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26th January 2009 Archive

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  • AMD keeps promise with fresh Shanghai

    Opterons heated/cooled

    AMD has ramped up its 45 nanometer chip making process, delivering lower-voltage and higher-clock-speed variants of its "Shanghai" Opteron processors. These Shanghai chips are coming to market just when AMD said they would, representing a tiny bit of good news in a twelve-month cycle that has been pretty hard on AMD, its …

    Hardware 26 Jan 2009, 05:02

  • Nokia N79 smartphone

    Review Change for change's sake?

    We reviewed Nokia's N78 back in the summer of 2008 and even in the quick turnover world of mobile phones it almost seems a little too soon to be looking at its successor. But here it is, looking leaner, fitter and offering some significant improvements – it's almost as if Nokia just couldn't wait to get it out there. Nokia's …

    Phones 26 Jan 2009, 09:02

  • Thames windfarm execs: We need more subsidy

    Energy chiefs getting windy

    One of the firms participating in the London Array project, under which the world's biggest offshore wind farm would be built in the outer Thames Estuary, has questioned the scheme's economic viability. The Financial Times reported at the weekend that Paul Golby, chief executive of E.ON UK - which owns 30 per cent of the Array …

    Science 26 Jan 2009, 10:21

  • Yahoo! freezes! pay!!

    Oh! Great!

    Yahoo! is freezing all staff pay, blaming the tough ad market. In an email seen by several newswires Yahoo! said: "Based on the current economic environment and our focus on keeping costs in line with revenues, we have decided that providing annual salary increases would not be in the best interests of the company or our …

    Financial News 26 Jan 2009, 10:51

  • Microsoft Songsmith ad trumps Seinfeld shocker

    The day the music died, and then some

    Those of you who are still recovering from exposure to Microsoft's Seinfeld advertising campaign are advised to look away now, because Redmond has pulled off the impossible and produced something worse - a "pseudoinfomercial" so profoundly traumatising it could "make you want to kill your family", as Gawker.com puts it: …

    Bootnotes 26 Jan 2009, 11:15

  • CommVault first to de-dupe to tape

    Feature-packed Simpana 8 drinks your milkshake

    CommVault has updated its data protection and management product Simpana so it can store de-duplicated data on tape - something no other product does. Generally accepted rules say that the most efficient way of storing data - de-duplicated with repeating patterns taken out - can't be used with tape, the cheapest long-life …

    The Channel 26 Jan 2009, 11:37

  • RIM chief: buggy smartphones the 'new reality'

    CEO comes clean

    A Research In Motion (RIM) executive has admitted that malfunctioning smartphones are now par for the course, thanks in part to the complexity and high-volume production of devices like the BlackBerry Storm. Jim Balsillie, RIM's co-CEO, said that software glitches on smartphones are now part of the “new reality” as firms rush …

    Phones 26 Jan 2009, 11:42

  • Stop'n'search gets touchy-feely

    Section 44 not to detect terrorists 'but to reassure Londoners'

    Feeling unsafe in your life? Looking for reassurance? The Metropolitan Police Service can help you with a touchy-feely new innovation. It's called stop and search. A new document hints at a shift of emphasis in the Met's strategic vision for counter terrorism stop and search powers. It's going to be a public relations tool. …

    Law 26 Jan 2009, 12:02

  • Expansys leaks Samsung talker trio

    Thanks, guys!

    Online phone retailer Expansys has leaked details of three Samsung phones set to launch early this year, including one running Windows Mobile 6.5. Airax Sarkari, from Expansys’ purchasing division, said on the firm’s official blog that the company had been lucky enough to be shown the upcoming phones by Samsung itself. Of …

    Phones 26 Jan 2009, 12:06

  • Absolutely Fabulous ups sticks to LA

    Fox picks up US remake pilot

    Fox has picked up a pilot for a US version of cult comedy Absolutely Fabulous, the Jennifer Saunders creation which ran for five series plus specials on the BBC, but has to date defied attempts to rehash it for the transatlantic market. Saunders has an executive producing role for the pilot, which is a joint venture between …

    Bootnotes 26 Jan 2009, 12:06

  • Microsoft merges Windows Live with Office Live

    There were two in a bed, and the little one said...

