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6th November 2008 Archive

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  • Fifty years later, steam appears on British railway

    No. 60163 Tornado completes trial run

    A Peppercorn class A1 Pacific traveled from York to Scarborough on Tuesday evening, becoming the first new steam train to run on Britain's railway since 1960. The steam locomotive - No. 60163 Tornado - departed the National Railway Museum in York at 6:04pm, arrived at York station by 6:18, and reached the coast at 8:12, The …

    Bootnotes 6 Nov 2008, 00:02

  • Toshiba touts talking projector

    "Buy me, buy me, buy me," I said.

    Did that projector just talk to me? At least that’s what you’ll say when you walk past the world’s first projector with voice guidance. Toshiba's TLP-X200U: can talk to you The Toshiba TLP-X200U Wi-Fi enabled three-LCD projector can give users spoken instructions for all sorts of functions, such as how to set it up. It'll …

    Hardware 6 Nov 2008, 01:02

  • AMD boots (another) 500 workers

    Vows profits

    AMD has cut another 500 employees, vowing a return to the days when it actually made money. As reported by The AP, the shrinking chip maker said it would axe 3 per cent of its workforce on Wednesday, less than eight months after its last round of heavy layoffs. In April, 1,600 souls were let loose AMD had not responded to …

    Financial News 6 Nov 2008, 01:04

  • Michael Dell, indie movie extra

    Plays self in 'Sno Cone' flick

    Maybe Dell's finances are being squeezed even tighter than we suspected. We ponder this point, not because of massive layoffs, a hiring freeze, spending cuts, or even pressuring workings into leave without pay — no, those are all good reasons for concern but not the clincher. Our best indication is that CEO Michael Dell is …

    Bootnotes 6 Nov 2008, 01:13

  • Windows 7: One compatibility label, no confusion

    Microsoft learns another Vista lesson

    Microsoft is reducing its four Windows-compatible logos, responsible for confusion and a class action lawsuit, down to a single system for consumers and partners. Partners that want compatibility with Windows Vista's successor operating system, Windows 7, will only have to navigate a single certification program, Microsoft …

    Operating Systems 6 Nov 2008, 03:38

  • HP's answer to the information explosion - more information

    Scan paper documents and archive more

    HP mounted an information explosion round table in London on Tuesday, saying there needs to more attention paid to information management, that paper documents should be digitally captured, and that unstructured information put in archives where better use can be made of it. The pitch is that the quantity of digital …

    Storage 6 Nov 2008, 07:02

  • Roberts Ecologic 1 portable DAB radio

    Review A darn good little tuner

    The downfall of portable DAB radios have always been their lack of battery life. Few models have really been able to sustain themselves long enough to deliver a truly out-and-about experience. Enter the Ecologic 1, part of a six-strong line-up each of which offers extended battery life and, in the case of the Ecologic 1 and …

    Hardware 6 Nov 2008, 09:02

  • Cisco's solid quarter and recession-survival lessons

    But future is hard to see

    Tech giant Cisco posted solid results for its first quarter ended 25 October 2008 and remains confident of hitting targets for the full year despite difficult conditions. Revenues were up 8 per cent to $10.3bn compared to the same period last year. Net income was $2.2bn, flat on last year. Earnings per share were 37 cents, up …

    Data Networking 6 Nov 2008, 09:30

  • New no-advertising domain will deter some cybersquatters

    Defensive buying advised

    A new domain to be launched in December will be the first to reject advertising, making it unattractive to most cybersquatters. The .tel domain will not host websites, only contact information that will be sent to computers and phones. The domain will begin to accept applications for names from 3 December, at which point only …

    Law 6 Nov 2008, 10:14

  • Top Secret: Bond-style pen-sized DVR launched

    Your pen, if you choose to buy it...

    If, like us, you were disappointed by the lack of cool gadgets in Quantum of Solace, you can relive the memories of Bond’s better device-laden days with the SpyPen. Become Bond with SpyPen It may look like a normal ballpoint, but SpyPen actually incorporates a digital video recorder. Which should come in handy for covertly …

    Hardware 6 Nov 2008, 10:15

  • Doctor debuts field-tested brainwave comms kit

    Mind over matter

    The designer of a high-tech system allowing brain-damaged people to communicate and perform physical tasks through the power of thought has claimed to be the first able to successfully test it on such patients. The system, designed by Dr Paul Gnanayutham from the University of Portsmouth, picks up a patient’s “bio-potential” …

    Science 6 Nov 2008, 10:24

  • The DNA database and you

    Special Report How big is it? How many get off it? Your questions answered...

