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9th September 2008 Archive

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  • Big and bendy e-ink displays on way

    Plastic Logic to get one over Sony and Amazon?

    Plastic Logic will be ready to ship its long awaited portable and flexible e-ink display early next year, the firm has announced. Plastic Logic's screen is thin - and flexible First seen in 2006, the screen is based on E Ink technology - much like Sony’s Reader or Amazon’s Kindle – and measures 8.5 x 11in. A spokesman for …

    Reg Hardware 9 Sep 2008, 00:02

  • Google to ‘anonymize’ user IPs after 9 months

    EU pressure? What EU pressure?

    After continued pressure from EU regulators, Google has once again revised its data retention policies, saying it will "anonymize" user IP addresses after 9 months. On Monday, Google deputy counsel Nicole Wong announced the change during an online privacy panel discussion in Mountain View, California – though she initially …

    Applications 9 Sep 2008, 05:41

  • Crunch starts to bite on IT spending

    Big firms make big cuts

    The credit crunch is starting to hit IT spending, with 43 per cent of large companies across the world reducing IT budgets this year. Research from Forrester showed 43 per cent of large firms in the US and Europe were reducing spending on computer hardware and services. But the firm said it was not changing its overall view of …

    Channel Register 9 Sep 2008, 08:56

  • Nuke-nobbling US laser jumbo fires test beams

    First ray-play day for ICBM sky fry guys

    America's famous nuke-toasting aerial ray cannon jumbo jet has at last fired its first energy beams in ground testing, according to prime contractor Boeing. The Airborne Laser (ABL) system is now complete, and testing will progress to a live intercept against a ballistic missile in 2009. Does coherent light = coherent plans …

    Science 9 Sep 2008, 09:05

  • HP clocks up 24-hour laptop battery life

    Five hours more than Dell

    HP has beaten Dell - in the laptop battery longevity hype stakes, that is. It's produced a notebook with a full-day runtime, it claims - five hours longer than Dell's most recent battery life boast. Register Hardware readers will not be surprised to learn there's a catch. Several catches, in point of fact. First, you need to …

    Reg Hardware 9 Sep 2008, 09:26

  • Google's Street View fleet - 100 spots and counting

    You can run, but you can't hide

    We're tipping our hats today to vigilant Reg readers, who have so far contributed 100 sightings of Google's Orwellian Street View spycar fleet as it goes about its masters' dark business on the highways and byways of Blighty and beyond. For those of you not up to speed on this exciting operation, we asked you to send in snaps …

    Bootnotes 9 Sep 2008, 09:44

  • AMD Socket AM3 Phenoms due Q1 2009

    Right after the arrival of Socket AM2+ versions

    AMD's first 45nm desktop processors - codenamed 'Deneb' - will initially support the Socket AM2+ interconnect. But the chip maker's roadmap shows AM3 versions out not long afterward. AMD's most recent roadmap leak has a pair of quad-core Deneb shipping during Q4 ahead of a formal launch on 8 January 2009 during the Consumer …

    Reg Hardware 9 Sep 2008, 09:48

  • Sony Ericsson shows off secretary smartphone

    But it can't get you a latte

    Personal assistants are expensive, we’d guess, so Sony Ericsson’s launched a handset that it’s claimed is the next best thing. Sony Ericsson's G705: supports HSDPA and Wi-Fi The GE705 supports every form of connectivity you'd expect from a cutting-edge phone, including quad-band GPRS/GPS/Edge and HSDPA. Full HTML web …

    Reg Hardware 9 Sep 2008, 10:03

  • Tikitag lets anyone become Big Brother

    Stick NFC tech into clothes, toys, children

    If you're still wondering exactly what NFC technology is for, then Tikitag will sell you enough kit to try and find out for only $50 - a small investment if you can find a killer application for the technology. Near Field Communication is the standard for short range communication with unpowered tags. The kits, which will be …

    Wireless 9 Sep 2008, 10:11

  • Google publishes Chrome patch details

    Carpet-bombing fix looks threadbare

    Google has belatedly released details of a security update to its newly released Chrome browser, days after it actually pushed out the patch. The update was published on Friday and users of Chrome were automatically updated, but details of the vulnerabilities fixed and performance tweaks only emerged on Monday, via a mailing …

    Security 9 Sep 2008, 10:16

  • Morse suffers blip amid economic turbulence

    'A disappointing year'

    The economic downturn has hit Morse Plc with a vengeance, the service provider's full year figures show today. In what the firm admitted was a “disappointing year”, revenues slipped 1.25 per cent to £253.3m in the year ending June 30. However, after last year’s pre-tax profit of £3.8m, the firm sank to a £2.3m loss in the …

