The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

3rd September 2012 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • US congress wants a word with ZTE, Huawei

    Considers laws to deal with national security threat posed by Chinese kit

    China’s dominant telco vendors ZTE Corp and Huawei will take part in US congressional hearings next month regarding investigations of alleged Chinese spy threats to US telecommunications infrastructure. The House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has invited both ZTE chairman Hou Weigui and Huawei …

    Security 3 Sep 00:20

  • Space Jam: stripped bolt bugs spacewalkers

    Orbital DIY fail

    If you messed up a do-it-yourself job around your home over the weekend, you're in good company: a new power switching unit at the International Space Station has had to be tethered and left partly-fitted, after a jammed bolt led to the spacewalking electricians abandoning their installation attempt. The spacewalk was …

    Science 3 Sep 00:45

  • Curiosity parks for a day, looks back in wonder

    Lays down some morse code

    Wall•E wannabe Curiosity has driven another 21 metres, then given itself a day off to admire the view. The little rover that could trundled to the east last Thursday (US time). That effort exhausted the craft, which spent Friday resting. It did find time to snap the panorama below depicting its tracks on the Martian surface …

    Science 3 Sep 00:50

  • AWS adds some CORS blimey to S3

    Web devs can now code drag and drop cloud storage uploads

    Amazon Web Services (AWS) has added support for cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) to its simple storage service (S3), an inclusion that should get web developers a teensy bit excited because CORS lets a web page access resources from another domain. The W3C, which tends CORS, explains its features thusly: “If such an API …

    Cloud 3 Sep 03:00

  • ‘Pre-bionic’ eye implanted in blind patient

    ‘I could see a little flash’ says recipient

    Australian researchers have claimed a world’s first by successfully implanting a ‘pre-bionic eye’ in a blind patient. Ms Dianne Ashworth is the patient in question, and suffers retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that has left her with profound vision loss. The eye Ashworth received is a prototype with only 24 electrodes in its …

    Science 3 Sep 03:43

  • North Korea and Iran sign 'Axis of Tech Evil' deal

    Now where did we put those missile codes?

    Everyone’s favourite naughty nations Iran and North Korea have taken another step closer to each other by signing an agreement on future co-operation in various science and information technology fields. Iranian minister for science, research, and technology Farhad Daneshjoo and North Korean foreign minister Pak Ui-chun inked …

    Policy 3 Sep 04:03

  • Chinese boffins build brain-powered camera 'copter

    Noggin-operated flying machine could help disabled

    The evolution of brain-computer interface (BCI) technology appears to have taken another leap forward thanks to a group of Chinese boffins who’ve invented a toy quadracopter that can be controlled by human thought alone. Researchers at Zhejiang University in the eastern city of Hangzhou designed the copter with an on-board …

    Science 3 Sep 05:00

  • Cambridge Uni publishes free Pi-OS baking course

    12 step program to build a very basic OS

    Cambridge University has joined the ranks of terribly prestigious universities giving computer science classes away online, releasing a 12-step course teaching how to create what it calls a "basic terminal Operating System" for the Raspberry Pi. To create the OS you’ll need YAGARTO Tools and YAGARTO GNU ARM, a Raspberry Pi ( …

    Software 3 Sep 06:54

  • War-Droid: Smartphone app 'that could CALL IN drone strikes'

    Can also be used as police speed gun, golf rangefinder

    Engineering boffins in Missouri say they have come up with a new Android app which allows any modern smartphone - potentially - to call in a devastating precision airstrike by simply snapping a picture of the target to be struck. "On the battlefield, a soldier needs a rangefinder, compass, GPS and other tools to do …

    Government 3 Sep 07:00

  • TripAdvisor didn't defame hotel by putting it on 'top 10 dirtiest' list

    Unverified user review ranking: It's a diss, but it's not defamatory – judge

    Website operators that base their rankings of goods or services on the "unverified" views of online users cannot be sued for defamation, a US judge has said. US district court judge Thomas Phillips said that although such systems may contain errors and not provide for good evaluation, they could not be labelled as defamatory …

    Law 3 Sep 07:39

  • Dodgy audio connections conceal more than just words

    How much will HD Voice tell you?

