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6th October 2009 Archive

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  • Citrix delivers Swiss Army Knife desktop virtualization

    Everything rides on 2010

    There are a lot ways to serve applications to end users working from PCs and other devices, and Citrix Systems thinks it has come up with the right combination of options: mix everything together and let companies and end users decide. With XenDesktop 4, announced Monday, Citrix is adding 70 new features to its virtual desktop …

    Virtualization 6 Oct 2009, 00:04

  • Cisco and Salesforce unite on integrated call centers

    Cloudy operators

    Cisco and Salesforce.com are teaming up to sell a web-hosted call center package to small and medium-sized businesses. The duo's newly minted Customer Interaction Cloud hooks Cisco's call-processing technology into Salesforce's web-based customer relations management platform. Cisco is contributing its Unified Contact Center …

    Data Networking 6 Oct 2009, 00:15

  • Google to blight smartphones with big ads

    AdSense optimized for mobile

    Larger, more annoying advertisements will soon be invading the web through your smartphone, courtesy Google's latest update to its AdSense business. The Mountain View Chocolate Factory said Monday it's letting mobile publishers conjure bigger ads to capitalize on the improved browsing capabilities of high-end smartphones. …

    Media 6 Oct 2009, 00:30

  • VMware bakes disaster recovery into vSphere stack

    NFS spice added

    VMware has rounded out its vSphere stack of software around the ESX Server 4.0 hypervisor, with integration of vCenter Site Recovery Manager that started shipping in June. While VMware likes to make it look like the vSphere stack consists of lots of different code, thereby making it worth lots and lots of money, there are …

    Virtualization 6 Oct 2009, 00:57

  • Bit-patterned disk media moving closer

    Tiny, insulated bits may be next big thing

    Intevac, a maker of disk drive media manufacturing machines, has revealed that it has received an order for two bit-patterned media production systems from an unnamed client, possibly signalling a recovery in HDD markets and an industry swing towards bit-patterned technology. Current hard disk drives use a perpendicular …

    Storage 6 Oct 2009, 06:02

  • Windows Mobile 6.5 ships today

    The OS' key new features

    Today’s the day that Microsoft finally unveils the latest incarnation of its mobile phone OS - Windows Mobile 6.5. So what should you expect? Here’s Register Hardware’s quick guide to the latest version’s key features. Smartphones running Windows Mobile 6.5 are called, simply, Windows Mobiles While previous versions of the …

    Phones 6 Oct 2009, 07:02

  • Nokia reinvigorates Wireless Power Consortium

    Without using any wires, obviously

    The world's largest mobile-phone manufacturer has joined the Wireless Power Consortium, giving the organisation some much-needed credibility to go with its new logo. Wireless power remains a solution looking for a problem, but now at least it has Nokia joining in the search for a reason to exist with the Consortium's chair …

    Mobile 6 Oct 2009, 08:02

  • Fujitsu M2010 netbook

    Review Shiny and solid, but still needs polish

    Earlier this year, Fujitsu launched a somewhat unsuccessful assault on the netbook market with its Amilo Mini UI 3250. Suffering from a slow hard drive, fiddly keyboard and ever-so-slightly-ugly chassis, it didn’t fare too well in our review. Fujitsu’s M2010: still room for improvement Now, just a few months later, Fujitsu …

    Laptops 6 Oct 2009, 08:02

  • Apple flounces out of US Chamber on greenhouse gases

    Cult on climate change

    Apple has resigned from the US Chamber of Commerce due to the American business organization's criticism of efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions. "Apple is committed to protecting the environment and the communities in which we operate around the world," reads a letter to Chamber president Thomas J. Donohue from Apple …

    Hardware 6 Oct 2009, 08:58

  • Royal Mail lawyers demand closure of postcode lookup site

    Ernest Marples Postcodes Ltd loses will to live

    A UK postcode lookup service has been slapped with a cease and desist letter from the Royal Mail, forcing it to close down its website. Until last Friday (2 October) North London-based Ernest Marples Postcodes Ltd had been providing web outfits with an API to power their sites that helped people search for information specific …

    Law 6 Oct 2009, 09:04

  • Deploying VoIP in the real world

    webcast Can the promise be made reality?

