The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

19th August 2009 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • HP paddles through Q3 slump on EDS lifeboat

    Plank-walking activities for crew

    The economy is still rough waters for tech companies, but Hewlett-Packard has again kept afloat by latching on services while tossing employees overboard. Despite sharply declining sales of PCs, printers and software, HP's third quarter ended July 31, 2009 still arrived above most Wall Street expectations. The company's profit …

    Financial News 19 Aug 00:06

  • Microsoft warns of 'irreparable harm' on court's Word injunction

    Major public disruption, too!

    Microsoft's warned it'll suffer "irreparable harm" and that "major public disruption" will result if it's forced to redesign Word to comply with a US court ruling. The company claimed the court's injunction will mean Office is kept out the market for months as it redesigns Word and the suite to remove an offending XML patent …

    Applications 19 Aug 00:51

  • Feds uncover 'bust out' scam that cost banks $80m

    'Straw buyer' army recruited from former Soviet Union

    Federal authorities have uncovered an elaborate organized crime ring they say recruited some 700 immigrants from the former Soviet Union to defraud banks and other creditors of more than $80m. According to documents filed in US District Court in Denver, the organizers hired the immigrants to be pawns in what's known as a "bust …

    Crime 19 Aug 00:57

  • Opaque Wi-Fi laws 'damage UK economy, social inclusion'

    Academic frowns on fudged sharing regulations

    Laws controlling the sharing of wireless internet access are hindering the digital economy and the digital social inclusion plans of Government, an academic has warned. The law should be clarified to help spread broadband access more widely, he said. University of East Anglia IT and internet law lecturer Daithí Mac Síthigh has …

    Wireless 19 Aug 07:02

  • Xsigo is good for decluttering but can it clean up?

    Comment Facing up to datacentre ethernet

    I/O virtualiser Xsigo has won another deal and successfully gone through a funding round in June. But its technology could just be a short-term fix to a server-edge network clutter problem. Xsigo's virtual I/O directors are going in as part of a Compellent SAN at Wholesale Electric of Houston. Like Virtensys, which also …

    Storage 19 Aug 08:02

  • Asus laptops top for reliability in Q2

    Repair shop posts ratings

    Asus laptops were the most reliable notebook computers during Q2, US repair specialist has claimed. Apple came second, Lenovo third. The three manufacturers scored 416, 394 and 314, respectively, on Rescuecom's reliability index. Fourth-placed Toshiba scored 218. HP, which came in fifth place, rated 142 points. Source: …

    Reg Hardware 19 Aug 09:27

  • Motorola and Blockbuster sign movie deal

    OnDemand films for Moto mobiles

    Blockbuster is to launch a movies-on-demand service for Motorola handsets. The service will enable as-yet-unnamed Moto handsets to access Blockbuster’s existing digital movie library, which the rental firm has promised runs to “thousands” of titles. Specific technical details are still being ironed out, Motorola owners will …

    Reg Hardware 19 Aug 09:29

  • EU to pour €18m into next, next generation mobile

    Long Term Evolution not long term enough

    The European Union is planning to invest €18m in the next generation of the Long Term Evolution standard, promising 1Gb speeds to those unhappy with the 100Mb/sec available from LTE. The funding becomes available from the start of next year and the ARTIST4G consortium will be spending September deciding how to divvy up the …

    Mobile 19 Aug 09:46

  • Eurocrats ask Apple to explain immolating iPhones

    No smoke without fire - or one swallow doesn't make a spring?

    The European Commission appears to have been taken in by the media hoopla over exploding iPhones, and has asked Apple to explain what's going on. A Commission spokeswoman this week revealed that Apple has responded to this request. The company claimed the reported cases were "isolated incidents" and that it would investigate …

    Reg Hardware 19 Aug 09:49

  • US military cyber force activated

    Operation Screaming Fist is go

    The US air force held an activation ceremony in Texas yesterday for its new cyberspace combat unit, the 24th Air Force, which will "provide combat-ready forces trained and equipped to conduct sustained cyber operations". The 24th will be commanded by former Minuteman missile and satellite-jamming specialist Major-General …

    Government 19 Aug 09:51

  • The legal risks of uncontrolled IM use

    White paper Nest of vipers

    Everyone loves instant messaging, the chat-cum-presence tool of choice of the masses. And that love extends to the workplace...IM should overtake email as the preferred method of business communication by the second half of 2010, an IDC survey found last year. But IM can create enormous headaches for their employers. We have …

