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4th March 2011 Archive

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  • Android malware attacks show perils of Google openness

    Is there a vetter in the house?

    This week's discovery of malware that hijacked tens of thousands of Android cellphones shows the pitfalls of Google's decision to make the operating system the Wikipedia of mobile platforms that offers apps written by virtually anyone. A couple years ago, the choice helped the OS gain traction against Apple's more entrenched …

    Security 4 Mar 2011, 01:25

  • AFP terrifies MPs with ‘net pr0n tales

    Plod is really plodding today

    According to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Federal Police has warned a group of Australian parliamentarians that the country’s planned National Broadband Network (NBN) will “make it harder” for them to “track people downloading and sharing child pornography”. The AFP has warned the parliamentarians that …

    Law 4 Mar 2011, 02:32

  • Oz bloggers get shield protection

    Indies, Greens extend whistleblower law

    The Australian Senate has passed legislation that would afford the same protection to bloggers, independent media and “citizen journalists” as is enjoyed by journalists. An amendment to the “shield laws” debated in the Senate yesterday won’t keep people out of court, according to Greens’ Senator Scott Ludlam, but will allow …

    Law 4 Mar 2011, 02:54

  • Google ends Chrome hardware acceleration on 'old drivers'

    Slackers lose interwebs 3D

    Google has disabled Chrome hardware acceleration for systems with certain "older" graphics drivers, after noticing that such systems caused an unusual number of crashes. "Over the last few months, we’ve made a lot of progress using graphics hardware (commonly referred to as the GPU) to make Chrome faster and more power- …

    Applications 4 Mar 2011, 04:00

  • From messiah to pariah: The death of open source on mobile

    Open...and Shut $0.99 beats free almost every time

    Open source has gone from pariah to messiah in the past decade, but it has yet to find a place at the mobile table, and risks being rendered obsolete. Sure, it's not hard to find examples of open-source apps for iOS or Android, but the very premise of open source is under siege in the mobile world. Don't expect that to change …

    Mobile 4 Mar 2011, 05:00

  • Olympus PEN E-PL2 Micro Four-Thirds camera

    Review EVIL by design

    When the original Olympus PEN E-P1 came out in 2009 it arguably marked the start of a revolution. Its mirrorless design meant that it was far smaller than a DSLR, yet its relatively large sensor meant it took considerably better quality images than compact cameras; besides that, its retro Japanese styling also made it a far more …

    reghardware 4 Mar 2011, 07:00

  • Sage Pay, down and out yet again

    Day 3 in the no-payment house...

    Online payment system Sage Pay is unavailable again today despite limping briefly back online yesterday. Disgruntled customers commenting on yesterday's story are threatening to jump ship to another provider, blaming a succession of failures from the online payment service. The disgruntled ones have also set up a Facebook …

    Channel Register 4 Mar 2011, 08:25

  • China plays follow the phone

    An exercise in crowd control monitoring

    China is planning to monitor population flow by tracking mobile phones, in the interests of traffic management, though more nefarious motivations do suggest themselves. The system, which has been announced by the "Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission", involves tracking handsets as a proxy for people, in order …

    Mobile 4 Mar 2011, 10:06

  • Intel re-invents its mainstream SSD

    X25-M stays as 510 is announced

    Intel has announced a 510 solid state drive (SSD) line that greatly increases the read/write bandwidth, but has lower IOPS numbers compared to its existing X25-M SSD products. The X25-M is a 2.5-inch form factor SSD using 2-bit multi-level cell (MLC) flash. There is a 1.8-inch form factor version as well as a lower cost and …

    Storage 4 Mar 2011, 10:11

  • March Patch Tuesday leaves IE unpatched for Pwn2Own hackers

    Enterprise is running with shields down ... Lock phasers on target...

    Microsoft – unlike its browser rivals – will not be patching Internet Explorer before the upcoming Pwn2Own hacking contest next week. A March Patch Tuesday pre-alert, published on Thursday, reveals that Redmond will be issuing three security bulletins next week, one of which affects a critical flaw in Windows and none of which …

    Security 4 Mar 2011, 10:15

  • Microsoft's new 'Bing deals' fails to support Windows Phone 7

    Android: Check. iOS: Check. WP7: Hang up, caller

    Microsoft launched a Groupon-like site dubbed 'Bing deals' that works on desktops, Apple's iPhone and Google's Android device but not on Redmond's own Windows Phone 7. The company said the service was available in desktop and mobile versions only for US customers currently. Local deals service provider Dealmap partnered with …

    Mobile 4 Mar 2011, 10:44

  • Half a million Germans rally in support of 'Baron von Googleberg'

    Big Facebook love for plagiarist aristocrat

    A huge online campaign has rallied in support of former German defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, who resigned on Tuesday after being stripped of his PhD for plagiarising large sections of his thesis. At the time of writing, more than 545,000 people had endorsed the Facebook page "Wir wollen Guttenberg zurück" (we …

    Bootnotes 4 Mar 2011, 10:56

  • German railways merge NFC networks

    We get Chiltern Railways and barcodes ...

