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14th October 2009 Archive

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  • Microsoft's Patch Tuesday fixes record number of flaws

    SSL spoof bug finally put to rest

    Microsoft on Tuesday patched a record number of security holes in its Windows operating systems and other software, a haul that included at least one security flaw that was already under attack in the wild. One of the updates fixed a vulnerability in Windows Media Runtime that allows an attacker to remotely execute malware by …

    Security 14 Oct 00:09

  • Salesforce chief trades barbs for Larry love

    OpenWorld 09 Oracle wins Web 2.0 war?

    After years of fighting and trading shots, Salesforce.com has signaled a time out in the Web 2.0 switching and culture war with Oracle. Marc Benioff, Salesforce.com's chief executive, has not just guested at Oracle's OpenWorld event with a speaking turn: He also delivered a message of co-existence with his business- …

    Software 14 Oct 01:59

  • Trade body doubles efforts against pirate software

    Dodgy copies give you malware, kill kittens

    Anti-piracy lobby group the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has more than doubled the number of 'take down' notices it issues to stop the distribution of pirated software. The BSA uses its own systems to track the sale of illegal software on auction sites and its distribution through peer to peer (P2P) file sharing. "In the …

    Channel Register 14 Oct 05:02

  • Colt quietly offshores network ops

    Galloping off to India

    Networking provider Colt has quietly offshored some of its network operations to a team based in India. The firm claimed today the move of its transmission backbone monitoring team to the sub-continent, which took place on Monday, will have no impact on customers. "Customer contact will still be handled by our team in …

    Telecoms 14 Oct 06:02

  • Great British beer moves county

    Newcy broon leaves toon

    Newcastle Brown Ale - one of Britain's most famous and recognisable beers - is moving from its home on Tyneside to Yorkshire. Technically, the brewery had already left Newcastle when it moved to Tyneside, south of the river, in 2005. But the move south to Yorkshire is still likely to shock locals. Brits drink about 47 million …

    Odds and Sods 14 Oct 06:02

  • Sky News goes free

    Eh? Thought Murdoch wanted to charge us all?

    Sky News is now streaming its TV channel for free over its website 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Despite Rupert Murdoch's mumblings about charging for all online content, the site is free - for now at least. Murdoch said yesterday that it was time for aggregators and search engines must start paying for news content - a …

    Music and Media 14 Oct 06:02

  • Michael Dell: Netbooks go sour after 36 hours

    You'll be happier if you give me more money

    According to Michael Dell, a netbook is a dream purchase - until it's about 36 hours old. "If you take a user who's used to a 14- or 15-inch notebook and you say 'Here's a 10-inch netbook,' they're gonna say 'Hey, this is so fantastic. It's so cute. It's so light. I love it,'" Dell told Silicon Valley's tech-obsessed Churchill …

    Channel Register 14 Oct 06:27

  • Vodafone Mozies into cloud backup

    Mobile operator does some Decho rating

    Decho has done a deal with Vodafone for the mobile telco to offer business and consumer cloud backup services. Vodafone is going to develop a range of cloud-based services using the Mozy online backup service, hopefully better protected than T-Mobile's Sidekick phone service. These services will be for both business users and …

    Channel Register 14 Oct 07:02

  • Brother DCP-375CW wireless multifunction inkjet printer

    Review Compact and stylish MFD photo printer, anyone?

    Product design has clearly moved on leaps and bounds since the early days of popular multifunctional devices (MFDs), judging by the Brother DCP-375CW. Not only does it look rather swanky in its dual-finish matt and shiny black casing, but it is extraordinarily compact at just 150mm high, 390mm wide and 360mm deep. How Brother …

    Reg Hardware 14 Oct 08:02

  • MySpace replaces disks with flash

    Fusion-io friends social networking site

    Social networking site MySpace has replaced traditional server/direct-attach disk combos with flash memory cached servers to save space, energy, cooling and cost. MySpace originally used multiple racks of 2U rackmount servers, with ten to twelve directly-attached 15,000rpm hard drives. They've been ripped-and-replaced with …

