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8th March 2010 Archive

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  • IBM's Power7 pitch deconstructed

    Big Blue polishes UNIX crown

    Some of IBM's Power7 machines have been shipping for several weeks, and the high-end Power 770 and 780 boxes start shipping this coming week. Now, the sales pitching and smooth talking by IBM and its local business partners will begin. What, exactly, will that sales pitch be? That all depends on what gear you have installed, …

    Servers 8 Mar 2010, 05:02

  • BSkyB yanks more cash from HP's hide

    Bad EDS deal gets worse

    IT giant Hewlett-Packard said on Friday after the markets closed on Wall Street that it had to knock off another £70m from its first quarter of fiscal 2010 ended in January to cover yet another interim payment to BSkyB relating to a lawsuit filed against EDS relating to the implementation of a customer relationship management …

    Financial News 8 Mar 2010, 06:02

  • Fujitsu president was sacked, not sick

    Dodgy dealing not doctor's note behind departure

    Fujitsu has admitted that its ex-president Kuniaki Nozoe, who left the firm in September apparently due to ill health, was in fact sacked by the board of directors. Nozoe left Fujitsu in September last year with a company statement blaming illness. But last week Nozoe reportedly wrote to Fujitsu asking for his resignation to …

    Servers 8 Mar 2010, 09:27

  • The Hurt Locker sweeps Oscars

    Cameron 3, Bigelow 6

    Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker came away from the Oscars last night with six statuettes - double the number which Avatar secured for James Cameron's trophy cabinet. The Hurt Locker emerged as a clear winner of the 82nd Academy Awards, taking Directing, Film Editing, Best Picture, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Original …

    Bootnotes 8 Mar 2010, 09:55

  • Conservatives want big IT deals delayed

    Shadow minister calls for 'moratorium on contracts'

    Shadow minister Francis Maude has asked the cabinet secretary to postpone the signing of important IT contracts until after the election. In a letter to Gus O'Donnell, Cabinet Office shadow Maude added that a minister must justify any cases where the government decides it must go ahead with a new deal. The Conservative Party …

    The Channel 8 Mar 2010, 10:23

  • Pixel Qi sunlight-readable colour e-paper inbound

    Mod-your-netbook kits in your hands in Q2

    Pixel Qi - the 'Qi' is pronounced 'chee' - the company behind a type of e-paper that's not only colour and able to cope with video but is also claimed to be fully readable in bright sunlight, will be making screens available to hardware hackers by the end of June. PQ's first offering will be a 10.1in display ideally suited to …

    Hardware 8 Mar 2010, 10:46

  • Growing up with virtualisation

    On Demand Management and security pressing

    As many organisations are discovering as they move beyond server virtualisation pilot projects, there's more to it than just consolidating servers and dealing with workloads. In this on-demand webcast, Jon Collins of analyst firm Freeform Dynamics talks to Zane Adam, general manager of virtualisation and systems management at …

    Virtualisation Lab 8 Mar 2010, 10:51

  • MIT profs produce 'Ring of Fire' nanotube superbatteries

    Electron-furtling boffins claim 100x li-ion energy

    MIT boffins say they have discovered a radical new source of portable energy, powered by a burning ring of fire, which can hold a hundred times as much juice as a li-ion battery. The key, of course, is nanotubes. As you do, the boffins at MIT decided to coat some of these amazing cylindrical carbon molecules with "a layer of …

    Science 8 Mar 2010, 10:58

  • Paris Hilton crowned 'Worst Actress of the Decade'

    From Hottie to Razzie Nottie

    Jetsetting celebutard Paris Hilton has deservingly secured a special Razzie for Worst Actress of the Decade - acknowledging her contribution to cinema in works such as The Hottie and the Nottie, House of Wax and Repo - The Genetic Opera. The honour came on Saturday at the Gala 30th Annual Razzie Awards, where Eddie Murphy was …

    Bootnotes 8 Mar 2010, 10:59

  • Energizer Duo software suffers backdoor Trojan bother

    Shh, I'm hunting wabbits

    A Trojan backdoor found its way into Energizer Duo USB battery charger software downloads. Malware bundled in a charger-monitoring software download package opens up a back door on compromised Windows PCs. The contaminated file is automatically downloaded from the manfacturer's website during the installation process, not …

