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21st July 2008 Archive

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  • Dell hits all the wrong keys – again

    You say tomayto, we throw tomahtoze...

    Dell isn’t having much luck with keyboards this summer. The computer giant admitted Friday that some of its XPS One machines have been wrongly shipped to the UK with US keyboards. We were alerted to Dell’s latest embarrassing keyboard blunder after El Reg reader Chris told us about a friend who recently bought a Dell XPS One …

    PCs & Chips 21 Jul 2008, 06:02

  • What's best advice for building an Atom-based PC?

    If I were to assemble a PC based on the Intel Atom for my mother to do internet browsing, how would I go about it? I'm mostly confused about the power supply requirements and the memory compatibility. I should be able to figure out the rest.

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2008, 07:02

  • US cyberspying fears hang over Beijing Olympics

    Dithers over threat level

    US paranoia about Chinese computer hackers has created a diplomatic dilemma about whether or not to warn visitors and business people traveling to next month's Beijing Olympics about cyber-security risks. Last month the department of Homeland Security privately warned government and key private-sector contacts of the cyber- …

    Government 21 Jul 2008, 07:02

  • New Criminal Information Quango sighted

    Ex-mandarin hides plans for world domination behind criticism of Police

    As Parliament prepares to recess this week and MPs pack suntan lotion and head for the Tuscan hills, it's traditional for government departments to sneak out important reports and make major announcements of future initiatives on the sly. So it was no surprise last week to find the “Review of Criminal Information” (ROCI) making …

    Policing 21 Jul 2008, 07:02

  • Wii aids family togetherness, report claims

    One big whole

    If it’s quality family time you’re after, then it’s a Wii’s you want. That’s according to a new study which claims to have discovered that gamers rank the Wii as the best console for family togetherness. Pollster GfK NOP questioned 464 people aged 16 and over, and found that 83 per cent believe the Wii increases family …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2008, 08:07

  • Brown's aide, Mata Hari and the BlackBerry

    Gov caught sleeping on data security

    One of Gordon Brown's senior advisers lost his BlackBerry on a recent trip to China after he was picked up by a woman in a disco. Downing Street is insisting the device was lost rather than stolen, but the incident is bound to raise more questions about the government's inability to look after data. The man was accompanying …

    Government 21 Jul 2008, 09:01

  • SpaceShipOne firm to build DARPA's Heliplane

    Auto-gyro-dyno-retro copter project lives again

    The US military's ongoing bid to revive grand old vertical lift concepts of the 1950s under the name "Heliplane" has gained a new lease of life. The financially-distressed main contractor is to be replaced by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT), and the airframe will now be made by renowned high-tech company …

    Government 21 Jul 2008, 09:03

  • US PS3 sales surge

    But not enough to knock the Wii off course

    US PlayStation 3 sales almost doubled last month on the back of the latest in the Metal Gear Solid game series - but the Wii remained June's games console champion. According to figures from market watcher NPD, Sony shifted 405,500 PS3s through US retail channels in June, up 94.3 per cent on the May's total of 208,700. The …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2008, 09:50

  • MobileMe offers another free bite of the Apple

    'We're really sorry again'

    Apple has offered MobileMe users free month's trial to apologise for taking their money without asking, in addition to the free month they got for the misrepresentation of the service. However, users are still reporting that MobileMe keeps forgetting where they're supposed to be and when they should be there. Last week Apple …

    Mobile 21 Jul 2008, 10:25

  • Star Wars MP3 player invades the galaxy

    Take The Force with you

    The technology behind the Star Wars MP3 player is hardly light years ahead, but the unit’s kitsch value alone means it’s sure to excite some of the film’s fanatics. The Star Wars MP3 player: impressive, most impressive? Sadly, the player’s major drawback is that it only has a 512MB internal memory and there’s no mention of …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2008, 10:38

  • Unions line up against airline ID cards

    Airport workers join their bosses

    Unions representing airline and airport staff are to tell Home Secretary Jacqui Smith that her plan to force staff to carry ID cards will add nothing to airport security. They say she is adding complexity and expense to an already secure system. The Trade Unions Congress is to meet Smith later this week but has already written …

