13th March 2009 Archive

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Sun parks cloud at data center Valhalla

Third time a charm?

It's back. The grid/utility/cloud computing and storage idea is apparently being revamped by Sun Microsystems only a few short months after the company shut down its Network.com utility, originally known as the Sun Grid. The details are unknown, but reports coming out of the AFCOM Data Center World conference (here and here) …

Servers 13 Mar 00:04
Microsoft's R&D chief: the people problem with innovation

Updated iPhone's secret father speaks

Rick Rashid, leader of Microsoft's R&D operation, said he could foresee cloud computing some years back. The challenge as a technologist, though, has been in anticipating the finer details of how the cloud and its related technologies - the data center, replication, and synchronization - will be adopted by people and …

Software 13 Mar 00:17
Ethernet — a ~~networking protocol~~ name for the ages

Michelson, Morley, and Metcalfe

In the beginning, Ethernet was optional. When Bob Metcalfe and David Boggs cooked up their network protocol at Xerox PARC in the early 1970s, it was meant to connect the research haven’s now famous Alto machines — but only if researchers felt the need. “Each scientist would get a kind of Alto order form,” Metcalfe remembers, “ …

Data Networking 13 Mar 00:28
Fusion-io ups SSD ante

640GB throw down

Solid state storage maker Fusion-io has upped the ante in the SSD game, launching the ioDrive Duo, a PCI-Express peripheral card with 640GB of capacity. The ioDrive Duo is a kicker to the company's first generation of SSDs and doubles up the capacity by cramming two modules on the same board. The ioDrive Duo is rated at 186, …

Storage 13 Mar 00:47
Apple preps Jobsian magic wand

Putting the TV in Apple TV

An Apple patent filing on Thursday reveals the company's plans for a cursor-controlling remote with more than a few tricks up its sleeve, and which may hint at the big-screen Apple television that has been the subject of many a rumor. Patent application #20090066648, entitled "GUI Applications for Use with 3D Remote Controller …

Hardware 13 Mar 05:02
AOL pinches Google sales boss

Where do you go from Google?

AOL has snaffled Google's US sales boss Tim Armstrong to be its chairman and chief executive. Armstrong ran Google's online advertising push and its north American operations after joining the search giant in 2000. AOL's current chairman and chief executive Randy Falco and president Ron Grant will leave the sleeping internet …

Music and Media 13 Mar 09:48
Vodafone and O2 muddy the radio network waters

Comment Promising to share networks, like they already do

O2 and Vodafone are in talks about sharing network sites and infrastructure in the UK, the Financial Times reports. This would be interesting if the companies hadn't already done this for decades. According to the FT a deal between the two companies would save costs and, if spectrum sharing is included, could solve the 900MHz …

Mobile 13 Mar 09:56
Content - not tech - delaying possible Sky 3D channel

Exclusive Broadcaster talks openly about 3D TV's future

Content, rather than technical issues, is holding back the launch of a 3D TV offering by broadcaster Sky, Register Hardware has learned. It was recently reported that Sky’s Chief Engineer, Chris Johns, had suggested that homes could see 3D TV by Christmas – but whether Johns’ meant specifically from Sky, or was talking in a …

Reg Hardware 13 Mar 10:09
Non-Apple talking Shuffle earphones emerge

Just like Apple's, only better

That didn't take long. One manufacturer has already hopped on the talking iPod Shuffle bandwagon by announcing the development of replacement cans featuring the player’s control buttons. Scosche Industries’ talking Shuffle-like earphones The latest Shuffle ships with a pair of earphones that incorporate the controls taken …

Reg Hardware 13 Mar 10:19
Voice analysis trial gives wobbly results

Stammer to fall

Tests of voice risk analysis by the Department for Work and Pensions have produced varied results. The first wave of trials involved new claimants at Jobcentre Plus, and reviews of claimants at six local authorities, being classified as low or high risk by operators with the help of a voice risk analysis system. A selection of …

Government 13 Mar 10:24
Apple to show off iPhone OS 3.0 next week

Feeling the heat from the competition?

Apple will take the wraps of the third major release of its iPhone operating system next week. At a special event being held in Cupertino next Tuesday, Apple will show off iPhone 3.0 and the software development kit that goes with it. The news suggests Apple is continuing with its annual iPhone rollout programme, with the new …

Reg Hardware 13 Mar 10:51
Sadville transports shaggers to porncentration camp

Tighter controls over 'adult content'

Second Life has announced it will "geographically separate" adult content so it's accesible "only to those who ought to (and who desire to) access it". Linden Labs says it'll build the Sadville porn concentration camp, aka the "Adult Continent", over the next few months. It explains: The system we build will have three main …

Bootnotes 13 Mar 11:07
BOFH: Cable entanglements

Episode 3 Copper load of this

"I've been thinking," the Boss says, wandering into Mission Control feigning nonchalance. "Surely with the number of movements in the building at the moment and the increasing copper price and all, we should invest in some data cable. Keep a stock of it on site. Ten boxes or so, what do you think?" "Excellent idea!" the PFY …

BOFH 13 Mar 11:08
Manchester mobile software firm poised to go titsup

End of the line of EMCC software?

