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9th September 2010 Archive

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  • Google Instant – more searches, less thought

    Analysis Sergey Brin gets in your head

    Google is on a mission to make web search as fast as the human brain will allow. On Wednesday morning in San Francisco, as she unveiled Google Instant, a radical overhaul of the company's search engine that updates search results as you type, uber-Googler Marissa Mayer called it "search at the speed of thought." We can safely …

    Music and Media 9 Sep 00:15

  • Jailbreak hole in iOS 4.1 will be hard to close

    All Steve Jobs's horses and all Steve Jobs's men ...

    Just hours after Apple released iOS 4.1 to great fanfare, hardware hackers found a way to jailbreak devices that run the new operating system. More surprising still, there doesn't appear to be anything Steve Jobs can do to stop them in the near future. The exploit in the boot ROM of iOS devices was first announced by iPhone …

    Mobile 9 Sep 00:38

  • Google Instant blacklists the Slutskys

    'Streaming' search doesn't give a f**k

    Google's "Instant" search engine includes a blacklist for words and phrases involving what the company considers "violence, hate, or pornography." Unveiled on Wednesday in the US, Google Instant serves up search results in "real-time" as you type. If you type "w," for instance, it gives you results for "weather." If you type " …

    Music and Media 9 Sep 05:30

  • LG Optimus GT540 Android smartphone

    Review Economy class social networker?

    LG's first Android phone was the InTouch Max, which impressed with its slide-out Qwerty keyboard, social networking features and low price. Dispensing with the keyboard and utilising a lower quality camera, the Optimus adds to LG’s growing range of Android handsets, and offers social networking features with a few other tricks …

    reghardware 9 Sep 07:00

  • UK agrees copyright cooperation with China

    Pledge to work together

    The UK and Chinese governments have agreed to coordinate policies and development of copyright law. The governments have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) pledging closer working on the issue. The document was signed on behalf of the UK's Intellectual Property Office by Baroness Wilcox, a minister at the Department …

    Government 9 Sep 07:00

  • Koran-burning 'pastor' loses website

    Dove World Outreach Center is out of reach

    Red-nosed pastor Terry Jones, who plans to burn copies of the Koran and Jewish text the Talmud at the weekend, has either had his website hacked or his ISP has pulled the plug. The site, at http://www.doveworld.org/ is unavailable this morning. The pastor of a tiny fundamentalist church in Florida, which has reportedly lost …

    Enterprise Security 9 Sep 07:54

  • McKinnon family welcomes extradition treaty review

    Fate of Pentagon hacker still rests in politicians' hands

    The coalition government's decision to review extradition law has been welcomed by family and supporters of Gary McKinnon, even though it's unlikely to have an immediate effect on his case. Home Secretary Teresa May announced plans to review the UK's extradition arrangements on Tuesday in response to long-running complaints …

    Law 9 Sep 08:08

  • MoD awards BT £810m contract extension

    'If you would like to start a war, please press one'

    The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has extended its contract with BT to provide fixed telecommunications services. The Defence Fixed Telecommunications Service (DFTS) contract between BT and the MoD was signed in 1997 and extended in 2005 to run until 2012. It will now continue until 2015 in an extension under existing …

    Telecoms 9 Sep 08:27

  • MP urges Parliament to reform FOI laws

    Block ministerial veto too

    Ministers should not be able to block freedom of information (FOI) requests, according to amendments to FOI legislation proposed by a Liberal Democrat MP. A Labour former minister has said that the law should extend to media companies. Tom Brake has introduced a Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill in the House of Commons, …

    Government 9 Sep 08:31

  • EMC hints at mid-range storage system

    NX3e - e for exciting

    EMC has signalled that a new mid-range storage system is coming - a low-end one in the $10,000-$75,000 area. We reckon it's the Celerra NX3e, and we're spilling the beans here. The Cellerra range starts with the NX4. This has one or two X-Blade controllers, with two processors per X-Blade, and up to 60 disk drives. It has up …

    Storage 9 Sep 09:07

  • YouGov's voluntary stalkware unpicked

    Tracking software 'potentially unwanted'

    YouGov recently confronted survey participants with an odd offer to download software that would track users' surfing habits. The unusual request came to our attention via a reader. YouGov told us the tracking software was a project idea from its US office and nothing much was likely to come of it. A YouGov spokeswoman …

    Enterprise Security 9 Sep 09:24

  • BlackBerry World hits 10K apps

    How do you like them, Apple?

