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22nd July 2009 Archive

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  • Yahoo! lavishes $75m on self

    Revenue down? Let's spend

    Despite another quarter of un-Google-like declining revenues, Yahoo! says it will reverse several months of cost-cutting, feeding $75m into new hires, new tech, and its very own Yahoo!-trumpeting ad campaigns. During the quarter ending June 30, Yahoo! revenues fell to $1.57bn, a 13 per cent drop from the same quarter last year …

    Financial News 22 Jul 2009, 00:00

  • Oracle plots VM 3.0 for next year

    VI shops frozen in time

    Oracle briefed partners peddling its Oracle VM server virtualization product and those of its recently acquired Virtual Iron product line three weeks ago, and today it was time for those products' customers to get a little more detail about what Oracle has in mind for its future Oracle VM products. As El Reg surmised when an …

    Virtualization 22 Jul 2009, 00:31

  • Adobe spanked for insecure Reader app

    Download, install, then update

    Adobe Systems has been taken to task for offering outdated software on its downloads page that contains dozens of security vulnerabilities, several of which are already being exploited in the wild to install harmful malware on users' machines. Visitors who obtain Adobe Reader from the company's official downloads page will …

    Security 22 Jul 2009, 01:18

  • Windows 7 prepped for August 6 release

    Family pack confirmed

    Microsoft has admitted there will be a Windows 7 family pack, while revealing it planned a phased release of the client's code ahead of October's official launch. The company has also hinted strongly at a release-to-manufacturing date for Windows 7 of August 6. TechNet and MSDN subscribers will be able to download English- …

    Operating Systems 22 Jul 2009, 01:21

  • Google spins YouTube into future profit machine

    Buzz Aldrin clocks moon landing denier

    Fed up with all the speculation over the financial health of YouTube, Google has fought back in classic Google fashion - i.e. it's burbling vague claims that can only lead to more speculation. In April, a free-thinking Credit Suisse analyst told the world that YouTube was on pace to lose $470.6 million this year, and ever …

    Media 22 Jul 2009, 05:57

  • Sun cranks clocks on Sparc T2 and T2+

    Revs LDom hypervisor

    The executives at server and operating system maker Sun Microsystems have been uncharacteristically quiet since the $5.6bn Oracle deal was announced back in April. And they've been silent since Sun's shareholders approved the deal last Thursday. This - from one of the most aggressive, PR-driven firms on the planet - is a bit …

    Hardware 22 Jul 2009, 06:07

  • Too-tall terror snapper stopped by cops again

    Shiny new ID powers invented by Kent police

    If the law doesn’t quite fit, then Kent Police are not above making it up as they go along. That is the conclusion of local photographer Alex Turner who, following his arrest last week for being too tall – and possibly looking like a terrorist – was stopped by police again on Sunday, and required to hand over ID. Turner, …

    Law 22 Jul 2009, 07:45

  • Brother P-Touch 2100 label printer

    Review Sign of the times

    While paper dominates most printing issues, there are those who need a different kind of beast to print on plastic to produce long-lasting identification and warning labels. The old embossed Dymo tape of yore, adorning dad’s tool drawers and just about every fuse box in the land, while still going today, has had to give way to …

    Hardware 22 Jul 2009, 08:02

  • SCH buys majority market share

    All your thin clients are us

    SCH Distribution is buying IQ Sys Limited - the UK's leading Citrix distie. The deal will give the combined entity 60 per cent of UK Citrix sales. Sir Peter Rigby's SCH claims to be Europe's largest private technology group - it turns over almost £1bn a year. SCH will maintain IQ's Sys Identity product as a separate brand. …

    The Channel 22 Jul 2009, 09:09

  • 300 Irish jobs go at Intel

    Nothing more to do

    Intel is firing 300 workers, six per cent of its Irish workforce, at a plant near Dublin because the product they have been making is obsolete. The plant is at Leixlip, County Kildare, and a three-month long consultation process has begun with the workers involved, meaning the first departures will be in October. These are …

    Hardware 22 Jul 2009, 09:14

  • Tech can make Britain Great again

    It's IT wot can win it

    The UK's technology industry can pull the country out of its debt hole and make up for the decline in manufacturing. So reckons Micro Focus, which is launching a manifesto called Making BrITain Great Again. The group is promoting five policy moves backed by its panel of three parliamentarians - Tory Lord Young of Graffam, …

