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8th July 2010 Archive

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  • HTML5-juiced mobile YouTube refresh dates iPhone

    Lean, clean 3G killer

    YouTube has launched an updated version of its YouTube Mobile website (m.youtube.com ) designed for HTML5-capable browsers such as the iPhone's Safari and those on Android-based phones. "[The update] incorporates the features and functionality you've come to expect from the .com site, like search query suggestions, the options …

    Mobile 8 Jul 2010, 06:02

  • Ten Essential... iOS Travel Apps

    Product Round-up Are we there yet, 'Pad?

    Well, the footy’s over and Wimbledon was the usual damp squib for the Brits, but at least the holiday season is here at last, so we can head for sunnier climes and drown our sorrows in cheap Sangria for a few days. Of course, the well-armed Reg Hardware reader wouldn’t set foot outside the front door without a good selection …

    Top Ten 8 Jul 2010, 07:02

  • Finnish blog blunder: disaster, no recovery

    Nordic cloud burst

    A Finnish blogging portal, Bloggen.fi has lost users' data from October 2009 to June 2010 because of an outage last week. The word is that it had the main data and backup data on the same virtual server. That seems unnecessarily economical. The outage (In Swedish: sorry) is blamed on spam, which our correspondent thinks is …

    Storage 8 Jul 2010, 07:38

  • Infinity's carbon-neutral data centre

    Biomass power

    Infinity says it has a true carbon-neutral data centre at it's Infinity ONE site near Martleshan Heath in Suffolk, UK. The tier 1 centre is powered using biomass, dark green vegetable matter grown by a local farming co-operative, fed into an anaerobic digester produced by Thöni Industriebetriebe GMBH   The biomass is digested …

    Storage 8 Jul 2010, 07:41

  • Online trading not anti-competitive for small biz

    OFT report gives thumbs up, behemoth warning

    Small and medium sized (SME) companies do not face major anti-competitive barriers when trying to sell goods or services online, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has said. The OFT has published research (pdf) it commissioned into the services that SMEs need to use if they are to trade online. It said that internet technologies …

    Small Biz 8 Jul 2010, 07:57

  • BT and TalkTalk threaten court to kill Mandybill

    Find your own pirates!

    BT and TalkTalk may go to court to try and overturn the Digital Economy Act - passed just before Parliament was dissolved for the election. Two of the largest ISPs in the UK want the High Court to confirm that the Act is legal and that disconnecting persistent file sharers does not infringe basic rights. Apart from the …

    Broadband 8 Jul 2010, 08:06

  • VMware, Cisco, EMC love-child off the blocks

    First VBlock sale in Europe

    The VMware Cisco EMC (VCE) coalition has made its first Vblock sale in Europe. The Vblock is an integrated Cisco UCS server, VMware hypervisor, EMC storage and Cisco networking system sold as a single entity. Cobweb services, a UK-based managed services provider, bought a Vblock 1, which features CLARiiON storage and vSphere 4 …

    Data Networking 8 Jul 2010, 09:10

  • NSA setting up secret 'Perfect Citizen' spy system

    'This is Big Brother', says corporate insider

    The US National Security Agency (NSA) is embarking on a secret domestic surveillance project dubbed "Perfect Citizen", intended to monitor and protect important national infrastructure such as power grids and transport systems. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed government and industry sources, says that the NSA has …

    Government 8 Jul 2010, 09:20

  • Facebook faces German privacy probe

    Non-member data under scrutiny

    Germany is suing Facebook for obtaining and saving data from people who do not use the social networking site. Facebook faces an investigation for violations of Germany's strict privacy laws, which are among the toughest in the world. Johannes Caspar, head of Hamburg's Data Protection Authority, told the BBC: "We consider the …

    Law 8 Jul 2010, 09:34

  • iRiver Story to preface WHSmith entry into e-book biz

    Page turner

    iRiver's Story e-book reader - which Reg Hardware rated as the best product of its kind for 2009 - is to reach a bigger audience. WHSmith has chosen it to spearhead its push into the e-book biz. The newsagent will be offering a Wi-Fi equipped version of the Story, which sports a 600 x 800, 16 shades of grey E Ink display, 2GB …

    Tablets 8 Jul 2010, 09:41

  • Women: keep computer games short and sweet

    Violence should be fun!

