11th August 2010 Archive

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Oracle outlines Ellisonized Sparc roadmap

Data barely presented

Oracle unveiled an overview of its Sparc plans on Tuesday, and in doing so proved to anyone not yet convinced that things are different in the Sun Microsystem universe now that Larry Ellison & Co have taken charge. If the past decade has taught us anything, it is that Sun Microsystems was a little too cavalier and ambitious …

Servers 11 Aug 2010, 00:06
Palm Prē design lead ejects from HP

Ex-Sony Ericsson exec steps in

Demi-disgraced HP chief exec Mark Hurd may have been the most-recent high-level exec to exit that company's Palo Alto headquarters, but he's not alone in his good-bye drive down US Highway 101. Thanks to TechCrunch, we now learn that Peter Skillman, Palm's now-former vice president of design — and the man who shepherded the …

Mobile 11 Aug 2010, 03:49
Next Solaris prepped for 2011

Solaris-10-like technology leap promised

The words "OpenSolaris" did not pass his lips once during Oracle's systems strategy update, executive vice president John Fowler in charge of server and storage did talk a little bit about the future of Oracle's Solaris Unix variant. It has been more than five years since Solaris 10 was launched, and Fowler said that next year …

Servers 11 Aug 2010, 06:02
Touchscreen Compact Cameras

Group Test Six finger-friendly big screen snappers

The runaway success of products such as the Apple iPhone and iPad, which make extensive use of touchscreen technology, has shown that consumers love this type of interface – provided it’s executed properly. When you think about it, touchscreens are a logical choice for compact cameras, which over time, have become smaller, …

Hardware 11 Aug 2010, 07:02
Buyer's Guide: Touchscreen Compact Cameras

Group Test Finishing touches

Most camera touchscreens are around 3.5in in size with the best being large, clear, bright and highly responsive, but not overly sensitive. Most touchscreens use TFT LCD displays, although Active Matrix OLED (AMOLED) technology appears on compacts too. The advantages of OLED technology over LCD are that the screens can be made …

Hardware 11 Aug 2010, 07:02
Best Buys: Touchscreen Compact Cameras

Group Test Top of the shots

So how did they do? At £120, the Nikon Coolpix S4000 offers great value for money and is a great way into the world of touchscreen cameras. But serious snappers will lament the lack of an optical image stabilisation system, no HDMI port, and disappointing picture quality. The Fujifilm Finepix Z700 EXR is another camera that …

Hardware 11 Aug 2010, 07:02
Review Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX7

The tiny power button on this Sony Cyber-shot seems rather superfluous, as sliding the lens cover switches the DSC-TX7 on or off rather neatly. The touchscreen is large, clear, bright and responsive. The on-screen icons are arranged vertically on both sides of the screen, and a nice touch is that you can customise the icon …

Hardware 11 Aug 2010, 07:02
Review Canon Ixus 210

Canon Ixus 210 Canon’s first touchscreen compact, the Digital Ixus 200 IS was a disappointing offering, not helped by Canon providing both touchscreen operation and standard button control. The Ixus 210, however, is a different animal, offering just a three-way slider – for auto, program AE and movie modes – a power button …

Hardware 11 Aug 2010, 07:02
Review Fujifilm Finepix Z700EXR

This is the second cheapest touchscreen model, but you would never have guessed by its looks or design. It’s sleek, feels reassuringly solid and sports a rather nifty sliding lens cover, which turns the camera on or off. It also includes Fujifilm’s Super CCD EXR sensor and a 5x optical zoom, although, disappointingly, not a …

Hardware 11 Aug 2010, 07:02
Review Nikon Coolpix S4000

A touchscreen camera for just £120? Well, if it was a dodgy brand you’d never heard of, you might not be surprised, but no one would describe Nikon in such terms. According to retailers selling the Coolpix S4000, it’s going for half the suggested retail price, which either means Christmas has come early or they have a turkey …

Hardware 11 Aug 2010, 07:02
Review Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX70

Panasonic has updated its camera design with the Lumix DMC-FX70, and very nice it looks too, with a stylish curve on the right side of the camera body and a lovely matt black and silver finish. However, on switch on, the screen looks a bit cluttered with icons on the top, right and bottom of the screen. Pressing a display …

