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2nd May 2012 Archive

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  • Crocodoc tries to take bite out of Adobe dominance

    Office and PDF viewer aims to assassinate Acrobat

    Crocodoc is looking to take a big chunk out of Adobe's market share with an HTML5 viewing and annotation system for PDFs and Office documents that eliminates plug-ins or vulnerable software. "I think we beat Adobe to the punch," CEO Ryan Damico told The Register. "We're taken a file format that they've created that's now an …

    Cloud 2 May 00:00

  • Computer prices down 8.1% per year … since 1984

    Computer and mobile phone now a “relative necessity” for Australian households

    The price Australian consumers pay for audio visual and computing products has fallen an average of 8.1% every year since 1984, according to the new AMP.NATSEM Income Report. The new report (PDF), titled Prices These Days – The cost of living in Australia, says audio visual and computing products are one tenth of their 1984 …

    Business 2 May 00:15

  • Mystery as Google offloads SketchUp 3D drawing tool

    Spatial specialist Trimble partners with big G to keep SketchUp warehouse alive

    Google has decided that the 3D modelling business is non-core and has sold its SketchUp tool to spatial specialist Trimble. SketchUp was a free download and offers users the chance to make 3D models of just about anything, either by building them from scratch or by downloading them from Google's Warehouse of user-generated 3D …

    Business 2 May 02:50

  • Moon at annual perigee this weekend

    No need to duck, panic, batten down for mega-tides

    If you stumble out of the pub this weekend and the moon appears unusually large, there's no need to swear off the strong stuff. Instead, contemplate the wonder that is Lunar perigee, the moment at which the moon approaches closer to Earth than on any other day of the year. This year's perigee takes place on May 5th and 6th, …

    Science 2 May 03:39

  • ARM creators Sophie Wilson and Steve Furber

    Unsung Heroes of Tech Your phone, your tablet - their chip tech

    Back in the late 1970s you wouldn't have guessed that this shy young Cambridge maths student named Wilson would be the seed for what has now become the hottest-selling microprocessor in the world. Ninety-five per cent of today's smartphones are built around an ARM processor. The ARM began with Wilson. Sophie Wilson today …

    reghardware 2 May 06:00

  • Chinese feel pressure to work longer hours

    Ineffectual unions may mean Foxconn is the norm

    The average Chinese worker spends eight hours and forty minutes a day exchanging their labour for currency, and 30% work for at least ten hours, according to a new study by the nation's Institute of Social Science, together with Peking University and recruitment agency Zhaopin.com. One reason for the long hours, according to …

    Jobs 2 May 06:25

  • UK plc 'needs a chief engineer' - also a chief trick-cyclist

    Plonk technical bods in Blighty's driving seat, say MPs

    Britain should appoint an official chief engineer to ensure technical talent lurking within the civil service is put to best use, according to a new report. The government doesn't know how many chartered engineers there are in Whitehall's ranks, said MPs on Parliament's science and technology committee, which means technically …

    Government 2 May 07:03

  • Hitachi GST to demo first 12Gbit/s SAS SSD

    Doubles the speed limit

    Hitachi GST has announced that it will soon demonstrate the industry's first 12Gbit/s SAS interface solid state drive. The latest addition to Western Digital said it would demo the fastest SAS interface yet at the SCSI Trade Association Technology Showcase, Santa Clara, on 9 May, 2012. SAS 12Gbit/s runs twice as fast as the …

    Storage 2 May 07:34

  • ICO mulls stiffer probe into Google Street View Wi-Fi slurp

    Fresh revelations may pave way for some actual punishment

    The UK's data protection watchdog may still take enforcement action against Google over its unlawful collection of personal information from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks following the recent publication of a US regulator's report into the matter. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) told Out-Law.com that it is reviewing …

    Law 2 May 08:01

  • Teradata gobbles eCircle to biggen digi-marketing message blast

    German data weapons will target customers ANYWHERE

    Data warehousing giant Teradata has been building up its application portfolio ahead of its acquisition of Aprimo in late 2010, and now it is fleshing out its app stack by snapping up eCircle, the largest provider of digital messaging software in Europe. The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. eCircle is …