    The National DNA Database (NDNAD) keeps growing: it now holds more than five million DNA profiles of individuals. Getting off the database, if you have been sampled by England or Wales forces, remain as unlikely as ever. And it remains difficult to make sense of the stats bandied at us, with the press quoting wildly differing …

    Law 6 Nov 2008, 11:02

  • How geeks helped win the war

    Geeks Guide2 40% off at Reg Books

    For the third edition of our Geeks Guide2 feature we go behind the scenes of World War II and tell the story of the infamous code breakers and the stealth-like role they played throughout the war. Voices of the Code Breakers by Michael Paterson delves into the world of covert war and reveals how much of World War II was in …

    Site News 6 Nov 2008, 11:02

  • Sony pitches blue-laser Compact Disc revival

    Compatible with Red Book CD standard

    Sony failed to tune the masses into its better-than-Compact-Disc format, Super Audio CD, so it's having another go, this time with technology derived from Blu-ray Disc. Dubbed Blu-spec CD, the system uses a blue laser to write the audio data rather than a red laser. And... er... that's it. The format delivers exactly the same …

    Media 6 Nov 2008, 11:03

  • SanDisk to cut 15 per cent of its staff

    450 will get the flash flush

    SanDisk is making 15 per cent of its 3,000-strong world-wide workforce redundant as it struggles to cut costs. That means 450 people are heading out of the door. There is chronic over-supply in the flash memory market with consistently falling prices. The current recessionary world-wide economic circumstances are exacerbating …

    Financial News 6 Nov 2008, 11:04

  • US admiral wants pain-rayguns for Gulf fleet

    'Take, sink, burn or destroy'

    A US admiral has called for American warships operating in the Middle East to be equipped with microwave "pain ray" cannons to avoid using overwhelming lethal force. The Navy Times reports that Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, in command of the US 5th Fleet, has put out an “urgent need statement” seeking extra nonlethal weapons for …

    Government 6 Nov 2008, 11:07

  • BlackBerry Storm to blow in next week - minus Wi-Fi

    HSDPA sufficient for you lot, says Vodafone

    RIM's BlackBerry Storm will finally arrive in Vodafone’s UK stores on 14 November, but fans wanting Wi-Fi would be wise to delay their purchase. RIM's BlackBerry Storm: no Wi-Fi... yet Storm boats a range of connectivity options, including quad-band GSM/GPRS/Edge and HSDPA 3G, but not Wi-Fi. However, Tim Burgess, Device …

    Phones 6 Nov 2008, 11:19

  • MobileMe disappears for another 7 hours

    When free trials become real trials

    Apple's cloud vanished for another seven hours over the weekend, depriving some MobileMe users of their email and services despite status reports indicating everything was operating fine. The disappearance was noticed by Pingdom, who monitor the availability of popular services, though Apple isn't admitting the service was …

    Mobile 6 Nov 2008, 11:21

  • Bletchley Park gets £330k lifeline

    Historic code-breaking centre bailed out by English Heritage

    Bletchley Park has secured a much-needed lifeline with a £330,000 grant from English Heritage. The funds will be used to carry out urgent roof repair work on buildings within the historic WWII code-breaking centre. Talks that could lead to a further grant of £600,000 over the next three years are under way between English …

    Science 6 Nov 2008, 11:35

  • iPhone users to get get-out call

    Fake incomings to rescue you from disastrous dates

    iPhone users can now escape blind dates and boring business meetings thanks to a faked incoming call that urgently summons them elsewhere. The application comes from Magic Tap, and costs 99 cents, but for that money the cornered iPhone user can appear to receive a call from anyone they wish complete with caller ID and …

    Mobile 6 Nov 2008, 11:47

  • Spanish cheesemaker launches ovine Lolitas initiative

    Adopt-a-lamb webcam plan

    Spanish cheesemaker Quesería Artesanal de Sacramenia is offering aficionados of underage ovines the chance to adopt their very own lovely little lamb as part of its My Linda Ovejita initiative. In return for stumping as little as €6 a month, godparents can name their lamb and get snaps of it, plus exclusive access to live …

    Bootnotes 6 Nov 2008, 12:05

  • Yang! tells! MS! to! buy! Yahoo!

