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7th July 2009 Archive

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  • IBM finances vSphere-x64 server bundles

    Banking on sales

    IBM has certified VMware's ESX Server 4.0 hypervisor and its vSphere 4.0 virtualization management stack on its System x rack and tower servers and on its BladeCenter blade servers. And the company is now shipping the vSphere stack on its x64 boxes. Having no hypervisor of its own for x64-based servers, IBM is free to endorse …

    Servers 7 Jul 00:10

  • Boffins guess social security numbers via public data

    Success rate as high as 90%

    Predicting a person's social security number is a lot easier than previously thought, according to new scientific research that has important implications for identity theft. Armed with publicly available information about where and when an individual was born, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University were able to guess the …

    ID 7 Jul 00:21

  • CompuServe signs off

    AOL shutters classic dial-up provider

    CompuServe, the first commercially successful online and email provider in America, has been shut down by AOL after 30 years of service. The original CompuServe — later renamed CompuServe Classic — was laid to rest July 1, 2009. In a message sent to its remaining subscribers, AOL urged customers sticking with cheap dial-up to …

    Telecoms 7 Jul 00:27

  • Microsoft promises no patent prosecution of open-source .NET

    Ubuntu joins Debian Mono denials

    Microsoft is promising not to pursue patent claims against Linux and open-source software using the open-source implementation of .NET, Project Mono. The company has said that third party implementations of its C# and the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) - a language runtime - will be made available under its Community …

    Operating Systems 7 Jul 04:19

  • LG HS102 Ultra Mobile projector

    Review No bigger than an office phone

    Smaller, lighter, cheaper, less power-hungry: that's the road we want digital projector manufacturers to take. Indeed, LG does its best to satisfy our craving with a highly compact and thoroughly usable short-throw projector with minimal ongoing costs. LG's HS102 Ultra Mobile projector The HS102 falls into the 'ultra …

    Reg Hardware 7 Jul 08:02

  • Michael Jackson manifests in California tree stump

    'He meant more to us than Jesus'

    The case for the beatification of Michael Jackson has been strengthened by the pop legend's appearance in a California tree stump - the first reported Jesus-like simulacrum of the Man Who Changed the Face of Music Forever™. Felix Garcia spotted the uncanny likeness of the Man Who Touched the Lives of Millions™ in a birch stump …

    Bootnotes 7 Jul 08:54

  • Blears sackee nothing to do with TheyWorkForYou

    Civil servant reveals paper-less trail of doom

    The civil servant sacked for being slightly rude about Hazel Blears did not post any comment on TheyWorkForYou: she only used the site to find Blears' personal website. Lisa Greenwood used Google to find a contact for Hazel Blears. This took her to Hazel Blears' page on TheyWorkForYou, and from there she clicked through to …

    Government 7 Jul 08:59

  • NetApp ponders getting off the pot, or...

    Comment Warmenhoven's carefully constructed holding position

    What do you make of this? "In response to EMC’s revised, unsolicited offer, the NetApp Board of Directors will carefully weigh its options, keeping in mind both its fiduciary duty to its stockholders and its disciplined acquisition strategy. We will provide an update shortly." The statement maker is NetApp's chairman and CEO, …

    Storage 7 Jul 09:08

  • NASA fires up the 'interplanetary internet'

    ISS hosts first 'Delay Tolerant Networking' node

    The International Space Station has become home to the first node in the "interplanetary internet". The Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) system uses "store-and-forward techniques within the network in order to compensate for intermittent link connectivity". As NASA explained during ground-based simulation tests last year, DTN " …

    Data Networking 7 Jul 09:09

  • Ukraine slaps ban on all porn

    Opinion Unless you're sick: Then it's OK

    Porn is now illegal in the Ukraine, unless used for medicinal purposes. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko last week signed off on new legislation joining the Ukraine to an ever-lengthening list of countries that have decided to move the censorship goalposts over the last few years, from publication of porn on to simple …

    Law 7 Jul 09:31

  • UK Palm Pré carrier confirmed

    Well, it's not Vodafone...

    Blighty’s exclusive Palm Pré carrier has finally been revealed. And the winner is, unsurprisingly, O2. The smartphone will be “launched in Europe in time for the Winter holidays”, said O2’s parent company, Telefónica, which has also secured exclusive rights to sell the Pré in Spain, Ireland and Germany. O2 hasn’t said how …

    Reg Hardware 7 Jul 09:48

  • BBC pulling back from the DAByss?

    Set the dial to spin

    Simply because Tim Davie, the BBC's new radio chief, has a background in advertising and marketing, that isn't a reason to assume everything he says is a lie. It's more charitable to say he's well practiced in the dark acts of spinning, having learnt the trade at Pepsi and Proctor and Gamble. And so you might want to take the …

    Music and Media 7 Jul 10:05

  • Sony preps hi-res Atom N netbook

    Has Intel relaxed its rules?