    Storage 14 Oct 08:47

  • AMD intros mid-range 5000-series Radeons

    Cut-price DirectX 11 gaming

    AMD has rolled out two more 5x000-series GPUs, this time the mainstream-oriented 5750 and 5770, lesser partners to the recently released high-end 5850 and 5870 - reviewed here - DirectX 11 graphics cards. AMD's Radeon HD 5770: mainstream DX11. The 40nm chips contain 1.04bn transistors, used to provide the 5770 with 800 …

    Reg Hardware 14 Oct 09:11

  • HDS has archive head in the clouds

    Hitachi Content Platform in 96-node cluster

    Hitachi Data Systems has renamed and refreshed its Content Archive Platform as a cloud-focussed platform with multi-tenancy features which scales out to a 96-node cluster. The Hitachi Content Platform (HCP 3.0) is one way to present a storage personality based on single virtual pools of storage from USP-V and/or AMS storage …

    Storage 14 Oct 09:44

  • Microsoft ropes in Family Guy to pimp Windows 7

    OS launch ditches rock stars for an American Dad

    If Windows 95 made you Mick Jagger, and Windows 98 made you David Bowie, then Windows 7 is going to make you a Family Guy or American Dad. Microsoft has coughed up to take over the talent behind the apparently subversive comedies to celebrate the launch of its must-succeed operating system this month. Or as Microsoft puts it …

    Operating Systems 14 Oct 09:46

  • Fujitsu intros 11in notebook-not-netbook

    CULV 'r' in

    Fujitsu has hopped on the Consumer Ultra-Low Voltage - Intel's name for low-end, low-power notebook chippery - bandwagon and launched the 11in Lifebook P3110. Fujitsu's Lifebook P3110: notebook processor and storage spec... Notebook or netbook? There's no Atom processor here, just a choice of single-core Celeron 743, …

    Reg Hardware 14 Oct 09:56

  • Liquid electrocar batteries could be replaced at pumps

    An end to long EV recharge times?

    Remorseless German boffins have come up with a solution to long recharge times for electric vehicles. They propose the use of liquid-electrolyte batteries, so that a 'leccy car could have discharged electrolyte pumped out and replaced with fully-charged liquid at filling stations. The proposals come from the Fraunhofer …

    Environment 14 Oct 09:58

  • HTC Hero up for grabs

    Lucky Draw Win HTC’s latest Android phone and Copilot Live 8

    The Register is giving one lucky reader the chance to get his or her mitts on HTC’s latest Android phone — the HTC Hero, complete with a copy of CoPilot Live 8 with UK and European maps. The HTC Hero includes a new user interface, multi-touch screen, 5MP camera and enhanced social networking functions. A slick 3.2-inch, 320× …

    Site News 14 Oct 10:02

  • Translation outfit seeks Glaswegian speakers

    Lithuanian struggles with 'baltic' weather

    A London translation firm is desperately in need of Glaswegian interpreters after its Lithuanian owner, despite her fluent English, struggled with our Scottish cousins' local patter. Jurga Zilinskiene explained to the Times that she was on holiday in Lanark earlier this year and "ran into difficulties" when confronted with a …

    Bootnotes 14 Oct 10:08

  • Do users care about desktop support?

    Mini-Poll And is it worth measuring how much?

    This week we are looking at the problems of managing the desktop infrastructure and especially the question of its cost. Tightly coupled with the whole topic of managing PC users is the effect that desktop support has on the whole perception of IT service delivery. We all know that if we ask a user what they think of IT there …

    PC Management 14 Oct 10:10

  • T-Mobile takes on patsy role in Microsoft Sidekick fallout

    Danger: No services for next $100

    T-Mobile plans to compensate all Sidekick customers who lost their data following the extremely embarrassing server outage at Microsoft’s subsidiary company Danger on 2 October. The telecoms giant, which markets and distributes the device, is offering Sidekick users who suffered a “significant and permanent” loss of personal …

