15th December 2008 Archive

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Mobile spy app pitched at paranoid partners

'I think I'm paranoid'

If you’re a bit paranoid, you’ll worry that your partner’s doing everything from cheating on you to planning world domination behind your back. But buy them a Nokia with Interceptor Software installed and you’ll apparently be able to rest easy. The software acts like your personal "guy on the inside", because once it’s …

Reg Hardware 15 Dec 2008, 00:02
ADSL - the VoIP killer

Weak link in reliability chain

Over half of UK businesses are avoiding VoIP 'cos their ADSL broadband connections to branch offices aren't up to scratch, according to research coming out of Enterprise-VoIP specialists Viatel. Viatel hired Omniboss to talk to 200 IT Decision Makers to find out why more companies aren't using VoIP, and discovered that 54 per …

VoIP 15 Dec 2008, 08:40
2008's top three compact cameras

Kit of the Year Supreme small snappers

Summer holidays and Christmas celebrations - the two times when we most want to take pictures. And, for many of us, nothing beats the convenience of a compact. So which small snappers got us excited this year? Nikon Coolpix S710 We're very impressed with this smart, little, 14.5-megapixel Nikon. It’s a nice size and weight, …

Reg Hardware 15 Dec 2008, 09:02
Cloud computing what’s really going on?

A chance for you to have your say

We’ve been skirmishing around cloud computing recently and now it’s time to put some meat on the bones with a mini-poll. It has just three main questions about your organisation’s attitude to the subject and about their perceived strengths and weaknesses. Obviously it’s still early days for cloud computing and none of us can …

Productivity 15 Dec 2008, 10:16
Xmas 2008 Prezzy Trail

Gift Guide Looking for last-minute inspiration?

Stuck for inspiration when it comes to last-minute Chrimbo shopping? Fancy Product X but want to see if there's a cheaper alternative? Then look no further as we round up our ten-of-the-best product round-ups and other group tests. In the Home... Blu-ray Disc Players Read the full round-up Best of the Bunch Sony BDP-S350 …

Reg Hardware 15 Dec 2008, 10:45
NetApp closes down a replication product line

Haifa development centre jobs under threat

NetApp is closing down its Snap Mirror for Open Systems product, which came as the main part of its $160 million Topio acquisition. Topio was bought in November, 2006, and its main product was an any-source-to-any-destination replication product called the Topio Data Protection Suite. It could replicate data between …

Storage 15 Dec 2008, 11:01
Browsers fail password protection tests

Toxic soup of potential vulnerabilities

A beta version of Google Chrome has tied with Safari for last place in tests of how the browsers dealt with password security. The tests - put together by security consultancy Chapin Information Services - ran the most popular browsers against a set of 21 checks. None performed particularly well. Opera 9.62 passed only seven …

Security 15 Dec 2008, 11:16
Attack of the quarter-ton, 'fridge-sized' killer jellyfish

US gov: Slime-swarms threaten humanity's survival

The US government has warned that enormous swarms of killer jellyfish - some the size of fridges and weighing up to a quarter of a ton - are ravaging the world's oceans. Particularly aggressive specimens are said to be capable of causing serious damage to ships, and have even managed to knacker nuclear power plants. News of …

Science 15 Dec 2008, 11:25
Sony readies Walkman assault on iPod Touch

The Walkman to beat all Walkmans?

Watch out, Apple - Sony is rumoured to be on the cusp of unveiling an iPod Touch-style Walkman complete with an OLED display and Wi-Fi. According to a “trusted inside source” that spoke to website Sony Insider, the Walkman will be the most advanced music, video and photo player ever released by the Japanese electronics giant …

Reg Hardware 15 Dec 2008, 11:35
Are iPhone users just tight?