    SaaS 2 May 08:21

  • Public sector exempted from swingeing Microsoft UK price hike

    Redmond keen to avoid another Maude handbag

    The British government will not feel the squeeze of Microsoft price rises on volume licensing when the three-year Public Sector Agreement (PSA)12 launches on 1 July, The Register can reveal. The company yesterday gave UK resellers and customers a preview of the new look price list, also due to kick in at the start of July, …

    Channel Register 2 May 08:37

  • TLC flash gets tender loving care from DensBits boffinry

    DSP claims to boost endurance to 10,000 erase cycles

    Israeli upstart DensBits says it can make short-life TLC flash run longer than some long-life MLC rivals because of its fancy adaptive controller tech. TLC (three-level cell) flash stores 3-bits per cell instead of the one found in SLC (single-level cell) and the two found in MLC (multi-level cell) chips. Each additional bit …

    Storage 2 May 09:03

  • Sony outs its first Ultrabook

    Not its first slimline laptop

    Say hello to Sony's first Ultrabook - though it's not the Japanese giant's first oh-so-skinny compact laptop. Remember: Ultrabook is not a category, just an Intel brandname. Actually, it's not even Sony's thinnest machine. That honour surely goes to the rather more sexy - but older - Vaio Z, a 16.7mm-think machine that's a …

    reghardware 2 May 09:03

  • Speaking in Tech: What's a Klouchebag, is it anything like Apple?

    Podcast Tax dodges, EMC World and the Oracle v Google smackdown

    It's another episode of our enterprise and consumer tech-cast, hosted by The Dude of enterprise tech, Greg Knieriemen, master of all that is cloud and storage Ed Saipetch and web2.0 playa Sarah Vela. Our special guest this week is Mark Twomey, also known as Storagezilla. This week we discuss... EMC World in Vegas is …

    Networks 2 May 09:18

  • REVEALED: Samsung Galaxy S III is a PHONE

    Looks like one. Smells like one

    Samsung formally unveils its Galaxy S III device later this week, but already the blogosphere is alive with rumours that the gadget will be some sort of phone. Literally hundreds of people have clicked on links to stories showing pictures of what is clearly a phone with the word 'Samsung' written on it and the words 'Galaxy S …

    reghardware 2 May 09:21

  • 'Oppressive' UK copyright law: More cobblers from IP quangos

    Analysis Write out 100 times, this has nothing to do with consumer rights

    A new report by intellectual property campaigners has again put the UK on the naughty step. This year, as last year, activists list the UK alongside Brazil and Thailand as having the most "oppressive" copyright laws in the world. The report was published by an international NGO called Consumer International, but this delegates …

    Law 2 May 09:38

  • Nokia's 41Mp cameraphone shoots towards retail

    PureView to a thrill

    Nokia focused attention on its PureView range this morning and announced that the first of its 41Mp cameraphones will shoot onto shelves this month. Announced at Mobile World Congress 2012 in February 2012, the Nokia 808 PureView features a large 41Mp sensor with Carl Zeiss optics and a new pixel oversampling technology. The …

    reghardware 2 May 09:46

  • Dinosaurs were DRAINED of blood by GIGANTIC HORROR FLEAS

    Huge insect bites 'like having a hypodermic shoved in'

    As if impending extinction wasn't enough, dinosaurs were also plagued by giant mega-fleas that impaled their soft underbellies and feasted on their blood. Nom, nom, nom, nom... The super-fleas, which were around ten times the size of the fleas that bother dogs nowadays had an extra-painful bite because of their huge suckers …

    Biology 2 May 09:58

  • GCSE, A-level science exams ARE dumbed down - watchdog

    Are tests too easy? A: Yes. B: Yes. C: All of the above.

