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10th September 2009 Archive

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  • Guns, drugs, stolen identities - portrait of a phisher

    The demise of 'cashout5050'

    A California man has admitted he was part of an international phishing ring and stole tens of thousands of identities so he could support his methamphetamine habit. Tien Truong Nguyen, 30, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to five felonies, including conspiracy, access-device fraud and possession, aggravated identity …

    Security 10 Sep 2009, 00:40

  • Google Android future haunted by fragmentation past

    Is there mobile harmony in open source?

    With four billion connected mobile phones on the planet - compared to one billion PCs - handhelds offer developers the mother of all opportunities: ubiquity and mass market. But the reward comes at a great price: market fragmentation, thanks to so many different devices using so many different hardware configurations. To …

    Developer 10 Sep 2009, 04:08

  • Oz government sites floored in firewall protests

    Small earthquake in Canberra. Not many websites hurt

    Hackers reportedly knocked over the website of Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd for a few minutes on Wednesday in an apparent protest against government plans for compulsory internet content filtering. The site of the Australian Communications and Media Authority also disappeared for about an hour Wednesday evening local …

    Security 10 Sep 2009, 07:40

  • 3-tonne robot flying saucer offered to world's militaries

    DSEi Norse-god angel rescues Brit hover-ship firm

    A struggling British firm, restored to life by an anonymous private backer, is exhibiting a concept "flying saucer" aircraft able to lift a payload of one tonne, as well as smaller surveillance models down to pocket size. Company reps say that the firm is in contention for a significant European naval contract. Not so much a …

    Science 10 Sep 2009, 07:44

  • T-Orange: It is possible to have too much spectrum

    Anyone wanna buy a chunk of 1800MHz?

    The merger of T-Mobile and Orange means combining their spectrum holdings, throwing Digital Britain into confusion and putting the Digital Dividend at risk. Digital Britain's promise of broadband for all is based on permitting 3G services at lower frequencies, which means reallocating those frequencies between the existing …

    Mobile 10 Sep 2009, 08:02

  • P2P pushes IPv6 surge

    Next gen protocol finally appears on the radar

    IPv6 traffic levels surged over the last 12 months, with the 15-fold increase down to just one application and one ISP, according to a study by Arbor Networks. Support for IPv6 in µTorrent version 1.8, a version of the world's most popular BitTorrent client released in August 2008, had a huge effect. "The introduction of IPv6 …

    Data Networking 10 Sep 2009, 08:45

  • EU firms wary of China over IP insecurity

    Trade chief finds businesses hanging back

    European companies are hesitant to do business in China because of fears that their intellectual property will not be protected, according to the European Union's Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton. Ashton told a trade and investment fair in China that she was "encouraged" by efforts to improve protections there. "Without …

    Small Biz 10 Sep 2009, 08:47

  • Scientists lay bare Irish potato famine blight

    Phytophthora infestans genome sequenced

    Scientists have successfully sequenced the genome of Phytophthora infestans - the potato blight mould which in the 1840s devasted Irish potato crops, leading to the deaths of one million people. According to Nature, Phytophthora infestans is a water mould (oomycete) which "causes late blight in potatoes, consumes and rots the …

    Science 10 Sep 2009, 09:08

  • IWF takes 'pragmatic' stance on level one images

    Doesn't want to be 'forever embroiled' in grey areas

    The head of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has reiterated the organisation's focus on the most serious images of child abuse, implying a recalibration of its efforts to police borderline material. When El Reg spoke with Peter Robbins, Chief Executive of the IWF last month, he was at pains to re-assure us that the the IWF …

    Law 10 Sep 2009, 09:58

  • Orange data users turning red as data dries up

    Updated The future's bright, but lacks connectivity

    Orange's data network is heading titsup across the UK, with both cellular and broadband networks affected and little in the way of explanation. The problems appeared this morning with mobile users unable to check mail on the way in to work. The mobile data problems are said to be affecting users countrywide. We're now getting …

