6th June 2011 Archive

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Auf Wiedersehen, Hipster Hitler

RedBubble don’t Reich you

What started as a row over tasteless art is now engulfing RedBubble co-founder Martin Hosking in a conflict-of-interest furore as well. The CEO of the online art community site, which has been under attack for listing Hipster Hitler’s range of Third-Reich-baiting t-shirts and merchandise for sale, also happens to be chairman …

Odds and Sods 6 Jun 02:22
Windows 8: Microsoft’s high-stakes .NET tablet gamble

No room in the HTML/Javascript lifeboat

There is a long discussion over on the official Silverlight forum about Microsoft's Windows 8 demo at D9 and what was said, and not said; and another over on Channel 9, Microsoft's video-centric community site for developers. At D9 Microsoft showed that Windows 8 has a dual personality. In one mode it has a touch-centric user …

Operating Systems 6 Jun 03:00
Scality shows off its mighty RING

'Our ring is resilient and self-healing'

French supplier Scality has updated its RING software with a major release which proves, it claims, that object-based storage can be faster than SAN or NAS for unstructured data operations. Scality employs a ring structure of X86 server nodes that store objects, not files or blocks, and can operate in parallel. The company …

Storage 6 Jun 08:01
Strange portents in the storage world

IDC minstrels tell of the vanished giant Dell

Big changes are afoot in the storage world, with IDC's storage tracker showing NetApp outgrowing everybody, Dell fading and HDS coming on strong. EMC is still top dog but HP and IBM are faltering. These conclusions come from IDC's quarterly storage tracker for the first 2011 quarter. IDC tracks the worldwide disk storage …

Storage 6 Jun 08:58
Aussie vendor pledges to ship 'first' Chrome laptop this week

To Pommies, too

Want a notebook based on Google's Chrome OS? Want it this week? Aussie online retailer Kogan is promising Brits just that. Kogan's Agora is a 12in, 1366 x 768 machine with 1GB of Ram, a 30GB SSD, Wi-Fi (2.4GHz 802.11n), Bluetooth and HDMI out. The laptop is based around an Intel Celeron SU2300 - a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU …

reghardware 6 Jun 09:09
Virgin IT dept shocked by donkey-shagging Taliban

Four battle airline in porn spam-shot sack rumpus

Four Virgin Atlantic employees at Gatwick airport were sacked after a video purportedly showing a member of the Taliban having sex with a donkey was emailed to the airline's entire IT department. The vid, called “What the Taliban do when they are not making improvised explosive devices", according to the Sunday Mirror, was …

CIO 6 Jun 09:26
Oxfam's 'Grow' world hunger plan: More peasants

Comment Hippie-crats correct on axing farm subsidies, tho

Oxfam's latest campaign, "Grow", seems so lovely and cuddly that to criticise it is almost like torturing puppies. What could be wrong with trying to feed the hungry and thus make the world a better place? Alas, if wishes were kings we could all be monarchs for the day and what's wrong with the campaign is not the initial wish …

Government 6 Jun 10:06
Japan seeks unheard-of new uses for cell location data

Big Brother by no means the only interested party

Japanese operator NTT Docomo plans to use its store of location data to work out where to build more houses, and how many people get stuck during an earthquake. Those are two just of the potential applications for the huge amount of location data stored by mobile network operators, and where Docomo and the University of Tokyo …

Mobile 6 Jun 10:29
Google acting as a 'political tool', says China

'Chimerical' spear-phish story breathed on by the Dragon

China has issued a clear warning against Google's plans to grow its business in the People's Republic and labelled the company a "political tool" after hacking claims the company made against Beijing last week. Google claimed on 1 June that it had uncovered a sophisticated spear phishing attack on prominent US individuals …

Government 6 Jun 10:43
Xbox 360 sales reach Sony-smashing milestone

Microsoft has X-factor in popularity contest

Microsoft has revealed it passed the 55m mark for sales of the Xbox 360 console last week, putting it ahead of the PS3 in the overall global sales standing. In the build-up to industry show E3, the company has highlighted a survey by market watcher NPD which apparently shows the Xbox 360 "change the tail" of a typical console …

reghardware 6 Jun 10:51
Sandi Toksvig puts the 'n' into cuts - on the Beeb

Only children who can spell properly could be offended

The BBC has defended a joke by The News Quiz presenter Sandi Toksvig which, according to the Daily Mail, may have irreparably undermined the very bedrock of decency on which Middle England stands. The quip in question was broadcast last October at 6.30pm, and once again the next day at 12.30pm. Discussing the Tories and child …

Music and Media 6 Jun 11:00
LG Optimus 3D dual core Android smartphone

Review Outstanding display?