    One in three UK women say they are gamers, according to the 2010 European gaming attitudes survey. Another survey into gaming gender differences surfaced this week, which reveals that women: Play fewer hours (8) a week than men (17 hours) and are turned off by games that are too complicated. They give up if game is not easy to …

    Games 8 Jul 2010, 09:57

  • Sony unveils 3D compact camera pair

    Sony is to bring the 3D panorama mode it recently added to its NEX micro four-thirds style cameras to its compact range. Sony's Cyber-shot TX9: ready to shoot sweeping 3D panoramas In point of fact, only two, new models will get the feature, part of Sony's scheme to get us all investing heavily in 3D technology. And you'll …

    Hardware 8 Jul 2010, 10:01

  • Payroll jobs and Canucks on an iPhone

    Sysadmin blog Three projects, many lessons

    I am supposed to crank out a set of articles about NTFS and Share permissions, but I'm changing the topic: user experience management. This coincides with a series of IT-related but not IT-led projects at work. The projects allowed me a chance to see how other individuals approached the provisioning of IT services, from which …

    Servers 8 Jul 2010, 10:13

  • George Lucas rattles lightsabre at Jedi laser firm

    Manufacturer feels the force of cease-and-desist

    Lucasfilm has issued a cease-and-desist against Wicked Lasers - the manufacturer of the Spyder III Pro Arctic which has created quite a stir among wannabe Jedi worldwide. The Star Wars firm is less than impressed with the "most dangerous laser ever created", and late last month informed Hong Kong-based Wicked Lasers: "It is …

    Hardware 8 Jul 2010, 10:32

  • Academics challenge moral consensus on sex and the net

    Censorship does more harm than good

    A moral panic around childhood sexualisation and the dangers of the internet is closing down important channels of debate and making the internet a more dangerous place for adults and young people alike. That was the consensus view taken by Onscenity, an international network launched this week, which draws together experts to …

    Law 8 Jul 2010, 10:35

  • PC prices rise in Q2 as iPad fuels tablet consumption

    Rare kit price rise

    PCs have gotten more expensive over the last quarter, with average selling prices up three per cent to €457.37. Context Research said that average selling prices across Europe rose in the second quarter, a truly once-in-a-blue-moon event for the PC industry. The rise as overall volumes of desktops, notebooks and servers grew …

    The Channel 8 Jul 2010, 10:41

  • Sony preps 3D TV upgrade for PS3 telly tuner

    Further 3D firmware updates roadmapped

    Sony is to revamp its PlayStation 3 TV tuner, the PlayTV, for the 3D era. At this stage, details are few and far between, but since picking up 3D broadcasts will require HD compatibility, it is likely to involve new hardware. As is stands, the PlayTV can only pick up standard definition Freeview DVB-T transmissions. An HD …

    Media 8 Jul 2010, 10:57

  • BT trumpets subsidies for village broadband

    Free cash pleases telco

    BT is encouraging local authorities in rural areas to consider subsidising faster broadband installations, after a village Parish Council in Kent agreed to stump up part of the cost of fibre-to-the-cabinet. As a result of the subsidy all 1,350 premises in Iwade, near Sittingbourne, will be offered theoretical maximum download …

    Broadband 8 Jul 2010, 11:10

  • Nokia sets Russian plod on blogger

    Wants its phones back

    Nokia has formally requested the return of prototype phones from off-message Russian website operator Eldar Murtazin. Nokia says it doesn't want to close down the long-running site Mobile-Review, but ominously says it has asked the Russian authorities for assistance. Which means Eldar could be being getting ready for a swim in …

    Phones 8 Jul 2010, 11:20

  • Hidden by virtualization: Grid computing

    Blog Something to it after all?