    Security 8 Mar 2010, 11:33

  • Toshiba prices up Blu-ray Disc patent portfolio

    Pools tech resources with Warner, Thomson and Mitsubishi

    Consumer electronics and entertainment companies Mitsubishi, Thomson, Toshiba and Warner Bros have together begun charging for their intellectual property that is "essential" to Blu-ray Disc players, drives and recorders. The four firms' pooled technology also extends to Blu-ray kit that incorporates DVD functionality, …

    Media 8 Mar 2010, 11:34

  • Microsoft delivers official Word on Office 2010 'tech guarantee' plan

    Readies Maypole for biz launch

    Microsoft has kicked off its Office 2010 "technology guarantee" plan, details of which the company prematurely let slip in February. In addition Redmond also confirmed late last week that it would roll out the red carpet for its upcoming suite of office products with a business launch planned for 12 May. The company is …

    The Channel 8 Mar 2010, 11:35

  • Virgin Media wins Film 4 HD exclusive

    Bad news for Freeview HD

    The HD incarnation of "public service broadcaster" Channel 4's Film 4 offering will only be available to paying Virgin Media customers, it has emerged. Film 4 HD is scheduled to arrive in the summer, VM said today, which implied the channel will be offered to its subscribers at no extra cost. VM already broadcasts Channel 4's …

    Media 8 Mar 2010, 12:01

  • Microsoft flaunts cross-platform gaming goodies

    Woo! Convergence!

    Ninety per cent of a game's source code can now be shared between an Xbox, a PC and a phone - assuming one wants an Xbox game on a three-inch screen. The demonstration, performed at Microsoft's tech•ed conference, shows a platform game transitioning from an Xbox to a Windows Phone 7 Series, and finally to a PC. All three …

    Games 8 Mar 2010, 12:04

  • Bing shies away from gay-as-day search results in Arab countries

    Rude words get silent treatment too, claims report

    Microsoft's Bing search engine blocks out "sexually explicit" results and gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender queries in Arab countries, claimed the Open Net Initiative late last week. The group carried out a test in January of Bing as intended for Middle Eastern sensibilities and found that it filtered Arabic and English …

    Applications 8 Mar 2010, 12:06

  • Hull Daily Mail pulls porncoder comments

    New twist in Beverleyporngate scandal

    The Hull Daily Mail evidently decided over the weekend it had received enough of a kicking over its Beverley porncoder investigation, and pulled all comments on both the original story and the follow-up. For those of you not up to speed on Beverleyporngate, the Mail exposed the owner of Beverley news website HU17.net, Paul …

    Media 8 Mar 2010, 12:08

  • Home streaming is 'killing music'

    So why are big labels so keen on it?

    Two weeks ago a US market research company caused a panic in the music business when it reported sales of MP3s had declined. DRM has all but disappeared from digital music, while music catalogs and retailer choice have grown... and yet the volume of digital song sales fell. Ironically, it's the major labels' darling Spotify that …

    Media 8 Mar 2010, 12:10

  • 3 tries to tempt mobile broadband buyers with MS Office

    Free Office 2010 upgrade included

    Mobile phone network 3 today said it will offer its mobile broadband customers a copy of Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 for a penny less than £60. Microsoft's RRP for Office Home & Student is £100, but the software suite is widely available for a lot less than that - around the £60 price that 3 is charging, in fact, so …

    Broadband 8 Mar 2010, 12:23

  • MEPs told to vote or else as US data row deepens

    Passenger record botch needed

    The European Parliament has been asked to vote to approve or reject the Passenger Name Record agreement with the US. The Civil Liberties Committee is likely to postpone its vote until a new template has been created, to detail what information is exchanged. The Committee also wants to lay down how the information should be …

    Government 8 Mar 2010, 12:30

  • Sumo wrestler lifts cash machine

    Hefty withdrawal from Moscow shop

    Two men including a suspected sumo wrestler were cuffed after bodily lifting a cash machine from a Moscow shop, the BBC reports. The pair's heist plan was simple enough: walk into the premises on Marshal Fedorenko Street, rip the machine from its mounts and rely on the sumo-wrestling half of the gang to carry the 90kg ATM on …

    Bootnotes 8 Mar 2010, 12:32

  • Whatever happened to the email app?

