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10th July 2009 Archive

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  • Symbian frees security source code

    Open kernel on horizon

    The Symbian Foundation has started open-sourcing its mobile operating system, announcing the release of the Symbian OS security package source code under the Eclipse Public License. Last summer, after swallowing the last of the old Symbian Ltd., Nokia told the world it would open source the company's entire mobile platform, …

    Mobile 10 Jul 01:03

  • Steve Jobs snubs LSD daddy

    What a long, cheap trip it's been

    In February of 2007, Albert Hofmann - the discoverer of LSD who died last year at an alert 102 - sent a letter to Steve Jobs, asking for the Apple CEO's help in funding research into psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. This revelation comes from a book excerpt published today by The Huffington Post, which also includes a …

    Odds and Sods 10 Jul 01:08

  • Has Spare Backup had a Carphone Warehouse boost?

    Vastly expanded agreement

    Cloud backup service provider Spare Backup has just got a big business boost from a UK partner, thought to be Carphone Warehouse. Spare Backup has an June 24, 2009 SEC filing that says is has agreed" "... a vastly expanded scope of work to be added as an addendum to their (November 8, 2008 Master Services Agreement) (and) will …

    Channel Register 10 Jul 08:02

  • NetApp tried to buy Snap NAS business in 2004

    Just not snappy enough when it comes to buy-outs

    Here's a fascinating bit of history: NetApp tried to buy the Snap network-attached storage (NAS) business back in 2004, according to people with knowledge of the events. In November 2003 NetApp announced it was buying Spinnaker Networks and the acquisition completed in February 2004 at a cost of $300m to $330m. Then Snap was …

    Storage 10 Jul 09:09

  • Intel seeks Android-on-Atom MID deal with Google?

    Daft not to

    Intel is wooing Google to port the Android operating system to Atom, according to noises coming out of Taiwan. The claim comes from Taiwanese makers of handheld internet tablets - what Intel calls Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs). Atom is Intel's smallest and lowest processor family, designed for MIDs. Intel has long been keen …

    Reg Hardware 10 Jul 09:19

  • Written material saved from censor's big black pen - for now

    Lords suicide debate saves the day

    Censorship of written material is off the agenda – for now: and for that we may need to thank Lord Falconer’s intense interest in suicide. This week in the House of Lords, an amendment to the Coroners and Justice Bill, put forward by Baroness O’Cathain, was withdrawn at the last minute. This amendment was designed to make …

    Government 10 Jul 09:25

  • Rogue CA update bricks Win XP systems

    Sky not really falling

    A rogue security definition update to anti-virus software from CA hobbled Windows systems earlier this week, sparking howls of protests from users. The update, issued on Wednesday, falsely labeled important Windows system files as potentially malign, dispatching them into quarantine. The action prevents Windows XP systems from …

    Malware 10 Jul 09:42

  • Police may have had a duty to notify phone-hacking victims

    Make sure no-one's listening in when you do, though

    The Metropolitan Police knew that numerous mobile phones had been illegally hacked by private investigators but failed to alert the phones' owners, according to The Guardian newspaper. If so, the victims should have been told, a privacy expert has said. The Guardian alleged this week that Rupert Murdoch's News Group newspapers …

    Policing 10 Jul 10:12

  • Whining serial commentard bemoans Reg bullying

    'Do not harrass me online'

    It appears serial commentard Aaron Kempf doesn't much like the taste of his own bitter medicine, and has written to "request that you do not harrass [sic] me online". It was a crisp October morn last year when Kempf savagely laid into Reg hack Chris "Fucking pansy" Williams with a couple of unholy turdspurts about this piece …

    Bootnotes 10 Jul 10:17

  • Infosys says outlook bad despite profit boost

    No recovery this year

    Indian outsourcer Infosys managed a small increase in profits for the first quarter but warned that the outlook for the full year is still bad. For the first quarter ended 30 June 2009 India's second largest outsourcer made revenues of $1.122bn compared to $1.155bn in the same quarter last year. But net profit was up slightly …