Analysis I'd buy that for a dollar

Companies developing software for the iPhone are seeing their creations drown in a sea of one-dollar mediocrity as they struggle to gain visibility in the increasingly cluttered Application Store, and some have taken their complaints to Steve himself. In an open letter to the great man successful developer Craig Hockenberry …

Developer 15 Dec 2008, 12:20
Asus sexes up Eee PC 1000 series

Notebook-style netbook debuts

Asus has sexed-up the 10in end of its Eee PC line with a new-look glossy design it hopes will win buyers who might have otherwise opted for rival netbooks. Asus' Eee PC 1002HA: catching up with rivals' sexy netbooks? So, will you please welcome the 1in-thick Eee PC 1002HA, a 1.2kg machine with a more notebook-like look that …

Reg Hardware 15 Dec 2008, 12:47
Aussie protests over Great Firewall

World+dingo objects

Hundreds of Aussies turned out to protest against government plans to filter web content. The anti-censorship movement Digital Liberty Coalition (DLC) organised demonstrations on Saturday in seven cities including Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. According to reports, up to 300 protestors gathered at Sydney’s Town Hall to …

Government 15 Dec 2008, 12:59
Roberts RDK-2 kitchen radio

Review A 'kitchen radio' actually designed for the kitchen

Many radios are dubbed ‘kitchen radios’ solely for the reason that this is the room they end up getting most of their use in. Roberts has gone the whole hog and designed a radio specifically for kitchen use. The first thing to note about the RDK-2 is that not only is it designed for the kitchen from a functionality perspective …

Reg Hardware 15 Dec 2008, 13:02
Native Client d**k-swinging met with fake Googasm

Fail and You World notices Microsoft not dying

After a tech company has been making money on its own for a while, it will inevitably embark on a web enhancement project involving a browser plug-in that includes some sort of runtime or virtual machine so that the browser can do more that just render html. It's practically a coming-of-age experience in Silicon Valley. Google …

Developer 15 Dec 2008, 13:02
The power of OS X hot keys unlocked

Mac Secrets Things aren't what they seem

When I kicked off Mac Secrets, the first thing I looked at was "a better way to build OS X preferences." In this installment, I'll be looking at various undocumented aspects of PreferencePanes.framework that happen to be a documented framework. Moreover, the stuff I'm looking at has got nothing to do with preference panes! …

Developer 15 Dec 2008, 13:02
Managing the IT-IT-business relationship

Grab a coffee and have a look at our poll

Last week, we broached the subject of whether there was a gap between development and operations in IT. It’s a difficult one, not least because its very easy to make generalizations (but we have garnered some great feedback). Indeed, a general position is that any such gap is an unhealthy thing to have. However, in reality …

Infrastructure 15 Dec 2008, 13:02
Germans offer MoD hope of Eurofighter postponement

Blighty tries to shift surplus '80s superjets

Germany may offer a cash-strapped UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) a temporary reprieve on the cripplingly expensive Eurofighter superjet programme, according to reports. German defence officials have suggested that the upcoming "Tranche 3" deal for the third and final wave of Eurofighter deliveries could be split into two waves, …

Government 15 Dec 2008, 13:29
Microsoft releases first flaky iPhone app

Wot no Windows Mobile version?

Those well known Apple fanboys down at the Microsoft ranch have released the company’s first application for the iPhone before adding the app to its own Windows-based mobile platform. Seadragon Mobile hit Apple’s App Store on Saturday. However soon after Redmond admitted that it hadn’t all gone quite to plan because the most …

Mobile 15 Dec 2008, 13:33
MS issues brown alert over unpatched IE 7 flaw

One in 500 exposed

Hackers have upped the ante by launching more attacks against an unpatched IE 7 flaw. Microsoft warned on Saturday that attacks targeting the vulnerability, which affects versions of its flagship browser on all supported versions of Windows, are becoming more widespread. The security bug first came to prominence a week ago, …

Security 15 Dec 2008, 14:06
Original lightsabre sale brings big, big bucks

~~Sherrving!~~ Kerrrching!

