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23rd April 2009 Archive

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  • Jobless Apple pumps profits 15 per cent

    Steve stand-in drops netbook hint

    Anyone who predicted that an Apple without Steve Jobs at the helm would drift towards un-profitability must now eat their words. When announcing Apple's second-quarter financial results on Wednesday, acting helmsman and COO Tim Cook sounded like a man who knows his job is secure. He also demonstrated his mastery of Apple's …

    Financial News 23 Apr 00:15

  • Lost laptops cost companies $50k apiece

    Encryption no match for corporate accounting

    A single lost or stolen laptop costs a business an average of nearly $50,000. At least, that's the word from an Intel-sponsored study by the Ponemon Institute. That figure is based on Ponemon's recent voluntary survey of 28 US companies reporting 138 separate cases of missing laptops. Value of missing kit was mathmagically …

    Business 23 Apr 00:33

  • Sun: Let us now praise the ponytail

    Could you have done better than McNealy and Schwartz?

    The end of Sun Microsystems as an independent systems company has been met with a mixture of "I told you so" and "good riddance". But as someone who spent plenty of time at Sun over the past decade - including the dot com years - I wonder if anyone could have played a better hand? Schwartz and McNealy succeeded in stemming the …

    Servers 23 Apr 00:40

  • AMD next-gen ultrathin gets early birthday

    Pronto Congo

    AMD is poised to beat Intel in the race to ship the next generation of both beefy server processors and ultrathin-notebook chips. During yesterday's conference call announcing the company's first-quarter earnings, AMD's CEO Dirk Meyer and multi-hatted EVP, COO, and CAO Bob Rivet let it be known that both the six-core Istanbul …

    PCs & Chips 23 Apr 01:06

  • Fring ties up deal with WeFi

    Not a business model between them

    Fring has added access to WeFi's alleged 20 million hotspot network to its free VoIP client, in a deal that promotes both companies but still makes no money for either. For a while Fring, enjoyed being the only way to get Skype onto a mobile, other than Windows. But these days there are quite a few ways to achieve that, so …

    VoIP 23 Apr 06:02

  • Big boost for Aussie firewall

    Another shrimp on anti-prawnography trial barbie

    The controversial Great Aussie Firewall got a big boost yesterday when Australia's second largest ISP Optus agreed to join the pilot. The testing of filtering technology has suffered credibility problems since the refusal of iiNet to take part, after it was unable to reconcile the trial with its opposition to censorship. iiNet …

    Law 23 Apr 08:17

  • Panasas counts in revamped product range

    Lower entry-level and SSD high-end performance

    Parallel clustered file storage supplier Panasas has lowered its entry-level and increased its high-end performance, adding solid state disk and automatic data tiering. Panasas, founded in 2003, started out as a high-performance computing (HPC) supplier. In 2006 it had two parallel file access products, the 3000 and 4000. …

    Storage 23 Apr 09:32

  • T-Mobile intros 'Pay Once' BlackBerry deal

    Handset, web and email for a single fee

    T-Mobile has launched a quirky pay-as-you-go (PAYG) deal to help customers searching for their first BlackBerry buy one for a one-off fee. The BlackBerry Pearl 8110, available for a 'Pay Once' fee The “Pay Once” deal only applies to the BlackBerry Pearl 8110, but essentially sees you able to take the device home for a …

    Reg Hardware 23 Apr 09:40

  • HTC Touch Diamond 2

    Review The best iPhone-botherer yet?

