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8th May 2008 Archive

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  • Inventor of first practical transistor dead at 91

    Obituary Bell Labs tolls for thee

    Morgan Sparks, inventor of the first "practical" transistor and one of the reasons your cell phone doesn't use vacuum tubes, died this week at the age of 91. He received clearance to that great national laboratory in the sky this Sunday at his daughter's home in California. Sparks worked for 30 years at Bell Laboratories, …

    PCs & Chips 8 May 2008, 00:43

  • Peekaboo pledges pole-dance kit for Wii

    Will do for pole-dancing what Guitar Hero did for rock'n'roll

    The Wii’s all-white, but it’s hardly a raunchy unit. So, if you’ve been looking for ways to sex-up your console, then how about a private pole dance? US manufacturer Peekaboo, which already sells a pole-dancing kit endorsed by Carmen Electra, is currently inking plans to teach millions of gamers how to pole dance in their …

    reghardware 8 May 2008, 07:02

  • Bournemouth floats UK's first 100Mbps sewer broadband network

    Insert fibre/ Wii/ pipe/ download / backdoor/ flush/ log pun here

    Bournemouth will be the UK's first town to benefit from a town-wide fibre network, with 100Mbit/s access available to businesses and consumers, via the sewer system. H2O Networks, a start-up we wrote about earlier this year, will lay cable to more than 88,000 homes at a cost of about £30m. The firm is funded by venture …

    Telecoms 8 May 2008, 08:02

  • BestBuy blasts into UK with Carphone Warehouse buy

    Phone chain sells 50 per cent of retail business

    Carphone Warehouse is selling a 50 per cent stake in its mobile phone retail business to US electronics retailer BestBuy, setting the stage for a heavyweight fight in the UK's retail electronics market. The deal will bring CPW £1.1bn in cash, enough to sort out its debt problems and could leave enough in the till to buy …

    Channel Register 8 May 2008, 09:01

  • Isabella Rossellini romps with praying mantis

    NSFW Bizarre 'Green Porno' trailers hit YouTube

    We're not quite sure what to make of this one, but Isabella Rossellini is currently wowing the crowds down at YouTube with a couple of trailers for a series of "Green Porno" shorts - no-holds-barred insights into the wonderful world of invertebrate rumpy-pumpy: As the Evening Standard notes, the full-fat films are …

    Entertainment 8 May 2008, 09:03

  • Rare SCADA bug poses power plant risk

    Wonderware scare

    Security watchers warn of a rare vulnerability involving software used to control industrial systems. A denial of service vulnerability in monitoring software from Invensys poses a severe risk to the factories and utilities running its Wonderware subsidiary's InTouch SuiteLink application. Windows versions of the package use a …

    Enterprise Security 8 May 2008, 09:04

  • Lithuanians whip out their WILI-S

    Cheap innuendo heads for Wireless '08

    Aficionados of cheap schoolboy innuendo are directed to Wireless '08 (London's Olympia, 21-22 May), where a group of keen Lithuanians will be whipping out their WILI-S. Yes indeed, there should be plenty of action down at the Wilibox stand, as the Baltic company flashes its WILIGEAR product line and demonstrates for the …

    Bootnotes 8 May 2008, 09:16

  • Blighty to become old-time Inundation Nation

    Floods are the new terrorism, says expert

    A top boffin has warned that Blighty may be headed into a "monsoon" period, possibly a decade or more in duration, in which we can expect much more flooding than has been the norm for the past generation or so. Interestingly, Professor Stuart Lane doesn't ascribe his predicted watery onslaught to climate change. He says the UK …

