The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

30th June 2009 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • China bans virtual cash for real-world trade

    Peer-to-peer transactions only

    Officials in China are banning use of virtual money to buy real-world goods and services. Under new regulations released jointly by the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Culture, virtual currency can now only be used for virtual goods and services that are provided by the issuer of the virtual currency. Several sites …

    Music and Media 30 Jun 00:25

  • Windows 7 free upgrade generosity hits limits

    Stuck in the middle

    Microsoft has clarified the rules on who can upgrade to Windows 7, and how many free copies of the forthcoming operating system you'll be entitled to. The company has also dismissed a suggestion from mega-analyst Gartner that it's limiting the number of PCs that an organization can upgrade to Windows 7 in order to bump …

    Channel Register 30 Jun 01:11

  • Spotify founder hints at video, P2P sharing, world domination

    Thinking big

    If you don't know what the fuss is about Spotify, you probably haven't used it. The company's co-founder Daniel Ek was at Music House last week, and treated attendees of the Music Publishers' AGM to the frankest public interview about Spotify I've yet heard. I also caught up with him after the session. It all adds up to the best …

    Music and Media 30 Jun 01:11

  • Asus launches Windows 7 upgrade path

    But only for machines bought from now on

    In preparation for the launch of Windows 7 next October, PC maker Asus has launch an upgrade programme for selected models. The firm’s scheme is simple. You buy an eligible machine between now and the end of January 2010, and Asus will upgrade your machine’s version of Vista – Home Premium, Business or Ultimate – or XP to the …

    Reg Hardware 30 Jun 05:02

  • Buffalo Linkstation Quad

    Review Nas simplicity and versatility, but at a price

    While most low-price NAS products tend to target domestic use separately from serious small office installations, the Buffalo Linkstation Quad attempts to straddle both these markets, albeit, with a price hike. Yet it offers home users a faster, beefier file store and media server, together with RAID redundancy, Internet-wide …

    Reg Hardware 30 Jun 08:02

  • Masked passwords must go

    'Shoulder surfing is largely a phantom problem'

    Websites should stop masking passwords as users type because it does not improve security and makes websites harder to use, according to two of the technology world's leading thinkers. Usability expert Jakob Nielsen and security expert Bruce Schneier both think websites should stop blanking out passwords as users type them in …

    ID 30 Jun 08:06

  • How secure are your applications?

    Locking the stable door before the horse bolts

    Let’s be blunt. The fine heritage of application development has not traditionally incorporated the pre-emptive creation of secure code, i.e. programs that are built from the ground up to be secure. There are a number of potential reasons for this – not least that in the old days, before every system was connected (either …

    Enterprise Security 30 Jun 08:55

  • Broadcom raises Emulex bid

    Madame, will you talk?

    Broadcom has gone ahead and raised its $9.25/share all-cash Emulex bid to $11.00/share, the upper end of the expected range. It has extended its tender offer for an additional 10 business days, until midnight July 14, 2009. Broadcom now values Emulex at $912m to be precise, up from the previous $764m valuation, meaning it is …

    Storage 30 Jun 08:58

  • An American Werewolf returns to London

    Chilling news points to rehash

    A brief item in Variety is more than sufficient to chill the blood of fans of John Landis's An American Werewolf in London, since it confirms that Weinstein Company tentacle Dimension Films is developing a remake/reinvention/reimagining/rehash (select according to taste) of the hairy 1981 movie. Details are thin on the ground …

    Entertainment 30 Jun 09:00

  • Pirate Bay sells out to Swedish software firm for $7.7m

    Plans biz model that compensates copyright owners

    Global Gaming Factory X AB (GGF) has agreed to buy BitTorrent tracker site The Pirate Bay for $7.7m (60m Swedish Crowns), according to a statement on the company's website. The Swedish software outfit confirmed the acquisition this morning. Under the deal GGF has also bought file sharing tech firm Peerialism. "We would like …

    Music and Media 30 Jun 09:33

  • Bloke uses nail clippers to go roundhead

    DIY circumcision ends in hospital

    A medic at Lister Hospital in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, has advised men against attempting DIY circumcision with nail clippers, after a young man who'd decided this was the best way to go roundhead was admitted for emergency treatment. Staff disinfected the unnamed victim's wound, and he was dispatched to an observation ward …

    Bootnotes 30 Jun 09:44

  • Intel's first 32nm desktop chips coming early?