The future of EMCC Software Ltd seemed bleak yesterday evening with only a hold up at a senior creditor preventing the appointment of an insolvency practitioner. The Manchester-based company closed its doors on Tuesday, paying off staff and shutting the office, sources told The Register. The firm's web site was still up as of …

Mobile 13 Mar 11:27
Small biz group calls on UK.gov to give cashflow relief

'Extraordinarily difficult time'

The British Chambers of Commerce has warned today that the government needs to do more to raise awareness among businesses about cashflow schemes in the current economic downturn. The small biz group’s director general David Frost also called on banks to do more to support companies in the UK during the recession. Around 90 …

Small Biz 13 Mar 11:35
Robot 'Mono Tiltrotor' supply skyhook proposed

Vid Threeway droid whispercopter paramotor deathmatch?

There's usually something wacky going on in the world of whirlycraft, and if not there's bound to be some kind of craziness brewing in military droids. This week we have both, with a proposal for a robot mono tiltrotor. The idea is for a craft somewhat like the well-known, controversial Osprey, now in operational service after …

Science 13 Mar 11:46
Jungle Jane pump-and-dumper claims 'pretty healthy' sex life

It was the drugs that made me do it

The 24-year-old Cairns man who twice broke into a sex shop, shagged "Jungle Jane" inflatable dolls and then dumped them in an alleyway has claimed his sex life (with real women) is "pretty healthy". Adam Troy Rosberg, 24, who was yesterday handed 15 months' probabation by Cairns Magistrates' Court for his sexploits, told the …

Bootnotes 13 Mar 12:02
Apple Mac Mini (Early 2009)

Review Is this modest upgrade enough to save the Mini?

Someone at Apple must have a soft spot for the Mac Mini. Despite its superb design, the Mini has always been a bit of an under-achiever, and rumours of its poor sales and imminent demise have been going around for a couple of years now. Yet, as the song says, “good times and bum times, I’ve seen them all, and I’m still here …

Reg Hardware 13 Mar 12:13
Ma McKinnon plans musical extradition protest

G20 'sing-in'

Janis Sharp, mother of US extradition target Gary McKinnon, has hatched plans to conduct a sing-in protest to coincide with President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to London. The demo is planned to coincide with Obama's visit to attend the G20 conference at the beginning of April, where global leaders will meet to discuss the …

Crime 13 Mar 12:20
Sacked French Sony workers hold chief exec hostage

Updated ~~Liberté~~, égalité, fraternité at video tape plant

Sacked Sony workers at a video tape plant in Pontonx-sur-l'Adour, south-west France, yesterday demonstrated a bit of the old Bastille spirit by taking hostage the company's chief exec who'd dropped in for a final "courtesy visit" to the 300 dismissed employees. The workers are apparently a bit miffed that their redundancy …

Bootnotes 13 Mar 12:23
Firefox 3.1 third beta released into wild

Lesser spotted 3.5 version coming soon

Mozilla has finally released the third beta of Firefox 3.1 after several delays brought on by show-stopping bugs in its new JavaScript engine TraceMonkey. Testers can expect a speedier Gecko rendering engine for web pages from the latest beta, as well as more stable execution of JavaScript-based websites, said Mozilla. …

Applications 13 Mar 12:31
Secret emails reveal sexing-up of Iraq dossier

Inquiry time?

Opposition parties are today renewing calls for a proper investigation into the Iraq war because a Freedom of Information request has revealed senior officials were concerned about how the intelligence was presented. The emails relate to the dossier on Iraq's imaginary weapons of mass destruction shown to Parliament in …

Government 13 Mar 12:34
'Talking' iPod Shuffle spills guts

Player disassembled in pictures

Want to see the inside of Apple's new iPod Shuffle? Those crazy take-everything-to-bits guys at iFixit.com have pulled one apart to satisfy your curiosity. The bundled USB cable shows just how small the new Shuffle is Images courtesy iFixit.com The disassembly reveals that most of the Shuffle's innards is battery. It's no …