    Environment 8 May 2008, 09:18

  • TomTom plots UK flagship satnav range

    Mirror, signal, satnav

    TomTom has launched a flagship satnav range in the UK, helping British drivers switch lanes without carving up the motorway. The Go x30 range holds five models, ranging from the cheapest, the Go 530, to the all-singing, all-dancing Go 930. They all replace the existing Go x20 range. TomTom’s five devices all feature a lane- …

    reghardware 8 May 2008, 09:23

  • Samsung slips out skinny phone

    Pocket friendly

    If being thin is all that’s important to you, you’ll love the positively anorexic Samsung i200 - claimed by the Korean giant to be the world’s skinniest mobile phone yet. Samsung's i20: just 11.8mm front to back The talker measures just 11.8mm from front to back, meaning it probably won’t even make a bulge in the pocket of …

    reghardware 8 May 2008, 09:31

  • Nvidia paid the right amount for 3dfx, court affirms

    Long-dead GPU brand exhumed, swiftly re-interred

    Here's a blast from the past: graphics card maker 3dfx. The long defunct brandname - once the acme of computer graphics - briefly rose from the dead this month when erstwhile shareholders' failed to get $100m out of Nvidia. Nvidia, long-term Register readers may recall, acquired its one-time arch-rival seven years ago after a …

    reghardware 8 May 2008, 09:54

  • Philips hops on 'iPhone killer' bandwagon

    A sexy little number

    Pictures have been leaked out of the latest handset hoping to steal some of the iPhone’s limelight, and this time the talker’s from Philips. Philips' Xenium X800: thought to support Wi-Fi and Edge Image courtesy CCID Reportedly called the Xenium X800, the sexy handset sports a large touchscreen, possibly measuring 3in or …

    reghardware 8 May 2008, 10:15

  • I want a baby, coos broody Paris Hilton

    Bless

    El Reg's fave hotel heiress "One night in" Paris Hilton has touchingly expressed her desire to get up the duff asap and drop a sprog within the next year, according to the Sun. The prospective father is at present rocker Benji Madden, who the highly-talented celeb has been dating since February. Hilton said: "I have a lot of …

    Entertainment 8 May 2008, 10:31

  • Home Secretary goes crazy on drugs... policy

    Comment Cannabis abuse prompts irrational legislating

    As an example of the brain-gobbling stupidity that affects those who dabble with drugs, you really cannot beat Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's announcement that cannabis is going to be upgraded again, from a Class C drug to a Class B one. This is the sort of drivelling idiocy more normally associated with decades on peyote rather …

    Law 8 May 2008, 10:33

  • Murdoch sees MySpace miss targets

    Something about chickens and roosting

    MySpace has missed its financial targets, showing that social networking is struggling to earn its keep - even as part of Rupert Murdoch's globe-spanning media empire. News Corp said yesterday that the site will fall short of its annual revenue target of $1bn by 10 per cent. Third quarter revenues actually fell to $210m from $ …

    Financial News 8 May 2008, 10:34

  • Sage sees flat US market

    But Europe helps boost first half

    Sage Group today reported a nine per cent rise in its first half pre-tax profit, boosted by a solid performance in Europe and the UK. The business management software firm posted pre-tax profit for the six months ended 31 March of £122.6m – up from £108.6m in H1 2007 – on revenues of £640.4m, compared with £574.7m for the same …

    Channel Register 8 May 2008, 10:58

  • Extreme porn bill gets final reading

    Brace for dirty book burnings, smut amnesties

    It must be ever so vexing to pass a law that you think will make you the most popular boy in class – only to be greeted by a mass chorus of “you still stink!”. That seems to have been the case with the abolition of the 10p rate of tax, and it may yet come to pass with government legislation on extreme porn. Of course, it isn’ …

    Law 8 May 2008, 11:04

  • Washington cops may be compelled to use gun-cams

    GunTube shoot uploads to 'improve community relations'

    Cops in Washington DC could soon be compelled to fit their pistols with cameras that would record gunsight video in every situation in which the weapons were drawn, according to reports. According to US network NBC, District of Columbia council member Harry "Tommy" Thomas has introduced a draft local bill which would compel …

    Policing 8 May 2008, 11:18

  • Apple out to recruit 3G-savvy iPhone field testers

    Engineering posts offered in Oz, UK, Germany

    There's now no doubt that Apple's bringing the iPhone to Australia: it's looking for an iPhone Field Validation Engineer there with "technical understanding and experience with GSM/GPRS, Edge, CDMA and UMTS". So reveals a job ad posted on the company's website, though it's unclear how long the job description has been up. The …

    reghardware 8 May 2008, 11:30

  • OpenOffice.org 3 beta lands

    Flex your fingers

    Sun Microsystems yesterday released the first beta of OpenOffice.org 3 for Windows and Mac. The open source rival to Microsoft Office now natively supports Mac OS X without the need to install the X11 module to run the suite first. The beta also includes full Vista and partial VBA support. Sun will be hoping to lure customers …