    So you want to some cash on your business telco bills, and are wondering if VoIP might be an option - but you're too busy to do the research? We've got just the tonic for you. On 21 October, at 2pm BST, we squeeze some VoIP experts into the Reg studios who will give you the low-down on the choices, challenges and consequences …

    VoIP 6 Oct 2009, 09:09

  • O2 finds new way to bind iPhone users

    Downgrade your tariff, lose Visual Voicemail

    O2 might yet refuse to unlock iPhones at the end of contract, but the operator has admitted that even customers who stay will have to do without Visual Voicemail. O2 has confirmed to El Reg that customers who choose a cheaper tariff once they've paid off their iPhone won't be able to get Visual Voicemail, which remains a …

    Mobile 6 Oct 2009, 09:10

  • Blogger claims Twitter-served court order a success

    #ffs

    A blogger who convinced the High Court to allow a court order to be communicated by Twitter has said that the move was a success. Donal Blaney claims that the rogue tweeter has agreed to stop impersonating him. Blaney, a right wing blogger, took action last week against an unknown individual who had been posting on the Twitter …

    Law 6 Oct 2009, 09:18

  • Carla Bruni goes down in a flash

    Her website, that is

    Nick Sarko's squeeze Carla Bruni yesterday proved she's something of an attraction by launching a website, which promptly collapsed under the sheer weight of admirers stampeding down to carlabrunisarkozy.org. As the Times notes, the site is largely dedicated to punting Bruni-Sarko's good works, including her role as " …

    Bootnotes 6 Oct 2009, 09:25

  • Horny new 'ballerina' Tyrannosaur was light on its feet

    Delicate dino coexisted uneasily with bigger brethren

    Archaeologists say they have discovered a new kind of tyrannosaurus, very different to the big bruiser tyrannosaurs already well known. The new dino was slim, light on its feet, horny and partial to meat, according to the boffins. Scientist's impression of the horny tyrannoballerina in action. "Compared to Tyrannosaurus, …

    Science 6 Oct 2009, 10:06

  • US court says software is owned, not licensed

    Vanessa Redgrave precedent stops Autodesk acting up

    Software company Autodesk has failed in its bid to prevent the second-hand sale of its software. After a long-running legal battle, it has not been able to convince a court that its software is merely licensed and not sold. Like many software publishers, Autodesk claims that it sells only licences to use its software and that …

    The Channel 6 Oct 2009, 10:09

  • Toshiba to demo 3D, 4K2K Cell-based HD TVs

    More telly roles for PS3 processor

    Toshiba’s most advanced Regza TV yet – the 55X1 - will launch before Christmas. But the firm isn’t resting on its laurels, planning to surpass full HD resolution and to bring 3D content to the range. At CEATEC, Japan’s largest consumer electronics show, which kicks off toay, Toshiba will showcase working models of future Cell …

    Hardware 6 Oct 2009, 10:13

  • Nokia N97 Mini out this month

    Tasty alternatives from Motorola and Sony Ericsson too

    October is set to be a juicy month for phone fans, with Sony Ericsson’s 12Mp cameraphone, Nokia’s miniature N97 and Motorola’s first Android handset all set to launch over the coming weeks. SE's Satio: joins the emerging 12Mp cameraphone crowd SE’s Satio – previously known as Idou – sports a whopping 12.1Mp camera and can …

    Phones 6 Oct 2009, 10:22

  • AVG goes toe to toe with MS in consumer security fight

    Update US gets discount, as usual

    AVG is putting an emphasis on increased speed with a revamp of its free and paid for security suites. The latest revamp - AVG 9.0 - boasts 50 per cent faster speed and increased ease of use. Improvements in speed have been achieved by skipping the scan of files already marked as safe in future scans unless the file structure …

    Security 6 Oct 2009, 10:28

  • The storage locker room is no place for the little guy

    Comment Niche players feel the pressure

    Blink and you would have missed it: NetApp could be bought, Emulex may be removing its takeover-preventing poison pill and Brocade is apparently for sale. Long-held positions in the storage world are seemingly changing overnight. You could be forgiven for asking what the hell is going on. Five months ago, NetApp's then-CEO was …

    Storage 6 Oct 2009, 10:29

  • Chinese media finger Swedish lesbian enclave

    Mythical city of Sapphic luuuurv

    Chinese media have confirmed what we in the West suspected all along: that concealed in the northern Swedish woods is a city of 25,000 women, many of whom have turned to Sapphic love to satiate their natural Scandinavian sexual desires. According to news agancy Xinhua, the all-female enclave is called “Chako Paul City”, and …

    Bootnotes 6 Oct 2009, 10:43

  • Cambridgeshire cops get coy with FOI

    Keeping schtum on Scorpions shenanigans

    Cambridgeshire Police has emerged as the latest force that prefers not to explain itself to the public – and then not to explain why it won’t explain itself. Back in December 2008, following the Internet Watch Foundation’s (IWF) controversial decision to block images of the Scorpions album cover on Wikipedia, a member of the …

