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28th June 2010 Archive

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  • Reseller'n'hosting specialist offshores jobs

    2e2 support goes to India

    2e2, which recently bought Morse, is considering sending its support desk jobs to India. Codenamed 'Project Victoria', the process is due to kick off after 25 July when 2e2 should have finished due diligence with Patni - the company to which it is outsourcing the outsourcing. Patni will take on 2e2 support staff except for …

    Channel Register 28 Jun 07:09

  • Privacy watchdogs: Silence isn't cookie consent

    Thumbs up required

    Advertisers are wrong to say that websites can comply with a new law governing internet cookies by relying on a user's cookie settings, Europe's privacy watchdogs have said. The Article 29 Working Party has published its interpretation of the new law. Prior consent is required, according to the privacy watchdogs. However, …

    IT Director 28 Jun 07:49

  • Maude calls for public choice on open data

    Pick what you want to see

    Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude has invited the public to comment on what government data sets should be released. He said the move is part of the effort to define clear principles for the implementation of the transparency agenda across the public sector. The announcement came after the first meeting of the Public …

    Government 28 Jun 08:00

  • Ten Essential... Travel Speakers

    Product Round-up The acme of alfresco audio

    With summer galloping towards us with unjustifiable confidence, the thoughts of young men an women turn towards kit that will work alfresco. With this in mind, today I'm taking a shufti at travel speakers. The key ingredients here are size, weight and price - or rather the the lack thereof in all three instances - an internal …

    reghardware 28 Jun 08:02

  • Does business really care about security?

    Workshop Poll Results Or is it just feigning interest?

    I once read a book that said, among other things, “You can never truly give money away.” The point it was making was that the act of giving has a certain responsibility – if you hand a large wad of cash to a charity, for example, you will want to know that the money is being spent wisely. A good theory perhaps, but it doesn’t …

    Security that Fits 28 Jun 08:20

  • Oklahoma granny sues cops over tasering

    Bedridden octogenarian pulled knife, police claim

    An 86-year-old Oklahoma woman is suing the El Reno police department for tasering her in her sick bed, local koco.com reports. Lona M Varner's grandson, Lonnie D Tinsley, was visiting granny's apartment on 22 December last year, and claims he called 911 "to request emergency medical technicians to stop by to help her with …

    Bootnotes 28 Jun 08:29

  • Moz tweaks extension crash controls in Firefox

    45 seconds to twitch

    Mozilla has tweaked the crash protection features in Firefox with a new release of the open source browser. Firefox 3.6.6, released on Saturday, increases the amount of time that plugins are allowed to be non-responsive before they are terminated, as explained here. The stability update follows last week's release of Firefox 3 …

    Applications 28 Jun 09:07

  • BT boss brands Britain illiterate

    Schools a disgrace

    BT's chairman Sir Mike Rake has joined Tesco and M&S in slamming standards in British schools. Rake said the company had had to throw away a quarter of applications for apprenticeships because their applications were unusable. He said BT received 26,000 applications for just 170 apprenticeship posts. But 6,000 were useless. …

    Telecoms 28 Jun 09:33

  • Prof: Carbon sequestration 'as bad as nuclear waste'

    Sweeping CO2 under geological carpet won't work

    A Danish climate scientist has published a paper criticising carbon sequestration - the idea of dealing with CO2 emissions by stuffing the greenhouse gas away into underground or deep-sea storage where it can't affect the atmosphere. Professor Gary Shaffer of the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen was already …

    Environment 28 Jun 09:39

  • Southpaws up in arms over iPhone 4

    Two fingers to Jobs' 'get a grip' advice

    Apple has brought down the wrath of the UK's lefthanders after Steve Jobs' insensitive advice on how to use the firm's brand new on-again-off-again iPhone 4. Jobs advised iPhone 4 buyers that the reason they were losing reception was down to the way they're holding the device - so, people just need to avoid gripping it in the …

    Mobile 28 Jun 09:42

  • Google can kill or install apps on citizen Androids

    Vanished 'RootStrap' masqueraded as movie preview

    Google has the power to not only remove applications from users' Android phones, but remotely install them as well. Last week, Google told the world it had exercised its Android "Remote Application Removal Feature," reaching out over the airwaves and lifting two applications from citizen handsets, and as pointed out by the man …

