8th April 2009 Archive

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Nine-inch Asus Eee not doomed after all?

Firm may sell mini laptops to schools

Asus may continue to sell some 8.9in netbooks - despite previous hints from senior management that the company might kill them off in favour of 10in models. According to Chinese-language newspaper the Economic Daily News, by way of DigiTimes, the firm’s decided to retain its 8.9in netbook line for the “procurement market”. …

Reg Hardware 8 Apr 00:02
Acer flaunts first Ion-based nettop

Smaller than a breadbox

Acer today announced the first small, cheap desktop PC using Nvidia's new Ion graphics chipset. Dubbed Acer's AspireRevo, the diminutive machine is being pitched as a device suitable for plugging into the family TV for watching videos, viewing pictures, or playing games. The box combine a 1.6GHz single-core Intel Atom 230 …

Reg Hardware 8 Apr 00:16
Google animates 'offline' Gmail for iPhone, Android

Cache machine

As promised, Google has unleashed a new web-based Gmail incarnation that runs on both the Apple iPhone and Google's very own Android mobile platform. Last week, at Tim 2.0'Reilly's Web 2.0 Expo, Google vice president of engineering Vic Gundotra showed off a "technical preview" of the new HTML 5 Gmail, hinting that a release …

Mobile 8 Apr 00:20
Intel chips get new logos, star treatment

Confusing the masses

Intel has introduced a new and flashier set of logos for their consumer-level processors and processor-cum-chipset combos, along with a star-rating system that may generate more trouble than guidance. The new logos feature the familiar Intel logo above the marketing names of Core i7, Core 2, Centrino, Centrino 2, Atom, Celeron …

PCs & Chips 8 Apr 00:23
Did Sun's total package kill the IBM deal?

Stop thinking like a Web 2.0 start up

It's ironic but fitting that executive bonuses, a subject that's ignited popular anger against the very companies in Sun Microsystems' core customer base on Wall St, helped kill Sun's future. It's been reported that a disagreement between IBM and Sun over post-acquisition packages for both chief executive officer Jonathan …

Financial News 8 Apr 00:34
Sun revs VirtualBox to 2.2

Supports OVF standard, ready for Snow Leopard

Beleaguered server and system-software maker Sun Microsystems wants to change the Big Blue subject big-time, if only so that someone could talk about the new VirtualBox 2.2 virtualization software the company is announcing on Wednesday. We'll oblige. VirtualBox, like many Sun technologies, was acquired rather than created as …

Virtualization 8 Apr 04:02
Google pours Java on code cloud

App Engine freed from Python

Google has added the Java runtime to its App Engine, that (semi-)free service that lets you build and host web apps on Google's very own cloud distributed infrastructure. When App Engine was first introduced, almost a year ago to the day, it stuck with Python, a favorite among code-happy Google Oompa Loompas. But after …

Developer 8 Apr 05:32
Tata win Child Maintenance COTS IT deal

Past disasters ensure deliberate lack of innovation

The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission has chosen Tata Consultancy Services to build its new IT system. The commission, which took over the role of the Child Support Agency in November 2008, advertised the £50m tender last September. Stephen Geraghty, the child maintenance commissioner, said the new system will use …

Channel Register 8 Apr 06:02
Fusion-io gets funding infusion

50 meellion dollars?

PCIe-connect SSD start-up Fusion-io brought forward its B-round funding and new CEO announcements to SNW as it revealed it was nearly $50m better off. LightSpeed Venture Partners led the B-round which netted Fusion-io $47.5m. Fusion-io also confirmed that David Bradford is its new CEO, replacing the ousted Don Basile, who is …

Storage 8 Apr 06:02
South Africa punts money into e-MPV maker

'Leccy Tech Boost for Joule

When South African wannabe e-car maker Optimal Energy unveiled its Joule five-door 'leccy hatchback at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, the general opinion was that while it looked and sounded fine, would anyone put hard cash on it ever going into production? Well, yesterday Optimal announced that it plans to have pilot fleets of …

Reg Hardware 8 Apr 07:02
Intel intros 2GHz Atom

Expect to see it in notebook-not-netbooks shortly

Intel has announced a 2GHz Atom processor, as expected, along with a lesser part with on-board auto-overclocking. Both new Atoms form part of the Z series of chips, all aimed at handheld internet tablets rather than netbooks. That said, while there's currently almost no demand for said palmtops, the new boys will surely find …

Reg Hardware 8 Apr 07:07
Brando injects storage

The syringe that thinks it's a Flash drive

Seeing a hypodermic sticking out of someone isn’t a sight most people relish. So quirky peripherals retailer Brando has made a larger-than-normal syringe and wants you to jab it into your USB port. Brando's hypodermic Flash drive The USB Syringe Flash Drive is exactly as it sounds and, although it doesn’t have a sharp …

