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29th September 2009 Archive

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  • Talend taps MDM with open-source wand

    Exposed code takes on Oracle, IBM, SAP

    Data integration specialist Talend is rolling out an open source master data management (MDM) product based on technology it purchased from the French MDM vendor, Amalto. Like other Talend software, the new MDM package will be offered free under the GNU General Public License along with a commercial subscription version with …

    Applications 29 Sep 00:21

  • How to host your very own Windows 7 launch party

    Microsoft channels Tupperware rep

    So you've got your trusty laptop warmed up with a fresh copy of Windows 7, decked the halls with balloons and streamers, and sent invitations to an exhaustively multicultural clutch of friends for a single night of red-hot OS release revelry. You're nearly ready for your own Microsoft-sponsored Windows 7 launch party this …

    Odds and Sods 29 Sep 06:02

  • Study finds med students Tweeting patient info

    Unbecoming Conduct 2.0

    Memo to med students: tame your tweets. A study published this week found that 60 percent of medical school deans who responded to a survey reported incidents of students posting sexually provocative comments, videos of drunken behavior, or other unprofessional content on Web 2.0 sites. Thirteen percent of respondents …

    Music and Media 29 Sep 06:02

  • LSI pimps out 7900 array

    Concurrent access, SSD support and more storage added

    LSI Engenio has updated its high-end 7900 array to support more SATA drives, concurrent iSCSI and Fibre Channel support, and solid state storage. There's nothing revolutionary here, just good, solid engineering developments of LSI Engenio's dual-controller, modular array. This is a mid-range array in general terms, and sold to …

    Storage 29 Sep 07:02

  • Ballmer says Big Blue hands in too few pies

    Memo to IBM: Eat markets the Microsoft way

    Steve Ballmer believes that if IBM is to remain relevant among the technology giants, it needs to have its hand in just about everything. In other words, the Microsoft CEO believes that IBM needs to be more like Microsoft. The Shouty One recently disparaged Big Blue's strategy of lopping-off less profitable business arms in …

    Financial News 29 Sep 07:02

  • Newton designer returns to Apple

    Tablet marketer to market tablet?

    One of the men directly responsible for Apple's ill-fated Newton Message Pad has been rehired by Apple. According to a blog post from The New York Times, Michael Tchao has rejoined the Cupertinians as VP of product marketing, reporting directly to the SVP for worldwide product marketing, Phil Schiller. The timing of the hire …

    Business 29 Sep 07:02

  • AT&T brands Google a net neutocrite

    A question of traffic pumping

    As the US Federal Communications Commission moves towards official net neutrality rules, AT&T is determined to get in the way. Big Phone's latest scheme is to brand Google as a net neutrality hypocrite, accusing the web giant of violating the existing FCC open-internet policies with its much-discussed Google Voice web …

    Networks 29 Sep 08:02

  • NASA: Tell us how to spend $4m pa on tech contests

    Perhaps a prize for the best answer?

    Hoping to stimulate the US economy and space programme through crowdsourcing, NASA has invited the general public to submit ideas for inventor-prize contests. So far there is no suggestion of a prize for the best contest idea. In essence, the situation is simple. Space agency chiefs have a budget of $4m per year for their …

    Space 29 Sep 08:44

  • Vodafone joins the iPhone throng

    Cupertino gets another dumb pipe laid to its door

    Vodafone has confirmed it will be selling Apple’s iPhone in the UK and Ireland from early next year, joining Orange as notches on Jobs’s bedstead. Vodafone will be selling the iPhone from "early 2010", and while we don't have details of tariffs and contracts, consumer groups are already falling over themselves to herald a new …

    Mobile 29 Sep 08:59

  • Artists adds pulsating 'brain' to PC

    Mechanical Tumour expands as computer crunches numbers

    Growing human body parts in a lab is a relatively new procedure, but one Japanese artist has already taken the process further by growing a 'lifeform' beside his PC. Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com Mechanical Tumour – designed by Mio Lizawa – communicates with a PC’s CPU and responds to peaks and …

