20th May 2010 Archive

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DAB lobby launches radio scrappage scheme

Trade-in your tranny

This weekend you can trade in your trannies and recycle your radios in exchange for money off brand spanking new digital tuners. Well, so the digital radio industry hopes, as it strives to persuade a sufficient percentage of the UK's radio-listening population to go digital. Its goal: to get into a stronger position to …

reghardware 20 May 2010, 00:02
Google backs open codec against patent trolls

Google I/O 'Very confident' in face of Jobsian FUD

Google is "very confident" that the newly open-sourced VP8 video codec will stand up to the sort of patent attack Steve Jobs warned of when he defended Apple's decision to shun VP8's predecessor, the open-source Ogg Theora. On Wednesday, at its annual developer conference in San Francisco, California, Google told the world it …

Music and Media 20 May 2010, 05:02
Highways Agency seeks £40m central IT system

And a pony

The Highways Agency has published two separate pre-tenders, for a centralised database and for data transmission and telecommunications cables. The deal for a fully integrated and centralised database "to support the agency's strategic road network operations" is worth between £35m to £40m. According to a notice published in …

Government 20 May 2010, 06:02
Carmakers and blind boosters boost noisy leccy plan

Auto ambush avoidance

Car trade organizations and advocacy groups for the vision-impaired have joined forces to set noise standards for electric and hybrid cars. Their goal is simple: keep blind folks from being run over by cars they can't hear coming. The groups involved - the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, National Federation of the Blind …

Odds and Sods 20 May 2010, 06:02
Freeview HD Set-top Receivers

Group Test Seven boxes for for your viewing pleasure

Freeview’s HD service is rolling out around the UK, and about half of the population should be able to receive it in time for the World Cup this summer. The new service also promises better picture quality for a range of programmes on BBC HD, ITV 1 HD and Channel 4 HD, with Welsh viewers swapping Channel 4 for the S4C Clirlun …

reghardware 20 May 2010, 07:02
Buyer's Guide: Freeview HD Set-top Boxes

Group Test Think before you buy

You might think that getting Freeview HD is just a matter of buying an HD box that you like the look of and connecting it to your TV with an HDMI cable, but there are other considerations besides the cosmetic. Important though they are, the Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), user interface and remote control aren’t necessarily at …

reghardware 20 May 2010, 07:02
Review Bush DVB680

Bush, once a noble British brand, is now a house brand for Argos. Whether that explains the DVB680's low-quality feel, I can't say, but this box certainly seems cheaply made. It's a metal box with holes punched in the rear for the sockets, and a plastic panel clipped to the front. The front panel sports a very bright red LED …

reghardware 20 May 2010, 07:02
Review Humax HD-FOX T2

The Humax HD-FOX T2 was the first Freeview HD box to go on sale. It’s a sturdy unit, with a metal case and - along with the Icecrypt - a built-in power supply. The front panel has enough buttons that you can do most things without the remote – which itself can be programmed to control other devices too. Where the Humax …

reghardware 20 May 2010, 07:02
Review i-Can Easy HD 2851T

The Easy HD 2851T from iCan has, without a doubt, the most colourful and polished interface of any of the Freeview HD boxes I’ve seen. There’s help built in, and a quick introduction appears when you start setting up, too. It’s all colourful, clear and straightforward. Press buttons on the remote and you’ll see a message …

reghardware 20 May 2010, 07:02
Review Icecrypt T2200

Built for Icecrypt by Topfield, the T2200 sports two CI bays into which modules for pay TV can be slotted, making it compatible with ESPN and potentially Sky Sports too. An additional flap on the front gives access to a USB port which supports media playback, including DivX, DivX HD, MKV and AVI/Xvid files. Icecrypt says an …

reghardware 20 May 2010, 07:02
Review Philips DTR5520

Philips’ box is designed by Pace and, with the review sample at least, even bears the Pace logo on the top and some of the screens. It’s a slim black unit, with a few small buttons on the front, a channel number display and an external PSU. The rear panel includes analogue stereo outputs and a co-axial digital connector which …

