22nd January 2010 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

Microsoft dodges multi-million dollar WGA payout

Spyware case lacks class

Microsoft has dodged a potentially-expensive legal fight after a case against Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) was denied class-action status. This means lawyers cannot represent individuals as a group of defendants in the case, and that's likely a cost saver for Microsoft. Class-action status can push case costs and any final …

Software 22 Jan 2010, 01:03
Google betas Flash-free YouTube sans open codec

Useless with Firefox and Opera

Google has publicly released an experimental YouTube player that uses the HTML5 video tag, as it continues the (very) slow process of moving the world's most popular video-sharing site away from Adobe Flash. As you may or may not expect, the player does not embrace the open and license free Ogg Theora codec. Announced …

Hardware 22 Jan 2010, 01:04
Hacker brings multitouch to Google's Nexus One

Let the mods begin

A celebrated Android hacker has released software that greatly enhances Google's Nexus One smartphone, endowing it for the first time with the same coveted multitouch features that grace Apple's iPhone. Operating under the moniker Cyanogen, the hacker released the updates on Wednesday. The hack came as Google formally made the …

Phones 22 Jan 2010, 01:27
Spring daddy looks to Oracle's MySQL commitments

Comfort guaranteed

Rod Johnson, open source Java pioneer and general manager of VMware's new SpringSource division, has welcomed the commitment European regulators appear to have squeezed from Oracle over the future of MySQL. Rod Johnson, creator of the SpringSorce Framework, told The Reg that as the owner of MySQL's intellectual property, giant …

Applications 22 Jan 2010, 07:02
Quantum spruces up StorNext filesystem

DXi influence spreads

Quantum has pushed out a major StorNext release, adding integrated filesystem deduplication and replication. StorNext is filesystem software that sits in SAN clients helped by a 'traffic cop' metadata controller (MDC) astride, as it were, the LAN path between Windows, Mac, Linux and Unix clients systems and the SAN (storage …

Storage 22 Jan 2010, 08:02
Public sector ICT 'under pressure'

You don't say

The Society of IT Management has said that public sector ICT professionals are being squeezed between a cut in budgets and increased demand for their services. Its annual report on IT trends shows that the financial resources available to local authorities' IT teams are forecast to fall by 11% in 2009-10, involving cuts of 20 …

Government 22 Jan 2010, 08:02
The Equality Bill: Hidden agenda?

Opinion Swerving discrimination means amendment pile-up

Employment lawyers and HR professionals would be well advised to keep a close eye on the progress of the Equality Bill, currently being debated in the House of Lords. Initially intended as a legislative sweep-up, it now proposes major policy changes. This Bill began life as a piece of legislative house-keeping, designed to …

Management 22 Jan 2010, 09:02
AMD preps for two-fisted two-socket catfight

Sock it to Intel

AMD is hoping that its next move in the server space will bring it success in the massive two-socket market. In a conference call with reporters and analysts after his company released its fourth-quarter 2009 financial results, AMD president and CEO Dirk Meyer cited figures that identified the two-socket arena as where "75 to …

Servers 22 Jan 2010, 09:02
FCC website outs HP smartbook

AirLife to feature always-on HSDPA 3G

HP has received US Federal Communications Commission approval for a device dubbed the Compaq AirLife 100 and listed on the FCC website as a "smartbook". The FCC's pages, found by blog Wireless Goodness, reveal the device has Bluetooth EDR, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, dual-band HSDPA 3G and dual-band GSM/GPRS/Edge connectivity on board. …

Hardware 22 Jan 2010, 10:09
China swings at Clinton as Schmidt fudges exit plan

When I say pull out, what I mean is....

China has hit back at criticism from Google and Hillary Clinton accusing them of cultural imperialism by insisting that their view of freedom of information is somehow universal. In an editorial Global Times said: "The US campaign for uncensored and free flow of information on an unrestricted Internet is a disguised attempt to …

Government 22 Jan 2010, 10:27
Storage is boring, right?

Workshop Understanding the Sherpa layer of IT

In the spirit of calling a spade a spade, it is fair to say that computer storage is generally perceived to be quite dull – in Douglas Adams terms it would qualify as ‘mostly harmless’. While this is a bit of a shame for people who look after storage, backups and so on (let’s face it, the job description is never going to break …

Infrastructure Workshop 22 Jan 2010, 10:35
Poetic justice for HK Taoist truck driver

Sent down to judge's words of (real) Zen master

The Hong Kong truck driver who duped an aspiring model into having ritual sex with him has been jailed for six years and nine months, HK's The Standard reports. Au Yeung Kwok-fu, 55, posed as a Taoist Mao Shan master to have his evil way with the unnamed 19-year-old on nine occasions between April and December 2007. He claimed …

