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9th November 2011 Archive

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  • Accel ponies up $100m to juice big data biz

    Hadoop World Using the elephant to mask the elephant

    We have entered the business era of the big data eon. That's just a fancy way of saying that software companies are trying to take Hadoop and the myriad new tools that wrap around it and convert them into money by unseating incumbents in data warehousing and analytics – and, quite frankly, by doing some jobs that no one could …

    Platform 9 Nov 00:08

  • Duqu spawned by 'well-funded team of competent coders'

    World's first known modular rootkit does steganography, too

    The Duqu malware that targeted industrial manufacturers around the world contains so many advanced features that it could only have been developed by a team of highly skilled programmers who worked full time, security researchers say. The features include steganographic processes that encrypt stolen data and embed it into image …

    Malware 9 Nov 01:09

  • Fedora 16 goes final with cloud and virtualization

    Last build before Beefy Miracle

    Fedora has released the final build of Fedora 16, and is touting big improvements in the way the OS handles cloud computing and virtualization. Fedora 16, previously codenamed Verne, is sticking with the wildly unpopular Gnome 3.2 interface, but is giving users the choice between that and KDE 4.7. Incidentally, the wallpaper …

    Operating Systems 9 Nov 01:13

  • Foreign government emails HACKED says TeamP0ison

    But something’s strange here…

    TeamP0ison has lobbed a file on Pastebin which purports to be a few hundred e-mail accounts complete with passwords. Or so it seems, for the first 23 accounts in the list, which cover addresses from the UK’s Ministry of Defense, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, the money-movement watcher Austrac, IP Australia, Liverpool …

    Security 9 Nov 06:26

  • Ten... high-end Android tablets

    Product Round-up Premium fondleslab, anyone?

    With Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich upon us, it's a good time to take stock of the impact - or lack of it - of Android 3 Honeycomb and Nvidia's Tegra 2, the chipset and release of Google’s mobile OS that were hoped would knock the iPad of its perch. They've done no such thing. At the most generous counting, Android tablets …

    reghardware 9 Nov 07:00

  • Xio appoints 8th CEO in 9 years

    New chairman, new CEO, no overall sales boss in round of musical chairs

    Xio, the storage brick company, has sent its CEO upstairs, brought in a replacement CEO and lost its sales head. It's not quite a normal day in the executive offices. Xiotech makes HyperISE combination SSD and disk drive enclosures with clever software to enhance component reliability, boost performance and tier data between …

    Channel Register 9 Nov 08:03

  • Facebook scoops up tiny photo app company

    We're going into photo editing ... bitch

    Facebook has picked up a small photo app company called Digital Staircase according to a blog post from the start-up. It's a sign that Facebook are keen to shift into the photo/movie editing space which has proved so successful for Instagram and Hipstamatic. "We're announcing today that we're joining Facebook," writes the …

    Music and Media 9 Nov 08:27

  • Lost cities found beneath sands of Sahara by satellites

    'Advanced civilisation' suppressed by Romans and Gadaffi

    Satellite images have revealed the ruins of a long-lost civilisation which existed in what is now the Sahara desert in Roman times and before. Archaeologists hope that the toppling of Libyan dictator Colonel Gadaffi, who has controlled access to the region in modern times, will permit the secrets of the lost cities beneath the …

    Odds and Sods 9 Nov 08:57

  • Freak lightning strike sends app, storage servers back in time

    EMC hits 88MPH, returns to mainframe era

    Server vendors, prepare for an attack. Lightning strikes are coming - and they're welding app and storage boxes together in a way that reminds El Reg of the mainframe era. EMC's array-controlled server flash initiative, Project Lightning, is getting ready. There may be announcement before Christmas, but it won't be a happy …

    Storage 9 Nov 09:14

  • Ofcom boss warns of low interest in 'superfast' broadband

    Fibre, huh. What is it good for? Teenagers

    Ofcom chief Ed Richards has warned that cash-strapped UK consumers lack enough incentive from ISPs in the country to upgrade to "superfast" broadband packages. Richards said that the virtual form of Local Loop Unbundling, dubbed VULA, needed to meet a variety of "key requirements" in order to "open up as much of the network, …