    ID 21 Jul 2008, 10:38

  • EU abolishes the acre

    Blighty bows to Johnny foreigner's 0.4047 hectares

    The European Union has provided further evidence of its sinister plan to convert this once-proud nation into nothing more than a stuffed songbird-eating satellite of the Continent by "abolishing" the British acre, the Telegraph reports. Centuries of proud history and culture were undone on 15 July when the government signalled …

    Bootnotes 21 Jul 2008, 10:41

  • Dangerous mobe chargers flood UK

    Buy cheap kit and pay the price

    Cheap replacement chargers are flooding into UK shops, undercutting legitimate products while putting punters in danger from badly-made connections and low specifications. The chargers, some of which bear a forged CE mark, are sold on the cheap and branded as "Travel Chargers". Trading Standards has issued a specific warning …

    Mobile 21 Jul 2008, 11:04

  • Jeremy Clarkson tilts at windmills

    Speed camera avoidance is an urban myth

    Following last week’s round-up of road news by El Reg – and a number of reader comments about the new “average speed” cameras that are being rolled out across the UK - it's nice to see Jeremy Clarkson taking up the subject in his column in the Sun. (Just kidding- we know this has been a bugbear of JC since the dawn of time). …

    Science 21 Jul 2008, 11:22

  • Roberts solarDAB radio

    Review Here comes the sun, little darlin'

    Undeterred by the unpredictable nature of the great British summer, Roberts has released a radio that it can power itself purely by the light of the sun. Firstly, let's look at the other functions on the radio, which are pretty good. There's the detachable aerial, for instance. This can be clipped into a recess on the back of …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2008, 11:29

  • BAA 'invented green superjumbo' to OK Heathrow plans

    Comment Noise nimbyism doesn't equal green, people

    The BBC's renowned Panorama team - famous for breaking the "news" that Wi-Fi really does make your head explode - will tomorrow reveal that UK airport operator BAA has cynically colluded with the government to falsify the environmental impact of expanding Heathrow airport. According to early reports, BAA drove down the projected …

    Environment 21 Jul 2008, 11:30

  • Asus Eee PC storms Euro PC maker chart

    Acer tightens grip too

    Asus saw its share of the European PC market more than double in Q2, and it's all thanks to the Eee PC. So show figures from market watcher IDC. In Q2 2007, Asus' share of the PC market was a mere 2.8 per cent. One year on, that figure had risen to six per cent. Its shipments rocketed from 497,000 units to 1.315m. That was …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2008, 11:51

  • Climate Swindle film: bruised egos, but no offence

    So says Ofcom

    British regulator Ofcom has rejected complaints that the popular polemical film, The Great Global Warming Swindle, misled viewers. The regulator said it was paramount that the public received alternative points of view - even if these were not endorsed by institutions or the major political parties. While some aspects of the …

    Environment 21 Jul 2008, 11:55

  • NASA eyes Japan's ISS supply vehicle

    'Unofficial negotiations' to buy

    NASA is reportedly negotiating to buy the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) as a means of ensuring it can fulfil its obligation to supply the International Space Station following retirement of the space shuttle fleet in 2010. According to the Yomiuri newspaper, reported via Reuters, NASA is …

    Space 21 Jul 2008, 11:58

  • Robotic camera mount captures panoramic wonders

    Shoot high quality wonders with ease

    A wide angle lens isn’t the only way to get a panoramic holiday snap. A robotic camera mount's been invented that promises to capture highly detailed panoramic shots with ease. A commercial GigaPan model will released this year The GigaPan robotic mount attaches to any compact camera. Users simply select the area they want …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2008, 11:58

  • Scottish gov OKs Europe's biggest onshore wind farm

    Windbaggery

    Scottish ministers today greenlighted Europe's largest windfarm. The 152-turbine, 548MW Clyde wind farm will comprise clusters of turbines straddling the M74 motorway near Abington in South Lanarkshire, providing juice for 320,000 homes. The £600m project will create 200 jobs during construction and 30 full-time operational …

