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15th January 2009 Archive

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  • Kirk's Khan nemesis beams up at 88

    Fare thee well, Ricardo Montalban

    Ricardo Montalban, the actor who proved to be arguably the greatest nemesis of William Shatner's Captain - later Admiral - James T. Kirk, has died at the age of 88. Montalban passed away in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday, following a long, successful, and hard-working career in US film, on TV, and on the stage. The cause …

    Software 15 Jan 2009, 00:28

  • Ruby, COBOL jump on Amazon cloud

    Or were they pushed?

    Two different companies this week announced that they have created tools that allow for software written using two different application development environments - the relatively new Ruby on Rails and the relatively ancient (but still respected and used) COBOL - to be deployed on Amazon's Web Services compute and storage clouds …

    Developer 15 Jan 2009, 01:03

  • US woman says Ubuntu can't access internet

    Shuttleworth baby kills college dream

    An American woman has told a TV station in Madison, Wisconsin that something called Ubuntu prevented her from joining online classes at her local technical college. According to WKOW TV, Abbie Schubert recently ordered a Dell laptop, expecting "your classic bread-and-butter computer." But when she unboxed the $1,100 machine …

    Operating Systems 15 Jan 2009, 01:04

  • First case of sleep emailing documented

    419 scammers pee pants with glee

    If you thought drunken email was a unwelcome recipe for embarrassment, now you can worry about the real possibility of emailing while sound asleep. An upcoming article in the trade journal Sleep Medicine details the exceptional case of a lady insomniac who can compose email messages while catching 40 winks. The researchers …

    Science 15 Jan 2009, 01:20

  • Canon Digital Ixus 980 IS compact camera

    Review Impressive performance

    There’s an ‘R’ in the month, so it must be time for another Canon camera. Okay, we exaggerate a little, but you have to admit, Canon does churn out new models at a rate of knots. At the time of writing, the 980 IS is the top-of-the-range Ixus, so what does it offer to earn this position? Canon's Digital Ixus 980: enhanced …

    Hardware 15 Jan 2009, 09:02

  • Another miserable quarter for Dixons

    Sales down, and likely to keep falling

    Dixons Store Group International saw sales fall ten per cent in the 12 weeks ended 10 January because customers delayed buying TVs and computers until after Christmas, once the sales had begun. Like for like sales were down 10 per cent overall - southern Europe performed worse with falls of 14 per cent - UK computing sales …

    The Channel 15 Jan 2009, 09:09

  • Carphone results cheer

    Survives declining handset sales

    Carphone Warehouse managed to increase like-for-like sales by 6.5 per cent, and 8.3 per cent in the UK for the 13 weeks ended 27 December. Best Buy Europe sales were up 3 per cent on a constant currency basis to £1, 010m, like-for-like growth was 6.5 per cent, or down 1 per cent on a constant currency basis. UK revenues were £ …

    Financial News 15 Jan 2009, 09:58

  • Motorola swings axe again

    Lays off another 4K as company bets on Android

    Motorola is to lay off another 4,000 staff, totalling more than five per cent of the workforce, in the face of still-declining sales attributed to the global financial position and the fact that no one wants a Moto phone these days. The handset division will account for 3,000 of those being laid off, though those working on …

    Mobile 15 Jan 2009, 10:21

  • MPs bitchslap MoD mega-IT architecture project

    It's EDS, it's the gov - it must be a disaster

    The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, famous for its stinging attacks on expensive government technology projects, has issued some relatively mild criticism of the ongoing Defence Information Infrastructure (DII) mega-IT push at the Ministry of Defence. The parliamentary report, now available to read online (pdf), …

    Government 15 Jan 2009, 10:24

  • Phones don't cause eye cancer, finds study

    eyePhone safe to use

    Despite scare stories about developing a uveal melanoma - eye cancer, to you and me - from prolonged mobile phone use passing us by, a study’s confirmed that there’s no link between the two. Researchers at the Martin Luther University in Germany studied the mobile phones usage patterns of the 1653 people, of which 459 had …

    Science 15 Jan 2009, 10:26

  • HMRC advertises for new CIO

    £180k? Job's a good 'un

    The new chief information officer of HM Revenue and Customs will initially earn up to £180k, according to the advertisement for the role. The job, initially a three year fixed term appointment, is in a salary band paying £100,000 to £205,000 annually. It is open to UK nationals with "extensive information technology …

