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27th October 2008 Archive

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  • UK Govt to spend £100m on three-city electric car trial

    'Leccy Tech Tax breaks for EVs a better use of taxpayers' money?

    On a slightly smaller scale than the planned 'leccy infrastructure roll out Down Under, the British Government will this week announce it is planning to fork out £100m in order to test electric cars and vans in three cities. Details are vague at the moment, but the idea seems to be to invite tenders from car makers to supply …

    Reg Hardware 27 Oct 2008, 08:08

  • Bryan Adams pulls a Prince on fan sites

    Web Sheriff: No more merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas

    Canadian soft rocker Bryan Adams is the latest star to grumble at fans for plastering his name and face on unofficial websites. The crinkly Eighties star and sometime number one slot hogger has enlisted the help of Web Sheriff to convince the likes of bryanadamsfanclub.nl, bryanadams.nu and badfan.com to play nice and agree to …

    Law 27 Oct 2008, 09:56

  • UK confirms e-voting death

    No plans, no more trials

    There are no plans to introduce e-voting in the UK, or even to conduct further pilots of the technology, a government minister has confirmed. The government has flirted with the technology in past and claimed it could be a way to increase participation in elections. Michael Wills, a Minister of State at the Ministry of …

    Government 27 Oct 2008, 09:59

  • GPU market resists recession

    Q3 shows highest sequential growth in six year, says researcher

    The credit cruch has not - so far - affected the main makers of graphics chips. AMD, Intel and Nvidia all saw shipments rise between Q2 and Q3 this year, market watcher Jon Peddie Research claimed today. These three account for 97.8 per cent of the GPU market, with the likes of SiS, Matrox and VIA subisidiary S3 barely …

    Reg Hardware 27 Oct 2008, 10:03

  • MoD's London brass resist job cuts

    Comment Rubber desk johnnies don't like it up 'em

    Ministry of Defence headquarters offices in central London are to shed 1200 uniformed and civilian staff posts, according to reports. Military bureaucrats are resisting the moves fiercely. The Times, having unsurprisingly "obtained" documents outlining the cuts and the MoD brass' resistance to them, gave full details yesterday …

    Government 27 Oct 2008, 10:07

  • Brocade Foundry bid foundering?

    Suffering from shareholder wobble

    Brocade's bid to take over Foundry has stumbled because not enough Foundry shareholders are in favour of the deal. Brocade, a dominant supplier of Fibre Channel storage area networking (SAN) switches and directors has negotiated an agreed bid to take over a Foundry Networks, a supplier of Ethernet products. Brocade needs an …

    Storage 27 Oct 2008, 10:40

  • Hubble's main camera back in action

    Reactivated computer system bearing up

    The Hubble space telescope's main camera is back in action following the reactivation last week of the flying eye's backup computer system. On Saturday morning, the 'scope's science computer commanded the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 out of the safe mode in which the instrument had been slumbering since a computer failure on …

    Space 27 Oct 2008, 10:48

  • Volt is 'go' for Oz as charging-point deal unveiled

    'Leccy Tech Up to 750,000 power feeds planned

    Following on from its antipodean appearance at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, the Chevy Holden Volt is coming to Oz. And Australian power company AGL is going to put in charging infrastructure. We're a little saddened that the Outback may soon cease to reverberate to the bellow of V8-engined Holden …

    Reg Hardware 27 Oct 2008, 11:02

  • NetApp ready to rumble in Sun IP case

    Hey, who took my WAFL?

    NetApp co-founder Dave Hitz has challenged Sun to come to court now and get the ZFS-WAFL IP case sorted as fast as possible. NetApp is suing Sun for giving away what it claims is its intellectual property in the open source Zettabyte File System (ZFS). It contends that Sun includes IP from NetApp's Write Anywhere File Layout ( …

    Storage 27 Oct 2008, 11:04

  • Oz pub dishes up really crap ice cream

    'Oh my god, they've served us s***'

    A Sydney family's Sunday lunchtime in the pub has provoked a major rumpus after the hostelry allegedly served them with faeces-laced ice cream, Oz's Daily Telegraph reports. Stephen and Jessica Whyte, their three kids and chums Patrick and Tina Elliott were in the Coogee Bay Hotel's brasserie on 3 October to watch a rugby …

