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3rd March 2009 Archive

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  • Bootleggers jump on 'complete' Windows 7

    Ultimate knock off

    Microsoft has been taking some heat lately for not listening to testers' feedback on Windows 7 as it insists that the operating system is essentially complete. Now it seems pirates and bootleggers in South East Asia are starting to cash-in on Windows 7's status as almost done. Bootleg copies of 32-bit editions of Windows 7 …

    Operating Systems 3 Mar 00:00

  • Child porn suspect ordered to decrypt own hard drive

    Self-decryption not self-incrimination

    In a move sure to stoke debates over constitutional protections against self-incrimination in the digital age, a federal judge has ordered a child porn suspect to decrypt his hard drive so prosecutors can inspect its contents. In a ruling issued last month, US District Judge William Sessions in Vermont ruled criminal defendant …

    Crime 3 Mar 00:07

  • Virtualization soars on Big Blue Power boxes

    Fake server catch-up

    It looks like server virtualization really is heading for the mainstream on Power Systems machines. If some figures provided by the top brass at IBM are any indication. While logical partitioning has been available on OS/400-based servers since V4R4 was launched with the Northstar PowerPC servers back in 1999, virtualization …

    Virtualization 3 Mar 00:13

  • Italian iPhone makes like Roman candle

    Jobsian hardware flames out

    An iPhone's charging cable caught fire in Italy over the weekend - and it may not have been an isolated occurrence. An Italian blogger has described how his iPhone's cable burst into flames at the point of connection with his phone. You can find a picture of the damage here and read more about it in Apple's forums. Apparently …

    Mobile 3 Mar 00:38

  • Ballmer to go Kumo on Microsoft's Live Search?

    Just like .NET

    Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer is expected to outline on Wednesday what's in store for a re-branded version of his company's laggard search service, Live Search. Ballmer will take the stage at Microsoft's regular Valued Professional (MVP) summit, to discuss search, according to MVPs attending the summit. The news …

    Applications 3 Mar 01:34

  • ICANN supremo opens escape hatch

    Flees gTLD wasps' nest

    ICANN chief Paul Twomey has said he will leave the net's domain name regulator at the end of the year. Today, at its 34th annual public meeting in Mexico City, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers announced that Twomey would not seek another term as president and chief executive when his current three-year …

    Telecoms 3 Mar 01:40

  • Inside Cisco's Hotel California

    Comment A unified fabric should include storage

    If Cisco is to introduce its unified compute system, or California project, on March 16, what will the storage look like? The overall Cisco scheme is that the virtualised network is the platform. A Cisco unified fabric switch, like the Nexus 5000, will be Shelob, the giant spider in Cisco's 'one network to bind them' concept, …

    Storage 3 Mar 05:02

  • Fujitsu Siemens floats private cloud plan

    Cebit 09 Just selling stuff is so pre-meltdown

    Fujitsu Siemens will launch an enterprise cloud offering this autumn, as it banks on the anything-as-a-service model to tempt cash-strapped customers and give it a raison d'etre once it is borged into new parent Fujitsu. CTO Joseph Reger, speaking at Cebit, said that there was no point in hardware vendors fighting against …

    Applications 3 Mar 06:02

  • Etailer flogs signed Jade Goody biog for £1,000

    Updated Sun less than impressed with eBay punt

    The Sun is less than impressed with this auction down at tat bazaar eBay punting a signed Jade Goody autobiography for a cool £1,000: According to Essex-based vendor Post Packet UK Ltd, half of the cash raised will benefit Cancer Research, but a source "close to Jade" told the redtop: “Some people are just sick. How can you …

    Bootnotes 3 Mar 09:40

  • UK opposes copyright exemptions for mash-ups

    You ain't got a bootleg to stand on, chum

    There should be no new exemption from copyright law for users' adaptations of copyright-protected content, the UK Government has said. To create such an exemption for user-generated content would ignore the rights of content creators, it said. The Government has responded to a consultation paper published by the European …