Hardware 11 Aug 2010, 07:02
Review Samsung ST5500

When it comes to technology, Samsung steers its own course. First off, the ST5500 uses a 3.7in AMOLED screen and has an abundance of technology on-board including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and AllSave – part of the DLNA wireless content sharing standard. So far, so good, but it’s a shame that Samsung has opted to use MicroSD cards …

Hardware 11 Aug 2010, 07:02
iPhone users get more sex than Android fans

There's no app for that

When it comes to getting laid, put your Blackberry back in your hip holster and don't get caught touching an Android. The iPhone gets results. iPhone users are getting more sex then their counterparts on RIM or Google devices, with women iPhone users getting more action than their male counterparts. Women iPhone users are …

Mobile 11 Aug 2010, 07:02
Nothing succeeds like XSS

Sysadmin blog Unless you use NoScript, that is

Most users think the web works like a television. They go to a website and are presented with images, text and multimedia. What they don’t know is that, unlike a television, some of what they see executes on the server, and some on our own computers, and any time an application runs on our computers there is the potential for a …

Servers 11 Aug 2010, 07:49
The Nokia Risku plan

Andrew's Mailbag Cutting through the crap

A couple of weeks ago we gave you the thoughts of former Nokia executive Juhani Risku, for the first time in English. Risku's book proposes a controversial plan for reviving the company. The highlights include a co-CEO structure with a design "God" to cut through the bureaucracy, and bring innovative stuff to market quickly. It …

Letters 11 Aug 2010, 07:58
Attack reads smudges to retrieve Android password patterns

Oily residue 'surprisingly persistent'

Smudges left on Android touch screens leave tell-tale signs that can often be used to recover password pattens used to lock the phones, according to research presented earlier this week. The smudge attacks work by photographing Android handsets from a variety of angles using standard cameras and lights. The oily residues from …

Security 11 Aug 2010, 08:02
'Climategate' university to open up data

Gets JISC funding

The University of East Anglia is to receive JISC funding for a project to open up its research on global warming to scrutiny and re-use. The university, which was at the centre of a scandal revealed by leaked emails from its Climatic Research Unit, will examine how best to expose climate data for re-use, make it easier for …

Science 11 Aug 2010, 08:11
Police told terror ads too ~~terrifying~~ offensive

Scared now? What about now?

The Association of Chief Police Officers has been told not to re-broadcast an anti-terror advert it ran on TalkSPORT radio. The advert urged people to call the "Anti-Terrorist Hotline" to report suspicious behaviour such as anyone paying with cash "because he doesn't have a bank card", or keeping his curtains closed "because …

Media 11 Aug 2010, 09:06
Sky wins trademark tiff with Skype

Only one has the footie, though

British Sky Broadcasting has won a trademark dispute against Skype™ in the EU. The parasitic VoIP service is appealing, citing successful defences against BSkyB in Switzerland, Turkey and Brazil. The dispute, which has been running for five years, was little-known outside legal circles until it emerged in the mammoth S-1 …

Law 11 Aug 2010, 09:32
EC probes Apple for anti-competitive antics

Joins FTC in monopoly pondering

It's not just the Federal Trade Commission that thinks Apple might be going all monopolistic - the European Commission is also taking a careful look into Cupertino's business. The New York Post reports that the European Commission is working with its US equivalent, the FTC, to see if the practice of banning companies from iOS …

Applications 11 Aug 2010, 09:33
Geeks Guide 2... Dear Hacker

Geeks Guide₂ Save 40% at Reg Books

For 25 years 2600 has been a hacker’s one-stop source for essential information and an open forum to discuss the latest developments within the hacking community. Viewed as a rock star amongst followers of 2600, Emmanuel Goldstein has developed an iconic status amongst hackers both old and new. Dear Hacker: Letters to the …

Security 11 Aug 2010, 10:02
India threatens to ban 1m BlackBerrys

Reads Saudi playbook

The Indian government is meeting with its network operators tomorrow, and is fully prepared to ban BlackBerry services if a timetable for lawful interceptions can't be established. Until now India has been following the negotiated route, trying to convince RIM to allow its security forces access to BlackBerry communications. …

