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19th October 2011 Archive

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  • NSA whistleblower details intelligence cock-ups

    Web 2.0 Summit 'Government and companies routinely abuse data privacy'

    Thomas Drake, the whistleblower who exposed the NSA’s failings on digital surveillance, has said that the US is behind the curve on internet monitoring and has been playing fast and loose with privacy rules. The NSA came later than many think to internet monitoring, Drake told delegates at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. …

    Government 19 Oct 00:28

  • As US sinks, Apple sees a glorious future in China

    Juiced by the Middle Kingdom's burgeoning middle class

    Apple may have disappointed Wall Street by not meeting their conservative predictions for its most recent fiscal quarter, but that didn't stop Cupertino from predicting that next quarter will be a barn burner. The consensus on Wall Street was that Apple's earnings per share would be $7.28, according to the Thomson Financial …

    Financial News 19 Oct 00:29

  • Cisco girds Nexus switches for data center battle

    10GE and 40GE artillery

    Networking giant Cisco Systems has been under attack for the past several years, and the company gearing up its high-end, converged Nexus switches to defend its data-center turf from encroachment by HP, Dell, Arista Networks, Juniper Networks, Brocade Communications, and others. Picking up the offensive pace and doing better …

    Data Networking 19 Oct 00:44

  • Oracle updates Java to stop SSL-chewing BEAST

    Framework declared safe for Firefox

    Firefox developers said Tuesday that they have no plans to keep the browser from working with the Java software framework now that Oracle has released a patch that prevents it from being used to decrypt sensitive web traffic. In a blog post published in late September and updated on Tuesday, Mozilla recommends that Firefox …

    Enterprise Security 19 Oct 00:49

  • Solar Challenge leaders whizz towards Adelaide

    WSC Chequered flag almost in sight

    Dutch team Nuon recovered ground lost to Tokai on Day 4 of the World Solar Challenge, ending the day just 20km behind the race leader. The top two are now less than 500km away from the finish line in Adelaide. Tokai and Nuon are equally capable of driving at South Australia's 110km speed limit, but strong sidewinds today seem …

    SPB 19 Oct 04:12

  • Ballmer disses Android as cheap and complex

    Web 2.0 Summit Reckons Windows 8 can beat iPhone’s popularity

    Steve Ballmer has predicted that the new line of Windows Phones coming out this Christmas can establish the company’s operating system and beat Apple and Android devices. Speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, an ebullient Ballmer enthused about the forthcoming phones, saying that the new handsets would be as well …

    Mobile 19 Oct 04:47

  • Philips Fidelio DS9

    Review Dock de luxe?

    Philips' audio engineers must be feeling rather pleased with themselves these days. Their Fidelio series of iDevice-friendly speakers - now augmented with Android-oriented models - deliver the kind of sound quality you get from top-of-the-line rivals like B&W and Bose, are very stylishly kitted out and reasonably priced too …

    reghardware 19 Oct 06:00

  • Report: Hacking forum is a cybercrime academy

    Learn skills, buy Trojans, make new mates

    Certain underground hacking forums are acting as training academies and tech-support networks for cybercriminals as well as creating a marketplace for a vast array of cybercrime tools, say researchers. Database security firm Imperva has been keeping close tabs on an unnamed hacking message board with nearly 220,000 registered …

    Security 19 Oct 07:30

  • 'Mental act' computerisations no longer automatically unpatentable

    IPO changes tack on software-implemented inventions

    The UK's Intellectual Property Office has changed its guidance on how its reviewers will consider the 'mental act' exemption to patentability when assessing patent applications for computer-implemented inventions. Under the UK's Patents Act inventions must be new, take an inventive step that is not obvious and be useful to …

    Law 19 Oct 08:01

  • Using SaaS for a more efficient business

    Live Today Dorma shares their experience

    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 Geoff Stone asked himself when DORMA UK decided that it would …

