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20th August 2008 Archive

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  • HP makes things personal again in Q3

    Computers and currency do their thing

    In a world of financial doom and gloom, sales of PCs are offering a glimmer of light. Don't believe us? Just look at Hewlett-Packard, which on Tuesday reported a third-quarter profit that beat Wall Street expectations and forecast healthy sales in the current period. The chief driver for HP's success were sales of PCs, which …

    Financial News 20 Aug 2008, 05:37

  • Intel's Atom laptots 'are here'

    IDF Sings Calpella too

    Intel gave its increasingly crowded mobile chip range an airing at IDF Tuesday, showing systems running on its mobile quad-core chips and on the 'Calpella' platform due to launch next year. Dadi Perlmutter, executive VP and general manager in Intel’s mobile platforms group, showed systems running on the Intel Core 2 Extreme …

    PCs & Chips 20 Aug 2008, 05:45

  • Big UK resellers confident despite world's gloom

    ‘Everyone’s a winner, Rodney’

    Customer demand for virtualisation, security and unified communication technologies has helped large UK resellers outgrow the European IT market over the past year. Consolidation has also helped drive growth, with the top 250 resellers’ revenues climbing 24.6 per cent to $43.7bn, well above the industry average growth rate for …

    Channel Register 20 Aug 2008, 07:50

  • The robot at the border: UK bets big on face scanning

    Home Secretary tells us where to stick our faces

    Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is taking risks with public safety, whilst simultaneously condemning thousands of airline passengers to long delays this winter. That is the fear expressed by a spokesperson for the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), in reaction to government plans to test new face recognition software at …

    Government 20 Aug 2008, 08:06

  • Intel lets slip first dual-core Atom

    IDF SCC adopters wish they'd waited

    Intel has quietly introduced its first dual-core Atom processor, the 330, and a new motherboard to go with it. The 45nm 330's a low-power part and - as the lack of an 'N' prefix shows - it's a desktop chip. Intel didn't say what clock speed the chip is set to - higher than the 230's 1.6GHz, we'd say, but it's not certain. The …

    Reg Hardware 20 Aug 2008, 09:14

  • PS4 and Xbox 720 due by 2012, says Crysis firm

    Just our guess though, we don't know anything!

    The president of game developer Crytek has predicted that the successors to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 will appear within the next three to four years. Cevat Yerli was hosting a talk titled "The Future of Gaming Graphics" at the ongoing GC Developer Conference in Leipzig, Germany, when he said that “the PlayStation 4 and …

    Reg Hardware 20 Aug 2008, 09:21

  • Sqweeze your way to Wii fitness

    Wacky add-on promises upper body strength

    Many gamers claim that the Wii makes them fitter. But now an add-on’s in development that promises you the pecs you've always dreamed of. InterAction Laboratories' Wii Sqweeze Picture courtesy Exergamelab At the GC Developers Conference, held in Leipzig this week, a blogger spied and tried an add-on called the Wii Sqweeze …

    Reg Hardware 20 Aug 2008, 09:29

  • UK MoD tries to resell surplus Eurofighters to India, Japan

    Analysis Supersonic chickens coming home to roost

    Reports indicate that British officials have been in talks with several far-flung nations with a view to offloading scores of enormously expensive Eurofighter jets which the MoD has ordered but cannot pay for - or even use. The Financial Times this morning says that unnamed "defence officials have confirmed" that the UK has …

    Government 20 Aug 2008, 09:32

  • Another day, another iPhone fix

    It's a bug's life

    Version 2.0.2 of firmware for Apple's iPhone was made available yesterday, offering improvements on 3G reception for some, but not fixing the crashing applications Steve is promising to sort by September. Apple won't say what's in the latest firmware version, beyond promising "bug fixes", but one thing that won't be fixed is …

    Mobile 20 Aug 2008, 09:54

  • US, EU tech trade row gets serious

    Formal objection made

    The US has made a formal request for the World Trade Organisation to review technology import definitions which it accuses the EU of using for protectionist purposes. The row has been going on for some time over the issue of definitions included in the International Technology Agreement. The US government accuses Europe of …

