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24th October 2008 Archive

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  • Woman cuffed for deleting virtual husband

    Metaverse crime and punishment

    A 43-year-old Japanese woman has been jailed for "killing" her virtual husband to revenge an unexpected in-game divorce. The unhappy couple's characters had been "married" in the side-scrolling Korean massive multiplayer game, MapleStory. Not in real life, mind you, just within the game. But e-vows were too soon discarded, …

    Law 24 Oct 2008, 00:13

  • US carriers attack FCC's puritan broadband

    Wireless Groundhog Day

    To the surprise of no one, engineers representing America's incumbent wireless carriers and broadband internet providers have attacked the FCC's plan to grace the country with a free "third pipe." Earlier this month, the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) told chairman Kevin Martin he could move ahead with his …

    Telecoms 24 Oct 2008, 00:15

  • Microsoft 2.0 feels data center pinch

    'Low-priority' spending

    Microsoft's burgeoning online strategy is beginning to feel the spending pinch as the company battens down against a potential recession. The company said it's "pulling back spending in lower priority areas" including the rollout of data centers, along with reduced hiring, marketing and travel spending. Chris Liddell, …

    Financial News 24 Oct 2008, 00:21

  • Space tourist back on terra firma

    While NASA preps Endeavour for November ISS gig

    Space tourist Richard Garriott and cosmonauts Oleg Kononeko and Sergei Volkov this morning returned safely to Earth from the International Space Station, touching down in their Soyuz capsule in Kazakhstan at 10:37pm CDT (03:37 GMT). Garriot stumped a cool $17m to spend ten days in space, following in the footsteps of his dad …

    Space 24 Oct 2008, 06:06

  • Hubble fired up and ready for action

    Back to work tomorrow, says NASA

    NASA yesterday re-activated the Hubble space telescope's back-up computer system, following a few problems coaxing the venerable spare kit into life. The decision to press the on button means Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 observations should resume tomorrow, followed by Advanced Camera for Surveys Solar Blind Channel …

    Space 24 Oct 2008, 06:43

  • NHS needs to catch up on technology

    Lack of leadership blamed

    The NHS is failing to make effective use of simple technology now commonly used by its patients, such as the internet and email. Other industries like financial services and travel have been much quicker to adopt new technology, according to thinktank the King's Fund. Allowing patients to talk to doctors via email, use of …

    Government 24 Oct 2008, 08:19

  • Dell readies small, cheap computer for small biz

    Will Vodafone swallow up stocks of this one too?

    Dell is preparing an all-black version of its Inspiron Mini 9 netbook, this one aimed at small businesses and set to ship as the Vostro A90. Dell's Vostro A90: rebranded Inspiron Mini 9 The PC giant launched the machine in Japan today, and while you can't buy the A90 from its UK website yet, Dell has begun posting support …

    reghardware 24 Oct 2008, 09:04

  • Plasmon Inc rises from ashes of...Plasmon Ltd

    US private equity buyout succeeds

    Plasmon rides again. CEO Steve Murphy has successfully negotiated a private equity buyout of Plasmon Inc from the UK-based parent Plasmon Ltd which is in administration. Armed with undisclosed funds from an undisclosed US private equity firm, Plasmon Ltd CEO Steve Murphy has bought Plasmon Inc from the UK administrators of …

    Storage 24 Oct 2008, 09:13

  • Home Office coughs to Dutch DNA screw-up

    Lost disc with 22 crooks' DNA

    The Home Office has admitted it could have identified 22 criminals from DNA left at Dutch crime scenes if it had checked them against the UK's national DNA database. In January 2007 Dutch police sent the Crown Prosecution Service a disc containing 2,159 DNA profiles collected from crime scenes. The idea was to check these …

