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4th June 2008 Archive

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  • AMD targets Puma 'Centrino beater' at consumers, SMEs

    Laptop platform gets teeth into HD

    AMD launched its long-awaited Puma laptop platform this morning into an unexpectedly open market after Intel was forced to delay its refreshed Centrino 2 platform. Puma is built around AMD's Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile processor but the vendor has put HD at the centre of its pitch. Puma features integrated ATI Radeon HD …

    PCs & Chips 4 Jun 2008, 04:02

  • Ogg-friendly phone, anyone?

    Q&A

    I'm looking for a mobile phone handset that has an FM radio and also supports the Ogg Vorbis file format. There seem to be some excellent Sony and Samsung mobiles that have FM radio and support MP3 and WMA, but I need Ogg support. And I'm running Linux, so the ability to drag and drop music files on the device is essential. …

    Reg Hardware 4 Jun 2008, 06:02

  • Intel SSD squeezes into sub-notebook sizes

    Hear the pitter-PATA of tiny feats

    Intel's new Z-P230 solid state drive (SSD) is positioned as a smaller and lighter replacement for 1.8in hard disk drives in Small, Cheap Computers. It comes in 4 and 8GB capacity points with a 16GB version arriving in Q4 this year. The device has a standard 40-pin ZIF parallel ATA (IDE) system interface and measures 54 x 38 x …

    Reg Hardware 4 Jun 2008, 07:40

  • Crimestoppers learn the joy of text

    hlp, dat man jst stole my mob phn

    CrimeStoppers UK, the anonymous snitching service, has begun a trial allowing suspicious members of the public to text in their crime tips. The intention is to get kids to report knife-carrying compatriots. The trial will launch at three schools in Tower Hamlets, with a view to a rollout across London and the rest of the …

    Mobile 4 Jun 2008, 07:46

  • New Microgeneration report - what it actually says

    Analysis Home fires burning won't keep the lights on

    A new report on possibilities for deployment of low-carbon microgeneration machinery in British homes was published yesterday, and has scored big ink. But most of the coverage has ignored the three main messages of the report. These are fairly simple. Firstly, according to the report, microgeneration in the UK is going …

    Environment 4 Jun 2008, 07:52

  • Intel touts G45 chipset's full Blu-ray support

    Computex Not so the G43...

    Intel yesterday formally launched its G45 and G43 integrated chipsets, part of the 'Eaglelake' family. But you'll only get full Blu-ray Disc support with the first of the two, it admitted. Not a first, of course. The chip giant was quick to tout how the integrated parts were the first chipsets it had made that incorporates …

    Reg Hardware 4 Jun 2008, 08:02

  • The great British iPhone mystery

    Can Apple dispel smartphone apathy?

    Believe it or not, the iPhone has become a stealth hit over on this Soggy and Septic Isle. But this should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the psychology of the British punter. When the iPhone arrived it here it was greeted with studied indifference. You'll recall that Carphone Warehouse and O2 stores stayed open …

    Mobile 4 Jun 2008, 08:02

  • Yahoo! sets date for Icahn showdown

    And Icahn promises to sack founder

    Yahoo! will hold its annual general meeting and shareholder vote on Carl Icahn's proposal to replace the board of directors on 1 August. Icahn confirmed yesterday that he will sack the company's co-founder Jerry Yang if he wins the vote. He said Yahoo! needed to get rid of Yang and at least part of the board of directors in …

    Software 4 Jun 2008, 08:46

  • Blighty joins killer robot club with Afghan strike

    RAF's sole kill-bot gets in on the pressbutton action

    Britain has joined the USA in achievement of a modern-day tech milestone. Both countries have now used killer robots to attack human beings on the battlefield. The revelation comes in an exclusive report by Flight magazine, which says that the Royal Air Force has confirmed that Blighty's sole in-service "Reaper" flying hunter- …

    Government 4 Jun 2008, 09:37

  • Gigabyte intros tablet-style Eee rival

    Computex UMPC and MID too

    Gigabyte wasn't to be left behind by rivals Asus, MSI and Acer at this year's Computex - it too unveiled a compact laptop based on Intel's just-launched Atom N270 processor. Enter the M912, a compact, 1.6GHz system with an 8.9in display - this time with an above-par 1280 x 768 resolution - integrated 1.3-megapixel webcam, 10/ …