Bootnotes 22 Jan 2010, 10:36
MS to release WinMo 7 to phone makers in September

Mole also reiterates Zune, Xbox Live link claims

Windows Mobile 7 will be handed over to smartphone makers in September, to allow them to ready devices based on the operating system for Q4 2010 or Q1 2011. So claim sources said to be familiar with Microsoft's roadmap cited by DIgiTimes. The mole repeated earlier claims that next month's Mobile World Congress industry …

Phones 22 Jan 2010, 10:48
Lords mull Hail Mary penance for file sharers

Mandybill Peers discuss costs, ambulance chasing

The Lords this week discussed new compensation for copyright holders this week - including a voluntary 'Hail Mary fine' payable by file sharers, instead of suspension - but nobody noticed. It was late on Wednesday night, and the Lords were six hours into their fourth session this month discussing the Digital Economy bill. Lord …

Media 22 Jan 2010, 11:04
Irish board hack prompts password reset

Users thrown into scramble to change up login credentials

Popular Irish web discussion forum boards.ie has reset user passwords in response to a hack attack that compromised member login credentials. The site was taken offline for several hours on Thursday. Tom Murphy, boards.ie's co-founder, blamed overseas crackers for a hack in a statement. In this attack, part of the database …

Security 22 Jan 2010, 11:32
Billionaire-funded e-car gets showroom date

Leccy Tech The e6, from BYD and Warren Buffet

The electric e6 MPV manufactured by Chinese firm BYD and partly funded by American billionaire Warren Buffet will be launched later this year. BYD's e6 will hit showrooms later this year The e6 will launch in China this May and be initially targeted at government buyers and taxi fleets. It will cost 300,000 yuan (£27,000 …

Science 22 Jan 2010, 11:38
Police arrest MD of dowsing-rod 'bomb detector' firm

Sold 'magic' bomb wands to Iraqi gov for $56,000 each

A British businessman who has made millions selling dowsing-rod "explosives detectors" to the Iraqi security forces has been arrested on suspicion of fraud. The Times reports that Jim McCormick, 53, a former Merseyside police officer who is nowadays managing director of detector-maker ATSC (UK) Ltd, was arrested and questioned …

Law 22 Jan 2010, 11:42
Lenovo talks up LePhone launch

Into China in May - UK later this year?

Lenovo has reiterated its plan - announced at the Consumer Electronics Shows earlier this month - to launch an Android-based smartphone later this year. Lenovo's LePhone: reaching out beyond China later this year The clamshell device will be called, simply, LePhone. Lenovo will tailor Android the device by adding its own …

Phones 22 Jan 2010, 11:48
Ofcom opens debate on Freeview HD DRM to punters

The BBC wants it - do you?

Ofcom has begun asking the public whether the BBC should be allowed to apply DRM to Freeview HD broadcasts. "This technology," the telecoms and broadcasting regulator said, "would enable broadcasters to control the copying of content from high-definition receivers to other consumer devices and its distribution to others over …

Hardware 22 Jan 2010, 11:48
HP TouchSmart 600

Review Touchscreen iMac wannabee

Every now and again, reviewing a new PC can be a pleasure rather than a chore. The feeling is not the result of blistering performance or a full set of ticks next to a spec list, but the natural response to using high-quality kit that works exactly as you want it to. HP’s TouchSmart 600 looks beautiful and reveals an approach to …

Hardware 22 Jan 2010, 12:02
Super-soldier exoskeleton to get 3-day fuel cell powerpack

Mech-troopers will be able to plug in gadgetry, too

A radical powered exoskeleton under development for use by the US military is to be fitted with fuel-cell power supplies which will increase its endurance from hours to days - and furnish juice for the burgeoning load of electronics carried by modern soldiers, too. Global arms behemoth Lockheed, developing the Human Universal …

Science 22 Jan 2010, 12:32
UK.gov stacking up gang of clouds

Ain't nothin' but a G-thang

The government's CIO has said he expects the public sector to use commercial cloud computing services as well as the 'G Cloud'. Government chief information officer John Suffolk said that organisations will make use of generally available clouds as well as the environment being designed specifically for the government. The …

Servers 22 Jan 2010, 12:34
Linux coders do it for money

No such thing as a free (software) launch

Around 75 per cent of Linux developers raked in cash from their code crunching in the past year. It's a figure that in many ways comes as little surprise, given that Linux usage has become so widespread across industries, government and the public sector in recent years. Linux kernel contributor Jonathan Corbet told an …

