8th December 2008 Archive

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Google App Engine to swallow Salesforce cloud

Business interest

Google is the latest to partner with Salesforce.com on application-level integration between different clouds. Salesforce.com will today announce Force.com for Google App Engine, the software-as-a-service provider's third package linking others' online services to its platform and applications built in its Apex programming …

Developer 8 Dec 2008, 05:02
How can I image the drives of an Acer Aspire One fleet?

Q&A

Great article on customising the Acer Aspire One UI, but what schools need is a way of producing a standard image, after all of the tweaks have been done, that can be copied to the machines. http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/12/04/acer_aspire_one_ui_fiddling/ Imaging our 200 Macs is easy as pie but it would be a pain to have …

Hardware 8 Dec 2008, 07:02
Samsung SyncMaster 2263DX 22in monitor

Review A neat idea packed into a nice chassis

To the masses a monitor is a monitor. For those who spend hours staring a screen, response times and colour reproduction can be important. But for most, screen size and price are the deciding factors. However, the Samsung 2263DX has something else that may pique some people's interest. This 22in monitor comes with a little …

Hardware 8 Dec 2008, 09:02
Carphone co-founder quits over secret share pledge

Borrowed money against share stake

The co-founder of Carphone Warehouse, David Ross, has resigned, after failing to notify the board that he used his shares in the company to underwrite personal loans. The company discovered yesterday that Ross had used a stake of 136.4 million shares in the company to secure personal loans. He has 160 million in total, a …

Financial News 8 Dec 2008, 09:50
How clear a view do you have on your IT?

Mini Poll Keeping a handle on the bigger picture

If IT were a religion -and to some it may be - who are the high priests? In many organisations, it would be those who hold the key information, those who reserve the right to change the charts on the walls, or those who update the standards which all others must follow. Such beings go by various names, but these are less …

Systems 8 Dec 2008, 10:02
Apple dealer buys its way into the Midlands

Consolidation a go-go

Square Group Limited, the Apple reseller, has bought Gordon Harwood Computers, an Apple dealer based in Alfreton and Derby. GHC decided it needed to be part of a bigger organisation if it was to thrive and survive in future. For 26 years it's been selling Apple kit by mail order, retail and online. Darren King, Managing …

The Channel 8 Dec 2008, 10:33
Microsoft picks up data centre from the back of a lorry

Hopes to restart enterprise juggernaut

Windows Live may be hosted from Portakabin-style data centre compounds if Microsoft's 4th generation data centre plans come to fruition. Microsoft planners envisage thinly-provisioned data centres built from containerised components delivered to site just in time and plugged into a utility spine for power and communications …

Servers 8 Dec 2008, 10:38
Intel's 32nm Atom roadmapped

Total SoC integration

Intel's 32nm Atom chip - aka 'Medfield' - has popped up on the chip giant's roadmap with a 2010 release window. Current Atoms are fabbed at 45nm. Medfield will use the smaller transistor size to increase the level of on-die component integration, bring into the system-on-a-chip the I/O functionality currently relegated to the …

Hardware 8 Dec 2008, 10:54
Sony Ericsson touts tiny talker

Small but perfectly formed?

Sony Ericsson has unveiled the latest addition to its Walkman line-up, which although on the small side will generate lots of consumer appeal - or so the company hopes. Sony Ericsson's Xmini: tiny, light The Xmini measures just 75 x 44 x 18mm, which means sadly that it only features a wee 1.8in, 240 x 320 display. The …

Phones 8 Dec 2008, 11:01
Fugitive Danish IT chief surrenders at LA copshop

Stein Bagger on Skid Row

Stein Bagger, the boss of bankrupt Danish IBM reseller IT Factory, who has been on the run after being linked to a huge alleged fraud, turned himself in at a Los Angeles police station on Saturday. "I am Stein Bagger. I'm a fugitive from Europe and I'm here to turn myself in," The LA Times reports he said to the desk officer …