    Mobile 10 Sep 2009, 10:03

  • Dell teases with Adamo XPS website

    Latest model in firm's super-thin laptop line

    Dell is on the verge of unveiling a laptop thin enough to compete with Apple’s MacBook Air. 'Crafted to fall in love with', claims Dell The company has launched a teaser website for the latest edition to its Adamo laptop line – the Adamo XPS, which measures a mere 10mm thick. Dell’s original Adamo – which starts at $1999 …

    Notebooks 10 Sep 2009, 10:06

  • 250GB PS3 Slim rumoured

    Out next month, apparently

    Sony will launch a more capacious slimline PlayStation 3 next month, a mole has claimed. The 250GB PS3 Slim will be unveiled at some point next month, a “reliable source” told the Spanish arm of gaming website Eurogamer. It will supposedly retail for around €350 (£308/$509) – roughly €50 more than the existing 120GB model's …

    Games 10 Sep 2009, 10:08

  • Pirate Bay suitor shoved off Swedish stock exchange

    Global Gaming Factory given marching orders

    The Swedish stock exchange has kicked the proposed buyer of The Pirate Bay off its trading floor. AktieTorget confirmed (in Swedish) late yesterday that Global Gaming Factory X AB (GGF) had been excluded from the exchange with immediate effect. It said GGF had “seriously violated AktieTorget’s requirement that listed …

    Media 10 Sep 2009, 10:10

  • Firefox update quells quartet of security vulns

    Alka-seltzer patches also soothe stability wobbles

    Mozilla pushed out a new version of Firefox on Wednesday fixing four security bugs and a number of stability issues. Firefox 3.5.3, available in Mac, Windows and Linux flavours, resolves three critical flaws and one less severe bug. The critical vulnerabilities involve a memory corruption flaw, a Chrome privilege escalation …

    Security 10 Sep 2009, 10:34

  • Twits twitter while driving

    Careful, you'll spill your drink

    Almost one in ten UK drivers admit using mobile data services while driving. Although almost all UK drivers know it is illegal to use their phone while driving some 45 per cent admit to taking calls or texting while behind the wheel. One in nine admit to updating Facebook, twittering or using other mobile web services when …

    Mobile 10 Sep 2009, 10:50

  • Ageing Google supersizes its search box

    Silicon Valley's finest showing its age?

    Google is finally growing up, and its eyesight is clearly going accordingly. The search giant's in-house poster girl Marissa Mayer told the world yesterday that the Silicon Valley powerhouse's latest innovation was to make its search box "bigger". Slightly bigger deal you might say, but as Vice President, Search Products & …

    Applications 10 Sep 2009, 11:07

  • The Register Readers Buzz Report

    Reg Tech Panel Are there any good tech vendors?

    Microsoft, Google, Apple, Dell and Adobe systems are ruling the roost when it comes to mindshare amongst the readers of The Register, according to the latest findings from our industry Buzz Report. But not everyone gathers such glowing reports. NetApp, Nortel, Avaya, Salesforce.com and HDS are positively languishing in the …

    Tech Panel 10 Sep 2009, 11:14

  • Vodafone pledges fix for Snow Leopard 3G modem woes

    Carrier caught out, claim users

    Vodafone customers have let rip at the carrier for its failure to update its wireless modem software for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Yesterday, the network operator promised a fully 10.6-compatible version of its Mobile Connect software, but was unable to provide a timeframe for the update's release. Vodafone confirmed its …

    Hardware 10 Sep 2009, 11:26

  • Google moves to micropayments

    Will do for the media what iTunes did for music - take its revenue?

    Google is looking at adding a micropayments system to its Checkout payment system. This emerged in a document sent to the Newspaper Association of America which sent requests to various companies to ask for suggestions as to how publishers could make more money from their online content. Google said it would have …

    Media 10 Sep 2009, 11:32

  • SA pigeon outpaces broadband

    Bird humiliates ISP in 4GB data transfer challenge

    A South African IT outfit has shamed telecoms operator Telkom by sending 4GB of data 60 miles by pigeon in two hours - faster than it arrived by the ISP's broadband service. According to the BBC, Unlimited IT dispatched 11-month-old Winston from its call centre in the town of Howick to its Durban office. The bird carried its …

    Bootnotes 10 Sep 2009, 11:33

  • Download Reg Readers desktop and server virt reports

    Workshop Reg not req'd

    During our recent Virtualization workshop we polled Reg readers about the principles and practice of virtualization, on the server and the desktop. You can digest the results at your leisure via our handy compendium of virtualization reports. No registration is required. Click here for our looks at readers' views on desktop …

    Software 10 Sep 2009, 11:37

  • Leica launchs cheapish compact camera

    £4.5K for 18Mp, anyone?