    Channel Register 20 Aug 2008, 09:55

  • 'Why not try nude female midgets?' says Microsoft Adcenter

    Keywords no one bids on for a reason

    Microsoft Adcenter helpfully sent me a link to lists of low-cost keywords I could advertise on, categorised by sector, to “unlock new customers”. I had a quick look through the ’sport and rec’ list. Here is a small sample: There are lots more where they came from. Microsoft says: These keywords are actual terms …

    Bootnotes 20 Aug 2008, 09:57

  • Old timers rattle zimmers at 'Elderly Persons' sign

    Warning: Patronised pensioners ahead

    Campaigning old timers organisation Age Concern is demanding the scrapping of the "Elderly Persons" road sign, which suggests that advanced years come at the price of a hunched back and a hobble to the shops propped up on a walking stick. The offending image - introduced in 1981 - is described by the British Medical Journal as …

    Bootnotes 20 Aug 2008, 09:58

  • Olympus mounts 7x optical zoom snapper

    It comes at a price though

    Olympus has expanded its Mju range by unveiling a snapper with a sumptuous 7x optical zoom. Olympus' Mju 1060 can recognise 16 faces The ten-megapixel Mju 1060 also has a larger-than-average LCD - it's 3in - which should provide enough space to look at images recalled from the camera’s Micro SD card slot. Up to 16 faces …

    Reg Hardware 20 Aug 2008, 10:09

  • Downing Street rejects 'Clarkson for PM' petition

    Bad news for 49,447 petrolheads

    Having given due consideration to an e-petition demanding that Gordo stand down and make way for Jeremy Clarkson as PM - a campaign which attracted an impressive 49,447 signatures - Downing Street has posted a response on its YouTube channel: We'll take that as a no, then. A shame, really, because it means the dream of …

    Bootnotes 20 Aug 2008, 10:26

  • IBM wraps fat tentacles around fluffy clouds

    Disaster Recovery 2.0

    IBM will splash $300m on 13 new data centres in 10 countries in its latest bid to fluff up cloud computing. The tech giant announces the plans later today, but the pre-briefings show the centres are to be used for disaster recovery. Customers will house their back-ups in data vaults, which they can access very quickly over the …

    Storage 20 Aug 2008, 10:31

  • Puerto Rican corpse stands for three-day wake

    Upright send-off for murdered 'joker'

    A murdered Puerto Rican man who always insisted he'd like to spend his own wake on foot has been granted his wish after grieving relatives propped him in a corner of his house for three days while they said their goodbyes. According to El Nuevo Día, 24-year-old Ángel Pantoja Medina was a good friend of the funeral directors …

    Bootnotes 20 Aug 2008, 10:52

  • BlackBerry clamshell pair leaked online

    Online retailer slips up

    Details of the first BlackBerry clamshell format phones have appeared online, following a mistake made by online retailer Expansys. The BlackBerry 8210 and 8820 were said to look almost identical The firm has since removed all trace of the two talkers, which were dubbed the 8210 and 8820, from its website. But an Expansys …

    Reg Hardware 20 Aug 2008, 10:55

  • Sony Ericsson Walkman W760i 3G sliderphone

    Review Positively packed with features: some pointless, some practical

    A bit more where-it’s-at functionality has been added into the mix with the W760i - alongside a typical spread of music mobile features, Sony Ericsson has introduced integrated A-GPS for the first time. As part of Sony Ericsson’s first wave of GPS-packing handsets, the W760i has Google Maps software pre-loaded, plus a three- …

    Reg Hardware 20 Aug 2008, 11:02

  • Video Review Flip Ultra camcorder

    Today, we're checking out The Flip, a point-and-shoot video recorder for the YouTube generation. Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com It’s easy to draw comparisons with the iPod. The Flip definitely favours simplicity - and, some would argue, constraint - against flexibility and power. But its gimmick - …

    Reg Hardware 20 Aug 2008, 11:16

  • Satnav turtle locates cannabis stash

    Pot luck?