Law 8 Dec 2008, 11:16
PSP is 'vibrant platform', says Atari chief

UMD's future looks grey, though

Sony’s PlayStation Portable has had its ups and downs of late, but an executive from Atari has labelled the handheld console a “vibrant platform”. Phil Harrison is a former Sony executive but now President of Atari. He said he’s “sure [Atari] will continue to publish on PSP”, at a recent London gaming event, according to a …

Games 8 Dec 2008, 11:17
Aussie government to rig filter testing

Opponents of Great Aussie Firewall take to the streets

The great Aussie firewall is coming apart at the seams, as opposition mounts, and critics have a field day dissecting inept government plans for testing their shiny new filters. While the government might expect opposition from, well, the opposition, it is possible that the architect of the plan, Labour Senator and …

Broadband 8 Dec 2008, 11:29
AMD's 8-series integrated chipset slips a quarter?

Later release date for 'RS880'

AMD's HyperTransport 3.0 chipset, 'RS880', may have been put back a quarter. Roadmaps that leaked out in July this year had the Socket AM3 RS880 down for a Q2 2009 release, but an update to AMD's integrated-chipset launch schedule reported this week indicates that part now won't ship until Q3 2009. The RS880 will incorporate …

Hardware 8 Dec 2008, 11:36
EMC and NetApp disk revenues outstrip market

IDC quarterly disk storage numbers

EMC and NetApp are growing disk storage revenues faster than any other supplier, with IBM the biggest loser, according to IDC's third quarter disk storage tracker report. Dark horse Sun could be catching the leading pack up. In the IDC Worldwide Disk Storage Systems Quarterly Tracker report, external disk storage systems …

Storage 8 Dec 2008, 11:37
MS calls time on Black Friday cashback debacle

No rollback on bushwhacked money back plan

Microsoft has reneged on its promise to rerun a Black Friday promotion with HP.com after many failed to benefit from it because of a cockup with the MS Live Search Cashback program. The company said in a blog post on Friday that it had hoped to hit replay on the 40 per cent off HP promotion it had offered to US customers on …

Applications 8 Dec 2008, 11:47
OCZ readies ~~USB~~ eSATA Flash drive

End of the USB key as we know it?

Stuck wondering what you're going to stick into your new PC's eSATA port? Memory specialist OCZ has the answer: a USB-style eSATA thumb drive. While there's not enough power coming through an eSATA port to run a full-size drive, OCZ clearly believes there's enough juice for up to 32GB of Flash storage. OCZ's Throttle eSATA: …

Storage 8 Dec 2008, 11:55
Brute force SSH attack confounds defenders

Who are those guys?

Security researchers are struggling to combat a sophisticated brute-force attack against SSH servers. Instead of using the same compromised machine to try multiple password combination, the newer attack relies on coordination among multiple botnet clients. Also, instead of throwing this resource at random Secure Shell (SSH) …

Security 8 Dec 2008, 11:58
Unseen touchscreen Nokia leaked

Mock-up for UI improvements, claims Nokia

Speculation’s rife that Nokia has developed a stylish touchscreen talker, following publication of a leaked teaser image. Nokia's latest iPhone killer? The picture, which Nokia has already confirmed is authentic, shows three shots of a full touchscreen talker. In each shot, the phone’s running a different application, …

Phones 8 Dec 2008, 12:00
AMD rolls out first Phenom IIs

Watch out, Core i7

AMD doesn't appear to have said as much itself, but one report claims the chip maker has today formally announced its Phenom II processor. The claim comes from US site EE Times. Since North American journalists are only now climbing out of bed, we imagine the story comes from a pre-briefing given to the title and presumably …

Hardware 8 Dec 2008, 12:24
Did speaker's statement show he doesn't know what day IT is?

