11th September 2008 Archive

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Boffins uncork nose-perfect wine glass

Decant in minutes, not hours

If you often ask swanky restaurants to decant wine several hours before you arrive, then giving your plonk enough breathing time at home will be a real pain. But a 'smart' glass has been invented that does it for you. Wine boffins from Germany's Eich have come up with a “top secret” glass technology that, it’s claimed, not …

Reg Hardware 11 Sep 2008, 00:02
US carriers hedge open network claims

CTIA Wireless 'Wild West' internet not their bag

Earlier this year, FCC boss Kevin Martin said there was no need to force open access requirements onto American wireless carriers, insisting they would embrace openness on their own. But it looks like the big-name carriers are still wary of a mobile internet that's as wide open as its desktop cousin. Today, at the CTIA …

Mobile 11 Sep 2008, 00:14
Apple agrees to pay itself $14m

Settles backdating lawsuits (almost)

Apple has agreed to pay itself $14m in order to settle shareholder lawsuits over improperly backdated stock options awards. A preliminary settlement, approved Monday by Judge Jeremy Fogel in US District Court for Northern California, will end 19 separate derivative lawsuits filed by Apple shareholders against Apple's top …

Financial News 11 Sep 2008, 00:22
CookieMonster nabs user creds from secure sites

Secure in name only

Websites used for email, banking, e-commerce and other sensitive applications just got even less secure with the release of a new tool that siphons users' authentication credentials - even when they're sent through supposedly secure channels. Dubbed CookieMonster, the toolkit is used in a variety of man-in-the-middle scenarios …

Security 11 Sep 2008, 02:41
US wireless pioneer to carriers: Don't be European

CTIA Wireless Be like Google

John Stanton - co-founder of US wireless pioneer McCaw Cellular and a three time head of the national wireless association - has urged the big-name carriers to restore their vice-grip on the American airwaves. After the CEOs of T-Mobile, Sprint Nextel, and Verizon Wireless spent the morning discussing their gradual transition …

Mobile 11 Sep 2008, 04:43
Velocity speeds into touchscreen mobile market

Catch up

Little known UK handset supplier Velocity Mobile has launched its first touchscreen talker, a little later than planned. Velocity 103: Velocity's first touchscreen mobile The Velocity 103 provides tri-band GPRS/GSM/Edge connectivity in addition to HSDPA 3G support for fast mobile web browsing. Web surfing over Wi-Fi 802.11b …

Reg Hardware 11 Sep 2008, 06:02
Datatec buys Indian distie for Westcon expansion

Datatec has bought a 50.01 per cent stake in an Indian distie called Inflow Technologies Private Limited. Inflow management and other shareholders will retain the remaining 49.99 per cent. Terms are undisclosed. Inflow specialises in networking, storage and security products and operates in nine cities in India, and also in …

Channel Register 11 Sep 2008, 08:58
Judge attacks 'bits of legal boilerplate, bolted together'

When lawyers turn (into) word processors

A court has attacked lawyers who let word processors do their thinking for them. Standard paragraphs are being bolted together to make nonsensical agreements, said a High Court ruling on Friday. A company seeking to make fuel more efficient and less polluting and a nanotechnology company signed an agreement about how to …

Law 11 Sep 2008, 09:13
OiNK BitTorrent admin faces fraud prosecution

Uploaders to be hauled before the beak, too

Cleveland police have charged Alan Ellis, the former administrator of the defunct BitTorrent tracker site OiNK.cd, with conspiracy to defraud the record industry. Ellis, a 25-year-old IT worker, will face magistrates at a committal hearing on 24 September, a police spokeswoman said today. Five individuals who were arrested in …

Law 11 Sep 2008, 09:25
iPod Touch, Nano disassemblies reveal surprises

Bluetooth, anyone?

Repair specialist iFixit's urge to buy new kit and take it to bits continues - it's just disassembled the 2G iPod Touch and the 4G Nano. Revealed: the Touch has a Bluetooth chip, the Nano a scratch-proof screen. The Touch proved easy to take apart, which bodes well for folk looking to get their new player fixed in the future. …

Reg Hardware 11 Sep 2008, 09:36
T-Mobile Googlephone to land 'within weeks'

World's first Android phone imminent

The first handset to run Google’s Android platform will arrive much earlier than anticipated, it has been claimed. “People familiar with the matter” have told the Reuters news agency that T-Mobile will start selling the Googlephone on 23 September - less than two weeks from today. The unnamed sources even disclosed where the …

Reg Hardware 11 Sep 2008, 09:39
French storm the bastille over 'Sarkozy's Big Sister' database

