5th November 2010 Archive

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Cellphone tower data protected by US Constitution

Seachange ruling

A federal judge has ruled that subscriber data captured from cellphone towers is protected by the US Constitution's Fourth Amendment guarantee against illegal searches and seizures. The decision is part of a sea change from half a decade worth of previous rulings, in which police weren't required to obtain search warrants based …

Law 5 Nov 2010, 02:26
Ex-Red Hatters eye Larry's MySQL wobblers

Pg West 2010 Lessons from Sun: back to PostgreSQL

EnterpriseDB is changing its tune, hoping to snag defectors from MySQL as well as Oracle's proprietary database. The PostgreSQL-based company told The Reg that it's now trying to engage more with the PostgreSQL community by sponsoring events like this week's Pg West 2010 in San Francisco, where it can evangelize the platform …

Applications 5 Nov 2010, 02:46
Sinister scams 'sextort' social networkers

Mass nude pic trap

A rash of cases in which men use their hacking skills to extort sexually explicit images from women and girls is bringing new attention to the risks of storing sensitive data on social networks and internet-connected devices. The most recent “sextortion” plot to be detailed in a court of law is that of George Samuel Bronk, a 23 …

Security 5 Nov 2010, 04:00
Why you can't move a mainframe with a cloud

Comment Time to get hybrid

Will cloud computing finally wear the mainframe market down like thousands of years of harsh weather? Anyone selling a server or a cloud against a mainframe will surely say "yes" to that question. Cloud computing is another style of utility computing, but it clusters cheapo servers together instead of using a large monolithic …

HPC 5 Nov 2010, 05:00
Devil's dollars drive open source

Open...and Shut Irony, thy name is 'proprietary'

Salesforce is reported to be in the market for DimDim, an open-source provider of web conferencing software. For those about to erupt into anguish over the prospects of another open-source company falling into the grip of a proprietary software company, save the tears. After all, it is one of the oft-ignored ironies of open- …

Software 5 Nov 2010, 05:00
Gates matters more than Jobs, says Forbes

Larry Ellison? He doesn't matter at all

Bill Gates is more powerful than Steve Jobs. Osama bin Laden still has a bit more clout than Julian Assange. And Larry Ellison doesn't matter at all. "There are 6.8 billion people on the planet. Here are the 68 who matter," is how Forbes introduces its latest exercise in list-making fun and games: "The World's Most Powerful …

Bootnotes 5 Nov 2010, 06:00
Extreme Networks boosts stackable GigE switches

Stack 'em up

There's another stackable switch vendor that wants you to consider its new top-of-rack products as you do your network buildout this year and next. Extreme Networks has rolled out its Summit X460, a midrange switch that can be stacked in racks, used as a edge switch with Power over Ethernet (PoE) to drive VoIP phones and other …

Data Networking 5 Nov 2010, 07:00
Teufel System 8 THX Ultra 2 home cinema speakers

Review Now, where to put that 500W sub..?

German speaker folk Teufel are promoting the System 8 as the world's smallest system to have received THX Ultra2 certification. But don't get the idea that this is a discreet system. It's a monolithic stack of boxes that will demand attention in any room that's much smaller than an auditorium, including a subwoofer that looks as …

reghardware 5 Nov 2010, 08:00
Carphone shares jump on Best Buy news

Smartphones push earnings as CPW raises targets

Carphone Warehouse shares are up almost nine per cent in early trading on news that the mobe reseller is raising targets after a strong first six months trading. CPW said smartphones and interest in the "Connected World" helped increase sales in the first six months. The company expects earnings per share of between 13.5 and …

Financial News 5 Nov 2010, 09:22
Cloudfather withdraws after Isilon blows it

High price repels EMC

The Wall Street Journal reports that EMC has lost interest in buying scale-out filer supplier Isilon. Isilon makes clustered filters that are used in movie post-production work and other applications with a great number of files needing multiple accesses. This is a growing application area unsuited to EMC's Celerra filer. It …

