9th December 2009 Archive

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Overstock's Byrne claims $5m scalp over short selling

A new look for Miscreants' Ball

Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne has said that hedge fund Copper River Partners paid his company $5m this afternoon to settle claims it colluded to denigrate Overstock and then profit from short positions in the etailer's shares. Byrne - who has waged a very public battle over Wall Street short selling - tells The Reg that the $ …

Financial News 9 Dec 00:00
iPhone app transforms speech to text

There's a Dragon in my phone!

Voice-transcription software has come to the iPhone from the long-time industry leader in speech-to-text software. Dragon Dictation (App Store link) is from Nuance, the developers of the Dragon NaturallySpeaking line of speech-to-text converters for Windows and the supplier of the recognition engine behind MacSpeech Dictate …

Mobile 9 Dec 01:49
Scammers scrape RAM for bank card data

Malware sidesteps encryption

Forget keyloggers and packet sniffers. In the wake of industry rules requiring credit card data to be encrypted, malware that siphons clear-text information from computer memory is all the rage among scammers, security researchers say. So-called RAM scrapers scour the random access memory of POS, or point-of-sale, terminals, …

Enterprise Security 9 Dec 05:02
US judge excoriates Harvard team's P2P defense

Affirms $675,000 fine for 30 shared songs

As expected, a federal judge has affirmed a $675,000 fine against a graduate student for illegally sharing 30 copyrighted songs. What came as a surprise were the unusually harsh words the jurist had for the defendant's attorney. In an opinion published Monday, US District Judge Nancy Gertner excoriated Charles Nesson, co- …

Music and Media 9 Dec 07:02
Overland to tape shares together

Reverse stock-split gives breathing space

Overland Storage is combining three shares into one to meet Nasdaq listing rules, which require shares to trade consistently above the dollar level. Overland has been making heavy weather of selling its tape and disk data protection products and, latterly, its Snap Server filers. It received a so-called deficiency letter from …

Storage 9 Dec 07:02
Google teams with papers on net news 'experiment'

Living stories for dying companies

Google has teamed up with venerable US newspapers The New York Times and The Washington Post to create an experimental web-based news platform designed to exploit "certain unique advantages of online publishing." Dubbed Living Stories, the prototype was unveiled on Tuesday with a post to the Official Google Blog. "We believe …

Music and Media 9 Dec 07:18
AMD ATI Radeon HD 5970 two-GPU graphics card

Review Serious performance, serious price

Cast your eye over our news piece on AMD's ATI Radeon HD 5970 and our review of the HD 5870 and you’ll have the essential information at your fingertips. AMD has, for some unknown reason, changed its naming convention, so this two-chip HD 5870-based graphics card has been named HD 5970 instead of the more predictable HD 5870 X2 …

Reg Hardware 9 Dec 08:02
2009's Top Win Mo Smartphones

Kit of the Year Some good releases despite iPhone, Android

It hasn't been a good year for Windows Mobile. The relentless rise of the iPhone in consumerland, Research in Motion's strength in the business world and Android's capture of the 'what's new, what's hot' category has left the Microsoft's increasingly anachronistic OS looking like an also-ran. This despite a raft of new WM …

Reg Hardware 9 Dec 10:02
Apple lists iPhone UK hits of 2009

Not expecting much of December then

Apple has provided lists of the UK's top applications, music, films and TV shows though 2009, though with no numbers as such. Macworld summarises the lists, with the top album from Kings of Leon followed by Lily Allen, but we'll have to wait until the end of the year to see how that compares to other sales channels. Nor can …

Mobile 9 Dec 10:03
Adobe Flash update lances zero-day vuln

There's more where that came from

Adobe is due to release an update for Flash Player later on Tuesday that plugs a zero-day vulnerability. The critical update for Adobe Flash Player 10.0.32.18 and earlier versions, will be delivered alongside an equally important fix for Adobe AIR 1.5.2. Details of the vulnerability are being withheld pending the delivery of …

Enterprise Security 9 Dec 10:06
US told to keep its beak out of European decisions

Oracle, Sun and Steely Neelie

European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has hit back US senators who have publicly complained about Europe's ongoing examination of the Oracle Sun merger. Kroes told US senators to mind their own business and concentrate on sorting out their own problems - starting with US healthcare. Several high profile US senators …

Government 9 Dec 10:14
DVB-T2 set-top box unveiled

Has web link too

UK firm 3view - geddit?!? - has unwrapped what it has labelled the "world’s first web-connected set-top box" able to receive free-to-air terrestrial HD telly channels. 3view's dual DVB-T2 tuners mean it should pick-up Freeview The catch? It won't be available to buy until March 2010. Freeview HD went live across parts of …

Reg Hardware 9 Dec 10:24
RatemyCouncil site launches, falls over

Stop me if you've heard this one...

