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12th November 2008 Archive

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  • HPC data center glory? It's in the game

    Everything but the homicidal IT admin

    Most people's visions of data center domination need to be put on hold in today's floundering economy, but at least now there's a video game to keep the dream alive. To build excitement for its participation in this year's Supercomputer conference, Purdue University in Indiana has made an online game that finally offers a …

    Odds and Sods 12 Nov 2008, 00:09

  • Anal whitening biz drops one million clams for Vibrators.com

    'We draw the line at porn'

    A tiny etailer in the suburbs of Detroit has paid $1m for the web address most conducive to selling vibrators. PriveCo Inc. - the company that sells anal bleaching cream from Shopinprivate.com and penis pinatas from Bachelorette.com - is now the proud owner of the Vibrators.com domain. "Of all the companies in the world," …

    Odds and Sods 12 Nov 2008, 00:11

  • Netizens sue NebuAd, data pimping ISPs

    More woe for American Phorm

    Fifteen American netizens have sued behavioral ad targeter NebuAd and several of its data pimping ISP partners, alleging wiretapping, packet forgery, and browser hijacking. Filed Monday in a California federal court, the class action accuses NebuAd and its partners of violating the US Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the …

    Telecoms 12 Nov 2008, 02:37

  • US lost Cold War bomb under Greenland ice

    Dude, where's my nuke?

    The US secretly abandoned a nuclear weapon forty years ago after it was lost beneath the ice in northern Greenland, according to a BBC report. The Beeb's claims are made citing declassified documents obtained under the US Freedom of Information Act and people involved in the unsuccessful search. The US military's Thule Air …

    Science 12 Nov 2008, 02:38

  • Quickoffice is iPhone bound

    But no doc editing until next year

    Quickoffice, maker of the Microsoft Office-compatible suit for smartphones, has released a free iPhone application - but you won't be able to use it to edit Office documents until the middle of 2009. The application is called MobileFiles, and provides access to files stored in the user's MobileMe account. Such files can be …

    Mobile 12 Nov 2008, 05:24

  • Shrinking primary databases

    Clear out the redundant data to make clear space

    Stripping out old records from primary databases could pay big bucks in terms of reclaimed disk capacity, faster database operations and backups. Clearpace has technology to do this and archive the extracted records in de-duplicated form on cheap SATA arrays. UK-based HP reseller 2e2 will resell and use Clearpace's NParchive …

    Storage 12 Nov 2008, 07:02

  • Polaroid PoGo handheld colour printer

    Review Instant (almost) snaps from your digicam or phone

    Weren’t Polaroid cameras fun? Now you can capture those days all over again, only with smaller, more expensive instant photos, using Polaroid’s new PoGo printer. Although Polaroid’s original instant-picture technology has finally died a death, the PoGo, based on innovative technology from Zink, is intended for a similar role. …

    Reg Hardware 12 Nov 2008, 09:02

  • US Forces offer soundtrack-search 'TroopTube'

    World War 2.0

    The US armed forces have launched an upload-auteur vidshare site for troops, their families and supporters along the lines of YouTube. The move comes eighteen months after the Defense Department decided to restrict access to commercial video sites and others deemed to be 'bandwidth hogs'. The new site is called TroopTube and …

    Government 12 Nov 2008, 09:42

  • Mankind to detect alien life 'by 2025'

    SETI astronomer sticks his neck out

    Senior Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) astronomer Seth Shostak last night boldly claimed that mankind would certainly detect intelligent alien life by 2025, assuming the right technology is in place to probe 500 light years into space where there are doubtless thousands of ET radio stations transmitting into the …

    Space 12 Nov 2008, 10:00

  • Aircraft boneyard gets tagged

    RFID, but not as you know it

    The US Air Force is adopting RFID tagging to track tools and aeroplane parts around the aircraft storage and maintenance area at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, but with a site of 110 million square feet traditional tags won't give you much of a location. RFID is normally used for ranges around 10cm, which would make …

    Government 12 Nov 2008, 10:12

  • ISP boss pledges to undermine Great Aussie Firewall

    Stupid plan is stupid

    The Australian technology industry is starting to fight back against the government plan to force all ISPs to filter everyone's internet access. Michael Malone, boss of iiNet, an Australian ISP with 700,000 customers, said his firm would take part in the trial, but only in order to show the government how stupid it was. Malone …