    Channel Register 10 Jul 10:34

  • ESA to develop cargo-lander space podule

    UK's Major Tim may not be space hitchhiker forever

    The European Space Agency (ESA) is to build a space capsule capable of bringing cargoes down safely from orbit as well as taking them up, according to reports. A development of the current "Jules Verne" unmanned cargo module used to supply the International Space Station, the planned Advanced Reentry Vehicle (ARV) could lead in …

    Space 10 Jul 10:34

  • Sony confirms second-gen Vaio netbook

    Taking the P to new heights?

    Sony has let slip that a second incarnation of its Vaio P mini laptop line is in the works. The first P was only officially launched back in January at CES in Las Vegas, but the Japanese electronics giant has now let slip that the Vaio P 2 will be launched in October or November this year. A Sony representative also told …

    Reg Hardware 10 Jul 10:46

  • Datawind breezes into netbooks

    From PocketSurfer to UbiSurfer

    Datawind, the company behind the PocketSurfer web browsing palmtop - reviewed here - has upped its game with the launch of its first netbook. Datawind's UbiSurfer netbook: just a larger PocketSurfer? UbiSurfer’s main sales pitch isn’t its 7in, 800 x 480 display or 1GB SSD, but the 30 hours of free airtime that Datawind …

    Reg Hardware 10 Jul 10:47

  • iPod fingered in car inferno

    Saab torched, Apple roasted

    Swedish Saab operatives are eyeing with suspicion an iPod Nano which may have been responsible for the fiery destruction of an unoccupied Saab, the Hallandsposten reports. The 9-3 station wagon was "parked and its engine was cold when it suddenly caught fire", the paper explains. The owner just had time to rescue the family …

    Bootnotes 10 Jul 11:08

  • Microsoft throws Bing into Hotmail mix

    Hunting down the clicks

    Microsoft has integrated Bing with Hotmail, a month on from the release of its fancy new search engine. The company announced the new feature yesterday, which allows users to add Bing image and video search results directly into Hotmail messages. Redmond had been piloting its “Quick Add” feature in Windows Live search. The …

    Applications 10 Jul 11:16

  • Endeavour set for Saturday launch

    'All systems are in excellent shape'

    Space shuttle Endeavour is in "excellent shape" to launch tomorrow on its delayed STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. The 16-day mission will feature five space walks to fit the final components of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo lab. NASA has released a fine "Right Stuff" style snap of the crew …

    Space 10 Jul 11:18

  • Home Office gets another ad agency for ID cards

    Tell a lie big enough, and keep repeating it

    The Identity and Passport Office has appointed another advertising agency to persuade the public of the apparent benefits of ID cards. The IPS has chosen Proximity after also hearing pitches from EHS Brann, Tequila and TMW. The firm will deal with "below the line" marketing - typically PR and promotions rather than billboard …

    Government 10 Jul 11:57

  • The practical guide to patch management

    Paper trail Get back in there and build me a proper business case

    You may have noticed how often these days IT vendors talk about "building a business case". They want to furnish you, the IT pro, with the info to persuade sceptical business unit managers, or B.U.M.s as they are sometimes known, to buy their stuff for the good of mankind. Let us put to one side the notion that this is perhaps …

    Enterprise Security 10 Jul 12:07

  • Connecticut man misses dental appointment

    Turns up at clinic five days late, naked, but with 'a good tan'

    A 41-year-old Connecticut man was cuffed after turning up five days late for a dental appointment in his birthday suit, the Connecticut Post reports. Christopher Hoff earlier this week arrived at the Stratford clinic stark bollock naked, provoking a fit of the screaming abdabs in the female receptionist. He then legged it, …