    Microsoft will fold its less than successful Office Live product into its less than successful Windows Live product, presumably to allow the increasingly cash-sensitive firm to rein in costs. Of course Redmond prefers to describe the decision as a way of “simplifying the customer experience around our Live services”. Now MS …

    The Channel 26 Jan 2009, 12:36

  • Conficker botnet growth slows at 10m infections

    Diary of the Dead

    Infections as a result of the infamous Conficker (Downadup) worm have peaked at around the 10m PC mark. Variants of Conficker use a variety of methods to spread, including exploiting the MS08-067 vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows server service patched by Redmond in October. Once it gets a foothold within corporate …

    Security 26 Jan 2009, 12:52

  • Samsung LE40A786 'smart LED' 40in LCD TV

    Review Multiple LEDs make for a plasma-style picture

    When flatscreen TVs first arrived, they were expensive and had picture quality considerably inferior to traditional CRT screens. But they meant that large screens were a possibility without taking up acres of real estate in the living room. And although picture quality wasn't so good, the TVs looked great with the picture off. …

    Hardware 26 Jan 2009, 13:02

  • Linux to spend eternity in shadow of 'little blue E'

    Fail and You Inside the mind of John Q Windows

    Linux will never make any meaningful headway into the desktop. Nope, never. I could cite market share numbers, growth figures, and total cost of ownership studies, but none of that matters (plus, it's boring). Linux will never, ever defeat Windows because Windows has the little blue E. The blue E on my desktop that I can click …

    Operating Systems 26 Jan 2009, 13:02

  • Games outsold home video formats in 2008

    DVD demand down

    Global sales of videogames outweighed those of DVDs and Blu-ray Discs combined for the first time last year, according to market analysts. Media Control GfK said game sales grew by 20 per cent last year to $32bn (£23.1bn/€24.7bn). But combined sales of DVD and Blu-ray actually fell by six per cent, to $29bn, thanks to falling …

    Games 26 Jan 2009, 13:09

  • Accusations fly as another Nominet director quits

    Nominet drops action against Jim Davies

    Nominet, the not-for-profit in charge of the .uk domain registry, will drop a High Court action against one of its own directors after a boardroom battle culminated in his resignation last week. The firm had been due to apply for an injunction against Jim Davies at a hearing last week but decided to withdraw, chairman Bob …

    Broadband 26 Jan 2009, 13:10

  • NetApp - just like perfection?

    Behind the scenes in storage Disneyland

    Talking to NetApp about storage is like entering a holiday village where everything is well-ordered, well-run, efficient and clear-cut. The world outside can be messy and confusing, but inside the holiday village gates the lawns are mowed, the pavements clean, everything is signposted clearly and it's all consistent. Why would …

    Storage 26 Jan 2009, 13:16

  • Satyam shortlists bosses and banks

    Watches customers leave

    Satyam's board of directors is expected to announce a new CEO and CFO this week, and is also close to finding short-term funding. Last week they said the list had been narrowed down to three names. The group also expects to have funding in place by Wednesday. The board meets tomorow for final discussions but said the firm's …

    The Channel 26 Jan 2009, 13:18

  • Iron Maiden axe cut ribbon on 'rock’n’roll' hotel

    Management poised to open £6.5m London sanctuary

    Iron Maiden's management and nightclub owner Mark Fuller are poised to cut the ribbon on the £6.5m Sanctum Soho Hotel - a 30-room London sanctuary for rock stars boasting paparazzi-busting security operatives, receptionists clad entirely in black and minibars cunningly housed in speaker stacks. According to the Sunday Times, …

    Bootnotes 26 Jan 2009, 13:23

  • Deviants, perverts, 'weirdos' - who's going down?

    Comment Opposition rises to extreme porn law

    The die is cast. From today, it is illegal to possess "extreme porn" - though exactly what that means, despite two years of debate, is still unclear. Depending on who you believe, this will criminalise 2m individuals or a mere handful. The Register guide to surviving this law can be found here. Meanwhile, what has become of …

    Law 26 Jan 2009, 13:34

  • UK.gov opens up delayed child protection database

    First admins play with ContactPoint

    The government said it had today finally begun training local authority officials to run the new ContactPoint database, which will contain personal information all 11m children in England and Wales, after months of delays and political controversy. About 300 council workers will learn how to adminster the database, and will be …