    Government 12 Nov 2008, 10:37

  • Boffins plan Titanic balloon trip

    Floating insights into Saturnian moon

    Scientists are drafting a plan to further explore Saturnian moon Titan, involving an orbiting spacecraft, surface probe and hot-air balloon designed to float gracefully through the body's hazy hydrocarbon atmosphere, Space.com reports. Titan has to date revealed some of its secrets to the Cassini spacecraft and Huygens probe, …

    Space 12 Nov 2008, 10:45

  • Analysts forecast gloomy season for PC biz

    Demand in decline

    Financial analysts are forecasting tough times ahead for Intel and AMD as - surprise, surprise - individuals and businesses buy fewer new computers in the year ahead, with a big drop coming this quarter. The warnings come as rumours circulate that Acer, Apple, Asus and Dell have all cut orders for new notebooks. Here's IDC …

    Reg Hardware 12 Nov 2008, 11:03

  • Comfy keyboard launched for Mac users' fingers

    Logitech has launched a super-slim keyboard for Mac fans, which it’s claimed will minimise finger strain. Logitech's diNovo: now Mac friendly The Mac edition of the diNovo keyboard measures 22.1mm from its base to the keys. But the firm’s "PerfectStroke" technology is used to “create longer key travel” and ensure that your …

    Reg Hardware 12 Nov 2008, 11:05

  • Nokia E63 smartphone to separate work, play

    Balancing act

    Details of the Nokia E63 were first leaked almost a month ago, but the Finnish phone giant has now confirmed that the handset is real and coming soon. The E63 is designed for people who need to manage their business and personal lives equally, Nokia gushed. So the it's equipped the handset with a "mode switch" for flicking …

    Reg Hardware 12 Nov 2008, 11:14

  • Building 21st century applications

    Reg Tech Panel Reg readers reveal all

    Delivering IT services has always been about striking a balance between what needs to be built from scratch and what can be bought off the shelf. While we know there’s still plenty of custom software development going on (take that, packaged application vendors), we also know that the majority of projects involve integrating …

    Tech Panel 12 Nov 2008, 11:20

  • DHS robotic airport missile-patrol plan to be shelved

    Droid dazzler overwatch ploy too pricey

    It appears that plans for patrolling robotic laser missile-muddler guardian aircraft above US airports have been shelved. The idea has been assessed as too expensive to be practical. Under the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) "Project Chloe", the unmanned aeroplanes would have been equipped to detect any possible …

    Government 12 Nov 2008, 11:24

  • Flip pocket camcorder goes HD

    The Flip pocket camcorder range brought basic video capture to the masses when the first model launched earlier this year. But now the device’s video quality has been boosted, with the creation of an HD model. The Flip Mino HD captures content at 720p resolution, so could be disappointing to HD TV fans who’ve become used to …

    Reg Hardware 12 Nov 2008, 11:32

  • Working under a cloud

    CI Net deploys 5.8GHz in Newmarket

    CI Net, the business ISP with a bent for wireless, is to extend its 5.8GHz wireless-broadband service into Newmarket in the new year. It will offer wireless connections, while paying the regulator only a quid per user for the licence. The service, which offers speeds between two and 100Mb/sec, will be available to businesses …

    Wireless 12 Nov 2008, 11:36

  • Doctors' authorities probe suspension of mucky-mouthed medic

    GMC investigates alleged abuse of power

    The actions of two senior members of the medical establishment are being investigated by authorities for their role in the suspension of a young Scottish doctor who left foul-mouthed criticism of a quango boss on a web message board. Professor Elisabeth Paice, dean director of postgraduate medical and dental education at the …

    Law 12 Nov 2008, 11:51

  • Date set for Jatropha Jumbo biofuel-2.0 test flight

    Misery-free oily nut juice to power Kiwi 747

    Boeing and Air New Zealand have announced that they will carry out the first flight test of "second generation" sustainable biofuel in an airliner on 3 December. The planned test will be carried out using an Air New Zealand Boeing 747 flying from Auckland. During the flight, one of the jumbo's four Rolls-Royce engines will run …

    Environment 12 Nov 2008, 12:00

  • BudBuds, for best buds only

    Totally bizzare

    Music brings people together, it’s claimed. So what better way to share music with your closest buddy than a pair of earphones fitted with two extra earbuds. On the back of each BudBud earphone is a second earbud which rests in a small support bracket until it’s needed, giving you four earbuds in total. So when your bud says …

