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13th September 2010 Archive

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  • SciDB: Relational daddy answers Google, Hadoop, NoSQL

    Stonebraker doesn't drop ACID

    Mention "relational databases" and a few people's names might spring to mind: Oracle's Larry Ellison, thanks to his billions, or Monty Widenius, main author of the ferociously popular MySQL. Geekier types might plump for Oracle's former Dr DBA Ken Jacobs or open-sourcer Brian Akers, who helped architect MySQL. Michael …

    Software 13 Sep 03:47

  • SGI readies first Project Mojo supers

    Sticking it to x64 racks and blades

    Supercomputer maker Silicon Graphics is just about finished with the initial designs of the "Project Mojo" dense-packed HPC machines, sources tell El Reg. If you have been pondering how SGI was going to be able to cram a petaflops of supercomputing oomph into a rack of servers, as the company promised back in June it would be …

    HPC 13 Sep 04:00

  • Cyberlink v. Nero media authoring suites

    Review Taste the difference

    Back in the day, Cyberlink was best known for DVD player software, while Nero was a developer of CD-writing ('burning') utilities. Now both companies are producers of very successful creative multimedia suites that play DVDs, burn discs and a whole lot more. For an embarrassingly low price, both packages offer audio, video and …

    reghardware 13 Sep 07:00

  • IP address-tracing software breached data protection law

    Swiss court rules on Logistep

    The Swiss Federal Court has ruled that software which identified the internet protocol (IP) address of unauthorised music uploaders broke data protection law. The court backed that country's data protection commissioner, who said that Logistep violated Switzerland's Data Protection Act when it used the software. The IP …

    Law 13 Sep 07:00

  • IBM sees £50m sliced from fingerprinting deal

    UK national print database dropped

    Immigration Minister Damian Green has said the government will save £50m by renegotiating a contract previously linked to identity cards. The saving will be made by abandoning plans to store fingerprints from UK nationals on a database, a commitment made by the coalition parties within their initial plans for government. The …

    Government 13 Sep 07:56

  • Post Office complaints: Write to M.BARRASS

    Special delivery recipient prompts red faces

    The El Reg Bootnotes soviet was tickled late last week by the entertaining tale of reader "Frank", who got in touch about a letter of complaint he wrote to the Post Office regarding its broadband service. We won't bore you with the details* of the scrap between Frank and the PO, but suffice it to say the former fired off an …

    Bootnotes 13 Sep 09:00

  • Pandora tops 1000 boxes

    Open-spec hardware goes professional

    English-built, open source games console Pandora has shipped its thousandth unit - not bad considering every one is hand made by geeks in Newcastle. The Pandora isn't just a games console: running a tweaked Ångström Linux it can manage Open Office and Firefox too, all using open source hardware and software in a box the size …

    PCs & Chips 13 Sep 09:00

  • Ofcom begins mobile broadband study

    Compares networks

    Ofcom wants to know just how broad mobile broadband is, and has commissioned a four-month study of the subject with a full report expected to go public next January. The UK regulator has appointed Cardiff-based Epitiro to carry out a study of the UK's mobile operators, logging average connection speeds and latency on 3G …

    Telecoms 13 Sep 09:00

  • Europe begins revamp of rules on re-use of public info

    Asks for views on Public Sector Information Directive

    The European Commission is revising the rules governing the sale and use of public information in a bid to encourage the use of mapping, weather, legal and statistical information as the basis of information services. The current Commission pledged to revise the rules governing such use as part of its 'digital agenda' plan of …

    Government 13 Sep 09:08

  • Playboy centrefold freaks out at 10,000 feet

    WSA Couldn't pop a pill so chose airliner cabin door instead

    A Playboy centrefold took fellow plane passengers' breath away last week when she apparently tried to open the door on a plane flight from Florida to New York. Tiffany Livingston, 21 and 5' 6", reportedly bolted from her seat and grabbed the cabin door in an apparent attempt to open the cabin door on the Jet Blue flight. The …

    Bootnotes 13 Sep 09:30

  • Salvador Dalí style floppy iPad on the way, seemingly

    Flexy touch kit also means egg-juggling robot butlers

    Engineers in California say they have developed a way of making touch- and pressure-sensitive material which is also bendy and flexible. The new technology could be used to make flexible touchscreen devices - or, its designers say, to build robotics or prosthetics capable of such delicate tasks as handling eggs or emptying …

    PCs & Chips 13 Sep 09:50

  • Office for Mac finally breaks out of Microsoft

    Developers mourn features that didn't make it

    Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 finally escaped Redmond and went to manufacturing last week, meaning Apple users get a fresh productivity suite just two years after their Windows-based counterparts. The software should hit the streets next month, with anyone buying the previous version between now and then entitled to a free …

