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16th July 2010 Archive

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  • Cloudera Hadoop plugs trunk into Netezza iron

    Stuffed elephant meets data warehousing

    Cloudera – the commercial Hadoop outfit – has teamed with data analytics maven Netezza to build a connector between its stuffed elephant distro and Netezza's Twinfin data warehousing appliances Due at the end of the third quarter, the connector will allow users to move data from Netezza appliance to the Cloudera Distribution …

    HPC 16 Jul 2010, 00:20

  • NEC flies into synchrotron sun

    Work de SOLEIL

    NEC Deutschland has supplied a 1.3PB storage system to the French SOLEIL synchrotron facility, using Promise VTrak storage systems, to store massive amounts of data created by computer simulations and experiments. SOLEIL, an acronym for “Optimized Source of LURE Intermediary Energy Light,” is a research centre located near …

    Storage 16 Jul 2010, 06:02

  • Teufel System 5 home cinema speakers

    Review Sound choice for movie buffs?

    Last year Berlin-based manufacturer Teufel produced what it called "the first surround sound speaker set to be certified to THX's stringent THX Select2 standards" with the clue's-in-the-name moniker of the System 5 THX Select2. The product was able to match its specs to THX's criteria by using two subwoofers and three-way …

    reghardware 16 Jul 2010, 07:02

  • Futurologist warns of malevolent dust menace

    It'll get right up your nose

    As if botnet clients and infected USB devices weren't bad enough, security pros of the future may be faced with the menace of "smart dust" information stealing threats, if a futurologist is to be believed. Ian Pearson reckons that so-called "smart dust" will be the stuff of future IT security nightmares. Smart dust is nothing …

    Security 16 Jul 2010, 07:51

  • Frenchman takes the helm at Sage

    Geordie beancounters get new patron

    Accountancy and small biz software specialist Sage has found a replacement for departing chief executive Paul Walker. Its an internal promotion for Guy Berruyer, who is currently in charge of Sage's Europe and Asia business. He gets the top group job from 1 October. Paul Walker will stay with Sage until 1 December to ensure a …

    Applications 16 Jul 2010, 08:18

  • Reg hack gives forth in Wikipedia doco

    Cade Metz surprisingly plausible, admits Wikimaniac

    Those of you who had the misfortune to miss the recent Wikimania 2010 - Wikipedia's annual love-in which this year graced Gdańsk with its presence - also missed the opportunity to catch Reg San Francisco bureau big cheese Cade Metz giving forth on the popular fount of all human knowledge. Cade wisely chose not to attend the …

    Media 16 Jul 2010, 08:24

  • French website surrenders on Bastille Day

    Citizens crash official new portal

    France's shiny new official website got off to a shaky start on Wednesday, promptly surrendering to the unwashed masses on its Bastille Day launch. The €1.6m portal fell over under the onslaught of too many visitors keen to explore the "major promotional tool of France's image abroad", the Telegraph explains, and it's still …

    Bootnotes 16 Jul 2010, 08:55

  • Job sites slam domain name land grab

    Dot-jobs plan 'reeks'

    Dozens of job sites have stuck the boot into plans to effectively create tens of thousands of new employment boards under the .jobs internet top-level domain. Employ Media, the company which manages the .jobs registry, has applied to ICANN to allow it to flog thousands of .jobs domain names to selected partners, leaving …

    Small Biz 16 Jul 2010, 09:45

  • Nokia, Apple and Sudden Extinction Events

    When the reaper calls...