    Frankfurt's regional travel authority is to merge its NFC infrastructure with the national rail operator, creating an interoperable network for travelling across Germany with a tap of the phone. That's still some way off, but both Deutsche Bahn and Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (the national and local operators respectively) …

    Bootnotes 4 Mar 2011, 11:06

  • Kentucky man denies drunk driving, blames blow job

    Finger lickin' good oral testimony

    A Kentucky man who was arrested for DUI has said his erratic driving was less to do with alcohol and more to do with the oral sex he was receiving from his passenger at the time. Jason Kircher was pulled over by cops after being clocked at 66mph in a 55 mph zone on Interstate 64, the Courier Journal reports. An officer …

    Bootnotes 4 Mar 2011, 11:08

  • Sinclair ZX81: 30 years old

    All hail the pioneer of UK home computing

    Tomorrow, 5 March 2011, marks the 30th anniversary of the arrival of the machine that did more to awaken ordinary Britons to the possibilities offered by home computing: the Sinclair ZX81. While its successor, the Sinclair Spectrum, got the nation playing computer games, the ZX81 was the tipping point that turned the home …

    reghardware 4 Mar 2011, 11:45

  • British biz roasts Hargreaves' 'Google Review'

    CBI weighs in on counterfeiting, IP theft, and freetards

    The Google Review – or to give its official title, The Intellectual Property Office's Independent Review of IP and Growth – has come under a sustained fire. It is the last day of submissions before Hargreaves and his team of five experts go away and ponder. The initiative was created as part of Cameron's "Shoreditch Roundabout" …

    Media 4 Mar 2011, 11:47

  • Microsoft tablet OS to see light of day in 'autumn 2012'

    Ballmer does the three-toed sloth dance

    Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer was given a gentle kick up the backside late last year by the company's board, after he failed to move quickly enough against Apple’s iPad and lost market share in the mobile phone and tablet biz. Despite all that, a Bloomberg Business Week report is suggesting that Redmond is taking its sweet (or …

    Operating Systems 4 Mar 2011, 11:52

  • Olympus touts cameras with dual image processors

    Crushproof model too

    Olympus has debuted a few flashy cameras, one that's crushproof, and a couple with dual image processors which take shots while simultaneously capturing HD footage. The Olympus SZ-30MR is a 16Mp camera with 24x optical lens. It features two image processors so it's able to take stills while recording at a resolution of 1920 x …

    reghardware 4 Mar 2011, 11:54

  • BOFH: This buck's for you

    Episode 2 Psst, pass it on

    “What’s this?” the Boss snaps, pushing several sheets of paper over the desk at me in an annoyed manner. “Ah! Memo two thousand and eleven dash one dash one,” I reply, “workplace resiliency.” “Yes, I can read the title, but what is it?” “It’s a memo outlining the things we should be addressing for systems and networks …

    BOFH 4 Mar 2011, 12:00

  • Locked iPhones still got their ears on

    It's a feature, not a bug

    The iPhone passcode has never been particularly secure, but now it seems that a locked handset will respond to a good talking-to, unless the user remembers to opt out. iPhones locked with a passcode PIN, which should prevent thieves and prankster friends from operating the phone, can still be used to make calls thanks to a …

    Mobile 4 Mar 2011, 12:14

  • THQ brings the uDraw GameTablet to Blighty

    Hands On Who said videogames couldn't be art?

    Today sees the UK launch of THQ's uDraw GameTablet, a fresh way for kids and families to interact with their Nintendo Wii console. I took a trip down to the uDraw showcase event in London this week to catch up with the developers, the THQ team and special guest star Korky Paul, the children's book author and illustrator, to …

    reghardware 4 Mar 2011, 12:18

  • Parliament's expenses body spent £2.2m on IT

    That'll teach 'em

    The newly minted Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority has spent £2.2m on IT to get itself up and running, a commons answer revealed yesterday. Bob Russell MP asked what services Calyx UK provided to the authority and whether it had considered other suppliers. Charles Walker, representing the Speaker's Committee for …

    Government 4 Mar 2011, 12:55

  • Virgin says unlimited music downloads 'outdated'

    Hang on, it never actually launched ...

