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14th September 2009 Archive

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  • What your database needs is a good thermometer

    Data blows hot and cold

    In the very early days of databases, when they contained relatively small quantities of information, the distinction between frequencies of access was pretty immaterial. Now that we collect and store data in massive quantities, however, the distinction is becoming increasingly important. And apposite terms have evolved to …

    Applications 14 Sep 03:16

  • No, VMware doesn't own server virtualization

    It just feels like it

    With the VMware-sponsored VMworld extravaganza in the rear view mirror, it's a good time to take stock of the server virtualization that companies around the world are deploying - to remind everyone that there are lot of different ways to skin the server virtualization cat and that plenty of alternative skinning is going on out …

    Virtualization 14 Sep 03:52

  • Microsoft Office for the iPhone (without the Microsoft)

    Review Why wait for Redmond?

    No, you can't run Microsoft Office on your Apple iPhone or iPod touch. But you can edit Word and Excel files, including docs and sheets saved in Redmond's current .docx and .xlsx standards. This convenience is provided by Quickoffice, a company that has for the past 12 years been providing Microsoft Office document support for …

    Mobile 14 Sep 06:02

  • Bechtolsheim: The server is not the network

    HPC on Wall Street Whatever Cisco says

    Andy Bechtolsheim knows a thing or two about servers, storage, and networking. He co-founded workstation and server maker Sun Microsystems as well as two networking companies: one that he sold to Cisco and became the basis of its Gigabit Ethernet biz, and another that he recently started and runs while working one day a week at …

    HPC 14 Sep 06:44

  • Mono swings .NET development into iPhone

    Jobsian status symbol sees C#

    Mono developers have shrunk their open-source implementation of the .NET runtime down to iPhone size. Novell on Monday unfurled MonoTouch, a commercial toolkit that allows developers to use Microsoft's development framework to build apps for Apple's ubiquitous mobile. MonoTouch consists of a suite of compilers, libraries, and …

    Developer 14 Sep 07:02

  • No more premium rate numbers for docs

    Press 3 for snotty receptionist

    The Department of Health has bowed to public pressure and will push for a ban on charging excessive rates for phone calls to GP's surgeries or local hospitals. The consultation received almost 2,000 public responses and over 1,000 from NHS staff and they were overwhelmingly in support of capping call charges. As a result the …

    Government 14 Sep 08:28

  • Armless getaway driver leads police a merry dance

    100mph jewellery heist pursuit ends in crash and court

    An semi-armless teenager who acted as getaway driver on a jewellery heist, driving at 100mph during a police pursuit "despite needing somebody to change the gears for him", has escaped jail, the Telegraph reports. John Smith, 18 - who has no arms below the elbow - was in charge of a Ford Focus during the robbery of Ernest …

    Bootnotes 14 Sep 09:08

  • EMC picks up Intel top gun

    Gelsinger hauls ass to Hopkinton

    EMC is recruiting Pat Gelsinger, Intel's top chip man, to head its storage product operations. According to a WSJ report and others, 48-year-old Gelsinger, SVP and general manager for Intel's Digital Enterprise Group, will have his departure for EMC announced today. He has a Silicon Valley home which he will keep and will buy …

    Storage 14 Sep 09:15

  • Pliant pops out SASsy SSD

    Competition for STEC and Intel

    Startup Pliant is launching its Lightning solid state drive (SSD) today, with SAS interfaces only and STEC-beating performance claims. A fair amount of Pliant's marketing literature speaks of SSDs being much faster than hard disk drives and compares an all-HDD configuration with a hybrid SSD/HDD configuration to satisfy a TPC- …

    Channel Register 14 Sep 09:51

  • Alabama judges take hard line on dildos

    Ban on sale of sex toys constitutional, court rules

    An Alabama "adult themed chain store" has lost an appeal in which it sought to challenge the state's anti-obscenity law - prohibiting the sale of sex toys - as "unconstitutional" and "unconstitutionally vague". Alabama Supreme Court justices ruled on Friday that said law is indeed constitutional, and that Hoover-based Love …

    Bootnotes 14 Sep 10:06

  • New York Times pwned to serve scareware pop-ups

    Gray Lady gets goosed

    The New York Times was co-opted into pushing fake anti-virus malvertisements after hackers broke into its banner ad feed over the weekend. Surfers visiting the site were confronted by malicious pop-up window that falsely warned that their systems were infected. The ruse was designed to scare people into buying a clean-up …

    Enterprise Security 14 Sep 10:17

  • Sony preparing 250GB PS3 Slim PlayTV Blu-ray bundle?