    Music and Media 3 Mar 10:11

  • Intel: We'll spend our way out of the downturn - again

    Cebit 09 Barrett recycles slogans at Cebit opener

    Intel kicked off the Cebit show today by wheeling out Craig Barrett to declare it will once again invest its way out of recession. The vendor flashed its Nehalem Xeon processor, confirmed it was speeding up its shift to 32nm and declared embedded processors the next big thing. Intel chairman Barrett opened the vendor's …

    PCs & Chips 3 Mar 10:23

  • BT wins pricing control over faster broadband

    Competitors must pay to play

    BT has convinced regulators to allow it to charge rivals whatever it wants for access to its forthcoming £1.5bn fibre network, following an intensive lobbying campaign. Ofcom said today that BT Openreach will have to offer rivals equal access to the network, as it does to existing infrastructure, but price controls will be …

    Data Networking 3 Mar 10:33

  • Surface surfaces in Europe

    The touch-sensitive coffee table is here

    Surface - the touchscreen table that got everyone talking when first announced by Microsoft back in 2007 - is now available to buy in the UK. Surface is now available to punters around Europe The interactive coffee table has been available in the US since mid-2008. However, Microsoft said this week at the CeBit trade fair …

    Reg Hardware 3 Mar 10:38

  • Brother MFC-990CW all-in-one printer

    Review With a fax and an answerphone too

    You’re in very cramped quarters and need a machine that can print, scan, copy, fax and handle photos, but it would also be good if it had a phone and digital answering machine. Brother’s petite MFC-990CW has the spec for this, but can the metal and plastic match up? Brother's MFC-990CW: fax machine styling Brother …

    Reg Hardware 3 Mar 10:38

  • Fridge-fixeable netbook debuts

    Doubles up as a tablet PC too

    Take a look at this gadget. Does it look like a netbook? Or a tablet PC? Actually, it's both and more besides, according to its maker. Always Innovating's Touch Book: a little bit of everything Always Innovating’s Touch Book is described as a versatile device that can be used as both forms of PC, thanks to a detachable …

    Reg Hardware 3 Mar 10:45

  • Fiorina treated for cancer

    Ex-HP boss to undergo chemo

    Carly Fiorina, the ex-boss of HP and adviser to John McCain, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She only found out on 20 February and will undergo chemotherapy, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Fiorina was an economic adviser and fundraiser to failed presidential candidate John McCain and was predicted to run for …

    Government 3 Mar 11:20

  • McKinnon extradition review date set

    Sting backs campaign to keep Englishman out of New York

    A judicial review on whether the Home Secretary was right to allow extradition proceedings against Gary McKinnon to continue despite his recent diagnosis with Asperger's Syndrome has been scheduled for 9 and 10 June. Only the Asperger's Syndrome aspects of the Home Office's handling of the case will be considered during the …

    Law 3 Mar 11:28

  • DSGi crosses fingers on new store format

    City = thumbs up, HMRC = thumbs down

    Struggling retailer DSG International (DSGi) is hoping the overhaul of its computer and electrical barns will help turn its fortunes around after it was hit with an unfavourable tax ruling by HMRC. The company said today that its new store formats for Currys and PC World in the UK pulled in gross profits between 15 per cent …

    Channel Register 3 Mar 11:33

  • Spare Backup pumps up the volume

    While HP Upline deflates

    While HP Upline has been stumped, Spare Backup is racking up some runs; subscription revenue for its online backup-to-the-cloud service is going to exceed a million bucks in its first 2009 quarter. Spare Backup's CEO Cery Perle said: "Revenue from subscriptions in the first quarter 2009, which is typically one of our slower …

    Storage 3 Mar 11:42

  • Expedition to probe cavern lake 3km beneath Antarctic ice

    Bizarre, 'extreme' prehistoric lifeforms expected

    The UK government has given the go-ahead for a team of British boffins to mount an expedition to a dark, cold lake buried in a cavern three kilometres beneath the ice sheet of Antarctica. The Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc) is funding university researchers and the British Antarctic Survey to explore icy Lake …