    Wireless 9 Nov 09:27

  • Deadly drive drought derails Dell's PC biz

    Build-to-order operation sunk by Thai floods

    Dell's build-to-order business model makes it the most vulnerable to the drive shortages that are wreaking havoc across the industry, channel analyst Context reckons. The chaos resulting from the killer flooding in Thailand has sent the disk drive supply chain into turmoil, making PC shortages inevitable. So far Asus, as well …

    Channel Register 9 Nov 09:44

  • Lemmings

    Antique Code Show Fatal attraction

    Lemmings was developed by DMA who are now known as Rockstar North of Grand Theft Auto fame. Who’d a thought such innocent beginnings would lead to such depraved offspring? Multiformat title: to begin with only multiplayer on the Amiga Originally released on the Commodore Amiga, Lemmings was one of the most popular games of …

    reghardware 9 Nov 10:00

  • Nvidia outs five-core ARM chip

    Tegra 3 has one core for general stuff, four more for games

    Nvidia has formally launched the quad-core ARM system-on-a-chip formerly known as 'Kal-El' and now unsurprisingly named 'Tegra 3', a processor originally scheduled to launch this past summer. The company pledged the part will offer three times the graphics performance of the Tegra 2 despite consuming just over a third of the …

    reghardware 9 Nov 10:07

  • Hadoop: Making Linux gobble big data

    Hadoop World Growing penguins need petabytes to feast on

    The Hadoop big data muncher has grown into more than Yahoo! conceived when it open-sourced its search engine indexing tool and its underlying file system back in 2009. And it has become exactly what open-source projects aspire to be: a centre of gravity around which a maelstrom of innovation coalesces. At the Hadoop World …

    Cloud 9 Nov 10:11

  • No Sim-free Nokia Lumia 800s until 2012

    Launch stock going to operators, major retailers

    Punters eagerly anticipating Nokia's new Lumia 800 Windows Phone 7.5 handset but hoping to nab a Sim-free unit are set to be disappointed. While the smartphone is expected to launch on 16 November, as promised, it will only be available on contract, it has been claimed. Anyone after a Lumia that isn't tied to a network will …

    reghardware 9 Nov 10:21

  • Pay-by-wave: At least it's better than being mugged

    Analysis Takes 400ms to nick £15, but you'll get it back quick

    The public thinks that paying with a tap of the phone is risky, with criminals able to intercept and steal credentials, so it seems a good time to take a closer look at proximity payments. Orange Quick Tap is already deployed in the UK; we used one to buy cookies in Inverness and they were delicious. In the US Google Wallet is …

    Security 9 Nov 10:22

  • UK Border Force chief walks in passport checks row

    Plans to claim 'constructive dismissal'

    Pressure mounted on Theresa May this morning after the UK Border Force chief Brodie Clark left the agency, claiming the Home Secretary was wrong to claim that he had relaxed passport checks without ministerial consent. The row, ignited over the weekend, led to urgent questions being asked in the House of Commons on Monday and …

    Government 9 Nov 10:33

  • Patch Tuesday leaves Duqu 0-day for another day

    No permanent fix for TrueType strike gripe

    November marked a light Patch Tuesday with just four bulletins, only one of which tackles a critical flaw. All four advisories relate to problems in Windows. None is related to the zero-day vulnerability related to Duqu, the highly sophisticated worm reckoned to be related to the infamous Stuxnet pathogen. The flaw exploited …

    Enterprise Security 9 Nov 10:41

  • Asus prices up five-core Eee Pad Android tablet

    Nice kit, Ice Cream Sarnie ready

    Asus' Eee Pad Transformer Prime, the first Android tablet to be based on Nvidia's five-core Tegra 3 chip, will arrive in Blighty early next year. The 10.1in successor to Reg Hardware's Editor's Choice high-end Android tablet will come with Android 3.2 Honeycomb pre-loaded, but Asus pledged the device will be upgradeable to …

    reghardware 9 Nov 10:51

  • Kesa shells out £50m to offload Comet

    Ailing UK retailer flogged to private equity biz

    Kesa Electricals has coughed £50m to exit its loss-making UK retail arm Comet, with private equity firms Hailey Holdings and Hailey Acquisitions taking on the 248-strong chain. Under the terms of the deal, which is subject to shareholder approval, the buyers – who were advised by private equity house OpCapita – will pay a …

    Channel Register 9 Nov 10:54

  • Why GNOME refugees love Xfce

    Thunar rather than later...

