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26th November 2010 Archive

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  • WTF is... up with e-book pricing?

    Price rises coming

    Electronic books are a topic that never fails to generate comment on Reg Hardware – most often along the lines of, 'why are they so expensive?' With the launch of Amazon's Kindle in the UK, many book buyers hoped that e-books would become cheaper. Together with the falling price of readers, and Amazon trumpeting large e-book …

    reghardware 26 Nov 07:00

  • Choosing the right path for desktop virtualisation

    Live Now! Toss a coin or join us?

    At 11:00 GMT, our studio has a couple of experts figuring out which way to go with desktop virtualisation. The Register's own Tim Phillips is fronting the live show and he's joined by Tony Lock from our chums Freeform Dynamics and join Ian Moulster from Microsoft. They'll be exploring assorted desktop virtualisation methods …

    Tech Panel 26 Nov 08:09

  • Gamers demand CoD: Black Ops money back

    PS3 version not up to snuff, it's claimed

    Growing numbers of groaning gamers have signed an online petition to demand a full refund for the PS3 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops. Despite the fact that Sony's console is able to outperform Microsoft's Xbox 360, the PS3 version of Black Ops allegedly comprises "sub-par graphics, buggy software and less [sic] features" …

    reghardware 26 Nov 09:48

  • Stuxnet code leak to cause CYBER-APOCALYPSE NOW!

    Get a grip, Sky News

    Source code for the sophisticated Stuxnet worm has reportedly made it onto underground forums where it is been offered up for sale at some unspecified price. This not entirely unexpected development, first reported by Sky News, has prompted the satellite TV channel to get for broke with a loosely substantiated story …

    Crime 26 Nov 10:11

  • Brussels talks clouds and privacy

    Steely Neelie warns on security

    Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, warned yesterday that moves to cloud computing must not endanger citizens' rights to privacy and proper data protection. Neelie Kroes: Cloud companies need EC's "help" to "know exactly what is allowed and what is not". Kroes told the Université Paris-Dauphine that …

    Servers 26 Nov 10:13

  • Regional accent read-outs coming to satnavs

    Rind and rind the rindabite

    Drivers may soon find their satnav voice change accent as they move between different parts of the country. Sorry, that's, "droivers miy soon foind thar setnev vices chainge exent as thu moove bitween diff'rent paaarts o' the cunchree, a'raight?" Mio Navman is considering addings software that will change the dialect of the …

    reghardware 26 Nov 10:15

  • EU Parliament backs ACTA with few reservations

    Still need more clarity though

    The European Parliament has welcomed a controversial international intellectual property treaty as a "step in the right direction" but has reiterated calls for clarity on the impact of the law on existing EU rights. The Parliament rejected the chance to adopt a much more critical stance of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade …

    Music and Media 26 Nov 10:27

  • That wasn't so bad

    Project management Two projects that got it right

    The success of every project depends on identifying and managing risk factors. These two case studies illustrate how broad and specific risks can affect your project’s progress. New year, new school at Culcheth The project to rebuild Culcheth High School, near Warrington, took place between 2008 and 2010 under the Building …

    Project Management 26 Nov 10:51

  • Dutch twaddle-prof lambasts Google Scholar

    Not very scholarly to rank academic articles by popularity...

    A Dutch prof says that search engines - in particular Google's academic-paper search function, Google Scholar - have become "significant co-producers of academic knowledge", and that this is a Bad Thing because nobody knows how they work. "Automated search systems developed by commercial Internet giants like Google tap into …

    Applications 26 Nov 10:51

  • Monarchist marks fall for faux royal wedding ticket site

    Now that's what I call a commemorative mug

    A benign social engineering experiment has proved how easy it would be to make thousands out of gullible monarchists anxious for a chance to attend next April's royal wedding. A hoax website selling "Golden Tickets" to the social event of the millennium attracted more than 160 visitors - all willing to pay £250 a head for the …