    Government 26 Jan 2009, 14:21

  • Spam volumes increase to pre-McColo takedown levels

    Mega-D botnet spewing out junk mail torrent

    Junk mail levels are back to 80-90 per cent of their volumes prior to the takedown of infamous junk mail-friendly ISP McColo in November 2008 last year. Spam levels are up 4.9 percentage points since December 2008 to 74.6 percent, reaching levels close to those prior to the McColo takedown, according to an analysis by email …

    Security 26 Jan 2009, 14:22

  • Gov announces Severn tide-energy scheme shortlist

    Carbopocalypse prophets silenced by nimby twitchers

    The government has announced its shortlist of ways to exploit the tidal energy of the Severn estuary, potentially one of the richest renewable-energy resources in the world. The shortlist of five proposals includes the headlining, controversial idea of a massive barrage spanning the Bristol Channel from Weston-super-Mare to …

    Science 26 Jan 2009, 14:44

  • Open source anti-Semitic as well as communist shock

    Well, that's what I heard

    We've long known that "open source" is a just a mechanism for espousing communist philosophy, but for the anti-Semitic angle we're grateful to yesterday's mailing from the Openmoko project, which explained that President Obama is simply a shill for a Zionist comspiracy. Openmoko is a open-source phone handset - both the …

    Mobile 26 Jan 2009, 15:11

  • Watchdog issues DABetamax warning

    What You Hear isn't What You Get

    The Consumers Association has reminded punters they can take DAB radios back to the store for a refund - and put the stores on notice against misleading punters. The reminder follows Ofcom's decision to allow consumer electronics retail chains to fit signal digital radio boosters, to help them shift digital radio sets. On the …

    Media 26 Jan 2009, 15:19

  • Microsoft delays Iowa data centre plans

    If we build it they won't necessarily come...

    Microsoft has halted construction in West Des Moines, Iowa where it recently purchased land to build a huge data centre. A sale sign with Microsoft’s name on it only went up five months ago, but come October the company announced plans to reel in its data centre spending by about $300m. The first victim of that decision is …

    Servers 26 Jan 2009, 15:49

  • Study slams brain-training games' mental improvement claims

    Pencil and paper just as good

    A survey has concluded that brain-training games don’t provide the rigorous mental workout you may have thought they did. Games such as Big Brain Academy on the Wii, and Dr KawaShima’s Brain Training on the DS, supposedly help keep your mind sharp by putting your brain through various mental exercises. However, a study by …

    Games 26 Jan 2009, 15:57

  • PSP Carnival Colours come to town

    Plus, a red Xbox 360 in the works?

    Few would disagree that the games industry is a colourful business. But it looks set to become even more so, thanks to Sony’s creation of four colourful PlayStation Portables - and, potentially, a redesigned Xbox 360 from Microsoft. Sony's Carnival Colours collection of PSPs The “Carnival Colours” collection gives gamers …

    Games 26 Jan 2009, 16:01

  • NASA working on boomless supersonic jets

    And contrived acronyms

    NASA has announced the completion of a series of flight tests aimed at reducing the "sonic boom" effect, one of the major downsides of supersonic aircraft. Two custom-modified F-15 fighter jets were used in the test programme, referred to by NASA as Lift and Nozzle Change Effects on Tail Shock (LaNCETS*). Flying faster than …

    Science 26 Jan 2009, 16:11

  • Veteran F1 designer readies 'affordable' sportster

    'Leccy Tech P1-E a 'driver's car for the 21st Century', claims creator

    Early in 2008, former McLaren and Jordan F1 designer Jim Dowle announced that his company, JJAD, would make a bespoke two-door sports car called the P1. It has now been announced that it will be an electric sports car, so consider our ears officially pricked up. Jim Dowle's P1-E: 0-60 in 2.9s Called the P1-E, the car will …

    Science 26 Jan 2009, 16:14

  • Sprint Nextel chops 8,000 workers

    Caterpillar sees Sprint, raises to 20,000 layoffs

    When the big banks in the US needed a bailout, Congress had very little trouble coming up with $700bn rescue funds; but when the rest of the economy is waiting for a little stimulus and a new president has the political capital and the need to push through a broad infrastructure improvement spending package, members of Congress …

    Financial News 26 Jan 2009, 16:27

  • Rogue contractor admits Oz gov hack attacks

    Cracking spree followed 'brain snap'

    An Australian has admitted causing AUS$1m in damage after hacking into the computer systems of the Northern Territory Government and deleting records of thousands of civil servants. Anthony McIntosh, 28, a computer engineer pleaded guilty to 12 computer hacking offences at a hearing before the Northern Territory in Darwin on …

    Security 26 Jan 2009, 16:35

  • BT going mobile - again?