    Government 15 Jan 2009, 10:27

  • How to optimise your IT infrastructure

    Taking stock of Reg reader research

    From time to time, we commission a whitepaper to tease out the implications of research conducted with members of the Reg Tech Panel. Here is an example: How to optimise your IT infrastructure. So what’s it about? Reading through case studies or IT supplements in IT magazines, one can get the impression that a super-class of …

    Tech Panel 15 Jan 2009, 10:38

  • Church of Scientology seeks 'ban' against HIV+ protesters

    Takes aim at Pope and Smurf

    Opponents of the Church of Scientology have accused the controversial organisation of attempting to ban a pair of HIV-positive protesters. Lawyers acting for Scientology are allegedly using medical information about two protesters picketing a Scientology facility near Hemet, California in an attempt to prevent the duo's …

    Law 15 Jan 2009, 10:39

  • Brocade DCX product on the way?

    Mysterious DCX-4S tested in Germany

    A Brocade product called a DCX-4S has been tested and awarded a GS-Mark by TÜV Rheinland Product Safety, an authorised institution in Germany for testing product safety and quality. What is it? A search on Brocade's website reveals nothing. The DCX is Brocade's data centre backbone switch which was launched a year ago, give or …

    The Channel 15 Jan 2009, 11:05

  • Blade server systems - back to the old school?

    Comment Who is going to run the integrated blade system show?

    What do you call a large and integrated piece of hardware and software that runs hundreds of virtual machines running Linux? That's easy, it's an IBM mainframe. But hang on, it could be a blade server system running VMware. What's the difference? Interestingly, both systems look like big racks with lots of shelves. The …

    Storage 15 Jan 2009, 11:06

  • Cops taser JCB thief in 'slowest police chase ever'

    Surrey ne'er-do-well trundles to a cuffing

    A Surrey man who stole a JCB, provoked the "the slowest police chase ever", shrugged off a tasering and was cuffed only when the mechanical digger shed its tracks was earlier this week convicted of the vehicle's theft and dangerous driving, the Surrey Advertiser reports. William Smith, 29, of Nutfield, made off with the JCB …

    Bootnotes 15 Jan 2009, 11:11

  • Archos dates, prices netbook

    Coming later this month

    The launch date, price and official specifications for the Archos 10 netbook have finally been confirmed by the French manufacturer. The Archos 10 will be available this month Punters can pre-order the machine on Archos’ website for £350 ($511/€388), with the first shipments expected to leave its warehouse towards the end …

    Hardware 15 Jan 2009, 11:22

  • Prisoner star Patrick McGoohan dies at 80

    Farewell, number six

    Patrick McGoohan, creator of The Prisoner and star of Danger Man, has died after a short illness in a hospital in Santa Monica, California, aged 80. The Irish American actor's work in the 60s foreshadowed concerns about freedom and personal privacy that remain key political issues today, thanks to the erosion of liberties …

    Bootnotes 15 Jan 2009, 11:22

  • 'Interfering' BT Vision attracts campaigner glares

    Ham radio enthusiasts call up trading standards

    Campaigners complaining about interference generated by BT's Vision product have financed independent tests to show that the kit BT is pushing fails to conform to the appropriate EU standards, prompting a complaint to trading standards officers. Shortwave radio users have been complaining for a while about interference …

    Broadband 15 Jan 2009, 11:33

  • Prototype Sony Ericsson phones pilfered

    From handsets to handcuffs as cops arrest suspect

    A man has been arrested after several high-value prototype handsets were swiped from Sony Ericsson’s offices in Lund, Sweden. According to online reports, more than a dozen pre-production phones were nicked from the firm’s labs there earlier this week. Police subsequently raided the home of a 35-year-old man also based in …

    Phones 15 Jan 2009, 11:38

  • Brit forces get hoverstare ducted-fan droid

    Petrol prowler patrols to check Afghan ambush alleys

    The British armed forces are purchasing innovative backpackable ducted-fan hoverbots, intending to use them for checking ahead of ground convoys on the dangerous roads and tracks of Afghanistan. In you go, little guy - we're right behind you. The machines in question are the well-known Honeywell Micro Air Vehicle (MAV), …

