22nd October 2010 Archive
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Google slips $3.1bn through 'Double Irish' tax loophole
Top o' the Bermuda mornin'
Google has saved $3.1bn in taxes since 2007 by shuttling its foreign profits through Ireland and the Netherlands, then on to a haven in Bermuda, according to the company's regulatory filings. As reported by Bloomberg Businessweek, Google uses techniques known as "Double Irish" and "Dutch Sandwich" to lower its foreign tax rate …
Financial News 22 Oct 2010, 00:01
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Citrix puffs profits 64% with cloudy wares
There's a XenApp for that
Citrix revenues rose by 17.8 per cent, to $472.2m in the third quarter, while net income climbed 64.3 per cent, to $81.5m. The company is bundling just about every virtual PC, server, and application product that it has into the XenDesktop 4 Swiss army knife while pushing upgrades from XenApp at a discounted price, and the …
Financial News 22 Oct 2010, 03:09
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Microsoft cuts loose Iron languages
Community coders pump life raft
Microsoft has officially ended a half-decade flirtation with building its own .NETized scripting languages, and it lost a languages guru to Google in the process. The company has handed code and project responsibility for IronRuby and IronPython to "the community," six years after it started the projects and then stuck them in …
Developer 22 Oct 2010, 03:19
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One-third of iPad fanbois don't download apps
Updated Not that it matters a whit
One-third of iPad owners have never downloaded a single app, either paid or free. "Almost two-thirds of iPad owners have already downloaded a paid app," concludes The Nielsen Company's survey of over 5,000 "connected device" owners entitled "The Increasingly Connected Consumer: Connected Devices" (PDF). The way we see it, …
Mobile 22 Oct 2010, 03:32
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TVonics DTR-HD500 Freeview HD DVR
Review Designer digital video recording
The design is bonkers, of course. TVonics has never favoured the box-like looks preferred by its rivals, of course, but the DTR-HD500, with its oval, upward sloping front-meets-top, owes more to the likes of the Sony PlayStation 3 than other DVRs. TVonics' DTR-HD500: has to go on top That said, even the PS3 can be placed on …
reghardware 22 Oct 2010, 07:00
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Nokia locks* out Symbian staffers
Exclusive Early baths ahead of job cuts
Nokia staff working on Symbian development in Cambridge were sent home yesterday, while the London crowd sloped off early after being told that 300 will lose their jobs. Nokia's decision to focus on Qt as a development environment has already been felt in Nokia's Symbian team. With around 300 up for redundancy and the …
Mobile 22 Oct 2010, 09:07
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Just how special are Power Users?
Workshop Standard kit will do them just fine
Power users are often at the cutting edge of an organisation’s revenue generation, product development, operational excellence or strategic core, and as such they require excellent IT systems to support their role. In years gone by, the needs of these specialist workers often necessitated that their PCs be customised and …
Server Management 22 Oct 2010, 09:29
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Socitm: IT crucial in coping with cuts
Shock suggestion that IT managers should drive reforms
The public sector IT professionals' association (Socitm) has said the sharp cuts in public spending will give IT a stronger role in public services Socitm has released a statement following the publication of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), which cut central government funds by an average of 19 per cent and subsidies …
Government 22 Oct 2010, 09:39
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S African rhino rustlers tackled using satellite horn implants
Lojacker parkies resist Chinese jig-jig peddlers
Rhinos in South Africa have been fitted with tracker bugs implanted in their horns, in an attempt by game wardens to frustrate poachers. Powdered rhino horn is much in demand in the Far East, where it is considered an aid to a gentleman's boudoir prowess. The BBC reports that five rhinos residing in the Mafikeng Game Reserve …
Security 22 Oct 2010, 09:55
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Cinema iPhone pirate escapes jail in test case appeal
'Looks bad for us, but it's not', say pirate-botherers
A Harrow man who was thrown in jail for six months for fraudulently filming Hollywood films at a Vue cinema saw his sentence successfully quashed on appeal to a 12-month community order. Emmanuel Nimley, 22, of Lincoln Road in Harrow, North West London, had his case heard at the Criminal Court of Appeal on Wednesday (20 …
Crime 22 Oct 2010, 10:12
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Hands on with the new Apple MacBook Air
Preview Netbook plus?