    GNOME 3 has become something of a polarising moment for the popular Linux desktop. In chasing visions of tablets, touchscreens and the mythical "everyday user", the GNOME 3 Shell has left many Linux power users scratching their heads, wondering why the GNOME developers decided to fix a desktop that wasn't broken. The problem …

    Operating Systems 9 Nov 11:00

  • Data retention, FOI and the storage budget

    You the Expert Managing the archive

    We set you a challenge. How do you resolve the conflicting requirements of data retention rules, the Freedom of Information Act and managing a storage budget? Email, as you know, clogs up your storage boxes like nothing else. And if your policy is “hang on to it, you never know when you might need it” you could find yourself …

    Desktop 9 Nov 11:16

  • Adobe axes 750 jobs to focus on HTML5, cloud

    No more love for Flash on mobiles

    Adobe has confirmed it is slashing 750 jobs across its enterprise licensing biz and focusing on HTML5 work as part of a restructure to pump up its digital media and marketing software. The proposal to cut around seven per cent of its workforce came as the maker of reassuringly expensive graphic design software reaffirmed …

    Channel Register 9 Nov 11:27

  • We need to talk about desktop virt

    Readers, we want you

    Sometimes we are forced to acknowledge that there is a group of people even more knowledgeable and informed than even Register journalists: you, our beloved readers. So we turn to you for help with a question that bears proper scrutiny. All this talk of cloud (and let’s face it, there has been a fair bit) has prompted some …

    Enterprise Tech 9 Nov 11:35

  • Paypal emits cash swap tap app for Android

    Bung a mate a tenner wirelessly

    PayPal has updated its Android client to allow person-to-person transactions by tapping phones together, but without the complexity everyone else is using. Finally you can borrow an electronic tenner at the bar, just by tapping phones together. Assuming you both use PayPal, and have NFC-capable Android, handsets, and have the …

    Mobile 9 Nov 11:44

  • 'Indestructible' Moto Defy telly ad banned

    ASA: "Your phone's tough, but not that tough"

    Motorola Mobility has been chastised by the Advertising Standards Authority for TV ads that showed the Motorola Defy getting thrown around the place without being damaged. The ASA has told MotoMobe that it has to pull the ads, which featured on-screen claims that the phone was "dance-floor proof" and "pool-party proof" while …

    Mobile 9 Nov 11:51

  • Threesome ends in arrest as wife struck by pair of TVs

    Husband 'freaks out' as troika takes sapphic turn

    A Miami man's attempt to conduct a threesome with his wife and another woman ended in a spell in the cells after he was accused of assaulting his spouse with a brace of TVs. Deputy sheriffs were called to a kerfuffle at a home in Naples Florida, the Naples News reports, where they found Jorge Daniel Silva, 22, his wife, …

    Crime 9 Nov 12:01

  • Marantz NR1602 AV receiver with AirPlay

    Review Slimline 7.1 sound master

    With the NR1602, Marantz has nuked the traditional AV receiver. The old template of massive amplification is out. In its place is an emphasis on networking prowess and design. The result is arguably the most forward-thinking receiver we’ll see all year. Big sound, slim frame: Marantz's NR1602 AV receiver The brick-like …

    reghardware 9 Nov 12:07

  • Calling all banks, insurers and IFAs - do you have an information gap?

    Tech Panel What's the state of today? How it likely to change?

    We have a new study awaiting your input. It's specific to Financial Services, so if you don't have any involvement in that industry then we thank you, and you can skip this one. We'll be in touch again soon. If you do work in any part of the FS industry, we'd really appreciate your input.... We frequently hear statements …

    CIO 9 Nov 12:13

  • World of Warcraft subscriptions slip

    Are MMO games running out of breath?

