8th July 2009 Archive

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Yahoo! takes notes on your searches

Self-scribbling Search Pad

Yahoo! has equipped its primary search engine with what you might call an automated note taker. Known as Search Pad, this integrated applet is meant to facilitate web research. As you browse the net, it automatically records visited websites and their thumbnail images on a kind of digital notepad built directly into Yahoo!'s …

Music and Media 8 Jul 2009, 03:44
China cuts internet to quell ethnic riots

Snipping 'overseas opposition forces'

China has blocked internet access in parts of Urumqi - the capital of the northwestern Xinjiang province - after violent clashes between the minority Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese reportedly left 156 dead and more than 1,000 injured. "We cut Internet connection in some areas of Urumqi in order to quench the riot quickly and …

Government 8 Jul 2009, 04:31
US websites buckle under sustained DDoS attacks

South Korea, too

Websites belonging to the federal government, regulatory agencies and private companies have been struggling against sustained online attacks that began on the Independence Day holiday, according to multiple published reports. At time of writing, most of the targets appeared to be afloat. Nonetheless, several targets have …

Security 8 Jul 2009, 06:33
ECB Cricket 1.0

iPhone App Review Play with matches and end up with the Ashes

The England and Wales Cricket Board hasn’t had a great deal to shout about lately, what with the Stanford debacle and the recent rather tasteless photoluv shootout of Sir Flintoff of Flanders. But here, at last, is something it can be proud of, the ECB iPhone app has arrived just in time for the biggest cricket event of the year …

reghardware 8 Jul 2009, 08:02
Google polishes Chrome into netbook OS

The sound of Ballmer hurling a thousand chairs

Google is releasing an operating system for laptops and desktops, in a direct challenge to Microsoft's money-making core business. The company will also encourage developers to get on board by allowing them to use ordinary web development tools with the OS rather than a specialised development kit. Much of the success of the …

Operating Systems 8 Jul 2009, 08:50
Gartner cuts 2009 IT spending forecasts

Stops just short of predicting a plague of locusts

The growing consensus among the IT market researchers is that 2009 is going to stink in terms of sales, and that whatever rebound happens in 2010 will not get us back to the revenue levels of 2008. Now the prognosticators at Gartner have followed up Forrester Research and IDC, which put out revised forecasts on general IT and …

Channel Register 8 Jul 2009, 09:05
Microsoft talks turkey in Brussels

Last orders in the last chance saloon

Microsoft and the European Commission are back in talks aimed at ending anti-trust investigations against the company. The most advanced probe is the Competition Commission's investigation into the browser market sparked by complaints from Opera, but the Commission is also looking at word processing and spreadsheets. …

Software 8 Jul 2009, 09:14
Sony intros three-way anti-shake camcorder

Super-sturdy shooting for wobbly hands

Sony has launched what it claims is the world’s first camcorder able to reduce the effects of camera shake, rattle and roll from three directions. Sony's Handycam HDR-CX520VE: perfect for pitch, roll and yaw The flagship shooter’s “three-way shake-cancelling optical SteadyShot” technology reduces the effect of horizontal …

reghardware 8 Jul 2009, 10:26
Symantec eliminates dedupe disparities

NetBackup and Backup Exec to be given same toys

Symantec is to add deduplication to the backup clients and media servers for NetBackup and Backup Exec. This will allow Backup Exec customers equality of deduplication with NetBackup customers. These moves were first reported last month. Currently, NetBackup users can manage third-party deduplication appliances from Data …

Storage 8 Jul 2009, 10:35
Ofcom coughs 3G coverage maps

Tells stunned world that hills may affect signal

The UK regulator has finally released nationwide maps of the 3G coverage available, and it will come as no surprise that anyone planning to take a dongle to the Highlands will be out of luck. It's not just the Highlands though, users will struggle anywhere with an interesting landscape - the maps overlap well with …

Mobile 8 Jul 2009, 10:38
'Metal muscle' memory-alloy robot flapper bat shown off

Can droid chiropterthopter get off the ground?