Let's get the hard part out of the way at the start. The new MacBook Air isn't a cheap computer, and was never going to be. If you're the sort to throw a fit because you can by a 15in octo-core über machine for half the 850 quid Apple wants for the even most basic, smallest Air, stop reading now. Let me assure you, your …
reghardware 22 Oct 2010, 10:18
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InPhase holo-storage firm in deathmarch tug o' war
Investors tussle over fire-sale plans
The two venture capital owners of failed holographic storage developer InPhase are at war. One wants to auction all the company's remaining assets, while the other thinks it can do a phoenix and rise from the ashes. Stuck on you: Signal Lake MD Bart Stuck won't give up on InPhase The Longmont TImes reports that two VC …
Storage 22 Oct 2010, 10:39
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HP whips out iPad challenger Windows 7 fondle-slab
Stylus means only strong wrists can handle this tool
HP has finally launched the slate it demonstrated in January, bringing the weight of Windows 7 to the iPad fight. Not that Microsoft's OS was a certainty; since HP's slate appeared on stage with Steve Ballmer in January the company has acquired Palm, sparking much debate about how well Palm's WebOS would suit the demo'd …
Hardware 22 Oct 2010, 10:50
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Intrepid Vulture 1 spaceplane pilot arrives at PARIS project
Short 'naut is not short of the Right Stuff
The Paper Aircraft Released Into Space team were on hand this morning to greet our Vulture 1 pilot as he jetted into Spain ahead of this weekend's historic aerospace event. We're obliged to Cade Metz of El Reg's San Francisco tentacle for seeing our man safely onto the plane, and we're delighted to report that he arrived none …
PARIS 22 Oct 2010, 10:58
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Nokia ends cruel and unusual 'Symbian programming' practices
There's blood on the roadmap ...
Nokia has bowed to international pressure and agreed to end the cruel and unusual practice of programming natively for the Symbian OS. It still wants developers to target Symbian, but using the more humane Qt APIs instead. Nokia has also torn up the OS roadmap, and will speed up the delivery of new functionality to users in …
Operating Systems 22 Oct 2010, 11:20
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NHS: Big tech might be OK for patient power
'No decision about me, without me'. Unless I'm unhinged
The Department of Health has released its consultations on patient rights and the future of IT. Does this mean no more security fails, privacy breaches and wastage ahead? The consultations are well-intentioned and on the right track, but according to one-time contender for the Tory leadership, MP David Davis, the NHS track …
Government 22 Oct 2010, 11:33
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Facebook to encrypt user IDs to block 'inadvertent sharing'
Nobody pimps our bitches but us
Facebook has introduced plans to encrypt user IDs in a move seemingly designed to placate critics following recent privacy kerfuffles. The social network prohibits the sharing of user IDs with data brokers in its privacy policies. However, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that personally identifiable …
Enterprise Security 22 Oct 2010, 11:41
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Fallout: New Vegas
Review Has the King left the building?
Ever wanted to tangle with mutated creatures - and I'm not talking about the strippers - in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas? The new Fallout installment now comes with added factions and pimped-out weapons, allowing you to wander the Mojave Desert in style before taking your rightful title as King of New Vegas. Got a gun? Join …
reghardware 22 Oct 2010, 12:00
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Facebook, chums splash cash at social network wannabes
Jump onto my Web-2.0 love train ... bitch
Facebook, Zynga and Amazon.com formed a pact with venture capital outfit Kleiner Perkins and a brace of media outlets yesterday, in a $250m effort to fund social media startups. The group, which also includes Comcast, Liberty Media and investment bank Allen & Co, has been dubbed “sFund”. It will cough up cash, legal help and …
Financial News 22 Oct 2010, 12:01
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Just Mobile AluPen metal iPad stylus
Txt Take Tap and type - even when you're gloved up for winter
Product reviews in 140 characters. Just Mobile AluPen Pictures Want our Txt Take on your gadget? Just send it in to Reg Hardware. Details here.