    Reg Hardware 12 Nov 2008, 12:05

  • Philips pops out the drug packing iPill

    Take one of these computers with a glass of water

    An "intelligent pill" with a microprocessor, battery, wireless radio, pump and a drug reservoir to release medication in a specific area in the body was announced yesterday by Dutch electronics firm Philips. The multivitamin-sized iPill, to be swallowed with a sip of water, measures acidity or temperature with a sensor to …

    Biology 12 Nov 2008, 12:07

  • Microsoft insists Hotmail redesign hasn't left users out in the cold

    Put up and shut up

    Microsoft has told The Register that its Hotmail email service is running “normally” today and that the firm is working “to remedy the minor issues faced by some of our users”. MS has also apparently deleted over 1,500 comments from its Windows Live blog since we told a perplexed company spokesman about the grumbles being …

    Applications 12 Nov 2008, 12:27

  • Starlust: love, hate and celebrity fantasies

    Guest Column Obscenity law stops fans thinking Aloud

    I first noticed Girls Aloud in my local Sainsbury’s. Lingering at the newsstand to scan the papers I registered their sustained PR campaign focused on crotch and upskirt shots. No accident that. Not day after day, week after week. More like a set-up between paparazzi and popstars. That’s showbiz! And I support Girls Aloud’s …

    Law 12 Nov 2008, 12:27

  • MS patch Tuesday includes fix for seven-year old itch

    Better late than never

    Microsoft's light sprinkling of patches yesterday includes a fix that reportedly goes back seven years or more. Tuesday brought updates from Microsoft for a critical flaw in XML core services, which might allow memory corruption and code execution, and a flaw in SMB (Server Message Block). SMB is code which allows file shares …

    Enterprise Security 12 Nov 2008, 12:31

  • AMD's 'Bobcat' to leap out and claw Intel's Atom tomorrow?

    Netbook CPU strategy due to be detailed

    Will AMD announce its Atom-smasher this week? It's certainly going to talk about netbook processors tomorrow if it makes good on a past promise, but the company won't necessarily be announcing 'Bobcat', its UMPC-oriented processor. Back in July, AMD CEO Dirk Meyer said that AMD's initial response to Intel's Atom would be …

    Reg Hardware 12 Nov 2008, 12:43

  • GooFlu searches for sickness

    Google tells you when to get sick

    Google's philanthropic tentacle, google.org, has found a strong correlation between official data on influenza from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the number of people searching for flu information on google.com. Google Trends collects the 100 most popular searches on Google.com. Many of these entries …

    Biology 12 Nov 2008, 13:01

  • T-Mobile G1 Google Android-based smartphone

    Review Operating System 1, Hardware 0

    Apart those with either a technical or professional interest, it's open to question how many mobile phone purchasers weigh up the matter of a device's operating system before handing over their cash. Looks, camera resolution, cost, yes. OS? Probably not. Notwithstanding the fact that you'd need to have spent the last year …

    Reg Hardware 12 Nov 2008, 13:02

  • UK's 'secure' child protection database will be open to one million

    Exclusive Government underestimates, under pressure

    More than three times as many officials will be able to access sensitive information on every child in England and Wales held in the forthcoming ContactPoint database than estimates circulated by the government suggest, research by The Register has found. ContactPoint is now scheduled to launch in January. It will store and …

    Government 12 Nov 2008, 13:08

  • Google adds audio, video tools to Gmail

    Intros yet another installable app

    Google has added new video and audio conversion tools to its free email service – Gmail – in an effort to eat into some of Microsoft and Yahoo!’s market share. Users with a webcam who want to see and hear the people they’re emailing and chatting with online via Gmail, which is known as Googlemail in the UK, can now do so – …

    Applications 12 Nov 2008, 13:13

  • How the gov's child protection database fails to add up

    Comment Risk-averse authorities likely to treble access

    A day after yet another case of a child brutalised in its own home, despite massive intervention from a range of support services, hits the headlines, The Register takes a closer look at what the government has led the public to believe in respect of the ContactPoint database. One "fact" that has been repeated ad nauseam by …

    Government 12 Nov 2008, 13:14

  • Co-op IT workers vote to strike

    No to job losses, offshoring

    Workers for Steria, which provides IT support for Co-operative Financial Services have voted in favour of strike action in protest at plans to offshore their jobs. 93 staff at Steria's offices in Manchester and Skelmersdale voted and were 71 per cent in favour of strikes and 89 per cent in favour of action short of a strike. …

    IT Director 12 Nov 2008, 13:17

  • Arizona boffins get a grip on their newly-fat pipe

    'Dark fibre' equivalent to 700 HD smut channels

    Genetics boffinry IT chiefs in Arizona are overjoyed today to unveil their new and incredibly fat pipe, which will be used to transmit staggeringly enormous amounts of scientific data from the labs where it's generated to the supercomputer where it's processed. The new link runs from the Translational Genomics Research …

    Bootnotes 12 Nov 2008, 13:24

  • Sun market cap slips below $3bn

    Shareholder value getting further and further away.

