12th September 2008 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

Google's IP anonymization fails to anonymize

Privacy theatre

In telling the world it will anonymize user IPs after only nine months, Google has appeased EU regulators. At least in part. But it looks like Mountain View's new policy is just another example of Google Privacy Theatre. On Monday evening, when Google deputy counsel Nicole Wong trumpeted the new nine month policy to Silicon …

Applications 12 Sep 2008, 00:27
NEC joins IBM's Super Friends chip alliance

Intel plots from Hall of Doom

IBM has recruited NEC Electronics to its semiconductor Super Friends alliance, designed to spread out the cost of developing and producing 32-nanometer fabbed chips. NEC is the eighth big name to add its name to the roll, which includes companies such as Samsung, Toshiba, STMicroelectronics, Infineon, Freescale and Chartered …

PCs & Chips 12 Sep 2008, 04:38
Coventry fans blue over 'hackable' cashless payment system

Sick as a parrot

Coventry City fans are worried about the security of a cashless payment card introduced at the football club's Ricoh Arena stadium this season. The system, intended to reduce the time fans spend queuing at matches paying for food and beverages, is one of the first of its kind. However the technology behind the SkyBluePass is …

Enterprise Security 12 Sep 2008, 07:02
Brits are Europe's biggest gadget buyers - official

UK second only to US

Brits spent so much of their cash on electronics last year that the total amount of discretionary income splurged on technology in the UK ranked worldwide second only to the US. The UK loves its gadgets According to figures released by market watcher Euromonitor, the UK’s gadget-obsessed masses spent $44.3bn (£24bn/€31bn) …

Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2008, 07:02
Northrop offer supersonic robot stealth raygun cyber-bomber

Bells and whistles cupboard emptied in one

American aerospace colossus Northrop Grumman has called for the US air force to purchase a hundred-strong fleet of enormous aerial stealth raiders, able to direct "netted wolfpacks" of flying kill-robots and packing "cyber warfare tools" capable of "attacking enemy information nodes". The proposed Next Generation Long Range …

Science 12 Sep 2008, 08:53
Acer raises UK prices

Mighty dollar batters pygmy pound

Acer UK is raising PC trade prices on Monday, September 15 and is blaming the dollar-sterling exchange rate for the move. This brings it into line with HP, which confirmed yesterday that on Monday it is increasing trade prices in the "mid to high single digits" in response to the dollar rebound. In recent weeks the pound has …

Channel Register 12 Sep 2008, 09:16
Philips opens kimono, gives glimpse of kinky kit

Smut, smut, smut

Earlier this week, Register Hardware brought you news that clean-cut electronics manufacturer Philips is going into the vibrator, sorry, “marital aid” business. And now we’ve got pictures of the saucy gadget set. Philips' 'marital aids' The intimate two-part massager kit has both a male-oriented stimulator and one for the …

Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2008, 10:07
Child abusers adopt blackmail tactics

Police agency warns of changing paedophile strategies

Child abusers are increasingly resorting to online threats and blackmail instead of 'grooming' children, a specialist police child protection agency warns. The UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre said that online child abuse offenders are turning from winning their intended victims' trust with gifts and …

Policing 12 Sep 2008, 10:34
Sony PRS-505 Reader e-book

Review More popular than the Celestial Home Care Omnibus, better selling than 53 More Things to do in Zero Gravity

Since words written on paper have kept civilised humans amused and off the streets for the best part of five-and-a-half thousand years, anything that hopes to replace it had better be good. With this is mind, and in an effort to make the printing press obsolete, Sony has released the PRS-505 Reader - a book, Jim, but not as we …

Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2008, 11:02
Royal Society: Schools should show creationism 'respect'

Updated It's not as bad as it seems

The Royal Society has backed the discussion of creationism in school science classes, kicking off what promises to be a spectacular row amongst the country’s top boffins. The boffinry talking-shop’s director of education told the British Association’s festival of science in Liverpool that creationism should be examined in …

