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27th August 2009 Archive

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  • Japan gets battery swapping electric taxis

    Making Tokyo a 'Better Place'

    You'll soon have a one-in-15,000 chance of hailing an all-electric taxi when in Tokyo. The electric-vehicle entrepreneurs at Better Place have announced a partnership with Tokyo's largest taxi fleet, Nihon Kotsu, to conduct a pilot project that will supply "up to four" prototype electric cabs to a city that currently houses 60 …

    Public Sector 27 Aug 00:03

  • Mass web infection pinned on hardened crime gang

    DIY exploit launch pads mushroom

    A mass compromise that has hit tens of thousands of English-language webpages is probably part of a much larger wave of attacks that's been under way since June by a sophisticated band of criminals, a security researcher said Wednesday. As reported Monday, the latest mass infection causes websites operated by health-care …

    Crime 27 Aug 00:07

  • Judge orders cybersquatter to pay Verizon $33m

    Massive default damages ruled acceptable

    A federal court in California has upheld a massive $33.15m penalty against a cybersquatting domain aggregator that registered hundreds of websites mimicking Verizon's name and trademarks. The Reg reported on the initial ruling back in December 2008, suspecting that the American telco had a slim chance of ever finding the …

    Telecoms 27 Aug 00:13

  • UK banks 'not doing enough' on internet fraud

    Which? lists security saints and sinners

    Security offered by UK banks to online customers varies widely, according to a survey by Which? Computing. Abbey and Halifax have less secure log-in procedures than their competitors, while Barclays scored top marks in the study. First Direct, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide, NatWest and RBS were also rated as "good", while Alliance & …

    Malware 27 Aug 09:13

  • OCZ pitches 'best value' SLC SSD

    Better performance than MLC drives

    OCZ claims is latest solid-state drive is the most cost-effective model based on speedy single-layer cell (SLC) Flash technology. Most SSDs on sale today of any significant capacity use cheaper but slower multi-layer cell (MLC) Flash to deliver storage of between 64GB and 256GB at reasonable - but still more than hard drive - …

    Reg Hardware 27 Aug 09:15

  • Chelsio imitates LeftHand Networks

    Launches new USS enterprise

    Ten gig E comms supplier Chelsio has moved up-stack and is producing software to turn a host server's direct-attached storage into a SAN or NAS resource, copying HP'S LeftHand Networks software. The software, called USS for Unified Storage Software, runs in an x86 server and turns its storage into a networked iSCSI block or …

    Storage 27 Aug 09:15

  • Virgin mail struggles to its feet

    Updated Three-day outage remains unexplained

    Virgin customers have been struggling to stay in touch this week, as their email service started failing on Monday and only managed to get its act back together this morning. Quite what went wrong is still unclear, but engineers started working on the email outage on Monday night with an optimistic four-hour fix predicted. …

    Telecoms 27 Aug 09:30

  • Sharp intros 5in ARM-based netbook

    Ubuntu Linux on board

    Asus may not be so keen on ARM-based netbooks, but Sharp certainly is. Today, it launched the PC-Z1 Netwalker, a weeny netbook based around a 5in display and Ubuntu Linux and an ARM Cortex A8-derived CPU. Sharp's PC-Z1 Netwalker: 5in netbook Smaller than your average netbook, the PC-Z1 measures 161.4 x 108.7 x 19.7-24.8mm …

    Reg Hardware 27 Aug 09:55

  • NetApp's missing bits: Don't we need a switch infrastructure?