    Sun's market capitalisation sank below $3bn yesterday as Forbes reported via Reuters that Sun is under pressure to sell itself or some of its assets to get out of the sinking sands it seems inexorably drawn to. In July the market cap went below $8bn as Sun became a mid-cap level company. The term means its market …

    Servers 12 Nov 2008, 13:35

  • Nissan to debut anti-prang tech next week

    Collision Damage Waivers a thing of the past?

    Nissan will next week show of a prototype car capable of automatically avoiding collisions. The system uses an array of sensors around the vehicle that detect objects the car could collide with. Something in the way? Then the motor's on-board computer activates any or all of the four brakes to prevent prangs. Nissan's AACF: …

    Reg Hardware 12 Nov 2008, 13:53

  • Seagate polishes mirrored drive, backup service for SMEs

    Updated Real-time and remote services and RAID 1 Maxtor box

    Seagate's i365 has added near-real-time EVault data protection offerings for small businesses, along with a disaster recovery service, plus a mirrored Maxtor backup storage server for the do-it-yourselfers. DIY Backup The single-drive Maxtor Central Axis external storage box announced in June has gained a brother, a twin- …

    Servers 12 Nov 2008, 13:54

  • Motorola pours out cocktail phone

    Know your limit

    Do you often gulp down White Russians? If the answer’s yes, then a dude like you is sure to welcome the opportunity to wrap his paws around two new flavours, ‘Mint’ and ‘Tropical’. Motorola's VE70: coming to a bar store near you Unfortunately, for the boozers among you, both are actually the latest 3G mobile phones from …

    Reg Hardware 12 Nov 2008, 14:14

  • Text messaging helps kids fight the flab - study

    TXT URSLF THN

    Are you a fat teenager? Then pick up your mobile and text yourself thin, tubby - a study has concluded that texting helps kids to shed those extra pounds. For three weeks the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine asked 58 children, aged between five and 13, to cut down on sugary snacks, reduce their TV time and …

    Reg Hardware 12 Nov 2008, 15:02

  • DNS inventor blames wrangling for insecure interweb

    Mockapetris slams 10 years of 'political and technical dithering'

    The inventor of the domain name system has blamed technical and political wrangling for delays in improving internet infrastructure security. Dr Paul Mockapetris, chairman of DNS firm Nominum, explained that the use of digital signatures would help fix fundamental vulnerabilities in the internet's domain name system, …

    Security 12 Nov 2008, 15:16

  • Geeks whup Marine ass in Call Of Duty 5

    But military fights back in vid game debut bloodbath

    The streets of San Francisco were yesterday awash with blood as geeks battled real-life Marines at the debut of Activision's Call Of Duty: World at War - an apparently unequal struggle which in fact saw one "bespectacled teenager" ice an entire elite Marine unit "without so much as straining a thumb". A victorious John Chitman …

    Entertainment 12 Nov 2008, 15:25

  • Broadband speed testers fail the test

    Virgin Media dishes out solitary gold star

    Web-based broadband speed testers are mostly rubbish, Virgin Media research has confirmed. It revealed plans to test the testers last month. Virgin Media didn't believe many were capable of accurately measuring speeds on its top package, which is currently sold at 20Mbit/s downstream and will soon to be upgraded to 50Mbit/s. …

    Data Networking 12 Nov 2008, 15:32

  • Carphone Warehouse denies mass Linux Webbook recall

    Ditched open source OS for XP ages ago

    Carphone Warehouse (CW) has denied rumours that it has recalled its entire in-store stock of own-brand Linux netbooks so it can replace the open source OS with Windows. A spokesman for the company told Register Hardware today that it began phasing out the Linux-based Webbooks in late September. “All the machines in-store are …

    Reg Hardware 12 Nov 2008, 15:57

  • Content filtering firms merge to fight the big boys

    Marshal8e6 mashed up

    Content filtering firms Marshal and 8e6 Technologies have agreed to merge. Financial terms of the deal, announced Wednesday, were not disclosed. The combined firm will be rather inelegantly known as Marshal8e6 and start off with 20,000 customers and sales of $50m over the past 12 months, according to a statement the company …

