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2nd July 2010 Archive

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  • Leica Pinmaster rangefinder

    Review The ultimate weapon for golf war veterans?

    Golfers are a funny lot, many of them play with superstitions or simply have faith that their perseverance will eventually win out. Yet I know that the perfect swing is not all technical and mechanical, but it’s also about feeling perfectly balanced and believing that the club in my hands is just an extension of my mind's eye. …

    Hardware 2 Jul 2010, 07:02

  • World Cup meltdown fails to materialise

    System built to survive nuclear war withstands England exit

    Fears that network infrastructures would crumble during the World Cup as fans flocked to video streaming sites to watch games online have failed to materialise. World Cup-related video has resulted in a 30 per cent increase in backbone traffic, according to an analysis by network security firm Arbor Networks. While the …

    Data Networking 2 Jul 2010, 07:39

  • Gartner cuts tech spending forecast

    Sovereign debt lowers outlook

    Analyst house Gartner has lowered its prediction for growth in the European technology market, blaming sovereign debt which is likely to push down public sector spending. Gartner was expecting growth of 5.3 per cent for the year - from $3.225 trillion to $3.350 trillion worldwide. It is now predicting more modest growth of 3.9 …

    Hardware 2 Jul 2010, 08:23

  • Numara Software blows asset tracking trumpet

    Comment Maybe it's the wrong tune?

    Numara Software has released a report whose findings, it argues, demonstrate a need for more use of asset management software by IT professionals. The case being made is that IT budgets have been static or reduced over the past couple of years and this cost constraint is likely to continue, meaning IT departments must make …

    The Channel 2 Jul 2010, 09:09

  • Beeb reinstates teaboy in Pestogate scandal

    Auntie gives El Reg a two-finger salute

    Its fair play to the Beeb this morning as it appears to have brought the Pestogate image scandal to an end by giving El Reg a two-finger salute*: Splendid. That's a BBC photo of a BBC building all right, and here for the record are some other photos of BBC buildings not by the BBC, with the exception of the second one, which …

    Bootnotes 2 Jul 2010, 09:39

  • Buffalo ships iPhone/HDD dock

    Cradle your drive and your phone

    Buffalo has released Dualie, which may sound like a fancy toaster but is actually a dock for iPods and external hard drives. No, we're not entirely sure what the point is either, but Buffalo reckons there are folk out there who have an iPod or iPhone, need an external hard drive too, but can't face connecting the two devices …

    Hardware 2 Jul 2010, 09:50

  • Microsoft's past - the future to Android's iPhone victory

    Lessons from a Jobsian battle

    The desktop market was won by Microsoft in large part because of its appeal to the broadest segment of the developer population — cue the Steve Ballmer fight song, complete with sweat stains and manic enthusiasm. In mobile, Microsoft is AWOL because it has failed to attract developers in meaningful numbers. Instead, Apple and …

    Developer 2 Jul 2010, 10:02

  • Sony tweaks Twitter gadget for UK users

    Dash across the Atlantic

    Sony's US operation has removed software that prevented its Dash "personal internet viewer" from starting up and running in other countries. The move paves the way for buyers over here to order a Dash from over there safe in the knowledge that the gadget will work. Like O2's Joggler and Chumby's Chumby - respectively …

    Hardware 2 Jul 2010, 10:08

  • Popular apps don't bother with Windows defences

    No belt, no braces

    Many popular software applications have avoided including security protection mechanisms built into the latest versions of Windows. The omission leaves these applications at greater risk of hacker attack, according to a study by security patching and notification firm Secunia. Two key security mechanisms in Windows - DEP (Data …

    Security 2 Jul 2010, 10:15

  • Strato-droids to mate in upper atmos, exchange vital juices

    Kill-machines less and less dependent on fleshy slaves

    Flying robots can more or less do it all. They can take off, navigate, land themselves, shoot missiles at other aircraft while in flight, mow down hapless fleshies on the ground beneath, follow people about and drop leaflets. So far, though, they have not yet managed - all on their own - one of the most difficult piloting feats …

    Science 2 Jul 2010, 10:28

  • Paraguayan model to strip if team wins World Cup

    NSFW No chance, sadly

    A Paraguayan model has promised to run naked through the streets of Asunción, painted in her team's colours, if the South American country triumphs in the World Cup. Larissa Riquelme has been getting plenty of coverage for lending her considerable support to the national side from a square in the capital, where she has has …

