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17th August 2011 Archive

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  • iiNet nears million-customer mark

    Profit up, ARPU up, churn down

    Even in the relatively flat fixed broadband market, it seems there’s still room for growth: iiNet, the ISP claiming Australia's number two position in DSL services, managed to add more than 48,000 new customers in the 2010 financial year, taking total services to 960,000 at the end of the year. Announcing its annual results on …

    Financial News 17 Aug 00:01

  • Dell retools for the midmarket

    (Slightly) less revenue. But more profit

    Consumers and governments in the United States and Europe are crimping their spending, but businesses of all sizes are still refreshing their servers, storage, and PCs. As a result, Dell was able to come close to meeting Wall Street's revenue expectations in its second quarter. The company even brought more money to the bottom …

    PCs & Chips 17 Aug 00:12

  • Chic USB drive leads double life as personal vibrator

    Très élégant, oui, mais très puissant

    A San Francisco design firm has produced one of the most provocative human-machine interfaces we've seen in some time: a USB drive that doubles as a personal vibrator. "In a world where high technology and luxury design seem to touch every corner of our lives, the most intimate experiences should be no exception," Crave …

    Odds and Sods 17 Aug 03:24

  • IT admin cops to crippling ex-employer's network

    Cold revenge served here

    A Georgia IT administrator has pleaded guilty to crippling the computer system of a Japanese pharmaceutical company's US subsidiary several months after his employment there ended. Jason Cornish, 37, admitted using a public internet connection at a McDonald's restaurant in Smyrna, Georgia, to access the network of the Shionogi …

    Crime 17 Aug 04:00

  • Google's Android Dev Kit for Dummies™ sent home

    App Inventor returns with maker

    Google and MIT have built a new home for App Inventor, the Android-programming-kit-for-non-programmers that was just jettisoned from the Mountain View mothership. On Tuesday, the two announced the creation of the MIT Center for Mobile Learning, which will be "actively engaged in studying and extending" App Inventor under the …

    Mobile 17 Aug 04:51

  • Box o' Flashy virtual machines offered

    Pump my Data

    Startup Astute Networks stores VMware virtual machines on its dedicated ViSX G3 flash SAN – leaving bulk data to be stored on standard drive arrays. Astute claims that "virtualised storage is too slow to support SAP, Oracle, and SQL databases; virtual machine performance is inadequate to meet Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint …

    Virtualization 17 Aug 07:00

  • id Software Wolfenstein 3D

    Antique Code Show Glourious Basterd

    With the EDL taking the opportunity to whip up support after the latest riots, it seems a fitting time to resurrect the memory of shooting fascists. Indeed, it must be heartwarming for id Software to know it invented the gaming genre that is now outselling porn: Wolfenstein 3D was the definitive first-person shooter. …

    reghardware 17 Aug 07:00

  • Dob in suspect blingy neighbours on Facebook, say cops

    Where did they get all those tellies?

    Lothian and Borders police has launched a new initiative that allows the public to report suspected criminals, anonymously if they wish, "using facebook or via Bluetooth" or using the Crimestoppers website. The Scottish force said that the 'Made from Crime' scheme is the first of its kind in the country. The intelligence- …

    Policing 17 Aug 07:58

  • App developer slurped kids' data without consent

    50,000 Apple Store downloads, $50,000 fine

    A mobile applications developer will be fined $50,000 for allegedly collecting and disclosing children's personal information without parental consent, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has said. The US consumer regulator settled charges against W3 Innovations and its owner, Justin Maples, over the company's alleged …

    Developer 17 Aug 08:27

  • Startup reveals own dominance in flash data caching

    Also announces secret amount of funding raised

    VeloBit is a software startup with unique caching software algorithms technology that appears to be better than that of any of its rivals. It was introduced at the Flash Memory Summit, where VeloBit CEO and co-founder Duncan McCallum revealed his company had gained an undisclosed amount of A-round venture capital funding. He …

    Storage 17 Aug 08:54

  • Three touts 21.1Mb/s mobile broadband dongle

    MiFi upgraded to HSPA+, 802.11n

    Three UK is pitching a new 802.11n Wi-Fi enabled mobile broadband dongle, this one with HSPA+ technology on board capable of delivering download speeds of up to 21.1Mb/s. The operator does not fully supports the tech yet, though it is aiming to roll out HSPA+ on 80 per cent of its network by the end of the year. Meanwhile, …

    reghardware 17 Aug 09:20

  • US robochopper cargo skyhook gets another $47m

    Crewless mesh-copter creeps closer to the front line

    The US Army and Marines' ongoing effort to get unmanned robot supply helicopters into service continues, with a further $47m contract award announced yesterday. You can put a flyboy in there if you want one for some reason The deal, awarded by the Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate, will see defence mammoth …