    Er, didn't you stop that happening just three months ago?

    Jerry Yang believes Microsoft should buy Yahoo!, despite being blamed by many for apparently rejecting a $33-a-share offer from the software giant just a few months ago. Yang told the audience at the Web2.0 love-in in San Francisco that he and the board remained open to possible talks with Microsoft, but that nothing was going …

    Financial News 6 Nov 2008, 12:31

  • Drunken Brummie hack resigns on YouTube

    Two fingers to the Birmingham Mail at Florida Obama bash

    Brummie hack Adam Smith earlier this week quit his post at the Birmingham Post and Mail, having evidently pondered his future at some length through the bottom a glass at an Obama victory bash in Florida. According to the Press Gazette, his former employer is "currently in the midst of a round of cost-cutting with many …

    Bootnotes 6 Nov 2008, 12:32

  • Computacenter denies stringing along small biz

    Payment term changes not aimed at the little man

    The UK's largest reseller Computacenter has denied claims it has doubled its payment terms for small suppliers. According to the Forum of Private Business, backed by The Sun, Computacenter doubled the time it takes to pay small suppliers from 30 to 60 days and gave them just days to respond. The FSB made Computacenter the …

    The Channel 6 Nov 2008, 12:56

  • Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T700 compact camera

    Review A slimline, stylish snapper that looks the part

    Sony is renowned for its stylish products, and the Cyber-shot DSC-T700 is no exception. But it'll take more than just good looks to convince us that this is a camera worth opening your wallet for. This super-slim 10.1-megapixel digicam comes in a brushed aluminium body with a whopping 3.5in display area - almost 922,000 pixels …

    Hardware 6 Nov 2008, 13:02

  • Becta urged to find middle way on interoperability standards

    BESA calls on agency to head up new schools framework

    The British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) has called on Becta to offer “clearer national leadership” to help shape schools’ decisions on IT resources. That was the conclusion of a BESA Policy Commission Report, which was thrashed out during a series of meetings at the beginning of autumn, chaired by Charles Clarke …

    The Channel 6 Nov 2008, 13:11

  • Study clears cannabis of schizophrenia rap

    No greater risk than general non-tokers

    Regular readers will recall the confused mess that is this government’s cannabis policy. There has been a drop in cannabis consumption since it was downgraded from Class B to C, but nevertheless they want to put it back up to Class B again. Yes, we know all about the argument that what you ingest is entirely your business, it …

    Law 6 Nov 2008, 13:19

  • Fadell gets $300,000 golden handcuffs Apple deal

    Ex-iPod boss given bulky annual 'shut-up' salary

    The former iPod daddy Tony Fadell will receive a hefty payout in his new “consultancy” role at Apple – where he’s also required to keep schtum about the company’s secrets. A US Securities and Exchange Commission 10-k filing has revealed that Fadell will be paid an annual salary of $300,000 until 24 March 2010 in his new role …

    Financial News 6 Nov 2008, 13:27

  • Hands on with the RIM/Vodafone BlackBerry Storm

    First Look Trying out this season's hottest talker

    We’ve been writing about the BlackBerry Storm for months, but this morning we boarded a Vodafone tour bus to get up close and personal with the most talked about phone since the T-Mobile G1. RIM's BlackBerry Storm, coming 14 November But did the Storm blow us away, like its name suggests it should? First up, what’s it like …

    Phones 6 Nov 2008, 13:27

  • US sea-bottom sensor net powered by 'stroking buoys'

    Green tech keeps oceans true blue

    The US Navy, often at odds with environmentalists, made a move which might please the green community yesterday. The service has awarded a $3m contract to a company producing wave-power buoys, intending to use them in an oceanic sensor array. The cash goes to Ocean Power Technologies of New Jersey, which has been working on …

    Science 6 Nov 2008, 13:35

  • Hustinx: Nameless data can still be personal

    Treat it as personal if you're not sure

    A person does not have to be identifiable by name for details of their computer usage to be protected by data protection laws, a senior European privacy watchdog has warned. Companies which are unsure whether information such as activity or server logs or a record of internet protocol (IP) addresses are personal data or not …

    Law 6 Nov 2008, 13:49

  • Fake site punts Trojanised WordPress

    Backdoored blogging code blag

    Fraudsters have set up a fake site featuring a backdoored version of the WordPress blogging application as part of a sophisticated malware-based attack. The fake Wordpresz.org site offered up what purports to be version 2.6.4 of the open source blogging tool. In reality all but one of the files are identical to the latest …