    Government 15 Jan 2009, 12:02

  • Google slices and dices recruiters, engineers, products

    Grey clouds spotted over Mountain View

    Google has admitted it’s not immune to the brown shoots of deterioration strangling the world economy – the internet giant plans to axe 100 staff in its recruiting division, shuffle its engineers around and axe some products. It said yesterday that it had “with great regret” decided to lay off 100 of its recruiters. Having …

    Financial News 15 Jan 2009, 12:28

  • No military mobile bill-waiver from O2 and Virgin

    Serving overseas? Sorry

    If you're planning to take part in any of the various wars in which the UK is embroiled, you might like to make sure your mobile phone contract isn't with O2 or Virgin - they alone amongst UK operators don't offer serving military contract suspensions by default. Both O2 and Virgin told us they are prepared to listen to …

    Mobile 15 Jan 2009, 12:31

  • Honda shows off Insight hybrid

    67mpg, anyone?

    Honda has already made it clear that it doesn't hold with all this plug-in battery powered vehicle malarkey but sees the future belonging to good old petrol-hybrids and hydrogen fuel-cell power. So while World+Dog – well, Ford and Toyota – were busy announcing plans for lithium-ion battery-pack plug-in hybrids at the Detroit …

    Science 15 Jan 2009, 12:33

  • US nuke boffins: Multicore CPU gains stop at eight

    More core ≠ Moore's Law

    US nuke boffins say they have seen the future of multicore computing, and it is troubled. Researchers at the Sandia national lab say that their projections indicate that performance gains flatten out badly after quad cores and cease altogether after eight - and beyond that point, performance actually worsens as more cores are …

    Servers 15 Jan 2009, 12:36

  • China's three-horse mobile bet: Repeating America's mistakes

    Column Incompatibility, high costs... who's really losing out?

    China has just awarded 3G contracts - three of them. The numbers of subscribers there already is huge, with ten times as many mobile subscribers as there are people in the UK, and twice as many as there are people in the US. But China's decision to bless three different technology standards is a puzzling one. Operator China …

    Mobile 15 Jan 2009, 12:46

  • Big Blue to ship RDX removable drives

    ProStor scores big - again

    That's it - with IBM joining the RDX party, there is now effectively only one business-class removable disk drive technology in town for backup, and that's ProStor. RDX is a USB-connect dock and removable 160, 320 or 500GB disk drives, that comes with backup software - Backup Exec or Yosemite FileKeeper. You back up to it like …

    The Channel 15 Jan 2009, 13:03

  • UK.gov prepares for filesharing fracas

    Voluntary ISP warnings 'not successful'

    None of the government's ideas on how to address widespread copyright infringement via peer-to-peer networks has won support from both the rights holder and internet industries, it admitted today. The failure to achieve consensus on the issue spotlights Lord Carter's Digital Britain report, which will be published later this …

    Law 15 Jan 2009, 13:18

  • HTC Touch Viva budget Windows Mobile smartphone

    Review Wrong features left out?

    Of all the many and varied iPhone challengers out there, HTC's Touch series has probably come closest to the Apple handset in terms of versatility and ease of use. The Taiwanese manufacturer's been churning out variations on the theme with dizzying regularity, in sharp contrast to Apple's one-size-fits-all policy, with small, …

    Phones 15 Jan 2009, 13:24

  • Nortel UK goes into administration to save itself

    Business as usual at stricken comms vendor

    Nortel UK, and most of the comms giant's European operation, has gone into administration a day after its Canadian parent filed for bankruptcy protection. The company said yesterday that its US and Canadian businesses were seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The UK firm will be overseen by overseen by Ernst and Young. A …

    Data Networking 15 Jan 2009, 13:31

  • Vodafone next-gen 3G trial hits 16Mb/s

    HSPA+ downloads come a step closer

    Vodafone has successfully trialled a mobile broadband connection technology that could, theoretically, double existing download-to-phone speeds. Called HSPA+, the technology was tried out on Vodafone’s Spanish network and achieved, the carrier claimed, “actual peak download rates of up to 16Mb/s”. But Vodafone admitted that …

    Phones 15 Jan 2009, 13:36

  • Prolific worm infects 3.5m Windows PCs

    Conficker wriggles far and wide

    A prolific new worm has spread to infect more than 3.5m Windows PCs, according to net security firm F-secure. The success of the Conficker (AKA Downadup) worm is explained by its use of multiple attack vectors and new social engineering ruses, designed to hoodwink the unwary into getting infected. The worm uses a complex …

