13th January 2009 Archive

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Sun MySQLers barred from Oz

Open source knows no borders

Several Sun MySQLers have been denied short stay business visas to Australia - yes, Australia - as they attempted to attend a Linux conference in Hobart, Tasmania. According to a blog post from Kaj Arno, vice president in charge of "database community" at Sun Microsystems, several employees - many of whom worked with MySQL - …

Applications 13 Jan 00:25
Storm worm smackdown as researchers unpick control system

But legal fears may kibosh clean-up

A team of security researchers have developed a technique for automatically purging the remnants of the Storm worm infection from the internet. But the approach - which involves turning the botnet's command and control system against itself - could run foul of computer hacking laws in Germany and elsewhere, which ban the …

Malware 13 Jan 00:32
SpaceX erects ~~Phallus~~ Falcon 9 rocket

All systems go

SpaceX successfully raised its first Falcon 9 rocket to vertical Saturday evening at the US Air Force launch complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida. We think you'll agree it's quite a sight to behold. I don't know sir, but it looks like a giant... Dick, take a look out the starboard side! (Images courtesy SpaceX.) The …

Space 13 Jan 00:35
National Safety Council seeks total* cell-phone driving ban

* - Hands-free included

A powerful US lobbying group wants to ban the use of cell phones while driving - all cell phone use, including hands-free operation. The National Safety Council (NSC) - a 94-year-old, congressionally chartered non-profit organization with 55,000 member companies - released a statement today that calls upon private citizens to …

Mobile 13 Jan 00:58
Oracle trims sales, marketing, and back office staff?

Profits first

Oracle has apparently joined the ranks of tech vendors cutting staff but is still - relatively speaking - sitting pretty. The world's largest supplier of databases has reportedly cut between three and four per cent of its sales and marketing "expense" and two per cent of general and administrative expenses. As of May 2008 - …

Financial News 13 Jan 01:01
Experts trumpet '25 most dangerous' programming errors

And tips to avoid them

Computer experts from more than 30 organizations worldwide have released a consensus list of the 25 most dangerous programming errors that lead to security breaches. The list, which was spearheaded by the National Security Agency, is the first time a broad cross-section of the world's computer scientists have reached formal …

Security 13 Jan 01:26
Organisations still don't know much about data protection

Increased investment hasn't fixed flakiness

Over half of financial services firms do not know where all their customer and employee personal data is stored, according to a survey by auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). Despite the fact that financial services firms hold extremely sensitive data on their customers, 54 per cent of those surveyed by PWC said that they …

Storage 13 Jan 10:02
InPhase might ship holographic storage this year?

Beams are gonna find you

InPhase Technologies CEO Nelson Diaz has broken his silence over the company's much-delayed holographic drive saying it would ship later this year. There had been fears that Longmont, Colorado-based InPhase could sink without trace because of the recession as it has been plagued with delay after delay in the development and …

Storage 13 Jan 10:21
Watchdog wags finger at waffly privacy policies

Companies must cut the gobbledegook

Privacy policies are full of jargon and are designed to reduce organisations' liability rather than to help people understand what their personal data might be used for, the UK's privacy watchdog has said. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published guidelines on what privacy policies should look like and is …

Law 13 Jan 10:59
Dell settles with 34 US states over consumer financing claims

When zero doesn't mean zero...

Dell will cough up $3.35m in a 34-state settlement agreement following allegations that the computer vendor hoodwinked consumers on financing, warranties and rebates. According to Reuters, Dell was accused of engaging in “deceptive” promotions by promising zero per cent financing but then charging higher rates, said the US …

Channel Register 13 Jan 11:11
Computacenter ditches PC distribution

Strategic review leads to 'structural changes'

Computacenter has finished a strategic review which means it is pulling out of trade distribution of PCs and printers to focus on servers and storage products. At the start of last year Computacenter Distribution hired Phil King from SCH in order to increase revenues from virtualisation and business continuity. The move is …

Channel Register 13 Jan 11:16
HTC prepping Palm Pré, Apple iPhone rival

Android alternative?

An executive from Aussie telco Telstra has claimed that an upcoming HTC phone is “better and more functional” than Palm’s recently unveiled Pré - and a serious iPhone competitor, to boot. Telstra’s execs met Palm’s top dogs at last week’s CES show to review the Pré, according to a report by website Smarthouse. But Telstra …

Reg Hardware 13 Jan 11:25
Analyst predicts console cuts

Cheaper gaming coming soon?