    I read a good article from our pal Michael Feldman on Digipede, a ‘pure-play’ grid software company that focuses exclusively on Microsoft and their Windows/.NET products. It prompted some thoughts on my part about grid computing, and how it might play an increasingly large role in the future. For the uninitiated, grid …

    HPC 8 Jul 2010, 11:22

  • Microsoft inks patent deal with yet another car tech firm

    DENSO falls into cross-licensing line

    Microsoft scored yet another patent licensing deal yesterday, this time with automotive tech firm DENSO Corp. Redmond said the agreement, financial terms of which were kept secret, “builds on” prior patent deals struck with Alpine Electronics, Pioneer and TomTom. “Although the details of the agreement have not been disclosed …

    Developer 8 Jul 2010, 11:23

  • Symbian malware creates mighty zombie army

    Updated Lock up your handsets

    Mobile malware that affects Symbian Series 60 handsets is being used to create a botnet. Security firm NetQin claims as many as 100,000 smartphones have been compromised with the malware, which typically poses as a game and affects Symbian Series 60 3rd edition and 5th edition devices. NetQin said the malware is programmed to …

    Security 8 Jul 2010, 11:41

  • Carousel fraudsters must pay back £92m

    Rev's biggest ever confiscation

    Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is demanding two convicted carousel fraudsters pay back £92m in cash, cars and properties or face an extra ten years in prison. The gang of 21 were sentenced to a total of 74 years in May. They ran a massive missing trader or carousel fraud importing computer chips from Ireland VAT-free and …

    The Channel 8 Jul 2010, 11:49

  • Lad from Lagos in unencrypted CD teaser

    Pension fund security breach exposes £17m

    The Lads from Lagos have been keeping a low profile of late, so we're obliged to Reg reader Matt Summers for sharing this tempting get-rich-quick opportunity with fellow fans of Vulture Central: Dear Sir/Madam, How are you today?. I know that you will be surprise to read this mail,My name is Mr.Harrod James. The Federal …

    Bootnotes 8 Jul 2010, 11:59

  • iPhone under threat from HTML5? Not really

    Poll finds email, IM and social networks sell mobile data

    HTML5 could take bites out of Apple's dominance of mobile applications today - provided developers target lucrative niches. A poll of over 4,000 punters points to the old regulars of email, IM and social networks as driving increased mobile data usage. 65 per cent of UK consumers and 74 per cent of US consumers polled said email …

    Mobile 8 Jul 2010, 12:01

  • Brass band to trumpet last shuttle external tank rollout

    Emotional scenes expected in New Orleans

    The last space shuttle external tank rollout will take place later today in New Orleans, as Endeavour's STS-134 mission fuel beast is waved on its way to Florida by "hundreds of handkerchief-waving" Lockheed Martin Space Systems employees. The ceremony, featuring local brass band the Storyville Stompers, marks the end of an …

    Science 8 Jul 2010, 12:11

  • Microsoft swings axe at 'hundreds' of jobs globally

    Staff complain about lack of leadership

    Hundreds of jobs have reportedly been slashed at Microsoft offices across the globe, but the company is keeping quiet about the staff cuts. TechFlash reported yesterday that Microsoft was set to cull a small number of its 88,596 worldwide workforce. Microsoft hasn’t commented on the layoffs, but neither has it gone on record …

    Financial News 8 Jul 2010, 12:37

  • Barnet and West Sussex breach DPA

    Unencrypted USB, CDs AWOL with 9,000 kids' details

    The Information Commissioner's Office has taken action against Barnet and West Sussex councils after the theft of IT containing sensitive data about children. The watchdog said that personal information about children had been lost by the two authorities because of a "systemic" lack of staff IT training. Both councils were …

    Government 8 Jul 2010, 12:41

  • Confusion over 'secret code' in US military Cyberforce crest

    Rogue hyphen leaves puzzle fiends scratching heads

    Online puzzle fiends are struggling to crack a "secret" cryptogram included in the newly-formed US military cyber command's official seal. Most of the confusion arises from an extra hyphen in the Command official mission statement. What's a good way of symbolising codes 'n' stuff, Larry? As can be seen in the image above, …

    Government 8 Jul 2010, 12:44

  • UK.gov scraps stop'n'search terror power

    Section 44 gets 86'd

    Police are to be stripped of the power to stop and search anyone for no reason, the Home Secretary has announced. Theresa May told the Commons she will immediately limit Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 so members of public can only be stopped if officers "reasonably suspect" they are terrorists. The threshold of suspicion …

