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14th July 2009 Archive

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  • Facebook price tag drops (another) $3.5bn

    Russians eat more stock

    Facebook's Russian sugar daddy has offered to buy back employee shares for $14.77 a pop, which means the ostensible value of the social networking site has dropped another $3.5bn. In late May, Digital Sky Technologies paid $200m for a 1.96 per cent share of the Palo Alto-based startup. That put the company's value at $10bn, …

    Financial News 14 Jul 2009, 00:05

  • Nokia notices, finally targets Danger Sidekick generation

    What the N97 should have been?

    "Why should business get all the good gadgets?" we asked in 2004, reviewing the first Hiptop to debut in Europe. Well, Nokia has finally something to offer avid texters who pay for their own phones. It's a niche that's super-served in the United States, but ignored in Europe. Unfortunately the new phone is only available through …

    Phones 14 Jul 2009, 00:13

  • Cats mix baby 'cry' with purr to score dinner

    puurrIcanhazcheezburgerrr?

    Hungry house cats have a way of changing their purr to manipulate humans into making a dash for the can opener, a new study shows. Karen McComb and her team of researchers from the University of Sussex say some cats mix a high-pitched cry within their purr specifically to push their owner's buttons when angling for a meal. …

    Science 14 Jul 2009, 00:21

  • Ryanair agrees website clarifications with OFT

    I'll be good

    Ryanair will change the way it advertises its services after being referred to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) by advertising regulator the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA). The ASA's Code of Practice does not have the force of law but the ASA can refer repeat breakers of the Code to the OFT. It referred Ryanair over its …

    Financial News 14 Jul 2009, 07:05

  • Dell Studio 15

    Review Designer chic without price or performance penalties

    Dell is going big on personalisation with the Studio 15, with five colours and 11 artistic designs available to choose from. If you really want your laptop to stand out from the crowd, then you could opt for one of the colourful finishes from designers such as Mike Ming, Derek Welch, Joseph Amedokpo, Siobhan Gunning or Bruce Mau …

    Laptops 14 Jul 2009, 08:02

  • Staten Island manhole swallows texting teen

    'Oh my God, it was putrid'

    A Staten Island teen paid an unexpected visit to the borough's sewer system after falling down a manhole while texting, Staten Island Advance reports. Alexa Longueira, 15, was walking with a chum last week when the unattended aperture swallowed her. She recounted: "She literally just handed me the phone and I opened it [and] I …

    Bootnotes 14 Jul 2009, 08:35

  • Mobile and desktop Nehalems coming closer

    We at last gain a Clarksfield

    DigiTimes has got its mitts on what it reckons are updated Intel release schedules for its mobile and desktop Nehalem implementations. Our understanding is that there will be a notebook processor transition to the Nehalem micro-architecture, with two processor families. Clarksfield is a 4-core, 8-thread processor built with …

    The Channel 14 Jul 2009, 08:50

  • MPs decry lack of honeybee action

    Defra needs stinging into action

    The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has given "little priority" to protecting the UK's honeybees, and wants the department to up its game in the face of a dramatic population decline. The PAC estimates the value of the pollinating insects as £200m a year to …

    Science 14 Jul 2009, 09:00

  • Hitachi catches up with new 2TB drive

    Seagate, WD hold breath for power draw figures

    Hitachi GST has built a 2TB drive, according to online drive retailer J&R. The HD32000IDK7 is a 2TB 3.5-inch SATA Deskstar drive spinning at 7200rpm and priced at $269.99. It's not yet available, but is said to be coming soon. The current maximum Deskstar capacity is 1TB. Western Digital's 2TB Caviar Green desktop drive has …

    Storage 14 Jul 2009, 09:10

  • NASA promises 'greatly improved' Moon landing footage

    One giant leap in quality imminent

    NASA has tantalisingly announced that it will release "greatly improved video imagery from the July 1969 live broadcast of the Apollo 11 moonwalk" on Thursday. The agency reports: "The release will feature 15 key moments from Neil Armstrong's and Buzz Aldrin's historic moonwalk using what is believed to be the best available …

    Science 14 Jul 2009, 09:20

  • PC shipments slide through June

    But Dell calls the bottom

    Sales of PCs through distributors are flat year on year, and saw their biggest drop in June. Figures from channel research firm Context showed overall sales in seven European countries grew by two per cent for the quarter, but the figures showed a massive drop in June. Sales of PCs, laptops and servers were down 11.5 per cent …

