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13th October 2010 Archive

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  • Intel CEO: 'We will win in the tablet market'

    But the wait will be long, longer, or longerer

    Intel president and chief executive Paul Otellini says that his company is going to "win" in the tablet marketplace. "At Intel," he told reporters and analysts on a conference call announcing Chipzilla's third-quarter financial performance, "we're going to utilize all the assets at our disposal to win this segment: the world's …

    Mobile 13 Oct 05:23

  • Big iron makers test their metal on SAP

    Rites of passage in the server room

    The server makers of the world have been busy little benchmarketeers in the past few weeks and have released a slew of test results that show the prowess their machines have supporting SAP's ERP software. Even IT shops that don't run SAP software take a hard look at the Sales & Distribution (SD) benchmark tests because a wide …

    Servers 13 Oct 06:34

  • RIM BlackBerry Torch 9800

    Review Burning sensation?

    BlackBerry manufacturer RIM has been struggling to keep up with the main innovators at the head of the smart phone pack. So far, it's been keeping pace rather than edging in front. It appears that's unlikely to change with the Torch 9800, which has some very good features, including the latest BlackBerry OS 6, but has a few …

    reghardware 13 Oct 07:00

  • Facebook introduces one-time passwords

    Users of sketchy PCs, take note

    Facebook began rolling out new service on Tuesday that allows people using public computers to log into the site without having to enter their regular password. Instead, users can login with a one-time password that, upon request, Facebook zaps to their mobile phones. The temporary access code is good for 20 minutes only. The …

    ID 13 Oct 07:35

  • Spycam school to pay damages for kiddie snaps

    Lawyers rake in most of the cash as laptop camera case ends

    The US school which used laptop cameras to spy on its students has agreed to pay damages to settle a civil suit brought as a result of the scandal. The Lower Merion School District in Philadelphia used tracking software from LanRev and laptops' internal cameras to take covert pictures of students. The school has now agreed to …

    Law 13 Oct 08:48

  • Nokia jumps into bed with LightSquared

    And Qualcomm finds use for UK assets

    Nokia will provide a data-centric device for LightSquared's network next year, competing with devices based on Qualcomm's L-Band TDD LTE chips - a Scrabble bag of letters that could do well in Blighty. LightSquared plans to build a national network covering 92 per cent of Americans by 2015 and using ground-component …

    Mobile 13 Oct 09:05

  • The differences that silicon can make to the desktop

    Workshop What's under the bonnet

    Looking at the sleek laptops, all-in-one and small form factor PCs of today, they have changed beyond all recognition compared to the deskbound, utilitarian behemoths of even a decade ago. Much of this change is thanks to the evolution and integration of the internal components of PCs, enabled by advances in manufacturing …

    Server Management 13 Oct 09:17

  • Symantec aims for higher levels in auto management

    More abstractions in SFHA and VOM

    Symantec has revved its Storage Foundation HA and Veritas Operations Manager software products to automate storage management tasks and help to banish the spectre of storage scripting. Veritas Operations Manager (VOM) v3.1 introduces three grades of storage service: gold, silver, and bronze, which users set to specify things …

    Storage 13 Oct 09:17

  • National Schools Film Week punts unsafe URL

    NSFW - or class

    We can't decide whether someone is having a right laugh or simply hasn't got a clue, but we feel that National Schools Film Week could have picked a better URL to punt cinema to wide-eyed youngsters. Yes indeed, while http//www.nsfw.org/ does indeed point to celluloid enlightenment, parents had better make sure their offspring …

    Bootnotes 13 Oct 10:00

  • Basic security housekeeping vital, says GCHQ boss

    Containing cyber threats mostly straightforward

    GCHQ's director has said that 80 per cent of the government's cyber security vulnerabilities can be solved through good information assurance. Iain Lobban, the director of the signals intelligence and information security organisation, said if government departments observed basic network security disciplines, such as "keeping …

    Enterprise Security 13 Oct 10:01

  • Bloggers swallow iPhone 4 screen weakness claim

    Analysis Display damage data not as transparent as they seem

    You have to take care with statistics, and that is certainly the case with the report from US computer warranty house SquareTrade headlined "iPhone 4 glass breaking 82 per cent more than iPhone 3GS four months in". Says the company: "SquareTrade analysed iPhone accidents for over 20,000 iPhone 4s covered by SquareTrade Care …

    reghardware 13 Oct 10:02

  • Micron CEO waddles onto fattest cat list

    Survey fingers Moneybags Appleton

    Micron CEO Stephen Appleon is the 25th most overpaid CEO in America according to a Business Insider story, citing proxy advisory group Glass Lewis's CEO pay survey. Appleton trousered $8,448,639 pay in 2009. The pay level is computed from salary, bonuses, stock options and golden hellos. A Glass Lewis release said: "Micron …

