The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

18th January 2010 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • New York Times set to charge, again

    Gray Lady flashes ankles at Steve Jobs

    The New York Times is set to return to charging for access to its website. The site went free in 2007 presumably in the belief that the firm could make more money from advertising than it could from subscriptions. This is set to change - a spokeswoman for the paper confirmed changes were coming but said it was still working …

    Music and Media 18 Jan 09:39

  • SFO abandons case management IT

    Struggles to organise what's goin' on 'ere, then

    The Serious Fraud Office has written off £1.3m on an abandoned case management system. In response to a Freedom of Information request, the SFO said that the system, which reached "early build" stage, was intended to replace its existing case management software. The SFO currently uses Docman software, developed in …

    Public Sector 18 Jan 09:54

  • Google's Creepy Club of Chrome

    Strategy Boutique Is this Black Helicopter carbon neutral?

    A notoriously creepy Malthusian thinktank appears to have provided the inspiration for the design of Google's new web browser, Chrome. The icon for Chrome seems to be little more than a holistic logo of The Club of Rome. Both logos appear to have formed spontaneously at around the same time. The Club of Rome appears to have …

    Operating Systems 18 Jan 10:02

  • Pillar's Axiom 600 gets multicore brain transplant

    50 per cent performance boost isn't rocket science

    Pillar Data has increased the performance of its Axiom 600 array and laid the foundation for future systems, with a doubled core count in its Slammer controllers and 700,000 lines of new Axiom ONE software code. The Axiom 600 is Pillar's high-end enterprise-level array, with iSCSI and Fibre Channel block storage and also …

    Storage 18 Jan 10:11

  • Can financing and management models survive IT change?

    Comment A soup of acronyms under pressure

    Whether or not you believe that IT is about to experience a revolution, it is clear that a number of the fundamentals of how the IT infrastructure is built are changing. Many technological and operational developments are changing the way applications are developed and deployed. Everything from innovations in how applications …

    IT Director 18 Jan 10:26

  • Apple preps touchy-feely iMac

    Multi-touch display inbound

    Here's an Apple rumour that doesn't centre - for once - on the iPad. The Mac maker will this year release an iMac based around a 22in touch-sensitive display. No other details are known, but it's not hard to conceive of a new machine equipped with Intel's latest 'Arrandale' Core processors - the ones with graphics and memory …

    Reg Hardware 18 Jan 10:33

  • Motorola Milestone more pricey to make than Nexus One

    Bill of Materials breakdown reveals all

    Motorola’s Milestone and Google’s Nexus One are both Android 2.0 smartphones, but a Bill of Materials (BoM) breakdown has revealed that the Googlephone costs less to make. Motorola's Milestone: more expensive parts than the Nexus One The Milestone – reviewed here and called Droid in North America – has a total BoM of $187. …

    Reg Hardware 18 Jan 10:35

  • Asus readies colour e-book reader

    5.7in OLED gadget out by Christmas

    Asus has let slip the technical specifications and launch date of its now confirmed e-book viewer – the DR-570. Equipped with a 5.7in OLED “high-brightness” colour display, the DR-570 will also support Adobe Flash and either Wi-Fi or 3G wireless connections – but not both. Asus' DR-570 e-book viewer Source: Sunday Times …

    Reg Hardware 18 Jan 11:01

  • Palestinian hackers deface Jewish Chronicle

    Hacktivists protest Gaza blockade

    The Jewish Chronicle website was defaced over the weekend by hackers calling themselves the "Palestinian Mujaheeds" who posted a rant against Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. Hackers posted an image of the Palestinian flag alongside diatribes against Israeli security policy in both English and Turkish. The hacked front …

    Enterprise Security 18 Jan 11:21

  • DisplayPort 1.2 launched at last

    Bandwidth doubled

    The Video Electronics Standards Association (Vesa) clearly just missed finishing off the DisplayPort 1.2 specification in time for the Consumer Electronics Show at the beginning of the month, because it's launched the spec a mere ten days afterward. That said, DP 1.2's key features had already been well telegraphed: primarily …

    Reg Hardware 18 Jan 11:31

  • Company collapses? We've only just begun, warn accountants

    Gov cuts, HMRC will push collapses late this year

    An insolvency firm has warned that company collapses could shoot up later this year, as HMRC begins to take a firmer line on payments and long-awaited spending cuts start to hurt public sector suppliers. Begbies Traynor, which produces the Red Flag Alert, said that 140,000 companies experienced "Significant and Critical …

    Small Biz 18 Jan 11:31

  • Verity Stob's App Store

    Stob Immature Content

    You have had your Sweet iJesus NexPreDroidBerry smart-like-hell-when-you-get-the-statement-phone for a month or so now. Perhaps the novelty has worn off a device that's much more difficult to use than its primitive predecessor, and which eats its battery charge faster than a New Year's resolution breaker munching an economy- …