    Every day brings fresh gloom for Nokia - and the criticisms are now so familiar I won't elaborate on them. But I was struck by a recent observation likening Nokia's plight now to Apple's in the mid-1990s. It seems absurd, at first - Nokia is still turning a profit in the billions, while Apple's annual loss was in the billions …

    Mobile 16 Jul 2010, 09:52

  • End of Microsoft NHS deal means mass deletions

    Special home user deals now null and void

    Microsoft has warned any NHS worker who took advantage of the huge discounts available for installing MS Office at home that they must now delete the software. The NHS used to buy its software from Microsoft as part of an Enterprise Agreement. One of the advantages of this purchasing procedure, apart from costing less, was …

    Applications 16 Jul 2010, 09:54

  • iPhone 4 fix to centre on software, negate need for recall

    Spinning begins

    The likelihood that tonight's hastily convened Apple iPhone 4 press conference will centre on a product recall appears to be diminishing. Numerous company moles have told major US newspapers that CEO Steve Jobs won't ask the two million or so who have bought an iPhone 4 to send their phones back. Equally, some insiders are …

    reghardware 16 Jul 2010, 09:56

  • LPG lake on Titan evaporating in scorchio -180°C heatwave

    Lake turns to barbecue gas in Saturn's barbecue summer

    NASA boffins have released a video travelogue entitled "See Beautiful Ontario Lacus", revealing the delights that travellers to the moons of Saturn might encounter during a visit to the freezing antarctic patio-gas lakes of Titan. The film might better have been entitled "See Beautiful, Disappearing Ontario Lacus", as …

    Science 16 Jul 2010, 10:14

  • Sharp shows 128GB Blu-ray recorder

    Has 2TB of HDD storage too

    Sharp has become the first manufacturer to announce conumser-oriented Blu-ray recorders that will support four-layer, 128GB BDXL discs. And the release is imminent: 30 July, the company said today The catch is that, for now, it's only selling the Aquos-branded BD-HDW700 and BD-HDW70 machines in Japan. BDXL is the newly …

    reghardware 16 Jul 2010, 10:17

  • Government's sh*tty-Wiki sh*ts bed

    Where o where can I speak my racist brains now?

    The coalition government's Your Freedom site is having its third day of failures and the Treasury's Spending Challenge is currently down for maintenance. What maintenance is needed two days after launch is not clear. But the government's web status Twitter feed does tell us: "Some users will experience some problems while we …

    Government 16 Jul 2010, 10:26

  • Nimble does nifty combined storage backup box

    Flash and SATA iSCSI array

    NetApp says there will be a 2-tier storage array in future, with hot data in flash and bulk data held on SATA Drives. Startup Nimble Storage says it's here now with its CS-Series, which combines the attributes of separate EqualLogic and Data Domain arrays in one box. The company has been started up by people who used to work …

    Storage 16 Jul 2010, 10:35

  • Windows Shortcut Flaw underpins power plant Trojan

    Dangerous lnk to spying

    Hackers have developed malware that spreads via USB sticks using a previously unknown security weakness involving Windows' handling of shortcut files. Malware targeting the security weakness in the handling of 'lnk shortcut files has been spotted in the wild by Belarus-based security firm VirusBlokAda. The malware uses rootkit …

    Security 16 Jul 2010, 10:38

  • Microsoft bags DARPA boffin to head research unit

    But will Redmond balloons take flight?

    Microsoft has hired a former DARPA software security expert to head up the company’s research wing in Redmond. Dr Peter Lee will join the firm later in the year as Microsoft Research’s new managing director. He will report directly to the division’s senior veep Rick Rashid. “Peter has long played a strong leadership and …

    Software 16 Jul 2010, 10:41

  • Paul Allen pledges philanthropy for ever

    Death will not wither me

    Microsoft's other founder, Paul Allen, promised his philanthropy will continue after his death while announcing a series of grants to mark the 20th anniversary of his charitable foundation. Allen makes most of his grants to non-profits in the Pacific North West, where he lives. His foundation has donated more than $400m since …

    Financial News 16 Jul 2010, 10:43

  • Doing the right thing on ID management isn't enough...