    Bootnotes 10 Jul 12:12

  • Music biz should do more - Top Eurocrat

    Viviane Reding gives industry a kick up the bum

    The EU Commissioner for Telecoms and Media Viviane Reding has called for the music business to offer much better services to recapture a 'lost generation'. Her speech gave no encouragement to parts of the music business looking for the European superstate to toughen enforcement. It didn't mention legal P2P, but it's hard to …

    Music and Media 10 Jul 12:19

  • Coming soon: clothes that take photographs

    MIT boffins stitch together photo fabric

    One day your clothes could take photographs, according to MIT scientists who have made a fabric that can capture images of a smiley face. A team at MIT's Department of Materials Science and Engineering has developed an optical-fibre mesh that can detect an image projected onto it. “This is the first time that anyone has …

    Reg Hardware 10 Jul 12:21

  • Did the Vatican suppress hidden 'Galileo Cryptogram'?

    Inquisition Neptune conspiracy vs Copernican Heresy

    An Australian boffin says that the planet Neptune may have actually been discovered 234 years earlier than had been thought, by the famed Renaissance Italian astronomer and scientist Galileo Galilei - who was persecuted by the Inquisition for his "heretical" astronomy research. Professor David Jamieson of Melbourne Uni says that …

    Space 10 Jul 12:22

  • Police decline to reopen mobile phone hacking case

    'Nothing to hear, move along' says Yates of the Yard

    The UK Police have said no further investigation is needed into the News of the World phone tapping scandal. The paper's former royal correspondent, Clive Goodman, and a private detective accomplice Glen Mulcaire, were jailed over the illegal wiretapping of the mobile phones of royal aides in 2007. The scandal was re-opened on …

    Mobile 10 Jul 12:27

  • Sony Cybershot DSC-HX1

    Review Super zoom camera with Full HD video, sort of

    These days you’re rather spoilt for choice when it comes to super zoom compacts, and so it’s simply not enough to offer a camera sporting an extra-long zoom; you’ve got to make it stand out in the crowd. Sony reckons the DSC-HX1 offers something special beyond a 20x optical zoom, to tempt the super zoom customer, including a …

    Reg Hardware 10 Jul 12:47

  • Phorm: How it went down

    Analysis What could possibly go wrong?

    For a company without customers, users or revenues it's pretty extraordinary that Phorm achieved the dubious distinction of being the biggest UK technology story of the past 18 months. It couldn't have done it on its own, of course. As it slinks away from the UK market this week, investors can thank BT executives, alongside …

    Telecoms 10 Jul 12:53

  • Mel Gibson to put hand up Jodie Foster's Beaver

    Movie project delights El Reg headline bureau

    To cap a triumphant week at the El Reg elite headline-writing bureau, we're delighted to report today that Mel Gibson will star alongside Jodie Foster in The Beaver - the improbable tale of "a depressed man who finds solace in wearing a beaver hand-puppet". According to Variety, Ms Foster will direct the movie, as well as …

    Bootnotes 10 Jul 13:00

  • WhipTail promises no bull 6TB SSD

    A 2U whopper

    Start-up WhipTail Technologies has announced a whopping 6TB solid state drive (SSD). This fits into a 2U rack enclosure, WhipTail says, making it the highest-capacity SSD appliance available to mid- to large-sized enterprises, with this footprint. You can use the 2U case for 1.5TB, 3TB or 6TB of flash, multi-level cell (MLC) …

    Storage 10 Jul 13:08

  • Calvin Klein puts storage in the shade

    4GB sunglasses

    Specs specialist Oakley has already produced sunglasses with integrated storage, MP3 playback and detachable headphones, but now it seems that others are set to follow with hi-tech eyewear. Calvin Klein's USB sunglasses Upmarket clothing brand Calvin Klein has designed a pair of sunglasses with a detachable arm concealing …

    Reg Hardware 10 Jul 13:28

  • Internet Heroes and Villains named by ISPs

    ISPA calls for file-sharing reasonableness

    Is ISPA on the side of the file-sharers when it comes to IP and copyright? A close reading of the 11th Annual UK Internet Industry Awards – dished out yesterday evening - suggests that they might not be as hostile as some other trade bodies. Last night, Vulture Central hacks toddled along to Grosvenor Square to sit through 14 …