    A turtle with a GPS tracker attached to its shell has accidentally stumbled across a teenager’s secret horde of cannabis plants. The turtle's satnav signal led police to a secret pot stash According to a report by local US news service WUSA, “Jimmy the Turtle” was being tracked by GPS for “research purposes” in Rock Creek …

    Reg Hardware 20 Aug 2008, 11:26

  • Googlephone security team seeks bug hunters

    Android needs You

    Google's Android security team has appealed to bug hunters to help it iron out flaws in the platform. In a posting to a full disclosure mailing list, Android security staff concede that security bugs in complex software stacks are inevitable. They are inviting help from the security community in identifying and ironing out …

    Security 20 Aug 2008, 11:37

  • Bell Micro touts Emulex 8Gb/s Fibre Channel HBAs

    You've read the headline - it's a 'significant' product, according to Bell Micro, the storage distie, which is making new 8Gb/s Fibre Channel HBAs available in Europe. Compared with the earlier 4Gb/s configurations, the new models offer more headroom to 'consolidate more resources, free up servers and reduce procurement and …

    Channel Register 20 Aug 2008, 11:37

  • MoD announces 'Grand Challenge' tech-prize winner

    Analysis Johnny 5 to tame Afghanistan in 2010?

    The MoD has now announced the winner of its "Grand Challenge" technology competition, which ended yesterday. The winning Team Stellar used a ground-crawling robot and two flying ones to unmask a range of likely urban-combat threats. "We are proud to crown Team Stellar the winners of MOD's most prestigious competition for …

    Government 20 Aug 2008, 11:39

  • US police radios killing trees

    Lush lawns latest victims of war on crime

    The relaxed attitude to spectrum use in the USA has come under pressure as a new police radio system in Dallas is interfering with an automated sprinkler system 30 miles away, resulting in brown lawns and dead trees in Plano. The sprinkler system was set up 15 years ago at a cost of $5 million, and covers 1,200 acres of …

    Wireless 20 Aug 2008, 11:41

  • Lords call for variable VAT to cut landfill

    Stop picking on householders

    The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has said the government should do more to encourage businesses to recycle and reduce waste and take the focus away from householders. Recent attempts to reduce domestic waste by weighing dustbins and banning carrier bags should be scrapped in favour of changing the VAT regime …

    Environment 20 Aug 2008, 11:42

  • Nike+ iPhone app uncovered

    Exercise in style

    Nike looks set to capitalise on its partnership with Apple by launching a workout application for the iPhone - if leaked images are to be believed. The Nike+ iPhone app Screengrabs courtesy iPhon.fr Pictures have appeared online that appear to show an iPhone application called Nike+, which plots a runner’s route using …

    Reg Hardware 20 Aug 2008, 11:48

  • Cloud computing lets Feds read your email

    You have 'no expectation of privacy'

    When the new iPhone 3G went on sale last week, I was sorely tempted to wait in line for one. (I didn't - no patience.) One of the features of Apple's device that appeals to me is the new MobileMe service, where you can "access and manage your email, contacts, calendar, photos, and files at me.com," according to Apple. More …

    Law 20 Aug 2008, 12:03

  • Microsoft slaps another $100m on Novell interop pile

    Save all your kisses for me

    Microsoft plans to cough up $100m in additional subs to software rival Novell with the payment being made no later than 1 November, the odd couple confirmed today. MS first stumped up $240m to Novell in late 2006 as part of a broad set of biz and tech interoperability deals to make their products play nice together for the …

    Servers 20 Aug 2008, 12:40

  • Fart-lighting youth in petrol can mishap

    Barf, wind and fire

    A 12-year-old Tipton lad has demonstrated why it's a really bad idea to light your own farts in close proximity to a can of petrol, after he did just that and ended up with 18 per cent burns to his thumb and the backs of his legs. Tipton firemen duly attended the scene of the mishap, but the small blaze resulting from the …

    Bootnotes 20 Aug 2008, 12:42

  • Boeing gets new raygun-on-a-lorry contract

    Fry the unfriendly skies

    US arms'n'aerospace titan Boeing is pleased to announce that it has won a further US Army contract to work on its monster truck with a frikkin lazor beam on it project. The Army plan is called High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator (HEL TD), and is intended to produce a functioning ray cannon mounted on a massive 20-tonne …

    Government 20 Aug 2008, 12:46

  • UK.gov loses 29 million personal records

    Magnificent year-long datachunder

    UK government departments have managed to leak a total of 29 million personal records over a single year. In addition to the 25 million records spilled in the infamous lost child benefit CDs debacle, another four million records went astray in other stuff-ups, some of which have previously gone unreported. Since the HMRC data …

    Government 20 Aug 2008, 13:15

  • Philippine troops battle rampaging MILFs

    It's true, believe us...

