16th January 2009 Archive

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Start-up promises video-on-phone editing chip

Is that a Spielberg in your pocket...

A startup chip designer has announced a low-power video processor it claims will allow video editing on your mobile phone, or "high- performance, in-phone video post-production in real time on power-conscious mobile devices." Dublin, Ireland-based Movidia said their MA1110 processor will enable users of what it calls " …

Mobile 16 Jan 00:23
SAP pays Sun to keep Java on NetWeaver alive

Finally, a service Sun can monetize

SAP is paying Sun Microsystems to keep alive early versions of its NetWeaver middleware running Java past its expiration date. The world's largest provider of business applications will pay Sun to update and fix Java Standard Edition 1.4.2 for each and every customer running it with NetWeaver 2004 and 7.0. The fixes will …

Software 16 Jan 01:25
Mac mini said to get Ion innards

Atom's Apple?

Courtesy of Tom's Hardware comes the "confirmation" from "an Nvidia partner" that the long-awaited Mac mini upgrade is coming as soon as March, but that it won't be powered by either an Intel Core 2 Duo or a low-power Core i7. And no, it won't be an AMD chip. Instead, according to the rumor du jour, the Mac mini will be based …

PCs & Chips 16 Jan 01:29
Child porn in the age of teenage 'sexting'

Analysis Two cases show right, wrong way to prosecute

An international child pornography ring that traded more than 400,000 illegal images and videos - some depicting pre-pubescent children in sexual and sadistic acts - is the kind of heinous behavior that makes you glad there are strict laws against such things. Seven US men were convicted of the crime on Wednesday. Then there …

Mobile 16 Jan 01:33
Sun touts ESX, Hyper-V virtualization on Galaxy boxes

Whatever happened to xVM?

Sun Microsystems would undoubtedly have preferred that small and medium businesses would be buying its Sparc-based machines, Solaris, and their container or LDom virtualization technologies. But SMB shops don't know nothin' about Sparc/Solaris and for the most part, they are not all that interested. They do Windows, for the …

Servers 16 Jan 01:53
Nokia 6600 Slide 3G mobile phone

Review Smooth with a capital 'smooth'

While Nokia continues to trundle out heavyweight smartphones like the N96 and N85, it’s also taking care of business down-market with models like the 6600 Slide. Rather than majoring on top-of-the-line, do-it-all gadgetry, the 6600 Slide is a 3G-enabled slider that’s more likely to gladden potential buyers with its smooth …

Reg Hardware 16 Jan 09:02
Th!ink rebooted with cash injection

'Leccy Tech More weird, plastic EVs ahoy

Good news for any fans of small, weird, plastic electric 'cars' - you know, the sort that look they should be owned by Noddy and you expect to fold like wet cardboard in a collision. Firstly Th!nk are back from the brink. The Norwegian maker of diminutive 'leccy runabouts has secured a loan of NKr30m ($4.2m/£2.9m/€3.2m) to …

Reg Hardware 16 Jan 09:09
Optical delusion: Plasmon's ignominious end

AST snaps up the pieces

A Colorado-based storage systems business, Alliance Storage Technologies, has bought the assets ashes of Plasmon Inc. The deed was done on January 5 and the assets bought from the Silicon Valley Bank of Santa Clara, which had a court authorise the appointment of a receiver when Plasmon defaulted on a $10m credit line from the …

Storage 16 Jan 09:40
Nokia phone gets hearts racing

Bundled heart rate monitor

Nokia has jumped on the New Year’s resolutions bandwagon with a mobile phone that measures your heartbeat and keeps you entertained during exercise. Nokia's N79 Active: comes with a heart-rate monitor The N79 Active comes bundled with a Polar-branded heart-rate belt, which beams your vital stats back to the phone over …

Reg Hardware 16 Jan 10:03
AT&T Idolises promotional texting

Spamming you say? How very dare you

US operator AT&T decided to let customers know about American Idol by sending a "significant number" of them a text message about it, without asking first. The show is sponsored by AT&T, and was among the first in the US to screw more cash out of viewers by text voting, but until now it's not been promoted by text message, and …

Mobile 16 Jan 10:23
Online advertisers team up on privacy principles

Self-regulation to head off Phorm backlash

Advertisers and agencies in the US have promised to create a code of practice to allay fears about increasingly intrusive forms of online advertising. Four major advertising trade associations said that they will work together on self-regulation. The American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), the Association of …

Law 16 Jan 10:27
CPW's Dunstone admits 'dread' over state of the economy

'Prepare for the worst...It is going to be a war...'