    The whopping price of Leica's S2 won’t fit every pocket. So the famous photography firm has launched a (slightly) more affordable model – the M9. Leica's M9 is fitted with a full-frame sensor Although the latest model doesn’t feature the S2’s whopping 32Mp sensor, the M9 still manages to cram an impressive 18Mp into what – …

    Hardware 10 Sep 2009, 11:42

  • Google extends love for Chrome extensions on dev preview

    Folds up flag, puts neatly in drawer

    Google has now added support for extensions to customise the developer preview of its Chrome browser by default. Prior to yesterday’s switcheroo, developers wishing to tinker with extensions, typically written in CSS, HTML and JavaScript, had to first enable the feature via a command line switch. Mountain View’s Chrome …

    Developer 10 Sep 2009, 11:52

  • British troops get nifty techno-gunsights

    DSEi Limited outbreak of common sense at the MoD?

    The Ministry of Defence has announced a new £150m purchase of hi-tech weapon sights and optics, saying that the new kit will "improve soldier lethality" and "support the British defence industrial base". Serving soldiers have disparaged only a little of the new kit - and much of the money will in fact be spent overseas. Here' …

    Government 10 Sep 2009, 11:59

  • Nokia 5530 XpressMusic

    Review Budget touchscreen phone, anyone?

    Nokia’s touchscreen user interface has not had many outings. We’ve seen it before in the original Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and in the much more highbrow, Qwerty keyboard toting N97. Now we have a third appearance in the shape of another XpressMusic handset, the 5530, currently an exclusive offering from Carphone Warehouse from £ …

    Phones 10 Sep 2009, 12:02

  • Wii web update wallops BBC iPlayer

    Not one of Auntie's bloomers

    Nintendo’s latest Wii system software update “has caused BBC iPlayer to stop working”, the broadcaster has confirmed. The update went live on 1 September and was designed to bring support for Flash 8 to the console’s Internet Channel, according to Nintendo. But Wii owners have since filled up forums with complaints that the …

    Games 10 Sep 2009, 12:26

  • Southampton Uni slaps IP notice on FOI requests

    Oh yeah? Who wants to know?

    Secretive management at Southampton University are undermining the spirit of Freedom of Information (FOI) laws, if not necessarily contravening the letter. Reg reader and founder of website publicwhip, Francis Irving, draws our attention to a fairly innocuous request to the University requesting details of the "total amount …

    Law 10 Sep 2009, 12:26

  • Philips waves farewell to point-and-press remote controls

    Gadget uses gestures instead

    The traditional infra-red remote control is dead. Long live, Philips’ latest spin on channel-switching technology - uWand. Described as a “remote touch pointer”, uWand allows couch potatoes to control the telly using physical gestures. Philips' uWand: button pushes out, gestures in Inside uWand is a small camera that picks …

    Hardware 10 Sep 2009, 12:39

  • Church altar smites devout Catholic

    Austrian crushed after popping in to thank God

    A devout Catholic who popped into church to thank God for a his rescue from a lift was crushed to death by a 860lb stone altar, the Telegraph reports. Police spokesman Roman Hahslinger explained that Gunther Link, 45, was "a very religious man and had been scared when he was trapped in the lift and had prayed for release". He …

    Bootnotes 10 Sep 2009, 13:39

  • Heidemarie 'Toolbag' Piper resigns as NASA astronaut

    Butterfingered spacewalker rejoins US Navy

    One of NASA's most famous astronauts, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, has resigned from the space agency. She achieved arguably the highest profile of any currently-serving astronaut* when she dropped her tools into an independent orbit about the Earth during a spacewalk last November. Stefanyshyn-Piper became a mission- …

