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14th August 2009 Archive

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  • Les Paul dies at 94

    The original guitar hero

    Les Paul - the inventor of the solid-body electric guitar and one of the most important developers of multi-track recording - died Thursday at age 94. Born Lester William Polsfuss on June 9th in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Paul began his life-long affair with music at age eight, playing harmonica and piano. He got his first guitar …

    Media 14 Aug 2009, 00:09

  • Uncle Sam shells out $62m for 100GbE

    Obama stimulates fed networks

    It would be tough to call the development of 100 Gigabit Ethernet switches and adapters a shovel-ready project, but the Obama administration's stimulus package is picking up the $62m tab to help get faster networks to market. The $787bn American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was signed into law in February, allocates …

    HPC 14 Aug 2009, 00:26

  • Bug exposes eight years of Linux kernel

    Passes it's-not-crying-wolf test

    Linux developers have issued a critical update for the open-source OS after researchers uncovered a vulnerability in its kernel that puts most versions built in the past eight years at risk of complete takeover. The bug involves the way kernel-level routines such as sock_sendpage react when they are left unimplemented. Instead …

    Security 14 Aug 2009, 00:54

  • HBA market share shenanigans

    Emulex and QLogic claim gains over each other

    Both Emulex and QLogic are claiming HBA market revenue share gains, and citing the same Dell'Oro report to do so. QLogic cites Dell'Oro to say it gained revenue market share over Emulex in the first half of this year, while Emulex said it gained slightly more than three points of revenue market share over QLogic in the second …

    Storage 14 Aug 2009, 07:02

  • Oppressed snappers focus on police in London and Chatham

    Photographers attempt to reclaim the right to photograph

    Relations between police and photographers, already at an all-time low, look set to worsen this week as activists set up a new national campaign group to protect photography, and protesters get ready to take to the streets in Chatham. The national campaign launched last Saturday in the Foundry pub in East London, with more …

    Law 14 Aug 2009, 08:02

  • 100 freetards an hour join Pirate Party UK

    Elections ahoy

    The Pirate Party UK has been all but swamped by interest shown since they registered as an official political party last month, its leader claimed this week. Andrew Peter Robinson, party leader, told The Register: "It has exceeded all expectations. Put it this way, donations have been coming in so fast that PayPal were …

    Media 14 Aug 2009, 08:02

  • Dutch news agency goof leaks VIP phone numbers

    Low security in the Low Countries

    Security shortcomings by Dutch press agency GPD exposed the private telephone numbers of politicians and other public figures to prying eyes until earlier this week. Former telephone numbers of controversial anti-immigration MP Geert Wilders and an old (now disconnected) mobile, formerly belonging to prime minister Jan Peter …

    Security 14 Aug 2009, 09:15

  • X-Men helmsman to fly Battlestar Galactica

    Film promises 'complete reimagining' of sci-fi series

    X-Men helmsman Bryan Singer will direct and produce a big screen outing of Battlestar Galactica, Variety reports. The Universal Pictures movie adaptation is described as a "complete reimagining" of the sci-fi series. Singer had already worked on a possible Fox TV sequel to the original 1978 series, but this was canned …

    Bootnotes 14 Aug 2009, 09:18

  • Samsung parades 'multi-wireless' camera

    GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi

    How many modes of wireless connectivity can you cram into a compact camera? Three, according to Samsung, which has launched what it’s called the world’s first "multi-wireless" compact. Samsung's ST1000: the most well-connected compact? Confused by the term ‘multi-wireless’? Samsung told us that it boils down to the ST1000’s …

    Hardware 14 Aug 2009, 09:19

  • Nuke-nobbler raygun 747 scores 'surrogate' test success

    Indicates potent Nork splash capability, says Boeing

    The USA's amazing jumbo-jet-mounted blaster cannon, the Airborne Laser (ABL), continues progress through flight testing. Lead contractor Boeing announced last night that the ABL has successfully detected and locked onto a test rocket and held a "surrogate" low-power beam on it. Had a full-bore blast been fired, the rocket would …

    Science 14 Aug 2009, 09:31

  • Xiotech offers cash for storage clunkers

    Storage scrappage trade-in discounts

    Xiotech has jumped on the car cash for clunkers programme and is offering its own cash for disk clunkers deal. Car buyers in the USA can trade in older cars for newer models and get a rebate of up to $4,500. Xiotech is offering a $1000 per TB rebate program on purchases of its Emprise and VM storage arrays as a trade-in deal …

    Storage 14 Aug 2009, 09:35

  • First Samsung Android phone out next week

    Exclusive But only on O2

    Samsung’s first Android-based mobile phone – the Galaxy i7500 - will be launched next week, Register Hardware has discovered. Samsung's Galaxy: out next week on O2 Staff at a handful of O2 retail outlets consulted the chain’s stock management system on our behalf, and told us that the device – which features a 528MHz …

