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7th December 2009 Archive

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  • Chocolate Factory buys AppJet for Google Wave

    Lame duck EtherPad goes open source

    Google has acquired AppJet, makers of a real-time document-sharing service known as EtherPad. And it would appear Google merely wants the company for its talent. According to a web post from AppJet, its EtherPad team will soon be put work on Google Wave, the new-age Mountain View service that combines email and IM with, yes, …

    Applications 7 Dec 2009, 05:37

  • Fanboi site squeaks on crocked iMacs

    Let's count the cracks

    A grassroots fanboi site has sprung up to document what would appear to be widespread hardware problems with Apple's latest iMac desktops. In recent weeks, iMac buyers have complained of cracked screens, flickering displays, and even machines that turned up dead on arrival. Scott Pronych - a web designer based in Bedford, Nova …

    Hardware 7 Dec 2009, 06:33

  • Voiis Bluetooth music streamer

    Review Send out wireless stereo - and receive it too

    We've seen Bluetooth audio accessories that will stream the output from your telly or hi-fi to a pair of wireless headphones, and we've tried devices that will pick up streamed stereo and feed through to a pair of ordinary cabled cans. But we haven't seen many gadgets that do both. The Voiis Wireless Music Gateway, from …

    Hardware 7 Dec 2009, 08:02

  • Webmasters fume as Google profiles signed-out searchers

    'Welcome to the GORG'

    Google is now "personalizing" results even when users have not logged into its web-dominating search site. And SEO types aren't too happy about it. Personalization is a euphemism for a Google-controlled practice that involves tweaking your search results according to your past web history. Mountain View was already doing this …

    Media 7 Dec 2009, 08:09

  • 2009's Top Netbooks

    Kit of the Year Computing on the go

    2009 was the year the netbook really took off, with vendors rushing to release model after model after model, and few of them ending the year with the same selection of machines that they were offering at the start. We looked at dozens of them, all largely matched on performance, but with very different battery lives, prices and …

    Hardware 7 Dec 2009, 10:02

  • Exanet exit-bound despite Dell's efforts

    $70m risks going down the plughole

    Exanet, a clustered NAS systems vendor, appears to be heading for the off-ramp after a Dell-led rescue deal foundered. The Isreali paper reports that the firm is set to liquidate itself, barring a last minute capital injection. Dr. Giora Yaron told Globes the firm and Dell were unable to agree on the finer points of a rescue …

    Storage 7 Dec 2009, 10:35

  • Balancing user and business expectations

    Workshop Should ‘Generation Y’ millennials get all their own way?

    Nobody wants to go back to the early days of packaged applications when green screens were the norm and users got what they were given and had to come to IT if they wanted anything different. But should we really be going to the other extreme, as some would argue, and let users take control? It has become quite trendy now to …

    Evolving Apps 7 Dec 2009, 10:43

  • NHS IT spree faces cutbacks

    Update Burnham coughs to cuts of £600m

    The chancellor Alistair Darling this weekend appeared to signal the pre-Budget report will include some major cuts to the £12.7bn NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT). The hints, dropped in an interview on the Andrew Marr Show yesterday, have already drawn protests from doctors. Darling said: "I'm not doing a spending review …

    Government 7 Dec 2009, 10:47

  • Acer buys into Nvidia's Ion 2?

    Perhaps Intel's Atom GPU not up to snuff

    Some pundits may not see the point of putting a discrete GPU into a power-tight platform like a netbook, but Acer possibly does - if the latest whispers from Taiwan are to be trusted. The PC manufacturer has decided to build Nvidia's Ion 2 chippery into future product, say moles by way of DigiTimes. Ion 2 will inevitably …

    Hardware 7 Dec 2009, 10:49

  • MIT win DARPA's flashcrowd balloon-hunt compo

    Asymptotic free lunches mobilize spotter horde

    An MIT-organised crowdsourced network of spotters was the first to locate ten large red balloons placed around the USA on Saturday, winning a $40k prize from DARPA. Most of the cash will be distributed among the network's members according to a simple formula whose design lay behind the MIT team's success. DARPA announced the …

    Science 7 Dec 2009, 10:57

  • HTC's next-gen Android flagship phone to debut Feb 2010

    With or without a Qwerty array?

