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30th May 2008 Archive

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  • Android to offer iPhone-like App Store

    Google I/O Google: 'That's our job'

    Google will offer an iPhone-like app store for Android, giving developers a central means of distributing applications on its soon-to-be-open-source mobile platform. At least, it looks that way. Speaking at the Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco, Android project leader Andy Rubin didn't officially announce an …

    Mobile 30 May 2008, 02:49

  • Google brews mashier OpenSocial language

    Google I/O For all your Web 2.0 ills - except people and Facebook

    A decision on whether to press ahead with a re-usable architecture from Google to simplify the development of applications spanning multiple social networks is due in the next few days. Members of Google's OpenSocial project are next week expected to vote on a proposal for a new template language that'll be used to build tags …

    Developer 30 May 2008, 08:52

  • The New Order: When reading is a crime

    Updated: Download a book, get arrested

    Is this what it is going to be like? When simple possession of a proscribed document will be enough to see you clapped in irons and whisked down to the local police station? About two weeks ago (May 16), Nottingham University campus was agog as police arrived to interview former student Hicham Yezza. After some ten years' …

    Law 30 May 2008, 08:59

  • Bletchley Park rattles tin for urgent repairs

    Visit us, save UK's codebreaking heritage

    Bletchley Park, home of the Enigma codebreakers, is indulging in some light tin-rattling to raise cash for urgent repairs at the historic site. According to the Bletchley Park Trust, while visitor numbers are up 40 per cent over the last two years and cash is coming in from its Science and Innovation Centre and wedding …

    Entertainment 30 May 2008, 09:04

  • Dell rapped for £60 delivery charge on £200 laptop

    Unclear small print

    Dell has been criticised by the advertising watchdog for not making it clear enough that a laptop would incur a £60 delivery charge. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said that the charge "added significantly" to the cost of the computer. In a direct mail advert for Dell computers a £199 laptop computer was offered for …

    Channel Register 30 May 2008, 09:38

  • British newspaper websites liable in France for privacy invasion

    Court fines Mirror Group and Associated Newspapers

    Two British newspaper publishers have been fined in French courts because they violated French privacy laws. The publishers were liable because the articles were viewed in France on the internet. Olivier Martinez, famous in the UK as an ex-boyfriend of Kylie Minogue, sued Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) and Associated Newspapers …

    Law 30 May 2008, 09:52

  • Apple to launch UK movie downloads

    Major studios signed up, claim sources

    Apple is rumoured to be on the cusp of launching a movie downloads service through iTunes right here in the UK. Rumours suggest movie downloads are coming to iTunes in the UK According to a report by The Times newspaper, “studio sources” have said that Apple will start selling films from four major Hollywood studios: Disney …

    Reg Hardware 30 May 2008, 10:27

  • Asus shows Wii-style controllers for Eee

    Coming to a PC near you

    Asus has shown off a pair of Wii-esque controllers, which it’s thought could be used to direct videogames run on the company’s popular Eee PC. Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com Although details are still sketchy, one online source has reported that Asus demonstrated the controllers at a recent tech …

    Reg Hardware 30 May 2008, 10:28

  • 9/11 an inside job, says Irish pop folkster

    Corrspiracy theory

    9/11 conspiracy theorists will be delighted to learn that they've gained some poptastic backing from Corrs guitar-botherer Jim Corr, who's declared that there's "overwhelming evidence" the Twin Towers attack was perpetrated by "rogue elements in the Bush neo-con administration". His comments came during an interview with Today …

    Entertainment 30 May 2008, 10:44

  • Novell pulls in Q2 profit on lower costs

    Healthy pink penguins

    Novell Inc swung to a profit on lower expenses and revenue that rose a slender $4m in its fiscal second quarter. It reeled in $236m from sales in the Q2 period ended 31 April 2008, compared to $232m for the same quarter a year ago. Novell said the jump in sales of its Linux business software helped offset a drop in sales at …

    Financial News 30 May 2008, 10:49

  • BOFH: Testing the obscenity filters

    Episode 20 You can't say 'can't'

    "Hi, I'd just like some help setting up my Macintosh for access t..." >SLAM< . . . >Ring< "Hello?" the PFY says. "Hi, we must have got cut off, I was ringing for a bit of help setting up my Mac..." >SLAM< . . . >RING< "Is there something wrong with your phone?" the voice asks. "I don't think so," the PFY says. "But …

    BOFH 30 May 2008, 11:02

  • Download al Qaeda manuals from the DoJ, go to prison?