A £22m website offering comparisons between local councils launched today, and at the time of writing is barely useable because pages are loading so slowly. The Oneplace site is meant to bring together information from several inspectorates including the Audit Commission. We suggest they start by auditing their own web hosting …

Government 9 Dec 10:52
LHC pulverises previous record: 2.36 TeV surprise collision!

Exclusive Extra-dimensional saboteurs, doom prophets left fuming

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), already the most powerful particle-punisher ever built, smashed the collision record yesterday night as humanity's first 2.36 Tera-electron-volt collisions were recorded. Scientists at the colossal subterranean ATLAS instrument cavern, located on the 27-km underground orbital motorway for …

Physics 9 Dec 10:54
Dell pitches ultra-skinny laptop at business

No Linux version for the Brits?

Dell has introduced a Vostro-branded alternative to its ultra-skinny Adamo laptop. Dell's V13: and Adamo begat Vostro Dubbed the V13, the 16.5mm-thick aluminium-clad notebook comes with a choice of single-core Celeron 743 clocked at 1.2GHz, 1.4GHz Core 2 Solo SU3500 or 1.3GHz Core 2 Duo SU7300. They contain between 2GB and …

Reg Hardware 9 Dec 11:00
Seagate takes skinniest single platter to Vegas

Momentus Thin thing

Seagate is introducing the world's thinnest 2.5-inch laptop hard drive for netbooks and ultra-thin laptop PCs at CES in Las Vegas next month. This is a single platter Momentus Thin drive, 7mm in height, which makes it 25 per cent slimmer than traditional 2.5-inch notebook drives. It has 160GB and 250GB capacity points, an 8MB …

Storage 9 Dec 11:15
Hubble probes deepest universe

Ancient galaxies shine for the camera

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured "the deepest image of the universe ever taken in near-infrared light", revealing galaxies which formed a mere 600 million years after the Big Bang: The picture (big version here), showing a region bounded by the constellations Cetus, Columba and Lepus, is courtesy of Hubble's Wide …

Space 9 Dec 11:16
Last patch train of the decade rolls in from Redmond

Zero-day IE fix stars in Black Tuesday update

A critical update addressing a zero-day vulnerability in Internet Explorer starred among the six bulletins published by Microsoft on Tuesday, as part of Redmond's last Black Tuesday update of the decade. Microsoft closed out 2009 with six security bulletins - three rated "critical" and three classified as "important" - …

Enterprise Security 9 Dec 11:23
Mars rover faces icy death

Spirit seriously bogged down

NASA's Spirit Mars rover could be facing the prospect of freezing to death after attempts to free it from a sand trap suggest it may now have two disabled wheels. Spirit got bogged down back in April, and its three left wheels are almost completely buried. Its right-front wheel clapped out in 2006, and the right-rear wheel is …

Space 9 Dec 11:27
Modern Warfare 2 hit by anti-gay claim

In-game remark sparks indignation

Videogame Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 contains a homophobic slur, it has been claimed. Shortly after the weapons tutorial at the beginning of the game, and when the player has no equipment, he is asked by another if he has ever seen a grown man naked. After a few laughs, the player's character appears to ask: "Hey man, are …

Reg Hardware 9 Dec 11:31
Sun-Oracle x86 server combo tops the SAP charts

AMD Istanbuls crank through the transactions

Sun Microsystems is the quietest server maker in the world these days, but its PR machine - which just pumps out the occasional press release like clues for those trying to figure out its plans since the Oracle gag went on in April - said today that Sun's recent top-end x64 server has smoked the competition in a popular …

Servers 9 Dec 11:50
Thinking about production scale virtualisation projects?

Webcast Well today’s your LUCKY day!

