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31st July 2008 Archive

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  • Hacker murders Facebook word game

    Scrabble, Scrabulous, and Revenge 2.0

    Anyone who's been mercilessly pummeled by a fistful of undesired consonants can tell you that board games are too often serious business. Add the anonymity and general dyspeptic attitude of the internet, and it's surely a recipe for short fuses. Witness: the white-hot passion and misdirected vengeance of fans of the popular …

    Applications 31 Jul 2008, 00:01

  • 'Hacktivism' threatens world of nations

    Usenix DDoS gets political

    Politically motivated computer attacks like the one last year that crippled network traffic in Estonia for weeks are likely to increase, and there's not much victims can do to stop them, a security researcher says. Indeed, just last week government websites in the former Soviet republic of Georgia were ransacked by a denial-of …

    Security 31 Jul 2008, 00:19

  • Quantum porn engine foiled by strawberries and muffins

    How the Cuil kids live

    Yes, Cuil is pants. Though its founders insist they're building a Google killer, the results turned up by this new-age search engine are even more ridiculous than its name. Which is still pronounced "Cool." Quantum computing queries have been known to reveal random pornography (NSFW) - even when "safe search" is turned on. And …

    Applications 31 Jul 2008, 00:34

  • Sun's JavaFX debuts with familiar cast

    Determined to resist RIA success

    You have to respect Sun Microsystems' persistence on NetBeans - repeatedly trying to get you to inadvertently use the thing by including it with other stuff. Sun is today taking another crack with the first code to be released in its Rich Internet Application (RIA) roadmap - a preview of JavaFX, unveiled in May 2007. The …

    Developer 31 Jul 2008, 04:19

  • BT shares plummet on margin pressure

    Hits revenue targets

    BT hit targets for the first quarter ended 30 June 2008 bringing in revenues of £5.1bn, up three per cent on last year. But the market is distinctly underwhelmed, marking shares down 10 per cent in early trading. The telco made earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of £1.433bn, up one per …

    Financial News 31 Jul 2008, 08:22

  • BT reseller biz goes gangbusters in Q1. But...

    Currency swings and margins roundabouts

    BT’s reseller arm, BT Global Services, had a good Q1 on the revenue front, jumping 13 per cent to £2.052bn for the period ending June 30. But margins are under pressure - and the financial community doesn't like it, marking shares down 10 per cent in early trading. Currency movements accounted for a third of Global Services …

    Channel Register 31 Jul 2008, 08:55

  • New Van Gogh pic discovered using German atom-smasher

    Mysterious 'Doris' lurks beneath 'Patch of Grass'

    There may be some readers out there who aren't entirely clear just what synchrotrons - enormous, kilometre-wide magnetic doughnuts used to thrash electrons within an inch of their lives - are actually for. Today, the news furnishes us with a partial answer - you can use a synchrotron to see old paintings hidden beneath other …

    Physics 31 Jul 2008, 09:18

  • The healthy handset

    Phone to measure your pulse and exercise commitment

    Lots has been written about the potential dangers of mobile phones to the human body, so it’s refreshing to hear about one handset that aims to keep users healthy. A pulsimeter checks your pulse Fujitsu’s latest clamshell – the F884iES – includes a “health diary” application, with features specifically designed to allow …

    Reg Hardware 31 Jul 2008, 09:25

  • MPs report back from internet's dark side

    Country going to hell on YouTube

    MPs have called on the government to install a YouTube Czar to oversee user-generated content sites and better labels for video games. The Committee of Culture, Media and Sport, in its report Harmful Content on the Internet and in Video Games, said it was unconvinced by claims from sites like YouTube that they could not check …

    Government 31 Jul 2008, 09:50

  • RM gets fingers into school biometrics market

    Hands over £2.8m for EasyTrace

    RM has grown another tentacle with the acquisition of education technology supplier Orchard Partners Ltd. The firm, which trades as EasyTrace, has been bought by RM for a total consideration of up to £2.8m. UK schools computer supplier RM will initially pay £1m in cash and £1.3m in loan notes redeemable after more than two …

    Public Sector 31 Jul 2008, 09:55

  • EA preps video game PCs

    Buy a PC to suit the title

    Electronic Arts (EA) plans to release pre-configured PCs alongside big name video game launches, in an attempt to blur the boundary between high-end PC gaming and hardware expense. Games blogger Chris Remo recounts a conversation on Sunday at Comic-Con with an EA rep, who told him the first such PC will be launched with Crysis …