Je ne suis pas un nombre

Imagine, if you will, an announcement by the UK Government that it is going to create a new database to track anyone over the age of 13, who has been "active in politics or the trade unions or who has a significant role in business, the media, entertainment or social or religious institutions". Let's say 20 million individuals …

Government 11 Sep 2008, 09:45
BT's Mayfair exchange downed by burglary

Pictures You may have Madonna to thank

BT's Mayfair exchange was burgled last night, leaving thousands of homes and businesses in central London without internet access this morning. The raid cleaned out routers, networking cards and fibre at about 9pm on Wednesday, Reg sources said. According to data at Samknows, the exchange serves about 3,000 residential …

Telecoms 11 Sep 2008, 09:46
Ex-Verizon techie cuffed for 5,000 'chat' line calls

Tapped 942 customer phones, prosecutors claim

A former Verizon facilities technician was on Tuesday cuffed for allegedly tapping the landlines of 942 of the company's customers to make 5,000 calls to 1-900 "chat" lines, racking up a $220,000 bill in the process. According to the The Star-Ledger, Joseph R. Vaccarelli, 45, of Nutley, New Jersey, spent 45,000 minutes on …

Crime 11 Sep 2008, 10:07
Arizona pulls death certs from website over ID theft fears

Potential 'grave robbing' scam thwarted

Arizona authorities have stopped publishing copies of death certificates on a website over concerns that the information might be used in identity theft scams. Maricopa County - which covers the state's largest city, Phoenix - discontinued the long-standing practice of posting digital copies of death certificates last month …

Crime 11 Sep 2008, 10:17
World Camera offers enhanced reality via iPhone

Location-based social tagging hits the hood

The iPhone again takes us where we've already been with the launch of the Sekia Camera - allowing users to post images, text, and audio locked to a specific location and accessed using enhanced reality. The idea of using a mobile phone to record location-specific information is nothing new - TagandScan launched the same …

Mobile 11 Sep 2008, 10:30
US boffins develop self cleaning gecko-foot glue

Gecko-techo toy frenzy around the corner?

Regular readers will be well aware of the limited progress made to date on one of the greatest challenges confronting human science. That is, duplicating the miraculously hairy, sticky feet of geckos. But now, a team of top Californian biomimetics boffins believe they have made a breakthrough. "With our gecko adhesive," says …

Biology 11 Sep 2008, 10:40
Oz minister walks plank for dancing drunk in his smalls

Sported 'very brief' pants, reports suggest

An Oz state government minister was yesterday obliged to resign after it was revealed he'd thrown a few shapes to techno music in "very brief" underwear during a drunken late night party in his in his Parliament House office, the Guardian reports. Matt Brown apparently strutted his stuff three months ago while he was New South …

Bootnotes 11 Sep 2008, 10:42
Fusion-io looks for partners to share SSDs and SANs

Following a popular trail

Fusion-io has got the SAN bug and is demonstrating shared solid state drive (SSD) storage at DEMOfall and looking to recruit developers to create applications for it. The ioDrive is an flash memory-based SSD with a PCIe interface making it suitable to be a flash cache for servers. HP and IBM have been identified as being …

Storage 11 Sep 2008, 10:43
Pentax K200D digital SLR

Review Not as family-friendly as Pentax proposes

Pentax is pretty clear about the target group for the K200D: the head of a family and digital camera beginner. Automation is the key here – most folk will simply want a camera they can pick up and shoot. The first thing that hits you about the K200D is its size. Pentax describes it as “one of the most compact DSLRs on the …

Reg Hardware 11 Sep 2008, 11:02
Revealed: the 50in TV ~~screen~~ goggles

TV on the go, literally

It’s time to chuck out your telly, stereo and sunglasses, because quirky Japanese retailer Thanko has launched a pair of specs that combine every form of electronic entertainment used by modern humans. Thanko's entertainment specs The glasses support a range of video formats, including MP4. Videos can be stored on Micro SD …

Reg Hardware 11 Sep 2008, 11:17
Price cut doubles Stateside Xbox 360 sales

But can they keep it up?

