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15th August 2011 Archive

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  • Curved light drives boffin one-upmanship

    Get bent

    For four years, scientists have been on an international race to exploit a property of a peculiar kind of light called an “Airy beam”. Now, not one, but two groups of researchers are laying claim to the prize. The beam, named after 19th century scientist Sir George Biddell Airy, was first observed in 2007. At the time, it was …

    Science 15 Aug 2011, 00:30

  • How expensive are Australian NBN services?

    Depends on how you measure it

    One of the things people like to toss into the broadband debate is to grab a price that’s cheaper than what Australia’s National Broadband Network seems to offer, and complain about it. Usually, that involves grabbing a price in a currency other than our own, grabbing today’s exchange rate, and converting the foreign price. …

    Broadband 15 Aug 2011, 01:00

  • Nvidia enlists Cray CTO for Tesla GPU assault

    HPC biz all lumpy

    If Advanced Micro Devices was thinking it had a shot of delivering GPU coprocessors to supercomputer maker Cray - which already uses its Opteron chips in its HPC clusters - the odds just went down. Former Cray chief technology officer Steve Scott, who spent 19 years designing machines and interconnects, has just been tapped as …

    HPC 15 Aug 2011, 02:07

  • A-level results accidentally put on interwebs a week early

    Schoolboy error

    Edexcel was testing its online 'A' level results service over the weekend when it left a web server live and accidentally released grades a week early. The cock-up happened on Saturday morning and was fixed by early afternoon, by which time several dozen students had seen their results and texted grades to friends too. A …

    Bootnotes 15 Aug 2011, 08:58

  • Apple ups iPhone production 'by 12%'

    56 million units to be churned out in H2 2011

    If you believe the whispers coming out of Taiwain and China, Apple is expecting to shift 56 million iPhones of one type or another during the last six months of 2011. Taiwan-based supply chain moles say Apple has upped its production requirement from the 50m units it ordered at the end of Q2, DigiTimes reports. iPhone 5 …

    Phones 15 Aug 2011, 09:05

  • FLASH: The Disruptening

    Comment Who will tame this mighty beast and ride it into town?

    We have had a flash of insight: all the storage array vendors are going to have to face up to all-flash arrays and do something about the technology – buy, partner or build. Denial is not a strategy. Just as disk storage bifurcated into server/PC direct-attach storage (DAS) and shared networked storage (NAS and SAN), so too …

    Storage 15 Aug 2011, 09:12

  • Firefox 6 silently released ahead of official unwrap date

    Updated Mozilla FTP server cares naught for release schedule

    Mozilla isn't officially breaking the seal on Firefox 6 until tomorrow, but the code for the latest iteration of its popular open source browser is already available online. It is currently tucked away on the organisation's FTP server. A blogger over at TechnoBolt spotted that the code has been downloadable since at least …

    Applications 15 Aug 2011, 09:23

  • Orange signals mobile broadband tariff tweaks

    Box of MiFi tricks up its sleeve

    Network giant Orange has refreshed its mobile broadband plans while touting a new Wi-Fi device for those on the move. Orange's 'Small' plan offers an initial allowance of 500MB and costs £10 a month. Although for a fiver more, customers can benefit from the 'Medium' plan, which doubles the allowance to 1GB and throws in …

    Broadband 15 Aug 2011, 09:59

  • Samsung's lovely illegal tablet: Why no one wants to know

    Analysis Even without injunctions, it's a hard sell

    Quite unexpectedly I found myself in possession of some very hot, illegal property last week. Not a looted plasma TV but rather the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which thanks to legal injunctions is disappearing from channels all over Europe. Vodafone is the latest to cancel its orders. It is a beautifully designed piece of hardware …

    Hardware 15 Aug 2011, 10:28

  • Wikipedia: It's not for girls

    Woeful Sex and the City coverage, lady nerditors bullied

    Time-rich computer scientists in America say they have conclusive proof that online encyclopedia/graffiti archive Wikipedia is biased against women. Hardly any of the site's legions of volunteer editors are female, and the few who are get picked on by the male majority: as a result Wikipedia fails to provide quality in-depth …

    Bootnotes 15 Aug 2011, 10:31

  • Ex Cisco UK reseller boss returns from Excellent Clouds

    You can take the girl out of the channel ...