    Reg Hardware 31 Jul 2008, 09:59

  • IT career virgins need a cherry on top

    Oversubscribed employers demand overqualified workers

    Any Reg readers looking to change their job or simply start work their career will be left confused by the latest batch of news from UK recruitment experts. For those who still haven’t decided what to do on leaving university, the news from the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) is relatively good. According to its …

    Small Biz 31 Jul 2008, 10:02

  • AVG update nails down stability bugs

    Engine upgrade follows LinkScanner traffic spew fix

    AVG has published an engine upgrade to its popular anti-virus scanning software that addresses a raft of stability bugs. The update, published Tuesday, addresses a bug that means the scanner is liable to crash when scanning malformed UPX compressed executable files. More significantly version 8.0.156 of the software fixes …

    Malware 31 Jul 2008, 10:11

  • Up to 80,000 AOLers face the boot from Carphone network

    As it dials down broadband targets

    Carphone Warehouse's ongoing network integration prompted by its purchase of AOL's broadband business in 2006 could spell trouble for tens of thousands of customers, CEO Charles Dunstone warned today. In the firm's Q2 trading update, he said: "We have successfully migrated over 1.3m AOL customers: a further 80,000 customers, …

    Telecoms 31 Jul 2008, 10:29

  • N96 launch delayed until October

    Flagship phone's arrival put back for unknown reasons

    Nokia’s much-hyped flagship handset – the N96 – is now available to buy. That’s what we’d be saying to you if we were in October, because that’s when Nokia’s delayed the phone’s UK launch until. Retailer Carphone Warehouse got panting punters all aquiver back in March, when it confirmed that the N96 was expected into its …

    Reg Hardware 31 Jul 2008, 10:30

  • US airforce to launch robotic Space Shuttle 2.0 this year

    Winged spaceplanes not dead, just unmanned

    NASA may have given up on spaceplanes for now, with the Shuttle soon to be replaced by old-school rocket stacks and capsules. But the US Air Force, it seems, still sees a need for spacecraft which can re-enter atmosphere and make a runway landing. Reports indicate that the X-37B unmanned spaceplane demonstrator will make its …

    Space 31 Jul 2008, 10:45

  • Spammers, Cuil, and the rescue from planet Google

    Analysis Out-Googling Google is not an option

    Plenty of digital ink has been needlessly spilt this week over the launch of the suicidally-monikered new search engine Cuil.com. But the only threat to Google is itself and, in a roundabout way, the legion of spammers and "search engine optimisation" (SEO) consultants that buttress its dominance. These dog days of summer …

    Software 31 Jul 2008, 11:02

  • Gov videogame report backs BBFC

    BBFC has "widespread recognition," finds government

    A single videogame classification system controlled by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is the best option for the UK, according to a government report. The Committee of Culture, Media and Sport, in its report Harmful Content on the Internet and in Video Games, admitted the separate videogame labelling systems …

    Reg Hardware 31 Jul 2008, 11:10

  • Oz man cracks one off while speeding in drug-packed car

    Films himself on the job, too

    An Australian man unsurprisingly faces a spell in jail after cops pulled him for driving at 147km/h (91 mph) in a Holden SV6 packed with 5kg of cannabis, two dope plants, a couple of drug pipes and a loaded .22 rifle. Brendon Alan Erhardt, 39, was pulled on 16 July on the Northern Territory's Stuart Highway roughly 500km (310 …

    Bootnotes 31 Jul 2008, 11:11

  • MS springs patent complaint on Taiwanese mouse vendor

    Redmond whacks Primax

    Microsoft yesterday filed a patent infringement complaint against a Taiwanese computer peripherals vendor after talks on a licensing agreement for mouse technology stalled. The software giant said that over the past few years it has made “repeated attempts” to strike a licensing deal with Primax Electronics Ltd, which …

    Reg Hardware 31 Jul 2008, 11:23

  • English Channel defeats one-armed Frenchman

    Plucky attempt, mon brave

    A one-armed Frenchman came tantalisingly close to swimming the English Channel on Monday, but was defeated when strong currents "dragged him off his planned route" within sight of the French coast, Reuters reports. Retired carpenter Olivier Desmet, 56, lost his left forearm in a motorbike accident back in 1976. He said he'd …

    Bootnotes 31 Jul 2008, 11:45

  • Panasonic 40in OLED by 2011

    OLED size war hotting up

    Matsushita - best known as the owner of Panasonic – has already promised to punch out 37in OLED TVs by 2011. But the firm’s now promised to make 40in OLED screens available within three years too. According to a report by Japanese news source Nikki and seen by the Associated Press, Matsushita is expected to begin mass …

