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26th September 2011 Archive

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  • Ancient auto: still running, up for sale

    Igor! Stoke the boilers!

    It’s even won a race, although it was reputedly the only contestant: a motor vehicle built in 1884 and thought to be the oldest still operating is up for sale. If you’ve got a couple of million and are free for a trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania, you could be the proud owner of a steamer built for one Comte De Dion, with only …

    Science 26 Sep 00:01

  • Oz Territory terrorized by MUTANT CANE TOADS!

    ‘The extra arm suits you’

    Northern Territory News, usually famous for a daily diet of crocodile stories and close to Weekly World News for credibility, has unleashed a new horror on the world: the five-legged cane toad. Cane toads are already a serious pest in Australia: released into the wild in the 1930s to protect sugar cane against a beetle, they’ …

    Biology 26 Sep 01:00

  • DataDirect embulgens arrays for big data

    Hopes to grunt with the big pigs in the Big Data pigpen

    Big-data-bound DataDirect has upped its array game, with a faster array product plus a file system-running array, and boosted its exec roster. The existing SFA10000 array gets a faster brother, the SFA10K-X. The hardware is the same as before: 4U base boxes with 60 drives and 180TB capacity. These can be stacked in a rack to …

    Storage 26 Sep 07:58

  • Online government services would exclude many Welsh

    Keep counters open if you ever want to see Dr Who again

    One in three people in Wales could get left behind as public services move online, according to a new report. Almost a third of the Welsh don't have an internet connection at home, the Bevan Foundation found (43-page/344KB PDF) - excluding them from online services. "The UK government says public services should be "digital …

    Government 26 Sep 08:26

  • Lib Dems: Gov must look at security of public data cloud

    Keeping stuff outside UK could erode citizens' rights

    The Liberal Democrat party has said that the government should investigate the potential for abuse of data owners' rights if private companies hosted public data outside the UK. The junior Coalition partner raised the issue in in its Policies for Information Technology paper. "Cloud computing is an area where, if [it is] left …

    Cloud Business 26 Sep 08:54

  • E Ink eyes 30m e-book reader sales in 2011

    Big demand from Xmas prezzie buyers with tight purse strings?

    Amazon may be about to launch a Kindle-branded Android tablet, but that hasn't stopped E Ink saying it expects 25-30m old-style e-book readers to ship in 2011. Most will wing their way from Asian factories in Q4 as the increasing presence of the e-book persuades punters to pick up low-cost e-book readers as Christmas presents …

    reghardware 26 Sep 08:55

  • MPs label police IT 'not fit for purpose'

    Bleedin' 'ell, guv, the computer's fell down the stairs

    The Home Affairs select committee has branded police service IT as "not fit for purpose" and claimed it is damaging the police force's ability to prevent crime and disorder. In a report titled New Landscape of Policing, the committee calls on the Home Office to revolutionise police IT as a top priority. It says IT is the one …

    Policing 26 Sep 09:27

  • Netflix whisks DreamWorks deal from under HBO's nose

    Dream contract to stream studio's movies

    Troubled US streaming service Netflix has bagged a deal to start piping DreamWorks Animation movies to punters. The studio's contract with US television channel HBO expires the end of 2013, but according to the FT, the film company's new agreement with Netflix will allow the streaming service to show some of DreamWorks' films …

    Music and Media 26 Sep 09:32

  • Sonim nudges NFC into hard-as-nails handset

    Communication that doesn't break down?

    Mobile manufacturer Sonim has extended its range of hardened handsets with what it claims is the world's most rugged NFC phone: the XP1301 Core NFC The XP1301 Core NFC rocks Sonim's familiar form-factor, sharing the fortified body of its other products, such as the XP3300, a long-life battery beast revealed at the Mobile World …

    reghardware 26 Sep 09:59

  • Byte-dock MacBook Pro port replicator

    Geek Treat of the Week What's up, dock?

