The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

27th November 2008 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • US gun lobby blogs Thanksgiving gun 'facts'

    Shoot now, chow later

    The US gun industry has chosen the week of America's massive Thanksgiving holiday to unveil its foray into Web 2.0. The National Shooting and Sports Federation (NSSF) has announced its brand-spanking new blog, Aiming for Accuracy, to further its claim hunting is a safe sport. Aiming for Accuracy is "aimed at hunting down and …

    Bootnotes 27 Nov 2008, 02:23

  • Honeywell's Kitchen Computer remembered

    This Old Box, Holiday Edition The $62,550 machine no one bought

    The holiday season has returned to Silicon Valley! Bright and golden California summers have given way to a vivid fall landscape also bright and golden - but with a chance of rain. It's Thanksgiving in the state, and tots are already awaiting the arrival of Saint Nick, who's annual roll-out could mean a shiny iPhone if they've …

    Vintage 27 Nov 2008, 04:52

  • Java Community Process shakes Soviet commissar tag

    Qcon Open standards perestroika

    He once likened the Java Community Process (JCP) to a commissar in Soviet Russia, but newly elected JCP executive committee member Rod Johnson is now employing an if-you-can’t-beat-em-join-em strategy. "I think there are positive changes happening in the JCP," Johnson told attendees at last week’s Qcon San Francisco developer …

    Developer 27 Nov 2008, 05:10

  • Lenovo offers netbooks with added 'e'

    Euro-centric IdeaPads debut

    Lenovo is finally bringing its S9 and S10 Small, Cheap Computers to Europe. Lenovo's S9e and S10e IdeaPad netbooks: out this month You can spot the Euro-centric versions of the IdeaPad netbooks by looking for the 'e' on the model number. The 10.2in S10e and the 8.9in S9e – announced in the US last month - come with a choice …

    Hardware 27 Nov 2008, 06:02

  • Mumbai terrorist attacks kill at least 100

    Britons, Americans targeted

    Serial terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital, have left at least 100 dead and 280 wounded. Teams of gunmen attacked two five-star hotels, a railway station, hospitals, and a restaurant famous for attracting tourists, the AP reports. The gunmen specifically targeted Americans and Britons at the hotels and the …

    Law 27 Nov 2008, 06:04

  • Oxford student vote kyboshed by email

    Ents officers endangered by e-voting fail

    Oxford University Student Union elections have a bad case of the hanging chads after moving to an online voting system dependent on emails. Unfortunately the emails failed to arrive in time, and many students were unable to vote on the first day of the two day election. Some 19,000 students were meant to receive emails …

    Applications 27 Nov 2008, 08:02

  • Group Test: AMD Radeon HD 4000 series

    Round up From 4350 to 4830 - budget graphics cards galore

    When AMD updated the RV670 chip used in the ATI Radeon HD 3000 series to the RV770 in the HD 4000 line, it went ballistic and increased the number of unified shaders from 320 to 800. This change increased performance by a healthy amount and made the HD 4850 the apple of Register Hardware’s eye. But that was only the start of …

    Hardware 27 Nov 2008, 09:02

  • 'Bloody' is an offensive word, declares ASA

    Too f**kin' right

    The Sun newspaper has been ordered not to use the word 'bloody' on posters in future. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it was socially irresponsible to use the word in an advert that appeared in a public place. The advert appeared on the side of a lorry. It stated "Where the bloody hell were you?" against a …

    Media 27 Nov 2008, 09:51

  • Dixons plunges to loss

    And Woolies goes titsup

    Dixons Store Group International posted a £30m loss for the last six months of trading. The firm, which operates as PC World and Currys, said interim results for the 24 weeks ended 18 October showed sales fell seven per cent to £3.5bn and it made a pre-tax loss of £29.8m. Total loss after tax was £41m. UK Computing sales fell …

    The Channel 27 Nov 2008, 10:04

  • NASA developing brain-monitor hats for airline pilots

    'YOU ARE OVERSTRESSED! YOU ARE OVERSTRESSED!'

    US aerospace agency NASA has announced that it is developing a brain-monitoring hat for airline pilots to wear. The idea is that the bonce-clocking headset will know when pilots become "mentally overloaded" and help them to "realise" this. The brain-titfers are being developed at NASA's Glenn Research Center using "functional …

    Science 27 Nov 2008, 10:11

  • John Coltrane. Miles Davis. Er... Ray Ozzie?

