4th March 2010 Archive

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Google Research probes educasearch engine

Holds fire on Google Wave

Peter Norvig - current Google Research head and the company's former director of search quality - is exploring some sort of new-age search engine aimed specifically for students. Wednesday, at the search-obsessed SMX West conference in Silicon Valley, Norvig was asked if he was doing anything in "20 per cent" time - …

Applications 4 Mar 04:48
Asus will hit e-pad market this year

The iPad? That's the big iPhone, yeah?

Asus is working on multiple e-pad type devices which it hopes will exploit the shortcomings of Apple's iPad when they hit the market this year. Eric Chen, corporate vice president systems business group at the Taiwanese portables specialist, told El Reg that many people had described Apple's product du jour as "one big screen …

PCs & Chips 4 Mar 06:02
Skype arrives on Nokia Symbian phones

Live at the Ovi

One day after Skype yanked support for Windows and Java mobiles, citing a lack of consistent quality across handsets, the proprietary VoIP outfit is showing its love for Symbian. Skype's free mobile app for Nokia's Symbian OS has left the beta stage and is now available directly from the mobile Ovi Store or alternatively the …

Mobile 4 Mar 06:02
Hacking human gullibility with social penetration

We don't need no stinking exploits

Security penetration testers Mike Bailey and Mike Murray rely plenty on attacks that exploit weaknesses in websites and servers, but their approach is better summed up by the famous phrase "There's a sucker born every minute". That's because so-called social penetration techniques are more reliable and easier to use in …

Spam 4 Mar 07:02
HDI Dune BD Prime 3.0 Blu-ray media player

Review One box, plays all?

There is no denying that the idea of one-box Blu-ray player, media streamer and HDD storage is a good one but, to date, we have not come across an example we could wholeheartedly recommend. Popcorn Hour's C-200 Media Tank came close, but the price – which doesn't actually include a Blu-ray player – the slight whiff of DIY and …

Reg Hardware 4 Mar 08:02
New use found for 'world's most useful tree'

Water purification method offered for free download

A recipe for using "the world's most useful tree" to purify water is being offered for free download, in the hope that this will help get clean drinking water to billions of poor folk around the world. The Swiss Army knife of the tree world The tree in question is the Moringa oleifera ("oily moringa") aka the horseradish or …

Biology 4 Mar 08:02
On enterprise networking and administration

Is anyone actively doing anything?

There are some things in life that everyone just expects to function, almost without thought. You switch on the light, there will be electricity available; you turn the tap and water will flow; you pick up the phone, there will be a dial tone. Over the course of the last decade, much to the surprise of many who have long toiled …

IT Director 4 Mar 08:48
Security in the virtualised world

Webcast Practical Matters

If virtualisation is creeping across your organisation you’ve presumably ticked some of the security boxes, right? Well, whether you have or not, you may still want to tune in the next webcast in our virtualisation series: Virtualisation and Security: Practical Matters. This particular gem is running live from the Reg Towers …

Virtualisation Lab 4 Mar 09:24
Street View threatens to throw Eurostrop

Spymobiles to exit EU?

A senior Google exec yesteday suggested that if the company doesn't get its way over Street View data retention, it may stop prowling the European Union's highways and byways. Speaking to Bloomberg at CeBIT, where Street View has been charming Germans with a fleet of touchy-feely spymobiles, Google Earth founder Michael Jones …

Government 4 Mar 10:09
Web wags stage IE 6 funeral

Oh right. Haha! Yes. Because it's 'dead'.

The unsung comic geniuses of the web are holding a mock funeral for Microsoft's decrepit IE 6 browser software later on Thursday. The IE 6 Funeral site announced on Monday that the browser "passed away" in a workplace injury (a reference to the role the eight-year-old browser played in the Operation Aurora attack against …

Applications 4 Mar 11:02
SeaWorld killer killer whale must die, Bible insists

Enraged blogger cites vengeful Judeo-Christian tradition

The revelation that Tilikum - the killer whale which last week lived up to its species' name by killing SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau - had killed before, prompted much debate as to whether the tragedy could have been avoided. In 1991, Tilikum was involved in the death of Keltie Byrne at an aquarium in Victoria, British …

Bootnotes 4 Mar 11:21
Ofcom wades into UK 'Net Neutrality' row

BBC tech boss says web is 'primary outlet for future Beeb content'. What's that now?

Ofcom has reportedly warned broadband providers that it plans to probe how they manage their web traffic and give “preferential” treatment to some media owners. The communications watchdog said yesterday it would launch a consultation into ‘Net Neutrality’ concerns raised in the past few months, reports the Financial Times. …

Government 4 Mar 11:24
Samsung readies SDHC HD camcorders

Something to take to South Africa?