    Crime 26 Nov 10:59

  • Reg Hardware Reader Awards 2010

    Golden Vutures and Rusty Dodos Name names

    A friendly reminder, folks: we'll be closing the nominations process for the Reg Hardware Reader Awards 2010 next week, so head on over to the awards suggestion page and tell us which products you loved this year - and which you hated. Right now, we're looking for your nominations for our shortlist, on which you'll be able to …

    reghardware 26 Nov 11:10

  • Ofcom slaps down ham botherer

    Drive-by signal jammer closed down

    A 63-year-old man from Hull has pleaded guilty to driving by the homes of radio hams purely for the joy of interfering with their hobby. In a case brought by Ofcom, Clive McMurray appeared in Hull Crown Court and admitted operating a radio transmitter without a licence. He was given a four-month sentence suspended for 18 …

    Wireless 26 Nov 11:17

  • YouTube shakes hands with French artists

    Signs content deal with three royalty collectors

    Google’s YouTube inked a deal with three French royalty-collecting outfits yesterday. Under the agreement Google will pony up cash to screenwriters, directors and other artists represented by the SCAM, SACD and ADAGP agencies in France. Financial terms of the deal, which will be backdated to YouTube’s arrival in the French …

    Music and Media 26 Nov 11:24

  • BOFH: Pain fear games

    Episode 18 It's an austere year ahead - let's get festive

    “I don’t understand” the PFY says “We’re not invited to any parties?” “Apparently not. The rest of the department are, but this is one Christmas you’ll not be visiting any of the other departments!” “But we always go to departmental Christmas functions!” the PFY protests “We get things going and keep the momentum up. We get …

    BOFH 26 Nov 12:00

  • Hands up at the desktop virtualisation checkpoint

    Tech Panel Let us grill you in our annual Reg reader survey

    We know from workshops and surveys that many of you are considering what to do with your desktops at the moment. Having given Vista a miss and/or put the usual upgrade cycle on hold for a while due to economic pressure, things have got a bit behind on the modernisation front. That’s not to say that desktop estates are …

    Tech Panel 26 Nov 12:04

  • Gamble to win and lose... and win

    Taking cash from bookies: Part II

    Jolted out of my savings inertia by the paltry 0.75 per cent I was getting on my Alliance and Leicester ISA, I decided to experiment with another tax efficient investment vehicle – gambling. To be more accurate, the practice I am writing about is not strictly gambling but rather "sports arbitrage" - the technique of betting on …

    Music and Media 26 Nov 12:29

  • What's the frequency, Kenneth?

    Reg quiz El Reg pits radioheads against each other in new compo

    Homes and offices are awash with electromagnetic radiation these days, right across the dial, but do you know what frequencies the gadgets on your desk - and in your home - are spewing out? It's been a year or two since we tested your knowledge of radio. Last time we asked you to take a look at some street furniture and decide …

    Wireless 26 Nov 12:30

  • Hacked Twitter spreads false Tsunami warning

    Indonesian gov advisor's account used for badness

    Tiresome miscreants broke into the Twitter account of an Indonesian government advisor on Thursday to spread false warnings of an impending Tsunami. Andi Arief, the Indonesian president disaster management advisor, has posted genuine warnings about earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions hitting the Asian country over …

    ID 26 Nov 12:30

  • Secunia recovers from DNS redirection hack

    Serial scamp strikes again

    Security notification firm Secunia has confirmed that a DNS redirection hack was to blame for the redirection of surfers to a hacker site on Thursday. Secunia's authoritative DNS hosting was redirected for 70 minutes in the early hours of Thursday morning (Central European time). But because of the way DNS caching works, many …