    Mobile 14 Oct 10:17

  • Ex-GCHQ chief compares Iraq whistleblower to Soviet spy

    Gun gets Primed

    The former director of GCHQ Sir David Pepper has for the first time spoken of his anger at a whistleblower in the run up to the invasion of Iraq, comparing her case to that of the traitor and paedophile Geoffrey Prime, who was jailed in the 1980s for passing secrets to the KGB. Pepper said the actions of Katharine Gun - a GCHQ …

    Government 14 Oct 11:03

  • Subaru set to show stylish hybrid

    Leccy Tech Gull wing tourer to get Tokyo expo outing

    Subaru will reveal its take on the future of hybrid motoring when it whips the dust sheets off the gull-wing Hybrid Tourer Concept at the Tokyo Motor Show next week. Powered by a flat-four 2l direct injection turbo petrol engine, the four-wheel drive HTC has two electric motors: one at the front and one at the back. Subaru's …

    Reg Hardware 14 Oct 11:08

  • Home Office staff offered early bird ID cards

    It's not like their jobs depend on it

    The government has made another attempt to invest some cachet into ID cards by revealing that civil servants working on the scheme will be able to apply for the cards early. Borders and immigration minister, Phil Woolas, told the Commons yesterday: "I am pleased to announce that provisions in the Identity Cards Act 2006 are …

    Government 14 Oct 11:11

  • Go MiFi - and ditch your iPhone?

    Is that an 'Intelligent Mobile Hotspot' - or are you just pleased to see me?

    The MiFi, or the "intelligent mobile hotspot", may sound like one of the most pointless devices ever created. It's a small, battery powered gizmo that converts one wireless network protocol (3G) to another even less efficient protocol (WiFi). Why would you want to do that, you're thinking - gain the battery inefficiencies of …

    Mobile 14 Oct 11:12

  • Aerial laser gunboat 'burns hole in fender' of moving car

    World's evil shark-owning billionaires unimpressed

    The Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) ray-cannon, mounted in a specially-equipped Hercules transport plane flying above New Mexico, has now succeeded in "putting a hole in the fender" of a ground vehicle driving along beneath it. The not particularly awesome result was announced by Boeing, maker of the ATL, yesterday. "In …

    Science 14 Oct 11:34

  • London techies get kit off for charity

    'Tasteful' Nude Tech 2010 calendar

    There is some really quite exciting news today for those of you who've spent years wondering just how you could justifiably buy photographs of butt-naked London tech entrepreneurs: check out the forthcoming Nude Tech 2010 calendar, featuring 24 disrobed IT movers and shakers, and all in aid of charity. The calendar goes …

    Bootnotes 14 Oct 11:41

  • Samsung GT-C6625

    Review Basic business wannabee?

    Windows Mobile smartphones with miniature Qwerty keyboards are rarely extremely exciting to look at, and the Samsung GT-C6625 is a case in point. Blocky hardware and a somewhat old-fashioned design, makes it look a couple of years out of sync with the latest smartphone trends. Samsung's GT-C6625: no Wi-Fi, but HSDPA 3.6Mbps …

    Reg Hardware 14 Oct 12:02

  • Opera takes Unite for spin with browser beta release

    No sign of fat lady for browser/server hybrid

    Norwegian browser maker Opera has pushed out a beta version of Opera Unite. The web-browser-meets-web-server contraption, which the firm unveiled in June this year, has been loaded into the release of Opera 10.10. Opera is unsurprisingly bigging up its tech platform by claiming it "shakes up the old client-server computing …

    Applications 14 Oct 12:20

  • Apple breaks jailbreakers' hearts with iPhone 3GS patch

    We're gonna lock you up and throw away the key

    Apple has reportedly tweaked the way its iPhone is coded in an effort to freeze out users who jailbreak the company's handsets. It's understood that when Apple ships new iPhone 3GS phones, they'll come loaded with a "bootrom" that defends against the 24kpwn exploit used by the Dev-Team and individuals to jailbreak artificial …

    Mobile 14 Oct 12:38

  • Acer unveils Android-based 'Liquid' A1

    Running Donut version 1.6, no less

    Acer has mixed a dash of Android Donut together with a splash of Qualcomm Snapdragon to create what it hopes will be a market-leading smartphone. Acer's A1 is the first smartphone fro its new Liquid range Called A1, the device is, Acer claimed, the world’s first smartphone to combine an 800 x 480 touchscreen with Qualcomm’s …