Luke Skywalker’s original lightsabre has sold at auction for around $56,000 (£37,000/€41,000) more than the estimated guide price. Mark Hamill's lightsabre sold for $240,000 The lightsabre, which was used by actor Mark Hamill in both Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, was bought for $240,000 (£160,000/€178,000) at an …

Reg Hardware 15 Dec 2008, 14:11
Hitachi Data Systems SSD flashes into view

Will support HGST/Intel flash later

Hitachi Data Systems' customers can now buy flash-based solid state drives (SSDs) for the high-end USP V and VM storage arrays. HDS will also support the coming Hitachi GST SSDs, built by Hitachi GST and Intel. This leaves IBM's DS8000 as the last enterprise drive array with no flash drive option, as both HP and Sun resell the …

Storage 15 Dec 2008, 14:15
Centera Belgian development centre to close

Centera itself not threatened, though

EMC intends to close down its Centera development centre in Belgium, putting 50 jobs at risk, but absolutely denies that the Centera product is coming to the end of its life. The intended layoffs are part of company wide cutbacks which surfaced earlier this month. They raise a question about the future of Centera and its …

Storage 15 Dec 2008, 14:20
Virgin Media opens bandwidth choke for 50Mb launch

If you've £51 per month to spare

Virgin Media's new 50Mbit/s broadband offering has gone on sale today to about 1.5 million homes, costing up to £51 per month, plus £50 installation fee. For a while at least, it will be the only cable broadband package without a bandwidth-throttling policy. Technology to serve the "XXL" package will be rolled out to about 40 …

Networks 15 Dec 2008, 14:35
Quasar scrutineers use entire galaxy as telescope lens

Dr Boffin: 'We could spot loose change beyond Moon orbit'

A team of crafty astroboffins say they have managed to probe the guts of a quasar ten billion lightyears away - using nothing less than an entire galaxy as the main lens of their telescope. The Einstein cross. Quasars, as any fule kno, are mysterious objects found at the very fringes of the universe. They squirt out …

Science 15 Dec 2008, 15:05
The £3 phone

Splash out and buy two

Don’t want to cough-up an arm and a leg for the iPhone 3G? Then get down to Carphone Warehouse, where you can pick up a Motorola handset for less than the price of a pint. A BlackBerry Storm beater? (snigger) The W180 costs an unbelievable £2.89 ($4.30/€3.40), although you do have to simultaneously buy the pay-as-you-go …

Reg Hardware 15 Dec 2008, 15:08
2TB Caviar drive too good to be true?

Quite right - but Czech website blows the gaff

A Czech website is listing a 2TB WD Caviar drive for sale, although the current largest capacity WD Caviar drive is 1TB. Don't bother trying to order one of these 2TB whoppers though - they aren't available yet. What's happened is that someone in receipt of a non-disclosure presentation has disclosed the information to the …

Storage 15 Dec 2008, 15:28
Flab-fighting EV powered by pizza

'Leccy Tech No pain, no gain - and no mileage either

While the debate rages over the best way to power the electric cars of tomorrow – plug-in charge, petrol-hybrid or hydrogen fuel-cell - we've yet to hear the case being made for fish'n'chips, pizza or the quarter pounder. Actually, the target audience of the GYM electric vehicle probably regard their bodies as temples and so …

Reg Hardware 15 Dec 2008, 15:34
SGI slashes 15 per cent of its workforce

The computers are super - business, not so much

Supercomputer maker Silicon Graphics announced late last Thursday that it would be slashing 15 per cent of its 1,500-person workforce to lower costs. In a statement Bo Ewald, SGI's chief executive officer, blamed the recession in the United States, for the layoffs along with the weakened global economy, and the related credit …

Hardware 15 Dec 2008, 15:51
Couple to get hitched in Halo wedding

Just think of the honeymoon...

For most women, the ideal wedding consists of a diamond ring, flowers, big dresses and bridesmaids. But one couple’s chosen to do away with tradition in favour of a Halo-themed wedding. I, Psychovandal, do take thee, SickNDeHed John Henry, 26, and Desirai Labrada, 29, plan to tie the knot next month in a ceremony that’ll be …

Reg Hardware 15 Dec 2008, 16:04
Cryptic colour clock

Bonkers

Tokyoflash is known for its wacky watches. But even its fans would have difficulty telling the time using a rival retailer’s latest troublesome timepiece. Chronochrome: count the rings to track time Chronochrome can simultaneously display six coloured rings across its horizontal bar. The first two shades show the hour, the …

Reg Hardware 15 Dec 2008, 16:18
The role of the application platform

Where’s yours going?

