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5th April 2011 Archive

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  • Google exec announces departure as Page takes reins

    Once and future CEO 'demands long-term commitment'

    Larry Page took over as Google chief executive on Monday, and his first day on the job saw another significant change to the Google management team. The company's head of product management, Jonathan Rosenberg, announced he will be leaving the company. Speaking with The San Jose Mercury News, Rosenberg said he would step down …

    Music and Media 5 Apr 2011, 00:07

  • NBN Co construction chief resigns

    Was the contract negotiation bungled?

    Patrick Flanagan, head of construction at NBN Co, has reportedly resigned according to reports on the Sydney Morning Herald and the ABC. His resignation comes just days after NBN Co (the government-owned company building the National Broadband Network) terminated negotiations for network construction contracts, saying that the …

    Networks 5 Apr 2011, 02:39

  • Facebook Comments kill web freedom

    Open...and Shut Bring back the trolls!

    It turns out that the web's Wild West days may be over. Fueled in part by the early promise of unfettered freedom, the web has lately succumbed to middle age and a newfound sobriety that will simultaneously make the web less appealing to the tech elites and hugely useful for Main Street. Those looking for a scapegoat can blame …

    Music and Media 5 Apr 2011, 04:00

  • Google relocates Australian AdWords customers

    We’re 'upgrading' you from Ireland to Singapore

    One of the anchor-tenants of what was formerly the Irish economic miracle, Google, is moving the administration of Australian AdWords customers to Singapore. In what could be interpreted as a corporate bet on the future of Ireland’s low corporate taxes, the Chocolate Factory told Australian customers of the change on Tuesday …

    Business 5 Apr 2011, 04:40

  • Virally spreading scam spreads over Twitter

    Twitosphere overtaken by 'Profile Spy' tweets

    Twitter has been struck by a virally spreading worm that attempts to make money by scamming users into filling out surveys and viewing advertisements. The rogue Twitter app is known as Profile Spy and gets installed by people who are tricked into believing it can tell them who has been viewing their online microposts. “Wow! …

    Security 5 Apr 2011, 05:00

  • Marantz Melody Media music combo

    Review AirPlay savvy stream machine

    Apple’s AirPlay audio streaming facility is beginning to trickle out to an increasing range of devices, but Marantz took it to market first with the Melody Media – an enticing box of audio tricks, which includes a CD player, FM/AM/DAB+ tuner and Internet radio plus a 2 x 60W amplifier. The Marantz Melody Media features Apple …

    reghardware 5 Apr 2011, 06:00

  • Ofcom finalises ambitious annual plan

    A little less allocation, a little more action

    Ofcom has a busy year planned, involving auctions, action and investigations, not to mention taking responsibility for the Post Office too, and all for less money than last year. In addition to its usual duties, the regulator's plans for the next 12 months include: running the biggest spectrum auction in UK history; managing …

    Mobile 5 Apr 2011, 07:04

  • Google may face 'broad US antitrust probe'

    FTC will pounce if DoJ doesn't, says report

    The US Federal Trade commission is considering a broad antitrust investigation of Google's search business, according to a report citing two people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg reports that before launching a probe, the FTC is waiting to see if the Department of Justice will challenge Google's proposed acquisition of …

    Government 5 Apr 2011, 07:21

  • Server workload challenges

    Webcast Where to go for the next generation of data centers

    The last two or three years have witnessed major shifts in the tectonics of server operations and management as “virtualisation” has begun to make inroads running corporate applications. But with the range of server platforms available on which to run applications and business services, where does it make sense to operate …

    Tech Panel 5 Apr 2011, 07:41

  • Floating Image

    Android App of the Week I wandered lonely as a JPEG

    Turning your Android phone into an impromptu picture frame can be the perfect source of escapism during a dull day and while there’s nothing actually wrong with the basic slideshow feature of the standard Android gallery it’s just that, basic.    Floating Image: rally your sources, apply your settings... Floating Image is …

    reghardware 5 Apr 2011, 08:00

  • Anonymous hacks Sony PS3 sites

    Remove your penis from this hornets' nest

    Several Sony PlayStation sites are unavailable this morning thanks to what looks like a distributed denial of service attack launched by Anonymous. The hacktivists have left the Scientologists alone in order to harass the console-makers because of Sony's action against two lads for jailbreaking PS3s. In a strangely self- …