Charles Dunstone, chief executive of Carphone Warehouse, has warned staff in an extraordinary internal email that the future is looking bleak for the firm unless it takes serious action to cut costs. The mail, sent to us by a TalkTalk insider, begins reasonably cheerfully, noting the 6.5 per cent increase in like-for-like …

Channel Register 16 Jan 10:59
Seagate customers swamped by Barracuda drive failures

Update Seagate firmware to blame

An update to this story can be found here Seagate 1TB Barracuda drives are failing at an alarming rate, with users complaining of a plague of such failures spreading across the globe. Barracuda 7200.11 drives made in Thailand (ref: ST31000340AS with firmware level SD15) are failing at boot time with a firmware error that is …

Storage 16 Jan 11:31
Philips creates cinema aspect-ratio HD TV

Roll out the red carpet

Film fanatics rejoice, because Philips has premiered the world’s first cinematically proportioned telly. Philips' Cinema 21:9 TV Many existing 52in HD TVs have a 16:9 aspect ratio, but Philips' similarly dimensioned movie monster has a 21:9 aspect ratio. This not only makes the screen look even more rectangular, but also …

Reg Hardware 16 Jan 11:41
Retired army generals: Spend Trident money on the army

Comment Well, they would say that, wouldn't they

Three long-retired British army generals have written to the Times, expressing their opinion that the UK should not - as the government has said it will - renew the Trident nuclear weapons programme. The three ex-soldiers are Field-Marshal Lord Bramall (87, retired as head of the armed forces in 1985); General Lord Ramsbotham …

Government 16 Jan 11:45
McKinnon's lawyers hope UK prosecution will derail extradition

Will change of administration mean change of venue?

Pentagon hacker Gary McKinnon has secured a potential lifeline in his long-running fight against extradition to the US on hacking charges. McKinnon's legal team recently wrote to the Crown Prosecution Service requesting a UK trial, and offering a guilty plea to computer hacking offences while denying allegations he caused any …

Security 16 Jan 11:59
Toshiba NB100 netbook

Review Tosh takes netbooks seriously - too seriously...

There are netbooks that have a curvy, kid-friendly look. Others are sleek and shiny - every one aimed at adults. Then there are blocky, serious looking ones, carved with no concession to consumer levity and fluff because the manufacturer reckons that's what businesspeople want. Toshiba's NB100: boxy, 'serious' design The …

Reg Hardware 16 Jan 12:02
BSA: Turn in workmates, make ~~fat dollar~~ a few quid

Offers rewards for software piracy snitchers

The Business Software Alliance is waving wads of cash in the faces of individuals willing to snitch on bosses and colleagues who use pirated software. The trade group that represents the interest of multinational software firms such as Microsoft, Adobe and Symantec, coughed up a fairly conservative $136,100 last year in the US …

Channel Register 16 Jan 12:30
Google G1 successor spied in video?

Fans anticipate G2 launch

A video demonstration of a handset thought to be the G1 Googlephone’s successor has been leaked online. Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com The seven-minute film opens with a shot of the phone’s front, which clearly shows the name “Dream”. The G1 was developed by HTC, and Dream is thought to have been …

Reg Hardware 16 Jan 12:33
UK.gov 'to create anti-net piracy agency'

Updated 'Rights Agency' and new regulations to hit P2P infringement

Following its failure to foster a voluntary solution between ISPs and rights holders, the government will create a new agency and regulations to clamp down on copyright infringement via peer-to-peer networks, it's reported today. A proposal for a body called the Rights Agency will be at the centre of anti-internet piracy …

Music and Media 16 Jan 12:49
Aussie air zealot savages prêt-à-porter stealth fighter

Comment Pulse-bomb prophet fears Russian tech dominance

A colourful Australian IT engineer and airpower zealot has published a stinging attack on the F-35 stealth jet fighter, which is to be purchased by military forces worldwide including those of the US and UK. Dr Carlo Kopp - to quiet applause from many in the aerospace world - says the F-35 "is demonstrably not a true stealth …

Government 16 Jan 13:02
Storage vendor Overland on the ropes

Deepening recession forces staff and pay cuts

Savaged by the deepening recession, beleaguered NAS, disk and tape protection vendor Overland Storage has fired 53 people and instituted a ten per cent pay cut for all remaining salaried staff. Having laid off 54 people in April 2008, loss-making Overland was in the midst of a recovery from earlier misfortunes when it bought …

Storage 16 Jan 13:09
Grand Theft Auto V arriving in 2009?

