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24th August 2011 Archive

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  • Argentina: home of Bavarian lager

    It’s in the DNA

    Beer has been around for millennia, but lager is more recent, invented in Germany about 600 years ago. Its secret is a particular yeast, and now American scientists believe they’ve identified an ancestor of that yeast – in Argentina. Lager brewers use a yeast called Saccharomyces pastorianus which ferments at lower …

    Science 24 Aug 2011, 00:30

  • Data for 43,000 at Yale winds up in Google search results

    SNAFU discovered after FTP added to index

    Yale University has warned 43,000 people that their names and Social Security numbers were publicly accessible for 10 months to anyone with an internet connection. According to The Yale Daily News, the sensitive information was stored on an FTP server that was primarily used to store open-source materials. The mistake came to …

    Security 24 Aug 2011, 05:38

  • Kremlin green lights Siberia-Alaska tunnel

    The hard part? Money and politics. Not engineering

    In a couple of decades, you may be able to board a train at London's St Pancras Station, chug through the Chunnel traveling east, and – eventually – end up at New York City's Grand Central Station, having never disembarked. Yes, that 65-mile tunnel under the Bering Strait separating Siberia and Alaska, first proposed in 2007, …

    Government 24 Aug 2011, 05:39

  • NetApp throws in free Flash Cache

    Lets you pile 'em low and buy 'em cheap

    NetApp is providing 512GB – not 512MB – of free Flash Cache on the FAS6240 and 6280 arrays and the V6240 and 6280 controllers. The V Series is a detached FAS controller that can be used to virtualise third-party storage arrays and present them as NetApp storage. The Flash Cache stores frequently accessed or hot data in solid …

    Storage 24 Aug 2011, 07:24

  • 99% of UK gov websites are breaking the law

    Most have no idea how much they are violating

    Most public sector organisations do not ask internet users' consent to cookie tracking, a survey has said. The UK's Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendment) Regulations implement changes to EU law and were brought into effect in May. The new law requires website operators to make sure they have "informed consent" from …

    Policy 24 Aug 2011, 07:58

  • VW Scirocco BlueMotion Technology TDI 140

    Review A green GT for the working man

    Style, practicality, economy and sporting performance - not necessarily aspects of the car makers’ art you would expect to find all combined in a single model. But that’s what you'll get with the arrival of a new generation of rather desirable but also extremely frugal diesel coupés from the likes of Renault and Volkswagen. …

    Science 24 Aug 2011, 08:15

  • Misco reaps harvest of rage in Twitter Touchpad debacle

    'You've pissed off the ppl. They don't forget.'

    Misco has earned the wrath of the Twitterati after it screwed up an HP Touchpad offer. The unloved fondleslab clones became the hottest gadget since the iPhone 7 almost as soon as HP said it was ditching the devices. Since the announcement, and subsequent massive price cuts, everyone and their dog wants a Touchpad. There's …

    The Channel 24 Aug 2011, 08:25

  • TMS buckles up first MLC flash product

    Suffering from smeary stripe? This cleans up in stride

    News from the flash front: TMS has a more affordable small flash SAN product that's higher capacity than the RamSan 710 speed rocket. The multi-level cell (MLC) RamSan-810, has MLC flash replacing the faster single-level cell (SLC) in the 710 which was announced in June. TMS has its RamSan-630 product for large SANs, the 710 …

    Storage 24 Aug 2011, 08:27

  • LG to demo mouse with diddy doc scanner

    The mouse that roared scanned

    Remember those handheld documents scanners that became all the rage in the late 1980s? LG is bringing them back, kind of, by building scanner tech into… a mouse. The LSM-100 comes with software able to convert pictures of letters into text files - hopefully with rather better accuracy than its 20th Century forebears - and to …

    Hardware 24 Aug 2011, 08:27

  • Sony shows next Nex system cameras

    Snap happy

    Sony has unwrapped this year's additions to its Nex line of compact cameras with interchangeable lenses: the 5N and the 7. Key 5N features include a 16.1Mp APS sensor and a new, grippy rubbery coating for the camera's magnesium alloy body. Nex 7 The 7 likewise sports a more DSLR-like look, with a black plastic grip. It has …

    Hardware 24 Aug 2011, 08:51

  • UK could have flooded world with iPods - Sir Humphrey

    Analysis Copyright law was/is the only obstacle. No, really

    Britain could have invented the iPod – if it wasn't for a copyright law that everyone ignores. So says the UK government in a remarkable economic justification of the so-called "Google Review", the Review of IP and Growth led by Ian Hargreaves. The document was written for the government by civil servants at the IPO, part of the …

