31st December 2009 Archive

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Russia plans asteroid-defence space mission to Apophis

Probably not planning to use it as weapon

Russia may deploy defensive spacecraft against the Apophis asteroid, which is almost certainly not going to hit the Earth, according to remarks by the head of the country's space agency. "I don't remember exactly, but it seems to me it could hit the Earth by 2032," said Anatoly Perminov, quoted by AP. In this Perminov is …

Space 31 Dec 10:19
Arise, Sir Peter of Middle Earth

LoTR maker Jackson knighted in NZ

Lord of the Rings maker Peter Jackson has been knighted in his native New Zealand, the BBC reports. The honour comes as the country reinstates knighthoods following their abolition back in 2000. Sir Peter, already made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit back in 2002, has "continued to excel in and significantly …

Entertainment 31 Dec 10:21
Orange punts quality calling

HD moniker applied to voice, again

Orange UK is upping the quality of voice calls over the next year, branding the development "HD Voice" in the ongoing search for market differentiation. The improvements come with use of Wideband Adaptive Multi-Rate (WB-AMR) as a voice codec, which has been around for a while but never deployed. The common wisdom has been that …

Mobile 31 Dec 10:53
Lithuania hits off switch on nuclear plant

Closing Chernobyl-style facility a condition of EU membership

Lithuania will tonight shut down its single Soviet-era nuclear power plant - a facility which supplies up to 80 per cent of the country's electricity but must go as a condition of the country's membership of the European Union. According to the BBC, the Ignalina plant in Visaginas opened 26 years ago, and critics of the …

Science 31 Dec 10:55
Sex in the Noughties: How was it for you?

Comment Politically correct mainly

When it comes to sex, New Labour claims that the last decade has been about the rights of sexual minorities and support for victims. In the last few years, however, that view has been challenged by a gathering dissent that includes many supposed beneficiaries of such liberalism. An alternative demand for sexual liberation is …

Law 31 Dec 11:01
Welcome to the out-of-control decade

Comment We have seen the future, and it doesn't belong to you

Back in the turbulent 1960s, the anti-establishment rabble was often derided as being "out of control." Fast-forward 50 years to the 2010s, when that same phrase will soon be back in vogue. But with a very different meaning. The coming decade is shaping up to be one in which we, as consumers and citizens, will see our control …

Software 31 Dec 11:02
US word czars unfriend shovel-ready toxic assets

2010 list of banned vocab - there's no app for that

Michigan's Lake Superior State University has issued its 2010 manifest of 15 words and phrases consigned to the lexicographical dustbin in the 35th "List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness". Or rather, "word 'czars' at Lake Superior State University 'unfriended' 15 words …

Bootnotes 31 Dec 12:16
Vevo to strip content from YouTube API

Teenage kicks over at Muziic enough to make an old man blush

Music video website Vevo will soon see its content stripped from YouTube's API, in a move to block third parties using it without the firm's permission. The decision by the Universal Music Group and Sony Group, which co-own Vevo, was made after the founder of Muziic - 16-year-old David Nelson of Bettendorf, Iowa - kicked up an …

Music and Media 31 Dec 12:25
Tobacco biofuel to solve energy/ environment crisis?

Baccy-burner cars, boilers to make nonsense of smoking ban

Boffins in Philadelphia, America have come up with a radical new plan for biofuels. Rather than the cars of tomorrow running on various forms of alcohol, sunflower oil, algae etc, the scientists propose that they should instead be fuelled by burning tobacco. "Tobacco is very attractive as a biofuel because the idea is to use …

Biology 31 Dec 12:36
iSlate? I spy more control from Cupertino

Rumours, speculation and state control

Apple is probably going to launch some sort of tablet PC next month, probably on January the 26th, but is this a revolution in computing or a revolution in control? The iSlate will take the iPhone concept into a decent-sized package, but more importantly for Apple it takes the security and control model into the realm of …

PCs & Chips 31 Dec 12:44
Today is not New Year's Eve - or the end of the decade

El Reg apologises for era error

El Reg would like to apologise to all its readers for the recent spate of ill-timed end of the decade articles, which it, along with the rest of the media have been tacking on to the close of 2009. In fact, the end of the first decade of the 21st century does not take place until the year 2010. Or 2004 if a more accurate …

Science 31 Dec 13:13
Tories swallow Web 2.0, spit out £1m crowdsource prize

Golden goose lays egg

The Tories are waving a £1m taxpayer-funded crowdsourcing prize under the noses of developers to produce a website that can "harness the wisdom" of voters to "resolve difficult policy challenges". According to shadow culture secretary and ex-tech PR man Jeremy Hunt, the prize money would be paid for out of Cabinet Office …

Government 31 Dec 14:02
Oregon profs plan giant robotic space cockroach warriors

'Humans can run, but frankly [it is futile to do so]'

Human traitors in Oregon are planning the construction of fearsome robot cockroaches physically superior to mankind. “Cockroaches are incredible," says John Schmitt, a prof at Oregon State uni. "They can run fast, turn on a dime, move easily over rough terrain, and react to perturbations faster than a nerve impulse can travel …

Biology 31 Dec 14:32
Dell crowned Bad Santa computer maker by angry customers

Holiday card labelled a 'joke'

Dell customers are furious at the computer maker after it failed to deliver products in time for the holiday season, and instead offered a "Holiday Card" to place under their Christmas trees to replace undelivered gifts. The company issued a statement on 17 December in which it said that it had been hit by order delays due to …

PCs & Chips 31 Dec 14:42
Hacker rattles 21,000 iPhone unlockers

Claiming moral high ground

Hackers have mailed 21,000 customers of iPhoneUnlockUK to remind them the company uses unlicensed software, and that their details have been compromised. E-mails were sent out to customers of the iPhone unlocking service, with claims that iPhoneUnlockUK is guilty of stealing software and selling it illegally. The mail goes on …

Mobile 31 Dec 15:11
US feds squeeze bloggers for posting TSA orders

Nigerian crotchbomber claims first victims

At least two bloggers who posted the latest Transportation Security Administration security guidelines have received visits from the feds. One had his laptop confiscated and was served a subpoena. The other just received the subpoena. In case you've been recovering from a massive holiday bender and haven't viewed the news …

Security 31 Dec 20:32
FCC rescues American football fans

The alternative? Rioting in the streets

The US Federal Communications Commission has stepped in to bring a temporary halt to a dispute that had threatened to disrupt that most cherished of American institutions: watching young men attempt to bash each other senseless over the possession of an inflated ersatz pig bladder. This revelation comes in a statement (PDF) …

Government 31 Dec 22:59