-handgun, that is. PistolCam: photography at its most deadly PistolCam is a camera unit that clips onto a variety of handguns. Once in place, and the deadly weapon’s …

    Hardware 25 Mar 2008, 14:08

  • Chinese drivers get rear-view satnav

    It's got audio too!

    Rear-view mirrors are usually pretty basic reflectors. However, one manufacturer's created a hi-tech version that’s incorporates satnav technology. The DS-400GB: satnav, speaker and mirror in one The touchscreen DS-400GB boasts an integrated GPS antenna and SiRFStar III GPS chip. Information about your location and journey …

    Science 25 Mar 2008, 14:15

  • Wanted: AMD Athlon upgrade advice

    Q&A

    My old Althlon XP 3200+ and GeForce 680 GT are beginning to struggle a bit - understandable, they're dinosaurs by today's standards. I want to build a new machine, mainly for gaming. But - big but - here's a list of rules: NO SLI/Crossfire and NO serious overclocking. I was thinking an E8400, 2GB DDR 2 - or DDR 3, if there's a …

    Hardware 25 Mar 2008, 14:27

  • Religious MPs get free vote on hybrid embryos

    Brown compromises following Church pressure

    An Easter of intense religious lobbying has forced Gordon Brown to allow a free vote on whether the law should be changed to allow new research on embryos and stem cells. The Catholic Church used its louder voice at this time of year to launch a co-ordinated campaign against the new fertilisation and embryology bill, …

    Government 25 Mar 2008, 14:48

  • Dell enters PAN Manager's Labyrinth

    Egenera makes a new friend

    When the server administrator elite hold their secret meetings in a dark, underground data center somewhere in the desert, they often talk about Egenera's PAN Manager software. By most accounts, the Egenera code is really quite something when it comes to managing lots of gear as a cohesive system. Michael Dell must sit in on …

    Servers 25 Mar 2008, 14:59

  • American tech spy gets 24 years in cooler

    It's a family affair

    The war against tech espionage in America continues, with a US beak sentencing 66-year-old Chinese-American Chi Mak to 24 years in jail. According to an AFP report, District Judge Cormac Carney said yesterday that his tough sentence would "provide a strong deterrent to the People's Republic of China not to send its agents here …

    Law 25 Mar 2008, 15:25

  • Vista SP1 customers get free support

    Microsoft responds to grumbles

    Microsoft has sought to appease frustrated Windows Vista customers by giving away free support to anyone struggling to install service pack one (SP1). A huge swathe of people has been frozen out of the upgrade until an unknown date in April, but some were able to manually download SP1 as of last week via the firm’s Windows …

    The Channel 25 Mar 2008, 15:34

  • BT 'security upgrade' causes email headaches

    If your domain's not down, you're not sending mail

    BT broadband customers who don't use an @btinternet.com address are being forced to jump through hoops to send email, as the national telco says it is tightening its anti-spam policies. A change in BT's rules means individuals and businesses who use a desktop SMTP program such as Outlook or Thunderbird with their own domain …

    Broadband 25 Mar 2008, 15:52

  • Wii Remote controller gets cradle

    Clear the clutter

    If the floor space around your TV and consoles is anything like ours, then it’s littered with controllers. Peripherals manufacturer Thrustmaster has created a combi cradle-cum-charger for the Wii. Thrustmaster's T-Charge One NW: handy and powerful Dubbed the T-Charge One NW, the unit allows gamers to simultaneously store …

    Games 25 Mar 2008, 16:03

  • Soot almost as bad as CO2 for global warming

    Smoke gets in eyes of climate boffins

    US scientists have said switching anti-global warming efforts to tackling the production of soot would offer a quicker return than cutting CO2 emissions. According to US scientists, enormous damage is being done by soot, which is being created by the combustion of fossil fuels and as an indirect result of deforestation, among …

    Science 25 Mar 2008, 16:30

  • IT Culture In Business Performance

    RegCast: Got plans on April 2nd? Cancel them.

    LIVE WEBCAST FROM THE REGISTER The Strategic Role of IT Culture in Business Performance Register now for free! [All fields are required] First Name Last Name Job Title Company Name Email Phone Terms & Conditions WHEN’S THIS? Wednesday, 2 April: 6pm BST (5pm GMT) WHO’S PRESENTING …

    Site News 25 Mar 2008, 16:46

  • US mistakenly sent nuke-ICBM parts to Taiwan in 2006

    They only wanted some batteries, apparently

    US officials admitted today that "nose cone assemblies" for nuclear missiles had been mistakenly sent to Taiwan in 2006, but sought to calm fears by saying that they had now "regained control" of the bits. AP quoted US Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne as saying "we're very concerned". It appears that Taiwan had actually …

    Government 25 Mar 2008, 16:47

  • Dell signs Croma to sell PCs in India

    From US gloom to Asian bloom...

    Dell will begin flogging its PCs in India through Infinity Retail’s Croma chain of stores from next month. The computer giant said today that it had inked a deal with Croma, but remained silent on financial terms of the agreement. Dell’s entry into the Indian channel is the firm’s latest move to ramp up its global brand …

    The Channel 25 Mar 2008, 17:01

  • Facebook security hole exposes Paris Hilton's . . . um, pics

    Zuckerberg's private moments on display too

    A week after Facebook executives introduced new security features to great fanfare, a glitch on the popular social networking site has exposed private pictures of Paris Hilton to anyone with an internet connection. The Associated Press, which broke the story, was able to use the same, er, hole to view Italian vacations, office …

    Security 25 Mar 2008, 17:16

  • NetApp and Halliburton: going further, faster, together

    But there can be only one

    What do the data storage firm NetApp and the internationally —er— recognized war profiteer Halliburton have in common? Oh ho ho! Last month, Network Appliance officially nick-ed its name to NetApp. It also snagged a new corporate logo and slogan in a marketing push to be more easily recognized as a brand. Turns out there's …

    Storage 25 Mar 2008, 19:28

  • Laptops and developing countries drive strong PC growth (maybe)

    Gartner reads the entrails

    With a fair wind and a favourable tide, PC shipments should rise 11 per cent to 293 million units this year (2007: 264 million units), so says Gartner. The analyst shop thinks the PC market is "fundamentally in good shape", citing strong laptop sales, more demand in poorer countries, and some significant desktop replacements in …

    The Channel 25 Mar 2008, 19:46

  • Microsoft and JasperSoft connect on Excel

    OSBC On-demand service taps power of desktop

    Excel is the focus of a technology interoperability initiative between Microsoft and open-source BI specialist JasperSoft. JasperSoft has announced ODBO Connect, which integrates its web- and GPL-based JasperAnalysis relational OLAP server with PivotTables in Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet package. JasperSoft ODBO Connect will …

    Applications 25 Mar 2008, 21:59

  • Red Hat criticizes 'lousy' open source participation

    OSBC CEO wants to define 21st century

    Red Hat has joined a growing call to stop vendor domination of community software projects, saying the industry is doing a lousy job involving enterprise users in the development of open source software. Jim Whitehurst, Red Hat's chief executive recently recruited from Delta Airlines, called on open source vendors and project …

    Operating Systems 25 Mar 2008, 22:06