Reg Hardware 8 Apr 07:10
BT still struggling to fix Olympic problems

Thames Water admits hole lotta trouble in Stratford

BT has reconnected many of the Eastenders who lost their telecoms this weekend after a large thrust borer crashed through a deep tunnel, cutting fibre optic cable and copper line connections. But other services in East London, including traffic lights, are still cut off from the outside world, the firm admitted late Tuesday. …

Telecoms 8 Apr 08:02
Nork splash shot snapped by passing satellite

Pic Orbiting pap pic shows duff commie rocket in flight

A commercial satellite, passing over the Sea of Japan at the weekend as North Korea made an unsuccessful attempt to launch its first satellite into orbit, obtained this remarkable snap of the rocket stack in flight: That's the fat lady singing, lads, not the satellite A fullsize pic can be downloaded here, courtesy of …

Space 8 Apr 08:48
Male chimps strike 'meat for sex' deals

Sharing food brings reproductory success

Researchers have confirmed that male chimpanzees who share meat with females mate twice as often as those who prefer to keep their food to themselves. These "meat for sex" deals, observed among chimps in Ivory Coast by Dr Cristina Gomes and colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, are significant …

Biology 8 Apr 08:59
FCO warns over bogus credit crunch relief phishing email

Fraudsters adapt methods to hard-up times

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has warned Brits and others to ignore a phishing scam currently circulating around the internet. Scam emails attempt to trick users into submitting personal data, in exchange for a chance to benefit from a fictitious "Recession Relief Programme Fund". The bogus emails purport to come …

Crime 8 Apr 09:22
'Mad as hell' news agency declares war on light-fingered sites

That sounds like fighting talk, AP

News agency the Associated Press (AP) has said it will start taking action against internet publishers who use its material without paying for it or without sharing earnings. The company is adopting new, aggressive policies, it said. The company said in a statement that one plan is to track the use of AP material, such as news …

Music and Media 8 Apr 09:28
Repeat space tourist Simonyi back on terra firma

He should think about a timeshare

Space tourist Charles Simonyi this morning returned to Earth from the International Space Station at the end of his second trip to the orbiting outpost. He and Expedition 18 members Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov (right and left in pic) touched down in Kazakhstan aboard their Soyuz TMA-13 capsule at …

Space 8 Apr 09:50
Race heats up for Satyam

Monday could be the day

The race to buy Satyam is heating up and the board could make a decision as early as this Monday. There are believed to be four bidders left in the race to buy the troubled outsourcer. These include building firm Larsen & Toubro, Tech Mahindra, Cognizant Technology and private equity investor Wilbur Ross. The four will be …

Channel Register 8 Apr 10:06
Acer extends Aspire One netbook line with 11.6in model

'Pro' version too

Acer has ramped up its Aspire One netbook family - arguably pushing the range out of netbook territory with a 11.6in model. Acer's Aspire One 751: 11.6in screen Said machine, described simply as the "11.6in Aspire One" will be equipped with an Intel Atom processor Acer wouldn't name but - given the use of a US15W chipset, …

Reg Hardware 8 Apr 10:29
Acer touts touchscreen Windows 7 PC

...with Blu-ray

With the launch of Windows 7 just around the corner, it’s enevitable that firms will start using the OS’ launch as a marketing angle. Enter Acer, with its Windows 7 all-in-one PC. Acer's Z5600: 24in touchscreen all-in-one The 24in Aspire Z5600 PC has supposedly been “engineered to maximise the full promise” of Windows 7 - …

Reg Hardware 8 Apr 10:38
Isolated Aussies left really isolated

Even further from anywhere

Australia's Northern Territory lost all internet and phone connections yesterday, thanks to the failure of two separate Telstra circuits. The ten-hour outage meant that ATM and mobile networks were unavailable, and emergency service lines in some areas like Alice Springs also ceased operating. Isolated residents were not even …

Telecoms 8 Apr 10:39
Hackers pwn Macca site with banking malware

Ringo forgotten again

Webmasters had to purge the website of former Beatle Paul McCartney after hackers planted malware. The timing of the attack coincided with a reunion gig between McCartney and Ringo Starr at the David Lynch fundraiser concert in New York on Saturday. Hackers used the occasion, the duo's first joint performance in seven years, …

Enterprise Security 8 Apr 10:42
UK butterfly numbers hit hard

Wet summers, climate change, loss of habitat...