    Questions expecting short answers and the use of multiple choice have made biology and chemistry exams easier in the UK, according to assessment assessor Ofqual. The examinations watchdog analysed GCSE and A-level exams for the two science subjects - comparing papers taken by thousands of youngsters between 2003 and 2008 - and …

    Jobs 2 May 10:19

  • Dell sneaks out Ivy Bridge special edition Inspirons

    14- and 15-inchers

    Dell's Singapore operation has outed a "special edition" Inspiron 15R equipped with an Ivy Bridge processor. The CPU in question is the Intel Core i7-3612QM, a 2.1GHz part, backed by 6-8GB of 1600MHz DDR 3 memory depending on which of the two available models you pick if and when it arrives over here. I'd suggest the pricier …

    reghardware 2 May 10:22

  • Systemax profits tumble as US punters keep wallets closed

    Reseller giant's bottom line slides 48 per cent in Q1

    Systemax CEO Richard Leeds said he's disappointed by calendar Q1 numbers as profits fell by almost 50 per cent due to flagging US consumer electronics sales. The group - which operates the Misco and WStore brands in Europe, and Tiger Direct, Circuit City and CompUSA stateside - saw turnover slide one per cent year-on-year to $ …

    Channel Register 2 May 10:33

  • Barnes & Noble plans instore NFC Nook-book bonk-buying

    Can we expect a 'publish to Nook' button in Word?

    B&N's CEO reckons NFC will be the glue to holds the disparate parts of the business together, with the help of Microsoft's money and a following wind. The idea, expounded during an interview with Fortune magazine, is for a Nook equipped with NFC wireless communication tech to be tapped against shelved volumes, said tomes …

    Cloud Business 2 May 10:43

  • Total War Battles: Shogun

    iGamer Play it again, Samurai

    For fans of the PC series, the first hour of Total War Battles: Shogun - on iOS but coming soon to Android - will be defined purely by what's missing. The RTS gameplay was never going to squeeze onto fondleslabs without hefty distillation, of course. But in early forays The Creative Assembly's first handheld stab at its …

    reghardware 2 May 11:00

  • RIM shares take a bath after uninspiring BlackBerry 10 unwrap

    Last Chance Saloon bouncers eye troubled Canadian drinker

    Investors were less than impressed with Research in Motion's demo of its new BlackBerry 10 operating system and the developer tools to go with it, sending shares sliding by 5.76 per cent. New CEO Thorsten Heins pulled out the new gear at his first BlackBerry World keynote speech yesterday, giving folks a look at what the OS …

    Financial News 2 May 11:14

  • Intel chums up with Huawei for Oriental style flexible 4G push

    Eastern fancy for time-duplexing not so inscrutable

    Intel will set up an interoperability testing site in China, with local firm Huawei, to ensure its TD-LTE kit will work properly even if no-one seems very interested in using it. The two companies will work together on the testing site to be focused on ensuring compatibility with the Time Division Duplex variant of the LTE …

    Mobile 2 May 11:43

  • Black Ops II to take gamers to open worlds... and destroy them

    Future Call of Duty to lose linearity

    While confirmation that Call of Duty will return this year with Black Ops II is far from surprising, the fact that developer Treyarch's sequel will be set in the future with a non-linear storyline might refresh the franchise. Revealed this week, Black Ops II is based in the year 2025 and kits players out with hi-tech weapons …

    reghardware 2 May 11:48

  • Rowdy clusters put to the grindstone by Grid Engine 8.1

    Batch number-crunching in the trendy cloud era

    The advent of virtualized and cloudy infrastructure has not diminished the need for scheduling software like Grid Engine. It's obvious just how necessary such schedulers are for orchestrating and aggregating capacity of server computing pools. That's the plan from Univa, the company that's providing a fork of the Grid Engine …

    Infrastructure 2 May 12:01

  • Fanboys excited by ancient Google Qwerty Nexus plan

    Keyboard smartphone a thing of the past

    Claims that Google is to revive smartphones with physical Qwerty keyboards - a rumour based on a patent that shows designs for just an Android handset with a slide-out keyboard - appear unfounded, after closer inspection of the documents show it was actually filed half a decade ago. The Qwerty keyboard blueprints do appear …

    reghardware 2 May 12:35

  • The Ethernet Alliance is thinking fast

    Terabit speeds are round the corner

    Make no mistake: the flood of data flowing across networks today will grow into several Niagaras. We can foresee zettabytes of information crossing the internet – and the lion's share will flow via Ethernet links. Without Ethernet our networked world would cease to exist. Without Ethernet development the internet will choke. …