    SaaS 19 Oct 08:16

  • Samsung, Google whip out Android 4.0 Nexus

    Ice Cream Sarnie smartphone launched

    Here's the Samsung Galaxy Nexus - aka the Galaxy Prime - launched by the South Korean Apple biter and Google in Hong Kong this morning. As expected, it runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and a 4.7in, 1280 x 720 OLED display. There's a gigabyte of Ram on board, and a choice of 16GB or 32Gb of …

    reghardware 19 Oct 08:35

  • HP boasts of 3PAR benchmark boost

    Says it has doubled customer base since last year's acquisition

    HP is blowing its 3PAR horn loudly, saying it has doubled 3PAR's customer base since buying it last September, and that 3PAR is now top dog on the SPC benchmark. The 3PAR business has had triple digit year-on-year growth (100 per cent at least) for the quarter ending July 31st. That means revenue of at least $92m. HP says …

    Storage 19 Oct 08:39

  • Another World 20th Anniversary Edition

    iGamer Poly gone?

    It's one of gaming's longest enduring and most profound existential questions. Twenty years and as many platforms later, Another World - aka Out of this World in the US -remains as enigmatic as ever, surviving even creator Eric Chahi's own fascinating personal deconstruction of his work at this year's Game Developers Conference …

    reghardware 19 Oct 09:00

  • Currys, PC World websites slated by punters

    Customers irate over price, delivery and usability

    Dixons Group's websites for Currys and PC World are among the worst online shops for electrical appliances, according to a new study by consumer rights group Which? Out of the 25 sites listed by the research, Currys and PC World came joint 22nd, with only Asda and B&Q rated worse as places to buy electronics online. The poor …

    Business 19 Oct 09:32

  • Sony names PlayStation Vita release day

    Sony fanboys to start queueing now?

    Having already confessed that the PlayStation Vita won't hit the UK this year, Sony today said fanboys will have to wait until February 2012 for their next portable PlayStation fix. The PS Vita will go on sale on 22 February priced at the Sterling equivalent - give or take - of €250 (£219) for the Wi-Fi model (PCH-1003) and € …

    reghardware 19 Oct 09:47

  • Yahoo! revenue! AND! profits! bomb! as! expected!

    Empty CEO seat has whoopee cushion appeal

    Yahoo! surprised no one yesterday when it reported its third quarter results to Wall Street. The company, which is searching for a replacement CEO following Carol Bartz's undignified sacking in September, said its Q3 net income hit $293m, or 23 cents a share. But that's down 26 per cent on the same period a year earlier, when …

    Financial News 19 Oct 10:02

  • Groupon IPO could be as soon as Monday

    Oft-rumoured coming out party could kick off next week

    Groupon's foray onto public markets hasn't exactly been smooth, but sources are saying it's a go for next week after many rumours of the on-again-off-again variety. Those people familiar with the matter have been chatting to Reuters again, and are now saying that Groupon has a definite-ish start for its IPO roadshow: next …

    Financial News 19 Oct 10:12

  • Nipples and teen lesbians sexy even when ironic, ASA rules

    But regulator says Duke Nukem ad violence OK

    The Advertising Standards Authority has put the kibosh on an ad for Duke Nukem Forever that confronted post-watershed viewers with pole dancers, schoolgirl lesbians and multiple nipple flashes. The ad regulator said it had received 34 complaints about the ad, shown last June, that had questioned whether it was "offensive and …

    Music and Media 19 Oct 10:31

  • Lenovo aims to seize PC crown within 3 years

    Acer and Dell heads already scalped, HP is next target

    Lenovo is aiming to become the biggest shifter of PC tin on the planet within three years after recently swiping the number two spot from Dell. The once sleeping dragon is clearly wide awake – Lenovo outpaced worldwide market growth for the last eight consecutive quarters – and in a bullish mood. "We should be able to …

    Financial News 19 Oct 10:42

  • Alcatel-Lucent hacks off an arm for $1.5bn

    Genesys and its 1,800 staff get new owner

    Alcatel-Lucent has sold off its Genesys division to investment fund Permira for $1.5bn (£952m), but will hang onto its "enterprise" operation as no one seems to want it. The deal should complete around the end of the year, and will transfer Genesys, which turned over $500m last year by flogging customer-support software, to …

    Business 19 Oct 10:52

  • Dell Vostro V131 13.3in Core i5 notebook

    Review Looks the business?