Game series Tokyo bound, it's claimed

Register Hardware hacks are currently breathing into paper bags having heard whispers that a new edition of Grand Theft Auto could hit consoles this year. According to several online sources, the rumour comes from issue 190 of magazine Game Informer. The title has speculated that a new, full version of the game – rather than …

Reg Hardware 16 Jan 13:24
Germany pushes IWF-style child abuse blocklist

What could possibly go wrong?

The German government has proposed regulations that will oblige local ISPs to apply a government-mandated block list. The proposal, from the Ministry for Families, is designed to prevent access to child pornography. Federal Family Minister Ursula von der Leyen told a conference in Berlin that a "binding agreement" with major …

Government 16 Jan 13:49
DARPA seeks spraycan wound-polyfilla* for injured troops

'My arm! Hey, this one-handed design sure is a boon'

Those splendid brainboxes at DARPA* - who are to ordinary insane scientists in their dungeon laboratories as platinum-selling popsters are to teenage-saddo garage bands - have done it again. This time the wildside-walking wingnut warboffins are looking for a sort of medical equivalent of DIY spraycan sealant, which troops could …

Biology 16 Jan 13:53
Who reads The Register?

Strategy Boutique Survey Tell us about yourself

Those of you who are weary of the tapping of the IT barometer as our survey department strives to gauge the current air pressure of the IT world will be delighted to learn this Reg survey is a bit different - it's all about you, our dear, beloved readers. Yup, long-term friends of Vulture Central will know that from time-to- …

Site News 16 Jan 14:49
Voice-controlled helicopter takes off

'We've got strong headwinds coming in from the North...'

Games controlled using your brainwaves are currently all the rage. But Japanese toy firm Taiyo has just announced its development of a voice-controlled helicopter. Taiyo's voice-controlled New Hornet helicopter Images courtesy of AFP BB News The New Hornet helicopter comes with a headset that allows the user to control the …

Reg Hardware 16 Jan 15:02
Apple joins campaign for real breasts

Update Cartoon drawings offensive - real flesh OK

In a marvellous display of double standards, Apple has approved "Wobble" for sale in the iTunes store, allowing users to animate photographs of real breasts, while still rejecting the cartoon breasts of "iBoobs" as objectionable content. To be fair, Wobble doesn't provide photographs of suitable Bulgarian airbags to bounce, …

Mobile 16 Jan 15:35
Second Android handset delayed indefinitely

Agora shelved due to weedy screen

The Kogan Agora, touted as the second Android handset and scheduled for an Australian launch in ten days, has been delayed indefinitely thanks to a low-resolution screen that prevents many Android applications working properly. In a posting on the company blog Ruslan Kogan claims the handset had already started production, but …

Mobile 16 Jan 16:13
EU borders database defenestrated in Prague?

The deSchengening

An upgrade to the database that allows members of the EU's open borders agreenent to exchange security information could soon be scrapped, even though €28m has already been spent on the project. The future of the delayed Schengen Information System II (SIS II) is in doubt according to a meeting of home affairs ministers in …

Government 16 Jan 16:19
HP targets compulsory redundancies at EDS UK

'You wouldn't jump, so get ready for the push'

HP will start compulsory redundancies at subsidiary EDS in the UK after failing to find enough volunteers willing to give up their jobs. Restructuring as a result of the merger was announced in September. As we reported at the time 633 people put their hands up to leave EDS. An internal email seen by The Register reveals that …

Financial News 16 Jan 16:27
So when did the knives come out at Seagate?

Comment To lose one C-level exec may be regarded as a misfortune...

To lose two CxO-level officers in one day is exceptional, even by Seagate standards. Last week's axing of CEO Bill Watkins and the resignation of COO David Wickersham resembled a day of the long knives in Scotts Valley. So how did it come to this? The events timeline looks like this: 1. At a Barclays Capital analysts' …

Storage 16 Jan 16:28
Circuit City goes titsup

Seeks court approval to liquidate assets

The bankrupt US retail giant Circuit City will be fully liquidated after the company failed to find a buyer in time. The company will be presenting the results of an auction for its assets at a hearing in US Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia later today. Circuit City said in a statement that it will seek approval to …

Channel Register 16 Jan 16:45
Fantasy author hired to pen Doom 4 plot

Kill monsters, find keys, open doors, and..?