    Bootnotes 2 Jul 2010, 10:55

  • BCS votes to keep spending secret

    Confidence motion shows little confidence

    The Extraordinary General Meeting of the BCS yesterday voted in favour of the wide-ranging reforms recommended by its current management, but revealed a substantial rump of angry rebels remains. The vote to suspend further spending on the "Transformation" scheme until there is full and open transparency of where the £5m is …

    Management 2 Jul 2010, 10:57

  • Three intros bumper phone tariff

    Loadsaminutes

    Three has introduced what it claims is "the simplest, most competitive [mobile phone] tariff ever offered in the UK". Dubbed The One Plan, prices start at £25 a month and include 2000 call minutes for any network, 5000 minutes of calls to other Three phones, 5000 texts and 1GB of data. With those kind of numbers, The One Plan …

    Mobile 2 Jul 2010, 11:01

  • Google's remote Android app installer explained

    Phone downloads powered from desktop

    Why has Google given itself the power to remotely install applications on citizens' Android phones? It will eventually offer a desktop-browser-based version of its Android app marketplace, allowing netizens to install apps on their Android phones using a browser on their PC. The company demoed this desktop-based Android Market …

    Mobile 2 Jul 2010, 11:02

  • Are your project timescales shrinking?

    Lab IT suppliers voting for Christmas?

    When did the two-year project lifecycle die? In my head, I put it at just over a decade ago, when I was involved in an accounting systems replacement exercise. Everything was so clearly mapped out – from requirements capture, to design, selection, integration, testing in a variety of flavours, and all kinds of user education …

    Platform Evolution 2 Jul 2010, 11:13

  • Last shuttle mission shifted to Feb 2011

    NASA firms up dates for final two flights

    NASA has announced that the last space shuttle mission - Endeavour's STS-134 to the International Space Station - will now lift off on 26 February next year. Discovery's STS-133 mission, meanwhile, is scheduled for 1 November. NASA explains: "The target dates were adjusted because critical payload hardware for the STS-133 …

    Science 2 Jul 2010, 11:21

  • Microsoft goes AC/DC with Instaload battery tech

    Bunny botherers take it from both ends

    Microsoft bigged up a technology yesterday that simplifies the battery installation process by forgoing the need to lopsidedly peer at the plus and negative signs on the energy gizmo. InstaLoad is a patented battery contact design that Microsoft has made available for licence by third party device suppliers. Redmond said that …

    Hardware 2 Jul 2010, 11:28

  • Apple iPhone 4

    Review Machined to perfection?

    Let's be honest here, what really makes the the iPhone 4 stand out is its new 'Retina Display'. Yes, Apple has crammed in some other new features too - gyroscopes, extra microphones, video calling, better Wi-Fi, multi-tasking and yet more megapixels for the camera - but these alone don't raise the iPhone 4 above the shoulders …

    Phones 2 Jul 2010, 11:35

  • China hits back at EC dumping probe

    Wide-area modem pricing in the frame

    China has criticised a European Commission probe into pricing policies for wireless wide-area network modems. A complaint was made by Belgium modem maker Option, which said its products competed effectively everywhere except Europe because Chinese firms were dumping hardware at absurdly cheap prices. Option said the …

    Broadband 2 Jul 2010, 11:41

  • Dell orchestrates Scalent buy

    We'll have that data centre co-ordination software

    Dell has expanded its data centre tool kit by snapping up Scalent, a supplier of data centre control and co-ordination software. The software provides dynamic data centre infrastructure management, enabling data centre server, networking and storage assets to be managed, monitored and presented to IT users as a single set of …

    Servers 2 Jul 2010, 12:17

  • 'Unlimited' ads are dumb and misleading, says 3

    Sorr-eee

    3's UK boss Kevin Russell UK has called for an overhaul of mobile broadband marketing, particularly misleading "unlimited" allowances. He included 3 in the rogues' gallery, and explained that because the big boys were doing it, 3 had felt obliged to copy them. It now regretted doing so. "As an industry our marketing standards …

    Mobile 2 Jul 2010, 12:18

  • US $250m superbomber 'almost as good' as $8m robot

    Top US general Petraeus in bitchslap for 'Bones'

    General David Petraeus - the famous US officer who oversaw the "surge" in Iraq and is now set to take over the war in Afghanistan - has delivered a stinging bitchslap to the US Air Force's fleets of heavy manned bombers. Petraeus says that a mighty 200 tonne, quarter-billion-dollar B-1 "Lancer" is "almost" as good as having a …

    Science 2 Jul 2010, 12:37

  • Computer grads can't even get jobs offering personal services

    Media studies a better jobs bet

    Computer science graduates have even less chance than media studies grads of being in gainful employment six months after leaving college, government figures show. Latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency show in 2008/2009, 1375 of the 8090 computer science students it could track down six months after …