    Ok, we apologise: Not only has this story got no IT angle, but it's not even a story at all, just a feeble excuse to run an extravagantly silly headline. However, the headline is actually factually correct, since Philippine troops are indeed battling separatist rebel members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the southern …

    Bootnotes 20 Aug 2008, 13:18

  • Watchdog hits 070 swindlers with big fine

    'Hello, hello, can you hear me? Give me £200,000'

    Regulators today signalled a crackdown on scammers who use 070 numbers to con people into calling premium lines in the belief they will be charged at the normal mobile rate. PhonepayPlus said that its first adjudication on an 070 operator had resulted in a £200,000 fine for Jack Barnard Telecom Services Limited, based in Essex …

    Telecoms 20 Aug 2008, 13:20

  • Archos revamps PMP line-up

    "Internet media tablets" actually, darling!

    Archos has unveiled three state-of-the-art portable media players so rich with features that it’s branded the trio “internet media tablets”. Archos' 7 has the largest screen That means Archos is now offering its machines with the Opera browser, though you don't get it out of box - it's available only "upon registration". …

    Reg Hardware 20 Aug 2008, 14:19

  • Google flicks pennies down geothermal well

    Deep hot wet cracks = green dreams

    Google, the company which has conscripted everyone on the internet to be its Web 2.0 free-content providers, has decided to give something back. The firm will spend $10m - almost a thousandth of a year's ad revenues - to kickstart geothermal power. According to Google: The heat beneath the earth's surface is essentially an …

    Environment 20 Aug 2008, 14:30

  • Wireless browsers shut out of the Olympics

    We don't know where you are

    Mobile broadband over 3G may be able to offer speeds to compete with ADSL, but it can't offer access to the Olympics - at least not from the BBC, who are blocking mobile users from video streams of the event to comply with IOC rulings. Those wanting to watch the latest developments at the Olympics should be sure not to rely on …

    Wireless 20 Aug 2008, 14:31

  • Palm launches £399 Treo Pro

    HSDPA, GPS, Wi-Fi on board

    It's only a day later than anticipated, but Palm has now launched the Treo Pro. Available SIM-free or from Vodafone, the new-look smartphone is somewhere between the Centro and the iPhone 3G. It does indeed pack in tri-band 3G UMTS connectivity with HSDPA, and provide GSM, GPRS and Edge as a back-up. Palm's Treo Pro: watch …

    Reg Hardware 20 Aug 2008, 14:36

  • Dell 'tattoos' Studio notebooks

    Five funky designs to choose from

    Dell has had a flash of artistic inspiration; five "bold and contemporary" designs were crafted by urban artist Mike 'Emperor' Ming and feature on the Studio 15 and Studio 17 laptops. Dell's 'Seaweed' (left) and 'Sea Sky' laptops Users can choose between “Red Swirl”, “Seaweed”, “Sunburst”, “Bunch O Surfers” and “Sea Sky …

    Reg Hardware 20 Aug 2008, 14:55

  • YouTube pros cash in on deaths with fake vids

    Taste.2.0

    Last Sunday morning in Toronto there was a huge explosion at a propane storage depot which resulted in two deaths and 12,000 people being evacuated. The dramatic mushroom-shaped fireball lit up the night sky and was filmed by several Toronto residents. A search on YouTube finds over 300 videos of the explosion. So far, so Web …

    Entertainment 20 Aug 2008, 14:57

  • Vibrating button said to 'improve posture'

    Filled with intuitive technology and advanced microchippery

    If you’re hunched over the desk as you read this story then, ironically, this article could save your spine. That’s because it’s about a gadget that’s claimed to improve your posture. iPosture vibrates to remind you to sit up straight The iPosture is a 1in-wide white dongle that clips onto your clothing and is loaded with “ …

    Reg Hardware 20 Aug 2008, 15:02

  • Debian delivers FreeRunner open-phone package

    20,000 applications, one open phone

    Olympics aside, summer 2008 will be remembered for at least two other reasons. It will be seen as a time when the noise over Linux as a platform for mobile devices reached a crescendo. Second: it marked Debian's fifteenth anniversary. Bringing both together, Debian developers have delivered a version of their Linux distro for …

    Developer 20 Aug 2008, 15:10

  • Netbooks to steer mobile PC demand ahead of curve, claims Intel

    IDF Good news for Atom. Bad news for Core?