    Verity Stob 18 Jan 11:32

  • Gran Turismo 5 launch delayed

    'We haven't finished it yet,' admits developer

    The reason for Grand Turismo 5’s delayed launch has been revealed: it simply isn’t finished. GT5 was supposed to launch in Japan during Q1 2010, but Sony last week put an indefinite hold on the title’s arrival. Gran Turismo 5: delayed because it's not finished A European launch hasn’t been confirmed, but it’s safe to …

    Reg Hardware 18 Jan 11:34

  • Discrimination warning over airport body scanners

    Equality watchdog growls at profiling plan

    The equality watchdog has called on the government to explain its plans for the use of body scanners at airports, citing concerns about racial profiling and privacy. This weekend the Equality and Human Rights Commission said it had written to the Home Secretary Alan Johnson to urge the "utmost caution" over such technology. …

    Government 18 Jan 11:42

  • Yanks floored by nail guns, computers and baseballs

    Hospital emergency room shockers revealed online

    We're very much obliged to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has produced a handy online guide detailing just what kind of damage our accident-prone American cousins managed to sustain between 1991 and 2008. The data is gathered by the "National Electronic Injury Surveillance System" (NEISS) and represents a " …

    Bootnotes 18 Jan 11:55

  • Nexsan adds high-availability to dedupe

    FalconStor software also supports OST

    Nexsan has souped up its deduplication product, adding a high-availability configuration, and support for Symantec's OST and 10GbitE. There is a new high-end box as well. The Dedupe SG product combo was announced last August and combines FalconStor's FDS dedupe with Nexsan's AutoMAID drive arrays. These spin down disk drives …

    Storage 18 Jan 12:06

  • Is Mandy right to cut science funding?

    Your chance to complain

    The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee is to investigate government plans to take an axe to science, technology and engineering funding. Lord Mandelson has repeatedly said that spending on such subjects should be strongly tied to stuff which is likely to make money. We have pointed out the difficulty in knowing …

    Science 18 Jan 12:08

  • Near-ready Firefox 3.6 gets second RC sausage

    Mozilla nixes 3.7, but features will still take flight

    Mozilla has popped out a second Release Candidate of its forthcoming browser Firefox 3.6, a final version of which could land this week. The open source outfit said Firefox 3.6 RC2 had refined how the browser will allow third party software to slot into the browser, in a move to prevent crashes. Mozilla has fixed over 70 bugs …

    Applications 18 Jan 12:17

  • Selfridges punts £1,800 Spanish ham

    'Truly amazing' leg of pig

    Selfridges is inviting customers with discerning palates and deep pockets to cough £1,800 for an authentic jamón ibérico puro originally belonging to an acorn-fed Spanish porker. The Albarragena ham (pictured), selected by expert Manuel Maldonado, hails from Extremadura, where pampered pigs roam free while gorging themselves …

    Biology 18 Jan 12:52

  • LG releases Android smartphone

    First of many?

    LG is now officially part of the Android smartphone clan, today launching its first phone based on the Google OS. LG's In TouchMax GW620: runs Android and is available now The In TouchMax GW620 will bring “apps to the masses”, LG promised, by allowing users to connect to Android Market, Google’s version of Apple’s App Store …

    Reg Hardware 18 Jan 12:54

  • HMRC fraud warning emails baited by phishers

    Spotting scams doesn't have to be taxing

    UK taxpayers were targeted by a tax fraud scam mail run late last week. Fraudulent emails (sample extract below) tried to scare recipients into handing over confidential details to a bogus website in response to supposed allegations that the prospective mark was hiding some of their income. Tax Type: INCOME TAX Issue: …

    Enterprise Security 18 Jan 12:56

  • Acer T230H multi-touch monitor

    Review Point and flick?

    Apple fans have been enjoying the advantages of multi-touch computing for some time, but Windows users are little late to arrive at the party. However, with Windows 7 billed as the first version of the operating system to “fully embrace multi-touch technology”, we’re starting to see notebook PCs and add-on tablets supporting the …

    Reg Hardware 18 Jan 13:02

  • Chavez decries evils of PlayStation

    While Malaysia warns population away from Internet

    The evils of decadent Western technology have been highlighted by a brace of enlightened regimes, just days after China warned only compliant firms need bother trying to operate on its cyber turf. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has railed against the Sony PlayStation in his latest missive to the people "Those games they …

    Bootnotes 18 Jan 13:06

  • PlayStation is 'poison', claims Venezuela’s President

    Chavez slams violent videogames, again

    The President of Venezuela has once again voiced his dislike of violent videogames, damning the Sony PlayStation as “poison”. During his latest Alo Presidente broadcast interview, Hugo Chavez said: “Those games they call PlayStation are poison. Some games teach you to kill.” Chavez has form here, previously attacking the …