Comment Wool(sack)y thinking on PCs

Reports from the House of Commons last week suggested that the police took their time returning Damien Green's PCs to him. To compound the insult, it is clear Speaker of the House Michael Martin, and most MPs, have at best not much of clue when it comes to technical issues. In his statement on Wednesday, Michael Martin said …

Government 8 Dec 2008, 12:28
Aussie convicted over Simpsons sex pics

'My butt does not deserve a website'

An Australian man has lost his appeal against child pornography charges for possessing images of the Simpsons characters having sex. The Supreme Court of New South Wales upheld a lower court's decision which found him guilty of possessing child pornography. Alan John McEwan was convicted in February of possessing child …

Law 8 Dec 2008, 12:47
Onyx buys Dundas IT

Scottish expansion

Onyx Group bought the Edinburgh reseller Dundas IT last month for a "six figure sum". The company will bolt on Dundas's managed services business and 100-plus customers to its Scottish operations in Falkirk and Glasgow. No job losses are planned. This is Onyx's third acquisition this year - it bought Campbell Lee in Scotland …

The Channel 8 Dec 2008, 12:50
Microsoft bullish on BizTalk Server beta

One of a kind?

Microsoft is today expected to release what promises to be the first, and possibly only, beta for its next BizTalk Server ahead of final release next year. The company will release a BizTalk Server 2009 "feature complete" beta, with support for Microsoft's HyperV virtualization hypervisor and fail-over clustering. For …

Developer 8 Dec 2008, 13:02
~~Google OS~~ gOS - if at first you don't succeed...

Fail and You ...fail, fail again

gOS, the brain trust behind the failed $200 Linux-based “gPC” at WalMart, has seen fit to throw the dice one more time, introducing an operating system called Cloud that lets your computer boot into a browser. I, for one, welcome this innovation. I've always been a fan of neutering the most versatile machine in human history, …

Operating Systems 8 Dec 2008, 13:02
Barrow boy Microsoft flogs ~~nostalgic~~ tragic t-shirts

As Dell Boy takes to QVC

Microsoft has got into the fashion biz by plastering Bill Gates' jailbird fizzog on a new range of t-shirts. Dubbed Softwear (see what they did there?), Redmond’s hoping to flog some Microsoft-branded clothing to the sort of people who would prefer to have Gates' visage rather than his Vista splattered across their chests. …

Bootnotes 8 Dec 2008, 13:15
WowWee Rovio Mobile webcam

Review All Terrain, Armoured... webcam. Well, almost

If the conventional webcam has a failing, it's the lack of an ability to let you wander about and look at things out of the fixed view of the camera. The Rovio aims to correct this limitation. As befits a company whose background is in the robotic toy market, WowWee has gone for the pseudo-military-tech toys-for-boys look with …

Hardware 8 Dec 2008, 13:30
Penis pill botnet awakens after McColo shutdown

It's ALIVE

One of the three botnets cut off by the shutdown of rogue ISP McColo is back in business. The Mega-D botnet is back on its feet and throwing off huge volumes of spam, net security firm Marshal8e6 reports. The botnet - best known for spamvertising adverts for penis pills - has been linked back to a network of compromised zombie …

Security 8 Dec 2008, 13:43
IBM crossed off ID application shortlist

CSC and Fujitsu still duking it out

The Identity and Passport Service has cut down its shortlist for the biggest contract within the National Identity Scheme. It has dropped IBM from the competition for the application and enrolment procurement, leaving CSC and Fujitsu in contention. In September, IPS said that all three firms were on the shortlist for the deal …

Government 8 Dec 2008, 14:03
RAF in plot against Fleet Air Arm again

Opinion 1930s, 1970s ... disaster every time they do it

In a bizarre repeat of history, reports have it that the Royal Air Force is once again seeking to take over the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy - a sure sign that the economy really is in desperate trouble. Just as it has meant more than once in the past, a successful RAF bid to grab a greater share of the taxes in tough …

Government 8 Dec 2008, 15:03
Entire class fails IT exam by submitting in Word format

Updated .doh

The 29 students of a computing class at a school in Lincolnshire have all failed to gain their diploma because their teacher told them to save their coursework in Microsoft Word format, which is not accepted by the exam board. Edexcel rejected work from pupils at Cotelands School in Ruskington who were studying for the Diploma …

Applications 8 Dec 2008, 15:07
Santa booted from iPhone app store

Seasonal icons face off

Santa Live isn't any more, as the iPhone application that bribed punters for good reviews is pulled from the Application Store for suggesting that Rudolf played his part in the homicide of Grandma. The app, which showed a daily animation of Santa's preparations for Christmas, had attracted a small audience of child-equipped …

Mobile 8 Dec 2008, 16:11
NFC-enabled Micro SD card unveiled

Cash and capacity

A Micro SD card with an integrated Near-Field Communication (NFC) capability for wireless payments has been unveiled. Designed by monetary tech firm Giesecke & Devrient, the Mobile Security Card has a “cryptography controller with an NFC-compatible interface” integrated alongside its 2GB Flash capacity. The Mobile Security …

Hardware 8 Dec 2008, 16:21
Memorex’s MP3 karaoke crooner

Pick a song, any song...

