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21st January 2009 Archive

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  • LG demos super-contrast ratio TV

    1,000,000,000:1

    Remember when TVs with 2,000,000:1 contrast ratios and 200Hz frame rates impressed you? Well, LG’s latest telly blows those specifications out of the water. LG's TV has a billion-to-one contrast ratio The PQ60D set has just been unveiled by the firm in Korea and it not only boasts an unbelievable 1,000,000,000:1 contrast …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jan 00:02

  • New OS X research warns of stealthier Mac attacks

    In-memory code injection covers tracks

    A computer security researcher has discovered a new way to inject hostile code directly into the memory of machines running Apple's OS X operating system, a technique that makes it significantly harder for investigators to detect Mac attacks using today's forensics practices. The technique, which Italian researcher Vincenzo …

    Security 21 Jan 00:40

  • Apple in iWork piracy boost

    Tinfoil-hat marketing analysis

    A support document has appeared on Apple's website stating that a serial number is no longer required for the installation of the latest version of Apple's productivity suite, iWork '09. Serial number-based piracy protection was a "feature" of iWork when it was introduced in January 2005 as iWork '05 and has remained an iWork- …

    Applications 21 Jan 01:11

  • FCC fingers Comcast VoIP favoritism

    'Protocol-neutral' indeed?

    Comcast may be in trouble with the FCC once again over possible net neutrality violations in its latest "protocol-neutral" internet traffic management regime. In a letter filed January 18, the US agency asks Comcast to provide "detailed justification" on why its new network management practices affect the quality of competing …

    Telecoms 21 Jan 01:22

  • Open-source chief optimistic about proprietary support

    Interoperability appeals

    The incoming president of an alliance of open-source companies hopes he can persuade big-name proprietary ISVs to join rivals in his group to further interoperability. Recently named Open Solutions Alliance president Anthony Gold told The Reg that his goal is to take the two-year-old organization to the "next level" by turning …

    Software 21 Jan 01:23

  • IBM defies hardware woes with record 2008

    Big Sam chuffed

    There's a lot of bad economic news floating around, but there wasn't much coming out of Armonk, New York, today as IBM reported its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2008. Despite the Meltdown, IBM reached record revenue, pre-tax profit, cash flow, and earnings per share levels in 2008, thanks to a strong close in the …

    Financial News 21 Jan 01:24

  • Google AdWords: 11 herbs and spices revealed

    Bidding on ignorance

    Google likes its secrets. But there's one secret it likes more than any other. We don't mean Goobuntu. Or the GDrive. Or those Juniper-killing GRouters. We mean the secret that makes the millions, the secret at the heart of the Mountain View money machine. It's not much of a secret, really. It's right there for all to see. But …

    Applications 21 Jan 01:25

  • Google kills iPhone-optimized iGoogle

    Jesus Phone: 'Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?!'

    Google has silently pulled the plug on its iGoogle website designed specifically for the iPhone, now unceremoniously redirecting traffic to its standard mobile version of the web portal instead. Until now, those who visited Google from an iPhone or iPod were treated to a version of iGoogle portal made just for the enormously …

    Mobile 21 Jan 01:38

  • Atek Logio password storage gadget

    Review Remembers the login details you can't

    Whether you’re logging on to a computer, withdrawing cash from a hole in a wall or reviving a comatose mobile phone, passwords are a daily nuisance necessity. With so many mundane tasks requesting usernames and passwords, a possible solution to this ongoing memory game is the Atek Logio Secure Password Organiser, which acts as …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jan 09:02

  • Scotland's porn laws: Can we talk about this like grown-ups?

    Motley bunch join forces against extreme measures

    While England is very soon to begin the interesting experiment of sending people to jail for possession of dangerous pictures, the Scottish Government is only just getting its act together on the subject. Not to be outdone, their proposed new Law goes significantly further than the English one, creating the very real …

    Law 21 Jan 09:31

  • Logitech steps up job cuts

    Strong dollar, weak retail sales

    Mouse and peripherals maker Logitech is cutting more jobs in reaction to the deepening recession. The Swiss firm said in early January it was withdrawing financial guidance for the year and cutting headcount. The firm will now cut up to 600 jobs, rather than the 525 earlier predicted. Sales for the third quarter of fiscal …