    Tokyo Games Show announcement

    Sony will bundle the anticipated 250GB slim PlayStation 3 with its PlayTV DVR add-on, it has been claimed. A "leading retailer" has let slip that Sony will unveil the 250GB PS3 Slim at Japan’s upcoming Tokyo Games Show – which takes place between 24 and 27 September - according to a report by gaming website MCV. The retailer …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 10:20

  • LG unveils first Android handset

    Simple smartphone?

    Mobile phone firms won’t be taken seriously these days if they don’t have an Android offering - or at least that’s the way it feels. Last week, Motorola launched one. Today, it's LG's turn. LG's GW620: the firm's first Android smartphone LG has called its offering the GW620, but has decided to keep the handset’s full …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 10:25

  • Abigail's Windows 7 Party

    Stob Cry if you want to

    What are you doing on Oct 22? Microsoft is putting a Tupperware-style twist on the upcoming Windows 7 rollout, launching a new initiative to encourage thousands of employees, partners and technology enthusiasts to throw parties in their homes and communities to demonstrate and help spread the word about its new OS - Slashdot …

    Verity Stob 14 Sep 10:31

  • Has IBM grown a new Lotus?

    Comment Yes, but you'd have to dig deep to find out!

    If you were in the market for collaboration software, what would your reaction be if a major software publisher offered you an all-singing all-dancing suite of battle-hardened collaboration tools? What if that publisher were IBM? What if it were Lotus? What if it were Microsoft? Bear in mind we're talking about the same set of …

    Channel Register 14 Sep 10:41

  • Joost jettisons chairman

    Investigation launched

    Joost, the struggling web telly firm started by the men behind Skype, has sacked its chairman, Mike Volpi, who was bumped from his position as chief executive at the end of June. The company is also investigating exactly what he's been up to in the last few months. The probe is believed to centre on the company's peer-to-peer …

    Music and Media 14 Sep 10:59

  • Rise in Northern Ireland violence highlights data failing

    No intelligence on 'Mad Dog' terrorist

    Police remain unable to access records on some of Northern Ireland's most notorious terrorist killers who now live on or travel to the British mainland, months after a deadline to link computer systems passed. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has its own system for storing and accessing criminal records. In a …

    Policing 14 Sep 11:04

  • NZ scientists identify giant, man-eating eagle

    Legendary Te Hokioi really existed

    Scientists appear to have confimed that a legendary man-eating flying beast which terrorised New Zealand's Maori actually existed, the Independent reports. Maori lore tells of the Te Hokioi - a "huge black-and-white predator with a red crest and yellow-green tinged wingtips" - and named after its cry, as locals explained to …

    Biology 14 Sep 11:07

  • Mozilla Labs bootstraps on another Jetpack

    Version 0.5 fitter, happier, more productive

    Mozilla Labs has launched a new version of its Firefox web extensions package just a few days after Google opened up support for extensions in its Chrome browser. The open source outfit has dubbed Mozilla’s Jetpack 0.5 “the bootstrap edition”. It comes loaded with more features, API and an updated Twitter library for …

    Applications 14 Sep 11:27

  • Tomorrow's World comes back to the future

    BBC puts flying car, personal telly coverage on the web

    For 38 years, TV show Tomorrow’s World wowed audiences with its coverage of futuristic developments from the world of science and technology. It was axed in 2003, but now the BBC has brought the show back from the dead, sort of. From today, anyone after an insight into how advancements in technology led to computerised banking …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 11:40

  • B&W launches Zeppelin Mini

    Iconic airship styling discarded

    Some two years after audio firm Bowers & Wilkins launched its iconic Zeppelin iPod speaker system, the company has launched a smaller version – the Zeppelin Mini. B&W's Zeppelin Mini: half the size of the original The original model measured 640mm from end-to-end, yet the smaller model’s width is a more table-top friendly …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 11:45

  • Acer Aspire 5935 15.6in Blu-ray notebook

    Review A lot of laptop for your dosh?