The application platform (as described here) has become a reality for a decent proportion of the El Reg audience, but what is not so clear yet is where it’s all going, or if it’s going anywhere at all. Simply having an application platform in place is an achievement; even more so given the concept isn’t solidly ‘baked’ yet, so …

Systems 15 Dec 2008, 16:24
Pret customers get free Wi-Fi

Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Starbucks

Sandwich maker Pret A Manger has begun offering free wireless internet access to its customers. The sarnie seller said it has already activated the service in 60 of its Blighty stores and plans to roll out free Wi-Fi access to another 70 outlets over the coming week. UK wireless web service provider The Cloud struck a five- …

Networks 15 Dec 2008, 16:28
Fifth man pleads guilty over Citibank ATM hack scam

Round up the unusual suspects

A cybercrook who got greedy and careless has admitted using hacked ATM codes to loot Citibank accounts. Aleksandar Aleksiev, 28, pleaded guilty to a single count of device access fraud last week following his May 2008 arrest. Aleksiev, was caught red-handed trying to withdraw money from machines already under surveillance, …

Crime 15 Dec 2008, 16:52
Verari, Rackable look to leasing

Cash is scarce right now in Server Land

When times get tough and companies want shiny new servers but also to conserve their cash, the talk at the bargaining table almost always turns to leasing. The big server makers, like IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Sun Microsystems, have their own financial arms that can move a server deal from the capital budget over to the …

Servers 15 Dec 2008, 16:58
FCC kills Puritanical wireless vote

After whinging from Pres, lawmakers

The US Federal Communications Commission has canceled the December meeting where it was scheduled to vote on chairman Kevin Martin's plan for free US-wide puritanical wireless broadband. But the commission says the proposal will "remain in circulation for the commissioners to vote" in the future. The meeting would have dealt …

Wireless 15 Dec 2008, 18:28
Apologies after teacher's 'Linux holding back kids' claim

Updated Rant 2.0

The leader of a US effort handing out PCs and CDs running Linux to kids has apologized to a teacher for "throwing her to the wolves" in a tirade online. HeliOS founder Ken Starks has blamed a misunderstanding for his blog post, which had criticized the Texas middle-school teacher after she'd attacked HeliOS for "misleading" …

Operating Systems 15 Dec 2008, 18:59
AMD spins dual-core Phenom Cartwheel

K10 goes budget

AMD has unveiled two new dual-core Athlons intended for low-cost home PCs. On Monday, the beleaguered chip manufacturer rolled out what it's calling the 2.5GHz Athlon X2 7550 and the 2.7GHz Athlon X2 7750 Black Edition. Previously, dual-core Athlons used AMD's aging K8 microprocessor design, but these chips benefit from the …

PCs & Chips 15 Dec 2008, 19:48
Google hints at the End of Net Neutrality

Updated This cache makes perfect sense

Network Neutrality, the public policy unicorn that's been the rallying cry for so many many on the American left for the last three years, took a body blow on Sunday with the Wall Street Journal's disclosure that the movement's sugar-daddy has been playing both sides of the fence. The Journal reports that Google "has …

Networks 15 Dec 2008, 19:49
Web who's who botches secure sockets layer

Boffin outs CIA, NASA, and Microsoft

New research has uncovered flaws in the encryption certificates used to protect the websites of hospitals, banks, and even top-secret government spy agencies, raising questions about whether they are complying with regulations requiring them to adequately safeguard their online visitors. Rodney Thayer, a security researcher …

Security 15 Dec 2008, 22:01
Orwellian Apple ad celebrates 25th birthday

The year was ~~1984~~ 1983...

Today marks the 25th anniversary of Apple's iconic 1984 TV ad. And no, we haven't got our math wrong. Apple's introduction to the Macintosh - widely hailed by the overly-excitable as one of the greatest advertisements in the history of television - did not debut during the nationwide TV feeding frenzy of the 1984 Super Bowl. …

Odds and Sods 15 Dec 2008, 23:29