    Law 6 Oct 2009, 10:56

  • Consumer Panel recommends try before buy mobiles

    Possible lifeline for not-spot dwellers

    Punters should be able to sign a mobile contract then revoke it if the coverage isn't up to scratch, according to recommendations from The Communications Consumer Panel. The recommendation comes out of research that found 56 per cent of UK-mobile-phone users have experienced a lack of coverage, with a third having regular …

    Mobile 6 Oct 2009, 11:09

  • O2 Broadband puts brakes on BitTorrent

    Party's over

    O2 has joined the ranks of fixed line broadband providers restricting peer-to-peer traffic as part of its network hits capacity during evening peak times. The firm has installed specialist equipment to cut the amount of bandwidth available to BitTorrent, Gnutella and KaZaa users, as well as newsgroups*. O2 launched its fixed …

    Broadband 6 Oct 2009, 11:11

  • Pirate Bay sinks again after Dutch ISP complies to cut off order

    That's right woodchuck-chuckers, it's Groundhog Day

    The Pirate Bay has been out of action for the best part of a day, after its Netherlands-based ISP was ordered to halt its service to the BitTorrent tracker site. NForce, which TPB switched to last weekend, responded to a request from Dutch anti-piracy group Brein (statement translated from Dutch to English) yesterday to cut …

    Media 6 Oct 2009, 11:11

  • Facebookers condemned to Hell Lite

    Seventh circle of social networking

    As Facebook tests a new slimmed-down version of its site with users in the US and India, many are complaining they have no way of getting back to the original beefy version. Mark Zuckerberg and company rolled out their Facebook Lite beta in mid-September, testing a version of the social-networking time-sink designed …

    Applications 6 Oct 2009, 11:36

  • 7Digital launches iTunes rival, BlackBerry app

    DRM-free pretender gets feisty

    DRM-free MP3 merchant 7Digital is taking the battle to Amazon and Apple on their home turf, with a Stateside retail store that undercuts the established players on price. The London-based outfit, now 50 per cent-owned by HMV, is also putting a combined music store/MP3 player on BlackBerry. 7Digital provides white label MP3 …

    Media 6 Oct 2009, 11:39

  • New antimatter atomsmashers 'may destroy themselves'

    'Imagine there are all these huge bells, see,' says prof

    A top British atom-smasher boffin says that next-generation antimatter accelerators being planned to replace today's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are at significant risk of "destroying themselves", as they rend the very fabric of the universe apart in their search for cosmic secrets. The LHC has already shown that rashly …

    Science 6 Oct 2009, 11:43

  • TomTom simplifies the satnav

    Time to ditch that A-to-Z?

    In an effort to move map-based drivers away from paper A-to-Zs, TomTom has created an entry-level satnav that it claimed mixes ease of use with “smart route planning”. TomTom's Start: the satnav made simpler? Called Start, the satnav has a two-icon UI giving users just a pair of options to choose between: Plan Route or …

    Science 6 Oct 2009, 11:46

  • Retailers start PSP Go price war

    Handheld's price slashed after just one week

    The PlayStation Portable Go only launched in the UK last week, but Blighty's retailers have already kicked off a PSP price war. Sony’s RRP for the PSP Go is £225 ($360/€244), but Amazon’s UK arm has already slashed its asking price for the console to £200 – a £25 saving. HMV and Game have followed suit. But Currys is refusing …

    Games 6 Oct 2009, 11:53

  • Philips BDP3000 Blu-ray disc player

    Review 1080p viewing for the masses, apparently

    Many people enjoying Blu-ray movies do so using a Sony PlayStation 3, while the rest of us will opt for a dedicated Blu-ray player. For the latter, Philips is touting its BDP3000 as a budget player and, while certainly not the cheapest, it does offer 1080p playback, the optimal Blu-ray format. Philips' BDP3000: the shiny …

    Hardware 6 Oct 2009, 12:12

  • Beeb unveils new Doctor Who logo

    Regenerates for new series in 2010

    The BBC has unveiled the new Doctor Who logo - due to grace the nation's small screens when Matt Smith takes over as the latest incarnation of the Time Lord in 2010. The Beeb explains that the revamped logo is the 11th to front the sci-fi series and the first overhaul since 2006. Before Smith gets the keys to the Tardis as …

    Bootnotes 6 Oct 2009, 12:15

  • Times papers trains with climate change blunder

    Don't read us, we're rubbish

    The Times has liberally papered London underground carriages with a fascinating new ad campaign. One poster shows a ship navigating some treacherous icy waters, with the accompanying copy reading: Climate change has allowed the Northeast Passage to be used as a commercial shipping route for the first time. The Times …

    Media 6 Oct 2009, 12:21

  • Scareware scams spill onto Skype

    And are you interested in double glazing, while you're here?