Sony and Microsoft will cut the cost of their consoles during the first half of 2009, one market watcher has predicted. Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities, said that the PlayStation 3’s price will be reduced to $299 (£203/€226) during April. He added that the Xbox 360 Pro's cost will be reduced to $249 (£ …

Reg Hardware 13 Jan 11:30
Texas profs use AI news-ware to ID terror groups

Pundit-in-a-box tech beats spooks, claim developers

American computer academics say they have created an artificial-intelligence-based computer program which can scan news reports to swiftly identify which terrorist group is behind an outrage. They claim the "open source intelligence"* scanner gave good results in the wake of last year's Mumbai attack. "Our group has written …

Applications 13 Jan 11:32
Librarians redubbed 'audience development officers'

'It is just political correctness gone daft'

Edinburgh librarians are apparently "seething" after the powers that be decided they should henceforth be known as “audience development officers” as part of a plan to drag libraries kicking and screaming “into the 21st century”. That's how the Caldeonian edition of the Sun describes the move by "barmy" council bosses, which …

Bootnotes 13 Jan 11:35
Virus writer signs off in cordial Trojan message to MS

So long, and thanks for all the phish

An unidentified Russian virus writer has reached out to Microsoft with a message buried within a recent variant of the Zlob Trojan. The greeting in the malicious code was friendly and cordial, in sharp contrast to messages posted on compromised websites by defacement crews, which frequently deride the security of Microsoft's …

Malware 13 Jan 11:39
Cash-strapped US businessman jumps from light aircraft

Unconvincing attempt to fake own death

Authorities suspect a US businessman suffering financial woes is "alive and well" after an unconvincing attempt to fake his own death in a light aircraft crash. Financial advisor Marcus Schrenker, 38, left Anderson, Indiana, on Sunday in a single-engined Piper en route for Florida, the BBC reports. Over Alabama, he radioed in …

Bootnotes 13 Jan 11:58
Pure Digital Avanti Flow internet radio and iPod speaker

Review Pure's DAB/Wi-Fi line-up gets iPod friendly

Rather than seeing this product as a beefed up DAB/Internet radio, it's far more accurate to view Pure Digital's Avanti Flow as a micro hi-fi system for the internet age. Its iPod dock and media streaming capabilities - there's no CD player - means the player is firmly aimed at an audience that has fully embraced the online …

Reg Hardware 13 Jan 12:02
Israelis offer radical new rat-based urban renewal scheme

Rodents prefer Manhattan to New Orleans, apparently

Israeli professors have advocated a radical new method of city planning. They say that proposed layouts for new urban construction should be tested by checking what rats think of them, suggesting that recent trials in which furry rodents favoured New York's street plan over that of New Orleans indicate the murines' superior …

Science 13 Jan 12:08
Navman dumbs down

'Durr, what's a satnav?'

Navman has launched a trio of simplified satnavs designed to ease navigational complexity woes. The S300T, S200 Europe and S200 Regional each have a 4.3in widescreen display and a user interface that’s divided into three core areas: one for regular navigation requirements, another for finding specific places or buildings, and …

Reg Hardware 13 Jan 12:22
Danish SWAT team surrounds PlayStation shoot-'em-up

Apartment block 'gunfire' incident

A couple of Danish gamers indulging in some light PlayStation shoot-'em-up action were on Saturday night treated to a visit by uniformed blokes carrying real guns after concerned neighbours called in the cops. As far as we can make out from this report, two young men from Valby near Copenhagen were giving it some stick on a …

Bootnotes 13 Jan 12:28
Mandy flies flag for small biz bailout

Good money after bad

On the day the British Chamber of Commerce described economic figures for the fourth quarter as "truly awful... unprecedented... no positive features", Lord Mandelson's Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform was busy leaking plans for a £20bn guarantee for small business loans in another attempt to free up …

Small Biz 13 Jan 12:29
DisplayPort revision to get mini connector, stereo 3D

Apple's MacBook monitor port to enter standard

Laptop vendors will be soon be able to use the same mini-DisplayPort connector found on Apple's latest MacBooks. The tiny port is to be included in the upcoming DisplayPort 1.2 specification, the standard's overseer, Vesa, said last week. The digital monitor link tech is to get stereoscopic display support too. DisplayPort 1. …