    Reg Hardware 29 Sep 09:13

  • First prison sentence for extreme porn

    Sentencing guidelines evolve

    The first serious prison sentence for possession of extreme porn was handed down earlier this month in Newcastle Crown Court. Stephen Sinclair, aged 44, of Montagu Estate, in Kenton, Newcastle, was sentenced on 11 September to seven and a half years for drugs offenses – and a further six months in respect of a series of …

    Law 29 Sep 09:20

  • Inmate hacker locks down jail computers

    Chaos reigns after cybercrook given programming project

    A UK prison computer system was left in lockdown after jail bosses gave a convicted cybercriminal the task of reprogramming it, the Sunday Mirror reports. Douglas Havard, 27, an inmate at Ranby Prison, Nottinghamshire, was asked to take over a project to create an internal TV station using the jail's computer network. Havard …

    Crime 29 Sep 09:23

  • Facebook kills 'Kill Obama' poll

    Secret service investigates

    Facebook has removed a user poll set up to ask "Should Obama be killed?" and the Secret Service is now looking into it. Some 750 Facebook users had voted in the poll - they could choose between "yes", "no" and "If he cuts my healthcare". Some of those people should expect a visit from the Men in Black - the Secret Service …

    Music and Media 29 Sep 09:28

  • Bletchley Park earns first ever lottery grant

    Codebreaking centre cracks first stage of funding conundrum

    Bletchley Park earned its first ever national lottery grant on Monday with an award of £460,000 to fund long term development work. The wartime code-breaking centre also won the chance to submit more detailed plans and apply for £4.1m of Heritage Lottery Fund support within the next two years. The lottery funding is needed to …

    Bootnotes 29 Sep 09:51

  • The Register primer on delivering data governance

    Where did it all go?

    Data governance is a dirty, never- ending job, but someone has to do it. And that someone could be you. The Register primer on delivering data governance may help you get your organisation galvanised into cleaning up the stables properly. We have teamed up with our analyst partner Freeform Dynamics for this paper which educate …

    Applications 29 Sep 10:02

  • NASA retargets Moon-attack probe

    Shifts LCROSS impact site

    NASA has shifted the planned impact point of its Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) Moon-attack probe, based on new data which indicate its first choice might not contain as much hydrogen as the water-sniffing mission was looking for. The agency recently announced that LCROSS would impact on the lunar …

    Space 29 Sep 10:03

  • HP lays out sketches of storage roadmap

    Comment Colorado Springs surprises on Tech Day

    HP's EVA arrays will get thin provisioning and automated LUN migration, while LeftHand's SAN software will be ported to the XEN and Hyper-V platforms, according to attendees at an HP Tech Day event. This HP StorageWorks event took place in Colorado Springs yesterday with an audience of invited storage professionals. Several of …

    Storage 29 Sep 10:21

  • Dell confirms oh-so-skinny Latitude Z laptop

    Wireless charger coming too

    Dell has finally come clean on the latest edition to its Latitude range - the Z - following months of leaked pictures and speculative specifications. Dell's Latitude Z: the world's thinnest, lightest 16in laptop, apparently Apparently the world’s lightest and thinnest 16in machine currently available – it measures 396 x 272 …

    Reg Hardware 29 Sep 10:29

  • China strengthens Great Firewall ahead of anniversary

    Tor users targeted

    The Chinese government has used its unrivalled net censorship apparatus to attack parts of the Tor network ahead of the 60th anniversary of communist rule, according to activists. The Tor Project Inc, the non-profit that oversees development of the network, said China's Great Firewall began blocking IP addresses on Friday. The …

    Government 29 Sep 10:31

  • Toshiba intros CULV satellites

    Notebook-not-netbook line launched

    Not much bigger than netbooks, Toshiba's new Satellite laptops show just how the once well-segmented notebook market is now just a single continuum. Launching the Satellite T110, T130 and Satellite Pro T130 this morning - though none of them will ship until late October, after the debut of Windows 7 - Toshiba executives …

