11th May 2009 Archive

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OpenOffice 3.1 ready to lick Microsoft's suite?

Review Huzzah for Windows, ho-hum for Linux, OS X

OpenOffice.org remains the most popular open source answer to Microsoft's ubiquitous Office suite, and in these recessionary times, the appeal of "free" software is stronger than ever. Many individuals are already heeding the call of online suites from Google or Zoho, which offer most of the important features found in their …

Applications 11 May 04:14
Firefox passive-aggressives adjudicate Nerd Law

Fail and You Better than a severed horse head

Last week, blood was shed in the Firefox community as two popular extensions to the browser - NoScript and Adblock Plus - finally started slugging it out over a conflict that had been underground for quite some time. It came to a head when Adblock Plus developer Wladimir Palant woke up in the morning next to a severed horse's …

Developer 11 May 04:36
Canon PowerShot D10

Review Waterproof, but you'll need to splash out

Go on, admit it, when you first clapped eyes on Canon’s PowerShot D10, you thought: “That’s a kiddie’s camera!” Well, the PowerShot D10’s bulbous shape, large buttons and brightly coloured face plate certainly give it the air of a child’s toy, but it’s really designed for outdoor activities like, climbing, snorkelling, trekking …

Reg Hardware 11 May 08:02
Intel braces for billion Euro fine

Biggest ever fine expected

European competition authorities are expected to release their verdict on Intel's allegedly anti-competitive behaviour this week, and it's not looking good for the chip maker. The Commission's decision was sent to national bodies in April and will be presented to the Commission on Wednesday. The court is widely expected to …

Channel Register 11 May 08:11
Swedish chopper chief demands fireproof bras

My girls are unprotected, Group Captain insists

A Swedish chopper fleet commander has demanded that his female pilots be granted the same degree of fireproofing enjoyed by their male counterparts - in the form of flameproof bras. Group Captain Micael Byden insisted the existing underwear issued to the flygirls simply isn't up to the standard enjoyed by the boys. He told …

Bootnotes 11 May 08:56
ID scheme will cost £400m annually

It's OK: Jacqui can afford it

The government could save around £400m each year if it cancelled identity cards and stuck with the current generation of passports, according to Home Office figures. If start up costs of £300m are included, the National Identity Scheme looks set to cost government and citizens around £4.3bn more than the cost of current …

Government 11 May 09:07
Austria pulls out of Large Hadron Collider

Particle physics means nothing to me, says Vienna

Austria has announced plans to pull out of CERN, the international science alliance which runs the world's most powerful particle-punisher - the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) - and whose people invented the world wide web. "I feel bad about every membership that we cannot keep up," said Science Minister Johannes Hahn on Friday, …

Physics 11 May 09:09
IBM files patent for shorter meetings

Tackles the 'arbitrary hour-based scheduling paradigm'

Excellent news for employers who can't help feeling business is being hit hard by traditional meetings where one hour is set aside for the get-together, regardless of whether there's actually an agenda substantial enough to fill the time: IBM has filed a patent aimed at tackling the "arbitrary hour-based scheduling paradigm". …

Applications 11 May 09:20
US govt hydrogen highway runs out of road

Leccy Tech Obama administration to yank funding

The Hydrogen Highway has just become a B road. The Obama administration has announced that the Federal government's $1.2bn (£788m/€880m) plan to develop hydrogen fuel-cell powered cars and infrastructure is to end. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the government preferred to target more immediate energy-saving solutions and so …

Reg Hardware 11 May 09:33
Tandberg trundles into virtual tape

Library is open for business

Tandberg Data, fresh from its transformation into a private company, has launched its first virtual tape library. The DPS1000 can support up to 100 hosts, each with their own separate virtual library. McClain Buggle, Tandberg Data's disk and software business unit manager, said: "Each system can run a different backup …