    Enterprise Security 26 Nov 12:47

  • Start-up pitches low-cost no-glasses 3D for iPad

    Stereoscopy on the cheap

    Want to view 3D content on your iDevice without having to wear specs? US-based GRilli3D claims it has the technology to make it so. The secret is a "simple and inexpensive plastic film" which sticks to the front of your iPad or iPhone - and presumably other devices too - and, according to GRilli3D, "interpose a series of ' …

    reghardware 26 Nov 12:53

  • Filthy PCs: The X-rated circus of horrors

    Ventblockers II Grotesque dust creatures and mummified frogs

    Well, you lovely people, it's time to pour yourselves a stiff brandy before entering the circus of horrors that is Ventblockers II. Good work by all those readers who sent in evidence demonstrating that it really is a good idea to keep your computer spick and span. The consequences of poor PC hygiene can, as we shall see, be …

    Bootnotes 26 Nov 12:54

  • Pirate Bay verdict: Three operators lose appeal

    Prison sentences reduced but fines jacked up

    Three men who were found guilty of being accessories to breaching copyright laws in The Pirate Bay trial in April 2009 today lost their appeal against the ruling in a Swedish court. Peter Sunde, Carl Lundström, Fredrik Neij saw their prison sentences reduced in the Svea Court of Appeal in the past few minutes. However, the …

    Music and Media 26 Nov 13:20

  • Android out-runs Windows Phone 7 on price comparison site

    A lazy fortnight

    Figures from comparison service Mobiles Please show Windows Phone 7 being outsold by Android more than 15 times over and by Symbian three times. The figures cover the last two weeks, and show Android accounting for almost 30 per cent of sales. The next-most-popular platform, BlackBerry, accounts for 20 per cent. iOS and …

    Mobile 26 Nov 13:23

  • ISPs under pressure to control online porn

    Minister thinks of the children

    Campaigners will meet with the internet minister, Ed Vaizey, to lobby for ISPs to be forced to control access to pornography. Vaizey issued the invitation to Tory backbencher Claire Perry, who said the availability of sexual material online is "a fire is burning out of control". The minister offered to act as an "honest …

    Law 26 Nov 13:42

  • Virgin skins up Tivo box

    UI sneak peek

    Virgin Media has posted a set of screens showing the UI that its upcoming Tivo-based set-top box will use. Virgin has said little about the unit other than its 1TB recording capacity, support for HD and 3D programming, and the presence of the usual digital video recorder (DVR) functionality. The box can view IPTV content as …

    reghardware 26 Nov 13:51

  • 'Mad captain' sole entrant in Vodafone compo

    Arrr! Third world women, your pirate champion has arrived

    A competition to find mobile apps for women appears to have received received no entries, so an ex-pirate has knocked one up to help women in the third world enter similar competitions more easily. Ridicomp is only one of Tom Scott's pair of entries, the other being an application to help those who've received billions in tax …

    Mobile 26 Nov 14:08

  • Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

    Review Streets ahead?

    Pigs, gavvers, filth, babylon, bizzies. The sheer wealth of familiar pejoratives suggests few people admire the police. Even fewer, I suspect, admire traffic cops. But despite an incongruous contempt for those who uphold the law, I'm sure many people share my fantasy of a night spent behind the wheel of a lumbering Volvo Estate …

    reghardware 26 Nov 14:12

  • 'Looking and acting like an employee' didn't make him one

    Agency worker not an employee, rules Court of Appeal

    There was no need to imply a direct contract between an agency worker and an employer just because the worker's conditions did not exactly match those described in the agency agreement, the Court of Appeal has said. The fact that the worker was fully integrated into the employer's business and asked permission to take holidays …

    Small Biz 26 Nov 14:14

  • Yes! It's the Reg Top 5 FUTURISTIC GUNS Thanksgiving Roundup!

    Backpack raygun, portable artillery piece and MUCH MUCH MORE

    As anyone with their finger on the pulse of our former transatlantic colonies knows, yesterday was Thanksgiving: a traditional American ritual in which families come together to celebrate the fact that they have plenty of food for the year ahead by eating most of it in one day, the while watching enormous men crashing into one …

    Science 26 Nov 14:50

  • Pushing service delivery beyond the enterprise boundary

    Workshop No more need for delivery managers? Pah!