Biology 12 Sep 2008, 11:05
BOFH: Back in the saddle

Episode 30 Riding roughshod over the cowboys

“How are you doing?” I say cheerfully, extending my hand in greeting to the two cabling guys that the beancounters got to shift some data cabling around – without telling us. “Clint and... John isn't it?” “Ay?” One of them says. “I'm Steve and this is Dave.” “My mistake,” I say. “I was obviously thinking of Clint Eastwood …

BOFH 12 Sep 2008, 11:10
DRAM boom-lite coming

Supply and demand coming back into balance...ish

DRAM manufacturer Elpida hopes the DRAM market will be healthier next year when a severe two year slump ends. Elpida, Japan's only DRAM vendor, made a $144m operating loss in its first fiscal 2009 quarter which finished at the end of June. It thinks it will post another thumping $144m operating loss for its second fiscal 2009 …

Channel Register 12 Sep 2008, 11:16
Sky ices Picnic, blames Ofcom

TV and broadband offer eaten by watchdog

Sky today said it had put its planned terrestrial pay TV product "Picnic" on ice, blaming Ofcom's glacial decision-making. The regulator has been examining the proposals for 18 months now, and "there is no end in sight", a Sky spokesman said, "no business can go on like that". The firm still hopes to bring Picnic to market, …

Music and Media 12 Sep 2008, 11:17
Panasonic shows world's smallest DLSR

All thanks to Micro Four-Thirds

The developers of the Micro Four-Thirds lens system promised that it would create smaller digital SLRs and the new Lumix DMC-G1 from Panasonic is claimed to be the first offspring of the technology. The 12.1-megapixel DMC-G1 is also claimed to be the world’s smallest and lightest interchangeable-lens digital camera, weighing …

Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2008, 11:18
Apple 'niche player' in touchscreen phone biz, says analyst

Samsung, Motorola dominate

Apple's iPhone may have boosted awareness of touchscreen handsets, prompting a 91 per cent increase in sales between 2007 and 2006, but it's still just a "niche player", one market watcher reckons. ABI Research this week highlighted that leap in demand for touchscreen phones, noting that while the increase is global, handsets …

Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2008, 11:18
Maritz apologises to VMware customers again

Sorry isn't always the hardest word

Days before VMware's virtualization-fest at the virtual Venice of Las Vegas' Venetian Hotel, CEO has issued a second letter of apology to customers affected by the ESX update last month that crashed their virtual servers. VMware has found that this foot-shooting episode's effects have been exacerbated by Microsoft's price- …

Virtualization 12 Sep 2008, 11:26
YouTube fake tool dumbs down malware distribution

Nothing on the internet is real, man

Miscreants have created a tool that dumbs down the process of using fake YouTube websites to spread malware. The YFakeCreator tool allows budding VXers to set up a fake site and configure options such as the properties of a supposed video. Typically users are required to download a fake codec to view content, which is not …

Malware 12 Sep 2008, 11:37
Ray Winstone joins Mel Gibson at the Edge of Darkness

Bob De Niro walks over 'creative differences'

Brit thesp Ray Winstone has replaced Robert De Niro in the big-screen adaptation of telly classic Edge of Darkness after the latter walked out two days into shooting over "creative differences", Variety reports. Winstone joins Mel Gibson on the Martin Campbell helmed project, which began production in Massachusetts on 18 …

Entertainment 12 Sep 2008, 11:48
SanDisk's Extreme 32GB CompactFlash

Big, fast and hard

SanDisk has further extended its Extreme III storage range with the launch of a 32GB CompactFlash card. SanDisk's Extreme III 32GB CompactFlash The storage card is targeted at “professional digital videographers and photographers” and can perform read and write operations at speeds of up to 30MB/s. Any photographers sent …

Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2008, 11:56
NASA preps Atlantis for Hubble mission

Endeavour also readied for possible rescue dash

Space shuttle Endeavour was yesterday rolled into the Kennedy Space Center's giant Vehicle Assembly Building, where technicians will clamp on its external tank and twin solid rocket boosters pending transfer to launch pad 39B some time next week. Endeavour (see pic) is slated to carry the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module to the …