Storage 11 May 09:55
Solar Cycle 24 set to be a quiet affair

Least active since 1928, experts predict

The Sun's "Solar Cycle 24", which kicked off back in December 2008, will be "the weakest since 1928", according to an international panel of experts. The "nearly unanimous prediction", as New Scientist describes it, follows a certain amount of hemming and hawing as to quite how much sunspot activity we could expect in the run- …

Space 11 May 10:21
RM sees interim revenues, profit jump

City follows suit

RM shares rose four per cent this morning after the education IT vendor announced a 21 per cent increase in revenue for the six months ended 31 March 2009. The firm reeled in adjusted first half pretax profit of £0.2m on sales of £141.9m for the period. RM said the company would jack up its dividend by five per cent to 1.32 …

Channel Register 11 May 10:23
Tesco tills go titsup

Updated Little help

Tesco's nationwide till system failed this morning, leaving the country's biggest retailer able to sell only via self-service checkouts. Managers closed some stores in response to the glitch. A spokesman for the firm confirmed it was suffering IT problems, and was investigating. According to reader reports, the problems …

IT Director 11 May 10:24
Darth Vader tops movie misquote poll

'Luke, I am your father'

Darth Vader's "Luke, I am your father" has topped a poll of movie misquotes - classic lines now stamped on the common conciousness but which are not actually as they were originally spoken. In fact, Vader told Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back "No, I am your father", as our Star Wars-savvy readers are doubtless aware. The …

Entertainment 11 May 10:27
Google Sky gazes at mobile maps

The Star Droid you are looking for, apparently

Google, in its ongoing quest to provide ubiquitous access to information people never knew they needed, is to launch sky maps for mobile phones under the name "Star Droid". We've all been in the situation of walking along and suddenly noticing an obscure stellar body, only to suffer an unrequited longing to know its identity. …

Mobile 11 May 10:40
Asda clamps down on killer teaspoons

ID requirement causes a bit of a stir

Are you under 18 years of age? Do have have an urgent need for teaspoons? Well, avoid Asda's Halifax tentacle where the powers that be are determined to prevent this potentially-lethal item of cutlery falling into the hands of murderous yoof. The proof of the clampdown comes from Nanny Knows Best - a site "dedicated to …

Bootnotes 11 May 10:41
US Uni campus hack provokes security alert

Crash team on standby after medical centre hack

The personal info of more than 160,000 current and former students and staff at the University of California, Berkeley has potentially been exposed after hackers broke into campus health service computers. The University admitted the breach on Friday but said that medical treatment records were not exposed by the hack, even …

Enterprise Security 11 May 11:01
Amazon wants your kidney for the Kindle

Keeps all the money, plus arm, leg, soul

You know newspapers are in trouble when they tout Amazon's Kindle reader as a potential saviour for the business. Many did just that last week, and while they concluded the answer was "No", what were they thinking when they asked the question? Today's e-readers like the Kindle bring all the expense of a computer, and all the …

Music and Media 11 May 11:02
Brown red in face after blusher found in cab

PM's slap instructions leak to public prints

Prime Minister Gordon Brown acquired another light dusting of woe when his make-up bag was left in the back of a taxi last week. Rather more seriously the bag, left by a junior aide, also contained information on how he and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith would be getting to Yorkshire for an official visit. Less dangerously, but …

Bootnotes 11 May 11:06
US firm prototypes 'mini HDMI'

Direct HD phone connection to your telly?

US firm Molex has designed a prototype miniature HDMI connector for use in portable gadgets, it’s been reported. According to website Tech-On, the cable’s been designed for use with the likes of phones, compact and DSLR cameras, camcorders and laptops in mind. For example, several HD mobile phones have already been announced …

Reg Hardware 11 May 11:25
Apple back in UK top five

No skin off Acer's nose...

Apple is back in the list of top five computer makers in the UK, at least as far as market watcher Gartner is concerned. But while it may be some time since it was last there, the Mac maker isn't really in a position to confidently report its return to the big league. Here, Q1 PC shipments hit 3.01m units, down 5.1 per cent …

Reg Hardware 11 May 11:32
London cab & bus trials for satnav speed-governor kit

'Satellites will turn us all into ZOMBIES!'

