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22nd August 2008 Archive

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  • Lag log leaks - Home Office contractor loses entire prison population

    Secure database + idiot + memory stick

    In a major coup in the government data loss stakes PA Consulting - which until Monday was one of the Home Office's favourite consulting outfits - has contrived to lose the entire prison population of England and Wales. Personal details of the 84,000 people behind bars, along with those of 10,000 prolific offenders, have vanished …

    Law 22 Aug 2008, 07:13

  • BBC iPlayer upgrade prompts new ISP complaints

    High definition network freezes out the little guy

    The BBC is facing more criticism that the way it delivers iPlayer traffic will make it harder for smaller ISPs to survive. The latest squeeze is a result of Auntie's decision to eschew its current content delivery network provider Akamai in favour of Level3. Content delivery networks are used to improve access to highly …

    Broadband 22 Aug 2008, 08:23

  • Intel talks up CPU+GPU system chippery

    IDF 'Ibex Peak' unpicked

    Intel's next major move in system intregration will be to bring its I/O technology and remaining northbridge functionality into a single chip, 'Ibex Peak', it revealed at its Developer Forum this week. Ibex Peak will target 2009's second-strand 'Nehalem' processor releases, 'Lynnfield', 'Clarksfield', 'Havendale' and ' …

    Hardware 22 Aug 2008, 09:29

  • Logitech rolls out Wii wheel, with feedback

    Driving Miss Daisy, it ain't

    Logitech wants you to feel the force, the Speed Force, that is, integrated into the first Wii driving wheel capable of providing feedback to vibration-addicted speed freaks. Logitech's Speed Force Wireless for Wii Accelerator and brake controls are positioned on the wheel itself, so there’s no need for pedals. A lap-rest …

    Games 22 Aug 2008, 09:35

  • UK White iPhone 3G availability boosted

    Carphone Warehouse now taking orders; O2 will sell it 'soon'

    Roll up! Roll up! Roll up to the Carphone Warehouse because the retailer’s begun taking pre-orders for the white iPhone 3G. Get your order in now The 16GB white-backed model has been extremely rare in the UK until now, but a CW spokeswoman confirmed to Register Hardware this morning that it will begin selling the white …

    Phones 22 Aug 2008, 09:37

  • BCS to review NHS IT for Tories

    Calls for public input

    Shadow health secretary Stephen O'Brien MP has commissioned an independent report from the British Computer Society on what English health service IT should look like in five years' time. Beyond that patient-based records will form the basis of NHS informatics, no assumptions are being made, according the review's chair Dr …

    Government 22 Aug 2008, 09:40

  • Enterprise class mobility

    Blackberry v iPhone v Windows Mobile

    It used to be pretty simple. If you were a large organisation with a hard-core mobile email requirement, the only serious option from a security, robustness, manageability, usability and ease of deployment perspective was Blackberry. If you had a need to develop custom applications, then provided you were happy to construct your …

    Broadband 22 Aug 2008, 09:49

  • Card fraud-fearing Brit tourists carry cash

    Plastic ain't fantastic

    Four in five of Brits are worried about possible fraud if they use their cards overseas with many (60 per cent) choosing to carry cash instead. Card cloning tops the list of fraud worries (46 per cent) followed by card not present fraud (42 per cent) among a sample of 1,700 Brits quizzed on behalf of marketing and travel …

    Security 22 Aug 2008, 10:19

  • El Reg salutes ultimate shed anthem

    'It's Rainham Sheds, hallelujah...'

    The musically-minded among you will be aware that we at El Reg have a soft spot for corporate anthems - especially those which provoke the desire to pull your teeth out with pliers. Today, however, we're delighted to announce that we've stumbled across what must be among the most inspired musical promotions ever - a radio ad …

    Bootnotes 22 Aug 2008, 10:21

  • Jeery Jerry loves Vista, y'know

    Microsoft scoops up funny man in OS ad crusade

    Microsoft has called on American comedian Jerry Seinfeld to big up Vista in its next Windows ad campaign. The software giant is keeping quiet on the details, even though world+dog have nicely spun out the firm’s plans over the past 24 hours. According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is spending $300m on the ad crusade …