    Software 8 May 2008, 11:54

  • Firefox language pack provides adware back-door

    Ho Chi Hack trail

    Mozilla has warned that the Vietnamese language pack of Firefox 2 was compromised as a result of a viral infection. The language pack did not contain a virus itself, but code that resulted in users seeing unwanted ads. More malicious action might have been possible as a result of the security flaw, the probable result of a …

    Malware 8 May 2008, 11:56

  • Oracle ignores BEA out of existence

    JavaOne Tales of empire

    US vice president Dick Cheney's 2003 Christmas card was a curious thing. The message? "If a sparrow can fall to the ground without His notice, it is likely that an empire can rise without His help?" This prompted the question: did Cheney and other neocons now view the US as an empire? With the scalps of 40 companies since 2005 …

    Developer 8 May 2008, 12:02

  • Id Dooms gamers to new shoot-'em-up sequel

    Dive into the melee. Deploy superior firepower. Endure

    Grand Theft Auto IV may have soaked up 90 per cent of gaming headlines for the past few weeks, but classic first-person shoot-‘em-up Doom is set to make a comeback. Version 4 is now in development. The original Doom: ahh, the good old days Doom 4 is being produced by the game’s original creator, id Software, and the company …

    reghardware 8 May 2008, 12:09

  • ITV fined millions for phone fraud

    Unprecedented Ofcom smackdown

    ITV must pay £5.67m in fines for misleading viewers using its premium rate phonelines - the largest fine regulator Ofcom has ever imposed. The broadcaster will also pay out £7.8m in viewer compensation and to charity. The bulk of the fine was earned by Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, which must pay £3m for misleading …

    Telecoms 8 May 2008, 12:24

  • Orb opens iPhone for TV, video

    Uncrippling the iPod

    You don't need Steve Jobs' permission to watch TV on your iPhone any more. A native Orb client for the iPhone and iPod Touch popped up on the installer networks overnight, and Orb confirms that it's official. The client software allows you to watch live TV on an iPhone or Touch wherever you are, in addition to your music. You' …

    reghardware 8 May 2008, 12:42

  • Carphone Warehouse, O2 to continue to offer 16GB iPhone

    Still demand for it

    Claims that O2 and Carphone Warehouse have completely sold out of the 16GB iPhone have proved greatly exaggerated. Both today said they would continue to offer the handset. Gone this morning but back soon O2 told Register Hardware that it’s currently in the process of replenishing stocks of the 16GB iPhone to be sold online …

    reghardware 8 May 2008, 12:44

  • Creative to free Audigy Windows Vista compatibility app

    And buyers to be refunded

    Creative has told buyers of its ALchemy for Audigy sound software that they'll get their money back following its decision to release the next version of the app free of charge. In an email sent out to customers yesterday, Creative said the new version of the software will be released on or shortly after 19 May. Unlike …

    reghardware 8 May 2008, 13:28

  • MSI releases £235 desktop Eee PC rival ahead of Asus

    Ready for Linux

    Fed up of waiting for Asus' desktop Eee PC? Rival Taiwanese manufacturer MSI has stepped in with a mini machine of its own, which it's punting at just £235. MSI's Titan: desktop Eee rival before there's a desktop Eee The PC's called the Titan - something of a misnomer given the unit's small size. It measures 240 x 185 x …

    reghardware 8 May 2008, 13:34

  • Lancashire plodcopters in laser dazzle outrage outbreak

    Blind justice meted out to presentational-aid yob trio

    It now appears that laser-pointer pilot dazzle attacks have joined the hilarious satnav-inspired motoring blunder as a staple of news kibble, with the global presentational-aid-related airborne blinding epidemic now devastating the skies above Lancashire. The BBC reports that the latest ocular outrage occurred last night above …

    Policing 8 May 2008, 13:46

  • What do you think of Apple's Time Capsule?

