13th October 2008 Archive

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Compellent adopts solid state

SNW Adds remote site replication and cut-over to roadmap

At SNW in Dallas Compellent has become the first storage array vendor to follow EMC's lead and add solid state storage (SSD) to its product line. It has also added automatic cut-over to a remote site following server failover. Compellent's storage area network (SAN) arrays sell to mid-range enterprises. Its controlling …

Storage 13 Oct 2008, 07:25
Vendors tout protection and performance at SNW

SNW And hope someone else can protect the economy

As the storage networking suppliers gather in Dallas to show off their wares, the growing economic threat is muting the optimism about new products characteristic of SNW. Product announcement themes are performance and data protection, apt enough for the back story, as storage suppliers will have to perform well to protect …

Storage 13 Oct 2008, 07:26
Robot vacuum cleaners - now with grenade launchers

Drudge-droid rebellion could be messy

Many people believe that famed cybernetics company iRobot only makes droid vacuum cleaners - for instance the nifty yet slatternly "Roomba" autodrudge. But iRobot also makes more sinister machines, for instance the new "Warrior X700", which it has just sold to the US Army's tanks'n'trucks R&D arm. Weighing about 450 pounds all …

Science 13 Oct 2008, 08:02
Infosys backs out of Axon bid

Cuts forecasts

Outsourcing specialist Infosys has cut forecasts by a third and has ended its battle with HCL to buy UK-based Axon. Dependence on providing services to the US financial sector led Infosys to reduce estimates for next quarter. The firm still expects growth of between 8.4 per cent and 12.6 per cent for the quarter ending …

Channel Register 13 Oct 2008, 08:29
Asus offers replacement Eee Boxes after Japanese virus strike

Limited impact

Asus today claimed it had "resolved" the unfortunate appearance of a virus on Eee Box mini desktop PCs sold in Japan. The company said the problem affected punters who bought one of the machines on 2 or 3 October this year, and it asked anyone who bought an Eee Box in Japan on those days to contact it for a replacement machine …

reghardware 13 Oct 2008, 09:19
World's first WoW mouse

Steely

With roughly one month to go until the latest edition of World of Warcraft is published, one manufacturer’s jumped on the opportunity to flog the game’s panting punters the world’s first WoW-branded mouse. The World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse has 16m illumination options... The World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse can macro …

reghardware 13 Oct 2008, 09:21
Ruling makes it easier to get software patents in the UK

Court of Appeal upholds Symbian software patent

The Court of Appeal has refused to accept the UK Intellectual Property Office's rejection of a patent for a piece of software in a move which experts say will open the door for more software patents in the UK. Symbian has won the right to patent a piece of software which makes other software run more quickly. The Court of …

Small Biz 13 Oct 2008, 09:24
Wal-Mart punts industrial strength feminine deodorant

Canada - where men are men, and so are the women

There's an old saying* that Canada's a country where men are men - and so are the women. For proof, look no further than the local Wal-Mart tentacle, which demonstrates just how the local lasses apply their "Summer’s Eve Ultra Feminine Deodorant Spray": According to the blurb, Summer’s Eve contains "a light, fresh fragrance …

Bootnotes 13 Oct 2008, 09:24
Euro judges strengthen protections for database creators

Sides with University of Freiburg in poem row

A judgment by Europe’s highest court has strengthened the rights of database creators to protect their work from being used by third parties without permission. The database right protects against more than just copying and pasting, it ruled. The decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) means that the transfer of …

Law 13 Oct 2008, 09:56
Citroën sparks electric C-Cactus production plan

'Leccy Tech Which powertrain do punters want?

Yes, it looks like a Mini, but Citroën's concept hybrid, the C-Cactus - named, presumably, because it's less thirsty than other cars - looks set to go into production, the Gallic automaker as revealed. And it may arrive as a true electric vehicle. Citroën said it has begun looking at how feasible such a move might be, with the …

reghardware 13 Oct 2008, 09:59
Crazy Japanese earthquake game makes shaky debut

Firm footing required

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be caught in the middle of an Earthquake? Well, now you can experience the... er... fun of an earthquake, without any of the danger. Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com One of the quirkier games on display at this year’s Tokyo Game Show was Zettai Zetsumei …

reghardware 13 Oct 2008, 10:01
LG conjures up 'magic' TV

If magic’s your thing then the latest addition to LG’s Scarlet TV range is sure to get your pulse racing - sort of - because it performs a magic trick each time you turn it on. LG's Scarlet LG80: features sliding speakers The LG80’s speakers automatically slide out from either side of the screen when you switch the set on. …

reghardware 13 Oct 2008, 10:07
Prince Charles declines Doctor Who cameo

'He turned us down, the miserable swine'

