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29th August 2008 Archive

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  • Sony Ericsson delays Windows phone to Jan 09

    So says SE website...

    Has Sony Ericsson's eagerly awaited Windows Mobile smartphone, the Xperia X1, been delayed? The company's own website says it has. A trip to the Sony Ericsson "official e-shop" and its Coming Soon section shows the X1 listed with a release timeframe of "January". Unless the handset's development has gone very much awry, that …

    Reg Hardware 29 Aug 2008, 00:02

  • Internet Explorer - now with 35% less FAIL

    Playing catchup with IE8 beta 2

    Internet Explorer 8 beta 2 has been released, and it certainly makes for better browsing than the rough-around-the-edges beta 1 build. Rather than recommend the code only to web designers and developers of stout courage, Microsoft is throwing open the door for end-users one and all. The build adds some notable security and …

    Applications 29 Aug 2008, 00:19

  • Reformatting freetard fubars RIAA fight

    Kazaa user destroyed evidence

    Good grief, people. As things are, we'll never have to pay for recorded music ever again. Getting free music online is as easy as picking up five pound notes in the street (when no one's watching) - and the chances of facing a fine range from minimal to non-existent. (The British version of the RIAA, the BPI, no longer pursues …

    Music and Media 29 Aug 2008, 03:06

  • Google admits Android App Store Market

    No Jobsian ruby killing

    As expected, Google will offer its very own Android app store. But don't call it can app store. In late May, at the Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco, Android project leader Andy Rubin stopped just short of announcing an iPhone-like app store for his not yet open open mobile platform. And today, over at the …

    Mobile 29 Aug 2008, 03:28

  • Now Hollywood is chasing UK downloaders

    Exclusive And getting the wrong guy

    Tiscali threatened to disconnect a customer for illegally downloading a TV show last week, after receiving a copyright infringement notice from a Hollywood studio. The only problem was the customer had quit the ISP months before the alleged transgression was made. Euan MacLay had been a customer of Freedom2Surf (F2S) for two …

    Music and Media 29 Aug 2008, 07:02

  • Ofcom considers termination charges

    Fancy paying to receive mobile calls?

    Ofcom has published an assessment of the UK's mobile industry, which is all looking rosy we are told - but it wants to hear from the public on a range of issues including whether we should pay to receive calls. The report calls for "fresh strategic thinking" on call termination charges - the current rules expire in 2011, so …

    Mobile 29 Aug 2008, 08:02

  • Is the ION VHS2PC Macrovision friendly?

    Q&A

    I have been reading about this machine by ION that can copy VHS tapes to the PC so that they can be saved on DVDs. The question is, will it defeat Macrovision copy protections? I can't find a straight answer to this. I've got a bunch of kid's movies that I would like to put on DVD. Will the ION do it?

    Reg Hardware 29 Aug 2008, 08:02

  • UK.gov child data-sharing scheme delayed (again)

    Controversial ContactPoint hit by 'user interface problems'

    ContactPoint, the government's planned database to cover every child in England and Wales, has been delayed again, but officials said fears over the potential for massive data losses were not to blame this time. The scheme had been scheduled to go live in April this year, but was delayed until October by government-wide …

    Government 29 Aug 2008, 09:01

  • Two Shuttles hit by fuel tank problems

    Is it supposed to make that rattling noise?

    Space shuttles Atlantis and Endeavour, the next two planned to fly, may have technical problems with their external fuel tanks. Both spacecraft are due to roll out to launch pads at the Kennedy Space Centre. NASA has just rescheduled roll-out of Atlantis to Kennedy's Launch Complex 39A, moving the event back from August 30th …

    Space 29 Aug 2008, 09:13

  • Fog of attack clouds Best Western hack

    Analysis Are you local? Really?

    Conflicting claims by Best Western and Glasgow's Sunday Herald over the scope of a recent security breach have been put under the microscope by security watchers. The paper claims that eight million records were potentially exposed, while the hotel insists only ten records were accessed. Register readers familiar with Best …

    Enterprise Security 29 Aug 2008, 10:39

  • Novell recovery continues

    Margins up

    Novell increased its estimates for full year revenue yesterday to between $940 and $980m, and said margins for the year were also improving. Reporting third quarter results, Novell said it brought in revenues of $245m, compared to $237m for the third quarter of 2007. Income from operations was $1m compared to a loss of $10m …

    Channel Register 29 Aug 2008, 10:40

  • MSI repells reporter with armed response team

    IFA You - off that booth. Now.