    Music and Media 10 Jul 13:57

  • Google filters image problem

    But you still have to do the work

    Mountain View has added a filter to its Google Images to allow users to sift through photos to determine the usage rights of the image. New options are now available via Google's image search tool that include a selection of licensing methods, such as Creative Commons and GNU Free Documentation, for the reuse of photographs. …

    Applications 10 Jul 13:59

  • The comic-book guide to SIM hacking

    Read stored numbers quicker than a speeding bullet

    The Citizen Engineer project has released its first publication: a comic book guide to building a SIM reader and then hacking your SIM for fun and profit. Citizen Engineer is intended to encourage everyone to have a go at hacking stuff - in the old sense of the word - and is dedicated to releasing accessible videos and …

    Mobile 10 Jul 14:08

  • Jaguar opens up about future e-car plans

    Leccy Tech As Elle Macpherson helps shift latest XJ

    At the recent launch of the new and - let’s be honest - gorgeous new Jaguar XJ, Register Hardware won some time to probe the firm about its future e-car projects. Jaguar's 2010 XJ: outside... Michael Mohan, Jaguar's Director of Programmes, let slip that the company’s working “on a range of future technologies”, including “ …

    Reg Hardware 10 Jul 14:10

  • NHS hospitals struggle to hold back the malware tide

    Still ill

    Malware infection problems at NHS hospitals are a more serious problem than isolated reports of infestation might suggest, according to an investigation by More4 News. Last November an infection by the MyTob worm created huge administrative headaches at three London hospitals - Barts, the Royal London and the London Chest …

    Malware 10 Jul 14:11

  • Pig flu promises holidays for all

    Two weeks off for pig sick lazy swines

    The Department of Health is actively considering doubling the time people are allowed to sign themselves off sick as a response to swine flu - officially now a pandemic. Currently you are allowed to sign yourself off sick for paltry seven days, but the DoH thinks this should be increased to a tasty two weeks. Given that many …

    Biology 10 Jul 14:44

  • Two jailed for online racism after US turned down asylum bid

    Freedom of speech claim denied

    Two British men who tried to claim political asylum in the US were jailed today for using the internet to incite racial hatred. Simon Sheppard, 51 of Selby, North Yorkshire got four years and 10 months while Stephen Whittle, 42 of Preston got two years and four months. They were found guilty of 11 charges but the jury could …

    Policing 10 Jul 15:48

  • Sprint to outsource network operations

    But only for the old network

    Sprint has confirmed it will outsource the running of its US CDMA network to Ericsson, but is keeping WiMAX to itself while admitting that all its PDA-class devices will be able to fall back on Wi-Fi when all else fails. The outsourcing agreement involves transferring 6,000 staff to Ericsson, who will take responsibility for …

    Mobile 10 Jul 15:57

  • Hijacked Twitter accounts spread Koobface worm

    Micro-blogging site suspends compromised accounts

    The Koobface worm, which previously infected users of Facebook and MySpace, is spreading among users of micro-blogging website Twitter. The scale of the attack is unclear but serious enough for Twitter to issue a warning on Friday morning, via the service's status page. Koobface-related activity has been detected on Twitter …

    Malware 10 Jul 16:02

  • Citrix gives away more virtual goodies

    And partners with Fujitsu, Arista Networks

    At Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference on Monday, server-virtualisation challenger Citrix Systems will up the ante - or more precisely, lower the price-barrier to entry - for virtualisation tools to manage virtual Windows machines. It will launch a freebie version of its Citrix Essentials virtualisation tool set that …

    Virtualization 10 Jul 16:46

  • RIP tennis gal's DD jubs

    Simona Halep goes under the knife

    Fans of the finer points of women's tennis are today mourning the loss of Romanian racket-botherer Simona Halep's DD chesticles - cut down in their prime by the surgeon's knife. As diehard aficionados of bouncy Centre Court action will recall, 17-year-old Ms Halep recently said of her assets: "This fall I'll have a breast …

    Bootnotes 10 Jul 16:57

  • Rosetta Stone rocks Google with trademark lawsuit

    Parlez-vous legalese?