    Government 17 Aug 09:22

  • Profit-disaster CEO at Blue Coat: I'll get my coat

    Mine's the one with the pink slip in the pocket

    Blue Coat boss Michael Borman has fallen on his sword following declining sales and profits in fiscal first quarter 2012. The web security and WAN optimisation minnow saw sales come in at $109.5m (£66.7m) down 9 per cent sequentially and 11 per cent on last year, as profits fell 70 per cent quarter-on-quarter to $2.7m (£1.6m) …

    Security 17 Aug 09:42

  • Sony slashes PlayStation 3 prices

    Console cost cutter

    Sony today cut the cost of the PlayStation 3, saving precious gaming pennies in the build up to the Chrimble season. Announced at the annual Gamescom event in Germany, the cuts bring the PS3 into line with its Microsoft counterpart. The UK price reduction, of roughly 17 per cent brings the 160GB PS3 to £200. The 320GB version …

    reghardware 17 Aug 10:01

  • Facebook wannabe rioters cop large helpings of porridge

    Flashplod rather than flashmob: only cops showed up

    Two men have been banged up for four years apiece, after unsuccessfully inciting violent disorder on Facebook. Jordan Blackshaw, 20, of Vale Road in Marston near Northwich and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22, of Richmond Avenue, Warrington, were handed the harsh sentences at Chester Crown Court yesterday. "If we cast our minds …

    Crime 17 Aug 10:12

  • German tap-to-pay telco allies don't need no stinkin' banks

    Slapdash slapcash plan requires all new bonk-banker kit

    The German arms of Telefonica and Vodafone, along with Deutsche Telekom, have signed an agreement to take their virtual mpass payment platform physical, without the help of the banks. The letter of intent, signed by all three companies, states that the mpass system will be set up as a jointly-owned-but-independent company …

    Mobile 17 Aug 10:38

  • Angry S Koreans mass-sue Apple over iPhone tracking

    You must pay each of us one meellion won! <cough> £568

    Apple is facing legal action from thousands of iPhone users for tracking their movements via their phones' location – and it has already been forced to make one payment on the same issue. Lawyer Kim Hyung-suk won one million South Korean won – or a disappointing £568.38 – from Apple last month. Or to be precise, Korean …

    Law 17 Aug 10:50

  • Scottish gov moans over broadband cash handout

    Gie us mair bawbees, oor internet's aye puggled

    The Scottish government isn't happy about the trifling amount of cash UK.gov's culture secretary splashed on the rollout of broadband in that country yesterday. Jeremy Hunt allocated £68.8m to Scotland from the £530m pot set aside as part of his ambitious plans to gift the UK with the fastest broadband network in Europe by …

    Government 17 Aug 11:09

  • iPHONE 5 SHOCK! US Apple store 4G kit-fit snapped

    'Sure it works sir, reception's great here in the shop'

    A photograph of LTE equipment being fitted in a US Apple store has reinvigorated rumours that the next iPhone will come with 4G technology built in, for AT&T at least. The pic was sent to Engadget, with a note saying that the kit being fitted supports LTE in the 700MHz and 3G bands (known in the US as Advanced Wireless Service …

    Mobile 17 Aug 11:14

  • Sony ballyhoos budget PSP

    Redesigned and repriced

    While the PS Vita lingers on the horizon, Sony is readying a refreshed PlayStation Portable - model E-1000 - for a penny short of £100. The move means the company will market a cheaper portable console than arch-rival Nintendo is following the recent 3DS price cuts. One downside: the budget Sony here lacks Wi-Fi and has to …

    reghardware 17 Aug 11:36

  • UK sales rankings: HP, Dell up, Acer down, Apple at No. 4

    Acer disaster drags Blighty down below French, Germans

    Acer has been knocked further down the rankings of the shrinking UK PC market as it continued to juggle efforts to clear inventory overload with sluggish consumer demand. Sales into the channel fell 15 per cent in Q2 to 2.5 million units, Gartner beancounters have found, but Acer – hit more acutely by the market downturn – saw …