    Go here for an update to this story. Technology company MSI resorted to overwhelming force - well, one armed, shaven-headed security goon - to curtail a casual visit to its IFA booth by a Register Hardware reporter. MSI at IFA: keep your filthy hands off my netbook And all we wanted to do was ask about the Wind netbook's …

    Reg Hardware 29 Aug 2008, 10:43

  • Erotic artist urges spanking for Jacqui Smith

    'Extreme porn' definition dithering drags on

    Those pesky critters from CAAN (Campaigning Adult Action Network) are at it again, cheekily asking the government what the extreme porn law actually means for Joe Public. This week they are joined in their efforts by Ben Westwood, son of fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, whose outrage at the coming law leads him to suggest …

    Policing 29 Aug 2008, 10:46

  • Portsmouth Historic Dockyard: Further poster outrage

    NSFW 'Twas on the good ship Venus...

    Our shock exposé earlier this week of the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard poster campaign outrage promoted a provocative call to Vulture Central from one "Barnacle Bill", who claimed to have been party to the original promotion brainstorm which eventually led to the rather unfortunately accurate depiction of seafaring life back in …

    Bootnotes 29 Aug 2008, 10:48

  • Excessive IP protection causes economic gridlock, says expert

    Too much protection = lack of innovation

    Intellectual property laws which were designed to protect inventors are actually stifling innovation, according to a leading US law academic. Michael Heller, an academic at Columbia University in New York, told technology law podcast OUT-LAW Radio that intellectual property laws are being used to stop new products and services …

    Law 29 Aug 2008, 10:51

  • 'World's largest TV' sports super HD resolution

    IFA Four times the quality of 1080p, Panasonic claims

    If you’ve got the wall space to spare, then perhaps you’ll be attracted by the world’s largest TV - which also features a resolution four times better than crummy old full HD. Panasonic's 150in TV: has a 4096 x 2160 resolution Panasonic unveiled its 150in Viera display at IFA in Berlin. It told Register Hardware that the …

    Reg Hardware 29 Aug 2008, 10:56

  • Flip Ultra and Creative Vado pocket camcorders

    Review Mini cams for the YouTube generation

    2008 has been the year of the small, cheap gadget. Sadly, the standard bearers of the new breed of pocket video cams, the Flip Ultra and Creative's Vado, maybe be small but they're also overpriced. Such are the similarities between these two devices it's almost beyond belief that they were developed in isolation, a bit like A …

    Reg Hardware 29 Aug 2008, 11:02

  • IFA Hands on with Fujtisu Siemens' Amilo netbook

    Fujitsu Siemens demo'd its Amilo Mini Amilio Mini UI 3520 netbook at IFA this week, as promised. In the flesh: Fujitsu Siemens' Amilo Mini The compact laptop's not at all bad looking, though its spec is straight down the line Small, Cheap Computer. It has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor; 8.9in, 1024 x 600 display; 1GB of …

    Reg Hardware 29 Aug 2008, 11:30

  • Microsoft breaks IE8 interoperability promise

    Comment Microsoft said the right things, then blew it

    In March, Microsoft announced that their upcoming Internet Explorer 8 would: "use its most standards compliant mode, IE8 Standards, as the default." Note the last word: default. Microsoft argued that, in light of their newly published interoperability principles, it was the right thing to do. This declaration heralded an about …

    Software 29 Aug 2008, 11:37

  • Automated air-traffic network developed for robo-planes

    Would also be good for flying cars

    Good news today for people who like flying cars or flying robots, but clouds on the horizon for professional pilots and air-traffic controllers. Trials by US aerospace colossus Lockheed have shown that lightweight, distributed, automated systems can easily deconflict pilotless aircraft operating in crowded airspace. Lockheed …

    Applications 29 Aug 2008, 12:09

  • Common usernames get more spam

    Time to evolve, aardvarks

    The use by spammers of dictionary attacks means those whose email address begins with a less common first character are liable to get less spam. Research by Richard Clayton of Cambridge University was initially reported as establishing that usernames beginning with A are likely to get more spam than those sporting a Z. Those …

    Spam 29 Aug 2008, 12:13

  • Cross-site hacks and the art of self defence

    The new browser wars

    Hackers can force your browser to send requests to any site they want. It's not even hard - all they have to do is get you to view an email or a web page. Unless the site is specifically protected against this - and almost none are - then attackers can make your browser do anything you can do, and they can use your credentials …

    Security 29 Aug 2008, 12:26

  • IE8 beta 2 locks down some XP lovers

    If the wind changes, you'll stay like that

    Windows XP fans who have installed Service Pack 3 (SP3) after downloading Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) beta 1 won’t be able to downgrade their browser if they subsequently install IE8 beta 2. Microsoft warned XP users of the annoying lockdown after launching the second beta of IE8 on Wednesday. “The only time we encourage you to …

    Applications 29 Aug 2008, 12:29

  • Microsoft bags European price comparison sites

    Can we gift-wrap that for you, Sir?

