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22nd October 2009 Archive

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  • Open source webdesktopmobile kit bear hugs PHP

    Windows coding without the Windows

    Appcelerator Titanium - the open source platform that lets you build desktop and mobile apps with web-happy development tools, including JavaScript, Python, and Ruby on Rails - has now embraced PHP. The three-year-old Appcelerator will officially reveal its PHP love tomorrow at the Zend PHP conference in its home town of …

    Developer 22 Oct 2009, 00:17

  • Telcos double down on netbooks with Windows 7

    Smart-phone economics in play

    Expect more telcos in the US and Europe to offer customers netbooks with calling plans and running Windows 7, in the run up to Christmas. The head of Microsoft's netbook strategy has told The Reg the "big four" US telcos will offer netbooks powered by Windows 7, in addition to regional carriers. Telcos in Western Europe will …

    Operating Systems 22 Oct 2009, 01:26

  • Android goes PAYG

    T-Mobile Pulse launched

    Android is no longer a contractual commitment. T-Mobile has launched Pulse: the UK’s first Android-based smartphone available on pay-as-you-go. T-Mobile's Pulse: the UK’s first PAYG Android, apparently Pulse – a Huawei-manufactured handset – has been launched on PAYG in an attempt to bring Android to “a wider set of mobile …

    Phones 22 Oct 2009, 06:02

  • Big Blue kills off CSM clustering

    xCAT king of the HPC jungle

    For a while now, IBM has had multiple and competing tools for managing AIX and Linux clusters for its supercomputer customers and yet another set of tools that were used for other HPC setups with a slightly more commercial bent to them. But Big Blue has now cleaned house, killing off its closed-source Cluster Systems Management …

    HPC 22 Oct 2009, 06:02

  • Windows 95 to Windows 7: How Microsoft lost its vision

    Comment Behind the taskbar

    Much better than Vista, and the best Windows yet. That seems to be the consensus view on Windows 7, and after two and a half months with the final build, I more or less agree - despite the niggling voice that says behind the new taskbar it is not really so different from Windows Vista. Nevertheless, Windows 7 on its launch …

    The Channel 22 Oct 2009, 06:02

  • Western Digital My Passport Essential portable HDD

    Review Connector fail

    We approve of the ongoing miniaturisation of external hard drives, but the process has its limits. Western Digital's latest My Passport Essential is among the smallest drives of its class, but WD's choice of a tiny connector could be the product's downfall. WD's My Passport Essential: quirky, asymmetrical notebook design …

    Hardware 22 Oct 2009, 08:02

  • Oracle fails to convince MySQL doubters

    Give a little, Larry

    Oracle has failed to persuade the European Commission that it will provide a safe home for MySQL. The Commission is currently looking at Oracle's takeover of Sun, and has previously said it is especially worried about the fate of free database MySQL. A spokesman for Competition Commissioner 'Steelie' Neelie Kroes said the …

    Software 22 Oct 2009, 08:28

  • Telecoms package prob must be sorted or snuffed out in 8 weeks

    European Parliament obliged to get a shift on with reform

    The European Parliament has until the end of the year to agree a new telecoms reform deal with the EU's Council of Ministers. It will announce Thursday the start date for negotiations which can take no longer than eight weeks. Parliament and Council representatives must agree a compromise by December that must be ratified by …

    Broadband 22 Oct 2009, 08:50

  • NZ town cans rabbit-chucking contest

    Kids' festival fun reduced to hunting pigs

    A New Zealand town has cancelled a rabbit-chucking contest in which local kids were invited to see how far they could hurl a lapine carcass. The fun event was to have taken place this Saturday in the rural commmunity of Waiau, roughly 120km north of Christchurch, as part of the annual pig hunt. Any rabbits also killed during …

    Bootnotes 22 Oct 2009, 09:00

  • Honda designs mainstream e-bikes

    Leccy Tech Concepts, but not wacky ones, for a change

    Honda’s electric motorcycle concepts have, until now, been utterly bizarre – such as the U3-X. But in a break from the norm, Honda’s decided to go with the norm by designing two pretty ordinary looking e-scooters. Honda's electric take on the 1950's Cub, called the EV-Cub The EV-Cub is a battery-powered interpretation Honda …