    Analysis In the UK it's all down to your motivation

    If you download "the al Qaeda manual," never share it, even if you're a scholar-in-training studying terrorism. Especially if you and the recipient go by the wrong kind of names. In mid-May, University of Nottingham master's student Rizwaan Sabir apparently sent the electronic manual to a school clerk, Hicham Yezza, for …

    Policing 30 May 2008, 11:16

  • Samsung retracts Safari phone claim

    Bad language to blame

    Despite Samsung announcing a few days ago that one of its handsets would use the Safari browser, it has since had to alter the claim because the L870 talker doesn't sport full Safari browsing. Samsung's L870: now not featuring Safari Samsung originally claimed that the L870 would sport a feature dubbed “Safari browser (full …

    Reg Hardware 30 May 2008, 11:21

  • Will your mobile squeal to the police?

    Analysis Digital forensics turns smartphones into supergrasses

    It's been 20 years since a UK drug dealer discovered too late the folly of keeping all his records on a Psion Organiser, helpfully providing police with names and addresses of customers and suppliers, as well as sales records*. Today's criminals aren't generally that stupid, but regardless, today's phones are perfectly capable …

    Mobile 30 May 2008, 11:27

  • ISS toilet spares stowed and good to go

    Discovery relief mission blasts off tomorrow

    Relief is at hand for the cross-legged ISS crew in the form of spares for the clapped-out Russian ASU toilet, which have been stowed aboard Space Shuttle Discovery due to blast off tomorrow. The parts (seen here during loading), including a pump, will hopefully allow astronauts to take a bother-free leak. While the ISS's main …

    Space 30 May 2008, 11:29

  • Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth headset

    Exclusive Review We'll be sticking fish in our ears next

    Hands-free headsets are a boon for mobile users. Not only can you pretend to be Lieutenant Uhura, but you can write while you're on the blower or drive more safely. And legally. Last year, Aliph released the Jawbone, a Bluetooth headset that was different from most earlier devices because it was sufficiently stylish for you …

    Reg Hardware 30 May 2008, 12:12

  • Optical boffins cut the cost of quantum cryptography

    Time shift dances the light fantastic

    Boffins at the National Institute of Standards and Technology are trialling advanced optical techniques aimed at reducing the price of quantum cryptography systems. The new quantum key distribution approach reduces the required number of single photon detectors, which can cost anything between $5K-$20K and are the most costly …

    Enterprise Security 30 May 2008, 12:17

  • Phorm opponents to picket BT shareholders

    Activists refuse to let sleeping data pimps lie

    Opponents of BT's involvement with Phorm will protest outside its annual general meeting in London in July in a bid to alert investors to alleged wiretap law-breaking. The campaigners want BT to pull out of plans to intercept its broadband customers' web browsing and searches and profile them for targeted advertising. They …

    Telecoms 30 May 2008, 12:38

  • Uncontacted rainforest tribe caught from the air

    Remarkable snaps highlight Peruvian logging threat

    Survival International has published remarkable snaps of an uncontacted tribe on the border between Brazil and Peru to highlight the plight of such groups which are threatened by illegal logging. One photograph, captured during one of several flights over the area, shows tribal members evidently none too pleased with the fly- …

    Science 30 May 2008, 12:40

  • World's first Blu-ray record pressing

    'I wanna High Definition rock n' roll all night'

    It’s usually pop-stars and rock bands that break musical records. But a Norwegian record label has set a new standard for audio pleasure by releasing the world’s first Blu-ray record. Record label 2L promises its Blu-ray record is the ultimate audio experience The HD recording of Norwegian orchestra Trondheimsolistene uses …

    Reg Hardware 30 May 2008, 13:03

  • Economist: girls actually better than boys at maths

    Update Shows no sign of it herself, however

    An economist in America has published research stating that girls have at least as much innate mathematical ability as boys. Paola Sapienza contends that the fact of girls almost always doing worse in maths exams results mainly from sexual discrimination. "The math gender gap can be eliminated, and it is indeed eliminated in …

    Science 30 May 2008, 13:23

  • Brazil bitchslaps ratification of OOXML

    Dissenting voices against Microsoft grow

    Brazil has fired off a formal objection to the International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) against the approval of Microsoft’s Office Open XML (OOXML) document format as an international standard. Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas (ABNT), which is the Brazilian national standards body, issued its appeal to the ISO …

    Applications 30 May 2008, 13:25

  • NHS IT: what went wrong, what will go wrong

    We draw up a handy list of excuses for civil servants

    This week Fujitsu pulled out of the £12.7bn National Programme for IT - the government's enormous project to introduce national patient records for NHS patients leaving BT, CSC and iSoft still involved. How bad must things be for a company to walk away from just under £1bn of government money? And why are we writing yet …