    Mass multiplayer online games appear to be in decline, with World of Warcraft subscriptions down ten per cent, titles like Star Trek Online adopting the free-to-play model and the kid-friendly Lego Universe shutting up shop completely. During Activision Blizzard's investor call yesterday, the company announced WoW …

    reghardware 9 Nov 12:17

  • Russian probe engines crap out on way to Mars

    Phobos-Grunt stuck in orbit around Earth

    Russia's fourth attempt to reach Mars has run into trouble and is now stuck in orbit around Earth. Phobos-Grunt, which launched successfully last night, managed to make it into orbit, but has failed to fire its engines to get it started on its journey to Mars. The craft – Фобос-Грунт, or Phobos-Grunt ("grunt" means "soil" in …

    Space 9 Nov 12:21

  • Free uni opened for Tech City hipsters

    Startup upstarts go back to school

    A free university with hot-desking space for tech startup types is setting up shop in London, joining Google and TechHub in the cluster of technology companies around the East End. The General Assembly started as a New York project, but will branch out to a 2,000ft2 Clerkenwell campus in spring 2012, aiming to train and …

    Small Biz 9 Nov 12:32

  • RM's car-boot sale continues

    Civica coughs £900k for Oz and Kiwi biz

    Beleaguered education IT supplier RM has carved off another piece of international operations with Civica coughing £900,000 for its biz down under. LSE-listed RM is axing one in five jobs from its local workforce as it restructures divisions in response to budgets cuts in the schools market, and is flogging or shuttering non- …

    Channel Register 9 Nov 12:33

  • 'Angry Bird' netflinger projectile brings down drug ultralights

    US airforce boffins battle robot smugglers

    US air force boffins have developed a net-flinging weapon dubbed "Angry Bird", for the purpose of bringing down drug-smuggling ultralight aircraft crossing the Mexican border without using lethal force. Aviation Week reports on the remarkable development, which was achieved as part of the 2011 Commander's Challenge competition …

    Bootnotes 9 Nov 12:41

  • Barclays Capital cuts IT contractor rates by 10% ... again

    Exclusive All the cool investment banks are at it

    Barclays Capital has told IT contractors and temp staff that they have to accept a 10 per cent cut in their rates. The investment banking division of Barclays Bank told their temporary workers that the cut would come into effect on 5 December and they had until 11 November to let it know if they did not wish to accept the new …

    Small Biz 9 Nov 12:52

  • Nintendo adds Wii U support for second controller

    Tablet for two

    Nintendo will tweak its forthcoming Wii U console to support two tablet controllers after one wasn't deemed sufficient. An anonymous source reckons engineers are working hard to bring simultaneous support for two pads to Ninty's next-gen console, with further enhancements also on the way. Speaking with Develop magazine, the …

    reghardware 9 Nov 12:54

  • TV makers ready to test 3D specs' compatibility

    All-sets active shutter

    Some of the world's biggest telly makers are about to begin to certify pairs of active-shutter 3D glasses that will work with their TVs. Panasonic, Samsung and Sony launched the scheme, called the Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative, to encourage standardisation of 3D specs in August. Some 12 other firms, including Hitachi, …

    reghardware 9 Nov 12:55

  • It's not the size of your pipe, it's the way you use it

    WAR on the cloud 6 How to manhandle CDN bandwidth like a pro

    In part 5, I tuned my site's home/entry page to load faster than Google's, in part because page-load time and general responsiveness are important to retaining users and those "sticky eyeballs". Now I want to make better use of my already-paid-for resources to handle assets that I didn't feel comfortable putting on a third- …

    Cloud 9 Nov 13:03

  • 'Puzzling structures on surface' of YU55 spaceball

    NASA releases radar vid of speeding cosmic voyager

    NASA boffins have released a short video clip of the huge dead-black spaceball YU55, roughly the size of a nuclear aircraft carrier, which barrelled past Earth inside the Moon's orbit last night. They say it shows "puzzling structures" on the surface of the mysterious cosmic spheroid. As YU55 is blacker than charcoal to …

    Space 9 Nov 13:12

  • Steam games forum down amid hack fears

    Valve stays silent, users say they've been spammed

    Computer games outfit Valve has suspended its Steam user forums following unconfirmed reports of a security breach. Eurogamer claims that the official message board for Valve's Steam online games platform, Steampowered, was "defaced" on Monday night shortly before the site was suspended. It is believed the defacement involved …

    Security 9 Nov 13:22

  • Yahoo!, AOL, Microsoft strike ad pact

    Three tribes go to war - against Google, Facebook

    Yahoo!, AOL and Microsoft are all struggling to get the most out of their display ad business up against the likes of Google and Facebook. Unsurprisingly then, the three companies have inked advertising deals together. "The agreements will allow ad networks operated by Yahoo!, Microsoft and AOL to offer each other’s premium …

    Music and Media 9 Nov 13:32

  • Foreign Office loses dozens of PCs and smartphones

    It's not like Bond to fumble his equipment

    After other government departments revealed the number of electrical goods they'd left scattered around the pubs and train seats of the country, the Foreign Office has just coughed up the statistics on how many of its gadgets went missing last year. Since August 2010 Foreign Office bods lost 28 computers and 37 mobiles phones …

    Government 9 Nov 13:42

  • Jobs neck and neck with 'angry people' for Time award

    And declared worthy successor to Lenin in Bulgaria...