reghardware 22 Oct 2010, 12:16
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Chinese regime opens Google Earth rival
Do be evil, if necessary
China's State Bureau for Surveying and Mapping (SBSM) has launched a 3D web-based site of satellite images of many Chinese cities. The bureau said the images have been collected over the last four years and will be updated every six months. The project has been dubbed Map World. The SBSM said that the site was still in …
Data Networking 22 Oct 2010, 12:17
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Mobe operators foresee SIM-based contactless payment
World obstinately fails to revolve around them, though
Operator alliance GSMA has teamed up with the European Payments Council to work out how mobile payments will work, reaching the shock conclusion that operators are essential in banking. That conclusion emerges from the snappily-titled "Mobile Contactless Payments Service Management Roles Requirements and Specifications", which …
Mobile 22 Oct 2010, 12:27
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Microsoft sings Happy Birthday to Windows 7
Comment Dodgy Uncle Vista isn't coming. And Uncle XP is too busy
Today marks the first anniversary of Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system. Meanwhile, the OS that refuses to die – Windows XP – turns nine on Monday, 25 October. Unsurprisingly, Redmond wonks have been making lots of noise about Windows 7’s first birthday. In a celebratory email to the press yesterday, Microsoft declared …
Operating Systems 22 Oct 2010, 12:54
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Android con offers ex-Nokia staff discount
Symbian urchins patted on head
The organiser of Droidcon is offering a discount to Nokia's Symbian development staff at the gathering of London's Android developers. The event runs next Thursday and Friday in Islington, and attendance will set you back just shy of 200 quid. But if you're one of those affected by Nokia's change of direction then drop Dominic …
Operating Systems 22 Oct 2010, 13:30
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Our Moon is wet and welcoming, says excited NASA
Crater bottom pole-plunge probe's moist bonanza
The Moon has water in usable amounts in one of its south-polar craters, scientists have announced. The news means that manned Moonbases could potentially be much cheaper to operate than they would otherwise be. Results from NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) …
Space 22 Oct 2010, 13:47
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Seagate-Steve trash for Apple-Steve flash pash
In the cloud or the machine, there'll still be platters
The MacBook Air is not a pointer to a diskless notebook future, according to Seagate chairman and CEO Stephen Luczo. Luczo made this pronouncement while discussing Seagate's poor results with financial analysts. The headline first quarter results for Seagate's financial 2011 set the scene: revenue rose $34m to $2.7bn compared …
Storage 22 Oct 2010, 13:57
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XP? Thanks for the memories
Workshop Windows 7 Migration – is it time to move to 64-bit?
Windows XP has been a spectacular success for Microsoft. Many companies avoided moving to Vista as it was such a big change. Radically different hardware requirements and massive compatibility issues, coupled with a thorough overhaul of the user interface, intersected with the global economic meltdown. The end result was that …
Desktop Management 22 Oct 2010, 14:13
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US and UK gov cyber defences = big boys' trough-slurp
Firewall Obi-Wan says small firms will be locked out
Commitments by the UK government and others to improve cybersecurity by increased spending are more likely to benefit established security vendors with well-oiled lobbying machines than innovative start-ups, according to one of the pioneers of the industry segment. Nir Zuk, chief technology officer at Palo Alto Networks, …
Enterprise Security 22 Oct 2010, 14:15
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UK IT projects must pull up socks, says hefty maven
Public sector is 'swirling mass of unprioritised initiatives'
The UK coalition government will have to ensure fewer failed public sector IT projects in the future if it wants to avoid a public backlash, according to the former boss of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) Sir Peter Gershon. Speaking at the Association for Project Management conference in London last Thursday he said: " …
Government 22 Oct 2010, 14:24
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Three punts big-screen HTC Android phone
Desire HD, anyone?
Three has got its mitts on HTC's big-screen Android 2.2 smartphone, the Desire HD. The handset's star feature is its 4.3in, 480 x 800 capacitive touchscreen, but it also has an 8Mp autofocus camera on the back with a pair of LED flashes and a 720p HD video recording capability. It has a 1GHz CPU, but only 1.5GB of storage - …
reghardware 22 Oct 2010, 14:28
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QLogic CFO Biddiscombe moves up to CEO
Should prepare neck towel for chairman's breath, though
Storage adaptor firm QLogic will have a new CEO from 15 November onwards. Simon Biddiscombe, the current chief financial officer, has been appointed by QLGC's board of directors. Long-term QLogic boss H K Desai is moving upstairs to become executive chairman. He has been CEO for 15 years and is in his mid-sixties. We …
Blocks and Files 22 Oct 2010, 14:45
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Tesco touts Samsung Android tablet
Galaxy Tab worth 1058 Clubcard points, don't you know
Tesco has become the latest supplier to price up Samsung's Galaxy Tab, due to go on sale on 1 November. The grocer wants £529 for the 7in, Android 2.2-based tablet with 2.4GHz 802.11n Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth and GPS, the same price Apple wants for the 9.7in iPad with those same connectivity and navigation features. Both devices …
