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7th May 2009 Archive

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  • Google data center takes leak on God's green earth

    EPA probes refrigerant spill

    Google is under investigation by the US Environmental Protection Agency after one of its data centers allegedly leaked refrigerant onto God's green earth. The Mountain View Chocolate Factory admitted the investigation in its latest quarterly SEC filing. But it was careful to lay the blame on DoubleClick, the giant advertising …

    Odds and Sods 7 May 00:01

  • US air traffic faces 'serious harm' from cyber attackers

    When. Not if

    The United States' air traffic control system is vulnerable to serious cyber attack, according to a watchdog report that detailed several recent security breaches that could have been used to sabotage mission-critical networks. One of the most serious attacks came last August, when hackers took control of Federal Aviation …

    Security 7 May 00:13

  • AMD merges processor and graphics biz

    ATI finally allowed into the house

    AMD and ATI are officially tying the knot after living together in corporate sin for nearly three years. The company's formerly disparate processor and graphics businesses will merge into one amidst a major reorganization for AMD that will spawn four new operating units. AMD says the goal is to streamline dreaming up chip …

    Business 7 May 00:19

  • Microsoft's new search - Built on open-source

    With Kumo, you get cancer

    When Microsoft purchased Hotmail in December of 1997 for an estimated $400m, it ran on FreeBSD. But Redmond ripped out the open source OS and replaced it with Windows 2000. Or at least, it tried to. More than a decade on, Microsoft still harbors some sort of deep-seated urge to destroy the free software movement it once …

    Software 7 May 00:46

  • Cisco profits drop, spirits rise

    Hello video & sports, g'bye HP

    Cisco reported double-digit drops in both sales and net income for its third quarter of fiscal 2009 on Wednesday, but you'd never know it from the glowing optimism of its skipper. In a conference call with reporters and analysts, the company's chairman and CEO, John Chambers, sounded more relaxed and upbeat than might be …

    Financial News 7 May 00:53

  • Aussie censors implement six degrees of separation policy

    Links to links now banned

    The Australian Government yesterday broke new records for web censorship by requiring the takedown not just of a page containing harmful content, nor even a page linking to harmful content, but a page linking to a link to allegedly harmful content. The content that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) …

    Law 7 May 05:02

  • Disk platter sizes vary with drive speeds

    Comment Faster speeds equal small platters

    When is a 2.5-inch form factor drive not a 2.5-inch form factor drive? A small form factor (SFF) drive comes in an industry standard 2.5-inch form factor case size. Inside that there can be one or two platters and which can be smaller or larger. Yes, they will be smaller platters than ones found in 3.5-inch form factor cases, …

    Storage 7 May 07:02

  • Asus Eee Box B206

    Review HDMI-equipped budget media centre

    On the outside, there's little to distinguish the Asus Eee Box B206 from its predecessor - put the two side by side and you'd be hard pressed to spot the difference. The only real external clue is the DVI connector on the back of the original Eee Box has been replaced by an HDMI port instead. Asus' new Eee Box: double the …

    Reg Hardware 7 May 08:02

  • Intel playing virtual silly buggers

    Opinion Potential 'Vista Capable' disaster all over again

    You're supposed to be able to run an x86 app on any Intel x86 (or AMD x86) processor. That's what x86 compatibility means, right? Wrong: Windows 7 XP Mode won't run on many multi-core Intel processors because Intel is arsing about with its Intel VT feature. For a PC to run Windows 7's XP Mode, the system must support either …

    PCs & Chips 7 May 08:02

  • Home Office to keep innocent DNA samples

    Hey, it's only for 12 years

    The Home Office has rejected European Court of Human Rights demands that innocent people should not have their DNA stored on the national database. Instead samples from people arrested for, but not convicted of serious violent or sexual crimes, will be removed after 12 years. The DNA profiles of those arrested but not …