    Science 3 Mar 11:49

  • Sony waves in HD-shooting high-end Cyber-shot

    With sweeping panorama capture mode

    Sony has launched its latest Cyber-shot bridge camera - the DSC-HX1, its first compact able to shoot HD video at 30f/s. Sony's Cyber-shot HX1: flagship bridge Aside from capturing 1080p videos, the 9.1Mp HX1 camera also packs in a CMOS sensor and “G lens” that Sony said were originally developed for its Alpha line of …

    Reg Hardware 3 Mar 12:06

  • Sony exec hints at third PSP Grand Theft Auto outing

    Sony miffed by game's shift to the DS?

    Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will soon be released on Nintendo’s DS handheld console. But Sony isn’t prepared to let the franchise move to a rival handheld without a fight, and has hinted that another GTA for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) may be in the pipeline. John Koller, Head of PSP Marketing in North America, told …

    Reg Hardware 3 Mar 12:10

  • Asus lights up 1TB SSD Lamborghini laptop

    More storage space than the real thing?

    Lamborghini’s aren’t known for their storage capacity, but buy one from Asus and you’ll get plenty. Asus' Lamborghini VX5: a 1TB SSD on board That’s because the firm’s new Lamborghini VX5 laptop will come with a whopping 1TB of solid-state storage, a capacity that Asus’ claimed is currently the world’s largest available SSD …

    Reg Hardware 3 Mar 12:15

  • BT accused of 'sharp practice' on rolling contracts

    TalkTalk calls for Ofcom action

    TalkTalk has sparked a row with BT by accusing it of "sharp practice" over its contract renewals policy, which aims to tie customers in for an extra year or even 18 months. It's about a year since BT adopted a rolling contract policy. If subscribers coming to the end of their initial term do not notify BT they want to leave, …

    Telecoms 3 Mar 12:24

  • Local authorities must change child privacy practices

    Report wants better data protection

    Local authorities across England should change their rules on collecting information about children, a new report into the protection of children's privacy has said. The report was produced by children's rights lobby group Action on Rights for Children (ARCH). The report calls for better training for local authorities in data …

    Law 3 Mar 12:30

  • Ford shows off e-van concept

    'Leccy Tech Not weird, for a change

    Further proof that the tie-up between Ford and British electric van maker Smith EV is getting both broader and deeper came from Geneva today when Ford showed off its Tourneo BEV concept - essentially a Ford Tourneo Connect commercial people carrier with the Smith Transit Connect EV (né Ampere) electric drive train. Ford's …

    Reg Hardware 3 Mar 12:46

  • Intel announces autos, mobiles Atom ambition

    Embedded netbooks, anyone?

    First netbooks, then handheld internet tablets and now... cars. Intel wants to get its Atom processor family into automobiles. The scheme centres on the chip giant's Atom Z5xx series, which it launched in April 2008 as the foundation for MIDs - Mobile Internet Devices. MIDs haven't exactly become thick on the ground since then …

    Reg Hardware 3 Mar 12:51

  • LG Super Multi Blue BE06-LU10

    Review Very fast, very capacious

    The LG Super Multi Blue BE06-LU10 external DVD writer's headline figure is its 6x Blu-ray writing speed. The rest of the specification also catches the eye: 2x BD-RE, 16x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW and 6x DVD-RW writing. LG's Super Multi Blue BE06-LU10: stylish, kind of... You need to read the packaging of the drive to get those …

    Reg Hardware 3 Mar 13:02

  • Pirate Bay rejects law-breaking claims

    'Cocky attitude not sufficient to issue guilty verdict'

    A defendant in The Pirate Bay trial has dismissed claims that the notorious file sharing site’s activities are illegal. Jonas Nilsson, who represents The Pirate Bay’s co-founder Fredrik Neij, insisted in the defence counsel’s closing statement today that the BitTorrent tracker’s operations were completely legit. He also took …

