8th July 2008 Archive

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Facebook value drops $11.25bn

A pauper poking

Court papers have told the world what it already knows: Facebook is not worth $15bn. That was the value Microsoft slapped on the social networking poster child last October when it forked over $240m for a 1.6 per cent stake in the company. But according to papers from the recently settled court case between Facebook and …

Financial News 8 Jul 2008, 00:09
Fiorina threatens to get in McCain's antique cabinet

Er, but Bush already mastered the 'Invent' agenda

Having turned HP into a model of consistency . . . Having morphed HP into a no-nonsense juggernaut . . . Having guided HP through the smoothest mega-merger in history . . . Er, okay. How about - Having rubbed out the Hewlett-Packard brand, the HP Way and HP's competitive position against IBM and Dell, Carly Fiorina would now …

Government 8 Jul 2008, 00:15
Panasas teams with Penguin on clustergasm

Mad Scyldz

Clustered storage system vendor, Panasas, is teaming up the Linux cluster house, Penguin Computing, to — well, obviously combine some of the former's goodies with the latter's. The pact will marry Panasas' ActiveStor parallel storage system with Penguin's Scyld ClusterWare management software and servers. The union's spawn is …

Servers 8 Jul 2008, 00:43
MobileMe steals Live Mesh thunder

Exchange power for individuals?

Recently I viewed Apple’s presentation for MobileMe. Here’s my quick take. Live Mesh is a true platform, whose scope extends well beyond MobileMe. Yet Apple’s marketing message is so close to Microsoft’s that most users will not see that difference. Here’s Apple: Wherever you are, your iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, and PC are …

Applications 8 Jul 2008, 05:02
File system killer leads police to wife's bones

Reiser's desperate bid for a reduced sentence

Convicted murderer and, er, file system whiz Hans Reiser today led police to the buried body of his wife Nina Reiser. In an apparent bid to reduce his sentence, Reiser agreed to drag police into Redwood Regional Park and disclose the location of his wife's remains. Police found a grave four feet by four feet by four feet …

Law 8 Jul 2008, 05:53
Small, Cheap Computer countdown continues

All arriving late July?

Punters looking to buy a Small, Cheap Computer are having to play a waiting game. Almost all of the most well known models won't appear until the end of the month. It's a story of slipping releases for many of the vendors concerned. A case in point: Acer's Aspire One was, when the machine was announced, scheduled for a late …

Reg Hardware 8 Jul 2008, 07:02
Street View spycar prowls Inverness

Caledonia falls to Orwellian Opel

Hot on the heels of reader Ziad al-Hasso's clocking of Google's Street View spycar in London, Scott MacLeod brings us chilling evidence of the search monolith's ambitions to expose the entire UK to international scrutiny: The vehicle in question was snapped around two weeks ago in Inverness, and if you compare the number …

Bootnotes 8 Jul 2008, 09:02
DWP slammed for fraud computing failure

MPs blame slow improvements

The Department for Work and Pensions has failed to measure benefit fraud properly because of its slowness to improve IT. The accusation is made in a report by Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which says that the department's new management information system, known as FRAIMS, was only introduced in February this …

Government 8 Jul 2008, 09:30
Mayor Boris to cover Porsche costs in CO₂ tax brouhaha

£25 Greengestion charge deep-sixed

London's new mayor, the former knockabout media rascal and MP Boris Johnson, has ended the city government's legal dispute with German luxmobile firm Porsche. Johnson has scrapped plans set by his predecessor Red Green Ken Livingstone for hefty £25 daily charges on all higher-CO2 cars entering the capital, and agreed to repay …

Government 8 Jul 2008, 09:33
Malware infects Merriam-Webster

Fanboys drop dirty bomb on collegiate dictionary

Worshippers at the altar of Jobs rejoice: Merriam-Webster's latest edition of its Collegiate Dictionary has embraced fanboys among more than 100 new entries gracing its updated pages. Interestingly, Merriam-Webster has identified the first fanboy in an English language publication as far back as 1919, albeit in the sense of " …

Bootnotes 8 Jul 2008, 09:35
Elgato transmits MacBook Air-friendly Freeview tuner

TV-on-Mac specialist Elgato has rolled out its first truly MacBook Air-friendly digital tuner. Dubbed the EyeTV DTT Deluxe, the USB dongle is thin enough to fit into the Air's solitary, space-restricted USB slot - and even more easily into any other Mac's USB 2.0 port. Elgato's EyeTV DTT Deluxe: The unit comes with two …

Reg Hardware 8 Jul 2008, 09:37
IPS ditches e-passport system

Writes off £10.8m

The Identity and Passport Service has written off £10.8m in dropping a scheme for electronic passport applications. The management board of IPS has decided to abandon the electronic passport applications (EPA2) scheme, which it started in 2005 and opened in May 2006, according to the agency's annual report (pdf). The system, …

Government 8 Jul 2008, 09:44
Nvidia spurns Intel Atom for VIA, spurns VIA for Intel Atom?