    Phones 14 Aug 2009, 09:36

  • Lenovo sounds duff ThinkPad battery alert

    Threat to runtime not safety

    Lenovo has posted an battery check-up utility after a "limited number" of ThinkPad owners began complaining about power packs that wouldn't recharge or provided a suspiciously low capacity. The Chinese company stressed that the problem was not extensive and that batteries suffering from the capacity issue do not pose a safety …

    Hardware 14 Aug 2009, 10:01

  • 'Norfolk Broads Idiot' nailed on YouTube

    Net closes on dinghy stunt muppet

    The powers that be are poised to deliver a financial keelhauling to the 'Norfolk Broads Idiot' who appeared on YouTube apparently attempting to secure a Darwin Award: The video was captured on 23 June near Oulton Broad, Suffolk, the Telegraph reports. The Broads Authority was suitably unimpressed with the escapade, with …

    Bootnotes 14 Aug 2009, 10:22

  • Pré sales plunge after iPhone 3GS arrival, analyst claims

    Soggy summer predicted

    Sales of Palm's Pré are slumping, a US financial analyst has claimed, but the good news is that may make the smartphone cheaper to buy. Morgan Joseph analyst Ilya Grozovsky this week told investor clients that his checks suggest July Pré sales of just 100,000 units - half of the number be believes were sold in June. Based on …

    Phones 14 Aug 2009, 10:30

  • Phones down, smartphones up in Q2

    Demand for internet handsets soaring

    Global mobile phone sales dropped slightly during the second quarter this year, figures released by analyst Gartner have revealed. But even though recession-hit consumers are tightening their belts, sales of pricey smartphones are rising. Just over 286m mobile phones were sold globally during Q2, Gartner discovered. But the …

    Phones 14 Aug 2009, 10:36

  • Facebook acts to soothe red-faced Redhillians

    'Gossip Girl' raises local blood pressure

    For the second time in just over a year, an outbreak of malicious gossip has inspired red-faced apoplexy in the residents of leafy Redhill in Surrey. The immediate cause of their anger was a Facebook profile – "Goss Ip Redhill" – apparently dedicated to the publication of lewd rumours about the sexual behaviour of various …

    Media 14 Aug 2009, 10:43

  • Labour MP exposes password credentials

    'Excuse me but your CMS is showing'

    Web admins for Gisela Stuart MP inadvertently left password credentials for her site publically accessible up until Thursday. The snafu, since corrected, was spotted by tech-savvy political blogger Dizzy Thinks when a (slightly mistyped) Google search turned up code instead of content. This revealed login details for the …

    Security 14 Aug 2009, 10:44

  • World's first electric Chopper parks up

    Leccy Tech From Easy Rider to Smart Chopper

    A group of tattooed and portly custom Chopper builders from New York State and a straight-laced electronics firm make for an odd pair. But they are the duo behind Smart Chopper - an extreme leccy bike. Smart Chopper: mean and green Brainchild of Siemens USA and the folks at Orange County Choppers (OCC) – stars of reality TV …

    Science 14 Aug 2009, 11:11

  • Xyratex signals jump in storage array capacity

    Adopts 2TB drives

    Hot on the heels of Hitachi GST announcing an enterprise version of its 2TB SATA drive Xyratex has said it will build drive array enclosures using it. Hitachi GST announced its first 2TB drive, for desktop use, earlier this month. The drive spins at 7200rpm and an enterprise version, the Ultrastar A7K2000, was announced a week …

    Storage 14 Aug 2009, 11:27

  • Cops taser naked doorbell-ringing giant

    Knock down ginger, California style

    A 6ft 7in San Fransisco man who decided to indulge in some light knock down ginger while wearing only tennis shoes ended up at the receiving end of a Taser, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Two residents of the Woodside and Portola Valley area, south of Redwood City, reported that Peter Allen Steele, 38, was "standing …

    Bootnotes 14 Aug 2009, 11:33

  • Ex-Samsung boss convicted for fraud

    Gets off lightly with $89.2m fine

    The ex-chairman of Samsung Lee Kun-Hee has been found guilty of abuse of trust over a dodgy bond issue. Lee was fined $89.2m and got a suspended prison sentence. The bonds were issued at below market price and were designed to gift control of the massive conglomerate to his son Lee Jae-Yong, AFP reports. His three year …