    Enterprise Security 5 Apr 2011, 08:13

  • SugarCRM in Jobsian Flash rewrite

    HTML5 for the iPad

    SugarCRM is going mobile in a big way. The company has purchased iEnterprises's iExtensions CRM – a tool that provides access to Lotus Notes contacts on smartphones and tablets – and it has announced new versions of its own software for Android, BlackBerry, and iPad. Financial terms of the iExtensions deal were not revealed, …

    Applications 5 Apr 2011, 09:00

  • EMC buys NetWitness after its impressive hack smackdown

    Like Viktor Kiam, so impressed with tech that it bought firm

    EMC has announced its acquisition of network security monitoring and analysis platform outfit NetWitness. Financial terms of the deal, announced Monday, were undisclosed. NetWitness helped EMC's RSA division in the aftermath of the latter's high profile hack last month. Post acquisition, NetWitness will become a core component …

    Enterprise Security 5 Apr 2011, 09:06

  • Seagate ships slim slab of storage

    As CEO succumbs to China syndrome

    Seagate has launched a 320GB slim slab of disk storage which will cost content rich but space poor users a measly £80. The GoFlex Slim uses the single platter, 2.5-inch, 7,200rpm, Momentus Thin disk drive, launched in January, and comes with a USB 3.0 interface, nominally 10 times faster than the generic USB 2.0 currently …

    Storage 5 Apr 2011, 09:10

  • 'Yuri Gagarin' blasts off to ISS

    Soyuz launch honours first man in space

    Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome last night paid tribute to Yuri Gagarin as the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft, decorated with the name of the first man in space, blasted off to the International Space Station. Just a week shy of the 50th anniversary of Gagarin's historic flight on 12 April 1961, astronaut Ronald Garan, and …

    Space 5 Apr 2011, 09:13

  • Teens who listen to music a lot are at high risk of depression

    Put down the iPod, kid, and pick up a book

    In a development which confirms what many of us perhaps knew all along, research has shown that listening to music all the time as a teenager turns you into a doleful depressive (or alternatively that being a doleful depressive teenager makes you listen to music all the time). Youngsters who read, by contrast, tend to be in …

    Biology 5 Apr 2011, 09:20

  • VMware 'buys' Mozy for its cloudy goodness

    Will operate it for EMC

    EMC has transferred its Mozy online backup service, assets and staff to VMware, signalling VMWare's intent to be far more visible as a cloud IT service provider. There is no mention of any acquisition or transfer fee, which might seem odd. Surely Mozy has a value as a business and surely EMC's market worth will be diminished …

    Infrastructure 5 Apr 2011, 09:47

  • iPhone 4: Now with added jailbreaky fun

    Windows Phone too

    iPhone 4 and Windows Phone 7 owners can now jailbreak their handsets. Users of Windows Phone unhappy to find themselves at the end of Microsoft's phased rollout of its latest update can now hack themselves a fix, and upgrade when they want to, rather than when Microsoft tells them to. Meanwhile, Apple customers who have …

    Mobile 5 Apr 2011, 10:11

  • Real Time Information trial to begin April 2012

    HMRC invites software developers, employers to take part

    HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has confirmed that its Real Time Information (RTI) system, developed to improve the operation of PAYE taxation, is to go ahead with a pilot beginning in April 2012. The department is to invite software developers and volunteer employers to take part in the pilot. If it is successful, employers will …

    Business 5 Apr 2011, 10:15

  • Desktop virt roll-outs: Upfront pain for long-term gain

    How to crank up the ROI

    How can IT departments build a business case for desktop virtualisation? Look at the numbers, says Robin Birtstone - but make sure you see all of them. Ultimately, companies are unlikely to fund a desktop virtualisation project until the numbers look good. How can you build a good return on investment case for virtualising …

    Desktop Virtualisation 5 Apr 2011, 10:30

  • Quick CEO change for Quantum

    Cabinet reshuffle

    Quantum chief operating officer Jon Gacek will take over as new CEO and member of the board, while incumbent Rick Belluzzo moves to executive chairman. This is part, we are told, of a planned leadership succession that began last year. Gacek is an ex-ADIC man. He has been president and COO of Quantum since January of this …

    Storage 5 Apr 2011, 10:31

  • SpyEye mobile banking Trojan uses same tactics as ZeuS

    Give us your number, mate, we'll send you a 'digital certificate' ...