    Apple dallied with dockable laptops in 1992, with the first PowerBook Duo, but by 1997 the idea had fallen out of favour. Owners of laptop Macs have had to hook and un-hook cables themselves ever since. No longer. Enter Techne's Byte-dock - yes, it's a naff name - a new line of docking stations for unibody MacBook Pros of all …

    reghardware 26 Sep 10:00

  • NASA to trial laser-powered space broadband

    Beaming probe data at 100Mbps

    Impatient boffins will be able to download high resolution images and video from space probes in mere minutes if a newly approved NASA trial proves successful. The space agency has rubber-stamped a trial of one of its projects - a laser-based communications system - which is theoretically capable of shifting up to 100Mb/s from …

    Space 26 Sep 10:18

  • First-person shooter swaps guns for cameras

    Point and shoot

    Here's a new take on the first-person shooter videogame genre. Instead of running around capping people with guns, how about shooting them with a camera instead? Warco - short for War Correspondant - does exactly that, putting gamers in the role of a dare-devil journalist who follows round troops at war, ArsTechnica reports. …

    reghardware 26 Sep 10:44

  • Swindon to get first UK 4G mobile network

    For the party, not the proles

    Swindon council will be getting an LTE network next year, just as residents lose access to what free Wi-Fi the council's last networking project managed to provide. UK Broadband will be kitting up Swindon council offices with LTE connections next year, using the 3.4GHz spectrum it acquired more than a decade ago – and which it …

    Mobile 26 Sep 10:45

  • Drinking alcohol wards off asthma

    Booze. Is there anything it can't do?

    Yet more splendid news for that substantial proportion of Reg readers who are familiar with the view through the bottom of a glass: Scientists have discovered that drinking booze prevents one from developing asthma. The new research is to be announced today at the European Respiratory Society's Annual Congress in Amsterdam, …

    Odds and Sods 26 Sep 10:46

  • Red Hat engineer renews attack on Windows 8-certified secure boot

    Linux lock-out row rumbles on

    A senior Red Hat engineer has lashed back at Microsoft's attempt to downplay concerns that upcoming secure boot features will make it impossible to install Linux on Windows 8 certified systems. Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) specifications are designed to offer faster boot times and improved security over current …

    Developer 26 Sep 11:06

  • Kiwis drop the ball on government server upgrade

    Aotearoa: 404 Not Found... for two days

    On Saturday 26 September, while the All Blacks were flattening France (37-17) in the Rugby World Cup at Eden Park, the New Zealand government geeks were in the server rooms, upgrading machines hosting crucial government business sites. Unlike the All Blacks, the government geek team scored not just an own goal, but completely …

    Government 26 Sep 11:21

  • Facebook: 'We don't track logged-out users'

    Site hits back at cookie jar claims

    Facebook has attempted to shoot down claims that it leaves cookies on users' machines even after they log out of the social network. The response came after an Australian blogger alleged the site can still snoop on your web surfing after you've signed out. Nik Cubrilovic, concerned about Facebook's approach to privacy, said …

    Security 26 Sep 11:22

  • .Scot campaign seeks UK Gov backing

    Scots say domain will pay for itself

    The Scottish government has asked the UK culture minister to back its bid for a .scot domain when applications for new top-level domain names open in January. In a letter sent to Ed Vaizey today, Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment in Scotland, said that the .scot domain would bring together …

    Government 26 Sep 11:38

  • Can SaaS improve your efficiency?

    Reg reader he say...

    SaaS might give you more availability, it might cut your capital costs, and it might give you a big empty server room in your basement where you can play ping pong after work, but will it make your business more efficient? That's the question IT support manager and Reg reader, Geoff Stone asked himself when DORMA UK decided …

    SaaS 26 Sep 11:50

  • Office of EC veep jumps gun on net privacy law

    No statement on withdrawn statement

    The office of the vice-president of the European Commission has withdrawn a rather extensive statement on cookies and the EU Data Protection Directive sent out last week "without authorisation". Out-Law.com, the legal news site, had written a story last week using the statement from Viviane Reding, where she said that …

    Government 26 Sep 11:52

  • Sony Vaio SB 13.3in notebook

    Review Handy dandy

    Not everyone wants to lug a 15.6in notebook around - even less a 17-incher - so the 13.3in category has always appealed to folk keen for plenty of performance without the bulk. Sony has long offered 13.3in machines, the latest being its SB series, part of its broader S series. Available with a non-glossy screen. Hurray! The …

    reghardware 26 Sep 12:00

  • Tooling up for the Microsoft Virtual Academy

    IT circuit training

    Disclosure: you may recall that The Register is a media partner of the Microsoft Virtual Academy – a cloud-centric training website for IT pros. Last time we did some media-ing, several hundred Reg readers signed up to take the free-of-charge, self assessment courses. The curriculum includes sundry "training tracks" on the …

    Cloud Business 26 Sep 12:17

  • Samsung shifts 10 millionth Galaxy SII

    Filling punters' pockets before Apple can

    Samsung has reportedly sold 10 million Galaxy SIIs, despite only recently launching in the USA, tying a lot of customers into contracts that will take them well beyond the next iPhone launch. The figure comes from UK operator Three, which reckons the Android-based flagship phone has sold 3.6 million units in Korea, 3.4 million …