The author of a number of well-known fantasy/horror novels has been signed up to help pen the plot for Doom 4. It’s been known for some time that the game’s original creator, Id Software, had planned to make a fourth installment in the first-person shooter series. But the firm’s kept mum about the latest incarnation’s …

Reg Hardware 16 Jan 16:55
Nokia ships phone without charger

Intentionally

Selling mobile phones without chargers is an odd idea. But Nokia won’t bundle one with its new N79 Eco phone, part of its aim to become a greener company. The Finnish handset manufacturer announced plans to ship phones without chargers at Nokia World, held back in December, and the N79 Eco is its first attempt. The general …

Reg Hardware 16 Jan 17:06
Fisker shows Karma Sunset in Detroit

'Leccy Tech Electric car firm's Waterloo?

Fisker used the Detroit Motor Show to unveil the final production version of its Karma electric saloon and tantalise assembled onlookers with the first showing of the convertible Karma S – the S standing for Sunset. Fisker's Karma S: pretty as a sunset? OK, it's not a whole lot different from the images we've seen before - …

Reg Hardware 16 Jan 17:30
Boy George jailed for 15 months over bizarre false imprisonment

Lewd laptop pic rage

Boy George was jailed for 15 months on Friday following his conviction for falsely imprisoning a male escort in his flat. The flamboyant former Culture Club frontman (real name George O'Dowd) claimed he handcuffed his victim, Audun Carlsen, to a wall in a bid to retrieve stolen photos from a laptop. Carlsen and O'Dowd hooked …

Law 16 Jan 18:25
Meltdown melts down Intel launch plans

More bad news from Chipzilla

Asian motherboard makers say Intel will postpone the launch of its next mainstream quad-core processor line, code-named Lynnfield, according to DigiTimes. In addition, the usually reliable Taipei news service reports that Chipzilla will also postpone Lynnfield's companion chipset, the P55. According to DigiTimes' sources, the …

Channel Register 16 Jan 19:32
Demon ends porn-less Internet Archive block

Be, Virgin - collateral damage

British ISP Demon Internet is no longer blocking access to the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, after working in tandem with the IA to correct a "technical issue" with its child-pornography filter. Earlier this week, multiple Demon customers complained they were unable to access the Wayback Machine, an 85-billion-page web …

Telecoms 16 Jan 19:34
AMD to axe 1,100 (more) jobs

'Temporary' wage reductions

AMD plans to slash its workforce by 9 per cent beginning next month, while temporarily reducing wages from its CEO down to hourly workers. "As a result of the continuing global economic downturn, we have determined that we need to take difficult, but prudent, actions designed to reduce costs," AMD said in a statement. …

Financial News 16 Jan 19:56
'Miracle' plane crash was no miracle

Comment Should we feed the geese?

Yesterday afternoon, just as I was walking to pick up my kids from school in Northern Manhattan, if I had looked up just about the time I was entering the building, I would have seen an A320 jet flying US Airways colors. I would have seen it approaching the George Washington Bridge a little bit too low, perhaps with some smoke …

Science 16 Jan 20:38
New York emergency wireless scrapped

State cancels billion-dollar contract

New York state has scrapped plans for a statewide emergency network on the (not unreasonable) grounds that the contractor can't make the thing work as promised. The state has already spent $54 million since the contract to build the network was awarded to M/A-COM back in 2004, but it hopes to get that money back - as …

Wireless 16 Jan 20:44
US stimulus bill smiles on IT

Big Blue cries heard

The beleaguered IT industry is salivating as the US Congress has taken one more step towards putting a massive stimulus package together that will, among other things, put tens of billions of dollars of borrowed money into the industry's coffers. David Obey, Democratic chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, …

Financial News 16 Jan 21:37
iPhone App Store breezes past 500 million downloads

iFlatulence boost

Apple's website today trumpets that "There are more than 15,000 apps on the App Store, and so far iPhone users have downloaded an incredible 500 million, in every category from games to business." Approaching McDonald's-hamburger territory While many of those apps have the questionable utility of iFart and Wobble, the sheer …

Mobile 16 Jan 21:46
Superworm seizes 9m PCs, 'stunned' researchers say

Downadup goes up and up

Downadup, the superworm that attacks a patched vulnerability in Microsoft Windows, is making exponential gains if estimates from researchers at F-Secure are accurate. They show 6.5 million new infections in the past four days, bringing the total number of machines it has compromised to almost 9 million. The astronomical growth …

Security 16 Jan 22:23
Ballmer's big regret at 10: Losing the interwebs

Wrong patience, lost talent

Steve Ballmer's biggest regret of the past ten years? Impatience. Ten years after taking over as Microsoft president - and eight years after replacing Bill Gates as chief exec - Ballmer has told The Wall St Journal that impatience prevented Microsoft from pursuing a Google-like paid search business back in 1999. According to …

Software 16 Jan 23:12