29th September 2008 Archive

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Is Hitwise in the Phorm biz?

When ad targeters attack their own

Front Porch – a Silicon Valley startup offering a Phorm-like online ad system – has sued several companies for patent infringement, including NebuAd, Hitwise, and Microsoft. The patent at the heart of this suit does not cover the sort of ISP-based behavioral ad targeting that Phorm, NebuAd, and Front Porch are now famous for. …

Broadband 29 Sep 2008, 02:57
Android and Windows Mobile 'complementary', claims HTC

'But we'll still make more Windows Mobile phones.'

T-Mobile G1 manufacturer HTC plans to develop more handsets based on Android. It maintain this will not affect its Windows Mobile business - the Google platform and Microsoft's are “complementary”, it claimed. According to a report by DigiTimes, John Wang, Chief Marketing Officer at HTC, said that both systems have their …

Mobile 29 Sep 2008, 08:03
Toshiba unwraps 256GB 2.5in SSD

Smaller modules for netbooks, too

Toshiba has taken the wraps off a 256GB solid-state drive, though the unit's not set to become widely available until Q4. The 256GB unit follows the laptop-friendly 2.5in form-factor and is based on the multi-level cell (MLC) Flash design. Toshiba's 256GB SSD: fast? Toshiba claimed the drive delivers a maximum read speed …

Hardware 29 Sep 2008, 08:36
Byron Review's internet enforcer goes into action

Promises child net protection strategy within a year

The UK government is today launching the UK Council for Child Internet Safety with support from BT, Microsoft, Facebook and over 100 other organisations and companies. The talking shop will deliver a "Child Internet Safety Strategy" to the Prime Minister early next year. It will also work to improve public awareness of issues …

Government 29 Sep 2008, 08:47
Elon Musk's Falcon 1 launches successfully

Fourth time's the charm

Multimillionaire tech visionary Elon Musk has finally achieved a long-sought goal on the fourth attempt, as his privately-funded SpaceX Falcon 1 is now circling the Earth. The rocket, launched from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific, reached orbital velocity at 00:26 UK time. The pocket rocket which everyone's glad to see. " …

Science 29 Sep 2008, 08:56
FCO owns up to energy waste

Cites 'national security' as reason to leave 10,000 computers on overnight

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been leaving about 10,000 computers switched on overnight. In response to a parliamentary question from shadow environment secretary Peter Ainsworth, minister Meg Munn said that on the assumption that each computer uses 80 watts of power and is left on for 14 idle hours each day, the …

Government 29 Sep 2008, 09:17
Apple reduces iPhone output, will sell more, analyst claims

Enough to grab world's number three smartphone seller spot?

Apple will make 14-15m iPhones during Q3 and Q4, down from 18m, it has been claimed. The report of the 3-4m cut comes from US investment bank Pacific Crest Securities and is contained in a note sent out to clients last week and given wider currency through an EETimes report. PCS reckons Apple will sell 11m iPhones during H2 …

Mobile 29 Sep 2008, 09:18
BT's third Phorm trial starts tomorrow

Updated Cookie monster

BT will invite thousands of its broadband subscribers to voluntarily participate in a third trial of Phorm's advertising targeting system starting tomorrow, the two firms said this morning. The trial was originally scheduled to begin in mid-March, but has been repeatedly delayed amid technical problems and legal controversy. …

Broadband 29 Sep 2008, 09:18
Sony Ericsson shows wireless kit for Christmas

Bluetooth's inventor demos its wares

Ericsson did create Bluetooth, so it should be able to show off what's possible, though the company's devotion to its offspring is being challenged by loyalty to its parents. This Christmas will see a plethora of Bluetooth kit coming from Sweden: women with strong arms, or women who wand to build up their arms, will be able to …

Hardware 29 Sep 2008, 09:29
Music and pics coming to next-gen Nintendo DS

Handheld console fans drool

Nintendo has developed a new, feature-laden DS handheld console, according to a Japanese newspaper. A report by Nikki Net stated that the latest model will sport an internal camera, music player and a larger screen. Improved wireless functionality was also mentioned. A reference was made to using the console’s camera to play …

Games 29 Sep 2008, 10:25
Samsung's second 8Mp phone leaked

Everything you could want, and more...