    Comment There's an elephant in the room, and it don't look quite right

    NetApp has announced dynamic scale-out, a feature of ONTAP 8 that has multiple heads for its filers. But what wasn't announced was any description of a head and filer interconnect, nor the ability for multiple filers to connect to the multiple heads. So how can that work, then? Existing highly scalable file storage systems, …

    Storage 27 Aug 10:00

  • Microsoft re-jigs Xbox 360 range

    Updated Pricier Arcade, cheaper Elite, no Pro

    Rumours of changes to the Xbox 360 line-up were true. Microsoft has confirmed it will increase the Arcade model’s price, phase out the Pro and slash the Elite's price. From tomorrow, the Xbox 360 Arcade’s price will rise by £30 to £160 - it's staying at $199 in the US – but you won’t get any more for your money. Conversely, …

    Reg Hardware 27 Aug 10:04

  • PSP Go pulled to pieces

    Man tears apart Sony's latest handheld

    The PlayStation Portable Go won’t be available in Blighty for several weeks yet, but images of a dismantled model have already appeared online. Images of Sony's PSP Go from the inside reveal its embedded battery Gadget teardowns are nothing new, but what makes these shots of the PSP Go’s innards so interesting is that it’s …

    Reg Hardware 27 Aug 10:37

  • Versata saps $139m out of SAP

    Pockets rather more than it actually asked for

    SAP has to pay Versata Software $139m following a court decision that it is infringing on five of Versata's patents. Versata's lawyers had only asked for $100m or so, according to Bloomberg, but got a bonus $39m from the Texas Jury after it dismissed SAP's claim that it wasn't infringing patents, and that the patents should be …

    Financial News 27 Aug 10:49

  • Zune exec bails ahead of player's upcoming HD launch

    Knowing when to iTune out

    Microsoft’s Zune general marketing manager has quit the firm. Chris Stephenson is understood to be leaving the software giant to join Universal Music Group. According to the Wall Street Journal, Stephenson has turned his back on MS, whose Zune execs are undergoing a tough time following an appalling 54 per cent drop in sales …

    Music and Media 27 Aug 10:51

  • Exploding iPhone total rises as Oz officials probe alleged fakes

    Wave of Chinese counterfeits to blame?

    Yesterday, it was eight. Now the total of iPhones that have allegedly exploded - or at last suffered a catastrophic cracking of the screen - has risen to 11. The new tally comes from French newspaper Nouvel Observateur which has listed many of them. This week, France's consumer affairs agency, the DGCCRF (Direction Générale …

    Reg Hardware 27 Aug 11:23

  • Pirate Bay saviour faces more trouble

    Deal hangs on a thread as GGF shareholders mull takeover

    Global Gaming Factory X (GGF) could be delisted from the Swedish stock exchange. AktieTorget, the Swedish exchange, suspended trading in the company on 21 August. It has now called in a disciplinary committee to consider having GGF's listing removed from the exchange altogether. The move comes on the same day that GGF is due …

    Music and Media 27 Aug 11:35

  • Official: Google wants to tell you what to think

    Anoints Google-approved writers

    File this one under spectacular and hubristic PR own goals. Google has anointed an "approved list" of writers it thinks you should read. But not only is Google's choice far from "Neutral" - there's no libertarians, merely one (shrieky and not very representative) conservative, and a preponderance of Greens - there isn't a …

    Music and Media 27 Aug 11:49

  • NHS heals serious spoof email flaw

    Updated XSS flaw opened door to bogus swine flu advice

    Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities on the National Health Service's website created a means to send spoofed emails with dodgy medical advice. The vulnerabilities, now fixed, also created a potential means to run information-harvesting attacks. Various security shortcomings on the main nhs.uk website established a means …

    Government 27 Aug 11:54

  • How to turn a world leader into a fourth-rate broadband economy

    Filling in the wide open white spaces

    There is an interesting report out this week from an organization in the US calling itself Speed Matters. It is backed by the Communications Workers of America, and it makes a seriously cogent point about US broadband capability. It is in its third year and it points out that US broadband connection speeds have not improved …

    Telecoms 27 Aug 11:58

  • Intel 'Lynnfield'

    Preview Next-gen Core i7 - and Core i5

    When Intel launched the 'Nehalem' architecture-based Core i7 - codenamed 'Bloomfield' - and the X58 chipset in November 2008, we assumed that the anticipated mid-range follow up would be called Core i5. LGA1156 vs LGA1366: on top... This mid-range processor - codenamed 'Lynnfield' - was flagged as a replacement for Core 2. …