    Reg Hardware 31 Jul 2008, 11:53

  • UK data watchdog gives Google spycar fleet the greenlight

    Privacy campaigners mown down by Street View juggernaut

    Following a quiet word down at the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), Google has been given regulatory approval to publish photographs taken by the fleet of camera-carrying black Opels currently surveying Britain. The ICO says it was persuaded by Google's assurances that it will blur the faces of people captured by one …

    Law 31 Jul 2008, 12:21

  • NASA spies liquid in Titanic lake

    Hydrocarbon fluids confirmed on Saturn moon

    NASA scientists have announced that at least one of the giant lakes previously spied on Saturn's moon Titan contains liquid hydrocarbons - making it the "only body our solar system beyond Earth known to have liquid on its surface", as the agency puts it. The lakes were identified by the Cassini spacecraft, and although …

    Space 31 Jul 2008, 12:25

  • NetApp loses global channel sales head

    No reason given

    NetApp's VP for Worldwide Channels, Leonard Iventosch, has abruptly left the company. He left his post two days ago with no reason being stated publicly. Iventosch was popular and has had a successful eight years at NetApp as its channel sales became more important. He was named a 2008 Channel Chief by CMP Channel’s CRN in …

    Channel Register 31 Jul 2008, 12:31

  • Nvidia's GeForce 9 GPU trio

    More bang for your buck

    Nvidia has taken the wraps off its latest graphics processing units (GPUs), which it claims cater for the increasing number of PC applications requiring more graphics horsepower for visuals. Nvidia GeForce series 9 GPU The GeForce 9800 GTX+, 9800 GT and 9500 GT GPUs – the latter of which features on PNY’s latest graphics …

    Reg Hardware 31 Jul 2008, 12:32

  • Acer uses Europe, Asia to bounce past profit forecasts

    EMEA market boost

    Acer today reported a better than expected rise in second quarter profits after increasing its market share in Europe and Asia. Net profit was up 47 per cent to NT$2.92bn ($95m), or NT$1.17 a share, from NT$1.98bn, or 76 cents, a year earlier. Analysts had forecast NT$2.62bn for the company's Q2. The Taiwanese computer maker …

    Channel Register 31 Jul 2008, 12:34

  • Motorola accidentally makes a profit

    Someone take an early vacation?

    Motorola wrong-footed the markets this morning when it turned in an unexpected profit for its second quarter and said it would be in the black for the year. However, the better-than-anticipated bottom line had nothing to do with its mobile devices division, which still managed to show sliding sales and increased losses. …

    Financial News 31 Jul 2008, 12:34

  • Home Office minister gets tough, then gets stuck

    'Tough on foreigners! CAN YOU HEAR ME?'

    Is Liam Byrne trying to tell us something? For some time now we've noted a 'drip drip' quality to the pronouncements of the minister i/c ID cards and immigration, gradually - no, probably not gradually - building the impression of a huge mailed fist slamming down on Johnny Shiftless Thieving Foreigner. Essentially, when we …

    Government 31 Jul 2008, 12:40

  • Official: Eee PC range to expand

    Ultimate and Pro Fashion ranges added

    Asus has designed a new range of Eee PCs designed to capture the hearts of a wider range of miniature PC lovers, the company has confirmed. According to a report by Digitimes, Jerry Shen, president of Asus, has said that Ultimate and Pro Fashion ranges of the PC are in devlopment. The current range – Smart Casual – holds 11 …

    Reg Hardware 31 Jul 2008, 14:03

  • The Register reaches more tech professionals than ever

    Press release Record readership, record audit

    London, UK, July 31 The Register has marked its tenth year as the UK's top tech and science news website by publishing its best readership figures yet. An ABCe audit for April 2008 shows traffic to The Register continues to grow. Unique users hit 5.3 million, up 13 per cent year on year, while page impressions were 34.6 million …

    Press Releases 31 Jul 2008, 14:42

  • Emirates airline website plummets offline in A380 excitement

    Oil superpower fails to pay domain subs

    Dubai's government-owned airline, Emirates, forgot to renew its domain name this week, sending its website crashing offline on the same day it was trumpeting delivery of its first Airbus A380 superjumbo. Travellers keen to be among the first to book flights on the so-called "premium hotel in the sky" via Emirates.com were met …

    Telecoms 31 Jul 2008, 14:43

  • Misheard song lyrics blamed on technology

    "Oooo-oooooh my ears are alight"