Doctor Who exec producer Russell T Davies has described Prince Charles in less than flattering terms for declining to make a cameo appearence in the hit BBC sci-fi show. Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival yesterday, Davies told fans he'd written to Clarence House offering self-confessed Who fan Chaz a walk-on part …

Entertainment 13 Oct 2008, 10:12
Asus alleged to be readying Eee mobos

Banking on the brand

We thought Asus' Eee family was all about making computing easy for the non-technical, but Asus apparently no longer does, if claims it's preparing a line of Eee-branded motherboards are to be believed. So far as we can see, Asus itself hasn't made any comment on the claim, spoken by unnamed industry sources and relayed by …

reghardware 13 Oct 2008, 10:23
London and Wales to get fast fibre

BT pushes 40Mbit/s

The residents of Muswell Hill in London and Whitchurch in South Glamorgan will be among the first in the UK to be offered faster broadband via a fibre optic upgrade to the aged national telecoms network. BT Openreach announced today that it will roll out fibre to street-side cabinets covering 15,000 premises in both areas, to …

Telecoms 13 Oct 2008, 10:31
Blackswift hypersonic plane cancelled

Budget bigshots bin bleeding-edge barrelroll bid

US military crazytech chiefs have cancelled the planned "Blackswift" Mach-6 runway aeroplane, following an almost complete cutoff of funding by Congress. Aviation Week reports that the challenging Blackswift project has now definitely been closed down, following a reduction of its FY 2009 budget from $120m to just $10m. It …

Science 13 Oct 2008, 10:45
OLO promises Foleo-style iPhone-Air laptop combo

Just as doomed as Palm's product?

Is Apple's iPhone 3G about to gain a full-size screen and keyboard courtesy of a device reminiscent of Palm's ill-fated Foleo? One French company is offering a tantalising glimpse of just such a system. Dubbed the OLO, the concept is of a laptop-style device into which the iPhone clips. The handset becomes the machine's …

reghardware 13 Oct 2008, 10:50
Parliament's take on Freedom of Information

We'll tell you - if you promise not to tell anyone else

The House of Commons was due last week to explain why, unlike the hundreds of organisations that regularly respond to Freedom of Information Requests through charity website whatdotheyknow.com, it has refused to do so. It didn't, and said it will now offer an explanation later this month. Maybe. Whatdotheyknow is one of a …

Government 13 Oct 2008, 11:15
New Jersey flying deer floors Hippo

Old timer survives airborne cervine impact

A New Jersey old timer is recovering from a nasty cut to the head after being floored by a flying deer as he took a stroll close to his Logan Township home. Donald Hippo, 66, was described by police as being "simply at the wrong place at the wrong time", in this case Grandview Road at around 9am last Thursday. A truck driver …

Bootnotes 13 Oct 2008, 11:16
World Bank denies hackers pwned key systems

'They never got in'

The World Bank has denied reports that hackers penetrated its network on multiple occasions over the last year. Fox News reports the financial institution has suffered at least six attacks since the middle of 2007. The assault emerged in the course of a separate FBI investigation, prompting the bank to issue a memo (pdf) to …

Enterprise Security 13 Oct 2008, 11:18
ICA's Reg-freetard smackdown: Low bodycount

Where were the targets?

To the Institute of Contemporary Arts on The Mall, where your reporter was pitched in a head-to-head with Matt Mason last week, in an event billed as a "Freetard smackdown". That's a prospect that could frighten the Horse Guards. So what happened? Matt's book, The Pirate's Dilemma, is subtitled "How Youth Culture Reinvented …

Music and Media 13 Oct 2008, 11:24
Samsung Omnia 16GB smartphone

Review As good a phone as it is a media player

Samsung's attempts at touchscreen mobiles have been lacklustre to date. The F700 and F490 work, but they don't make the case for touchscreen control in the way that the iPhone and HTC Diamond do. The first thing that strikes you about the Omnia is the specification, which is nothing if not comprehensive. Quad-band GSM/GPRS/ …

reghardware 13 Oct 2008, 11:33
LG and Prada, together again

The Prada II

LG has thrown itself back into fashion and unveiled something that every label obsessed catwalk junkie will no doubt want to own this season: the Prada II. LG's Prada II: a physical keyboard's the main difference Building on its original Prada phone, the Korean firm and fashion label Prada have launched their second attempt …

reghardware 13 Oct 2008, 11:46
Deloitte loses hundreds of thousands of pension details

Vodafone, rail union and others

Deloitte has admitted losing a laptop containing thousands of people's pension details, but said the data was encrypted and the machine password-protected, and it had no evidence the data had been misused. The laptop contained 150,000 railway workers' details as well as details on all UK Vodafone staff with pensions and other …