    Joint venture with T-Mobile and 3 mooted

    The Guardian is reporting that UK former-monopoly BT has been having discussions with T-Mobile and 3 about launching a mobile-phone network. The discussions are described as "at an early stage", but apparently involve both existing mobile operators working with BT to launch a mobile network, something BT hasn't owned since …

    Mobile 26 Jan 2009, 17:12

  • Windows 7 public beta end date named

    Two-day wiggle room

    You've got just over two weeks to download the Windows 7 beta from Microsoft, as Redmond starts winding-down the public testing process. The Windows 7 team has blogged that you have until February 10 to start the process of downloading Windows 7. Testers who have started, but not completed, the download process on that date …

    Operating Systems 26 Jan 2009, 18:33

  • Apple to pay $22.5m for scratched iPods

    Free Applesauce Polish!

    Apple will pay $22.5m into a settlement fund to compensate buyers of early-release first-generation iPod nanos. You see, these nanos had displays that were easily scratched. The settlement covers only "uncoated" iPod nanos, meaning the original nanos that began shipping in September 2005 and immediately ignited a firestorm of …

    Law 26 Jan 2009, 19:01

  • Philips admits first loss in six years

    6,000 jobs cuts in 2009

    Royal Philips Electronics reported its first quarterly loss in nearly six years, prompting the consumer electronics giant to announce plans to cut 6,000 jobs worldwide in 2009. The layoffs will come on top of the 3,000 cuts in the past quarter. The Amsterdam-based company posted a Q4 loss of €1.47bn ($1.93bn, £1.39bn), …

    Financial News 26 Jan 2009, 19:06

  • Kanye West blames Gmail hijack for bisexual porn hoax

    Hey, world: Let him be great

    Kanye West says someone has taken control of his Twitter. Not to mention his Gmail and MySpace accounts. The rap star says that someone is using all three services to spread false reports, including one that claimed he was open to launching a new career as a bisexual porn star. "Now somebody has been hacking into my MySpace …

    Security 26 Jan 2009, 20:12

  • Mac malware tide on the rise

    New Trojan, rogue AV storm beaches

    Less than a week after researchers spotted new malware targeting naive Mac users, two additional titles have been spotted. Security mavens at Mac anti-virus provider Intego say Trojan-horse software dubbed OSX.Trojan.iServices.B hitches a ride on pirated copies of Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Mac that are being distributed in warez …

    Security 26 Jan 2009, 21:07

  • Google and the Great Wikipedia Feedback Loop

    The information triumvirate monolith

    Google's Wikidependence is worse than ever. And Jorge Cauz thinks it's time for an intervention. "If I were to be the CEO of Google or the founders of Google, I would be very [displeased] that the best search engine in the world continues to provide as a first link, Wikipedia," the Encyclopedia Britannica president told The …

    Applications 26 Jan 2009, 21:37

  • Microsoft's Windows Vista 'Capable' bill could hit $8.5bn

    Recession? What recession?

    A Microsoft marketing scheme persuading consumers to buy PCs "capable" of running Windows Vista could cost more money than Microsoft made from the program. An expert witness giving evidence in the class-action suit against Microsoft's Windows Vista Capable program has estimated the cost of upgrading so-called "capable" PCs to …

    The Channel 26 Jan 2009, 22:02

  • WTO backs US in Chinese piracy dispute

    66.6 per cent guilty

    The World Trade Organization has said that China should change its copyright and anti-counterfeit laws to provide better legal protection to foreign products, based on trade complaints filed by the US government. A WTO panel of judges ruled today that China's intellectual property laws don't meet some of the obligations …

    Government 26 Jan 2009, 22:36

  • IBM sends Blue Clouds back to school

    Qatar exchange

    While cloud computing might represent a return of sorts to a shared, host computing model that was pioneered by companies like IBM, a lot of the key research, development, and production work done on cloud computing has been done by the big names in hyperscale, Web 2.0 applications: Google, Yahoo, Amazon, and the like. It's …

    Developer 26 Jan 2009, 23:13