    Policing 7 May 08:55

  • Carphone and Best Buy shrink store plans

    Fewer shops less soon

    Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy are scaling back their plans for a UK High Street invasion. The two are working on a joint venture to bring general electronic stores to the UK. But instead of 100 stores the firm will now open about 80 "big box" shops by 2013. The change is partly to do with the downturn, but also the success …

    Channel Register 7 May 09:11

  • Science tests for 11-year-olds to be scrapped

    Corduroys would prefer no tests or league tables at all

    The government has agreed to scrap national science tests for 11-year-olds. However, teaching unions still plan a boycott of the remaining tests in English and Maths, saying that these make primary school teaching "narrow". The teachers also object to the revelation of schools' test results in public league tables. The BBC …

    Science 7 May 09:19

  • Intellectual Property Office approves software patent for UK

    More than just a program, apparently

    Software that allows programmers to program a mobile phone system remotely from a computer can be patented because it is more than just a software program, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has ruled. The ruling overturns an initial decision that the invention is unpatentable because it consists of nothing more than a …

    Software 7 May 10:00

  • Asus updates Eee 1002HA processor

    Eee 1002HAE born

    Another day, another new Eee PC. This one, announced today in Japan, is the 1002HAE, is essentially the older 1002HA with the latter's 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor swapped out for a 1.66GHz N280. Asus' Eee PC 1002HAE: upgraded CPU Other specs - 1GB of DDR 2 memory, 160GB HDD, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, 10in 1024 x 600 …

    Reg Hardware 7 May 10:13

  • Dell to launch Android netbooks

    So says PC giant's software porting partners

    Dell is preparing to launch a Google Android-based netbook, one of the firm’s loose-lipped business partners has revealed. Software developer Bsquare issued a press release this week which stated that it’s “porting Adobe’s Flash Lite 3.17 technology onto Dell Netbooks running Google’s Android platform”. Whoa! That’s quite an …

    Reg Hardware 7 May 10:18

  • UK spectrum map uncovers mysterious emissions in Cumbria

    Not much going on in Scotland though

    A five-month project to map spectrum usage has yielded 200GBytes of data, which shows that hardly anyone in the Highlands is using wireless, but the rest of the country is swathed in electromagnetic radiation. The project report (pdf) includes snippets of information to demonstrate the validity of the project. The raw data …

    Mobile 7 May 10:23

  • English vocab poised to hit 1m words

    Dictionary swelling by one neologism every 98 minutes

    The English language is poised to reach the 1m word mark at 10.22am on 10 June, with "noob", "greenwashing" and "defriend" among the neologisms vying to be the one millionth addition to our burgeoning vocab. That's according to the Global Language Monitor, which acknowledges a new term once it's clocked up 25,000 deployments …

    Bootnotes 7 May 10:29

  • Exam bosses target faster cheat takedowns

    ISPs tapped for emergency copyright hotlines

    Authorities worried that the imminent exam season will see questions leaked online have appealed to ISPs for help arranging for them to be pulled from the web quicker. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), which is responsible for producing national curriculum assessments and the security of papers, said it was …

    Telecoms 7 May 10:37

  • Duke Nukem Forever developer defunct, says staffer

    From vapourware to nowhere?

    Duke Nukem Forever, probably the best known example of vapourware in PC gaming, may now never be completed. Developer 3D Realms has shut down, a company employee has stated. 3D Realms webmaster Joe Siegler told 3D Realms forum members that rumours of the company's closure were "not a marketing thing. It's true". Certainly, …

    Reg Hardware 7 May 11:00

  • Blu-ray Disc player sales on the up

    But many punters still waiting for further price cuts

    Blu-ray Disc player sales are rising, according to fresh figures from US market watcher NPD. But many people are still either unfamiliar with the format or waiting for prices to drop further. According to the analyst’s latest point-of-sale sourced data, sales of Blu-ray players shot up a massive 72 per cent in North America …