Fancy a Nintendo 3DS so you can play 3D games on the move but don’t have the pocket space for a console and a mobile? LG has come up with an alternative in the (sizeable) shape of its Optimus 3D. Like the Nintendo games machine, this phone offers 3D without those darn glasses you need at the cinema. And it also has twin cameras …

reghardware 6 Jun 11:01
FBI affiliates hacked by LulzSec

Mischiefcreants, password-reusing 'hat swap mud

Mischief-making hacking group LulzSec hacked into the systems of an FBI-affiliated public-private partnership organisation, defacing its website and leaking its email database in the process. Website defacements included mooching messages such as "LET IT FLOW YOU STUPID FBI BATTLESHIPS" and a video clip. Part of the message …

Security 6 Jun 11:13
Google grabs social networking trawler PostRank

May land rich catch of slippery, malodorous marketeers

Google has bought PostRank – an analytics firm which claims to make sense from the likes of Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites. PostRank looks at the top 20 social sites in order to help sites and companies better engage their audience, and check on how the opposition is doing. Its product already integrates …

Business 6 Jun 11:31
IDC slashes PC sales forecast for 2011

Fear the fondle slab!

IDC today nearly halved its worldwide PC shipment growth forecast for 2011 on the back of continued sluggish consumer demand in mature markets. The analysis house projected yearly growth of 7.1 per cent back in February but has downgraded this to just 4.2 per cent following a weak Q1 when sales slipped 1.1 per cent with the …

Business 6 Jun 11:41
'Dodgy Android apps are breaking our phones' - Motorola

Claim 70% of duff handset returns caused by crapps

Motorola's CEO reckons 70 per cent of smartphone returns are caused by third-party applications dragging down their devices, thanks to the openness of the Android platform. Speaking at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Technology Conference, Sanjay Jha, who heads up Motorola Mobility, said that the lack of quality control in …

Mobile 6 Jun 11:58
Movie-goer punts 3D-to-2D cinema specs

Changing dimensions

Are you regularly forced to sit through 3D kids' flicks in the cinema, generating inevitable headaches and eyestrain, powerless to do anything except hide behind your popcorn and cower at the daunting visuals? Next time you're dragged into such a situation, bring a pair of these along and convert films back to their regular …

reghardware 6 Jun 12:21
HP enterprise bigshot packs it in after just three months

No replacement yet lined up for vanishing Frenchman

Hewlett-Packard has confirmed that the SVP and GM of sales for its enterprise server, storage and networking (ESSN) division across EMEA has resigned just three months after taking on the role. Frederic Dussart moved to HP from rival EMC – where he was senior veep and regional country manager for Europe south, Middle East and …

Channel Register 6 Jun 12:51
Nintendo outs eShop update for 3DS

Weekly content promised

Nintendo has launched the eShop for 3DS, offering 3D versions of games from yesteryear, as well as movie trailers and details of upcoming releases. The eShop feature was originally planned for a release in May, but was pushed back to coincide with the company's press conference at E3 tomorrow. According to Nintendo UK's …

reghardware 6 Jun 13:01
Apple hit by new competition complaint as iCloud launches

Germans' streams choked off by fondleslab stranglehold

A German music site has lodged a competition complaint against Apple ahead of its iCloud launch later today. Simfy accused Apple of deliberately delaying approval of the company's iPad application in order to favour its own products. Simfy lodged its complaint with the German Federal Cartel Office and will also complain to …

Music and Media 6 Jun 13:15
Boffins develop working MALE PILL

For mice and (maybe soon) men

Stateside boffins think that they may have delivered a long-sought boon: a male oral contraceptive without undesirable side effects. There are already drugs which men can take to render sex a mildly athletic recreational activity rather than a potentially life-altering financial and emotional commitment, but these generally …

Biology 6 Jun 13:39
Tech 'tecs quiz Yorkshireman in Facebook hack probe

'Ecky thoomp! Rum 'un pwns t' social network?

Police have arrested and questioned a Yorkshire man over allegations that he hacked into social networking website Facebook. The unnamed 26-year-old from Yorkshire was arrested by police from the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit on Thursday. He was subsequently released on police bail pending further inquiries. Details of the …

Enterprise Security 6 Jun 14:08
Mellanox forges switch-hitting ConnectX-3 adapters

The server companion to SwitchX switch chips

Networking chip, adapter card and switch maker Mellanox is rounding out its converged InfiniBand-Ethernet product line with the debut of the ConnectX-3 integrated circuits and network adapter cards built using the chips. Mellanox has been selling multi-protocol chips and adapter cards for servers for a number of years, and …

Data Networking 6 Jun 14:29
Gov fails to have knowledge of itself on websites

Mandarins unable to achieve release

The Cabinet Office has missed a key deadline for the release of information on the number of central government websites in operation. In its structural reform plan progress report (4-page PDF/106KB) for May, the department said that an annual report on websites, including the relevant information, will now be published at the …

Government 6 Jun 14:46
Speck SeeThru MacBook Air cover

Txt Take Colour your metal

Daily Product reviews in 140 characters... Speck SeeThru Pictures Want our Txt Take on your gadget? Just send it in to Reg Hardware - details here.

reghardware 6 Jun 15:00
Cameron calls for ISP-level parental censorship tools

Save our online nippers from porn and - worse - ads

Prime Minister David Cameron has warned ISPs to be more robust with their plans to provide better tools to help parents censor sexualised content online, or else the government could step in with its own regulation measures. "The social response is not something we can leave to chance. We need to make sure we hold businesses …