    Bootnotes 27 Oct 2008, 11:34

  • Dell unveils 12in Vista-based notebook-not-netbook

    Uses handheld-oriented Atom CPU

    Remember the 12in laptop Tesco inadvertently told the world Dell was preparing? Dell has announced the machine, the Inspiron Mini 12, in Japan. Dell's Inspiron Mini 12: MID-spec, runs Vista Not only does the Inspiron Mini 9's bigger sibling sport a decidedly un-netbook 12in screen - the resolution's 1280 x 800 - but the …

    Reg Hardware 27 Oct 2008, 11:56

  • Investment firm looks for Sun's true value

    Private investment firm owns fifth of company

    The US private investment firm which has bought $2.1bn of Sun shares since May says the companies are in talks to have Sun's true economic value realised. Southeastern Asset Management has built up a 21.6 per cent stake in Sun. The talks may mean a sell-off of Sun assets, a leadership change or even a sale of the company. Sun …

    Servers 27 Oct 2008, 11:59

  • Apricot Picobook Pro netbook

    Review Intel Atom? Pah! VIA's C7-M makes good

    We have in our hands the revived Apricot's first fruit: the Picobook Pro netbook, a Small, Cheap Computer based on VIA's C7-M processor. And a block-like boy it is too. The Pro's display is an SCC standard-issue 8.9in, 1024 x 600 job, so the netbook's not especially large face-on. But it is thick, most notably the screen …

    Reg Hardware 27 Oct 2008, 12:02

  • BBC's TV detector vans to remain a state secret

    I saw one being pulled by a unicorn

    The Information Commissioner has ruled against a request to force the BBC to reveal the inner workings of its TV detector vans. Although most detection is done by database the Beeb still claims to maintain a fleet of vans which can tell if a particular address contains a TV. If you buy or rent a TV or buy a PC tuner card in …

    Bootnotes 27 Oct 2008, 12:03

  • Cliff Richard not face of British music any more

    UK Music sets sail

    The Monday morning after the clocks go back traditionally brings us very little cheer, but here's one piece of good news - you'll be seeing less of Sir Cliff Richard in the future. A new umbrella group headed by Feargal Sharkey aims to be the face and brains of British music, and represent the often warring factions within it …

    Music and Media 27 Oct 2008, 12:06

  • Gov cans 'national day' plans

    Celebrate your Britishness at work, matey

    The government has canned plans for a 'national day' during which citizens of good old Blighty might celebrate their Britishness by tucking into a chicken tikka masala washed down with cheap tinned Oz lager while watching US TV imports on their Japanese-made TV. Sadly, Gordo's proposal to offer a day where Brits might "focus …

    Bootnotes 27 Oct 2008, 12:26

  • DARPA seeks bigger BigDog petrol packmule robots

    Quiet stealth mode for mini Imperial Walker droids

    Pentagon tech brainiacs are moving forward with their plans to furnish US troops with petrol-powered robotic pack mules to carry their heavy equipment and supplies. DARPA, the famed military loopytech agency which stands head and shoulders above the rest principally through the use of Inspector Gadget telescoping cybernetic …

    Government 27 Oct 2008, 12:47

  • The iPhone App Store - a classic protection racket

    Fail and You 30 per cent to the bag man

    "Listen up, friend. We take care of the community. We all protect each other. You wanna set up shop in this neighborhood, you're gonna need some protection, you know what I'm sayin'? I mean, you got a real nice business here, nice store, nice people. It'd be a shame if something were to happen to it. Fire, robbery, these things …

    Mobile 27 Oct 2008, 13:02

  • NEC shows tileable A3 e-paper sheet

    Eight rolls, one picture

    NEC has unrolled a new form of e-paper sheet that extends to A3 in size and, it claimed, makes for an easier read than printed newspapers. NEC's A3 e-paper: easier to read than a newspaper The Japanese giant's electronic paper has a contrast ratio of 10:1, which may not sound much - TVs can do well beyond 10,000:1 - but is …

    Reg Hardware 27 Oct 2008, 13:11

  • Ubuntu goes more mobile with 8.10 release

    Servers get better Java, RAID, and virtualization

    The gradual and metered improvement with the Ubuntu variant of Linux created and supported by commercial Linux distributor Canonical takes another step forward this week with the release of "Intrepid Ibex", which will be distributed as Ubuntu 8.10. Ubuntu 8.10 is a regular release of the Linux variant, not one with what …

    Servers 27 Oct 2008, 13:21

  • Ubuntu: Vendors need to step up

    Get certified and pre-install

    "Intrepid Ibex", distributed as Ubuntu 8.10, goes live today for distribution later this week, and the economic crunch certainly makes the Linux variant more compelling. While there are plenty of skeptics doubting Ubuntu's prospectsin business - except in a few big businesses with lots of Unix skills - going broke tends to …