    Reg Hardware 7 May 11:07

  • Wacky telly firm unveils me-too netbook

    Hannspree's Hannsnote hannounced

    Until now Hannspree was only known for its wacky tellies, but now the firm’s set its sights on the bulging netbook market. Hannspree's Hannsnote: Wind renamed? Sadly not as uniquely styled as some of its TV designs, Hannspree’s 10in Hannsnote looks just like every other netbook already on the shelf - and the MSI Wind in …

    Reg Hardware 7 May 11:14

  • An unthinking programmer's guide to the new C++

    Stob Raising the standard

    So what’s all this about a new C++ standard, Verity? Why you asking me? I know nussing. I’m down to write ‘Porcine influenza — a programmer’s perspective’ this month. Don’t fib. Oh very well. The enthusiasts imprisoned in the ISO C++ bunker are reputedly on the point of lighting a white smoke bonfire to indicate they have a …

    Developer 7 May 11:16

  • RFID goes Underground

    30,000 tags stepping up serviceability on tube

    London's underground network will benefit from 30,000 RFID tags - one attached to each escalator step - by the end of 2010. This will reduce the time taken to find a specific step from five hours to 45 minutes. Two escalators in Moorgate, as well as one in Victoria station, have already had an RFID tag glued on to the back of …

    Wireless 7 May 11:21

  • Missile data, medical records found on discarded hard disks

    Study finds all manner of stuff on eBay

    A third (34 per cent) of discarded hard disk drives still contain confidential data, according to a new study which unearthed copies of hospital records and sensitive military information on eBayed kit. The study, sponsored by BT and Sims Lifecycle Services and run by the computer science labs at University of Glamorgan in …

    Enterprise Security 7 May 11:28

  • eBay says Skype worth $2bn

    Less than you paid for it then?

    eBay's chief executive Jonathan Donahoe believes Skype, which the online tat bazaar is trying to flog, is worth more than $2bn. That would be good news for eBay which paid $2.6bn for the voice over internet protocol phone service in 2005. Additional payments were dependent on Skype hitting certain targets. The phone service …

    VoIP 7 May 11:29

  • AMD ATI Radeon HD 4770 40nm GPU

    Review Can a budget graphics card really be this fast?

    The RV740 graphics chip at the heart of AMD’s new budget Radeon HD, the 4770, is an interesting wee beastie. It’s wee because this is the first graphics chip to use a 40nm fabrication process rather than the 55nm process used in HD 48x0 series and in Nvidia’s latest GeForce GTX 2xx chips. AMD's Radeon HD 4770: first 40nm GPU …

    Reg Hardware 7 May 12:02

  • 2060: Humvee-sized, bulletproof meat-eating spiders attack

    Armoured arctic arachnids, the big-game hunter's dream

    Danish boffins have uncovered an unforeseen, extra downside of the melting of the Arctic ice cap, according to reports. Not only will there be sea level rises and massive flooding*; there will also be a plague of enormous, invulnerable, heavily armoured meat-eating cannibal spiders. The worrying yet exciting news comes …

    Biology 7 May 12:11

  • Mozilla mauls Microsoft on IE, Windows 7 bundle

    Can we have a spoonful of sugar with that?

    Mozilla has issued a broadside against Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 7 operating system, by claiming it stifles the browser market and gives Redmond’s Internet Explorer an unfair advantage over its rivals. According to the Financial Times, Mozilla’s chairwoman Mitchell Baker said: "Our initial review suggests this is a blatant …

    Operating Systems 7 May 12:17

  • Kent council plans giant 'Hollywood' erection

    Welcome to MEDWAY

    Medway Council has devised a cunning plan to raise the profile of its prime Kent riverside location - by erecting a giant Hollywood-style MEDWAY sign on a local hillside. In preparation for the £12,000 Californication scheme, the council recently spunked £2k sticking up a big "E", which was subsequently dismantled because it " …

