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22nd December 2008 Archive

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  • BBC: Top Gear Tesla didn't run out of juice

    'Leccy Tech 'We showed what would happen if it did'

    The BBC has admitted that the silver Tesla Roadster driven by Jeremy Clarkson on this past weekend's Top Gear didn't run out of juice and didn't need to be pushed home. However, the Corporation said it stood by the results of its test of the 'leccy sports car. A spokeswoman for the popular motoring show confirmed to Register …

    Science 22 Dec 2008, 08:51

  • Egypt offline for weekend after Med seabed cables cut

    French robot gropes bottom

    Internet and phone communications remain troublesome across much of the Middle East today, following a multiple undersea cable break in the Mediterranean on Friday. AP reports that the SEA-ME-WE4 and SEA-ME-WE3 cables were both broken between Sicily and Tunisia, and that a repair ship operated by France Telecom Marine is now …

    Broadband 22 Dec 2008, 09:49

  • Brocade wraps up Foundry

    Comment No Foundry execs visible

    Brocade has wrapped up its $2.6bn acquisition of Foundry and appointed two non-Foundry executives to look after its overall product offer and run a technology office. No Foundry executives have been appointed to any positions in Brocade. The acquisition has just completed and Foundry's operation will be integrated throughout …

    The Channel 22 Dec 2008, 10:21

  • Register Hardware revamped

    New look and more

    A new year, a new look. Well, almost. We had the design ready and waiting, and we decided to press the button anyway. Why the change? In 2009, we'll be bringing a greater emphasis on reviews, do-it-yourself features - in our new Hands On section and practical advice from fellow readers in Q&A, and we felt Register Hardware …

    Hardware 22 Dec 2008, 10:22

  • Enormous HP box spotted from space

    Exclusive pics of Peterborough packaging pandemonium

    Our recent shock revelations of HP's apparent desire to bury our beloved home planet under the maximum packaging possible have attracted much reader feedback regarding just how the world's biggest consumer of cardboard and bubblewrap intends to destroy Mother Earth. Until now, however, the company has restricted itself to …

    Bootnotes 22 Dec 2008, 11:02

  • Orange colours in the future

    Orange Developer Camp The future's bright, the future's converged

    Orange last week mapped out the future for the benefit of developers who trekked all the way to Florida in the hope of doing business with one of the world's largest communication providers. In common with the eight previous Orange Developer Camps the emphasis last week was on letting developers know the best way to get …

    Networks 22 Dec 2008, 11:02

  • Sky 'withdraws' from Tiscali buyout talks

    The price is wrong

    Sky has reportedly pulled out of exclusive talks to buy Tiscali's UK operation. Tiscali's Italian owners were unable to agree a price with Sky, according to the Guardian. A Sky spokesman declined to comment this morning. The UK's fifth largest ISP has been for sale since May, and saw its customer base shrink by 37,000 in the …

    Broadband 22 Dec 2008, 11:06

  • Mozilla Google relations strained by Chrome

    Playing away from homepage

    Mozilla's relationship with Google, its main source of income, has become complicated since the release of Chrome as an alternative to Firefox, Mozilla's head honcho has admitted. John Lilly, Mozilla's chief exec, described the relationship with Google as cordial but "complicated" since the release of Chrome in September. "We …

    Applications 22 Dec 2008, 11:22

  • Symantec: Stop buying storage

    Buy our SW, save £££!

    Symantec wants to help you stop buying storage - but first you have to buy its Veritas CommandCentral (VCC) software. VCC 5.1 is an update on Symantec's agentless storage resource management software. It now features a Storage Change Manager component and facilities to help users increase drive array utilisation by providing …

    The Channel 22 Dec 2008, 11:29

  • Orange conjures up widgety Djinngo

    Orange Developer Camp Djoy to the world

    Orange has been pushing yet another widgets platform, this time with the magnificently Web 2.0 name Djinngo - pronounced 'gingo' - in the unshakeable belief that what the world needs is another Java-based widgets platform. The mobile industry used to be obsessed with how many clicks it took to get to any specific feature or …

    Mobile 22 Dec 2008, 11:35

  • Boffins keep transplant lungs alive in glass dome

    'Reconditioned' organ bonanza foretold

    Canadian medi-boffins have successfully trialled a method of keeping human lungs alive outside the body. They say that this will enable them to offer "reconditioned" lungs for transplant operations. The idea is that often transplant docs have some lungs on hand, and people needing their present ones replaced, but the available …

    Science 22 Dec 2008, 11:39

  • Apple MacBook Air Late 2008

    Review Still sexy, but rather faster now

    The MacBook Air is a quintessential Apple product, one that demonstrates both the company’s strengths and weaknesses. When it was launched at the beginning of 2008, the Air was admired – nay, drooled over – because of its elegant, ultra-portable design. But while some people lusted after it, others pointed to its limitations …

    Hardware 22 Dec 2008, 12:16

  • Pope praises Galileo, celebrates the Solstice

    Galileo magnifico?