    Microsoft is splashing nearly $500m in cash on a price comparison and survey company, most of which it is going to immediately sell on. The software giant said it will acquire Greenfield Online Inc, the big daddy owner of Ciao, a group of European price comparison, shopping and consumer review sites based in seven countries. …

    Applications 29 Aug 2008, 13:11

  • El Reg slips into women's-fit tees

    Cash'n'Carrion You asked for 'em, you got 'em

    We're well chuffed this fine Friday afternoon to announce that - in response to customer demand - we've rolled out women's-fit t-shirts across the entire Cash'n'Carrion range. Here's an example, which also happens to be the latest addition to our hugely-popular Signs o' the Times section, nicely complementing the existing STFU …

    Site News 29 Aug 2008, 13:13

  • Acer: Aspire One HSDPA support is imminent

    IFA Gentlemen, prepare your dongles

    Owners of Acer's Aspire One mini laptop will soon get the USB 3G modem support so many of them have been crying out for - and that's without having to replace Linux with Windows XP. Robert Perenz, Acer Europe's product manager for the AA1, confirmed that the machine has the ability to support HSDPA dongles, but admitted the …

    Reg Hardware 29 Aug 2008, 13:41

  • Windows Mobile 6 blamed for Xperia X1 woes

    IFA Blue Screen of Death?

    Sony Ericsson has blamed the Xperia X1’s no-show on problems with the phone’s operating system. The handset runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 - although, perhaps “is supposed to run on” would be more appropriate. Certainly, an SE representative candidly told Register Hardware at IFA in Berlin today that the OS is the reason for the …

    Reg Hardware 29 Aug 2008, 13:43

  • No cookie for Qualcomm as injunction breached

    Broadcom broadside bags more San Diego dosh

    Qualcomm is planning to appeal after a court found it in breach of an injunction related to infringements of Broadcom patents. Qualcomm was found in the District Court for the Central District of California to have breached the ruling in two areas: support for devices sold in breach of Broadcom's patents before the original …

    Mobile 29 Aug 2008, 13:59

  • Hello, this is Oracle - we're not in right now

    Forum hiatus

    The technical forums for Oracle's entire software and services catalogue - a support and collaboration resource for thousands worldwide - have been down for two-days. Visitors to the database giant's forums, described by Oracle as containing 2.5 million messages about "every conceivable nuance of using Oracle products or …

    Software 29 Aug 2008, 14:02

  • Comcast users get UK-style capping, throttling

    Is 120 movies a month enough?

    The Network Neutrality pigeons are coming home to roost, with Comcast formally announcing a British-style capping regime. The restrictions might make British cable users envious, however. From October 1, Comcast broadband users who download 250GB of data a month will receive a warning. 250GB, Comcast reckons, is equivalent to …

    Telecoms 29 Aug 2008, 14:03

  • Humax pledges to ship Freesat HD DVR by year's end

    IFA In time for Christmas?

    Humax will release its awaited Freesat HD-ready DVR toward the end of the year, the company promised at IFA in Berlin today. The manufacturer was said to be working on such as system way back in May, when the free-to-air satellite TV service launched. Freesat staffers said the first DVR would debut the following summer. Humax …

    Reg Hardware 29 Aug 2008, 14:12

  • EMC blogger tears into HP and NetApp

    Incoming, incoming, white papers alert

    EMC has set out to rubbish its competition on storage capacity efficiency and claimed its new CX4 array is much more efficient than HP and NetApp arrays. It's EMC's VP for Technical Alliances, Chuck Hollis, who is blogging on this topic and not some engineer shooting his mouth off. So we should take it seriously, more so as …

    Storage 29 Aug 2008, 14:16

  • Samsung tries to snatch 'world's first 200Hz TV' title from Sony

    IFA Sony and Samsung fight over who got there first

    Sony and Samsung are at war over which firm can rightfully claim to have demo'd the World’s first 200Hz TV. Both showed off such sets at IFA this year. Sony's 200Hz telly came first, or did it? Sony used its swanky press conference, billboards and even hundreds of notices placed in Berlin's railway carriages to announce …

    Reg Hardware 29 Aug 2008, 14:23

  • Google makes Mozilla licence U-turn

    'A bit more nuanced'