    Financial News 13 Oct 10:21

  • Google Glamour girl joins Schmidt Privy Council

    Mayer goes geo with Places, Maps and Latitude

    Marissa Mayer – Google's first female engineer and one of its most familiar public faces – is moving on from her role as vice president of search to run the company's geolocation and local services. As originally reported by Bloomberg, Mayer will also join Google's operating committee, a kind of privy council that helps drive …

    Financial News 13 Oct 10:25

  • MS confirms Zune for Mac

    Sync WinPho 7 handsets

    Microsoft has confirmed earlier staff Tweets that a Mac version of its Zune desktop software is on its way. It's all about syncing up WinPho 7 handsets rather than iPod clones these days, of course, and with Microsoft well aware it needs to be inclusive if it wants its revamped smartphone OS to succeed, Mac compatibility is no …

    reghardware 13 Oct 10:43

  • EMC picks Greenplum Data Computing appliance

    Sweet

    EMC has launched its Greenplum Data Computing Appliance (DCA), promising twice the performance of Oracle's Exadata system. The DCA is an online analytical processing (OLAP) engine for looking at business transaction data, mining it, and getting information out of it that can better describe customer behaviour, to help mobile …

    Storage 13 Oct 11:12

  • Currys punts cut-price 3D TV pack for Xmas

    50in telly, specs, player all for under a grand

    Do you want a 3D TV but find yourself put off by the price? Dixons-owned chain Currys has announced a 50in set fo a penny less than a grand. The set in question is the Samsung plasma PS50C680 and comes with a 3D-capable Blu-ray Disc player and two pairs of 3D glasses. Currys waved aside claims that there's just nothing to …

    reghardware 13 Oct 11:24

  • Power grid scare stories a 'bunch of hooey'

    Bloody difficult for your average villain to trigger blackout, say boffins

    There have been a lot of scare stories in the media about electrical power grids in recent times, suggesting that it would be a simple matter to bring down a national transmission system by way of a minor cyber attack or physical sabotage - thereby bringing that nation's infrastructure to a grinding halt. There's just one …

    Enterprise Security 13 Oct 11:28

  • Everything Everywhere starts staff cull

    But it's no traffic light party

    Orange and T-Mobile have started softening up the staff who'll be facing synergisation, warning some they're for the chop while others are being told there's still hope. Despite The Telegraph reporting that staff at Orange and T-Mobile had been gathered in groups for to be publicly told into which category they fell - with …

    Mobile 13 Oct 11:31

  • Huge jobs loss to follow public sector cuts

    A million posts down the tubes as govt slims down

    Half a million private sector jobs are likely to be lost as a result of public sector spending cuts. Predicted public sector cuts could mean 186,000 fewer jobs in business services and 47,000 fewer people employed in transport and communications. Add to that job losses from the construction, manufacturing and hospitality …

    Government 13 Oct 11:49

  • Bling phone maker invites celebs to flog first smartphone

    'If that bloke on the telly has one, so must I'

    It's official: Vertu luxury mobile phones are not simply for the incredibly well-heeled but also for the celebrity obsessed too. We are neither, but last night, we happened upon a fleet of Vertu-branded Mercedes limos parked outside a Great Portland Street, London Italian eaterie to which the chauffeurs had decamped for dinner …

    reghardware 13 Oct 11:54

  • Sony Reader PRS-350 Pocket Edition

    Review Sony shows the rest how it's done

    You may recall that I wasn't very impressed with Samsung's E60 e-book reader. Sony's new Reader Pocket Edition is a very different page out of the book. Sony's Reader Pocket Edition PRS-350: the acme of e-book readers? Where the E60 is thick, the Reader is thin - and weighs a mere 155g. The E60 is clad in plastic, the …

    reghardware 13 Oct 12:00

  • Microsoft lays virtualisation beta egg

    Windows 7 sleight of hand with virty XP

    Microsoft spun out a public beta of its Enterprise Desktop Virtualisation (MED-V) 2.0 software yesterday. The company said that large businesses could migrate from Windows XP to Windows 7 in a virtualised hen house using the MED-V tool. It might be expected the tool works for Windows Vista - it's just that we can't find any …