    How do you make Lotus Notes cool? With jazz greats

    When Microsoft needs an epic suck-up job, there's only one man who can do it justice. Deep in a bunker in Seattle, out comes the special red telephone that instantly dials Steven "Collective Intelligence" Levy. Readers with long memories will recall Levy's epic Palladium suck-up from 2002 in Newsweek. He's at WiReD now, and …

    Applications 27 Nov 2008, 10:13

  • Overland gets fresh financing

    Lives to fight another day

    Overland Storage, which was in danger of running out of cash by the end of the month, has agreed a $9m accounts receivable financing deal. Overland supplies NEO and ARCvault tape libraries, REO disk backup and virtual tape libraries, and ULTAMUS protected drive arrays. It is recovering after drastic mis-steps by previous …

    The Channel 27 Nov 2008, 10:28

  • Twitter silenced in Canada

    Canuck twits hurt by SMS billing

    Canada is the latest country to lose SMS Twitter alerts after the company failed to put together a deal that would make the service cost effective, leaving Canucks to rely on internet-based alternatives. The announcement came on the Twitter blog and repeats the optimistic line that the company is working on putting together a …

    Mobile 27 Nov 2008, 10:50

  • Anti-fraud site targeted in Joe Job attack

    Spammers try to discredit Bobbear.co.uk

    Fraudsters have upped the ante in their fight to discredit a respected UK-based anti-fraud website. The email address of Bobbear.co.uk, which fights phishing fraud by exposing groups attempting to recruit money mules, was spoofed in obscene emails. The Joe Job attack represents a further attempt to make life difficult for …

    Security 27 Nov 2008, 11:01

  • No cheap Blu-ray players for Blighty this Xmas

    They've all gone to the US and Japan

    Don't expect to pick up a cheap Blu-ray Disc player this Christmas - unless you live in the US or Japan. So claimed market watcher Screen Digest this week, which stressed that the dip in sales of Blu-ray players it expects to see this quarter isn't a result of a lack of demand but tight supply. The recession is having an …

    Hardware 27 Nov 2008, 11:05

  • Daimler sparks e-drive research project

    'Leccy Tech Engineers and academics to accelerate electric tech evolution?

    Daimler AG – that's Mercedes, to the rest of us – has announced the establishment of an electric drive research programme with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Due to be called the E-drive Project House, the tie up between the German car maker and the University will focus on all key elements of electric car …

    Science 27 Nov 2008, 11:30

  • Nokia develops home control tech for phones

    Turn the telly off from your car

    Nokia has inked in plans to take over your home. It’s announced development of an in-home gadget management platform called Home Control Centre (HCC). The Finnish phone giant said that HCC will ultimately let you control your home’s entire collection of electrical appliances, from from your fridge and heating to digital …

    Hardware 27 Nov 2008, 11:41

  • Prosecutors gather evidence on secret BT-Phorm trials

    'Implied consent' to be probed

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is gathering evidence on BT's covert trials of Phorm's ISP-level adware system to help it judge whether it is in the public interest to allow a private prosecution for breach of wiretapping laws. CPS lawyers have asked to see the file handed to City of London police in summer. After …

    Broadband 27 Nov 2008, 11:42

  • Boris cans congestion extension

    Western zone is no more

    London Mayor Boris Johnson will scrap the western extension to the congestion charge zone. Two thirds of people and businesses which responded to a survey wanted the extension dropped. The Mayor's office received 28,000 responses and 86 per cent of businesses and 67 per cent of individuals were against it. Only 19 per cent …

    Science 27 Nov 2008, 12:10

  • The world's most deadly handset?

    Gun-cum-caller

    Brain tumours from excessive cellphone use shouldn’t be your first health concern any longer, because if the man standing next to you looks like Al Capone’s cousin and he’s making a call on his mobile then you’d best leg it. Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com Why? Because police recently raided a …

    Phones 27 Nov 2008, 12:16

  • Obama tries to stay connected

    Will the White House entertain a BlackBerry?

    Barack Obama is hoping to find a way around the rules that ban communications equipment in the White House so he can keep his beloved BlackBerry when he takes office. In an interview with Barbara Walters on ABC the president elect explained that he is "in the process of negotiating with the secret service, with lawyers [and] …

    Mobile 27 Nov 2008, 12:21

  • Icahn! goes! double! or! quits! on! Yahoo!

