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12th September 2012 Archive

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  • Microsoft throws open Windows Store to all developers

    Let a thousand not-Metro apps bloom

    Microsoft has fully opened its Windows Store doors to all developers ahead of the October 26 launch of its new operating system, after a beta program that began in February. "Today’s an especially great day to be a developer," said Microsoft's Antoine Leblond, head of its web services operation. "The Store is now open for app …

    Developer 12 Sep 00:55

  • iPhone 5 to boost US GDP says JP Morgan

    .33% bounce predicted from 8 million Q4 sales

    The imminent release of the iPhone 5 could add 0.33% to growth of the USA's gross domestic product, according to JPMorgan Chase Bank's Michael Feroli. In a note titled “Can one little phone impact GDP?" Feroli concludes that yes, it can, because: “Our equity analysts believe around 8 million iPhone 5's will be sold in the US …

    Mobile 12 Sep 01:08

  • Intel to etch 22nm Xeons and Atoms in 2013

    IDF 2012 A Sandy Bridge-EX too far, Poulson Itanium looming

    The details are still a bit sketchy, but Intel is committed to get the rest of the "Ivy Bridge" family of Xeon processors out the door next year, is getting ready to roll out new Itanium and Atom processors for servers this year, and is working on future Xeon E3 and Atom processors for microservers next year, too. So says …

    Servers 12 Sep 01:16

  • HTML5 still floundering in 'chicken and egg' era, says Intel

    IDF 2012 If it's not a PC or a smartphone, it's the Wild West

    The new HTML5 APIs may have triggered an arms race among desktop browser vendors to see who could deliver the best performance and standards compliance, but when it comes to anything but a traditional PC, developers should be prepared for serious challenges – or so says an Intel rep. "You're going to run into fragmented levels …

    Developer 12 Sep 01:26

  • Intel debuts 'Haswell' chippery: from tablets to servers

    IDF 2012 One core to rule them all

    Intel has unveiled details of its new "Haswell" microarchitecture, and promises that it will deliver greatly improved compute and graphics performance, drastically lower power requirements, and developer-friendly improvements when chips based on it appear next year, branded as Intel 4th Generation Core Processors. "The great …

    Hardware 12 Sep 01:53

  • Labour groups booted out of China's tech boom town

    Workers' woe as Shenzhen NGOs trashed

    Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in China’s technology boom town of Shenzhen are up in arms after a sustained and co-ordinated campaign by local authorities forced more than ten to shutter their doors. The Special Economic Zone of Shenzhen is home to one of China’s biggest technology manufacturing hubs, but workers’ …

    Business 12 Sep 03:52

  • Fujitsu boffins to help build uni exam-beating bot

    Japanese high school students rejoice!

    Workers at IT giant Fujitsu will try to make every stressed-out Japanese student’s dream come true by building a robot capable of passing one the country’s most taxing university entrance exams. The Todai Robot project was begun in 2011 by Japan’s National Institute of Informatics (NII) to answer a simple question: “Can a …

    Bootnotes 12 Sep 05:17

  • Information is the UI in Windows 8, says design guru

    TechEd Australia How to make sense of the desktop formerly-known-as-Metro

    The interface formerly known as Metro (TIFKAM) makes the information applications present their user interface, and developers need to realise that and stop polluting software with the kind of buttons and icons elements they've grown up with. That's the opinion voiced by Shane Morris of Automatic Studio, now a user interface …

    Windows 8 12 Sep 05:45

  • Anonymous doxes Cambodia after Pirate Bay arrest

    Secrets from Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine released to show Cambodia what's what

    Hacktivist group Anonymous has been up to its old tricks again, this time claiming to have hacked and uploaded a heap of sensitive Cambodian government documents in retaliation for the arrest and extradition back to Sweden of The Pirate Bay (TPB) co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm Warg. Warg was arrested in Cambodia by Swedish …

    Security 12 Sep 05:53

  • Microsoft preparing for diskless Windows 8 PCs

    But Windows RT can't be installed wirelessly

    Microsoft has imagined future computers that don't include onboard disks, but do boot from external USB 3.0 devices, and has prepared Windows 8 so that it can install and operate in such environments. Microsoft's Michael Niehaus, a senior product manager and the lead developer for the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, revealed the …

