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30th November 2011 Archive

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  • Microsoft prepping Office for iPad?

    So says Rupert Murdoch's fondleslab rag

    Microsoft is said to be preparing a version of its Office productivity suite for Apple's überpopular fondleslab, the "magical and revolutionary" iPad. So say unnamed sources speaking – fittingly enough – to The Daily, Rupert Murdoch's less than wildly successful iPad newspaper, launched with great fanfare this February. The …

    Applications 30 Nov 00:21

  • Ubuntu team questions Distrowatch share slide figures

    If you build it, they will might come

    Ubuntu developer Michael Hall has questioned the latest data from Distrowatch, which suggests that it is slipping in popularity when compared to rivals such as Linux Mint. Last week figures from Distrowatch showed that Ubuntu was down in fourth place as the most visited Linux distribution portal, having previously topped the …

    Operating Systems 30 Nov 00:35

  • Google, VMware, Cisco stuff Puppet with $8.5m

    Sysadmin tool, not Muppet movie

    Puppet Labs, the upstart system administration toolmaker founded in 2005 by CEO Luke Kanies "out of fear and desperation" has some influential friends in high places – and with deep pockets. To be specific, Google, VMware, and Cisco Systems have just signed up to kick in a portion of the $8.5m in Series C financing that Puppet …

    Servers 30 Nov 00:50

  • Yelp lands in Aus with some help from Telstra

    User generated site kicks off with whimpers not Yelps

    Yelp has officially opened shop in Australia www.yelp.com.au, with a little help from Telstra, as part of its progressive international expansion plans. The Australian expansion features a first for the US site in its partnership with Telstra’s directories arm Sensis. Yelp traditionally does not partner with local carriers or …

    Business 30 Nov 01:24

  • Samsung gets a win in Oz patent battle

    Friday deadline for Cupertino High Court challenge, or 'complete win' for Samsung?

    Samsung has been handed a rare win in its patent battle with Apple, with Australia's Federal Court deciding to overturn the injunction that prevents it from selling its Galaxy 10.1 tablet in Australia. Originally, a single judge of the court, Justice Annabelle Bennett, had granted Apple's request for an injunction against the …

    Business 30 Nov 01:36

  • Developers get new IE10 for Windows 8 preview

    More HTML5 features for future browser

    Microsoft has released a new developer preview of the tenth version of Internet Explorer, which is designed to run on only on Windows 8. The build includes much greater HTML 5 support, including what Microsoft says is the best IE hardware-accelerated graphics yet and faster JavaScript handling, thanks to the browser supporting …

    Developer 30 Nov 01:42

  • UK Met Office: World temperature back down to 1997 level

    Global warming still definitely on, though

    The UK's Met Office has unveiled preliminary figures showing that according to its global temperature database, worldwide temperatures this year have descended to the levels seen in 1997. However Met Office researchers insist that dangerous global warming is still very much underway. According to the Met Office supervised …

    Energy 30 Nov 01:58

  • BUSTED! Secret app on millions of phones logs key taps

    Researcher says seeing is believing

    An Android app developer has published what he says is conclusive proof that millions of smartphones are secretly monitoring the key presses, geographic locations, and received messages of its users. In a YouTube video posted on Monday, Trevor Eckhart showed how software from a Silicon Valley company known as Carrier IQ …

    Security 30 Nov 02:34

  • The BBC Micro turns 30

    The 8-bit 1980s dream machine

    The BBC Micro – the machine which, along with the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, epitomised the British home computer boom of the early 1980s – was launched 30 years ago tomorrow. Unveiled on 1 December 1981 as the Model A and Model B, the BBC Micro would go on to sell over 1.5 million units before the last of the line was discontinued …

    reghardware 30 Nov 07:00

  • We need IT to stop NHS flushing away cash - ex-Health Sec

    Dorrell wants better use of tech to save billions

    When the Audit Commission published its review of England's NHS this summer and warned of growing financial pressures, trusts already knew that achieving savings equivalent to about 5 per cent of their budgets each year until 2015 meant doing things differently and more efficiently. Stephen Dorrell, the chair of the health …