    Anyone remember Virgin's great unlimited MP3 music service? You can be forgiven for looking stumped. The day before the Carter Report was published in the Summer of 2009 – the report that became the basis of the Digital Economy Act – Virgin and Universal announced they'd be offering unlimited DRM-free MP3 downloads for the price …

    Media 4 Mar 2011, 12:57

  • iDect iHome Android phone

    Review The household handset meets the 21st century

    As well as smartphones and tablets Google’s Android operating system has started cropping up in media players, ski goggles, car stereos and even headphones, so it’s perhaps not too surprising that it’s now turned up in the humble landline home phone. Powered by Android, built by Binatone: the iDect iHome Phone Rather more …

    reghardware 4 Mar 2011, 13:00

  • Nexenta: The fastest-growing storage start-up ever?

    CeBIT: NetApp is a bully-boy, says new storage kid

    Nexenta is the fastest-growing storage start-up ever, based on customer growth, according to its sales and marketing veep, Jon Ash – faster even than NetApp in its early days. Nexenta, which provides the Open Solaris and ZFS-based NexentaStor software storage O/S, was founded in 2005 by Alex Aizmann and Dmitry Yusupov. There …

    Cloud 4 Mar 2011, 13:11

  • Phantom Menace to be released in 3D next Feb

    You'll feel like Jar Jar's spittle is hitting your face

    Reviled Star Wars prequel Episode I: The Phantom Menace, reproduced in 3D for some reason, now has an official release date. Lucasfilm says that the flick - loathed for its introduction of flobber-gobbed artistic atrocity Jar Jar Binks and many other crimes against the treasured memories of the 1970s and 80s - will be out in …

    Bootnotes 4 Mar 2011, 13:14

  • Courtney Love coughs up $430k in Twitter rant settlement

    Go on, take everything, take everything

    Hole singer Courtney Love has settled a lawsuit with fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir in Los Angeles. The Associated Press reports that Kurt Cobain's widow agreed to hand over $430,000 (£264,000) plus interest to Simorangkir, following a Twitter broadside against the designer, who is also known as the "Boudoir Queen". Love …

    Law 4 Mar 2011, 13:47

  • Commission clears Hollywood studios after U-turn

    Good news for indies

    The European Commission has ended an investigation into the major Hollywood studios after they changed contract provisions on installing digital kit at cinemas. Eurocrats reckon the changes will make it easier for small, independent films to get decent distribution. Moving a cinema onto digital equipment is expensive, so the …

    Media 4 Mar 2011, 13:49

  • O2 tries to explain its new prudish nature

    Bigger boys are doing it too

    O2 has been busy explaining to customers why it's come over all prudish, and why they shouldn't worry about spending a little money to prove their age. O2 has begun enforcing an opt-in policy for access to grown-up internet content, redirecting customers to a company called Bango to prove their age with a credit card. That's …

    Mobile 4 Mar 2011, 13:51

  • Samsung admits iPad 2 will be tough to beat

    Price a problem in particular

    A Samsung executive has admitted that beating the iPad 2's skinniness will be a challenge. The new Apple fondleslab, priced to match the first-gen model, will also force the South Korean giant to rethink its pricing policy, Lee Don-joo, an executive VP at Samsung's mobile division told local news agency Yonhap. "Apple made it …

    reghardware 4 Mar 2011, 13:57

  • South Korea blitzed by DDoSers

    Up to 40 government websites targeted

    Multiple South Korean government websites have come under fire from a concerted denial of service attack. Local net security firm AhnLab reports that the South Korea's presidential office, the foreign ministry, the national intelligence service, US Forces stationed in South Korea and banks are among the targets of the packet- …

    Security 4 Mar 2011, 14:21

  • Microsoft blows Windows Phone update, again

    Don't touch that Zune

    Samsung users who held off updating after hearing about the problems last time are being told to hold off again as the fixed fix isn't really fixed at all. This time it seems that owners of the Samsung Omnia 7 are OK as long as they've got 4GB of memory free, but any less than that and the updating process chokes with an error …

    Mobile 4 Mar 2011, 15:09

  • Turkey bans Google Blogger over pirated football feeds

    Blogging site caught offside

    A court has banned Google's Blogger service in Turkey over a row about pirated football feeds. A local court outlawed the service in response to a complaint by satellite TV firm Digiturk that streaming media feeds from local games were appearing on multiple Blogger profiles. An estimated 600,000 Turks use Google's service to …

    Government 4 Mar 2011, 15:35

  • Street View Terminator warps into Dublin

    Future Google develops time travel algorithm

    We all know that Google's Street View has transdimensional capabilities, as well as the power to create space/time feedback loops, so it should come as no surprise that the Great Satan of Mountain View will in the future give staff at its all-seeing eye Terminator-style time travel abilities. Here's a employee warping into …

    Bootnotes 4 Mar 2011, 15:36

  • Credit card squeeze looms for pirate music sites

    Unverified by Visa

    It isn't just Wikileaks that's being squeezed by credit card companies - pirate music sites are also feeling the pinch. The UK has spawned more digital music services than any other country, but it's still easy and risk-free to pick up unlicensed music. So after years of unsuccessfully trying to modify our behaviour, and being …

    Media 4 Mar 2011, 16:15

  • Sony readies official PS Move support for PCs

    Call to cull Kinect development?