    Data Networking 2 May 12:38

  • Facebook IPO: The date is set, Zuckerberg casts the dice at last

    Ads and free content - you know you want more ... bitch

    Facebook's IPO is finally shaping up with the likely start of trading slated for May 18 after a roadshow starting next Monday. A source familiar with the matter let the Wall Street Journal know the schedule for the roadshow, where the company goes around to investors and tells them how awesome it is and how everyone should buy …

    Financial News 2 May 12:38

  • Microsoft's Twilio VoIP cloud deal buffs Apple and Amazon

    Windows Azure climbs on shoulders of giants

    Despite owning loss-making voice chat biz Skype, Microsoft is cuddling up to the Amazon-friendly Twilio to float a Windows Azure-powered communications hub. Microsoft and Twilio will announce on Wednesday that the startup's voice call and messaging libraries for PHP, Java and .NET have been designed to work “flawlessly” with …

    Cloud Business 2 May 13:01

  • Publishers' club lauds UK e-book sales surge

    But Brits buying fewer books

    Brits are buying more e-books than ever before. Sales of digital tomes in 2011 leapt 366 per cent over 2010's total, the Publishers Association said today. Not that paper is in any danger of being displaced in the near future. The total value of e-book sales as in the UK came in at a mere six per cent of that of physical books …

    reghardware 2 May 13:33

  • How politicians could end droughts FOREVER: But they don't want to

    Analysis They'd rather ration your water than do some simple sums

    Last month in old London town and across England, formal water rationing came into force again for the second time in just six years - and the creeping rationing of water meters continued to spread. Despite the rainiest April since records began, government minsters are openly speculating that total mains cutoffs and standpipes …

    Government 2 May 13:37

  • HP elbows Apple off global PC throne

    Just 40,000 sales separate tech titans in Q1

    Apple's rise to the summit of the global personal computer market at the end of last year was short lived: HP has regained the top spot in Q1, Canalys figures reveal. A total of 107 million PCs were shipped in the quarter, up 21 per cent. HP, which ceded leadership to the Foxconn-rebrander in Q4, sold 40,000 more units than …

    Channel Register 2 May 13:58

  • Kaspersky: Apple security is like Microsoft's in 2002

    Get ready for the era of the sick Mac

    Apple customers are more at risk from malware now because of their misconception that their iDevices and Macs are secure and because of Apple's poor attitude to security, according to experts. David Emm, senior security researcher at Kaspersky Lab told The Reg that Apple had cultivated the image of the Mac as intrinsically …

    Malware 2 May 14:27

  • Spotify dances onto iPad

    Slatest hits

    Spotify has pushed its music platform onto Apple's iPad. The new app, specifically designed for tablet use, takes things up a notch from what is currently available through the iPhone and other smartphone versions. Music buffs are now able to browse Spotify's catalogue, view cover art and search playlists on the same display …

    reghardware 2 May 14:47

  • OCZ flexes its Flash guns, predicts further embulgement ahead

    Bulked-up new kid barges onto the SSD biz block

    It must be doing something right; flash storage supplier OCZ increased annual revenues 92 per cent in its latest financial year and expects 80 per cent growth next year. What about profits? Moving on …. OCZ makes and sells an awful lot of consumer flash. It has begun to get vertically integrated, buying the Indilinx controller …

    Storage 2 May 14:56

  • Facebook button triggers tidal wave of human organs

    We're all heart. And liver, kidneys, pancreas ...