    Cybercrooks have deployed a sophisticated man-in-the-mobile attack using the SpyEye banking Trojan toolkit. The Trojan, which infects Windows machines, displays additional content on a targeted European bank's webpage that requests prospective marks to input their mobile phone number and the IMEI of the device. The bank …

    Mobile 5 Apr 2011, 10:34

  • ICO wags finger at York council after data breach

    Have you ever left personal info lying around near the printer?

    The Information Commissioner's Office has slapped York council for breaching the Data Protection Act, after sensitive information was wrongly collected from a shared printer and then redistributed. The papers contained personal data that was sent to the wrong person, the ICO said today. A York council worker failed to spot …

    CIO 5 Apr 2011, 11:06

  • Watchdog backs Top Gear in war with Mexico

    Ofcom rules 'lazy, feckless' jibes 'justified by the context'

    Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom has ruled that comments by the presenters of Top Gear, at the expense of "lazy, feckless" Mexicans, were "justified by the context". Back in January, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May incurred the wrath of the "world leader in the fields of refried bean cuisine, high-level corruption …

    Bootnotes 5 Apr 2011, 11:09

  • Japan 'quake hits PSP2 launch?

    Sony stocks suffer

    The launch of Sony's upcoming PlayStation portable, the NGP, is to be pushed back, in the wake of last month's catastrophic tsunami in Japan. The NGP was originally scheduled to ship in November 2011, but Jack Tretton, president of SCEE in America, now says the handheld may not arrive in time for the Christmas shopping season …

    reghardware 5 Apr 2011, 11:31

  • UK's Reaper flying hunter-killer fleet 'to double'

    Will remain tiny compared to inventory of obsolete crap

    The UK expects to double its fleet of "Reaper" robot hunter-killer aircraft, according to the machines' manufacturer. Better than a Tornado bomber. General Atomics, which developed the famous Predator drone warplane and its bigger successor the Predator-B/Reaper, announced last week that it is opening a new office in London …

    Science 5 Apr 2011, 11:38

  • Coalition fails business on banks, says survey

    Really?

    British businesses have seen no changes in bank attitudes to lending to despite the Coalition's claims that it had brought the banks into line. In February, "Project Merlin" promised to increase lending to smaller firms by £10bn to £76bn as part of a wider deal with the banks, but a survey by Hotfrog found three-quarters of …

    Small Biz 5 Apr 2011, 11:46

  • Mozilla ditches Messaging wing, eyes social webby sweetshop

    Thunderbird engine drops off

    Mozilla has folded its Messaging subsidiary into the open source outfit's Lab division as it slowly backs away from the development of client-based email software. The move, announced yesterday, means that Mozilla's Thunderbird email software failed to survive and thrive as an independent org as did its far more popular …

    Applications 5 Apr 2011, 12:00

  • Hacks arrested in phone hacking probe

    NOTW phone hack probe creeps on

    Two men have been arrested by the Metropolitan Police today as part of the restarted investigation into voicemail "hacking". The Operation Weeting team arrested a man aged 50 and another aged 42 when they arrived at separate police stations in southwest London. The two men are still in custody, being questioned on suspicion …

    Policing 5 Apr 2011, 12:09

  • Get shirty with Doctor Who

    Gear for groupies

    We love Doctor Who here at Vulture Central. And with the warmer seasons upon us, why not don some suitable attire while barbecue-ing over a steaming Dalek? These T-shirt costumes will lighten the mood at any party you go to. My personal favourite is the Tom Baker one, but they're all worthy additions to a Doctor Who enthusiast …

    reghardware 5 Apr 2011, 12:10

  • Ofcom refuses to interfere on powerline networking interference

    Our hands are tied, thankfully

    Powerline Telecommunications kit fails EU standards, but Ofcom tells us there's no proof of interference - and even if there was it couldn't do anything. And even if it could, it wouldn't. Despite being forced to publish its own study of PLT kit, which showed that devices in popular use generate levels of interference higher …