    Music and Media 3 Mar 13:14

  • Facebook sues 'Spamford' Wallace over spam scam

    Bring in the usual suspects

    Facebook has launched a lawsuit against infamous junk mail merchant Sanford "Spamford" Wallace. Wallace, along with co-defendants Las Vegas night club manager Adam Arzoomanian and Scott Shaw, face charges of violating the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Mediapost adds the the suit covers allegations that Wallace and his business …

    Spam 3 Mar 13:31

  • Brussels and Beijing work to end trade show police raids

    Cebit 09 Angry patent holders offered mediation

    The entertaining spectacle of German police and customs agents busting hapless Chinese exhibitors at trade shows could become a thing of the past if a joint project between the People's Republic and the EU works as it should. Which is a pity. China's Ministry of Commerce and the European Commission are funding a China IPR Desk …

    Hardware 3 Mar 13:55

  • Study: Girls still not swarming into sci-tech, dammit

    Playing FPS, Tetris makes you good at sums, seemingly

    US researchers have issued a comprehensive roundup of research covering that hotly-debated topic: Why aren't there more girls in the sci/tech/engineering/maths-based world? In broad outline, the Cornell Uni team of psych specialists (one male lead author, two female co-authors, hem hem) say that the consensus of science …

    Science 3 Mar 14:06

  • Securing the corporation

    The Alpha and Omega of risk management

    In the past couple of articles we have considered why security is important and what are the threats faced, both internal and external. Most, if not all organisations will be doing something about IT security, so it isn’t going to be awfully useful to launch into a treatise on how everybody should be implementing IT security. It …

    State of Security 3 Mar 14:07

  • Ancient pulsar still radiating like a young 'un

    'Surprisingly active' X-ray source after 200m years

    NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has detected what the agency describes as a "surprisingly active" ancient pulsar - the oldest such body ever spied in the X-ray band and still radiating after around 200m years. PSR J0108-1431, aka J0108 for those in a hurry, lies at around 770 light-years from Earth. It's an "isolated" pulsar …

    Space 3 Mar 14:10

  • Apple updates full desktop Mac line-up

    Mini. iMac. Pro. All change.

    It's all go at Apple: the company has just rolled a stack of new desktops: the Mac Pro, the iMac and the Mac Mini have all been updated. The Mini's long awaited revamp sees the small machine gain Nvidia's GeForce 9400M integrated graphics as Apple's laptops now possess. As early leaked pics revealed, the new model has five USB …

    Reg Hardware 3 Mar 14:11

  • Asus keyboard PC due May. Or maybe June

    OLED screens coming too

    Asus' Eee PC Keyboard could appear as early as May the firm's bosses confirmed at CeBit today. Company chairman Jonney Shih said the firm was shooting for a Q2 launch for the the device, which incorporates a fully fledged PC and touchpad into a standard five-inch deep keyboard. This could mean May, he said, before opting for …

    Reg Hardware 3 Mar 14:19

  • Barclays heralds new wave of wallet-waving

    Contactless tech going in cards - data-gathering to follow

    Barclays Bank is to embed contactless technology into every debit card issued from this day forward, allowing punters to pay for coffee with a wave of the wallet - providing they can find somewhere that accepts the new technology. Barclays has had a contactless card for a while now; the OnePulse, which also has an Oyster card …

    Enterprise Security 3 Mar 14:34

  • Apple adds simultaneous multi-band Wi-Fi to routers

    Time Capsule and Airport Extreme updated

    Apple didn't just tweak its desktop Mac line-up today - it also tinkered with its wireless router range. The Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme both gain the ability to host connections over both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi bands simultaneously. Both already had the ability to use these two bands - 2.4GHz for 802.11b, g and n - …

    Reg Hardware 3 Mar 14:36

  • NetApp gives MetroCluster a good going-over

    From minutes to seconds

    NetApp has updated its MetroCluster software to support storage array failover to remote site storage in VMware environments. MetroCluster is software that, using replication, synchronously mirrors data writes from a primary NetApp FAS array to one in a remote site, across a campus or metro area, up to 100km away. It runs in …

    Storage 3 Mar 15:24

  • Oz runs Romero-themed zombie awareness week

    Throw another braaaain on the barbie

    Australia is running a national zombie awareness week in a bid to educate users about how to stop hackers from taking over control of their PCs. The event, which runs until 8 March, is a variant on the internet security awareness weeks run in other countries. Windows PCs compromised by malware are routinely used to distribute …

    Malware 3 Mar 15:29

  • BT OpenZone: Is it or isn't it?