    Government 22 Jul 2009, 09:23

  • Windfarm Britain means (very) expensive electricity

    Renewable energy at normal prices 'is a myth'

    A recent industry study into the UK energy sector of 2030 - which according to government plans will use a hugely increased amount of wind power - suggests that massive electricity price rises will be required, and some form of additional government action in order to avoid power cuts. This could have a negative impact on plans …

    Science 22 Jul 2009, 10:00

  • Taking open source into the real world

    Regcast Few closed shops

    Whether organisations benefit more from using open source-based solutions or those supplied from traditional proprietary software vendors is often debated at a theoretical level. In reality organisations use solutions that give them some form of business benefit or that address particular pain points, deploying a mix of …

    Applications 22 Jul 2009, 10:02

  • Toshiba tight-lipped on Blu-ray player plan

    Keener on kiosk-sold downloads instead?

    Toshiba has poured cold water on claims that it's preparing to produce a Blu-ray Disc player this year. Well, sort of. The one-time HD DVD cheerleader this week formally said that it was not able to comment on stories that it plans to release the BD player by the end of the year. No great surprise, that - no one expected it …

    Hardware 22 Jul 2009, 10:06

  • BlackBerry Storm 2 demo'd on web

    'Odin' follows 'Thunder'

    A video has appeared online in which a second-generation Blackberry Storm is apparently demonstrated. Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com Research in Motion (Rim) has already confirmed plans for a Storm 2. The model shown in the video is numbered the 9550 and codenamed 'Odin'. The Storm was codenamed …

    Phones 22 Jul 2009, 10:14

  • Firefox 3.7 swivels glassy eye

    Half full or half empty? You decide

    Mozilla developers have revealed mockups of Firefox 3.7 to give users a taster of what that version of the popular open source browser might eventually look like. The org spun out screenshots of the browser earlier this week, even though it hasn’t yet released the next iteration — Firefox 3.6. Mozilla main man Mike Beltzner …

    Applications 22 Jul 2009, 10:32

  • Watchdog bites Mattesons saucy sausage ad

    NSFC Housewife boasts of her 'big sausage hot pot'

    The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has rather churlishly ruled that four innuendo-packed radio ads for Mattesons smoked sausages "could cause harm to children". The first ad - broadcast on Forth One, Clyde Radio and Real Radio - promisingly began with a male voice saying "Mmm, Mattesons smoked pork sausage... " It …

    Bootnotes 22 Jul 2009, 10:34

  • Bank fined £3m for data loss

    Still not taking it seriously

    The Financial Services Authority has fined HSBC £3m for failing to properly look after its customers' information and private data. These failures to follow proper processes led to at least two losses of customer data. The FSA investigated the bank and found unencrypted customer details on open shelves and unlocked cabinets. …

    Management 22 Jul 2009, 10:36

  • To the Moon - with extreme engineering

    Spontaneous, improvised - would it be allowed to happen now?

    It's a temptation, watching many of the 40th Anniversary retrospectives, to think of the Apollo space program as a triumph of power and industrial might. The superpowers' space programs were, of course, political and chauvinistic, designed to showcase national wealth. But there's a better way of looking at the program, Dennis …

    Science 22 Jul 2009, 10:50

  • Spider-Man director to helm World of Warcraft

    'A fantastic, action-packed story', says Sam Raimi

    Spider-Man director Sam Raimi will helm a movie adaptation of World of Warcraft, Variety reports. The film, produced under the Warner Bros umbrella, will presumably feature the "epic conflict between the Horde and the Alliance", described by Raimi as "a fantastic, action-packed story". Before he can get to grips with World of …

    Bootnotes 22 Jul 2009, 11:05

  • Seagate loses $3bn in a year

    But market is turning up

    Seagate lost $3.09bn in its fiscal year to the end of June, with revenue plummeting 23 per cent to $9.8bn. In its final 2009 quarter it lost $81m, on revenue 19 per cent down at $2.35bn, compared to a profit of $160m a year ago. The bare numbers are horrible but the outlook is much better. The company spent $106m on …