    The Pope tipped his hat to long-time Vatican bugbear Galileo this weekend as he helped kick off the 2009 International Year of Astronomy. Pope Benedict also gave some comfort to pagans by acknowledging the connection between the date of Christmas and the Winter Solstice. Pope Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, formally …

    Science 22 Dec 2008, 12:31

  • Google disguises capitalism as civil rights

    Fail and You Chocolate Factory edge caching cashing

    When you move to San Francisco, you have six weeks from the date you sign the lease on your four-thousand-dollar-a-month, two-bedroom apartment to adopt a cause. All San Franciscans need something to keep themselves occupied while their iPhones charge or their lattes are made. A wide variety of causes are available: anti-war, …

    Networks 22 Dec 2008, 13:02

  • Register Hardware redesigns for a shiny 2009

    More reviews, more practical advice

    LONDON December 22, 2008 Register Hardware (www.reghardware.co.uk) has launched its redesigned website, just in time for a bright and bouncy 2009. The makeover sees the consumer technology website adopt a shiny black livery and a visual design that emphasises the prominent role that hardware reviews now play in the publication …

    Press Releases 22 Dec 2008, 13:25

  • Scientology refuseniks sue over compulsory workplace courses

    Diskeeper fights religious discrimination suit

    Two ex-employees of Diskeeper have sued the firm over allegations they were obliged to take part in Scientology training courses as a mandatory condition of employment. Alexander Godelman, former chief information officer of Diskeeper, and Marc Le Shay, former Diskeeper Automation Planning Officer, filed a joint suit of unfair …

    Applications 22 Dec 2008, 13:26

  • Prof's robotic pole-snake goes big in Korea

    'Oscillating joint motion' wows the crowds

    Engineering profs based in Virginia have scooped a Korean tech prize by designing a robotic pole-climbing snake. 'Unique even in nature' The snake, known as HyDRAS-Ascent (Hyper-redundant Discrete Robotic Articulated Serpentine) is intended to climb up scaffolding, pillars or whatnot and carry out inspections which would …

    Science 22 Dec 2008, 13:31

  • Oz net censorship apparatus to target BitTorrent

    Peer to government filter, and then possibly to peer

    The national web censorship apparatus being built by the Australian government will also include technology to restrict peer-to-peer traffic, according to the minister responsible for the plan. Until today it had been thought that what opponents have called the "great Aussie firewall" - in a nod to Chinese internet censorship …

    Broadband 22 Dec 2008, 13:47

  • Raid yields 2800 'illegal' DS games copying kits

    Cops recover buyers' details too

    A Cardiff resident was last week found to be in possession of almost 3000 kits that could be used to copy Nintendo DS games. Some 1800 game copying devices were seized in a raid on a Cardiff shop on 17 December, with 1000 more being found at a private residence, both used by the same man, said to be 21 years old, but who has …

    Games 22 Dec 2008, 14:14

  • Middle Earth says hi to Sony's new Vaio

    Kiwis peck away at teaser website

    From the far side of the world Sony New Zealand is telling us that a new Vaio is coming. It is a countdown webpage saying that on January 9 a new Vaio will be announced that will change the way we look at notebooks, forever. Coincidentally a day earlier, at the opening of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Sony …

    Hardware 22 Dec 2008, 14:24

  • Poor pensioners falling through DWP data holes

    Don't know who's got a pot to pee in

    Gaps in information are hindering the Department for Work and Pensions' efforts to help pensioners who live in poverty. The department's latest performance report (pdf) says that it does not have sufficient information about the circumstances of all individual pensioners to identify their entitlement to benefits. Although the …

    Government 22 Dec 2008, 14:39

  • HouseCall throws a sickie

    ActiveX control gives online scanner man flu

    Users of Trend Micro's HouseCall antivirus scanner need to upgrade following the discovery of a potentially serious security bug. Attentive readers will have have already guessed the vulnerability involves a problem with an ActiveX control, specifically versions 6.51.0.1028 and 6.6.0.1278 of the HouseCall ActiveX Control. …

    Security 22 Dec 2008, 14:40

  • The application platform’s in play. But where’s it going?

    Reg Tech Panel Strategy or tragedy, according to Reg readers

    This application platform thing looks like it has legs. A few weeks ago we asked the Reg audience at large if they ‘got’ the idea of the application platform, and, practicalities aside, most said ‘we do’. Around a quarter said they had already adopted one. Digging a bit further, we see that of those that are ‘somewhere’ with …

    Systems 22 Dec 2008, 14:51

  • Ofcom spectrum-flog closer after court decision

    Sucks to be 02 (and T-Mobile)

    Ofcom's continuing battle to sell off the 2.6GHz frequency has taken a step forward, with T-Mobile and O2 losing their appeal in relation to the question of jurisdiction and allowing progress of the High Court case to proceed. This decision comes from the Court of Appeal, and rules that the High Court, and not the Competition …

    Mobile 22 Dec 2008, 15:20

  • Evidence for 'iPhone Nano' gathers pace

    Second accessory maker points to new Apple phone

    Another day, another tantalising implication Apple's about to announced the iPhone Nano. This time, it's from iPhone case maker XSKN. It doesn't have a picture of the product, but it does have a section on its website with exactly that name. It's present alongside 'iPhone 3G' and 'iPhone 1st Gen', along with sections devoted …

    Phones 22 Dec 2008, 16:16

  • US cybersecurity defences fail to thwart mock cyberattack

    Pants meet ankles

    Critical US electronic systems have failed to withstand a simulated cyberattack. Participants in a recent cyber-warfare exercise told Reuters that the exercise highlighted problems in leadership, communications and readiness. The two-day exercise brought together 230 government agencies, private firms and other participants. …

    Security 22 Dec 2008, 17:00

  • Dell restructuring puts 2,000 Limerick jobs under threat

    Rhyme or reason?