Mobile 11 Aug 2010, 10:17
Online car rental service hit by monopoly probe

OFT tells Zipcar to pull over

The Office of Fair Trading has asked the Competition Commission to investigate whether Zipcar's takeover of Streetcar is likely to mean higher prices or reduced services for users in the UK. Zipcar bought Streetcar in April, mainly for its strong UK presence. They're both car rental clubs and are in the process of moving to …

Financial News 11 Aug 2010, 10:38
Google finally pulls Gmail contacts tool into line

No longer trapped in amateur hour

Google has tweaked its Gmail contacts feature by finally making it easier to navigate and manage. The Chocolate Factory has also made some minor changes to the interface of the free version of its popular web mail product. “You’ve asked us to generally make Contacts easier to use, as well as for specific improvements like …

Applications 11 Aug 2010, 10:41
UK.gov to scrap new staff training rights

Clegg's Britain

The coalition has today announced plans to strip workers of new rights to request time off to improve their skills. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said the move will help reduce the regulatory burden on employers. If implemented, 11 million workers will lose statutory protection for their training requests …

Management 11 Aug 2010, 10:42
Blackpad to 'cost $500, launch in November'

Word on the Taipei street

Late last month RIM acquired the blackpad.com domain, causing a snowballing of BlackBerry Tablet rumours. This week, news is that RIM has supposedly employed Taiwanese notebook manufacturer Quanta to make the devices. The rumours come with speculation of the tablet shipping two million units in 2010 and a further eight million …

Tablets 11 Aug 2010, 11:17
Spending Challenge closure countdown begins

George Osborne - hot or not?

The Treasury's crowdsourced cutbacks website Spending Challenge is to stop accepting new ideas from 12 August. The site proved hugely popular with racists and Raoul Moat fans and was shut for 'maintenance' two days after it launched. It reappeared later once its interactive features had been removed. Spending Challenge will …

Government 11 Aug 2010, 11:32
Click fraud botnet unpicked

Browser hijack scam runs through rogue traffic broker

Cybercrooks use of botnets to make money by sending spam or launching denial of service attacks has become a well-understood business model. But the controllers of networks of compromised PCs have other ways of turning an illicit profit, including using rogue traffic brokers to defraud reputable brands. Trend Micro's write-up …

Security 11 Aug 2010, 11:50
Plastic Logic sees the back of the Que

Company ends e-Reader project

Electronics manufacturer Plastic Logic has pulled the plug on Que, the company's e-reader, after concluding the unreleased device no longer has space in the marketplace. My thoughts exactly Monsieur After years of demonstrating prototypes, followed by an official debut at CES in January 2010, it seems the company weren't …

Tablets 11 Aug 2010, 11:58
Deadline for Germans to hide from Street View

In or out? One month to decide

Germany privacy watchdogs have carped at Google’s plan to give property owners in the country a four-week deadline to prevent the web kingpin’s Street View mapping tool from displaying their homes online. The company said yesterday that it would send in its spy mobiles to 20 German cities, including Munich, Berlin and Hamburg …

Law 11 Aug 2010, 12:07
Oracle hates discs, loves tape

Update Database giant reckons Flash and tape are the future

Oracle EVP John Fowler has damned disk technology, praised flash and said tape has a future in an Information Week interview and yesterday's Oracle strategy webcast. Fowler is Oracle's top dog for server and storage systems and it's worth paying attention to what he likes and dislikes, since systems embodying these views will …

Storage 11 Aug 2010, 12:21
Zeus botnet raid on UK bank accounts under the spotlight

Analysis More details of sophisticated cyber-blag emerge

More details have emerged of how security researchers tracked down a Zeus-based botnet that raided more than $1m from 3,000 compromised UK online banking accounts. Bradley Anstis, vice president of technical strategy for M86 Security which discovered the attack, said hackers began the assault by loading compromised third-party …

Security 11 Aug 2010, 12:35
Castlevania: Harmony of Despair

Monster monster, there's a screw in my neck

Given that Dracula is so often the star of Castlevania games, it's ironic that Konami has whipped up something of a Frankenstein's monster with Harmony of Despair. Higher burning You see, Frankenstein was so obsessed with whether he could bring his abomination to life, he neglected to question whether he really should. And …