    Security 6 Nov 2008, 14:31

  • German court curbs data collection law

    34,000 class action suit pays off

    Germany's Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe today has curbed Germany's wide-reaching data collection law even further, by stating that the data can only be collected and saved in case of real danger to citizens. The Court decided in response to a class action suit filed by 34,000 Germans. The data collection law, which …

    Government 6 Nov 2008, 14:42

  • Sony Ericsson parades wireless audio dome

    Bluetooth music from your phone

    Stereo systems are fine if you’re a sound-quality perfectionist. But if ease of use, connectivity and style are your primary concerns then Sony Ericsson’s latest wireless speaker will catch your eye. Sony Ericsson's MBS-900 wireless speaker The 2.1-channel MBS-900 can connect to your mobile phone over Bluetooth A2DP, …

    Hardware 6 Nov 2008, 15:02

  • Intel names 'Nehalem' launch date

    Clue in the Core i7 name

    It's official: Intel will launch the Core i7 processor, the first desktop chip to be based on its 'Nehalem' architecture, on 17 November. i7 - 17. Geddit??!!?? You can read Register Hardware's full Core i7 review here. The initial roll-out will centre, as expected, on three desktops CPUs: the 920, 940 and 965 Extreme. All …

    Hardware 6 Nov 2008, 15:15

  • Jacqui Smith prints seized by No2ID in daring dabs grab

    Gloves off in the ID card struggle

    The Home Secretary's fingerprints are missing, and being held by No2ID at an undisclosed location. Earlier today, No2ID General Secretary Guy Herbert told The Register, a water glass thought to have Jacqui Smith's fingerprints on it was 'borrowed' from a Social Market Foundation event where Smith was speaking. And, improbably …

    Government 6 Nov 2008, 15:29

  • Yes! It's the Darth Vader breakfast toaster

    I jam your father, Luke

    We’ve no idea what Darth Vader eats* for breakfast, but even those strong with the Sith need a good start to the day if they’re to defeat the Jedi and overthrow the Republic. So, thankfully, a Star Wars toaster’s been invented. "No, I am your breakfast..." Although the TIE toaster isn’t as technically advanced as Electrolux …

    Hardware 6 Nov 2008, 15:32

  • US airforce online ad theme: 'Horror Meets Comedy'

    'Fairy Tale Police' to debut on Xbox Live

    In a move which you simply couldn't make up, The US Air Force has announced that it will partner with Microsoft to advertise itself on the Xbox under the banner "Horror Meets Comedy". The deal will see the USAF sponsoring a series of short films for viewing on the Xbox Live online portal. The service, whose civilian and …

    Government 6 Nov 2008, 16:28

  • Cream drummer may flash ginger nuts in court

    Baker prepared to strip in £30k fraud case

    Veteran drummer Ginger Baker has declared he is willing to drop his trousers in court to prove he never got jiggy with a woman accused of defrauding him of £30,000, the Telegraph reports. Baker, 69, now lives in South Africa, where he befriended Lindiwe Noko at the bank where she worked as a clerk. He called in cops when £30k …

    Bootnotes 6 Nov 2008, 16:34

  • McCain 'dead' email ruse punts penis pills

    Republican rickrolling ruse

    Spammers have upped the ante in their bid to tap into interest created by the US presidential election this week to punt penis pills other assorted pharmaceutical tat. Junk mail messages doing the rounds claim either Barack Obama or John McCain are dead in order to trick the credulous into visiting Canadian pharmacy websites. …

    Security 6 Nov 2008, 17:10

  • Cisco storage slumps again

    Brocade biting its ass?

