The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

23rd October 2009 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • IBM beefs blade server networks

    A Cisco switch where the sun don't shine

    As networking giant and server wannabe Cisco Systems last month hinted it would do, the company has launched a variant of its Nexus switch that can be tucked up inside of another server maker's blade servers. In this case, IBM has kissed and made up (sort of) with Cisco and is the first customer for the Nexus 4000 switch, which …

    Servers 23 Oct 00:08

  • Cisco facelifts all-purpose routers

    'Borderless networks'

    Cisco has squeezed out an heir to its long-in-the-tooth Integrated Services Routers product line after sitting pretty with the old kit since 2005. The company's new second-generation routers (ISR G2) have been re-architected to better accommodate a growing trend of branch offices beaming in more video-conferencing, …

    Data Networking 23 Oct 00:21

  • O2 offers small biz small price support

    Techies offer helping hand

    O2 is offering its small business customers a variety of set-up and support services for mobile or other technology kit. Prices start at £6.83 per user per month. O2 reckons that more than half of small firms get staff to set up their own kit and some 65 per cent of companies have no professional tech support. Firms can also …

    Small Biz 23 Oct 06:02

  • Big Blue spruces big storage box

    Controller head transplant

    IBM has updated its high-end DS8000 monolithic storage array with a Power6-processor-based DS87000 model, meaning users will get data faster. The system has dual 2-way or 4-way processors and uses PCIe bus technology and new adapters. It is a FICON-only product for mainframe connectivity; the older ESCON channel technology has …

    Storage 23 Oct 06:02

  • Botnet click fraud at record high

    Move over, mules

    Malware-infected computers are increasingly being used to perpetrate click fraud, according to a study released Thursday that found their contribution was the highest since researchers began compiling statistics on the crime. In the third quarter of this year, 42.6 percent of fraudulent clicks were generated by computers that …

    Security 23 Oct 06:02

  • Apple Magic Mouse

    Review Ergonomics, we've heard of it

    For a company that pioneered the widespread use of the mouse as a computer controller, Apple has a surprisingly bad record at making good ones, particularly since the return of Steve Jobs and, with him, industrial design as the prime driver of product creation. Magic Mouse: Apple gets it right at last? Past Apple mice have …

    Reg Hardware 23 Oct 08:02

  • Zurich Insurance admits big data loss

    Half a million customer records

    Zurich Insurance has admitted losing the personal account details for more than half a million people more than a year ago. 51, 000 British customers' details were on the tape, along with hundreds of thousands of details from people in South Africa and Botswana. They should have received letters warning them of the loss in …

    IT Director 23 Oct 08:42

  • Western Digital factories spin at top speed in Q1

    Record drive shipments

    Western Digital had a roaringly successful first fiscal 2010 quarter with revenues 15 per cent up year-on-year. It recorded sales of $2.2bn, compared to $2.1bn a year ago, and net income of £288m, up from last year's $211m, and beating Wall St estimates. Drive shipments totalled 44.1 million, a 12 per cent year-on-year …

    Channel Register 23 Oct 08:56

  • WTF is this country called America?

    FoTW Canuck suggests Reg hack 'got get a brain'

    You'd think that an elite special forces hack like our very own Lewis Page would be au fait with an atlas, but he's sadly not, according to one rather disgruntled reader. Lewis unwisely kicked off this piece with: "An alliance of boffins from Oxford University and Virginia, America..." Oh no. Cue a fit of pique from one Lorne …

    Bootnotes 23 Oct 09:04

  • Data.gov.uk opens beta site for developers

    Making it easier to peek under the kimono

    The Cabinet Office has opened a pilot website making government data more widely available. The department, which revealed its plans on a digital engagement blog post earlier this month, has set up a beta version of www.data.gov.uk for developers to test the potential for re-using information. A Cabinet Office spokesperson …

    Developer 23 Oct 09:41

  • Historian slams 'absolutely crazy' UK time zone

    Switch to Euro time, stuff Scottish farmers

    Noted historian Sir Alistair Horne has described as "absolutely crazy" Blighty's refusal to fall into line with the continental European time zone. Speaking to the Beeb's Today programme, Sir Alistair admitted that while putting the clocks back an hour this Sunday might benefit Scottish dairy famers, giving them some extra …

    Bootnotes 23 Oct 09:44

  • Intel hindering USB 3.0 adoption, alleges industry insider

    SuperSpeed won't hit the mainstream until 2011

    Intel has decided to wait until 2011 before it introduces PC chipsets with integrated USB 3.0 controllers. So a senior mole at a major PC maker has claimed, at any rate. The insider this week told EETimes the move will push demand for the 4.8Gb/s bus technology back a year. Even if Intel is anticipating that USB 3.0 chipsets …

