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14th July 2008 Archive

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  • Sun's JavaFX must toolup against Adobe - pronto

    JavaFX, part 2 Ask not for whom the school bell tolls...

    Sun Microsystems lost the first Rich Internet Application (RIA) war when Macromedia (now part of Adobe) ate its applets for lunch following a schoolyard brawl. Now Sun has a second chance. But, to succeed in such an unforgiving market, Sun needs something special. A mature, powerful platform, a buzzing community, some …

    Developer 14 Jul 2008, 05:02

  • Sun and Fujitsu ride Unix boxes to four-core country

    SPARC64 VII plugs in

    Now is about the time Sun Microsystems was meant to start telling the world of the wonders inherent in the Rock processor. No such luck. Instead, Sun and Fujitsu are celebrating the arrival of Version VII of the SPARC64 processor. The four-core SPARC64 chip will ship inside Sun and Fujitsu's midrange and high-end Unix servers …

    Servers 14 Jul 2008, 05:45

  • Relay server attack tactic dupes auto-reporting

    Nap-of-the-earth strikes on the horizon

    Sysadmins have begun noticing a coordinated attack on servers with open SSH ports that tries to stay under the radar by only attempting to guess a password three times from any compromised machine. Instead of mounting an attack form a single compromised host, hackers have worked out a means to relay a brute force attack between …

    Security 14 Jul 2008, 06:02

  • Criminal record checks could hit over 14 million people

    Analysis New CRB regs produce a nation of suspects

    If we had suggested, ten years ago, that one day soon, the government would draw up a list of prescribed occupations: that they would build a database of millions of people who would need to register for those occupations; and that a committee of Public Safety would be set up with power of absolute veto over every individual on …

    Law 14 Jul 2008, 07:02

  • Initial Intel 'Nehalem' CPUs as cheap as chips

    $284 for a next-gen quad-core

    Pssst! Want an Intel 'Nehalem' processor on the cheap? Well, just go and ask the chip giant for one. It's 2.66GHz 'Bloomfield' CPU has been price at just $284, it has been claimed. That's the batch price, of course. To get it, you'll have to buy a 1000 CPUs at once - boxed Bloomfields will come in slightly higher than that. …

    Hardware 14 Jul 2008, 09:32

  • Microsoft confirms 60GB Xbox 360

    No longer dubbed the Pro?

    Microsoft has broken its silence and officially unveiled the latest addition to its Xbox 360 line-up: a 60GB HDD-equipped console. Register Hardware reported last week that a leaked email – supposedly sent to retailers by Microsoft’s Xbox division – outlined the firm’s plans to launch a new model with an integrated 60GB HDD. …

    Games 14 Jul 2008, 09:37

  • Oyster system failure causes travel misery

    Updated Computer fault buggers barriers

    London commuters are suffering more problems than usual this morning, thanks to the weekend failure of the Oyster card readers at tube stations and on buses. Extra staff have been drafted in this morning to sort out problems with cards which were used between 5.30am and 10.30am on Saturday. Some cards were apparently wiped, …

    Security 14 Jul 2008, 09:38

  • Baptist church in assault rifle giveaway

    US youth worship God through firepower

    An Oklahoma baptist church has insisted it will proceed with its controversial plan to give away an AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle* during a youth conference - a move described as "a way of trying to encourage young people to attend the event", according to local Koko 5 news. Windsor Hills Baptist apparently has a history …

    Bootnotes 14 Jul 2008, 10:06

  • Asus blames lack of Linux Eee PCs on Atom hold-ups

    Windows XP version less popular

    Asus has blamed Intel not Microsoft for the apparent absence of the Atom-based Eee PC 901 from UK suppliers' shelves. Readers alerted us to the fact that while Windows XP-loaded 901's are available to buy from British resellers, there's a paucity of the Linux version. It'll be available in late July, suppliers say. That has …

    Hardware 14 Jul 2008, 10:18

  • 3 days on: The iPhone users still to make a call

    Basically just an iTouch right now

    UK customers who queued up to get Apple's shiny new iPhone last week are still waiting for a connection as O2 struggles to get their SIMs registered and activated on the network. According to O2, the new iPhone has seen "unprecedented demand" and "several million pounds" has been invested to ensure the processing systems can …

    Mobile 14 Jul 2008, 10:59

  • Busts 4 Justice battles Bulgarian airbag tax

    M&S DD+ bra surcharge outrage

    Enraged bearers of DD+ chesticles have launched a Facebook campaign aimed at shaming Marks & Spencer into dropping the ample Bulgarian airbag tax it imposes on well-endowed brassiere customers. In case you're not up to speed on the M&S bra scandal, the site explains: For too long now, M&S have got away with this criminally …

    Bootnotes 14 Jul 2008, 11:01

  • Yahoo! rejects! Microsoft! again!