    BlackBerry World now has more than 10,000 applications on its shelves. This would be more impressive if Android didn't have ten times that number, and iOS more than twice what Android's got. But BlackBerry World is only 18 months old, and version two only came out last month. The new version improved the user experience hugely …

    Mobile 9 Sep 09:39

  • PARIS lifts skirt on hot CAD teaser

    Vulture 1-X structure takes virtual shape

    Hot on the heels of our recent announcement that we'd make the design of the Paper Aircraft Released Into Space (PARIS) Vulture 1-X aircraft available to the unwashed masses, we're delighted to say that our CAD rendering of the vehicle is beginning to take shape. As PARIS aficionados know, we've currently got as far as the …

    PARIS 9 Sep 09:59

  • Child Support Agency system hit by new problems

    Updated EDS HP SNAFU

    The Child Support Agency's (CSA) much-criticised computer system is again struggling this week, with staff unable to access case files because it is running so slowly. The problems began to emerge on Monday. Callers are being advised to try again later in the week, or being promised a call back when the system is back to …

    Government 9 Sep 10:00

  • Symantec HackIsWack site still open to rickrolling

    Updated We know the game and we're gonna play it

    Symantec's hapless HackIsWack cybercrime rap competition site can still be rickrolled, despite assurances to the contrary from the security giant. A web application filter was deployed to block an earlier cross-site scripting attack, but this filter is configured to allow a YouTube video featuring rapper Snoop Dogg, who has …

    Enterprise Security 9 Sep 10:07

  • Mac Office 2011 allows only 'light edits' in Windows Web apps

    Compatibility comes at a price

    Microsoft will release its Office for Mac 2011 next month, so it has unsurprisingly been prepping would-be customers for the big day by dishing up more details about what the suite will contain. The company said yesterday that the software will come loaded with co-authoring tools, Office Web apps, a scheduling assistant for …

    Applications 9 Sep 10:26

  • Breaking the habit

    Sysadmin blog Doomsday Weekend 4: inertia, apathy and how to beat it

    Pott's First Law: user inertia is the most powerful force in the universe. This is due to habits and habituation. Habits are patterns of behavior repeated with such frequency that they become subconsciously embedded. Habituation is the slow, steady acceptance of that regular stimulus input. Habituation is not only a result of …

    Desktop Mgmt Blog 9 Sep 10:32

  • Police, ACPO, public set to clash on filming rights

    Sussex s.19 seizure showdown seems certain

    The seizure of a film claimed as potential evidence of a violent crime may turn out to have serious implications for police, photographers and the public – though it is still too early to tell whether the eventual outcome will be good, bad or indifferent. We reported yesterday how Sussex Police had seized a film, shot during …

    Policing 9 Sep 10:50

  • UK.gov finally pulls plug on National Programme for IT

    But future unclear for Summary Care Records

    The ailing National Programme for IT has been cancelled, although most of its multi-billion pound spending will go ahead. A statement from the Department of Health said a shift to more local procurement would work better, "whilst continuing with national applications already procured". The programme should aim to "connect all …

    Government 9 Sep 10:58

  • 'Internet censorship is trade barrier', says Google exec

    Now that China licence is renewed, let the games commence (again)

    Google's top legal man wants to see pressure applied to governments - such as China's and Turkey's - that have strict internet censorship rules in place. According to Reuters, David Drummond argued at a public meeting with US Trade Rep Ron Kirk and other Mountain View wonks at the Googleplex on Wednesday that such behaviour by …