Everyone loves a bargain, but none more so than US gamers it seems. Sales of Microsoft's Xbox 360 console have risen by 100 per cent following a recent Stateside price cut. The console cost cut-back, which saw the RRP of all three models reduced, went live on Friday, 5 September. A week later, Microsoft yesterday reported that …

Reg Hardware 11 Sep 2008, 11:45
Boffinry bitchslap brouhaha: Higgs and Hawking head to head

Proton cannons for two, coffee for one

Famous retired physics prof Peter Higgs - of boson renown - has stingingly counter-poohpoohed the theories of his equally well known Nobel Prize rival, Stephen Hawking, who has already poohpoohed Higgs' particle concept. The clash of intellects is expected to be settled by particle-punishment results at the Large Hadron Collider …

Physics 11 Sep 2008, 11:46
Chinese lorry-crash bee swarm kills six

Truck sheds hives, with fatal results

A total of six people have been killed in northeast China after a truck carrying dozens of beehives overturned, releasing a swarm of bees which stung three to death and later provoked three further fatalities as two lorries collided while attempting to avoid the massed insects. The truck bearing the beehives crashed into a …

Biology 11 Sep 2008, 11:52
HP blames falling pound for PC and server price rises

'mid to high single digits'

HP is raising UK PC and server prices on Monday, 15 September. But printer and computer storage prices are staying put, for now. HP blames the falling pound for raising trade prices by "mid to high single digits". This will have a knock-on effect at shop level, once distributors, resellers and retailers add their margin. So …

Channel Register 11 Sep 2008, 11:53
Digit taps up partner in China

ZTE will expand Fastap range

Digit Wireless, maker of the Fastap keyboard, has signed a strategic agreement with China's ZTE to put the technology into more of their phones, which is good going as the rest of the world is still trying to squeeze a Qwerty keypad into a mobile phone. ZTE already uses Digit's keyboard on a couple of handsets, but this deal …

Mobile 11 Sep 2008, 12:02
First pictures: HTC Touch HD

Images get us guessing

Pictures and specifications have been leaked online of the latest phone rumoured to be in development at HTC’s labs. HTC's Touch HD handset? Images courtesy MoDaCo Although the phone’s thought to be called the HTC Touch HD, a shot of the talker’s “Device Information” screen shows that it actually provides a 480 x 800 …

Reg Hardware 11 Sep 2008, 12:16
Hilton documentary reveals hidden side of Paris

'A cool chick, a smart girl, and hard-working'

Paris Hilton and documentary filmmaker Adria Petty were last night wearing their posh frocks at the Toronto Film Festival for the premiere of the latter's Paris, Not France - the result of a year trailing around after the talented heiress. According the Beeb, the film shows our fave socialite "at work on red carpets, in her …

Entertainment 11 Sep 2008, 12:24
EU plans cross border database of rogue motorists

Votre carte, Monsieur Clarkson

Are you one of those safe-as-pie drivers, who tootles merrily along the by-ways of this green and pleasant land, before turning into Mr Demon Boy Racer the moment you cross the Channel? Or do you simply tut grumpily over your breakfast, as you open your Daily Mail and read of yet another Johny Foreigner abusing the hospitality …

Government 11 Sep 2008, 12:38
Laptop-crazy consumers will keep PC market afloat

Big big servers dominate HPC sector

IDC has dialled up its 2008 PC market forecast as raging sales of cheap laptops allow the industry to “resist economic pressures” – for now, anyway. At the other end of the market, mid- and high-end servers kept the HPC server market chugging along in the second quarter despite soft x86 server sales. The analyst has ratcheted …

Channel Register 11 Sep 2008, 12:46
Can CDP render backup redundant?

Comment My brain is mush

Continuous data protection could render dedupe, virtual tape libraries (VTL) and backup software redundant. Er, run that past me again. Alexander Delcayre, FalconStor's technical director, says that the company's Continuous Data Protection (CDP) product is block-level, not file-level. It captures every write I/O a server makes …

Storage 11 Sep 2008, 12:48
Boffins calculate true speed of 'Lightning' Bolt

100m in 9.55 secs?

Physicists at the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Oslo have applied themselves to that most pressing of matters - how fast might Usain Bolt have run the 100m at the Beijing Olympics if he hadn't already been celebrating as he crossed the finishing line? As history records, "Lightning" Bolt broke the …

Physics 11 Sep 2008, 13:06
Literacy leads to happiness and luuurv

Single man? You probably can't read this then, you sad loser

A study by the National Literacy Trust claims to demonstrate that literate people are less likely to be still living with their parents, glumly smoking heavily as they contemplate their inability to attract a long-term partner, than those who struggle with reading. The Telegraph explains that literate chaps in particular …

Biology 11 Sep 2008, 13:11
Big three uberising content silos

One ring to bind them: unifying silos

Content silo drawbridges will be lowered if EMC, IBM, and Microsoft have their way. Vast piles of documents, project plans, spreadsheets, presentations, images, videos and much besides are set aside as enterprise content and stored in enterprise content management (ECM) repositories. There are Documentum repositories, …

Storage 11 Sep 2008, 13:11
Press proves immune to FBI's anthrax corrective

Facts bounce off the conspiracy theories

The posting to the net of a transcript of the FBI's briefing to the press on the science behind the anthrax case is remarkable for two things: first, for its explanation of the development of microbial forensics and the team of scientists behind it; and second, for the determination of some members of the press to run off on a …