    Back in the old days, you knew where you were a Dell business laptop. Heave it out of the box and you’d be rewarded with a giant, hot-running thing with the aesthetic appeal of a pile-up on the M40. Dell's Vostro V131 looks the business and with the Celeron CPU option can be bought on the cheap These days, people expect …

    reghardware 19 Oct 11:00

  • ASA upholds complaint against 'best gaming' Virgin ads

    Too much jitter for claimed low lag

    Another slap on the wrist for Virgin Media from the Advertising Standards Authority: the ISP was today told not to claim its 50Mb/s broadband package is the "best for online gaming". To be fair, Virgin responded to the ASA's investigation into complaints received about an advertising feature in the June issue of PC Gaming by …

    reghardware 19 Oct 11:06

  • Debt collectors warned off pursuing punters on Facebook

    OFT will bitchslap agencies who send heavies onto social networks

    Debt collectors should not be allowed to chase people who owe them money on social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter, the UK's Office of Fair Trading has said. The OFT issued new guidance today that warned banks, law firms, tracing agents and debt collectors that using social networks to track down debtors was " …

    Networks 19 Oct 11:07

  • BSkyB earns more dosh out of fewer new punters

    Kerching!

    BSkyB's number of customers signing up to its products fell from 96,000 new subscribers in the company's Q1 last year to 77,000 in the first quarter ended 30 September 2011 – despite that, both revenue and pre-tax profit climbed. The telco added more cash to its coffers courtesy of its existing customer base, which meant that …

    Financial News 19 Oct 11:24

  • Zend floats PHP cloud development platform

    Elastic AppFabric

    Zend has announced a cloud for building and deploying PHP apps on other clouds – but without the management hassle. The PHP specialist has announced phpcloud.com, which it said was a technology platform and a partner ecosystem based on the company's Zend Framework and Server. Details are vague, but the technology platform …

    Cloud 19 Oct 11:34

  • Leaked Intel roadmap reveals PCIe flash kit

    How the stats measure up

    Tom's Hardware has reported a leaked Intel storage roadmap that confirms a PCIe flash product is coming, as well as confirming updates across Chipzilla's three flash product families. According to the slide: The 700-series high-end products have a Ramsdale PRQ coming by the end of the year. It is a 200GB or 400GB PCIe card …

    Servers 19 Oct 11:41

  • Vegas man begs web for $1m to fix gigantic scrotum

    'A huge watermelon encased in a bandage'

    An American has turned to the internet to raise $1m to pay for an operation to fix his scrotum, which has swollen to an eye-watering 45kg. Aussie Reg reader Andrew pointed us towards the case of Wesley Warren Jr, who has been afflicted with scrotal elephantiasis for the last three years. The condition is common in Africa, …

    Bootnotes 19 Oct 11:52

  • TfL wheels out digital bus info upgrade

    Countdown II embraces API-hungry developer masses

    As winter sets in, commuters in London stand huddled at bus stops, hoping the shelters' electronic signs report an accurate "due" arrival time rather than a crappy guess. Those lucky enough to have Transport for London's Countdown system of signs installed at their stops can judge by the minutes flickering on the display …

    Cloud 19 Oct 12:03

  • Trusteer scraps with analysts over 'bank security bypass'

    Building a good Rapport

    Trusteer continues to spar with researchers at Digit Security over claims that it might be possible to bypass Trusteer's online banking security technology Rapport. Digit Security said Trusteer has responded to concerns over the effectiveness of its technology with marketing claims, rather than meaningful dialogue. This is …

