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28th November 2008 Archive

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  • EU Commission backs Reding on data caps

    Cheaper beach surfing for 2009

    The Council of EU Telecoms Ministers has agreed to force caps on the price of roamed data and text messages, to €0.11 and €1 per MB respectively, to be introduced in July next year. The cap on text pricing is retail, while the data cap refers to the wholesale price that network operators charge each other. That should in turn …

    Mobile 28 Nov 2008, 06:02

  • Motorola TLKR T7 two-way radio

    Review Walkie-talkies for outdoor action types

    As mobile phones get more exotic and expensive the desire to expose them to risk reduces accordingly. Fancy using your iPhone while canoeing or white water rafting? Or your N96 while bouncing down a forest trail on a mountain bike? Thought not. Step forward the two-way radio. Robust, durable, easy to use with your gloves on, …

    Reg Hardware 28 Nov 2008, 09:02

  • Counter-terror police arrest Tory frontbencher

    Crazed over-reaction much?

    Shadow immigration minister Damian Green was arrested and questioned by Metropolitan police for nine hours yesterday. His home and office in Kent were searched along with an address in West London. Green's office at the House of Commons was also searched. It is believed the investigation is linked to the leaking of …

    Government 28 Nov 2008, 09:44

  • Axl Rose may have undermined own case over Dr Pepper stunt

    Website statement could imply acceptance

    Guns N' Roses and frontman Axl Rose has threatened legal proceedings against Dr Pepper over an unauthorised publicity stunt that offered a free bottle of the soft drink to every American in celebration of the band's first new album in 14 years. Citing intellectual property abuse, Beverly Hills-based lawyer Alan S Gutman said …

    Law 28 Nov 2008, 10:10

  • Would you know a base station if you saw one?

    El Reg compo to identify those in the know

    What with the SiteFinder database still not getting updated, it's time to see if you notice now when the lamp post next to you is suspiciously pregnant, or if cellular base stations have become so much a part of our landscape that they no longer merit our attention. Some of the following photographs are transmitter towers used …

    Mobile 28 Nov 2008, 10:22

  • Reg digging exposes holes in ContactPoint numbers

    Complacent government estimates could endanger project

    Government ministers have been misleading Parliament for the last year by repeatedly giving out estimates for the likely number of users for their ContactPoint Database that are significantly lower than suggested by their own research. According to IT experts, if these results have not been taken into account, this could damage …

    Government 28 Nov 2008, 10:56

  • European Commission consults on class action lawsuits

    Closing the 'justice gap'

    Consumers across the European Union could be given new powers to join forces to sue a business under plans announced by the European Commission today. Class action lawsuits could be publicly funded under the proposals. The Commission's Green Paper on Consumer Collective Redress (pdf) proposes new ways of dealing with …

    Law 28 Nov 2008, 11:01

  • Another Aquos TV is born

    Sharp's LC-46D65E

    Sharp has expanded its Aquos TV range with a 46in model crammed with enough features to make the best of Heroes and co. Sharp's LC-46D65E: full 1080p HD The LC-46D65E boasts full 1080p support and although its 20,000:1 contrast ratio isn’t the highest we’ve seen before, the set should ensure a vivid on-screen display thanks …

    Reg Hardware 28 Nov 2008, 11:06

  • AMD roadmaps Phenom II, quad-core Athlons

    All change

    AMD's upcoming Phenom revamp, based on the introduction of the Socket AM3 interconnect, will indeed be dubbed the 'Phenom II' while versions of the family will become the first three- and four-core Athlons. According to Asian industry moles cited by Chinese-language site HKEPC, the upcoming Athlon X2, X3 and X4 will contain - …

    Reg Hardware 28 Nov 2008, 11:06

  • Essex copper deluged after forwarding web hoax email

    Red faces for boys in blue

    An Essex police officer who inadvertently forwarded an aged internet hoax is now dealing with hundreds of calls and emails from concerned women - the hoax looks more genuine now that it comes from a proper police address. Detective Constable Simon Lofting sent the mail on to senior officers to check if it was genuine but it …

    Policing 28 Nov 2008, 11:07

  • Nokia pulls out of Japan, sort of

    Not a sushi fan?