    It's been less than a year since the original HTC Touch Diamond impressed us all with its diminutive size, usability and impressive features list, all of which put it firmly in iPhone bothering territory. HTC's Touch Diamond 2: uses Windows Mobile, but it's well hidden But with a 5Mp camera, improved touchscreen and build …

    Reg Hardware 23 Apr 09:52

  • Pirate Bay judge and pro-copyright lobbyist accused of bias

    Defence lawyer demands retrial

    The judge in The Pirate Bay trial has been accused of bias, after Sweden's national radio station revealed that Thomas Norström was a member of the same pro-copyright groups as several of the main entertainment industry reps in the case. Sveriges Radio's P3 news programme claimed Norström is signed up to the Swedish Copyright …

    Music and Media 23 Apr 09:59

  • Orange rolls with Wikimedia

    Deal to fact up your mobile

    Orange has tied up a deal with Wikimedia to reproduce Wikipedia content in its portal and mobile phones, enabling Orange to stick its brand on the crowd-sourced content. Initially the deal means links to Wikipedia content on the Orange portals in the UK, Spain and Poland putting Wikipedia right beside the news stories of the …

    Mobile 23 Apr 10:22

  • 'Roll-out' e-book reader development hinges 'on funding'

    But next-gen Readius is also on the cards

    The Readius foldable e-reader sadly never made it to market last year. But manufacturer Polymer Vision says some potentially imminent funding could see mass-production kick off soon. The Readius - or a Readius 2 - could be made if Polymer Vision can get some cash together Let's refresh our memories. The Readius was first …

    Reg Hardware 23 Apr 10:24

  • General Atomics unwraps new, Stealth(y) robot war-jet

    Pic Avenger, son of Reaper, son of Predator

    General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI), maker of the famous Predator and Reaper unmanned warplanes, has taken the wraps off a new and still more powerful kill-robot - the "Avenger". The company says that first flights have been conducted successfully this month. Avenger. Well, it wasn't going to be called Serenity …

    Science 23 Apr 10:36

  • EU circulates 'draft' Intel verdict, readies fine

    Decision weeks away

    The European Commission has sent a draft verdict on the Intel case to member states' competition authorities for their consideration. The 500-page document suggests we could have an official verdict in weeks. The briefing for national authorities will be followed by meetings to debate the size of the fine Intel would pay and …

    Channel Register 23 Apr 10:38

  • Botnet speed test uncovers drag racers of malware

    Supercharged spam powerhouses revealed

    Researchers have discovered that Zombie machines within the Xarvester and Rustock botnets are capable of sending up to 25,000 junk mail messages per hour. The speed test, by security researchers at Marshal8e6, found that the two botnets are the muscle cars of the world of malware. Marshal8e6 deliberately infested its lab …

    Malware 23 Apr 10:46

  • 'Miracle' bra saves Detroit woman from robber's bullet

    Lifesaving lingerie strikes again

    A 57 year old woman was thanking her lucky bras this week after her underwear's underwiring deflected a burglar's bullet. The woman was a witness to a home invasion robbery on the Motor City's North Side. Three men were breaking into a neighbouring house and set off the burglar alarm. As they fled the scene, they noticed the …

    Bootnotes 23 Apr 10:48

  • WAN optimisation: the good, the bad, or the ugly

    Regcast now on-demand

    The on demand version of this week's Regcast on WAN Optimisation is available from the Register Library . Dishing out expert opinions and advice, Tony Lock from Freeform Dynamics and Riverbed's Mark Lewis join Reg moderator Tim Phillips in the studio. The panel delivers a practical real world look at WAN optimisation, …

    Data Networking 23 Apr 10:57

  • Website terms unenforceable due to unlimited right to amend

    Lawsuit Blockbustered

    Website terms were unenforceable because a provision on the right to change them in future was unqualified, a US court has ruled. Existing terms were 'illusory' because of the threat that future changes could apply retroactively, the court found. A woman is suing video rental firm Blockbuster but the company said that its …

    Law 23 Apr 11:02

  • MySpace CEO hits eject button

    Stands down from post, News Corp hunts for fresh blood

    MySpace boss and co-founder Chris DeWolfe is stepping down from his job, but will stay on as a “strategic adviser” on the board. The social networking site’s owner News Corp announced the move yesterday. DeWolfe’s contract will not be renewed by “mutual agreement” said News Corp, adding that the firm was talking to MySpace …