    If you don’t know the words to your favourite songs, then don’t blame your hearing because a survey’s found that music download sites and declining CD sales could actually be the cause. The National Year of Reading, a group created to celebrate reading, recently surveyed 4000 Brits aged between 18 and 65. It found that 62 per …

    Reg Hardware 31 Jul 2008, 14:49

  • Cash'n'Carrion: A lean, mean, fighting machine

    Reg merchandising tentacle reborn

    We're delighted to announce this sunny afternoon the rebirth of Reg merchandising tentacle Cash'n'Carrion - which has undergone a complete overhaul and now boasts an improved shopping experience and a rack of new t-shirt designs. Our shirts are now printed to order by German cotton-botherers Spreadshirt, affectionately known …

    Site News 31 Jul 2008, 14:50

  • Feds not scouring Facebook for terrorists (say Feds)

    Social engineering used to whip up Storm worm

    An FBI-backed organisation has warned computer users to ignore claims that the Feds are scouring Facebook for terrorists. A new batch of junk mail messages claims the FBI is on the hunt for Jihadist fans of the social networking site. The claims are a ruse to try and persuade prospective marks to click a link that promises …

    Crime 31 Jul 2008, 15:25

  • Black hats attack gaping DNS hole

    Fake Google exploit 'wildly mature'

    Miscreants are actively exploiting a gaping hole in the internet's address lookup system that can cause millions of web surfers to receive counterfeit pages when they try to access online banking services and other types of websites. The first confirmed instance came on Tuesday, when security researcher H D Moore discovered a …

    Security 31 Jul 2008, 18:02

  • Chinese net censors unblock BBC, Wikipedia

    Olympic games

    After foreign journalists complained that several web sites had been blocked at Olympic media centers in Beijing, it appears that access has been now restored to some, including the BBC's Chinese-language site. Speaking to The Beeb itself, an International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson called this a "good sign." Back …

    Music and Media 31 Jul 2008, 18:07

  • EDS shareholders welcome HP overlords

    Vote favors $13.9bn acquisition

    Hewlett-Packard's proposed $13.9bn purchase of the computer services giant Electronic Data Systems (EDS) has been overwhelmingly approved by its shareholders. EDS said about 98.8 per cent of the company's shares of common stock were in favor of the acquisition. That number represents about 72 per cent of total EDS outstanding …

    Financial News 31 Jul 2008, 18:18

  • Sun girds its grid for cloud business spin out

    Exclusive Sniffs new business opportunity

    Sun Microsystems' utility computing operation is being turned into a separate cloud business unit lead by Sun's chief sustainability officer Dave Douglas. The Reg has learned Douglas will run Network.com, which provides hosted applications, servers and storage charged on a per-use basis, and will report directly to Sun chief …

    Servers 31 Jul 2008, 19:22

  • Google: 'Even in the desert, privacy does not exist'

    Defends Street View, scoffs at The Borings

    As Google's government-approved spycar fleet drives across the UK, doing its best to photograph every inch of the country, the search giant cum global menace has told the world that "even in today's desert, complete privacy does not exist." Back in April, we told you the tale of Mr. and Mrs. Boring, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania …

    Law 31 Jul 2008, 19:44

  • Scrabble knock-off reborn as Wordscraper

    More breathless coverage of Facebook board games

    The popular Facebook application Scrabulous may have been shut down yesterday in response to a lawsuit from Hasbro, but today it's been reborn as a word game designed specifically to appease the less-than-jolly toymaker. Indian developer brothers Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla today released a new game on Facebook called " …

    Applications 31 Jul 2008, 20:48

  • New Yorker gets 30 months for bogus Cisco gear

    Cheap knock-offs, big profits

    A hardware reseller from New York state has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for passing off cheap Chinese networking gear as genuine Cisco products. Charles Lacy-Thompson, 52, of Briarcliff Manor, New York, was also ordered to pay $2.2m in restitution and forfeiture of profits, according to the US Attorney's …

    Channel Register 31 Jul 2008, 22:15

  • Stormtrooper helmet sales still legal in Britain

    Americans must play moisture farmer

    A British movie prop maker who crafted the Stormtrooper uniform for the original Star Wars movie can continue selling replicas of the costume throughout the galaxy — the US excepted. George Lucas's production company Lucasfilm sued Andrew Ainsworth over copyright violations for selling Stormtrooper suits and helmets through …

    Odds and Sods 31 Jul 2008, 23:52