    Reg Hardware 14 Oct 12:59

  • Twitter tells twitterers 'don't go changing'

    Change your name. Get locked out. Cry

    Twitterers wanting to prevent the next British Constitutional crisis, or just keep the world informed on today's lunch selection, are advised to hang fire before undergoing any identity crises this week. The microblogging and freedom-preserving service warned users late yesterday that it was "researching username, password …

    Mobile 14 Oct 13:06

  • Child porn threat to airport's 'virtual strip search' scanners

    Erm, has legal OK'd this?

    Manchester Airport has rejected claims its new body scanners will fall foul of child pornography laws, claiming that because they use X-rays "they do not make an image". The machines use low doses of radiation to deliver a 3D black and white scan of volunteer passengers' bodies to a human operator sat in front of a screen. The …

    Law 14 Oct 13:12

  • The Twitter storm that saved freedom of speech

    Comment But not exactly, not really...

    So was it Twitter what won it? Yesterday, in the wake of a flurry of Twitter and blogosphere outrage, the 'super-injunction' banning the Guardian (and, we should note, everybody else) from reporting details of a parliamentary question effectively collapsed. "A few tweets and freedom of speech is restored," the Graun itself said …

    Law 14 Oct 14:08

  • Citrix chases VMware with Hyper-V deal

    And XenServer, too

    Citrix Systems wants to sell anything it can into shops using VMware server and desktop virtualization tools, but it doesn't want to discount XenServer, XenDesktop, and XenApp licenses. What's a vendor to do? Give away free services and training to customers looking to migrate from VMware, of course. The upstart virtualization …

    Channel Register 14 Oct 14:15

  • Hubble snaps aftermath of galactic pile-up

    Unveils tell-tale, two-tail trail

    The Hubble Space Telescope has captured an impressive image demonstrating what happens when two spiral galaxies crash into each other at high speed: The European Space Agency's Hubble site explains: "Studies have revealed that as galaxies approach one another, massive amounts of gas are pulled from each galaxy towards the …

    Space 14 Oct 14:16

  • Try these beans: Business Service Management

    Workshop Nooo.....it's not a product

    In recent weeks we’ve received plenty of meaty responses in roughly equal measures (positive and negative) to the questions posed in this workshop. For many, service management is seen as simply doing the job properly, regardless of the tools / politics / obtrusive management and so on. Others do what they do but really don’t …

    Service Management 14 Oct 14:24

  • Farmer fined for ignoring cow's 'psychological needs'

    Bovine kept in dark

    A West Yorks farmer has been slapped with a £150 fine for keeping a cow in a darkened barn and therefore failing to 'meet the psychological needs' of the bovine. Ronald Norcliffe, 65, was nabbed under the Animal Welfare Act in August 2008 when operatives from Kirklees Environmental Health department and the Department for …

    Biology 14 Oct 14:40

  • Hands on with Acer's dual-OS netbook

    First Look Run Android and Windows 7

    At an Acer product launch in central London earlier today, Register Hardware got up close and personal with the firm’s first netbook to ship with two operating systems. The machine isn’t actually a brand new model. It’s the old Aspire One D250 – reviewed here – that's been out for since the Spring, just updated to run both …

    Reg Hardware 14 Oct 14:59

  • Federal boffins: 'Giant invading snakes' will soon rule USA

    20-foot reptile maneaters massing in Florida, Texas

    Much of the United States - including "urban and suburban areas" - may soon be overrun by a plague of "giant, invasive snakes" capable of "attacking and killing people", according to genuine federal boffins. The scientists in question are those of the US Geological Survey, which yesterday published a terrifying report warning …

    Biology 14 Oct 15:06

  • PS3-controlling phone launched in Blighty

    Aino stopping us now...