    Japan is on of the world’s biggest markets for mobile phones, but Nokia has announced that it plans to stop selling its handsets there. The Finnish phone giant blamed the “current economic climate” for its decision. It's not yet clear exactly when Nokia’s plan will take effect. "We have concluded that the continuation of our …

    Reg Hardware 28 Nov 2008, 11:11

  • 'Jasper' Xbox 360 hardware rejig spied online

    First 65nm models shipping?

    Pictures of what could be one of the first 'Jasper'-based Xbox 360s have appeared online. Motherboard modifications point to Jasper's existence Images courtesy Xbox-Scene.com Although the shots don’t provide definitive proof of an Xbox 360 with 65nm GPU, which is the new Jasper design's key component, several key features …

    Reg Hardware 28 Nov 2008, 11:21

  • Pret A Manger goes wireless

    Wave goodbye to cash

    Double, tall, skinny, hold the foam latte drinkers rejoice - café chain Pret A Manger will soon let you pay for your coffee and sandwiches wirelessly. By April next year, the chain plans to have installed Near-Field Communications (NFC) equipment – the principal technology behind wireless payments – in 171 of its UK stores. …

    Reg Hardware 28 Nov 2008, 11:35

  • Yahoo! loses! another! boss!

    European MD jumps

    Yahoo!'s European managing director Toby Coppel is joining the exodus from the firm. Coppel was previously chief strategy officer for the ailing internet firm. Rich Riley is replacing Coppel. Riley has been with Yahoo! since it bought the company he co-founded, Log-Me-On.com. He will be based at Yahoo!'s European headquarters …

    Financial News 28 Nov 2008, 11:38

  • µTorrent for Mac is go

    'It's about time'

    Mac users are finally being offered their own version of µTorrent, the most popular BitTorrent client. µTorrent for Mac came out in beta yesterday. Version 0.90 is compatible with OSX Leopard only and the developers warn there may be "serious bugs". The port boasts the "lightweight power and performance" that saw the PC …

    Applications 28 Nov 2008, 11:39

  • Climate Bill scores a fail in economics

    Parliament near-unanimous for excess self-flagellation

    The stated objective of the Climate Change Bill, recently passed by Parliament, is: "To avoid the impacts of dangerous climate change in an economically sound way." It's an excellent idea, one worth supporting - but possibly not entirely the one that the Government itself is pursuing. The quote comes from the Government's own …

    Environment 28 Nov 2008, 11:45

  • Honda: future's full of hybrids and fuel-cell EVs, not plug-ins

    'Leccy Tech Japanese firm not impressed with lithium-ion's record

    Fans of the hydrogen fuel-cell powered Honda FC Sport sci-fi style concept car may have a reason to rejoice: Honda president Takeo Fukui reckons plug-in electric cars are hopeless. In an interview to Chinese-language website auto.163.com, he said that electric vehicles are still "immature", the main problem being the batteries …

    Reg Hardware 28 Nov 2008, 11:57

  • Brits decline to 'think outside the box'

    Don't want to 'touch base', either

    Free Pro-active Download - Going Forward with Blue-sky Thinking for Web 2.0 It's official: Brits do not, at the end of the day, want to think outside the box, touch base, indulge in blue-sky thinking or, for that matter, get pro-active with some 360° thinking. That's the verdict of a YouGov poll into "buffling" - the …

    Bootnotes 28 Nov 2008, 11:58

  • Europe tightens rules on police data sharing

    Controlling cross-border info

    The European Council is adopting tougher rules on how the police and judiciary treat, and share, people's private data. Member states have two years to adopt the framework decision. The change is needed because of the increasing amount of information which is shared across borders between police forces and other parts of the …

    Government 28 Nov 2008, 12:08

  • McKinnon faithful to stage further US embassy demo

    Are you listening Barack O?