    Financial News 14 Aug 2009, 11:59

  • Lad passes gruelling 'getting on bus' test

    Surprised teen awarded 'Using Public Transport (Unit 1)' certificate

    A Bury lad waiting for his GCSE results was somewhat surprised to learn he'd passed exam board AQA's stringent 'Using Public Transport (Unit 1)' test, which honours those able to "walk to the local bus stop, stand or sit at a bus stop, wait for the arrival of a public bus and sit on the bus and observe through the windows". …

    Bootnotes 14 Aug 2009, 12:02

  • Mitsubishi iMiEV five-door e-car

    Review Genuinely fun to drive

    Much midnight oil was burnt at Register Hardware while deciding just when and with what we should begin our Leccy Tech car tests. Try as we might, we just couldn't convince ourselves that battery powered quadbikes like the G-Wiz or Think City were the place to start. Nor could we rustle up much enthusiasm for third-party …

    Science 14 Aug 2009, 12:02

  • Open Rights Group chief in privacy scandal

    Data breach claims denied by Green Party

    Updated (see footnote): The Open Rights Group campaigns against privacy violations and highlights data security lapses - but controversy has arisen over a dispute involving ORG executive director Jim Killock's previous role, as communications co-ordinator and national executive member of the Green Party. A report in the …

    Law 14 Aug 2009, 12:03

  • Collar the lot of us! The biometric delusion

    Special report Optimism beats evidence in the drive to fingerprint the world

    Until the 16th century, educated opinion, as codified by Ptolemy, held that the Earth is at the centre of the universe. Then along came Copernicus. On 29 June 2009, the Identity & Passport Service (IPS) published their latest paper on the National Identity Service (NIS). According to Safeguarding Identity (pdf), "the vision …

    Government 14 Aug 2009, 12:11

  • Mozilla invites dark lords, Lando to play code swaps on Bespin

    No Han Solo welcome here

    Mozilla Labs has added collaboration services to the latest version of its cloud-based development project - Bespin. Previously the environment had been used as a remote hub for developers to individually take a stroll through the open source outfit’s extensible web-based code editing environment. So, just like when Darth …

    Developer 14 Aug 2009, 13:06

  • Dell boxes VGA cable to within an inch of its life

    Aboxalypse now Spare the planet, knacker the copper

    We're sort of delighted to report that our campaigning Aboxalypse now series - aimed at naming and shaming those who would destroy Mother Earth with their cardboard and bubble wrap excesses - seems to be having some effect. We say sort of delighted, because Dell appears to have taken extreme measures to make amends for past …

    Bootnotes 14 Aug 2009, 13:17

  • MS Zero-day security bug was two years in the making

    Fix only followed exploit

    A flaw in Office Web Components which Microsoft fixed on Tuesday was first reported to the software giant over two years ago, it has emerged. The time taken to release a patch has security vendors speculating that Redmond's security gnomes only got around to fixing the software flaw at all because hackers have begun exploiting …

    Security 14 Aug 2009, 13:29

  • US carriers are taking the beep

    Pogue elicits promises of action from telcos

    New York Times columnist David Pogue's ongoing campaign to reduce the length of voicemail messages is bearing fruit, as an update from the man explains the operators are starting to listen. Pogue launched his campaign, titled "Take Back The Beep" two weeks ago, complaining that the lengthy messages that operators play when one …

    Mobile 14 Aug 2009, 14:04

  • Dell's first phone spied on web

    Doesn't look like an Android

    Images have leaked onto the web of the smartphone that PC maker Dell is rumoured to be on the cusp of launching. Dell's smartphone could launch into China soon Despite being monumentally blurred, the phone’s front, side and rear shots reveal a svelte Dell-branded device. The iPhone-esque app-based menu doesn’t sport any …

    Phones 14 Aug 2009, 14:32

  • Oz gov suggests world's worst copyright protection scheme

    Desperate to retain internet villain of the year title

    After taking the prize of internet villain of the year for worst internet blocking proposal on the planet, the Australian Government appears determined to do the double, with what has already been described as the world’s worst comms interception scheme. This time, the issue is copyright protection, as the government touts …

    Government 14 Aug 2009, 14:52

  • IT Crowd writer defends NHS

    And offers Twitter advice to Gordon Brown

    Graham Linehan, the wise and funny man behind Father Ted and the IT Crowd, has been using Twitter to round up defenders of the NHS against ever more insane attacks from US rightwing pundits. Using the #welovethenhs tag to identify relevant messages, Linehan is helping to correct some of the more outlandish claims coming out of …

    Government 14 Aug 2009, 15:09

  • Microsoft bins Xbox 360 Pro

    Argos website suggests Elite or Arcade instead

    Microsoft has canned one of its Xbox 360 models, according to a leading UK retailer. Argos suggests you buy the Arcade or Elite as an alternative to the Pro Argos has called a halt to the 60GB Xbox 360 – also known as the Pro - according to its website, which carries the message: “We are very sorry but Microsoft has …