    Channel Register 9 Sep 2008, 10:17

  • Ubuntu zoo preps for new arrival

    Killer rabbit or jackalope

    Unassuming Ubuntu has announced a new clever creature is coming to its alliterative aggregation of Linux distros. The Jaunty Jackalope is the neat nomenclature for the 9.04 version of Ubuntu Linux, with 9.04 being, in the Ubuntu Y.MM scheme of distro versions, 2009 April. The Jackalope is a mythical cross between a jack …

    Operating Systems 9 Sep 2008, 10:21

  • AMD releases overclockable tri-core CPU

    'Energy efficient' parts too

    AMD has rolled out its first tri-core 'Toliman' Phenom processor that's overclocker friendly. The clock-unlocked Black Edition Phenom X3 8750 comes with an out-of-the-box clock speed setting of 2.4GHz. Each core has 512KB of L2 cache to itself and access to a shared 2MB pool of L3 cache. The 65nm part will consume up to 95W …

    Reg Hardware 9 Sep 2008, 10:23

  • DoJ hires Mickey Mouse lawyer for Google probe

    Lumbers towards action

    The Department of Justice has hired its old anti-trust boss from private practice to head up a probe into Google's advertising business. Sandy M Litvack ran the DoJ's antitrust division under President Jimmy Carter. He left in early 1981. Litvack was working as a partner at private law firm Hogan and Hartson for both …

    Financial News 9 Sep 2008, 10:31

  • Sony gushes over gurly laptop line

    Lipstick colours

    Sony has announced the latest in its series of colourful laptops it hopes consumers will love, cherish and... er... treat like a real friend. “This is a companion, not a tool,” gushed Hidetoshi Takigawa, Sony's European Vaio marketing chief as only marketing chiefs can. The Vaio CS11 series all sport 14.1in, 1280 x 800 glossy …

    Reg Hardware 9 Sep 2008, 10:55

  • Creative Zen Mozaic MP3 player

    Review Tough, capacious and affordable

    First announced back in July, the Mozaic settles nicely into Creative's MP3 player range sitting between the Zen Stone Plus and the Zen proper. Fashioned from slightly cheap-feeling, but nevertheless extremely scratch resistant, black plastic, the Mozaic measures up at 80 x 40 x 13mm and weighs around 40g. It's available in 2 …

    Reg Hardware 9 Sep 2008, 11:02

  • BlackBerry, HTC eat into Nokia Q2 market share

    Touchscreens driving demand, says analyst

    Global smartphone sales were steady during the second quarter of 2008, according to Gartner. But only a wider availability of new touchscreen smartphones will spur stronger sales in Q3, the analyst warned. Gartner found that worldwide smartphone sales totalled 32.2m units during Q2, the exact same number sold in the previous …

    Reg Hardware 9 Sep 2008, 11:11

  • Doctors rally for right to call UK.gov quangonista a 'sh*t'

    Free speech row 'threatens career'

    A junior doctor has been suspended by academic authorities for a month for branding a senior medical establishment figure a "fucking shit" on a web forum. The trainee surgeon at the centre of the controversy, known to supporters as "Dr Scot Junior", works at Inverness' Raigmore Hospital. He laid the "shit" charge against …

    Law 9 Sep 2008, 11:14

  • Nokia plays MobileMeToo

    Anything Apple can do...

    Nokia is pushing its online money pit Ovi with the launch of remote synchronisation and file management, promising much of the functionality offered by Apple's iPhone but without the slick interface. Ovi is still free, excepting the Files function, and punters risking the beta service can synchronise their calendar, contacts …

    Mobile 9 Sep 2008, 11:19

  • Exposed: North Korea's taekwondo assassins

    Planned murder most foul

    North Korea was yesterday accused of infiltrating an international taekwondo group and using it as a front for espionage and assassination, including a planned 1982 attempt on the life of South Korean president Chun Doo Hwan, Reuters reports. That's according to Choi Jung-hwa, son of the late General Choi Hong-hi who …

    Bootnotes 9 Sep 2008, 11:20

  • Scientology critics fight YouTube takedown notices

    Push Me F*ck You

    Net users are fighting back against attempts to remove content critical of the Church of Scientology (CoS) from YouTube. American Rights Counsel LLC, apparently acting on behalf of the Church of Scientology, sent 4,000 DMCA takedown notices to YouTube late last week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation reports. The notices …

    Law 9 Sep 2008, 11:34

  • MS pumps up Zune storage ahead of iPod revamp

    'We make MP3 players to... er... hello? Anyone there?'