    The Acer Aspire 5935 is aimed at those folk who don't just want a laptop that's all work and no play. In addition to packing enough grunt to chew through productivity applications, it's also equipped to keep you happily entertained when you've finished working for the day. Acer's Aspire 5935: one 720p screen, two GPUs The …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 12:02

  • Japan gets to grips with train-grope websites

    Police pressure on online touch-up tipsters

    Japanese police are planning to "put pressure" on websites which offer pervs top tips on how to grope women on trains without getting cuffed, and the best packed commuter lines on which to fondle victims. Earlier this year, a 23-year-old man who was arrested in Tokyo for molesting a high-school student told police he'd "chosen …

    Bootnotes 14 Sep 12:07

  • Trojan taps Google Groups as command network

    alt.news.botnet.control

    Hackers have programmed a Trojan that uses Google Groups newsgroups to distribute commands. Trojan distribution via newsgroups has existed for more than a decade, but using newsgroups as a command and control channel is a new innovation. The Grups Trojan itself is quite simple and is only noteworthy for the command and …

    Malware 14 Sep 12:10

  • Wick Hill hoovers up rival's Kaspersky biz

    C-Media resellers head to Woking

    Wick Hill has taken over rival distie C-Media Interactive's Kaspersky Lab business with the blessing of the Russian-based security software firm. Surrey-based Wick Hill was already distributing Kasperky's products in the UK and Germany. C-Media has been working with Kaspersky since 2004. Wick Hill said it had set up a …

    Channel Register 14 Sep 12:15

  • Mozilla prepares for SeaMonkey 2.0 release

    Second beta arrives, final version coming next month

    Mozilla has released a second beta of its internet app suite SeaMonkey 2.0. The latest test version is based on the same browser core as Firefox 3.5.3, which means there’s no longer support for Windows 95, 98, ME, NT and Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther). It comes with several new features including the ability to open emails, folders …

    Channel Register 14 Sep 12:30

  • Most expensive RAF aircraft ever takes to the skies

    Analysis 9 Nimrod MRA4s to cost same as 3½ Space Shuttles

    The most expensive aircraft ever built for the British armed forces, a painstakingly-restored De Havilland Comet airliner outfitted as an anti-submarine patrol plane, has made its first flight. The 1940s* aeroplane that WOULD NOT DIE. The Nimrod MRA4 programme was initiated back in 1996 by TV presenter, one-time director of …

    Government 14 Sep 12:47

  • IOD: Slash UK.gov IT, save public cash

    Abolish ContactPoint and ID cards? Nooooo!

    A report by the Institute of Directors and the TaxPayers' Alliance says that cutting government IT projects could slash millions from public spending. Proposals include abolishing Building Schools for the Future, ContactPoint, the NHS National Programme for IT and ID cards. Becta, the technology organisation for the education …

    Channel Register 14 Sep 13:09

  • Thus disconnects VoIP service

    'Now go away'

    Thus will shut down its Pipecall VoIP product at the end of this month, and has told customers they'll have to do the legwork if they want to keep their numbers. The service was launched in 2005 by Legend Communications, which was later bought by Thus. Thus, itself having been acquired by Cable & Wireless last year, told …

    VoIP 14 Sep 14:18

  • Nokia's 'Silver Bullet' phone leaked online

    Transparent OLED, self-raising keyboard...

    Nokia may have designed a futuristic handset on a par with Motorola’s wacky Aura or any number of Vertu’s pricy phones, according to what's claimed to be a leaked internal video. Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com A CGI video mock-up of the phone – thought to be called Erdos – has been leaked online …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 14:27

  • Media 're-open' North Eastern Passage

    Thermageddon fever disappears 70 year trade route

    One of Russia's commercial maritime trade routes for the past 70 years has been "re-opened" by a press hungry for dramatic Global Warming scare stories - but who failed to check the most basic facts. I've traced this fascinating example of "eco-churnalism" - peddled by both BBC Radio and its website, the Daily Mail, The …