reghardware 20 May 2010, 07:02
Review Sharp TU-T2

The Sharp TU-T2 is most expensive box in the group, and it's also one of the ones with fewest features. The front panel, for example, sports nothing more than a power button and a pointless square arrangement of eight bright blue LEDs. It comes with a very compact remote control. However, the buttons are a little small and …

reghardware 20 May 2010, 07:02
Review Goodmans GDB300HD

The Goodmans GDB300HD is internally identical to Grundig’s GUD300HGD - the case is the only difference. Both boxes, then, have the same, slick interface, primarily in red, though it seems a little less responsive than the Philips or i-Can receivers. While you can browse the full EPG from the 'now/next' programme info box, …

reghardware 20 May 2010, 07:02
Freeview HD Set-top Boxes: Best Buys

Group Test The pick of the crop

If there’s one thing that’s clear from this Freeview HD set-top box group test, it’s that there’s no single box that’s right for everyone. Here are the seven set-tops Reg Hardware brought together for this round-up: Bush DVB680 Goodmans GDB300HD Humax HD-FOX T2 i-Can Easy HD Icecrypt T2200 Philips DTR5520 Sharp TU-T2 …

reghardware 20 May 2010, 07:02
UK's secret surveillance regime 'does not breach human rights'

ECHR rules sneaky RIPA peeking perfectly proper

The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a claim that the UK's Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) violates the human right to a private life. The UK's rules and safeguards on covert surveillance are proportionate, said the court. The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a claim that the UK's Regulation …

Law 20 May 2010, 08:02
Business Intelligence for today's demands

Live Now! For you and your users

If you're struggling to get your head round how business intelligence can be used to good effect in your business - or struggling to contend with the end user demands for business intelligence in your organisation - then we may have just the tonic. At 11am today we’ll be broadcasting live from our central London bunker with a …

Platform Evolution 20 May 2010, 08:02
Brussels declares war on web virgins

Get online for the good of the continent

Information and communications technology is credited with half of all productivity growth in Europe over the last 15 years, which is why the European Commission is pushing for a "digital Single Market". Outlining the Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said the lack of a single market was one reason why Europe was …

Telecoms 20 May 2010, 08:52
Climate change 'no excuse' for failure to beat malaria

Perfectly achievable warming or no, say top boffins

A team of UK and American scientists say that - assuming global warming proceeds in line with mainstream expectation - there is no reason to fear a global malaria outbreak. It is often suggested that global warming might lead to a reappearance of the deadly disease in areas where it has been wiped out, and that it might spread …

Biology 20 May 2010, 09:00
Carphone Warehouse shoots mobile portal from the hip

Another day, another mobile application store

Carphone Warehouse is to propagate its own on-device portal, preinstalled on handsets and offering access to content from HipLogic, as well as the inevitable application store. There's actually not a lot of content from HipLogic or Carphone Warehouse but the application will gather information from the usual social-networking …

Mobile 20 May 2010, 09:15
2012 Olympic mascots cop a shoeing

LogoWatch Wenlock and Mandeville: 'Cretinous infantilism'

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog) had better run for cover and batten down the hatches - if intial reaction to its official 2012 mascots is anything to go by. Following the Lisa Simpson blowjob logo debacle, and subsequent epilepsy-inducing animated footage scandal, Locog was apparently "keen" to …

Bootnotes 20 May 2010, 09:25
Symantec lays out $1.3bn to buy VeriSign's security business

Acquisition spree picks up pace

Symantec has bought VeriSign's identity and authentication business for approximately $1.28bn in cash. The deal, announced Wednesday, will see the security giant snapping up Verisign's Secure Sockets Layer certificate services, the Public Key Infrastructure services and VeriSign Identity Protection (VIP) authentication service …

Enterprise Security 20 May 2010, 09:32
Kodak's waterproof 1080p camcorder splashes down in UK

Film'n'swim

Kodak's bid to be the best in compact YouTube camcorders is finally about to debut in the UK. Called the Playsport and first introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2010, the camcorder is waterproof up to 3m and records video at full 1080p HD. It also captures 5Mp stills and has a 2in LCD screen to view …

reghardware 20 May 2010, 09:50
Coalition agreement website exposes database password