London government plans for self-adjusting speed governing kit, capable of automatically keeping a vehicle below the local speed limit, are advancing. Trials in the capital will take place this summer. The equipment in question is known as Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA), and has been under development since at least 2007 …

Government 11 May 11:39
IT salaries down and out

Our survey says...

A survey of advertised IT salaries reveals a slight fall since last year, with little prospect of increases in the immediate future. Researchers looked at 6,000 advertised positions and found the average salary for a permanent IT position is now £36,092, down one per cent on last year. All the ads appeared in the first quarter …

IT Director 11 May 11:45
Next Nokia iPhone knobbler uncovered?

The 5900 to sport bigger screen, better camera that its predecessor

It could just be a cheap Chinese knock-off, but word on the web is that these pictures show Nokia’s next XpressMusic-branded pitch at the iPhone. Is this Nokia's next XpressMusic phone? Pics courtesy of PC Online The images – captured by Chinese website PC Online – are said to show the XpressMusic 5900, which, given the …

Reg Hardware 11 May 11:47
Microsoft to spin out more non-update Windows 7 updates

Release Candidate gets phoney treatment

Microsoft will release up to 10 test updates tomorrow to computers running the near-ready version of its upcoming operating system, Windows 7. The company will spit out the updates over the coming week to users testing the Release Candidate version of Windows 7. This is the second time Microsoft has decided to deliver dummy …

Operating Systems 11 May 11:51
XM-I X-mini II travel speaker

Review Pocket-sized sonic expander

When we tested XM-I's X-Mini Max travel speakers last year, we were pretty impressed. OK, we wouldn't describe them as hi-fi, in fact we wouldn't even describe them as fi but, as a trade off between cost, size and sound quality, they were hard to beat. XM-I has now updated its basic Mini mono speaker – the Max was essentially …

Reg Hardware 11 May 11:55
Playboy to take on World of Warcraft with Bunny-themed MMORG

Playboy Manager, coming soon...

Always wondered what Hugh Hefner’s life’s like? You could soon find out, because a Playboy-themed “Massively Casual Online Game” (MCOG) is in development. Although it’s unlikely to displace World of Warcraft, EVE or Ultima, Playboy Manager will see you play a crack talent agent who must manage the career of some of Playboy’s …

Reg Hardware 11 May 11:58
Microsoft to EU: Cut me down, and Google will rule the world!

No, don't look at me, look at him. He's not really not evil

'Cut me down, and Google will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine,' Microsoft claims in its latest submission to the European Commission. Force Microsoft to carry rival browsers in Windows, says the underdog formerly-known as The Borg, and risk making Google's position in the search market even more dominant. …

Applications 11 May 12:05
Judges rap police over raid on paedo expert

Warrant quashed

The courts have delivered a sharp rap over the knuckles to Avon and Somerset police, reminding them in no uncertain terms that it is they – and not individual police officers – who rule on legal matters. This was the result of a decision handed down from a judicial review last Friday, before Lord Justice Richards and Mr …

Law 11 May 12:18
Tram driver crashes while texting

Time flies by when you're texting your girlfriend

Dozens of people were hurt when one Boston tram collided with another, after which the driver admitted to police that he'd failed to see the stationary tram because he was texting his girlfriend. Travelling at around 25 miles per hour, the Green Line tram simply failed to brake, or stop, despite the fact that the tram in front …

Mobile 11 May 12:19
ACS swallows BSG to boost SaaS offering

NHS specialist pays healthy premium

Health services firm ACS is buying the veteran channel firm BSG for £15.5m, the two firms announced on Friday. The price, at 19.11 pence per share, represents a 17 per cent premium in BSG's sharep rice last Thursday, and a 57 per cent premium on the target's average over the last three months. ACS describes itself as a …