    IT Director 30 May 2008, 13:54

  • Old Windows exploits dominate hack attack traffic

    China eyeballs US through the looking glass

    China and US are the leading sources of hacking attacks, which are overwhelmingly targeted against Windows systems. According to a new study by content distribution firm Akamai the two countries accounted for 30 per cent of attack traffic during the first quarter of 2008. Around 17 per cent of denial of service and exploit …

    Channel Register 30 May 2008, 14:00

  • Ofcom mulls BT Openreach price hike

    'Free' broadband economics tested

    After months of lobbying, BT has got its wish. Ofcom today announced it will formally consider letting Openreach raise the prices it charges BT's competitors for wholesale access to local exchanges. BT has been crying foul over Openreach because its costs have increased alongside greater competition in broadband from local …

    Telecoms 30 May 2008, 14:07

  • Blu-ray Disc body grants licences to Chinese firms

    Cheaper players en-route?

    The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has granted licences to 11 China-based manufacturers, potentially paving the way for a wider selection of hardware based on the HD format. According to a report by DigiTimes, Masayuki Kozuka, general manager for Matsushita Electric Industrial’s storage device business and himself a BDA …

    Reg Hardware 30 May 2008, 14:20

  • Sourcefire snorts at unsolicited takeover bid

    Barracuda circles security tools firm

    Sourcefire has rejected an unsolicited takeover bid from Barracuda Networks. The firm, which develops a commercial version of Snort, the popular open source intrusion detection tool, said Barracuda's $187m bid "substantially undervalues" Sourcefire. In a terse statement on Friday, Sourcefire's board said it was better off as a …

    Channel Register 30 May 2008, 15:22

  • EU begins formal probe into US gambling ban

    Free trade? We've heard of it

    The European Commission is launching a formal investigation into the US ban on online gambling. The Commission has sent a list of questions to US officials aimed at finding out if the US policy is discriminatory against European firms or not, according to Inside Trade. The US banned online gambling in 2006 using legislation …

    Government 30 May 2008, 15:33

  • Japanese woman moves into bloke's closet

    House owner alerted by disappearing food

    A Japanese woman has been cuffed for "sneaking into a man's house and living in his closet without him knowing", the AP reports. The 57-year-old owner became suspicious after food went missing from the fridge, and he duly installed a surveillance set-up which caught the domestic stowaway wandering his gaff while he was out. …

    Bootnotes 30 May 2008, 19:32

  • Metadata ruins Google's anonymous eBay Australia protest

    Should have used Google Docs

    eBay Australia's decision to force customers from next month to use its own payment service, PayPal, has infuriated a good number of individuals and organizations steamed. The Australian Competition Commission and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which is sniffing around the proposed policy, lists hundreds of submissions from …

    Small Biz 30 May 2008, 19:45

  • Daily Mail cites video game as proof of terrorist doomsday plot

    Hacked

    Fear-mongering hacks at The Daily Mail have been caught mistaking footage from a popular video game series as proof of al-Qaeda's "terrifying vision" for a nuclear attack on Washington. The paper splashed a gory image showing the utter destruction that would result from the plot by terrorists to carry out a nuclear attack. In …

    Policing 30 May 2008, 20:24

  • Low-end EMC NSX is on its way

    Stronger competition for NetApp

    To better compete with NetApp, EMC is to launch a low-end version of its Celerra NSX NAS gateway product. A NAS (network-attached storage) gateway is a server presenting files to accessing application servers but storing them on a storage area network (SAN), The Celerra NSX (pictured) is a data center-class NAS and IP storage …

    Storage 30 May 2008, 20:44

  • Apple store detains teens for installing iPhone game

    Coppers called over demo unit download

    Four teens in Palo Alto, California, say they were detained and photographed by an Apple store after they downloaded a third-party application to an iPhone demo unit. The youngsters told Mercury News that a manager of their local University Avenue Apple store called for police reinforcement after discovering the racing game, " …

    Crime 30 May 2008, 21:53

  • Google defends open source from 'poisonous people'

    Google I/O The Case of the Self-Centered Date Parser

    Once upon a time, there was an open source project called Subversion, and it needed a new date parser. One day, a coder came along and wrote one. But he insisted on tagging the source code with his John Hancock. And that was against the rules. Subversion's founders said that name tags would undermine collaboration. When the …

    Software 30 May 2008, 23:16