    Hardware 14 Jul 2009, 09:24

  • OCZ boosts Vertex SSD series speeds

    Ups cache clock

    Another month, another new, faster solid-state drive from OCZ. This time its a "Turbo" version of its Vertex SSD series. Like the Summit SSDs announced in May, the Vertex Turbo drives contain a memory cache - 64MB of DRam running at 180MHz - to hold random-write operations until they can be more efficiently. The previous …

    Hardware 14 Jul 2009, 09:34

  • Ofcom clears decks for WirelessHD

    Wi-Fi Friday imminent

    UK regulator Ofcom is removing the licence restrictions on intra-home video links knocking 66GHz, as well as allowing the use of automated level measuring and precise positioning though radio technologies. The decisions come into force on Friday (17 July) following an earlier consultation which produced only three responses. …

    Hardware 14 Jul 2009, 09:45

  • Cyclists offered cut-price shag at German brothel

    Pull up to der Bumper

    A recession-hit German brothel has come up with a novel way of generating trade and simultaneously saving the planet: Discount shags for cyclists. Those arriving on pedal-powered transportation at Berlin's "Maison d'envie" bawdy house will get €5 off the normal price of €70 a pop for 45 minutes. Those who don't want to tire …

    Bootnotes 14 Jul 2009, 09:47

  • Hitachi releases mini Nas adaptor for USB HDDs

    And a couple of drives to go with it

    Hitachi Global Storage's SimpleTech subsidiary has rolled out a pair of portable USB hard drives - and a wee adaptor that turns them into basic Nas boxes. Hitachi claims the SimpleTough drive is "one of the world’s most rugged drives for protecting data in harsh environments", taking in its stride "more falls, knocks and …

    Broadband 14 Jul 2009, 10:06

  • Asus punts monitor with built-in TV tuner

    Or should that be 'TV that works like a monitor'?

    Most if not all HD TVs now have computer VGA and/or DVI connections, but that hasn't stopped Asus coming at the problem from the other direction and introducing a boundary blurring monitor that has a built-in TV tuner. TV Monitor T1 Series comes in 21.5in, 23.6in and 27in sizes but all of them deliver a 1920 x 1080 resolution …

    Hardware 14 Jul 2009, 10:23

  • Pssst... Apple tablet on way, whisper Chinese moles

    Apple-designed CPU on board, it's claimed

    A Mac tablet is on the way, according to a China Times report. The Mac tablet has been much speculated about. In this latest incarnation it will be manufactured by Foxconn and have a 9.7in diagonal measure touch screen primarily made by Wintek. Dynapak is also involved in the manufacturing arrangements. The touch screen …

    Hardware 14 Jul 2009, 10:29

  • Second unpatched ActiveX bug hits IE

    Swiss cheese browser gains extra hole

    Scallywags are using an unpatched vulnerability in an ActiveX component to distribute malware, Microsoft warned on Monday. The development adds to already pressing unresolved Internet Explorer security bug woes. No patch is available for the Office Web Components ActiveX security hole, although there are workarounds which can …

    Security 14 Jul 2009, 10:36

  • Anonymous web data can be personal data, claims expert

    Own it by owning up

    A data protection specialist claims that users can gain control of their browsing history and have it protected by the UK’s Data Protection Act just by contacting companies such as Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft and telling them their identities. There is debate in privacy circles about when identifying information such as a …

    Law 14 Jul 2009, 10:46

  • Unlock your iPhone, miss your messages

    You have no notifications, you network tart

    Apple's notification system for the iPhone won't work on devices that have been unlocked to run on different networks, much to the annoyance of developers who are being left to explain the situation to customers. Powerybase, authors of NotifyMe, have gone public with their frustration. The company reports that 80 per cent of …

    Phones 14 Jul 2009, 11:26

  • Phone hack obsession obscures NotW privacy scandal

    Comment What about illegal access to tax, bank, police records?

    One of the more curious aspects of the ongoing News of the World privacy invasion scandal is the focus on mobile phone hacking accusations, when a far wider range of dubious and downright criminal tactics were allegedly in play at the tabloid newspaper. Clive Goodman, the NotW's former royal correspondent and Glen Mulcaire, a …

    Law 14 Jul 2009, 11:33

  • Windows 7 still baking in oven, insists Microsoft

    Confirms leaked build isn't final version

    Microsoft has denied rumours that suggest the latest leaked build of Windows 7 is the final iteration of the upcoming operating system. The software giant went to great lengths to stamp out the speculation after Windows 7 build 7600 and Windows Server 2008 R2 build 7600 tipped up on BitTorrent tracker sites. Many pondered …