    Hotspot controversy stoked by ambiguity

    BT's decision to upgrade every BT Business Hub, enabling them to operate as OpenZone hotspots, has been controversial - the fact that the company seems unable to decide if users are being opted into or out of the system can only make things worse. The email sent to customers seems pretty explicit, stating clearly that "after …

    Wireless 3 Mar 15:46

  • Telenor shuns IFPI's 'block Pirate Bay' demands

    Like asking post office to open every letter, says Norwegian ISP

    Norwegian ISP Telenor has refused demands from representatives of the US music and film industry to block access to BitTorrent tracker website The Pirate Bay. The Norwegian wing of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) demanded that telecoms group Telenor prevent access to the infamous file sharing …

    Telecoms 3 Mar 15:55

  • Extreme-sports fans offered tough compact camera

    Dive-proof, ski-proof and frost-proof

    AgfaPhoto has designed a compact camera that appears to have been tailored for the needs of divers, hikers and skiers. AgfaPhoto's Optima 830UW: fit for sporty types The 8Mp Optima 830UW can be submerged into water to depths of up to 10m, which is good news for fans of watersports. It's also frost-proof, according to …

    Reg Hardware 3 Mar 16:02

  • Nokia N97 price skyrockets

    Smartphone's launch date put back too

    Nokia’s N97 smartphone will arrive later than previously thought - and cost a fair chunk more, according to one retailer’s website. Play.com's N97 price and shipping date as of January (left) and its recently updated details (right) Register Hardware reported in January that Play.com had stated on its website that the N97 …

    Reg Hardware 3 Mar 16:13

  • Snacker discovers Nokia phone in crisp packet

    Bag Finnished off?

    Nokia has begun using a unique, but totally barmy, method of phone distribution: putting its handsets inside crisp packets. A Nokia phone turned up inside this woman's crisp packet OK, so the retail distribution method isn’t a Nokia endorsed one, but one hungry woman in the US was shocked recently to find one of the Finnish …

    Reg Hardware 3 Mar 16:14

  • NZ unleashes sonic Manilow weapon

    Oh Barry, you came and you dispersed my mallrats

    New Zealand has followed the lead of an Oz local council and intends to unleash the ultimate deterrent against Christchurch "mallrats" - the Barry Manilow sonic weapon. The city intends to pipe the lift-music crooner through the central mall district, letting Mandy and Can't Smile Without You do what law enforcement officials …

    Bootnotes 3 Mar 16:41

  • SGI lays off another 9 per cent

    Itanium support still in limbo

    Supercomputer maker Silicon Graphics has let go 120 more employees, nine per cent of its workforce, in an effort to cut costs as its revenues decline. These cuts come hot on the heels of a 15 per cent layoff announced in mid-December, when SGI slashed 15 per cent of its 1,500-strong workforce, eliminating 225 positions. After …

    Servers 3 Mar 16:50

  • Tandberg puts DiskStor library on books

    Virtual tape teaser

    Tandberg Data is continuing its migration to becoming a disk and tape-based data protection vendor with the addition of a DiskStor virtual tape library to its product range next quarter. With echoes of QuikStor, its RDX removable disk media product, in the name, the DiskStor D-Series is being previewed at Cebit in Hanover. We' …

    Storage 3 Mar 17:01

  • Environmentalists greenmail Google, Dell

    Cebit 09 Greenpeace presses suits to lobby pols, launch products

    Greenpeace has called out the tech industry on its environmental claims, challenging the likes of Google and Dell to start applying pressure on governments to adopt meaningful emissions reduction targets ahead of a crucial meeting on a replacement for the Kyoto protocol. The environmental pressure group has written to the …