Samsung has introduced a quartet of HD camcorders, all equipped with a 3.32Mp sensor, a 37mm wide-angle lens and a 20x optical zoom facility. Actually, almost all of the four cameras' specs are identical. What differentiates the models is the amount of on-board memory which, in every case, can be expanded with SDHC cards, …

Reg Hardware 4 Mar 11:25
Murdoch promises WSJ on the iPad

Like a web page, only more expensive

Murdoch has admitted that the Wall Street Journal is working on an iPad version, while Penguin has been demonstrating how the iPad can take content back to 1993. Rupert Murdoch, owner of the WSJ, has been telling people that the newspaper has an iPad in the building, and is already porting content to Apple's latest baby. …

Music and Media 4 Mar 11:36
DARPA to build military App Store, battlefield 3G

Android wins war for battle phones, iPhone and MS lose

Not content with merely soliciting bids for smartphone apps useful to the military "and the national security community more generally", the Pentagon's tech hothouse now plans something resembling a military App Store - and has unveiled plans to deploy civilian mobile coverage onto the battlefield. In an announcement issued …

Mobile 4 Mar 11:40
Vivienne Tam packs paint on HP netbook

'Butterfly lover' case design, ladies?

HP has paraded its latest laptop with a case coloured by fashion designer Vivienne Tam. In addition to the "butterfly lovers" case design, the Mini 210 Vivienne Tam Edition sports a slightly better spec than the regular Mini 210: an extra gig of Ram and a larger hard drive. HP's Mini 210 Vivienne Tam Edition: souped up spec …

Reg Hardware 4 Mar 11:54
LibDems score copyright coup

Mandybill Blocking by network address extended, after Lords hijack

The LibDems' surprise amendment to strengthen UK courts' powers over digital copyright infringement passed late last night, despite Labour and Tory opposition, replacing the government's original, preferred proposal in the Digital Economy Bill. Out goes the ability of the Minister to extend copyright legislation by statutory …

Music and Media 4 Mar 11:54
Will we stop talking about virtualisation?

Lab Enough of the V-word, already

Well, it’s been fun, but we’re starting to draw this virtualisation lab series to a close. Over the next couple of weeks we’ll be wrapping things up, tying things down and otherwise leaving things neatly parcelled. While of course it is a free society, so you don’t have to pay any attention to the stream of editorial on this …

Virtualisation Lab 4 Mar 12:18
Sony readies revamped netbook

Retailers reveal all

Sony looks set to replace its Vaio W netbook series with a new model based on the latest Atom chip series. A number of UK retailers - check out Tesco or Dabs, for exmaple - have begun listing the Sony Vaio M, in particular the M11M1E/B. Sony's Vaio W: set to be replaced this month... The spec is standard fare for an early …

Reg Hardware 4 Mar 12:19
Google search results go all starry-eyed

Ad broker ditches SearchWiki

Google has rejigged its personalised search results option by adding stars - used elsewhere in Mountain View’s vast online estate - to its search engine and maps. The company confirmed the switcheroo yesterday. It had previously offered users something called “SearchWiki”, that allowed Google surfers to bump up or delete …

Applications 4 Mar 12:24
Monster botnet held 800,000 people's details

Fourth zombie admin could be in South America

The Mariposa botnet had the power to dwarf Georgia and Estonia cyberattacks if it had been used to launch denial of service attacks, say Spanish police. Months of investigations by the Guardia Civil in Spain, the FBI and security firm Panda Security and Defence Intelligence led to the takedown of the 12.7 million strong zombie …

Crime 4 Mar 12:33
Apple yanks Wi-Fi detectors from iTunes

Pretends they were never there

Wi-Fi hotspot detecting applications are the latest on Apple's list of verboten apps, and even developers are being left in the dark as to why. Wi-Fi detection is something of a niche: there were never more than a handful of such applications in iTunes. But now even those have vanished as Apple decided they were using a " …

Mobile 4 Mar 12:39
Men lie more in online dating - except about their weight

He: 'I'm rich, thinking of marriage' She: 'I'm not fat'

Help is at hand for those who make use of - or perhaps help to run - online dating services. A new study has revealed who is most likely to tell lies about what aspects of themselves when seeking love on the interwebs. In short, if you go to a romantic rendezvous with someone you met online and they turn out to be a different …

Bootnotes 4 Mar 12:43
Microsoft expects to flog ~~300m~~ 270m copies of Windows 7 in 2010

But COO admits business spending may remain 'conservative'