Storage 5 Nov 2010, 09:52
IE bug fix not included in light Patch Tuesday

Only one 'critical' patch – for Office for Windows

Microsoft is planning a light Patch Tuesday for November with just three bulletins that collectively address a total of 11 security vulnerabilities. The trio cover flaws in Office (and Powerpoint) for Windows, Office for Mac 2011 and Forefront Unified Access Gateway. The Office for Windows patch is rated critical while the …

Security 5 Nov 2010, 10:04
Nominet forgets what the first .uk domain name was

It was 25 years ago, but that's all we know

Twenty-five years ago somebody registered the first .uk domain name, and now Nominet, the .uk registry manager, wants to know what that domain was. Speaking at the organisation's annual registrars' meeting at the Science Museum in London on Thursday, Nominet director of marketing Phil Kingsland appealed for information about …

Broadband 5 Nov 2010, 10:09
North Korean PDA hits shelves

20th Century arrives north of border

North Koreans can now listen to music, read e-books and watch videos on the second PDA to be available in local shops, assuming they can afford the $140 price tag. Nuclear bombs, intercontinental missiles and fusion reactors: it seems there's no limit to North Korean ingenuity, and now the country even has its own Personal …

Mobile 5 Nov 2010, 10:57
Reg Hardware Tabulates Tablets

Tablet Guide Current models spec'd and priced

You asked for it, so you got it. Here is the first installment of Reg Hardware's Guide to Tablets, giving a run down of currently - or almost so - available models, with all the key specs and pricing. We've presented the table as a PDF you can download, but here's a sample: We'll be updating the table as new tablets are …

reghardware
Assange could claim Swiss asylum

Info pimpernel goes cuckoo?

Transparency campaigner Julian Assange may seek political asylum in notorious Alpine secrecy stronghold Switzerland, he has claimed. Apparently without irony, the Wikileaks founder told a Swiss TV news programme he is mulling throwing himself on the mercy of the hush-hush cash stash. "That is a real possibility," he said. "I' …

Law 5 Nov 2010, 11:16
Hackers v defenders in pan-Euro cyber security exercise

Critical online service stress tested by simulated assault

Early results from the first European cybersecurity exercise have highlighted the need to improve communication and improve procedures to better combat future cyber attacks. Cyber Europe 2010 brought together 150 experts from 70 public bodies in 22 countries around Europe to deal with 320 simulated cyber-security incidents. …

Security 5 Nov 2010, 11:34
Apple signs Xserve death warrant

Serve from a Mac instead, says Mac maker

Apple is canning its Xserve family of rack servers. In a terse note posted on the Mac maker's website, the company that the platform will no longer be available to buy after 31 January 2011. The move doesn't pave the way for a revamped product just after that date. "Apple will not be developing a future versions of Xserve," …

reghardware 5 Nov 2010, 11:35
BOFH: You just can't go around killing people

Episode 15 What do you mean why? 'Cause you can't

Bot Wars IV - The Screenplay [Black Screen] Several screens of multi-coloured static flash by before the words: INITIAL TESTS INDICATE UNIT OK appear in large tasteless block letters on the screen. Another burst of static crowds the screen before a Camera image appears with the top half of the PFY’s upside-down face …

BOFH 5 Nov 2010, 12:00
007 Blood Stone

Review A view to a thrill?

According to Matt Damon, there's very little to admire about James Bond, whom he once described as “an imperialist, misogynist sociopath who goes around bedding women and swilling Martinis and killing people". It's rude to point Of course, were James Bond real and able to reply, he'd probably do so by licking Martini from …

reghardware 5 Nov 2010, 12:00
ConDems launch Tech Blueprint

Reviews all round

The Patent Office (better known as the IPO) has launched a six month review of intellectual property issues in the UK. It's part of a larger 'Blueprint for Technology' (pdf) from the Department for Business and Skills. The Blueprint takes on board the proposals made in James Dyson's report for the Conservatives published just …

Government 5 Nov 2010, 12:01
Plastic plod used police database to find dates

Well, Soulmates is quite expensive

A female community support officer has pleaded guilty to 11 charges of obtaining personal information illegally after admitting using the Police National Computer to check out potential boyfriends. Lucy Bevan, 25, of Longbenton, was fined £1,100 for the offences. She has since resigned from the police force. Magistrates heard …