    Environment 21 Jul 2008, 12:07

  • Third plutoid christened 'Makemake'

    Polynesian fertility god joins league of dwarf planets

    The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has declared that the trans-Neptunian dwarf planet formerly dubbed 2005 FY9, or "Easterbunny", will henceforth be known as the equally silly "Makemake". Makemake, discovered in 2005 by a team from the California Institute of Technology led by Mike Brown, is the fourth officially- …

    Space 21 Jul 2008, 12:09

  • IBM, Oracle and SAP sued over server software patents

    Implicit Networks demands royalties

    Seattle firm Implicit Networks is suing Adobe, IBM, Oracle and SAP for patent infringements. Implicit Networks accuses the four of infringing two separate patents related to speeding up security processes on servers. The company wants a royalty payment and is not seeking to stop sales of the products, which include IBM's …

    Applications 21 Jul 2008, 12:19

  • Intel UMPC chip enters service as server CPU

    Madness or genius?

    UK hosting company Bytemark has seen the future of servers and it's... er... a processor designed for tiny laptops and desktops. Yes, we're talking Intel's Atom, specifically the 1.6GHz 230, which Bytemark's now using as the basis for what it claimed were its lowest-cost dedicated Linux-running servers yet. An Atom-based box …

    Servers 21 Jul 2008, 12:32

  • iPhone 3G gains battery booster

    Emergency power for your precious phone

    The arrival of a swathe of iPhone 3G accessories was inevitable after the handset's release. The latest one’s a backup battery that’ll juice up your handset when you’re away from a power socket. The Backup Battery for iPhone 3G: power in no time The 1400mAh rechargeable battery can be charged through the iPhone’s dock and …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2008, 12:35

  • Yahoo! hands Icahn board seat, ends battle

    Microhoo! No! more! letters!

    Yahoo! and Carl Icahn have agreed to settle their differences and call off their proxy battle for control of the company. Icahn had proposed an alternative slate of directors and called on shareholders to vote in his favour at a general meeting 1 August. The bazillionaire greenmailer wanted to take control of the board in …

    Financial News 21 Jul 2008, 13:01

  • eBay breaks bread with luxury goods firms

    Counterfeit handbags at dawn

    eBay is to pow-wow with luxury goods manufacturers which want the online tat bazaar to better police sales of fraudulent merchandise. The meeting, held in London on 28 July, brings together lawyers from eBay, along with representatives of luxury goods association the Walpole Group, which counts in its membership shoemaker Jimmy …

    Financial News 21 Jul 2008, 13:16

  • Japan kicks off electric car format war

    Prius-ray vs Dominant Volt Drive?

    Japanese motor globocorps jockeying for position in the electric car market of tomorrow will unite to present a worldwide standard for automotive Li-ion batteries and related technologies, according to reports. The alliance will include Toyota, Nissan and Matsushita, but Honda - which appears to favour hydrogen fuel cells over …

    Environment 21 Jul 2008, 13:23

  • DDoS attack floors Georgia prez website

    Black deeds on the Black Sea

    A denial of service attack hit government websites in the former Soviet republic of Georgia over the weekend amid growing diplomatic tensions between the country and Russia. The DDoS assault on the website of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili rendered it unavailable over the weekend. The attack was run via botnet networks …

    Security 21 Jul 2008, 13:45

  • LG unveils 'speedy, sexy' storage

    Designer drives?

    Whoever said storage wasn’t sexy was dead wrong - at least according to LG. The firm’s launched a range of portable hard drives that are more designer than desktop. LG's XD1 drive: good looking? The XD1 2.5in range features a snakeskin-like look dubbed “Sunrise Gradient” and can be bought in either a “red wine” shade or …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2008, 14:48

  • Cheap chargers claimed to put gadget fans at risk

    Buyer beware!