    Telecoms 5 Apr 2011, 12:15

  • Steven Moffat promises 'darker' Doctor Who

    Kids definitely behind sofa for new season

    Steven Moffat has teased that the forthcoming new series of Doctor Who will kick off with episodes "darker than any other opener of a season". Speaking to journalists at the launch of the the new episodes, Moffat said: "We've been pretty dark before in Doctor Who. But we're coming in from the dark side just because we haven't …

    Entertainment 5 Apr 2011, 12:17

  • Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Android smartphone

    Review Ahead of the curve?

    Sony Ericsson’s Xperia series got off to a rocky start back in 2008 but improved greatly with last year’s X10. The Xperia Arc is the company’s latest flagship offering that runs the latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS and features an 8.1Mp camera with a low noise CMOS sensor and a high-end screen with a Bravia engine. Evidently, …

    reghardware 5 Apr 2011, 12:33

  • Russia, NASA to hold talks on nuclear-powered spacecraft

    Muscovites have the balls but not the money

    Russia, the US and other nations are to discuss cooperation on building a nuclear-powered spacecraft, according to the head of Roscosmos – the Russian space agency. Anatoly Perminov, Roscosmos chief, tells state-owned newswire RIA Novosti that nuclear spacecraft plans are to be discussed with NASA on April 15. Perminov added …

    Space 5 Apr 2011, 12:38

  • VDI down under with Infosmack

    Episode 93 VMware in the guest chair

    Infosmack is back and the discussion this week is mostly about VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure). Joining the fray for episode 93 of the world's leading enterprise tech podcast are:Andre Leibovici, senior consultant at VMware and blogger at myvirtualcloud.net, and hosts Greg Knieriemen and Marc Farley with the Diva of …

    Infosmack 5 Apr 2011, 12:40

  • Nintendo trades blows with The Sun over 3DS returns

    My eyes adore thee (not)

    This morning saw Nintendo 3DS complaints reach a new low, after The Sun ran a story on the headaches and dizziness associated with the device. Nintendo has already hit back, calling the report "incorrect". The tabloid said "thousands" of users have suffered after using the 3DS and as a result, many retailers are offering …

    reghardware 5 Apr 2011, 12:57

  • UK gov 'draws US attention' to Bradley Manning concerns

    Imprisoned Wikileaks soldier insists he's not a Brit

    The UK government has formally raised concerns with the USA regarding the treatment of the imprisoned US soldier Bradley Manning, who is charged with various offences under military regulations and the US criminal code. It is widely believed - though not proven - that Manning was the source of much of the classified US …

    Government 5 Apr 2011, 12:58

  • Fired Gucci IT worker accused of tearing up network

    Suits you, Sir

    A fired network engineer has been charged with mounting a revenge hack attack against the American branch of Gucci. Sam Chihlung Yin, 34, of Jersey City, New Jersey, allegedly wreaked havoc on the network of the US branch of the Italian luxury good retailer around six months after he was dismissed by Gucci in May 2010. The …

    Crime 5 Apr 2011, 13:29

  • Wannabe baby-kisser lies on political honesty phone-in

    Derby council candidate assumes false identity

    A Derby council wannabe's political career got off to a promising start when he lied on a radio phone-in about honesty in politics. Ashley Waterhouse, Tory candidate for the city's Normanton ward, got on the blower to Radio Derby's breakfast show yesterday to "back calls for election candidates to face more rigorous screening …