    Here's something to cheer Mike Klayko, Brocade's CEO: network giant Cisco's storage revenues dropped 4 per cent year-on-year in its latest quarterly report. Cisco is playing a long game in storage and it looks as if Brocade is biting its ass. The storage networking strategy chessboard looks like this: In terms of SAN fabric …

    Storage 6 Nov 2008, 17:18

  • Seagate's small form factor screamer

    15,000rpm Savvio

    Seagate has accelerated its Savvio 2.5-inch drive up to 15,000rpm and doubled its SAS speed, making it the fastest small form factor drive on the market. The Savvio 15K.2 has a SAS 2.0 interface running at 6Gbit/s and comes in either 73GB or 146GB capacities. It is optionally a self-encrypting drive, using AES encryption, as …

    Storage 6 Nov 2008, 17:23

  • Palin didn't know Africa is a continent, McCain aides say

    Needed work on North America too

    Sarah Palin raised a few eyebrows within the John McCain campaign because she didn't realize that Africa is a continent, according to aides whispering with a shamelessly right-wing news outlet. McCain aides told Fox News chief political correspondent Carl Cameron there was "great concern" within the campaign that Palin "lacked …

    Bootnotes 6 Nov 2008, 18:38

  • LA engineers cop to traffic system sabotage

    Trafficking for the union

    Two traffic engineers for the City of Los Angeles have admitted they illegally disrupted the computer system that controls traffic lights just prior to a 2006 union action related to contract negotiations with the city. Gabriel Murillo, 39, and Kartik Patel, 36, each pleaded guilty to a single felony count of illegally …

    Security 6 Nov 2008, 18:55

  • Is Sun taking open source a little too far?

    Schwartz puppetry

    Steve Gillmor, host of the ZDNet podcast called the Gillmor Gang, has managed to secure an exclusive interview with Jonathan Schwartz, Sun Microsystems president and chief executive officer. Or so it seems. The interview, which is available at the TechCrunchIT site and in the YouTube video below, outlines yet another open …

    Bootnotes 6 Nov 2008, 19:00

  • Ballmer: 'Google not a major mobile competitor'

    Show me the Android money

    Steve Ballmer has publicly belittled Google's fledgling mobile phone platform, saying the world's largest search engine ad broker is low on Microsoft's list of mobile competitors. At an investor briefing in Sydney today, Microsoft's chief exec said Google would not have an easy time convincing handset manufacturers to adopt …

    Mobile 6 Nov 2008, 20:51

  • FBI drops hammer on AMD employee charged with stealing Intel documents

    Four more counts for alleged Chipzilla double-cross

    A former Intel engineer is getting slapped with additional charges for allegedly stealing sensitive documents from the chip maker after secretly jumping ship to AMD. Biswamohan Pani, 33, was indicted Wednesday on four new counts of wire fraud following his initial charge for stealing trade secrets in September. The FBI claims …

    Government 6 Nov 2008, 20:53

  • Sun reveals hidden Java and MySQL story

    Software revenue breakout - at last

    When the idea of making money from running an ad-funded social network was Silicon Valley's mantra, Sun Microsystems thought the future was guaranteed. The model was simple: make money by selling Web 2.0 sites its servers and offer subscriptions for its software, which - in theory - would guarantee on-going and predictable …

    Software 6 Nov 2008, 21:02

  • Martial law planned for Craigslist's red-light district

    Only 100% legal erotic services allowed

    Craigslist's free-wheeling red-light district is about to get a lot tamer under strict new measures announced Thursday designed to rein in prostitution and other illegal services. The website, where 40 million Americans turn each month to find jobs, tennis partners and the occasional dominatrix, has quietly rolled out new …

    Security 6 Nov 2008, 21:41

  • Dead boffins deflate the cloud

    Afterlife Panel History repeating itself?

    Like Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Web 2.0 before it, the phrase "cloud computing" has become catnip to marketing zealots and lost souls of the IT industry. Behind all the fluff, though, the cloud touches on some timeless computing topics - big systems, parallel processing, collected intelligence, and the value of …

    Developer 6 Nov 2008, 23:02

  • Cops collar Craigslist Thomas Crown

    Flashmob caper foiled by wig pickup

    Police say they've caught the armored truck robber who craftily recruited a crowd of unwitting, identically-dressed accomplices on Craigslist to serve as decoys for his getaway. On Monday, 28-year-old Anthony Curcio was nabbed by FBI agents and local police in a Target store parking lot on suspicion of robbery of the first …

    Security 6 Nov 2008, 23:13

  • AMD beats drum for Shanghai surprise

    Anyone seen Big Blue?

    Struggling x64 chip maker Advanced Micro Devices has told platform suppliers it's a good time to talk about the imminent launch of "Shanghai," a 45 nanometer implementation of its quad-core Opteron chips for servers and workstations. You have to guess on when "imminent" might be, because AMD hasn't confirmed the Shanghai …

    Servers 6 Nov 2008, 23:54