    Scareware spreaders have started to use Skype to spread their cash-sapping crud. The VoIP channel has joined malicious manipulated search results, malicious online advertisements, Facebook messages and iFrame contaminated sites as a means to spread rogue "anti-virus" software scans. Sean-Paul Correll, a security researcher a …

    Security 6 Oct 2009, 12:27

  • Puma to pump out handset

    Football-focused phone?

    You probably know Puma best for its trainers, but the sportswear firm has now laced up a deal to bring the world a branded mobile phone. The company has partnered with Sagem Wireless in a deal that will see Puma's phone kicked into touch during Q2 2010 – in plenty of time for the World Cup, which takes place in South Africa …

    Phones 6 Oct 2009, 12:30

  • Firefox 3.6 beta set to ship next week

    No shame, no gain

    Mozilla tentatively plans to release the first beta of Firefox 3.6 on 13 October. The open source browser maker is expected to spin out the next iteration of Firefox in November, and next week’s upcoming beta is understood to be the only test build released by Mozilla before 3.6 - codenamed Namoroka and based on Gecko 1.9.2 - …

    Applications 6 Oct 2009, 12:35

  • Orange picks Milton Keynes for flagship store

    One more reason to relocate

    Orange is about to open a "digital playground" flagship store in Milton Keynes, offering early access to Motorola's DEXT handset and a bouncy floor among other delights. Flagship stores are nothing new, but Orange reckons it's outdone the competition by providing cinema-style seating for the 70-inch screen showing adverts for …

    The Channel 6 Oct 2009, 12:37

  • First Direct sorry for text mess

    Random accounts sent to random punters

    First Direct has apologised to customers who received text messages which included transactions from other customers' accounts this morning. The bank was working on systems overnight which led to the problems this morning. A spokeswoman for First Direct said only subscribers to text banking were affected. She said: "We're …

    Mobile 6 Oct 2009, 12:38

  • Desktops are seen as unimportant until...

    Readers, join our expert clinic!

    A few weeks ago, we conducted a Reg Tech Panel survey about managing windows desktops. More than 1,200 of you participated. Many thanks. We will publish the results in a free pdf (no registration required) later this month. In the meantime we think it worth exploring a strong theme that emerged from the responses. So we are …

    PC Management 6 Oct 2009, 12:53

  • Tories would take an axe to Labour IT policy

    Cameron's cohorts call a halt to big government projects

    In a speech to the Conservative Conference in Manchester yesterday, shadow Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude announced that he will be leading a review of government IT. In this, he will be aided by Tom Steinberg, co-author of the independent Cabinet Office review, "The Power of Information". He said: "We need a …

    Government 6 Oct 2009, 13:18

  • TDK to haul out HAMR heads

    Next-gen read/write reportedly on way

    Disk head supplier TDK has reportedly demonstrated a next-generation read/write head using heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) for the first time, opening a route to 1Tbit/sq in areal densities and beyond. The background to this TDK announcement at CEATEC 2009, an electronics exhibition in Japan, is that magnetised bits on …

    Storage 6 Oct 2009, 13:22

  • Egyptians uptight about 'Artificial Virginity Hymen'

    Fear outbreak of bogus cherry-popping

    Egyptian members of parliament have expressed fears that a Japanese-made "Artificial Virginity Hymen" could prompt an upsurge in pre-marital relations in a country where women are expected to tie the knot with their cherry intact. According to Associated Press, conservative politicians got wind of Gigimo's $30-a-pop virgin kit …

    Bootnotes 6 Oct 2009, 13:27

  • Double-Take's Backup isn't

    It's ROBO replication, duhhh

    Double-Take is going to show its Backup and Availability products at Storage Expo in the UK next week - but be warned Backup is not back-up, it's replication. The idea Double-Take has is to rebrand its server replication software as Backup when it's used to send branch or remote office (ROBO) data to a central office for …

    Storage 6 Oct 2009, 13:31

  • One in three kids believe Google measures truthiness

    'I feel stupid'

    Congratulations, Jimbo! Almost one third of British secondary school children believe Google ranks search results in order of their truthfulness, according to new research by Ofcom. The statistic - great news for Wikipedians, terrifying for the rest of us - was reported in the communications regulator's annual report on …

    Government 6 Oct 2009, 14:23

  • CCD inventors secure Nobel Prize for Physics

    Optical fibre pioneer also honoured

    This year's Nobel Prize for Physics has gone to Willard Sterling Boyle and George Smith, inventors of the Charge-Coupled Device (or CCD), and Charles Kuen Kao, for his pioneering work on optical fibres. Boyle and Smith were working in Bell Labs in New Jersey when, in October 1969, they formulated the idea for the CCD. …