    Big roll-out in Q4, not Q1 2010, it's claimed

    Intel appears to be very confident about the success of its 32nm fabrication process. Why else would it be bringing forward the mass-production of its first 32nm CPU? Not that the release of the desktop 'Clarkdale' processor will come that far ahead of expectations. While Intel isn't saying anything on the matter, Taiwanese …

    Reg Hardware 30 Jun 09:47

  • SuperSpeed USB to be 'successful', enthuses analyst

    Faster version of popular bus to be popular too. Apparently

    Four years from now, one in four gadgets with USB ports will support USB 3.0 - aka SuperSpeed USB. That's the shock (not) conclusion of market watcher In-Stat in a report forecasting that a faster version of the hugely popular peripheral interconnect bus will also be very popular, a prediction that will cost you $3995 from In- …

    Reg Hardware 30 Jun 10:04

  • Moles unveil Dell's Android gadget plans

    One MID and multiple smartphones for 2009, claim sources

    Dell is poised to launch several smartphones and at least one handheld internet access device this year, all of them based on Google's Android OS, company insiders have claimed. The two leaks came from groups of seemingly unconnected people either “familiar with the company’s plans” or “people briefed on the matter”, according …

    Reg Hardware 30 Jun 10:13

  • Tribunal backs TUPE rights in service provider transfers

    EAT adopts 'pragmatic' approach

    Employees have the same rights when a company changes service provider as when work is outsourced in the first place even if the new service is not identical to the old, the Employment Appeals Tribunal has ruled. The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) protect the rights of employees whose …

    Channel Register 30 Jun 10:20

  • Cybercrooks ramp up recession-themed scams

    DoJ Untouchables plan crackdown

    Cybercrooks have adapted to the global economic crisis with scams based on topical subjects such as refinancing or unemployment in a bid to reel in vulnerable marks. A survey by brand protection firm MarkMonitor on four leading financial brands reveals that fraudsters are targeting vulnerable individuals looking for ways to …

    Crime 30 Jun 10:22

  • Samsung wafts 11.6in, Ion-based netbook around

    N510 release imminent?

    Samsung has been quietly showing off an 11.6in netbook based that uses Nvidia's Ion chipset, we hear, and two European retailers even briefly posted details of the machine before being told not to by the South Korean giant. The result is a name, a collection of specs, a price and a possible launch date. The N510 looks …

    Reg Hardware 30 Jun 10:46

  • GSMA talks up embedded phones

    Competition to get the price down

    The GSM Association has launched a competition to encourage smaller and more standard embedded 3G modules - all in the name of getting us to own more telephones. Now that everyone has a mobile phone the GSMA is increasingly focused on getting us to own several, but with punters remarkably unwilling to carry more than one …

    Mobile 30 Jun 10:51

  • UK obscenity law: Where to now?

    Analysis Post-Girls (Scream) Aloud, the written word is safe - for now

    As the dust settles on the Girls (Scream) Aloud trial, what are the implications for the future of obscenity law in the UK? In the short term, the answer has to be "not much". Had the trial produced a guilty verdict, then much would have changed. It would have been the first successful prosecution of written material under …

    Law 30 Jun 11:21

  • Nokia prepping 12Mp cameraphone with optical zoom?

    Super-snapper handset could be out this year

    Nokia is secretly working on a device that could propel it to the forefront of cameraphone technology: 12Mp phones with an optical zoom. Sources inside both Nokia and optics firm Carl Zeiss revealed the Finnish phone giant’s plans for the high-end cameraphone, according to a story by website Phone Report, and hinted that the …

    Reg Hardware 30 Jun 11:23

  • US senators demand boycott of Iran 'snoop' firms

    International telco standards? So what, say pols

    Two US senators are calling for a boycott of European firms they say are helping the Iranian government snoop on its citizens. That will be Nokia Siemens Networks, we assume, which has already confessed it sold technology to Iran conforming to 3GPP and ETSI standards which require mobile networks have a lawful intercept …

    Mobile 30 Jun 11:33

  • Mimosa unifies NearPoint archive operations

    Now lawyers can divorce techies

    Mimosa has overhauled NearPoint, its archiving and eDiscovery software platform product, so that lawyers and compliance officers can analyse data without having to call on techies. Mimosa's intention is to provide an archive platform services layer below content creation applications, providing unified operations across …

    Storage 30 Jun 11:46

  • Micron move heralds Intel 320GB SSD

    Waves around own 34nm process NAND

    With Intel rumoured to be set to raise its SSD capacity up to 320GB through a shrink to a 34nm process, its Flash partner Micron has introduced - guess what - NAND chips using a 34nm process. Micron has just announced a net loss of $290m for its third fiscal 2009 quarter, on net sales of $1.1bn. Intel and Micron own a joint- …

    Storage 30 Jun 12:05

  • Hotmail hack blamed for exposing extra-marital governor frolics

    Mucky affair mails leaked by prurient hacker?