Enterprise Security 13 Oct 2008, 11:54
No IT budget for faster SME payments

Gov tightens fists

The government is not allocating funding to upgrade payment systems to meet the prime minister's commitment to pay small suppliers faster during the credit crunch. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), which is coordinating payment changes to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs), said that …

Small Biz 13 Oct 2008, 12:02
HDS sends in SAS to shoot up modular storage range

Go Go Go Go Go

Hitachi Data Systems has refreshed its mid-range AMS modular storage line, adding a SAS backplane to boost internal bandwidth and turning the two controllers into an active:active pair. As noted here, the AMS (Adaptable Modular Storage) line has three models: entry-level AMS 200, mid-range AMS 300 and high-end AMS 1000. All …

Storage 13 Oct 2008, 12:12
Sony exec pours cold water on PS3 price-cut hopes

Not budging despite Xbox 360 reductions

Despite Microsoft's Xbox 360 price cuts and an analyst warning that the PlayStation 3 is too expensive, Sony is sticking to its guns by refusing to reduce PS3 prices. Kazuo Hirai, President and Group Chief Executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, told the Financial Times last week that gamers shouldn’t hold out any hope for a …

reghardware 13 Oct 2008, 12:24
Seagoing slime-skimmer snail ships punted

Ooze cruisers suggested for US Navy

University engineering profs in San Diego believe they may be on the road to solving a conundrum which has baffled the greatest researchers for decades. That is, how to build a gigantic ekranoplan style sea-skimming battlecruiser supported not by a flimsy cushion of air but one of self-generated slime. "Water snails show us …

Biology 13 Oct 2008, 12:29
Apple to 'ditch' Intel for Nvidia in standard MacBooks

Chipset reshuffle?

Apple will drop Intel’s integrated graphics chipsets from its new family of MacBooks in favour of Nvidia’s new mobile platform, according to speculative reports. The company is expected to announce that decision at a notebook-centric product launch tomorrow. If the rumours, made in an AppleInsider report, are correct, the 13in …

PCs & Chips 13 Oct 2008, 12:37
Nokia exec confirms touchscreen coming to N series 'soon'

Nokia fans won’t have long to wait before the firm unveils its first N-series handset with a touchscreen, the Finnish phone giant has confirmed. At an event in New Delhi, Devinder Kishore, Director of Marketing for Nokia India, told website Cell Passion that Nokia has a “lot of touchscreen phones coming up, including an N- …

reghardware 13 Oct 2008, 13:23
Disconnection still terrifies freetards

Despite being off the cards for now

Disconnection still strikes fear into the heart of many freetards, a survey suggests, despite disappearing from the agenda this summer. A Memorandum of Understanding between major British ISPs and the music business saw the ultimate threat of Three Strikes disappear, to be replaced by nagging letters aimed at P2P file sharers. …

Music and Media 13 Oct 2008, 13:37
Home Office preps fudgetastic ISP data rules

Cash-strapped Whitehall gives small ISPs free pass

A Home Office official has baffled ISPs by telling them new laws will on paper require them all to retain data, but in practice some probably won't be forced to because it could cost the government too much money. The confusing policy was detailed at the Government and Industry Forum on Technology and Law Enforcement in London …

Law 13 Oct 2008, 14:10
SSL covers security embarrassments with EV figleaf

Whitepaper Helping you know scammers from Adam

SSL has become something of a default 'security' stamp online. So much of a 'default' in fact that Phishers and other scammers now adopt it as a means of validating their scam site. Extended Validation SSL hopes to overcome this problem through stricter application procedures and greater visibility. The adage ‘buyer beware’ …

Security 13 Oct 2008, 14:25
OpenOffice.org overwhelmed by demand for version 3.0

Update Wibbles, wobbles, falls down

OpenOffice.org organisers have blamed “unprecedented demand” for their site going offline as it delivered the long-awaited update of their open source office apps suite. Organisers apologised on Monday for the massive outage saying their technical teams are “trying to come up with a resolution” while the main site's remnants …

Applications 13 Oct 2008, 14:31
Internet security suites fail to block exploits

Tests expose 'chocolate teapot' shortcomings

Internet security suites do little to protect users against exploits, according to security notification firm Secunia. The Danish security notification firm is urging a root and branch rethink on how security suites are designed, moving away from "ineffective signature-based detection" to a smarter form of defence. However, …

Security 13 Oct 2008, 14:32
Saw torturecoaster rolls into UK theme park

You won't believe how it bends

Surrey theme park Thorpe Park has revealed its new attraction will be 'Saw - The Ride', based on the super-gruesome gorebuster movie franchise of the same name. The family-friendly frolic-enclave has run 'Fright Nights' with various scary goings-on since 2002, but the new ride seems a rather more ambitious and full-bodied …

Bootnotes 13 Oct 2008, 15:05
Texan boffins working on electric cyber-heart

Yes! It's the pulseless heart!