    Software 12 Sep 06:58

  • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

    Antique Code Show Cucco Gank

    I didn't play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time when it was first released in the late 1990s because I was too busy on my SEGA playing Sonic. However, I do remember that I always used to think the name Zelda referred to the main character. It wasn't until I watched The Legend of Neil that I realised the hero's name was Link …

    Games 12 Sep 07:00

  • Online dole queue tech 'not grounded in reality', say councils

    UK.gov best revise 'agile' universal credit system

    The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) needs to revise its 'agile' approach to developing ICT systems for universal credit to avoid additional costs, the Local Government Association (LGA) says. In written evidence (PDF) to Parliament's work and pensions committee, the councils' body says that if the plans for the new …

    Government 12 Sep 07:33

  • NICTA micro-kernel trailblazers slurped by US defense giant

    General Dynamics buys OK Labs for "provably secure" kernel

    US aerospace and defence company General Dynamics has swooped on Australian virtualisation software developer Open Kernel Labs. OK Labs’ software currently sits on 1.6 billion devices around the world, enabling security for remote access to corporate and government assets while protecting everything that runs on the device. …

    Business 12 Sep 07:45

  • Ultimate bacon sarnie scrap starts to sizzle

    Controversy guaranteed in pinnacle of pork perfection challenge

    Our challenge to readers to provide proof of the ultimate bacon sarnie looks set to provoke even more controversy than the matter of the zenith of sliced pork/bread assemblages has already caused. In case you've missed the porcine polemic, our Bauernfrühstück versus bacon sarnie post-pub nosh deathmatch had experts up in arms …

    SPB 12 Sep 08:00

  • ICO sets cookie-law flouters deadline - to open an HTML editor

    'C'mon guys, make some sort of effort... please?'

    The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has set some website operators a deadline to begin efforts to comply with UK regulations that set out rules for the use of cookies. Dave Evans, the ICO's group manager for business and industry, said that some website operators had failed to "engage" with the watchdog about their use …

    Government 12 Sep 08:18

  • Windows 8: Life in a post .NET world – speak your brains TODAY

    Live Chat Live chat at 2pm BST today

    Back in 2000, when Bill Gates launched .NET, he likened the shift to the dramatic move from MS-DOS to Windows, as it ushered in an era of distributed computing – for Windows. .NET became Microsoft’s desktop and server programming story for a decade. Twelve years on Gates is gone, but his CEO replacement Steve Ballmer reckons …

    Windows 8 12 Sep 08:37

  • Dutch unleash intelligent robot bins: No ID, no rubbish

    Saving money, carbon... the world

    The Netherlands is rolling out intelligent bins that demand ID before accepting rubbish, and let the truck know when they need to be emptied, pointing towards the day when we'll all have to pay for the stuff we throw away. Altogether 6,000 intelligent bins are being deployed across The Netherlands, and green think tank …

    Broadband 12 Sep 09:04

  • Swedish cops contain fermented herring menace

    'Gas leak' nothing more than a storm in a surströmming

    Swedish cops who rushed last Saturday to a block of flats in Stockholm after concerned residents alerted emergency services of a possible gas leak, found that the tremendous whiff was actually down to fermented herring. Officers backed by two fire trucks and an "emergency gas leak team" swooped on the Södermalm building's …

    Bootnotes 12 Sep 09:19

  • Dreaded redback spider's NEMESIS: Forgotten Captain Cook wasps

    Aussie lad rediscovers hard-as-nails killer insect

    A species of Australian wasp discovered by Captain Cook but forgotten until modern times has turned out to be officially as hard as nails, as it makes a habit of eating the dreaded down-under redback spider ALIVE. Call that a poisonous bite? This is a poisonous bite As many Reg readers will already be aware, the fearsome …

    Science 12 Sep 09:37

  • Google sneaks in back door, slips YouTube onto iPhone 5

    All iOS devices are invited to the ball

    Google has released its own YouTube app for the iPhone and iPad, preempting Apple's decision not to support Google's dancing cat collection on its new iDevice, and updating what has been a lamentable experience. Previous iDevices have included an Apple-developed YouTube client, with limited functionality, but Apple's falling …

    Applications 12 Sep 09:59

  • LOHAN straps on satellite comms capability

    Iridium two-way chat for spaceplane mission

    We're sure readers will offer the traditional El Reg welcome today to Rock Seven, which has climbed aboard the British space programme by providing an Iridium satellite comms capability for our Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) mission. The company's newly developed RockBLOCK board can "send and receive short …