    Workshop It’s proving that you did it

    In a previous article we looked at Identity Management and access provisioning as an end in itself, and from the perspective that there are benefits to be had from being on top of who’s using what. For many organisations, however, identity management is a necessity, imposed through the demands of regulatory compliance. …

    IT at the coalface 16 Jul 2010, 10:55

  • BOFH: Little ups and downs

    Episode 8 Your hate is lifting me higher

    "I... uh..." the Boss says, wandering into Mission Control aimlessly, searching for the right words to bring up whatever's on his mind. "Yes?" I ask, letting him off the hook. "The lifts" he says cryptically.. "The lifts?" I repeat.. "The buttons on the lifts" he says. "They have buttons - yes - well spotted," I say. " …

    BOFH 16 Jul 2010, 10:58

  • God-blocking web filter ironically hard to find

    Wait to download, O ye of little faith

    Fed up with evangelicals thrusting their god-bothering ways upon you? Had enough of the religious right setting the agenda when it comes to deciding what you should – or shouldn’t – be allowed to look at on the internet? Then maybe Godblock is the package for you. For Godblock is the new anti-evangelical utility, "a web filter …

    Applications 16 Jul 2010, 11:10

  • Council wins motorbike charges case

    Parking charges legit for motorbikes

    The campaign against parking charges for motorbikes in central London has lost a court challenge to Westminster Council. The case, brought by Warren Djanogly, accused Westminster of abusing its statutory powers in order to raise revenue and failing to carry out a proper consultation process before bringing in the charges. …

    Government 16 Jul 2010, 11:10

  • Of hybrid hard drives and capacity boosts

    Coughlin's cogitations

    The extra platters and shingled writing future revealed by Xyratex CEO Steve Barber seems to have been influenced by Tom Coughlin of Coughlin Associates and his "Hard Disk Drive Capital Equipment Market and Technology Report". Coughlin's reports are used by many people in the hard disk drive (HDD) production and buying …

    Storage 16 Jul 2010, 11:18

  • World PC sales jumped up in Q2

    East beats West

    The world's personal computer makers experienced recession busting growth during Q2, with shipments up 20.7 per cent on the same period in 2009. So said market watcher Gartner this week when it revealed that computer shipments were up 16 per cent in the US and 21 per cent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Worldwide, some …

    reghardware 16 Jul 2010, 11:22

  • Street View's Wayne and Garth: The most excellent truth

    El Reg names spandex-clad Plymouth lads

    The interwebs were abuzz last week with a most excellent sighting of Wayne's World stars Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar, rather improbably strutting their stuff in Plymouth: The spot even made the UK nationals, but El Reg can now reveal the spandex-clad truth behind the mystery. Local lad Richard Vivash got in touch to …

    Bootnotes 16 Jul 2010, 11:23

  • Underground tunnel complexes FOUND ON MOON

    Boffins offer 'lava' thesis, poohpooh alien/Elvis theories

    Space boffins believe they may be on the verge of discovering a vast, hidden network of tunnels beneath the surface of the Moon. Collapsed pit-crater shaft leading down to a sub-selenean tunnel? The tunnels aren't thought to be the work of long-extinct (or perhaps still surviving) intelligent moon aliens, perhaps driven to …

    Science 16 Jul 2010, 11:33

  • iPad 'cannibalised' Q2 netbook sales

    But will the surge last?

    Market watcher Gartner this week presented further evidence that early adopter enthusiasm for netbooks has peaked. "Mini-notebook shipment growth slowed significantly in Q2 2010," said Gartner principal analyst Mikako Kitagawa. Growth, she said, "slowed" to the low 20 per cent range, down from more than 70 per cent in Q1 2010 …

    reghardware 16 Jul 2010, 11:51

  • Microsoft Xbox 360 250GB

    Review Leaner, fitter and Kinect ready

    Five years after its original release, the Xbox 360 finally receives its long expected 'slim' overhaul. Just don't tell Microsoft I called it that. The company’s reluctance to use the 's' word is understandable. Sony used it to distinguish versions of its PS2 and PS3 consoles. Fighting fit: Microsoft's Xbox 360 Also, …

    reghardware 16 Jul 2010, 11:59

  • iPhone customers lay into Apple after iOS 4.0.1 update fails to install

    Hubbbbba, hubbbbba, Number nine, number Hubbba

    iPhone customers are struggling to install Apple’s latest software patch and have been grumbling about the problems on Cupertino’s support forums. The company released its iOS 4.0.1 update yesterday, and immediately some users began complaining that they couldn’t successfully install it on their iPhones. “On a Win7 PC. …

    Mobile 16 Jul 2010, 12:12

  • Our Vulture 1 aircraft begins to take shape

    Fuselage assembly snaps for your viewing pleasure

    It's been a busy week down at the Paper Aircraft Released Into Space (PARIS) assembly plant, where the fuselage of the Vulture 1 has been taking shape. The aircraft has now been dubbed the Vulture 1-X pending flight tests, but there's plenty more construction ahead before the vehicle can take to the skies. As previously noted …

    SPB 16 Jul 2010, 12:13

  • Pirate Party storms out of uber-secret ACTA negotiations

    ACTA in haste, repent at leisure?