    Music and Media 23 Apr 11:15

  • Nokia waves in first SIM-inked contactless payment phone

    Allows carriers to build touch-to-pay networks

    The widespread adoption of contactless payment technology has come a step nearer thanks to Nokia. It has launched its first SIM-enabled Near Field Communications (NFC) handset. Nokia's 6216 Classic: NFC on board The 6216 Classic is actually Nokia’s third NFC phone, but differs from previous models in that the technology is …

    Reg Hardware 23 Apr 11:27

  • Nokia's Ovi absorbs WidSets

    Resistance is futile

    Nokia's Ovi Store gobbled up the Java-based WidSets platform this morning, as Nokia struggles to build the portal into all things to all men before the start of June. Nokia is working hard to bring its disparate projects under one roof, and into one brand, with the more-successful projects being last to find themselves …

    Mobile 23 Apr 11:39

  • GPS, swipe cards to monitor Welsh school kids

    We know what you're doing at the back, boyo

    Councils in North Wales are equipping school buses with GPS and swipe card technology to help monitor attendance and antisocial behaviour. A trial of the Star smart card scheme will be launched in May with the aim of improving the behaviour of pupils on schools' transport. Children will swipe a smart card as they get onto the …

    Government 23 Apr 11:40

  • Microsoft's idea of Family Protection? Block Google

    Too much, too young?

    Install Microsoft’s Family Safety Filter (FSF) – and protect your family from vile and extreme websites such as, er, Google. At least, that’s the experience of slashdot poster, Mike Rimov. In a recent post he describes what happened when he installed the FSF. He writes: "Turned it on, set it to "basic filtering" (their lowest …

    Applications 23 Apr 11:42

  • The seven questions you should ask about server virtualization

    Forrester paper for servirtnoobs

    This week, we published the musings of Reg readers - more than a thousand of you - on servers, virtualization and operating systems. This inspired us to dust down a couple of papers from the Reg Library for your delectation. Inquiry spotlight: Server virtualization, Q3 2008 The world has moved on from the whys to the hows of …

    Virtualization 23 Apr 12:05

  • Warner opens 'Blu-ray for HD DVD' swap shop

    Failed format replaced

    If you were one of the unlucky early adopters who bet your cash on HD DVD, now’s your chance to switch to Blu-ray, because Warner’s launched a disc swap service. The scheme allows you to post the firm your HD DVD copy of, say, 300, and in return you’ll receive a Blu-ray edition of the same movie. There are a few catches, …

    Reg Hardware 23 Apr 12:11

  • Edifier Luna 2 desktop speaker set

    Reviews Class-D amp, 30W output for your laptop, anyone?

    The lines between multimedia audio kit – the sort of equipment designed for use with computers, iPods and the like – and 'proper' audio equipment seem to be getting increasingly blurred. Edifier's new Luna 2 speakers are a fine example of the blur, looking like run-of-the-mill desktop PC speakers but, at £250 for a pair, costing …

    Reg Hardware 23 Apr 12:13

  • Want a better Pirate Bay?

    86pc of Swedes would pay for P2P: survey

    A survey of Swedish internet users suggests that the music business continues to outlaw its biggest potential source of digital revenue. 86.2 per cent of users polled by Swedish performing rights society STIM would pay for some kind of legal P2P service, with only 5 per cent not interested whatever the price. A similar figure …

    Music and Media 23 Apr 12:52

  • Cabinet Office stuck with creaking PCs for five years

    What, no scrappage plan for computers?

    PC vendors looking to boost flagging sales by raiding the public purse can think again, after the Cabinet Office told MPs they would restrict their PCs to one per staffer and work their kit till they fell to bits Tom Watson, Civil Service Minister at the Cabinet Office, outlined his department's efforts to reduce CO2 emissions …

    PCs & Chips 23 Apr 13:01

  • Apple double takes on shaken babies

    Stop your app-ing...