    Channel Register 21 Jan 09:41

  • China's anti-censor software pimps user data

    Dissident data for sale

    Harvard researchers have accused the developers of tools for dodging the Great Firewall of China of selling data harvested by the software, potentially giving the authorities in Beijing an easy way to identify dissidents. As well as selling aggregate usage data, software developers were also offering to sell detailed surfing …

    Security 21 Jan 10:01

  • Nokia talks up Securitas GPS app

    Personal protection for paranoid persons

    Nokia has beefed up phone security by partnering with Securitas to design an application that’ll act like a personal bodyguard for mobile owners. Called Safe-2-Go, the app’s designed to provide support to anyone in an “exposed situation”, and to offer increased security through information about the location of loved ones. …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jan 10:21

  • Seagate firmware fix bricks Barracudas

    Killer cure

    The updated firmware Seagate issued to solve 1TB Barracuda drive faults is causing 500GB Barracuda drives to fail. The original fault was that Barracuda 7200.11 drives made in Thailand (ref: ST31000340AS with firmware level SD15) were failing at boot time with a firmware error that locked the drive up and rendered it …

    Channel Register 21 Jan 10:42

  • Microsoft ditches Comcast shares

    Money isn't everything, Mortimer

    Microsoft recently sold its 7.26 per cent stake in Comcast, in what is being seen as another burst of financial housekeeping ahead of tomorrow’s second quarter earnings report. A US Securities and Exchange Commission filing, dated 16 January, disclosed that Microsoft no longer holds any Class A shares in the Philadelphia-based …

    Financial News 21 Jan 10:51

  • US aerospace giants stall Elon Musk's NASA deal

    Can Falcon 9 overcome heavyweights' Washington pull?

    NASA's plans to ship supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) using commercial spaceships - some provided by famous PayPal and electric-car hecamillionaire Elon Musk - are on hold following a protest by losing bidders in the contracts process. More than gravity to contend with. Deals totalling $3.5bn were inked by …

    Space 21 Jan 11:01

  • Sony talks up PS3 update

    Updated A must for organised photo fans

    Just 24 hours after announcing the impending launch of firmware version 5.03 for the PlayStation Portable, Sony has released a sneak preview of another firmware update for the PS3. Sony staffer Eric Lempel said, again in a post on the official PlayStation blog, that the PS3’s update – to be called version 2.60 – is primarily …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jan 11:29

  • Hilton 'sucks face' with MySpace CEO

    At last, the Paris IT angle

    We're obliged to the New York Post for this week providing a much-needed, albeit tenuous, connection between the galactically-talented Paris Hilton and the wonderful world of IT. According to this report, the blonde budding artist last year hooked up with MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe, and was over the weekend spotted hanging out …

    Bootnotes 21 Jan 11:32

  • Toshiba launches A350 Satellite into orbit

    16in HD screen for film fans

    The only word to remember if you’re thinking of buying Toshiba’s latest Satellite laptop is films, because the firm’s claimed its new A350 is the perfect choice for movie buffs. Toshiba's Satellite A350 While the 16in display will doubtless give you a big enough view of the on-screen action, Toshiba’s built the screen with …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jan 11:38

  • Ericsson sharpens axe - again

    Another 5000 jobs go as mobile business flattens

    Cellular-infrastructure manufacturer Ericsson will lay off 5,000 in a bid to cut costs, ahead of the expected reduction in spending from telcos over the next few years. Ericsson announced 4,000 layoffs at the tail end of last year, but said back in November that it expected sales to be flattish, and as the largest manufacturer …

    Data Networking 21 Jan 11:52

  • ECJ: Sick workers earn holiday entitlement

    Blow to business as law change forced

    Workers will be able to build up holiday entitlements even when absent on sick leave and will be able to carry over untaken leave until subsequent years, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said. The ruling will force a change in UK law. The ECJ was asked by the House of Lords to rule on whether holiday entitlement could …

    Small Biz 21 Jan 11:56

  • £1 coin gains GPS

    Flip for food decisions

    Flipping a coin to decide where to eat out tonight is all well and good. But when the flip’s decided on Carluccio’s instead of Pizza Express, how do you find the darn place? Enter the GPS coin. Inbi-out makes restaurant decision easy - and then guides you to them The concept coin - officially dubbed Inbi-out by inventor Ju- …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jan 12:02