Samsung’s first eight-megapixel camera phone, the i8510, has scarcely been out for five minutes, but the electronics giant’s already lined up a follow-on handset. Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com Thought to be code-named 'Brensson' and labelled the Pixon M8800, if and when it hits the shops over …

Phones 29 Sep 2008, 10:31
Bear squeeze blues: How to destroy a bank

Comment Set phasers to 'short sell'

With the banks apparently unable to cope with the markets anymore, the poor dears, short selling has been banned to protect them. HBOS is being taken over cheaply, even compared to what a mortgage bank is worth in this rotten market. Allegedly, "spivs" conducted a whispering campaign, and used short selling to make money out of …

Financial News 29 Sep 2008, 10:52
Adobe cache snafu delivers free movie downloads

Streaming hebegeebees

A security bug in Adobe's software means users were able to access Amazon's video streaming service without payment, Reuters reports. The flaw was a rare example of a bug that gives extra functionality to users. In a trade-off between usability and security, Adobe technology permits the popular option of using video player …

Security 29 Sep 2008, 10:57
Tories promise to kill off kids database

ContactPoint looks even deader

The Tory Party will scrap the government's controversial ContactPoint child database if elected. The database, with entries for every child in England and Wales, has been repeatedly delayed and attacked by data protection groups. It was originally due to go live in April of this year, then October. It is now meant to be ready …

Government 29 Sep 2008, 11:08
Virgin Galactic spaceliner-piggyback craft delayed

Branson's economy-class rocketships not quite ready

The "mothership" jet aboard which Richard Branson's planned space-tourism rocketplanes will ride piggyback has had its first flight delayed, according to reports. The WhiteKnight Two carrier craft had been expected to fly this month. The Rocketplane's reusable lower stage. Flight International reports that the delay was …

Science 29 Sep 2008, 11:14
VAT fraudsters sentenced to total of 133 years

HMRC secures 21 convictions over £138m scams

More than 20 people have been sentenced to a total of 133 years for their part in a series of major mobile phone carousel fraud conspiracies in the UK. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said on Friday that its lawyers had concluded more than seven years of work on three interconnected carousel or “missing trader” VAT …

The Channel 29 Sep 2008, 11:54
Chrysler grows iPod Peapod

'Leccy Tech Electric car drained by iPhone dock

Chrysler has redesigned its Peapod range of electric cars with a model aimed directly at iPhone and iPod users. Chrysler's redesigned Peapod: now with an iPhone/iPod dock The GEM Peapod – Green Eco Mobility (GEM) being Chrysler’s electric car division – has had its centre console redesigned for iPod/iPhone integration, …

Science 29 Sep 2008, 12:08
Firefox update fixes international character password glitch

Lost in transliteration

Mozilla has published an update to its popular Firefox web browser designed to fix a password saving glitch. Firefox version 3.0.3, released on Friday (26 September), addresses a bug in the Password Manager feature of the previous version of the browser that meant users might be unable to retrieve saved passwords or register …

Security 29 Sep 2008, 12:15
UK spooks poke Facebook for new spies

The name's Bond, find me on Bebo

The British Secret Service has given up trawling the Oxbridge Junior Common Rooms for new recruits and begun advertising on Facebook instead. The Queen's own spooks are running one advert aimed at university graduates, and another at those bored of their current jobs. It reads: "Time for a career change? MI6 can use your …

Government 29 Sep 2008, 12:40
Frenchman's pedalo dirigible Channel attempt blown out

Gentle headwinds foil blimp bicyclist

An attempt to cross the English Channel in a pedal-powered dirigible has failed. French blimp-bike aficionado Stephane Rousson was defeated by headwinds blowing at several miles per hour. "We were about three-quarters of the way across but the wind was flowing in the wrong direction for me to make it across," the disappointed …