    Security 19 Oct 12:16

  • RIM lifts skirt, flashes 'new' OS at devs

    QNX rebranded BlackBerry BBX

    The PlayBook will get push email and BBM support just as soon as the BlackBerrys get QNX, which has been rebranded BBX to make it seem shiny and new. BBX, announced yesterday at BlackBerry DevCon, is RIM's new best hope. The Canadian firm calls it a "next-generation mobile platform" while everyone else is calling it a new OS, …

    Developer 19 Oct 12:28

  • ITU heralds ultra-high def TV progress

    Even though 8K x 4K telly is ten years off

    The ITU, an international standards setter, has agreed "the pertinent technical characteristics" of the ultra-high definition televion (UHDTV) format. So said the ITU itself, though quite what those characteristics are - beyond a target resolution of 7680 × 4320, of course - it didn't make clear. According to Japanese …

    reghardware 19 Oct 12:49

  • Telefonica, Verizon ready VMware schizophones

    VMworld Europe Persona Android Grata

    VMware rules the x86 server virtualization racket, giving physical servers multiple personalities. And now cell phone operators are lining up to support its Mobile Virtual Platform (MVP) hypervisor on smartphones. At the VMworld Europe conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, VMware announced that US cellphone operator Verizon and …

    Virtualization 19 Oct 12:51

  • Mystery over bogus Facebook login data dump

    Smells phishy...

    The publication on Pastebin of the supposed login details of more than 10,000 Facebook users fails to pose any security risks, at least on the social network, because the data is bogus, according to Facebook. Newly established Nepalese hacking crew Team Swastika caused a stir when they dumped the supposed Facebook login data …

    ID 19 Oct 13:16

  • UK has enough sheep shearers, needs more coders

    Immigration wonks eye up job shortages

    Positions in Britain's IT sector are still going to homegrown workers, according to the UK Border Agency, although software developers and graphic designers are needed to produce visual effects and 2D/3D computer animation for film, TV and video games. The agency has drawn up a new list of occupations (PDF) that have a …

    Developer 19 Oct 13:39

  • Building a private cloud

    The MVA training course

    For my last track, I chose Planning, building and managing a private cloud. This is organised into three modules: Introducing a private cloud; Planning a private cloud; and Managing a private cloud. The first module provided a very good overview of what cloud computing is, and more specifically the benefits of building a …

    Cloud 19 Oct 13:55

  • Reseller loses veteran chairman and CEO in shake-up

    Maxima to unload biz units, issue shares

    Managed services and software reselling outfit Maxima has raised £2m through a rights issue to fund future development and as a precursor to offloading business units that are deemed "non-core" over the coming months. The LSE-listed firm hired M&A veteran Ian Smith last month after talks with interested buyers that began in …

    Channel Register 19 Oct 14:02

  • Motorola sharpens smartphones with revamped Razr

    Thinner, stronger, faster, smarter

    Motorola revived one of its most popular handset brands today: Razr. At a European launch in Berlin, the company insists it addressed four key areas with the Razr, making it thinner, stronger, faster and smarter. At just 7.1mm thick - though it bulges out further where the camera is located - and 127g in weight, the Razr is …

    reghardware 19 Oct 14:17

  • Libel reform vows to slay anonymous trolls

    Single complaint could take down a post

    A single complaint about an anonymous article or posting online could be enough to legally force a website to take it down – if new Parliamentary proposals on defamation get passed into law. Measures against online anonymity are a key part of proposals published today in a committee report that will be debated when Parliament …

    Law 19 Oct 14:22

  • Trojan targets Mac's built-in security defences

    Malware takes a bite out of Apple's OS X

    Malware coders have created a Mac-specific Trojan that is designed to attack anti-malware defences built into Apple's Mac OS X operating system. The Flashback.C trojan disables the automatic update component of XProtect, OS X's anti-malware application, net security firm F-Secure reports. By wiping out files, the malware …