    The head of HTC's Swedish operations has said the company will unveil the 'Hero 2' smartphone in February 2010 and ship the Android-based handset soon after. The gen comes by way of IDG's Swedish-language newssite. According to the executive, one Patrik Andersson, the second-gen Hero will be announced at Mobile World Congress …

    Phones 7 Dec 2009, 11:15

  • Dodgy Avast update classifies multiple legit files as malign

    Initiates needless Chicken Little-style panic

    Popular free of charge anti-virus scanner Avast went berserk late last week and began classifying legitimate files as infected. Legitimate products were wrongly classified as harbouring the Dell-MZG Trojan or other strains of malware and whisked off to quarantine following the publication of a dodgy update. Avast has published …

    Security 7 Dec 2009, 11:17

  • IDC numbers show Dell server storage booming

    While NetApp NAS revenues are busted

    IDC quarterly disk storage revenue numbers have shown Dell booming in direct-attach drives (DAS) and NetApp fumbling the ball in network-attached storage (NAS). The IDC numbers refer to world-wide quarterly supplier factory revenue numbers for the third quarter of 2008 and the third quarter of this year. In total, disk storage …

    Storage 7 Dec 2009, 12:09

  • The return of the Psion-sized PC

    Is that a QWERTY in your pocket?

    The Psion-sized PC is back, in the form of an Atom-based pocket computer. The return is thanks to two names familiar to the Epoc community - former Psion employee Paul Pinnock of Croydon repair shop POS Ltd, and broadcaster Ewan Spence, an editor at AllAboutSymbian. Or as we still fondly think of it, AllAboutER6. The first …

    Mobile 7 Dec 2009, 12:11

  • Microsoft grinches W7 Family Pack in US

    UK consumers safe from furry green beast for now

    Microsoft has left children across the US tearful and upset after pulling the Windows 7 Family Pack offer that promised the whole family could enjoy the upgrade from Vista. However, UK customers can continue to enjoy the benefit of the package - for now anyway. Windows 7 Family Pack gave US consumers three licences for Home …

    The Channel 7 Dec 2009, 12:54

  • Nokia N900 Linux smartphone

    Review Finnish phone firm fights back

    Once the unequalled leader among mobile phone manufacturers, Nokia still returns impressive sales, but ceded its dominance of the smartphone market with the arrival of the iPhone. It's been playing catch-up ever since, sticking rigidly to a Symbian OS that only seemed to grow older looking with each new device. Symbian …

    Phones 7 Dec 2009, 13:02

  • Hacker scalps NASA-run websites

    Pulling a McKinnon

    Miscreants took advantage of weak security to hack into two NASA-run websites over the weekend. The websites of NASA's Instrument Systems and Technology unit and Software Engineering division were broken into and screenshots illustrating the hack posted online. Hackers appear to have taken advantage of SQL Injection flaws and …

    Security 7 Dec 2009, 13:16

  • Gordon Brown declares another new era in gov IT

    12 years of IT chaos to be wiped out by more change

    The government plans further back office integration and a national introduction of the Tell Us Once service as part of its streamlining programme. The moves are among the main features of Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government, a strategy document published by the Cabinet Office on 6 December 2009. Launched by the …

    Government 7 Dec 2009, 13:36

  • Novell to mashup management tools

    No tea making facilities as yet, though

    It seems that most of the IT industry is trying to figure out how to make money by vertically integrating some aspects of the data centre and selling a complete solution that addresses the whole stack. Novell - known predominantly for its NetWare and SUSE Linux operating systems - is no exception. Having shelled out big bucks …

    Software 7 Dec 2009, 13:39

  • Combat walker machines: $3m for new studies

    From motor mule to metal man to battlefield juggernaut?

    The US military's famous walker robot, aka "BigDog" or the "Legged Squad Support System", has received a further $3m in funding. However, the machine doesn't yet seem very close to seeing frontline military service. The idea of BigDog/LS3 is that it would function like a sort of robotic packmule, accompanying a squad of …

    Science 7 Dec 2009, 13:47

  • IFPI aims legal broadside at single filesharer

    'We've had 50 songs off him'

    The IFPI has made its first request to the Swedish courts to force an ISP to hand over details of an alleged file sharer. In April, Sweden brought in its IPRED legislation, designed to rein in the apparently rampant filesharing conducted in the country. It did this by allowing record cos and the like to track down filesharers …

    Media 7 Dec 2009, 13:53

  • Sprint and Hearst launch Skiff ereader

    But competition means it won't be plain sailing

    If touchscreen phones were the new buzz gadgets of 2008, this has certainly been the year of the ereader. This is especially true in the US, where operators have spotted the opportunity to adopt the integrated device/content model beloved of Apple, and build a new revenue stream. The latest contender comes from a partnership …

    Hardware 7 Dec 2009, 13:54

  • FIA to oversee first e-car 'grand prix' series

    Leccy Tech Six races lined up for 2011

    A new racing series solely devoted to electric vehicles looks set to begin in 2011 if the plans of a British racing concern come to fruition. The series - to be called the EV Cup - was officially launched in London last week by a company called EEVRC Ltd. First race meetings in 2011 under this flag Its initial aim is to …

    Science 7 Dec 2009, 14:22

  • Dongles pricey and pointless, says Bluetooth SIG

    Bluetooth smiles better!