  • Oz cops cuff Jungle Jane pump-and-dump perv

    Cairns inflatable doll shag menace contained

    Cairns police have arrested and charged the perv burglar who twice broke into a sex shop, had his evil way with "Jungle Jane" inflatable dolls and then unceremoniously dumped his conquests in an alleyway. According to the Cairns Post, the unnamed 23-year-old was cuffed following "intelligence-based inquiries". He had three …

    Bootnotes 21 Jan 12:18

  • Google fails to flog Web 2.0 auto-ad model to papers

    Print Ads goes six feet under as profits disappoint

    Google’s attempt to bump up its ad revenues beyond the interwebs has hit the buffers – as a result the company will dump its two-year-old Print Ads program. The web kingpin said yesterday that it would kill off Print Ads, which was launched in late 2006 to sell ads in newspapers, because it has failed to live up to …

    Financial News 21 Jan 12:45

  • PBX phone phreakers ring up huge bills in Oz

    Security loophole allows bad nattering

    Phreakers are using security loopholes in PBX systems to make international calls at the expense of businesses in Western Australia. Telephone system hackers are exploiting the call forward function on older PBXs to make expensive international phone calls at virtually no cost to themselves, WA police warn. In one case a …

    Enterprise Security 21 Jan 12:46

  • Suffolk braces for 300mph winds

    A mild -12°C, though

    Those of you living in the Suffolk badlands around the IP20 postcode had better batten down the hatches, nail down your livestock and retreat to your tornado bunkers because tomorrow promises to be a tad windy, according to Metcheck: Mercifully, you won't be required to suffer the kind of cold snap which at the end of …

    Bootnotes 21 Jan 12:48

  • Nokia 5800 XpressMusic touchphone

    Review Nokia takes on the iPhone in its own way

    It’s hardly a surprise that Nokia’s first post-iPhone foray into touch-controlled mobiles has drawn massive amounts of interest. Nokia may have dabbled briefly with touch-operated handsets before, with its 7700 and 7710, but the 5800 XpressMusic is certainly year-zero as far as Nokia devices designed to take on Apple’s game- …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jan 13:02

  • Obama: 1m electric cars on US roads by 2015, please

    'Leccy Tech $7000 tax break pondered

    Presumably choosing to do it not because it is easy but because it is hard - well, hard-ish - the Obama White House yesterday declared that it “hopes” to create a $7000 tax credit for the purchase of alternative vehicles and get one million plug-in hybrid cars – or any cars capable of 150mpg or more - that's 186+ in Imperial mpg …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jan 13:06

  • Spy chief to Obama: Let DARPA fix economy

    Voodoo economics must give way to mad science

    Newly-inaugurated President Barack Obama has been urged by a top US spysat chief to revitalise America's economy through the use of DARPA*, the legendary Pentagon barmy-boffinry bureau which has given the world the internet and the stealth bomber. More recently the agency has also sponsored initiatives such as mindreading peril- …

    Government 21 Jan 13:07

  • Seagate promises second fault fix in 24 hours

    Update Turn brick into working Barracuda

    Seagate has promised to issue a fix for the latest Barracuda bricking fault within 24 hours. This will be firmware to fix the firmware (SD1A) that was issued to fix the firmware (SD15) that caused some 1TB Barracuda 7200.11 drives and others to stop working. The SD1A firmware caused 500GB Barracuda 7200.11s to stop working. …

    Channel Register 21 Jan 13:23

  • Rapists should be raped, declares Jordan

    Bulgarian airbag scaffold demands an eye for an eye

    Prodigiously Bulgarian airbagged glamour minx Jordan has announced that rapists should henceforce be raped themselves, one of a raft of proposed measures designed to restore law and order to the UK's crime-ravaged streets. The would-be lawmaker - whose body sensationally comprises 40 per cent water, one per cent other stuff …

    Bootnotes 21 Jan 13:33

  • SEC to probe Apple on Steve Jobs' health issues?

    US regulator scrutinising disclosure

    Apple reportedly faces a review by US regulators to ensure investors weren’t misled by the firm’s disclosure regarding boss Steve Jobs’ health problems. According to Bloomberg, the Securities and Exchange Commission isn’t investigating evidence of any wrongdoing. Instead it will look into how the information surrounding Jobs’ …

    Financial News 21 Jan 13:56

  • DWP IT projects bust budget by £391m

    Buys UK.gov 14 extra years to finish them

    IT projects in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are running almost £400m over-budget and a total of more than 14 years late, the government has disclosed. In written parliamentary answers, disabled people minister Jonathan Shaw said the Central Payments System, commissioned to make benefits payments more efficient, …