Reg Hardware 13 Jan 12:33
NFC sees future disappear in a Tag

Printing offer more bytes for your buck

NFC pioneers Tikitag has admitted working on a printed version of their NFC starter kit, and is even hoping to talk to Microsoft about standardising the technology around the software giant's Tag product. NFC is designed to allow mobile phones to pick up data from nearby unpowered sources, and has been pushed hard by mobile …

Mobile 13 Jan 12:36
Nokia locates key-finding phone add-on

No more hands down the back of the sofa

Remember those gadgets that beep when you lose your keys? Nokia has designed a version that helps locate stuff using your mobile phone. The concept Locate Sensor is “no bigger than a small thumb” and can be attached to virtually anything, including your house keys. The sensor beams its location to an application on your mobile …

Reg Hardware 13 Jan 12:37
Joshua Schachter joins spreading Google tree

You're my wife now, ~~Dave~~ Josh

Delicious founder Joshua Schachter started a new job at Google yesterday after leaving Yahoo! in June last year. Josh revealed his new employer via his LinkedIn account. Schachter hasn’t revealed what he’ll be doing in his new role at Mountain View - his LinkedIn account simply states he is now a “member of technical staff …

Applications 13 Jan 12:40
Palm Pré WebOS: hardware hands-on

Video Specs appeal

Click here to view a more bandwidth-friendly version of the video Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com More Palm Pré WebOS Videos WebOS in action Universal search and browser Synergy technology demo'd

Reg Hardware 13 Jan 12:45
Palm Pré WebOS: universal search shown off

Video iPhone-style browsing too

Click here to view a more bandwidth-friendly version of the video Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com More Palm Pré WebOS Videos WebOS in action Hardware hands-on Synergy technology demo'd CES 2009 Complete Coverage

Reg Hardware 13 Jan 12:58
US prof undermines foundations of Aussie firewall

World govs better take note

Just as Australian Communications Minister Stephen Conroy thought things couldn’t get any worse, his proposal for the great Aussie firewall is under fire again – this time from the lofty heights of US academia. A paper by Derek Bambauer, Harvard graduate and Assistant Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School, not only puts the …

Law 13 Jan 13:02
Palm Pré WebOS: video guide

Video The key features of the smartphone demo'd for you

Launched at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last week, Palm's Pré smartphone and its Palm WebOS foundation underpin the company's desire to return to former glories. In this selection of videos, you can see exactly how Palm hopes to beat the likes of Apple's iPhone and Google's Android platform. Hardware hands-on demo …

Reg Hardware 13 Jan 13:16
AVG snaps up behaviour-based threat detection firm

Sana move in uncertain times

AVG, the net security firm best known for its free-of-charge anti-virus tool, has bought anti-ID theft software firm Sana Security. Financial terms of the deal, announced Tuesday, were undisclosed. In a statement, the firms said that Sana’s behavioural threat detection will dovetail with AVG’s signature and heuristic-based …

Malware 13 Jan 13:30
Brit ~~loonies~~ adventurers headed to Timbuctoo by 'flying car'

'Extreme golfer' in Gibraltar Chitty²Bang² bid

An adventurous office developer and "extreme golfer" who was the first man to circumnavigate the UK by jetski now plans an expedition to Timbuctoo in a combination motorised parachute and dune buggy. The "Skycar" vehicle is described as "the world's first bio-fuelled flying car". The poor man's flying car. Neil Laughton is …

Science 13 Jan 13:38
Toyota demos FT electric city car

'Leccy Tech New Prius not on the only Detroit star

Toyota today unveiled its FT-EV electric car at the Detroit Motor Show. Though only a concept, something not too dissimilar to it should go into full production in 2012. Toyota's FT: the commuter's car The FT is based on Toyota's new iQ mini-car. Unfortunately, that was just about the only technical fact that Toyota is …

Reg Hardware 13 Jan 14:17
US considers ciggie-style health warnings for games

'Gameplay can seriously damage your health'

Proposed US legislation could, if adopted, force some games to carry warnings about links between violent titles and Grand Theft Auto-style behaviour. The Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009, put forward by congressman Joe Baca - a California Republican - wants all games awarded a “Teen” rating or higher by the Electronics …

Reg Hardware 13 Jan 14:24
Advertising Standards boss gets Information Commissioner nod

Experienced in toothless regulator operations

Christopher Graham, the director general of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), has been selected by the government to take over as Information Commissioner when Richard Thomas retires in June. Following a "rigorous selection process", the Ministry of Justice said today that the Commons Justice Select Committee would be …

Government 13 Jan 14:49
How do you find stuff on your phone?