Tech licensing triangle in play, moles allege

When Nvidia - allegedly - entered into an anti-Atom alliance with VIA, it was really preparing the ground to improve its negotiations with Intel. Allegedly. So say the latest rumours about rumours about rumours. Nvidia, VIA and Intel are, of course, saying nothing. Claims that Nvidia and VIA were teaming up to take on Intel's …

Reg Hardware 8 Jul 2008, 10:13
MS issues eleventh hour Snapshot bug workaround

Rush to fix serious ActiveX flaw

Microsoft has taken the unusual step of issuing a workaround for a new security bug involving Microsoft Office a day before its regular Patch Tuesday update. Hacking attacks targeting a vulnerability in the Snapshot Viewer ActiveX control for Microsoft Access prompted Redmond's security gnomes to issue an advisory on Monday. …

Enterprise Security 8 Jul 2008, 10:22
NASA firms up space shuttle launch manifest

10 flights before retirement

NASA has released its final manifest for space shuttle launches before the fleet retires in 2010. This year will see, as previously announced, Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service Hubble (8 October), and Endeavour's STS-126 to the ISS (10 November). Five flights are planned for 2009, kicking off with Discovery (STS-119 …

Space 8 Jul 2008, 10:24
Sony offers double-capacity M2 card

Sony Ericsson phone owners rejoice! Sony has announced an 8GB Memory Stick Micro card - twice the data-storage space of the most capacious M2 card currently available. Sony's 8GB Memory Stick Micro: phone extension Buy one over the summer - or a 2GB or 4GB card - and you'll get to download a complete copy of top-selling …

Reg Hardware 8 Jul 2008, 10:57
MEPs give Reding bloody nose over telco regulation

Telecoms revolution reduced to talking shop

Viviane Reding's plans to revolutionise telecommunications with pan-European spectrum allocations and a new regulator have been reduced to a new talking shop to be known as BERT. The original proposals have suffered more than a thousand amendments from MEPs on the Telecoms Industry Committee, and been reduced to 33 points that …

Mobile 8 Jul 2008, 10:58
NXP sues to silence Oyster researchers

Report publication 'irresponsible'

Chipmaker NXP, formerly Philips Semiconductors, is taking Dutch Radboud University to court on Thursday to prevent researchers publishing their controversial report on the Mifare Classic chip. Recently researchers from Radboud University in Nijmegen revealed they had cracked and cloned London's Oyster travel card. Earlier this …

ID 8 Jul 2008, 10:59
Lower VAT could help small businesses amid recession fears

Rates cut lifeline for small PC shops?

Small computer outfits could see VAT rates slashed to as low as five per cent under new proposals put forward by the European Commission yesterday. The EC, which is the executive arm of the European Union, said it wants to relax value added tax and state aid rules in a move to help small businesses (SMBs) cut through …

Small Biz 8 Jul 2008, 11:23
Philips turned off by monitor business

TPV Tech takes over

Royal Philips Electronics will transfer its entire monitor and IT displays business to Hong Kong-based company TPV Technology Limited. TPV will assume responsibility for sourcing, distribution, marketing and sales of all Philips’ IT Displays activities worldwide and can exclusively use the Philips brand name, in exchange for …

Channel Register 8 Jul 2008, 11:40
Symbian debases platinum

Developer program thrown open to proletariat

Symbian has launched a new developer program, the Symbian Partner Network, which bears a remarkable resemblance to the old Platinum Partner Program despite costing $3,500 less. The Platinum Partner Program provided developers access to live events, marketing assistance, peer support forums and the ability to purchase direct …

Mobile 8 Jul 2008, 11:59
Mozilla develops browser security metrics

Seeks smarter vuln stats

Mozilla is piloting a project designed to develop a better model for the security of Firefox, by tracking a whole series of metrics over time. Instead of simply recording the number of patches issued in a year the scheme also aims to gauge the relative risk to users over time and the effectiveness of Mozilla's developers in …

Enterprise Security 8 Jul 2008, 12:05
HTC Touch Diamond

Review The iPhone assault continues

With the Diamond, HTC probably reckons it has a device that can stop lurking in the bushes, and instead leap out and bash the iPhone over the head with a brick. The first thing that struck us about the Diamond was how small it was. We were expecting something altogether more iPhone-like in both size and weight, but the HTC is …