    Science 22 Oct 2009, 09:02

  • VMware profits drop by half

    Results solid, not stellar

    VMware made 54 per cent less profit in its third 2009 fiscal quarter than a year ago. Revenues were $490m, up slightly at four per cent compared to a year ago, but net income fell by more than half, being $38m compared to $83m in 2008's third quarter. US revenues for its server and data centre virtualisation software in the …

    Virtualization 22 Oct 2009, 09:23

  • Complex licensing hamstrings EU music market

    Big players insist on regime change

    Fragmented and complex publishing arrangements are hindering the growth of a European online music market and must be replaced with more open and transparent agreements, music industry groups and the European Commission have agreed. Record labels EMI and Universal, retailers Amazon and Apple and licensing bodies PRS for Music …

    Media 22 Oct 2009, 09:25

  • Cloud storage: It's strictly for airheads

    Comment Time to back up on blind faith

    Cloud storage is fatally flawed right now. After the chaotic outage of Microsoft's Sidekick T-Mobile service and the collapse of SwissDisk's filers, what sensible business is going to entrust their data to the cloud? Big brands, with their reputation for reliability, give no guarantee of cloud storage trustworthiness. T-Mobile …

    Storage 22 Oct 2009, 09:49

  • Man dissects Apple's Magic Mouse

    PC mice were harmed during this teardown

    If you’ve been wondering what’s so magical about Apple’s new Magic Mouse, you aren’t alone. US repair-and-parts shop iFixit has been asking itself the same question, so it took the mouse apart to find out. Apple's Magic Mouse, as dissected by iFixit The Magic Mouse comprises of an aluminium base, topped off with a smooth …

    Hardware 22 Oct 2009, 10:37

  • Raytheon unveils Linux 'Insider Threat' rooter-out routers

    Sniffs out moles, leaks, whistleblowers

    US armstech mammoth Raytheon has announced that its "government insider threat management solution" for information security will be powered by Linux. Penguin-inside crypto modules to be used in Raytheon's mole-buster tech have now passed tough federal security validation, apparently. The insider-threat detector gear in …

    Operating Systems 22 Oct 2009, 10:56

  • You will learn to love Google's sorry music widget

    Facebook's along for the fail, too

    Hyped overnight as a Google 'Music Service', what we see instead is set to be the most underwhelming launch in a long history of label-backed music flops. It's barely a 'service' - merely a sorry widget that yokes a DRM-crippled version of LaLa's already unpopular streaming offering with unsold Adwords inventory. Instead of a …

    Media 22 Oct 2009, 10:59

  • What if you had a launch party and nobody came?

    Comment MS listens to users, cos no one is listening to MS

    If there's one standout feature about Microsoft's launch of Windows 7 this week, it's the abundance of other compelling tech news. It used to be that the PC world stood still when a new Microsoft operating system was launched, literally and figuratively. People really did queue around the block for Windows 95 - or at least …

    Operating Systems 22 Oct 2009, 11:02

  • Google suspends investor relations firm named in shares scandal

    Ripples from sinking Galleon

    Google has suspended a firm it uses for investor relations advice after the SF-based consultancy was implicated in the Galleon hedge fund insider trading scandal. Regulators investigating alleged insider trading linked to Galleon say an employee of Market Street Partners leaked information on Google's Q2 2007 numbers to one of …

    Financial News 22 Oct 2009, 11:04

  • NewsNow tells newspapers: Lay off the legal action

    Aggregator aggro

    News aggregrator NewsNow.co.uk has told British newspapers to lay off the legal threats and accept that linking to news stories is good for their business. NewsNow collects headlines from thousands of news sources and groups them according to subject matter. Clicking on a headline will take you directly to the relevant story. …

    Media 22 Oct 2009, 11:05

  • Xbox 360 to go Blu, says Ballmer

    CEO confirms Blu-ray drive incoming

    Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer has promised that an external Blu-ray drive is coming to the Xbox 360. During a recent interview on the future of Project Natal, the motion-control system for Xbox. Ballmer was asked if Microsoft plans to put Blu-ray into the games console. Although he told website Gizmodo that he doesn’t know if Blu …