    Law 14 Jul 2009, 11:34

  • McKinnon faces final appeal against extradition

    Last last last chance (for now)

    Accused US military hacker Gary McKinnon faces a legal hearing on Tuesday afternoon key to his long-running campaign to avoid extradition to the US on hacking charges. Two judges will review a decision by UK prosecutors not to prosecute McKinnon in the UK during a hearing that's expected to last two days. The same appeal court …

    Law 14 Jul 2009, 11:51

  • Garmin Nüvi 1340T

    Review Slimline satnav that's also thin on features

    As part of Garmin's recently refreshed in-car satnav range, the Nüvi 1340T will be the one satnav you won't want to leave stuck to your dashboard. With an easily portable slimline design, the Nüvi 1340T features a pedestrian mode that includes the ability to hold your hand on London's underground network. Slimline navigator: …

    Science 14 Jul 2009, 12:02

  • Regulator sniffs around Live Nation, Ticketmaster merger

    Watchdog releases the hounds

    The UK’s competition watchdog is continuing to probe a possible merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation, to determine whether such a deal would stifle competition in the live music market. The Competition Commission confirmed in a statement yesterday that the inquiry group tasked with investigating the proposed merger, led …

    Media 14 Jul 2009, 12:18

  • China halts memory-wiping electric shocks for net addicts

    Buzz off and forget it

    The Chinese government has declared that electric shock treatment is not a suitable therapy for youths allegedly addicted to the internet. China has been grappling with the scourge of internet addiction in recent years, with youths keeling over in internet cafes due to excessive gameplay, or killing each other over virtual …

    Bootnotes 14 Jul 2009, 12:21

  • Yorkshire cops accused of copyright theft

    Mobile forensics firm detects pirates

    Police in West Yorkshire are facing High Court accusations they illegally cribbed and sold copyright data from a commercial mobile phone forensics application. Kent-based Forensic Telecommunications Services (FTS) is demanding up to £50,000 from the force for allegedly using material from its software, Hex. The package helps …

    Developer 14 Jul 2009, 13:01

  • Can outsiders improve MS-Exchange?

    Regcast Minding the gaps

    Last week Chris Scharff of Dell joined Gabriel Consulting’s Dan Olds in the Reg studio, to discuss the big challenges that organisations face in minding the company email. their This 30-minute audio exclusive with accompanying slides is available to download free of charge from the Reg Library. As email volumes soar, sorting …

    Management 14 Jul 2009, 13:23

  • Cutting the cord: future mobile broadband tech

    How internet on the go is going to get much faster

    Wireless telephony is undergoing a revolution, with technology and implementation philosophy each holding the other back in turn as the industry struggles towards wireless nirvana. Engineers have spent the last few decades squeezing more data into the same wireless bandwidth, a process that is deep into the realm of …

    Hardware 14 Jul 2009, 13:23

  • Italian bride's bouquet downs ultralight

    Not so lucky flying flora

    An Italian wedding reception ended badly when the bride's bouquet downed an ultralight aircraft, the Corriere della Sera reports. The happy couple had tasked pilot Luciano Nannelli, 61, with dropping the floral display on eager bridesmaids lined up at the do in Montioni Park, Suvereto. However, when passenger Isidoro Pensieri …

    Bootnotes 14 Jul 2009, 13:31

  • Irish ISP downed by DDoS

    Eircom drop blamed on hack

    Ireland's largest internet service provider Eircom is blaming hackers for its second bout of recent downtime. Eircom customers could not get online for much of yesterday evening, although the firm said full access was restored from 11.15pm. Just the week before many Eircom subscribers were sent to the wrong websites thanks to …

    Broadband 14 Jul 2009, 14:42

  • Unpatched Firefox flaw lets fox into henhouse

    Updated Same sh*t, different zero-day

    An unpatched memory corruption flaw in the latest version of Firefox creates a means for hackers to drop malware onto vulnerable systems. Security notification firm Secunia reports that the security bug (which it describes as extremely critical) stems from errors in handling JavaScript code. The flaw has been confirmed in the …

    Security 14 Jul 2009, 15:03

  • Sun: Q4 sales to drop by a third, sees deeper losses

    No surprises there

    Server and software maker Sun Microsystems, whose shareholders are getting ready to vote on the $5.6bn takeover deal by Oracle this Thursday, got some food for thought as it announced sales were slammed in the fourth fiscal quarter and that it would be driven to a steep loss for the period. Specifically, Sun said that it was …