Cabinet Office coughs to 'technical problem'

A government website this morning wrongly exposed its database hostname, password and username to anyone wishing to read up on the coalition's agreement. The extremely embarrassing gaffe happened within about an hour of the Cabinet Office announcing the Programme for Goverment website. Government opens up The website is, …

Government 20 May 2010, 09:52
Megan Fox exits Transformers 3

Jumped or pushed? You decide

Fans of Michael Bay's Transformers will have do without the charms of Megan Fox for the franchise's third outing, since the 24-year-old actress has either been dumped or has declined to participate, depending on whose side you prefer to take. Some reports suggest Fox was given her marching orders following a series of personal …

Entertainment 20 May 2010, 10:09
US iPhone ready to be tied down?

Tethering: believe it when you see it

The latest iPhone OS has options to enable tethering, not to mention a custom-dictionary editor and a control to stop the screen spinning around every time you lie down. The next version of Apple's iPhone OS is now in its fourth beta, and the interwebs are thrilled to see that it appears possible to use an iPhone as a GSM …

Mobile 20 May 2010, 10:14
LaCie intros Raid ready home network storage box

4TB of file space, anyone?

LaCie is punting a new network storage box it claims can provide better data security than your average router-connected hard drive. The LaCie Network Space Max has space for two 3.5in hard drives - it comes with either 2TB or 4TB of on-board storage - which can be configured in Raid 1 or Raid 0 mode. Raid 1 ensures a copy …

reghardware 20 May 2010, 10:17
Apple opens international iPad store ahead of rollout

Still keeping apps to itself, though

Apple has opened the iPad section of the iTunes app store for business outside the United States - kinda, sorta. Previously, iPads not being on sale yet anywhere other than the US, the iPad just wouldn't let you log into the app store directly unless you had a US iTunes account. Now it will, although in various respects the non- …

Applications 20 May 2010, 10:37
McKinnon hearing abandoned

Home Secretary mulls medical evidence

A planned judicial review of the Gary McKinnon case due to take place next week has been adjourned. The move, anticipated on Wednesday and confirmed on Thursday, will allow incoming Home Secretary Theresa May to review medical evidence that the accused Pentagon hacker is too mentally vulnerable to cope with extradition to the …

Law 20 May 2010, 10:38
Samsung and Toshiba squeeze NAND market

Other supplies fight for scraps

Samsung and Toshiba dominate the NAND flash market, leaving little for anyone else, first quarter revenue figures show. A ranking of flash suppliers' revenues in US dollars by iSuppli for the first quarter of this year shows Samsung leading the pack with a 38.5 per cent share, closely followed by Toshiba with 33.8 per cent. …

Channel Register 20 May 2010, 10:53
Robothopter in biomimetic butterfly boffinry breakthrough

Vid Scientific flap over flapless flapper

Japanese aerobiomimetics boffins have developed a tiny ornithopter modelled on a swallowtail butterfly. Here's the obligatory Youtube Flash vid; apologies to those of you reading this on your iPads. According to Hiroto Tanaka and Isao Shimoyama, the team behind the diminutive flying flapper-bot, the fact that it flies is …

Science 20 May 2010, 11:02
Boffins aim to warm watersports enthusiasts

Armpit thermometers reveal wind chill hardship

Government-boffins-for-hire at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) have claimed a breakthrough in wetsuit design that will enable watersports enthusiasts to frolic in Britain's frigid seas for longer. Working with pro-windsurfer Chris "Muzza" Murray and manufacturer Spartan, NPL scientists made detailed temperature …

Science 20 May 2010, 11:11
Opportunity rover breaks Mars longevity record

Six years, 116 days operating on Red Planet

NASA's Opportunity rover today breaks the "longevity record" for operating on the surface of Mars, passing the six years and 116 days set by the agency's Viking 1 Lander. Opportunity arrived on the Red Planet on 24 January 2004. Its twin Spirit arrived three weeks earlier, but has been silent since 22 March this year after …