reghardware 22 Oct 2010, 14:48
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Femtocells outnumber proper mobe towers in US
Chumps rush to give operators free backhaul
America now has more femtocells than real cells, with 350,000 Americans now happily supplying free backhaul to their beloved network operators. That compares to 256,000 real base stations, according to the latest femtocell figures from Informa who expect US femtocells to hit half a million by next March as operators realise it …
Mobile 22 Oct 2010, 14:58
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Vulture 1 spaceplane launch countdown on hold
PARIS team struggle with weather, recalcitrant donkeys
The planned launch of PARIS has been knocked back until Sunday due to less than favourable weather. While rest of the team watches the skies for approaching rain, sparks Steve Daniels (callsign G6UIM) has been busy testing the GPS/APRS location system aboard Vulture 1, which is working a treat. Ditto the main payload radio …
PARIS 22 Oct 2010, 15:22
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Drug-addled scooter twock teen hit with bizarre crypto ban
Wiggy judge partly overruled: Facebook, IM OK'd
A 15-year-old Californian caught with a stolen scooter while high on drugs has been banned from using encryption - despite the lack of any computer crime element to his alleged offences. In fact, there was actually no computer involved in the commission of the crime at all. The teenager, who can't be named for legal reasons, …
Crime 22 Oct 2010, 15:30
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Obama consults Steve Jobs on making America great again
Draconian anti-flatulence laws expected
Barack Obama called on Steve Jobs yesterday to discuss the challenges facing the US economy. According to the AP, Obama's wish list included solutions to boosting America's competitiveness and crumbling education system. Energy independence and job creation were also on the agenda. No details have emerged on what pearls of …
Bootnotes 22 Oct 2010, 15:41
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Apple to sell 420,000 11.6in MacBook Airs this quarter
Analyst weighs up the new portable
Apple's 11.6in MacBook Air will be the most popular model of the company's new skinny laptop line-up, which, in toto, will amount to 17 per cent of Apple's Mac sales in the current quarter. So says one Mingchi Kuo, head of investment house Concord Securities research team, according to a report from Chinese-language paper …
reghardware 22 Oct 2010, 15:42
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Brussels smackdown for Spanish media'n'kit copy levy
Underlying notion fine, but collectors went hog-wild
The European Court has upheld the right of copyright businesses in the EU to ask for a 'private copying levy', but slapped down Spain for applying it indiscriminately. The Court was hearing a case brought by the Spanish music collecting society SGAE against a storage vendor called Padewan. Spain provides a case study in how to …
Law 22 Oct 2010, 16:14
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Is Steve Ballmer (finally) kicking ass at Microsoft?
Radio Reg Ozzie, Elop, Bach - jump or push time
To lose one business president might be regarded as a misfortune, but to lose two plus your chief software architect looks like rats jumping the ship. Or does it? Microsoft chief vision man Ray Ozzie is retiring from Microsoft after just five years. Ozzie was a big hire in 2005, and a year later, he was billed as the new Bill …
Microbite 22 Oct 2010, 16:21
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Apple bolts chastity belt on super svelte MacBook Air
Photos But let's go in anyway
Apple doesn't want you mucking about inside its new 11.6-inch MacBook Air. But once you get past its defences, you'll find that its SSD-on-a-card storage system is a snap to remove. Those are two of the conclusions reached by the parts and repair folks — and teardown fanatics — at iFixit, who bagged one of the svelte ultra- …
Music and Media 22 Oct 2010, 16:40
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Symbian Foundation faces closure
Confirms future under review
The Nokia-backed consortium fighting off Android and the iPhone is facing closure. Hit by a major member defection this month, the Symbian Foundation has asked its new executive director to close operations because it has insufficient funding to continue. This week, the Foundation had announced the sudden and immediate …
Mobile 22 Oct 2010, 16:53
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How to stop Apple and Google's great web lockdown
Open...and Shut HTML5 plus JavaScript, the new open source
Both Google and Apple are vying to win the "Most Open Platform" prize in the mobile computing beauty pageant, but neither deserves the blue ribbon. Both companies make serious compromises in order to retain control of their platforms. But the emerging HTML5 standard, with a heavy dose of JavaScript, may up-end both companies' …
Developer 22 Oct 2010, 18:00
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Gosling blows lid off Jobs Java nonsense
Java daddy deprecates Apple cult leader
Steve Jobs has apparently weighed into the debate over Apple's decision to deprecate Java on the Mac, and his terse explanation was promptly deprecated by Java founder James Gosling. According to MacRumors.com, a concerned Java developer emailed the Apple cult leader on Thursday to ask about Apple's plans for the platform, and …
Developer 22 Oct 2010, 20:13
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Google: Street View cars grabbed emails, urls, passwords
'Mortified' in Mountain View
Google has publicly acknowledged that the WiFi data collected by its world-roving Street View cars contained entire emails, URLs, and passwords. On Friday afternoon, with a blog post, senior vice president of engineering Alan Eustace also said – yet again – that most of the data is "fragmentary," and that the company intends …
ID 22 Oct 2010, 22:06