    Law 8 Jul 2010, 13:00

  • Motorola Flipout

    Review Fun phone for Facebookers

    You can’t deny Motorola’s creativity – a square phone, huh? And if you find an iPhone just too big, the new Flipout is certainly compact - it's 66mm square - and will fit into the tightest pocket. This means the screen isn’t huge, but at 2.8in it’s certainly usable. Motorola's Flipout: Touch the Google Search box on the …

    Phones 8 Jul 2010, 13:02

  • Comms minister Vaizey reads internet script excellently

    Coalition government sticks with existing line

    In his first outing in the minefield of internet politics, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries Ed Vaizey stuck firmly to the script. Speaking at the UK Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Whitehall yesterday, Vaizey basically repeated the civil servant line that has been formed over the past five years …

    Government 8 Jul 2010, 13:04

  • iPhone 4G blingmobe: Yours for £13k

    Diamond-encrusted Jesus phone for the discerning fanboi

    The fanbois among you who haven't spunked all your wad on sex toys may be interested in flashing the cash on the iPhone 4G Diamond Edition - an absolute snip at £12,995. The Apple blingphone is described as "another masterpiece" from Liverpool-based Stuart Hughes. The blurb explains: "The whole surrounding frame is encrusted …

    Phones 8 Jul 2010, 13:11

  • Hackers pose as senator in email fraud bid

    Stranded in bonnie Scotland

    Update: This story originally said that hackers had attempted to scam a US Senator. The target was actually an Iowa state senator. Fraudsters attempted to scam a state senator's contacts after breaking into his webmail account. Contacts of Bob Dvorsky, an Iowa state senator, received a message from his Yahoo account claiming …

    Security 8 Jul 2010, 13:32

  • Beeb saves Mystic Met

    Strategic Rebranding pays dividends?

    So the clock hasn't struck 13 at St Stephens Church in the village of Ambridge, after all. Old maids will still bicycle to communion in their skirts, and the nation will continue to huddle around its Bakelite crystal sets, to hear some cheerfully delivered but inaccurate tripe about the weather. If you hadn't heard, the BBC is …

    Media 8 Jul 2010, 13:56

  • Fujitsu Technology Solutions loses CEO

    Anyone seen him?

    A bald statement from Fujitsu Technology Solutions (FTS) says president and CEO Kai Flore is no longer in post. A search for a new President & CEO is already underway and Richard Cristou is keeping the seat warm until the new CEO is found. Flore became FTS CEO on November 3rd, 2008, when Fujitsu bought out the Siemens interest …

    Storage 8 Jul 2010, 14:22

  • PCI approval yanked from PIN entry kit

    Updated Safety first

    PCI certification has been withdrawn from two older PIN entry devices from Ingenico following concerns they were vulnerable to manipulation by cybercrooks. In a leaked memo, Visa says PCI certification has been withdrawn from two previously approved products from Ingenico - the i3070MP01 and the i3070EP01 - as a "precaution …

    Security 8 Jul 2010, 15:26

  • Colt loads up factory-built data centres

    Pre-fab... is fab

    Colt has claimed it can supply factory-built, 500m2 Modular Data Centre internal hall buildings for installation in warehouse-type sheds at a faster speed and lower cost than new-build data centres. These are not shipping container datacentres, which are 40ft long and 8ft wide and only have a 320ft2 (29.7m2) floorspace. You …

    Servers 8 Jul 2010, 15:36

  • Humax ready to roll with Freeview HD DVR

    HDR-Fox T2 out this month

    Humax will release its long-awaited Freeview HD DVR later this month. The set-top box, which features multiple tuners to allow you to view one channel while recording another, includes a 500GB hard drive - good for 125 hours of HD content, Humax said. Still got nothing to watch? The HDR-Fox T2 has a USB port into which you …

    Hardware 8 Jul 2010, 15:36

  • Hacker swipes details of 4m Pirate Bay users

    It's like quite a few more than 10,000 spoons

    The Pirate Bay has been compromised by an Argentinean hacker who made off with usernames, email and internet addresses of more than four million people signed up to the BitTorrent tracker site. KrebsOnSecurity.com reported yesterday that Ch Russo broke into TPB’s system and grabbed the info from the notorious website, which …