    Sony Ericsson has finally released the first mobile phone able to control the PlayStation 3. But your pockets had better be deep, because the handset could cost you more than the console itself. Sony Ericsson's Aino: the first PS3-compatible phone First unveiled back in May, Aino enables gamers to remotely turn the PS3 on …

    Reg Hardware 14 Oct 15:21

  • Google Docs updated with three-headed bug

    Print, import, and export snafu

    Google Docs users are having trouble printing, exporting, and importing files, following a recent update to the alleged Microsoft killer. As reported by the IDG News Service, a Google employee has acknowledged the problems with a pair of posts to the company's Google Docs Help discussion forum. "We're currently looking into …

    Applications 14 Oct 17:02

  • Oracle looks to mobile and iTunes interfaces

    OpenWorld 09 iPhone, anyone?

    Oracle is increasing its focus on mobile and interface construction in the next planned releases of its Java IDE and underlying framework. The database giant's announced its Application Development Framework (ADF) Mobile Client to build native Java applications for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices. Oracle kicked off with …

    Applications 14 Oct 17:15

  • Google unclogs its Postini

    'System 7' mail delays sorted, says Chocolate Factory

    Google says it has resolved the email delivery problems that plagued its Postini message management service for several hours yesterday, telling customers that no data was lost. The company has also acknowledged the problem affected users in Europe. Previously, the company had indicated it was a US-only issue. According to …

    Applications 14 Oct 18:37

  • Mozilla service detects insecure Firefox plugins

    Slated for browser embedding

    Mozilla has introduced a service that checks Firefox browser plugins to make sure they don't have known security vulnerabilities or incompatibilities. The service debuted on Tuesday with this page, which checks 15 plugins to make sure they're the most recent versions. Over time, Mozilla developers plan to scan additional …

    Security 14 Oct 18:37

  • Delta hacked my email, says passenger rights chief

    That's absurd, says Delta

    An airline passenger rights advocate is accusing Delta Air Lines of hacking into her computer and e-mail accounts to sabotage her organization's attempts to mandate basic services during flight delays. Kate Hanni, a resident of California, is the founder of the Coalition for an Airline Passengers Bill of Rights, an …

    Security 14 Oct 19:12

  • Bloggy thing signals iPhone FM radio

    Apple tunes status symbol to FM

    Apple is developing an FM radio application for the iPhone and the iPod touch, according to an anonymous source speaking to a blog. Yesterday, the 9to5Mac blog told the world that Apple's radio will operate in the background on the iPhone and iPod touch while offering all the same stuff as the FM radio built into the new iPod …

    Mobile 14 Oct 19:56

  • Trojan plunders $480k from online bank account

    Windows and online banking - Just say no

    A Pennsylvania organization that helps develop affordable housing learned a painful lesson about the hazards of online banking using the Windows operating system when a notorious trojan siphoned almost $480,000 from its account. News reports here and here say $479,247 vanished from a bank account belonging to the Cumberland …

    Crime 14 Oct 21:28

  • 45th Mersenne prime revealed

    GIMPS grabs $100,000 for discovery

    Number-porn lovers rejoice! The most ridiculously long prime number ever discovered has been verified and revealed in all its 12-million-digit glory. The enormous integer was fittingly discovered within the hallowed halls of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) mathematics department as part of the Great Internet …

    Science 14 Oct 22:06

  • Intel and the Nehalem bump

    From credit crunch to cloud crash

    That nice little bump in server chip sales that Intel just posted in the third quarter? What happens if that's Chipzilla burning off a lot of pent-up demand for decently performing Xeon processors? Yesterday, Intel said revenues had dropped off by 8.1 per cent in Q3, to $9.39bn, and net earnings fell by 7.8 per cent, to $1. …

    Channel Register 14 Oct 22:22

  • Michael Dell primps for Microzon's mega data centers

    Sucking up to the cloud

    Yes, Dell has hired away IBM's mergers and acquisitions genius. And yes, the PC maker has expanded its arsenal with that $3.9bn acquisition of services giant Perot Systems. But Michael Dell has no intention of transforming the company into a one-stop-shop for the enterprise. In between the netbook insults he tossed at Silicon …

    Channel Register 14 Oct 23:26