    Applications 13 Sep 10:02

  • Cyber-jihad hacker claims credit for 'Here you have' worm

    'I could smash all those infected'

    A virus writer who claims to have created the 'Here you have' worm that flooded corporate email boxes last week claims the malware was designed as a propaganda tool. The cracker, who uses an Iraq Resistance email address associated with the worm, told IDG that "the creation of this is just a tool to reach my voice to people …

    Crime 13 Sep 10:19

  • Qualcomm grasps for gold while turning silver

    'We're still relevant, and mainstream'

    Qualcomm was showing off its technology portfolio last week, reminding the world that it exists and still innovating, even if it prefers 3G over 4. The company is celebrating its 25th year in existence and trying to remind people that while it might not have the market presence of Intel, it is in the pockets of more people and …

    Mobile 13 Sep 10:31

  • Amazon sells board games by inch and ounce

    Never mind the quality, feel the width!

    It hadn't occurred to us that you could pay for board games by weight, or by length . But we are less sophisticated than Amazon, which is quoting prices for many games in cost per ounce or inch. As you can see, the post-Plague farming game Agricola costs 62p per ounce, or - let's make it easy for you - about £21.18 a kilo. …

    reghardware 13 Sep 10:34

  • Windows malware dwarfs other viral threats

    Guess that's why they call it window pain

    The vast majority of malware - more than 99 per cent - targets Windows PCs, according to a new survey by German anti-virus firm G-Data. G-Data reckons 99.4 per cent of all new malware of the first half of 2010 targeted Microsoft’s operating system. Just 0.6 per cent of the 1,017,208 new malware programs discovered in 1H2010 …

    Crime 13 Sep 10:57

  • Jailbreaker iPhone app store snaffles up competitor

    Cydia gets bigger, yeah

    The most popular alternative iPhone app store, Cydia, has bought up its nearest competitor to provide a single alternative to the iTunes app store. The Rock Your Phone app store will run down over the next 10 days, during which time Rock users will have to set up a Cydia account to which their purchases can be migrated. Then …

    Mobile 13 Sep 11:06

  • Nokia's No.2 bails out

    It's nothing personal

    Anssi Vanjoki, widely seen as the No.2 at Nokia, has announced he will leave the company. It means Nokia will be looking for a new head of its mobile phone division for the third time in a year. Vanjoki has led the division - which contributes most of Nokia's revenue and almost all of its profits - for just two months. Nokia …

    Mobile 13 Sep 11:13

  • Police legal advice gives spam RIPA protection

    None for your read messages though

    The voicemail hacking incident is still exercising MPs – especially the Labour ones who did little to protect individual privacy during the party's decade in power (see last week’s blog). So when Assistant Commissioner John Yates of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) gave evidence on “Specialist Operations” to the Home …

    Law 13 Sep 11:30

  • US Special Ops robot whispercopter crashes in Belize

    Jungle man-sniff radar spybird totalled in prang

    Tests by the US special forces of a radical, new-technology robot helicopter equipped with a radar intended to penetrate jungle canopies from above, have been terminated after a trials aircraft crashed in Belize. If the imperial stormtroopers had had these, it would have been curtains for the Ewoks. The unmanned helicopter …

    Science 13 Sep 11:36

  • 2 CPUS 1 CUPP

    Dual mode laptops: hybrid vigour or hybrid torpor? You decide

    A Norwegian hardware developer is using YouTube to showcase a dual-mode laptop that combines an Intel processor and an ARM processor to lower power consumption and increase battery life. You can run the PC in two modes, opting for ARM and Ubuntu for low power and long battery life, and Intel /Windows 7 mode for high …

    reghardware 13 Sep 11:42

  • Ask.com kills Bloglines

    Gives RSS reader the bullet

    Bloglines, the web-based RSS reader, will be permanently shut down next month. Ask.com, which bought Bloglines in early 2005 for $10m, when it was the market leader, said on Friday that users should migrate to another service by October 1. "Not an easy decision, especially considering our loyal and supportive (not to mention …

    Music and Media 13 Sep 11:51

  • Nintendo hails Super Mario's silver anniversary

    Mama Mia - Wee Hee Heeee!