    Environment 14 Sep 14:30

  • MS insists bodged fix didn't spawn Windows crash risk

    Teardrop Explodes

    Microsoft has denied claims that an unpatched flaw in a file and printer sharing feature was inadvertently introduced when it fixed an earlier, less severe problem in the software back in December 2007. Redmond patched a medium severity flaw in the same Server Message Block (SMB) version 2 functionality within Vista nearly two …

    Enterprise Security 14 Sep 14:44

  • Asus' Eee keyboard out next month - official

    Company exec spills beans

    Asus’ Eee keyboard will finally go on sale in Europe and North America next month, the company has confirmed. Asus is keeping mum about the Eee keyboard's price, for now Source: Gizmodo The keyboard was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last January and has since been linked to a string of potential …

    Reg Hardware 14 Sep 14:49

  • Carphone Warehouse calls on Spare Backup

    Gis a cloud

    As we thought, Carphone Warehouse has gone ahead and plumped for Spare Backup's cloud storage service. An SEC filing by Spare Backup says it has entered into "a one year definitive agreement with Car Phone Warehouse Group PLC, London, Great Britain, whereby Spare Backup will design and host a digital platform service (consumer …

    Channel Register 14 Sep 14:55

  • T-Systems scoops up SAP European hosting biz

    When Germans go bump in the night

    T-Systems announced today that it plans to buy SAP AG’s external hosting business for an undisclosed sum. The company, which is the business customer wing of Deutsche Telekom AG, said it would host software apps for around 90 of SAP’s punters at its computer centre under the deal. The agreement, subject to the normal …

    Channel Register 14 Sep 15:09

  • Home Office appoints ID czar

    Juicy job for Sir Humphrey

    The Home Office has appointed an ID Commissioner to oversee and monitor the roll-out of national ID cards. Sir Joseph Pilling has previous form as permanent secretary to the Northern Ireland Office between 1997 and 2005, reviewing senior jobs at the Church of England and the Civil Aviation Authority. He has been at the Home …

    Government 14 Sep 15:35

  • Gelsinger confirms leap to EMC

    Welcome to the inner circle

    The reports are confirmed: Pat Gelsinger is really joining EMC. He becomes the President and Chief Operating Officer for EMC Information Infrastructure Products, the big storage cash-generator inside EMC. With his appointment he will join EMC's inner executive circle, the Executive Office of the Chairman, along with newly- …

    Storage 14 Sep 15:36

  • IEEE finally approves 802.11n

    In your own time, guys

    The latest version of Wi-Fi, 802.11n, received formal certification on Friday, despite the fact that more than 700 products have already been certified as compatible by the Wi-Fi Alliance. Never let it be said that the IEEE hurries things: more than two years after the first 802.11n products (conforming to an early draft of …

    Wireless 14 Sep 15:47

  • Microsoft accelerates desktop virtualization plans

    Is that a beta I see before me?

    Microsoft has massively accelerated delivery of the next version of its desktop enterprise virtualization software, while unveiling the next release of its Application Virtualization, aka App-V. Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2009 R2 will now be released to manufacturing at the end of October, soon after the …

    Software 14 Sep 16:07

  • Microsoft purges AutoRun from older Windows

    Still (woefully) incomplete

    Microsoft has finally removed a function from earlier versions of its Windows operating system that has been widely abused by miscreants to surreptitiously install malware on users' computers. The feature, known as AutoRun, allows Windows machines to automatically execute certain programs - such as media players or installers …

    Security 14 Sep 17:06

  • This is the El Reg Agile Data Center Summit

    Join us for the ride

    With less than a day to go, we are counting down the hours to our Agile Data Center Summit, tomorrow 12.30pm EST, 5.30pm BST. It’s live, fully interactive and broadcasting straight to your browser. Take a minute to reserve your spot . Featuring seasoned experts, leading analysts and you, our beloved readers, the event will …

    Servers 14 Sep 17:21

  • CA absorbs NetQoS for $200m cash

    More network monitoring in the stew

    Enterprise software omnicorp CA (formerly Computer Associates) has reached a $200m cash deal to buy NetQoS, a maker of network and application performance tracking software. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the calendar year. Once the deal is done, CA said it intends to assimilate NetQoS network flow …

    Channel Register 14 Sep 17:25

  • Google File System II stalked by open-source elephant

    Cloudera: Anything Google can do...