    Emails from the Argentine mistress of married South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford were leaked to the press by a hacker, according to the Latin American siren at the centre of a political scandal in the US Deep South. The emails were obtained by South Carolina newspaper The State back in December but kept on ice while the …

    ID 30 Jun 12:13

  • Japanese airport trials 'personal mobility vehicles'

    Transport of delight?

    A Japanese airport has taken delivery of several hi-tech 'wheelchairs', allowing airline staff and security guards to patrol the ticket halls and baggage areas in style. Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com Called i-Real, the three-wheeled wonder is described by maker Toyota as a “personal mobility …

    Reg Hardware 30 Jun 12:15

  • Lockheed engineer: F-22 Raptor Stealth tech is 'defective'

    Updated Emperor's invisible clothes actually visible shocker

    An engineer formerly employed by Lockheed, maker of the famous F-22 Raptor stealth jet, has mounted a whistleblower lawsuit alleging that Lockheed has supplied the controversial superfighter with "defective" stealth coatings. The claims are sure to add fuel to the fiery debate raging at present in Washington over whether to …

    Science 30 Jun 12:32

  • Nokia admits killing off Widsets

    It was the Finns, behind the Ovi, with the candlestick

    The first effective platform for mobile widgets, Widsets, was killed by Nokia back in April - but no one noticed as the company successfully obfuscated the murder behind Ovi. Nokia's all-encompassing brand Ovi has swallowed up several services including Download! and MOSH, but unlike the other services Widsets was a platform …

    Mobile 30 Jun 12:47

  • How to improve your application security

    Regcast What products and services are available?

    With major security breaches in the news almost daily, IT security practitioners are starting to pay more attention to the how rather than the why when it comes to application security. This is the topic of our upcoming webcast: Jump start your Application Security initiatives. This interactive event goes out live on July 21 …

    Enterprise Security 30 Jun 13:02

  • Apple MacBook Pro 15in June 2009 release

    Review Faster and cheaper - whatever next?

    The recent rapid evolution of Apple’s laptop range continues apace this month, with changes to virtually every model. The 15in MacBook Pro – or, to be precise, the 15.4in MacBook Pro – received a major update back in October when Apple introduced its new ‘unibody’ aluminium design, so we weren’t expecting anything other than the …

    Reg Hardware 30 Jun 13:03

  • Child exploitation chief to defend net snooping plans

    Ministerial no-show at IMP hearing

    No minister will show tomorrow to face legal, ethical and technical questions from MPs and peers on government plans to massively increase surveillance of the internet. The new All Party Parliamentary Group on Privacy will hold its first hearing on Wednesday on the Interception Modernisation Programme, a multi-billion-pound …

    Government 30 Jun 13:17

  • NTT to buy German security services firm

    Security axis

    Japanese telecoms giant NTT is to take over Germany's Integralis AG in a deal that values the security VAR at €75m. NTT Communications Corp, a subsidiary of NTT, will pay €6.75 per share for Integralis, a 70 per cent premium over the VAR's three month average share price, and a 35 per cent premium over its price at closing …

    Channel Register 30 Jun 13:34

  • Ashdown's missile dump security panel puts women to flight

    Generals, spooks and academics want more soft power

    A heavyweight panel of academics, spooks, generals and politicians led by Paddy Ashdown has published the results of a two-year investigation into the way Britain should handle its national security in future. However the broad appeal of the report will be somewhat undermined by the resignation of most of the female panel …

    Government 30 Jun 14:10

  • HP Ireland asks staff to vote for pay cut

    Dear turkey, early Christmas?

    HP has begun asking EDS staff to take a pay cut as part of its wide-ranging cost cutting strategy. In a bizarre email, seen by the Reg, titled HP Salary Reduction Programme, staff from the Electronic Data Systems are asked to agree a five per cent pay cut, and related cuts in benefits, by clicking on the "I Agree" button. The …

    Financial News 30 Jun 14:38

  • AgfaPhoto dunks its latest underwater camera

    Captures sub-aqua action with ease

    European photography outfit AgfaPhoto has expanded its submersible camera range with the launch of its latest underwater compact. AgfaPhoto's DC-600uw: waterproof to 10m The 6Mp DC-600uw would be ideal for upcoming summer holidays because it’ll happily snap still images and video at depths of up to 10m. The camera will also …

    Reg Hardware 30 Jun 14:41

  • Max Vision pleads guilty to running cybercrime bazaar

    Iceman melts

    Notorious hacker Max Vision faces a lengthy prison sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud involving the trafficking of around 1.8 million credit card numbers and running a clearing house for cybercrime. Vision (aka Iceman), 36, ran an underground forum called Carders Market where carders and hackers traded …