    Steve Jobs looks set to go head to head with "angry people" for Time magazine's Person of the Year, if a panel staged by the weekly news magazine yesterday is anything to go by. However, Jobs has one major handicap in running for the role, as Time managing editor Rick Stengel pointed out: “We’ve never actually chosen a dead …

    Music and Media 9 Nov 13:52

  • Cheap gas is a 'crisis' for Greens, but not for us

    Analysis The League of Handicappers

    Energy Minister Christopher Huhne has an opinion piece in the The Daily Telegraph today – and it's really an 800-word explanation of why we need a new Energy Minister. The subject of Huhne's essay is new, cheap gas. The article finds the minister on the defensive about shale gas: it's why he's taking his argument into print. …

    Environment 9 Nov 14:02

  • Chell clips Cant to top Play School presenter slot

    Cult telly stars chalk up kids show appearances

    Can it be true? Yes it is: Brian Cant, the actor who for so many years was viewed as the Play School presenter par exellence did not chalk up the most appearances on the kids programme. Cant was a Play School from 1964 to 1985, but according to research published by one Paul R Jackson in a new book Here's a House: a …

    reghardware 9 Nov 14:09

  • How to get the best from your IOPS

    Network attached storage and Trevor Pott

    The number of inputs and outputs per second from your networked storage can dictate the success or failure of your whole architecture. Danny Bradbury interviews systems administrator Trevor Pott and finds out how networked storage can be configured to avoid bottlenecks and maximise performance. Watch Video var MediaPlayerVars …

    Enterprise Tech 9 Nov 14:16

  • UK.gov deputy CIO quits Cabinet Office for EMC job

    Bill McCluggage puts self into storage

    Bill McCluggage, the government's deputy CIO, is the latest in a series of senior civil servants who have quit their posts at the Cabinet Office in favour of a private sector job. He is leaving to take a job at storage giant EMC after having worked at the department since September 2009. "I am sorry to leave the Cabinet …

    CIO 9 Nov 14:32

  • Immigrants face £49k wage minimum to stay

    Poorly paid super boffins welcome though

    Officials checking immigrants' payslips to decide which skilled workers can settle in the UK may have to choose those with salaries of at least £49k. A new set of recommendations from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) suggest that immigration authorities should take into account how much immigrants are paid when deciding …

    Small Biz 9 Nov 14:43

  • Veg rustlers hit with conditional discharge after roadside lineup

    Allotment holder spots marrow with distinctive stripe

    A pair of petty thieves were hit with a conditional discharge after pilfering a load of fruit and veg from allotments in Cambridgeshire. The light but grubby fingered vegetable rustlers were searched by suspicious cops across the road from allotments in Brampton, Cambs. Lawrence Miller, 44, and Steven Randall, 46, were found …

    Crime 9 Nov 14:51

  • iPhones get multi-sim capabilities

    Case hardened

    Apple smartphone owners with a jailbroken handset can benefit from a new case that brings dual-Sim capabilities to the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. The Vooma Peel PG920 unlocks and enables two Sim cards. It also includes a back-up battery that'll charge your phone. Jailbroken iPhone users can download the Vooma app, which will …

    reghardware 9 Nov 14:59

  • Hitachi, LG admit fixing disc drive prices

    Joint venture HLDS hit with criminal charges

    A Hitachi and LG optical disk-making joint venture has pleaded guilty to 14 counts of violating antitrust law and one count of wire fraud in the US. The company is the first to be charged in the probe of price-fixing in the sale of CD, DVD and Blu-ray drives. The Department of Justice investigation also issued a subpoena to …

    Channel Register 9 Nov 15:02

  • Hackers link MP's aide to neo-Nazi site in member list leak

    Anonymous Finland attacks far-right group

    The parliamentary aide to a right-wing Finnish MP has offered to resign after the Anonymous hacking collective published what it said was a list of applications to join a local neo-Nazi party. Hacktivists broke into the website of Kansallinen Vastarinta, the magazine of the Suomen Vastarintaliike (Finnish Resistance Movement …

    Government 9 Nov 15:22

  • Wi-Fi hotspots to skyrocket over next five years

    And you reckon 2.4GHz is crowded now...