    Reg Hardware 27 Aug 12:02

  • Blazing laptop of death claims one

    Computer conflagration kills Canadian

    A laptop left running on a sofa started a fire which killed a 56-year-old Canadian man. The Coroner's Service of British Columbia has not released the victim's name but has revealed that he died six months ago. The machine was left on a couch, which caused the battery to overheat and the fire to start. The coroner did not give …

    Notebooks 27 Aug 12:05

  • Forget solar panels, it's time for rooftop slime-tanks

    And offshore 'artificial tree' forests. Apparently

    The Institute of Mechanical Engineers has called for the UK to adopt a strategy of "geo-engineering" techniques to extract huge quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The headline ideas are these: CO2-capturing "artificial trees", growing of biofuel algae on rooftops, and the use of reflective building materials to …

    Environment 27 Aug 12:21

  • Boffins render full HD million-point animated hologram

    One step closer to astromech droids?

    Scientists in Japan have built a computer capable of generating holographic images from three-dimensional models composed of up to a million points. But don't expect holographic messages from alluring princesses any time soon: the machine can only render million-point holograms at a single frame every second. Drop the …

    Reg Hardware 27 Aug 12:24

  • CRB looks to ID cards to solve accuracy woes

    One day, their prints may come

    Millions could be asked to provide ID card and fingerprint data to get a job under new systems being developed by the Home Office following a collapse in the accuracy of background checks. News of the plans emerged in the response to a Register Freedom of Information Act request to the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). Today …

    Government 27 Aug 12:58

  • Emulex finally gets IBM design win

    Adoption proves chip actually exists

    IBM's BladeCenter HS22 blade servers will use Emulex 10gig E interface cards that can be software key upgraded to Fibre Channel over Ethernet adapters. Up until now Emulex had no public design wins for its FCoE Converged Network Adapters (CNAs) whereas QLogic and Brocade had NetApp and IBM wins in their pockets. Emulex' IBM …

    Storage 27 Aug 13:02

  • Google's move into mortgages spawns lawsuit

    Sub primes are us

    Google's possible move into offering competitive mortgage quotes has sparked a lawsuit. The search engine giant is allegedly in talks with Mortech, a provider of technology that helps automate lender offer pricing. Mortech already supplies this pricing engine technology to LendingTree, which is far from pleased at the prospect …

    Financial News 27 Aug 14:00

  • NetApp flashes array SSD

    Another STEC win

    NetApp's Jay Kidd has told SearchStorage that the company's storage arrays will have solid state drives (SSD) announced for them by the end of the year. Currently NetApp has a two-pronged flash strategy. The first is to have flash caches in its array controllers, the Performance Accelerator Modules (PAM). PAM I is deliverable …

    Storage 27 Aug 14:02

  • Nokia announces Linux-based smartphone

    But insists the N900 is an internet tablet'

    Nokia has launched what it calls an "internet tablet", though the device's size, shape and set of features will seem to many to put it slap bang in the smartphone category. Nokia's N900: internet tablet or smartphone? The N900 – which leaked out earlier this week – runs Maemo 5.0, a Linux-derived OS that the firm has …

    Reg Hardware 27 Aug 14:06

  • Microsoft FATtens up patent portfolio

    Linux vendor Tuxera enters arena

    Microsoft inked an intellectual property licensing deal with Tuxera Ltd yesterday. Financial terms between Redmond and the Linux software vendor were kept secret. Under the agreement, Helsinki, Finland-based Tuxera has joined Microsoft's exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table) driver-licensing program and its Interop Vendor …

    Developer 27 Aug 14:30

  • Apple and Snow Leopard take-downs - just say no

    It's fun to throw out those D-M-C-A-s...

    On Tuesday evening UK time The Register received a take-down notice from San Francisco lawyers acting on behalf of Apple. Our hosting company, Rackspace, received a similar notice, Apple's beef being that The Register had posted "confidential trade secrets" in our First Look at Snow Leopard. You will notice that we have not …

    Bootnotes 27 Aug 15:06

  • Fire at Google UK

    Oompa Loompas in petrol/BBQ mix-up?