    As everyone eagerly awaits news from Apple’s forthcoming “Let’s Rock” iPod event, Microsoft has snuck in ahead with two new Zune capacities - reminding the world that it too sells MP3 players. Microsoft's Zune: now in 120GB and 16GB options Microsoft has officially launched a 120GB capacity hard drive-based Zune, alongside …

    Reg Hardware 9 Sep 2008, 11:38

  • Sony intros dual-drive HDD, SDD 18in hi-def notebook

    Blu-ray all-in-one desktops too

    Sony has introduced a quartet of PCs - three all-in-one desktops and a desktop-replacement notebook - pitched at punters after a Blu-ray Disc system. All three sport Nvidia GeForce 9 series graphics chips that drive big displays designed for Blu-ray playback. Top-end models come with BD burners, the rest have BD play/DVD burn …

    Reg Hardware 9 Sep 2008, 12:36

  • UK Govt screws browser choice

    Bureaucrats play the numbers game

    A firestorm is brewing over proposals issued by the UK's IT advisory body over which browsers the public sector should support. Taxpayers will be forced to change their browsing habits and computer setup to accommodate the guidelines, say web standards experts. The Central Office of Information quietly published its …

    Applications 9 Sep 2008, 12:37

  • VMware co-founder quits for academia

    And then there were fewer

    After his wife was whacked as CEO by EMC padrino Joe Tucci, VMware co-founder Mendel Rosenblum has decided to retreat to the altogether cosier world of academia. Rosenblum announced his resignation and return to Stanford University in an company-wide email on Monday night, The New York Times reports. Rosenblum is married to …

    Virtualization 9 Sep 2008, 12:45

  • Ballerinas and fish-gutters beat techies in UK immigration race

    Gov says computer scientists not in short supply

    The UK is in dire need of ballet dancers, fish-gutters and sheep shearers - but not, it seems IT staff. The government’s Migration Advisory Committee today published its “list of occupations for which there is a shortage of skilled workers in the UK and Scotland”, which will provide the backbone for a new points-based system …

    IT Director 9 Sep 2008, 12:51

  • Google goes after 3 billion with super satellite

    Hella lotta Gmail

    Google has hooked up with Liberty Global and HSBC Principle Investments to start funding a satellite network aimed at connecting the three billion people who still can't get access to the internet, at least those living near the equator. O3b, standing for the "Other 3 Billion", has raised $60m from Google, Liberty and HSBC. …

    Wireless 9 Sep 2008, 13:28

  • Legal digital music is commercial suicide

    Opinion Fans suffer as lawyers get rich

    Lala, for those who don't know, is a free streaming music venture. Invested in by Warner Music group to the tune of $20m it streams about five million songs, but also offers 89 cent MP3 sales, and song rentals for 10 cents each. But why is almost nobody using their well-designed, expansive, free streaming service? I'm not …

    Music and Media 9 Sep 2008, 13:43

  • Ingram Micro captures Eurequat at point of sale

    Ingram Micro Europe is buying Eurequat, a French owned distributor ofc (AIDC) and point of sale (POS) products. Terms are undisclosed. Eurequat has operations in France, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Algeria and is to be folded into Ingram Micro EMEA Data Capture/POS division. Ingram today said the acquisition fits "well in the …

    Channel Register 9 Sep 2008, 13:52

  • Vodafone to offer Nokia 'Tube' iPhone rival

    Maybe next month

    Pictures have emerged online revealing which network operator Nokia has chosen to launch its much-hyped 5800 XpressMedia - aka 'Tube' - phone. Vodafone's logo on Nokia's Tube phone Images courtesy Talk About Nseries The leaked images clearly show a Vodafone logo positioned on the bottom of the phone’s front, just below the …

    Reg Hardware 9 Sep 2008, 13:58

  • Aaaagh, there's a thumb in my USB port!