    So far in this series we’ve been considering all things service delivery, with an emphasis on how the various elements of IT infrastructure can be managed as a single whole. IT infrastructure isn’t what it once was however, as demonstrated by the increasing range of ‘cloud-based’ options available from third parties. The word …

    Service Assurance 26 Nov 15:08

  • Payback orders for eBay squaddie

    'Naive' ex-quartermaster sold traceable MoD-issue gear online

    A former Army quartermaster has been ordered to pay back £6,000 he made from selling military clobber on eBay. Allan Peet, 41, from Bridgend, used to be a quartermaster for the Parachute Regiment. He had sold items on the auction site including military-issued boots, rucksacks and ration packs, which are not normally available …

    Bootnotes 26 Nov 15:30

  • Pure Twilight DAB/FM radio and dawn simulator

    Review Moodlight serenade

    Here in Blighty we’re rather proud of our broadcasting heritage, the BBC was the first to offer national radio after all, and remains the world's largest public service broadcaster too. Yet, while the US managed colour TV in the 1950s, the UK had to wait until 1960s. Half a century on, DAB radio pioneer Pure is keen to ensure we …

    reghardware 26 Nov 15:32

  • Seagate DeLorean: World's priciest hard drive?

    $250 for 500... gigawatts?!?

    Spin up this Flash Rods model DeLorean stainless steel hard drive car and go back to the future with MBs costing seven times more than they need to. The 1:18 scale model is a glorious rendition of John DeLorean's DMC-12 auto-dream re-envisioned as the Back To The Future car with its Flux Capacitor. It comes with "with 50's …

    PCs & Chips 26 Nov 16:00

  • Reg hack tickled by Kent schoolgirl

    Hot custard cream action

    I'm delighted to report that my world-beating journalism has finally received the recognition it deserves, at least in one small corner of the Garden of England. Here's the improbable story: Reg director Drew Cullen has a daughter who goes to a grammar school in Kent. One day, a mate excitedly waved a piece of paper in her …

    Bootnotes 26 Nov 17:29

  • Microsoft and Attachmate were not Novell's destiny

    Open...and Shut Big bets, brass balls, and other lost assets

    Novell, a collection of mostly legacy software businesses, has announced that it will be devoured by another collection of legacy software businesses, Attachmate. It's not Novell's finest hour, and is made worse by the sale of 882 patents to Microsoft-friendly CPTN Holdings, even despite Novell retaining its Unix copyrights. …

    Software 26 Nov 18:00

  • Europe's broadband bird goes up tonight

    Filling in the not-spots

    The Hylas-1 telecoms satellite is fired into space tonight, with the mission to provide satellite broadband everywhere in Europe. If all goes well, broadband not-spots could be a thing of the past - for residents who can afford to pay the relatively small premium for the service. The Hylas-1 is "mated" to an Ariane 5 rocket, …

    Telecoms 26 Nov 18:18

  • Reg Hardware Reviews Digest

    The week revisited

    In the past seven days, Reg Hardware has looked at products from the worlds of consumer electronics, mobile communications and gaming. In case you missed anything, here are those products again. Lifestyle Samsung UE55C9000 55in LCD 3D TV Thin as a biscuit and just as tasty Ten Essential... sub-£50 budget MP3 …

    Site News 26 Nov 18:21

  • Petabyte-chomping big sky telescope sucks down baby code

    Beyond the MySQL frontier

    Robert Heinlein was right to be worried. What if there really is a planet of giant, psychic, human-hating bugs out there, getting ready to hurl planet-busting rocks in our general direction? Surely we would want to know? Luckily, big science projects such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), which (when it's fully …

    Science 26 Nov 19:00

  • Fanboi primer: How to move your iTunes from PC to Mac

    Step-by-step instructions for Jobsian surrender

    With Steve Jobs's world domination plan proceeding on schedule, I can't be the only iTunes user who wants to transfer my Windows-based music library to a Mac. For all the talk about the ease of switching to OS X, I've been unable to find any Apple-sanctioned way to take my playlists, song ratings, and number of plays with me. …

    Music and Media 26 Nov 20:00