    Government 5 Apr 2011, 13:36

  • iPhone morphs into pinball machine

    Flippin' iOS

    Pinball machines are hard to come by these days, and even the pre-installed version on Windows has died out. Fret not, Pinball Wizards! You can turn your phone into a miniature machine and relive those childhood arcade moments. Pinball Magic transforms an iPhone with side-mounted flipper buttons, a ball launch plunger and a …

    reghardware 5 Apr 2011, 14:13

  • Facebook, Google et al grapple with France in privacy row

    Complaint to hit State Council tomorrow

    Facebook, Google and around 20 other internet firms are reportedly set to file a complaint against a decree issued by France's State Council that requires the companies to retain web surfers' personal data for 12 months. According to the AFP, a case is being brought by the French Association of Internet Community Services ( …

    Government 5 Apr 2011, 14:41

  • Dig deep! Radio asks taxpayers for blank cheque

    You'll have to pay for more DAB - we can't afford it

    Timing is everything, comics say. So it is in politics, too. With the UK flat broke after Labour's nine-year drunken spending splurge, the taxpayer is now being asked to pay for lots of new radio masts, and associated infrastructure. The anointed successor to analog radio doesn't have anything like the infrastructure required …

    Music and Media 5 Apr 2011, 14:49

  • Money mule scam offers CAPTCHA-protected malware

    Small biz owners targeted by 2in1 scam

    Fraudsters are seeking to hoodwink small business owners into signing up as money mules. The splendidly named Megatech Service Ltd is seeking "Tier 2" payment processing agents from the ranks of small business owners, their partners, or anyone who otherwise has access to a small business banking account. Would-be marks are …

    Small Biz 5 Apr 2011, 15:11

  • Spanish cops rush to cuff 'webcam killer'

    Suspect allegedly showed wife's body to father in Romania

    Spanish police yesterday swiftly arrested a man who stands accused of murdering his wife and then showing the body to his father in Romania via webcam. According to El Mundo, the father immediately called Romanian police, who in turn alerted their Spanish counterparts. Just 45 minutes later, 21-year-old "DM" was detained at …

    Policing 5 Apr 2011, 15:16

  • Riverbed speeds backups to Nirvanix storage cloud

    Fast lane to the heavens

    Riverbed has beefed up its Whitewater appliance – a device designed to automatically back data up to online storage services – adding hooks for the Nirvanix "cloud storage" service and support for backup software from EMC, Quest, and CA. Dubbed a "cloud storage accelerator", Whitewater is an appliance that sits in your data …

    Infrastructure 5 Apr 2011, 17:14

  • The Microsoft mobile reboot needs rebooting

    MicroBite Windows Phone 7 just isn't working

    Late last year, plagued by a falling mobile market share, Microsoft "rebooted" its Windows mobile franchise with the launch of Windows Phone 7. Reviewers loved the smartphone operating system. The gadget press lapped it up. Even hardened skeptics felt some love for Microsoft they had forgotten they could feel. But five months …

    Microbite 5 Apr 2011, 17:20

  • Toshiba readies 'cinema specs' 3D TVs

    Toshiba World 2011 Preps 40in glasses-less set too

    Toshiba could have 40in-plus glasses-free 3D TV sets - the ZL2 family - out in Europe by the end of the year, but specs-essential sets based on cinema-style passive technology on sale much sooner. Toshiba released its first glasses-less 3D TVs in Japan late last year. Sales have been described as disappointing, a point company …

    reghardware 5 Apr 2011, 18:02

  • US court boots and moots Verizon net neut suit

    Open internet squabble postponed. Again

    Verizon's lawsuit against a US Federal Communications Commission order that imposes network-neutrality rules has been tossed out of court by a three-judge panel who deemed the suit premature. "Regardless of whether the order is reviewable by way of a petition for review, 47 U.S.C. § 402(a), or a notice of appeal, 47 U.S.C. § …

    Networks 5 Apr 2011, 18:05

  • Intel charges premium for Xeon E7 scalability

    Socket to me, Westmere

    Intel has refreshed its high-end x64-based server processors with the launch of the "Westmere-EX" chips, now known to the outside world as the Xeon E7s, and it wants some more money for them than you might have been budgeting. In an indicator of the confidence that Intel has in its dominance of the x64 server racket, the …