    Games 14 Aug 2009, 15:27

  • Minister attacks drunken topless lovelies with tangler-bazooka

    Lord West exposes semi-nude terrorist threat

    Everyone's favourite knockabout security minister, Admiral Lord West of Spithead, has stunned the nation today by unveiling a net-flinging entanglement "bazooka" which he considers suitable for use on "topless lovelies" who "have had too much to drink". No, really. Listeners to the BBC's Today programme this morning had the …

    Science 14 Aug 2009, 15:29

  • IBM UK facing 'backlash' over pension snuffing

    'Hundreds' Unite

    Unite - Britain's largest union - has warned IBM UK of a coming "backlash" from thousands of employees over its decision pull a prime pension plan out from under 28 per cent of its workforce. In early July, the company shelved its Defined Benefit or "final salary" pension scheme, which would have guaranteed retired employees a …

    Financial News 14 Aug 2009, 17:05

  • Health emails from US voters overload fed website

    'We're gonna need a bigger server'

    The US debate of health care reform led to a flood of emails from constituents that swamped the House of Representatives' primary Web site, the AP reports. Sys admins issued a warning that the house.gov site might be slow in responding on Thursday, blaming a huge flood of webmails on Thursday. Traffic data is not immediately …

    Government 14 Aug 2009, 17:23

  • Apple denies ChiPhone deal

    China gets on message

    Yesterday, Chinese mobile provider China Unicom was reported to have purchased five million iPhones from Apple and would launch the überpopular smartphone in September. But today, the company denied that such a deal has been made. "The report is not true," China Unicom spokesman Yi Difei told the Associated Press. As we …

    Mobile 14 Aug 2009, 17:31

  • Hacktivist vuln still plagues UN.org

    Still lazy after all these years

    The official website of the United Nations has yet to fix a vulnerability that more than two years ago allowed hacktivists to replace official content with their own activist messages. According to Errata Security CEO Rob Graham, the same SQL injection flaw that plagued the site in August of 2007 remains unfixed now. It's …

    Security 14 Aug 2009, 18:38

  • Microsoft banks on Windows 7 double holiday hit

    Comment Business as usual

    Microsoft has enlisted the dedicated cheerleadership of IDC to write a report that says how Windows 7 will boost employment and revenue for the IT industry as a whole - and for companies in the Microsoft partner ecosystem in particular. The software giant paid IDC to produce exactly the same kind of reports during 2006 on …

    Operating Systems 14 Aug 2009, 21:28

  • Big Blue bundles pound down mainframe prices

    New workload push and pull

    IBM wants to get more workloads running on more mainframes, and is willing to slash prices to do so - but shops will have to put new workloads designated by IBM as "solution editions" to get cheaper iron. Solution editions are nothing new at IBM - they've been peddled on the venerable AS/400 and successor iSeries, System i, …

    Servers 14 Aug 2009, 21:41

  • AppleT&T faces twin texting suits

    'Mouseprint disclaimer' insufficient

    Apple and AT&T are facing a pair of strikingly similar class-action lawsuits charging that the companies misrepresented the iPhone's ability to send and receive MMS messages when upgraded to iPhone Software 3.0. Reports of the first lawsuit, filed in the US District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana, began crowding …

    Mobile 14 Aug 2009, 21:45

  • Google Caffeine: What it really is

    Wake up and smell the file system

    As it invites the world to play in a mysterious sandbox it likes to call "Caffeine," Google is testing more than just a "next-generation" search infrastructure. It's testing at least a portion of a revamped software architecture that will likely underpin all of its online applications for years to come. Speaking with The Reg, …

    Servers 14 Aug 2009, 22:06

  • Online betting mogul cops plea, coughs up $43m in gains

    The slow demise of BetonSports' Gary Kaplan

    Gary S. Kaplan, the founder of online gambling empire BetonSports, pleaded guilty on Friday to multiple federal charges in an agreement that required him to forfeit more than $43m in criminal proceeds. During an appearance in federal court in St. Louis, Missouri, the 50-year-old Kaplan admitted to conspiracy to violate the …

    Security 14 Aug 2009, 22:37

  • Morrissey tells netdepressives to boycott his re-releases

    Big mouth strikes at big media

    Lyricist and sardonic crooner Morrissey has urged loyal fans to steer clear when the big music labels re-release his old tunes. Mozzer has asked fans not to buy either a planned boxed set of his solo work or a re-released set of CDs and vinyl from his days with the legendary Smiths. The EMI, HMV and Parlophone record labels …

    Media 14 Aug 2009, 23:29