    Buying an unbranded power adaptor may save you a few quid, but it could end up costing you dear, Trading Standards officers claimed today. Trading Standards has recalled all unbranded console chargers, including this one marked only 'DE62347066' The Buckinghamshire division of the government-backed consumer protection body …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jul 2008, 14:56

  • American physicists warned not to debate global warming

    Climate row heats up

    Bureaucrats at the American Physical Society (APS) have issued a curious warning to their members about an article in one of their own publications. Don't read this, they say - we don't agree with it. But what is it about the piece that is so terrible, that like Medusa, it could make men go blind? It's an article that examines …

    Environment 21 Jul 2008, 16:04

  • Researchers release 'cold boot' attack utilities

    A way around disk encryption

    The security researcher who demonstrated the 'cold boot' attack has released the source code for the hack. The attack, first demonstrated in February, uses a set of utilities to lift crypto keys from memory even after a reboot. A boon for hackers and computer forensics experts alike, the approach created a means to circumvent …

    Enterprise Security 21 Jul 2008, 16:56

  • CherryPal launches $249 mini PC into ad-backed cloud

    Buzzword chimera the size of a paperback

    Start-up CherryPal is taking pre-orders today for its partly cloudy "desktop" that mashes web-hosted computing, going green, open source, and social networking into a 10 ounce box. The (self-titled) CherryPal systems are $249, and surprisingly won't require a monthly subscription despite the fact that most of its storage …

    PCs & Chips 21 Jul 2008, 17:07

  • Intel slashes Xeon, Core 2 Duo prices

    Not to mention a Core 2 Quad

    A week after trumpeting a healthy second quarter profit leap, Intel has slashed the prices of several server and desktop processors. Yesterday, with a post (PDF) to its web site, Chipzilla announced new pricing for three Xeon chips, three Core 2 Duo models, and one Core 2 Quad. Sadly, it did not change the name of the Core 2 …

    PCs & Chips 21 Jul 2008, 18:58

  • Researcher's hypothesis may expose uber-secret DNS flaw

    Responsible disclosure debate rages on

    Two weeks ago, when security researcher Dan Kaminsky announced a devastating flaw in the internet's address lookup system, he took the unusual step of admonishing his peers not to publicly speculate on the specifics. The concern, he said, was that online discussions about how the vulnerability worked could teach black hat …

    Enterprise Security 21 Jul 2008, 19:28

  • Linux on mobiles will put the squeeze on MS, says Zemlin

    OSCON Manifest destiny again

    Once it was the desktop, now mobile phones and embedded devices represent the future of Linux, according to open source fans. Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, painted a future of Linux's manifest destiny - running everything from aerospace systems to the phone in your pocket. According to Zemlin, Linux …

    Operating Systems 21 Jul 2008, 19:44

  • US court sides with Janet Jackson's breast

    No fine for 'Nipplegate'

    America's puritanical streak goes only so far. Today, a US appeals court vaporized the $550,000 fine the FCC famously slapped on CBS for showing the country a majority of Janet Jackson's right breast. At halftime of the 2004 Super Bowl, as he warbled "I'm gonna have you naked by the end of this song," pop prince Justin …

    Law 21 Jul 2008, 21:12

  • Scientists ponder future Moon mission activities

    One of these days, Alice...

    A clever fellow once observed that the Moon is a harsh mistress. Humanity's subsequent jaunts up to the place indicated it was a pretty solid hypothesis. The Ritz-Carlton it is not. Now NASA has the vision of not only returning astronauts back to the orbital dustball in 2020, but establishing a long-term moon base there. …

    Space 21 Jul 2008, 22:35

  • Registrars turn blind eye to sites selling illegal steroids

    Is anyone in charge around here?

    Next time you see websites brazenly pushing anabolic steroids, thank GoDaddy, Dynadot and a half-dozen other US-based registrars, which allow them to operate even though they're illegal, claims a new report. Released Monday, the report catalogs 156 websites offering steroids without a prescription or verifying that the would- …

    Telecoms 21 Jul 2008, 23:36