    Servers 5 Apr 2011, 19:29

  • Microsoft's first Window 8 tablet app spotted

    Modern Reader's AppX layer stripped

    Bloggers have uncovered an application for Windows 8 that blurs the line between Windows, the web, and mobile using a new architecture from Microsoft. The application is called Modern Reader, Microsoft's own version of PDF Reader. According to bloggers Rafael Rivera and Paul Thurrott, who've been combing through leaked Windows …

    Operating Systems 5 Apr 2011, 19:37

  • MythBusters: Savage and Hyneman detonate truthiness

    El Reg interviews lead balloon floaters

    They've built working crossbows using rolled up newspapers, shot frozen chickens at airplane windshields, and tried to paint a room using dynamite. They say their crowning moment was actually floating a lead balloon, disproving the old cliché. And when their 2011 season debuts Wednesday night in the US, they'll determine whether …

    Music and Media 5 Apr 2011, 20:54

  • Google Chrome to warn of malicious Windows executables

    Social engineering put on notice

    Google says it's expanding its blacklist of malicious websites to include those that use deceptive claims to push harmful Windows programs. The addition to Google's Safe Browsing API will warn people when they are about to visit websites that offer Windows-based trojans that are disguised as screen savers or other innocuous …

    Malware 5 Apr 2011, 21:21

  • Intel expands 'Sandy Bridge' Xeon E3 lineup

    Workstation incarnation

    Intel is rolling out more chips for single socket workstations and servers from its "Sandy Bridge" Xeon E3 lineup. The Xeon E3-1200 family of chips, which were slated to be rolled out sometime around in February, were delayed back at the end of January when Intel discovered a flaw in the "Cougar Point" chipsets that are used …

    Servers 5 Apr 2011, 21:26

  • Burnout Crash gets PG rating

    But it hasn’t been announced yet…

    If there’s an “oops” moment here, it belongs to the game publisher rather than Australia’s Classification Board, but Electronic Arts’ unannounced game Burnout Crash has been unveiled because the Board gave it a PG rating. The game is described as multiplatform, and gets the rating on the basis of “mid-level” violence. Burnout …

    Odds and Sods 5 Apr 2011, 21:51

  • Facebook Data Center: If it won't run ARM, what will it run?

    Zuckerberg to unmask shiny new backend

    In August, the rumor was that Facebook planned to pack its first custom-built data center with ARM servers, abandoning traditional x86 chips from the likes of Intel and AMD. The trouble was that the rumor arrived via a site calling itself SemiAccurate, and Facebook promptly told the world it wasn't accurate at all. But on …

    Infrastructure 5 Apr 2011, 21:59

  • HP whips out 6 ILM products

    Info lifecycle management update

    HP has updated its information lifecycle management portfolio with six product announcements. The company's marketing background to these six updates is wonderful: "Instant-On Enterprises embed intelligence into everything they do for a transparent, real-time view of information across the organization to service customers, …

    Applications 5 Apr 2011, 22:44

  • Canonical kills free Ubuntu CD program

    Try-before-you-don't-buy moves to cloud

    Say goodbye to Ubuntu on CD. Canonical is killing the free distribution of its Linux on disc, while ramping up cloud trials for penguin-curious Windows fans. On Tuesday, Canonical said it's stopping the six-year-old ShipIt and CD distributor programs, as technology has moved on and they no longer make sense. The move will also …

    Operating Systems 5 Apr 2011, 22:53

  • Pac Fibre invites tenders for Au-NZ-US cable

    Build our network, [insert name here]

    Pacific Fibre has announced that it has invited the submarine cable industry to tender for building its proposed Australia-New Zealand-US link. If built, the link would expand both capacity and competition on the route. Today, the route is served by the dual-path Southern Cross Cable Network and Telstra's Endeavour cable. …

    Telecoms 5 Apr 2011, 23:29

  • US House votes to bar FCC net neut rules

    The circus never ends

    The US House of Representatives has voted to prevent the FCC's new net neutrality rules from taking effect. As if you expected anything less. On Tuesday, the House approved a resolution that "disapproves" (PDF) the net neut rules laid down by the FCC in December, with the vote splitting almost entirely along party lines. 241 …

    Networks 5 Apr 2011, 23:39