    Reg Hardware 29 Sep 10:35

  • HP silent on glitch with Core i7-based Elite Pavilion PCs

    Replacements falling over too

    Hewlett-Packard customers are up in arms about a major glitch affecting the company's Core i7-based PCs. A HP forum containing a shedload of gripes about the technical cockup - that some suggest may have been caused by a defective motherboard - runs to over 100 pages. A Reg reader told us that HP's line of Intel Core i7 CPU- …

    Channel Register 29 Sep 10:39

  • US drone crashes on Sunni party offices in Iraq

    'Just an unlucky coincidence' insists military

    A US military drone aircraft has crashed onto the Mosul offices of a major Iraqi Islamist political party, which last year cut off all official relations with America. The US forces said the crash was "coincidence". Fortunately the Shadow is fairly small. AP reports that a Shadow drone hit the Mosul offices of the Iraqi …

    Science 29 Sep 10:55

  • Optical zoom arrives on 12Mp cameraphone

    Samsung claims world's first

    Samsung has followed up its recent launch of the 12Mp Pixon cameraphone by unveiling the world’s first 12Mp cameraphone that has an optical zoom. Samsung's W880: supports optical zooming for - hopefully - better stills Digital zooms, as most gadget fans know, don’t result in particularly good quality long-distance shots. So …

    Reg Hardware 29 Sep 10:57

  • Vodafone Music has disastrous relaunch

    Near-total promotional clusterf*ck

    Vodafone's free music promotion last week saw overloaded servers, compatibility problems and customers getting billed - all of which bodes badly for the operator's upcoming 360 service. Vodafone Music relaunched on Friday with a new client application and a promotional offer of ten free tracks - at least for customers who had …

    Mobile 29 Sep 10:58

  • Dell smothers shareholder suit

    Directors to get training, so that's alright

    Dell has settled a long-running court case brought by disgruntled shareholders, who accused management of artificially boosting Dell's shareprice so they could offload their personal holdings. The Texan computer maker has already agreed to restate accounts for 2003 through to 2006. Now the company has agreed to boost the …

    Channel Register 29 Sep 11:09

  • Google Docs opens heart to students

    The course of true learning never did run smooth

    Mountain View has tweaked Google Docs to make the average schoolkid's working day even easier to cheat negotiate their way through. The search giant has added student-friendly features to Docs, which is part of the company’s Google Apps suite. It’s added an equation editor, allowing students to solve maths problems within an …

    Applications 29 Sep 11:31

  • Nation's moral guardians snap over 'shag bands'

    MP battles 'terrifying wave of promiscuous behaviour'

    Parents be warned: If you spot your seven-year-old daughter sneaking off to school sporting innocent-looking "cheap coloured plastic bracelets", it means she's actually inviting the opposite sex to snap her "shag bands" in return for sexual favours - part of a "terrifying wave of promiscuous behaviour" which threatens to …

    Bootnotes 29 Sep 11:42

  • Freeview website titsup ahead of big retune

    Press the yellow button to make this story disappear

    Just hours before millions will be required to retune their televisions, the website explaining how appears to be struggling under the pressure. At time of writing Freeview.co.uk and its special retune section were unavailable. Freeview, a consortium of broadcasters, was unavailable for comment. The big retune is scheduled …

    Music and Media 29 Sep 11:50

  • i-mate boss blames 'fraud' for company's demise

    Totally not CEO's fault, says CEO

    Jim Morrison, CEO of premium Windows Mobile manufacturer i-mate, has claimed that a $15m fraud is what killed the company, rather than any failure to sell enough phones. The ever-vocal Mr Morrison told Arabian Business that an un-named board member was behind the fraud which killed the company, and that he won't be taking it …

    Mobile 29 Sep 11:59

  • Bulk of Companies Act finally rolled out

    Biggest ever item of legislation lumbers onto the books

    Most of the 2006 Companies Act will finally come into force on Thursday, when 550 sections of the massive Act are implemented, leaving only a handful of sections to be enacted. The Companies Act was the biggest single piece of UK legislation ever passed and its introduction has been staged over three years. Almost all of its …

    Small Biz 29 Sep 12:38

  • Congo major had piss-up with rebels

    Suspended for failure to properly conduct a civil war

    A Democratic Republic of Congo army major has been suspended after inviting rebels for a few liveners at his base - hours before they rather churlishly repaid his hospitality by torching part of the facility. According to Bloomberg, Major Leon downed a couple of jars with members of the Resistance of Congolese Patriots, aka …

    Bootnotes 29 Sep 12:55

  • PC tune-up software: does it really work?