    Enterprise Security 28 Jun 10:02

  • 'Industry giant' fragged UK games developer tax break

    Website claims govt bowed to big-player pressure

    Why did the Liberal Conservatives can a plan to give UK games developers tax breaks? Because "one of the biggest games companies in the world" persuaded them not to. So claims game creation website Develop, though it doesn't feel able to say which major developer leaned on the Treasury despite having "multiple, very trusted …

    reghardware 28 Jun 10:12

  • Amazon slips video into Apple's e-books

    Print is so 20th Century

    Kindle books will now come with embedded video and audio content, but only for those who eschewed the Kindle hardware for Apple's iOS alternatives. Punters who bought Amazon's own e-book-reading hardware won't be able to enjoy the multimedia-enhanced editions - only those running the Kindle software on an iPhone, iPad or iPod …

    Mobile 28 Jun 10:18

  • 128GB BD-R disc is go

    High-capacity XL spec approved

    A proposed four-layer, 128GB recordable Blu-ray Disc has become part of the official BD specification. First announced in April this year, the new disc structure, dubbed the BD XL, will require new hardware. That shouldn't trouble your average HD movie fan: BD XL is intended for professional broadcasters looking for a new …

    reghardware 28 Jun 10:27

  • Indian firm offshores to Belfast

    Euro HQ should bring 85 development jobs

    Indian systems integrator and software developer L&T Infotech is opening its European headquarters in Belfast which will eventually employ 85 people. Sunip Banerjee, Chief Executive of L & T Infotech, said he hoped the centre could expand even further than the 85 posts currently planned. He said the company was impressed by …

    Developer 28 Jun 10:46

  • Protecting mobile users against web threats

    RegCast Don't let the bad guys win

    According to Webroot Software, there's been more malware around in the last 18 months than there has been in the last 18 years. Four out of five threats come from web sites, not email. These web threats are increasingly sophisticated - and increasingly used not for fun, but for financial gain. So how do you protect yourself …

    Tech Panel 28 Jun 10:48

  • WTF is... Project Canvas?

    A good thing, we say

    The BBC Trust announced on Friday that it had approved Project Canvas, the internet-connected TV specification that’s backed by the BBC along with the other public service broadcasters, plus telcos Talk Talk and BT, and transmitter overseer Arqiva. The Project Canvas partners The decision follows months of debating and …

    reghardware 28 Jun 11:02

  • Dell punts SIM-free Streak

    For Sale. One MID. No Network ties

    Quite fancy Dell's Streak MID - reviewed here - but don't relish the prospect of being tied to O2? This will be good news, then: Dell is now selling the big phone/small tablet (delete as applicable) unlocked. The SIM-free Streak will cost you a mere four hundred and forty-nine of your Earth pounds, which will buy a black …

    reghardware 28 Jun 11:17

  • BT Vision signs contract for Sky Sports channels

    Good day to sell football

    BT has agreed terms with Sky to offer its premium sports channels, after Ofcom forced the satellite broadcaster to offer them to rivals at capped prices. The contract means BT Vision subscribers will be offered Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 from 1 August, in time for the start of the football season on 14 August. BT hasn't …

    Music and Media 28 Jun 11:29

  • Duff French missiles for Royal Navy finally fixed

    New £1bn destroyers get post-1940s weaponry at last

    Problems with the primary armament of the Royal Navy's new, £1bn+ Type 45 destroyers have been rectified, according to reports. Eighth time's the charm The Royal Navy already has two Type 45s, HMS Daring and HMS Dauntless, but test-firings last year of their main armament - the Principal Anti Air Missile System (PAAMS, the …

    Science 28 Jun 11:30

  • DIY white iPhone 4 guide posted

    Build your own

    Want a white iPhone 4 but can't face the wait until the end of July? Then make your own. The secret: buy a white face plate from some Chinese guys on eBay, take your black iPhone 4 to bits, and replace black plates with the white ones. 'Don't matter if it's black or white...' except to Engadget That's what Engadget did, …

    reghardware 28 Jun 11:38

  • Brazilian banker's crypto baffles FBI

    18 months of failure

    Cryptographic locks guarding the secret files of a Brazilian banker suspected of financial crimes have defeated law enforcement officials. Brazilian police seized five hard drives when they raided the Rio apartment of banker Daniel Dantas as part of Operation Satyagraha in July 2008. But subsequent efforts to decrypt files …