    Around 2,000 jobs are under threat at Dell's Raheen, Limerick plant as the company reviews its operations. We understand that Ireland's Tánaiste [Deputy Prime Minister] Mary Coughlan and the Defence Minister Willie O'Dea met Dell executives, including founder and CEO Michael Dell, at Dell's Round Rock HQ in Texas last week. …

    Data Center 22 Dec 2008, 17:04

  • Jaw droppers of 2008 - what they'd rather you forgot

    From Del-Boy to Ellison's package

    Optimism drives the IT industry and - in particular - Silicon Valley, a place where people look to the future and try to forget the painful past. Here, then, is The Register's list of the worst, most cringe-worthy and jaw-dropping moments from the last 12 months that people would probably prefer to forget about. Nine wags of …

    Software 22 Dec 2008, 17:53

  • Visionman launches Nehalem Core i7 servers

    Why wait for the Nehalem Xeons?

    The single-socket server space has been a niche part of the server space, just as machines with more than four sockets has never been a particularly high volume part of the market. The advent of multicore processors and faster system and memory buses have made single-socket servers more appealing to a certain class of …

    Servers 22 Dec 2008, 18:00

  • Microsoft gives XP another four months to live

    Comes in behind MS-DOS 6

    Microsoft just can't quit you, Windows XP. The final shipment date of Microsoft's aged, yet distinctively non-Vista operating system has been extended yet again. System builders can now obtain Windows XP until May 30, 2009. Windows XP was originally scheduled for OEM extinction on January 31, 2009. That deadline was given …

    Operating Systems 22 Dec 2008, 19:56

  • Three simultaneously cut undersea cables under repair

    Traffic disrupted between Europe and Middle East

    Ships have begun repair work on three undersea cables that carry voice and internet traffic between Europe and the Middle East and Asia after they were severed on Friday. A robot submarine dispatched by France Telecom has arrived at a location in the Mediterranean Sea where it will locate the ends of two broken cables and …

    Networks 22 Dec 2008, 20:07

  • Apple graphics partner gets Intel cash

    Need a job? They're hiring

    The world economy may be in a tailspin and jobless rates worldwide may be rising to unprecedented heights, but there's one happy company that's raising cash and beefing up its staff size: Imagination Technologies. As we reported last week, Apple recently spent $4.8m of its $25bn in cash reserves to acquire 8.2 million shares …

    Hardware 22 Dec 2008, 20:08

  • UBS says IT spending in Europe, US to drop 2 per cent in 2009

    That sure beats a 10 per cent drop, right?

    The analysts at investment bank UBS who case the IT market say the United States and Europe can each expect to see about a 2 per cent decline in IT spending in 2009. This projection may be more indicative of the spending patterns among relatively large enterprises, given the sample that UBS used in doing its forecasting. …

    Financial News 22 Dec 2008, 20:52

  • Wireless-power pioneers band together

    Circle wagons against credit crunch

    The Wireless Power Consortium has opened its doors in the hope of building standards for wirelessly recharging gadgets, and perhaps even getting some products into the market. The Consortium includes pioneers such as Fulton Innovation and ConvienientPower Limited, and silicon manufacturers such as National Semiconductor and …

    Data Center 22 Dec 2008, 21:10

  • Warner Music pulls plug on YouTube deal

    Claims living in material world, is material girl

    YouTube began removing videos with music from Warner Music Group's stable of artists this weekend after royalty renegotiations between the two companies broke down. WMG, the first music label to climb into bed with YouTube and lend the video publishing site an air of legitimacy, is now the first to roll out. The two companies …

    Media 22 Dec 2008, 22:21

  • Transit agency to work with hackers who found vulns

    First gagged, now recruited

    A New England transit agency has vowed to work with three Massachusetts Institute of Technology undergraduates whom it had previously sued when they discovered serious flaws in the agency's electronic payment systems. The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) said it would work with Zack Anderson, RJ Ryan, and Alessandro …

    Security 22 Dec 2008, 23:18

  • Red Hat shakes off economic meltdown

    Q3 profits better than expected

    While commercial Linux distributor Red Hat has not grown enough to justify the ridiculous valuations that Wall Street put on the company when it went public a decade ago, the company is more or less on track to break $1bn in sales in the next couple years. In the third quarter of fiscal 2009 ended November 30, which had the …

    Financial News 22 Dec 2008, 23:32