    Financial News 2 Jul 2010, 12:47

  • Extreme porn now illegal north of the border

    Scotland falls into line

    If you thought you could hide your extreme porn stash in a secluded location north of the border – think again. For this week, the Scottish Parliament finally fell into line with its English counterpart south of the border, passing laws - included within the Criminal Justice Bill - making it a criminal offence to possess images …

    Government 2 Jul 2010, 13:05

  • 'Huge airships to carry freight starting 10 years from now'

    Ex UK.gov top boffin's amazing claim

    The long-touted idea of using airships to replace cargo aircraft is in the news again, courtesy of former head government boffin Professor Sir David King, who says "this is something I believe is going to happen". 'Fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers and other foreign luxuries' will arrive like this. King's remarks were …

    Science 2 Jul 2010, 13:07

  • Apple denies iPhone 4 antenna glitch, blames inaccurate signal bars

    Bad sums not bad thumbs

    Apple has denied that its recently released iPhone 4 has any problems with the antenna, as reported by many disgruntled customers of the company’s latest device. Instead the Jobisan outfit has coughed to a glitch with the way the bars are displayed on the phone. Apple said it would spin out a software fix in the next few …

    Mobile 2 Jul 2010, 13:21

  • Apple speaks out on iPhone 4 signal slippage

    Reception formula is 'totally wrong'

    The iPhone 4's signal loss woes - caused, it seems, by the way people hold their handsets - is a software problem, Apple has claimed. "We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising," it said in an open letter to iPhone 4 buyers. "Upon investigation, we were stunned to find …

    Phones 2 Jul 2010, 13:53

  • OFT to disqualify unwitting directors to deter competition abuses

    Innocence won't make you innocent now

    Directors who should have known that their companies were breaking competition laws will be just as likely to be pursued for disqualification as those who actively committed offences, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has said. The OFT has published new guidance on when it will disqualify directors because of competition law …

    Small Biz 2 Jul 2010, 15:13

  • Scroogle's future in doubt

    Google shimmies again to avoid privacy proxy

    The long-term future of proxy server Scroogle is seriously in doubt, according to operator Daniel Brandt. Scroogle has scraped Google pages since 2002 by piping results through an anonymizing server. By using the service surfers could remain anonymous, but more importantly use Google without the compulsory 40-year cookie. The …

    Applications 2 Jul 2010, 15:14

  • Why we love to hate Microsoft

    Roadmap to fandom

    Microsoft watcher Mary Branscombe has an excellent ZDNet post on Why do we (love to) hate Microsoft, and asks: What would Microsoft need to do and say to you for you to be happy to call yourself a fan? In part she's reacting to head of Microsoft PR Frank Shaw's Microsoft by the Numbers in which he highlights the success of …

    Software 2 Jul 2010, 15:40

  • OpenOffice gets Ubuntu-media friendly

    GStreamer build

    OpenOffice has adopted the Ubuntu-friendly GStreamer media framework to reach a broader swath of Linux and Unix users. The project created a new media back end from scratch using GStreamer, a move that de-emphasizes use of the Sun Microsystems Java Media Framework (JMF) — Sun was the largest contributor to OpenOffice before …

    Applications 2 Jul 2010, 19:27

  • Apple's iPhone 4 denial: insulting or ignorant?

    Comment Reg readers, go to work

    Apple released a surreal missive on Friday morning that said the only thing wrong with the iPhone 4 is the way it calculates signal-strength bars. That letter is either an honest explanation or total bullshit — and it's high time that a competent, unbiased antenna-engineering team found out. On the face of it, Apple's letter …

    Phones 2 Jul 2010, 19:55

  • Robotic cargo spacecraft misses rendezvous with ISS

    Zooms past as crew members watch

    An unmanned Russian cargo ship missed its scheduled rendezvous with the International Space Station on Friday after a telemetry lock between the two spacecraft failed. Engineers are scrambling to figure out why. The robotic Progress 38 spacecraft sailed past the station as its crew tried in vain to regain telemetry with the it …

    Science 2 Jul 2010, 20:00

  • IT insider admits stealing info for 2,000 bank employees

    Makes off with $1.1m

    A former IT worker for the Bank of New York has admitted to stealing personal information of 2,000 employees and using it to steal more than $1m from charity bank accounts, city prosecutors said. Adeniyi Adeyemi, 27, used his position as a contract computer technician at the bank's headquarters to steal the personal …

    Security 2 Jul 2010, 22:46