Scientists are warning that another wet summer following two years of wash-outs could drive some UK butterfly species to extinction, the Telegraph reports. A survey by the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, which began recording populations in 1976, showed that 12 species last year "suffered the worst summer on record". Overall …

Biology 8 Apr 10:51
Advent AIO-100 nettop

Review When a netbook's screen is just too darn small...

At first glance, you could be forgiven for mistaking the Advent AIO-100 for just a normal 18.4in monitor with what looks like a very sturdy base. However, inside that oversized foot sits a full working PC. Advent's AIO-100: netbook internals The AIO-100 uses components you're more likely to see living inside a netbook - so …

Reg Hardware 8 Apr 11:02
British film board rejects 'disturbing' sexual torture film

Is Obscenity Law undermined by extreme porn?

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) have issued a rare rejection notice for a "disturbing and realistic" DVD called NF713. A spokeswoman for the BBFC denied that the decision was in any way influenced by the new extreme porn law, adding that they did not feel it breached that legislation in any way. Opponents of …

Music and Media 8 Apr 11:02
Hugh Jackman speaks of Wolverine leak heartbreak

A 'serious crime', thunders thesp

Hugh Jackman has described himself as "heartbroken" by the leak of X-Men Origins: Wolverine which saw an incomplete version appear on several BitTorrent websites ahead of the official 1 May US release date. According to the BBC, the Aussie thesp described the rough footage - featuring no CGI effects - as a "Ferrari without a …

Entertainment 8 Apr 11:05
Secret European project to battle online jihad

'Significant' international bid to block extremism

The UK is collaborating with the German, Dutch and Czech governments on a secret research project on how to effectively block the distribution of Islamic extremist material online. Officials across Europe are concerned that most jihadi websites are hosted outside the EU and so cannot be taken down from the internet. It's …

Government 8 Apr 11:06
Sling to offer £25 discount on new Slingbox

If you own the original model

In a bid to boost upgrade sales, Sling Media is to offer owners of its original Slingbox TV-over-the-net box £25 off the price of a more recent model. Sling said it was making the offer to allow punters to "take advantage of next generation software and services that will only be supported when using the most current Slingbox …

Reg Hardware 8 Apr 11:24
Wanna upgrade from Windows 7 beta? Go back to Vista first

Stick-in-the-muds can edit code to swerve unloved OS

Microsoft is asking Windows 7 beta testers to remove the program and return their computers to Vista, before upgrading to the forthcoming release candidate of the firm’s latest operating system. The near-ready version of Windows 7 is expected to land next month. However, Microsoft has admitted the path to the RC isn’t going to …

Operating Systems 8 Apr 11:30
Microsoft hit with €9m fine over German pricing

Ve haff vays off making you not talk to each other

The German competition authority, the BundesKartellamt, has fined Microsoft €9m for colluding with retailers to set the price of "Office Home and Student 2007". Suppliers are allowed to talk to retailers about prices but need to be careful not to break competition rules. But in this case, Microsoft staff and a leading German …

Channel Register 8 Apr 11:37
Can't get a job? Try plastic surgery

US unemployed go under the knife in competitive times

US jobseekers have shown a committment to supporting the country's plastic surgery industry in these troubled economic times by indulging in a bit of nip and tuck for more than just cosmetic reasons, Reuters reports. While the industry shrank nine per cent in 2008 to a mere $11.8bn, there's "increased interest" in going under …

Bootnotes 8 Apr 12:00
Nokia Life Tools help Indian farmers get one

Smart apps for dumb phones

Nokia has completed trials of its Life Tools service, providing information to India's farmers and farming communities, demonstrating how mobile phones can do more than play music and make farting noises. Life Tools provides an easy interface to Reuters Market Light, which delivers information on crop prices and such over the …

Mobile 8 Apr 12:01
Acer debuts thin and light notebooks for the masses

Bigger battery life

So here we are in New York for the first leg of Acer's seasonal refresh. The Taiwanese PC company is making a really big deal of the line-up, 20 products grouped into three areas - notebooks / netbooks / and all-in-one PCs and slotted into three brands: Acer, Gateway (Packard Bell in Europe) and eMachines. It wheeled in …

PCs & Chips 8 Apr 12:16
Prof: Fat ladies don't get to be CEOs, lardy blokes do

Greasy pole, glass ceiling stymie chubbette biz execs

New research carried out on Fortune 1000 CEOs indicates that fatcat biz kingpins are, in fact, fatter than the rest of us - but not if they're women. Counterintuitively perhaps, it appears that breaking through the glass ceiling is more difficult for the heftier lady. "The results suggest that while being obese limits the …