Reader Poll Mobile device navigation

With our phones being used to store and access more and more things, finding the stuff we want quickly can become a challenge. And we're not just talking about expensive high end devices such as iPhones here. It is almost impossible now to buy a device that doesn't have some kind of internet access and media capability. Contacts …

Tech Panel 13 Jan 14:54
Apple to push Nokia into smartphone second place

Will happen by 2013, analyst predicts

UK market watcher Generator Research (GR) has suggested Apple could knock Nokia off the world smartphone maker top spot within four years. By 2013, it forecast, Apple's iPhone line - by then expanded with a range of models - could have won a global marketshare of around 40 per cent. That's what Nokia currently enjoys. But the …

Reg Hardware 13 Jan 15:07
Wi-Fi comes to school buses

~~Tickets~~ SSIDs please!

A bus ride to school has suddenly become a much more hi-tech affair for some lucky Birmingham pupils. A local bus firm’s just rolled out double-decker Wi-Fi, and has also launched an RFID ticket trial. The Big Green Bus Company, which runs school bus services, now offers free Wi-Fi access on all its 23 routes in Birmingham, …

Reg Hardware 13 Jan 15:11
Cisco plays catch-up, gets directional

Everyone shaping radio these days

Cisco has got into shaping Wi-Fi connections with the Aironet 1140, which uses directional Wi-Fi connections to speed up legacy equipment as well as supporting the still-unratified 802.11n standard. Cisco dubs the directional technology ClientLink, and reckons that it can increase throughput for 802.11a/g devices by 65 per …

Data Networking 13 Jan 15:42
NZ cops claim 'first Facebook arrest' of bungling safe-cracker

You're ~~poked~~ nicked

A failed safe-cracker has been cuffed after New Zealand police posted CCTV images of an attempted burglary on Facebook. CCTV cameras captured the hour-plus attempts of a man who attempted to prise open a safe at the Frankton Arms Tavern in the early hours of Monday morning. The man broke in through the ceiling of the bar …

Bootnotes 13 Jan 15:55
US teen clocks up 14,528 text messages

Dad left 'speechless' by one-month marathon

Greg Hardesty of the Orange County Register has described himself as "speechless" after his 13-year-old daughter "racked up 14,528 text messages in one month", as the shaken dad himself put it last week. Hardesty, 45, explains that offspring Reina achieved the impressive SMS tally between 27 November and 26 December. Her 22- …

Mobile 13 Jan 16:01
Seagate's Cheetah adds new spots

New disk drives, business as usual

While coping with the executive disarray of changing its CEO and COO, Seagate has also found time to announce a couple of new disk drives - a 600GB Cheetah 15,000rpm drive along with a new 10,000rpm version. Cheetah drives are Seagate's mainstream 3.5in business drives, spinning at 10,000rpm (10k) and 15,000rpm (15k), compared …

Storage 13 Jan 16:18
Mole leaks HTC's 2009 phones

Picture database shows upcoming models

Pictures have been leaked online of what’s claimed to be HTC’s entire 2009 handset line-up. The images originated on Chinese website DIYPDA and, despite several identical looking designs, 20 differently named phones appear on the list. Technical specifications aren’t included and so our analysis can only be based on what we …

Reg Hardware 13 Jan 16:19
Indian police raid PWC in Satyam probe

Blamestorming begins over $1bn accounts hole

Police raided PricewaterhouseCooper's offices in Hyderabad today in connection with the ongoing investigation into the alleged billion dollar fraud at outsourcer Satyam. PWC audited Satyam's accounts and was apparently unaware of the large holes they contained. The firm's chairman admitted last week to cooking the books over …

Channel Register 13 Jan 16:42
Paris Hilton website violated by Trojan-spreaders

That's not hot

Virus authors reportedly planted malicious code on Paris Hilton's website late last week. Following the attack, surfers visiting the ParisHilton.com site were prompted to install an "update" via a dialogue box. Whether they accepted this update or decided to "cancel" it, a download of a malicious executable was initiated, …

Malware 13 Jan 16:55
Ford roadmaps electrics for 2010, 2011, 2012

'Leccy Tech Fiesta to the fore?