    As Google rolls out GFS2 - a major update to the custom-built file system underpinning its online infrastructure - the company's former infrastructure don sees no reason why the open source world can't follow suit. Famously, Christophe Bisciglia taught a course at the University of Washington meant to educate rising computer …

    Servers 14 Sep 17:27

  • Dell heavy hitter hooks up with Overland

    Worldwide VP leap

    Struggling Overland Storage has appointed Chris Gopal, Dell's ex-VP for worldwide operations as its own VP for worldwide operations. At Dell, Gopal helped develop and implement the company's supply-chain model and operations strategy. Previously, he was a senior partner and director of Ernst & Young's Global Supply Chain & …

    Storage 14 Sep 17:56

  • Intel execs shift seats as Gelsinger departs

    One business group to rule them all

    One day after Intel's Pat Gelsinger jumped to EMC, Chipzilla announced a sweeping reorg of its business groups. The shakeup was revealed in an announcement on Monday that detailed the Byzantine complexities of the new Intel. That unsigned statement also noted that CEO Paul Otellini "will devote a higher quotient of his time to …

    Channel Register 14 Sep 18:33

  • VCs pump $7.5m into Bluetooth killer (wannabe)

    Wi-Fi Panning

    Ozmo Devices, the low-power Wi-Fi specialist, thinks wireless Ethernet is the perfect way to run a mouse, and has drummed up $7.5m in Series C funding to make this happen. The money is coming from existing investors, who have already poured almost $23m into the dream of using Wi-Fi to connect everything from mice to keyboards …

    Wireless 14 Sep 18:41

  • Spinnaker vets win funds for Avere start-up

    'Older, wiser and more battle scarred'

    Avere, a new storage venture formed by Ron Bianchini and other Spinnaker veterans from NetApp, has gained $15m in Series A funding. We expect a product announcement next month, one that will feature tiered solid state disk (SSD) and disk drive storage in a single product with a demand-driven aspect, presumably meaning it …

    Storage 14 Sep 19:06

  • Bing shines Silverlight on visual search

    Flippin' images

    Microsoft's Bing search engine will use the company's Silverlight browser-based media player to change the way it presents images of results. The company has unveiled a feature it calls Visual Search that presents images, then allows you to scroll through them and eliminate pictures to refine your search. Like Google, Bing …

    Software 14 Sep 19:09

  • FreeBSD bug grants local root access

    Trivial exploitation

    A security researcher has uncovered a security bug in the FreeBSD operating system that allows users with limited privileges to take full control of underlying systems. The bug in FreeBSD's kqueue notification interface makes it trivial for those with local access to a vulnerable system to gain full root privileges, Przemyslaw …

    Security 14 Sep 19:35

  • T-Mobile daddy mulls US merger

    After T-Orange, T-Sprint

    Deutsche Telekom - owner of international wireless carrier T-Mobile - is mulling a multi-billion-dollar bid for Sprint Nextel, the third largest carrier in the US. According to sources speaking with The Daily Telegraph, the German telecom giant has pulled in Deutsche Bank to explore a possible deal for Sprint, a company with a …

    Telecoms 14 Sep 19:39

  • IBM conjures Cognos for mid-sized types

    So easy an SMB can do it

    IBM is debuting a svelte version of its Cognos business intelligence software tailored with mid-sized businesses in mind. The New Cognos Express lineup is intended to be a lower-cost BI toolkit that's simpler to use than the enterprise-level product, with a more modular approach to including new features. Cognos Express …

    Applications 14 Sep 21:49

  • Apple gobbles world's flash memory

    No NAND for you!

    The world is running out of flash memory, and it's all Apple's fault. Citing those always-voluble "industry sources," the market-watchers at DigiTimes reported on Monday that Taiwanese memory-module manufacturers face a serious shortage of NAND flash chips. The reason is simple: Apple is buying them up. According to DigiTimes …

    PCs & Chips 14 Sep 23:32

  • The Register HPC channel is go

    Absolutely super!

    Say hello to The Register's HPC channel, home to all things about supercomputing. We went live today with this fine debut article - Bechtolsheim: The server is not the network - from our servers editor Timothy Prickett Morgan. At time of writing, The Reg HPC channel is a simple repository of all our articles about high …

    HPC 14 Sep 23:33