Biology 11 Sep 2008, 13:12
Ten of the Best... iPod rivals

Round-up Flash colours? No thanks

Yes, the news is dominated by this week's revamped iPods, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of other good media players out there. Put off the colourful Nano, or the shiny Touch? Then here are ten of the best alternatives. Counting down, in reverse order, we kick of with the... Creative Zen X-Fi Click here for the …

Reg Hardware 11 Sep 2008, 14:02
C&W orders up base stations for Tesco

Ericsson kit to aisle 12

Ericsson has announced a sizeable contract with Cable & Wireless to provide kit for a world-spanning GSM network, but anyone hoping for competition in the mobe market had better get a job at the local supermarket. Ericsson isn't saying much about the deal except that it's big and will provide GSM connectivity in Europe, Asia …

Mobile 11 Sep 2008, 14:55
PA Consulting begs for mercy after data loss axing

'Please Jacqui, noooo!'

PA Consulting has blamed its loss of the personal details of the entire UK prison population on a rogue employee in an apparent plea not to be kicked off any more big government contracts. Jacqui Smith, in a decidedly un-wacky mood, gave the firm's £1.5m JTrack offender data deal the chop yesterday saying there had been a " …

Government 11 Sep 2008, 15:12
Classical downloads service hits right note on DRM

Flac and MP3 supported

If you prefer Bach to the Beastie Boys and Mozart to Madonna, then you’ll be pleased to hear that an iTunes rival’s been created that panders only to the desires of classical music fans. Passionato – which launched today in the UK – houses the world's largest collection of classical downloads, the company claims, with over 18, …

Reg Hardware 11 Sep 2008, 15:50
'UK's Chernobyl' spam spreads Trojan

Fallout hits inboxes

A widespread spam campaign claims that a nuclear power plant on the outskirts of London exploded on Tuesday afternoon. No such plant exists anywhere near London. The nearest is probably Dungeness B in south east Kent, some 77 miles (124km) by road from the capital. The email claims to offer pictures of victims. In reality, …

Malware 11 Sep 2008, 16:03
Net-talking toaster to burn news onto bread

Your Daily ~~Telegraph~~ Slice, Sir

Many things have appeared on toast: Marmite, Vegemite, jam and even Cylons. Now a designer’s invented a toaster that can burn pretty much anything onto your morning slice, including the news. The Scan Toaster: toasts news, weather and pictures onto your bread The Scan Toaster connects to a PC over USB and downloads …

Reg Hardware 11 Sep 2008, 16:26
Blame game over United Airlines stock crash rumbles on

Tribune CMS flaws at fault?

The spat over who is to blame over the United Airlines share price crash continues. It's common ground that a six-year-old United Airlines bankruptcy story became one of the most popular business stories on the Florida Sun Sentinel website early on Sunday morning, during a quiet news period, and was indexed by Google News. A …

Financial News 11 Sep 2008, 18:08
Microsoft, Novell shake hands on virtualization

You got SUSE in my Server 2008

Odd couple Microsoft and Novell are reaffirming vows to let their products play nice together with an announcement of full joint support of SUSE Linux run as a guest operating system on Window's virtualization hypervisor, Hyper-V. The deal spins from Microsoft anointing Novell as its pet Linux distribution back in 2006, while …

Virtualization 11 Sep 2008, 18:37
BlackBerry redoubles iPhone challenge

CTIA Wireless 'Cracks the uncrackable'

As part of its ongoing effort to reinvent the BlackBerry as an iPhone-battling consumer-friendly handheld, Research in Motion has announced a bevy of new after hours services for its corporate email baby. A year after his other half announced a new Facebook app for the BlackBerry, co-RIM CEO Jim Balsillie turned up at the CTIA …

Mobile 11 Sep 2008, 20:15
Web designer sues Brat City for assaulting hyperlink

Can you link wherever you like? Maybe not

Last year, Jennifer Reisinger, a Web developer from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, received a letter from the city. It demanded that she cease and desist the publication of a hyperlink on her web site pointing to the home page for the Sheboygan Police Department. Reisinger used the website in question - Brat City Web Design, so named …

Law 11 Sep 2008, 20:50
NASA mulls nuclear Moon reactor

Fission of the future

I see the moon/The moon sees me/Down through the leaves of the old oak tree/Please the the light that shines on me/Be home to fission surface power technology The Moon is terrific as far as desolate orbiting rocks go, but by all accounts it's rather lacking in the nuclear power generator department. Which is a shame because …

Space 11 Sep 2008, 21:06