    Staff at Google's London lair have been evacuated after fire broke out. Four fire engines were called to the blaze. Reports of staff fleeing the blaze on Segways at high speed (8mph) could not be confirmed. The conflagration caused much excitement at the Daily Stenograph newspaper, which is sited opposite Google's Victoria HQ …

    Applications 27 Aug 15:11

  • Tossable bots for US Navy SEALs

    Beercan-sized rollerdroids to replace hurl-cams?

    The shortlived era of the throwable "camera grenade" may already be over, as beercan-sized, hurlable robots with infrared nightsight video are now being delivered to US troops. Tellingly, elite special-operations units have also decided to try the new kit out. Psst! Can we stop standing still now? The gear in question is …

    Physics 27 Aug 15:19

  • MSI launches Windows 7 touchscreen PC

    All-in-one desktop

    MSI has launched an all-in-one touchscreen PC designed to runs on Microsoft’s inbound Windows 7. MSI's AE2010: can even be bolted to your living room wall The Wind Top AE2010 is built around a 20in, 1600 x 900 display and a dual-core, 1.5GHz AMD Athlon X2 3250e processor. Early shipments will arrive with Windows Vista Home …

    Reg Hardware 27 Aug 15:20

  • Sony launches almost-flagship DSLR

    Alpha 850 to Alpha 900 features at a lower price

    The Sony Alpha digital SLR range continues to expand, this time with the launch of a cut-down version of the a900 called, cunningly, the a850. Sony's a850: a multi-feature DSLR with - we hope - a pocketable price-tag The Japanese electronics giant promised that the a850 boasts “virtually all” of the same features of the …

    Reg Hardware 27 Aug 15:25

  • Pirate Bay suitor gets backing for buy

    Not a done deal yet, though...

    Global Gaming Factory X (GGF) shareholders have unanimously given the thumbs up to the firm's plans to buy The Pirate Bay. The Swedish company's boss, Hans Pandeya, told journalists at a press conference this afternoon that the 60m kronor ($7.7m) acquisition would go ahead. Their seal of approval paves the way for ownership …

    Music and Media 27 Aug 15:29

  • Asus eyes e-book biz for Eee extension

    Out to undercut Sony?

    Asus may have decided to make an e-book reader after all. Back in April, company staff were asking interested parties - ie. hacks like us - whether offering such a gadget would make for cool addition to the Eee family. We couldn't see a reason why it wouldn't, we advised. A month or so later, the New York Times said moles had …

    Reg Hardware 27 Aug 15:47

  • Cray nabs PathScale compilers from SiCortex

    Plans open source release for journeyman code

    Upstart supercomputer maker SiCortex today sold its PathScale compilers to rival Cray for an undisclosed sum, as its backers try to recoup some of the money they pumped into the struggling HPC company. This marks the second time in recent months that Cray has benefited from the demise of its peers. As El Reg reported in May, …

    Servers 27 Aug 15:48

  • Phishing emails dry up as fraudsters switch tactic

    Change up

    Phishing email volumes fell during the first half of 2009, according to a variety of security reports out this week. Russian antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab reports a decline of phishing emails from 0.78 per cent of email traffic in 1Q2009 to 0.49 per cent in 2H09. The trend of gradual decline in phishing emails observed by …

    Security 27 Aug 17:33

  • Linux guru: interface innovation is the challenge

    Get over Windows and Mac

    Novell distinguished engineer James Bottomley believes Linux desktop environments need a dose of open source ingenuity rather than ape ideas from Windows and OS X. Bottomley, who also wears the hat of Director of the Linux Foundation and chair of its technical advisory board, says the next challenge for Linux as a whole is to …

    Operating Systems 27 Aug 18:42

  • Bookie lays odds on next Microsoft head transplant

    Black? White? Lizard?

    After Microsoft was caught removing the head of a black man from a stock website photo and replacing it with the head of a white man, Irish betting shop Paddy Power is offering odds on the racial makeup of the smiling faces who will turn up in Redmond's global advertising campaign for the upcoming Office 2010. Earlier this …

    Odds and Sods 27 Aug 19:10

  • Snow Leopard - what doesn't work

    Photoshop Elements. Macromedia FreeHand. The Reg?