Bootnotes 8 Apr 12:38
Brown pledges to make Britain's drivers greener

'Leccy Tech PM restates UK e-car ambitions

Gordon Brown wants the UK to become a “world leader" in producing and exporting electric cars. If that isn't enough come 22 April – Budget Day – the government will also announce that it will enter talks with power companies about setting up a nationwide network of e-car charging posts. And e-car trials will begin in cities …

Reg Hardware 8 Apr 12:41
Sadville besieged by bitey 'spampires'

Tiresome pyramid spammers bothering avatars

Run for your lives: the vampires are coming! Or "spampires", as they are now referred to by many of the increasingly concerned inhabitants of Sadville. Of course it had to happen - once you tire of Second Life sex, the attraction of the dark side becomes overwhelming. Hence the rise of Bloodlines - a game that has been growing …

Bootnotes 8 Apr 13:15
Phorm moves beyond privacy - except when slating rivals

Emotive statements blow ~~City~~ Town Hall wide open

Phorm wheeled out its new chairman last night - the former Tory chancellor Norman Lamont - to steward the second town hall meeting since it leapt out of stealth mode and straight into a privacy firestorm just over a year ago. And what a year it's been. After relentless pillorying in the press, the one-time pariah's reputation …

Telecoms 8 Apr 13:20
French adhesive workers stick it to Brit boss

Sacre glue!

The British boss of a French adhesive factory is being held captive by workers over redundancy fears. The sticky situation started Tuesday night, the Beeb reports. The factory in the south-east is just the latest to fall foul of this increasingly common French reaction to the current economic squeeze. Bosses at a Sony …

Bootnotes 8 Apr 13:44
Wii gamers get arty

Virtual spray cans developed

Graffiti, tagging, Banksy – whatever you care to call it, it’s a messy business. So a prototype Wii peripheral’s been developed that does away with the need for spray cans. Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com WiiSpray is essentially a spray can-shaped Wii Remote holder that enables the user to spray …

Reg Hardware 8 Apr 14:02
BMW opens up to haptic car doors

The doors that respond to surrounding dangers

You may have been introduced to the world of electronic haptics by your smartphone’s virtual keypad, but now your car’s doors could soon begin giving you feedback about surrounding potential dangers. Michael Graf, from car firm BMW, has – with a little help from researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) – …

Reg Hardware 8 Apr 14:10
BT's great hole of Ilford still causing grief

Olympic-sized problem

BT is still working to fix problems created by a tunnelling machine which crashed through one of its deep level tunnels cutting fibre optic and copper lines early on Saturday afternoon. The large thrust borer was being operated on behalf of Thames Water - the utility said its machine hit "an uncharted obstruction" later …

Telecoms 8 Apr 14:34
SQL Server 2008 SP1 washes ashore

~~Batteries~~ Whistles and bells not included

Microsoft released its first service pack for SQL Server 2008 yesterday, which comes with a few subtle changes and exactly zero new features to boot. The firm said it had made some tweaks to the product with SP1, including the usual suspects of cumulative updates and fixes you would expect to see rolled into a service pack. …

Applications 8 Apr 14:38
MS blames non-Redmond apps for security woes

Issues are third party and they'll cry if they want to

Microsoft has blamed common third-party desktop applications, rather than Windows, for the majority of security threats in a new report. The finding might appear surprising at first but is backed by independent security notification firm Secunia. The latest edition of Microsoft's Security Intelligence Report suggests that " …

Enterprise Security 8 Apr 14:46
Ad watchdog gives thumbs up for female TV orgasms

Positive ruling on slippery subject

Quangocrats at the UK's advertising watchdog have thrown open the floodgates for women to have orgasms on British television before 11pm, albeit very quietly. The Advertising Standards Authority has dismissed a complaint about an advert for Durex Play O, described by its makers as a "pleasure enhancing gel for women". The ad …

Bootnotes 8 Apr 15:22
DARPA gives Cal Tech boffin $6m 'to save Moore's Law'

Invulno-chips that can 'self-modify' in microseconds

Maverick Pentagon deathboffins aim to prevent processing progress grinding to a crunching halt in the next few years by developing "self healing" integrated circuits, able to repair themselves in the event of damage or failed components. The idea here is that as more and more teenier and teenier transistors are packed into an …

PCs & Chips 8 Apr 15:24
iPhone's Wi-Fi problems cause heated speculation

Apple recommends turning back the clock

iPhone users who found their Wi-Fi failing after the last firmware upgrade are starting to identify what went wrong, while some have managed to get Apple to replace iPhones with handsets that have never seen 2.2.1. The damage caused by the upgrade is irreversible, rolling back to a previous version does not fix the problem, …