    Storage 22 Jul 2009, 11:14

  • US Senate halts F-22 Raptor production

    Stealth fighter disappears from spending plans

    The US Senate voted yesterday 58 to 40 to halt production of the stealth F-22 Raptor, handing president Barack Obama a significant victory in his drive to curb defence spending. The vote cut $1.75bn for the Lockheed Martin Corp aircraft (pictured) from a $680bn total defence bill. Back in April, US Defence Secretary Robert …

    Science 22 Jul 2009, 11:14

  • Sony Ericsson Xperia drops Windows for Android

    Retailer posts smartphone's souped-up specs

    An Android-based version of Sony Ericsson's first Windows Mobile smartphone, the Xperia, has appeared online, prompting speculation that an official unveiling could be just around the corner. Sony Ericsson's Xperia 2: equipped with a 4in, 800 x 400 touchscreen Sony Ericsson confirmed plans to launch several phones based on …

    Phones 22 Jul 2009, 11:18

  • Twitter, Facebook urged to improve security

    'Vulnerable' defined in less than 140 characters

    Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have become feeding grounds for cybercrime. A threat report by net security firm Sophos warns that Web 2.0 companies are too focused at growing their user bases, at the possible expense of paying attention towards defending their existing customers from internet risks. …

    Security 22 Jul 2009, 11:20

  • Kingston SSD Now V

    Review Excellent bang for your solid-state buck?

    Kingston Technology offers three distinct families of SSD, with the SSD Now E series for servers and the SSD Now M series aimed at mainstream performance PCs. These models are exactly the same as the Intel X25-E and X25-M drives, no doubt thanks to the IM Flash Technologies joint venture between Intel and Micron. Kingston's …

    Hardware 22 Jul 2009, 12:02

  • O2 coughs to data failure

    Dodgy DHCP leaves users IP-free

    O2 has admitted a major failure of its data network yesterday, attributing the problem to dodgy DHCP service that wasn't giving punters a proper IP address during the connection process. The problem didn't hit every O2 customer, but many were affected. O2 assures us that almost everyone is back on the net now, and that …

    Mobile 22 Jul 2009, 12:11

  • Firefox laggards offered security update

    3.0.12 release fixes multiple critical bugs

    Mozilla has released a security and stability update for users still running 3.0.x versions of Firefox. Firefox 3.0.12 addresses security and performance bugs in the open source browser for users yet to upgrade to 3.5.x, which was released with great fanfare in late June. The 3.0.12 update addresses five critical flaws, …

    Security 22 Jul 2009, 12:12

  • Ofcom graciously gives satellites go-ahead

    That's just half a mil' per MHz, alright?

    UK regulator Ofcom has decided not to restrict what satellite operators can do with their Complementary Ground Component, but still intends to make serious money out of them. Back in May the EU awarded 60MHz of paired spectrum to two prospective satellite service operators, Inmarsat and Solaris Mobile, and advised local …

    Broadband 22 Jul 2009, 12:17

  • UK's first solar-powered Bluetooth speaker switches on

    No cables, just sunlight

    British barbecue fans no longer need to drag cabled living room speakers onto the patio to liven up their meat feasts. The UK’s first solar-powered Bluetooth speaker system has launched in Blighty. Solar Sound does away with cables, but its solar panel's only a back-up power source The Solar Sound unit from UK firm Devotec …

    Hardware 22 Jul 2009, 12:34

  • 802.11n Wi-Fi to be standardised... at last

    IEEE finally catches up with World+Dog

    It's only taken the best part of decade, but 802.11n Wi-Fi looks finally like becoming a standard this coming September. Official standard, that is. While IEEE Task Group n - aka TGn - members have been arguing and arguing over the minutiae of the fast wireless networking specifications, manufacturers have been offering 802. …

    Broadband 22 Jul 2009, 12:46

  • Moles claim Project Natal will yield a redesigned Xbox 360

    'New version' to launch in 2010, they say

    Details uncovered about the image sensor inside Microsoft’s upcoming Project Natal peripheral have sparked speculation that a redesigned Xbox 360 will be launched next year. US-based imaging firm Aptina has “won exclusive rights” to supply Microsoft with 1.3Mp CMOS sensors for Project Natal, according to industry sources in …