Reg Hardware 8 Jul 2008, 12:30
Microsoft hopes third time is lucky with XP SP3 update

Sets server release dates despite MIA SQL server

Microsoft yesterday got out its big red felt pen and marked a few release dates on the calendar. Small Business Server 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server 2008 will both land in November this year. Meanwhile, Windows XP service pack three (SP3) will finally be pushed out “shortly”. The software giant has been forced to …

Software 8 Jul 2008, 12:46
Drobo 'data robot' revamped with Firewire

'Infinite-capacity' data safe gets faster

Data Robotics has launched the second generation of its Drobo "data storage robot", upping the unit's data-handling speed and adding a pair of Firewire 800 ports to the original's USB connector. It's all in the name of performance, DR said, and the fact that a fair few Drobo users are Mac owners. The 2G Drobo incorporates not …

Reg Hardware 8 Jul 2008, 13:02
Aerovironment sells hurl 'n' splash roboplane to US spec-ops

Snake-eaters SEAL $200m porta-drone deal

The US Special Operations Command, SOCOM - aka the "snake eater community"* - has just placed a new order for hand-launched aerial surveillance robots which could be worth up to $200m and see hundreds of portable drones delivered. The potentially very lucky company is Aerovironment, already well known for such projects as the …

Science 8 Jul 2008, 13:55
Minister urges end to videogame rating feud

Think of the children, pleads Hodge

The government has called on the UK’s two videogame classification bodies to stop their slanging match over which of their age-suitability rating systems is best. Speaking at a game industry conference in London this morning, Margaret Hodge, Minister for Culture, Creative Industries and Tourism, said that arguments between the …

Reg Hardware 8 Jul 2008, 14:22
Morse loses CEO, warns on revenues

Restructured firm reports to chairman Loosemore

Morse said goodbye to CEO Kevin Alcock today as it unveiled a trading update which said full year revenues will come in below last year's. The IT services vendor said that it had experienced “some deterioration in short term services in the final quarter of the year as clients have reduced discretionary spend”. While first …

Channel Register 8 Jul 2008, 14:25
Greene washed out of VMWare as revs undershoot

MS veteran replaces co-founder

VMWare co-founder Diane Greene left the company today as it announced it would undershoot its full year revenue targets. VMWare chairman Joe Tucci said in a statement that former Microsoft exec Paul Maritz would take the helm of the firm. Tucci also thanked Greene for her contributions and wished her “every success in the …

Servers 8 Jul 2008, 14:36
Can T-Mobile get an Android onto US market in '08?

Google's muscle put to the test

T-Mobile will be pushing out an Android handset in time for its US 3G launch on 1 October, according to rumours floating around the internet. But that deadline could cost the Android ideal dearly. Google desperately wants to see an Android-based handset in 2008, having said it will happen, and will lose face if it doesn't. T- …

Mobile 8 Jul 2008, 14:43
Sharp ships 19in Acquos Jr.

Sharp is determined to prove that HD TVs don't need to be huge, and has released a 19in flat-panel telly to prove it. Sharp's Aquos LC-19D1E: second set The LC-19D1E incorporates a Freeview digital TV tuner and, despite its size, sports both DVI and HDMI inputs to allow it to be hooked up to a range of picture sources. But …

Reg Hardware 8 Jul 2008, 14:47
Eco-satnav software solves 'drive or walk' decisions

Calculates CO₂ emissions or calories consumed

Torn between driving or walking to the gym? Well, now a mobile application’s available that calculates how much CO2 using the car will produce, versus the number of calories you’ll burn with an eco-friendly walk. Navitime's application: plots both car routes (left) and walking routes The latest version of Navitime, a so- …

Reg Hardware 8 Jul 2008, 14:52
Google out-visions Jobs on Mac roadmap

Now that's what I call Mac OSX 14

Google appears to know something we don’t about Apple’s roadmap for its Mac operating system. The search engine giant is currently displaying system requirements for its range of web-based apps – recently dubbed Gears – in which it says that it will only work with OSX 14.0 or higher on non-Microsoft internet browsers. However …

Bootnotes 8 Jul 2008, 15:17
Peers call for cybercrime shakeup (again)

Say banks should pay for fraud

Peers are calling for a reversal of rules that stop UK victims reporting cybercrimes directly to the police. The House of Lords science committee is also encouraging the government to introduce a data breach notification law. A follow-up report on personal internet security by the committee of peers also calls for legislation …