    Operating Systems 27 Oct 2008, 13:21

  • Virgin Media accused of shafting customers on upload rates

    Updated Ex-NTL lines draw the slow straw

    Virgin Media is facing charges from customers connected to certain parts of its network that it is misleading them about the speed of their broadband connections. Subscribers to the firm's cheapest "M" broadband package are told in publicity material they are able to upload data at 256Kbit/s, but a modem config file posted at …

    Telecoms 27 Oct 2008, 13:24

  • Germany laughs at EU's full-body scanners plan

    Who said they have no sense of humour?

    Germany has dismissed proposals to use "virtual strip searches", describing the scheme as nonsense. Members of the European Parliament got all het up last week and asked the Commission to look at the implications of millimetre wave scanners which can, under certain circumstances, produce what is effectively a naked image of …

    Government 27 Oct 2008, 13:39

  • Forgotten what an egg looks like? We can help

    Local paper spells it out

    Hot on the heels of the Beeb's "just exactly where is England?" shocker, we have a further example of news outlets' occasional need to really spell it out to readers. Yes indeed, try this cracker from the News & Star website, gleaned from an article entitled EXTRA POLICE DRAFTED TO CRACK KESWICK EGG-THROWING CASE: Riiiiight …

    Bootnotes 27 Oct 2008, 13:39

  • Cash'n'Carrion free shipping ends Friday

    Cash'n'Carrion Get in there while you can

    Just a quick reminder for those of you thinking of indulging in some light shopping down at El Reg merchandising tentacle Cash'n'Carrion - our free shipping promotion ends on Friday. To avail yourselves of this offer, you just need to enter the code "Reg" in the voucher field in your basket and click to redeem. And while we' …

    Site News 27 Oct 2008, 13:55

  • Belgian judge reverses moon-on-stick music copyright ruling

    Audible Magic meets network realities

    A Belgian judge who slapped a €2,500 per day fine on an ISP until it filtered its network for music copyright infringements has reversed the decision after music lawyers conceded it wasn't technically possible. The successful appeal by provider Scarlet last week overturns a ruling made in July last year. The final skirmish in …

    Law 27 Oct 2008, 14:42

  • Financial meltdown hits Hilton where it hurts

    Clubs put the squeeze on Paris appearance fees

    Poor Paris Hilton is the latest victim of the financial apocalypse which has ripped across our planet, with London clubs offering the talented amateur porn flick performer as little as £25k a pop to enhance their premises with her magnetic charms. That's according to the Evening Standard, which says last time Paris popped over …

    Bootnotes 27 Oct 2008, 14:50

  • Raytheon demos new submarine-launched UAV

    Up up and away periscope

    America has gone one better than Germany in the race to develop the world's most powerful submarine-launched robot aircraft. US arms giant Raytheon has announced a model which can be deployed at depth without modification to the submarine. The new U-UAV is dubbed SOTHOC, for Submarine Over the Horizon Organic Capabilities. The …

    Science 27 Oct 2008, 16:00

  • Silverlight 2.0: killer features, no Flash killer

    Web bling tone Open, with limitations

    Microsoft's Silverlight 2.0, released this month for Windows and Mac, is a tipping point. This is the version that gives developers the features they have long been waiting for, including a cross-platform implementation of Microsoft's .NET Framework. Microsoft will use its massive Professional Developers' Conference (PDC) in …

    Developer 27 Oct 2008, 16:02

  • High-speed train toilet attempts to eat Frenchman

    RoTM Arm trapped in satanic sucking dunny

    Emergency services were on Sunday obliged to cut free a TGV passenger whose arm was swallowed by the high-speed train's sucking dunny, the BBC reports. The unnamed 26-year-old victim - travelling from La Rochelle to Bordeaux - dropped his mobe into the bog and ill-advisedly attempted to retrieve it from the lav's depths. Cue a …

    Rise of the Machines 27 Oct 2008, 16:09

  • EMI's £700k taxi bill

    And incredible shrinking business

    A report by Maltby Capital, the company created to acquire and run EMI, reveals that the British music giant is still spending money like a drunken sailor. A highlight of the out-of-control budget was £700,000 spent with just one London taxi firm. "This was only slightly less than the bills of three investment banks, with 8-10 …