    Games 22 Jul 2009, 13:33

  • Overland Storage gets new head marketeer

    A profitable future? Watch Overland and see

    Recovering data protection vendor Overland Storage has recruited a new worldwide sales and marketing VP. The previous one, Ravi Pendekanti, is moving across to look after business development. Eric Kelly became Overland's CEO in January. He had been instrumental in persuading Overland to buy the Snap low-end NAS business from …

    Storage 22 Jul 2009, 13:41

  • PC repair shop caught trying bank fraud

    After checking stored photos of course

    It's no surprise that computer repair shops might snoop for porn on laptops they fix, but an investigation by Sky provides anecdotal evidence that unscrupulous repairmen are prepared to attempt bank fraud as well. Sky planted surveillance software on a brand-new laptop, before rigging an easy to diagnose fault by dislodging an …

    The Channel 22 Jul 2009, 14:00

  • QLogic quarterly revenues down

    But it turns a profit

    QLogic's first fiscal 2010 revenues were 27 per cent down at $122.8m with net income down 53 per cent to $15m - but at least it was a profit. Comparisons with the year-ago quarter are all bad. Host products revenues - the HBAs - showed a 27 per cent drop to $88.3m, network products - FC and InfiniBand switches - recorded a 16 …

    Storage 22 Jul 2009, 14:08

  • Optical add-on turns cameraphone into mobile lab

    Strap-on microscope to help analyse bodily fluids

    Medical boffins have redesigned the humble cameraphone, developing a strap-on microscope that’s able to snap images of miniscule microbes. The cameraphone microscope can snap pictures of blood samples Designed by a team at the University of California, the strap-on is designed to zoom in on blood and other bodily fluid …

    Hardware 22 Jul 2009, 14:30

  • Intel appeals billion euro fine

    Claims European executive 'misinterpreted' evidence

    Chipzilla has appealed against a record €1.06bn ($1.5bn) fine imposed on it by the European Commission in May. "We believe the European Commission misinterpreted some evidence and ignored other pieces of evidence," Intel spokesman Robert Manetta told Reuters today. The US chip maker filed the appeal with the Luxembourg-based …

    Hardware 22 Jul 2009, 15:16

  • MySQL.com sites go dark

    Updated Swedish power outage

    MySQL.com has been down for several hours today, after a power outage in the Swedish city where the open-source database project is hosted. This means users and developers were unable to access source code, documentation, discussion groups, and bug tracking. According to Duleepa "Dups" Wijayawardhana of Sun Microsystem's …

    Developer 22 Jul 2009, 16:58

  • Microsoft super discounts Windows 7, cloud, online Office

    Radio Reg The offer that dare not speak its name

    Microsoft executives like to affix "super" to their words. In the past, we've had "super" important, "super" cool, and "super" nicely. The origin of this practice, we understand, is Bill Gates, who used it in a genuinely geeky way while others inside Microsoft tried to emulate him. Anyway, here's another "super" for you. It's …

    Microbite 22 Jul 2009, 17:01

  • South Carolina AG counterpunches Craigslist suit

    Fears 'Murder for Hire' classifieds

    South Carolina's top prosecutor is asking a federal judge to dismiss a complaint against him by Craigslist over his dangling threats to sue the website for hosting prostitution-related ads. Attorney General Henry McMaster claims in papers filed Tuesday that Craigslist is not protected under federal law that frees an …

    Media 22 Jul 2009, 17:41

  • Synaptics develops 10-finger touchscreen

    For when nine fingers just isn't enough

    Synaptics has launched a touchscreen sensor able to recognise up to 10 simultaneous finger touches. Synaptics' 10-finger touchscreen sensor would sit below the iPhone's glass display The capacitive ClearPad 3000 can also recognise a variety of multi-finger gestures, ranging from simple finger taps or pinches, right through …

    Hardware 22 Jul 2009, 18:02

  • World of Warcraft (sort of) returns to China

    Officials send game back to 'beta testing'

    China's millions of World of Warcraft players may soon have a chance to return to the massively popular online game after nearly two months of government-enforced downtime. Chinese officials will allow WoW to relaunch starting July 30, but only for previously registered players while Blizzard Entertainment makes changes to …

    Media 22 Jul 2009, 18:51

  • AMD celebrates 500 million CPU sales

    What price a billion?