    Government 24 Oct 2008, 09:20

  • Fiat unwraps 'leccy buggy concept

    'Leccy Tech Tesla S glimpsed too

    There appears to be life in the self-appointed Apple of the electric car world after all. Hard on the heels of news of job losses and retrenchment comes the first official teaser shot of the planned Tesla S. The backside of the planned electric Lexus GS/Chrysler 300C challenger is shown peeping out from under a dust cover held …

    reghardware 24 Oct 2008, 09:22

  • Spanish discover cache of 26 Enigma machines

    Franco's 'secret weapon' tracked to army HQ

    Spanish newspaper El País last week tracked down 26 examples of Franco's "secret weapon" against Republican forces in the country's civil war - a cache of perfectly-preserved Enigma machines hidden for years in a "gloomy office" in the army's main headquarters in Madrid. Nationalist forces led by Franco acquired their first …

    Science 24 Oct 2008, 10:03

  • Public ID card support holds steady - says gov report

    But number of antis increases

    A majority of the public remains in support of the National Identity Scheme, according to the latest figures from the Identity and Passport Service (IPS). The latest tracking research on the scheme, carried out by Taylor Nelson Sofres and published on 22 October, shows that 60 per cent are in favour with 24 per cent against, …

    Government 24 Oct 2008, 10:30

  • Speaking clock gets Disneyfied

    Tinker Bell takes to the mic at BT's 123

    Middle England should prepare to drop its trousers, bend over the table and accept the painful truth that if anything in this Sceptred Isle was ever sacred, it isn't any more. As of the end of British Summer Time on Sunday, BT's famous speaking clock will be voiced by Tinker Bell - the result of a "sponsorship deal with Disney …

    Bootnotes 24 Oct 2008, 10:32

  • Intel apologises for 'inappropriate' iPhone critique

    We've got to be nice to Steve, OK?

    Intel has rapped the knuckles of executives who this week hammered the iPhone for not being able to show the internet as well as a PC can. They were talking out of turn, the chip giant said. No less a personage than Intel's mobility chief, Anand Chandrasekher - who this week showed off the first working version of the next …

    reghardware 24 Oct 2008, 10:34

  • Steve Jobs 'heart attack' citizen hack wasn't a short seller

    Wall Street just got punk'd, SEC reportedly finds

    The US government investigation into an 18-year-old's false "citizen journalism" report that Steve Jobs had had a major heart attack has so far found he did it for the craic, according to a report. The SEC is probing the circumstances surrounding the one-paragraph October 3 story on CNN-owned site iReport because it caused a …

    Financial News 24 Oct 2008, 10:35

  • Parrot displays near-field photo frame

    Displaying images just got easier

    Digital photo frame connectivity options are usually pretty similar: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or memory cards. But manufacturer Parrot has designed one that’ll soak up your images using Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology. The wireless data transfer technology, as used by London Underground’s Oyster system, enables anyone with …

    reghardware 24 Oct 2008, 10:37

  • BOFH: Fine detective work

    Episode 34 The Boss applies his sleuth skills

    "What's this?" the Boss demands, tossing a tattered faux leather-covered book at me. "This?" I say. "It looks like someone's diary." "Your assistant's - but what's inside it?" "I don't know. I'm not in the habit of reading personal stuff," I respond, choking down a chuckle. "I suggest you do!" he snaps. "Why, what am I …

    BOFH 24 Oct 2008, 10:57

  • MEPs warn on 'virtual strip searches'

    Old bodies, new scanners, new danger

    Members of the European Parliament have asked the Commission to look carefully at the privacy implications of millimetre wave scanners - which effectively produce naked pictures of passengers. The technology has already been trialled in the UK - at Paddington railway station - but was found to be impractical and abandoned. …

    Government 24 Oct 2008, 11:13

  • Dell's PCs to come with music

    Sounds good?