Space 20 May 2010, 11:16
Osborne pledges simpler biz taxes

No actual numbers here

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne told the CBI last night that he wants a simpler corporate tax system and lower rates. The Conservative manifesto promised to cut corporation tax from 28 pence in the pound to 25 pence in the pound. But that pledge has been replaced with a new joint agreement between the Tories and the …

Small Biz 20 May 2010, 11:21
OFT won't block BBC's über set top box

Green light for Canvas

When Microsoft attempted to nobble an open industry technical standard to its own ends, there was a loud outcry. But what happens when a cartel of broadcasters try to do just that? Perhaps because the BBC is leading the charge, a popular uprising is nowhere to be found. The Office of Fair Trading today confirmed it will not …

Music and Media 20 May 2010, 11:24
John Lewis flogs first 3D TV

Customer is one happy bunny

There you go, John Lewis - the Oxford Street branch, naturally - has sold its first 3D TV set. This is what the buyer, biz consultant Matt Rajah (28) has to say for himself. "I have been waiting for this for a long time, there's lots of exciting 3D content on the way, and it's set to be the TV of the future. It's more money …

reghardware 20 May 2010, 11:25
iPad pawprints for voter registration

Electronic signatures fingered in Santa Clara County - foolproof!

Santa Clara County is now accepting voter registration verified with a finger-scrawled signature, showing how an iPad or iPhone really can do anything paper can. Voters in the US have to register prior to the election, normally using a traditional clipboard and pen to sign their name. But Santa Clara County residents are now …

Government 20 May 2010, 11:37
The nightmare users: Solving the problem

Blog Getting user data onto your server - how hard can it be?

Before me sits a window which contains what is supposed to my third and final piece on managing user data. To get here has taken weeks of research, several test environments, seemingly endless conversations and debates with co-workers and an awful lot of reflection on the decade I’ve spent trying to solve this problem. While I …

Sysadmin blog 20 May 2010, 12:12
BT shrinks phone book to fit in letter boxes

We're here to stay

BT is reducing the page size of its phone books to make them fit in letter boxes. We guess this will reduce delivery charges, but it will certainly save paper - about 2,000 tonnes a year. The Phone book is the same height, but the width is trimmed by 31mm to 172mm. And the new edition has a coupon section, to promote discount …

reghardware 20 May 2010, 12:13
ConLibs issue orangey blueprint for government

High on hopes, low on facts

The coalition government has issued its "wish list" - a combination of the hopes expressed in both parties' manifestos. The document lacks actual targets which might be missed - but presumably we'll get something containing more actual facts and figures with the budget on 22 June. So instead we get aspirations like "We will …

Government 20 May 2010, 12:28
LibCons to reduce vetting and barring

Defettering continues

The new government has announced plans to scale back vetting and barring. The detailed coalition agreement published on 20 May 2010 extends the list of systems the government will scrap or scale back in the name of civil liberties. It says the vetting and barring scheme, used to check the backgrounds of people working with …

Government 20 May 2010, 12:54
SeeSaw adds telly show rentals

Buy by the episode or the series

Online TV-on-demand service SeeSaw has activated lots more BBC series. SeeSaw mixes catch-up content - much of it free to view - with a selection of older shows available to watch on a one-off episode basis or to be rented as a series. Again, some shows are free. Others cost from £1.19 an episode to watch, or £5 for a series …

reghardware 20 May 2010, 13:03
Ed Vaizey takes charge of Digital Economy Act

Jeremy Hunt rolls out virtual pork barrel

Jeremy Hunt's ministerial underling in the culture, Olympics, media and sport department - Ed Vaizey - has taken charge of overseeing the implementation of the Digital Economy Act. Last night it was confirmed by the government that Hunt would head up the coalition's plans for the country's broadband. He's taken on the brief to …

Telecoms 20 May 2010, 13:31
Heartland coughs $41m to settle MasterCard claims

Bye-bye to breach badness

Heartland Payment Systems has agreed to pay up to $41m to Mastercard in settlement for claims arising from a high-profile breach involving the payment processing firm two years ago. Under the agreement, MasterCard issuers who suffered losses as a result of the intrusion will be eligible for compensation from a $41.4m fund, …

Crime 20 May 2010, 14:19
Cisco shells out $99m for CoreOptics

To 100 Gb/sec and beyond!