    Mobile 26 Sep 12:19

  • Banks face e-payments antitrust probe

    Complaint filed to Euro watchdog

    The European Commission has launched an antitrust probe into e-payments in Europe to find out if a group of banks – including Santander, HSBC and Barclays – is trying to stop new players from getting into the market. A group called the European Payments Council (EPC) is developing a standardisation for e-payments across the …

    Business 26 Sep 12:31

  • EMC supremo Joe Tucci to quit as CEO

    Will assume chairman's position by 2013

    EMC CEO Joe Tucci, the long-serving boss of the world's largest storage company, has confirmed he will step down by the end of next year. Talking to the WSJ, he said that at the end of 2012, he will become the chairman of the company, but only for two years – while the new CEO beds in, as it were. Tucci said he would do some …

    Storage 26 Sep 12:47

  • Huawei gets charged with juicy Android handset

    Three-day battery life, anyone?

    Huawei has bumped up the battery life with its latest Android smartphone, unveiling an energetic handset which'll keep running for up to three days. The Huawei Honour runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread on a 1.4GHz processor. It packs a 4in capacitive touchscreen and comes with with an 8Mp rear-facing camera and a 2Mp webcam, as well …

    reghardware 26 Sep 12:53

  • HideMyAss defends role in LulzSec hack arrest

    Anons vow to give ass-hiders a hiding

    HideMyAss has defended its role in handing over evidence that resulted in the arrest of a suspected LulzSec member last week. UK-based HideMyAss, which offers freebie web proxy and paid-for VPN services, said it handed over potentially incriminating data to the feds only in response to a court order. It had been aware that its …

    Crime 26 Sep 13:27

  • Verizon: Samsung 4G ban not in our, er, public interest

    Telco urges US court to scrap Apple's injunction

    Verizon Wireless has taken a legal stand on the side of Samsung in the ongoing war between the South Korean company and Apple over smartphones and fondleslabs. The company filed an amicus brief* at the Californian court that is hearing Apple's request for a US-wide ban on Samsung's 4G mobile products. The fruity iPhone maker …

    Wireless 26 Sep 13:40

  • Virtualising your infrastructure? Get your numbers right

    Avoid nightmares later

    Virtualisation can be a powerful tool for your IT department, making your infrastructure far more efficient. But without proper planning it is easy to trip yourself up by not scaling the system properly. How can you plan the capacity needed for a virtualised system so that you don’t end up overspending or under-resourcing? …

    Network Futures 26 Sep 14:00

  • Watchdog takes aim at premium-rate phone apps

    A slip of the thumb could cost you £££s

    Mobile phone apps that send premium-rate texts, or make premium-rate calls, could be subject to fresh guidelines that have been drafted and published for public consideration. PhonePayPlus, formerly ICSTIS, regulates services that are paid for using calls or messages sent to high-cost numbers, something which applications can …

    Music and Media 26 Sep 14:18

  • Google unfurls Dead Sea Scrolls

    Ancient rantings scanned to 1,200MP

    As if there weren't enough strange rantings on the internet already, Google has just uploaded five of the Dead Sea Scrolls in super high resolution. Of course, the Dead Sea Scrolls are strange rantings that – unlike your average YouTube contribution – are of great historic and religious significance. The scrolls were written 2 …

    Odds and Sods 26 Sep 14:42

  • Panasonic beckons forth beneficial robot buddies

    Move, talk and... er... wash your hair

    Panasonic has reached to the future, announcing development of a communication assistance robot, as well as fresh models of its hair-washing droid and robo-bed. With a built-in camera and display interface, the company's Hospo-Rimo robot becomes middleman between bed-ridden hospital patients or those with limited mobility, and …

    reghardware 26 Sep 14:59

  • Sites downed by 1&1 web outage

    Services AWOL, users annoyed by lack of info

    German web hosting and server provider 1&1 Internet is currently experiencing an outage, which started around 13.30 BST this afternoon, leaving customers without access to their websites. Various UK sources told The Register the servers were down, along with all communications into the provider's offices including sales, …

    Hosting 26 Sep 14:59

  • Star Wars MMO subscriptions match Warcraft outlay

    Old Republic, dated and priced

    Bioware's upcoming MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic has finally been given a release date, as well as official pricing, which World of Warcraft subscribers will find all too similar. Each copy comes with a month's free subscription. However, when the trial period ends, gamers must fork out the same money they would on WoW. …

    reghardware 26 Sep 15:01

  • Panda Security axes jobs, gets new chief exec

    Anti-virus firm hit hard by freebie rivals

    Spanish anti-virus firm Panda Security has announced plans to cut its workforce in response to a sustained drop in sales. Panda, which employs 1,000 worldwide as part of either its core business or in local franchises, plans to lay off 120 (or around 35 per cent) of its workforce at its headquarters in Bilbao. A further eight …