    Bootnotes 7 May 12:17

  • Telecom NZ dodges Vodafone wrath

    Delays network launch, hands back spat dummy

    Telecom NZ will launch its XT network, but not until the end of the month as it agrees to fit more filters to prevent interfering with Vodafone NZ's existing service. On Friday Vodafone NZ attempted to get an injunction to prevent Telecom NZ's launch, claiming unacceptable levels of interference, in an action on which Justice …

    Mobile 7 May 12:29

  • Microsoft crimps products after second wave of job cuts

    Slice, dice and mince it up

    Microsoft is reining in several of its products following the company's second round of lay-offs that kicked off on Tuesday. The software giant isn't killing any products yet, instead it is scaling back its commitment to .Net Micro Framework, MSN Direct Service and its ResponsePoint phone system after letting go of 3,000 staff …

    Channel Register 7 May 12:37

  • Vatican damns Angels and Demons as 'quite harmless'

    Will lack of condemnation mean box-office purgatory?

    The Vatican's inhouse film reviewer has damned Ron Howard's Angels and Demons with faint praise, describing the ludicrous confection of anti-matter, illuminati and dead cardinals as "mostly harmless". The hellishly bland review comes just days after Howard condemned the Church for using "back channels" to stop his team filming …

    Bootnotes 7 May 12:37

  • Google buffs Chrome with security update

    Silent patch fixes bug brace

    Google has pushed out an update for its Chrome browser that lances two vulnerabilities, one of which it defines as critical. The critical flaw involves a failure to properly validate input from a renderer (tab) process. Successful exploitation of the flaw might allow the injection of hostile code onto vulnerable systems, hence …

    Enterprise Security 7 May 12:45

  • Curl goes outside browser for Silverlight fight

    User control override

    Microsoft's Silverlight 3.0 is still in beta and it promises major improvements, but the competition is already promising greater power. The Novell-backed open-source implementation of Silverlight this week announced a preview of its second version. Moonlight 2.0 is based on Silverlight 2.0, but it now includes significant …

    Developer 7 May 13:02

  • Google extends controversial trade mark purchasing policy

    Rivals' names buyable as ad keywords in 194 countries

    Google has increased by 190 the number of countries in which advertisers will be able to pay for their ads to appear when a rival's trade mark is typed into its search engine. That policy previously only applied in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland. Google will still investigate the use of trade marked terms to trigger …

    Music and Media 7 May 13:27

  • Nintendo financials reveal impressive Wii, DS sales

    Wii sales surpass 50m

    Nintendo’s full-year financial results have seen it fall just shy of projected global DS and Wii sales, but the videogame giant still shifted a shedload of consoles during the year. During its fiscal year ended 31 March 2009, Nintendo shipped a whopping 25.9m Wiis, though it had hoped to shift 26.5m. The firm shipped 31.1m …

    Reg Hardware 7 May 13:40

  • T-Mobile replaces Compact IV with... Compact V

    Rebranded HTC Touch Diamond 2

    Exactly one year to the day after T-Mobile launched its Compact IV smartphone, the network operator has unveiled the handset’s successor, called, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Compact V. T-Mobile's Compact V: replaces the Compact IV The Compact IV was a rebranded HTC Diamond, so it won’t surprise you to learn that the Compact …

    Reg Hardware 7 May 13:47

  • Renault intros e-MPV

    Leccy Tech be bop concept nears production

    It's no secret that the Renault-Nissan Alliance has big plans for the leccy car and that Renault's first e-car will be something based on its Kangoo van-cum-MPV. The first draft of Renault's e-car vision saw the light of day last year in the form of the ZE Concept, but things are now firming up with the unveiling of the Kangoo …

    Reg Hardware 7 May 14:09

  • Symantec hit by massive goodwill impairment

    Okay-ish financial numbers otherwise

    Symantec announced moderately satisfying but recession-hit numbers for the full fiscal 2009 year, with the final quarter showing a revenue drop. A massive goodwill impairment charge of $7.4bn blew an enormous, non-cash hole into net income numbers for the full year and its final quarter. Fourth quarter fiscal 2009 revenues …