    Cisco's former UK reseller and distie boss Bernadette Wightman has returned to the channel less than three months after taking on a global role with the vendor to head up the Cloud Centre of Excellence. Wightman, who was the local lead for channels, is now becoming managing director for the partner organisation in Cisco's …

    The Channel 15 Aug 2011, 10:35

  • PlayStation Network content in-store at Game

    Shoppy digital

    Sony has followed in Microsoft's footsteps by partnering with Game to offer digital content over the counter. Initially, the deal will see a range of over 50 titles sold through 42 Game stores, although by mid-September, PlayStation Network content will be available in all of its 620 retail outlets here in the UK. The move …

    Games 15 Aug 2011, 10:41

  • Galaxy Tab still legal in the Netherlands

    Keen to fondle a new slab? Bless the open-minded Dutch

    While Samsung is seeking to overturn a preliminary injunction that prohibits it from shipping its hotly anticipated Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Europe, a court in The Hague decided not to impose an immediate sales ban in the Netherlands until it reaches a decision on 15 September. In an unprecedented intellectual property battle, Apple …

    Hardware 15 Aug 2011, 11:06

  • HP to bring next WebOS blower to Blighty

    Pre 3 coming to Orange

    HP's anticipated WebOS smartphone - the Pre 3 - has appeared on the Orange site, suggesting an official launch is on the cards soon. While the handset has yet to crop up on Orange's sales page, there is a helpdesk holder for the Pre 3, which reveals handset specifications that differ slightly from those HP originally proposed …

    Phones 15 Aug 2011, 11:15

  • Lawyer touts new legal time-bomb for Android

    Phones and slab makers in peril, says 'totally bogus' attorney

    Every manufacturer using Android is in breach of the GPL, according to IP attorney Edward Naughton, though his last accusations didn't exactly run Android out of town. Last time it was a complex argument about how effectively Google had cleaned GPLv2-licensed header files, but this time the argument isn't so esoteric and could …

    Phones 15 Aug 2011, 11:17

  • Audio Technica ANC7b noise-cancelling headphones

    Geek Treat of the Week Journey into sound

    You don’t have to be a geek to have a fondness for a gadget that just ‘works’. Perhaps a mobile phone that does bugger all than manage calls but gets a signal wherever you are. How about a simple pair of headphones? From a technical standpoint, perhaps not so simple in the case of Audio Technica’s ATH-ANC7b cans. However, just …

    Hardware 15 Aug 2011, 11:34

  • Dynamic Languages Conference: it's an Edinburgh thing

    Stallman speaks at free one-dayer

    On Friday August 26, The Dynamic Languages Conference, a free one-day event, rolls into Edinburgh. Reg developer Marco Fontani is a co-organiser, so the gig is bound to marvellous. As well as a packed schedule of talks, the conference features Free Software Foundation founder Richard Stallman, who will deliver a lecture on …

    Developer 15 Aug 2011, 11:52

  • Google plus Google Plus: You give us info, we sell it!

    'Oh, my mouth is watering', murmurs Choc Factory exec

    Google has bolted posts created in its invite-only social network Google+ into its search estate. Mountain View began applying "social" elements to its search engine in 2009. But it is now ramping up that effort after launching Google+ in late June this year. Search queries that include results from Google+ will only be …

    Networks 15 Aug 2011, 11:54

  • Microsoft loses grip on slippery Mango

    Windows Phone 7.5: Slurp this leak at your phone risk

    The next version of Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system has arrived early for those willing to risk a slapdown by Redmond. A version of the code built by Microsoft and delivered to smartphone-makers this summer has apparently slipped free of the Redmond-OEM loop and was leaked online. The leaked code is build number …