Channel Register 11 May 13:21
Analyst forecasts 900% Android phone sales growth

Demand to rocket as more models debut

Android-based smartphones will ship in massive numbers this year - at least compared to last year's total, market watcher Strategy Analytics has forecast. In its latest report, the firm predicted that Android smartphone shipments will increase a whopping 900 per cent during 2009 over last year. Shipments of Apple’s iPhone will …

Reg Hardware 11 May 13:47
Smartphone production isn't easy, finds Garmin

'Complexity' delays Linux smartphone's launch

Garmin has hinted that smartphone complexities are behind its decision to delay launch of its “easy-to-use” G60 Nüvifone. Garmin's G60: launch delayed The G60 - a result of Garmin's partnership with Asus - is said to have been designed with less technologically-minded folk in mind. It was supposed to launch during the first …

Reg Hardware 11 May 13:50
IBM deals on big Power iron in Q2

You'll need a new system just to work out the discount

There are only three marketing levers in the information technology business: technology, price, and FUD. Without a refresh for top-end Power Systems as part of the April 28 update of the product line, IBM needed to pull one of these three levers. For Big Blue, the technology lever is stuck along with Power6 and Power6+ clock …

Channel Register 11 May 14:18
Prism Firefox extension hits beta

Web app as a desktop app is go

Mozilla Labs has released a beta of a Firefox extension that turns any website application into a desktop app. The not-for-profit outfit launched the standalone web app late on Friday. Dubbed Prism, it comes with its own site and an updated API for developers to play with. Prism 1.0 beta comes loaded with several nifty …

Applications 11 May 14:21
3Com gets out of China, shows fists to Cisco

'Exclusive' H3C branding for the favoured few

3Com has created a new tier of operations, branded "H3C" and available only to the biggest enterprise customers, in order to better take on Cisco's dominance in networking iron. In a process dubbed "out of China", the H3C brand will only be made available to a couple of channels in each territory, to be pitched at big …

Channel Register 11 May 14:29
Barclays to lay off more tech staff

Fancy another round?

Barclays IT staff were shocked to receive an emailed warning today that more jobs are likely to be lost at the troubled department. The department lost 700 staff last year in a round of layoffs as part of a planned cut of 1,800 staff by 2011. Then in January Barclays laid off 400 people whose "roles and responsibilities are …

IT Director 11 May 14:47
Personal data warning over web forum killing

German murderer used Facebook to feed obsession

Police have warned against posting too much personal information on the internet, after a German man was today sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a British computing student he met online. David Heiss, 21, from Dauborn, near Limburg, developed an obsession with his victim's girlfriend, and used information the couple …

Crime 11 May 15:34
Boffins develop bendy, squishy, foldable display

TV clothing edges closer

Scientists have displayed a screen that can be squashed, stretched and folded like rubber. The display's made from organic transistors, carbon nanotubes and fluorescent rubber Developed by Takao Someya, a Professor of Electronic Engineering, and his team from the University of Tokyo, the screen was recently used to make a …

Reg Hardware 11 May 15:53
Fujitsu goes dense with Nehalem blades

It's a dynamic cube

Server maker Fujitsu this morning took the wraps off a new generation of half-height blade servers and a new blade chassis. Collectively, they're known as the Dynamic Cube, but they'll be sold by the more boring (yet more easily trademarked) name: the Primergy BX900 S1. Like the latest blade server chassis designs from Hewlett …

Servers 11 May 16:10
Apple: No Jesus on the Jesus Phone

Me Not So Holy

Continuing their policy of random offence, Apple has rejected an application that places the user's face onto religious figures, while changing their mind on the Nine Inch Nails and allowing a test for manic depression. Me So Holy puts a photograph of the user's choice into the face of a holy figure, much like a sea-front cut …

Mobile 11 May 16:18
Fujitsu Technology Solutions goes global

Love, x86-style

Fujitsu Technology Solutions, previously Fujitsu Siemens Computers, is launching a major push into meeting data centre infrastructure needs using its newly-announced BX900 blade server. It wants to offer infrastructure platforms as well as both managed and supplied infrastructure services. An infrastructure, in FTS terms, is …