    Crime 30 Jun 15:02

  • Eurostar tunnels through UK border ring of steel

    Trains won't take the strain

    Cross-Channel train operator Eurostar says it will be unable to co-operate with plans to check everyone entering the UK against crime, terror and immigration watchlists, dealing a major blow to the government's £750m e-Borders programme. Giving evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee today, Eurostar customer services …

    Government 30 Jun 15:11

  • China Green Dam crumbles after protests

    Censorship program postponed indefinitely

    China has put its controversial plan to force PC manufacturers to ship filtering software in the country on ice. Beijing announced earlier this month that all PCs shipped in the country should include Green Dam Youth Escort software to keep young Chinese safe from porn. The plan prompted an immediate outcry, with accusations …

    Government 30 Jun 15:20

  • Home Office ditches compulsory ID card trial

    Dead project still dying

    The Home Office has abandoned attempts to force workers at Manchester and London City airports to carry ID cards, opting to make the trial voluntary. The trial was strongly opposed by pilots groups and unions. The Home Office had already scaled back its original plans and made the cards compulsory only for new workers. We …

    Government 30 Jun 15:25

  • Pirate Bay website sinks as 'sell out' accusations fly

    'Where's the thanks?' asks a perplexed BrokeP

    The Pirate Bay is currently out of action, hours after the site announced it was selling itself to a Swedish software firm. The BitTorrent tracker site's little lie down sparked speculation that is owners had pulled the plug on the operation already. But the latest Twitter update from co-founder Peter Sunde, aka BrokeP, claims …

    Music and Media 30 Jun 15:35

  • Comcast takes broadband to the (Wi)Max

    Cable-branded Clearwire comes to Portland, Oregon

    Comcast has launched its WiMAX offering, taking advantage of its investment in Clearwire to extend wireless connectivity to existing customers for $50 a month for the first year. The service, branded "High-Speed 2go Metro", is being sold as an addition to Comcast's broadband service with a combined (promotional) cost of $50 a …

    Mobile 30 Jun 15:48

  • Dutch clotheshorse menaces plastic surgeon

    WSA 'Blonde with Class' cuffed for 'vicious' nip-and-tuck objection

    Dutch clotheshorse Karen Mulder has been cuffed in Paris following a severe (alleged) derailing during which she laid into a plastic surgeon with "vicious telephone calls", as the Telegraph breathlessly puts it. Those of you not up to speed on belligerent supermodel news are doubtless blissfully ignorant of the fact that …

    Bootnotes 30 Jun 15:55

  • Red Hat inks cloud partnership with Amazon

    A surge in cloud interest

    As the dominant supplier of commercial Linux operating systems, a key player in middleware, and a wannabe with a pretty good shot at being a force in server virtualization, Red Hat would seem to be a shoo-in as a player in cloud computing. But for the moment, Amazon's EC2 sets the pace in commercial cloud computing, and that …

    Channel Register 30 Jun 16:07

  • Mozilla's servers wobble as Firefox 3.5 hits interwebs

    Calm down everyone - it'll still be there tomorrow

    Firefox 3.5 can now be downloaded from Mozilla’s website, but some of the open source outfit’s servers appear to be having a little lie down at time of writing. Mozilla’s Get FireFox download page is currently displaying an “Http/1.1 Service Unavailable” message for some users keen to grab the latest version. Elsewhere, users …

    Applications 30 Jun 16:14

  • Researcher barred from demoing ATM security vuln

    Not ready for prime time

    A talk demonstrating security weaknesses in a widely used automatic teller machine has been pulled from next month's Black Hat conference after the machine vendor placed pressure on the speaker's employer. Juniper Networks, a provider of network devices and security services, said it delayed the talk by its employee Barnaby …

    Security 30 Jun 18:00

  • World's first in-cinema interactive 3D game inbound

    Control a spaceship with your hands!