    Security 15 Jan 2009, 13:36

  • HDTV 'pointless' without perfect peepers

    20/20 more important than 1080, says eye doctor

    If you’re about to decorate your living room with a 50in plasma HD TV, Freesat HD box subscription and a Blu-ray Disc player, you’d be wise to add an eye test to your checklist. You won’t get the benefit if your eyesight’s iffy, it’s been claimed. High Street optician Vision Express has warned that many people aren’t getting …

    Hardware 15 Jan 2009, 13:43

  • 419ers take Canadian for $150,000

    Textbook scam

    A Canadian man who fell for a 419 scam was taken for $150,000 by advance fee fraudsters who conducted a textbook operation to fleece their victim. John Rempel of Leamington, Ontario, got an email back in 2007 from "someone claiming to be a lawyer with a client named David Rempel who died in a 2005 bomb attack in London", the …

    Security 15 Jan 2009, 13:44

  • Desperate NFC Forum extends competition deadline

    Free kit, cash prizes - come on! Anyone?

    The Near Field Communication (NFC) Forum's annual search for a reason to exist competition has been extended by a month in attempt to get some more entrants, with a prize of €5,000 being offered to the winners. Entry to the competition was supposed to close at the end of January, but has now been extended to the end of …

    Mobile 15 Jan 2009, 14:17

  • Palm's new OS finds the sweetest spot

    Analysis Fourth Time lucky?

    If necessity is the mother of invention, maybe it helps to be really, really needy when you have to come up with something great. That would seem to apply to Palm, which was considered down and out when it was developing its new mobile operating system, webOS. But as further details of the system and development process emerged …

    Mobile 15 Jan 2009, 14:22

  • Mozilla delays third Firefox 3.1 beta

    Pesky bugs stall progress

    Mozilla Corporation has pushed back the release of the third, and possibly final, beta for Firefox 3.1 by a week to allow the firm to fix some bugs in the upcoming version of its open source browser. The beta had been expected to land on 26 January, but Mozilla has delayed the release to 2 February to allow it time to fix some …

    Applications 15 Jan 2009, 15:40

  • LibDem cheeky boy rides to Segway's rescue

    Lembit Opik: Self-Balancing Bandit

    Lembit Opik, the Liberal Democrat MP who functions as the House of Commons' own taxpayer-funded clown, has used parliamentary time to campaign to make Segways street-legal in the UK. Describing his own Segway as a "miracle of convenience" to a near-empty chamber, the Daily Sport's top political columnist sponsored a debate …

    Bootnotes 15 Jan 2009, 15:53

  • Czech team demos paperback-sized digital photo album

    CES on Video Check it out

      See a bandwidth-friendly version of this video here Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com More CES Video Reports... Linux-based gizmo construction kit gets extra bricks Bubble-gum cards go interactive Swedish musos mix up handheld hard-drive DJ deck Netgear pitches 'dog's bollocks' digital HD …

    Hardware 15 Jan 2009, 15:54

  • Sacked worker faces jail over malware revenge attack

    Fast food systems choke on system-crashing code

    A sacked worker has admitted planting malware on his former employer's computer network in a revenge attack. David Ernest Everett Jr, 21, of Blaine, Minnesota, a former help desk staffer at Wand Corp, carried out the attack three weeks after losing his job in March 2008. Wand supplies IT systems including point-of-sale kit for …

    Security 15 Jan 2009, 15:56

  • Asus confirms Eee phone

    An Android-based talker?

    It’s all systems go for the Eee phone, Asus has officially confirmed. According to a report by the New York Times, the firm’s Chairman, Johnny Shih, said that the handset will be called, unimaginatively, the Eee Phone. During an interview with the NYT about his thoughts on the future digital world – which is one where mirrors …

    Phones 15 Jan 2009, 16:04

  • Unfolding Asus' Eee PC tablet

    CES on Video Netbook morphs into UMPC

      Click here to view a more bandwidth-friendly version of the video Can't see the videos? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com More CES Video Reports... Samsung boffins demo transparent OLED screen Flying duck toy challenges armchair hunters Lenovo dual-display laptop shows its stripes In action: the Powermat …

    Hardware 15 Jan 2009, 16:23

  • Indian government will not bail out Satyam

    Fill in your own accounts hole

    The Indian government has ruled out any bailout of struggling outsourcer Satyam. Ashwani Kumar, minister of state for industry, told The Times of India: "This government is not going to directly or indirectly subsidize wrong-doing and fraud in Satyam." He said the government would do what it could to save jobs at Satyam, and …