Operating Systems 22 Jan 2010, 12:51
Airport scanner staff object to vetting

Nothing to hide - but they'd rather not be checked

Security staff at Heathrow airport are reportedly furious at the suggestion that any of them would ever use pics taken from the new body scanners for lewd or lascivious purposes. Their reaction was reported last week in Skyport, a newspaper that carries news and features for those working at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted …

Government 22 Jan 2010, 13:03
Rickets rise linked to excessive gaming

Too much PlayStation, not enough sunshine

The number of British kids suffering from the deficiency disease rickets is soaring, medical experts have claimed. The cause: too many hours indoors playing videogames. Professor Simon Pearce and Tim Cheetham, both of Newcastle University, wrote in the British Medical Journal this week that rickets – which can cause sufferers …

Games 22 Jan 2010, 13:19
O2 halts Mobile Landline signups

You're through to O2... we're busy

O2 has suspended its popular 'Mobile Landline' service temporarily. The service provides business with a landline number that reroutes to an O2 SIM, without connection charges, an attractive proposition for SMEs. An O2 distie blames "uncertainty regarding one of the current suppliers of the service". Resellers in O2's channel …

Mobile 22 Jan 2010, 13:20
Tor software updated after hackers crack into systems

Miscreants remain anonymous

Privacy-conscious users of the Tor anonymiser network have been urged to upgrade their software, following the discovery of a security breach. Two of seven directory authorities and a metrics data server were compromised in a hack discovered earlier this month, Tor developer Roger Dingledine explains. The three servers were …

Security 22 Jan 2010, 13:46
UK government rebuffs cries for free postcode database

PAF remains fee-based, despite non-profit grumbles

Number 10 has responded negatively to a petition signed by over 2,000 people that asked the government to convince the Royal Mail to offer a free postcode database to non-profit and community websites. Sadly, a day is a long time on the internet, and following yesterday's data.gov.uk love-in, Prime Minister Gordon Brown today …

Applications 22 Jan 2010, 13:59
Avon & Somerset cop computers titsup?

Tory MP questions use of 30 temp workers

A South-West Tory MP has well and truly put the cat among the proverbials with a question in the House of Commons about what he claimed is the "collapse of Avon and Somerset police's computer system". Raising the matter last Friday, Ian Liddell-Grainger, MP for Bridgwater, claimed that the situation was so dire that 30 Indians …

Government 22 Jan 2010, 14:13
Crusty fireball space mango wrecks US doctor's office

'Fresh, pretty' meteorite blasts startled medics

A "mango-sized" meteorite crashed into a doctor's office in Virginia this week at more than 200 mph, according to reports. The space rock smashed through the roof, an internal wall and an upper floor before shattering into several pieces on a concrete slab. "Literally an explosion went off," Dr Marc Gullani told local TV …

Science 22 Jan 2010, 14:30
NSA beats warrantless wiretap rap

Because it took in a nation of millions

A Federal judge has dismissed a complaint against the National Security Agency's (NSA) Bush-era warrantless wiretapping programme, prompting suggestions the US government is now able to mount mass surveillance operations unhindered by the courts or constitution. Five AT&T customers sued the NSA after it emerged it had …

Government 22 Jan 2010, 14:33
Indian Nokia workers ready to up tools

'Misunderstanding' puts 2000 out on strike

A two day strike at Nokia India is ending with most staff heading back to work, having been asked nicely and told that management will explain. The strike, which involved nearly 2,000 of the 8,000 staff at the site, started on Tuesday and was triggered by the transfer of one staff member and the suspension of around 60 for " …

Mobile 22 Jan 2010, 15:16
Chris Morris jihad film good to go

Four Lions trailer live

Chris Morris, the genius-man behind The Day Today, Brass Eye and Blue Jam, has spent the last few years researching and making a film about some hapless British would-be terrorists. The film is called Four Lions and premieres at the Sundance Festival tomorrow. The trailer is available on YouTube, or here. IMBd describes …

Bootnotes 22 Jan 2010, 15:49
BT to throttle P2P for faster broadband

Ah well, there's always the post

Hopes that BT's new faster broadband technology might improve peer-to-peer downloads have faded with the firm's confirmation that subscribers will be subject to the same restricitions as those on less expensive tariffs. The firm announced "BT Infinity", based on its fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) rollout and theoretically capable …

Broadband 22 Jan 2010, 15:55
Zero-power LCD aims to reduce paper use

Chalkboard for the 21st Century?