    Reg Hardware 4 Jun 2008, 09:49

  • Boffins build self-replicating replicating machine

    For £300, so can you, thanks to open sourcery

    If none of the iPhone cases available suit your needs, then why not make your own? It’s possible, say a team of researchers that have designed a printer capable of making almost anything - including more of itself. The RepRap 3D printer can make all sorts of objects, including itself The Replicating Rapid-prototyper (RepRap …

    Reg Hardware 4 Jun 2008, 10:17

  • Organised crime law crushes animal rights duo

    Sledgehammer meets nut

    Four and a half years in jail for “conspiring to interfere with contractual obligations”. That was the sentence handed down to animal rights activist, Sean Kirtley, on Friday, in what is claimed to be the first contested trial under the Serious and Organised Crime Act 2005 (SOCA). Kirtley was found guilty of co-ordinating the …

    Law 4 Jun 2008, 10:33

  • Japan's Softbank signs up for iPhone

    DoCoMo too?

    It's official: Japanese cellco Softbank will offer Apple's iPhone, the company said today. Like all the other carriers who've announced they'll begin selling the handset, Softbank said the iPhone would be added to its network "later this year", news agency Reuters reports. Expect it sooner rather than later. Certainly, World+ …

    Reg Hardware 4 Jun 2008, 10:40

  • HTC slides out Touch Pro

    Diamond + keyboard

    Touchscreen typing isn’t for everybody, so HTC has remodelled its new Touch Diamond handset to create one that also has a slide-out Qwerty keyboard. HTC's Touch Pro: the Diamond with a keyboard HTC’s calling its latest phone the Touch Pro, despite it looking almost identical to the Touch Diamond – aside from the slide-out …

    Reg Hardware 4 Jun 2008, 10:44

  • UK citizens' portal exposes edit kit interface

    HTML undergarments of Direct.gov.uk aired in public

    Coding errors left the edit kit interface on the UK government's citizens' portal visible last week. Hmmm. Excuse me but your HTML is showing Although the interface of Direct.gov.uk was visible, a faux pas akin to exposing the site's undergarments to public view, more serious mischief wasn't possible. The interface didn't …

    Security 4 Jun 2008, 10:49

  • RSPCA calls for dog chipping

    Pooches get their own database

    The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is calling for compulsory microchipping of dogs and a database of dog owners. Some 88 per cent of the charity's conference voted in favour of microchipping dogs in order to link them to owners. 58 per cent of delegates voted in favour of dog registration. Delegates …

    Law 4 Jun 2008, 11:41

  • Verbatim 500GB desktop external hard drive

    Review In case of a crash, just locate this little black box

    The modern model of day-to-day computer use typically consists of a laptop operated in the office, at home and on the move - constantly increasing the need for reliable back-up drives. Measuring 20 x 11.3 x 3.5cm and cased in a featureless matte black finish, the Verbatim 500GB external hard drive looks more like the black box …

    Reg Hardware 4 Jun 2008, 11:46

  • Peter Gabriel cranks his f*ck machine

    Updated Meet the website promising to defy the tyranny of choice

    The Filter wants to be your internet friend. And unlike Facebook, it wants to help you ignore all the morons, self-broadcasters and general noisy bombardment that characterises the modern web experience. The pitch is simple. Web users are presented with limitless entertainment choices, and the majority of them are rubbish. To …

    Music and Media 4 Jun 2008, 12:02

  • A quarter of UK adults to go on child protection database

    11.3 million working with children to be vetted

    “The death of informality”. That was how Josie Appleton, convenor of the Manifesto Club, described the results of the second government consultation on the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). The ISA is the child of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. From next year, all those who wish to work, either paid or …

    Law 4 Jun 2008, 12:06

  • Time to move on from Chinook to the real MoD cock-ups

    Comment Dead horse floggers lack guts to face live nightmares

    The British government has issued yet another damning report into a famous and long-running Ministry of Defence clusterfuck, the case of the Mark 3 Chinook helicopters. Meanwhile, far more expensive procurement errors - in which the chance to improve matters didn't pass by long ago - continue to be largely ignored. Not …