Cisco Systems, the very rich and ever-acquisitive networking giant, has reached into its front pocket for some change to snap up CoreOptics, a maker of optical networking subsystems based in San Jose but with most of its engineering done in Germany. CoreOptics designs high-end networking ASICs that get implemented inside of …

Data Networking 20 May 2010, 14:21
Make Isle of Man drugs paradise, says Jagger

Oh maaaaan

Mick Jagger reckons the UK should legalise drugs on the Isle of Man - cos that's where we test new mobile phones. We're guessing the old scrotum-faced warbler is talking about the 3G trials a few years ago. Jagger suggested legalisation of drugs should be tested in one area first. Talking to Larry King to punt a remastered …

Bootnotes 20 May 2010, 14:22
EMC offers storage efficiency guarantee

'It's different when we do it'

EMC is offering a guarantee with its Celerra unified storage arrays, saying you will need 20 per cent less raw capacity than from other suppliers, even though previously its bloggers have said such gimmicks are abhorrent. You've got to use EMC best practices and there's no direct performance guarantee. Instead EMC states: " …

Channel Register 20 May 2010, 14:43
Fader pushers mourn Fritz Sennheiser

He gave us good headphones. Attention must be paid

The founder of Sennheiser Electronics, Dr Fritz Sennheiser, has died aged 98. Sennheiser studied electronics in Berlin in 1929 first at the Technical University then the Heinrich Hertz Institute. He helped build the amplification for the 1936 Berlin Olympics ceremony. During the war he worked in cryptography, but this was …

Music and Media 20 May 2010, 14:54
'World's largest' airship inflated in colossal Alabama cowshed

New NASA ship features hover-slats, water harvesting

The "world's largest airship" - according to its makers - was inflated for the first time yesterday and is undergoing ground tests inside a mighty roofed exhibition hall in Alabama which in normal times offers "the space for 1500 cattle". The "Bullet 580" ship measures 235 feet long and 65 feet in diameter. It is intended …

Science 20 May 2010, 15:01
Google blames developers for lousy Android battery life

It's your fault for using it

Creating a multitasking mobile isn't so easy after all, Google's top execs are discovering. Co-founder Larry Page was pressed with concerns about Android's iffy power management yesterday, and according to reports, all he could offer was a bigger battery. Eric Schmidt blamed third party software developers for using the phone's …

Mobile 20 May 2010, 15:04
Usenet's home shuts down today

We've lost the news!

Duke University in North Carolina is where Usenet began, and today the institution is shutting down its Usenet server. The college cites "low usage and rising costs" for the decision. The first messages began flowing in 1980, after two Duke students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis, developed the protocol, using UUCP as a transport …

Music and Media 20 May 2010, 16:22
Google mocks Jobs with Flash on Android

Google I/O 'Um, people use it'

Google has unveiled a new incarnation of Android: version 2.2, codenamed Froyo. And yes, it includes support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1. "It turns out that on the internet, people use Flash," Google vice president of engineering Vic Gundotra said this morning as he unveiled the new Android at the company's annual developer …

Mobile 20 May 2010, 16:28
Microsoft 'cylinders firing' with business-cloud fluff

Ballmer: self-corrections taken

Microsoft's floated a key component of its cloud-for-corporations platform, with a code drop of Windows Server AppFabric and BizTalk Server 2010 beta. Both came as chief executive Steve Ballmer told a CEO event he believes Microsoft is now firing on all cylinders having been late to the cloud and online services, and having …

Software 20 May 2010, 17:12
iPads may be outselling Macs two to one

Projection: 8 million in 2010

Apple's iPad may be selling nearly twice as well as the company's venerable Macintosh — despite Cupertino's admission that it's having a hard time meeting demand, and despite having to delay its international roll-out by a month. That's the contention of a seasoned Apple-watcher at RBC Capital Markets. According to The Wall …