    Environment 3 Mar 17:35

  • Nokia releases cuter Qt

    Open-source, web, Mac bases covered

    Nokia has released the first major update to Qt since it acquired Trolltech a year ago, with licensing and features to increase the application and UI framework's appeal. Qt 4.5 is now available under the Lesser General Public License (GPL) for the first time, in addition to the GPL and two commercial licenses sported by older …

    Developer 3 Mar 18:49

  • Google CFO nabs $1.2m bonus for five months' work

    This ain't Wall Street

    The Chocolate Factory's new chief financial officer has received a million-dollar bonus after just five months on the job. With a Tuesday SEC filing, Google said that in 2008, it splashed $6.3 million in bonus money on five of the top execs working under co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and chief executive Eric Schmidt. …

    Financial News 3 Mar 18:57

  • Neil Young posts angry YouTube missive

    After the Gold Rush

    Neil Young has hit out at YouTube by complaining it “unfairly” punishes artists to keep the online video business ticking over. Writing on his blog yesterday, the Sixties rocker and one-time supporter of Ronald Reagan, grumbled about a row that kicked off in December between Warner Music and YouTube after the firms failed to …

    Music and Media 3 Mar 19:09

  • HP quashes executive jet perks

    Arrives after company-wide wage reductions

    In a sign that Hewlett-Packard is running short on compensation-based expenses to eliminate - or that its executives simply abhor flying commercial first class – the PC vendor said it's now cutting private jet perks for top executives. The world's number one PC vendor told government regulators on Monday it will no longer …

    Financial News 3 Mar 19:31

  • Hack-off contestant dubs Apple Safari 'easy pickins'

    Pwn2Own's low-hanging fruit

    Apple's Safari browser is likely to be compromised multiple times at an annual hacking contest being held later this month because it's "easy pickins as usual," a researcher specializing in Apple security says. Charlie Miller, the white-hat hacker who successfully felled a MacBook Air at last year's Pwn2Own competition, …

    Security 3 Mar 19:38

  • Apple Mac-sprucing bores fanbois

    Opinion The thrill is gone

    Apple updated its Mac Mini, iMac, and Mac Pro lines on Tuesday. And what a ho-hum set of updates it was. Admittedly, Apple-watchers have been spoiled by past announcements. Nostalgia buffs will remember how excitement was high, for example, at the introduction of the original iMac in 1997, the Power Mac G5 in 2003, and - of …

    PCs & Chips 3 Mar 19:44

  • Contractors risk mini-Microsoft-protest

    Turner talks new hires

    Microsoft contractors unhappy with a 10 per cent pay cut took to the streets just as senior management - again - talked up future hiring. The revolution does not start here: Just 15 temps showed up to protest the cuts yesterday evening (Monday) at an intersection near Microsoft's corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington. …

    Financial News 3 Mar 20:57

  • US spy agency gains support for cyber security role

    DHS not up to task, Congress told

    The United States' top intelligence official argued last week that the National Security Agency should become the nation's cyber defender, adding his voice to the growing murmur of support for the agency's future role in cyberspace. In comments before the US House of Representatives' intelligence committee on Wednesday, the …

    Security 3 Mar 21:39

  • Intel dubs 2009 'The Year of 10Gb Ethernet'

    Coming soon to a motherboard near you

    Intel's high-density computing honcho says that 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) is ready for prime time. "Datacenters are transitioning to 10GbE technology to meet the explosive data requirements of today's networks," Jason Waxman, Intel's General Manager of High-Density Computing, recently told The Reg. According to Waxman, the …

    Data Networking 3 Mar 22:01

  • Server market gets second opinion on Q4

    Gartner confirms sickness

    The analysts at Gartner have reexamined the server patient, and they can confirm it's still sick. Last week, IDC recently released its numbers for Q4 and all of 2008, and now it's Gartner's turn. Gartner reckons that global server sales plummeted by 15.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2008, to $13.1 billion, with shipments …

    Servers 3 Mar 22:40