    The level of secrecy shrouding the EU’s ACTA negotiations reached new heights earlier this week, with the news that Pirate Party MEP Christian Engstrom felt compelled to abandon a meeting with ACTA negotiators in the European Parliament after he was forbidden from sharing information with the public. According to a write-up on …

    Law 16 Jul 2010, 12:35

  • Email hack Labour councillor stays after suspension

    Pry my seat from my cold dead buttocks

    A Lambeth councillor has vowed to continue to represent his constituents following a controversial email sting operation that resulted in his suspension from the Labour party and his recent failure to overturn the decision on appeal. Kingsley Abrams, a veteran Labour councillor in the South London borough, was first accused of …

    Government 16 Jul 2010, 12:52

  • Global warming brings peace and happiness

    From the Chinese Dept of the Bleeding Obvious

    A study correlating economic and political changes in China's Middle Kingdom has found that warmer climate benefited society. By contrast, a fall of temperature of 2C was correlated with conflict and famine. "The collapses of the agricultural dynasties of the Han (25-220), Tang (618-907), Northern Song (960-1125), Southern …

    Science 16 Jul 2010, 12:53

  • New Jersey car prang woman blames carjacking

    Oh alright then - I was having sex when I hit the tree

    A New Jersey woman pulled out a couple of nice excuses after she wrapped her car around a tree - first claiming the mishap was provoked by a carjacking, then that she'd actually been distracted while performing a "sex act"* on some bloke she'd picked up. According to AP, 23-year-old Sarah Blasse (pictured), of Vineland, tried …

    Bootnotes 16 Jul 2010, 14:10

  • Blizzard comes out clean after WoW pants-down plans

    Mild wrist-slap after threat to expose goblins

    Blizzard looks set to escape with nothing more than a mild rebuke after it abandoned plans to oblige members of the World of Warcraft (WoW) forums to reveal their real names. The move was announced earlier this month as a means to stamp out abusive behaviour, such as flame wars and trolling, but was abandoned days later …

    Security 16 Jul 2010, 14:32

  • Dell proposes settlement with SEC

    Ball in Uncle Sam's court

    Computer maker Dell said this morning that it has put forth a settlement proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission to end a probe into Dell's accounting practices that has been underway since September 2006. Back then, Dell delayed filing its 10-Q quarterly report for the second fiscal quarter report and slammed the …

    Financial News 16 Jul 2010, 14:40

  • Apple greenlights browserless Firefox app for iPhone

    No pooping on Jobsian lawn

    Apple has approved an application submitted by Mozilla that syncs history, bookmarks and open tabs with versions of the open source outfit's Firefox running on desktop computers. The Cupertino firm isn't keen on letting other browsers run on the Jesus Phone - but the Firefox Home app has, somewhat surprisingly, been given the …

    Mobile 16 Jul 2010, 15:23

  • 'Eternal' sun-plane still aloft after 7 days, aiming for 14

    Would be nice to see how it does at mid winter

    A British-made solar powered aircraft has been airborne above a US military test range in Arizona for more than seven days continuously, it has been announced. Make the most of it lads, your sons will be doing the next servicing. The "Zephyr", made by controversial MoD boffinry selloff bonanza firm Qinetiq, is still in …

    Science 16 Jul 2010, 15:30

  • Daily Mail promotes 'the new Betamax'