    Operating Systems 15 Aug 2011, 12:13

  • Google SHOCK! Snaps up Motorola phone biz for $12.5bn

    Are you a Droid handset maker? You were

    Google has made its largest-ever acquisition, and biggest corporate gamble, by splashing out $12.5bn for Motorola's phone division, Motorola Mobility. The deal puts Google into the hardware business in a serious way – and into direct competition with licensees of its Android operating system, who woke up this morning thinking …

    Mobile 15 Aug 2011, 12:21

  • Adobe automates website design for arty Luddites

    Like crayons, hate keyboards?

    Adobe is looking for beta testers for its web design software, which it claims removes the need for coding. Aimed at graphic designers with limited technical skills, Muse claims to make it possible to design complex websites using point-and-click and drag-and-drop rather than hand coding. Adobe is aiming for a full release of …

    Applications 15 Aug 2011, 12:23

  • People don't want tablets, they want iPads

    Mountain of unsold fondle-slabs piles up, prices slashed

    The phenomenal sales success of Apple's iPad shows no sign of abating, but sales for all other tablets competitors are stagnating and channel inventories are building. US tech titan HP is the latest to correct its prices, trimming £50 off the cost of a TouchPad in an effort to get them shifting, with the 16GB and 32GB versions …

    Tablets 15 Aug 2011, 12:29

  • WinPho 7.5 leaked in unofficial update

    Mango out early

    With the launch of Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.5 fast approaching, it was only a matter of time before someone leaked the final build. An internal spillage has done exactly that, offering hackers the chance to give Mango a ruddy good seeing too. The release is simply called "build 7720" and can be quite a tricky install to …

    Phones 15 Aug 2011, 12:54

  • Virgin Media flogs off UKTV stake for £339m

    Dave gobbled by Food Network

    Virgin Media isn't in the TV content business anymore. Today the cable operator confirmed it has a buyer for its share of the UKTV company, for £239m plus £100m to buy up outstanding debt and equity. The buyer is US company Scripps Networks Interactive, responsible for the Food Network. The other half of UKTV is owned by the …

    Media 15 Aug 2011, 12:59

  • InMage dumps CEO

    Co-founder takes over

    InMage, a startup selling disk-based recovery software, has elevated co-founder and chairman Kumar Malavalli to its CEO position, dispensing with long-term CEO John Ferraro. InMage's Scout application is used for application replication and recovery across wide area networks. HDS resells it. Ferraro's LinkedIn page still has …

    Storage 15 Aug 2011, 13:04

  • TwitPic founder tries to pull rug from under Twitter

    Revenge rug-tug bid against colossus probably doomed

    The creator of Twitpic, the photo-sharing system sitting atop Twitter, has launched his own Twitter clone. Heello [sic] launched last week and looks surprisingly like Twitter, in layout and function. It refers to "tweets" as "pings", and "followers" as "listeners", but otherwise has little to distinguish, or recommend, itself …

    Networks 15 Aug 2011, 13:32

  • Apple Mac Mini 2011

    Review Style over substance?

    Last year’s Mac Mini was a bit of a let-down. Sure, it got a nice redesign, with a gleaming metallic, low-profile chassis and a new HDMI port that seemed like a belated attempt to try and repurpose the Mini as a media centre system. However, the hardware inside it was actually downgraded, which meant that you were paying almost …

    Hardware 15 Aug 2011, 13:55

  • Has Google wasted $12bn on a dud patent poker-chip?