    Media 24 Aug 2011, 09:00

  • Logitech unwraps fold-away keyboard for iPad

    Tuck me

    Logitech has introduced yet another keyboard for the iPad 2. In addition to its clip-on keyboard and its basic Bluetooth deck comes the Fold-up Keyboard into which the Qwerty layout splits then slides into a stand. The £90 accessory looks like this: Smooth, huh? Well it will be if it works as well as Logitech claims. …

    Hardware 24 Aug 2011, 09:24

  • Amphibious Nazi raccoons menace Sweden

    Hermann Göring's furry stormtroopers poised to strike

    Sweden is bracing for an amphibious assault by a considerable force of raccoon dogs and raccoons, poised to cross the Öresund strait which separates the country from neighbouring Denmark. Raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) are native to east Asia, where their populations are actually declining, but they have made …

    Science 24 Aug 2011, 09:27

  • Secret list of celebrity .xxx domains removed from market

    Michelle Obama safe, Samantha Cameron must use protection

    Hundreds, possibly thousands of celebrities have had their names permanently banned from the new .xxx adults-only internet domain. El Reg can reveal that everyone from Justin Bieber to Piers Morgan has had their .xxx address placed into a permanent "reserved" status by the registry manager, ICM Registry. This means that …

    Hosting 24 Aug 2011, 09:41

  • AlertMe network power-meter kit: Suitable for techies?

    Review Our man plugs in and gives it a spin

    Simply measuring and monitoring energy usage helps people conserve, and helps avoid unexpected high bills while 'leccy prices are rising as quickly as they are now. Consumption monitors save cash and the planet, which is why UK.gov is keen on getting smart meters in every home, although these are probably rather less polished …

    Science 24 Aug 2011, 10:00

  • US and Russia to give uranium to ANYONE

    'No, you really don't need your own enrichment plant'

    So the US is making more nuclear fuel. And they're willing to offer that fuel, alongside the Russians, to countries who cannot get nuclear fuel for political reasons. Recklessness carried to extremes, surely? Well, no, that's not quite what is going on at all. What is going on is that the US and Russia are continuing to take …

    Government 24 Aug 2011, 10:14

  • Britain's iconic red phonebox turns 75

    Calls for a celebration?

    The most recognisable form of Britain's much-loved red telephone kiosk celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. Designed by English architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the British phonebox went through a number of tweaks in the 1920s and early 1930s, before the K6 model was introduced to commemorate the silver jubilee of King …

    Mobile 24 Aug 2011, 10:26

  • Agency sends contractors' day rates to 800 RBS staff

    People's bank sacks inhouse, pays £2k/day to outhousers

    Recruitment agency Hays has committed a massive blunder at the Royal Bank of Scotland. An email reminding managers to update timesheets in time for the bank holiday included an attachment with the day rates of 3,000 contractors. It was sent to 800 people at the bank. The row will likely deepen divisions between temporary and …

    Security 24 Aug 2011, 10:28

  • BBC crowdsourced mobile map: A bit quirky, but useful

    Best available, thanks to Ofcom and Everything Everywhere

    The Beeb has released its long-expected crowdsourced map of UK mobile coverage. Altogether 44,600 volunteers have been running Epitiro's Android-based connection monitor, at the BBC's behest, contributing a mass of data showing where the client thought it got a decent connection. That data has been put together into an …

    Mobile 24 Aug 2011, 10:43

  • Performance monitoring is Someone Else's Problem

    Tackling the culture of 'No'

    Douglas Adams obviously knew what makes an IT shop tick. In Life, the Universe, and Everything, he identified the Somebody Else’s Problem (SEP) field, which renders some things not so much invisible as unnoticeable. For a while, the imminent collapse of the Greek economy was an SEP, until it became too big to ignore. IT …

    Service Assurance 24 Aug 2011, 11:00

  • Facebook ditches Places - but embiggens location tracking

    How many icons will appear on Zuck's global bitch-map?

    Facebook is abandoning its Places feature after just one year since it launched the function – at the same time, location settings within the social network are being ramped up. The company buried the news yesterday that Places would be "going away" in a blog post announcing Facebook's latest "privacy" tweaks. "In the same …

    Networks 24 Aug 2011, 11:17

  • Samsung gets alphabetical with its smartphones

    Handsets now Young, Magical, Wonder or Refined

    Samsung has followed in Nokia's recent footsteps by launching fresh devices alongside a new labelling strategy which aims to organise its products into a more logical system. The four new smartphones - the Galaxy M Pro, Galaxy W, Galaxy Y and Galaxy Y Pro - all run on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and sport the new categorisation …

    Phones 24 Aug 2011, 11:30

  • Nokia accidentally unveils OS it should have had in 2009

    Shy, lovely Symbian Belle debutante expected

    Nokia is expected to unveil the a major refresh of its Symbian OS today, bringing it bang up to date with competitive phones from two years ago. Owners of more recent Symbian^3 models should be able to update their handsets eventually. Nokia unveiled a teaser for a mystery announcement of "something new for Symbian" on Monday …