    Sony launched its first netbook, the Vaio P, back in February. The P's high price undoubtedly put plenty of punters off, so the consumer electronics giant is having another go, this time with a more standard notebook spec. Sony's Vaio W: hi-res netbook display Well kind of. The Vaio W has a 10.1in screen, but it sports a …

    Reg Hardware 7 Jul 10:26

  • Anti-smut Baroness sent to solitary

    But is government turned on to her ideas?

    The likelihood that possession of extreme pornographic writings is about to become a crime dipped yesterday, as the Conservative Party officially distanced itself from a notion floated by one of its own peers. This is a rebuff for Conservative peer Baroness O’Cathain, who thought up the idea – but anti-censorship campaigners …

    Law 7 Jul 10:30

  • Fusion-io: It's off to work we go

    Unveiling combined single and multi-level cell flash?

    Fusion-io is claiming to have developed a new type of flash memory combining single and multi-level cell (MLC) attributes. It will announce full details of the new development later today. Single-level cell (SLC) flash has speed and reliability advantages over MLC. The latter has 2 or 3 bits per cell and wears out faster, but …

    Channel Register 7 Jul 10:57

  • Plasma rocket in new test with Brit supermagnet fitted

    Nuclear/solar space electro-drive doing well

    A radical electrically-powered space rocket which has the potential to cut months or years off travel times to other planets has achieved a further successful test today. The new milestone for the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) was achieved with the aid of a crucial new component - a superconducting …

    Physics 7 Jul 11:02

  • Orange calls up LG watchphone

    UK sales to start next month

    Following months of Dick Tracy jokes and speculation over its launch, LG has finally confirmed that its watchphone will be available in the UK next month. LG's GD910: in the UK next month The LG Touchscreen Watch Phone – also know as the GD910 – will be sold by Orange in the UK, but only for a “limited time period”. Orange …

    Reg Hardware 7 Jul 11:03

  • BCC calls recession bottom

    But gov could still stuff it up

    The British Chambers of Commerce has called the bottom of the recession. In its latest survey of 5,600 companies the BCC found some confidence returning, but warned it was early days to talk of real recovery. But the lobby firm warns that the government needs to act to protect their view that "the worst is over". The group …

    Small Biz 7 Jul 11:05

  • Dot Hill hops the 2TB train

    2U 24TB RAID Array coming

    Dot Hill has qualified Western Digital's 2TB drives and is going to launch a 24TB RAID array taking up just 2U of rack space. It reckons this will be the first generally-available such device. The drives are WD RE4-GP or green power drives, boasting 500GB/platter areal density, and Dot Hill says a 24TB tray of them is up to 60 …

    Storage 7 Jul 11:18

  • Ofcom foresees an entertaining 2028

    If they haven't been axed by the Tories by then

    Ofcom has been busy crystal-ball gazing again, this time plotting out what we'll be doing for entertainment in the year 2028, and how much radio spectrum we'll need to do it. Besides the fun of futurology, Ofcom's predictions are used to establish policy. Last time it was health and transport, this year it's entertainment - …

    Networks 7 Jul 11:22

  • Becta snuggles up to MS on UK schools licensing shake-up

    Pilot scheme launches

    The UK government’s technology agency has given Microsoft’s launch of the new Subscription Enrolment Schools Pilot (SESP) the thumbs up. Becta said in a statement that the scheme would help improve choice for schools that were mulling subscription agreements with the software giant. SESP builds on Microsoft’s existing School …

    Channel Register 7 Jul 11:37

  • Opera CEO: Unite not a security risk

    Au contraire!

    Opera has been defending its Unite product, claiming that far from causing security problems it actually increases the security for users who would otherwise be dependent on the cloud. In an interview reported by NetworkWorld, Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner claimed that putting servers into every copy of Opera would increase the …

    Enterprise Security 7 Jul 11:41

  • IPO gives 'reputable' web pages prior art status

    Computing website details considered gospel

    An online news story that described a bank's method for authenticating website visitors was valid evidence of prior art, the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has ruled. The date on the web page could be taken at face value, it said. The date and contents of internet disclosures should be assessed on the balance of …

    Law 7 Jul 11:45

  • Ten of the best... Core i7 CPU coolers

    Round-up So your processor doesn't lose its cool

    Intel’s standard CPU cooler for the Core i7 family looks like a slightly bigger version of the cooler that we're used to seeing on LGA775 Pentium D and Core 2 chips. It works well at the standard speed but lets the side down when you start overclocking. After-market coolers for Core i7 come in two distinct flavours. Some …