    SanDisk’s already launched Micro SD cards with pre-loaded tunes on. So Dell’s decided to get in on the music scene too and has launched a service to pre-install music on your new machine. The PC giant, together with Universal Music Group, will offer musical bundles of 50 and 100 tracks. Then, once your new PC arrives, you’ll …

    reghardware 24 Oct 2008, 11:21

  • Apple MacBook Pro 15in

    Review A powerful, professional piece of kit

    The new MacBook Pro may not be the total revamp that the renewed MacBook is, but it’s an attractive – and intriguing – update nonetheless. The aluminium chassis has been slightly modified – curved edges similar to those of the MacBook Air make it marginally slimmer and give it a less rectangular look. The display's new glass …

    reghardware 24 Oct 2008, 11:31

  • Xerox waves job axe at 3,000 staff

    As Q3 results disappoint Wall Street

    Printing giant Xerox Corp looks set to cull its worldwide workforce by five per cent. Xerox will axe about 3,000 jobs over the next six months to save $200m. Yesterday the company lowered its forecast for the next quarter amid what CEO Anne Mulcahy described as a “tough business environment”. The firm disappointed Wall Street …

    Financial News 24 Oct 2008, 11:33

  • Windows 7 and Microsoft's cloud - The Reg takes a MicroBite

    Radio Reg PDC preview: Gates' trainers and Ozzie's head

    Microsoft's massive Professional Developers' Conference (PDC) hits Los Angeles, California, next week. It's the event for anyone interested in the direction and details of where Microsoft's software is headed. To put PDC in perspective, previous years saw Bill Gates unveil .NET and Windows Vista. And we all know how they went …

    Microbite 24 Oct 2008, 11:34

  • Vodafone emboldened by Orange's BlackBerry Bold woes

    RIM's first HSDPA phone back on Orange UK next month

    Vodafone has told its third-party sales partners to use the "software issues and technical faults" it claims forced Orange to stop selling the new BlackBerry Bold to persuade consumers it has a better 3G network than its rival does. Those faults, Vodafone alleges in an confidential memo seen by Register Hardware, centre on " …

    reghardware 24 Oct 2008, 11:37

  • Police poison speed debate with fuzzy figures

    Not just crime figures getting spin dry treatment

    This may be the week when the Department for Transport learns about the risks of making a case for road safety based on figures that every expert in the field knows to be untrue. Swindon Council got a good old-fashioned clip around the ear on Thursday from David Ainsworth, Deputy Chief Constable of Wiltshire, who declared …

    Law 24 Oct 2008, 11:49

  • Thrustmaster draws Wii weaponry

    Dual trigger gun meets light saber

    Wii accessory manufacturer Thrustmaster has launched two weapons for the console that’ll have both Star Wars and shoot-'em-up fans delighted. Thrustmaster's Glow Saber: a must for Star Wars fans with a Wii? The Glow Saber is, as the name suggests, a glowing sabre for laser-sword battles on the Wii. It’s described as “the …

    reghardware 24 Oct 2008, 11:51

  • Fancy nipping for a quick two-thirds of a pint?

    Does proposed new measure wet your whistle?

    Here's some splendid news for those of you who can't in all conscience go into a boozer and ask for a half, but reckon that a full pint might hamper your post-Friday-lunchtime workplace performance: The National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) is proposing to introduce a two-thirds of a pint measure which would "increase …

    Bootnotes 24 Oct 2008, 11:56

  • El Reg in Street View drive-by snooping

    Orwellian spycar menaces Vulture Central

    Vulture Central is today in full counter-surveillance lock-down mode following the sighting of a Street View Orwellian black Opel in the very street where El Reg has its London headquarters: Realising he'd been rumbled by the member of our editorial team who'd just happened to pop out for a lunchtime guava and sea urchin wrap …

    Bootnotes 24 Oct 2008, 12:02

  • Book about D-Notices gets D-Notice slapped on it

    Retired officers' spat masks MoD coverup

    A controversial history of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) DA-Notice* Committee, the body which acts to suppress media reports which could damage national security, has been heavily edited - reportedly on the orders of the DA-Notice Committee itself. The book in question is called Secrecy and the Media. It was written by Rear- …