Space 12 Sep 2008, 12:01
University offers one-day Jedi course

Feel the Force, for 23 quid

Queen's University Belfast will in November open its doors to 30-40 wannabe Jedi knights with a one-day course entitled "Feel the Force: How to Train in the Jedi Way." The blurb explains that the training on offer "teaches the real-life psychological techniques behind Jedi mind tricks*, and examines the wider issues behind the …

Bootnotes 12 Sep 2008, 12:32
Enta wins Intel channel badge

And then there were six

Enta has picked up official distribution rights for Intel, making it the chip vendor's sixth distie in the UK. Sounds like over-supply? That is the distributors' problem, not the dealers and system builders, who will welcome a fresh source of credit to tap. Besides, Enta reckons it has carved a niche for itself with smaller …

Channel Register 12 Sep 2008, 12:55
Tesco reveals unannounced Dell 12in netbook

Every little leak helps

Tesco appears to have leaked details of Dell's next mini laptop. But while some sites a jumping for joy at the inadvertent bean spillage, we're not sure the suggested spec makes sense for a netbook. Tesco describes the machine as a "Dell Inspiron Z530 1GB 12in Web Browser" that provides an "ultra-mobile web experience. Consume …

Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2008, 13:40
BT watchdog joins BT

Trebles all round

Sean Williams, a former senior Ofcom regulator who ran the process that created Openreach and stopped short of breaking BT's power over the telecoms industry, has been hired by, er, BT. The firm announced on Thursday that Williams had been made "Managing Director, Retail Strategy, with responsibility for BT Retail strategy and …

Telecoms 12 Sep 2008, 13:44
Lenovo drops web sales of Linux machines

Built it and they didn't come

Lenovo has dropped Linux from the list of operating systems it will preload on desktops and notebooks sold via its website. The Chinese vendor will continue to sell Linux-based client machines through its channel organisation, and this is where the majority of Linux orders were coming from anyway. The operation has been …

Channel Register 12 Sep 2008, 13:45
German court bans VoiP on iPhone

'Unfair business practices'

A VoiP application for Apple's iPhone has been banned by the Higher Regional Court in Hamburg, Germany at the behest of T-Mobile. The app - available through Apple's iTunes App Store - allows users to make cheap phone calls using T-Mobile's Wi-Fi network and bypass roaming charges. However, that's not why the app called …

Mobile 12 Sep 2008, 13:49
Morgan Stanley gets spectrum grab bag gig

Appointed to flog digital dividend

Ofcom, the UK regulator, has appointed the investment bank Morgan Stanley to promote international interest in the digital dividend, ahead of the auction planned for 18 months' time. The bank won the contract on the grounds of their contacts at telecoms companies in the US and Asia, who might be encouraged to snap up a chunk …

Mobile 12 Sep 2008, 14:04
Western Digital's 2.5-inch to hit 1TB by early 2010

Roadmap into tera

Western Digital (WD) and Fujitsu will likely have 1TB 2.5-inch disk drives available by early 2010 according to industry sources. WD has just announced that it has started volume shipping its 500GB 2.5-inch Scorpio Blue drive, a notebook drive with 250GB per platter and a 5,400rpm spin speed. Seagate expects to ship its half …

Channel Register 12 Sep 2008, 14:07
UK.gov told not to subsidise superfast broadband

No pork for you, fatty

Francesco Caio, the former top cable and Wireless beancounter tasked by the government with an economic analysis of next generation internet deployment in the UK, has come out against subsidies for fibre. In his widely-trailed report for the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, released today, Caio said …

Telecoms 12 Sep 2008, 14:34
WD's 2.5in HDDs to hit 1TB by early 2010

Western Digital has just announced that it has started volume shipping its 500GB 2.5in Scorpio Blue drive, with 250GB per platter and a 5400rpm spin speed. Our sources say WD and Fujitsu will have 750GB 2.5in drives by mid-2009 and 1TB units by early 2010, if not the end of 2009. WD is building quite a track-record of pipping …

Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2008, 14:56
Netbooks and Mini-Laptops

Buyer's Guide They're little and we love 'em. But which ones are best?