    Reg Hardware 7 Jul 12:02

  • Mandy promises end to illegal staff blacklists

    You can't get me if I'm part of the union

    Lord Mandelson has opened a consultation on banning the use of union blacklists by employers. The listening period starts today and runs till 18 August - shorter than usual because Mandy wants to introduce legislation in the autumn. The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills also said the shorter period was justified …

    Government 7 Jul 12:24

  • Mozilla Labs canvases developers for web tools directory

    Space/time continuum - discuss

    Mozilla Labs has launched a central tools index to help simplify the lives of web developers across the globe. The open source browser maker’s experimental team announced the Open Web Tools Directory yesterday. “We’ve come to the opinion that in addition to creating new tools, one of the best things we could do is help …

    Applications 7 Jul 13:00

  • Magno stimulation makes brain learn skills better - boffins

    Bonce-bothering breakthrough in British Columbia

    Canadian brainbox brainboxes have found that cunningly targeted "magnetic stimulation" of the brain can help test subjects to learn manual skills. Thinks: Soon I shall be INVINCIBLE Lara Boyd and Meghan Linsdell of the University of British Columbia have published the results of their research into the brain's dorsal …

    Biology 7 Jul 13:26

  • Phorm phading phast

    Can Virgin and the foreigns save it?

    Phorm shares continue to fall today, dropping another 11.5 per cent on top of the 25 per cent they fell yesterday, as another partner distanced itself from the technology. CarphoneWarehouse's ISP TalkTalk played down its links to the ad tech developer a day after BT's announcement that it was abandoning trials. Charles …

    Telecoms 7 Jul 14:29

  • Too thick to boil an egg? Buy 'em preboiled

    And shelled, naturally

    Having been relieved of the burden of having to make a jam sandwich, those without either the time or the intellectual capacity for basic culinary tasks can now avail themselves of the latest word in labour-saving foodstuffs: Preboiled free range eggs. Yup, the Happy Egg Company will, for just 89p for two or £1.49 for four, …

    Bootnotes 7 Jul 14:32

  • Counter terror cops prep for recession funding squeeze

    First time for everything

    The UK's top counter terror cop is preparing to make cuts for the first time, as the recession hits the public sector, he revealed today. Assistant commisioner John Yates, head of the Met's counter terror command, said he didn't think even the most high profile police work will escape the knife after 2011 when the current …

    Policing 7 Jul 14:40

  • Sony launches quick-boot Vaio notebook

    Browse without entering Vista

    Sony has expanded it Vaio laptop line with an eco-focused “Quick Web Access” model. Sony's Vaio NW: The range only consists of one machine so far: the 15in VGN-NW11Z. But that hasn’t stopped Sony from talking up the machine’s dedicated web button, which supposedly provides quick access to the “bespoke super-fast internet …

    Reg Hardware 7 Jul 15:12

  • VW confirms e-car plans

    Leccy Tech As firm's Chairman warns of 'electric vehicle hype'

    Volkswagen has announced plans to launch a small electric car in 2013. But the firm’s Chairman has warned the market to be cautious against premature e-car hype. Speaking at a recent energy conference in Munich, Martin Winterkorn said that his firm’s first e-car will be based on its Up! urban vehicle concept. By 2019 VW also …

    Reg Hardware 7 Jul 15:17

  • $1m for seethrough vidspecs in DARPA VR war-graffiti plan

    Plus gesture, voice and 'tactile' input devices

    Brobdingnagian arms company Lockheed yesterday passed on a million of its government greenbacks in a subcontract aimed at helping it achieve a new standard in interface tech. The cash goes to Washington-based Microvision Inc to develop "daylight-readable, see-through, low-profile, ergonomic" colour video specs. Herat, 2015. …

    Science 7 Jul 15:33

  • US edges towards mobile antitrust case

    Another senator joins the baying voices

    Calls for an investigation into monopolistic practices by US mobile operators have been answered with a review by the Justice Department that could quickly turn into an investigation. On Monday the chair of the Senate antitrust subcommittee, Herb Kohl, wrote to the FCC and the Justice Department, regarding operators abusing …

    Mobile 7 Jul 15:52

  • Schneier says he was 'probably wrong' on masked passwords

    Security guru gets a bit carried away by the moment

    Security expert Bruce Schneier has said that he probably made a mistake when he backed a usability expert's plea to website operators to stop masking passwords as users type because it does not improve security and makes sites harder to use. Usability guru Jakob Nielsen said last month that sites should show most passwords in …

    Enterprise Security 7 Jul 16:10

  • Google strips beta wrapper from Gmail, Docs et al

    Prays for Microsoft, IBM slap down

    Google has slipped the beta tag from its Gmail, Calendar, Docs and Talk apps in an effort to lure more businesses out of Microsoft and IBM’s clutches. The company, which launched the Google Apps suite two years ago, announced the decision today. Mountain View justified the move away from beta by pointing out that Google Apps …

    Channel Register 7 Jul 16:20

  • LG to release second-gen Chocolate

    Tasty technical talker inbound?