    Government 21 Jan 13:58

  • Goat hangs self in Canadian zoo

    Authorities claim tragedy an 'accident'

    Calgary Zoo is one exotic goat short of an Arkful after a Turkmenian markhor "accidentally hanged itself" over the weekend. According to Reuters, local television carried a shock report into the incident, featuring amateur video showing the caprine corpse "hanging lifeless from a rope in its enclosure". The zoo claims (pdf) …

    Bootnotes 21 Jan 14:00

  • Joiku gets profit joys from unlimited mobile data

    Operators will take convincing, though

    Hotspot developer Joiku is reaping some uncommon rewards. Its research shows almost a third of users upgraded to an unlimited data plan after buying its hotspot software, supporting the argument that such services can indeed make money for operators. JoikuSpot turns a Symbian S60 phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing nearby …

    Mobile 21 Jan 14:25

  • Kinetic kit promises gratis gadget power

    Make your own electricity

    Eco-friendly gadget fans are often torn between their love of tech and the impact their devices' power consumption have on old Mother Earth. Thankfully, an eco charger’s been designed that’ll dissolve your power woes, provided you walk-the-walk. nPower PED: makes electricity and keeps you fit The nPower PEG is a 9in long …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jan 14:48

  • Airline ticket receipt scam spreads malware

    Trojan horses sprout wings

    Malware authors are sending out booby-trapped emails disguised as electronic ticket receipts. Trojan horse malware buried in messages ostensibly from United Airlines circulating this week follow a similar attack featuring emails purporting to come from Northwest Airlines last week. In both cases the messages come form spoofed …

    Crime 21 Jan 14:49

  • Coming soon: Pills to 'turn down' your ears at clubs

    Amps that go beyond 11 widely expected

    Top doctors and brainboxes in America and Argentina believe they may be on the track of pills which could "turn down" people's ears, protecting their hearing from damage at noisy clubs or concerts. "So far, there is little or no specific pharmacology of hearing," says Paul Fuchs, professor of otolaryngeal surgery at Johns …

    Biology 21 Jan 14:50

  • iPhone app warns of driving restrictions

    Thou shalt not drive and dial in Wyoming

    An iPhone application’s been developed to help keep drivers abreast of local restrictions on mobile phone use. Cell Ban informs drivers of local phone use restrictions If you’re driving through US State Connecticut for example, then Cell Ban will warn you that talking into a handheld phone is against the law, but that …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jan 14:51

  • Tiscali pulls plug on 186K

    Sparks broadband customer scramble

    Tiscali has cut off wholesale broadband service to 186K customers. The two firms are in the middle of legal fight which, 186K claims, means it cannot comment further on the matter. But it reassured subscribers that it is still in business and that most of its bandwidth comes from BT Wholesale and their service should be …

    Telecoms 21 Jan 14:54

  • Citrix and Intel go to bare metal to virtualize PCs

    Giving VPro a Type 1 personality

    Intel and hypervisor provider Citrix Systems are announcing a joint collaboration that will see a bare-metal hypervisor based on the commercial variant of the Xen hypervisor delivered later this year. While there are a number of different ways that you can use hypervisors to virtualize your x86 or x64 desktop or laptop computer …

    Virtualization 21 Jan 15:01

  • Gov stumps £4.3m bee health funding

    Steps up campaign to save UK's hives

    The environment secretary Hilary Benn today announced an extra £4.3m "to safeguard and undertake more research into the health of bees". The Department for Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (Defra) explains: "Over the last two years Britain's bee colonies have suffered significant losses due to a combination of potential …

    Biology 21 Jan 15:04

  • Brown backs down on expenses secrecy

    FOI FTW

    The government will not seek to change the Freedom of Information Act to exempt MPs from disclosing their expenses, Gordon Brown said today, signalling an abrupt U-turn. In a surprise announcement at Prime Minister's questions, Brown said a deal the government made with the Tories to ensure the secrecy amendment had cross- …

    Government 21 Jan 15:14

  • Apple drops white Macbook processor speed

    But slams in much better graphics

    Apple has quietly revamped its low-end, plastic-cased MacBook - in the process reducing the machine's processor speed. OK, we admit it, the reduction's a small one: 2.1GHz down to 2.0GHz. And in compensation, buyers get rather better graphics. Apple's white Macbook: slower CPU, way faster graphics than before Apple last …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jan 15:17

  • Manx P2P for 'one Euro a year'?