    Music and Media 9 Sep 11:06

  • Brits unleash world's hottest chilli pepper

    Burn, baby, burn

    A British firm has claimed the world's hottest chilli pepper crown, a fearsome beast clocking 1,176,182 on the Scoville scale. Fire Foods of Lincolnshire is responsible for cultivating the Infinity Chilli, which tests at Warwick University confirmed as the planet's most potent. The previous record holder is the bhut jolokia, …

    Biology 9 Sep 11:08

  • ARM flexes muscles with fivefold performance boost

    Kicks sand in Intel's face

    ARM's next-but-one processor will improve performance by five times, and the company aims to spread the architecture into the server side of the cloud too. The Cortex A15 will consume the same energy as today's ARM chips, but will sport as many as 16 cores running at 2.5GHz, though a dual-core version will come first. ARM …

    Servers 9 Sep 11:12

  • US raygun jumbo jet fails to beam down test missile

    Agency: 'We didn't tell you? You didn't ask'

    The USA's famed ray-cannon jumbo jet, the Airborne Laser Testbed (ALTB), failed to shoot down a ballistic missile in a long-delayed live test last week. You miss one missile... The US Missile Defence Agency (MDA), in charge of the test, saw fit not to announce the test or its failure until prodded by journalist Sharon …

    Science 9 Sep 11:18

  • iPlayer, iTunes succumb to Web2.0rhea

    Why do they do it?

    Hot on the heels of Apple's poorly-received iTunes update, the BBC has released a new version of iPlayer, and it's met a chorus of criticism. In each case the culprit appears to be the same. “This next step is allowing users to interact with the service and each other around our programmes,” writes James Hewines on the BBC blog …

    Music and Media 9 Sep 11:20

  • Google slaps malware warning on Radio 3 website

    Updated Someone's got to be Brahms and Lizt

    Google is warning surfers visiting BBC Radio 3's website that the classical music domain is a security risk. The malware threat appears to have been purged by Thursday afternoon but Google warning will not be removed until it has had a chance to re-scan the site and verify that it is clean. The bbc.co.uk/radio3 site was …

    Malware 9 Sep 11:30

  • LaCie intros aluminium-clad USB 3.0 drives

    Superspeed storage

    LaCie has introduced two more USB 3.0 external hard drives, one for desktops, the other for portable computers. The latter first: it's the Rikiki USB 3.0, a 500GB 2.5in unit that LaCie's selling for £90. Rikiki The second drive, the Minimus, comes in at 1TB of 3.5in storage for £100. Like the Rikiki, the Minimus is wrapped …

    reghardware 9 Sep 11:47

  • Microsoft to embrace and extend HTML 5?

    'WPF and Silverlight at risk in faction war'

    Microsoft watchers are poring over a series of Twitter posts from former Silverlight Product Manager Scott Barnes, a web design and user experience specialist. According to Barnes, just back from a week of briefings at Microsoft, there is intense internal debate about the future of HTML 5, newly implemented in the forthcoming …

    Developer 9 Sep 12:04

  • World's only real flying car in price hikes, further delays

    On time, on cost, on spec: Choose two er, none

    The firm behind the world's most plausible near-future flying car has pushed back delivery dates again, and suggested that vehicles may wind up costing substantially more than had been planned. Now it needs to get off the ground commercially Terrafugia Inc, engaged in developing the Transition "roadable aircraft", made the …

    Science 9 Sep 12:07

  • Pentax debuts latest K-series DSLR

    Pentax has introduced the K-r, its latest compact digital SLR. The K-r packs in a 12.4Mp, 24 x 16mm sensor and a 3in, 921,000-dot LCD to view your pictures on. In addition to stills, the K-r will also shoot 720p video. Pentax also touted the K-r's battery design, which allows you to swap out a dead rechargeable for a set of …

    reghardware 9 Sep 12:13

  • Mozilla lights up joystick, tickles developer gaming bellies

    Explain web apps tech through power of dance Tron

    Mozilla launched a new gaming project through its Labs wing earlier this week, in a move to get coders to play with fancy browser and web technologies. The Mozilla Labs Gaming experiment is all about making developers even more comfortable with web apps. "Modern Open Web technologies introduced a complete stack of …