    Super Mario Bros, Nintendo's renowned platform game,celebrates its 25th birthday today. The famous plumber, known for eating mushrooms and getting through countless pipes, came to life in 1983 with the popular arcade game Mario Bros. On September 13 1985, Nintendo took consumer gaming to new levels with Super Mario Bros for …

    reghardware 13 Sep 12:30

  • Burglars used social network status updates to select victims

    I'm away from home PleaseRobMe.com

    US police reckon a band of burglars used social network status updates to select victims. The alleged thieves carried out an estimated 50 burglaries in and around Nashua, New Hampshire, after gaining intelligence on properties that had been left vacant from status updates on social networking sites, such as Facebook. The case …

    Music and Media 13 Sep 12:32

  • Naturist club objects to erection of five storey tower block

    Fears ping pong and boules will be exposed

    Members of a Surrey naturist club have reacted with fury to plans to build a tower block which would overlook their clothes-free sanctuary. The 70-year-old White House Club, which has 300 members on its books, is objecting in the strong possible terms to the proposed erection of a five story block which would overlook its …

    Bootnotes 13 Sep 12:37

  • IBM racks up the memory

    VMworld Video Blog And we cue up our camera

    While wandering the floor at the recently concluded VMworld 2010, we stopped by the IBM booth to take a look at their wares. We ran into an old pal of ours, Bob Zuber, and he walked us through their MAX 5 memory extension feature. IBM racks up the memory var MediaPlayerVars = { '_': { 'http://www.youtube.com/v/9hjVtRQyYkY …

    Virtualization 13 Sep 13:03

  • GoDaddy seeks $1bn buyer

    Superbowl smut-monger touted about

    GoDaddy, the web hosting and domain sales firm, is reportedly up for sale and seeking private equity bids of more than $1bn. The Arizona-based outfit, best known for its smutty adverts during the Super Bowl, is being shopped around by Qatalyst Partners, the Wall Street Journal said. Qatalyst Partners, run by investment banker …

    Telecoms 13 Sep 13:04

  • Celeb pics row shows ACPO in frame for shake-up

    Comment Who's driving this thing anyway?

    Allegations by the Mail on Sunday that the UK police may be making improper use of speed camera pics were dismissed last week as wholly inaccurate by ACPO affiliate Road Safety Support (RSS). Nonetheless, the story raises further questions as to the role and democratic accountability of the police when they form up into non- …

    Policing 13 Sep 13:35

  • Reasons to be cheerful

    Sysadmin blog Doomsday Weekend 5: It's over, but that isn't the only good news

    It’s easy to complain about a tough weekend. It’s not so easy to remember the little things that made it easier. Not everything during a huge network overhaul is negative. I was thoroughly impressed with Exchange 2010. Teamviewer 5 was simply rolled out to replace Teamviewer 4 with no negative effects. I am always pleasantly …

    Sysadmin blog 13 Sep 14:00

  • Microsoft strolls into white space

    Ten days until we can join them

    It's ten days until the FCC will tell us the hows and whos of white space spectrum, but Microsoft has already switched on its campus-wide white-space network and is expecting great things. The Microsoft network was demonstrated a month ago, as part of the company's propaganda war to convince the FCC to allocate the white …

    Wireless 13 Sep 14:32

  • Beeb invents rhyming Nokia exec

    'Anssi Vanjokia' gets his coat

    Executive changes at the top of Nokia have caused temporary confusion at the BBC. Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo's replacement as CEO was announced on Friday, and today Anssi Vanjoki announced he would be departing. Over at BBC News Online the pileup of hard-to-pronounce Finn-Ugric consonants all got a bit much. Reader Tim found they'd …

    Bootnotes 13 Sep 15:00

  • Software re-sale restricted by US Court of Appeals

    You bought it from someone who didn't own it, chummy

    Software company Autodesk can stop a man from re-selling second-hand copies of its software because the programs are licensed to users, not owned by them, a US appeals court has ruled. Software producers who clearly impose restrictions on buyers and make it clear that buyers are only licensing material rather than buying it …

    Channel Register 13 Sep 15:16

  • Halo reaches out with Jetpack demo in Trafalgar Square

    Aargh, flying Spartans

    Halo: Reach, the long-awaited instalment of the popular Xbox franchise hits shelves tomorrow and to mark the occasion, Microsoft sent a Spartan on a Jetpack over Trafalgar Square. The 30-second flight this morning, generated 140dB of sound and was so loud, spectators were handed ear plugs. Jetpacks are a new feature in the …

    reghardware 13 Sep 15:57

  • Microsoft's man in Nokia: he's all business

    Analysis Ballmer's remit expands

    Nokia's decision to poach a Microsoft president as chief executive is as surprising for Nokia watchers as it is challenging for the company he leaves behind. The embattled cell-phone maker's new CEO is Microsoft president Stephen Elop, an execution man with a track record of safely running well-performing businesses. On …