    Games 22 Oct 2009, 11:23

  • Rigid sky-train to fly through magnetic rings on sticks

    Updated Plus: Plan for 500mph Vegas-LA hovercraft link

    Promoters in Las Vegas this week vied to offer the wildest ideas for a new super-fast mass transit link between the desert gambling mecca and Los Angeles. Plans were presented for a "railless" train which would fly through magnetic rings mounted atop pillars and a "sunlight bullet expressway" employing "large air-cushioned …

    Science 22 Oct 2009, 11:45

  • A fifth of Americans use Twitter, or something

    Do offenders' ankle tags count as status updates?

    The Pew Internet and American Life Project handed Twitter either a massive PR coup or a trademark problem yesterday, by declaring 20 per cent of Americans were using the service - or something similar. In a chart headed "Who Tweets", the researchers said that 19 per cent of US adults were Twittering - or using a similar status …

    Mobile 22 Oct 2009, 11:53

  • Aussie censor wants power to ban iPhone apps

    Apple won't like this one

    The Australian censorship board wants to extend its tentacles into classifying mobile games and iPhone applications. Aussie censors are already an enthusiastic lot, but trying to wrest control of iPhone applications from Apple's iron grip might prove a step too far. Classification Board director Donald McDonald told a Senate …

    Games 22 Oct 2009, 12:23

  • Iomega StorCenter ix4-200d

    Review Eco-friendly four-bay Nas?

    The low end of Iomega’s StorCenter range, the StorCenter ix2, is noisy, slow and lacking quite a few features you’d expect on a £300 Nas. The new StorCenter daddy, the ix4-200d, is in a different league in the speed and noise categories though, which you’d expect for 600-plus quid. Low power, high capacity: Iomega’s …

    Hardware 22 Oct 2009, 12:26

  • UK.gov prostitution proposals caught with pants down

    Comment Pesky lack of evidence exposes evidence-based policy

    Government proposals on prostitution and "trafficking" hit the rocks this week, as an in-depth investigation revealed a distinct lack of evidence for a supposed evidence-based policy. This is a seriously unwelcome development, as these sections of the Policing Bill currently being debated in the Lords have already attracted …

    Government 22 Oct 2009, 12:36

  • Lily Allen exits Twitter, bins BlackBerry

    'I am a neo-luddite, goodbye'

    UK popstress Lily Allen will tweet no more after turning her back on Twitter and Facebook and ditching her PC, MacBook and BlackBerry, according to shocked UK news outlets. The chanteuse's last posting to Twitter was on 28 September, when she declared: "I am a neo-luddite, goodbye." Since then, she's reportedly offloaded all …

    Bootnotes 22 Oct 2009, 12:38

  • CSC shuts final salary pension scheme

    Another one bites the dust

    CSC UK has followed rivals IBM and Fujitsu Services in shutting down its final salary pension scheme, claiming it would jeopardise the future of the business to continue the benefit. In an company-wide email, operations chief Kevin Brown said the scheme will close on 1 April next year. The move is the latest in a series of …

    The Channel 22 Oct 2009, 12:54

  • Academics gripe about Windows 7 promo collapse

    Cry me a Digital River

    Some UK-based university staff and students who stumped up £30 for Microsoft’s Windows 7 academic offer have complained that the software download supplied by Digital River isn’t working for them. A number of readers have contacted The Register grumbling that they’re unable to download the operating system. The firm sent out …

    The Channel 22 Oct 2009, 12:58

  • Windows 7 lessons - the must know before you buy

    Sin, SKUs, and puke

    Today's launch of Windows 7 by Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer marks the end of a 12-month product turn around - one of Microsoft's fastest. But what price did Microsoft pay to build Windows 7 so quickly? And what should we expect from Microsoft, and the Linux competition, as the company tries to entice people into …

    The Channel 22 Oct 2009, 13:02

  • Archos ships 'future of netbooks'

    Atom-based tablet, anyone?