    Financial News 7 May 14:11

  • Google: Make newspapers more like Wikipedia

    Wire creator: No, don't

    Google, the nemesis of newspapers, was at the Congress yesterday, to turn a blonde deaf ear to their troubles. The company's pin-up VP of products Marissa Meyer described quite a bright future to the Senate's commerce committee - but it's a bright future for Google, and people with a lot of time fiddling with their computers. …

    Government 7 May 14:17

  • Moblin 2.0 Linux goes alpha (again)

    Novell jumps aboard the bandwagon

    Novell is swearing its oath of fealty to the Moblin variant of Linux for mobile computing devices, based on Intel's Atom low-powered processors and, soon with the Moblin 2.0 release, netbooks. Intel launched the Moblin project back in July 2007 and got Moblin 1.0 into the field in April 2008, concurrently with the launch of …

    Operating Systems 7 May 15:17

  • Activision spins out DJ Hero

    Master the decks, with three coloured buttons

    Guitar Hero brought the guitar to gamers who can’t play the real thing and Rock Band did the same thing for drums. Now the franchise’s being expanded to let inept disc jockeys scratch and mix using three coloured buttons. DJ Hero looks fun, but won't make you Pete Tong DJ Hero uses a physical turntable and the game’s …

    Reg Hardware 7 May 15:29

  • Louis Vuitton launches hi-tech... suitcase

    Equipped with everything from solar panels to TVs

    Suitcases aren’t something Register Hardware usually writes about, mainly because they’re boring. But images of two hi-tech suitcases have surfaced online, both designed by luxury trunk maker Louis Vuitton. The height of suitcase technology? The first – shown above - was commissioned by an unknown customer from China and …

    Reg Hardware 7 May 15:37

  • DARPA to develop anti-Credit Crunch software

    Ain't no more horses gettin' outa that stable

    DARPA, the famed Pentagon boffinry bureau occasionally beset by marble-localisation issues, has struck again. This time, the agency seems to be seeking new mathematical tools which could - among other things - prevent any future collapses of global capitalism. The new project comes to us under the name "Survivability of …

    Applications 7 May 15:38

  • Zen and the Art of Laptop Battery Maintenance

    Keep your notebook or netbook's power pack in tune

    We all own more battery powered products than ever before, and in most cases those batteries are rechargeable. Laptops, music players, phones - they all have rechargeable power packs, almost all of them using lithium. These batteries don't last forever. No matter what you do, their capacity to hold charge will decline over …

    Reg Hardware 7 May 16:02

  • Windows Storage Server boosted, killed and resurrected

    Folded back into Windows Server

    Microsoft has updated its Windows Storage Server software, ending its existence as a standalone product and folding it back into Windows Server. Windows Storage Server is/was a special version of Windows Server 2003 and is used by many network-attached storage (NAS) vendors, such as Adaptec. The just launched Windows Storage …

    Storage 7 May 16:15

  • Microsoft teams up with US gov on double 'ard XP

    More secure config open to all. Ish

    Microsoft has teamed with the US government to refine a locked-down, more secure configuration of Windows XP. Originally developed by the US Air Force in cooperation with Microsoft, the special XP set-up uses hardened Group Policy Objects (a technology in Microsoft's Active Directory) and images, which the Air Force used as …

    Operating Systems 7 May 17:59

  • Microsoft rebrands WGA nagware for Windows 7

    This is not an alert

    A nagware anti-piracy feature in Windows isn't going away, it's just getting a marketing makeover by Microsoft. Windows Genuine Advantage is being re-branded Windows Activation Technologies in Windows 7 and for updated versions of Windows Vista, the company has said. Microsoft claimed the change reflected the use of " …

