3rd December 2008 Archive

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Tories release MP office raid footage

Counter-terror police vid

Video footage of counter-terrorism police searching the parliamentary offices of MP Damian Green has been released on the Tory party's WebCameron website today. The vid shows MP Andrew Mackay confronting officers as they prepare to search Green's confidential Commons documents. "This is currently a scene we're going to search …

Government 3 Dec 2008, 00:31
Intel, Lenovo to foil laptop thieves

Absolute security

Chip maker Intel, computer manufacturer Lenovo, and security-software publisher Absolute Software today announced a joint program to equip select Lenovo laptops with anti-theft technology. Intel's Anti-Theft PC Protection hardware, part of the vPro Technology component of the Centrino 2 platform, will enable IT staffers to …

Security 3 Dec 2008, 00:37
Eclipse bets on Vista rivalry and cloud wave

Roadmap to "retain" Web 2.0 crowd

The Eclipse Foundation has published a roadmap putting a strong emphasis on Web 2.0, cloud computing, and rivalry with Windows — particularly Vista. New projects must be consistent with the roadmap, Eclipse said. "This does not mean that every new project must be explicitly envisaged by the roadmap," it said, but "It does mean …

Developer 3 Dec 2008, 00:42
Watchdog eyes copyright safety for iPhones, YouTube

And recycling

A landmark exemption to US copyright law allowing Americans to unlock their cell phones should be strengthened to prevent trampling on the right of companies that recycle and refurbish handsets, their attorney told the Librarian of Congress Tuesday. The exemption would apply to a provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright …

Law 3 Dec 2008, 00:43
Former! AOL! chief! reportedly! mulling! Yahoo! bid!

Miller raising $30bn

Former AOL chief Jonathan Miller is reportedly trying to raise cash to buy Yahoo!, giving the search engine's beleaguered shares a shot in the arm late Tuesday. Miller has been wooing private investors and sovereign-wealth funds "for months" in order to raise between $28bn and $30bn for the deal, according to The Wall Street …

Business 3 Dec 2008, 01:13
Red Hat and SpringSource square up on Tomcat

Enterprise-tough

Red Hat and SpringSource are squaring up on enterprise Servlet containers, both pressing Apache's Tomcat into action. SpringSource Tuesday announced its tc Server, billed as a version of Tomcat "hardened" for enterprise use and coupled with mission-critical operational capacities and support. SpringSource tc Server is the …

Developer 3 Dec 2008, 02:23
Overstock's Byrne deciphers ~~Economic Meltdown~~ Civilization Deleveraging

Radio Reg Wall Street as post-coitus behavorial psychology

Patrick Byrne doesn't call it an economic meltdown. He calls it "the de-leveraging of a civilization." When the ever-quotable Overstock.com CEO last sat down with Radio Reg, the world still pegged him as a tin hat–wearing crackpot. But now that Wall Street has buckled under its own excess, he's been recast as an financial …

Financial News 3 Dec 2008, 04:29
Online payment site hijacked by notorious crime gang

Updated Your good name, our rogue servers

Online payment service CheckFree lost control of at least two of its domains on Tuesday in an attack that sent customers to servers run by a notorious crime gang believed to be based in Eastern Europe. Reg reader Richard D. reported receiving a bogus secure sockets layer certificate when attempting to log in to his Mycheckfree …

Crime 3 Dec 2008, 05:43
White space debate comes to Blighty

Less space, more debate

While the FCC is happy to let consumers in the USA make use of the space between TV channels, in the UK the debate is only just beginning. Once analogue TV transmissions are switched off the digital network will still leave regional gaps, known as white spaces, where some believe low-powered devices should be allowed to hang …

Networks 3 Dec 2008, 06:02
Stratus fault tolerants embrace cut-rate VMware

Hyper-V? Maybe next year

Fault tolerant server maker Stratus Technologies today said it is now supporting VMware's entry Infrastructure 3 Foundation and midrange Standard editions running in conjunction with its ftServer boxes. Stratus is one of the pioneers - along with Tandem (now part of Hewlett-Packard) - in fault tolerant servers. With fault …

Virtualization 3 Dec 2008, 06:13
LIVE 11am GMT today: Effective IT advice for mid-market companies

Regcast Grill the experts

The Reg panel returns to your monitors at 11am GMT today with practical real world advice and tips on effective IT use to help medium sized companies drive their businesses. Returning to the studio are Freeform Dynamic’s Research Director Martin Atherton and Reg broadcaster Tim Phillips, who are joined by James Akrigg, head of …

Business 3 Dec 2008, 07:27
Logitech Digital Video Security System

Review The webcam, reborn

We’ve seen a number of PC-based home security systems in the past, but they all tend to share one common – and fundamental – flaw. The standard approach is to use motion-detection software running on a PC to tell the camera to record video footage of anyone that’s sniffing around your home or office without your permission. …

Reg Hardware 3 Dec 2008, 09:02
Is there any good external HDD encryption software?