    Operating Systems 13 Oct 12:04

  • Sony uncloaks first Google TV television

    Chrome and Android sans settop

    Sony has unveiled the first HD television based on Google TV, the search giant's fledgling effort to marry broadcast TV with the interwebs. The Sony Internet TV is available in 24-inch, 32-inch, 40-inch, and 46-inch models, and prices range from $599.99 to $1,399.99. Last week, Logitech took the wraps off a $299.99 Google TV …

    Music and Media 13 Oct 12:14

  • Lovefilm confirms PS3 streaming scheme

    Console UI to feature service 'soon'

    Lovefilm has confirmed it will bring video streaming to the PlayStation 3 - it's just not saying when. Simply stating that the service will be coming "soon", Lovefilm said the tie-in with Sony will see it become the official "PS3 integrated subscription film service partner", a wording that covers the fact that it will operate …

    reghardware 13 Oct 12:23

  • Mozilla foot soldiers unleash 'Army of Awesome' on Twitter

    Brwsr fans & haters tweet on ffox

    Mozilla has hooked itself up to Twitter and created an “Army of Awesome” for Firefox users needing help with the browser. In other words, those surfers with a short attention span can now find out all they need to know via 140-character bursts. “Anyone with a Twitter account can join the Army of Awesome and reply to a tweet …

    Applications 13 Oct 12:37

  • Philips readies 'design your own TV' service

    Colours, remote and size among the options

    Philips is to launch a build-to-order service... for TVs. Well, sort of. Only one telly family will be featured in the programme, which promises you the opprtunity to "design your own TV in just four steps". That range is the LED-backlit 7000 series, which is available in either 32in or 42in screen sizes, so there's your …

    reghardware 13 Oct 12:40

  • Foxconn warns phones prices will rise

    Decent working conditions cost more. Sorry

    Mobile phone prices are set to rise, warns the owner of the Foxconn factories. The Hon Hai Precision Industry Co has suggested customers of Apple, Nokia and others should expect a hike given the amount Foxconn has been spending on improving conditions for workers, and the fact that it has employed a PR agency for the first …

    Mobile 13 Oct 12:45

  • Margaret Thatcher celebrates 85 years

    Major British event trumps miner Chilean drama

    Those of you who are glued to live coverage of the Chilean mine rescue have probably not had time to raise a toast to Baroness Thatcher, who is today celebrating her 85th birthday. Indeed, the woman who did so much for the British coal industry will be returning to 10 Downing Street for a knees-up just as the 33 trapped miners …

    Bootnotes 13 Oct 12:47

  • Screwpop Tool

    Txt Take It drives screws! It opens beer bottles!

    Txt Take: product reviews in 140 characters... Screwpop Tool Pictures Want our Txt Take on your gadget or accessory? Just send it in to Reg Hardware. Details here. ®

    reghardware 13 Oct 13:33

  • Google tracks inflation with interwebs data

    Consumer Google Price Index

    Google is developing a new-age price index that uses the company's epic collection of web shopping data to provide an alternative means of calculating inflation. Whereas the official Consumer Price Index provides a monthly measure of inflation based on data collected by more traditional means, the Google Price Index churns out …

    Applications 13 Oct 13:47

  • British bank cuts 4,500 IT jobs

    How many?

    Lloyds Banking Group is cutting 4,500 jobs from its IT department as part of its integration of Halifax and Bank of Scotland. The bank, which now includes Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Scottish Widows and Cheltenham and Gloucester, is 40 per cent owned by the taxpayer. It was pushed to bail out HBOS at the height of the financial …

    Financial News 13 Oct 13:48

  • Small but lethal Lethic is biggest junk mail villain

    MS cleaned botnet infections from over 6.5 million computers in one month

    Botnet networks of compromised PCs are responsible for 87 per cent of all spam, according to figures released by Microsoft at the RSA Conference on Wednesday. Adrienne Hall, general manager of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing program, told delegates: "Botnets are the prime suspect in cybercrime, the core of the threat." Hall …

    Crime 13 Oct 14:23

  • Jobsian fondle-slab in SEXY FILTHGRAM CRACKDOWN

    Biblical irony in bitten-Apple forbidden knowledge ban bid

    Famous fruitbrand fondle-slabbery firm Apple is moving to further bolster family values and hierarchical, authoritarian control - not to mention other rightwing American values such as abstinence from youthful or otherwise unapproved sexy sexuality - by the use of a traditional instrument of The Man's dominance: the US Patent …