    Enterprise Security 19 Aug 10:02

  • MS pumps out near-ready version of Exchange Server 2010

    Release Candidate enters fray

    Microsoft has spun out another test build of Exchange Server 2010. Redmond announced the arrival of Release Candidate 1 of the backend email software yesterday. MS also said in a blog post that more than ten million people were testing the online service version of Exchange Server 2010 across the globe in what it described as …

    Applications 19 Aug 10:34

  • Ads body cuts off Skype ad after pic quality complaints

    When your best is too good

    Skype has been slapped down by the UK's ad regulator for running a TV ad which showed video and sound quality in excess of what viewers believed the VoiP service could manage in the real world. The heartwarming ad showed a new father talking to his parents, and at one point in the narrative, moving his laptop so the folks …

    VoIP 19 Aug 10:37

  • Netbooks popular among college kids

    A third of US students will take one to university next term

    More than a third of kids going off to college in the US this autumn will take a netbook with them, a survey of students has suggested. Some 34 per cent of student respondents queried by US online price comparison site Retrevo said they're going to buy a netbook for their studies. That said, just under a half - 49 per cent - …

    Reg Hardware 19 Aug 10:39

  • Old-school virus threatens Delphi files

    Updated Induc-A virus induces a headache

    Virus writers have gone old school with the creation of a virus that infects Delphi files as they are built. When a Delphi file infected with Induc-A virus is run, it searches for Delphi programming installations on an infected machine and attempts to infect this installation. More specifically, the malware attempts to infect …

    Malware 19 Aug 10:40

  • Follow the money: Chasing cheap data centre power

    Energy-saving algorithm tested

    It will soon be possible for data centre operators to move workloads between data centres in pursuit of the cheapest electricity supply. As reported in the MIT Technology Review, researchers from MIT, Carnegie Mellon University and Akamai developed and tested a routing algorithm that showed energy savings of up to 40 per cent …

    Hardware 19 Aug 10:42

  • Met trades truncheons for Twitter

    Pointless babble to soothe seething climate protestors

    The Metropolitan Police has turned to Twitter to help control an upcoming Climate Camp protest in London. After the robust policing of the G20 protests caused controversy and was blamed for one death, the Met has clearly decided that confusing and boring protestors into submission is a much less dangerous strategy. The feed …

    Policing 19 Aug 10:43

  • Fisker e-sportster debuts on infamous Laguna Seca circuit

    Leccy Tech Behind-the-wheel footage released

    The Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid has made its public driving debut at the annual Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races - barely a year and a half after first being unveiled as a concept. With Fisker chairman Bernhard Koehler behind the wheel, the Karma completed a single lap of the infamous Laguna Seca race circuit in …

    Reg Hardware 19 Aug 10:54

  • Moles say MS to tackle iPhone, Android separately

    Can it really afford to wait for Windows Mobile 7?

    How will Microsoft compete with Google's Android and Apple's iPhone OS? By targeting a separate version of Windows Mobile at each of them, moles have claimed. According to Taiwanese handset-manufacturer sources cited by DigiTimes, Microsoft won't withdraw Windows Mobile 6.5 - which is due to arrive in October - when version …

    Reg Hardware 19 Aug 11:05

  • Soviet military-surplus manned spacecraft to fly again

    Company acquires armed orbital stations, capsules

    A company with a former NASA astronaut among its management says it has acquired several Cold War era Russian ex-military spacecraft and stations. The firm intends to refit its "Almaz" reusable capsules for commercial manned operations in orbit. What the Soviet space-recon force rode in. The new Isle of Man headquartered …

    Space 19 Aug 11:17

  • Logitech intros shiny-surface loving mice

    Glass-top tables? No problem

    Logitech has introduced a couple of mice it claims will work as well on a glass-topped table as it will on a rather less shiny one. Logitech's Anywhere Mouse MX: works on glass The mouse maker calls the underlying technology Darkfield Laser Tracking and it's good for any high-gloss surface and clear glass - although the …

    Reg Hardware 19 Aug 11:29

  • Aussie Sex Party bursts upon political stage

    Stand up for your rights

    It's official: the Australian Sex Party (ASP) is now a bona fide political party, entitled to appear on the ballot paper, raise funds and even - if they gain more than four percent of the primary vote - eligible for public funding. This follows a long drawn-out tussle with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), after …