Games 11 Aug 2010, 12:59
New 'Tolpuddle Martyrs' demand £50 a day

Dorchester tour guides risk transportation to Oz

The immediate future of 11 striking Dorchester tour guides seems to hold just two possibilities: either West Dorset District Council ups their pay to £50 a day, or they'll be on the next prison ship to Oz. The professional "Blue Badge" guides are currently paid a starvation £26.65* a day to show tourists around the Old Crown …

Bootnotes 11 Aug 2010, 13:25
UK scraps Fibre Tax review

BT and Virgin put slippers back on

The coalition government has scrapped the promised review on the tax paid on fibre-optic connections, leaving BT and Virgin with enough tax advantages to maintain their duopoly. Confirmation that the review is to be dropped comes from Ed Vaizey, Minister for Communication, Culture and the Creative Industries, which is where …

Broadband 11 Aug 2010, 13:27
Your desktop virtualisation reality check

Workshop Avoiding migration pitfalls

Migrating desktops is never easy. The promise of better management and security that is offered by desktop virtualisation is adding a new twist to the many desktop migration projects that are beginning to show themselves. In this article we look at what, if anything, that we have done in the past can be applied in a " …

IT at the coalface 11 Aug 2010, 13:42
Google 'sold out the net neutrality hippies' in 2008

Company acts in own interest shocker

Broadsight analyst Alan Patrick isn't the type to pat himself on the back, but he can be forgiven for doing so today. Google threw the Net Neutrality campaign under a bus this week, publishing a set of policy principles it's thrashed out with Verizon. But two years ago Patrick predicted such a detente was inevitable, forecasting …

Broadband 11 Aug 2010, 14:07
Free Android antivirus clocks up 2.5m downloads

Update 'Android will replace Windows' claims cocky start-up starter

Downloads of a free anti-virus app for Android devices reached the 2.5 million milestone last week. DroidSecurity's ad-supported antivirus free app has become among the 50 most popular downloads on the Android marketplace despite a paucity of malware threats that affect the platform. The first SMS Trojan for Android only …

Mobile 11 Aug 2010, 14:10
ICO warns coalition on benefits snooping plan

Experian data trawl questioned

The Information Commissioner has asked coalition ministers to explain their plans to use credit reference agencies to gather evidence of benefit fraud, citing privacy concerns. Christopher Graham today said he has requested a meeting with the welfare minister Lord Freud. It follows David Cameron's announcement yesterday of a …

Law 11 Aug 2010, 15:04
Oz greenies rattle politico cage with robocalls

Automate this, Gillard

Young, right-on greenies in Oz have set up a website for voters to send an automated telephone message to their local MPs. The Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) deployed so-called “robocalls” to take revenge on politicians, according to a report on ABC News. Former Aussie prime minister John Howard debuted the calls …

Government 11 Aug 2010, 15:09
Rackspace does cloudy Windows servers

Putting in its 2 cents for Microsoft

Rackspace Hosting, arguably the second largest provider of cloudy server and storage infrastructure behind Amazon, has announced that its Windows-based cloudy servers are now ready for prime time. The Rackspace Cloud Servers virtual server cloud and related Cloud Files storage cloud are based on development that Rackspace did …

Virtualization 11 Aug 2010, 15:24
Conroy, Family First isolated on Oz internet filter

We think you're wrong, everyone else tells them

Clear blue water seems now to be opening up between the incumbent Australian Labor Government and other parties standing in the forthcoming election on the issue of cybersafety. In plans announced this week (pdf), the Liberal National Coalition, which currently forms the main opposition group in the Australian parliament …

Government 11 Aug 2010, 15:40
Oracle unrolls tape roadmap

Three generations to 20TB reel

Details have emerged from yesterday's webcast of Oracle's tape roadmap showing three format and SL8500 library, reaching a 20TB cartridge and 2 exabyte library in 2015. As we thought it is a three-generation job, starting off from the current T10k-B tape format with 1TB raw capacity and a 120MB/sec throughput. The current …