Networks 6 Jun 15:09
Desktop virtualisation: Yes, it's cheaper

Opinion PCs burn through the money

Yes, a virtualised desktop environment can save you money - and trouble - if you do it right. Get it wrong and it can cost you more, so it's worth planning properly before jumping in feet-first. A PC can burn its way through $5,867 a year, according to Gartner. You don't have to be a genius to reduce that headline figure a …

Enterprise Tech 6 Jun 15:29
Adobe rushes out patch for all-platform Flash vuln

Came out on Sunday - must be important

Adobe has fixed a potentially serious cross-platform security bug in its Flash Player software with an out-of-sequence security update. A series of patches for different platforms, published on Sunday, tackles a cross-site scripting vulnerability in Flash. Adobe Flash Player version 10.3.181.16 – and earlier across a range of …

Security 6 Jun 15:35
Microsoft drops Halo 4 hint ahead of E3 keynote

Cock-up or conspiracy?

Microsoft has let slip its E3 lineup ahead of this afternoon's keynote, with the topic of Halo 4 high on the agenda, apparently. "The news millions of Halo fans have waited for: Halo 4 is on the way. But that’s not all…" read the Xbox.com E3 page earlier this afternoon. Unfortunately, the leak was taken down soon after it was …

reghardware 6 Jun 16:09
Oracle cranks Red Hat Linux clone to 6.1

Ellison laughs at anti-cloning tactics

If you needed a demonstration that Oracle is not CentOS, then look no further than the fact that only two weeks after Red Hat announced its Enterprise Linux 6.1 update, software giant Oracle has kicked out its Linux 6.1 clone. This is despite Red Hat's attempts to slow down the RHEL cloners and others – such as Oracle and the …

Channel Register 6 Jun 17:31
Stolen RSA data used to hack defense contractor

SecurID woes catch up to Lockheed Martin

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin has confirmed that a recent attack on its network was aided by the theft of confidential data relating to RSA SecurID tokens employees use to access sensitive corporate and government computer systems. According to an email the company sent to reporters, theft of the data for the RSA tokens …

Enterprise Security 6 Jun 18:52
HP erects common storage platform

Ibrix, LeftHand, and StoreOnce embraced

HP has announced Store360, common storage services software that uses underlying ProLiant and BladeSystem hardware, with storage personalities layered on top. At the company announced at its HP Discover event in Las Vegas, HP is layering Store360 across its industry-standard ProLiant and BladeSystem server hardware platforms. …

Storage 6 Jun 18:58
Apple opens iCloud to world+dog

Jobs: 'It's not as crap as MobileMe. Promise'

Apple's new iCloud will be the online repository for Contacts, Calendars, Mail, Photos, and iTunes. Less expected – but hoped for – was news that the cloudy storage locker will also be available to third-party developers to provide document storage and retrieval for their apps. Apple's MobileMe is dead. iCloud is the new …

Cloud 6 Jun 20:47
Mac OS X Lion debuts in July as $29.99 upgrade

Jobs claims 250 new features, 3,000 new APIs

Mac OS X Lion – the next incarnation of Apple's desktop, notebook, and server operating system – will go on sale in July at a price of $29.99. According to Apple, the OS will offer 250 new features and 3,000 new developer APIs. This includes the multi-touch touchscreen technology popularized by the iPhone and the iPad; the Mac …

Operating Systems 6 Jun 21:39
HP welds data center containers into EcoPODs

69 kilowatts per rack

Hewlett-Packard is still one of the big believers in containerized data centers, and the reason is simple: A select number of customers who are focused on power efficiency, speed of deployment, or both pay HP money to weld these things together and slap a coat of paint on them. At the HP Discover customer and partner …

Servers 6 Jun 21:43
1000 day wait for Sarah Palin emails nearly over

Transparency delayed...

After close to 1,000 days, the Alaska governor's office is finally set to release more than 24,000 pages of emails sent and received by former Gov. Sarah Palin during her first 21 months in office. The release will take place on Friday in Juneau and will comprise electronic messages sent and received by Palin and her husband …

Security 6 Jun 22:20
eBay buy signals retail-as-a-service cloud

X.Commerce marks the spot

eBay has bought a tiny PHP specialist as a precursor to rolling out a massive cloud commerce platform-as-a-service for retailers, complete with an app-store fed by web developers. On Monday, the web giant said it had snapped up shopping engine specialist Magento, which will be merged with X.Commerce, an open-source platform …

Cloud 6 Jun 22:59
Two fat atoms get the nod

Super-sizing the periodic table

If you’re the kind of person to lay out more than US$8,000 on a periodic table coffee table, The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) has bad news for you: it’s obsolete. That’s because after deliberations lasting more than a decade, and a review process begun in 2008, the Joint Working Party on the …

Physics 6 Jun 23:35
Apple uncloaks top 10 tools of iOS 5

Devs get it now. Users this fall

Apple has taken the wraps off iOS 5, touting a set of new features that range from the interesting, such Twitter integration and an entirely new messaging infrastructure, to the "What took you so long?", such as using your device's camera from the lock screen and tabbed browsing in Safari. The operating system is due for arrival …

Mobile 6 Jun 23:51