    Policy 30 Nov 08:02

  • UK space radar satellite project gets funding kickstart

    Gov contribution buys half of one unit, need biz help for the rest

    A portion of the promised science budget in yesterday's Autumn Statement will go on a new British-built satellite constellation, the Minister for Universities and Science said. Artist's impression of a NovaSAR satellite over Earth. Credit: SSTL Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne once more promised to ensure science …

    Space 30 Nov 08:31

  • ESA tests greenhouse gas-measuring lasers

    Green beams light up the skies over the Canaries

    Residents of the Canaries could be forgiven for thinking they were under attack from an alien race over the last two weeks, as the islands played host to a European Space Agency test of a laser tracking system for greenhouse gases. Infrared laser experiment for studying greenhouse gases. Credit: ESA The agency wants to try …

    Physics 30 Nov 09:04

  • Anonymous launches OpRobinHood against banks

    'We have come to take the 99%'s money back'

    Anonymous and other hacktivists have joined together to launch an attack on banks in response to recent crackdowns against the Occupy protest movement. TeaMp0isoN and Anonymous are joining forces to run OpRobinHood, which will involve using stolen credit details to donate to charities and others, supposedly at the expense of …

    Security 30 Nov 09:16

  • Orange contract price hike angers subscribers

    Inflationary increase

    Orange has announced a price hike on UK pay monthly contracts, with fees rising by 4.34 per cent. Customers are not impressed. "Due to recent increases in inflation, we will be increasing the price of our monthly tariff plans by 4.34 per cent from the 8 January 2012," the company told customers this week. However, "call, text …

    reghardware 30 Nov 09:21

  • Red Hat's sales architect exits on Linux high

    Open... and Shut Coders' money man expendable?

    While his name won't be familiar to most, Alex Pinchev has been one of the primary architects of Red Hat's stunning, consistent growth over the past decade as its head of global sales. At a company that values engineers as highly as Red Hat does, Pinchev still commands profound respect, not to mention fear, despite not being …

    Developer 30 Nov 09:47

  • Epoch

    iGamer Robot wars

    With its heavy arsenal and cover-to-cover, pop-and-shoot gunplay, Epoch looks every inch the Gears of War clone. But look a little closer and you'll discover Uppercut Games' shooter has a great deal more in common with Infinity Blade than Epic's testicular trilogy. Warbots Thanks to the Unreal Engine, it's a gorgeous …

    reghardware 30 Nov 10:00

  • HP storage biz ready for battle again

    Focusing on 3PAR, IBRIX, StoreOnce and LeftHand

    It's HP Discover in Vienna. Florence and the Machine's You've Got the Love is blasting out as the key-note session hall fills up with around 7,000 people. HP is bursting with energy and the message is: HP is back. This was echoed by Meg Whitman, who was in Vienna too. She acknowledged that things had been hard, saying: "All of …

    Storage 30 Nov 10:12

  • Gov asks disabled users how it can make web easier

    Closed caption tech and meaningful links wanted

    The government has asked for views on what problems disabled people face when using the web and other technologies and whether laws and regulations should be changed to improve accessibility. A web-based forum has been established to ask users how laws and guidance could be improved to enable wider access to information …

    Government 30 Nov 10:23

  • LOHAN's concrete derrière dubbed WIDDECOMBE

    Heavyweight Brit politico beats off stiff opposition

    We recently decided that the forthcoming Rocketry Experimental High Altitude Barosimulator (REHAB) rocket motor test would benefit from a concrete block wall behind which Special Projects Bureau operatives can tremble as the big red ignition button is pressed. Naturally, this being El Reg's audacious Low Orbit Helium …