Q&A

I have a Seagate 750GB external hard drive. All the data on it isn't secure. How do I ensure that, if I lose the drive and somebody 'finds' it, they can't access my files? Is there any low-cost or free software to create encrypted, password-protected archives?

Reg Hardware 3 Dec 2008, 10:02
Micron becomes Fusion follower

UPDATE Maybe even Fusion over-taker

Micron is developing a PCIe-connected solid state storage card four times faster than Intel's X25-E. This is the first competitor to Fusion-io's PCI-e-connected ioDrive. In a demonstration viewable on YouTube, Joe Jeddeloh, the director of Micron's Advanced Storage Technology centre, shows Iometer testing of a dual quadcore …

Storage 3 Dec 2008, 10:14
Dell opens up on NAS gateways

File access to EqualLogic block arrays

Dell is to produce a NAS gateway for its EqualLogic PS iSCSI-attach block storage arrays. At a Dell Enterprise Vision day event this week, Joe Joseph, Dell's VP for EqualLogic storage marketing, said: "A NAS gateway sitting on top of EqualLogic is probable." File-level access can be obtained at the moment by running Microsoft …

Storage 3 Dec 2008, 10:19
EU flags up wrinkly nuke-boffin knowhow loss threat

Even non-nuclear nations must train replacements

The assembled member states of the European Union have warned that the continent's nuclear boffins are getting old, and not being replaced fast enough. The EU says this problem should be addressed by all nations - even those that don't fancy nuclear power - training more specialists and allowing them to move about more freely, …

Environment 3 Dec 2008, 10:21
S60 knows where you're at

Location-aware alarm-app for the chronically lost

A new application for S60 phones opens the possibility of making every application location-aware, in a very primitive form, and promises to demonstrate the potential of today's GPS-enabled devices. Satellite navigation in a phone is a very nice thing to have, if you get lost a lot, but other than finding your way around and …

Mobile 3 Dec 2008, 10:31
Credit Suisse and HSBC announce job cuts

Back-office and IT staff suffer

Back-office and IT staff are among those leaving Credit Suisse and HSBC after the banks announced job cuts yesterday. Credit Suisse is cutting 10 per cent, or 650 positions. HSBC will cut headcount by 500. Many banks are now in their second or third round of cuts and some have also taken action by cutting contractor rates - …

Financial News 3 Dec 2008, 11:04
Microsoft opens Vista SP2 testing window

Beta now widely available

Microsoft has unfurled a test version of Windows Vista Service Pack 2, intended for hardcore tech developers and fans only. The announcement follows reports earlier this week that appeared to reveal when MS plans to release Vista SP2 to manufacturers. Windows management veep Mike Nash said on the corporate Vista blog …

Operating Systems 3 Dec 2008, 11:10
Competition watchdog bounces BBC, ITV and C4's web TV plan

Projectile Kangaroo

A plan by the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to offer their shows in one location on demand on the web received a major blow today when the Competition Commission said the plan would "restrict competition". Releasing the preliminary findings of an investigation into Project Kangaroo, the regulator asked the broadcasters to comment on …

Music and Media 3 Dec 2008, 12:01
McKinnon gets date for final showdown

Last chance saloon

A judicial review of the Gary McKinnon extradition case is being scheduled for 20 January, the same day Barack Obama assumes the US presidency. McKinnon's hopes of avoiding extradition to the US on hacking charges rest on persuading a judge that the Home Secretary's decision to disregard the former sysadmin's recent diagnosis …

Law 3 Dec 2008, 12:06
What's wrong with tape backup?