    Software 13 Sep 16:15

  • HP buys security tools firm ArcSight for $1.5bn

    More security biz consolidation

    HP has agreed to buy security event management firm ArcSight for $1.5bn. The deal, rumoured over the weekend and announced on Monday, is the IT giant's second significant acquisition in two weeks, following the purchase of storage outfit 3PAR. It also follows last month's deal to buy application security tools firm Fortify …

    Financial News 13 Sep 16:23

  • Adobe exploit bears fingerprints of hack on Google

    New in-the-wild attacks unearthed

    Recent attacks that exploit an unpatched vulnerability in Adobe's near-ubiquitous Reader application bear the hallmarks of the people who breached Google and dozens of other large companies earlier this year, researchers from Symantec said. The booby-trapped PDF files are attached to emails that request interviews and offer …

    Crime 13 Sep 18:06

  • Intel introduces Sandy Bridge chippery

    IDF Swiss Army processor

    Intel took the wraps off its new Sandy Bridge microarchitecture Monday morning — now officially branded as the 2nd Generation Intel Core Processor — revealing a number of notable improvements over its current Nehalem-based processor line, including what the company claims are greatly improved on-chip integrated graphics. " …

    PCs & Chips 13 Sep 18:20

  • Ex-IBM heir apparent gets six months in the slammer

    No 'get-out-of jail-free' card, says US attorney

    Robert Moffat, the former general manager of IBM's Systems Group and a former board member of Chinese PC maker Lenovo, has been sentenced in a federal court in connection with the Galleon insider trading scam that was uncovered last October. Moffat, who was once an heir apparent to run Big Blue once Sam Palmisano retires, was …

    Financial News 13 Sep 18:55

  • Intel's 'Sandy Bridge' to go all out for DisplayPort

    IDF No more native LVDS support

    Intel has selected DisplayPort as the standard linkage between its next-generation processors' integrated graphics cores and the host system's screen. Current CPUs typically use LVDS - Low-Voltage Differential Signaling - to connect screen to GPU, but Intel's PC chip chief, Stephen Smith, said DisplayPort - to be used in its …

    reghardware 13 Sep 19:41

  • Microsoft: Silverlight safe against HTML5

    Protesting too much?

    The executive leading Microsoft's Silverlight has dismissed claims the rich-media play player could fall victim to internal politics favoring HTML5. Vice president for the .Net developer platform Scott Guthrie Tweeted that Microsoft is investing heavily in Silverlight, with more than 200 engineers working on Silverlight and …

    Developer 13 Sep 21:17

  • Google Code bear hugs all OSI open-source licenses

    But still frowns on 'license proliferation'

    Google has announced its Google Code developer site will now host open-source projects using any license approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI). Previously, as part of its longstanding protest against "license proliferation," the web giant only allowed projects using a small subset of OSI licenses. Google still doesn't …

    Developer 13 Sep 22:06

  • Intel 'Sandy Bridge' to sport 'next-gen' over-clocking tech

    IDF Bursty for better performance, lower power consumption

    Like today's Core i5 and i7 processors, Intel's 'Sandy Bridge' architecture, their successor, will incorporate TurboBoost, a technology that allows the chip to temporarily run at a higher clock speed than the one it's rated at. But the new chip design's implementation of the technique improves on the old one in a number of …

    reghardware 13 Sep 22:54

  • Critical Flash vuln under active attack, Adobe warns

    Tale of two 0days

    Adobe Systems on Monday warned of a critical vulnerability in the most recent version of its Flash Player that is being actively exploited in the wild. The vulnerability affects Flash Player 10.1.82.76 for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Solaris, and Android operating systems, Adobe said in an advisory. “There are reports that this …

    Security 13 Sep 23:06

  • Mozilla chucks Roc at Microsoft's new hardness

    IE9 acceleration talk rubbished

    Microsoft has claimed that Internet Explorer 9 is the only browser offering "full" hardware acceleration. And Mozilla has accused its old rival of talking nonsense. With a Friday blog post, Microsoft web graphics program manager Ted Johnson laid out a trio hardware acceleration "phases," before telling the world that only IE9 …

    Software 13 Sep 23:54

  • Microsoft shields Russia's refuseniks from police harassment

    Investigates abuses in its name

    Microsoft is shaking up its licensing in Russia after reports that authorities are clamping down on the use of Redmond software by government protest groups. The company has announced a sweeping software license for protest groups and small, independent media organizations that extends to all copies of Microsoft software they …

    Channel Register 13 Sep 23:58