    Poles and Punjabis penetrate Middle England

    Splendid news at last for digital radio. Associated Newspapers is throwing the weight of the mighty Daily Mail behind the beleaguered DAB platform. Tomorrow, every Mail reader will be able to claim a free DAB radio. But hang on. Isn't this the same paper that was the first to make the comparison between DAB and BetaMax? Well …

    Media 16 Jul 2010, 15:56

  • Fusion-io IPO may be coming

    Good Q4 and incorporation HQ change

    Two birds flew over and dropped hearsay and rumour presents on my head today. The rumours were about Fusion-io, the privately-held, solid state storage start-up company building product from PCI-e-connected ioDrive flash modules, and with OEM deals with HP and IBM. Both came from birds who knew other birds inside Fusion-io. …

    Storage 16 Jul 2010, 16:06

  • HP 'delays' Android tablet after death of Windows slate

    OK. webOS. And this time we mean it

    HP's Android tablet will not ship before the end of the year as originally planned, according to a report citing "sources in position to know." All Things Digital says it's unclear why the project has been delayed. But this spring, HP purchased Palm and its webOS smartphone operating system, and the company made it clear that …

    Mobile 16 Jul 2010, 17:34

  • Firefox joins Microsoft in uncool kids class

    Open...and Shut Chrome hangs out, looks good

    After more than a decade of slugging it out with Microsoft for supremacy, Mozilla's Firefox now claims 24 per cent of the global browser market, according to Net Applications. Like clockwork, Firefox gouged five per cent of Microsoft's Internet Explorer market share each year - until now. Since October 2009, Firefox has …

    Applications 16 Jul 2010, 19:16

  • Steve Jobs denies Judas Phone antenna problems

    But fanbois get free bumpers

    There's nothing wrong with the iPhone 4 that isn't wrong with any other phone, says Steve Jobs. However, because Jobs and company "love our users," Apple will provide a free case to any Judas Phone owner who wants one. "There is no Antennagate," Apple's CEO told a select group of reporters gathered Friday morning on the …

    Mobile 16 Jul 2010, 20:02

  • Google bags Metaweb for search future

    The web is more than words

    Google has acquired Metaweb Technologies, a five-year-old San Francisco startup that maintains a massive open database that details all sorts of real-world stuff in an effort to "build a smarter, more connected Internet." According to a Google blog post, it sees the Metaweb database — dubbed Freebase — as a path to a kind of …

    Media 16 Jul 2010, 20:14

  • SugarCRM sweet on Microsoft's Azure cloud

    PHP app turns Windows fluffer

    SugarCRM has long lived in the shadow of Salesforce.com, partly thanks to the latter's headline grabbing chief executive. The PHP-based CRM outfit wasn't helped, though, by the actions of its own former CEO, who was finally asked to step down by the company's board in early 2009 and replaced open-source mover and shaker Larry …

    Applications 16 Jul 2010, 20:56

  • Linux to eclipse Microsoft's 'all-in' tablet enthusiasm

    Poll finds for Android, Chrome OS, MeeGo

    Microsoft might be "all in" on tablets (here and here), but it's Linux that will dominate this new category of device, according to latest research. ABI Research reckons Linux-powered non-smartphone mobile devices will comprise 62 per cent of operating systems by 2015. Google's Android and Chrome OS will lead the way, …

    Mobile 16 Jul 2010, 20:59

  • HP's Palm bid beat Apple, Google, RIM, says report

    Wooing worthy of a soap opera

    HP was not Palm's only suitor when the Prē and Pixi punter offered itself for sale — Apple, Google, and RIM were also seeking the hand of the smartphone maker, presumably attracted by its webOS dowry and its patent portfolio. Nokia wasn't. This tidbit comes from the Business Insider, citing "a source familiar with the …

    Business 16 Jul 2010, 22:46

  • Google Nexus One spends dying days as dev phone

    Final shipment arrives in Mountain View

    Google's Nexus One will spend the end of its brief, sad life as a developer phone sold through some unnamed partner. With a Friday blog post, Google announced that it has received its last shipment of Nexus Ones from the manufacturer and that once these are sold, it will — as promised — close the ill-fated webstore where it …

    Mobile 16 Jul 2010, 22:48