Law 5 Nov 2010, 12:06
PC World, Currys open online app stores

Brought to netbook

Dixons' Currys and PC World apps stores have openned for business to provide netbook owners with a selection of software suitable for the machines' 1024 x 600 machines. The stores are powered by Intel's AppUp app store, which went live in the US in September. At the time, Dixons said it would be re-badging the shop in Britain …

reghardware 5 Nov 2010, 12:15
PARIS joins the 17-mile-high club

Aerial mission photos for your viewing pleasure

Well, beloved readers, it's almost time to put PARIS to bed, but before the cocoa and slippers we'd like to share a few aerial photos from our audacious, and ultimately triumphant, space plane project. Those of you who've been following from the start (and if you haven't, check previous PARIS posts for details) will recall …

SPB 5 Nov 2010, 12:30
Microsoft gives F# an Apache 2.0 boost with code drop

Visual Studio programming language now (slightly more) freed up

Microsoft’s shy and retiring approach to its respected F# language has disappointed some developers, but yesterday it got a gentle bump in the right direction with the company announcing a code drop under the Apache 2.0 licence. The software vendor slotted its new F# language into Visual Studio 2010 in March this year. Now …

Developer 5 Nov 2010, 12:30
HP pockets half of all Scottish development cash

£7m to create 721 jobs

Figures from Scotland's Regional Selective Assistance fund show that ink giant HP snaffled almost half the total cash given out in the last quarter. Between July and September, Scottish Enterprise via RSA gave out £14.8m. HP Enterprise Services UK Ltd got £7m of this to create 721 jobs in Erskine. In total, the £14.8m grants …

Channel Register 5 Nov 2010, 12:32
Ofcom explains the not in the not-spot

It's money, not NIMBYs, that stops us calling

Ofcom has been taking a long, hard look at why some areas of the country don't have mobile coverage, and reached the shock conclusion that it's 'cos no one lives there. Not that the regulator jumped straight to such a decision. First it commissioned a 61-page report from PA (pdf) to examine the issues around not-spots, and …

Mobile 5 Nov 2010, 12:37
US smartphones – Once you’ve had Android there’s no going back

Opinion Looking to the future on the verge of 4G

Most people that we meet who are not in technology, wonder at how we keep up with the speed at which technology changes. But technology – and technology markets in particular – are sometimes glacial in the speed of change. Back in around 2002, when we first talked about 3G licences, and ooh-ed and ahh-ed at how much money they …

Mobile 5 Nov 2010, 13:00
Adobe Flash foils MacBook Air battery life

Uninstall Flash, get two more hours' runtime

Why isn't Apple integrating Adobe's Flash plug-in into the version of Mac OS X pre-loaded on the new MacBook Airs? Maybe not for the resulting battery life boost, but it's as good a reason as any. There certainly is an increase. Website Ars Technica tried out the 13.3in Air with Flash enabled - it's easy enough to download the …

reghardware 5 Nov 2010, 13:00
WD and Xyratex discuss future tech roadmap for disk drives

Heat-assisted magnetic recording product could arrive by 2014

It seems the disk drive industry has decided which future technology to use and in which order, judging by recent Western Digital and Xyratex discussions with investment analysts. The current perpendicular magnetic recording technology (PMR) is running out of steam as continued size reductions in the magnetised bit area lead …

Storage 5 Nov 2010, 13:18
Windows 7 'I'm a PC' man quits Microsoft

'I'm a PC and I'm pissing off'

Microsoft’s “I’m a PC” bloke is reportedly leaving the software maker. According to an email, seen by SeattlePI.com, Sean Siler has quit the company for personal reasons, after five years of service. “I have a lot of memories from my time at Microsoft, but the ‘I'm a PC’ commercial is the highlight. I really feel proud that I …