    Malware 19 Oct 14:41

  • Samsung Android 4.0 smartphone priced for Blighty

    Galaxy Nexus heads north of iPhone 4S

    UK mobile phone seller Clove has priced up the Samsung Galaxy Nexus at £515 sans Sim lock. That's for the 16GB, HSPA+ version of the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich-running Samsung announced last night alongside a 32GB model which, Clove told us, won't be coming to the UK. Neither, of course, will the LTE version of the Galaxy …

    reghardware 19 Oct 14:43

  • HP assembles specialist storage sales squad

    3PAR sees triple-digit growth

    HP is setting up a channel-specific team to help resellers punt its storage on the back of triple-digit growth in 3PAR and rising demand. The tech titan acquired 3PAR last September and reckons it now needs to muster the forces after 3PAR posted at least 100 per cent growth for the quarter ending on 31 July, taking turnover to …

    Channel Register 19 Oct 15:02

  • Domain registry touts dot-surnames for $500k

    Coming in 2013: Paris.hilton?

    Could it be the ultimate in internet vanity addresses? A British company thinks the "ultra wealthy" will be prepared to splash out a cool $500,000 (£317k) to get their own top-level family domain name. CentralNic has launched dotFamilyName, a service it says is designed to help "high net worth families" apply to ICANN next …

    Hosting 19 Oct 15:21

  • Would you go to Facebook for mobile tech support?

    Telco offered integration with Zuckerberg's Reservation

    Nokia Siemens Networks is punting Facebook integration to mobile phone operators that reckon their customers would prefer using a social network over calling tech support. The software provides the same kind of support and information available on most operator's sites, simply integrated with Facebook. This is on the grounds …

    Mobile 19 Oct 15:41

  • AMD taps Papermaster as CTO

    No stranger to controversy

    Hot potato techie Mark Papermaster has been chosen by Advanced Micro Devices to be its new chief technology officer. The appointment lays to rest speculation on who will be drawing up the company's processor and systems roadmap as the chip maker tries to hang in there against goliath Intel and a slew of ARM upstarts. …

    Servers 19 Oct 16:02

  • Viacom appeals dismissal of $1bn YouTube lawsuit

    Video site dragged back into court

    Viacom is trying to convince an appeals court to overturn an earlier ruling in which a federal judge dismissed the $1bn lawsuit the TV behemoth brought against Google's YouTube. In June 2010, the copyright infringement suit was ditched in a landmark decision that wasn't only a big win for Google, but also sent a clear signal …

    Entertainment 19 Oct 16:32

  • Cassandra database now ready for mere mortals

    If it's good enough for Facebook, it's good enough for you

    The NoSQL database Cassandra has hit 1.0-level maturity with a heavy play for enterprise customers. Jonathan Ellis, vice president of the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) Cassandra project, is reported to have announced that the NoSQL database is now ready for "mere mortals". "You don't have to know as much as you did about …

    Developer 19 Oct 17:08

  • Juniper profits get a haircut in Q3

    Hits sales targets, thanks to switches

    Profits at Juniper Networks have had a haircut after costs for manufacturing, research, development, and sales all grew faster than revenues in its third quarter. But revenue is growing and hitting targets, which is a good sign for the networking business in general, and for Juniper in particular. In the third quarter ended in …

    Data Networking 19 Oct 17:11

  • Apotheker right hand man Wohl exits HP

    Waves goodbye via Twitter

    HP's short lived chief communication officer Bill Wohl - a close ally of blundering former CEO Leo Apotheker - has confirmed that he has followed his buddy out of the business. The man, who was on hand to advise Leo on the masterful handling of the PSG saga, and the TouchPad and WebOS announcement in August, revealed on …

    Business 19 Oct 17:18

  • New RAM shunts data into flash in power cuts

    No batteries needed

    Viking has built a hybrid, battery-free, non-volatile storage memory product, combining DRAM and NAND, which is faster than PCIe flash. Eat your heart out, Fusion-io. Viking Technology is a division of Sanmina-SCI, and its DDR3 ArxCis-NV is a DIMM that comes in 2, 4 and 8GB capacity points and operates at DRAM speed. It …