If the excitement of Christmas Day fizzles out by lunchtime, grab yourself a Pina Colada, stand in front of Memorex’s new karaoke crooner and get the whole family singing along to your iPod collection. Memorex's SingStand MKS-SS1: diaphragm not included The SingStand MKS-SS1 is a microphone stand, speaker system and jukebox …

Hardware 8 Dec 2008, 16:22
UK e-tailers scurry to scrap dodgy Heavy Metal covers

IWF says acts in good faith - what about Blind Faith?

UK e-tailers are scrambling to remove images of the Scorpions Virgin Killer album which led the Internet Watch Foundation to ban much of Wikipedia yesterday. The IWF claimed the article, and artwork, on Wikipedia were child pornography and added the URL to its banned list distributed to most UK Internet Service Providers. But …

Law 8 Dec 2008, 16:23
Fiat shows solar-panel wrapped 'Panda of the future'

'Leccy Tech Phylla up

Fiat's latest take on the electric car, the Phylla, has been revealed at the Turin Environment Park. A joint development by Fiat's R&D department - Centro Ricerche Fiat - and several local design and engineering companies, the prototype was shown at the Turin science park and driven around the block by local dignitaries. …

Science 8 Dec 2008, 16:23
Is groupware the worst thing you've ever encountered?

Mini Poll Get over it with our productivity mini-survey

We've been chatting around the subject of business productivity and trying to find out what's going on inside your organisations. Now it's time to nail this stuff statistically. Fancy taking our mini-poll to tell us what's really happening on the ground? And what you expect to happen next? We're deliberately keeping it simple …

Productivity 8 Dec 2008, 16:24
Touchscreen demand hurt Nokia in Q3, says analyst

Rocketing iPhone, Blackberry growth

Nokia smartphone sales fell during Q3, marking the phone giant's first global smartphone sales decline, market watcher Gartner said. The analyst said that Nokia’s lack of a commercial touchscreen device in its smartphone portfolio had prevented the manufacturer from attracting touchscreen-hungry customers. Nokia’s quarterly …

Mobile 8 Dec 2008, 16:26
Google starts selling unlocked G1

Shipping in gold envelopes?

Google has started selling an unlocked version of the G1, at $399 a pop, that can be used on any network anywhere in the world - though the search giant will skin you for another $200 in shipping if it gets the chance. The handset, which Google terms the Android Dev Phone 1, comes completely unlocked - able to use any GSM SIM …

Phones 8 Dec 2008, 17:51
Apple disables Egyptian iPhone GPS

Wandering in the desert

If you buy your iPhone 3G in Egypt, don't expect it to help you navigate the trackless wastes of the Sinai or Akabat. According to a story published by The New York Times, the Egyptian government has demanded that Apple disable the iPhone 3G's GPS capability as a condition of offering it for sale in that tightly-controlled …

Mobile 8 Dec 2008, 18:50
Acer beats arch-rival Asus in Q3 netbook match

Aspire One quarter's most popular machine

And the most popular netbook in Q3 was... the Acer Aspire One, closely followed by - surprise, surprise - the combined collection of Asus Eee PCs. So says market watcher DisplaySearch, which measured a 38.3 per cent market share for Acer, a good way ahead of Asus' 30.3 per cent. That's good news for Acer, not simply because …

Hardware 8 Dec 2008, 18:50
Fresh blood planned for Sun's board

Sense of urgency

Sun Microsystems' board is getting some fresh blood with two new independent directors, after its largest investor stepped up involvement in the company. Sun and US-private investment firm Southeastern Asset Management said Monday they've entered into an agreement to expand Sun's board with the two individuals. The directors …