    Supporters of Gary McKinnon are planning a further demo outside the US embassy next Friday as time runs out to prevent the hacker's extradition to the US. Protesters hope to present a letter for US president-elect Barack Obama to embassy officials during the demo, which kicks off at 5pm on 5 December. They also hope to present …

    Law 28 Nov 2008, 12:13

  • Grand Theft Auto downloads to be 'sold' in shops

    Buy a card and then download it

    Grand Theft Auto: IV’s upcoming “downloadable content” add-on, The Lost and Damned will also be sold as through stores, sort of. Online retailer GameStop has created a page offering The Lost and Damned for sale through an Xbox Live Marketplace token card, which contains a unique code to purchase the add-on over Live …

    Reg Hardware 28 Nov 2008, 12:27

  • Boss frogmarches bound employee to cop shop

    With 'thief' sign round his neck

    An Essex boss who discovered one of his employees had stolen and cashed a company cheque frogmarched the miscreant to a police station with his hands tied behind his back and a sign round his neck reading "thief", the Times reports. Carpet fitter Mark Gilbert, 39, swiped the cheque from Witham-based In House Flooring, wrote it …

    Bootnotes 28 Nov 2008, 12:35

  • Wireless comms and the end of civilisation

    Surviving Survivors

    Characters in the recent BBC remake of Survivors seem curiously ill-informed about how the UK's communications infrastructure would deal with the collapse of civilisation, so in an attempt to ensure Reg readers are better-equipped we present a wireless guide to the apocalypse. For those who too young to remember the original, …

    Networks 28 Nov 2008, 12:40

  • Sony Vaio Z11 13in laptop

    Review Anyone for two GPUs and a full-gamut RGB display?

    Apple may have grabbed headlines for releasing its new MacBook Pro with two GPUs on board - one for casual, one for best - but Sony had already done so, with its Vaio Z11, launched in the summer and now available for review. Sony's Vaio Z11: As a recently launched laptop, it's no surprise that the Z11 is based on Intel's …

    Reg Hardware 28 Nov 2008, 13:02

  • Beeb to cut the f**king swearing

    'Pushing back' the expletives

    The BBC's head of television yesterday declared that the corporation's output would next year feature less of Jonathan Ross telling Gwyneth Paltrow he'd "f*ck her", lest such choice language alienate viewers. BBC Vision supremo Jana Bennett said Auntie would “push back” the number of expletives gracing the airwaves, following …

    Music and Media 28 Nov 2008, 13:25

  • Rootkit unearthed in network security software

    Hidden process developer linked to Sony USB fiasco

    Researchers have unearthed rootkit-like functionality in an enterprise security product. Network security software from a Chinese developer includes processes deliberately hidden from a user and, even worse, a hidden directory, Trend Micro reports. Files in the hidden directory could exist below the radar of antivirus scanners …

    Malware 28 Nov 2008, 13:44

  • BBC relives The Day of The Triffids

    New two-part adaptation of Wyndham classic

    The BBC is poised to start filming on a new adapation of John Wyndham's The Day of The Triffids, due to hit screens in a high-definition two-parter some time next year. Quite how ER screenwriter Patrick Harbinson will inject new life into the classic tale of horticultural apocalypse remains to be seen, since the Beeb has …

    Entertainment 28 Nov 2008, 13:44

  • Java and Linux - an open marriage in search of success

    Two-years and counting

    In 2004 Eric Raymond wrote an open letter to Sun Microsystems' then chief executive officer Scott McNealy demanding Sun open up their core Java intellectual property and allow anyone do whatever they damn well please with it. That other pillar of open source, and creator of the GNU Project Richard Stallman, meanwhile, became …

    Developer 28 Nov 2008, 14:02

  • HP could impose compulsory redundancies for EDS staff

    Exclusive Still waiting for volunteers to step forward

    EDS UK and Ireland-based employees will face compulsory firings if Hewlett-Packard doesn’t hit its targets for voluntary redundancies for the first half of its fiscal 2009, The Register has learned. HP confirmed last month that it would axe 3,378 jobs in the UK. Around 90 per cent of these are understood to be EDS staff. The …

    Financial News 28 Nov 2008, 14:14

  • Why is information delivery so bloody hard?