    Q&A

    Calling Register Hardware readers. What do you think of Apple's Time Capsule? I'm after for a network-connected HD, and this seems the best option - good router, integrated drive, only one power cable. I don't want a NAS box because I don't need to do FTP, serving etc. I just want a drive that can be shared by a handful of …

    reghardware 8 May 2008, 14:15

  • Salesforce boss Benioff pushes cloud

    Pours scorn on Microsoft, bear hugs Sir Stelios

    Salesforce.com boss Marc Benioff yesterday robustly elaborated on the firm's plans to push yet more services on to the cloud with the official launch of Visualforce. Speaking at the company's Dreamforce event at the Barbican centre in London, Benioff took the opportunity in front of a crowd of some 2,000 European partners and …

    Software 8 May 2008, 14:45

  • Best Buy eyes up Europe, buys into Carphone Warehouse

    Paint it yellow

    Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse have entered into a joint project to launch the US brand in Europe. But getting Best Buy into the UK isn't just about sticking a big yellow tag on everything. For £1.1bn Best Buy gets a 50 per cent share of CPW's high-street stores, along with its MVNO operations everywhere except France. CPW …

    Channel Register 8 May 2008, 15:10

  • HSBC in further data loss

    Stolen Hong Kong server contained data on 159K

    Security-incident prone bank HSBC has admitted losing a server containing transaction data on 159,000 Hong Kong-based account holders. The bank said on Wednesday that the kit went missing during renovation work at a Kwun Tong district branch on 26 April, Reuters reports. Data held on the server included customer names, account …

    Enterprise Security 8 May 2008, 15:13

  • Ofcom lays out wireless roadmap

    Planes, trains and automobiles

    Ofcom's annual research report, this year entitled The Wireless World of Tomorrow, focuses on how wireless technologies might change the transport and healthcare landscapes over the next 20 years. Public transport, in particular, is expected to benefit from wireless technologies - though much of the innovation Ofcom expects to …

    Government 8 May 2008, 15:18

  • Fayrewood ends takeover talks

    Time for a plan B

    Fayrewood has ended takeover talks with North Atlantic Value LLP which could have led to the company being bought. Distributor Fayrewood, which trades as Interface Solutions, had been in talks since November 2007. It is not the first time the company has been rebuffed by a suitor - previous takeover talks in 2005 were also …

    Channel Register 8 May 2008, 15:20

  • Britannica opens kimono, reveals widgets

    Free access for bloggers

    Britannica is opening up its content for use by publishers - including amateurs - but insists it isn't threatened by the world's biggest compendium of unusually-shaped vegetables.* "We don't think there's any threat right now," Britannica Inc's president Jorge Cauz told us recently. But he acknowledged that Britannica's …

    Applications 8 May 2008, 15:24

  • iPlayer to tart up Freesat

    Beeb and ITV square up to Sky

    iPlayer, the BBC's promiscuous media delivery software, will be available on Freesat within a year, the operator hopes. Incorporating iPlayer and Kangaroo - the commercial version of iPlayer that's backed by ITV and Channel 4 - doesn't pose a huge technical challenge, Freesat's commercial development manager Rhys Jones told us …

    Data Networking 8 May 2008, 15:26

  • Renault F1 comp site spills entrants' details

    You will never break the chain

    A Grand Prix competition from Renault hit the barriers on Thursday after it emerged that the motoring firm was inadvertently leaking entrants' personal details onto the web. Renault UK are offering more than 600 pairs of tickets to attend either the practice, qualification or the actual race day of the British Grand Prix on 4 …

    Enterprise Security 8 May 2008, 16:01

  • MEPs deny sports 'intellectual property' landgrab

    Updated Own(ing) goals

    MEPs today voted against* a bigger role for intellectual property in sports, stoking a copyright head-to-head between the powerful governing bodies of world sport and the media organisations that seek to report it. As sport has become big business, the corporations that run it are seeking greater control over how events are …

    Music and Media 8 May 2008, 16:20

  • Interpol appeal unmasks US actor as child abuse suspect

    Operation IDent-ification

    A man matching the description of a suspected child abuser who became the target of an international manhunt earlier this week has been arrested in the US. Wayne Nelson Corliss, 58, was arrested in Union City, New Jersey on Thursday - two days after Interpol published photos resembling him. The actor, whose stage name is Casey …

    Crime 8 May 2008, 17:44

  • Why Microhoo! is like, so, totally dead

    Blog 0.2 !!!!! and then, like, !!!!!!