Microsoft’s chief operating officer, Kevin Turner, claimed yesterday that the software vendor would sell 300 million 270 million copies of Windows 7 this year, even though he expects businesses to keep their budgets tight. Earlier this week the company said it had already flogged 90 million copies of its latest operating …

Operating Systems 4 Mar 13:02
Oscars can Sacha Baron Cohen Avatar skit

James Cameron protected from Na’vi lovechild claim

Brit comedian Sacha Baron Cohen will not entertain the Oscars crowd on Sunday by hooking up with Ben Stiller for a dig at the helmsman of paradigm-busting megabucks sci-fi superproduction Avatar. According to New York magazine, Baron Cohen "planned to appear onstage as a blue-skinned, female Na’vi, with Stiller translating ' …

Entertainment 4 Mar 13:21
Brits blame Apple, Nokia, RIM et al for smartphone woes

Yet most problems appear network related

Smartphone owners are a vocal lot, willing to vent spleen to all and sundry when their handsets don't work as well as they expect them to. The message for manufacturers is that they're generally ready to blame you for problems. Network operators can feel doubly relieved: smartphone owners are generally not willing to switch …

Reg Hardware 4 Mar 14:05
PR outfit trumpets NHS deaths 'crisis management'

Killer bacteria outbreak? We can control the media!

Here's a top tip for NHS hospitals which find themselves in the awkward position of having a load of dead patients lying about as a result of Clostridium difficile infection: call Freshwater PR who can prevent the resulting press kicking proving fatal to your good name. As proof, try Freshwater's self-congratulatory trumpet …

Bootnotes 4 Mar 14:21
NetApp models uplifting BRaaS

Getting together with Asigra

NetApp has produced a set of design guides for service providers, including a Backup and Recovery as a Service (BRaaS) offering with Asigra, and is looking for a sales uplift in this area. The idea is to make it easier for cloud service providers to use NetApp kit when offering data protection services. The foundation is …

Storage 4 Mar 14:26
Intel tightens up Westmere security

Promises wide open spaces in data centres

Intel will add additional security instructions to the Westmere server chips due later this month, the firm told journalists at Cebit today. Westmere-EP and the Nehalem-Ex chips also due in the next few weeks are Intel's two-fisted response to AMD's Magny-Cours launch, also due to hit IT managers this spring. At a briefing …

Servers 4 Mar 14:29
eBay scammer gets four years

Porridge for under-par golf kit

The leader of a UK-based gang who made millions selling counterfeit luxury golf kit and other knock-off goods through auction site eBay has been jailed for four years. Gary Bellchambers and six others ran what is reckoned to be the biggest ever such scam between June 2003 and March 2008. Their fraud was eventually rumbled by a …

Crime 4 Mar 14:52
Intel preps new Xeons for March 16 launch

AMD does a 48-core giveaway

The word on the street is that chip maker Intel will finally get around to launching its new Xeon processors on March 16, and AMD will follow up with its new Opterons sometime near the end of the month. Let the marketeering begin. It is unclear at this time if Intel will launch both the six-core "Westmere-EP" processors for …

Servers 4 Mar 15:11
Intel pitches Atom storage platform

It ain't Xeon X86 but it's cheaper

Intel is pitching an Atom processor platform for storage boxes in home networks and small office/home office applications. Tandberg announced its DPS2000 4-drive storage box late last month and it uses the Atom chip. The new platform has the newly-launched Atom D410 single-core and D510 dual-core. It also has Intel's 82801IR …

Small Biz 4 Mar 15:13
Microsoft embraces another Linux company

Patently clear patent deal

Another day, another company developing Linux-based tech falls into line with Microsoft's intellectual property wonks. Japanese Flash maker I-O Data Device Inc has agreed to cough up an undisclosed sum of cash to Microsoft under a Linux software deal. This is the latest such agreement Microsoft has made with a tech company …

Operating Systems 4 Mar 15:32
NFC breathes new life into tombstones

A dead technology for dead customers

An American outfit has started selling RFID tags for embedding in headstones, making life easier for the next generation of the Time Team. A 'Personal RosettaStone', utilising technology from Objecs as reported by NFC World, will set you back something between a tenner and two hundred quid depending on how long you want people …

PCs & Chips 4 Mar 15:36
T-Mobile to slash international call rates

PAYGers get up to 75 per cent off

T-Mobile will next week slash the cost of making calls to overseas numbers - if you're one of its pay-as-you-go customers. The provider will charge between 5p and 20p per minute to make a call to another mobile, and 5-10p to call a landline. Texts costs 15p. The calls and texts must me made to any of 50 countries, and you …