    Government 19 Aug 11:32

  • Copan silence prompts sell-off rumours

    Looking for a buyer, not a leader

    Copan, the high-density persistent storage array vendor, has sunk into virtual silence since parting with its CEO Mark Ward a month ago, prompting rumours that its backers are looking for a sale instead of a new CEO. Copan produces Revolution storage arrays using MAID - Massive Array of Idle Disks - technology. These arrays …

    Storage 19 Aug 11:51

  • FCC reaches out to Twitterati

    Ofcom efforts show the difficult road ahead

    The Federal Communications Commission has launched both a blog and a Twitter feed. Amazingly, the latter has already attracted 952 followers, despite having only two tweets so far. But there are already three blog entries, the first of which explains that the blog won't be commenting on everything the FCC does: like most …

    Telecoms 19 Aug 11:55

  • How to set up your HDTV like a pro

    Don't stick with the shop's settings

    Back in the old days, when you bought – or rented – a television set, someone would deliver it, set it up and tune it in for you. And there was a very good chance that when they did that, they’d be able to find a channel broadcasting a testcard without much difficulty, and use that to make sure all the picture settings were …

    Reg Hardware 19 Aug 12:02

  • Sites pulling sneaky Flash cookie-snoop

    Academics fret over privacy threat

    Many websites are using Flash-based cookies to track users, but often omit to mention this in their privacy policies. US academics have documented the little-known tracking technology and its use in practice in a paper called Flash Cookies and Privacy. Browser-based cookies constitute a well understood and widely deployed …

    ID 19 Aug 12:42

  • Google annexes Bibliothèque Nationale de France

    Etait-ce une phony guerre toute le long?

    France's cultural imperial guard has waved the white flag at Google and handed over the keys to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. The French nation's citadel of learning will allow itself to be occupied by Google's battalions of book-scanning vulgarians, in what some see as a victory for Anglo Saxon cultural attitudes, …

    Music and Media 19 Aug 12:51

  • Sign up for The Register Agile Data Center Summit

    Conference calling

    The Register Agile Data Center Summit, a live interactive conference featuring analysis, insight and debate from experts at Freeform Dynamics, Dell, VMWare and Intel, beams live from Reg HQ on 15 September 5:30pm BST, 9:30am PST, 12:30am EST. Registration is now open. The Register Agile Data Center Summit begins with a review …

    Servers 19 Aug 13:02

  • Japan torture flick sickens UK film censor

    Banned Grotesque unlikely to trouble box office charts

    The Japanese movie Grotesque (NSFW) has gained a rare accolade this month, in being one of the few films to be refused an '18' certificate in recent years by the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC). Individuals who sell, distribute or supply the film would now be breaking the law. According to a spokeswoman for the BBFC, …

    Law 19 Aug 13:11

  • Blighty customers see some Windows 7 prices halved

    US punters required to stump up more greenbacks

    Amazon UK is punting the full version of Windows 7 Home Premium at half the price it's selling for in the US, and scoring a healthy amount of publicity to boot. The retailer is heavily trailing Microsoft's forthcoming operating system on its homepage. The Windows 7 Home Premium edition can be scooped up for around £65, which …

    Operating Systems 19 Aug 13:12

  • What’s the point of desktop virtualization?

    Reader Workshop And what are the practicalities?

    Over the past few weeks we have considered many facets of virtualization and now we take a look at an area that has the potential to subtly alter the way in which the majority of users interact with IT services, namely the desktop. Research carried out by Freeform Dynamics last year with the help of readers of The Register …

    Software 19 Aug 13:55

  • Unmanned German sperm dirigible 'to fly within days'

    Robo-airship's tail full of weightless Zeppelin fuel

    A German-American venture says it is now days from the maiden flight of its 111-foot long, tadpole-esque "segmented" drone airship. The STS-111 "Stratellite", produced by Sanswire of Florida and TAO Technologies GmbH of Stuttgart, has now been assembled at the firm's German test centre. According to a Sanswire-TAO announcement …

    Science 19 Aug 14:42

  • Australian media group rejects Amazon's Kindle

    Waits to see what Apple is planning

    Antipodean publisher Fairfax Media has decided against putting its newspapers onto Amazon's cash cow, claiming the proposed deal was too biased in the book selling giant's favour. The report comes courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald, who should know as the paper is one of half a dozen Australian titles owned by Fairfax. …

    PCs & Chips 19 Aug 14:52

  • Obama site smackdown spam only offers malware

    No DDoS! Denied!