    SPB 12 Sep 10:16

  • Google whips away card, leaves just clouds in your Wallet

    No more pre-paid credit as Mountain View exits the banking business

    Google is pulling its pre-paid credit card, citing the success of its cloudy alternative and admitting that when in comes to bonking payments no one wants to bank with the Chocolate Factory. The pre-paid card will stop accepting top-up credit on 17 October, and after that date there will be a monthly charge of $2 in order to …

    Mobile 12 Sep 10:37

  • Apple's iCloud goes titsup, email evaporates for unlucky 1%

    Shifting behind the curtains at Cupertino pre-iPhone 5

    Apple's iCloud online storage service has been on the blink for 15 hours according to its status page. Fanbois relying on Cupertino's idiot-tax outfit to provide their email have been unable to send or access messages for more than half a day. The iPhone maker stresses that only 1.1 percent of users have been affected by the …

    Applications 12 Sep 11:01

  • Everything Everywhere's 4G: Why I'm sitting this one out

    Comment Can't get 3G working, can't lug a briefcase of batteries with me

    According to phone network Everything Everywhere, super-fast mobile broadband 4G is "the communications equivalent of the change the jet engine made over steam". Some members of the Her Majesty's finest press corps agree. "A customer buying a new mobile phone tomorrow would be hard pressed not to find a reason to join the …

    Broadband 12 Sep 11:18

  • Haynes Build Your Own Computer book review

    Manual upgrade

    As a journalist, engineer and car nut enthusiast, I can easily find myself spending hours upon hours poring over technical documents and workshop manuals, among them tomes published by Haynes. This time, however, I’m looking at something less mechanical and more digital: the latest in Haynes’ Build Your Own Computer series, …

    Hardware 12 Sep 11:21

  • Facebook wunderkind admits share price Zuck-up on stage

    I like being underestimated ... bitch

    In his first big interview since taking Facebook onto Wall Street with all the savoir-faire of a tramp in a dirty Santa outfit, internet billionaire Mark Zuckerberg has confessed that his company must do better. He added that performance of the free-content ad firm's stock "has obviously been disappointing". The 28-year-old …

    Media 12 Sep 11:46

  • Analysts: Shamoon oil biz malware flingers were 'amateurs'

    Programming errors ahoy....

    Fresh analysis of the Shamoon malware has concluded that its authors are more likely to be "skilled amateurs" rather than elite cyber-spies. Shamoon has been linked to recent high-profile malware outbreaks at Saudi Aramco and RasGas, Gulf-based oil and gas firms. Saudi Aramco lost its network for 10 days as a result of the …

    Security 12 Sep 12:01

  • Spidercloud spins biz-wide webs for Mindspeed mini-masts

    Smart arachnids weave small cells into private networks

    Enterprise-level private cellular networks will be as easy to fit as Wi-Fi. That's according to femtocell-leader Mindspeed, which has impregnated its chips with Spidercloud's wizardry to make small cells work better together. Mindspeed makes book-sized base stations that can configure themselves automatically once connected to …

    Mobile 12 Sep 12:17

  • Microsoft leads from behind on Windows 8

    TechEd Australia Slow burn on The Road Ahead

    While attending Microsoft's TechEd Australia this week, I've been reminded of the fact that in 2001 I worked for a PR company that did Microsoft's work in Australia. I therefore worked on the periphery of the team that launched Windows XP. One of my most vivid memories from that time is of Microsoft folk telling me Windows XP …

    Software 12 Sep 12:41

  • Sony focuses on full-frame snappers with tasty tech

    Flagship Alpha gets SLT treatment

    Sony snapped into action today with a wide range of camera launches including a fresh NEX, a snazzy full-frame compact and apparently the world's first full-frame SLT with a dual AF system. The latest NEX-6 mirrorless compact camera system features a 16.1Mp Exmor APS HD Cmos sensor, with ISO sensitivity of up to 25600. The …

    Hardware 12 Sep 13:06

  • The iPHONE 5 UNDERMINES western DEMOCRACY: 5 reasons why

    Comment Owning one will be the badge of an utter fool

    Thinking of buying a new iPhone 5 after it gets announced later today? Don't. Owning it will mark you out as an easily-led simpleton - and worse, the purchase will undermine western democracy. Our last digest along these lines was published prior to iPhone Day last year, but as it turned out - and who are we to say just why - …

    Mobile 12 Sep 13:34

  • BT wins £33m Surrey council superfast broadband deal

    Fujitsu declares 'status unchanged' on bids for BDUK cash despite UK.gov ban

    BT has won more government funds to unfurl faster fibre-optic broadband cabling - this time in Surrey, after it beat two other rivals to the £33m contract. Small suppliers Briskona Ltd and ETDE Ltd were the other two firms to bid for the Surrey funds. Fujitsu, however, did not partake in that particular procurement process. …

    Broadband 12 Sep 14:02

  • New guide: Bake your own Raspberry Pi Lego-crust cluster

    Pics 'And here's one we made earlier!'