    Lost a billion? Spend another $69m

    Troublemaking investor Carl Icahn has doubled his stake in Yahoo! despite sitting on a billion dollar loss from his first stake in the firm. Icahn built up a huge stake in Yahoo! in May when shares were floating around $25. He tried, and failed, to get the board to accept a $33 a share offer from Microsoft. According to an …

    Financial News 27 Nov 2008, 12:27

  • Russian WebMoney hacker cuffed over Trojan scam

    Cybercrook turned to assist e-crime investigations

    Russian police have reportedly arrested a hacker who developed a tool for siphoning cash from WebMoney accounts. Details remain sketchy, but it seems that the unnamed 20-year-old miscreant got tired of simply ripping off accounts himself and developed a Trojan designed to loot funds held in accounts with the WebMoney …

    Security 27 Nov 2008, 12:29

  • Clamshell 'iPhone' appears online

    Dial F for Fake

    The world’s first clamshell iPhone has been discovered online and it’ll be available to buy later this month. The iPhone V126: made by Apple. Honest... Ok, so it’s not exactly legit, but it looks the business. The phone’s called the iPhone V126 and has surfaced on a Chinese website. Sporting a cute Apple logo on the …

    Mobile 27 Nov 2008, 12:34

  • MPs lost for Word over creaking Microsoft packages

    And politicos want YouTube exposure

    MPs have logged a massive support call with Microsoft after they ended up at the wrong end of the tech world's fitful migration to Office 2007. Meanwhile Westminster’s hapless Web 2.0 foray continued this week with politicians lobbying to place clips of themselves in the House of Commons on YouTube. Microsoft is working with …

    Government 27 Nov 2008, 12:40

  • Oz bill-dodgers nailed on Facebook

    Restaurant owner turns net sleuth

    A Melbourne restaurant owner has dispensed net justice to a group of bill-dodgers after tracking the ringleader down on Facebook, News.com.au reports. Peter Leary of "up-market establishment" Seagrass was faced with an unpaid $520 bill after five diners "worked their way expertly through the menu, ordered and drank fine wines …

    Bootnotes 27 Nov 2008, 12:56

  • Infocus X10 projector

    Review Very high standard entry-level home cinema rig

    Full HD is what we all want, but until the release of the X10 from InFocus, a projector capable of displaying a full 1080p image would have cost you the proverbial arm and a leg. With the X10, the full resolution of your Blu-ray Discs is available below the psychologically significant £1000 mark - that's exc. VAT, sorry - …

    Hardware 27 Nov 2008, 13:13

  • Atari dumps Davenport Lyons' piracy nastygram campaign

    Exclusive 'Nuts and sledgehammers come to mind'

    Storied videogaming brand Atari has dropped a campaign of legal threats against alleged illegal filesharers run on its behalf by the law firm Davenport Lyons, The Register has learned. Atari engaged London-based Davenport Lyons earlier this year to go after internet users it accused of illegally sharing copies of its driving …

    Law 27 Nov 2008, 13:20

  • Zoo's polar bear breeding plan scuppered by girl-on-girl

    Male actually female, staff belatedly note

    A northern Japanese zoo's polar bear breeding plan was somewhat delayed when staff noticed the male brought in to make the beast with two backs with their resident female was himself herself a girl. According to Reuters, four-year-old Tsuyoshi had been "living in harmony" with the unnamed female at Kushiro Municipal Zoo since …

    Science 27 Nov 2008, 13:29

  • Lori Drew guilty in MySpace bully trial

    Suicide sparked by online abuse

    The woman accused of using MySpace to bully a vulnerable teenage girl who subsequently killed herself has been found guilty of three charges. The case was heard in Los Angeles because that is where the MySpace servers are. Lori Drew created a fake MySpace profile in the name of Josh Evans. She used the persona to flirt with a …

    Law 27 Nov 2008, 13:35

  • Ashdown brain trust: Democracy isn't a human right

    Also invading places is OK, but nukes aren't

    A group of intellectuals, military officers, policemen and retired second-rank politicians have issued an "interim" report laying out their view of what the UK should do to stay secure in coming decades. The assembled heavyweights, curiously, appear to conflict with the UN on the matter of fundamental human rights. The report …

    Science 27 Nov 2008, 13:41

  • The Music Wars from 30,000 feet: Meet Chris Castle

    Interview 'Don't expect another Bob Dylan'

    Ebullient lawyer Chris Castle has a unique perspective on the Music Wars. A former Sony and A&M executive who "switched sides" to Silicon Valley, then found himself defending the original Napster, which he called one of the greatest inventions of the 20th Century. His clients range from technology companies to major recording …

    Media 27 Nov 2008, 13:52

  • Satanic net neologisms - nominations invited

    What's the most hideous bastard spawn of cyberspace?