    Enterprise Security 28 Jun 11:49

  • Skype boosts results for exclusive operators

    3 UK says 80% of its Skypephone customers are new, and have low churn

    Good news for operators like Verizon Wireless, which have thrown their lot in with Skype rather than fighting the open web tide. The pioneer of cellco-Skype deals, 3 UK, claims the arrangement has brought it a massive boost to earnings. Research by CSS Insight showed that the benefits of Skype - or rather, the way 3 has …

    VoIP 28 Jun 11:51

  • Packard Bell EasyNote LM 17in laptop

    Review Big screen for small pockets

    Back in May I reviewed Packard Bell’s dot S2 netbook and was disappointed to find it was little more than a Aspire One 532h rebranded from parent company Acer. I was therefore pleased to see the new EasyNote LM looks totally unlike any of Acer’s 17in Aspires and Timelines. Packard Bell’s EasyNote LM: nothing like an Acer …

    reghardware 28 Jun 12:02

  • Daily Mail breaks iPhone 4 recall scoop

    Twatted by Twitter

    The Daily Mail yesterday reported Apple may recall the iPhone 4. It based the story on “confirmation” from a Steve Jobs Twitter account clearly marked as a spoof. While Twitter account 'ceoSteveJobs' has over one million followers, reporter Richard Ashmore overlooked a vital piece of information prominently displayed in the …

    Mobile 28 Jun 12:10

  • Apple feels heat from Germany for geo-tracking i-customers

    Jobsian ball crosses data line (maybe)

    Germany’s justice minister has reportedly demanded that Apple “immediately make clear” what data it grabs up from customers who use the company’s products, and for what purpose. According to German weekly magazine Der Spiegel, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said: “Users of iPhones and other GPS devices must be aware of …

    Mobile 28 Jun 12:13

  • Knowing your GPPs from your GPSes

    Sysadmin Blog Advanced group policy management in Windows

    In my last set of articles I discussed why managing systems via Group Policy Objects (GPOs) is easier, especially for junior administrators who either don’t know the scripting languages or the ins and outs of the operating systems and applications they manage. Today we're focussed on what the Windows NT6 operating systems, ( …

    Desktop Mgmt Blog 28 Jun 12:31

  • Power line tech could crash aircraft and shut down the Archers

    Ofcom admits Anti-interference legislation needed

    An extensive study commissioned by Ofcom concludes that power line networking could crash aeroplanes and block Radio 4, but that technology will probably solve the problem before that happens. Power-line networking has been increasing in popularity, partly because BT bundles it with Vision, but pushing networking signals over …

    Data Networking 28 Jun 12:52

  • Dell in late payment Hall of Shame

    Small biz suffers from corporate sloth

    Direct computer seller Dell has been entered into a late payments Hall of Shame for unilaterally adding an extra 15 days to the time it aims to settle invoices. Dell wrote to suppliers telling them it was changing T&Cs from 10 July because of "current economic conditions". It will now settle invoices in 65 days rather than 50 …

    Small Biz 28 Jun 13:06

  • Apple: we've sold a lot of iPhone 4s

    More than 1.7m, apparently

    Can 1.7m punters be wrong? That's how many folk had snapped up Apple's iPhone 4 by close of play Saturday, 26 June - three days after the handset went on sale. CEO Steve Jobs apologised today "to those customers who were turned away because we did not have enough supply". Maybe they were just queuing wrong, eh, Steve? …

    reghardware 28 Jun 13:15

  • Observer columnist in online porn mixup

    ICANN? I can't

    You might think being a Sunday newspaper columnist is a pretty easy gig. Think again. They have to conjure provocative opinions on everything, on demand, often with only the weakest grasp of the facts. To highlight their plight, here we present Barbara Ellen's attempt in yesterday's Observer to wrestle copy from ICANN's …

    Bootnotes 28 Jun 13:28

  • Does anyone really want to embed dedupe code?