    Lab Notes How we all went off-message

    Is the email program dead? Did the whole world just migrate away from Hotmail over to Facebook when we weren't looking? Does anyone else care? Weirdly, the answer seems to be yes, yes, and no. Email has never gone away, and its advantages are unique: but the email client seems to be going the way of the Gopher. Which is a bit …

    Applications 8 Mar 2010, 12:33

  • 'Curiosity' nuclear Mars tank passes key tech test

    Good to go for 2011 - 'knock wood', says NASA bigwig

    NASA bigwigs say that their nuclear powered, laser-packing robotic tank, intended to prowl the ochre plains of Mars, has had its most troublesome bugs ironed out and will be ready to blast off for the red planet next year. The Mars Science Laboratory - aka "Curiosity" - is a hefty small-truck-sized rover, significantly …

    Science 8 Mar 2010, 12:43

  • Acer said to be readying glass-lidded laptop

    Frameless in the name of thinness

    Acer is preparing to release a very skinny - and, dare we say it, incredibly fragile - notebook with a glass-backed frameless display. So claim an unnamed source cited by DigiTimes, who say the laptop will also feature a touch-sensitive keyboard. Given how thin notebook keyboards are already, we're not sure how much thickness …

    Laptops 8 Mar 2010, 12:48

  • 3PAR tiering faster than FAST

    Supports STEC SSD too

    Faster than EMC's FAST: you can order 3PAR's automatic data moving across storage tiers software right now. 3PAR is also adding solid state storage to its arrays. FAST is EMC's Fully-Automated Tiering Technology, and it moves data at the logical unit (LUN) level from one type of storage to another. For example, from Fibre …

    Storage 8 Mar 2010, 13:02

  • EU ministers want new life for IP enforcement

    New laws if that doesn't work, please

    European Union minsters have told EU governing bodies to revive plans to create a pan-EU law criminalising intellectual property infringement, and to make more use of a new body to cooperate on the enforcement of intellectual property rights. They have also asked the European Commission to create new laws if cooperation does …

    Law 8 Mar 2010, 13:29

  • Exiled iPhone Wi-Fi apps move to Cydia

    So there is competition then?

    Developers kicked out of the iTunes store for using private APIs are turning to the unregulated Cydia store, and think the demographic might even suit them better. Last week Apple kicked out a handful of applications that made use of "private framework" APIs to enable scanning for nearby hot spots. Now those apps are popping …

    Mobile 8 Mar 2010, 13:32

  • Botnet takedowns 'don't hurt crooks enough'

    Punching fog

    The takedowns of the Mariposa and Waladec botnets last week were victories for the good guys, but security experts warn that although cybercrooks suffered a bloody nose they collectively retain the upper hand in their ongoing conflict with law enforcement and its security industry allies. "We have had significant victories …

    Security 8 Mar 2010, 14:25

  • BBC: Grasp the high-speed runaway cloud nettle

    Competition ...in the cloud that's in the fast lane

    Hats off to BBC Online's Silicon Valley correspondent Maggie Shiels, who on her dot.maggie blog offers some defining purple prose for the new era in computing. Attending the RSA conference, Maggie reports on the race to offer 'cloud computing' services: The message was the same about ensuring security is not a "Johnny come …

    Bootnotes 8 Mar 2010, 14:30

  • Paypal freezes Cryptome

    And sits on its cash

    eBay Inc has suspended Cryptome's PayPal account, confiscating donations made to the site in the past two weeks. New York architect John Young has refunded around $5,300 to donors. Young has operated Cryptome since 1996, creating a large repository of obscure or previously unpublished files focussing on intelligence and …

    Security 8 Mar 2010, 14:34

  • Panasonic DMC-G2

    First Look Micro Four Thirds hands-on with test pics and video

    With a DSLR dangling from my neck, unpacking the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 was certainly quite a contrast. The diminutive lens is remarkably light and, even when married to the body, you certainly don’t feel like you’re being burdened by bulk. Finishing touch: Panasonic's Lumix DMC-G2 A DSLR it ain’t and it’s easy to see …

    Hardware 8 Mar 2010, 14:47

  • Crap Scottish weather favours ginger hair

    Student offers rainy explanation for Billy Bremner

    A genetics research student has suggested that the comparatively high number of ginger-haired people among the Scots and Irish may be due in part to crap weather. While 1-2 per cent of the European population are ginger, this is around eight per cent in Scotland and Ireland. One reason, speculates Emily Pritchard, is that …