    Right now there are 1.3 million public Wi-Fi spots around the world, but Informa reckons that's going to jump to 5.8 million by 2015 with tablets and smartphones driving the deployments. Those figures don't include the 4.5 million "community" hotspots – privately owned but publically shared – the 5.8 million hotspots up and …

    Wireless 9 Nov 15:41

  • Mobe anti-virus biz Lookout eyes Euro telcos

    Android, iOS good. BlackBerry and Windows out of luck

    Lookout Mobile Security is going international with localised versions of its mobile security software and a partnership to pre-embed its technology in Android phones supplied by Telstra Australia, its first mobile telco partner outside the US. The mobile security specialist already claims more than 12 million users across 170 …

    Malware 9 Nov 16:01

  • Prepare for a growth spurt when you virtualise systems

    Adjusting the scale

    Virtualising systems often means scaling them up. Sometimes, disparate networks of machines are consolidated together, creating a mega-portfolio of assets. This carries a special set of technical challenges, but let’s not forget the managerial ones. What happens when you scale a system by virtualising servers and cramming more …

    Network Futures 9 Nov 16:22

  • Adobe confirms mobile Flash Player's race is run

    HTML 5 is the future

    It's official: Adobe Flash Player is dead for mobile browsers… almost. Once Flash 11.1 for Android devices and RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook is done, Adobe will develop no future versions, it confirmed today, though it will patch bugs and plug security holes yet to be discovered in the 11.1 code. Adobe said it views HTML 5 as the …

    reghardware 9 Nov 16:22

  • Toshiba knocks back super-skinny tablet release

    Ice Cream Sarnie-inspired delay?

    Toshiba has knocked back the release of its skinnier-than-the-rest AT200 Android tablet to 2012. Announced at the IFA consumer electronics show this past September, the 7.7mm-thick, 558g AT200 was said by Toshiba to be set to ship before the end of 2011. But in a response to a punter posted on Toshiba Germany's Facebook page …

    reghardware 9 Nov 16:58

  • Samsung to pump $34bn into its chip fab biz

    Silicon and screens for mobes, cams and fondleslabs

    Samsung Electronics is planning to invest 38 trillion won (£21.3bn, $33.9bn) in its business next year, up over a quarter from the around 30 trillion won it invested this year, industry sources told local media. The Korean chaebol will be focusing its investments in its System LSI division and in OLEDs, website Edaily said, …

    Mobile 9 Nov 17:03

  • SEC slaps inside trader with record $93m fine

    Bent tycoon traded dirty on IBM, Intel

    Insider trading does not pay, a judge in an American civil court declared, putting a record fine on Raj Rajaratnam, the businessman who was found guilty of insider trades using a network of tech insiders – including executives at IBM and Intel. The $92.8m fine handed down by Judge Jed Rakoff is in addition to an 11-year jail …

    Crime 9 Nov 17:37

  • Avnet Technology Solutions to shutter operations in Italy

    Hits ejector button as local economy goes down burning

    Avnet Technology Solutions (TS) is shuttering operations in Italy due to an "unacceptable financial performance". The Italian economy has hit the skids with low growth rates and €1.9tn debts but the distributor's electronics marketing business arm will continue in-country operations. "Unfortunately, and despite our diligent …

    Channel Register 9 Nov 18:05

  • SGI ramping up for big Xeon E5 server push

    NASA to push Pleiades super to 10 petaflops

    Like everybody else in the server racket, Silicon Graphics is waiting somewhat patiently for Intel to get its "Sandy Bridge-EP" Xeon E5 processors out the door, so it can launch a whole new generation of machines. Or, in the case of SGI, several different generations. Still, SGI has managed to sell existing Xeon and Opteron …

    Servers 9 Nov 18:47

  • Amazon's Kindle Fire burns iPad momentum

    26% of Fire fans put off 'Pad purchases

    A new survey indicates that Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet is causing some prospective iPad purchasers to think twice. Conducted by ChangeWave Research and reported by Fortune, the survey asked 2,600 "early adopter types" about their purchase plans for the Kindle Fire, which will be released next on Tuesday. Of those surveyed, …