    Channel Register 19 Oct 17:27

  • Holographic storage biz files for Chapter 11

    InPhase unfazed, may rise again

    If you listened hard you might have heard a thin scream of despair as holographic storage developer InPhase Technologies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday. Bart Stuck, of Signal Lake, the venture capital fund that owns the assets of InPhase, has been struggling to keep the company alive after his VC snapped …

    Channel Register 19 Oct 18:03

  • Google adds default end-to-end encryption to search

    SSL omissions of Yahoo and Bing remain

    Google is rolling out default end-to-end encryption to people who use the site to seek for images, news and general webpages, a change that will better protect search queries and results from eavesdroppers. The SSL, or secure sockets layer, service will be offered by default to users who are signed into their Google accounts, …

    Security 19 Oct 19:59

  • Fund manager withdraws legal threat over security vuln

    Sanity prevails

    First State Super, the company that called the police and fired off legal threats when a security researcher notified it of vulnerabilities in its online funds management application, is reportedly softening its stance. According to Australia’s Financial Standard, the company has decided against further legal action, and …

    Enterprise Security 19 Oct 20:30

  • Google Analytics goes with the flow

    Web 2.0 Summit New visualization tools for web site operators

    Google is adding a visualization tool to its analytics stream that gives website operators a more graphical representation of who is visiting their pages. Speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco Susan Wojcicki, senior vice president of advertising for Google, showed off the first two tools based around the …

    Music and Media 19 Oct 20:38

  • Trade Me set for end of year float

    $NZ300m under Fairfax’s Xmas tree?

    Fairfax Media’s partial float of dotcom asset Trade Me may be on the cards before the end of the year according to industry reports out of New Zealand. Fairfax confirmed in August that it intended to float up to 35% of the online auction site in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) possibly on both the New Zealand and Australian …

    Financial News 19 Oct 21:30

  • MC Hammer getting into search business

    Web 2.0 Summit Please, Hammer, don’t hurt Google

    Stanley Burrell, AKA MC Hammer, is getting into the search business with a startup called Wiredoo. The former parachute pant-wearing artiste was previewing the new search engine at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, and said that the concept was based around relationship searching within keyword boundaries - what he called …

    Music and Media 19 Oct 21:56

  • Irish DPC to investigate Facebook

    More information than they need

    Even if you’re not a Facebook user, chances are that your computer is carrying cookies from The Social Network™. They’re scattered all over the Web like digital malarial mosquitoes waiting for the next host. They’re also, according to Austrian law student Max Schrens, part of an infrastructure that allows Facebook to build “ …

    Government 19 Oct 22:02

  • IBM fails to keep Oz harassment case under wraps

    Squalid tale to play out in public

    Australia’s Federal Court has ruled against an attempt by IBM to suppress the details of a sexual harassment case against it. As a result, the accusations by Susan Spiteri, a former sales executive at Big Blue, that she was subject to two years of harassment by her supervisor will play out in public. According to documents …

    Business 19 Oct 22:30

  • Google planning major upgrades to Google+ ‘within days’

    Web 2.0 Summit Sergey slams Ballmer for Google Apps claims

    Google is planning to unveil a series of major upgrades to its social networking service starting in the next few days, including the ability to use Google Apps accounts to access Google+ and set up brand pages for companies and the use aliases instead of real names. In a roundtable at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco co- …

    Music and Media 19 Oct 22:59

  • NextIO punts I/O virtualizing Maestro

    Put 'em in the rack and lash those servers into submission

    NextIO, a maker of server I/O virtualization switches based on PCI-Express technologies, has announced the third and probably the most significant of its products. It's called vNET I/O Maestro and is being peddled as a server I/O virtualization appliance that can take the place of Ethernet and Fibre Channel switches at the top …

    Servers 19 Oct 23:19

  • Talking virtualization with a FlexPod user

    Fast deployment the mantra for Mantra

    Sydney’s vForum conference was the venue for the Cisco / NetApp / VMware tie-up getting one of its first major Australian outings on Wednesday October 20. Vendors pitching into the cloud/virtualisation space – including the trio above – are increasingly creating reference architectures designed to give customers something like …

    Infrastructure 19 Oct 23:30