Storage 11 Aug 2010, 15:43
Facebook bug spills name and pic for all 500 million users

Updated Just add email address

A bug in Facebook's login system allows attackers to match unknown email addresses with users' first and last names, even when they've configured their accounts to make that information private. The information leak can be exploited by social-engineering scammers, phishers, or anyone who has ever been curious about the person …

Security 11 Aug 2010, 17:11
Hands on with RIM's BlackBerry Torch 9800

Video Qwerty sliderphone ripe for picking

Launching in the US tomorrow, RIM's new BlackBerry Torch 9800 will be lighting up the lives of smartphone fans in the UK any day now. Reg Hardware had a sneak preview of RIM's flagship that features the first outing of the BlackBerry 6 OS. Other firsts for the company are that it's a sliderphone, so the Torch will appeal to …

Phones 11 Aug 2010, 17:13
Microsoft: ignore PC sales slump 'chatter'

But we're diversified, just in case

Microsoft has downplayed "chatter" about a looming slowdown in PC sales hurting Windows 7 and its business in general. Executives have separately told Wall St investors that they shouldn't be worried about what they're hearing, and that Microsoft — which gets a third of its annual business from sales of Windows on PCs — is …

Operating Systems 11 Aug 2010, 18:11
Lucky Macs get Flash speed bump

Updated Jobsian inconsistency?

A lucky chunk of Apple Mac owners can now enjoy hardware-accelerated Flash video — not all Mac owners, mind you, but that's not Adobe's fault. "You should notice now a nice difference when playing H.264 content on your Mac in terms of CPU usage," writes Thibault Imbert, product manager for Adobe's Flash Player, on his …

Hardware 11 Aug 2010, 19:37
ISS spacewalkers tackle failed cooling pump

Brute force frees final ammonia line

International Space Station spacewalkers Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Doug Wheelock earlier today removed the orbiting outpost's failed ammonia pump unit at the second attempt. A first EVA on Saturday to wrest the unit from its mountings on the ISS's S1 truss ended in frustration "due to a leak in the fourth of four ammonia line …

Science 11 Aug 2010, 19:58
Microsoft's dynamic languages on forced diet

.NETized scripting out of favor

Microsoft appears to be backing off its initial commitment for .NETized versions of dynamic languages. Jimmy Schementi, the program manager for Microsoft's implementation of Ruby, called IronRuby, has left the company as the IronRuby team has been run out town and reallocated. Schementi has blogged about a "serious lack of …

Developer 11 Aug 2010, 20:49
Apple kills browse-and-get-hacked bugs in iOS

Updated iPhones, iPads, iPod touches safe again

Apple has patched a critical iOS vulnerability that allows attackers to install malicious apps on iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches by doing nothing more than luring victims to a booby-trapped website or sending them a tainted email. The update plugs a hole in Apple-designed document-viewing software that allows attackers to …

Security 11 Aug 2010, 20:57
Cloud dollars fluff Rackspace's quarter

Customer milestone for open-cloud champion

Cloudy infrastructure demand at Rackspace has helped fluff the hosting provider's second-quarter, with overall sales up 23.2 per cent to $187.3m and net income jumping 60.2 per cent to $11.2m. Traditional managed hosting drove $164.1m in sales, up 18.1 per cent and boosted substantially by the enterprise sales team created in …

Financial News 11 Aug 2010, 22:08
HP boffin claims million-dollar maths prize

Update Number nerds demand "real" proof

An HP mathematician claims to have solved one of computer science's thorniest problems and thus bagged a $1m prize for his million-watt brainpower. Fellow number-boffins, however, are saying otherwise. The million-dollar challenge, one of seven thrown down by the Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI) in its Millennium Prize series …

Science 11 Aug 2010, 22:33
Cisco optimistic despite 'unusual conservatism' in Q4

Customers' nervousness rubs off

Wall Street might be a little disappointed but Cisco Systems' unflappable and eternally optimistic chief executive made no apologies for 27 per cent revenue growth, to $10.8bn, and net earnings of $1.94bn, up 79 per cent in the latest quarter. That solid fourth quarter helped Cisco break through the $40bn revenue barrier by a …

Data Networking 11 Aug 2010, 23:35