    Science 10 Sep 2009, 13:42

  • Fujitsu redundancy row deepens

    Staff committee quits

    The redundancy programme at Fujitsu Services, which will cut 1,200 UK jobs, is already breaking down into arguments. The company's consultative committee has resigned en masse in protest at the lack of consultation from Fujitsu's management. But the group have agreed to stay in place until the day before replacements are in …

    Servers 10 Sep 2009, 13:56

  • AMD shines light on Vision thing

    'Good', 'Better', 'Best' get new names

    With a call for chip makers to "stop talking about processors" and "start talking about usage", AMD has launched its awaited Vision brand for HD mobile computing. As expected, Vision systems will come in three forms: a plain version, Premium and, at the top of the heap, Utimate. It's a "new way to buy PCs", says AMD, but it's …

    Hardware 10 Sep 2009, 14:04

  • BlackBerry users left bereft of service

    Orange outage especially ouchy

    Many BlackBerry users are finding themselves bereft of connectivity as the service crashes out for some, while others continue oblivious. First reports of a problem came in this morning, but as they were on the Orange network (which is also titsup today) it seemed the carrier was to blame. But not so - BlackBerry fans on other …

    Data Networking 10 Sep 2009, 14:41

  • Florida cops cage 'Dracula'

    Worst mugshot ever, with added bite

    The powers that be in Florida are holding a man cops have dubbed "Dracula", and who's certainly a contender for the worst ever mugshot trophy. Dale Alan Lee. 43, was arrested on an aggravated battery rap after allegedly stabbing a man in the stomach in Dade City. One shaken officer admitted: “It was hard to keep a straight …

    Bootnotes 10 Sep 2009, 14:42

  • Oracle and Sun taunt IBM with Sparcs

    Throwing down another gauntlet

    If Oracle keeps saying that it wants to be in the server and storage hardware business long enough, maybe some people will start believing it. Ahead of its Oracle OpenWorld customer event, which is being held from October 11 through 15 in San Francisco, the company has been running advertisements that poke a stick at IBM, …

    Servers 10 Sep 2009, 15:21

  • Obama closes in on cybersecurity czar appointment

    Former Clinton-era Pentagon official emerges as front runner

    US President Barack Obama is reportedly close to appointing a new White House cybersecurity chief. Frank Kramer, former assistant defense secretary under President Bill Clinton, is likely to inherit the job within two weeks, filling a vacant position that has existed since the office was established more than three months ago …

    Security 10 Sep 2009, 15:58

  • Fossil fuel: Now without the fossils

    Just dig deeper, say boffins

    More bad news for the Peak Oil doomsday cult. Russian boffins say they have proved that fossil fuels can be created synthetically by replicating the high pressure, high temperature conditions found in the upper parts of the Earth's crust. The scientists, at the Lomonosov Moscow State Academy of Fine Chemical Technology and the …

    Science 10 Sep 2009, 16:02

  • Plug-in Mercedes hybrid saloon emerges

    Leccy Tech S400 BlueHybrid rival?

    Mercedes Benz is working at “full steam” to bring a plug-in hybrid version of its S-Class über saloon to market. Mercedes' Vision S500 plug-in hybrid That's according to Mercedes' Dr. Thomas Weber, who today announced the Vision S500 plug-in hybrid. Powered by a 3.2l V6 petrol engine and a 44kW (59bhp) electric motor, the …

    Science 10 Sep 2009, 16:03

  • Pop stars tell labels to FOAD

    Curry at 10. Revolution at 11!

    Controversy has ignited over last week's statement by the Featured Artists Coalition. The group, which is a sort of Emu to the Music Managers' Rod Hull, released a feisty contribution to the Digital Britain consultation process last Thursday. It went practically unnoticed until today. The Artists Coalition formed a year ago, …

    Media 10 Sep 2009, 16:07

  • Orange reckons the future's bright again

    Critical infrastructure, ya say?