Reg Hardware 4 Mar 15:51
Hull Daily Mail exposes depraved local porncoder

Supplied 'html' and other services to hard-core smutmongers

The Hull Daily Mail has put itself in the frame for an investigative journalistic award of the highest standing after exposing a local website owner who'd designed "thousands of hardcore pornography websites". Paul's Smith's HU17.net is an innocent enough affair offering info on the picturesque town of Beverley. So well …

Bootnotes 4 Mar 16:05
Buffalo preps SuperSpeed USB 3.0 portable HDD

Fast laptop-friendly storage

Buffalo will ship its first portable hard drive to support SuperSpeed USB next month. The MiniStation Lite USB 3.0 HD-PEU3 will come in 500GB and 640GB flavours, both of which will sport a glossy black chassis, Buffalo said. Buffalo's MiniStation Lite USB 3.0: SuperSpeed support While the Lite is designed to work with USB …

Reg Hardware 4 Mar 16:06
US 'Anubis' stealth assassin robo-missile nearly ready

Manhunting suitcase kamikaze to put snipers out of work

The US military is continuing work on a portable, robotic drone/missile which could be used to kill individual human beings from afar. The weapon, codenamed "Anubis", has now moved into the final stages of development. The Javelin guided tankbuster is already used as a sort of super sniper weapon by British forces in …

Physics 4 Mar 16:29
Asus shows media player's USB 3.0 upgrade

O!Play gets SuperSpeed boost. O!My

Asus has introduced its latest HDD-to-HD TV adaptor, this time adding SuperSpeed USB 3.0 to the media playback gadget. The O!Play HD2 is set to deliver a wealth of media formats, all of which it will display on an HD TV through its HDMI port at resolutions running up to 1080p. Asus' O!Play HD2: the media player with USB 3.0 …

Reg Hardware 4 Mar 16:32
Big Phone's first Google Android defaults to...Yahoo!

Yahoo! goes where Ballmer fears to tread

The first Google Android-based handset offered by the iPhone-hugging AT&T will not use Google as the default search engine. It will use Yahoo!. As reported by BusinessWeek, the Android-based Motorola Backflip will debut on March 7, and its browser search box will default to Yahoo!, although users will have the option of …

Mobile 4 Mar 18:12
Netezza squeezes out Q4 growth

Self-styled Oracle beater

Data warehousing and analytics appliance maker Netezza has closed out its fiscal 2010, and like many hardware and software vendors in the IT racket, the company's profits took a hit. Unlike many hardware suppliers, Netezza actually managed to get a tiny bump in sales in the quarter and for the year, despite the economic meltdown …

Servers 4 Mar 18:51
Ubuntu Lucid Lynx changes its spots

Runs brown out of town

Canonical is replacing its signature brown color scheme with the debut of Ubuntu 10.04, the next major release of the popular Linux distribution. Departing from six years of interface tradition, Canonical has revealed a new "light" default theme and updated Ubuntu logo that introduces a pallet of purple, orange, slate grey, …

Operating Systems 4 Mar 19:38
'Severe' OpenSSL vuln busts public key crypto

Private keys pilfered through power supply

Computer scientists say they've discovered a "severe vulnerability" in the world's most widely used software encryption package that allows them to retrieve a machine's secret cryptographic key. The bug in the OpenSSL cryptographic library is significant because the open-source package is used to protect sensitive data in …

Security 4 Mar 21:00
More doubt tossed onto iPad numbers

Apple manufacturer denies claims

A second report has surfaced claiming Apple is experiencing spotty overseas production of the iPad, due for release later this month. ThinkEquity analyst Vijay Rakesh issued a note to investors on Thursday claiming checks with manufacturers suggested "some minor delays" in ramping up production for the tablet. Apparently, a …

PCs & Chips 4 Mar 21:27
Ballmer in the clouds: 'Microsoft redefines, Amazon repackages'

Nothing does Windows Azure like Windows Azure

Asked if Microsoft is truly innovating in the race towards so-called cloud computing - not just reacting to what companies like Amazon and Google have done - Redmond chief Steve Ballmer pointed to Windows Azure, the company's sky-high development platform. "I think Azure is very different than anything else on the market. I …

Developer 4 Mar 23:24
Real Networks rolls over to Hollywood

Will kill RealDVD, pay $4.5m

RealNetworks has agreed to destroy all traces of its short-lived DVD-duplicating software, RealDVD, to appease the Hollywood heads that brought legal action against it. As part of a settlement filed Wednesday in a California court, the company will also cough up $4.5m in legal fees to the six movie studios, Viacom, and the DVD …

Music and Media 4 Mar 23:39