    Government 24 Oct 2008, 12:20

  • Virgin probes Facebook safety, chav claims

    Staff slag off customers, planes

    Virgin Atlantic is investigating allegations that its staff posted rude comments on Facebook about the airline's passengers and its safety standards. The comments, which as far as we can see have been pulled, were about flights out of Gatwick and referred to passengers as "chavs". Virgin flies five Boeing 747s from Gatwick. …

    Bootnotes 24 Oct 2008, 12:24

  • Panasonic touts ToughBook trio

    Well 'ard

    Panasonic’s ToughBook laptop line just expanded, thanks to the firm’s creation of three more ruggedised machines. Panasonic's ToughBook CF-F8: with an integrated carry handle There’s the 14.1in CF-F8, and the 12.1in CF-W8 and CF-T8. The larger-display model weighs in at 1.6kg, while the CF-T8 tips the scales at 1.3kg. The …

    reghardware 24 Oct 2008, 13:24

  • NASA's greatest clanger

    Lost lunar civilisation peeks from under dustbin lid

    Rights to the celebrated documentary The Clangers are changing hands. Often mistakenly described as “a children’s programme”, the 1970s series revealed for the first time the existence of an advanced knitwear-based lunar civilisation, knowledge of which has been suppressed by governments and space agencies ever since. Not only …

    Entertainment 24 Oct 2008, 14:02

  • Oprah cuddles Kindle

    Amazon's toy gets talk show sofa space

    Oprah Winfrey is set to report that her favourite gadget is Amazon's Kindle e-book reader, and she's invited Amazon founded Jeff Bezos onto her show to explain why it's good to read electric. The fact that the queen of chat would soon be revealing her perfect battery-powered companion was revealed in teaser videos, but one …

    Music and Media 24 Oct 2008, 15:13

  • US forces want man-hunting robot wolfpacks

    Droid doorkickers to sniff out 'non-compliant humans'

    Trouser-moisteningly terrifying news broke this week, as it emerged that sinister forces within the US military are looking to develop a remorseless robotic wolfpack capable of hunting down "a non-cooperative human subject" in "an indoor environment". Yes, it's true - last month, crazed Pentagon brainiacs asked contractors to …

    Government 24 Oct 2008, 15:14

  • 3 officially joins Nokia’s music bundle

    Comes With Carphone Warehouse - or does it?

    Mobile operator 3 confirmed that it’s the first UK network to offer Nokia’s Comes With Music bundle directly to punters. Carphone Warehouse claims the right to be the UK’s exclusive retail partner for the deal – but 3 has a chain of around 150 stores. How do they stack up? Carphone offers the Nokia 5310 Music Edition for £25 a …

    Mobile 24 Oct 2008, 15:51

  • Sun feeds data center pods to credit crunched

    Selling the dog food you eat

    Sun Microsystems, like server rivals Hewlett-Packard and IBM, has been transforming its data centers in an effort to cut costs. And like HP and IBM, Sun wants to take the expertise it has developed from this process, put a price tag on it, and peddle it to customers who are facing the same budget pressures. This week, Sun …

    Servers 24 Oct 2008, 18:13

  • Google Willy Wonkas park fighter jet on NASA

    '82 Dornier wows space mavens

    Update: An update to this story - including a response from NASA - can be read here Not content with a Boeing 757, a Boeing 767, and two Gulfstream Vs, Google's Willy Wonkas have now purchased a fighter jet. At least, it looks that way. The fighter is hidden behind the Chocolate Factory's wall of secrecy. As first reported by …

    Science 24 Oct 2008, 18:23

  • EU to stock internet criminal database

    Alert platform targets child porn

    European Union members agreed today to create a common alert platform for reporting illegal activities on the Internet. The system will be used to share information about those suspected of cybercrime with authorities in each of the 27 EU nations. Its goal is to prevent illegal website operators from fleeing to another EU …

    Government 24 Oct 2008, 18:27

  • LG unwraps tasty touchscreen treat

    Cookie Monster's ideal phone?