Reg Hardware 13 Mar 12:45
3D laser maths models of women's bodies produced

End to 'seat-of-the-pants' lingerie design foretold

Top Japanese mathematical modelling boffins have used the latest in 3D computing to achieve a much better grasp of women's bodies. Kensuke Nakamura of Kyoto Institute of Technology and Takao Kurokawa of Osaka University say that a truly accurate 3D mathematical picture of the female form has thus far been lacking. The duo say …

Applications 13 Mar 12:52
The good book: How to bet better online

Making your own luck in stupid times

As bank interest rates tumble and savings rates drop to levels unheard of in most of our lifetimes, readers might be forgiven for looking at alternative ways to make their money work for them. Could online betting be the answer? Before we go any further here’s a health warning: this piece is about ways in which you can use the …

Financial News 13 Mar 13:02
Obese cost London fire brigade £300k

Five-year bill for heavy lifting

The London fire brigade has over the past five years been called to 128 emergencies involving "excessively overweight" people trapped in "beds, baths or chairs" - at a cost of £292,992, the Evening Standard reports. The total bill includes incidents in NHS hospitals and those involving prising the obese from their homes "when …

Bootnotes 13 Mar 13:10
Pensioner gets apology over S&M smut filesharing threat

Updated Davenport Lyons: The lawyers who care

A pensioner accused of infringinging copyright by sharing hardcore sado-masochistic pornography using peer-to-peer software has received an apology from controversial law firm Davenport Lyons. A retired 64-year-old Reg reader, who we'll call John, was accused last year of illegally sharing the movie Euro Domination 5* via …

Music and Media 13 Mar 13:30
Indefinite liability for online libel must end

Comment Everlasting damnation is Victorian punishment

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) missed an opportunity to kill an absurd libel law this week. That law exposes online news archives around the world to indefinite liability in British courts. It also makes it too easy for subjects of bad press coverage to improve their standing in history. The Times newspaper asked …

Law 13 Mar 13:41
Traumatised Tibetan monks offered singing bowl therapy

US healers correct 'life-wind imbalance'

US healers from The Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights (BCRHHR) have been looking at ways to treat traumatised Tibetan monks who've fled "violent religious persecution". The BCRHHR notes that many of these victims arrived in the US suffering from "symptoms of traumatic stress, interfering with their meditative …

Biology 13 Mar 13:54
Police law-interpretation: What next?

Peering at pub punters isn't proper, and that's not all

The Information Commissioner has given the Metropolitan Police a good ticking-off for attempting to bring about the blanket introduction of CCTV in pubs. Their stance on the issue "raised serious privacy issues", which is data protection speak for "could possibly be unlawful". In response, the Met’s initial reaction – a …

Policing 13 Mar 14:35
Consultants chase BT for £88m over 'contract breach'

Men with clipboards want paying

BT is being sued by consultancy Magenta netLogic for £88m for alleged breach of contract. The firm claims it signed a contract with BT to investigate potential savings at BT Global Services - the company would then be paid a percentage of any savings the telco made by acting on Magenta's advice. Magenta is seeking £80m in …

Channel Register 13 Mar 14:39
Satyam board mulls buyers shortlist

Several bidders for buggered outsourcer

Satyam's government-appointed board of directors met today to look at bids received for the company - the deadline for registering interest was last night. Directors have appointed former Chief Justice of India SP Bharucha to oversee the process. Interested bidders have until next Friday to provide proof of funds totalling at …

Channel Register 13 Mar 14:52
Ofcom slaps Bristol radio for uncoolness

Too much gold, not enough sick tunes

UK regulator has issued a "yellow card" warning to GWR FM for failing to play music the kids want to hear, accusing the Bristol-based station of aiming for an older audience. UK radio stations are licensed on the premise of appealing to a particular crowd, and providing a particular kind of content. For GWR that means locals …

Music and Media 13 Mar 14:52
Solwise 3.5G plus WLAN Mobile Server Router

Review DIY networks, wherever you go

Compact travel routers are nothing new, but they're generally limited to linking Wi-Fi devices to a wired network. Here at Reg Hardware we use an old but still handy ciggie packet-sized Netgear WGR101 unit to connect our laptops and iPhones to hotel Ethernet feeds. Solwise's 3.5G plus WLAN Mobile Server Router: small box, big …

Reg Hardware 13 Mar 15:02
MS packs yet more tweaks into 'near-ready' Windows 7

Release Candidate now with 63 changes (and counting)

Microsoft has announced 27 more changes to its upcoming Windows 7 operating system. The software giant, which seems to be increasingly in a rush to shove its next OS out the door, said today it had applied yet another set of tweaks to the release candidate of Windows 7 following gripes suggestions from beta testers. The RC is …

Operating Systems 13 Mar 15:24
BBC zombie caper slammed by security pros

Analysis Daft Beeb-bot doco gets go-ahead

A controversial BBC Click documentary which involved researchers obtaining access to a botnet and sending spam is due to screen this weekend despite a growing storm of criticism. Security experts - including McAfee, a firm whose representatives appear in the programme - have described the exercise as misguided and unnecessary …

Crime 13 Mar 16:18
So, what's the f**king difference between a Netbook and an ultrathin?