Bootnotes 29 Sep 2008, 12:48
Microsoft makes 'big' Rosario tools promise

ALM, take three

Microsoft claims it will have "nailed" the application lifecycle management (ALM) companion to Visual Studio with the third iteration - Visual Studio Team System 2010, codenamed Rosario - when it ships. Three years after Microsoft debuted VSTS - and was pounded for bugs - Microsoft has said the planned VSTS 2010 will deliver …

Developer 29 Sep 2008, 13:02
Developing software in the global village

Reg Reader Workshop Have things really changed in the past few decades?

Anyone would think the kids of today had invented globalization. All this talk of largely text-based communications mechanisms used in social networking and blogging gives the impression that the mechanisms we relied upon in the earlier days of computing – bulletin boards, Usenet News and so on – were in some way different. …

Workshop 29 Sep 2008, 13:02
Carphone Warehouse Webbook

Review The best value Small, Cheap Computer?

The Elonex-made Webbook is a medium-sized machine, built around a 10.2in screen, and so goes up against the Asus Eee PC 1000 and the MSI Wind/Advent 4211, but at a lean price of £249. The form-factor of Small, Cheap Computers is still rather fluid, with the original Eee 701 and the Fujitsu FMV Biblio U/B50 showing there’s a …

Hardware 29 Sep 2008, 13:08
Thousands more City workers to lose jobs, says CBI

Banks no longer safe as houses

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) warned today that thousands of City jobs in the UK are set to be lost over the next three months. Tumbling profitability, a slowdown in business negotiations in Blighty’s struggling financial services sector and a major dip in confidence about the current turbulent market conditions …

Financial News 29 Sep 2008, 13:15
Sony Ericsson unveils eco phone

GreenHeart handset

Sony Ericsson only officially took the wraps off its eco-friendly initiative – named GreenHeart – last week, but the firm’s already showcased the first concept phone to roll off Mother Nature’s production line. Sony Ericsson's GreenHeart eco-friendly phone Images courtesy of Mobile Cowboys The GreenHeart phone’s housing is …

Phones 29 Sep 2008, 13:19
Asus Eee PC 901 to gain HSUPA, HSDPA next month

Only through carriers?

Asus is to integrated HSUPA 3G as well as HSDPA into its Eee PC 901 next month, but it's not clear whether the mobile broadband technology will be available beyond the network operators, or with Linux. Certainly, Asus' listed specification for the 2Mb/s HSUPA and 7.2Mb/s HSDPA enabled 901 only lists Windows XP. Other specs …

Broadband 29 Sep 2008, 13:51
EU bids to dominate future nebulous buzzword

'We don't know what Web 3.0 is, but we must have it'

The European Commission has called out for help on how it can "put Europe into the lead of the transition to Web 3.0". It doesn't seem sure what web 3.0 is or could be in the future - it just knows it wants it. To that end, it's today launched a public consultation inviting opinions on this forthcoming "next wave of the …

Government 29 Sep 2008, 14:14
Game stash truck lifted from cops' lorry lock-up

Grand Theft Auto

Police have learnt the true meaning of Grand Theft Auto, after a lorry full of stolen PlayStation 3 games was nicked from their... ahem... secure lock-up. According to a report by the Sun, shutters at a secure police depot in Northampton were smashed open to allow the vehicle to be driven away by the thieves. The truck …

Games 29 Sep 2008, 14:17
MoD prays RAF disk thieves aren't data savvy

50,000 RAF IDs on unencrypted disks

Personal details of potentially all current and ex-RAF personnel and dependents were stored on three USB-connected storage drives which went missing from a Ministry of Defence establishment at Innsworth, Gloucestershire. Both the MoD police and Gloucester Police are investigating a presumed theft. A statement from the MoD said …

Security 29 Sep 2008, 14:23
Iridium flares for another $500m

You can make money from satellite phones!