Pen and paper remains the simplest and often quickest way of scribbling down messages. Now US-based screen manufacturer Kent Displays has launched a power-free LCD writing tablet designed to reduce the world’s paper use. Kent Displays' Boogie Board: create electronic images without power The Boogie Board LCD Writing Tablet’ …

Hardware 22 Jan 2010, 16:05
BBC and ITV chase gaming cash

Both want to turn telly hits into games

ITV and the BBC will soon fight it out for more than just viewer numbers. It has emerged than both broadcasters are to create videogame versions of their most popular TV shows. Auntie has announced ambitions to transform a selection of shows, including Top Gear and Doctor Who, into games - the latter has been done plenty of …

Games 22 Jan 2010, 16:28
Schwartz puts comforting arm around stricken Sun

Uses other arm for Oracle fist-pump

Employees at Sun Microsystems concerned at the prospect of yet more lay-offs at the company will not have been comforted by a company-wide memo from president and CEO Jonathan Schwartz yesterday. Only those in possession of Oracle shares may be heartened by the missive, which went to all Sun employees a few hours after Oracle …

Servers 22 Jan 2010, 16:43
MS knew of Aurora exploit four months before Google attacks

China light on the matter

Microsoft first knew of the bug used in the infamous Operation Aurora IE exploits as long ago as August, four months before the vulnerability was used in exploits against Google and other hi-tech firms in December, it has emerged. Redmond's security gnomes finally got around to patching the exploit on Thursday. Microsoft's …

Security 22 Jan 2010, 16:46
A Geeks Guide₂... Microsoft Training 365

Save over £580 at Reg Books

Geeks Guide2 This week we’re offering Reg readers a huge introductory discount on a Microsoft Training 365 Technical Subscription. For the next 28 days you will save over £580 on this IT pro and developer training hotbed by ordering the subscription via the Register Books website. What is it? Considering that the …

Site News 22 Jan 2010, 16:55
TSA screener plants powder baggie in flier's luggage

Not everyone gets the joke

A screener for the US Transportation Security Administration lost his job after pretending to plant a plastic bag of white powder in the carry-on luggage of a passenger at the Philadelphia International Airport. Rebecca Solomon was flying to Detroit on Northwest Airlines, the same city and carrier involved in the attempted …

Security 22 Jan 2010, 18:17
Facebook busts ground on first custom data center

Follows Google and Microsoft into chillerless club

Facebook is building its first custom-designed data center, after years of leasing data center space from third parties. Yesterday, the social networking giant broke ground on a new facility in Prineville, Oregon, a small rural community in the northwest United States. "We are designing a facility that will be highly efficient …

Servers 22 Jan 2010, 18:58
Fujitsu puts systems chief at helm

Be like Big Blue

Since last September, struggling IT supplier Fujitsu has been trying to right itself and do so without a president, with double-duty falling on the shoulders of Michiyoshi Mazuka, the company's chairman. But Fujitsu has now tapped an executive who has run several Fujitsu divisions and who currently runs its systems business, …

Business 22 Jan 2010, 19:00
Web2.0rhea infects International Space Station

'We r now LIVE tweeting'

A US astronaut has made a giant leap in social-networking history by sending the first tweet from space. Space cadet Timothy Creamer, aka Astro_TJ, sent the historic missive Friday morning from the International Space Station, which had just received a software upgrade to allow real-time web access. Your US tax dollars at …

Bootnotes 22 Jan 2010, 20:33
Boffins birth uber 'net neutrality' dowser

Eye on your ISP

Researchers with the International Computer Science Institute in Berkeley, California have unveiled a completed version of their Netalyzr service, a tool designed to detect when your ISP is interfering with your net connection. The web-based service has been available as a beta since the middle of last year, but it's now set …

Broadband 22 Jan 2010, 20:35
NASA pegs Noughties as hottest decade on record

Global warming 'unabated,' say spacemen

The past decade was the warmest ever on record, showing that global warming is "continuing unabated," according to a new report from NASA. New surface temperature figures released by the US space agency on Thursday show average global temperatures have increased by 0.2°C (0.36°F) per decade throughout the past three decades. …

Science 22 Jan 2010, 21:07
Amateur goof makes Twitter account hijacking a snap

Just add XML

Twitter is sitting on an amateur configuration blunder that makes it trivial for attackers to take control of user accounts, a researcher said Friday. The error resides in an Adobe Flash object hosted on the microblogging site, said Mike Bailey, a senior security analyst with penetration testing firm Foreground Security. …

Security 22 Jan 2010, 21:35
Oracle prez admits 8 1/2 years with billboard woman

Phillips married to another

Oracle president Charles Phillips has admitted he had a "serious" eight-and-a-half-year relationship with the woman who appears beside him in billboards littering New York, San Francisco, and Atlanta. In a statement released by his PR agency, Phillips said his relationship with the woman, YaVaughnie Wilkins, has now ended. The …

Bootnotes 22 Jan 2010, 23:34