Mobile 8 Apr 15:27
Oops: Microsoft wonk hits Live Messenger red button

Accidental interwebulator tourist

Microsoft has said sorry to users of its Windows Live Messenger service after it sent out a missive yesterday wrongly instructing people to change their email addresses. “We sincerely apologise, but this was accidentally sent out,” admitted Microsoft. “If you received this notification today, please ignore it. You will be able …

Software 8 Apr 15:30
Mitsubishi unveils 3D TV line-up

With just a few drawbacks

With 3D fast replacing HD as the latest TV buzzword, Mitsubishi has stepped up to the multi-dimensional plate and announced its launch of two 3D-ready TV families. Buy this Mitsubishi 837, get some 3D specs, find some 3D content, and you're ready to roll Although technically “ready” to display 3D content, the downside - as …

Reg Hardware 8 Apr 15:48
Google loses third bigwig in four weeks

Cassidy exits Chocolate Factory

Google has lost a trio of bigwigs in less than a month. In mid-March, US sales boss Tim Armstrong departed for AOL. Earlier this week, Latin America director Gonzalo Alonso jumped ship for Argentine IT services company Globant. And now, the company has parted ways with Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, president for Asia-Pacific and …

Business 8 Apr 17:30
Spies hacked US electrical grid, says WSJ

The Russians, the Chinese, and "others"

Foreign cyber-spies have reportedly been infiltrating the US electrical grid and planting software that can be used to destroy key components. According to the Wall Street Journal - which cites unnamed national security officials - electro-spooks hailing from China, Russia, and "other countries" are trying to navigate and …

Security 8 Apr 18:00
Sun Sparc guru splits for Redmond

When it rains...

In stunning blow to Sun Microsystems, the company's lead chip designer, has resigned. And Marc Tremblay is reportedly taking a job at Microsoft. Sun has not been particularly talkative about anything since the rumor of IBM's proposed acquisition of Sun broke three weeks ago, but a company spokesperson offered this official …

Business 8 Apr 18:14
Intel demos Moorestown, embeds Nehalem

Software still chasing hardware

Intel has demonstrated that its long-awaited mobile platform is meeting its power-saving goals, disclosed upcoming low-power Xeon 5500s for storage and blades, and pointed toward a future in which programmers might actually use all the threads and cores the company's hardware is throwing at them. At IDF Beijing - an event that …

PCs & Chips 8 Apr 19:31
Laptop Hunters snare Microsoft on Linux

Linux FCS Giampolo, how low will you go?

Microsoft has made a tactical mistake in deciding to compete with Apple on price in its latest, much debated, Laptop Hunters TV ads. Until recently, Microsoft was pushing hard on the "value" of Windows. Now, though, the Laptop Hunters ads have turned the spotlight on the consistently high and - and recession proof - price tag …

PCs & Chips 8 Apr 19:57
Demand for IT jobs stinks in UK

Slightly less stinky than other months though!

There's significantly less demand for IT staff in the UK compared to last year according to a job report published today, although the tech sector has still fared better than most. A March job report commissioned by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and accounting firm KPMG indicates the UK's overall job market …

Business 8 Apr 20:37
Google chief lectures newspapers

As he destroys them

According to non-journalist, non-publisher, non-newsman Eric Schmidt, newspapers just don't understand their own business. As reported by the Guardian, Google's CEO has joined the chorus of Cassandras crying out that tree-based news delivery is doomed. "It's obvious to me that the majority of the circulation of a newspaper …

Music and Media 8 Apr 21:29
Sims creator Will Wright leaves EA

Prefers Stupid Fun Club

Will Wright, one of the most renowned game designers in the world, is leaving Electronic Arts and Maxis to focus on Stupid Fun Club, an "entertainment think tank" he founded in 2001. Wright has been at Electronic Arts for 12 years and created some of the company's most profitable titles, including The Sims and Spore. EA …

Music and Media 8 Apr 21:45
Intel puts five Xeons on death row

Nehalem's first casualties

Intel's newly released Nehalem EP-core Xeon processors have inflicted their first casualties: five older Xeons are scheduled to be phased out. According to Intel's Product Change Notification #109186-00 (PDF), you'll be able to buy these death-row Xeons in a retail box until January 9, 2010. The Xeons set for the chopping …

PCs & Chips 8 Apr 23:22
IBM fingered over early Linux mistakes

Linux FCS Agenda first, kernel second

IBM, the first and biggest IT vendor to champion Linux, has been gently rebuked for initially tolerating the community to further its own interests. And IBM was forced to concede. IBM was identified during a Linux Foundation conference debate on community participation as emblematic of big companies who've made the mistake of …

Operating Systems 8 Apr 23:34