    Comment Ocarina and Permabit's prospects limited

    Which storage OEMs will embed Ocarina or Permabit deduplication code in their products? Deduplication, or data reduction as it's becoming known, involves scanning data, whether in block or file, and replacing repeated block groups or chunks with pointers. Typically this is done with backed up file data, where there is lots of …

    Storage 28 Jun 13:31

  • Microsoft PR boss sweats in face of Apollo Creed Apple, Google... world

    'Be a thinker not a stinker'

    Microsoft’s top flack has been physically and metaphorically running up hills in the last few days in an effort to find out what’s gone wrong at Redmond HQ. The company’s Frank X Shaw penned a navel-gazing missive to staff, a full transcript of which was picked up by All Things Digital, late last week. Microsoft’s comms boss …

    Operating Systems 28 Jun 14:15

  • Chinese military banned from blogging

    No online romance either for PLA personnel

    China has issued an edict banning its 2.3 million military personnel from blogging or creating homepages or websites, AP reports. The new rules came into force on 15 June, as part of a People's Liberation Army Internal Affairs Regulation. Wan Long, a PLA political commissar, told Xinhua news agency: "Soldiers cannot open …

    Government 28 Jun 14:25

  • Comet-bomb interceptor makes low pass above Atlantic

    Earthy speed to get probe 'up close and personal'

    A NASA space probe famous for bombing a comet five years ago made a final "flyby" past Earth last night, changing its orbit around the Sun with the aid of the planet's gravity. The renamed "EPOXI" craft (formerly "Deep Impact") swooped low just 19,000 miles above the South Atlantic at 11pm UK time last night. One way of …

    Space 28 Jun 14:33

  • Plastic Logic still ain't got a Que

    Great PR, cool technology, but no e-reader

    The Que e-reader from Plastic Logic has been postponed, again, as the company struggles to get a product out while there's still a market for it. Those who had pre-ordered the device, which was originally scheduled for April but had already slipped to June 24th, were sent an email (posted by Wired) explaining that shipments …

    Mobile 28 Jun 14:47

  • International Cricket 2010

    Wicked hit or hit wicket?

    I don't like cricket... oh, no... oh, actually, wait a minute, I really don't like cricket. It's not that I don't admire the game. Cricket and I once had a two-year love affair, which peaked with England's win in the 2005 Ashes series. It's funny, they're in creases I still respect it as the thinking man's game, filled …

    reghardware 28 Jun 15:02

  • Samsung intros long-life mini-laptop

    Netbook plus?

    Want a netbook that will run for (almost) up to 14 hours? That's what Samsung is promising its new 10in N230 can deliver. You'll have to buy the version with the 66Wh battery, mind - there's also a 32Wh version that runs for a more standard seven hours. Other choices include a 1.66GHz Atom N450 CPU or a 1.83GHz N470 - the …

    reghardware 28 Jun 15:06

  • FTC kills ingenious micro-payment scam

    Steal little from lots of people

    US consumer watchdogs have closed down a lucrative credit card scam that ran undetected for up to four years. The con involves a series of low-value payments from compromised credit cards made in favour of a large number of dummy firms set up by fraudsters, the Federal Trade Commission alleges. The cybercrooks charge only $0. …

    Crime 28 Jun 15:06

  • Sepaton's virtualisation surge

    Cloud, storage pooling and multi-tenancy

    With its latest software release Sepaton is providing virtual ES2 arrays to departments in private clouds and customers in public clouds. It also has a roadmap to turn its grid-architecture high-end ES2 deduplicating secondary storage array engines into virtual machine appliances. The ES2 is a secondary storage system based on …

    Virtualization 28 Jun 15:24

  • Spoof beer ad mocks England footie flops

    Brimming with sarcasm

    It's good to see that following yesterday's football debacle, disappointed fans have responded as is the local custom, with a resigned shrug and a few pops at the expense of the lamentable England football team. Here's our fave, which just slipped into the Bootnotes inbox: Those of you who like a glass or two will …

    Bootnotes 28 Jun 15:25

  • Chrome squeaks past Safari in US

    Battle of the also-rans

    Google Chrome and Apple's Safari have swapped spots in their skirmish to determine which browser can capture one-third the US market share of Firefox and one-sixth that of Internet Explorer. "There is a battle royal going on between Google and Apple in the internet browser space (Chrome v Safari) as well as in the mobile …

    Applications 28 Jun 15:57

  • Nokia demos finger flicking exercise for iPhone 4 users

    Just hold us, beg Finns

    Nokia has latched onto its key advantage over arch-rival Apple's iPhone 4: you can hold the Finns' phones virtually anyway you want. Apple attracted derision from some techies and accusations of discrimination from lefties when it told the world that flakey reception of the iPhone 4 was down to the way people were holding the …