    Enterprise Security 12 Nov 2008, 16:04

  • Nokia Siemens Networks in 'synergy-related headcount restructuring'

    9,000 culled to the sound of whalesong

    We're absolutely delighted to announce that Nokia Siemens Networks is in the final stage of its 'synergy-related headcount restructuring' in which a total of 9,000 workers are culled to the sound of whalesong. Yup, this must rate as one of the greatest euphemisms ever for showing employees the door, and just to demonstrate how …

    Bootnotes 12 Nov 2008, 16:46

  • Microsoft woos small biz world with new server bundles

    Sizing up the little guy

    Microsoft has launched two server products aimed at small biz and mid-sized companies. Windows Small Business Server 2008 (SBS) is designed for firms with up to 75 users or PCs. Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (EBS) is intended for businesses with up to 300 users or PCs. Both are generally available. Microsoft, like …

    Servers 12 Nov 2008, 17:04

  • SMBs split on tech spending plans

    IT glass half empty, half full

    Just as The Meltdown was ramping up to full swing back in September, the Computing Technology Industry Association thought it was a good time to bug small and medium businesses in the US, Canada, and the UK about their businesses' prospects and their IT spending plans in the next twelve months. The news from CompTIA is not as …

    Small Biz 12 Nov 2008, 17:52

  • Itchy City wants scratch-window cash

    Reckons yoofs will pay for mobile search

    A new mobile search service reckons young customers will pay a quid a time for local searches, as long as they're backed by the right brand. The service comes from Jeanie Media and is accessed through a custom client that allows users to navigate menus to find local places to eat, nightclubs and the like, along with a route …

    Mobile 12 Nov 2008, 18:01

  • IDC slashes 2009 global IT projections

    The US is a drag, man

    Blame the financial meltdown. And blame the United States. The market researchers at IDC this morning put out revised projections for global IT spending in 2009, and they now say that global IT spending in 2009 will grow at only 2.6 per cent. That's down from an earlier projection of 5.9 per cent growth in year-over-year …

    Financial News 12 Nov 2008, 18:50

  • Net provider accused of coddling crooks yanked offline

    Spam volumes plummet

    Yet another network provider has been yanked offline after being accused by security researchers of acting as the mothership that allowed a large percentage of the world's spam operators and malicious networks to thrive. Upstream service to US-based McColo Corporation was terminated sometime Tuesday, according to researchers …

    Security 12 Nov 2008, 19:23

  • Republicans adopt 'Gore's internet' for grassroots salvation

    Resurrect 'the great communicator'

    A savvy online campaign by Barrack Obama and the Democrats is at least partly responsible for enabling last week's landslide victory in the US presidential election. Obama's web sites presented the candidate, garnered feedback, and tried to quash negative whispers. Sites like Facebook served as recruiting grounds to an army of …

    Music and Media 12 Nov 2008, 19:27

  • Best Buy sheds lost revenue tears, shares holiday fears

    Too many people only want their two front teeth

    Best Buy isn't so sure customers will spring for that $50 spool of Monster Cable speaker wire in this economy, so the electronics retailer today lowered fiscal-year earnings expectations. Although Best Buy saw its biggest rival, Circuit City, file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, the mood is hardly celebratory …

    Channel Register 12 Nov 2008, 19:49

  • Why clouds should be more like operating systems

    Best things come in small management packages

    For the cloud to become more like an operating system and less like an amorphous mass, and by definition more useful to business, some basic functions need to become part of the fabric. By that, I mean seamless (and near invisible) integration with the underlying infrastructure components (operating system, virtual machine, …

    Developer 12 Nov 2008, 21:09

  • LCD makers to pay $585m for price-fixing conspiracy

    Cartel burned Dell, Apple, Motorola

    Three Asian electronics manufactures on Wednesday agreed to pay a combined $585m after admitting they conspired to drive up the prices of liquid crystal display monitors that were bought by Dell, Apple, Motorola, and others. LG Display of South Korea, Sharp of Japan, and Chunghwa of Taiwan pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges …

    Law 12 Nov 2008, 21:13

  • Batman sues Batman over Batman

    'There is only one Batman in the world'

    The mayor of Batman, Turkey, is suing Warner Bros. and The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan for using the Cape Crusader's name without the city's permission. Variety reports Huseyin Kalkan, mayor of the predominantly Kurdish town located in the Batman province of Turkey on the Batman River, is preparing to file a …

    Music and Media 12 Nov 2008, 22:25