    Saturday night's alright for proxy fighting

    Yahoo! rejected another takeover offer from Microsoft and Carl Icahn on Saturday after it was given less than 24 hours to respond to the joint offer. Late on Friday Microsoft and Icahn issued a combined offer - Microsoft would take Yahoo!'s search business leaving Icahn to run the rest of the business. Roy Bostock, Yahoo! …

    Financial News 14 Jul 2008, 11:13

  • Homer Simpson's email address hacked

    D'oh!

    Turkish hackers have taken advantage of an email address that appeared in The Simpsons to recruit marks onto the Kimya botnet. Chunkylover53@aol.com was used as Homer Simpson's email address in the seminal animated series' episode The Dad Who Knew Too Little. The AOL screenname was registered by a Simpsons' writer and used to …

    Security 14 Jul 2008, 11:22

  • Mozilla insists Firefox 3.1 won't hit bum note for developers

    Look at the 'ass' on that!

    Mozilla Corporation has claimed that the transition to Firefox 3.1 won’t be “a major pain-in-the-ass” and pledged developers will not be hit by “surprises along the way”, after royally hacking off users with the 3.0 launch. The company's platform evangelist Mark Finkle said on his blog that extension developers, who suffered …

    Developer 14 Jul 2008, 11:30

  • iRiver Lplayer 8GB MP3 player

    Review Small and perfectly formed

    After the disappointing E100 we're happy to report that iRiver's is getting back into its groove with the second device to hit the UK this year, the tiny Lplayer. Our first reaction was, 'where the blazes are the controls?' The unit itself is only 60 x 43 x 13mm while the 2in, 320 x 240 screen is, well, small. And you don't …

    Hardware 14 Jul 2008, 12:32

  • Casio claims 'world's slimmest' camera crown

    If you’re considering a Casio for your next compact camera, then it’ll be slim pickings. But not in a negative way, because the firm’s latest snapper is supposedly the world’s thinnest shooter available. Casio's EX-Z150: the world's thinnest compact so far? The Exilim range has always been famed for its slim casings, but …

    Hardware 14 Jul 2008, 12:35

  • PSP firmware update en route

    Music visualisations announced

    Sony has a treat in store for PlayStation Portable (PSP) fans, but the electronics giant’s keeping the surprise's full details firmly under wraps for now. Eric Lempel, director of PlayStation Network Operations, has written on the official PlayStation blog that a firmware update “will be released soon” for the handheld console …

    Games 14 Jul 2008, 12:52

  • Samsung to join 8Mp cameraphone crowd?

    Leaked pics reveal Samsung super-snapper

    Sony Ericsson’s already launched one, the C905. Both Motorola and LG are thought to be prepping their own versions, and now Samsung’s been added to the list. What are we talking about? Eight-megapixel cameraphones, of course. Could this be Samsung's first 8Mp camera-phone? Image courtesy GSM Help Desk Pictures have …

    Phones 14 Jul 2008, 12:56

  • Chinese earthquake hack scammer jailed

    Rumbled before he could pocket the dough

    A Chinese man convicted of hacking into a Red Cross website as part of a money-making scam in the wake of the Sichuan earthquake has being jailed for two years. Yang Litao, 23, was found guilty of fraud at a court in eastern Jiangsu after he broke into the website in an attempt to divert relief donations to a bank account …

    Security 14 Jul 2008, 13:05

  • AMD sticks four two-GPU cards into gaming PC

    Don't try this at home

    AMD is working on eight-way GPU co-operative rendering, the chip maker has revealed. In an escalation reminiscent of the way disposable-razor maker are forever upping the number of blades built into their products, AMD spinner Chris Hook told Indian site Techtree: "AMD has already built a computer that has four 4870 X2s in it …

    Hardware 14 Jul 2008, 13:11

  • AMD 4800-series mobile GPUs gain PCIe approval

    Bus support thumbs-up

    AMD's next-gen laptop graphics chips, the 'M96' and the 'M98-L', have been approved by the PCI SIG - the body that oversees the PCI Express bus. The parts follow on from M86 and M88, AMD's Radeon Mobility 3800 series GPUs, the most recent of which, the 3850, was only launched last month. M96 and M98-L will be mobile …

    Hardware 14 Jul 2008, 13:36

  • Quirky blank Qwerty keyboard goes on sale

    Touch typing just got easier. Apparently.