    Reg Hardware 23 Oct 10:22

  • TalkTalk-Tiscali merger proves fraught

    Axe falls

    Tiscali staff have turned to their lawyers after managers from TalkTalk arrived wielding the axe. Tiscali became part of the Carphone Warehouse group back in May, but the expected cuts only began this month. With very little warning, a human resources team put most if not all of Tiscali's technical managers at risk of …

    Telecoms 23 Oct 10:31

  • Mozilla Labs opens umbrella with Raindrop prototype

    Conflab aggregator shuns Internet Explorer

    Mozilla Labs has released a prototype conversation aggregator and Web 2.0-style communications platform for Firefox, Safari and Chrome users. The experimental open source tool, which altogether snubs Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, has been dubbed “Raindrop”. Mozilla said it hoped the prototype would “explore new ways to use …

    Developer 23 Oct 10:35

  • Rapid7 penetrates Metaspolit

    Pen testing tool gets commercial backing

    Vulnerability management firm Rapid7 has acquired Metasploit, the popular open source dual-use penetration testing and hacking tool. Commercial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The deal means that the Metasploit project will receive commercial backing, so furthering its development. A non-commercial version of the tool …

    Enterprise Security 23 Oct 10:49

  • Galileo satellite fleet apparently reduced

    Order for final six birds put on indefinite hold

    Indications have emerged of possible delays or cuts to the European Galileo satellite navigation system. Orders for several satellites, expected to be placed this year, have been placed on indefinite hold. Galileo at present has only Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element (GIOVE) test sats in orbit, intended to prove the …

    Space 23 Oct 10:50

  • Atheists smite online God poll

    Does He exist? No, say 98 per cent of voters

    An online poll enquiring as to the possible existence of God has somewhat backfired on Christian outfit The Alpha Course, with 98 per cent of the popular vote currently saying he doesn't: According to the Sun, The Alpha Course kicked off a multi-million pound advertising campaign back in September to promote its particular …

    Bootnotes 23 Oct 10:55

  • Toshiba re-launches laptops

    Updated Windows 7 makes old machines new, apparently

    Toshiba actually launched the Satellite Pro U500, L500 and L550 way back in July this year, but it's having another try now that the recession is easing and Windows 7 is out. The laptops' physical specs appear unchanged, so we direct you to the story we wrote about the Satellites' introduction for the details. Toshiba's …

    Reg Hardware 23 Oct 10:56

  • Suzuki unwraps Mini-like plug-in hybrid

    Leccy Tech Swift becomes e-car

    Suzuki has whipped the dust sheets off its Swift plug-in hybrid at the Tokyo Motor Show. Suzuki's Swift: mini EV The runabout is driven by a 54kW (72bhp) electric motor which draws its juice from a lithium-ion battery squeezed into the centre console between the two front seats. A full battery charge will propel the car …

    Reg Hardware 23 Oct 11:03

  • Musos demand Guantanamo Bay playlist

    Were Bee Gees used to torture suspects?

    A coalition of musicians is demanding the US government cough a list of tracks allegedly used to torture inmates of Guantanamo Bay, as former prisoners claim they were subjected to the Bee Gees, Britney Spears and Sesame Street at "ear-splitting level". According to the Telegraph, the National Security Archive in Washington …

    Bootnotes 23 Oct 11:18

  • Pizza-making ATM hacker avoids jail

    Scam and pineapple

    An Australian pizza store worker turned hacker has avoided prison after he was convicted of stealing A$30,000 ($28,000) from ATMs using computer hacking. Brian Sommer, 23, reportedly used information from repair manuals downloaded over the internet to hack into the hard discs of ATMs and change the amount that could be …

    Crime 23 Oct 11:57

  • Sharp Aquos LC40LE700E 40in LED-backlit TV

    Review Big in Japan – not bad here either

    Like a faded 1970’s rock group, Sharp’s web site proudly proclaims that the company is ‘Big In Japan’. There’s more than a hint of irony in that claim, though, as Sharp is no doubt aware that it’s a relatively low-profile player here in Europe when compared with the likes of Sony, Samsung and Toshiba. However, it’s clearly …

    Reg Hardware 23 Oct 12:02

  • Apple sexes up Time Capsule

    Extra antennae

    Apple has updated its Time Capsule and Airport Extreme Router products with an improved antenna leading to a 60 per cent performance boost with Snow Leopard. No news about improved capacitors though. The improvements surfaced on the US Apple Store website on October 20; there has been no press release. The Airport Extreme now …

    Storage 23 Oct 12:05

  • El Reg launches 'Comment of the Week'

    CoTW The prize? Something sour for you lot to suck on...