    Mobile 9 Nov 18:50

  • Microsoft releases fix for Applocker bypass flaw

    Windows vault easily opened with macros

    Microsoft has released a temporary fix for a flaw in its latest operating systems that allows untrusted users to bypass security measures preventing them from running unauthorized applications. AppLocker allows administrators to restrict the applications that can be run on computers running Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008. …

    Enterprise Security 9 Nov 18:52

  • Spanish firm brings 20MW solar ‘ranch’ online in Arizona

    Herding photons to green the desert

    A new 20MW solar ‘ranch’ has officially opened in the deserts of Arizona as part of a major push by Spanish firm Iberdrola Renewables into the US energy market. The Copper Crossing Solar Ranch in Florence, Arizona, is one of the bigger renewable energy installations in the US and covers 144 acres of scrubby desert. With less …

    Environment 9 Nov 21:01

  • Branson backs Twitter co-founder's mobile biz

    Stuffs cash into mobile payment startup

    Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s mobile payments startup Square continues to attract high-octane investors, this time welcoming Sir Richard Branson on board. The last round of funding announced in September was $100m and was led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. “I’m very passionate …

    Business 9 Nov 21:04

  • Oracle dubs Solaris 11 world's 'first cloud OS'

    'Absolutely spanking' IBM and HP

    Oracle has duly and at last announced the Solaris 11 Unix system, developed under the code-name "Nevada" at the former Sun Microsystems and representing the foundation of the future Sparc systems business that Oracle hopes to rebuild. Solaris 11 is perhaps a little later coming to market than planned because of the Oracle …

    Cloud 9 Nov 21:31

  • University of NSW to open patent pool

    Uni Glasgow aluminus to drive intellectual property strategy

    The University of New South Wales has decided to open a significant chunk of its patent pool to outsiders for free, in a strategy called Easy Access IP. The strategy is being implemented and overseen through NSi, the university’s commercialization operation, under the hand of CEO Dr Kevin Cullen, who joined NSi in May and has …

    Business 9 Nov 21:32

  • Defiant Aussies continue to sell contraband Samsung slab

    Laugh gutturally at fruity threats

    An Australian retailer is defying Apple and the courts by continuing to sell Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 to Aussies, despite the temporary injunction. dMAVO said it has created a separate entity in Europe and is shipping the fondleslabs from Asia in order to sidestep the Australian ban, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. " …

    PCs & Chips 9 Nov 22:01

  • Microsoft gets deeper undercover with the Nine Network

    Shades of spooks as JV renamed Mi9

    Microsoft has moved closer to its joint venture partner Nine Entertainment Co, launching a new overarching brand, Mi9, which tips in their aligned digital assets. The move effectively quashes residual speculation that the long standing Ninemsn joint venture may be unravelling as the Nine Entertainment group moves towards an …

    Business 9 Nov 22:30

  • Feds shutter DNS malware scam that infected 4 million PCs

    $14m scheme attacked Macs as well as Windows

    Federal authorities have shut down an international conspiracy that forced more than four million computers to connect to fraudulent webpages when users tried to visit Netflix, the US Internal Revenue Service, Apple's iTunes and other services. Prosecutors named seven Eastern European defendants who allegedly generated more …

    Malware 9 Nov 22:31

  • Murdoch plays cross platform musical chairs Down Under

    New chiefs for News Ltd and Foxtel

    Rupert Murdoch’s latest executive chess moves reveal a timely and strategic game at hand, as he replaces News Ltd stalwart John Hartigan with current Foxtel CEO Kim Williams. Williams, a loyal Murdoch ally, will take Hartigan’s CEO role, with Murdoch to re-assume the chairman's role in Australia. The move comes amid a week …

    Music and Media 9 Nov 23:00

  • Super cloud for Oz pension funds

    IQ BG launches community cloud

    IQ Business Group is hoping to attract Australia’s superannuation industry to a cloud solution, with the launch of its iqCloud platform. The solution has been crafted to comply with the industry’s regulatory requirements, including security and privacy, risk, and audit rules. Running at Sydney and Melbourne data centres, …

    Cloud 9 Nov 23:30