    Scientists at the University of Southampton have built a "supercomputer" from Raspberry Pis lashed together to form a colourful data-cruncher. Professor Simon Cox and his team racked up 64 credit card-sized Pis using Lego building blocks to create the parallel computer. They named their beast Iridis-Pi after the university's …

    Hardware 12 Sep 14:26

  • XMA taps up industry veteran to run City office

    Former BT Engage IT exec Chris Leigh lands at reseller

    XMA has set up an office in the heart of the capital to boost its corporate business in the locale, headed up by channel veteran Chris Leigh. The Nottingham-based firm, owned by distributor Westcoast, already has offices in Nottingham, Theale, Scotland and Wales. The London office, based in Gracechurch Street in the square …

    The Channel 12 Sep 14:31

  • Nimble Storage bags ex-NetApp man for Asian push

    Confirms appointment of Peter O'Connor

    Nimble Storage has appointed NetApp's former Australian and APAC leader Peter O'Connor as its vice president for Asia Pacific and selected Sydney for its Asia-Pacific headquarters. O'Connor's appointment was predicted by The Reg on August 9th. We were also right in his motivation for the move, which we guessed was “itchy feet …

    Business 12 Sep 14:59

  • Boffin named Jubb to fire whopping hybrid thruster

    A potent mix of Bloodhound, handlebar 'tache and polybutadiene

    A magnificently handlebar 'tached boffin is is poised to carry out the most potent rocket test firing in Britain for two decades, when he presses the big red button on the hybrid thruster for the Bloodhound SuperSonic Car. Daniel Jubb (pictured) will travel to the Aerohub at Newquay Cornwall Airport for the 3 October event, to …

    SPB 12 Sep 15:28

  • '£100m For Sale' sign plonked outside Northgate MS - sources

    Integrator enlists Jefferies to find a buyer

    Northgate Managed Services (NMS) is up for sale and investment banking biz Jefferies International is doing the hawking, claim sources close to the company. "Northgate Managed Services is up for sale, the reality is that the business has been offered to a number of firms," said a person familiar with the matter. It is …

    The Channel 12 Sep 15:58

  • Speaking in Tech: In the cloud biz? Cut through the waffle and listen up

    Podcast Experts discuss real world issues in the enterprise

    Live from Chicago, it's a phenomenal techcast with some of the biggest brains in the cloudy business. Cloud and storage guru Ed Saipetch is manning the ship, live from Cloud Connect in Chicago, while Greg Knieriemen and Sarah Vela take the week off. Special guests this week include Mark Thiele, executive vice president of …

    Data Networking 12 Sep 16:32

  • Australian tabloid decides to fight trolls ... with trolls

    A tale of twisted trollumnists

    Australian tabloid newspaper The Daily Telegraph has started a campaign to “Stop the trolls”. The campaign's roots lie in recent incidents that saw a reality television hostess' Twitter account subjected to ridicule and a Rugby League footballer's account receive vile comments about his recently-deceased mother. The …

    Bootnotes 12 Sep 16:46

  • Amazon creates exchange for reserved cloud capacity

    Gentlemen, start your speculation engines

    Amazon has announced a new program that aims to save you from your own stupidity. Well, maybe not your stupidity, but what about that other sysadmin, the one who makes you roll your eyes from time to time? You know the guy. When you run a compute cloud, the stupidest thing you – or that other guy – can ever do, from a sunk …

    Cloud 12 Sep 16:52

  • iPhone 5: skinny li'l fella with better display, camera, software

    No surprises – and no NFC – but a thoroughgoing upgrade

    Rumor has it that an Eritrean goat-herder with the unlikely name of "Bob" was unaware of the fact that Apple would unveil its iPhone 5 on Wednesday. Frankly, we find that hard to believe. In all of recorded gadget history, few product announcements have had as much pre-event hype as did today's iPhone 5 roll-out at an event in …