    Those of you au fait with my traditional morning ritual will know that I normally rise at 5.43am, dip an Indonesian virgin-thigh-rolled organic sesame seed crunch power bar into a cup of sea urchin and gauva infusion, do fifteen minutes Pilates, ensure my beachside condo is feng shui compliant before parsing the latest …

    Bootnotes 8 May 2008, 17:54

  • Facebook agrees to child-safety measures

    Reining in Web 2.0 predators

    Facebook has reached an agreement with 50 attorneys general to permanently deploy measures designed to rein in pedophiles and other predators on the social networking site. Under the agreement, Facebook will allow people to change their ages from over 18 to under 18 only after the move has been reviewed and is developing age- …

    Crime 8 May 2008, 18:34

  • Surprise, surprise: F5 is doing something

    A storage de-dupe and network acceleration box

    According to an IT man from Arizona, F5 is up to something, something good. We've been wondering what it has been doing now that it has acquired Acopia and its file virtualising ARX switch. Well, according to this Arizonan who is familiar with the situation, F5 is developing a single box to replace two that people would need now …

    Storage 8 May 2008, 18:35

  • MySpace revs profile transfer engine

    Down with the walled garden

    MySpace has launched an initiative that will one day allow its social-networking-obsessed users to automatically shuttle their profile data to third-party web sites. This includes biographical information, lists of friends, lists of interests, lists of favorite songs, and lists of favorite movies as well as photos and videos …

    Music and Media 8 May 2008, 19:07

  • I Was A Teenage Bot Master

    Exclusive The Confessions of SoBe Owns

    One day in May 2005, a 16-year-old hacker named SoBe opened his front door to find a swarm of FBI agents descending on his family's three-story house in Boca Raton, Florida. With an arm and leg in casts from a recent motorcycle accident, one agent grabbed his good arm while others seized thousands of dollars worth of computers, …

    Crime 8 May 2008, 19:18

  • Hitachi slips past Fujitsu with speedy 320GB laptop drive

    7,200rpm, 2.5-inch drive out-firsts 'world's first'

    Hitachi is updating its TravelStar laptop hard drive range with a more capacious 320GB disk that spins at 7,200rpm. The refresh follows Fujitsu's announcement of its own 320GB, 7,200rpm notebook disk drive, for which the company staked a "world's first" claim back in March. As we pointed out then - the timing left an opening …

    Storage 8 May 2008, 19:49

  • India and Belgium decry Chinese cyber attacks

    Join the ranks

    Belgium and India have joined the growing ranks of countries voicing concerns about cyber attacks originating from China. Earlier this week, officials from both countries said computer networks inside their borders are routinely targeted by hackers trying to ferret information that could benefit the Chinese government. Belgian …

    Government 8 May 2008, 20:42

  • Oracle sharpens axe for BEA layoffs

    Four portals, two application servers, no future

    Oracle is Friday expected to start laying off at least 500 staff, eliminating duplication across product engineering and management, following its $8.5bn acquisition of BEA Systems. Separate sources close to Oracle, who declined to be identified, said the company will send out notifications of layoffs tomorrow, and make a …

    Financial News 8 May 2008, 21:19

  • AMD boss keeps schtum on manufacturing restructure

    Meeting doglegs to pointlessness

    AMD's annual shareholder meeting today could have been an excellent time to elaborate on the company's plan to reverse course from an extremely rough 2007. The chipmaker suffers from six consecutive quarters of operating at a loss, deflated stock, and has a massive workforce lay-off scheme in play. For a year now, AMD has …

    PCs & Chips 8 May 2008, 23:51