    Phones 24 Aug 2011, 11:31

  • VMware turns shrink ray on open source dev cloud

    A really tiny Google mimic for your laptop

    VMware has created a really tiny version of its open source developer cloud. On Wednesday, the virtualization giant introduced Micro Cloud Foundry, a free downloadable version of its Cloud Foundry service that runs on a single laptop. This past spring, when VMware unveiled Cloud Foundry and open sourced the code behind it, the …

    Cloud 24 Aug 2011, 12:00

  • Room-temperature brown dwarf spied just 9 light-years off

    'Like finding a secret house on your block'

    Scientists perusing data collected by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have spotted some really cool stars – brown dwarfs with an atmospheric temperature as low as an agreeable 25°C. Dubbed "Y dwarfs", these objects have hitherto eluded astronomers hunting them at visible wavelengths, although WISE has finally …

    Science 24 Aug 2011, 12:21

  • Chinese buying more PCs than Americans

    Bitchslap for US probably temporary ... this year

    China bought more PCs than the US in the second quarter this year, making it the largest computer market in the world for the first time, according to market research firm IDC. Long touted as the next biggest market for PCs, China finally managed to beat the US with 18.5 million units worth $11.9bn shipped compared to 17.7 …

    Financial News 24 Aug 2011, 12:31

  • NFC phone-tap app makes money!

    By winning a competition for developers

    Touchanote is getting $50,000 of Evernote's VC cash as the winner of the company's developer competition, turning Touchanote into the most profitable NFC app ever. That's according to NFC World, which congratulated the developers on finding an application for NFC that doesn't involve proximity payments, and on making money …

    Developer 24 Aug 2011, 12:54

  • Open source cloud-builder respawn: Eucalyptus 3.0 looms

    Mickos & Co craft 'hot spare' NASA-proof cloudware

    Marten Mickos and Eucalyptus have pumped new life into their build-your-own–cloud platform, revamping its approach to open source while adding new code designed to protect users from catastrophic failures. On Wednesday, Eucalyptus unveiled version 3.0 of its eponymous platform, a means of building Amazon-like "infrastructure …

    Cloud 24 Aug 2011, 13:00

  • Just how will Apple restrict device-ID snooping in iOS 5?

    'You never really know what those guys are up to'

    Apple is planning to phase out unique device identifiers from iOS 5, according to documentation sent out to developers, possibly to stop people worrying about their privacy on iPhones and iPads. Apple developers have been told that the serial number will be "deprecated" in iOS 5.0 and they should "create a unique identifier …

    Developer 24 Aug 2011, 13:26

  • comScore sued over 'sinister' data collection methods

    We make 'commercially viable efforts' not to slurp you

    Data collection outfit comScore has rejected a lawsuit that alleges the company violates US privacy laws, by saying the claims are "without merit and full of factual inaccuracies". On Tuesday, a suit (30-page PDF/270KB) was filed in the US District Court, Northern District of Illinois, by Chicago-based law firm Edelson McGuire …

    Security 24 Aug 2011, 13:28

  • How to stay out of big trouble from little devices

    Beware the smartphone apocalypse

    Here's the tricky thing about mobile security: the perfect storm of smartphone threats is always just over the horizon. Every couple of years, the vendors are up in arms about it and predict handheld apocalypse. At the same time, we are seeing an unprecedented level of activity in the mobile space. Morgan Stanley analyst Mary …

    Enterprise Tech 24 Aug 2011, 13:30

  • Amazon man to shoot his pocket rocket this afternoon

    Bezos' Blue Origin not expecting to beat 18,000 feet

    Blue Origin, the private space-rocket firm founded by Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame, is to conduct a rocket test this afternoon (Wednesday 24 August). A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) specifies that "ROCKET LAUNCH ACTIVITY" is due to take place near Van Horn, Texas and clears a volume of …

    Science 24 Aug 2011, 14:01

  • ASA bitchslaps Motorola on 'most powerful' Atrix boast

    'We meant it had the most powerful battery'

    The UK's Advertising Standards Agency has upheld complaints about the TV ad for Motorola's Atrix, which stated that the gadget was "the world's most powerful smartphone". Two complainants, who either felt enraged enough by this hyperbole to comment or were feeling particularly brand-loyal, said they believed that the Samsung …

    Mobile 24 Aug 2011, 14:27

  • Motorola pitches Qwerty smartphone at FaceTweeters

    Fire off your updates

    Here's the Motorola Fire, the "budget-friendly" Android 2.3 smartphone the company will be bringing to Blighty in the coming months. The pic tells you most of what else you need to know about the handset, but it doesn't reveal the 3Mp camera, 802.11n Wi-Fi connectivity, assisted GPS pick-up, and dual-band HSDPA 3G and quad- …

    Phones 24 Aug 2011, 14:39

  • appToyz appWheel

    iGamer Bum steer?