    Cri du coeur

    Are you frustrated with how difficult it can be to find information? What makes this more irksome is that the vendor community seems to have just woken up to the fact that there's a lot of information 'out there' to manage. Translated, this means that some of the larger vendors have recently got their act together with …

    Systems 28 Nov 2008, 14:26

  • Can measure, can’t manage?

    Can IT really drive good business behaviour?

    Clichés like ‘can’t measure, can’t manage’ stick around precisely because they are so difficult to achieve. Providing business managers with information about what their staff are up to is something that should be a fundamental use of IT, and indeed we have all spent happy hours tapping away our timesheets and capturing our …

    Productivity 28 Nov 2008, 14:34

  • Lib Dems call for new NHS data security rules

    Lamb demands raised standards

    The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to accept a set of priorities to stop the loss of confidential patient data from the health service. The party's shadow health secretary Norman Lamb has set out the priorities following the revelation, prompted by freedom of information (FoI) requests by the Lib Dems, of more …

    Government 28 Nov 2008, 14:54

  • M42 closed by marshmallows and beer

    Delays expected, drinks all round

    A northbound stretch of the M42 was this morning closed after a six-vehicle pile-up "sent marshmallows and beer spilling out onto the carriageway", the BBC reports. Several lorries and a van were involved in the incident at around 04:00 GMT. The motorway is closed at junctions 10 and 11 near Tamworth Services, and the Highways …

    Bootnotes 28 Nov 2008, 15:12

  • Danish ISP ordered again to block Pirate Bay

    Landmark decision or just a needle prick?

    Danish ISP Sonofon (part of Tele2) has once again been ordered by a Danish court to block the controversial Swedish BitTorrent site The Pirate Bay. The record industry represented by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) calls it a landmark ruling and says the decision confirms the illegality of Pirate …

    Law 28 Nov 2008, 15:28

  • UK.gov says extreme porn isn't illegal if you delete it...

    ...unless you know how to recover a hard drive

    The Ministry of Justice promised to provide public guidelines to the new extreme porn legislation this week and – behold! – here they are. They have been greeted with some degree of criticism from those opposed to the legislation, on the grounds that they add little new to what was already known and fail to make matters as …

    Law 28 Nov 2008, 16:28

  • Portsmouth gets crime-predicting CCTV

    Minority Report comes to Southern England

    If you’re planning a rowdy night out in Portsmouth soon, then be careful what you get mixed up in. Because the city’s installed Minority Report-style CCTV cameras able to predict crimes before they’ve happened. Well, kind of. Local Portsmouth paper The News reported this week that the cameras are linked to systems running …

    Reg Hardware 28 Nov 2008, 16:30

  • Judge throws out case against journo bugged by police

    Same charges that Damian Green faces

    Sally Murrer, a journalist for the Milton Keynes Citizen, has had charges against her for receiving leaked information dismissed by the judge. Murrer faced charges of aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office brought by Thames Valley Police. An ex-police officer, Mark Kearney, his son, and another reporter faced …

    Law 28 Nov 2008, 16:58

  • Snipers - Cowardly assassins, or surgical soldiers?

    DARPA takes aim at guided smart-slug

    Snipers are nasty, everyone knows that. They hunt people like animals, killing them without giving them a chance to fight or even to surrender. Few soldiers are more hated; even their own armies often seem less than pleased to have them around. So why is the British Ministry of Defence happy to announce that it has just spent …

    Science 28 Nov 2008, 16:58

  • SanDisk flash holds secret flash sauce till after Christmas

    Makes 3-bit MLC SSDs feasible

    SanDisk is soon to announce new technology needed for its solid state drives to take on hard disk drive storage. SSDs are appearing in netbooks and notebooks and in enterprise storage arrays where they provide accelerated I/O, either as a separate tier of flash storage or as a flash cache accelerating the array controller's …

    Storage 28 Nov 2008, 19:02