    Malware 26 Sep 15:27

  • Dell resells SeaMicro 'Atom smasher' servers

    A microserver in every hyperscale data center

    SeaMicro, the upstart maker of Atom-based microservers, has a new salesperson: server rival Dell. The companies have not made a formal announcement, but Armando Acosta, product manager for Dell's PowerEdge C cloudy infrastructure server line, confirms that the companies signed a reseller agreement back in May and Dell is …

    Servers 26 Sep 15:42

  • Samsung signals HD smartphones with supersize screens

    Galaxy S II gets high-def treatment

    Samsung had its hands full today, launching several phones, including this refreshed Galaxy S II with a large HD screen. The Samsung Galaxy S II HD LTE - which was announced in Korean this morning - sports a 4.65in OLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 720. The handset is apparently the first with an OLED display to feature …

    reghardware 26 Sep 15:49

  • USA Today pwned by s'kiddies on Twitter

    Who would you like us to hack next today?

    A group of mischievous hackers who target the Twitter feeds of news organisations claimed a fresh victim on Sunday when they hijacked the micro-blogging feed of USA Today. The group, who use the self-disparaging moniker Script Kiddies, hijacked the @USAToday Twitter feed to encourage fans to contact them to suggest new targets …

    Security 26 Sep 16:22

  • IEEE task force massages 100GE for backplanes

    25Gb/sec signaling for blade servers

    The IEEE standards body has set up a task force of industry vendors to start work on the four-lane, 25Gb/sec signaling that will be required for future 100 Gigabit Ethernet. The group will also thrash out the specs that will allow 100GE to be used in server and network equipment backplanes and over short-haul copper wires. …

    Data Networking 26 Sep 17:44

  • AMD creates server division, loses chip head

    Bergman leaves for 'a new opportunity'

    AMD is creating a new server division to try to do a better job taking on Intel in the x86 server racket and has said goodbye to general manager of its Products Group, Rick Bergman, who is leaving the company "to pursue a new opportunity". The moves are part new CEO Rory Read's rejiggering of the company after taking the reins …

    Servers 26 Sep 18:22

  • Internet fails to dethrone TV news (so far)

    Dead-tree rags hold up surprisingly well

    Television news may still be the most popular local-news source for most people in the US, but it's losing ground to internet news and social networking, and in some cases even failing to outpace traditional newspapers. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, although …

    Music and Media 26 Sep 19:20

  • MySQL.com breach leaves visitors exposed to malware

    Rash of embarrassing open-source hacks spreads

    Hackers recently compromised the website hosting the open-source MySQL database management system and caused it to infect the PCs of visitors who used unpatched browsers and plug-ins, security researchers said. MySQL.com was infected with mwjs159, website malware that often spreads when compromised machines are used to access …

    Malware 26 Sep 19:21

  • 4G or 'faux G', it's a mealy-mouthed marketing mishmash

    Verizon goes all-IP, AT&T hedges bets

    If you find yourself a bit unsure as to exactly what marketeers mean when they use the term "4G", you're not alone – telecom and research execs are equally unhappy with the fog surrounding that term. "I'm not sure there is an exact definition," Mike Nielsen, Ciena's VP for Carrier Ethernet and Switching Solutions told The Reg …

    Mobile 26 Sep 21:14

  • Virtual cloud monkeys go bananas writing Shakespeare

    Experiment to prove adage, without flung feces

    A developer and Simpsons fan has reported his first success in an experiment to test the infinite monkey theorem: that primates could produce Shakespeare by randomly pressing keys. Jesse Anderson set up software to generate random sets of nine ASCII characters and then match them against the complete works of Shakespeare, …

    Music and Media 26 Sep 22:09

  • Aussie fans of old BBC fodder get paid iPlayer offering

    Vital slab-fondler/Tom Baker demographic targeted

    Australians who have lived a lifetime in the shadow of BBC reruns can now ignore them on the Internet, thanks to the launch of the Australian version of the Beeb’s iPlayer app. Unlike Brits, Aussies won’t be able to play early-run Doctor Who for free. Perhaps partly to protect its relationship with the Australian Broadcasting …

    Music and Media 26 Sep 23:27