    Operating Systems 22 Aug 2008, 10:37

  • Asus M930 Windows Mobile smartphone

    Review Built like the proverbial brick dunny

    Asus has clearly decided that if it can't distinguish its phones from others in the market by way of software or styling, it'll do so by forging them out of solid granite. We thought the P750 was a well bolted together bit of kit. However, it feels like a badly assembled Airfix model next to the M930, a device that you could …

    Mobile 22 Aug 2008, 11:08

  • Web app designers & developers can get into reMix08 cheap

    Rub shoulders with online gods

    Microsoft’s reMix08 lands on the golden beaches of Brighton next month and The Register can help you get there on the cheap. We’ve barracked the Microsoft marketing bods into giving Reg readers a tasty discount for the event. It normally costs £349 (including VAT), but by using the following claims code you and all of your …

    Software 22 Aug 2008, 11:18

  • Winehouse jibe wins Fringe's funniest gag

    'I can't believe Amy self-harms...'

    A tasteless jibe at the expense of galactically-talented bouffant platform Amy Winehouse has secured the Edinburgh Fringe festival's funniest gag crown for comedienne Zoe Lyons. Lyons (pictured) entertained the crowds during her Mangled Mantra of the Messed-up Modern Mind show with the winning: "I can't believe Amy Winehouse …

    Bootnotes 22 Aug 2008, 11:22

  • Apple's MobileMe plays into hands of spammers

    Address harvesting all too easy

    Apple has inadvertently made it easy for spammers to create a database of MobileMe email addresses. The issue points to a future of more junk mail for Mac heads. They are already being targetted by MobileMe phishing scams. The email harvesting issue arises because every MobileMe user gets a public idisk file-sharing site. …

    Security 22 Aug 2008, 11:46

  • NASA test rocket explodes

    Crash, bang at the Wallops

    A NASA rocket carrying two hypersonic experiments this morning exploded shortly after take-off from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, the agency reports. The Alliant Tech Systems ALV X-1 was carrying the HYBOLT experiment designed to "obtain unique high-speed flight data for fundamental boundary layer transition flow …

    Science 22 Aug 2008, 11:49

  • A PS3 price reduction? You must be kidding!

    SCEE President says: "Non!"

    Sony has no intention of helping cash-strapped gamers avoid the credit crunch. The firm has confirmed that there’ll be no UK PlayStation 3 price cut this year. David Reeves, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), this week told website videogaming247 that SCEE is “not going to drop the price this year”. …

    Games 22 Aug 2008, 11:57

  • Sony unveils wireless streaming iPod dock

    If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. To that end, Sony has announced a wireless music system for Apple's iPod that can reach out to any rooms. Sony's S-Airplay: wireless iPod dock... As long as they're within 50m (164ft), that is. The S-Airplay streams songs sucked off a docked iPod out to one of Sony's S-Air speakers. You can …

    Hardware 22 Aug 2008, 12:00

  • PSP-3000's LCD is 'berry' good

    Image highlights screen's clarity advantages

    When Sony announced the PlayStation Portable PSP-3000 yesterday, it didn’t show the new model’s “advanced” LCD in action. Thankfully, the web has come to the rescue. Sony's PSP-2000 (top) and the new PSP-3000 Pictures courtesy Famitsu Sony claimed the 4.3in, 480 x 272, 16:9 ratio LCD screen on the PSP-3000, which …

    Games 22 Aug 2008, 12:19

  • iTunes, and Sting, banned from China

    Athletes blamed for rocking out to Tibetan protest songs

    The Chinese government has blocked access to Apple's iTunes store. Meanwhile, a US-based activist group has claimed that the People’s Republic did it to prevent anyone in the country from downloading a Tibet-themed album. The Art of Peace Foundation (APF) released Songs for Tibet last weekend. Sting, Alanis Morissette, …

    Media 22 Aug 2008, 12:54

  • IT Security: Podium place or first round shame?