    Researchers at BT, working with UCL, have been looking at voices to see what's stopping the machines from working out how you feel as well as what you're saying. Today's call centres routinely use stress analysis to see if callers are lying, despite the fact that such systems generally don't work, but up at BT's Adastral Park …

    Broadband 3 Sep 08:02

  • Boffins create super-muscular 'Hulk' mice: Humans next

    You wouldn't like me when I'm squeaky

    Topflight biology brains say they have identified a key protein, the furtling of which could allow massively increased muscular development and strength in human beings. Genetic manipulation of the "Grb10" compound has already been tried out in mice, producing "hyper-muscular" rodents capable of almost super-murine feats. "By …

    Biology 3 Sep 08:14

  • X-IO vows to end hot-swap disk pops with next-gen arrays

    Chucks in some extra spindles too

    X-IO has halved the number of SSDs in its Hyper ISE hybrid flash-disk arrays, increased overall performance by 50 per cent and cut prices by 20 per cent. It has also vowed to spare users the horror of popping a failed disk. Hyper ISE is a sealed 3U enclosure that previously contained 30 x 2.5-inch 10,000rpm 900GB disk drives …

    Storage 3 Sep 08:42

  • Patent flame storm: Reg hack biteback in reader-pack sack attack

    Andrew's Mailbag You know who else hated patents? Kim Jong-il

    My piece on patents on Tuesday received a record number of votes of disapproval for a Reg article. I'm not in the least bit surprised. That's because in my analysis I advance an argument you don't hear very often in the tech world. Which is that the patent system gives us a huge social benefit. It's an irreplaceable component …

    Law 3 Sep 08:58

  • IBM and Somerset council in tiff over South West One venture

    Blues for Big Blue's blue-light IT setup

    IBM and Somerset County council are currently in a dispute over their joint venture outsourcing company South West One. SW1's just issued annual report for 2011 said that a mediation session was held between the two organisations on the 4 and 5 July this year, but they couldn't reach any agreement. "No settlement has been …

    Government 3 Sep 09:19

  • Computer 2000 hands Hayward keys to marketing kingdom

    Jumps ship from rival to rev up lead gen engine

    Computer 2000 has lured Stewart Hayward, former head of UK marketing at rival Ingram Micro's as GM for its marketing function. Hayward left Ingram late last month after nearly two years at Milton Keynes-based Ingram but picks up the reins today at Basingstoke-based C2000, the UK arm of Tech Data. Andy Dow, who remains as …

    Channel Register 3 Sep 09:38

  • Wireless Power breakthrough: Iron Man can lose the chest reactor

    And in the real world, pacemakers won't need batteries

    Engineering boffins in the States have announced details of a new method of wireless power transmission which can reach inside a human body to power tiny implanted devices, so removing the need for repeated surgery in order to change batteries - or movie-style options such as the chest-socket "arc reactor" or hand-carried car …

    Biology 3 Sep 09:42

  • PCs get touchy ahead of Windows 8 launch

    IFA 2012 Good news for screen wipe market

    PC manufacturers have been busy unveiling their touchscreen laptops at IFA this week in hot anticipation of Microsoft's Windows 8 release. While several firms have opted for Windows 8 tablets which convert into laptops using peripherals - many of which we talked up yesterday - Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba continued the touchy …

    reghardware 3 Sep 09:43

  • Former Russian officer sentenced for part in Kaspersky kidnapping

    Ex-Captain in Kremlin guards handed military porridge

    A former captain in the Russian Federal Security Guard Service* has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after he was convicted of involvement in the kidnapping Ivan Kaspersky, son of Kaspersky Lab founder Eugene, the Moscow Times reports. Ivan Kaspersky was kidnapped in Moscow April 2011 by a gang who attempted …

    Security 3 Sep 10:16

  • O2: no Ice Cream Sandwich for some Sony Xperia owners

    Let them eat Gingerbread

    O2 won't be certifying Android 4.0 for Sony's Xperia Neo, Arc and Ray handsets, the network operator has said, after testing the OS on these devices and finding it "didn’t meet our requirements". Says the carrier: "Unfortunately with the Ray, Arc and Neo our testing found that the software update affected the phone’s speed and …

    reghardware 3 Sep 10:27

  • Now Apple wants Samsung S III, Galaxy Notes off the shelves too

    Probably also dusting off patents on fire, the wheel, etc.

    Apple has now claimed Samsung's flagship gadgets the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note infringe its mobile phone patents in a SECOND lawsuit in the US. In separate legal action running in parallel to the epic trial that concluded last month, the iPhone maker has now listed 21 Sammy phones and tablets as devices that allegedly …

    Law 3 Sep 10:29

  • Microsoft awards itself Google-esque power over Hotmail, SkyDrive etc

    We can do stuff with your stuff 'to the extent necessary'

    Microsoft has tweaked its fine print so it can reuse its users' photos, emails and chat messages to polish its online services. The new terms-of-use agreement was rolled out late last week. It grants Microsoft the right to use information gathered from Hotmail, Photo Gallery, Office.com and SkyDrive accounts in a manner it …

    Security 3 Sep 10:43

  • Asus CEO sounds netbook death knell

    Eee be doomed?