    We're almost delighted this crisp October Friday to announce the launch of the El Reg "Comment of the Week" slot, in which the crème de la crème of the previous seven days' turdspurts and shoutpourings will be showcased for the reading pleasure of you, our beloved commentards. The selection will, of course, be a matter for the …

    Bootnotes 23 Oct 12:05

  • Apple confirms Windows 7 support for Mac OS X boot camp

    Dual install coming before decade is out

    Apple confirmed yesterday that it will support Windows 7 with "Boot Camp" in its Mac OS X Snow Leopard platform within the next few months, for those fanboys with a strange inclination to mix and match their operating systems. The Cupertino-based firm announced its plans on its website on Thursday, which was the same day …

    Operating Systems 23 Oct 12:06

  • 'More than ever before' now studying Sci/Tech in Blighty

    Achieved at grim cost in law, media & biz students, tho

    University admissions statistics reveal that more students than ever before in Blighty have enrolled on courses in science and engineering this year. Unfortunately this progress has been achieved at a grim cost, as far larger numbers of young people have as usual chosen to study law, business, management, psychology - and …

    Science 23 Oct 12:27

  • Anti-filesharing laws revive crypto fears for spooks

    Blinded by Mandy

    The UK's intelligence and law enforcement agencies fear the government's anti-illegal filesharing plans will lead to a rise in encryption, scuppering their own efforts to monitor the internet, it's claimed today. Plans for an enforcement regime to target those who perisitently infringe copyright are set to be brought forward …

    Government 23 Oct 12:40

  • Operation Eagle Claw nets 18 Nigerian spammers

    More to come say Nigerian scam police

    Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is promising to push the country out of the top ten for fraudulent emails thanks to arrests and proactive action to scan all emails. So far "Operation Eagle Claw" has seen members of 18 syndicates arrested and 800 scam websites shut down. The success was revealed by chairman …

    Crime 23 Oct 12:46

  • Computing website apologises for data gaffe

    Egg/face interface

    Venerable tech mag Computing has apologised to readers who clicked on a link in a marketing email only to find a completed form filled with someone else's account details. The email offered readers who filled in the survey the chance to win an Aston Martin track day. However, it appears that all the readers who filled in the …

    ID 23 Oct 12:56

  • Remote IT support 'is harder'

    Poll Results Local support to local people?

    Perish the thought that we at Freeform Towers should try to over-simplify things, but from the whopping 465 of you who responded to this week's Reg survey, it is clear that there is more to 'remote support' than meets the eye. In analysing the responses we agreed with comments from Reg regular Trevor Pott, that "a true 'remote …

    PC Management 23 Oct 13:03

  • Microsoft Q1 sales pays price for Win 7 launch

    Though not as much as expected

    Microsoft's first quarter was not as bad as expected, but still pretty bad compared to a year ago. The company saw revenue for the period fall to $12.92bn compared to $15.06bn in the first three months of 2008. For the first financial quarter ended September 30, Microsoft made operating income of $4.48bn, versus $5.99bn in …

    Financial News 23 Oct 13:43

  • Pregnant monkeys on crack - boffins investigate

    Womb-coked simians in banana-pellet munchies frenzy

    Scientists in America have warned of a new threat to society, posed by a generation of middle-aged drug-addled monkeys with poor impulse control due to being exposed to cocaine in the womb 15 years ago. In the words of a searing announcement issued today by the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center: Adult male monkeys …

    Biology 23 Oct 14:02

  • DNA database reports shows costs up, 'detections' down

    Analysis Worst tool we've got apart from all the others...

    Researchers looking to assess the effectiveness of DNA profiling in solving crime are unlikely to take much comfort in the recently released Annual Report of the National Policing Improvements Agency (NPIA). Meanwhile, civil liberties campaigners must wait to discover what the Government plans to do about removing the profiles …

    Policing 23 Oct 14:18

  • Citrix backtracks on XenDesktop 4 pricing

    Customers balk at named user pricing

    If you are trying to keep track of the different desktop and application virtualization options in the catalog of Xen-branded products offered by Citrix Systems, and figure out prices, the job just got a little tougher. In response to customer ire regarding its decision to use named user rather than concurrent user pricing, …

    PCs & Chips 23 Oct 14:27

  • Immigration authorities swoop on Currys depot

    DSGi self-snitch avoids prosecution

    Immigration authorities this week arrested ten Currys staff at a depot in Newark near Nottingham because they were not legally entitled to work in the UK. The electronics retailer reported the workers, mostly from Zimbabwe, to authorities following concerns about their identity documents. The UK Border Agency moved in on …

    Policing 23 Oct 14:44

  • Win 7 users shout: Where's my bloody ballot screen?