    Reg Hardware 18 Jan 13:17

  • Net Neutrality: Now cures all wickedness - and Loompa scurvy, too

    The lynch mob and the FCC

    Delicious news from the United States, where 'Net Neutrality' is again being recast for a new political purpose. The term long since ceased to mean anything - it now means anything you want it to mean. But as a rule of thumb, advocating Neutrality means giving your support to general Goodness on the internets, and opposing …

    Telecoms 18 Jan 13:23

  • Nokia reckons its Symbian^4 UI will leapfrog the rest

    2010 roadmap unfolded

    Last week, the Symbian Foundation looked to steal some of Android's bright limelight by outlining its 2010 roadmap. The first fully open source release of the platform is due around midyear, with two updates to the OS also planned this year - Symbian^3 within weeks, and Symbian^4 by the end of 2010. Now Symbian's largest …

    Mobile 18 Jan 13:25

  • Monty looks to Russia, China to stop Oracle's Sun buyout

    MySQL co-creator sees red mist descend

    The co-founder of MySQL is hoping to convince Chinese and Russian regulators to halt Oracle’s planned buyout of Sun Microsystems, after grumbling that European watchdogs looked set to clear the takeover. The EC has set a deadline of 27 January to declare its position on the $7bn acquisition, which Michael ‘Monty’ Widenius has …

    Applications 18 Jan 13:42

  • Freesat talks up a year of HD sport

    Alan Partridge on standby

    If snowy sports are your thing, the BBC will be broadcasting the 2010 Winter Olympics in their entirety in HD, free-to-air satellite service Freesat has revealed. Freesat's aim in releasing this titbit is to persuade sporty types to invest in a Freesat-branded HD TV or set-top box, and a satellite dish. But we note that since …

    Reg Hardware 18 Jan 14:17

  • Asus confirms e-book reader trio

    Updated Blighty to get 9in and two 5.7in models this year

    Asus has clarified plans for an e-book reader rollout, telling Register Hardware that it will launch three models in the UK this year. The DR-950: Asus' first and largest e-book viewer Details of a 5.7in colour-capable Asus e-book reader – the DR-570 – appeared earlier today. However, Asus has since told us that a 9in model …

    Reg Hardware 18 Jan 14:34

  • Avatards rush to name sprogs Pandora

    I christen thee Neytiri Toruk Blockbuster III...

    Film fans are reportedly rushing to celebrate world-changing, paradigm-busting 3D celluloid epic Avatar by naming their poor babies after characters from the Film That Changed The World Forever™. According to a rather sketchy report in the Sun, some parents have inexplicably decided it's a bright idea to name a kid Neytiri or …

    Bootnotes 18 Jan 14:47

  • Yahoo!'s Chinese affiliate disowns parent for siding with Google

    Other Tech giants keep mum over China syndrome

    Yahoo!'s Chinese affiliate has slammed its part owner for siding with Google in an ongoing row over cyber-espionage attacks on Western businesses, widely blamed on the Chinese government. Last week, Yahoo! said it was "aligned" with Google in fighting "attempts to infiltrate company networks to obtain user information". This …

    Enterprise Security 18 Jan 15:22

  • British government ignores MS browser fears

    France, Germany line up to bash Internet Explorer

    France and Germany have already told their citizens to avoid Microsoft's Internet Explorer because of a critical hole in the browser, so what does the British government think? The problem emerged late last week and both governments reacted with a simple warning - use another browser until this is fixed. Three days later and …

    Enterprise Security 18 Jan 15:23

  • GM plumps for long-distance hybrid Cadillac

    Leccy Tech From concept to production by 2012

    General Motors (GM) has finally found a home for its dual-mode plug-in hybrid drivetrain, in the shape of a concept Cadillac. GM's Cadillac XTS Platinum will go from concept to production in 2012 Unveiled at the ongoing Detroit Motor Show, the Cadillac XTS Platinum will form the basis of a very similar model that GM has …

    Reg Hardware 18 Jan 15:29

  • One second-hand space shuttle: Yours for $29m

    Knock-down price for retired NASA fleet

    NASA has knocked down the price of a used space shuttle to an affordable $28.8m - a considerable saving on the $42m it originally wanted for Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour. The agency is accepting enquiries from "any US educational institution, federal agency, state or municipality" interested in getting its hands on a …

    Space 18 Jan 15:36

  • Oxford bans Spotify

    P2P purge snares Swedes

    Heartless BOFHs at Oxford University have banned students from using Spotify, according to the student paper Cherwell. Although the IT Dept's rules permit streaming media applications, subject to bandwidth, Spotify is classed as a P2P application. Students will now have to resort to traditional pastimes of smashing restaurant …

    Music and Media 18 Jan 15:47

  • US makes travellers go online, before getting onboard

    Still asking if you're a Nazi

    Anyone travelling to the US on the Visa Waiver scheme will now have to get pre-approved online before they can board a plane. From Wednesday you will need to get the go-ahead from the Electronic System for Travel Authorization. ESTA approval should only take a few minutes but it is recommended that you apply at least 72 hours …

    Small Biz 18 Jan 15:48

  • Microsoft, German publishers hit Google with anti-trust suits

    Hey Hillary, can you help us out in Europe as well?