    So popular has our "top net neologism" poll proved that we're now bowing to reader pressure and inviting submissions for the "most repulsive bastard spawn of cyberspace" - words so hideous in their aspect that they cause lovers of the English language to vent steam through both ears while firing up the Twat-O-Tron. Regulars …

    Bootnotes 27 Nov 2008, 14:16

  • Back the F:\ Up

    Mozy's tasteful new t-shirt campaign

    With a (D)echo of French Connection's FC UK ad campaign, Mozy is distributing t-shirts bearing the legend "BACK THE F:\ UP" to people tasteless enough to wear them. I look quite good in mine. It's not as sharp as French Connection's ads but you can't say it's a fcuk up either. The company is running a Computer Nightmare …

    Storage 27 Nov 2008, 14:39

  • Financial crisis does for Scottish biofuel plant

    Plans for £65m facility on indefinite hold

    Chemical company Ineos Enterprises has "put on hold" indefinitely plans to build a £65m biodiesel plant in Grangemouth, near Falkirk. The company, which already operates a synthetic ethanol refinery in the town, said the "current economic slowdown had rendered the project unviable", according to the BBC. The proposed facility …

    Science 27 Nov 2008, 14:56

  • Robo-flower wilts as power burns

    Bloomin' heck

    An electronic flower has been designed that blooms in tune to your household’s electricity conservation in real time. The Wilting Flower: from standing proud to shrinking violet The Wilting Flower wirelessly receives information from a transmitter that’s clipped onto your mains power supply. The flower then interprets this …

    Hardware 27 Nov 2008, 15:02

  • WordPress update kyboshes XSS flaw

    Blog pwnage risk busted

    WordPress has fixed a cross-site scripting (XSS) flaw in its blogging software. Version 2.6.5 also addresses three unrelated performance and stability bugs with the open source package. The XSS fixed by the latest version of the software is limited to particular setups involving IP-based virtual servers running on Apache 2.x …

    Security 27 Nov 2008, 15:07

  • Sharp ships latest Blu-ray Disc player

    One for Santa's sack?

    Sharp has launched a Blu-ray player that it hopes Santa will want to load onto his sleigh this Christmas. Sharp's BD-HP21H: 24p playback The 1080p BD-HP21H player can display video at cinema-like 24f/s - with discs that support it. Ditto Blu-ray's picture-in-picture mode, which the BD-HP21H can also display. DVD movies can …

    Hardware 27 Nov 2008, 15:17

  • Chinese police confirm Gome chairman quizzed over 'economic crimes'

    Electrical retail tycoon Wong Kwong-yu probed

    Beijing police confirmed today that the founder and chairman of Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings is under investigation for alleged involvement in “economic crimes”. Wong Kwong-yu, who also goes by the name Huang Guangyu, was detained earlier this week. Reports suggested that the electrical appliance tycoon was being probed …

    The Channel 27 Nov 2008, 15:46

  • How Microsoft blew its own RIA invention

    Silverlight: back to the browser

    Cast your mind back to the year 2000. Microsoft has just announced its .NET Framework, complete with a new language called C# - that was in July, at the Orlando Professional Developers Conference. A couple of months later, Mark Anders and Scott Guthrie from Microsoft's ASP+ team turned up at the Wrox Web Developer Conference …

    Developer 27 Nov 2008, 16:02

  • Space robot research station to land in Oxfordshire

    Europe pledges billions

    The European Space Agency and Innovation minister Lord Drayson have signed an agreement to build a research centre at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire. The centre will focus on space robots and innovative power sources including development of ExoMars - a robotic probe which will search for life on Mars …

    Science 27 Nov 2008, 16:17

  • Apple to slash prices by up to 15% on Black Friday?

    Could match resellers to lure cash-strapped US customers

    Apple is holding a one-day sale for turkey-tired customers in the US on Black Friday, traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Some reports have suggested that the company could be slashing prices by 15 per cent to lure cash-strapped Americans to buy their goods tomorrow. Black Friday comes the day after …

    Hardware 27 Nov 2008, 17:07

  • MoD kit chief: Blighty unsure of supersonic stealth jumpjet

    'Does it do what it says on the tin?'

    The head equipment purchaser at the UK's ministry of defence (MoD) has implied that Britain maintains an open mind on whether it will purchase the new F-35B supersonic stealth jumpjet to operate from its new aircraft carriers. General Sir Kevin O'Donoghue, Chief of Defence Materiel, seemed to confirm that there was a backup plan …

    Government 27 Nov 2008, 18:02

  • HP, IBM - Stuck in the 'midrange' with you

    Analysis Whatever that means

    It is a story we hear again and again from the IT vendors: They are going to double down and make aggressive moves into the small and medium business space because the growth rates for IT spending are higher than they are among larger enterprises - at least when those businesses are all lumped together. To many of us, who …

    Servers 27 Nov 2008, 19:02