Three papers about storage

Another week, another rummage through Reg Whitepapers. This time we delve into enterprise storage for your delectation. Let's kick-off with an ideological onslaught against tape backup for multi-branch operations. The case against Tape backup and the evolution of branch office data This paper from Double Take Software …

Storage 3 Dec 2008, 12:13
Windows Live Web 2.0 facelift is go

Microsoft's flabby skin still on display though

Microsoft climbed on board the wobbly social networking bandwagon yesterday when it began rolling out changes to it Windows Live services worldwide. The company said last month it would give Windows Live a Web 2.0-stylie makeover, essentially in an effort to be down-wid-the-kidz in the Google online world. Or, as the software …

Software 3 Dec 2008, 12:14
MS claims US weekend sales victory in console war

Sold three times as many machines as Sony did, apparently

Is Sony regretting its decision to keep the PlayStation 3's price where it is? The latest sales data from the States suggests it might well be. The stats centre on sales made this past weekend and Friday - the three days after the US Thanksgiving celebration. Microsoft said 25 per cent more Xbox 360s were purchased during the …

Reg Hardware 3 Dec 2008, 12:17
Iomega intros external drive for bondage buffs

Two more stylish drives

If you’ve got a bucket-load of PC files that could land you in hot water in the wrong hands, then Iomega has the cure: a portable HDD able to password-protect itself. Iomega's secure eGo Encrypt HDD When the eGo Encrypt HDD’s connected to your PC over USB 2.0, it’ll let you freely access its documents. But the second …

Reg Hardware 3 Dec 2008, 12:21
Thought-operated game controller delayed

Epoc not working as planned

Launch of a headset that lets gamers control videogames using their brainwaves has been delayed, because the device doesn’t... er... work as planned. Emotiv Systems' Epoc neuroheadset: delayed until next year Emotiv Systems’ Epoc neuroheadset was paraded before drooling journalists in August this year at the Intel …

Reg Hardware 3 Dec 2008, 12:48
Merseyside plant to punch out Chevy Volt

'Leccy Tech Mandelson keen, apparently

The Chevy Volt looks set to be made in the UK at the Vauxhall production line at Ellesmere Port, it has been claimed. If the plan goes ahead, Volts could be flowing off the Merseyside production line early in 2011, Autocar magazine reports. GM's Chevy Volt: set to ship under Vauxhall flag? Moles from General Motors - …

Reg Hardware 3 Dec 2008, 12:49
Business ISP blunders on BNP list

Google Maps mashup rides again

Zen Internet has apologised for including a link in its latest newsletter to a website hosting a "find your nearest BNP member" search box. The business ISP sent its members the newsletter yesterday with a link to a Google maps mashup which allowed you to search for the nearest BNP member to a specific postcode. Although not …

Telecoms 3 Dec 2008, 12:57
Supersonic fighters could snuff out hurricanes

Russians patent shockwave storm-squelch scheme

A Russian professor at an Ohio university has applied to patent a method for snuffing out hurricanes by flying jet fighters around the eye of the storm at supersonic speeds. Professor Arkadii Leonov and his collaborator Atanas Gagov, both of Akron Uni, actually filed their patent application "Hurricane Suppression by …

Environment 3 Dec 2008, 13:01
Queen's speech targets bankers, unemployed, and immigrants

Welfare to work plan for UK.plc

The government put overhauling the financial sector and underpinning the British economy at the top of the agenda in the Queen's speech today. As expected, legislation to support the development of the government's massive comms database was iced - not that this will affect the state's development of the technology. The Queen …

Government 3 Dec 2008, 13:10
LG FA163DAB 160W iDock micro hi-fi system

Review Surprisingly above-average sound quality

Once a real power-player in the world of hi-fi micro systems, LG's standing has suffered as portable players have grown in popularity. In a spirit of 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em', LG is now looking to unite the world of portable MP3 and the micro. Perhaps not a company immediately associated with high-quality sound, LG …

Reg Hardware 3 Dec 2008, 13:17
Fraunhofer boffins: Laser printers safe after all

About as dangerous as making toast, seemingly

Scientists from Germany's renowned Fraunhofer institutes have concluded that the much-hyped issue of laser printers emitting deadly toxic clouds of toner particles is essentially bunk. Printers do emit small amounts of volatile organic chemicals, but so do toasters. Various researchers had theorised that laser printers might …

Hardware 3 Dec 2008, 13:43
High-end Eee Box to gain HDMI, standalone GPU

Media centre buffs rejoice

So first we hear about Asus Eee Box desktops using Celeron rather than Atom processors. Now comes word the company's preparing a high-end model with a standalone GPU. And an HDMI port for all you media centre buffs. The two new models are the B204 and B206 - the original Eee Box was the B200. According to a spec sheet posted …