    SPB 30 Nov 10:33

  • Zuckerberg submits privacy mea culpa after FTC ruling

    'We've made a bunch of mistakes'... bitch

    "We've made a bunch of mistakes" on privacy, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has admitted. It turns out Facebook is just as bad as Google when it comes to data-handling. And the result is to sit next to Mountain View on the Federal Trade Commission's naughty step by agreeing to a bi-annual privacy review for the next 20 years. …

    Media 30 Nov 10:41

  • Wi-Fi may damage sperm, boffins warn

    Keep that laptop away from your 'nads, lads

    A team of scientists has suggested that Wi-Fi-connected laptops sited too close to chaps' gonads could damage their sperm. Argentinian and US boffins collected semen from 29 healthy males, divided each sample into two containers*, then exposed one "to an internet-connected laptop by Wi-Fi for 4 hours". The second sample "was …

    Broadband 30 Nov 10:52

  • Acer joins NFC party with mid-range blower

    Oh hello, you haven't missed much

    Acer has boosted its Liquid range of smartphones with its first handset to boast touch-to-pay NFC capabilities. The Acer Liquid Express is a mid-range blower that comes with an 800MHz processor and Android 2.3 Gingerbread. There's a 3.5in touchscreen and a 5Mp camera, as well as a 2GB Micro SD card included in the box. But …

    reghardware 30 Nov 10:52

  • The TARDIS through the ages

    Talkin' about My Girl

    The TT Type 40, Mark 3 – it sounds like a motorbike made by BSA. But it is, as any fan will tell you, it is the model of the Doctor’s TARDIS, in which he departed without permission from Time Lord homeworld Gallifrey between 700 and 900 years ago – though we space-and-science-fiction nerks only got to start tuning in in 1963. …

    Entertainment 30 Nov 11:00

  • British garbage worms survive in space without human help

    Extraterrestrial nematode freed from mankind's dominance

    A worm family that originated in a rubbish dump in Bristol has successfully returned from a space mission, proving for the first time that worms can survive untended in space. Studying the effect of space travel on worms has big implications for understanding how humans can survive in space – if and when we have to flee our …

    Space 30 Nov 11:11

  • Woman cuffed by phone-hack probe plods

    Op Weeting cops pursue 17th suspect to remote north

    Scotland Yard arrested a 31-year-old woman just before dawn today on suspicion of conspiring to intercept voicemail messages. The Met said the unnamed woman was currently being held in custody at a police station in Northumbria. "Officers from Operation Weeting have this morning, Wednesday, 30 November, arrested a woman in …

    Law 30 Nov 11:22

  • HP shows off filer and dedupe monsters in Vienna

    Powerful combos of scale-out hardware and filer software

    HP used its Discover event in Vienna to both broaden and deepen its core storage portfolio, strengthening its file and deduplication offerings to compete better with EMC and NetApp. The headlines are: High-availability B6200 StoreOnce Backup System deduplicating backup to disk system for enterprises; Data Protector backup …

    Storage 30 Nov 11:29

  • Attention, mallrats: Google maps floor plans for Android users

    Look up from your handset, stupid. I'm over here!

    Google is helping users of its Android handset navigate their way around buildings such as airports, shopping malls and retail stores in the US and Japan. The ad broker announced that its Google Maps 6.0 product will come loaded with floor plans to guide customers around indoor spaces. "Detailed floor plans automatically …

    Mobile 30 Nov 11:41

  • Microsoft tempts with WinPho demo on... iPhone

    Try before you fly

    Microsoft has pieced together an HTML 5-based demo of its Windows Phone OS' Metro user interface, giving iOS and Android users a taste of what life's like on the other side.   While it isn't exactly a fully functional system, the demo does showcase WinPho's tile-based UI, Metro, throwing out several features including People, …

    reghardware 30 Nov 11:42

  • Former Apple subsidiary loses patent spat with HTC

    US trade commission says phone cameras don't violate FlashPoint IP

    The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has ruled that HTC does not infringe on patents held by former Apple subsidiary FlashPoint Technology. FlashPoint complained to the ITC about IP relating to digital cameras in the Taiwanese smartphone-maker's products. An initial ruling by an ITC judge back in July found no …