    Channel Register 17 Aug 11:41

  • Facebook flashplodder to appeal against 4-yr cooler stint

    Crap rural lootin' event was attended only by police

    One of the men sentenced to four years in jail for attempting to incite disorder on Facebook is to appeal against the decision. Jordan Blackshaw, 20, of Vale Road in Marston near Northwich, was thrown in the slammer, after appearing before a judge at Chester Crown Court yesterday. Chris Johnson, of Moss Haselhurst solicitors …

    Law 17 Aug 11:57

  • Range Rover Evoque Si4

    First Look Land Rover techs up the SUV

    By the time the Range Rover Evoque is launched in September, Land Rover expects to be producing one every seven seconds from its Halewood factory, which should leave you in no doubt as to how important Range Rover views its first step into true mainstream motoring. Land Rover's Range Rover Evoque Si4: bit on the gorgeous side …

    reghardware 17 Aug 12:00

  • Sony prices up PlayStation telly for UK

    One screen, multiple pictures

    Sony has put a price to its PlayStation TV and confirmed it will come to Blighty this autumn. The 24in active-shutter gaming 3D TV, first announced at E3 2011, brings with it a technology called "SimulView", allowing gamers to see two separate stereoscopic images, depending on which glasses they wear. We reported recently …

    reghardware 17 Aug 12:15

  • Amazon deploys true-blue US gov cloud for secret arms data

    West Coast ITAR bank: New can of whup for Azure's ass

    Amazon is upping the pressure on both Microsoft and Google in the battle to scoop up cash-strapped government customers into the cloud. The online bookseller has moved to win over more government customers with the launch of AWS GovCloud, its cloud for US gov departments that crunch super-secret defence data. AWS GovCloud is …

    Cloud Business 17 Aug 12:23

  • Museum gets free NFC phone-tap exhibit cards from Nokia

    Look, better than ordinary cards! In some way!

    The Museum Of London has gone NFC, with tags beside the exhibits providing links to more information as Nokia continues trying to convince us that NFC is something we really want. Nokia paid for the deployment, as it continues trying to remind us that NFC isn't just about mobile payments and can be used for all sorts of other …

    Hardware 17 Aug 12:28

  • ICANN chief Beckstrom says he will go in July 2012

    Confirming decision apparently not made by him

    Rod Beckstrom, the president and CEO of domain name industry overseer ICANN, has announced that he will leave the job when his contract expires in July next year. Wrapping up: Rod Beckstrom "I have decided to wrap up my service at ICANN July 2012," he wrote on Twitter last night. ICANN later followed up with a press release …

    Hosting 17 Aug 12:32

  • Scotland Yard Four cleared - on phone-hacking

    Cop watchdog removes teeth from top plods' shins for now

    Erstwhile Met Police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson and his one-time colleagues – John Yates, Andy Hayman and Peter Clarke – have all been cleared of misconduct during an inquiry by the cop watchdog into the phone-hacking scandal at News International. The Independent Police Complaints Commission concluded that Stephenson, …

    Policing 17 Aug 13:00

  • Explaining the Chocolate Factory's Patent Panic

    Analysis Grabbing a target and holding it over their heart

    Debate rages on about whether Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility is good for Android, or an expensive mistake for Google, made in a moment of irrational panic. Our columnist Matt Asay thinks it "spells iPhone doom", and he's not alone. John C Dvorak thinks it's "pure genius". This supposes that Google performed a cost- …

    Business 17 Aug 13:41

  • 2nd-hand Popemobile, also used by Neil Armstrong, for sale

    Pontiff-tastic bubbletop limo carried many Apollo 'nauts

    A remarkable car which was used by Pope Paul VI during visits to New York and Bogotá and which carried Apollo moon astronauts including Neil Armstrong is to go on sale later this week. The modified stretch Lincoln Continental was produced by Chicago custom firm Lehmann-Peterson in 1965 at the special request of the Vatican to …

    Bootnotes 17 Aug 13:53

  • Piles of unshiftable HP fondle-slabs choke Best Buy

    Staff can't get about in stores as 'OuchPads' stack up

    Crates of HP fondleslabs are mounting up stateside at Best Buy as it emerged the retailer has shifted less than one-tenth of its 270,000 strong unit order. Evidence is mounting that HP's shiny slate, dubbed the OuchPad in the US, is failing to capture the attention of shoppers on both sides of the Atlantic, as indicated by …