    Science 6 Oct 2009, 14:26

  • Gmail, AOL, Yahoo! all hit by webmail phishing scam

    Update I can see my address from here

    Google has confirmed that Gmail has also been targeted by an "industry-wide phishing scheme" which first hit Hotmail accounts. Yahoo! and AOL are also reportedly affected. Hackers used fake websites to gain the login credentials attached to various webmail accounts. The attack emerged after a list of 30,000 purloined usernames …

    Security 6 Oct 2009, 14:44

  • Unisys announces 10-to-1 stock compression

    Never mind the price, feel the width

    Struggling server and services company Unisys said this morning that its board of directors had authorized a reverse stock split for the company's shares, collapsing 10 shares down to one and thereby making its stock appear to be worth ten times as much to the automated trading systems that are trained to get nervous when stock …

    Financial News 6 Oct 2009, 15:04

  • Atom comes to android

    Japanese robot powered by Intel chip

    In Blighty, Intel’s Atom is usually confined to netbooks and MIDs. But in Japan, Atom has been used to provide processing power for a highly flexible robot. Robovie is powered by a 1.6GHz Atom Google’s translation of Japanese manufacturer Vstone’s website is a little scruffy, but states that Robovie-PC - a two-legged …

    Hardware 6 Oct 2009, 15:11

  • Big Blue storage cloud is bad news for rivals

    IBM offers email, picture and corporate storage

    IBM is going to become a cloud storage provider with an XIV-based Smart Business Storage Cloud and a private cloud Information Archive, unifying disk and tape. Big Blue says it "absolutely plans to have a significant place in the cloud storage space," and this is its marker, emblazoned with XIV and BladeCenter. It …

    Storage 6 Oct 2009, 15:37

  • WD adds e-ink screens to external HDDs

    See the storage capacity, even when the power's off

    Western Digital has added displays to the members of its My Book external hard drive range, allowing you to see how much storage you have left – even when the power’s switched off. Western Digital's My Book HDDs have e-ink displays The PC-compatible My Book Elite and Mac-compatible My Book Studio drives have both been …

    Hardware 6 Oct 2009, 15:50

  • IBM adds iPhone support to Lotus Domino

    Simplifies licensing, offers Designer free

    IBM is rolling out a new version of Lotus Domino today that introduces native support for the iPhone. The software update now lets users automatically sync email, contacts and calendar data over the air to their Apple handset. Domino 8.5.1 supports all existing iPhone models using IBM's Lotus Notes Traveler software. In …

    Applications 6 Oct 2009, 18:02

  • Emerson shells out $1.2bn for Avocent

    Locking down data center dough

    Emerson Electric - the conglomerate that has power, process, climate control, and industrial automation businesses as well as appliances and tools that it peddles - will soon have a bunch of hardware and software gadgetry to sell now that it's agreed to pay $1.2bn to buy server management vendor Avocent. Under a deal announced …

    Servers 6 Oct 2009, 18:23

  • Terracotta straps on Ehcache speed engine

    A veritable Java cluster-fix

    Terracotta bought Ehcache to get its hands on a widely distributed set of caching APIs to simplify deployment of clusters of servers running Java virtual machines on high-volume web sites. Two months later the Terracotta JVM clustering and Ehcache caching programs are being delivered as an integrated product. Amit Pandey, …

    Developer 6 Oct 2009, 22:55

  • Man banished from PayPal for showing how to hack PayPal

    Some hacking tools more equal than others

    PayPal suspended the account of a white-hat hacker on Tuesday, a day after someone used his research into website authentication to publish a counterfeit certificate for the online payment processor. "Under the Acceptable Use Policy, PayPal may not be used to send or receive payments for items that show the personal …

    Security 6 Oct 2009, 23:03

  • Google’s cloud rains on Amazon’s future

    Mountain View voodoo wins devs

    Amazon may rule the public cloud today, but more developers have faith in Google's prospects going into the future, according to new research. Evans Data released a report on Tuesday measuring how software developers perceive web-based computing providers like Amazon, Microsoft, AT&T, Google, Rackspace and Hewlett-Packard. …

    Developer 6 Oct 2009, 23:07

  • Sun management stumbled on EU Oracle probe

    JavaOne done

    With US regulators in the bag, it must have seemed like just a matter of time before Oracle's planned $5.6bn purchase of Sun Microsystems would get European approval. Such was the level of confidence, Oracle boasted in June it fully expected the deal would close "this summer" - putting that at the end of September in calendar …

    Software 6 Oct 2009, 23:10