    Developer 9 Sep 12:29

  • Pentax intros 'chameleon' camera

    And a compact with a 10x optical zoom too

    In addition to the K-r DSLR, Pentax also rolled out a couple of compacts today, both part of its Optio line. RS1000: you want custom covers, it's got 'em First up, the RS1000, described as the "chameleon" of compacts becase you'll be able to clip any of a selection of colourful decals to the front of the camera. Pentax has …

    reghardware 9 Sep 12:42

  • PayPal update email 'violates own anti-phishing advice'

    Oopsie

    PayPal UK has sent out an updated user agreement email to its customers that manages to violate its own tips on how to avoid phishing scams. The payments process outfit disputes the accusation. The message - sent out on Tuesday - bears one of the hallmarks of classic phishing emails by encouraging users to click on a link to …

    Enterprise Security 9 Sep 12:56

  • Rioting lags demand women's tennis

    Violently protest Wimbledon TV blackout

    Prison inmates deprived of the viewing pleasure of watching Vera Zvonareva and Kim Clijsters mixing it up at Wimbledon earlier this year responded with a quick riot, the Telegraph reports. Thirty-two lags at Cookham Wood Young Offenders Institution in Rochester, Kent, were none too pleased when screws declared their recreation …

    Bootnotes 9 Sep 13:20

  • Apple: third-party iOS dev tools OK after all

    Runtimes allowed back into Steve's garden

    Apple has said is to allow software developers to create iPhone and iPad apps using tools it does not directly sanction. "We are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps," the company said in a statement released this afternoon, "as long as the resulting apps do not download any code. "This …

    reghardware 9 Sep 13:29

  • Bacon thief leaves rasher on door knob

    Surrey police hunt ham burglar

    Surrey police are hunting a burglar who broke into a house in Redhill, Surrey and swiped a packet of bacon - except for a single rasher left chillingly draped over the front door handle. As well as clearing the family's fridge of their salty pork belly breakfast meat, in the early hours of September 4, the thief also swiped a …

    Bootnotes 9 Sep 13:51

  • Oracle and NetApp dismiss ZFS lawsuits

    Let's all hug

    NetApp and Oracle have agreed to dismiss their respective lawsuits against each other without prejudice. ZFS-using companies such as Coraid and Nexenta can now go ahead free of the threat of NetApp interference. The dismissal terms between the two companies are confidential. NetApp CEO and president Tom Georgens said: "Moving …

    Storage 9 Sep 13:52

  • Dutch banks and operators go contactless

    Six of the best plot NFC

    A trio of banks has joined three Dutch network operators in creating compatible NFC infrastructure, based on SIM security, aiming to bring contactless payment to the Netherlands by 2012. T-Mobile, Vodafone and KPN are the operators, while Rabobank, ABN Amro and ING make up the banking side of the table. The companies have …

    Mobile 9 Sep 14:12

  • The Celerra NX3e isn't it

    Just a trial balloon

    Curiouser and curiouser, Alice said. The Celerra NX3e is not the new mid-range storage system that EMC CFO David Goulden said would be shipping early next year. But it is an EMC low-end Celerra and has been shipping since October 2009, according to people who should know but prefer to remain anonymous. Our updated …

    Blocks and Files 9 Sep 14:13

  • Rackspace claims credit for shushing Koran-burning 'pastor'

    Midnight deadline missed

    Hosting company Rackspace shut down the Dove World Outreach Center's website last night, because it broke its acceptable use policy. Pastor Terry Jones is enjoying his 15 minutes of fame thanks to plans for an International Burn the Koran Day to mark the anniversary of 9/11. Jones also plans to burn copies of the Talmud. …

    Telecoms 9 Sep 14:16

  • Google Instant a potential bonanza for search scams

    You type it in here, and it comes out there

    Security watchers are concerned that scareware scammers may quickly adapt to the introduction of real-time search technology from Google to develop even more potent search engine poisoning attacks. Google Instant speeds up search results by working as users type into the Google search box. The technology predicts what users …

    Malware 9 Sep 14:30

  • Could Oracle buy HP?