Mobile 20 May 2010, 17:18
Google TV: Android and Chrome on your boob tube

Google I/O Chocolate Factory uncloaks web happy TV set-tops

The Mountain View Chocolate Factory has unveiled the long-expected Google TV, an Android-based settop platform designed to meld the web with your boob tube. The platform will eventually be open sourced, and the idea is to put it on myriad settops. "It's about how to make the web and TV better," Google's Rishi Chandra said this …

Music and Media 20 May 2010, 17:22
NOAA goes to Cray for climate super

A Baker sticks a wet finger in the air

The people of the Tennessee Valley who depend upon the eponymous hydroelectric plants for their electricity may soon start seeing brownouts when what looks like another petaflops-class Cray supercomputer is plunked down at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The Oak Ridge boys already have the 1.76 petaflops XT5 "Jaguar" …

HPC 20 May 2010, 18:37
Microsoft declares war on 'sophisticated' click-fraud scheme

Legal offensive on click laundering

Microsoft has mounted a legal offensive against scams targeting its pay-per-click advertising services, filing two lawsuits that take aim at what it says is a sophisticated new form of the crime. In two complaints filed this week, Microsoft accused web publishers of engaging in a practice it calls "click laundering," It …

Crime 20 May 2010, 18:42
Jobs drops hint on Google open video codec

Google I/O Steve backs 'not ready for primetime' claim

Steve Jobs has indicated that Apple is unlikely to embrace Google's newly-open sourced VP8 video codec. Last last night, in an email to a Register reader, Jobs — or someone with access to his email account — pointed to a recent blog post in which a graphics developer says that VP8 "appears to be significantly weaker" in terms …

Music and Media 20 May 2010, 20:04
US boffins synthesize self-replicating bacteria

'It's alive! It's alive!'

US researchers have fashioned the first self-replicating bacterial cell, "creating new life out of already existing life." This momentous milestone — rife with both ethical quandries and immense potential — was reached by a team of two dozen researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JVCI) of Rockville, Maryland, and San …

Biology 20 May 2010, 21:18
Google punts sky high storage for devs

Google I/O Amazon: 'Hey! Don't forget us!'

Google has provided limited access to an online storage service built atop its famously distributed online infrastructure. Known as Google Storage for Developers, the service was unveiled last night with a blog as the company hosts its annual developer conference in San Francisco, California. Using a Representational State …

Developer 20 May 2010, 21:21
Server rebound, Perot services boost Dell

PCs, not so much, in fiscal Q1

The x64 server rebound has been finally confirmed with Dell reporting its financial results for its first quarter of fiscal 2011 ended April 30. Dell's overall revenues were up 21 per cent, to $14.9bn, and net income was up 52 per cent, to $441m. These numbers may not have been high enough to make us forget that Wall Street …

Financial News 20 May 2010, 21:56
Google denies carriers fled Nexus One webstore

Google I/O Head Android blames hassle of direct sales

Google Android project lead Andy Rubin has said that wireless carriers departed the company's online Nexus One store only after it had decided to change how the phone was sold. "I don't think our partners were backing away from selling the Nexus One," Rubin told reporters today at Google's annual developer conference in San …

Mobile 20 May 2010, 22:13
Most browsers silently expose intimate viewing habits

Zip codes, news articles, free for the taking

The vast majority of people browsing the web are vulnerable to attacks that expose detailed information about their viewing habits, including news articles they've read and the Zip Codes they've entered into online forms. According to results collected from more than 271,000 visits to a site called What the internet knows about …

ID 20 May 2010, 23:26
Google programming Frankenstein is a Go

Google I/O Python-C++ crossbreed lands on Goofrastructure

Google's back-end infrastructure is now running applications built with its new-age Go programming language. "We're already using Go internally at Google for some production stuff," Robert Pike, one of Go's developers and a former member of the Unix team at Bell Labs, said today during a question and answer session at the …

Developer 20 May 2010, 23:42
.NET for iPad stretches to Google's Android

Jobs the merciful god?

Call it an unholy three-way, but .NET is coming to Google Android, potentially helping C# developers interested in creating applications for Apple's iPad. Novel has announced that MonoDroid, a software development kit (SDK) to build applications for Google's Linux OS using C# and the Common Intermediate Language (CIL), is …

Developer 20 May 2010, 23:49