Servers 11 May 16:35
Wall Street Journal wants your micro-payments

Pay-per-view news

The Wall Street Journal online, one of the few remaining news websites that's charging for access, plans to introduce a micro-payments scheme this autumn. Non-subscribers will be charged to view individual articles, according to a report Sunday — somewhat amusingly by the WSJ's overseas rival, The Financial Times and not the …

Music and Media 11 May 18:09
Nokia's Qt cuts paperwork for open sourcers

Apple touchy feely planned

Nokia has reduced the barriers to contributing code to the Qt cross-platform framework. The Nokia-owned Qt Software has created a public repository for outsiders to contribute and monitor code and eliminated the need for filling in a faxed copyright assessment of code and manual checking by Qt Software. Instead, contributors …

Developer 11 May 18:19
Rackable Systems slips into SGI's name

Moniker change picks fame over fortune

Considering all of the technical trials and economic tribulations that Silicon Graphics has gone through since the mid-1990s after a meteoric rise in technical computing in the 1980s, you might think that the SGI name was one relegated to the dustbin of the IT industry. This seemed particularly true after Rackable Systems - an …

HPC 11 May 18:55
iPhone at war in iRaq

US military adopts Jobsian pacifier

The latest weapons in the US Global War on Terror Overseas Contingency Operation come from Cupertino: the iPhone and iPod touch. According to a report by The New Zealand Herald, US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are using Apple's WiFi-equipped handhelds to better understand and communicate with the locals. The iTunes App …

Mobile 11 May 18:57
US journo school mandates iPhone, iPod touch

Adjunct Apple PR

Beginning this fall, all students at the Missouri School of Journalism will be required to purchase an iPhone or an iPod touch. But before both Zune users in The Reg's readership get their panties in a bunch, realize that the key word in the Missouri dictate is "required." If an item is designated by a school as required, the …

Mobile 11 May 20:13
Atlantis blasts off for final Hubble repair job

One more for the road

After nearly seven years of delays, NASA's fifth and final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 2:01 EDT (18:01 GMT) today. The crew aboard space shuttle Atlantis mission STS-125 are scheduled to perform a series of five spacewalks beginning Thursday, giving the aging space …

Space 11 May 20:15
Chip cooler launches liquid nitro at CPUs

New frontiers in frigidity

A US company that specializes in CPU-cooling systems has just released its latest weapon in the war against melty microprocessors: liquid nitrogen. Auburn, Washington-based Koolance offers a broad range of CPU coolers, but none that will make a serious overclocker's heart skip a beat more than the CPU-LN2 Liquid Nitrogen …

PCs & Chips 11 May 21:28
Yahoo! co-founder takes open road against Google

Open Hack Day Roll your own, then advertise

Big, purple, and old, the Yahoo! bus parked outside this weekend's Open Hack Day venue in London looked like a survivor from a bygone era. So too, Yahoo!? Yahoo! remains a web giant, the second most visited web destination after Google, according to both comScore and Alexa, and second only to Google in search engine share. On …

Developer 11 May 21:33
FTC to referee net neut 'Dystopian nightmare' feud

The Rhetoric Police

To date, the FCC has refereed the ongoing feud between the net neuts and the anti-net neuts. But that may be changing. Over the weekend, the new chair of the US Federal Trade Commission, the FTC, said the organization may start to enforce a kind of net neutrality alongside the Federal Communications Commission, the FCC. "In a …

Networks 11 May 21:37
Microsoft: Windows 7 release in August '09

Surrenders 2010, hype machine fired up

Microsoft has officially dropped the façade on Windows 7 in 2010 and conceded that its essentially completed operating system will ship this year. Windows 7 will be released to manufacturing in about three months, pending feedback on the current release candidate, senior vice president of the Windows and Windows Live …

Operating Systems 11 May 23:53