    Government 4 Jun 2008, 12:36

  • Kit left on stand-by costs gadget fans dearly, report claims

    Power down to cut electricity bills

    If you live by yourself in a small flat but your monthly electricity bills still top £100, then it could be your love of games consoles that’s dragging you into debt, it has been alleged. A series of power consumption tests by Aussie consumer group Choice has revealed that consoles are some of the most power-hungry devices in …

    Reg Hardware 4 Jun 2008, 12:55

  • Blu-ray movie sales gathering momentum

    HD DVD's death the cause?

    Film fans are steadily heeding the hi-def message. Some 11m Blu-ray Disc movie titles have been bought so far, according to the latest sales stats. Research by US market watcher Redhill also revealed that more BDs were sold during the first five months of this year than during the whole of 2007. Last year, BDs only accounted …

    Reg Hardware 4 Jun 2008, 12:56

  • EU security agency warns over insecure printing

    Paper jam

    Reckless printing isn't just creating a huge carbon footprint by turning forests into the contents of landfill sites via office rubbish bins. Running off copies of documents also creates a forgotten security risk, according to ENISA, the European Network and Information Security Agency. A survey of 350 European business by …

    Security 4 Jun 2008, 13:44

  • 100,000 sign for BT Fon wi-fi love-in

    But where are they all?

    100,000 punters have signed up to BT's Wi-Fi love-in, sharing their home connectivity in exchange for having access to everyone else's, enabling the operator to call itself the world's largest Wi-Fi community. Spot the hotspot Previous attempts to get people to share their connectivity have fallen foul of usage restrictions …

    Wireless 4 Jun 2008, 13:51

  • Hacker demos Symbian security switch off

    Hacker gets straight to the heart

    A Spanish hacker has found a way to bypass Symbian's security model, theoretically allowing an unsigned application full access to a S60 phone even on third edition handsets. F-Secure has identified the application which, once installed on an S60 phone, can selectively switch off security measures which are designed to block …

    Mobile 4 Jun 2008, 13:53

  • Hummer glummer on high oil price bummer

    GM moots ditching the Governator's favourite cigar box

    General Motors has revealed it is planning to offload its iconic Hummer business, because sales of the tank-like range of SUVs and trucks are, well, tanking. The US car industry as a whole is suffering amid rising oil and steel prices and general economic malaise. GM plans to scale back production by mothballing four of its …

    Financial News 4 Jun 2008, 14:01

  • Brits get iTunes movie downloads, rentals

    Local AppleTV user rejoices

    Apple has finally allowed UK iTunes users to buy or rent SD oldies and HD blockbusters. From today, Brits will have access to films from a selection of studios, including Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios and Paramount Pictures. US-based iTunes users already have the service, but it was predicted last week that Apple was close …

    Reg Hardware 4 Jun 2008, 14:34

  • Sanyo's waterproof camcorder makes a splash

    Perfect for punting on the Thames?

    Something - or someone - has made Sanyo wet. Because the manufacturer's launched what it claims is the world’s first waterproof camcorder. Sanyo's VPC-CA65: waterproof to 1.5m Sanyo’s already released a splash-proof camcorder, the Xacti VPC-CA6, but the new VPC-CA65, which has already been out in Japan for some time, can be …

    Reg Hardware 4 Jun 2008, 14:37

  • Security bug in HP support app aids hackers

    Grand Theft ActiveX

    A customer support application that comes bundled with HP PCs have been found to harbour multiple security vulnerabilities. The pre-installed software is designed to make it easy for users to keep drivers and HP software automatically updated. But flaws in ActiveX components within HP Instant Support give rise to multiple …

    Security 4 Jun 2008, 14:50

  • Verizon sends text messages to the big screen

    Don't turn off your mobile in the cinema

    Verizon will be asking moviegoers about their music preferences and posting their responses up on the cinema screen as part of a new pre-movie advertisement. The promotion starts mid-June, and will precede 3,500 film showings around the US. Punters will be asked questions about the kind of music they like, and invited to …