Boffins in North Carolina have announced that they are hard at work on a robotic bat which will have a skeleton made of "shape-memory alloy" and flap its wings using electrically powered "metal muscles". The palm-sized robothopter is intended for use as a military surveillance platform, or Micro Air Vehicle (MAV). What all …

Science 8 Jul 2009, 10:41
Spam tool developer faces six years in chokey

Ralsky cohort cops a plea

A US software writer has pleaded guilty to developing a botnet-based spamming tool used by notorious spammer Alan Ralsky. David S Patton, 49, of Centreville, Virginia, faces up to six years in prison after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting breaches of the US CAN-SPAM Act in concert with Ralsky and others. Patton agreed to …

Crime 8 Jul 2009, 11:12
Happiness Index: Don't move to Vanuatu

The bogus logic of 'sustainability'

Did you know people in Haiti, Burma and Armenia are all better off than in Britain? And the Congo is happier than the USA? That's what the London think-tank New Economic Foundation reckons in its second "Happy Planet" rankings. But even NEF admits that its "happiness" rating or HPI doesn't really measure human happiness, and …

Environment 8 Jul 2009, 11:21
Overland branches out

Adds replication and CDP product

Joining the likes of Double-Take and Neverfail, Overland Storage is adding server protection to its product line with replication and continuous data protection. The REO Business Continuity Appliance (BCA) is a rackmount Intel server plus embedded software and SATA Drives, attached by a LAN link to a small number of …

Storage 8 Jul 2009, 11:40
Moderatrix to gain even more sinister powers

Cyberbullies quail as online reputation software launches

A new system to improve the behaviour of visitors to internet sites, by granting more draconian exclusion powers to moderators, is launching this week in the UK. The ReputationShare technology was launched in the US in April of this year by LOOKBOTHWAYS Inc, a US-based company that has already developed a number of systems …

ID 8 Jul 2009, 11:43
Cops swoop on e-crime gangs after banks pool intelligence

Early success for new task force

Two London-based cybercrime gangs have been busted, following an agreement by banks and credit card companies to share intelligence on network attacks and malware. Early success for the new "virtual task force", which is set for public launch next week, comes after years of pressure from investigators frustrated at the lack of …

Crime 8 Jul 2009, 11:45
Freecom adds RFID to HDD

Innovative feature or unnecessary security?

Freecom has launched an external HDD that will only grant you access to its data if you’re the bearer of the keycard. Freecom's Hard Drive Secure: controlled using an RFID card Admission to the Hard Drive Secure is controlled by an RFID card which you swipe once over the HDD to lock it and again to unlock it. Entry is …

reghardware 8 Jul 2009, 11:48
Patriot Torqx 128GB SSD

Review The new solid-state speed champ

Patriot’s first stab at a solid-state drive went by the name of Warp and used the oft-derided JMicron 602 controller. By contrast, the new Torqx series of SSDs makes the switch to the Indilinx Barefoot controller that so impressed us when we reviewed the OCZ Vertex. Patriot's Torqx: based on Indilinx' nippy new controller …

reghardware 8 Jul 2009, 11:50
Reg Mobile and Wireless newsletter is go! go! go!

Site news Email-tasm

May we draw your attention to our latest email text-only newsletter, a weekly corral of all our Mobile and Wireless News and reviews. Every week The Register and our sister pub Reg Hardware publishes upwards of 30 articles covering various aspects of the mobile and wireless world. For the newsletter, we have gone a little …

Site News 8 Jul 2009, 12:34
Shell issues 12% pay cut ultimatum to IT contractors

More double bubble trouble

Royal Dutch Shell has reportedly told its UK-based IT contractors they will be asked to quit if they fail to accept a 12 per cent pay cut. According to Contractor UK, the multinational company wrote to its IT contractors last month, informing them of its plan to slash rates as part of a cost-cutting exercise. It warned IT …

IT Director 8 Jul 2009, 13:15
Deal inked in US Navy 'R2-D2' raygun robo-turret plan

Boat-blaster also wearable by (frigate-sized) sharks

One of the most critical questions in the world of seagoing death-ray technology today - that is, who would be selected to develop swivelling "R2-D2" robotic laser blaster gun turrets for US Navy warships - has now been answered. American weaponry megacorp Northrop Grumman, makers of the first electric solid-state "battle …

Physics 8 Jul 2009, 13:18
Cops to step up use of phone and net records

Hello hello hello

Detectives will be required to consider accessing telephone and internet records during every investigation under new plans to increase police use of communications data. The policy is likely to significantly increase the number of requests for data received by ISPs and telephone operators. Just as every investigation …

Policing 8 Jul 2009, 13:20
Google reinvents network computing

Where Netscape feared to tread

Google has launched itself into the network computing debate by announcing its own operating system, proposing that the browser is the platform and the network is the computer. We've been here before, several times, most notably during the first dot com boom, when Netscape (the first commercial browser developer) was seriously …

Operating Systems 8 Jul 2009, 13:24
Short URLs in spam skyrocket

The Twitter effect

Incidents of shortened URLs in spam messages have skyrocketed since the start of this week. Email filtering service MessageLabs reports that more than 2.25 per cent of junk mail messages feature spamvertised links laundered through URL redirection services. URL redirection services map between lengthy web addresses and …