The El Reg flowchart can help

So, you've got $500 bucks burning a hole in your pocket, and you've got your heart set on a computer (and maybe 20 fast food meals). A small, cheap computer might be just the thing for you. Miniature computers are just about the hottest thing to hit the PC market since probably the last time something cheap came out when …

Odds and Sods 13 Mar 17:15
Pro-filesharing Swedish party hopes for seat in Brussels

Supporting yoof of today's 'life online'

The Swedish Pirate Party hopes to secure a seat in the forthcoming European Parliament elections this summer even before the activist group has earned its stripes at a national level. The party was formed in Sweden in 2006 following the introduction of a controversial new law that forbade the downloading of copyrighted …

Government 13 Mar 17:41
Amazon waves DMCA in Kindle channel lock-down

Bans e-book shopping at own store

Amazon has invoked the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to prevent distribution of software for extracting the personal identifier from a Kindle, used by those wanting to shop at the Amazon-owned Mobipocket store. The software concerned is called kindlepid.py. A simple Python script that extracts the Personal Identification ( …

Music and Media 13 Mar 17:51
Where to start with IT Security

Episode 1 Security Webcast Mini Series

In a short series of webcasts The Register's expert panel will be tackling the current state of the security market. Over the course of the next few weeks the experts will be looking into a variety of topics, from treating the main risks to the importance of an evolving security solution, and what 2009 has in store. Starting …

State of Security 13 Mar 18:02
Drunken BOFH wreaks $1.2m in Oz damage

Will retrain as chef

When a former IT consultant knocked out a government system in Australia's Northern Territories, costing taxpayers $1.2m (Australian), he was drunk and upset that his fiancee had broken off their engagement. David Anthony McIntosh told a Northern Territories court he was trying to prove there were security vulnerabilities in …

Enterprise Security 13 Mar 18:29
China bars WoW expansion for showing bone

Censors scandalized by skeletons

Stupendously popular online game World of Warcraft's second expansion, "Wrath of the Lich King" is being blocked by Chinese censors for showing too much bone. According JLM Pacific Epoch, China's General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) has twice rejected applications from Blizzard Entertainment and its …

Music and Media 13 Mar 18:49
iPhone 3.0 gossip lassos MMS, tethering, cut-and-paste...

All the rumors in one place

On Thursday, Apple announced that it would be giving the world a sneak peek at the next version of its iPhone operating system on St. Paddy's Day. On Friday, the rumor mill began churning out shameless gossip on what will be included in iPhone Software 3.0. Speculation includes support for the Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS …

Mobile 13 Mar 19:00
MS security chief becomes DHS cybersecurity boss

Hot seat

A senior Microsoft exec has been placed in charge of protecting the US's computer systems from hacking attacks Philip Reitinge, chief trustworthy infrastructure strategist at Microsoft, has been appointed to the lead role in protecting the US government's computing network from from cyberattack. He was tapped by US Homeland …

Government 13 Mar 19:04
DellHPSunIBM unmoved by Cisco blades

California dreamin' meets reality

As most of the planet now knows, Monday is D-Day for the "California" blade server launch from networking juggernaut Cisco Systems. This may not be the first time that Cisco has been involved in the server racket - it has dabbled a bit from the edges - but it is, if the rumors are right, the first time that the company will …

Servers 13 Mar 20:46
Visa yanks creds for payment card processing pair

RBS, Heartland no longer PCI compliant

Visa on Friday alerted the world that RBS WorldPay and Heartland Payment Systems are not on its list of payment card processors who are in good standing with industry-mandated standards for data security. The move follows announcements by both companies that they experienced data breaches that exposed details for a large …

Security 13 Mar 21:40
NASA eyes weekend Discovery launch

ISS bound (eventually)

NASA's next shot at launching space shuttle Discovery will be on Sunday, following repairs to the spacecraft's troublesome plumbing that grounded this week's attempt. Workers at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida are fixing a leaky Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP) interface, which connects a hydrogen gas vent line to …

Space 13 Mar 22:24
Obama CIO on leave after cuffing of former employee

White House caution

America's first federal chief information officer has been placed on leave after one of his former employees was arrested for alleged IT bribery. The White House tells The Washington Post that federal CIO Vivek Kundra is currently on leave due to "an abundance of caution." President Obama tapped Kundra for the brand new post …

Government 13 Mar 22:36