    The Bluetooth Special Interest Group reckons you can save 40 per cent on your phone bill by ditching your 3G dongle and using a Bluetooth connection instead. That figure is based on the cost of setting up a separate mobile contract for a 3G dongle, compared to adding a decent data allocation to one's existing mobile account, …

    Mobile 7 Dec 2009, 14:33

  • Medion prices up Windows 7 netbook

    Similar-spec XP models rather cheaper

    Medion has unwrapped another 10in netbook in time for Christmas, this one preloaded with Windows 7 Starter Edition in place of XP. Medion's Akoya E1217: Windows 7 ups the price a fair bit The Akoya E1217's hardware specs are classic netbook: 10in, 1024 x 600 display, 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor, five-in-one memory card …

    Hardware 7 Dec 2009, 14:40

  • Ministers lick problem of pan-EU patents - almost

    Consensus lost in translation

    European ministers have reached agreement on a new EU-wide patent structure after lengthy negotiations but have failed to find a way past the biggest obstacle to an EU-wide patent: the cost of translation. Ministers have approved a new litigation system to deal with a new Europe-wide patent in a deal that will still require …

    Government 7 Dec 2009, 15:00

  • Spook firm readies Virgin Media filesharing probes

    'Witch-measuring not witch-finding'

    The corridors at Detica's central London "Nerve Centre" are lined with portraits of the heroes of Bletchley Park, Britain's World War Two code-breaking powerhouse. The black and white gallery acted as an reminder of the secret government business where the firm makes most of its money when The Register visited recently. We were …

    Media 7 Dec 2009, 15:03

  • TSA, HSBC in secret doc redaction oopsie

    Your uh, data is showing

    The Transport Security Administration (TSA) and the US arm of bank HSBC have both failed to properly redact documents they published online. Blacked-out portions of a TSA document on screening techniques could be reversed by a simple cut-and-paste operation on supposedly sensitive portions of a PDF document. Security through …

    Security 7 Dec 2009, 15:32

  • Google slaps barcodey stickers on Favourite Places

    Like Michelin stars but scannable

    Google has sent out 100,000 window stickers to US businesses, proclaiming them to be Favourite Places and providing a QR Code for a quick link to information and reviews. The QR Code is a variant on the traditional barcode, and readable by the majority of smartphones using the camera, the codes sent out to businesses link to a …

    Mobile 7 Dec 2009, 15:48

  • No more UFO reports please, says MoD

    'No evidence aliens are any threat to Blighty'

    The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has decided to close down its UFO reporting service, saying that it is an "inappropriate use of defence resources". The Ministry has closed down the voicemail and email addresses formerly available for reporting sightings. The MoD's page, How to report a UFO sighting, was modified last week to …

    Science 7 Dec 2009, 16:01

  • Google boss tracks Carly, Arianna, all three Dixie Chicks

    Schmidt succumbs to Twitter

    Google CEO Eric Schmidt has apparently joined Twitter, giving the world a peek into what he thinks and who he thinks is thinking things worth thinking about. @ericschmidt0 broke cover over the weekend - a mere six months or so after he dissed the service as a poor man's email. Presumably he no longer feels this is the case - …

    Media 7 Dec 2009, 16:09

  • IBM thinks outside the box with containerized data centres

    Looks like we got a convoy

    The idea of putting servers, storage, and networking gear into metal shipping containers and linking them together into a data centre cluster is not a new idea - Sun Microsystems was the first to propose the idea back in October 2006 - but it is catching on enough that IBM is endorsing the concept and shipping a product. Big …

    Servers 7 Dec 2009, 16:16

  • TTXGP e-bike race dates announced, goes international

    Leccy Tech US trials as well as UK races

    The first, provisional dates for the 2010 TTxGP Championship leccy bike racing series have been released. And two new teams have signed up for 2010 race series. The first e-bike contest of 2010 will be the inaugural event of the North American Championship and will take place at Infineon Raceway in California on 14 and 16 May …