    “For fuck's sake, Mum. I asked for the appBlaster; not the fucking appWheel. You've totally fucked Christmas. No wonder dad's shacked up with that 26-year-old stunner. I fucking hate you!” I can picture it now. Christmas morning 2011 – surly, ungrateful teenager versus distraught, nonplussed mum. Not that I've even tried the …

    Games 24 Aug 2011, 15:01

  • Russian Progress space truck crashes in Siberia

    Updated ISS supplies lost, station not rationing air just yet

    The Russians have lost an unmanned Progress supply vessel which blasted off at 13:00 GMT today from Baikonur Cosmodrome en route to the International Space Station. The country's Roscosmos space agency issued a brief statement explaining that the third stage of the Soyuz rocket tasked with lifting the space truck had failed …

    Science 24 Aug 2011, 15:28

  • Misery at Acer: 'Breaking even this year is impossible'

    Pile 'em high and, well, leave 'em there for now

    Acer has announced its first-ever quarterly loss as a veritable vortex of inventory backlogs, internal reshuffling, sluggish PC demand and runaway iPad popularity chewed through its profits. The Taiwanese firm's Q2 loss after tax was NT$6.8bn ($236m), according to its preliminary results, which came from "$150m in sales …

    Business 24 Aug 2011, 15:57

  • Google settles illegal drug ad probe for $500 million

    One of the largest forfeitures in US history

    Google has agreed to pay $500 million to settle a US Department of Justice investigation into allegations that it allowed Canadian pharmacies to advertise on its US search engine, facilitating the illegal importation of controlled and non-controlled substances into the country. In a statement released on Tuesday, the …

    Government 24 Aug 2011, 17:11

  • Dish eyes 4G LTE wireless network

    Anything LightSquared can do...

    Dish Networks is following LightSquared's lead in applying to the FCC to be relieved of its obligation to use satellite frequencies for satellite communications. The plan is to provide Americans with data access using TD-LTE, over the frequencies which are supposed to be reserved for satellite communications, and Dish would …

    Broadband 24 Aug 2011, 17:43

  • Nervous Samsung seeks Android Plan F. Or G, H ....

    Korean govt nudges chaebols

    Samsung has changed its mind and may join an Korean consortium producing an open alternative to Android. The strategy shift has been prompted by Google's proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobility – and reflects the vertical integration structure whereby Google both licenses Android and competes with its licensees in handsets. …

    Mobile 24 Aug 2011, 17:44

  • 'Devastating' Apache bug leaves servers exposed

    Devs race to fix weakness disclosed in 2007

    Maintainers of the Apache webserver are racing to patch a severe weakness that allows an attacker to use a single PC to completely crash a system and was first diagnosed 54 months ago. Attack code dubbed “Apache Killer” that exploits the vulnerability in the way Apache handles HTTP-based range requests was published Friday on …

    Security 24 Aug 2011, 18:05

  • Apple wins (another) Samsung Android injunction in EU

    Dutch court blocks phone trio

    A Dutch court has warmed the hearts of Apple's patent Nazis, issuing a preliminary injunction against the sale of three Samsung Android phones: the Galaxy S, the Galaxy S II, and the Ace. As noticed by the ubiquitous Florian Mueller, the injunction is due to take affect in the middle of October, but it only applies to certain …

    Phones 24 Aug 2011, 19:11

  • Tech23 unearths tech innovators downunder

    NSW govt shows support in dollars and sense

    Australia’s leading start-up showcase Tech23 has recognized five early-stage Australian technology companies to share in a pool of $150,000 in cash prizes. Mobile apps, cloud computing and innovative online engagement tools were among the areas recognized for commercialization potential. The event, now in its third year, …

    Business 24 Aug 2011, 21:48

  • Vandal posts official's nude pic to protest cell shutdown

    Below the belt blackmail

    Online vandals protesting the recent shutdown of cellphone service at San Francisco subway stations posted a nude photo of the transit agency spokesman who took responsibility for the highly controversial move. The image of Linton Johnson, chief spokesman for Bay Area Rapid Transit, was posted Wednesday afternoon to a page on …

    Security 24 Aug 2011, 22:38

  • Steve Jobs resigns as Apple CEO

    Tim Cook appointed new boss

    Steve Jobs resigned as Apple's CEO and was replaced by Tim Cook, formerly COO of the iconic company Jobs cofounded 35 years ago. According to a letter circulated on Business Wire, Jobs tendered his resignation to the company's board of directors on Wednesday afternoon after saying he was no longer able to meet the requirements …

    Laptops 24 Aug 2011, 22:55