    Law 30 Nov 11:53

  • UN's lax security exposed by password-slurping hacktivists

    Login details and email addresses dumped after raid

    Hacktivist group TeaMp0isoN has hacked into the website of the United Nations Development Programme, making off with hundreds of email addresses, usernames and plain-text passwords that were later dumped onto Pastebin. Individuals working for the UNDP, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, UNICEF, the …

    Security 30 Nov 12:01

  • Toshiba shuts down three chip factories

    Cuts production as economic slowdown bites

    Toshiba has announced it is closing three of its six chip factories in Japan and focusing on certain semiconductors over others, in order to cut costs in the face of falling demand. The Japanese firm said it is going to phase out production at three chip facilities during the fiscal first half of next year "to strengthen cost …

    Storage 30 Nov 12:12

  • Sony officially rolls-out fresh PlayStation firmware

    Lovely Vita meeter made

    Sony has officially unveiled its latest PlayStation update, which, as expected, introduces PS Vita support. Firmware version 4.00 allows the PS3 to share music, video and images with the Vita, as well as game saves and additional connectivity features. The update also ushers-in several PS3-specific upgrades, such as Blu-ray …

    reghardware 30 Nov 12:21

  • HP douses firebomb printer hack threat

    Prof warns of dirty firmware explosives risk

    Researchers claim to have discovered a security flaw in HP LaserJet printers that permits the installation of malicious firmware that might be capable of disabling safety controls. In a demo, Columbia University's Professor Salvatore Stolfo and Ang Cui show how it might be possible to instruct a hacked printer to overheat a …

    Security 30 Nov 12:28

  • Ofcom boss threatens nuclear option on 4G squabble

    Agree on auction or I'll sic the politicians on you

    The head of the UK's communications regulator has threatened to bring in the politicians if network operators continue to squabble over next year's mega-auction of 800MHz and 2.6GHz bands. We're still waiting to see what form that auction will take; Ofcom's first consultation on the subject produced such a storm of responses …

    Broadband 30 Nov 12:34

  • The End of Free: Web 2.0 will squeeze punters rotten

    Exclusive Utopia ends here

    There's no such thing as a free lunch in business - and despite what internet utopians wish for, the web is no exception. We're used to social networks such as Facebook, email such as GMail and Yahoo! and search all being free - alongside "free" music and video offerings such as YouTube and Spotify. How much do you think this …

    Media 30 Nov 12:45

  • Google rejigs search bar (again)

    No longer painted black

    Google is scrapping its short-lived black search navigation bar in favour of a new design that falls into line with the company's increasingly uniformed social network platform brand. It's no longer satisfactory enough for Google to let visitors to its search engine simply pull up results based on queries those individuals …

    Media 30 Nov 12:54

  • BT, EE's mobe broadband trial jump-starts Cornish village

    LTE anytime, anyplace, anywhere*, just like Martini

    Halfway through their Cornish next-gen mobile broadband trial, BT and Everything Everywhere have demonstrated that sharing LTE infrastructure and radio spectrum works - and that they might even be able to make it pay. The companies worked together to install Long-Term Evolution (LTE) tech into two base stations, and supply 180 …

    Broadband 30 Nov 13:03

  • Nokia flogs off WiMAX biz

    Old tech goes to NewNet

    Nokia Siemens Networks has sold its WiMAX business to NewNet Communications, handing 300 staff and the WiMAX portfolio to the company, which is a division of Skyview Capital. Both NewNet and Skyview described themselves as excited by the opportunities in WiMAX, and delighted to be taking on the staff, product portfolio and …

    Financial News 30 Nov 13:12

  • Samsung outs 'retina display' ARM chippery

    2560 x 1600 graphics on a mobe, anyone?