Reg Hardware 3 Dec 2008, 13:53
Apple anti-virus advice was nothing new

Mac malware meme put in its place

One of the more famous Get a Mac ads boasted that Apple systems, unlike Windows boxes, didn't need anti-virus software. So when an article on an Apple support site encouraged the use of anti-virus software on Macs it seemed like news. In truth the article reiterated long-standing, though little publicised, advice from Apple. …

Malware 3 Dec 2008, 13:57
New .tel domains bid to be world's phone book

HELLO? I'm in the DNS! No, it's rubbish

The latest top level domain extension - .tel - opens for business today with a new twist on the DNS. Rather than merely act as a memorable address for a website, a .tel domain is designed to serve as a repository for contact data. By listing phone numbers, websites, Google keywords, physical addresses and email addresses in …

Telecoms 3 Dec 2008, 14:05
There's gold in green: profiting from climate change

The double standards of our eco accountants

Imagine an unpopular, impotent, and fragile UK Government, trying to make political capital out of a looming crisis. To avoid being embarrassed by criticism of its shallow policies, it appoints an independent panel of experts, to which it defers controversial decisions. Now imagine that the panel proposes measures from which its …

Environment 3 Dec 2008, 14:30
Japanese first to mass-produce tiny 'safe' lithium battery

No electrolyte to leak or explode, it's claimed

Japan's Ulvac has become the first company to put solid-state thin-film lithium batteries into mass production, it claimed this week. Ulvac's pitching the power source as an alternative to today's lithium-ion rechargeables, specifically by stressing that its design contains no liquid electrolyte and therefore is incapable of …

Reg Hardware 3 Dec 2008, 14:44
Inverness to host UK's most eco-friendly datacentre

Highland snow provides welcome relief

Highland data hosting outfit Alchemy Plus is planning to use the Scottish winters to cool servers at a new datacentre in Inverness, piping the heat to nearby offices, shops and a hotel, while utilising the green energy that abounds north of the border. The proposal is part of the regeneration of Inverness Harbour, and will …

Environment 3 Dec 2008, 15:19
Budget airlines break new rules on opt-in website pricing

Easyjet and Ryanair investigated

Budget airlines Ryanair and easyJet are failing to comply with European laws that ban pre-checked boxes on websites that sell flight tickets. New rules provide that optional price supplements must be accepted on an 'opt-in' basis. The European Commission announced this week that it is stepping up pressure on airlines to ensure …

Law 3 Dec 2008, 16:15
Sage turns in solid '08, cautious on future

Waits for acquisition targets to get sensible on prices

Sage had to restrain itself from sounding too optimistic today as it announced full year results that showed revenues and profits up on the year. The Newcastle-based accounting software vendor said it had produced solid results in a "difficult" market, and while remaining cautious, ventured that it would "weather these …

Channel Register 3 Dec 2008, 16:20
Speaker distances himself from police raids on MP

I nevver dun it

The Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin has confirmed that he was not asked for permission for the Metropolitan Police, who had no search warrant, to raid Tory shadow minister Damian Green's office in the House. Passing the buck deftly Martin blamed his deputy - the Serjeant at Arms Jill Pay. Martin said: "I regret …

Law 3 Dec 2008, 16:21
Windows patching abysmal, and getting worse

98% of cats insecure

Fewer than one in 50 Windows PCs are fully patched, according to stats from users of Secunia's new patching tool, which suggest surfers are becoming even more slipshod with applying patches over the last year. The final version of Secunia Personal Software Inspector (PSI) was released last week after 17 months in development. …

Software 3 Dec 2008, 16:26
FCC plan for mobile contingency fails

No power to the people's network

An FCC plan that would see every US mobile-phone base station equipped with eight hours of backup power has been rejected by the White House, on the grounds that the regulator failed to consult properly on the proposal. The Federal Communications Commission proposed the mandatory backup power following the collapse of …

Mobile 3 Dec 2008, 16:32
Making project management work

The three principles of getting the job done

Every now and then we run a poll with the Reg audience, and we know we’ve hit a nerve. On this occasion it was a simple set of questions about what tools and practices you had in place to support tasking and reporting of activities. There’s plenty of sometimes-great project management theory out there, but the tendency can be to …

Productivity 3 Dec 2008, 16:35
Microsoft opens arms to Firefox with OXML plug-in release

Rival browser enjoys interoperability love-in

Microsoft has today released a plug-in for Firefox that allows Open XML documents to be viewed within the popular open source browser. The software giant said that its new Open XML Document Viewer works within Firefox and can be used on Windows and Linux platforms without needing a local installation of MS Office. Microsoft …

Applications 3 Dec 2008, 16:39
DARPA seeks Hitchhikers Deep Thought program

Only one choice on interface peripherals, obviously

Pentagon boffinry chiefs are seeking to develop radical AI software capable of boiling down information from the news, overhead spy planes, wiretaps and so on "into a form that is more suitable for human consumption". Specifically, this means using the data to produce "a cohesive story that is germane to the goals of a decision- …

Science 3 Dec 2008, 16:41
Berlusconi plans to use G8 presidency to 'regulate the internet'

Forza Italia?