Texas-based engineers have announced they are working towards a radical new "pulseless" artificial heart, able to act as a complete replacement for a normal human one. Matt Franchek and Ralph Metcalfe, mechanical engineers at Houston Uni, will team up with medico-boffins at the Texas Heart Institute. The idea is to completely …

Biology 13 Oct 2008, 15:29
No pr0n, no interference - puritan broadband is go

Point-free tests confirm what Ofcom already knew

The FCC has completed tests confirming that deployment of its porn-and-cost-free network won't interfere with incumbent operators, as already established by Ofcom and Czech deployments. The tests were completed during September, and state unequivocally that a deployment of Time Division Duplexing technology won't interfere …

Wireless 13 Oct 2008, 15:31
Should software developers do it for themselves?

Reg Reader Workshop We don't need no stinkin' management

On March 7, 1992, a little-known Finnish software developer called Linus Torvalds issued version 0.13 of his open source operating system as version 0.95. It was a bold move, which took place (according to the FAQ) because "Linux is very close to a reliable/stable system". By moving the numbering system from incrementing from …

Workshop 13 Oct 2008, 15:53
Home Secretary rejects McKinnon anti-extradition plea

Game over for Pentagon hacker?

The Home Secretary has rejected a request to rip up an extradition order against accused Pentagon hacker Gary McKinnon. McKinnon was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome and solicitors for the Briton wrote to Jacqui Smith saying his medical condition ought to mean he should face criminal prosecution over his admitted hacking …

Policing 13 Oct 2008, 17:11
CastleCops nemesis gets two-year sentence

Irascible hacker's $70k botnet rampage

An American hacker has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for waging potent attacks that took down two volunteer websites for days at a time. Gregory C. King of Fairfield, California, was also ordered to pay more than $69,000 in restitution for distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on CastleCops and KillaNet …

Crime 13 Oct 2008, 18:25
Microsoft's second Silverlight courts open-source coders

Reverse takeover

Microsoft is courting open-source developers with Silverlight 2.0, as it strives for cross-platform uptake of the browser-based media plug in. Microsoft is delivering funds, architectural and technical guidance, and project management to help Soyatec, a team of former Java developers building an open-source rich-internet …

Applications 13 Oct 2008, 18:26
YouTube offers full-length shows

Site finally gets a job with ad-supported vids

YouTube is now offering full-length television shows (legally) as part of an agreement with the US broadcast giant CBS. The internet video site will first host somewhat dated content for US viewers such as select episodes of Beverly Hills 90210, the original series of Star Trek, MacGyver, as well as some fare from this current …

Music and Media 13 Oct 2008, 18:43
Wikipedia dumps Red Hat for Ubuntu

Unhappy with definition of 'management'

The Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit entity behind the Wikipedia online encyclopedia, has finished the porting of its IT infrastructure - including most servers and desktops - to the Ubuntu variant of Linux. Wikimedia has been running on a mix of Red Hat development and commercial Linuxes since it was founded seven years …

Operating Systems 13 Oct 2008, 19:34
Sun takes four-socket Victoria Falls Sparc plunge

The iron roars tonight

Sun Microsystems and server partner Fujitsu have announced a four-socket mid-range server based on the Victoria Falls Sparc T2+ processor, following weeks of strong hints. Fujitsu did most of the engineering on the Sparc Enterprise M servers sold by both companies and based on the quad-core Sparc64 VII processor. However, the …

Servers 13 Oct 2008, 22:41
Gates predicts 'significant' US recession

Place your faith in Spam

The oracle of Redmond Bill Gates is back, predicting the US economy will suffer a "fairly significant recession" and unemployment will surpass nine per cent. Bloomberg reports the Microsoft chairman-come-Windows-pitchman offered dreary divinations of American job rates to gathered alumni at the centennial celebration of the …

Financial News 13 Oct 2008, 22:50
Sarah Palin ordered to preserve Yahoo! emails

Used for official Alaska business

US vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been ordered to preserve all emails from private accounts that relate to state business. Superior Court Judge Craig Stowers ordered Alaska's attorney general to recover messages contained in a Yahoo email account maintained by Palin. The account was breached last month and some of …

Government 13 Oct 2008, 22:57
Feds kills ATI and Nvidia price-fix probe

Dropped like a hot chip

The US Department of Justice has dropped its two-year investigation of Nvidia and ATI over suspicions the companies conspired to fix graphics chip prices. Both chip makers said they received letters from the DoJ indicating the probe formally concluded with no action taken. Although little was known about specifics of the …

Channel Register 13 Oct 2008, 23:45