    World+Dog is drooling over Samsung's latest ARM chip, the dual-core Exynos 5250, announced this week. What has got the saliva flowing? The 2GHz clock speed, a memory bandwidth of 12.8GB/s, DisplayPort support and the ability to pump out graphics at resolutions of up to 2560 x 1600. The catch: the 32nm, Cortex A15-based chip …

    reghardware 30 Nov 13:16

  • HP: We are NOT channel's services enemy

    Unveils raft of cloud services...

    HP claims a slew of cloud computing initiatives launched today proves that it has been "unfairly" branded a services threat to the channel. The types of HP services flogged by dealers were generally relatively low value maintenance contracts and warranty upgrades with enterprise services available only to the internal direct …

    Channel Register 30 Nov 13:21

  • Virtual Instruments gets physical SAN Performance Probe

    How does your SAN tool stack up?

    Here's a rich mine for innuendo lovers: fancy a well-engineered Virtual Instruments probe? SAN fabric hardware tester Virtual Instruments has developed its own Fibre Channel probe designed for administrators instead of Fibre Channel engineers. It could even lead to lower prices. Virtual Instruments was spun out from Finisar's …

    Storage 30 Nov 13:33

  • Judge orders search giants: Delist Chanel rip-off merchants

    Updated Google, Microsoft – anybody plus everybody

    A US court has ordered the de-listing of more than 200 sites selling counterfeit Chanel goods from the search engines of Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter and – er – anybody else. In a wide-ranging ruling, the US district court for Nevada ordered the offending sites be: "De-indexed and/or removed from any search results …

    Hosting 30 Nov 13:44

  • Squeezed Spotify to unveil APIs & App Store

    Heavy platforms can kill

    Spotify is expected to reveal an app store and developer APIs at an event later today. The APIs would allow music magazines, fan sites and other services to plug into Spotify's music engine. The Wall Street Journal suggests that most of these will be desktop apps, and will be available to free users of the ad-supported service …

    Media 30 Nov 13:52

  • Ravens' secret sign code probed

    Saying 'nevermore' etc with beak gesture, seemingly

    A conspiracy of ravens may be conspiring more than we ever thought, as researchers have discovered that the carrion-scoffing birds use their beaks to gesture and communicate. Raven croaking. Credit: Franco Atirador Previously, so-called deictic gestures – such as pointing to signify "look" and holding something out to …

    Biology 30 Nov 13:56

  • Hasselblad H4D-200MS medium format multishot camera

    Review Just what does a 200Mp image look like?

    Having an enviable reputation for excellence in the medium format film world, digital photography presented a whole new range of challenges for Hasselblad to maintain its position among commercial photographers. Yet after establishing its H-System digital cameras in 2002, the company has continued to innovate and adapt the …

    reghardware 30 Nov 14:04

  • NASA wants space washing machine for ISS, Mars bases

    'Nauts stinky knickers cram station for months on end

    NASA have moved at last to tackle the problem of dirty astronauts by commissioning a microwave with air-jets to clean underwear in space. There are no washing machines on the International Space Station so grime-encrusted nauts will wear underwear for 3-4 days and other items of clothing for months, before disposing of the …

    Space 30 Nov 14:14

  • eBuyer £1 sale fail: Customers vent fury... on Facebook

    Idle Cyber Monday shoppers can't be bothered to pick up phone

    eBuyer is facing a mini customer revolt on Facebook over the collapse of its website during the £1 sale on Cyber Monday. The etailer says that an unprecedented numbers of visitors caused the portal to crash leaving many "frustrated", but people took to the social media site to voice their disgust. Customer Mark Herridge …