Ford has outlined its 'leccy car roadmap at the Detroit Motor Show. Perhaps the most interesting announcement was of a small electric car to be developed in partnership with Canadian auto-engineering outfit Magna International. It will have a full charge range of 100 miles, a lithium-ion battery pack, a single-speed …

Reg Hardware 13 Jan 17:23
Yahoo! to! name! former! Autodesk! chief! as! new! CEO!

Updated Good luck, Carol Bartz

It appears that Yahoo! will name former Autodesk boss Carol Bartz as its next chief executive officer. According to The Wall Street Journal, Bartz has accepted the company's offer to replace Jerry Yang, the man who rejected a $47.5bn takeover bid from Steve Ballmer and Microsoft. Yahoo! did not immediately respond to a …

Financial News 13 Jan 19:06
Intel prepping chip price cuts?

15 to 40 per cent, rumors say

It looks like Intel will soon cut prices on its Core processors used in PCs, and Xeon processors used in workstations and servers. Intel hasn't announced cuts. But according to the Barron's tech blog, an announcement will arrive on 18 January. Barron's is citing a report from stock watcher Michael McConnell at Pacific Crest …

Financial News 13 Jan 19:12
SCO auctions Unix and mobile assets to continue fight

Never say "die"

SCO Group has announced plans to auction off its Unix and mobile products to ensure their survival while continuing its long-running fight over alleged violations of its IP in Linux. The company announced the auction of its Unix OpenServer and mobile businesses as part of a re-organization plan, which has been formally …

Operating Systems 13 Jan 19:41
Chipmaker leak points to iPhone Nano in June

But you may not see it unless you're Chinese

Rumors that Apple has a scaled-down iPhone dubbed the "iPhone Nano" in the works have lurched forward following a report here that two Taiwanese companies are set to supply chips for the phone. According to DigiTimes, the two purported chip suppliers are the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United …

Mobile 13 Jan 19:44
Nvidia forecasts massive Q4 revenue drop

Sales down 40 to 50 per cent

Nvidia has warned that its revenue will fall sharply below previous estimates due to collapsing demand from end-users and PC makers in the global recession. The graphics chip maker now expects to report a decline in its fiscal fourth quarter sales of between 40 and 50 per cent compared to the previous quarter. Based on its …

Financial News 13 Jan 19:46
Obama eyes net neut man for FCC post

Smiles in Mountain View

US President-elect Barack Obama will nominate his campaign's technology adviser, Julius Genachowski, to serve as the next head of the Federal Communications Commission. At least, that's the word from Democratic officials whispering in the ears of big-name news sources. According to The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and others …

Government 13 Jan 21:19
Meltdown burns electronic design sales

Jobs hold steady (for now)

The trade group that follows the electronic design automation (EDA) industry says that revenues among the key industry players have continued to slide through 2008. As you might expect. But ironically - and thankfully, if you happen to work in this field - jobs have held up, at least on the global basis in which the EDA …

Financial News 13 Jan 21:53
Researcher warns of data-snooping bug in Apple's Safari

Mac or Windows, equal pwnage opportunity

Apple's Safari web browser for both the Mac and Windows suffers from a serious vulnerability that can expose emails, passwords and other sensitive contents of a user's hard drive, a researcher has warned. Those using Mac OS X 10.5, aka Leopard, are susceptible to the data-snooping bug even if they use Firefox or another …

Malware 13 Jan 23:12
US lawmaker wants health warnings on video games

'It works so well for cigarettes...'

A California congressman has proposed legislation that would require cigarette-like health warning labels be placed on video games made for mature audiences. Exposure to this picture may cause aggression As Reg Hardware reported earlier today, Democrat Congressman Joe Baca introduced "The Video Game Health Labeling Act of …

Government 13 Jan 23:14
Forrester crystal ball conjures 2009 IT spending shrinkage

A mere $1.66 trillion

The prognosticators at IT consultancy Forrester Research have polished up their crystal balls and cranked up their spreadsheets, announcing some some bad - but not unexpected - news for the tech sector. As far as Forrester can tell, global IT revenues across hardware, software, and services will fall by 3 per cent, to $1.66 …

Channel Register 13 Jan 23:31