    Google has been hit with a barrage of anti-trust complaints in Germany, with two publisher groups, a mapping firm and a Microsoft-owned ad firm launching an enveloping movement on the ad broker and sometime search firm. The quartet of actions follow hard on the heels of a Paris-backed pummeling for Google in France, and a …

    Music and Media 18 Jan 16:04

  • Google Wave invites stack up - who's still playing?

    Comment Not waving, but...

    Now that the hype about Google’s minimalist and actually quite fragile real-time collaboration tool has died down, the ad broker is readying common task extensions that might make it a little easier to fiddle with. Google Wave is, of course, currently at an unstable, preview stage. But that didn't stop hordes of people last …

    Applications 18 Jan 16:20

  • Poisoned PDF pill used to attack US military contractors

    Yet more cyber-espionage shenanigans

    Unidentified hackers are running an ongoing cyber-espionage attack targeting US military contractors Booby-trapped PDF files, posing as messages from the US Department of Defense, were emailed to US defence contractors last week. The document refers to a real conference due to be held in Las Vegas in March. Opening the …

    Enterprise Security 18 Jan 16:45

  • Can Republicans steal Obama's Web 2.0 mojo?

    Liberal fear of a conservative internet

    When Digg began aggregating political articles during the 2008 US presidential election, many of the stories pushed to the top by the highest number of Diggs were pro-Obama and anti-McCain. In an article here, one conservative ruminated balefully on the innate bias among Digg's readers. He said the tech community that still …

    Music and Media 18 Jan 17:02

  • Apple's 'latest creation' debuts January 27

    Roll up for the Magical Mystery Something

    Apple has invited selected members of the press and industry analysts to an event next Wednesday when the company will almost certainly unveil its massively hyped and long-awaited tablet. As reported by The New York Times and elsewhere, the invitation for the January 27 "special event" reads: "Come see our latest creation." …

    Music and Media 18 Jan 18:38

  • Intel linked with HPC boost buy

    Comment To FPGA or not to FPGA

    With Intel sending its "Larrabee" graphics co-processor out to pasture late last year - before it even reached the market - it is natural to assume that the chip maker is looking for something to boost the performance of high performance compute clusters and the supercomputer workloads they run. Nvidia has its Tesla co- …

    HPC 18 Jan 19:00

  • BlackBerry gets Quickr with Lotus

    More Connections from RIM

    Research in Motion (RIM) is packing more support for IBM's Lotus platform into BlackBerry smartphones with a new mobile application for Lotus Quickr. At the opening of IBM's Lotusphere conference in Orlando, Florida on Monday, RIM also unveiled a meatier version of the BlackBerry client for IBM Lotus Connections. The new …

    Mobile 18 Jan 19:52

  • Ballmer: no China exit for Microsoft's Bing

    Let Google play politics

    Microsoft is following Google into practically everything - except its threat to pull out of the Chinese search market. Chief executive Steve Ballmer says Microsoft has no plans to pull MSN or Bing out of China while professing confusion over Google's claimed reason for its threat, Reuters reports. Last week, Google said it …

    Music and Media 18 Jan 20:35

  • IBM's 'Project Vulcan' sneak peeks Lotus Notes future

    Live Labs experiment

    IBM is giving its researchers a new pipeline to show off early versions of net-based Lotus collaboration tools. As part of its annual Lotusphere conference on Monday, the company also provided a peek at what it sees as the future of the business collaboration suite, a thing called "Project Vulcan." Taking a page from Google …

    Applications 18 Jan 22:23

  • FCC evicts wireless mics from future 4G band

    You have six months

    The US Federal Communications Commission has ordered theaters, churches, schools, theme parks, and other wireless microphone users to vacate the 700 MHz band, that prime slice of American spectrum set to house the next generation of wireless broadband services. On Friday, the FCC issued an order (PDF) prohibiting the …

    Networks 18 Jan 23:29

  • Windows 7 users to fly without SP parachute

    Post-Vista confidence is high

    Windows 7 is shaping up to become the first version of Windows that will see widespread deployment before the customary reassurances of a first service pack. According to a new survey, more than half of all Microsoft shops have decided to move to Windows 7 - either because they think the new OS is already stable enough for the …

    Channel Register 18 Jan 23:46