Operating Systems 5 Nov 2010, 13:23
ZeuS miscreants offer up honeypot

Cybercrooks turn the table on researchers with fake interface

Cybercrooks are attempting to turn the tables on security researchers by setting up fake interfaces on their botnets in a bid to confuse and confound analysis. The fake honeypot tactic was brought into play by a group using a variant of the infamous Zeus crimeware toolkit. The unknown miscreants targeted quarterly federal …

Security 5 Nov 2010, 13:31
Brian Blessed booms for TomTom

'Beardy old me'

Brian Blessed is an official voice on Tom Tom satnav devices as of today. You can blame his inclusion the 25,000 people who joined a Facebook Campaign calling for the "shouty" actor voice to deliver a voiceover for TomTom. Driving instructions include such "gems" as: "Toll Charge. Give them the exact money and tell them to …

reghardware 5 Nov 2010, 13:35
$8.9m poker prize up for grabs - humans only please

Why can't a bot play at this level?

The biggest deal in the poker calendar kicks off tomorrow, but only humans will be allowed to sit in on the final table of the World Series of Poker's main event. This Las Vegas knock-out tournament whittled 7,319 entrants down to nine back in July, and after a four-month wait to build media interest in the mainly no-name …

Applications 5 Nov 2010, 13:47
Pentax X90 superzoom bridge camera

Review Telescopic sights

If you're shopping around for a compact bridge camera, then the Pentax X90 shouldn’t be overlooked. The company entered the superzoom bridge camera market comparatively late with the X70, and the X90 revamp retains the design and a similar range of features. These include the 12.1Mp CCD sensor with sensor-shift image …

reghardware 5 Nov 2010, 14:00
'Hippy' energy kingpin's electric Noddy-car in epic FAIL

Dale Vince bummed out in Clarkson bitchslap mishap

An electric concept car commissioned by soi-disant "hippie" energy-trading biz lord Dale Vince specifically to “blow the socks off Jeremy Clarkson and smash the stereotype of electric cars” has unfortunately done neither, as on its first public outing the "Nemesis" abruptly ground to a halt in busy traffic and had to be pushed …

Science 5 Nov 2010, 14:04
BBC iPlayer tips up at BlackBerry App store

Media morph

BBC has released a free iPlayer app for the BlackBerry - it works with Storm 2, Bold 9700 and Torch 9800 smartphones. In other words, there are a lot of BlackBerrys it doesn't work with. The BlackBerry is the phone of choice for the email-munching big company exec. But as a media consumption, internet-goggling device? Nah! …

reghardware 5 Nov 2010, 14:19
Scarlett Johansson unleashes voracious sexuality in steamy alien film

Hollywood star gets Under the Skin

Delightful news reaches us that the svelte and rather lovely Scarlett Johansson will be starring as a “ruthless alien seductress” in an upcoming sci-fi film entitled Under the Skin. Jonathan Glazer, the writer and director of the excellent Sexy Beast, is fronting FilmNation’s British production, according to The Hollywood …

Bootnotes 5 Nov 2010, 14:42
Shops drop cost of CoD: Black Ops

Duty lowered in arms race

With gamers eager for next week's release of Call of Duty: Black Ops, the stores have begun to announce eye-catching deals. HMV appear to have the cheapest offer. Trade in EA's Medal of Honour and get the game for just £8. With Black Ops' official launch price £55, that's a whopping £47 discount. The deal will only run from 9 …

reghardware 5 Nov 2010, 15:10
Dell dumps RIM, saves fortune

Staff clear pockets for porky Venue Pro sets

Dell reckons it will cut costs by a quarter when staff dump 25,000 BlackBerrys for its own Windows Phone 7 handsets, and is encouraging others to do the same. The plan starts next week, and will see 25,000 staff getting Dell handsets - initially the Venue Pro which is the largest of the Windows Phone 7 handsets, but the only …

Mobile 5 Nov 2010, 15:14
Reg Hardware Reviews Digest

The weekly round-up

In the past seven days, Reg Hardware has looked at many products from the worlds of consumer electronics, mobile communications, photography and gaming. If you missed anything, here are those products again. Lifestyle iLuv iMM747 iPad speaker dock Desktop audio Philips Streamium MCi900 DVD and Wi-Fi Hi-Fi …