    Apple can't seem to decide what constitutes unacceptable content, permitting and then pulling the Baby Shaker app in some weird kind of hokey-cokey. The game, which features a pencil drawing of a baby and crying sounds that only stop when the handset is shaken, was put into the iTunes store at 99 cents, before being pulled a …

    Mobile 23 Apr 13:13

  • Darling's £0.5bn offshore windfarm 'leccy-bill stealth levy

    Budget 09 '3m windmill-powered homes' claim is pure spin

    A lot of people are wondering how the British government can deliver colossal bank bailouts and pay rapidly-climbing dole bills - all the while collecting less taxes as people are laid off and companies founder - and yet still find money to subsidise green energy. Chancellor Alistair Darling has found a cunning way around the …

    Environment 23 Apr 13:30

  • Doubt cast over ContactPoint security assurances

    No, Minister

    A UK government minister has issued assurances about the security of the government's child protection database ContactPoint, but the minister's assurances are incomplete, if not misguided, says one expert. The ContactPoint system is designed to give social workers, police and NHS staff access to case files on children, so …

    Enterprise Security 23 Apr 13:45

  • LG to stop making plasma TVs?

    Following Pioneer's example, moles claim

    LG it to become the latest manufacturer to exit the plasma telly business, it has been claimed. The firm will stop making plasma panels later this year, industry sources cited by website DigiTimes have alleged. It's also been claimed that LG will then sell equipment and technologies related to its PDP TV production business …

    Reg Hardware 23 Apr 13:53

  • EMC's Q1 profits down, but not out

    More cost-cutting likely

    EMC has released figures showing it was profitable in its first 2009 quarter, although profits were 23 per cent lower. Already in cost-saving mode, the company is going to save an additional $100m through further cost-reduction actions. EMC revenues were $3.15bn in Q1 09, just 9.2 per cent down on Q1 08's $3.5bn. Its netcome …

    Storage 23 Apr 14:10

  • Germany approves strengthened child abuse law

    'Stop' screen to harass seekers of verboten images

    The German Cabinet has approved a law to strengthen the existing ban on child sex abuse images. The law, already agreed by two large ISPs, will display a 'Stop' sign to anyone who tries to access websites included on a list prepared by the police. Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said the law aimed to stop the …

    Law 23 Apr 14:38

  • Nokia Comes With... 23,000 users

    Slow start for unlimited music package

    Despite saturation advertising, Nokia's Comes With Music bundle has attracted just 23,000 users in the UK, according to music consultancy MusicAlly. Nokia hasn't commented on the claim, but says it's satisfied with the roll out so far globally. In Singapore, Nokia said last week, CWM has increased digital download sales by …

    Mobile 23 Apr 14:39

  • Come on out, Power6+, you win

    Comment Well, you'll compete. Perhaps

    Where on earth is IBM's Power6+ kicker to the dual-core Power6 processors that were first announced in July 2007? Moore's Law says it should be here right about now. When it comes to the Power6+ processor, IBM has been as quiet as a child playing hide and seek that wants to win the game so badly that she ends up falling asleep …

    Servers 23 Apr 15:02

  • Garden gizmo unveiled for green-fingered gadgeteers

    EasyBloom, for bloomin' easy gardening

    Gardening doesn’t generally interest Register Hardware, but when gadgets meet gardens you’ve got yourself a recipe for success. Or, to put it another way, the EasyBloom. EasyBloom: gardening gone hi-tech Although it looks like a plastic off-colour daisy, EasyBloom’s actually designed to monitor the vital signs of your Ficus …

    Reg Hardware 23 Apr 15:08

  • Numonyx thanks Ovonyx for the memory

    More than just a Phase Change

    Intel and STMicroelectronics JV successor Numonyx has licensed Phase Change Memory (PCM) intellectual property from Ovonyx. Numonyx, founded last year, is already developing PCM products and announced it was shipping samples of its 90nm 128Mbit PCM to customers in February 2008. PCM stores digital information as different …

    PCs & Chips 23 Apr 15:19

  • Atom UMPC first casualty of OQO money woes?