    Rosetta Stone, maker of language-learning software, is joining a growing crowd of companies suing Google for letting third-parties buy permission to use other people's trademarks on AdWords. Rosetta filed the lawsuit today in US District Court in Virginia, where the company is headquartered. The complaint fingers Google's …

    Business 10 Jul 18:23

  • Intel cozying up to Google Chrome OS

    'Privy to the project'

    It's official: Intel is working with Google on the development of the Mountain View ad broker's new netbook operating system, Google Chrome OS. Word of the world's largest processor manufacturer's involvement with the world's largest internet searcher's purportedly virus-free OS first came by way of a comment by an Asia- …

    Operating Systems 10 Jul 18:47

  • Jaspersoft punts 'unlimited' licenses

    Business Intelligence grab bag

    Open source business intelligence software maker Jaspersoft has begun pitching "unlimited use" subscriptions to new customers worldwide. Under the deal, new subscribers get one-year pass to the entire JasperSoft Professional Edition BI suite with no limits on the number of applications, users, or systems, the company said. But …

    Applications 10 Jul 20:06

  • Silverlight 3: closer to what client-side .NET should have been

    Review Microsoft cranks it against Adobe

    Microsoft has released Silverlight 3, less than four months after unveiling the product and just nine months after finalizing Silverlight 2.0. The pace of development is remarkable, reminiscent of the browser wars in the 1990s, with Adobe System's Flash now playing the competitor role. Why the urgency? It is a fascinating …

    Developer 10 Jul 20:08

  • 'Secure' Wyse thin clients vulnerable to remote exploit bugs

    More secure As susceptible as PCs

    A popular brand of thin client device used by nuclear labs, military contractors and Fortune 100 companies is susceptible to exploits that put entire fleets of the machines in the control of online attackers. Wyse Technologies, maker of the slimmed-down computing devices, touts them as being as secure, "or better" than PCs …

    Enterprise Security 10 Jul 20:41

  • Net sleuth calls eBay on carpet over shill bidding

    Thrashed with a feather

    How can you be sure the price of your latest eBay buy wasn't shamelessly inflated by some faceless shill bidder? Well, there's always the ad hoc investigative skills of Australian retiree Philip Cohen. Cohen recently posted a nearly 8,000-word shill-bidding case study to the online forums at AuctionBytes, as part of a, shall …

    Music and Media 10 Jul 21:01

  • Apple celebrates first year of App Store hijinks

    Happy birthday, fartmonger!

    One year ago Friday, Apple launched its iTunes App Store. And it's been one hell of a wild - if famously flatulent - ride ever since. Love it or hate it, the iPhone has been a runaway success, and the App Store has been a major contributor to its inarguable megahit status. In the beginning, the App Store's original 800 …

    Mobile 10 Jul 21:59

  • Serena Software to pick over Borland's remains

    Plays the old switcheroo

    Serena Software appears to have woken from its dreamy web 2.0 mash-up hiatus and begun circling over the remains of ALM competitor Borland Software. While the soon-to-be-acquired Borland awaits digestion by MicroFocus, Serena intends to poach some customers during the process. The company has launched a promotion where …

    Developer 10 Jul 22:19

  • Orange UK drops DRM

    Music wants to be free 79p

    Orange UK is jumping on the anti-DRM bandwagon as the centerpiece of a "major refresh" of its Music Portal's Orange Music Store. The de-DRM-ing will begin with 700,000 tracks, and will be "enhanced in the coming months," according to a statement on the company's website. The new pricing plan was secured through deals with …

    Music and Media 10 Jul 23:19