Hardware 5 Nov 2010, 15:50
US Army's new $0.5bn British airship will fly 'mid-next summer'

Still puny vs '30s zeppelins - Reg units analysis

The US Army's bold scheme to build a mighty optionally-crewed airship with the aid of British designers is going well, according to the ship's builders. American defence-industrial mammoth Northrop, contracted to deliver the Long Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) ship to the US Army Space and Missile Defence Command …

Science 5 Nov 2010, 16:05
Shuttle Discovery further delayed by leaky boil-off umbilical

Veteran ship wreathed in explosive gas

NASA's several-times-delayed bid to launch space shuttle Discovery on its final planned mission - a trip delivering supplies and parts to the International Space Station - has been scrubbed again following a "significant" leak in a hydrogen boil-off safety flare stack pipe. The factory which made this was shutting down with …

Science 5 Nov 2010, 16:21
Clearwire cuts 15 per cent of staff

Praying for profits

Clearwire is laying off staff as it tries to eke out its funds until it starts making money. Clearwire launched its New York service this week, apparently with the last of its reserves as the company is now pulling back on advertising and retail expansion, and will be laying off 15 per cent of it near-on 3,000 staff to save …

Broadband 5 Nov 2010, 16:41
Two 21-year-old ZBot mule suspects cuffed in Wisconsin

Pair were both on the FBI list

US authorities have captured a further two ZeuS-malware money mule suspects. Dorin Codreanu and Lilian Adam, both 21-year-old natives of Moldova, were captured in Wisconsin. The arrest ends a month-long man hunt for the pair, named by the FBI on 30 September as among 37 suspects alleged to have set up bank accounts to receive …

Security 5 Nov 2010, 16:50
iTunes App Store sprouts 'Hall of Fame'

Criteria for inclusion? Unknown

Apple has added a new section to its iOS-centric iTunes App Store: a Hall of Fame. Exactly how apps are selected for inclusion in the HoF hasn't been made clear, though MacStories got their hands on an Apple promo for the new section which says: "More than two years since launch, we're many apps wiser. Presenting the very best …

Mobile 5 Nov 2010, 17:16
Google snips Facebook's Gmail line

'You want our data? We get yours'

Google has fired the latest salvo in its ongoing war with Facebook over who gets to know who your friends are, updating its terms of service so that Facebook can't access Gmail's Contacts API unless Zuckerberg and company offer a similar API. Mountain View has already started to cut Facebook's access to the Google API, according …

Media 5 Nov 2010, 18:56
Boffins devise early-warning bot spotter

Conficker's Achilles Heel

Researchers have devised a way to easily detect internet names generated by so-called domain-fluxing botnets, a method that could provide a first-alarm system of sorts that alerts admins of infections on their networks. Botnets including Conficker, Kraken and Torpig use domain fluxing to make it harder for security researchers …

Security 5 Nov 2010, 20:13
US adds 151,000 October jobs

IT on the up

Two somewhat good pieces of economic news might have helped the Obama Administration during election week had they come out before Black Red Tuesday rather than after it. The first was the $600bn quantitative easing (QE2) by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernacke announced the day after the election and the second was today's …

Financial News 5 Nov 2010, 20:17
Disguised impostor clears international flight

'Unbelievable case of concealment'

Canadian authorities are investigating an Asian man in his early 20's who disguised himself as an “elderly caucasian male” and was en route from Hong Kong to Vancouver before being discovered as an impostor. “The passenger in question was observed at the beginning of the flight to be an elderly Caucasian male who appeared to …

Security 5 Nov 2010, 21:35
Google in shock 'we serve ads' claim

Ad giant slaps ad label on search ads

Google has re-labeled its ads. It now calls them ads. On English language Google domains, the company's search ads are no longer labeled as "sponsored links," as they have been for roughly a decade. Instead, Google has made the shocking decision to call them what they are: Google ad labeled as an ad According to the …

Media 5 Nov 2010, 21:40