    Channel Register 30 Nov 14:29

  • Gov's e-petition service cost £80k to develop

    Taxpayer-shouting-at-bins website to stay

    MPs might be trying their hardest to snub the government's e-petition website, but the Cabinet Office plans to keep the service running for at least the next three years. The leader of the House of Commons confirmed in a written answer to Parliament yesterday that the design and creation of the e-petition site had cost the …

    Government 30 Nov 14:46

  • Smut sirens violate YouTube with saucy .XXX hot dog

    Domain pusher appeals ad vid ban

    YouTube has yanked offline an advert for .xxx domain names which featured two porn stars performing a sexually suggestive act on a hot dog. But the 30-second video, part of ICM Registry's $4.5m ad campaign to promote the launch of the porn-only TLD, was apparently removed from YouTube not because it was too saucy, but because …

    Hosting 30 Nov 14:57

  • Hands on with Star Wars: The Old Republic

    First Look Impressive. Most impressive

    So I have been waiting and waiting and waiting and finally the gaming world is flooded with Star Wars: The Old Republic beta keys. Slays against the machine My first question is, what level could I get to before Sunday night? After that, I don’t get to play again till 20 December, the day the game is released to the public …

    reghardware 30 Nov 15:02

  • FCC slams AT&T and T-Mobile union

    Damning report accuses firms of trying to mislead regulators

    The US Federal Communications Commission has issued a damning staff report on the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA, despite the companies' protests. The FCC's order (PDF) for the release of the report said that the prospective union "raised serious concerns", adding that the result would be that the top two wireless …

    Broadband 30 Nov 15:16

  • James Bond savages the Kardashians

    'Fu*king idiots', thunders Daniel Craig

    James Bond thesp Daniel Craig has savaged the highly talented and decorative Kardashian clan, branding the celebutard minx pack "fu*king idiots". 'Stay away from my fu*king wedding' While giving forth on the matter of privacy in an interview for GQ Magazine, Craig began: "It's not about being afraid to be public with your …

    Entertainment 30 Nov 15:32

  • Sage warns of bumpy ride ahead

    Fiscal 2011 profit and sales gains may be difficult to sustain

    Unstoppable accountancy software juggernaut Sage kept its foot on the gas in fiscal 2011 to record decent top- and bottom-line gains but warned of some danger signs on the road ahead. The firm made £331m pre-tax profits, up 11 per cent on sales of £1.33bn, a rise of 4 per cent for the year ended 30 September. In Europe sales …

    Channel Register 30 Nov 15:46

  • Man uses CAT scanner to copy Stradivarius

    CAD, CNC kit used to knock out wood

    Attempts to recreate the renowned Stradivarius violin continued this week with boffins proposing an all-new approach using CAT scans and CAD software. After studying the anatomy of several instruments using a computerised axial tomography (CAT) scanner, Mora, Minnesota-based radiologist Steven Sirr managed to get hold of a …

    reghardware 30 Nov 15:59

  • Microsoft's uphill battle to push Win8 tabs into punters' paws

    Analysis You snooze, you lose, warns analyst

    Microsoft has its work cut out thanks to its entry into a tablet arena revived by Apple's iPad, according to analysts. Just as the company approaches the finish line clutching Windows 8 for fondleslabs, panting away like Steve Ballmer at a developer conference, punters have already lost interest. Forrester Research has …

    Developer 30 Nov 16:03

  • HP plays Violin to whip Itanium beasts into flash frenzy

    Chip arrays to accelerate hot storage, says insider

    HP has signed a deal with Violin Memory to flog shared flash memory arrays to its Itanium customers, El Reg has learned. HP produces and sells Itanium-based systems, running HP-UX, OpenVMS and NonStop, through its Business Critical Systems operation to customers who need extreme high-availability, reliability and robustness …

    Storage 30 Nov 16:21

  • NASA mini-sat parachutes to a halt in space, prangs into atmos

    Could be means of clearing up orbital trash

    NASA has successfully tested an extraterrestrial rubbish collector that could sweep up the star system's space debris. The agency's NanoSail-D is a teeny satellite that deployed the first-ever solar sail in low-Earth orbit and sailed around the planet for more than 240 days. The sail is NASA's idea for cleaning up …