    A grassroots effort is assiduously testing a broad range of Mac applications to discover which work with Snow Leopard and which don't. And overall, the news is good. Unfortunately, you may or may not be able to access their complete list, which is on a WikiDot called Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Compatibility List. The website …

    Operating Systems 27 Aug 19:23

  • Fujitsu-Siemens pulls a Sony with Windows 7 virtual switch off

    Windows XP Mode killer

    Fujitsu-Siemens has become the second maker of PCs to earn the contempt of customers for apparently preventing its machines' BIOS from working with Intel chip virtualization. The BIOS of its ESPRIMO Mobile V55x5 range do not work with the hardware virtualization technology (VT) in Intel's Core 2 Duo chips. It is not clear …

    Virtualization 27 Aug 19:31

  • VMware goes into hyper-drive with vSphere 4.0

    Microsoft, Xen take their shots

    Ahead of the four-day VMworld extravaganza in San Francisco next week, server virtualization juggernaut VMware wanted to toss out some numbers to show that its vSphere 4.0 virtualization stack is getting great traction in the market. And because Microsoft can't stand being number two or three in any market, it started throwing …

    Virtualization 27 Aug 19:43

  • Trojan zaps banking credentials via IM

    Instant gratification

    No longer the province of teens and chat-obsessed netizens, instant messaging is being adopted by a growing number of banking malware applications, which zap pilfered credentials to thieves in real time. The latest entrant is Zeus, a trojan that monitors an infected PC for passwords entered into banking websites and other …

    Crime 27 Aug 22:27

  • Dell and HP sing Microsoft tune on Word injunction

    Updated Patent litigation "free-for-all" claimed

    Dell and Hewlett-Packard are supporting Microsoft's bid to postpone a US court injunction on Word shipments. The duo have filed documents with a US court that claims the injunction will subject them to heavy burdens and adversely impact the public interest. Dell and HP have zeroed in on the complications the injunction will …

    Applications 27 Aug 22:38

  • Novell profits even as sales slide

    Linux still growing

    Commercial Linux distro and NetWare seller Novell has managed to stay profitable in its third quarter of fiscal 2009 even as sales slide thanks to the economic meltdown. In the quarter ended July 31, Novell's revenues slid by 11.9 per cent to $216.1m, but thanks to radically reduced sales, marketing, and development costs, the …

    Financial News 27 Aug 23:00

  • Google probed by Italy's anti-trust arm

    FIEG you

    Italy's anti-trust watchdog is investigating Google's treatment of local newspapers on the Italian versions of its news site and search engine. On Thursday, as reported by Reuters, the country's competition authority announced its Google probe after a complaint from the Italian Federation of Newspaper Editors (FIEG). According …

    Music and Media 27 Aug 23:19

  • Apple decrees Spotify worthy of iPhone

    App Store joy for Unamericans

    iPhone users will soon be able to enjoy their Spotify-subscription tunes over their Apple smartphones. A Spotify iPhone app has just been approved for distribution through the iTunes App Store. This news comes by way of a report from paidContent:UK, which obtained that rarest of treats: an actual confirmation message from an …

    Music and Media 27 Aug 23:20

  • Canucks crack whip on Facebook privacy

    Death becomes your profile

    Facebook has vowed to overhaul how personal information is shared with third-party applications after Canada's privacy Czar scolded the social website for its promiscuous policies. The site has also agreed to retrofit its privacy terms to better explain why Facebook collects personal data, make the distinction between …

    Music and Media 27 Aug 23:29

  • Feds warn of malware in fake credit union advisory

    Trojan goes postal

    A government agency is warning all federally insured credit unions to be on the lookout for a bogus alert delivered through the US mail that includes two CDs containing malware. The fake alert purports to come from Michael E. Fryzel, the chairman of the National Credit Union Administration and warns of phishing and vishing …

    Crime 27 Aug 23:49