    Archos has begun shipping what it has claimed is the “future of netbooks” - the Archos 9 PC tablet. The Archos 9 PC tablet: now available in the UK First seen late last month, the Windows 7-based device is available to buy now in the UK for £450 ($742/€496). The PC tablet can be bought from PC resellers and direct from …

    Hardware 22 Oct 2009, 13:20

  • FBI and SOCA plot cybercrime smackdown

    RSA Europe 2009 White hats get proactive on e-crime

    The FBI and the UK’s Serious and Organised Crime Agency have drawn up a program for dismantling and disrupting cybercrime operations. The effort relies on a better understanding of the business models of carders, malware authors and hacker groups which have increasingly come to resemble those of legitimate businesses. The …

    Security 22 Oct 2009, 13:24

  • Toshiba launches first domestic fuel-cell charger

    Dynario ready to top up phone, media player batteries

    Toshiba has launched its first direct methanol fuel-cell (DMFC) product: Dynario, an external power source for “mobile digital consumer products”. Toshiba's Dynario makes power from highly-concentrated methanol Once filled with an injection of methanol solution, Dynario is able to generate electricity that can be …

    Hardware 22 Oct 2009, 13:38

  • Prof: Extremists tend to dominate debates

    We must silence these evil lunatics immediately!

    Psychologists in America have revealed a shock insight from a recently-announced study: people with extreme or "deviant" views are much more willing to share their opinions than those with moderate ideas. This is thought to lead groups or communities actually composed mainly of moderates to acquire an extreme character. The …

    Science 22 Oct 2009, 14:14

  • EU Directive makes it easier to print e-money

    Out with the old

    The E-Money Directive has failed to help establish a market for virtual currency and will be replaced with a set of less onerous regulations. The replacement E-Money Directive will come into force at the end of this month. The European Council and European Parliament published the replacement Directive in the Official Journal …

    Financial News 22 Oct 2009, 14:59

  • BlackBerry Bold 9700 priced, dated for UK

    SIM free

    The new BlackBerry Bold 9700 is expected to hit the UK on 9 November, online retailer Expansys has revealed. RIM's Bold 9700 (right) and the old Bold 9000 Manufacturer Research in Motion unveiled the Bold 9000's follow-up yesterday, but as far as a UK launch date goes said only that it would be released at some point next …

    Phones 22 Oct 2009, 15:02

  • Burger King cooks up Windows 7 Whopper

    Updated Supersize my software

    Vegetarians and health freaks look away now, because Burger King has launched a stomach-churning Windows 7-themed Whopper. Burger King's Windows 7 Whopper is on sale in Japan The software-sponsored sandwich is filled with not one, not two, but an unbelievable seven meat patties. The burger went on sale in Burger King …

    Hardware 22 Oct 2009, 15:03

  • Mellanox grows on fast network uptake

    But profits under pressure

    Despite the economic meltdown, companies are starting to deploy 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks and HPC centers are upgrading their InfiniBand fabrics to faster 40 Gb/sec products - and that is why switch and network adapter maker Mellanox has just closed out a record quarter for revenue. In the quarter ended September 30, …

    Storage 22 Oct 2009, 15:09

  • Aussie atheists knocked offline

    Hand of hackers rather than the Lord

    Two major Australian atheist websites were taken offline by distributed denial of service attacks earlier this week. The organisations, the Atheist Foundation of Australia and Global Atheist Convention, have been in the news down under for organising a Global Atheist Convention in Melbourne early next year. The attack, on …

    Security 22 Oct 2009, 15:10

  • Nokia sues Apple over iPhone

    Claims Jobsian outfit infringes 10 patents

    Nokia is suing Apple for allegedly infringing ten of the company's patents in its iPhone device. The world's number one mobile phone vendor filed its lawsuit in Delaware's federal district court today. Nokia detailed ten patents in the case that relate to technologies "fundamental to making devices which are compatible with …

    Phones 22 Oct 2009, 15:21

  • Equinix eats up Switch & Data Facilities

    Colo and hosting operator consolidation

    Equinix, a large international hosting data centre operator, is buying Switch & Data Centre Facilities, a smaller north American operator, for $689m. Equinix has 45 data centres, totalling around five million square feet, in Europe, Asia and the USA. Switch & Data Facilities has 34 data centres spread across the USA and Canada …