    Worldwide shipments of mobile computers will match those of desktops this year - and it's all thanks to the Asus Eee PC and its ilk. So said Intel mobility chief Dadi Perlmutter yesterday at the chip giant's bi-annual Developer Forum. But while that's good news for the Atom chip family, it's less pleasing for the folk behind …

    Reg Hardware 20 Aug 2008, 15:31

  • Copyright lawyers accuse 25,000 UK videogame filesharers

    Court throws P2P users to the Davenport Lyons

    The copyright ambulance-chasers at Davenport Lyons have a High Court order demanding 25,000 UK ISP subscribers' names and addresses, it emerged today. Davenport Lyons will send letters to the addresses it obtains demanding £300 to avoid a potentially costly court battle. The London law firm hit headlines on Tuesday when it …

    Law 20 Aug 2008, 15:48

  • Google App Engine comes under Hyperic scrutiny

    Silver lining meets cloud

    With cloud services losing their 24x7 luster, Hyperic is today expected to step up with its second service probing for potential weaknesses. Hyperic plans to announce CloudStatus - Google App Engine, for developers to spot potential problems with Google's hosted service. CloudStatus uses a set of plug ins that tap Google App …

    Developer 20 Aug 2008, 15:58

  • UK bank chief stung in ID theft scam

    Updated HBOS boss conned

    Identity fraudsters have claimed the prize scalp of the chief exec of HBOS bank. Accounts belonging to Andy Hornby, 41, who earns an estimated £1m a year, were frozen after unauthorised withdrawals of at least £7,000 from his accounts. UK tabloid The Sun reports that crooks used an old bank statement from Hornby to pose as the …

    Bootnotes 20 Aug 2008, 16:18

  • Microsoft's IE 8 puts giant web hole on notice

    Tell us if you've heard this one before?

    Engineers in Microsoft's Internet Explorer group are devising a new means to stamp out one of the web's biggest security banes: attacks that steal email, bank account credentials and other sensitive information by injecting malicious code into trusted websites. Some of the web's biggest names - including Google, Yahoo and …

    Enterprise Security 20 Aug 2008, 19:24

  • Intel stuffs Nehalem chips with joy

    IDF They're turberrific

    Intel has tick-tocked itself into a frenzy about its upcoming line of multi-core fancies now being discussed under the "Nehalem" code-name. Server chief Pat Gelsinger took the stage this week at IDF to speak of Nehalem's wonders, telling the audience that the re-architected chip line will change their businesses and perhaps …

    Servers 20 Aug 2008, 20:05

  • Otto Z. Stern possibly dead at 57

    And Ninthly The first day of the rest of my heroism

    Friends, fans, tireless proles who hope for just a taste of all I've enjoyed - I must bid you "goodbye" or at least "see you later." After years writing The Register's most penetrating pieces on technology and society, I'm putting down the pen and picking up the sword. Well, in fact, I'm picking up a Haggenrozzle 2980 earth …

    Bootnotes 20 Aug 2008, 20:49

  • Intel and Yahoo! go TV ad mad

    Widgets invade our living rooms

    Intel blinked its square eyes again today, when it unveiled a tie-up with Yahoo! to make another stab at connecting the TV and internet. The pair have unveiled the Widget Channel at IDF. Intel’s key contribution is its Media Processor CE 3100, a Pentium M-based system that goes into TVs, set-top boxes, PVRs and the like. The …

    Music and Media 20 Aug 2008, 21:14

  • Microsoft to protect furtive web searches

    IE porn medical research mode

    Microsoft's been accused of many things in its time, but guardian of porn hunters has never been one. That could change with Internet Explorer 8, however. The company has applied for two trademarks in the US that if granted could hide where you've been and what it is you've been looking at with Microsoft's browser. IE could …

    Applications 20 Aug 2008, 22:15

  • Intel hands out rose tinted polarizing glasses to chip geeks

    IDF One-eyed Katz

    Intel just can’t get the stars out of its eyes this week. Hollywood uber cartoon geek Jeffrey Katzenberg took to the stage at IDF Wednesday to plug the deal the two signed barely a month ago. Intel also used the opportunity to dangle the prospect/nightmare of 3D TV in front of an audience already left shaken by the chip maker’ …

    PCs & Chips 20 Aug 2008, 23:25