    In an attempt to cash in on the success of its 2006 Chocolate mobile phone, LG has announced plans to launch a second-generation Choccy handset. LG's second-gen Chocolate The original model – also known as the KG800 – was, LG said, the company’s “most successful mobile handset to date”. But can the firm repeat the success a …

    Reg Hardware 7 Jul 16:29

  • Sprint punts 99¢ netbook

    There's a catch, natch

    If you're jonesing for a netbook and you live in the States, Sprint and Best Buy will sell you one for the low, low price of 99¢. But you'll still have to fork out around $1,500. The catch is that the netbook - a Compaq Mini 110c-1040DX - must be purchased with a two-year Sprint 3G wireless-broadband service contract that …

    Wireless 7 Jul 18:09

  • SUSE 11 takes off faster than 10

    Novell still cool to KVM

    Novell kicked out its SUSE Linux 11 release at the end of March, so it's now time to ask how it's doing. The answer: better than SUSE Linux 10. But still not enough to close the substantial installed base and revenue gap that exists between number one Red Hat Enterprise Linux and number two SUSE Linux Enterprise Server in the …

    Operating Systems 7 Jul 18:48

  • Google laying off more 'second class citizens'?

    Contractor cuts rumored

    Google is laying off contractors as well as full-time employees in multiple offices across the US, according to a new report. Citing multiple anonymous sources, Silicon Valley WebGuild reports that the company is laying off a "large number" of sub-contracted employees and full-time employees who manage such contractors. …

    Financial News 7 Jul 18:57

  • Music labels take (more) Irish ISPs to court

    Bow like Eircom or else

    The Big Four music labels want every ISP in Ireland to adopt a "three strikes" policy against repeated illegal file-sharers, and they intend to sue until they get their way. With Ireland's top internet provider, Eircom, having already bowed to the music industry's demands to cut off service to accused offenders, the labels are …

    Music and Media 7 Jul 19:00

  • IBM UK snuffs 'final salary' pensions

    Bow to the 'Productivity objective'

    IBM UK has shelved its "final salary" pension plan, pulling this prime benefit out from under about 28 per cent of its workforce. With an email sent to employees at about 5:30pm UK time - after most employees had likely gone home for the day - IBM UK and Ireland general manager Brendon Riley announced the end of the company's …

    Business 7 Jul 21:39

  • Open-source .NET splits for extra Microsoft protection

    Boycott Debian and Ubuntu calls silenced?

    A community implementation of .NET is splitting in two, hoping to protect Linux and open-source against potential patent claims from Microsoft. The Mono Project plans to split between a core set of APIs that are based on ECMA specifications of Microsoft's C# and Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) and a stack that implements …

    Operating Systems 7 Jul 21:45

  • VMware courts jilted Virtual Iron shops

    Why wait for Oracle?

    Any time one vendor gets acquired by another, it's an opportunity for a third party to come in and steal some of the accounts unhappy with that acquisition. Oracle has made VMware's job of stealing away customers using Virtual Iron's enterprise-grade Xen hypervisor for server virtualization a whole lot easier by killing off the …

    Virtualization 7 Jul 21:57

  • Linux patch sidesteps Microsoft's TomTom patent

    VFAT gets trimmed

    A Linux patch has been released to circumvent a Microsoft patent that landed Linux user TomTom in hot water. The patch avoids the need to create both short - 8.3 - and long filenames, the crux of Microsoft's patent dispute with TomTom. Instead, you create one or the other. Microsoft holds the patent on the Virtual File …

    Software 7 Jul 23:14

  • Jammie Thomas calls for file-sharing trial #3

    $1.92m fine 'excessive, shocking, and monstrous'

    Faced with a $1.92 million fine, convicted file-sharer Jammie Thomas-Rasset's is seeking to undergo a third trial or have the "excessive, shocking, and monstrous" verdict against her reduced. The Minnesota mom of four was found guilty of copyright infringement last month for downloading and sharing 24 songs through the Kazaa …

    Music and Media 7 Jul 23:27

  • PostgreSQL trumpets 8.4 release

    More junk in the trunk

    The open source project behind the PostgreSQL relational database is blowing its nose trumpeting the availability of PostgresSQL 8.4, a rev that includes 293 new or improved features that make the database easier to administer and more useful to programmers and end users. The new code, which is available for download here, was …

    Applications 7 Jul 23:30

  • Royalties deal lets internet radio play on

    Copyright compromise reached

    An agreement has been reached to help ensure the future of internet radio by warding off potentially devastating copyright-royalty rate hikes. The deal is between SoundExchange, a nonprofit royalty collection and distribution organization associated with the Recording Industry Association of America, and three small internet- …

    Music and Media 7 Jul 23:34