    LG has finally taken the lid off of the biscuit tin and revealed the specifications and price of its latest cost-conscious caller: the KP500 Cookie. LG's KP500 Cookie sports haptic feedback First announced last month, the KP500 has a 3in touchscreen display and haptic feedback technology to ensure you’re always aware of …

    reghardware 24 Oct 2008, 18:28

  • Star Wars MMO to grab more players than WoW

    LucasArts hopes for over 11m subscribers

    If you’re creating an MMORPG to compete with the most popular one of all time - World of Warcraft - then you’d better make sure it’s got a solid plot. And what better plot than one based on the most popular film series of all time: Star Wars. LucasArts wants more than 11m Star Wars: The Old Republic members So gaming firm …

    reghardware 24 Oct 2008, 18:28

  • Rackspace swallows Slicehost Jungle

    Hosting acquisitions partly cloudy

    Rackspace Hosting - which is where the files that comprise The Register are stored - this week made two acquisitions to beef up its hosting business. The company, which went public in mid-August, is also re-branding its hosting and cloud computing products to make their naming consistent in the wake of the acquisitions. …

    Servers 24 Oct 2008, 18:47

  • XML anti discrimination plan hits hurdle

    Cherokee Nation awaits

    A well-intentioned attempt to make XML less exclusive to certain ethic groups actually risks causing breakage for those it's intended to help. XML co-inventor Tim Bray and others have raised a last-minute objection to the planned XML Fifth Edition working its way through the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). They say it could …

    Developer 24 Oct 2008, 19:33

  • Man threatens lawsuit after negative eBay feedback

    A++++ libel, would sue again

    An eBay shopper may face libel charges after posting negative feedback about a seller on the auction site. Chris Read, a 42-year-old mechanic from Kent, wasn't satisfied with the Samsung phone he purchased on eBay, reports the Daily Telegraph. For one thing, it wasn't the right phone. It was also described to be in "good" …

    Music and Media 24 Oct 2008, 21:20

  • Google: Guinea pig brainwaves prove video ads 'compelling'

    When you watch YouTube, what's your 'skin response'?

    As part of its increasingly desperate attempt to actually make some money from YouTube, Google is reading the brainwaves of human guinea pigs in an effort to judge the effectiveness of video ads. As reported by ZDNet, Google has teamed with an outfit dubbed NeuroFocus to measure the impact of video overlay ads on brain …

    Music and Media 24 Oct 2008, 22:01

  • Trojan attacks Microsoft's emergency patch vuln

    Transforms self into worm

    A day after Microsoft released an emergency patch for a critical flaw that could allow self-replicating attacks, researchers have identified a nasty trojan that attempts to exploit the vulnerability. Variants of the data-stealing trojan known by names including Gimmiv.A and Spy-Agent.da have morphed over the past few weeks to …

    Security 24 Oct 2008, 22:05

  • Winning contestant dies during competitive eating event

    Death by cheesy rice buns

    The sport of competitive eating was given a shocking reminder yesterday that gorging oneself with a daunting amounts of greasy food in an extremely short period of time may have negative effects on health. A Taiwanese graduate student vying for the "Big Stomach King" contest at Dayeh University died on Tuesday just before he …

    Odds and Sods 24 Oct 2008, 22:32

  • Support grows for Intel's mobile Linux despite slip

    Confidence is high

    Delays to the latest version of Intel's project putting an open-source stack on its Atom processors have not deterred IT companies from early backing for the platform. Start-up Good OS has announced a relationship with MiTAC International to deliver its gOS Gadgets Linux operating system on a netbook based on Intel's Moblin 2. …

    Operating Systems 24 Oct 2008, 22:44