    Operating Systems 7 May 18:21

  • Google auto-links YouTube, Google accounts

    The expanding eyeball

    As part of its ongoing effort to track everything you do on the web, Google is now forcing those who sign up for YouTube accounts to embrace a Google account as well. "Signing up for YouTube means signing up for a Google Account that gives you access to YouTube, as well as other Google services such as iGoogle, Reader, and …

    Music and Media 7 May 18:25

  • US braces for 'bio-Katrina'

    Security appointee talks tough

    President Obama has nominated a tough-talking bioterrorism expert to lead the primary research and development arm of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS Secretary Janet Napalitano announced Obama's choice of Dr. Tara O’Toole to be Under Secretary, Directorate for Science and Technology, calling O'Toole "an …

    Security 7 May 18:54

  • Citrix XenServer 5.5 cleared for June landing

    Encircling vSphere

    VMware and Citrix seem to be in a match to see who can talk most about products that are not yet shipping. Citrix tried to spoil VMware's vSphere launch when it announced its partnership with Microsoft and its radically reduced pricing for the XenServer stack back on February 23. That was the day before VMworld Europe started …

    Virtualization 7 May 19:04

  • Apple spooked by white powder

    Hazmat alert clears Infinite Loopers

    A building at the heart of Apple's Cupertino campus was evacuated on Wednesday after an employee discovered a mysterious envelope of white powder. As reported by The San Jose Mercury News, fire crews visited Apple's 4 Infinite Loop at 3:30pm, donning hazardous material gear before entering the building. Sargent Don Morrisey …

    Odds and Sods 7 May 20:37

  • Irish Wikifiddler hoaxes worldwide journos

    Wikipedia: 'Just another mainstream news medium'

    In a case of Wikihistory repeating itself - again - a 22-year-old Dublin student has made a mockery of both Wikipedia and the world's news media, fooling another army of brain-dead obituarists into repeating a load of Wikinonsense. When film composer Maurice Jarre died at the end of March, The Irish Times reports, University …

    Networks 7 May 21:45

  • Data-sniffing attack costs Heartland $12.6m

    Credit card processor promises end-to-end encryption

    Electronic payments processor Heartland Payment Systems said Thursday it has allocated $12.6m to cover a security breach that exposed sensitive card holder data crossing its network. More than half that amount involves a fine MasterCard has assessed banks that did business with Heartland, said company CEO Robert Carr, …

    Security 7 May 22:16

  • Google confirms FTC probe over Apple ties

    Schmidt won't resign Jobsian board

    Google has confirmed reports that the US Federal Trade Commission is looking into whether overlapping board seats between Google and Apple are somehow stifling market competition. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said today that he has no intention of resigning from Apple's board in light of …

    Music and Media 7 May 23:14

  • Microsoft to patch 'critical' PowerPoint hole

    Zero-day relief expected

    Microsoft plans to patch a hole in its PowerPoint presentation program, the company said in an advanced bulletin that was notable because it contained only a single update. As is almost always the case with advanced notification bulletins issued the first Thursday of the month, Microsoft didn't provide many details about the …

    Security 7 May 23:18

  • Nvidia staggers off the mat

    Revenues up/down

    Nvidia had some good news and some bad news for its investors in its first quarter results for its fiscal year 2010, announced Thursday. First the bad news: revenue for the quarter was $664.2m (£442.2m), a decrease of 42 percent compared to $1.2bn (£799m) during the same period last year. Now the good news: that $664.2m was …

    Financial News 7 May 23:24

  • Sudden exit for SugarCRM co-founder and CEO

    Open source and cloud no guarantee of success

    The chief executive and co-founder of one of Silicon Valley's pin ups for open-source and cloud services has suddenly resigned. SugarCRM's John Roberts has left "to pursue other opportunities," the company said Thursday. He has been succeeded by an interim chief executive Larry Augustin. Augustin is a serial board-member and …

    Applications 7 May 23:55