    Asus CEO Jerry Shen has apparently called time on the company's pioneering Eee PC family of netbooks. Shen has said Asus will make no more of the devices, and when current stocks have shipped that will be that, Digitimes claims. Shen is reported to have blamed the move on falling netbooks sales in emerging markets and upon …

    reghardware 3 Sep 10:47

  • Thanks ever so much Java, for that biz-wide rootkit infection

    Sysadmin blog Cup of coffee actually a carboy of toxic Kool-Aid

    Right on cue, Java has responded to my hatred in kind. Shortly after I awoke to discover my previous article denouncing the language had been published, a client called to inform me his computer had contracted some malware. Java has, if you'll forgive the anthropomorphization of a bytecode virtualization engine, decided to exact …

    Servers 3 Sep 11:00

  • Bruce Willis didn't Buy Hard: His girls can't inherit his iTunes

    Updated Testy action star flips his wig, may sue Apple

    Hollywood actor Bruce Willis could reportedly take Apple to court over a massive digital music library that he wants to pass on to his kids when he dies. The Die Hard and Armageddon star wants his daughters Rumer, Scout and Tallulah to "own" the digital music he painstakingly downloaded from iTunes, but the current terms of …

    Media 3 Sep 11:21

  • Apple iDevice dock port to drive wireless streaming

    Analog audio out, AirPlay in

    Will Apple's new dock connector, expected to debut on the iPhone 5, signal the end of low-cost audio docks? The makers of such kit seem to think so. They say the new nine-pin port lacks the dedicated analog audio lines found on its 30-pin predecessor, according to an interesting piece on Hardware.info. Rather a lot of docks …

    reghardware 3 Sep 11:29

  • Phoenix IT Group fesses up to 'accounting irregularities'

    'Repeated, deliberate circumventions' at Servo

    Phoenix IT Group has suspended a business manager amid a probe into accounting irregularities that the firm reckons will result in £14m being wiped from net assets. The listed IT services group revealed in a statement to the London Stock Exchange this morning that it has named PwC and Nabarro LLP to "carry out independent …

    Channel Register 3 Sep 11:38

  • Vodafone inks deal with Zain to fly its flag across Middle East

    Going to Iraq on hols? Now you can roam with Voda

    Roaming in the Middle East should get easier as local mobile operator Zain will carry Vodafone's traffic and sport Voda's brand across the region. Travellers taking in the sights and sounds of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq can access Vodafone's services, as part of a deal between the two companies to carry …

    Mobile 3 Sep 12:00

  • Cleversafe: Our mad rig can gobble A TERABYTE in A SECOND

    Big Data? This is Giant Fat Chair-smashing Bastard Data

    Cleversafe claims it has the biggest mouth for objects on the planet, gulping them in at a terabyte a second. The company is an object storage startup and its 3000 series of appliances can cram in a terabyte's worth of objects but you need a thousand, yes indeed, 1,000, ingest boxes or Accesser 3100 storage router appliances …

    Storage 3 Sep 12:34

  • Samsung: We can't find any child labour at our Chinese contractor

    'The under-18 workers were unpaid, which makes it legal'

    Samsung insists there were no child workers at the factory of its supplier HEG - and that student interns at the plant were above board because they were over the age of 16. Samsung audited the HEG site after China Labour Watch published a report alleging it had found seven children under the age of 16 working in one …

    Business 3 Sep 12:58

  • 3G Google Nexus 7 inbound

    Production ramping

    Asus is ramping up production of a 3G-enabled Google Nexus 7, it has been claimed. Citing a "well placed insider", website Modaco says the cellular-connectable tablet will launch in roughly six weeks' time. Beyond the incorporation of an HSPA radio, the Nexus 7 3G will be essentially identical to the existing Wi-Fi only …

    reghardware 3 Sep 13:07

  • Markets to remain glutted with rapidly-depreciating Facebook shares

    You may be able to set them against your idiot-tax bill

    Facebook's stock continued to slide south late last week, hitting an all-time low of $18.02 a share on Nasdaq. Brokerages in New York dealt the dominant social network yet another blow by saying that the availability of more than one billion shares on the market would have a negative impact on the company. In the first sale …

    Financial News 3 Sep 13:30

  • Global strategic maple syrup reserves hit in Canadian mega-heist

    How long until US troops are sent in to ensure supplies?