    Phones 12 Sep 18:43

  • Intel shows off Seacliff Trail SDN-enabled switch

    IDF 2012 Hardware, software, your brand not included

    Intel wants to dominate the networking and storage arenas, each worth about $25bn a year in sales, just as much as it ever wanted to dominate the server racket, which accounts for around $50bn a year in sales. And if its goal is to double the revenues of its Data Center and Connected Systems group to $20bn by 2016 – as general …

    Data Networking 12 Sep 19:19

  • New iPod nano and touch: Lightning strikes again

    Video returns to the nano, the A5 chip comes to the touch

    It must be tough to be an iPod engineer and have to wait though an hour of iPhone love before your creations are even mentioned at an Apple product-rollout event. But maybe you can console yourself with the old adage of "saving the best for last" – and the two new iPods, if not the best kit that Apple has to offer, are …

    Media 12 Sep 20:27

  • Intel's Windows 8 tablet Atom chip yields up its secrets

    IDF 2012 Inside Clover Trail

    Intel has begun to reveal what's inside the next generation of tablet- and smartphone-specific Atom processors, codenamed respectively Clover Trail and Clover Trail Plus. Clover Trail, which the chip giant has been dropping hints about since mid-2011, has been designed "from the ground up" for Windows 8 but builds on the …

    Tablets 12 Sep 21:19

  • All AU mobile carriers to offer iPhone 5

    No prices yet as Apple enforces boilerplate statements

    All three of Australia's mobile carriers will offer the iPhone 5 to punters, but none have said a word about what they will charge antipodean fanbois for the privilege. Various PR missives have now hit El Reg's antipodean inbox, starting with Optus' 7:09 AM effort. All followed the Apple script by using approved adjectives to …

    Networks 12 Sep 21:22

  • Intel: optical Thunderbolt to strike in Q4

    IDF 2012 Cheaper cables too

    Cheaper and longer Thunderbolt wires will be coming later this year, Intel has forecast. The extra length will arrive on the back of optical cables. Thunderbolt cables on the market today use metal wiring, but only run to 3m in length. Updating IDF visitors on the evolution of the peripheral connectivity technology, Intel …

    Hardware 12 Sep 22:08

  • Apple Lightning adaptors reveal limitations

    Missing the bus?

    Apple has introduced a Micro USB adaptor for its new Lightning dock connector. Speed freaks will be disappointed to hear it's a USB 2.0 connector. USB 3.0 imposes a less-compact connector than the older version of the bus standard. Since USB 3.0 is essentially two separate buses in one - Superspeed USB and USB 2.0 - its …

    Hardware 12 Sep 22:43

  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 launch spreads desktop app love

    Free tools for C++, C#, VB devs now available

    As expected, Microsoft officially launched the latest iteration of its developer tools on Wednesday, including Visual Studio 2012, .Net 4.5, and the surprise debut of a new member of Redmond's Express family of free IDEs, this one for building Windows desktop applications. S. Somasegar, corporate VP of Microsoft's developer …

    Windows 8 12 Sep 23:00

  • AMD aims at big data crunchers with SeaMicro SM15000

    'Petabytes are everywhere'

    Earlier this week, ahead of the kickoff of the Intel Developer Forum, cheeky AMD launched its next generation of microservers sporting both Intel and AMD chips and a revamped SM15000 chassis that links storage arrays directly into the system "Freedom" interconnect fabric at the heart of the SeaMicro system it acquired earlier …

    HPC 12 Sep 23:28

  • ESA preps space junk radar

    Contracts signed for test platforms

    The European Space Agency has announced €4 million in funding to build a demonstrator of a radar system to detect space junk before it puts operational equipment at risk. France’s national aerospace research body ONERA is to work with five commercial partners in France, Spain and Switzerland to develop a demonstrator of the …

    Science 12 Sep 23:30

  • Reg hack runs Windows 8 on 82-inch touchscreen

    TechEd Australia Size matters

    Back in July, Microsoft acquired a company called Perceptive Pixel which makes 82-inch capacitative multi-touch screens. Here at TechEd Australia, there are a couple on display running Windows 8. We couldn't resist the chance to have a play with one, to see what The Interface Formerly Known as Metro feels like when running on …

    Windows 8 12 Sep 23:37