    Music and Media 27 Oct 2008, 16:21

  • No2ID shakes fist at plod print scanner plan

    Dodgy tech not the solution

    Privacy group No2ID is calling for legal protections before the introduction of mobile fingerprint scanners next year. As we reported in May the National Policing Improvement Agency handed over £50m for mobile devices to police forces. These will allow officers to check fingerprints against the Police National Computer. ' …

    Policing 27 Oct 2008, 16:35

  • HP lets slip revamped netbook

    Mini-Note 2133 to be joined by Mini 1000

    HP's US online store has revealed that company's Mini-Note line is due to expanded - or condensed - with a new model, the Mini 1000. An ad for the Mini 1000 appeared on the site over the weekend, though it now seems to have been pulled. Screengrabs of the banner reveal not only the machine's name but also that it's less than …

    Reg Hardware 27 Oct 2008, 16:44

  • Congressman quizzes FCC on white space management

    White noise in white spaces?

    Congressman John Dingell, chair of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, has joined the white space debate, asking the FCC to explain more about its tests and how it intends to police white spaces in the spectrum. Dingell asks in a letter to Kevin Martin (FCC chair) if the trials run by the FCC were peer-reviewed, and if not …

    Mobile 27 Oct 2008, 17:06

  • NetApp chucks staff at OS merger

    Block-level VTL de-dupe before year-end

    Frustrated by drawn-out development schedules, NetApp has put all its US-based engineers to work on merging 7G and GX, its two ONTAP operating systems. The company will also release its first block-level, de-duplicating virtual tape library (VTL) well before the end of the year. NetApp storage arrays, with the exception of …

    Storage 27 Oct 2008, 17:12

  • Microsoft's Red-Dog cloud turns Azure

    PDC EC2 for grown ups?

    Amazon's EC2 has overshadowed Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference where Steve Ballmer and Co. finally announced their cloud-computing architecture, codenamed Red Dog. Microsoft software architect Ray Ozzie kicked off PDC promising a limited - limited mind - community technology preview (CTP) of the Azure Services …

    Developer 27 Oct 2008, 18:15

  • Opera scrambles to quash zero-day bug in freshly-patched browser

    Multiple platform pwnage

    Just a few days after Opera Software patched critical vulnerabilities in its browser, researchers have identified another serious bug that allows attackers to remotely execute malicious code on the machines of people running the most recent version of the software. Opera has vowed to fix the flaw soon. Among the bugs squashed …

    Security 27 Oct 2008, 18:44

  • Google Earth lands on Jesus Phone

    Is that the Western Hemisphere in your pocket?

    Google has squeezed its world-snooping software, Google Earth, into a small, small world for Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch. Image courtesy Google Like its desktop sibling, the application lets users fly around a 3D view of Earth made from aerial and satellite imagery. Google Earth for iPhone is available for free in 18 …

    Mobile 27 Oct 2008, 19:18

  • US cablecos spice wireless broadband fight

    The quadruple play

    Cox Communications - the third largest cable TV outfit in the US - says it will unleash its own 3G wireless network sometime in 2009. The cableco already offers wired broadband and telephony as well as mind-numbing television, calling itself the "first company to introduce a voice, video and data bundle to the marketplace," …

    Mobile 27 Oct 2008, 19:56

  • Hole in Yahoo! surrenders keys to the kingdom

    Attack of the killer XSS

    Yahoo has closed a gaping hole that attackers were exploiting to gain access to victims' Yahoo Mail accounts and other restricted areas of site. The cross site scripting error in the hotjobs.yahoo.com domain allowed the attackers to inject cleverly obfuscated javascript into the page that silently siphoned the cookies used to …

    Security 27 Oct 2008, 21:20

  • Shuttleworth on Ubuntu: It ain't about the money

    At least, not yet

    In the wake of the launch of Ubuntu 8.10, Mark Shuttleworth - the founder of the Ubuntu project and the chief executive officer of Canonical, the commercial entity behind Ubuntu - hosted a conference call with the press and analyst community. And in that call, Shuttleworth, who is not afraid to shell out money for a good cause …

    Operating Systems 27 Oct 2008, 22:32

  • HP Monsters spew data center ad jargon

    Halloween special curls your TPS reports

    Hewlett-Packard has somehow devised a Halloween treat even less appealing than a circus peanut. The PC vendor unveiled today a Halloween-themed video advertising campaign on YouTube featuring a motley crew of monsters pitching HP's data center kit and services. But the truly frightening part is how they speak like corporate …

    Servers 27 Oct 2008, 22:37