Iridium, the satellite-phone operation that went bankrupt back in 1999 and has been quietly turning a profit since 2005, is to be merged with an investment bank affiliate in a deal that gives the company $500m in cash to play with. The deal "ensures the future of Iridium", according to chief executive Matt Desch. "We won't …

Mobile 29 Sep 2008, 14:28
Vodafone launches in-store power pods

Power to the High Street

The nightmare of your phone’s battery dying while you're out and about is no longer, because Vodafone has launched in-store charging pods. The service lets power-hungry consumers plug their phone, MP3 player or portable games console into a lockable unit that powers up the device in return for a small fee. The units, …

Hardware 29 Sep 2008, 14:29
Nokia gives corporate email the push

BlackBerry bitchslap

Nokia is to give up on corporate email and pushed applications, leaving all that to third-party companies while it concentrates on selling push email to ordinary punters. The moment RIM proved that push email was such an important gateway into corporations, everyone started furiously developing competing services while …

Mobile 29 Sep 2008, 15:28
Confirmed: Samsung 8Mp Pixon

Samsung's second 8Mp phone to debut, soon

Samsung has broken its silence over rumours that it’s poised to launch a second eight-megapixel phone. It has officially confirmed the handset’s existence. Samsung's Pixon: official and, hopefully, coming soon The firm’s going for the drip, drip, drip release in terms of details and, so far, has only been willing to release …

Phones 29 Sep 2008, 15:32
MoD man 'faces Official Secrets trial' for leaving files on train

Charge docs somewhere between CPS and Met police

The Cabinet Office official who left secret intelligence documents on a train seems set to face criminal charges under the Official Secrets Act. At least he might if anyone tracks down the files on the case. The unnamed official, who was on secondment from the Ministry of Defence, left the orange envelope on a seat when he …

Government 29 Sep 2008, 15:40
US politicians back Act to save internet radio

Allows negotiations until 2009

A law that could save internet radio stations from having to make payouts they claim will cripple them has been approved by the US House of Representatives and is expected to pass into law. Internet radio stations had mounted a public campaign, claiming that new fees for playing music online set by the Copyright Royalty Board …

Government 29 Sep 2008, 15:44
eBayed VPN kit hands over access to council network

Updated 'It's like putting an access hub in the car park'

An item of networking kit bought from eBay for just 99p ($1.79) gave privileged access to an internal network at an English county council. The security risks posed by unwiped computer discs - which are often offered for sale on auction sites and sometimes even obtainable from council rubbish dumps - are well documented, but …

Data Networking 29 Sep 2008, 16:08
Sun puts Xeon, Sparc T2+ chips in Netra rack servers

Maybe calling on telcos and service providers ain't such a bad idea

Server maker Sun Microsystems is to take the wraps off three new servers, aimed at telecommunications companies and other service providers and network equipment manufacturers serving the global - and booming - communications space. Two of the new machines are the first in Sun's Netra server line to use Xeon processors from …

Servers 29 Sep 2008, 16:13
US Congress debates cellphone cancer risk

Nothing better to do, apparently

The House Subcommittee on Domestic Policy has been hearing from cancer researchers - and the wife of a cancer-sufferer - about the dangers of uncontrolled mobile phone use and how more research is needed. Citing the usual comparison with tobacco - everyone thought it was safe but it really was causing cancer - researchers from …

Mobile 29 Sep 2008, 16:29
Sprint launches WiMAX in crab land

Claims 4G is here

Sprint has officially launched its WiMAX broadband wireless network in Baltimore - the crab capital of America - marking the technology's big city debut. And the company still insists on calling it Xohm. With Xohm offering download speeds of 2 to 4 Mbps, the company sees this as the dawn of the 4G era. "This is truly an …

Broadband 29 Sep 2008, 17:55
Cybersecurity holes exposed in Los Alamos nuke lab

Network on shaky ground zero

The Los Alamos National Laboratory - easily the world's most sensitive and sophisticated research institution - is marred by cybersecurity weaknesses that compromise the way information on its unclassified network is protected. According to an audit by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), the New Mexico-based LANL …

Security 29 Sep 2008, 18:11
Scalable Storage rises from agàmi ashes

Dead heron in the forested startup swamp (Dean Seniff update added.)