    Mobile 13 Oct 14:35

  • MS speeds ahead as Google stalls on hardware acceleration

    Video thrilled the browser star

    On the same day that Google Chrome coders pushed back some of the hardware acceleration features they had planned for version 8 of Mountain View’s browser, it was revealed that Microsoft had been awarded a patent for GPU-Accelerated video encoding. Google has been moving speedily through its own stack of test builds for Chrome …

    Applications 13 Oct 15:16

  • Almost a quarter of Europeans can't be bothered with the net

    It ain't just cost keeping them offline

    The European Commission is renewing its effort to get every European hooked up to the net - whether they want to or not. The Commission's latest study into Europeans' digital world showed that 43 per cent of EU households "still do not have internet access". This, the Commission believes, is simply not good enough. It notes …

    Telecoms 13 Oct 15:32

  • IBM expands Power leasing deal to Europe and Asia

    Oracle and HP Unix shops deal goes globetrotting

    The generous leasing deal that IBM rolled out in early September to Oracle and Hewlett-Packard Unix shops in North America is now available to customers moving over to Power Systems iron and the AIX operating system in Europe and Asia. As El Reg previously reported, Oracle and HP Unix customers who move applications to Power …

    Servers 13 Oct 15:42

  • NetApp going Dutch

    Amsterdam is the place

    NetApp has an event taking place in Amsterdam on November 4th. We don't know what's happening there but journalists around Europe are being contacted. Amsterdam was used as a European base for Hitachi Data Systems to make the announcement of its VSP high-end storage array at the end of September. Maybe attendees will get …

    Blocks and Files 13 Oct 15:55

  • Oracle re-commits to ODF after OpenOffice divorce

    Some communities you can't cut off

    Oracle is spinning its participation in a forthcoming Open Document Format (ODF) event as proof of its continued commitment to the OpenOffice.org community. On the eve of the ODF Plugfest in Brussels, Belgium, the database giant has announced that it will participate in the two-day event, which starts on Thursday. The …

    Applications 13 Oct 16:45

  • Apple to lead fanbois 'Back to the Mac'

    Media invited to October 20 event

    Next Wednesday, October 20, Apple will host an invitation-only event on its Cupertino campus that is apparently intended to remind its iOS-obsessed fan base that, yes, it still makes personal computers. Jobs & Co. sent out invitations this Wednesday to a media soirée entitled "Back to the Mac" — and in true Jobsian fashion, …

    PCs & Chips 13 Oct 17:42

  • Broadcom to acquire dual-mode 4G chip designer

    Hedges bets with both WiMAX and LTE support

    Communications-chip heavyweight Broadcom announced Wednesday that it will acquire Beceem Communications, a fabless designer of dual-mode 4G wireless chips that support both the rising LTE and fading WiMAX standards. "The acquisition of Beceem accelerates Broadcom's time-to-market in 4G," Broadcom's announcement of the deal …

    Mobile 13 Oct 18:28

  • Microsoft's Bing to slurp Facebook users' data and likes

    Scrappy upstart teams with incumbent

    Microsoft and Facebook are partnering on Bing, folding in information from 500 million Facebookers into Microsoft's search engine — but claiming they'll respect your privacy. The companies rolled out a feature Wednesday that will search through your Facebook contacts' Likes and fire recommendations into Bing trawled from your …

    Music and Media 13 Oct 21:47

  • Appro overclocks HF1 server for hedge funds

    A truly hot 4.4GHz Xeon box

    Flash-crashing Wall Street is so much more fun now than in the old days, when you had to cause an actual panic over a number of days to cause a crash. And if you're a hedge fund that wants to do super-fast trades to get ahead of the about-to-crash competition, Appro International has just the server for you. It's called the …

    HPC 13 Oct 22:09

  • PC shipments sag below Q3 targets

    Apple now number three in the US

    The global PC business is slowing down a bit faster than the prognosticators at IDC expected, thanks to sheepish consumers who are too spooked to let go of their cash. In the quarter that ended in September, IDC reckons that global PC shipments rose by 11 per cent to 89.7 million units. That was nearly three points lower …

    Business 13 Oct 22:17

  • FCC bids to curb 'bill shock and mystery fees'

    'Wireless subs, we've got your back'

    On Thursday, the US Federal Communications Commission will detail a set of proposed rules that will require wireless carriers to notify users when their monthly voice and data plans are nearing their limit. "Consumers must know that the FCC's got their back," Commission chairman Julius Genachowski said in a Wednesday speech at …

    Wireless 13 Oct 23:02