    Space 30 Nov 16:42

  • Malcolm Gladwell, tipping points and Climategate

    Comment How a marketing buzzword changed the world

    Best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell had a powerful impact on the way climate change was marketed to the public, without even knowing it. Gladwell's marketing book, published in 2000, embedded the phrase "tipping point" into the public's imagination, and this in turn was used to raise the urgency of climate change. It seems …

    Energy 30 Nov 17:04

  • Adobe slated over channel compo cockup

    New system has 'teething problems' say resellers

    Adobe appears to have made a real hash of the move to a new rebate structure, with resellers claiming they are still unable to measure progress made on sales targets. The Creative Suite developer, which is cutting 7 per cent of its workforce, moved to a new deal registration programme back in October – one month into its …

    Channel Register 30 Nov 17:05

  • Hollywood siren invented key phone tech TRUE

    New book reveals Hedy Lamarr's contribution to Wi-Fi, CDMA

    Here's a fascinating notion: that sultry Hollywood sex goddess Hedy Lamarr invented radio technology employed by every mobile phone in use today. The tech in question is the notion of spread-spectrum frequency hopping, a concept devised by Lamarr during World War II after learning German U-Boats had sunk a cruise ship and …

    reghardware 30 Nov 17:17

  • HP CEO to reveal fate of WebOS in two weeks

    600 engineers wait to hear their fate

    HP is to confirm the fate of its WebOS operation in the next fortnight, CEO Meg Whitman told French daily Le Figaro. The firm has fired 525 staff in the WebOS hardware unit months ago and transferred the platform team to the Office of Strategy and Technology as it came to a decision on the business. Whitman was today reported …

    Channel Register 30 Nov 17:23

  • DBMS pioneer Bachman: 'Engineers have more fun than academics'

    Very large databases are so '70s

    Fifty years ago this month a young engineer at mega corp General Electric was on the verge of completing a project that would change technology. Charlie Bachman was working on Integrated Data Store (IDS), the first disk-based database management system (DBMS) that could be accessed by apps simultaneously. IDS made data …

    Developer 30 Nov 17:41

  • Microsoft! among! suitors! hungry! for! small! bite! of! Yahoo!

    Ailing web firm looks to avoid investor consult

    Yahoo! has taken bids for a less than 20 per cent stake in the firm, to supply the ailing web company with cash while avoiding a shareholder vote. A group of investors including private equity firm Silver Lake and one-time suitor Microsoft have offered around $16.60 a share for the stake, people with knowledge of the matter …

    Cloud Business 30 Nov 17:58

  • Veeam stretches VM backup to Hyper-V

    Not just for VMware any more

    Veeam Software, one of myriad vendors of archiving and disaster recovery software vendors that has sprung up to tame virtual server environments, has revved up its aptly named Veeam Backup & Replication tool to v6, and expanded out beyond the safe bet of coping with VMware ESX Server and ESXi hypervisors to wrestling with VMs …

    Storage 30 Nov 18:27

  • Chinese state research unit pays $1,000 for USB stick

    128MB, HP-branded, none of your cheap rubbish

    Trouble-making Chinese paper the Southern Metropolis Daily has turned up an invoice showing that the Chinese Academy of Sciences is paying more than $1,000 for 128MB memory sticks. The price is about nine times what one might expect, and when the paper questioned HP they were told that the unit should cost around $47 but that …

    Hardware 30 Nov 18:29

  • PROVEN: Violent video games mess with your head

    Brain boffins show how shooters deaden your soul

    In the never-ending battle over whether violent video games incite impressionable gamers to commit unspeakable acts – or, at minimum, become obnoxious – hardware-wielding brain boffins have pried into young men's heads and discovered that, yes, digital mayhem alters your brain. "For the first time," said researcher Dr. Yang …

    Science 30 Nov 18:36

  • Engineer, criminologist join forces to CRUSH black hats

    Research project will uncover cybercriminals' secrets....