    Tech Panel The Reg Readers have spoken

    The results of our Security Poll are in, and like medal-toting 'Team GB', they show that being game counts a lot. The entire report is now available for consumption over in our whitepaper library - grab your very own copy today. A big thanks to the 1,100 fine folk who took part in the poll, the warm up to our forthcoming …

    Tech Panel 22 Aug 2008, 12:59

  • Alleged Brazilian botnet herder faces US extradition

    Zombie farmer suspects sent to the pen

    A Brazilian man who allegedly sold access to a huge network of compromised PCs has been charged with computer hacking offences in the US. Leni de Abreu Neto, 35, of Taubate, Brazil, allegedly maintained and leased access to a 100,000-strong botnet network of compromised PCs that he subsequently attempted to sell, according to …

    Security 22 Aug 2008, 13:03

  • Asus' own Eee-beater spied on web

    Snaps reveals snazzy, top-end system

    Asus' Eee-beater mini laptop, the N series, has made its first appearance online after it emerged the Taiwanese manufacturer had decided to compete with itself. French-language site Blogeee.net has posted a stack of piccies of the 10.2in machine, all of which have clearly come direct from inside Asus' marketing department. …

    Hardware 22 Aug 2008, 13:10

  • Cops cuff anti-drug ninja vigilantes

    Tooled up to deliver 'justified yet merciful force'

    Cops in Clifton, New Jersey, earlier this week cuffed two ninja vigilantes dressed in black SWAT-style vests and carrying knives, throwing stars, swords, nunchucks and a bow and arrows, who were apparently on their way to deliver cease-and-desist letters to local drug peddlers, AP reports. The self-styled "Shinobi warriors" …

    Bootnotes 22 Aug 2008, 13:47

  • Openstream implores you: Talk to your mobile browser

    Swearing won't make that page load any faster, you know

    Feel a pressing need to shout at your phone even when no one's listening? Openstream's Cue-me browser, launched yesterday, implements the latest draft of the W3C Multimodal Interaction Activity, allowing you to do just that. The browser runs on Windows Mobile, Symbian and BlackBerry devices, with the inevitable iPhone version …

    Mobile 22 Aug 2008, 13:52

  • US made to wait for Quantum of Solace

    Next Bond outing pushed back a week

    The next outing for James Bond will not hit US cinema screens until 14 November - a week later than planned and well after the UK premiere in London on 29 October, the BBC reports. Sony's decision to shift the stateside release of Quantum of Solace is apparently based on Warner Bros' announcement last week that Harry Potter …

    Bootnotes 22 Aug 2008, 13:56

  • OLPC kits out entire nation's kids with laptops

    But a small nation

    A small island in the South Pacific has become the world’s first nation to see all of its children equipped with laptops through the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project. The entire 500-strong body of primary and secondary school children in the nation of Niue, which is located just north east of New Zealand, have each been …

    Hardware 22 Aug 2008, 14:17

  • ARM elbows out Intel in Albatron's Eee beater

    Move over Eee PC - here's the... er... Tee PC

    Cheeky Taiwanese manufacturer Albatron has come up with a compact UMPC ready to take on Asus' Eee PC. Why cheeky? The new machine's called the Tee PC. Or maybe it's aimed at golfers, we don't know. What we do know is that it's based not on the usual x86 processor type but on a 400MHz ARM 926 running Windows CE 6.0. It has …

    Phones 22 Aug 2008, 14:33

  • Judge bans European-wide online music rights

    PRS versus Dutch Buma

    The UK's Performing Right Society has won a court case over its Dutch equivalent, Buma, preventing the issuing of a Europe-wide licence for online rights. On 19 July 2008, Buma announced that it had issued such a licence to US online music provider Beatport and claimed that it was for worldwide repertoire, including that …

    Media 22 Aug 2008, 15:08

  • iPhone toolkit goes graphical

    Still no unlocking for 3G iPhones though

    The iPhone-dev team has announced the availability of the latest tools for the iPhone, allowing even the most technically illiterate iUser to install unapproved applications. The tools and techniques have been around for a while, but are now all bundled together into an easy-to-use package for Windows - a Mac version is under …

    Mobile 22 Aug 2008, 15:14

  • Higher, Further, Faster with the Beijing Bonanza

    Site Offer Hurry, while the show's in town

    The Olympic Games are coming to a close this weekend, and so does our Beijing Bonanza sale at Register Books. However, there is no need to miss out as you still have ample time to get stuck into our knockout discount of 50 per cent off* on over 1,600 books. It has also been brought to our attention by one of you (in typical …

    Site News 22 Aug 2008, 15:56

  • FCC votes to silence 700MHz lurkers

    Get your stuff and get out before Feb

    The Federal Communication Commission has voted unanimously to ban the use of low-power transmitters operating in the 700MHz band from February next year, but wireless microphone users aren't going to go down without a fight. The order (pdf) will particularly affect the 30 licensees who don't have anywhere else to go. The FCC …