    The Channel 15 Jan 2009, 16:39

  • Royal Navy warships lose email in virus infection

    Windows for Warships™ combat kit unaffected, says MoD

    The Ministry of Defence confirmed today that it has suffered virus infections which have shut down "a small number" of MoD systems, most notably including admin networks aboard Royal Navy warships. The Navy computers infected are the NavyStar (N*) system, based on a server cabinet and cable-networked PCs on each warship and …

    Security 15 Jan 2009, 16:53

  • Robot set to replace science teachers

    Do we actually have any science teachers in the UK?

    The day when robots overthrow the human race has taken one step closer with the launch of a break-dancing mechanoid designed to teach our offspring about physics, maths, biology and engineering. ED-E dances, flips and jumps for money on command ED-E can perform jumps, head-spins and back-flips thanks to 17 small motors …

    Hardware 15 Jan 2009, 16:57

  • MS punts gaming guide for parents

    'Will I get shot if I stop Jimmy playing Halo?'

    In an effort to stem the ongoing debate about the effect of violent videogames on children, Microsoft has launched a US website designed to bring parents up to date with consoles. Get Game Smart offers game-classification descriptions and guides for setting up parental controls on consoles the Xbox 360. The site’s ultimate …

    Games 15 Jan 2009, 18:02

  • Microsoft sharpens axe as PC sales drop?

    Cheer-free holiday quarter

    Fresh reports of Microsoft's first-ever job cuts are again circulating, with the Wall St Journal writing that the company is reviewing its options. The Journal has reported that the cuts could come next week but that Microsoft is considering cutting fewer than the 15,000 staff rumored in recent weeks - a figure that would …

    The Channel 15 Jan 2009, 19:44

  • HP gooses virtualization for servers

    Adds orchestration and disaster recovery

    System management software tuned for server platforms and created by the server's maker has been a key account control factor in the server market for more than a decade. While nothing beats the old-fashioned legacy application lock-in of mainframes and proprietary systems of days gone by, the hassle of using multiple and not …

    Servers 15 Jan 2009, 20:00

  • Web entrepreneur accused of massive data heist

    9,000 plus consumer reports lifted, suit says

    Consumer rating service Angie's List has accused a web entrepreneur of plundering thousands of its records so he could start a rival company that offers a similar service. In a lawsuit filed in Indiana state court, attorneys for Angie's List claim Christopher "Kit" Cody became a paying member of the site and then used scraping …

    Small Biz 15 Jan 2009, 20:17

  • Apple moves to unify its OS and interface

    Cleaner look-and-feel, more powerful mobiles

    Two recent reports indicate developments in Apple's efforts to transform itself from a second-tier computer company into a top-level consumer-electronics powerhouse. First, a story published today by AppleInsider reports that Apple "has filed for a trademark for its OS X operating system but without the 'Mac' prefix that has …

    Hardware 15 Jan 2009, 20:22

  • Judge OKs webcast in RIAA music file-sharing case

    Rules music-industry objection "curious"

    A federal judge has agreed to allow streaming internet video coverage of a key hearing next week for the US recording industry's file-sharing $1m lawsuit against a Boston University graduate. US District Court Judge Nancy Gertner of Massachusetts ruled on Wednesday that existing courtroom cameras may be used to provide a live …

    Law 15 Jan 2009, 20:44

  • New Yahoo! CEO's former company cuts and restructures

    She's "exactly what Yahoo! needs"

    Oh, the irony. Autodesk has announced it will cut 10 per cent of its workforce and has lowered its fourth-quarter earnings forecast. Usually, we wouldn't pay the travails of the 2D and 3D software design firm too much heed, but the cuts come just two days after executive chairman Carol Bartz was named the next CEO of Yahoo!. …

    Financial News 15 Jan 2009, 22:09

  • Intel profits sink 90% in Q4

    Offers vague outlook for Q1 2009

    Investors had time to brace themselves for Intel's atrocious fourth quarter earnings, since the chip maker warned of revenue drops twice in the past three months. That's why Chipzilla's profits plummeting 90 per cent in the quarter was actually in line with Wall Street's dismal estimates. The company reported net income of $ …

    Business 15 Jan 2009, 22:50