    Oh wait, it's a Flash drive

    Next time you see a thumb poking out from a PC’s USB port think twice before calling an ambulance, because it’s more likely to be quirky online vendor Brando’s idea of a joke. Brando's USB Thumb Flash Drive "I'm gunna ask you ten questions..." The retailer’s taken the phase “thumb drive” a little too far and crafted a …

    Reg Hardware 9 Sep 2008, 14:01

  • Fake Twitter profile punts Orkut attack

    Tainted tweets target twits

    Miscreants are using a fake Twitter profile in a bid to spread malware that harvests login credentials for Orkut. Updates to the fake Twitter profile are supposedly being followed by 17 punters, but they're all fake, according to Chris Boyd, director of malware research at IM security firm Facetime. Twittery Trojan The …

    Malware 9 Sep 2008, 14:14

  • Sony Ericsson and Nokia fight over uncapped music downloads

    Sony Ericsson to launch Comes With Music rival

    Sony Ericsson is poised to jump on Nokia’s recent Comes With Music announcement by launching a rival unlimited music download service. According to sources unknown, quoted in a report by the Financial Times, SE’s believed to be in discussions with “all of the major [record] labels” over a music subscription service offering …

    Reg Hardware 9 Sep 2008, 14:44

  • Sony Ericsson apes Nokia's 'Saw You Coming'

    Bundles music with phones

    Sony Ericsson is imitating market leader Nokia and will bundle "free" music with its handsets, the FT claims today. As with Nokia's "Comes With Music" program, selected Sony Ericsson handsets will come with a year's worth of unlimited liability downloads. Apart from suggesting a launch date of next month, no further details …

    Music and Media 9 Sep 2008, 14:53

  • Obama strumpet-sex scandal ruse spreads malware

    Election-related campaign kicks off

    False claims that presidential candidate Barack Obama is a sex tourist are being used to trick users into getting infected by malware. Prospective marks are encouraged to check out a video implausibly showing the married Democrat in action with a Ukrainian strumpet. Gullible folks who fall for the ruse are shown a bongo clip …

    Malware 9 Sep 2008, 15:57

  • AMD trumpets Hyper-V nuptials

    A marriage of convenient marketing

    In addition rolling out a trio of tri-core processors, AMD has said it's snuggling up to Microsoft and Hyper-V. The Chipzilla competitor, now on the back foot due to a resurgent Intel, has devised a clever marketing scheme in bringing out triple-core processors. As we reported earlier today, there are three triple-core chips, …

    Channel Register 9 Sep 2008, 17:15

  • Flagship Sony Alpha blown in

    World’s first 24.6Mp shooter with full frame CMOS sensor

    Sony’s latest Digital SLR isn’t just the flagship model in its Alpha range, it’s also claimed to be the world’s first 24.6-megapixel camera with a full-frame CMOS sensor. Sony's Alpha 900: boasts 24.6 megapixels The Japanese electronics giant stated that Alpha 900’s CMOS sensor is equivalent to a 35mm film frame and able to …

    Reg Hardware 9 Sep 2008, 19:37

  • Apple revamps iPod line-up

    Shakes Nano particularly

    Yes, it's iPod update time, with new Nanos and Touches, and tweaked Shuffles and Classics all announced by Apple this evening. Touch first. The iPhone-alike player finally gets physical volume controls on its side - now a mere 8.5mm thick. Like the iPhone 3G, the new Touch is not only slimmer but sports a curvier, shiny metal …

    Reg Hardware 9 Sep 2008, 20:15

  • Google smears Chrome on 'sacred' home page

    Ambition meets autism

    When an army of angry American watchdogs barked for a one-word privacy link on the Google home page, the search giant refused. At least initially. And when it finally acquiesced a month later, it did so only after carefully removing another word from the page. The way head Googirl Marissa Mayer tells it, the Google home page …

    Odds and Sods 9 Sep 2008, 20:43

  • The Hadron Collider: What's it all about, then?

    Never mind the bosons

    Around about now, boffins will be eagerly awaiting news that protons are finding their way fully around the 27km circuit of CERN's Large Hadron Collider, the latest and best atom-smasher particle accelerator - and the biggest scientific experimental apparatus ever built. This 10 September 2008 project milestone has captivated …

    Physics 9 Sep 2008, 21:39

  • Apple channels Pandora with iTunes 8

    Asks $80 for ear buds

    Along with an iPod hardware refresh today, Apple's product announcement orgy unveiled an update to iTunes, some iPod software tweaks, and declared peace with NBC. For those keeping score, most of the news had already made their rounds on the web weeks earlier through various leaks, speculation, and over-enthusiastic third- …

    Applications 9 Sep 2008, 22:04

  • Microsoft delivers four critical updates

    Patch Tuesday train arrives

    Microsoft has issued four critical security updates that patch at least eight vulnerabilities in the various Windows operating systems and Office programs. If you use either, you'll want to install them sooner rather than later. The most serious of the updates is one patching Microsoft's graphics device interface, the …

    Security 9 Sep 2008, 22:32