    Many distractions can occur when you’re sat at the computer and trying to concentrate. But if the keyboard’s white letters are one of them, then a solution’s now at your fingertips. Das Keyboard Ultimate: Direct Attached Stupidity? The Das Keyboard Ultimate features a standard keyboard layout - except none of the keys have …

    Hardware 14 Jul 2008, 13:44

  • Belkin preps DIY NAS wireless router

    N+ unit has USB

    Belkin has upgraded its top-of-the-line 802.11n Wi-Fi router with a USB port and the ability to hang a hard drive off the WLAN. The N+ Wireless Router provides all the customary router features for sharing a broadband link between wire-connected and wireless computers and other gadgets. Its Ethernet ports now operate at …

    Broadband 14 Jul 2008, 14:17

  • Google releases serialization scheme

    Fail and You Pedantic programmers hold love-in

    Protocol buffer: it’s the object serialization scheme the pretentious little shit on your development team has been talking at you about during lunch hours for the past couple of days. You’ve been feigning interest with a steady stream of “oh-yeahs” and “that-sounds-cools”, so you don’t really know what it is. Well today is …

    Developer 14 Jul 2008, 14:24

  • Rebellious BT computers refuse to take orders

    Updated: Can't connect, won't connect

    Hot on the heels of O2's iPhone debacle, the company's former parent BT has spent the last week telling punters who want a new fixed phone line they'll have to call back in a few days, when the computers might be working again. Not all customers are affected, but whole swathes of account numbers have apparently become …

    Broadband 14 Jul 2008, 14:25

  • Creative's Wi-Fi media player streams in

    iPod Touch rival

    Creative has taken the wraps off its latest portable media players (PMPs) and hopes the range will have you rockin’ out over Wi-Fi. Creative's Zen X-Fi: now with Wi-Fi The Zen X-Fi range comprises two models, but the Zen X-Fi with Wireless LAN is the real daddy of the duo because it allows you to stream and download music …

    Hardware 14 Jul 2008, 14:43

  • Belkin readies three-port 200Mb/s powerline Ethernet adaptor

    Belkin will release a 200Mb/s powerline Ethernet adaptor this autumn that's capable of linking in up to three devices across your network. Belkin's Powerline AV+: hook up up to three Ethernet devices The Powerline AV+ plugs straight into a power socket and links to a broadband router-connected second adaptor over the mains …

    Broadband 14 Jul 2008, 14:47

  • FCC boss reshapes hardline stance on Comcast

    No fines - this time

    FCC boss Kevin Martin has said he doesn't want the regulator to fine Comcast for deploying traffic shaping its cable network. Instead, he wants the FCC to order Comcast to do what Comcast has already promised to do: use more transparent traffic shaping techniques, and disclose them fully to users. Chairman Martin needs the …

    Broadband 14 Jul 2008, 14:48

  • Icahn writes another bloody letter

    Shareholders now unable to open front doors

    Yahoo! shareholders will be picking yet another letter from Carl Icahn off their doormats today, as his attempted takeover bid gets ever more bad-tempered. Icahn's letter breaks into capital letters to warn shareholders: "DON'T BE FOOLED" and "ARE YOU, THE REAL OWNERS OF YAHOO!, WILLING TO TAKE THE SAME RISK?". The letter …

    Financial News 14 Jul 2008, 14:54

  • Airshow Blighty hits town - 100 years of UK powered flight

    Farnborough Robots, babe drops, space pods, greenwash and all

    Today is the opening day of the Farnborough Air Show, and the world's aerospace biz bigwigs - with attendant flacks, hacks, booth babes and renta-celebs - have all descended on this little corner of Hampshire to show off their stuff, complain about crappy British event organisation* and try to get a little business done. It's …

    Science 14 Jul 2008, 15:24

  • Open source quality checker released

    And EIF 2.0 draft is delayed

    An open source software project, originally propped up by European Commission (EC) funds, has released an alpha version of its quality control program, Alitheia Core. Software Quality Observatory for Open Source Software (SQO-OSS – pronounced squash) is intended to develop tools based on identified metrics to define and check …