Spam 8 Jul 2009, 13:59
The 3G map Ofcom didn't want you to see

Exclusive Regulator goes to great lengths to stymie useful info

Want to know 3G coverage in your area? After weeks of refusing to do so, telco quango Ofcom published a coverage map today. That's what it's supposed to do, you'd think. Cell operators are obliged to provide information to the regulator, and know the signal strength down to a few feet. But we can reveal that for weeks, Ofcom's …

Government 8 Jul 2009, 14:02
Google fear? BCS shrinks away from Tories

Sideways shuffle on NHS IT review

The British Computing Society has moved to distance itself from the Tory Party's review of NHS IT. Last August the Conservative Party said it was reviewing the National Programme for IT with the help of Glyn Hayes from the BCS. This led to several reports (here, here and here) suggesting the BCS was behind the review. But …

Government 8 Jul 2009, 14:07
iPhone hackers update jailbreak, unlock tools for 3GS

Quick, before Apple updates its code...

The iPhone Dev Team has formally announced that it has posted versions of its unlocking and jailbreaking tools that work with the iPhone 3GS. The group of handset hackers had been holding off such a release, fearing it would force Apple's coders to clog the hole the jailbreaking utility, redsn0w, uses. However, last week …

reghardware 8 Jul 2009, 14:29
LG's first Blu-ray player with Freeview+ uncloaked

Record telly, watch HD films

LG has launched its first Blu-ray player with integrated Freeview+ support. LG's HR400: can pause, play and review Freeview telly The sleek HR400 unit is able to receive over 40 Freeview channels, LG said, each of which you’ll be able to pause, play and rewind at will. The gadget’s 160GB hard drive also means you can …

reghardware 8 Jul 2009, 14:35
Plod to get computer forensics 'breathalyser' next year

Commercial offerings fail forensic tests

UK police may be forced to develop a bespoke digital forensics device for seized computers after testing of market offerings failed to meet price, technical and speed standards. A special Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) group has been working on a national rollout of what's been dubbed a "digital breathalyser" for …

Crime 8 Jul 2009, 14:50
OpenSSH exploit rumours swarm

As milw0rm shuts up shop

Rumours are circulating about the active exploitation of systems running older versions of OpenSSH, the open source remote administration utility. Security watchers at the SANS Institute's Internet Storm Centre report circumstantial evidence of a mischief, including a log ostensibly showing an attack in progress, posted last …

Enterprise Security 8 Jul 2009, 14:57
Vulture Central unleashes RegPad™

Redefining the web-surf Linux tablet paradigm

We at Vulture Central were a mite surprised to learn recently of the TechCrunch "CrunchPad", which has got the technosphere into a bit of a tizz with its promise of couch computing delivered via an 18mm aluminium chassis, Linux and "Webkit based browser". Actually, surprised isn't the half of it, because Vulture Central's …

Bootnotes 8 Jul 2009, 14:58
Phorm confirms TalkTalk fail

Agreement terminated

Phorm confirmed today that TalkTalk has terminated its commercial agreement with the web monitoring and ad profiling firm. The company's shares fell another 16 per cent to day to 201.9p. This follows drops of 11.5 per cent yesterday and 25 per cent on Monday. Phorm said it was concentrating on faster moving markets outside …

Telecoms 8 Jul 2009, 15:32
New boffinry: North Atlantic could be massive CO₂ sink

Icelandic phytoplankton starved of iron, seemingly

British oceanographers say they have found evidence that phytoplankton growth in the north Atlantic is sharply limited by the availability of iron. The seagoing boffins suggest that their research could have important implications for efforts to fight climate change, as phytoplankton can absorb large amounts of CO2 from the …

Environment 8 Jul 2009, 15:40
Predicting floods through mobile telephony

Flood warnings? There's an app for that

Researchers in Tel Aviv have established that variations in microwave transmissions, specifically those used to connect up cell towers, can be used to measure humidity and thus predict flooding. The research, which is published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (pdf) used historical data to demonstrate that variations in …

Mobile 8 Jul 2009, 15:53
Enertia e-bike wheeled into shops

Leccy Tech Electric two-wheeler available to buy

US firm Brammo has finally put its Enertia e-bike on general sale. Brammo's Enertia: available to US buyers for $11,995 Although currently only available in Brammo’s native North America, the e-bike carries a price tag of $11,995 (£7,400/€8,600). US buyers will be able to deduct $1,199 (£740/€860) from the price, though, …

reghardware 8 Jul 2009, 16:02
Google's vanity OS is Microsoft's dream

Snug as two bugs in an antitrust rug

No one will be happier than Microsoft about Google's vanity venture to market computers with a Google-brand OS. It gives us the illusion of competition without seriously troubling either business, although both will obligingly huff and puff about how serious they are about this new, phoney OS war. Since both of these giants are …