    An engineer and a criminologist are teaming up in a research project that aims to get a better idea of how cybercriminals operate and how to best thwart their mendacious activities. Michel Cukier, associate professor of reliability engineering, and David Maimon, assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice, both at …

    Security 30 Nov 19:02

  • Ultrabook prices to fall as manufacturers slash margins

    Intel’s subsidy helping as Christmas sales loom

    Manufacturers are cutting their margins to the bone, and getting a subsidy from Intel, in an effort to make ultrabooks more affordable. Acer, Asustek Computer and Toshiba may be able to put out hardware below the critical $1,000 mark, unnamed sources told DigiTimes, and by 2012 prices could drop by up to 10 per cent. Intel is …

    Hardware 30 Nov 20:11

  • Netlist puffs HyperCloud DDR3 memory to 32GB

    DDR4 spec copies homework

    Boutique server memory maker Netlist has embiggened its HyperCloud DDR3 memory sticks to 32GB, ganging up cheap and low-capacity DDR3 memory chips with a register and virtual memory controller that allows the HyperCloud memory to break out of server memory constraints and do so with cheaper chips. As El Reg explained in detail …

    Servers 30 Nov 20:51

  • Fahrenheit 451 published as Bradbury finally succumbs to ebooks

    Try burning bytes, fireman Montag

    Legendary science fiction writer Ray Bradbury has overcome his objections to ebooks and will start releasing some of his works in electronic form. The first book to be published is his seminal classic “Fahrenheit 451,” the 1953 tale of a dystopian future world where books are burned on sight and a literary underground fights …

    Media 30 Nov 21:04

  • Android glitch allows hackers to bug phone calls

    Attack pierces defenses on devices from HTC, Samsung, Motorola, Google

    Computer scientists have discovered a weakness in smartphones running Google's Android operating system that allows attackers to secretly record phone conversations, monitor geographic location data, and access other sensitive resources without permission. Handsets sold by HTC, Samsung, Motorola, and Google contain code that …

    Security 30 Nov 21:10

  • PayPal founder helps steer super geek cruiser

    The tech boat promises something for everyone

    Floating, visa-free, start-up incubator, Blueseed, has welcomed PayPal founder and VC rock star Peter Thiel on board to lead the project’s seed financing round. Blueseed is an audacious concept devised by Philip K Dick* Max Marty and Dario Mutabdzija. They aim to anchor a 1,000-passenger vessel 12 miles off the coast of San …

    Business 30 Nov 21:39

  • Xen hypervisor ported to ARM chips

    Twice, in fact, and KVM in the works, too

    The Mobile Virtual Platform (MVP) hypervisor that VMware sells for smartphones and fondleslabs running the Android variant of Linux on ARM RISC processors is getting some competition. Intrepid techies are working away on two different implementations of the open source Xen hypervisor for ARM chips, and another group is putting …

    Virtualization 30 Nov 21:42

  • NBN sets up telemed trial for war veterans

    300 diggers plug in to video technology

    The National Broadband Network will be used in an $AU8 million telemonitoring healthcare trial for chronically ill war veterans. Around 300 veterans will be invited to take part in the trial in the NBN early release areas of Toowoomba in Queensland, Coffs Harbour and Armidale in New South Wales, Mandurah and Geraldton in …

    Broadband 30 Nov 22:30

  • iiTrial in the High Court: Day One

    Amicus curiae decisions, and the fine detail of authorisation

    The Communications Alliance, which represents the telecommunications industry, and the Australian Performing Rights Association have both been given permission to intervene in the “iiTrial” High Court appeal. In the appeal, Village Roadshow and others are seeking to overturn a Federal Court ruling that iiNet – and, by …

    Law 30 Nov 23:00