    Exclusive Minister floats blanket music tax

    The Isle of Man's e-commerce minister says he wants to legalise P2P music file sharing - taking just one Euro a year from broadband subscribers. Tim Craine told us today that such a scheme would be voluntary. The Manx government is hopeful that blanket P2P schemes would be rolled out in other countries - including the UK. "If …

    Music and Media 21 Jan 16:25

  • Sony and Microsoft clash over consoles

    Nintendo sitting pretty above the squabble

    Executives from Microsoft and Sony have once more slammed each other’s consoles. Sony Computer Entertainment’s President and Group CEO, Kazuo Hirai, kicked things off by telling the Official PlayStation Magazine that the Xbox 360 “lacks longevity”. He also claimed that, regardless of the Xbox 360’s installed base or sales …

    Reg Hardware 21 Jan 16:44

  • Chinese porn crackdown goes mobile

    'I pt on my rbe & wzrd h@...They're coming for me!'

    China intends to broaden its crackdown on internet pornography to banning overly-amorous messages sent by mobile phones. The People's Republic announced it will extend its iron fist policy on hairy palms after shutting down 1,250 websites because of their so-called explicit content. "We will incorporate 'lewd' messages spread …

    Government 21 Jan 18:58

  • Kentucky reverses 141-site net casino land grab

    Fried chicken state self-corrects

    Kentucky officials must return 141 gambling domain names they seized last year in a bid to block internet betting within state borders, an appeals court panel ordered on Tuesday. The 2-1 decision by Kentucky's Court of Appeals reverses a lower-court ruling giving state officials the authority to seize some of the world's most …

    Government 21 Jan 19:52

  • Meltdown mauls memory market

    DDR prices up/down

    Memory makers have taken it on the chin during the ongoing Meltdown, but prices of DDR2 memory are now rising while some reports indicate that DDR3 prices are set to fall. According to memory-market watcher DRAMeXchange, DDR2 prices - which have endured a long but steady slide for well over a year - are beginning to rise as …

    Channel Register 21 Jan 19:57

  • Supremes defend American net smut (yet again)

    COPA still dead

    The Child Online Protection Act is still dead. Today, Bloomberg reports, the US Supreme Court upheld an earlier ban on the infamous free-speech-throttling statute, snubbing an appeal from the now-defunct George W. Bush administration. Passed by Congress in 1998 - but never enacted - COPA threatens six months of jail time and …

    Law 21 Jan 20:03

  • EU sees high speed networking in Photonics

    4G? Like tin cans and string

    An EU-funded research body has been demonstrating the potential of high-frequency wireless, including 10Gb/s connections that operate over a kilometre - and in the rain. The snappily-named "Integrated Photonic mm-Wave functions for Broadband Connectivity", or IPHOBAC, has been spending EU money developing components for …

    Wireless 21 Jan 20:05

  • Microsoft trades TV dreams for priorities with Comcast share dump

    Comment Returns only in profit

    Microsoft decision to kill its flagship $1bn investment in US cable-TV giant Comcast is a sign of strategic prioritization and financial necessity. The company's latest Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing has revealed that Microsoft no longer holds any of the 150-million-plus shares of common Comcast stock it …

    Financial News 21 Jan 20:40

  • Open-sourcers get with the git

    Sucking from the teat of Linus

    There was a time when the Linux community used BitKeeper as its source code control system, after switching from the open-source CVS. But then Samba developer Andrew Tridgell figured out you could telnet to a BitKeeper server, type "HELP," and get a list of commands. Upon hearing of Tridgell's daring hack, BitMover - the company …

    Developer 21 Jan 21:48

  • C dominated 2008's open-source project nursery

    PHP and Ruby poor showing

    C overwhelmingly proved the most popular programming language for thousands of new open-source projects in 2008, according to license tracker Black Duck Software. The company, which monitors 180,000 projects on nearly 4,000 sites, said almost half - 47 per cent - of new projects last year used C. Black Duck said 17,000 new …

    Developer 21 Jan 21:55

  • Russia says no more space tourists after 2009

    ISS too crowded for layabouts

    Russia's space agency chief said there's no more room for space tourists in the International Space Station after this year because of plans to double the full-time crew at the orbiting outpost Roskosmos top brass Anatoly Perminov told the government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta in an interview published today that the last …

    Space 21 Jan 22:08