    Thousands of Facebook users packed with fresh, reusable organs have signed up to the organ donor lists in the US and the UK. The NHS saw 850 direct signups through Facebook in the 24 hours since the option went live, and noticed a spike in website donor sign-ups too. The Donate Life San Diego branch posted a 1400% increase in …

    Networks 2 May 15:26

  • Nokia cries patent 'Havoc!', unleashes dogs of law on two continents

    HTC, RIM and Viewsonic face slavering Finnish pack

    Nokia has filed suit against HTC, Research in Motion and Viewsonic in two different countries all in one day. The Finnish phone firm announced today that it had filed claims in both the US and Germany alleging that products from the three firms infringed on a number of its patents. "Nokia is a leader in many technologies …

    Business 2 May 16:01

  • Google finally wins DoI cloud apps contract

    Two years of battling against Redmond bears fruit

    Google has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by winning the US Department of the Interior (DoI) contract for its Apps for Government platform, after Microsoft had snaffled the original deal. "We’re honored that the Department of the Interior has selected Google Apps for Government, and we look forward to working closely …

    Cloud 2 May 17:11

  • CPU and RAM hogs overstaying their welcome? Here's a fix

    HPC Blog exLudus's Linux layer takes care of unwanted guests

    Multicore processors drive everything these days from the biggest HPC cluster to the lowliest tablet – even smartphones. While parallel programming has come quite a way, there are still many apps that aren’t well-behaved at all. They’re the worst kind of guests – acting like they own the whole damned house while paying …

    HPC Blog 2 May 18:00

  • VMware gussies up View and Horizon post-PC virty tools

    Project Octopus file sharing goes beta

    Server virtualization juggernaut VMware pretty much owns the hypervisor and management tools market for enterprise data centers on x86 iron, but if it wants to keep parent EMC and therefore Wall Street happy, it can't rely on servers alone. At some point, vSphere can only grow as fast as the server market itself, and then …

    Cloud 2 May 19:23

  • Apple blocking Dropbox SDK over in-app buying

    Storm brews over cloud storage fine-print

    Developers using the latest Dropbox cloud storage SDK have been having applications rejected from Apple after Cupertino apparently decided that its terms and conditions have been breached. "We have found your app provides access to external mechanisms for purchases or subscriptions to be used in the app, which is not in …

    Cloud 2 May 20:00

  • Facebook unfriends 19-inch data center racks

    Time for a new standard, says Open Compute

    Social media giant Facebook had built precisely one data center in its short life, the one in Prineville, Oregon, before it had had enough of an industry standard that was part of the railroad infrastructure and then the telephone infrastructure build outs and bubbles: The 19-inch rack for mounting electronic equipment. …

    Cloud 2 May 22:19

  • Optus hangs up on 750 staff

    Creates new division for customer care, with less

    Optus is slashing 750 positions over the next few months as part of a significant business restructure. Roles will be made redundant from senior and middle management in addition to operations, back office and support functions. It is unclear if the job cuts are on top of the 700 job cuts announced last March or are part of …

    Networks 2 May 23:08

  • NZ erupts over Dotcom corruption accusations

    Megaupload millionaire’s political donations under scrutiny

    As the court cases grind on over Kim Dotcom’s possible extradition and his efforts to regain his computers, New Zealand is now agog at his political donations. Apparently, when the flamboyant wide boy of the downloading business backed his money truck up to the ACT Party (it stands for the Association of Consumers and …

    Public Sector 2 May 23:21

  • In-house social media struggles in local government

    Yammer stammers in Australia, as staff resist extra comms channel

    Two Australian local government organisations have found that adding an internal social media tool creates one communications tool too many, and have abandoned trials of enterprise social network Yammer as a result of their experiences. Amanda Callbutt, formerly of the IT support office at the Local Government Association (LGA …

    Public Sector 2 May 23:40

  • Amazon Cloud Drive updates for Windows and Apple desktop

    Playing catch-up in competitive cloud market

    After a wave of cloud storage announcements, Amazon has updated its Cloud Drive system with a desktop access application for Windows and Apple systems. Amazon launched its Cloud Drive service a year ago, and it gives users a basic 5GB of storage for music in MP3 or AAC formats, as well as photos, documents, and videos that can …

    Cloud 2 May 23:47