    Security 8 Jul 2010, 15:43

  • Asus tackles summer sun with no-gloss netbook screen

    Eee lass will love the update

    Asus has officially taken the lid off its latest Eee PC netbook, the 1005PX. So say our chums over at German website Eee PC News, no doubt after a night sobbing into their Holstens. Bad luck in the match, guys, but you can take heart in the knowledge that your psychic octopus has been vindicated. Here's a picture of the new …

    Laptops 8 Jul 2010, 15:58

  • Info commissioner finds saintly CRU crew guilty

    Climategate row rumbles on

    Climatic Research Unit director Phil Jones was being whisked back to his desk at the University of East Anglia by the University's Russell enquiry yesterday. But with exquisite timing, the Information Commissioner's office chose the same day to confirm that CRU had twice broken the Freedom of Information regulations - once by …

    Science 8 Jul 2010, 16:03

  • John Lewis 'leaks' Apple iPod refresh details, say reports

    Actually, no it didn't

    Claims that UK department store chain John Lewis today let slip what Apple is preparing for the annual September iPod refresh are bollocks... probably. We were there when the besuited buyer of audio products for the chain's 29 shops and online business said he didn't know what Apple was planning to announce but was making a …

    Hardware 8 Jul 2010, 16:26

  • SCO rises from the dead (again)

    New trial, please

    SCO has risen from the grave. Again. On June 10, US judge Ted Stewart ruled that Novell does indeed own the UNIX copyrights the The SCO Group so vehemently laid claim to, ending a six-year legal battle between the two. But, yes, SCO has now appealed Stewart's judgment, according to those dogged SCO-watchers at Groklaw. Though …

    Software 8 Jul 2010, 17:12

  • Microsoft seeks patent on ebook page flip

    Redmondian innovation

    As if to dispell all doubt that innovation is alive and well in Redmond, Microsoft has filed a patent application for – wait for it – the "Virtual Page Turn". Yes, with filing number 20100175018 at the US Patent and Trademark Office, Microsoft is seeking to patent the animation of a page-flip when a user makes the appropriate …

    Media 8 Jul 2010, 18:58

  • Facebook buys, kills travel rec site

    We want your talent...bitch

    Facebook has acquired NextStop, a San Francisco-based startup that let netizens share advice on where to go and what to do. NextStop's employees — including two former Google product managers — will be joining Facebook, and its site will be shut down on September 1. If you're currently using the service —  whose goal was to …

    Media 8 Jul 2010, 19:47

  • Android slurps market share from Apple, RIM, Microsoft

    Google OS to eclipse Redmond

    Android's share of the US smartphone market surged 4 per centage points between February and May, according to research outfit comScore, putting Google on the verge of overtaking Microsoft for the number three spot behind RIM BlackBerry and Apple. comScore's latest numbers give Android 13 per cent of the smartphone market, …

    Mobile 8 Jul 2010, 22:17

  • Scroogle resurrected once again

    Private Google scraper in SCO-like refusal to die

    Scroogle has once again returned from the dead, continuing to serve up its privacy-friendly Google search results after another programming tweak from founder Daniel Brandt. Brandt and the not-for-profit Scroogle have been scraping Google search results since 2002, allowing netizens to use Mountain View's search engine without …

    Media 8 Jul 2010, 23:27

  • Dead Pink phone fallout hits Microsoft's top brass

    F**KIN hell

    If killing the KIN after just two months was bad for Microsoft, what happened next is far worse – especially for its corporate captains. This single act has blown the lid off what appears to be smoldering frustrations inside the consumer products group and divisions between that group and the rest of the company. Allegations …

    Mobile 8 Jul 2010, 23:37

  • Apple patent seeks to reinvent retail

    It's all about the 'benefits'

    Apple has filed a sweeping patent application for a technology suite designed to provide iPhone users with a broad range of real-time product information, special offers, sales opportunities, and related services in stores, restaurants, and other retail establishments. The filing also points to the inclusion of near-field …

    Media 8 Jul 2010, 23:49