    O2 has a treat in store for cinema goers: the chance to control a 3D spaceship in what’s claimed to be the world’s first in-cinema interactive 3D videogame. The audience controls a 3D spaceship using their hands Rolling out across 20 UK-based Vue cinemas from 10 July, O2’s Asteroid Storm will allow seated cinema punters to …

    Reg Hardware 30 Jun 18:26

  • DoJ Java questions delay Oracle's Sun buffet

    Updated Fox in the hen house

    Concerns over Java could end up delaying a fast-track acquisition of Sun Microsystems by Oracle. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) is reported to have asked the companies for more information about the licensing of Java, before giving its seal of approval to the deal. Sun and Oracle had hoped for approval by June 26, so that …

    Applications 30 Jun 18:36

  • NASA, Japan (nearly) finish topographic map of Earth

    Everything but the boring polar bits

    NASA and the Japanese government have released what they claim is the most complete topographic map of the planet yet. The data uses detailed measurements from NASA's Terra spacecraft covering 99% of the Earth's landmass, with only the boring polar bits left out. The new elevation model of Earth was created from nearly 1.3 …

    Music and Media 30 Jun 18:53

  • RIP, Pirate Bay

    Comment Notes on an exit strategy

    So The Pirate Bay has executed the Web 2.0 business plan to perfection: give someone else's stuff away for free - then find a bigger idiot to buy the company. It's actually not so different from the potted history of every media company that rises to popularity on the back of a new medium - take radio, for example - then sells …

    Music and Media 30 Jun 20:50

  • Apple SD Cards fuel (more) Mac tablet chatter

    SanDisk love-in

    A SanDisk investment commentator, blogging as Savolainen, reckons Apple is going to introduce a tablet or netbook-type Mac. Yes, you've heard this before. But this time, the evidence lies with the SD Card adoption by MacBook Pros. Notebook computers used to employ a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International …

    Reg Hardware 30 Jun 21:29

  • US court upholds penalty for phone records seller

    200,000 reasons to never do it again

    In a victory for privacy advocates, a federal appeals court has upheld a tough penalty meted out last year to a company that sold the contents of individuals' phone records without their permission. A three-judge panel of the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower-court ruling that ordered the owners of Abika.com to …

    Law 30 Jun 22:17

  • Firefox 3.5 - it's not a 'web upgrade'

    Review But it's a nice browser

    "This isn't just an upgrade of the browser. It's also an upgrade for the web", says Mike Beltzner, Firefox product director, in his What's New in 3.5 video. Hyperbole for sure, but it highlights the most interesting aspect of the browser wars, which is how each player is trying to influence the direction of web development. …

    Applications 30 Jun 22:26

  • Microsoft enlists WSUS, ex-Superman, and puke in IE8 push

    Take it or leave it

    Microsoft will start injecting Internet Explorer 8 into large organizations through its Windows Server Update Services beginning at the end of August. The latest edition of Microsoft's browser will be available for download through WSUS as part of an update roll-out from August 25, Microsoft has said. WSUS lets system …

    Applications 30 Jun 22:30

  • Google boasts of melting data center antidote

    Structure 09 No chillers? No problem

    Google is developing some sort of back-end technology that automatically - and nearly instantly - redistributes live compute loads when a data center is in danger of overheating. Or maybe this is just talk. Google prefers to at least maintain the illusion of data-center nirvana. During a panel discussion last week at Structure …

    Servers 30 Jun 22:36

  • Cisco cuddles all clouds but one

    Leaves Amazonian play to the Amazons

    Well, it's the end of June, and Cisco Systems' "California" Unified Computing System blade boxes and related networking is supposed to be shipping. In a webcast today with analysts, partners, and press that's part of a two-day analyst event called Cisco Live, representatives ignored two questions from El Reg about whether or not …

    Servers 30 Jun 23:20

  • GPLv3 grows as GPL stumbles

    New shoot on an aging tree

    With open source software on the rise in the enterprise, more projects are looking beyond the ubiquitous GNU General Public License. The number of projects licensed under GPLv3 - completed a year ago - have increased fourfold, though GPL's overall share of open source enterprise licenses dropped from 70 per cent to 65 per cent …

    Software 30 Jun 23:27

  • Forrester re-slashes 2009 IT spending forecast

    How low can you go?

    The broomstick used for the IT limbo dance was lowered a bit more today by the analysts at Forrester Research, who once again revised their IT spending projections for 2009 Based on current economic conditions and the word that Forrester is getting from the IT departments, Forrester is now saying that global IT spending for …

    Financial News 30 Jun 23:37

  • Rolling Stone allegedly DDoSed for negative story

    Perverted Justice

    Federal prosecutors accused a Pennsylvania man of unleashing a crippling series of attacks against the websites of Rolling Stone and other groups after they published articles that cast him in an unfavorable light. Bruce Raisley carried out the DDoS, or distributed denial of service, attacks by infecting computers with …

    Crime 30 Jun 23:49

  • Joost gives up the ghoost

    Tries business model 3.0

    Joost, the mostly harmless internet TV service created by the founders of Skype and Kazaa, is hoping the third business model is the charm. The company said Tuesday it will shift focus from ad-supported video to making "white label video platforms" for media companies. While Joost will continue to provide free online …

    Music and Media 30 Jun 23:59