    Round-up Part One: Windows XP

    We love hardware, and if you ask us how to make an old computer go faster, we’ll recommend a hardware upgrade. But 34 million people opt for a software tune-up in the US alone, estimates Iolo, a company that makes tune-up software. Iolo's System Mechanic 9 does a good job of finding services you don’t use Click for full-size …

    Reg Hardware 29 Sep 12:56

  • Microsoft admits to Halo 3: ODST 'issues'

    But no solution in sight

    Microsoft has downplayed reports that a Halo 3: ODST disc error is causing gamers software and console problems. The Xbox 360 game – the latest installment in the Halo series – was only released last week. But gamers have already filled message boards with angry complaints about problems with the title which supposedly cause …

    Reg Hardware 29 Sep 12:59

  • Small biz battered by late payments

    Billions owed to struggling firms

    British small and medium businesses are still struggling with late payments despite government promises to sort the issue out. Small and medium enterprises(SMEs) in the UK are owed a total of £30.4bn. That figure has jumped £11bn in the last two years. The average figure owed to small firms has actually fallen, but the number …

    Small Biz 29 Sep 13:50

  • MS opens up Security Essentials downloads from today

    Suite intended for 'millions' of unprotected users

    Microsoft plans to release the final version of its free-of-extra-charge anti-malware scanner later on Tuesday The application, Microsoft Security Essentials or MSE (formerly Morro), is designed to provide consumers with basic protection against Trojans, computer viruses, spyware and rootkits. The product lacks the personal …

    Malware 29 Sep 14:03

  • MoD pays quadruple in money + blood for Afghan helicopters

    Comment 'Our troops. We backstab them to the hilt'

    So the die is cast. In yet another masterly procurement move, the UK Ministry of Defence has decided to spend hundreds of millions of pounds upgrading and restoring its aged Puma helicopters - which were due to retire next year - for service in Afghanistan. This will cost more than buying a fleet of brand new choppers. They …

    Government 29 Sep 14:30

  • HP uses Home Server to power storage for small biz

    Someone had to use it eventually

    HP has introduced a line of combined isCSI and file storage server/storage array bundles, and a small business backup product using Microsoft consumer backup software. The HP StorageWorks X3000 Network Storage System is a line of pre-configured, factory-tested, single-SKU (stock-keeping unit) product sets for small and mid- …

    Small Biz 29 Sep 14:47

  • LG mixes up more Chocolate

    New model added to phone range

    LG has fattened up its Chocolate handset range with the creation of a third model. LG's BL20: the latest newcomer to the Chocolate range The Chocolate range, just to confuse you, now consists of the original KG800 released back in 2006, the second-generation BL40 – which arrived in July this year — and now the new Chocolate …

    Reg Hardware 29 Sep 15:32

  • Ballmer pumps Windows 7 up to thrifty customers

    Hopes upcoming OS will fit into frugal 'new normal'

    Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer has used the ‘C’ word in a missive he wrote today that paints an austere picture of the world economy, but at the same time punts the company’s technology as a saviour to businesses and their depleted piggy banks. “In the new normal, one thing is clear: cutting costs is extremely important. But …

    Operating Systems 29 Sep 15:56

  • Treemometers: A new scientific scandal

    If a peer review fails in the woods...