    Commodity markets worldwide and pancake-gobbling North Americans have been left reeling by the news of an audacious theft which may have seen as much as five thousand tons of maple syrup burgled from planet Earth's "global strategic reserve" of the sticky gunge. A searing announcement from the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup …

    Bootnotes 3 Sep 14:05

  • Elon Musk says he's planning a 'supersonic, electric hover jetplane'

    Florida 'wet dress' rehearsal leaves space fans excited

    Hecamillionaire space cowboy Elon Musk has revealed new and ambitious plans for the future - among them the idea of a "supersonic electric jet" able to make hovering landings and takeoffs. The one-time PayPal luminary and founder of both upstart rocket biz SpaceX and electrocar darling Tesla Motors is also pondering plans to …

    Science 3 Sep 14:53

  • Firefox, Opera allow crooks to hide an entire phish site in a link

    Watch out for the tinyurl that isn't

    A shortcoming in browsers including Firefox and Opera allows crooks to easily hide an entire malicious web page in a clickable link - ideal for fooling victims into handing over passwords and other sensitive info. Usually, so-called "phishing attacks" rely on tricking marks into visiting websites designed by criminals to …

    Security 3 Sep 15:52

  • Sony Vaio 11 Duo hybrid PC hands on review

    IFA 2012 A keyblet? It's an Ultrabook, apparently

    Examples of Windows 8 tablet plus detachable keyboard combo devices were all over IFA like a rash. However, Sony’s Vaio Duo 11 has a different approach that keeps the two components together. There are advantages and disadvantages to this arrangement, whichever way you look at it. Great, I’ll never lose that keyboard... mmmh, …

    reghardware 3 Sep 16:33

  • Windows 7 passes XP, Mac OS X passes Vista

    Lift a pint to salute XP, forget Vista

    Two aging Windows operating systems slipped a ranking each in the market share race this August, with Windows 7 overtaking Windows XP as the world's most popular desktop operating system, and Apple's OS X overtaking the late, lamented Windows Vista. This news comes to us from Net Applications' monthly Net Market Share survey, …

    Windows 8 3 Sep 19:36

  • India restricts SIM sales

    Tourists get time limits, bulk sales barred, in crime crackdown

    India's telecoms regulator, the Department of Telecom (DoT), will try to put a crimp on mobile cybercrime by keeping a tight leash on visiting foreigners and their SIM cards. The Department has issued a ruling that stops service providers from providing a mobile connection for more than three months to any foreign tourist …

    Policy 3 Sep 22:30

  • Baidu launches mobile browser, tosses currency into clouds

    Hopes for 80 per cent penetration by year-end

    China’s search-and-plenty-more giant Baidu has flagged a $US1.6 billion cloud investment. The investment, announced with a minimum of detail by CFO Li Xinzhe, will go towards building data centres and hiring staff. The Chinese search firm also announced the launch of the Baidu Mobile Browser, which it says is designed to …

    Software 3 Sep 22:49

  • Optus turns on 4G, but has no phones until Sept 20

    Sydney, Newcastle and Perth have wireless broadband today, Galaxy S III 4G soon

    Optus has decided its 4G network is ready for action, flicking the switch to turn it on in Sydney, Perth and Newcastle as of today. Melbourne's turn comes on September 15th. But the telco appears not to have any 4G handsets to press into punters hands, with the press release and pricing plans (PDF) mentioning only the Samsung …

    Networks 3 Sep 23:16

  • Sun daddy: 'Machines will replace 80 per cent of doctors'

    In Khosla's future, healthcare will be served up by entrepreneurs, not docs

    According to Sun Microsystems cofounder and serial entrepreneur Vinod Khosla, 80 per cent of doctors could be replaced by machines – computing devices backed by imense data sets. Speaking at the recent Health Innovation Summit in San Francisco, Khosla referred to today's physicians as "voodoo doctors," noting that "Health care …

    Biology 3 Sep 23:18

  • Sci-Fi fans blow stacks at copybot attacks

    Updated: Ustream issues mea culpa

    Ustream has rained on the science fiction world’s big event, with its copyright enforcement bots unplugging the Hugo awards for showing winners’ clips. We’ll never know just how many award-winners planned to commit “fair use” by accepting their awards in front of screenings of snippets of their work, because a brainless pre- …

    Media 3 Sep 23:35

  • Global warming GOOD for biodiversity, say boffins

    You only need to wait … a couple of million years

    A study led by the University of York reveals that geologically warm periods are a biodiversity plus – but only on long time-scales. To be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study finds that biodiversity in warm periods rises over periods of millions of years – the downside being that species …

    Science 3 Sep 23:57