    Mobile 4 Jun 2008, 15:23

  • DARPA awards 'Deep Green' battle-computer cash

    General-ware to direct human pawns on future battlefields

    Arms globocorp BAE Systems has won a contract to develop a thinking battle computer able to "help" human commanders directing US forces in the wars of tomorrow. While the "Deep Green" project is billed more as a means of automating tiresome staff officers out of a job, its name suggests otherwise. Deep Blue, as everyone knows …

    Government 4 Jun 2008, 15:31

  • Scottish ex-Moto chip factory to close

    Freescale swings the claymore

    Chip maker Freescale will close its Scottish plant with the loss of hundreds of jobs, after failing to find a buyer for the facility. About 750 highly-skilled manufacturing jobs will be axed at the East Kilbride site, along with up to 100 support roles. The 25-acre site was opened by Motorola in 1969. Austin, Texas- …

    PCs & Chips 4 Jun 2008, 15:43

  • Klipsch targets headphones at big ears

    Big ears, better comfort

    Headphone manufacturer Klipsch has turned its attention to large-lugged music fans and designed a larger-than-normal pair of in-ear cans. Klipsch's X5 cans: 2mm bigger diameter than regular in-ear 'phones Although the X5 headphones are only 2mm larger in diameter than their predecessor, the X10, Klipsch claims its new cans …

    Reg Hardware 4 Jun 2008, 16:08

  • Google takes another bite out of NASA with 42-acre research center

    All your base can please belong to us?

    Google has clinched a $146m lease with NASA's research park in Mountain View, California to develop a 42-acre technology campus on the space agency's land. Perhaps jet-setting Googlers were tired of driving the extra two miles to the company's own headquarters after they touchdown on the NASA-run airfield, where Google already …

    Space 4 Jun 2008, 19:48

  • World+dog ignores Sweden's Draconian wiretap bill

    'If your email crosses our border, we tap it'

    Sweden is on the verge of passing a far-reaching wiretapping program that would greatly expand the government's spying capabilities by permitting it to monitor all email and telephone traffic coming in and out of the country. So far, hacks from the mainstream Swedish press seem to be on holiday, so news about the proposed law …

    Law 4 Jun 2008, 20:27

  • Gates threatens to buy millions and millions of servers for Microsoft

    While Google builds its own gear

    Say what you will about Bill Gates. The man is consistent. Gates' farewell speech at this week's TechEd conference closed out his full-time role at Microsoft with the usual thud. The man has a gift for stating the obvious and detailing what's to come when it's already here. This time around, Gates went after The Cloud. And …

    Servers 4 Jun 2008, 21:40

  • Canonical rejiggers Ubuntu for laptots

    Netbook Remix on the way to OEMs

    Canonical, the corporate sugar-daddy of Ubuntu, is unveiling a new version of the operating system designed specifically for the now en vogue market of ultra low-cost laptops. Although Ubuntu Netbook Remix isn't yet widely available to system builders, Canonical is showing a demonstration of the trimmed-down OS at the Computex …

    Operating Systems 4 Jun 2008, 22:26

  • Boffins prove the existence of jet-setters

    You can believe them. They secretly tracked 100,000 cell phone users

    According to researchers at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, most people rarely venture more than a few miles from home. And these researchers know what they're talking about. Two years ago, in some unnamed country outside the US, they acquired six months of cell phone records describing the daily movements of …

    Wireless 4 Jun 2008, 22:30

  • Windows veteran jumps to second Silverlight

    TechEd 2008 Betas away

    Veteran Microsoft ISV partner Infragistics is taking an early lead on Silverlight 2, Microsoft’s emerging cross-browser media plug-in. The company expects to release an experimental set of components based on Silverlight 2 beta 2 for building the interfaces on rich internet applications at the same time Microsoft launches the …

    Developer 4 Jun 2008, 23:36

  • EMC lobbying dollars reached $730,000 in first quarter

    Clearly, we're all in the wrong business

    EMC has been spending a pretty penny to lobby the US government in the first quarter. The storage vendor disclosed it payed out $730,000 wooing Washington in only three months — a personal record since it began disclosing its lobbying activities. According to the company's previous filings, the money EMC spent on lobbying …

    Storage 4 Jun 2008, 23:48