We estimate that most of you are exploring the idea of taking your virtualisation plans up to production scale. You’ve done the easy stuff, the tinkering, some moderate x86 consolidation, perhaps even some desktop virtualisation in branch offices. But chances are you’re now thinking about stepping up to the plate. How timely. …

Virtualisation Lab 9 Dec 12:02
New DNA rules may still breach human rights

Council of Europe unsatisfied

The government's plans to limit DNA retention from those arrested but not charged or convicted may not go far enough, according to the body that ensures human rights rulings are obeyed. Last month the Home Office said that - in response to a defeat at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) - it would cut the retention …

Government 9 Dec 12:09
Revolutionary triangular-key keypad out on Android

Google OS snaps up Crocodile Keyboard

A virtual smartphone keypad with keys shaped like a crocodile's teeth has finally seen the light of day, launching in the Android Marketplace this week. The Crocodile Keyboard's triangular keys have significantly more 'dead space' around them than you’ll find on a standard rectangular-key Qwerty layout. The result, claimed …

Reg Hardware 9 Dec 12:21
Orange sticks it to Ovi with on-device app store

No Jukebox yet though

Orange has launched an on-device application store, with transactions being added to the phone bill in just the way the operator Ovi would work 18 months ago. The Orange App Store will list applications as well as widgets and ringtones, and will come pre-installed on handsets from January in the UK and France, but even those …

Mobile 9 Dec 12:21
Mozilla squirts out Thunderbird 3

Offline world is still relevant, y'know

Mozilla Messaging finally splashed Thunderbird 3 onto the interwebs yesterday. The outfit’s free alternative to Microsoft’s Outlook was made available as a download for Windows, Mac and Linux users on Tuesday. It comes less than a week after Mozilla pushed out a second release candidate version of the email client, in a move …

Applications 9 Dec 12:24
Logitech Squeezebox Radio Wi-Fi music player

Review A wireless of a different sort

A year on from testing the Squeezebox Boom wireless music streamer, Logitech has released its little brother into the wild. Called the Squeezebox Radio, the new device is the transistor radio of the Squeezebox range to the Boom's ghetto blaster. No DAB, no FM: Logitech's Squeezebox Radio Rocking up in traditional Squeezebox …

Reg Hardware 9 Dec 13:02
Shifting gears with information access

Mini Poll Keeping up with changing demands and expectations

In our latest mini-poll below, we are looking at the way in which demand for information is changing among business users, and the ways in which evolving needs are being met. READER POLL: SHIFTING GEARS WITH INFORMATION ACCESS 1. Do you see a growing demand for more relevant, accurate and timely information within the …

Evolving Apps 9 Dec 13:02
'Friends with Benefits' sex does no psych harm - profs

Doleful, ultimately doomed youth monogamy, though...

Boffins in Minnesota have a message for young adults: sleeping around is OK. Your prospects in terms of psychological health should you indulge in casual flings are every bit as good as they would be if you bizarrely chose to waste your wild-oats years in one or more doleful and ultimately doomed monogamous relationships. …

Biology 9 Dec 13:10
German ISPs team up with gov agency to clean up malware

Although anti-botnet offensive panned by critics

The German government is planning to establish a botnet cleanup helpline for computer users affected by malware infection. ISPs are teaming up with the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) to set up an operation geared towards cleansing consumer systems from botnet infestation. ISPs will track down infected …

Enterprise Security 9 Dec 13:11
Nokia goes golden

Shuns phone features for bling

While most phone firms hope to up their 2010 revenues by selling more smartphones, Nokia has instead slashed its smartphone production forecast and turned its attention to Vertu-esque phones made of precious metals. Nokia's 6700: a golden classic? The Finnish phone firm has given its 6700 Classic a dusting of 18-carat gold …

Reg Hardware 9 Dec 13:15
Google Groups plays footsie with Google Apps customers

Sys admin by ~~doughnuts~~ numbers

Mountain View has finally begun offering its popular Google Groups feature to its enterprise Apps Premier and Education Edition punters. Until yesterday, when the company announced the move, many paying customers had grumbled about the lack of Google Groups within corporate and academic versions of Google’s nascent online …

Applications 9 Dec 13:26
T-Mobile data scam detected a year ago

Customers in the dark

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has been investigating the theft and sale of T-Mobile customers' personal data for almost a year, it has emerged. News of the security breach, which saw rogue staff at the mobile operator divulge contract details to cold-calling marketeers, was only released to customers last month …

Mobile 9 Dec 13:28
Darling promises IT cuts, years of pain

IT cuts ahoy, windfall tax for bankers

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has promised spending cuts in order to try and rein in rampant government spending, helped by a windfall tax on bankers' bonuses. In his last pre-budget report before the election, Darling promised £5bn in cuts from technology projects, outsourcing prison management and reforming …

Small Biz 9 Dec 13:41
EC needs new agency for three-headed security database

But don't give it to Interpol, warns data supervisor

The European Data Protection Supervisor has called for a new agency to be set up to oversee the massive three-horned citizen watching database proposed by Brussels earlier this year. The Commission in June proposed an agency - "responsible for the long-term operational management of the second-generation Schengen Information …

Government 9 Dec 13:47
Facebook screams at users: 'Sort your privacy. NOW'