    Broadband 22 Aug 2008, 16:05

  • Acer US prunes Aspire One mini laptop prices

    Rolls out new top-end model too

    Acer has cut the price of the Aspire One, making its Small, Cheap Computer even cheaper. In the US, at any rate. Stateside, the AA1 with an 8GB SSD, 512MB of memory and Linux pre-loaded will now cost $329 (£175/€221), down from $379 (£202/€255). The AA1 with a 120GB HDD, 1GB of DDR 2 and Windows XP is now priced at $349 (£186 …

    Hardware 22 Aug 2008, 16:06

  • LG confirms 8Mp cameraphone plan as details leak

    HSDPA, Wi-Fi, video capture, quad-band, but no kitchen sink

    LG has confirmed it will release an eight-megapixel cameraphone this year - even as details and juicy pictures emerged online of what the release is expected to be: the KC910. LG's 8Mp KC910 Image courtesy of Phonearena According to a report by Phonearena, "preliminary information" obtainted by the site states that the …

    Phones 22 Aug 2008, 16:18

  • Sun loses MySQL Asia-Pac veteran

    Hunts for replacement

    The veteran head of MySQL's Japan business has quit less than six months after the completion of Sun Microsystems' acquisition of the database company. Larry Stefonic, the president of MySQL's Japanese unit, is now running his own company after more than five years working in MySQL's Asia-Pacific region. A Sun spokeswoman …

    Applications 22 Aug 2008, 16:25

  • Red Hat hack prompts critical OpenSSH update

    Poisoned code never entered our bloodstream, says Linux distro

    Red Hat has warned that hackers were able to commandeer its systems and tamper with code - but said that since its content distribution was not hit, it is confident that polluted code has not served up to users. The first hint that something was wrong came last week when Fedora rebuilt its systems, a reconstruction that was …

    Security 22 Aug 2008, 16:28

  • UK spooks forced to hand Gitmo files to suspect's lawyers

    Dirty bombs, dirty hands for MI5

    The High Court has told British intelligence services to hand over relevant files to lawyers representing Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian and one-time UK resident, facing a US military tribunal at Guantánamo Bay. Mohamed is accused of plotting to trigger a radioactive "dirty bomb" on US soil, and could face the death penalty if …

    Law 22 Aug 2008, 16:35

  • That password-protected site of yours - it ain't

    Google exposes the Net's dirty secrets

    It's one of the simplest hacks we've seen in a long time, and the more elite computer users have known about it for a while, but it's still kinda cool and just a little bit unnerving: A hacker has revealed a way to use Google and other search engines to gain unauthorized access to password-protected content on a dizzying number …

    Security 22 Aug 2008, 18:16

  • Anatomy of a malware scam

    The evil genius of XP Antivirus 2008

    Anyone who has a blog has probably seen blog spam; comments to the blog that simply try to entice people to go to some other site. Most of the time the site being advertised is simply trying to boost its search engine rankings to generate more ad revenue. The more links there are to a site, the more popular the search engines …

    Security 22 Aug 2008, 18:45

  • Dell thrives in up server market

    Ugly economy fails to tarnish iron in Q2

    The server biz is still booming thanks to customers buying up x86 boxes. The current worldwide economic agitation doesn't seem to have affected with major vendors with all of the big names shipping more metal in the second quarter of 2008 than the same period last year, according to the latest bean counting from Gartner. …

    Servers 22 Aug 2008, 18:46

  • MetaRAM now pumping 288GB of memory into Intel boxes

    Triple stuffed

    Super-charging memory shop MetaRAM has started talking up its beefy DDR3 modules. MetaRAM's top customer Hynix has already taken delivery of the DDR3 MetaSDRAM, which allows server customers to pack far more memory inside their standard systems. For example, Hynix is hyping "the world's first" 16GB 2-rank DIMMs, which it …

    Servers 22 Aug 2008, 19:21

  • Actors paid to queue for Poland's iPhone launch

    A phoned-in performance

    Mobile phone carrier Orange Poland admitted today that it hired actors to stand in line for the country's iPhone debut. "It was a part of our marketing strategy, the concept was thought up at Orange Poland," the company told the Associated Press. "The aim was to 'warm up' the atmosphere around the launch of the iPhone." …

    Mobile 22 Aug 2008, 22:42