    Sony has paved the way for developers to use its PlayStation Move technology as an input device, with the launch of an official SDK. Move.me is an software server application, designed for academics, college students, HCI developers or anyone with a programming interest. Sony says it wants to see how people can take the PS …

    reghardware 4 Mar 2011, 16:17

  • NASA's Glory climate-data sat crashes into Pacific on launch

    Second case of climate sat atop Taurus booster doing that

    A NASA satellite intended to bring some hard facts to the climate-change debate has crashed into the sea after lifting off from California and failing to separate from its booster rocket. The "Glory" satellite carried two sensors, one intended for investigation of aerosols – particulates such as soot – in the atmosphere and …

    Science 4 Mar 2011, 16:19

  • Game developer says piracy is not theft

    Minecraft man speaks out

    The creator of Minecraft believes piracy can't be considered theft and that smart games developers should view people who pirate games as potential customers. “If you steal a car, the original is lost. If you copy a game, there are simply more of them in the world,” said Markus Persson during the closing session of the Game …

    reghardware 4 Mar 2011, 16:30

  • Microsoft rallies IE6 death squads

    Voyeur site enlists netizens

    Microsoft has launched a fresh campaign to eradicate Internet Explorer 6 from the web. Redmond's Internet Explorer 6 Countdown web page lets you watch the decline of IE6's market share decline, encouraging websites to drop support for browser and urging netizen IE6 holdouts to switch to "a modern browser". According to …

    Applications 4 Mar 2011, 19:07

  • Patent attack on Google open codec faces 'antitrust probe'

    DoJ investigates Apple, Microsoft, and friends

    The US Department of Justice is investigating MPEG-LA – the patent pool organization backed by Apple, Microsoft, and others – over the organization's effort to undermine the royalty-free V8 codec Google introduced last year, according to a report citing people familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal reports that the …

    Media 4 Mar 2011, 19:08

  • Ex-UK spy boss says WikiLeaks sparked Egyptian revolution

    Dearlove gets schooled on radical transparency

    The former head of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service has credited WikiLeaks and other secret-spilling sites with sparking the revolutions sweeping the Middle East. At what was supposed to be an off-the-record appearance last month at the Cambridge Union Society, Former MI6 Chief Richard Dearlove said that the technology …

    Media 4 Mar 2011, 19:21

  • HP uncloaks wristwatch 'aggregation point'

    Updated Leather strapped connectivity. We think

    In possibly the vaguest demo in recorded history, HP has revealed a futuristic connectivity device designed to be the centerpiece of your personal connectivity. And, bless my soul, this magical and revolutionary device appears to be an analog wristwatch. But not just any ol' analog writwatch, mind you. This one, as cursorily …

    Mobile 4 Mar 2011, 20:55

  • Apple: If you're under 17, you can't use Opera

    Idiots must use Safari

    Apple has allowed Opera's desktop browser into its new Mac App Store, but it has decreed that no one under 17 years old can download the thing. Jan Standal, vice president of desktop products for Opera Software, takes issue with Apple's stance. "I’m very concerned,” he said in a statement. “Seventeen is very young, and I am …

    Applications 4 Mar 2011, 21:12

  • Tas magistrate finds legal book of filth illegal on computer

    Court convicts careless councillor

    You can’t invent cases as strange as this: a book that is not only legal, but can be borrowed from various Australian libraries* can, in digital form, land the owner with a child porn conviction. According to News's Hobart Mercury, David Traynor, an alderman in the Clarence council in Tasmania, was convicted for possessing …

    Law 4 Mar 2011, 22:53

  • Libya's internet goes dark as upheaval spreads

    Net communications severed

    As violence escalated against people protesting Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, internet traffic flowing in and out of the African nation dropped to zero, making it impossible to send communications over its borders. According to figures supplied by Google's Transparency Report, traffic flowing between Libyan computers and …

    Media 4 Mar 2011, 23:00

  • Red Hat: 'Yes, we undercut Oracle with hidden Linux patches'

    But CentOS will live, CTO tells El Reg

    Red Hat has changed the way it distributes Enterprise Linux kernel code in an effort to prevent Oracle and Novell from stealing its customers, making it more difficult for these competitors to understand which patches have been applied where. Some have speculated that the change is designed to make it harder for Oracle as well …

    Channel Register 4 Mar 2011, 23:58