As it throws switch on new tools

Facebook has ordered its 350 million users to sort out their privacy settings right now, before it throws the switch on its revamped security system. The social networker farmer in chief Mark Zuckerberg, told its users last week that, "We're adding something that many of you have asked for — the ability to control who sees …

ID 9 Dec 15:01
Crooks pitch World Cup scams after group draw

Speculative efforts from outside the box discouraged

Cybercrooks have begun punting World Cup ticket and HD TV viewing scams as a successor to earlier lottery-based cons. The revision of earlier fraud follows the final draw for the 2010 World Cup last Friday. Now, in addition to the opportunity to "claim cash prizes" in a draw by South African Football Association they have …

Crime 9 Dec 15:20
UK air traffic control goes after Wikileaks

Good luck with that

The National Aviation and Transport Services (NATS) is threatening legal action against Wikileaks because the website has published a recording of the crashing of BA flight 038, call sign Speedbird 38, which came down just short of the Heathrow runway in 2008. Earlier this month Wikileaks published an audio recording of air …

Government 9 Dec 15:23
Google abandons Search

Swaps Hive Mind for nevermind

It's hard to explain to people new to the web since 2004 - the Digg kids - the effect that Google had on the internet at the turn of the decade. They can't conceive the Before and the After. Google was miraculous, and so much better than the competition that they effectively gave up trying. But Google's PageRank also unleashed …

Applications 9 Dec 16:13
Packard Bell catches burning battery blight

I'll give the fire brigade a Bell

Packard Bell has become the latest laptop maker to issue a major battery recall, following reports of overheating and fires. Four Easynote models are affected. MX36, MX37, MX51 and MX52 units sold mainly in Europe between July and December 2007 are at risk. Packard Bell blamed the voluntary recall on internal short circuits …

Channel Register 9 Dec 16:50
Zeus bot found using Amazon's EC2 as C&C server

Clouds on Mount Olympus

Add Amazon's EC2 to the roster of cloud-based services being exploited to do the bidding of malware gangs. Over the past few days, a new variant of the Zeus banking trojan has been spotted using the popular Amazon service as a command and control channel for infected machines. After marks get tricked into installing the …

Malware 9 Dec 19:53
Lawyers claim Palin hack suspect's PC had spyware

Groundwork laid for possible Big Wooden Horse defence

Lawyers for Sarah Palin webmail hack suspect David Kernell claim his PC was infected with spyware. The contention may be used at trial to support arguments that the 21-year-old student son of a Tennessee Democrat politician was not personally responsible for the hack on a Yahoo! account maintained by the former Alaskan …

Crime 9 Dec 19:54
Apple's alleged Kindle-crusher set for spring release?

Amazon's 'wolfish' revenue cut downsized

Apple's alleged Kindle-killing tablet appears to be on the runway for a spring 2010 takeoff. And in what may or may not be related news, two top-drawer US publishers are holding back ebooks of dozens of their upcoming major titles until the same time frame. According to one analyst's "supply chain sources," mass production of …

Music and Media 9 Dec 20:10
BT's unified comm cloud goes global

Invades US, mainland Europe, Asia

British Telecom is eying world domination with the expansion of its hosted unified communications services under a new pact with Cisco Systems. BT will expand its cloud-based IP telephony service into the US, mainland Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in 2010, and into Asia Pacific the following year. Already available in …

Networks 9 Dec 21:00
Microsoft to sing at EC Oracle hearing

But what's their tune?

Microsoft will testify to the European Commission later this week in the ongoing debate on whether the Eurocrats will bless Oracle's Sun-acquisition plans. A Microsoft spokesperson told ZDNet that Redmond "can confirm participation at the hearing and that the company has previously responded to inquiry from the Commission …

Applications 9 Dec 21:17
Google and MS sued over links to file-sharing site

Search giants dubbed RapidShare BFFs

Mini music label Blue Destiny Records has sued both Google and Microsoft for allegedly "facilitating and enabling" the illegal distribution of copyrighted songs. Filed on Monday with a US federal court in Northern Florida, the suit is an attempt to choke off the distribution of Blue Destiny tunes on the Germany-based file- …

Music and Media 9 Dec 22:35
AT&T to choke your iPhone

Death to unlimited data plans

AT&T has finally figured out how to fix its much-maligned US mobile data services: stop users from eating up so frickin' much bandwidth. As reported by the Associated Press, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility Ralph de la "Darth" Vega told attendees at a New York investors' conference on Wednesday that his company plans to …

Mobile 9 Dec 23:15