Italian president and media baron Silvio Berlusconi said today that he would use his country's imminent presidency of the G8 group to push for an international agreement to "regulate the internet". Speaking to Italian postal workers, Reuters reports Berlusconi said: "The G8 has as its task the regulation of financial markets …

Telecoms 3 Dec 2008, 16:59
Windows 7 first beta due January 2009

Christmas confusion clarified

Microsoft has dashed hopes of a December release for Windows 7's first beta, having created initial confusion on this important code drop. January 2009 now looks set to become the month when Windows testers will get their hands on the first-full pre-release build of Microsoft's next client operating system. In particular, …

Operating Systems 3 Dec 2008, 19:24
HP, EDS slash internal spending

Says leaked memo

HP owes EDS more than a little thanks for its respectable fourth quarter. But that hasn't stopped the IT giant from putting the financial squeeze on its new acquisition. In a recent internal memo leaked to The Reg, EDS CEO Ron Rittenmeyer lays down "a series of corporate-wide actions to reduce discretionary spending." …

Financial News 3 Dec 2008, 19:26
SonicWALL licensing snafu short-circuits protection

Reset to FAIL

SonicWALL has apologised for a license server outage that left some customers without firewall or email filtering protection for hours yesterday. The snafu affected enterise users of SonicWALL UTM Firewall, Email Security, Content Security appliances and meant that content filter, intrusion prevention and antivirus protection …

Enterprise Security 3 Dec 2008, 19:32
IDC: Q3 server sales were crap

But not as crap as 2001

When you are very sick and you are trying to find out what is wrong, you get a second opinion from another doctor - and so it is with the quarterly market statistics tracking server shipments and sales. Gartner usually comes first, and then IDC follows in quick succession with a slightly different set of public stats. Together, …

Servers 3 Dec 2008, 19:43
Appletops may get juice pump

Liquids predict toasty future

The latest Apple patent to surface points out that the upcoming mobile round of Intel's Nehalem chips may require more cooling mojo than the current Penryn line. On November 27, the United States Patent and Trademark Office published patent application number 20080291629, originally filed by Apple on May 22 of last year and …

PCs & Chips 3 Dec 2008, 20:41
AMD tweaks 2009 chipset roadmap

Sets Shanghai loose on Shanghai

AMD updated its chipset schedule for 2009, adding plans for a new low-end, integrated graphics processor chipset based on the 780G architecture catering to budget DirectX 10 gaming. The new IGP chipset, dubbed 760G, will debut in January 2009, according to Japan's Digitimes. It will support DirectX 10 and Shader Model 4.0 — …

PCs & Chips 3 Dec 2008, 20:45
VMware and SpringSource integrate on virtual Java roadmap

Ubuntu in the frame

VMware has expanded its relationship with SpringSource to support an unfolding virtual appliance roadmap utilizing Linux and open-source Java. SpringSource said Wednesday it's developing a series of appliance images for developers building and testing open-source Java apps for VMware's ESX hypervisor and its recently launched …

Developer 3 Dec 2008, 21:23
Agassi drives 'lectric car empire across Pacific

Hawaii captured

After conquering San Francisco, Shai Agassi has bounded across the Pacific, expanding his electric car empire onto the islands of Hawaii. Yesterday, the Better Place CEO joined Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle in claiming that the company's mobile-phone inspired 'leccy-vehicle network would be up and running in the fiftieth state …

Business 3 Dec 2008, 23:14
EFF seeks shelter for ~~iPhone~~ mobile 'jailbreakers'

Freedom to tinker

Yesterday, the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) - that 18-year digital-freedom superhero - filed a pair of petitions with the United States Copyright Office, seeking to protect mobile-phone jailbreakers, unlockers, and digital-media masher-uppers from the slings and arrows of outrageous lawsuits. According to a statement by …

Mobile 3 Dec 2008, 23:20