    A scientific scandal is casting a shadow over a number of recent peer-reviewed climate papers. At least eight papers purporting to reconstruct the historical temperature record times may need to be revisited, with significant implications for contemporary climate studies, the basis of the IPCC's assessments. A number of these …

    Environment 29 Sep 16:03

  • Newegg hatches IPO

    A new rooster in the IT parts henhouse

    In a sign that maybe the economy is turning around, Newegg, which has grown to be the second-largest online-only retailer in the United States and one with a specialty in IT parts and consumer electronics, is going public. Newegg was founded in 2001, and is aptly enough located in Industry, California. The company distributes …

    Channel Register 29 Sep 16:15

  • Warner Music returns to YouTube

    Big four labels in the sack

    Warner Music is returning to YouTube after a nine-month blockade over licensing. The music label has agreed to return its full catalog to YouTube in return for more control and a larger cut of advertising. The new accord gives Warner the right to sell its own ads on "enhanced" channels devoted to WMG artists as well as against …

    Music and Media 29 Sep 18:37

  • Cisco preps Nexus switches for third-party blades

    You can beat them, and you can join them

    Networking giant and server wannabe Cisco Systems says it will be working with third-party blade server makers to create a version of its Nexus family of switches that tuck inside non-Cisco blades. The details are a bit sketchy (intentionally so on the part of Cisco). But today, during a Webcast discussing its unified server- …

    Data Networking 29 Sep 19:31

  • Stallman backpedals on Mac OS backdoor claims

    Free software advocate still no fan of DRM

    Free software activist Richard Stallman has withdrawn an accusation that Apple's Mac OS X contained a backdoor after admitting there was no evidence to substantiate his earlier claims. Stallman has repeatedly levelled charges that Apple could forcibly impose software changes in Mac OS X. He now admits his opinion was …

    Security 29 Sep 19:35

  • UK, France mull Photoshop fakery laws

    Enjoining jubblie juicing

    The Photoshop wars are heating up again, with politicians in the UK and France calling for legislation to regulate digital nipping, tucking, and smoothing of images in ads and elsewhere. The reasoning behind the moves to police fantasy Photoshopping is - as is all too usual in such cases - to protect those delicate flowers: …

    Music and Media 29 Sep 19:40

  • Researcher: No emergency patch for critical Windows bug

    Redmond defenses neuter exploit code

    A security researcher has downplayed the significance of publicly released attack code exploiting a critical vulnerability in newer versions of Windows, saying it isn't reliable enough to force Microsoft to issue an emergency patch. The exploit, which on Monday was folded into the open-source Metasploit penetration testing kit …

    Security 29 Sep 21:20

  • Amazon Kindle fails test at Bezos alma mater

    University students dump on e-reader

    The Kindle DX may be dominating the e-book market, but it's not winning hearts with the education crowd. The device has received the cold shoulder even at Amazon chief Jeff Bezos' own alma mater, Princeton University. Just a few weeks into the school year, students testing the device in a pilot program with Princeton U say the …

    Music and Media 29 Sep 21:37

  • TPC slaps Oracle on benchmark claims

    Watchdogs to Larry: 'You lie!'

    Oracle let its marketing mouth get ahead of its brain with the Exadata 2 cluster system. Today, the Transaction Processing Council, which administers the TPC family of transaction and data warehouse processing benchmarks, slapped Oracle with a fine and a muzzle order relating to claims it has been making in advertisements about …

    Servers 29 Sep 22:34

  • Mozilla sides with Microsoft against Google IE

    A web less knowable

    Mozilla has joined Microsoft in questioning the logic of a new Google plug-in that turns Internet Explorer into Google Chrome. But unlike Redmond, the open source outfit actually presents a well-reasoned argument. Last week, Google released a plug-in that equips Internet Explorer with the rendering and JavaScript engines at …

    Applications 29 Sep 23:09

  • Apple shovels admin iPhoneware onto PCs

    Nefarious plot or brainless cock-up?

    Apple shot itself in its Software Update foot - again - by briefly offering an enterprise-level utility through its Windows update service. Apple has since pulled the errant and thoroughly unnecessary software from the updater, but its brief inclusion left many - including The Reg - scratching their heads in puzzlement. The …

    Music and Media 29 Sep 23:10

  • Palm Pre backs away from Apple iTunes

    Update not in sync

    The long-running feud over the Palm Pre's ability to sync with Apple's iTunes may have come to an end. Or not. On Monday, Palm announced its latest update to the Pre's webOS operating system. Conspicuously absent from the announcement was any mention of what the company calls "media sync" - the ability for Palm's smartphone to …

    Mobile 29 Sep 23:43