Since Asus launched the Eee PC 701 in October 2007, many notebook makers have hopped on the Small, Cheap Computer bandwagon, a fair few of them pushing the limits of the format's size and price in the process. The arrival of Intel's Atom N270 processor in June this year kickstarted this profusion of SCCs, and it remains the …

Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2008, 14:57
Euro mobe companies mass against cap proposals

Call my termination-rate bluff

Five European mobile operators have ganged up to fight Viviane Reding's proposal to cut termination rates by 70 per cent, with a study showing that it will lead to mobile phone users paying more. The study comes from Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telecom Italia, Telefonica and Vodafone, and finds that capping termination fees " …

Mobile 12 Sep 2008, 15:35
Hundreds queue for ~~Doctor Who~~ Hamlet tickets

David Tennant proves popular London draw

Hundreds of people have queued around London's Novello Theatre to secure tickets for David Tennant's planned outing as Hamlet in the capital's West End, the BBC reports. The Royal Shakespeare Company production has already proved a popular draw in Stratford-upon-Avon, where fans were earlier this year politely asked to lay off …

Entertainment 12 Sep 2008, 15:47
Beauty contest judge canned for slamming 'munter' contestants

Millwall gals 'more Kate Moose than Kate Moss'

A beauty contest judge tasked with finding the sexiest fan of Millwall FC was given his marching orders after suggesting a large percentage of the contestants were tattoed "munters", the Daily Mail reports. London-based technician Joe Amphlett made the unfortunate remarks during an interview on Talksport radio. Specifically, …

Bootnotes 12 Sep 2008, 15:49
Mozilla slots ~~pr0n~~ safe mode into Firefox 3.1

Smut surfing, open source style

Mozilla is responding to challenges from browser rivals Apple, Microsoft and Google by reviving private browsing mode features in Firefox. The approach has been considered before but was sidelined in the run-up to the release of Firefox 3.0. However, the inclusion of similar privacy protecting features in Apple's Safari and, …

Applications 12 Sep 2008, 15:50
Qantas phone check-in to take off next year

Up, up and away

Barcode boarding is really taking off, with Qantas becoming the latest airline to launch mobile phone based check-in services. Barcode based check-in. Image courtesy of USA Today From early next year, any domestic Qantas passenger who checks in and selects their seat online prior to departure can request a 2D barcode be …

Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2008, 16:19
Japanese call on deities to discipline wayward PCs

Plug'n'Pray

Anti-virus software usually does the job, but if malicious code gets through then it can bring your PC to its knees. So a Japanese shrine’s resorted to a rather more unorthodox way of keeping laptops safe. "Bless this laptop..." According to a report by website IOL, the Kanda-Myojin Shinto shrine has begun allowing “the …

Reg Hardware 12 Sep 2008, 16:25
Obama: McCain can't email, remembers Rubik's Cubes

Computer illiteracy vs. Web 2.0rhea

Barack Obama has told American voters that John McCain is a poor choice for the highest office in the land because he "doesn't know how to use a computer" and "can't send an email." In a new TV ad, the Democratic presidential nominee warns the country that his Republican opponent is still living in a time when Joanie loved …

Odds and Sods 12 Sep 2008, 18:50
Senator saves YouTube from al Qaeda

Terrorists violate terms of service

Senator Joseph Lieberman claims to have struck a mighty blow against the forces of al Qaeda this week by pressuring YouTube to forbid users from uploading terrorist training videos. The popular video site updated its "Community Guidelines" yesterday, warning terrorist cells they're at serious risk of violating the site's Terms …

Applications 12 Sep 2008, 18:51
Massive ATM fraud triggers Gulf banking jitters

Cash machine chaos

Banks across the United Arab Emirates are fighting to restore confidence in its banking system after hackers used counterfeit cards to withdraw funds from cash machines. It's unclear how many customer accounts have hit by the attack much less how much money has been lost over the last three days, when the issue came to the …

Crime 12 Sep 2008, 20:44