    Science 7 Dec 2009, 16:41

  • Muggers plundering gig bootleggers' booty

    And isn't it ahhh-ronic

    Gangs are watching gigs to see who's filming the stage on a nice smartphone, then nicking it from their pocket in the ensuing crowds, according to a Metropolitan Police warning. The Met will be putting up posters at venues and providing Bluetooth messages telling punters to put their phones away, and perhaps enjoy the gig …

    Mobile 7 Dec 2009, 17:12

  • One in 200 success rate keeps phishing economy ticking over

    Nibbles add up to big haul

    Phishers only need to land a minute percentage of victims to make scams worthwhile. Stats culled from Trusteer's anti-phishing browser plug-in, which is offered by banks to their clients as a transaction security add-on, revealed that 0.47 per cent of a bank’s customers fall victim to phishing attacks each year. The figure …

    Security 7 Dec 2009, 18:26

  • Apple said to snub Intel's next-gen mobile chip

    Arrandale on the outs?

    Intel's Arrandale mobile CPU remains on schedule for an early January debut, but the word on the street is that one of Chipzilla's flagship customers will take a pass on that integrated-graphics part. That would be Apple. According to a report from Bright Side of News, "sources close to the heart of the matter" say that Apple …

    Hardware 7 Dec 2009, 18:55

  • eBay wanted to buy Craigslist, Whitman tells judge

    Court showdown over board seat

    eBay wanted to buy Craigslist whole hog when it scooped up a minority stake in the classifieds website in 2004, former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman told a judge on Monday. Whitman said the online tat house was looking to expand into new markets when it purchased a 28 per cent stake in the company from an early Craigslist …

    Media 7 Dec 2009, 19:02

  • Red Hat revs real-time MRG Linux to 1.2

    Better, stronger, faster

    Commercial Linux distributor Red Hat today kicked out the 1.2 release of its Enterprise MRG Linux variant for real-time, messaging, and grid computing. Enterprise MRG was launched as an idea in December 2007 in the wake of Novell's roll-out of its SUSE Linux Enterprise Real-Time variant of its SLES server Linux distro a month …

    Operating Systems 7 Dec 2009, 19:09

  • Google chief: Only miscreants worry about net privacy

    'If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it'

    If you're concerned about Google retaining your personal data, then you must be doing something you shouldn't be doing. At least that's the word from Google CEO Eric Schmidt. "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place," Schmidt tells CNBC, sparking howls of …

    Media 7 Dec 2009, 19:56

  • Webmasters targeted in cPanel look-alike phish

    Wanted: FTP credentials

    Fraudsters are targeting webmasters in a massive phishing campaign that attempts to trick marks into giving up credentials needed to administer their sites. The emails are sent to customers of some of the world's most widely used webhosts, including GoDaddy, Hostgator, Yahoo!, and 50Webs. Although the subject lines vary, they …

    Security 7 Dec 2009, 20:37

  • Microsoft and EU close on browser settlement?

    Opera whistlin' positive

    Changes to a Microsoft proposal to let PC users in Europe chose the browser they want with Windows may have won over European regulators. The European Commission and Microsoft are reported to be close to approving a change in Windows that would give people a choice in browsers, offering them non-Microsoft options. Reuters has …

    Applications 7 Dec 2009, 21:25

  • Google equips self for 'real-time' search

    More than just Twitter. Really

    Last week, Microsoft unveiled all sorts of new stuff on the search engine known as Bing. Which means the Redmond obsessives at Google have spent the ensuing days desperately announcing as many of their own search thingys as they possible can. This includes everything from 'personalizing' results pages when users aren't signed …

    Media 7 Dec 2009, 22:28

  • Service cracks wireless passwords from the cloud

    135 million words in 20 minutes

    A security researcher has unveiled a low-cost service for penetration testers that checks the security of wireless networks by running passwords against a 135-million-word dictionary. The WPA Cracker is a cloud-based service that accesses a 400-CPU cluster. For $34, it can run a password against all 135 million entries in …

    Security 7 Dec 2009, 22:30

  • US eyes speedy reviews for 'green' patents

    Change color. Save 12 months

    The US Patent and Trademark Office said Monday that it's launching a test program that will greatly speed the review of "green" technology patents. The new fast-track pilot program is expected to shave a full year off the patent review process, which takes an average of 40 months to reach a final decision, according to the …

    Media 7 Dec 2009, 22:54