    Spam messages offering links to a tool designed to knock out the website of President Obama lead only to dodgy software. Junk mail ostensibly punting software that allows anti-Obama-ists to become cyberactivists says: "If You don't like Obama come here, you can help to ddos his site with your installs." Disappointingly, no …

    Spam 19 Aug 14:54

  • Linux: More contributors, more code

    A lot more than just Linus Torvalds

    The Linux Foundation, which is something akin to the marketing arm of the open source operating system kernel and its related systems software, has today released its second report detailing how the Linux 2.6 kernel is evolving. The report reveals how it is coding the changes in the kernel and what companies are sponsoring the …

    Operating Systems 19 Aug 16:07

  • Microsoft to encircle Google and Apple with Windows Mobile split

    The vision see-what-sticks thing

    When a person says they like something, they might also add: "What's not to like?" When Steve Ballmer said he liked Microsoft's Windows Mobile strategy a few years back, you had to ask "what strategy"? Microsoft's chief executive told CNBC-TV "I like our strategy, I like it a lot" while laughing off Apple's iPhone. Ballmer …

    Mobile 19 Aug 19:43

  • San Francisco dumps city data online

    Call for cats-stuck-up-trees apps

    San Francisco is heaping raw government data onto the web in the hopes developers build iPhone apps for folks to complain about trees blocking their sidewalk and to Google restaurant health-code violations. The Bay city's freshly conjured website DataSF.org describes itself as a "central clearinghouse for datasets" published …

    Developer 19 Aug 19:49

  • Apple loses students to netbooks and Windows

    Fails to seize the day

    When US students return to their classrooms this fall, few of them will be lugging along new Apple notebooks. That's the conclusion reached by a small survey conducted recently by consumer-electronics ecommerce website Retrevo. Of the 300-plus students surved by Retrevo, 34 percent of laptop buyers will purchase netbooks, and …

    PCs & Chips 19 Aug 20:11

  • GGF plans to steer The Pirate Bay freeloaders straight

    Cosies up to copyright owners

    Global Gaming Factory X (GGF) hopes to transform millions of file-sharing freeloaders on The Pirate Bay into upstanding customers by letting copyright owners remove content or authorize files and receive compensation. Prospective owner GGF has announced initial plans in its $7.8m venture to steer the notorious BitTorrent …

    Music and Media 19 Aug 20:23

  • IDC: Linux support sales to break $1bn in 2012

    And you thought it happened already

    So you think companies sell $1bn in Linux support contracts a year worldwide? Think again. That isn't going to happen until 2012, and maybe not at all if the trends of using commercial distros without paying for support continue apace. Al Gillen, the operating systems and virtualization analyst at IDC, wrapped up his worldwide …

    Operating Systems 19 Aug 20:24

  • HP servers took brunt of Q3 blow

    Hurd expects better 2010

    Hewlett-Packard, as much as IBM, is now a bellwether for the IT sector, and its server business didn't do so hot in its fiscal third quarter ended July 31. As we reported Tuesday, HP's overall sales in its fiscal third quarter slid by 2.1 per cent to $27.45bn, and net income was whacked by 19 per cent to $1.64bn. The company' …

    Storage 19 Aug 21:48

  • Besieged by attacks, AT&T dumps celebrity hacker

    Updated The perils of being Kevin Mitnick

    Over the years, Kevin Mitnick has gotten used to the attacks on his website and cell phone account that routinely result from being a convicted hacker turned security expert. What he finds much harder to stomach is the treatment he's getting from his providers. Over the past month, both HostedHere.net, his longtime webhost, …

    Security 19 Aug 22:22

  • VMware target Springs to open-source cloud management

    Fluffy Amazon business

    Days after being purchased by VMware, open-source Java specialist SpringSource is expanding into the enterprise cloud-deployment biz using a recent acquisition of its own. SpringSource has sprung a service into beta for Java developers making apps in the cloud. The platform, called SpringSource Cloud Foundry, is built on the …

    Software 19 Aug 23:25