    Microprocessor designer and seller Advanced Micro Devices - the onetime chip manufacturer - is marking its 40th year in the chip racket business. today, the company said it has shipped more than 500 million x86 and x64 chips, Oh, and it also announced a shameless ultra-thin notebook giveaway through Twitter, hoping to convince …

    Hardware 22 Jul 2009, 19:14

  • Feds suffer from 'serious' IT security talent shortage

    New report counts the ways

    The United States government faces a serious shortage of skilled cybersecurity specialists, according to a new report, which estimates the country may need an 8-fold increase in the number nationally sponsored graduates with security degrees. The federal government currently runs a scholarship program that turns out about 120 …

    Security 22 Jul 2009, 19:31

  • Apple, RIM trouser smartphone profits

    A race to the bottom for everyone else?

    If you'd staked money on a US company and a Canadian company leading the world smartphone market ten years ago, I would have said you were mad - or under the influence. The global standard GSM was a European invention, and the Europeans and Japanese had been plotting their course for years. But the iPhone and the Blackberry are …

    Mobile 22 Jul 2009, 20:00

  • Yahoo! in talks to acquire Gmail add-on

    Swoops for Xoopit

    Yahoo! has confirmed its acquisition of Xoopit. You can read the full story here Yahoo! is apparently on the verge of acquiring Xoopit, a startup offering tools for mining and redistributing all those photos, videos, and other files buried your web-based email client. Xoopit originally offered its webmailware only as a …

    Financial News 22 Jul 2009, 20:58

  • VMware not immune to the downturn

    Sales flat, profits down

    Server virtualization juggernaut and Wall Street darling VMware is by no means immune to the economic downturn or to the effects of the transition to its new vSphere 4.0 products, as its financial results for the second quarter show. In the quarter, which ended June 30, VMware's software license sales fell by 19.8 per cent to …

    Financial News 22 Jul 2009, 21:50

  • Open source unites for US government dollars

    OSCON Shovel-ready code

    Billions of dollars and people hours are spent each year to lobby US politicians over legislation and lucrative government contracts. Telcos, hardware, and closed-source software companies are not strangers to this game. Now Linux and open-source are getting their act together. Seventy open-source companies and organizations …

    Software 22 Jul 2009, 22:14

  • eBay revenue shrivel hits nine month mark

    Shrinking bread and butter

    eBay's bread-and-butter marketplace business is still shriveling. During the quarter ending June 30, the company pulled in revenues of $2.1bn, a 5 per cent decline from the quarter last year, and as usual, the culprit was the marketplace unit, where revenues dropped 14 per cent year-on-year. At the end of 2008, for the first …

    Financial News 22 Jul 2009, 22:43

  • Security officer suspended over iPhone engineer's death

    Chinese probe

    Following yesterday's news that a Chinese engineer committed suicide after misplacing a 4G iPhone prototype, a security officer involved in the death has been suspended from his job, and his case has been turned over to Chinese authorities. The engineer worked for Foxconn, which manufacturers iPhones on behalf of Apple, and …

    Mobile 22 Jul 2009, 23:28

  • Microsoft signs off on Windows 7

    Manufacturers, start your machines

    Microsoft has signed off on Windows 7, closing a tightly controlled chapter in Microsoft product development. On Wednesday, the company released the Windows 7 bits to manufacturing (RTM) at the same as code for the next update to its Windows Server 2008: Windows Server 2008 R2. RTM means the code is considered finished from …

    The Channel 22 Jul 2009, 23:32

  • New attacks exploit vuln in (fully-patched) Adobe Flash

    Browse and get owned

    Online criminals are targeting a previously unknown vulnerability in the latest versions of Adobe's ubiquitous Flash Player that allows them to take complete control of end users' computers, security researchers warn. Although the exploit can be triggered using malicious PDF files opened by Adobe's Reader application, a more …

    Security 22 Jul 2009, 23:40

  • Amazon acquires online shoe fetishist

    'Zappos and Amazon sitting in a tree...'

    Amazon today announced that it would acquire shoes, clothing, bags, and accessories etailer Zappos.com in a stock-swap deal that will total approximately $847m. Although the deal is being widely reported as an acquisition, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh doesn't see it exactly that way. In an extensive letter to his employees on the …

    Media 22 Jul 2009, 23:49