    Google has done a swift about-face and decided to allow code released under the Mozilla Public Licence (MPL) into its Google Code silo, just a month after it was judged redundant and banned. In late July we reported from OSCON how Google caused a stir by booting MPL code. The firm's chief open source fancier Chris DiBona said …

    Software 29 Aug 2008, 14:27

  • Daewoo divided over display

    IFA Divide your room, with TVs

    Folding screens have been used to section off rooms for centuries, but Daewoo’s finally given the protable partition a tech overhaul. Daewoo's DID-FS digital folding screen At the IFA show in Berlin this week, the company unfolded DID-FS, a digital folding screen with four integrated LCD panels. Four screens at once? …

    Reg Hardware 29 Aug 2008, 14:27

  • Elon Musk might deliver new plasma drive to ISS

    Private space couriers vie for NASA deliveries

    A high-efficiency plasma drive designed for faster interplanetary journeys may be lifted into space by a privately-developed launcher. The candidates for the job include PayPal zillionaire Elon Musk's Falcon 9 rocket. Flight International reports today that Dr Franklin Chang-Díaz, former astronaut and inventor of the Variable …

    Space 29 Aug 2008, 14:34

  • Garmin: Nuvi satnav phone release set for Q1 2009

    IFA Wants carrier deals in place first

    Garmin has confirmed that the Nuvi Fone will be launched between January and April next year. A dummy Nuvi Fone on display at IFA The satnav-cum-phone maker admitted to Register Hardware that “the launch has taken longer than we expected”. It said the hold-up was the result of its talks with carriers. A Garmin spokesman …

    Reg Hardware 29 Aug 2008, 14:38

  • Customs raids tech trade show

    IFA Armed agents search for patent infringers

    An intrepid Register Hardware hack was this morning stopped from looking around MSI's stand at the consumer electronics show IFA, in Berlin. The uniformed gents he mistook for overly officious security guards were in fact German Customs officers investigating claims of patent infringement. Nothing to see here, move on Our …

    Policing 29 Aug 2008, 14:40

  • Wi-Fi: You old new smoothie?

    Oblivious IEEE waves through standard for dead dream

    The IEEE has formally approved 802.11r, the amendment to the Wi-Fi standard that allows devices to smoothly transition between Wi-Fi hotspots without breaking the flow of conversation. 802.11r allows a mobile device to move smoothly between hotspots, with connections never suspending for more than 50 milliseconds. Inaudible to …

    Wireless 29 Aug 2008, 15:33

  • Biometrics exhibit blushes over email snafu

    Fingerprints, iris scans sprayed to all comers

    An exhibition designed to show off the whizzy high-tech futurescape of biometric identity has succumbed to a bout of very contemporary gremlins, by emailing dozens of fingerprints and iris scans to the wrong people. After being contacted by El Reg the website where the Wellcome Collection's "Medicine Now" show offers visitors …

    IT Director 29 Aug 2008, 15:40

  • Cloned US ATM cards: Can they fool Brit self-service checkouts?

    Updated Carder crooks say they can

    Cybercrooks are targeting self-service checkout systems in UK supermarkets to cash-out compromised US credit and debit card accounts. Discussions on underground forums suggest that store chains including Asda and Tesco are being targeted. Rather than buying groceries, which would be hard to sell on, the scam relies on getting …

    Crime 29 Aug 2008, 15:44

  • Who should be America's CTO?

    Poll Vote now and tell us

    It must be the longest and most public job application in history. The Democrats' presidential candidate Barack Obama wants to create a new post of "Chief Technology Officer" in the Federal bureaucracy - and Lawrence Lessig wants the job. He wants the job so badly, it hurts. There's just two slight problems. Firstly, there's …

    Odds and Sods 29 Aug 2008, 16:00

  • Psychologist invents new uber-wiki

    'Mememoir' tech to make Wikipedia obsolete?

    An American psychologist has invented a new form of wiki in which every word is directly linked to its author. He believes the so-called "mememoir"* project will "revolutionize publishing in all of science". The Mememoir super-attribution wiki is the brainchild of Dr Robert Hoffman, an academic psychologist at the Florida …

    Applications 29 Aug 2008, 16:16

  • 45th Mersenne prime discovered (possibly)

    Move over 232,582,657-1. Your day has ended

    Distributed computing hasn't folded us a cure for cancer yet, but these projects in which PC users donate their spare processing power to solve scientific problems have unquestionably made major strides in uncovering ridiculously large prime numbers. Fans of bountiful digits may soon be rocked by the potential discovery of the …

    Science 29 Aug 2008, 19:02