Crime 8 Jul 2008, 15:50
iPhone 3G to be in 'very short supply for weeks' - carrier

Blame for O2 pre-order chaos laid at Apple's door

O2 has blamed Apple for the "disappointing and frustrating experience" many would-be iPhone 3G owners had to put up with when the carrier began taking advance orders for the handset this week. In an email said to have been sent to one consumer who complained about the near-collapse of O2's ordering system, O2 Sales Director …

Reg Hardware 8 Jul 2008, 16:00
No import ban in InterDigital v Samsung patent case

Trade Commission Staff sides with Samsung

The US International Trade Commission investigation into alleged patent infringements by Samsung began badly for InterDigital when the Commission indicated that an import ban is inappropriate. InterDigital is trying convince the Commission that Samsung is infringing five of their key WCDMA (aka GSM 3G) patents and should be …

Mobile 8 Jul 2008, 16:11
Stormy Peters lands on Gnome Foundation

Ex-HP exec takes charge

The Gnome Foundation yesterday announced that it has hired former Hewlett-Packard industry analyst Stormy Peters as its new executive director. She will hope to snap up a few more industry members and community contributors to the open source group’s cause. Peters previously headed up HP’s open source strategy, policy and biz …

Operating Systems 8 Jul 2008, 16:15
Microsoft prices services for the email-poor

No hands, new blinkers

Microsoft is targeting the email disenfranchised with a suite of cut-down email and online collaboration services priced at $3 per user a month. The company has announced Exchange Online Deskless Worker and SharePoint Online Deskless Worker featuring calendar, Outlook Web Access Light to access corporate email, anti-virus, …

Channel Register 8 Jul 2008, 16:22
Google evaporates Docs and Spreadsheets cloud

Updated Try again in 30 seconds. Or an hour

Google's Docs and Spreadsheets disappeared today for close to an hour, proving that the world's largest search engine is a long way from perfecting the art of online business applications. Many businesses paid good money to look at this screen, which appeared - at least to people in Silicon Valley - from about 9am to 10am: …

Applications 8 Jul 2008, 17:03
EMC CEO's ego has cost investors billions

Comment Whacks Greene when VMware needed her most

By firing VMware chief Diane Greene, EMC's top dog Joe Tucci has sent a message to investors that his personal likes and dislikes come before their broader interests. That's not exactly what you want to see from an executive who has already done so very little for investors over the past five years. We've written more than any …

Servers 8 Jul 2008, 17:39
Jobs bars 3G Jesus Phone sales at Canuck Apple Stores

Rare moment of over-charging concern for CEO

On Friday, the 3G Jesus Phone makes its debut in 22 countries across the globe, including Canada. But you can't buy one from a Canadian Apple Store. "[The 3G iPhone] will not be sold in [Canadian] Apple retail stores, but we will have the product to demo, and all our specialists will be trained on the 3G iPhone as well," is …

Mobile 8 Jul 2008, 18:36
Microsoft pledges to fight Vista 'myths'

OS man's daughter sees truth in OS

Microsoft believes Apple is winning the battle on the desktop using "lies" and "myths" against Windows Vista, and has promised to fight back. Evoking the spirit of his apple-cheeked little daughter, Microsoft's vice president for Windows consumer product marketing Brad Brooks promised partners that by telling the "truth" about …

Operating Systems 8 Jul 2008, 19:25
DreamWorks switches to Intel for stereoscopic 3-D high

Studio to AMD: Drop dead

For computer animation studios, upgrading long-in-the-tooth server farms is a part of a natural cycle to keep things looking sharp. But they're a bit like butterflies flitting amongst hardware specs when it comes down to finding what they want to power "the next big thing." Witness: DreamWorks Animation has signed on the …

Servers 8 Jul 2008, 19:49
Hawkeye technology turns tennis into a cartoon

Reality hardware needed

In those archaic days before tennis adopted the Hawkeye ball tracking system, the TV audience could have some fun with close line calls. Following a controversial shot, we'd receive a number of slow-motion replays from various angles and get to make up our own minds as to whether or not the lines person was a dolt. But, in the …

Entertainment 8 Jul 2008, 22:46
Brocade and Cisco squabble over future fabric standards

Now playing - Acronym Wars: The Convergence Brutality

Clashing acronym disarray has hit the networking scene with Brocade's recent claim that vendors won't rally 'round Cisco's version of data center Ethernet. But first, let us serve as your metaphorical machete to help clear away the acronymic jungle that lies before you: Cisco and Brocade have rival visions for making their …

Data Networking 8 Jul 2008, 23:04