Financial News 8 Dec 2008, 19:11
Obama urged to create White House cybersecurity chief

Current risk 'unacceptable'

Inadequate cybersecurity is posing an unacceptable risk to US national security, according to a report released Monday that recommends President Elect Barack Obama create of a new White House post to fix the problem. The cyber chief should report directly to the President and oversee a comprehensive strategy that combines …

Security 8 Dec 2008, 19:48
Google spews desktop ads onto Satan, Jesus Phones

Holiday push

Google is now spewing desktop text and image ads directly onto the Apple iPhone and the T-Mobile G1, an unattractive and uninspiring piece of plastic that runs Google's open source Android OS. This morning, with a post to the official Google Mobile Blog, Mountain View Oompah Loompah Alexandra Kenin told desktop-minded AdWords …

Mobile 8 Dec 2008, 19:53
Wal-Mart iPhone a done deal?

Sales associates sing

It's now a virtual certainty that you'll soon be able to pick up an iPhone 3G at America's biggest retailer. According to stories published today by the San Jose Mercury News and Bloomberg, Wal-Mart employees have confirmed that the iPhone will soon join smartphones from RIM, Samsung, Pantech, Palm, and others on the shelves …

Mobile 8 Dec 2008, 20:24
AMD accepts smaller stake in chip fab spin-off

Lowered assets in ass-covering deal

AMD will get a smaller stake in spinning-off its manufacturing arm into a separate wafer fab company and get less cash from the investment firm injecting funds into the deal. The struggling chip maker today announced a revised pact with the two Abu Dhabi firms behind the deal, ATIC and the Mubadala Development Company. The …

Financial News 8 Dec 2008, 20:28
IBM drops Power7 drain in 'Blue Waters'

Super efficiency

A month ago, IBM and the University of Illinois broke ground for the data center that will eventually house the Power7-based "Blue Waters" massively parallel supercomputer. The data center, it turns out, is as tricky to design as the processor and server that will be humming along inside it. During a talk at the recent SC2008 …

Servers 8 Dec 2008, 20:57
Gaps blight JavaFX early promise

Review Sun repeats Swing mistakes

After a long wait, JavaFX 1.0 trundled onto the Windows and Mac stage last week and took an awkward bow. Was it worth the 18 months of audience slow-hand-clapping? Do the results justify Sun Microsystems' apparent diversion of resources away from Swing? Can the finished product compete with the already established Adobe …

Developer 8 Dec 2008, 21:14
Trio indicted over Trojan brokerage scam

Inside man cons crooks

Three men have been indicted for fraud in the US over accusations they used customised Trojan horse malware to plunder online banking and brokerage accounts. Alexander Bobnev, of Volgograd in Russia, allegedly masterminded the scam and conspired with others in Russia to create the malware. Two naturalised US citizens Aleksey …

Security 8 Dec 2008, 21:27
Facebook worm hijacks web search

Koobface shows its ugly mug again

A new variant of the Koobface worm has returned to menace users of Facebook. As before, the malware generates messages to friends of infected users on the social networking website. These messages direct the unwary into visiting websites that supposedly offer video clips. Would-be marks are told they need the latest copy of …

Security 8 Dec 2008, 21:32
Hackintosh clone surfaces in the Argentine

'Applications may not function properly'

First Psystar, now OpeniMac. It appears that Apple's lawyers may soon be playing Whac-A-Mole with upstart cloners. Apparently, Psystar's latest legal troubles - the dismissal of the company's anti-trust complaint against Apple and the upgrading of Apple's suit against them to include alleged DMCA violations - haven't deterred …

Hardware 8 Dec 2008, 22:47
Intel trumpets world's fastest silicon photonic detector*

*Ladybird not included

Intel researchers are claiming "world record" performance with their latest push in silicon photonics — or chips with friggin' laser beams. The vendor published results from a new silicon-based photodetector, which uses light pulses to make stupidly fast connections rather than more conventional (and slower) electrical …

Hardware 8 Dec 2008, 23:50