    Servers 22 Oct 2009, 15:35

  • Symbian kernel goes open sauce

    But no one writes to the kernel

    Symbian, the operating system that once promised to dominate the future of mobile computing and telecomms, can now be found in a car boot sale. Just look in the Eclipse section. Seriously, the multivendor-owned nonprofit foundation has released the kernel under an Eclipse open source licence, as it promised to do in June 2008, …

    Mobile 22 Oct 2009, 16:00

  • Brother creates direct retinal imaging specs

    Eyeball projector lets you view pictures in complete privacy

    Brother has developed a pair of high-tech specs that could soon let you openly view naughty images or read top secret documents in complete privacy. Brother's Retinal Imaging Display glasses The firm's specs are based on Retinal Imaging Display (RID) technology which projects light directly onto the wearer’s retina. The …

    Hardware 22 Oct 2009, 16:34

  • EMC revenues steady but profits down

    Tucci a proud a father

    EMC reported steady third quarter 2009 revenues of $3.52bn but profits fell 24 per cent compared to a year ago. The 2008 third quarter revenue number was five per cent down on 2008's third quarter but 8 per cent up on the second 2009 quarter. Net income was $298.2m, an impressive 45 per cent higher than the second quarter but …

    Financial News 22 Oct 2009, 17:12

  • Amazon nuzzles Win 7 with PC Kindleware

    Touch my ebooks

    Amazon has unveiled Kindle software for Windows, showing off the new ebook reader app at Microsoft's Windows 7 launch this morning in New York City. The uber etailer is already offering an iPhone app that replicates the software built into its Kindle ereader device, and now, you can access your Kindle account from a PC as well …

    Media 22 Oct 2009, 18:41

  • Big Blue union calls for probe of all IBM execs

    Insider trading arrest reaction

    Union organizers are rallying around the recent arrest of IBM executive Robert Moffat on insider trading charges to call for a broader investigation into all the company's heads. Alliance@IBM, a union that represents a small number of IBM employees, posted an open letter on its website Tuesday asking the US Department of …

    Business 22 Oct 2009, 19:02

  • Free download turns BlackBerry into remote bugging device

    Coming to a handset near you

    A free software program released Thursday turns everyday BlackBerry smartphones into remote bugging devices. Dubbed PhoneSnoop by creator Sheran Gunasekera, the software sits quietly on a targeted BlackBerry and monitors the phone number of each incoming call. When it detects a number set up in the program's preferences …

    Security 22 Oct 2009, 19:05

  • FCC launches war of net ideologues

    Comments on open internet rules, please

    The US Federal Communications Commission has voted unanimously to begin the formal process of listening to a pair of modern-day religious factions howl at each other over proposed rules for an open internet. FCC chair Julius Genachowski last month proposed formal net neutrality rules that would prohibit internet service …

    Networks 22 Oct 2009, 20:42

  • China fingered in cyberattack on mystery high tech co.

    'Extremely large volumes' siphoned

    The Chinese government is stepping up efforts to steal valuable information from high-technology companies in other countries, according to a congressional advisory panel, which detailed one operation that siphoned "extremely large volumes" of sensitive data. The 2007 attack against the unnamed high-technology company was just …

    Security 22 Oct 2009, 21:04

  • Steve Ballmer's Windows 7 dance party

    Hopping on the grave of Windows Vista

    October 22 has arrived, which means Microsoft can stop defending Windows Vista and start pretending it never happened. Eyes have now turned to Windows 7, while Windows Vista joins Microsoft Bob and Windows Me in the annals of underachievers past. Well, except for all those people who are still stuck with the thing. To …

    Operating Systems 22 Oct 2009, 22:55

  • First telcos commit to Windows 7 netbooks

    International coverage

    Six US and European telcos have become the first carriers to announce they're selling netbooks running Microsoft's Windows 7, launched today. On Thursday, the number one and two mobile companies in the US as well as T-Mobile, O2, Vodafone and Telia Sonera in Europe committed to offering netbooks with Windows 7 this month and …

    Broadband 22 Oct 2009, 23:25