    Punters prefer (much) cheaper Eee PCs

    OQO, the California UMPC maker, has canned its latest model, if rumours fed by Twitter tweets are correct. The same source also claims that pre-orders have been cancelled. OQO's OQO 2+: will it ever see the light of day? The rumours appear to have started after a Twitterer called Chippy, who runs a UMPC-oriented blog, …

    Reg Hardware 23 Apr 15:25

  • Ireland scraps evoting in favour of 'stupid old pencils'

    Nation reverts to 'laughing stock' status to save money

    Ireland is scrapping the ill-starred evoting scheme on which it has already lavished upwards of €51m without a single vote being cast, the government announced today. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley said in a statement that "a process will now be put in place, including discussions …

    Government 23 Apr 16:07

  • Apple eyes patent for web silence

    Browserized audio lord

    Apple wants to give you the opportunity to selectively block web-based audio while allowing you to listen to any other audio source of your choosing. In a filing released Thursday by the US Patent and Trademark Office, Apple detailed plans for equipping a web browser with the ability to apply controls to audio streaming in …

    Music and Media 23 Apr 16:25

  • Revealed: Mega City One's top e-car - according to Peugeot

    'Leccy Tech Dredd-style concept wins car-of-future design competition

    This apparently is what we may all be driving in the Mega Cities of tomorrow if Peugeot's crystal ball is on the money. Revealed as a 1:1 scale model at the Shanghai Motor Show, the Peugeot RD Concept is the winner of a design competition by the French car maker to "imagine the Peugeot in the Worldwide Megalopolis of tomorrow …

    Reg Hardware 23 Apr 16:33

  • EU votes for longer music copyright

    But Cliff won't be happy

    The European Parliament has voted 377 to 178 in favour of extended the copyright term for new sound recordings from 50 to 70 years. It's only a first reading, but it's a strong indication of approval for the bill, introduced by Irish MEP Brian Cowley. (The Irish are doing all the running on copyright these days. Perhaps our …

    Music and Media 23 Apr 18:24

  • Big Blue Google cloud injected with $5m

    How to simulate an ocean

    The US National Science Foundation has tossed $5 million at Google's effort to educate the country's university students in the ways of Big Data. Back in the fall 2007, Google teamed with IBM to provide various universities with access to a dedicated compute cluster where students could explore the sort of mega-data-crunching …

    Developer 23 Apr 19:02

  • Dell sues Tiger for reselling old boxes as new

    Bastardized logos

    Dell is suing a former licensed US reseller, TigerDirect.com, claiming "repeated and blatant violations" of its resale contract, including trademark infringement, misleading representation, unfair competition, and false advertising. In an April 17 lawsuit filed by Dell in New York district court, Tiger is accused of - among …

    Channel Register 23 Apr 19:22

  • Juniper Networks swings $4.5m loss in Q1

    Blames economic death and taxes

    Juniper Networks swung a net loss of $4.5 million in its first quarter of 2009, as a hefty one-time tax charge mixed rather nastily with telcos cutting their network spending in the recession. Net income of -$4.5m in Juniper's three month quarter ended March 31 compared to a $110.4m gain in the same quarter last year. Not …

    Financial News 23 Apr 22:35

  • For security's sake! Send your kid to hacker camp

    RSA No easy fix for doom and gloom

    A computer security expert has called on the United States government to train the nation's youth in offensive and defensive cyber technologies so the country is less vulnerable to attacks on its critical infrastructure. "We need to really encourage young people, high school kids, college students, to embrace cyber security as …

    Security 23 Apr 22:44

  • Amazon shames eBay with 24 per cent profit bulge

    Meltdown talks to the hand

    eBay blames its shrinking revenues on the melting economy. But sales continue to expand over at Amazon.com, eBay's conspicuous rival in the e-commerce game. During the first three months of the year, Amazon sales reached $4.9bn, a 18 per cent leap from the same quarter last year. And if you ignore the impact of inconvenient …

    Financial News 23 Apr 22:45

  • Oracle brass coax Sun troops with tough love

    Exclusive Commits to MySQL and open Java

    Oracle's senior management has expressed its love for Sun Microsystems' software and hardware but warned tough decisions are coming on what people and products stay. President Charles Phillips and chief corporate architect Edward Screven have committed to keeping Java open and to not killing MySQL. They also mocked the idea …

    Software 23 Apr 22:53