    Servers 14 Jul 2009, 15:11

  • Microsoft's Azure cloud price pipped by Amazon's Linux

    WPC Windows master goes low

    Microsoft has announced pricing for Azure that marginally undercuts Amazon on raw computing for Windows-based clouds but remains more expensive than the mega book warehouse's Linux option. The company has said it will charge $0.12 per compute hour for its Windows Azure Compute. Amazon's price for an ondemand Windows instance …

    Developer 14 Jul 2009, 15:27

  • iTunes App Store: 1.5bn served

    'Hard for others to catch up,' says Jobs

    Apple's iTunes App Store has reached another mind-numbing milestone: 1.5 billion apps downloaded in its first year of operation. Just last Friday, the App Store celebrated its first birthday. Today, Apple announced that its online repository of both smart and stupid apps was leaving its competitors in the dust. "With 1.5 …

    Mobile 14 Jul 2009, 17:55

  • IBM's DS8000 getting thin provisioning

    XIV gets dual processors, as well

    IBM has added thin provisioning to its high-end DS8000 storage array and has enhanced its XIV storage product. Thin provisioning involves telling an application it has all the capacity it needs in the storage volume assigned to it, but actually only assigning the capacity needed to write data plus a margin. When this capacity …

    Storage 14 Jul 2009, 18:03

  • Sports site sues Facebook for click fraud

    RootZoo files class-action complaint

    Amidst a sizable number of online advertisers complaining that Facebook is billing for clicks that never happened, the inevitable class-action lawsuit has made its way to California court. Sports site RootZoo has accused Facebook of putting a heavy finger on the scale of its pay-per-click (PPC) advertiser program. Facebook's …

    Business 14 Jul 2009, 18:12

  • BlackBerry update bursting with spyware

    Official snooping suspected in UAE

    An update pushed out to BlackBerry users on the Etisalat network in the United Arab Emirates appears to contain remotely-triggered spyware that allows the interception of messages and emails, as well as crippling battery life. Sent out as a WAP Push message, the update installs a Java file that one curious customer decided to …

    Security 14 Jul 2009, 18:31

  • IBM drops Istanbuls into big Opteron box

    Three or four sockets, 18 or 24 cores

    Big Blue has begun certifying Advanced Micro Devices' six-core Istanbul Opteron processors for its System x product line, and on Tuesday announced support for the processor in its fattest Opteron box, the System x3755. The x3755 is a four-socket, rack-mounted server that comes in a 4U chassis, and was just updated in March …

    HPC 14 Jul 2009, 19:34

  • CBS, Comcast in web TV trial subs

    Cable operator seeks cure for Hulu

    Comcast has snagged reluctant online broadcaster CBS to join in testing a service that will let cable subscribers have access to cable television online at no extra charge. At issue is whether the future of American online television will be advertisement-funded or require a subscription. Web sites like Hulu.com prove the …

    Media 14 Jul 2009, 21:02

  • WiMAX numbers up, profits down

    LTE's lag causing worries, as well

    Tuesday brought a good-news, bad-news pairing to those pushing WiMAX as the next-generation wireless broadband standard. A report released by the market-watchers at Maravedis notes that WiMAX subscriptions during the first quarter of this year were up 75 per cent year-on-year, and now total 3.5 million worldwide users. That, …

    Networks 14 Jul 2009, 21:03

  • Ballmer gets tough with girly Microsoft partners

    WPC Things change, we compete, I love you

    Microsoft's chief executive has served up some tough love to software partners concerned they'll lose business to rival web services offered by their software benefactor. Steve Ballmer told partners Tuesday that the rise of online services was inexorable and that Microsoft would be one of many providers, along with Google and …

    Software 14 Jul 2009, 23:15

  • Intel posts $1bn net, EU nets it all

    But fines aside, there are signs of a turnaround

    Intel is digging itself out of the rubble caused by the economic implosion of late last year and early this year, announcing a 12 per cent revenue increase over its previous quarter - the company's most dramatic growth rate in 20 years. In Tuesday's second-quarter earnings report (PDF), Intel announced that its revenue for the …

    Financial News 14 Jul 2009, 23:16

  • MontaVista boasts 1-second Linux boot

    But who has the time?

    It's getting to where a fellow can't enjoy a nice relaxing boot time these days. The latest perpetrator of the conspiracy: Linux application tool vendor MontaVista, which said today that it is demonstrating an embedded Linux system that boots in just one second. MontaVista's Linux demo goes from a cold boot into a sample, " …

    Operating Systems 14 Jul 2009, 23:59