    Science 8 Mar 2010, 14:52

  • BBC protects 'unique' 1Xtra listeners from radio cull

    All gone a bit Pete Tong Logan's Run at 6Music

    The BBC has justified 1Xtra’s survival in the Corporation’s recent biz strategy cull by claiming that the station’s “unique” audience, which is made up of fewer listeners than death row candidate 6Music, is worthy of more investment. In effect, the Beeb is keeping 1Xtra - which is its "new black music network" - alive despite …

    Media 8 Mar 2010, 14:56

  • Ubisoft undone by anti-DRM DDoS storm

    Protests over anti-piracy controls hobble games firm

    Ubisoft has confirmed its rights management servers were hit by a fierce DDoS attack over the weekend that left some customers unable to play its games for much of Sunday. The attack is an apparent protest at controversial new DRM controls by the video game publisher which mean customers have to be online in order to play its …

    Security 8 Mar 2010, 15:06

  • UK.gov urged to slash DNA retention plan

    Database rejig 'not enough' for human rights

    Government plans designed to bring the National DNA Database in line with human rights legislation have been criticised today by an influential group of MPs as not going far enough. The Commons Home Affairs Select Committee said that DNA profiles from those not convicted of a crime should only be retained for three years. …

    Law 8 Mar 2010, 15:19

  • ASA to take over Facebook, Twitter regulation

    Remit to include social media

    Advertising regulator the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) will take over the regulation of companies' social networking pages by the end of the year, according to advertising industry proposals. The ASA hopes that the move will plug a regulatory gap that has resulted in two thirds of the complaints it receives relating …

    Media 8 Mar 2010, 16:13

  • iSuppli: Semi recovery a 'false spring'

    2010 revenues to barely exceed 2007

    A consensus is evolving that the semiconductor industry is going to recover mightily in 2010. But the analysts at iSuppli want to remind everyone that things are only going to feel so good this year because they were so bad in late 2008 and through 2009. The latest estimates for global semi sales for this year from iSuppli …

    Hardware 8 Mar 2010, 16:52

  • 'Crazy' man cuffed for plotting cyber extortion scheme

    Threatened to drag firm 'through the muddiest of waters'

    A California man was charged with extortion after he allegedly threatened to send millions of emails and social networking messages that maligned a large life insurance company unless he was paid almost $200,000. Anthony Digati, 52, of Chino, California, was arrested and charged with a single felony count of extortion through …

    Security 8 Mar 2010, 18:10

  • Intel investigates after retailer sold fake CPUs

    Updated 'Sochet' LGA not as good as real thing

    Intel says it's investigating the sale of fake desktop processors by online electronics retailer Newegg in a scandal that's prompting outrage among customers and recriminations among sellers. The counterfeit Core i7-920 processor package was so crudely put together that it would have been easy to spot even by non-technical …

    The Channel 8 Mar 2010, 21:03

  • Steve Jobs says 'No' to iPhone-to-iPad tether

    (One) word from the mountaintop

    Steve Jobs has spoken: Apple's "magical and revolutionary" iPad will not allow iPhone-to-iPad 3G tethering. So reports the Swedish tech blog and podcast Slashat.se. When Swedish trance DJ Jezper Söderlund emailed Apple's CEO asking if a Wi-Fi-only iPad could tether to the internet using an iPhone's 3G connection, he received …

    Phones 8 Mar 2010, 22:01

  • Open source webdesktopmobile kit refreshes for iPhone, Android

    Appcelerator appcelerates

    Appcelerator has taken the beta tag off its open source Titanium development kit, a means of building native desktop and mobile applications using traditional web-development tools such as JavaScript, Python, Ruby on Rails, html and CSS. Titanium 1.0 was officially released today, with the Silicon Valley–based startup claiming …

    Developer 8 Mar 2010, 22:03

  • Thailand approves extradition of credit card hack suspect

    Losses top $153m

    A criminal court in Thailand has approved the extradition to the US of a Malaysian man suspected of participating in credit card thefts of more than $152m, according to a local news report. Gooi Kokseng, 44, was arrested on January 30 after being accused of causing more than 5 billion baht, or $152.9m, in damage by accessing …

    Security 8 Mar 2010, 23:34