Operating Systems 8 Jul 2009, 16:20
US judge prunes damages from YouTube copyright suit

Foreign vids need not apply

YouTube won a small victory this week in the website's everlasting campaign not to have its pants sued off by copyright owners. A US federal judge has dismissed some damages brought by a lengthy roster of sports and music copyright holders, led by the UK-based Football Association Premier League. US District Judge Luis …

Music and Media 8 Jul 2009, 18:20
MyDoom dabs spotted on mega cyberassault

Traces of guilt

An updated version of the MyDoom worm is blamed for ongoing denial of service attack against high-profile US and South Korean websites, according to preliminary analysis. Korean anti-virus firm AhnLab reckons that cyberattacks against the US Department of the Treasury and Federal Trade Commission (among others) stem from an …

Malware 8 Jul 2009, 18:23
HTML5's Flash and Silverlight 'killer' potential chopped

Web media oneness postponed

Much has been made of how HTML5 will "kill" proprietary media tools and players from Adobe Systems and Microsoft. The idea has been partly predicated on the fact those working on HTML5 would enshrine a baseline spec for audio and video codecs everybody could agree on, buy into, and support. It's been helped along by …

Developer 8 Jul 2009, 20:26
SEC extends Jobsian health probe

What did the board know?

Steve Jobs may be back at work as Apple's CEO - part-time, at least - but his troubles aren't over. And this time, they're not health-related. A Wednesday report from Bloomberg cites the eternally loquacious "person familiar with the matter" as saying that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is proceeding with its …

Government 8 Jul 2009, 20:35
Fujitsu chases SMBs with entry tower

Protecting EMEA x64 server turf

Fujitsu announced a new entry-level server on Wednesday that aims to tighten the company's grip on that chunk of the market in Europe. While US-based server makers HP and Dell talk about their prowess selling small x64 boxes to small and medium businesses, they mumble a bit and look at their shoes when you talk about Europe, …

Servers 8 Jul 2009, 21:11
Orange UK exiles Firefox from call centres

£250 threat sends rogue reps back to IE6

Yes, the corporate world is taking its sweet time upgrading from Microsoft's eight-year-old Internet Explorer 6, a patently insecure web browser that lacks even a tabbed interface. Take, for example, the mobile and broadband giant Orange UK. According to a support technician working in the company's Bristol call centre - who …

Applications 8 Jul 2009, 21:37
EMC wins Data Domain with $2.1bn offer

NetApp blinks

NetApp can't beat what EMC is offering for Data Domain. The company said on Wednesday it will not revise its proposal to purchase Data Domain to outdo EMC's new uprated bid. Data Domain said it coughed up a $57m termination fee to NetApp under the terms of its previous merger agreement, ending a six-week bidding war over the …

Financial News 8 Jul 2009, 22:19
Neon revs cost-cutting mainframeware

zPrime risks Big Blue ire

A small mainframe software tool developer called Neon Enterprise Software has opened up a can of worms - and quite possibly several cans of Big Blue whoop-ass - by launching a new tool that will allow customers to shift a larger percentage of their workloads from standard (and expensive) mainframe engines to the cheaper …

Servers 8 Jul 2009, 22:25
Apple punts Safari update

Updated Anti-crash course?

Apple today upgraded is Safari browser to version 4.0.2, promising improved stability of its Nitro JavaScript engine. Whether this update will solve the pesky crashing problems reported here and elsewhere remains to be seen. We've been running it for a couple of hours with no problems - but intermittent crashes have an …

Applications 8 Jul 2009, 22:36
EMC stakes claim in IT management

Five years in the buying

EMC wants to sell you disks. And it wants you to buy VMware products to virtualize your servers. And now it wants to manage your servers, storage, and networks with a line of tools called Ionix. When EMC bought Data General back in August 1999 for $1.1bn to keep the low-end Clariion disk array business from falling into the …

IT Director 8 Jul 2009, 23:10
Samsung smartphone keyboard takes wing

Patent woos three-handed people

Samsung has filed a patent for a handheld device that trumps both the Palm Pre's too-tiny keyboard and the screen-hogging soft keyboard of Apple's iPhone. The Korean company's solution is a two-piece keyboard that folds out from either side of the device. The application, entitled Mobile Terminal Having Rear Keypad, envisions …

Mobile 8 Jul 2009, 23:34