    Orange UK tells us that their data network is back up and running again, and that both broadband and mobile customers should have full connectivity working now. While the outage hasn't affected every Orange customer it has left a significant number without connectivity for the whole day thanks to a combination of problems. …

    Networks 10 Sep 2009, 16:41

  • iPhone anti-phishing protection goes AWOL

    It just doesn't work

    An anti-phishing feature hyped by Apple marketers has gone AWOL from the iPhone, according to two independent researchers who say the feature simply does not work. Apple rolled out the feature in iPhone OS 3.0 for the device and once again called attention to it in Wednesday's update to the iPhone operating system. The feature …

    Security 10 Sep 2009, 19:12

  • IBM punts free enterprise language tools

    JavaScript without the mess

    IBM has begun offering a free version of its Enterprise Generation Language (EGL) tools, so developers can build dynamic web applications without getting their hands dirty using HTML or JavaScript. Big Blue's new EGL Community Edition is an Eclipse-based development tool based on code plucked from IBM's Rational Business …

    Developer 10 Sep 2009, 19:16

  • Apple welcomes music streaming to US App Store

    Waxing Rhapsodic

    Apple has approved an app for the iPhone and iPod touch that allows access to RealNetwork's Rhapsody music-streaming service. It's now available on the App Store. The free app - called, unsurprisingly, Rhapsody (warning: App Store link) - was submitted to Apple's App Store guard dogs late last month. Now that it has been …

    Media 10 Sep 2009, 19:23

  • Motorola unveils Googlephone for the Tweetbook set

    Mobilize 09 T-Mobile in the US, Orange in the UK

    Motorola has unveiled its first Android phone, a long-promised effort to revive the company's floundering smartphone business. Sanjay K. Jha, Motorola co-chief executive and the head of the company's mobile devices division, announced the Motorola Click Cliq this morning at Mobilize 09, a mobile-obsessed mini-conference in San …

    Mobile 10 Sep 2009, 20:06

  • New iPod nano torn to pieces

    Photos So skinny, it's sick

    The fifth-generation iPod nano was released only yesterday, and already the deconstructionistas at repair-and-parts shop iFixit have vivisected one, yanking out its tiny, tightly engineered internal organs. You can find the entire 28-photo teardown, complete with running commentary, on iFixit's website - but here are some of …

    Media 10 Sep 2009, 21:20

  • Microsoft throws $1m open-source party

    A-list guests needed

    Industry organizations and foundations are like parties - it's who you don't invite and who shows up that's really important. IBM and Microsoft once tried to usurp Sun Microsystems' role over in web services by launching the Web Services Interoperability (WS-I) organization pointedly without the Java daddy. Humiliated, Sun had …

    Software 10 Sep 2009, 21:28

  • Google invites Amazon to resell its digital books

    No thanks, say Amazon

    Hoping to allay fears that its $125m library-scanning settlement would deliver far too much power over the fledgling digital-book market, Google has told Congress it will give competitors access to its online texts. "Google will host the digital books online, and retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble or your local bookstore …

    Media 10 Sep 2009, 21:47

  • Japan hurls first space freighter at ISS

    No pressure, maybe

    Japan's first unmanned space freighter was launched today, stocked with cargo and equipment for the International Space Station. The H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) blasted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan at 1:01 pm EDT (17:03 GMT) atop an H-2B rocket, which was also making a maiden flight. The spacecraft's …

    Science 10 Sep 2009, 23:01

  • Feds bust world's most prolific music piracy ring

    Rabid Neurosis institutionalized

    Six men have been accused of running the world's most prolific music piracy ring, an online crew federal prosecutors allege delivered more than 25,000 copyrighted albums, often before they were officially released. As members of Rabid Neurosis, or RNS as the group was called, they tapped insiders at music retailers, radio …

    Security 10 Sep 2009, 23:34

  • Apple gives Palm the boot - again

    I see you, I raise you

    Apple has again kicked the Palm Pre off iTunes. Cupertino's latest update of its music management and online-sales app, iTunes 9, disables the Pre's ability to sync its music player with Apple's app. It's déjà vu all over again. Palm's sync-poaching has been an ongoing pushmi-pullyu contretemps since it was first revealed …

    Media 10 Sep 2009, 23:44