    Channel Register 17 Aug 14:27

  • Red Hat beta revs KVM hypervisor to 3.0

    Like invasion from space: First we land, then we expand

    Commercial Linux distributor Red Hat is kicking out the first beta of its Enterprise Virtualization 3.0 hypervisors for servers and desktops. This brings the free-standing hypervisor up to par with the KVM hypervisor that was embedded in the company's Enterprise Linux 6.1 distro for servers , which came out in May. KVM is an …

    Virtualization 17 Aug 15:09

  • Dog fight game bitten with pro-PETA virus

    Dog and bone Trojan

    Supporters of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) organisation may have embraced new measures in the fight for animal rights, allegedly releasing a malware-infected version of a dog-fighting app PETA wants banned. Virus spotter Symantec says it found an infected pre-release version of Dog Wars on warez sites …

    reghardware 17 Aug 15:17

  • COMET WILL DEFINITELY NOT HIT EARTH – NASA

    OMFG Aaiee! We're all going to die!

    Rather worryingly, US space agency NASA has out of the blue issued a strident denial that an approaching comet poses any threat to planet Earth. "COMET ELENIN POSES NO THREAT TO EARTH," begins the NASA statement emailed to the Register. "Often, comets are portrayed as harbingers of gloom and doom in movies and on television, …

    Bootnotes 17 Aug 15:50

  • Nintendo aims to fill stockings with Wii slim

    Size matters

    The Nintendo Wii is set for a revamp this Christmas, with an all-new streamlined design. The 'Wii-design' will see the console now sport a more compact body. Unfortunately, it seems the size reduction has come at the cost of GameCube functionality, with no space left for the controller ports. The Wii has sold more than 87m …

    reghardware 17 Aug 16:11

  • Android app logs keystrokes using phone movements

    Touchscreen side-channel hack

    Computer scientists have developed an Android app that logs keystrokes using a smartphone's sensors to measure the locations a user taps on the touch screen. TouchLogger, as their demo app is dubbed, allowed its creators at the University of California at Davis to demonstrate a vulnerability in smartphones and tablets that has …

    Security 17 Aug 18:50

  • Google Apache mod speeds into outside world

    Fastsoft on Gooroids

    Though Google is loath to open source the foundations of its massive online infrastructure, it does share code for tools at the edge of its network, tools designed to accelerate the actual delivery of web stuff. Mountain View doesn't want Facebook rebuilding the Googlenet. But it is intent on accelerating the web as a whole. …

    Cloud 17 Aug 18:58

  • Ubuntu erects stairway to VMware code cloud

    vOpenSourceness

    Ubuntu 11.10 will ship with both the client and server components of Cloud Foundry, the "platform cloud" VMware open sourced this spring. On Wednesday, VMware and Ubuntu guardian Canonical announced that the next incarnation of the Linux distro – due for official release in October – will include Cloud Foundry packages built …

    Platform 17 Aug 21:44

  • TelstraClear slams new kiwi download laws

    CEO calls on government to break content monopolies

    The chief executive of TelstraClear, Allan Freeth, has lashed out against the pending introduction of new file sharing laws in New Zealand, which come into effect September 1. In a public release, Freeth states that the legislation is “flawed and needs to change.” When the Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Act …

    Business 17 Aug 22:23

  • Hackers breach website for SF transit agency police

    Data for 102 cops aired to protest BART

    Hackers breached the website belonging to a police union and posted sensitive personal information for more than 100 officers who work for a San Francisco regional transit authority. The breach of bartpoa.com was the second time in less than a week that websites affiliated with Bay Area Rapid Transit have been targeted by …

    Security 17 Aug 22:29

  • Google squashes Google Analytics bug

    Traffic report snafu nipped in bud

    Google has released a fix for Google Analytics that corrects a traffic reporting bug introduced by an update to the service last week. On August 11, Google changed the way Analytics calculates user sessions on websites. But the change also added a bug that misrepresented traffic in some situations. Since the update arrived, …

    Music and Media 17 Aug 22:51

  • Amcom grows profits with cloud demand

    Insert 'silver lining' pun here...

    Perth based fibre-optic carrier Amcom Telecommunications has boosted annual profits by 31 percent, forecasting similar growth for the year ahead bolstered by cloud services. Amcom reported a net profit of $AU25.9 million for the year to June 30, up 50 percent. on the previous year. In recent cloud based provision deals it has …

    Cloud Business 17 Aug 23:30