    Analysis Larry Page's Moto bluff fails to convince

    It's all about patents, says Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page. Google insists that it bought Motorola to shore up its Android platform, which is caught in a litigious pincer movement from old buddies Steve Jobs and Larry Ellison. Microsoft is merely egging them on the sidelines as the manbags fly, shouting: "Fight!" But …

    Business 15 Aug 2011, 15:17

  • 'Major' C++ revision receives standards blessing

    Mind your language

    Changes to the standard behind of one of the world's most popular programming languages have been approved by standards chiefs. The next version of C++ has been approved during a unanimous ballot by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Official publication of what will now be called C++11 is expected by …

    Developer 15 Aug 2011, 17:20

  • Innocent passengers targeted to protest subway agency

    Anonymous punishes THE PEOPLE to protect them

    Hacktivists protested recent controversial actions taken by a San Francisco regional subway authority by publishing sensitive information for more than 2,000 of passengers who had nothing to do with its agency's management. Anonymous, the loose-knit hacking collective, breached the security of MyBart.org and published the names …

    Security 15 Aug 2011, 18:34

  • Xsigo automagically floats cloud east and west

    Not just north and south

    Xsigo Systems, which for years has been trying to carve a niche for itself in the virtualized network and server rackets, is taking another crack at it with a version of its VP family of I/O Directors, tweaked to provide direct and movable links between virtual machines on clustered servers. Such traffic is commonly called …

    Cloud 15 Aug 2011, 19:58

  • Googorola versus the Android ecosystem

    The war Google won't admit

    When announcing its planned acquisition of Motorola Mobility, Google went out of its way to reassure existing Android device manufacturers that it wasn't cutting their legs out from under them. But whether or not Larry Page is actually revving up his amputation chainsaw depends on whether or not you believe him when he says: " …

    Mobile 15 Aug 2011, 21:14

  • US breakthrough in Oz bomb hoax case

    Louisville not far enough away for accused attacker

    NSW Police are about to apply to extradite a 52-year-old Australian arrested in Louisville, Kentucky, over the Madeleine Pulver bomb hoax. This morning, Sydney time, police announced the arrest, saying that the unnamed man collared by NSW police and FBI officers has “no known relationship” to the family. Police say he was …

    Security 15 Aug 2011, 22:04

  • ESPN buys Aussie tipping site

    Footy platform goes global

    Global sports broadcasting network ESPN has acquired Australian online and mobile football community site footytips.com.au. The footy tipping site was launched 12 years ago by university students Nathan Isterling and Heath Kilgour, who subsequently launched online media company ExtraCorp. FootyTips was acquired by gaming …

    Business 15 Aug 2011, 22:30

  • SGI slurps OpenFoam

    Going with the CFD flow

    Computational fluid dynamics, or CFD, is one of the biggies in the supercomputing world, and now Silicon Graphics has control of its own software stack after acquiring OpenCFD. OpenCFD was founded by Henry Weller, a researcher at Imperial College London, a hotbed of CFD software development since the early 1970s. Foam is short …

    HPC 15 Aug 2011, 23:29

  • Shuttered SETI reboots ET pursuit

    Thanks to Jodie Foster

    The search for intelligent life somewhere other than among non-governmental homo sapiens has been given a reprieve. Thanks to private donations, the SETI Institute will soon resume scanning the skies for extraterrestrial signals. "We are absolutely thrilled that thousands of people from all over the world stepped forward to …

    Science 15 Aug 2011, 23:32

  • Carosa invests in more Oz online start-ups

    VC activity heats up: is this what a bubble sounds like?

    Funding for Australian web ventures is gathering pace with Internet company accelerator, Future Capital Development Fund (FCDF), investing in a further three online operations. Serial online entrepreneur Domenic Carosa launched the fund in 2010 and is its executive chairman. Typically the fund invests between $AU100,000 and $ …

    Financial News 15 Aug 2011, 23:40

  • Son of Solaris raids Linux for KVM hypervisor

    Joyent erects 'first major hypervisor' in half decade

    In the summer of 2008, Google flipped the switch on its App Engine, letting outside developers build applications atop its state-of-the-art online infrastructure – and it soon got a lecture from Jason Hoffman. Hoffman – the founder and chief technology officer of Joyent, a San Francisco outfit offering a (somewhat) similar …

    Cloud 15 Aug 2011, 23:53