    Mobile 28 Jun 16:01

  • iPhone 4 parts cost $188 says pre-hyped report

    You've bought the accessories, now buy the write-up

    Having taken a brand new 16GB iPhone 4 to bits, market watcher iSuppli reckons all the component parts together cost fiddly-small-change less than $188 (£125). Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the most expensive single item is the - rather nice, we have to say - $29 (£19) 3.5in, 960 x 480 display. Next comes the A4 processor, which …

    reghardware 28 Jun 16:07

  • First MeeGo Linux needs love and scrub up

    Review Fiddly, slow, but pleasing

    MeeGo is a big deal. Devices plus cloud is the big trend right now and MeeGo has seen two industry giants - Intel and Nokia - combine efforts to create a Linux offering capable of competing with Windows on netbooks, Apple and Google on phones and tablets, and embedded operating systems on just about anything else from TVs to …

    Operating Systems 28 Jun 17:02

  • CPU, GPU makers gussie up their wares for Hot Chips

    This is still Silicon Valley

    The annual Hot Chips symposium on high-performance chips will be hosted by the IEEE at Stanford University this August 21-23, and heavyweights in the microprocessor and other chip rackets will be on hand to talk up their latest innovations. As usual. To get everybody fired up about the event, Hot Chips has posted the program …

    Hardware 28 Jun 19:08

  • Hybrid hard drives: what's not to like?

    A flash stash for little cash

    Flash-based SSD drives may be bloody fast, but they're also bloody expensive. For some road warriors, price is immaterial, but for most mortals — or for their employers — price is everything. This is where hybrid hard drives come into their own, delivering better performance than traditional hard drives, but for only a small …

    Storage 28 Jun 19:27

  • More iPhone 4 angst: fanbois howl over head sensor

    'The worst experience I've had so far'

    As they complain of yellow splotches, screen scratches, and left-hander discrimination, disillusioned fanbois are also howling over problems with the not-so-holy handset's proximity sensor. "I'm having an issue with the Proximity Sensor not properly detecting when i'm holding my phone to my ear," says one user in a post to the …

    Mobile 28 Jun 19:30

  • Yes, software can be patented, US Supremes say

    'Machine-or-transformation' test not only game in town

    The US Supreme Court on Monday preserved the right of inventors to patent software and other intangible business methods in a highly anticipated ruling that disappointed critics who say such patents stifle competition and innovation. The ruling came in a case in which plaintiffs Bernard Bilski and Rand Warsaw tried to patent a …

    Software 28 Jun 21:02

  • Oracle refreshes Sun Xeon server lineup

    AMD not invited to the party

    As El Reg has been telling you it would, Oracle revamp its x64 servers in June and Advanced Micro Devices was not invited to the announcement party. In fact, there wasn't an announcement party at all, just two press releases and a webcast explaining the machines — the latter of which is still not available as we go to press. …

    Servers 28 Jun 21:39

  • Rancid IE6 'more secure' than Chrome and Opera US bank says

    Suck it up, or swallow: customer choice

    Microsoft's creaking Internet Explorer 6 is more secure and popular than either Google's Chrome or Opera US banking giant Chase has determined. The bank's therefore decided its online baking services will continue to support aging the IE 6 but drop support for Chrome and Opera. IE 6 is nine years old and even Microsoft is now …

    Developer 28 Jun 22:10

  • Verizon slashes Microsoft Kin phone prices

    Vultures seen circling

    Verizon has slashed the prices of Microsoft's ill-conceived and ill-received not-so-smartphones with the Dr. Seussian names of Kin One and Kin Two. Just six weeks after release, the biscuit-shaped Kin One now costs a mere $29.99 with a two-year plan and a side-sliding Kin Two, $49.99. At those prices, may we suggest that it …

    Mobile 28 Jun 23:46

  • Secrecy fetish drove Steve Jobs' analytics bust

    Flurry: 'We're in no violation'

    An exec with the analytics firm that "pissed off" Steve Jobs so mightily that the Apple CEO banned all such data-gathering software has said that Apple's concerns were more about secrecy than privacy. "I think where we've gone afoul potentially is [about] just what Apple would prefer us to share and not [to] share with the …

    Music and Media 28 Jun 23:49