    Calm down chaps, calm down

    Several Register readers have been in touch because their early installations of Windows 7 have not come with a ballot screen offering them a choice of browsers to download. Earlier this month Microsoft and the Commission agreed to provide a ballot screen offering users a choice of browsers in the form of a ballot screen in …

    Operating Systems 23 Oct 14:45

  • Hitachi GST clears out Simple clutter

    New drives and new branding

    Hitachi GST has updated its Simple line of external drives for EMEA, and given the G-Technology line an internal transplant with Hitachi GST drives being used in all its products. Hitachi GST has three external storage brands: Easy, Simple, and a line of Mac disk drive products in the form of G-Technology. From left to right …

    Storage 23 Oct 15:12

  • Google Reader burrows deeper into your web-addled brain

    Now that's magic

    Mountain View has tweaked Google Reader to help tailor content on its Web 2.0 feed more neatly, by tracking a user's online habits. The search giant has added a new section called “Popular items” to Google Reader. The feature uses algorithms to track well-liked images, videos and pages from the internet. It then orders the …

    Applications 23 Oct 15:22

  • Ares I: What's the point?

    Waste of cash, says spaceflight review chairman

    The chairman of the committee tasked by president Barack Obama with reviewing the future of the US's human spaceflight programme has questioned the value of NASA's Ares I rocket, just days before its first test flight. The committee yesterday released its final report (pdf), offering pretty much the same options it suggested …

    Space 23 Oct 15:23

  • VMware boasts a half mil vSphere downloads

    And another half mil for freebie ESXi hypervisor

    Everyone is looking for bragging rights in the x64 server virtualization area now that the big three vendors - VMware, Microsoft, and Citrix Systems - have their latest releases in the field. Today, it was VMware's turn to play chanticleer. VMware says that it has processed over 500,000 downloads of its vSphere 4.0 …

    Virtualization 23 Oct 15:35

  • Belkin recalls fire-risk in-car iPod kit

    Ciggie lighter short circuit hazard

    Do you own a Belkin TuneBase in-car iPod dock? Did you buy it after 1 April this year? If so, Belkin would very much like to have it back. It's worried that the thing could catch fire. A washer within the cigarette lighter power adaptor could short out, it said today, causing smoke and, possibly, flames too. Belkin's …

    Reg Hardware 23 Oct 15:36

  • Karmic Koala RC drops into the wild

    Small bugs, no biggie

    Can't wait a week to get your hands on Karmic Koala? Canonical on Thursday issued the release candidate of its latest Linux-based operating system, Ubuntu 9.10. Unlike earlier builds targeting hardened testers, the Ubuntu team want as many users as possible to try out the penultimate push of 9.10 before the general release set …

    Operating Systems 23 Oct 17:38

  • Microsoft's Windows 7 buy early plan builds to climax

    Prays for netbook distraction

    Price discounts and high channel expectations are paving the way for a healthy holiday shopping season for Microsoft. In its first-fiscal quarter, Microsoft claimed its highest ever number of licenses sold in a three-month period. September was the highest single month of Windows unit sales ever. Given Windows 7 wasn't …

    Financial News 23 Oct 19:09

  • Is that the US space agency in your pocket or...?

    The NASA iPhone app

    If you've ever been enjoying yourself at the pub only to be seized by an uncontrollable urge to know the position of the International Space Station - right. this. minute. — sweet mobile relief has arrived courtesy the good ol' US of A space agency. NASA on Friday released an iPhone/iPod Touch application that delivers up-to- …

    Mobile 23 Oct 19:15

  • Man gets 3 years in clink for eBaying Adobe prods

    $1.4m in pirateware

    A 46-year-old Virginia man has been sentenced to over three years in prison for selling pirated Adobe software on eBay, the US Justice Department has said. Gregory William Fair of Falls Church, Virginia was sentenced on Thursday to 41 months in prison by a judge in US District Court in Washington DC. He was also ordered to pay …

    Channel Register 23 Oct 21:19

  • Google Spanner — instamatic redundancy for 10 million servers?

    Mountain View wants your exabyte

    Google’s massively global infrastructure now employs a proprietary system that automatically moves and replicates loads between its mega data centers when traffic and hardware issues arise. The distributed technology was first hinted at — in classically coy Google fashion — during a conference this summer, and Google fellow …

    HPC 23 Oct 21:40

  • Hotspot sniffer eavesdrops on iPhone in real-time

    Audio and video VoIP sniffed

    People who use public WiFi to make iPhone calls or conduct video conferences take heed: It just got a lot easier to monitor your conversations in real time. At a talk scheduled for Saturday at the Toorcon hacker conference in San Diego, two security researchers plan to show the latest advances in the open-source UCSniff tool …

    Security 23 Oct 22:23

  • California pair charged with multistate credit card fraud

    'Adam Constant' and the case of the missing suitcase

    Federal authorities have accused a California pair of racking up more than $50,000 in fraudulent charges using more than 100 cloned credit cards. Joseph Hatfield, 27, and Jahmeelah Sullins, 22, of Sacramento, used the cards over a five-month period starting in February, according to documents filed in federal court in …

    Crime 23 Oct 23:31