    Developer 14 Jul 2008, 15:36

  • Marathon poker game begins over fate of Fujitsu Siemens

    Siemens could cut and run on PC joint venture

    A massive question mark settled over Fujitsu Siemens Computers this weekend, as its parents reportedly pondered whether to continue supporting the Germany-based PC manufacturer. The JV is due for renewal next year, but reports over the weekend said German industrial giant Siemens was getting cold feet about recommitting to the …

    The Channel 14 Jul 2008, 15:43

  • Raptor and Eurofighter go head to head

    Farnborough Battle of the supersonic white elephants

    There were a lot of things on show today at Farnborough, but probably if they were honest there was only one event which absolutely everyone here was determined not to miss. That was the first ever overseas (public) appearance of the F-22 Raptor, the latest, most unbelievably expensive uberfighter from the USA. In a scheduling …

    Science 14 Jul 2008, 16:16

  • Sun unfolds 1TB of tape

    An archival milestone

    Sun has introduced the world's first tape kit to hold one terabyte of raw data, the StorageTek T10000B. Sun's new T10000B tape drive can read and write existing T10000A tape media and also reformat it at the new, higher density. A library of T10000A media can, in theory, now hold the same information as before but on half the …

    Storage 14 Jul 2008, 17:21

  • Missing Webroot founder found dead

    Tragic end in Hawaii

    Police have recovered the body of missing technology entrepreneur Steven Thomas, the founder of anti-spyware firm Webroot Software. A body identified as Thomas was discovered by firefighters below the Pali Highway lookout near the Pali Tunnel in Hawaii, Nine News reports. The 36-year-old, who was diagnosed with manic …

    Security 14 Jul 2008, 17:45

  • Ubuntu trumpets aromatic pistou of borage

    Hardy Haricot Verts

    You thought Ubuntu Linux was bad enough, right? What with the freedom-loving Mark Shuttleworth behind it and all the peacenik developers. Baked Beaver and Stoned Salamander could only be a couple of releases away. Near Silicon Valley, however, there lurks a darker, more sinister Ubuntu - one dripping with so much hippie …

    Bootnotes 14 Jul 2008, 18:01

  • Putting a mule on a cloud: one man's battle with Amazon S3

    Are we there yet?

    The phrase “cloud computing” has been subjected to unnatural forms of marketing abuse. The buzzword pros have taken two nouns that we all recognize, combined them and formed a nebulous, hideous beast that means many things to many people. Vague as the general cloud computing term is, there are places where you can encounter an …

    Servers 14 Jul 2008, 19:00

  • Judge sides with eBay in fake jewelry spat

    Trademark at Tiffany's

    A federal judge has sided with eBay in its long-running legal battle with jewelry giant Tiffany & Co. In 2004, Tiffany sued eBay for trademark infringement, claiming the online auctioneer failed to prevent the sale of fake Tiffany jewelry on its site, and today, Judge Richard Sullivan of the US District Court in Manhattan …

    Small Biz 14 Jul 2008, 19:10

  • Nvidia concedes SLI for Nehalem chips

    Slashes GTX 260 and 280 prices

    Nvidia is the first to blink in its standoff with Intel over the terms of licensing each others' wares. The graphics chip maker is conceding support for its multi-GPU technology on Intel's upcoming 'Nehalem' processor platform without getting much contractual love in return. SLI will be available for Intel's 'Bloomfield' line …

    Hardware 14 Jul 2008, 20:52

  • Google plays Hide and Seek with Android SDK

    How to lose friends and alienate developers

    Google's strict code of secrecy may work fine for protecting its internal operations. But the company isn't ingratiating itself to software developers by keeping major updates to its Android mobile software platform locked away in a Mountain View dungeon. Now, even those developers once very committed to pushing Google's …

    Developer 14 Jul 2008, 23:19

  • Salesforce.com pulls plug on Sun's flagship Unix servers

    Exclusive Sun rises on Dell in SaaS future

    Salesforce.com is chucking out the last of it Sun Microsystems' Sun Fire servers this week, ending one of Sun's most bragged about relationships. The software-as-a-service (SaaS) pioneer told The Reg that the last of its Sun Fire E25Ks are leaving two massive US-based global data centers, reflecting a shift to standardize on …

    Servers 14 Jul 2008, 23:37