That's curious. Unified storage system startup agàmi crashed and burned spectacularly on July 28th with CEO David Stiles telling Sunnyvale employees about the shutdown at 11am and them losing their jobs two hours later. Now he's started a new firm, Scalable Storage Systems, that uses agàmi's IP and assets. Agàmi, with its …

Storage 29 Sep 2008, 18:27
Plasmon takeover talks fail

Looking for investors

The talks between Plasmon and a private equity firm trying to take over the business have terminated. Plasmon's shares have been temporarily suspended on the London stock exchange. Plasmon sells archive systems which include archive software, disk storage, and optical disk drive storage. It has an agreement with NetApp …

Storage 29 Sep 2008, 18:34
US Congress rubberstamps IP enforcement bill

DoJ suits out, White House czar in

The US House of Representatives on Sunday passed a bill heavily backed by the recording industry that would create an intellectual property enforcement czar position in the White House as well as significantly increase penalties for IP infringement. The bill passed unanimously through the Senate on Friday after being stripped …

Government 29 Sep 2008, 18:42
Reg competition: Cisco goes isup

Can you solve the mystery of the lost leer?

It's five days since the lower case letter 't' briefly disappeared from Cisco's home page. Since the curious case of the missing lower case letter (a browse of the html source showed that capital letter Ts were not affected) surfaced on Thursday morning, we've sought in vain for an explanation through Cisco's PR UK agency. …

Bootnotes 29 Sep 2008, 18:47
Stratus tolerates faults on Windows HPC

Think banking transactions (if you dare)

There are many ways to gang up machinery to scale applications on groups of servers or provide a measure of disaster recovery or fault tolerance for those applications. Supercomputer customers are known for spending big bucks on exotic technology, but they're also notorious cheapskates. That's why Linux and the clustering of …

Servers 29 Sep 2008, 19:59
Microsoft straps open source jQuery to Visual Studio

Necessity meets invention

Microsoft is softening its attitude on shipping open-source code with Windows with a decision to distribute the handy jQuery JavaScript library with Visual Studio. Corporate vice president of Microsoft's developer division Scott Guthrie has said Microsoft will distribute the popular library along with Intellisense, snippets, …

Developer 29 Sep 2008, 20:23
Washington and Microsoft declare war on scareware

One down, but how many more to go?

Washington state's top law enforcement official has filed suit against a man accused of bombarding end users with misleading messages designed to trick them into buying software to fix PC problems that don't exist. The complaint, filed in Washington state court by Attorney General Rob McKenna's office, names James Reed …

Security 29 Sep 2008, 21:19
Fujitsu-Siemens punts small biz storage blade

Because SAN is a pain in the NAS

Earlier this decade, as the blade server form factor went commercial, the consensus was that local storage was only necessary on blade servers for operating system images and that any data customers need would be plunked on storage area networks that are linked to the blades. Some even went so far as to suggest that blades …

Storage 29 Sep 2008, 22:13
Mayor Boris serves Governator cold revenge

'Schwarzenegger is a monosyllabic Austrian cyborg'

Taking the piss out of the machines: London mayor Boris Johnson gave himself a full year to stew over being mocked by California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for rhetorical fluency. Ironic that. While waiting to address the Tory conference in 2007 via video link, the Governator had whispered frank impressions of the then …

Bootnotes 29 Sep 2008, 22:58
Attention developers: Your SESSIONIDs are showing

You don't know sidejack

Protecting passwords is important, but do you take the same care with your SESSIONIDs? You should. Here's how they work: When you log into a web application, you exchange your credentials for a SESSIONID cookie. This cookie gets sent with every subsequent request from your browser until you log out or the session times out. …

Developer 29 Sep 2008, 23:11