    Should it?

    One way for Oracle to solve HP's CEO problems is for it to buy HP and re-install Mark Hurd as CEO. This isn't quite as off the wall as it sounds. The idea has been mentioned by Silicon Valley Watcher Tom Foremski. He suggests that an Oracle-HP combo would be strong enough to compete against "all of IBM." Umm, apart from the …

    Blocks and Files 9 Sep 14:59

  • Clegg's taking away Your Freedom

    Don't tell Mel Gibson

    The coalition government's wiki-powered loony magnet - Your Freedom website - which aims to collect the internet's very finest ideas - is shutting tomorrow, or rather "entering the next stage". Clegg, in a YouTube video watched by literally 150 people at the time of writing, said the first thing ministers would have seen when …

    Government 9 Sep 15:09

  • Dell launches Opteron 4100s into Boxes-o-Cloud

    Wanna know the price? Come in and sit down, friend ...

    With a substantial portion of Dell's server business based on custom and quasi-custom designs that shrink server sizes and offer better performance per watt than the standard PowerEdge machines, the server maker cannot rest on its laurels or play favorites with Intel as it did in days gone by. Sometimes, companies want a machine …

    Servers 9 Sep 15:32

  • Apple issues moral regulations apps dev guide

    'If it sounds like we're control freaks, well ...'

    Apple has finally published some rules for applications submitted to the iTunes store, and it seems that down in Cupertino they're just as bored of flatulence-themed applications as the rest of us. The guidelines, which are now available to Apple developers, lay out the rules by which apps are rejected, or accepted. They also …

    Applications 9 Sep 16:04

  • Opensourcers get personal over Ellison's Google fight

    Urge 'principled stand' against Oracle

    Open source advocates are asking you to write to Larry Ellison to protest about Oracle's damaging decision to prosecute Google over Java. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has also promised to gather information on prior art to attack the seven patents Oracle claims Google's violated in its implementation of Java on Android …

    Applications 9 Sep 18:39

  • Ex-Sun CEO sees rosy future in health

    Synergies Ahoy!

    Former Sun Microsystems chief executive Jonathan Schwartz has opted for the hard life of Silicon Valley startup rather than running another Fortune 500 mega corp into the ground. Schwartz has blogged that he is teaming up with an old friend to form something called PictureOfHealth.com, and Schwartz will serve as chief …

    Music and Media 9 Sep 20:33

  • Steve Jobs lectures devs, dodges antitrust action

    Comment Weeding the walled garden

    Over two years after the debut of the iTunes App Store, Apple has finally provided developers with guidelines describing what apps are and aren't acceptable for inclusion in what Steve Jobs has called Cupertino's "curated platform." Apple also removed restrictions from its iOS developer license that brought good news to Adobe …

    Developer 9 Sep 21:31

  • Google search index splits with MapReduce

    Exclusive Welds BigTable to file system 'Colossus'

    Google Caffeine — the remodeled search infrastructure rolled out across Google's worldwide data center network earlier this year — is not based on MapReduce, the distributed number-crunching platform that famously underpinned the company's previous indexing system. As the likes of Yahoo!, Facebook, and Microsoft work to …

    Servers 9 Sep 21:52

  • Firefox 4 preview knocks back Jäger shot

    Buzzed browser races rivals for JavaScript crown

    Mozilla has released preview builds of Firefox 4 that include JägerMonkey, the new JavaScript engine extension designed to outpace rival engines from the likes of Google and Opera. According to the open source outfit's latest SunSpider JavaScript benchmarks, JägerMonkeyed Firefox still trails all major competitors, but on the …

    Applications 9 Sep 23:09

  • Oracle sneaks out Solaris 10 refresh

    Pre-OpenWorld goodies

    Rather than wait two weeks for its own OpenWorld extravaganza, Oracle has snuck out the long-awaited update to the Solaris 10 operating system. The related Solaris Cluster clustering software and Solaris Studio development tools were also tweaked. As usual, the release notes for the updated Solaris 10 have a little bit of …

    Operating Systems 9 Sep 23:52