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24th September 2012 Archive

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  • NZ spooks acted unlawfully in Megaupload wiretap

    Court informed of wrongdoing as PM orders inquiry

    New Zealand authorities have informed the nation's High Court that individuals at the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) “acted unlawfully while assisting the Police to locate certain individuals subject to arrest warrants” in the case of Kim Dotcom's Megaupload service. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key issued …

    Law 24 Sep 02:47

  • IBM to debut Power7+ servers on October 3

    Staggered rollout, maybe running top to bottom this time

    The first Power7+ machines are fueled up and ready for launch on Wednesday, October 3. We've been telling you all about the impending Power7+ processors and speculating on the related servers for so long you probably think they are already here and can't figure out why they aren't available from IBM and its business partner …

    Datacenter 24 Sep 04:14

  • Apple demands $707m more from Samsung

    Court filing wants extra damages for patent breaches

    Apple has rubbed US$707m worth of salt into the wound it inflicted on Samsung when it beat the Korean company in California's courts over the design of the companies' respective telephones. In a filing lodged with the courts late on Friday, Pacific Time, Apple asked for another $400m for design infringements, $121m in damages …

    Law 24 Sep 04:38

  • 40 Foxconn staff hospitalised after CAMPUS RIOT

    2,000 staff fight after rumours claim security guard roughed up employee

    A dispute at a dormitory near a Foxconn plant in northern China last night led to a riot involving 2,000 employees lasting well into the early hours of this morning when police took control, with scores sent to hospital for treatement. The giant Taiwanese ODM employs 79,000 at the plant which is believed to be manufacturing …

    Business 24 Sep 05:02

  • Adelaide hospital rolls out RFID tagging

    Wireless everywhere to track kit, people, in AUD$71M project

    Visionstream will deploy a AUD$71 million ICT solution for the Royal Adelaide Hospital that is aimed to integrate government development on high end data services with actual health care provision. The project will provide the hospital with 150 Terabits per second of switching capacity and new technology platforms including …

    Networks 24 Sep 05:34

  • Now Apple cuts back on Samsung displays

    Cupertino sticks it to patent rival

    Apple is scaling back its purchase of tablet LCD displays from Samsung's display wing, in what looks like another clear sign that Cupertino wants to reduce its dependence on the Korean giant in the wake of their recent acrimonious patent battles. Stats from market-watcher DisplaySearch seen by the Korea Times revealed that …

    Business 24 Sep 07:15

  • Dell's blade data-centre-in-a-box 'much better than HP's'

    More bladey than Miyamoto Musashi's umbrella stand

    Dell is now shipping an EqualLogic storage blade array, and claiming it is much better than HP's equivalent product. The idea is to converge blade form factor servers, storage and networking hardware inside a single rackmount enclosure or chassis that can be bought, installed and managed as a single system. This is easier to …

    Storage 24 Sep 07:31

  • Google Go language gets used: For file-scrambling trojan, though

    No-one sure why 'mobe rooter' VXers like obscure lingo

    Virus writers are experimenting with Google's Go as a programming language for malware. The Encriyoko Trojan uses components written in Go, which is a compiled language developed by the search giant and unveiled in 2009. Once installed on a Microsoft Windows PC, the Trojan attempts to use the Blowfish algorithm to encrypt all …

    Security 24 Sep 07:57

  • Scottish islanders' wave power hopes sunk by 'massive costs'

    £107m bill in 2020 to hook into national grid

    The "massive costs" faced by developers in Scotland's first Marine Energy Park to connect their wave and tidal projects to the grid could potentially hold back investment, an industry body has warned. Speaking as the Marine Energy Conference begins in Inverness, Niall Stuart of Scottish Renewables said that despite an …

    Science 24 Sep 08:17

  • Big in Brazil: Sage gobbles accountancy software firm

    We want to be part of an economy that's growing

    The Sage Group have bought a Brazilian accountancy software company, sweeping in an extra 4000 customers. The £10.6m buy-up of Empresa Brasileira de Sistemas (EBS) adds to a series of big company acquisition by Sage in the past months to strengthen Sage's dominant position in Brazil. Sage paid £10.6m (R$35.0m) for the …

    Financial News 24 Sep 08:38

  • Orée outs wood-carved keyboard

    Tree feat

    French outfit Orée launched its unique bluetooth keyboards in the UK this week: input devices cut from a single piece of wood. Each Orée Board is hand-made in the company workshop and cut from either maple or walnut. This is said to provide greater durability, a better tactile experience and, of course, better sustainability …

    reghardware 24 Sep 08:45

  • Unconsenting Facebookers exposed by Beacon denied payouts

    Lawyers get rich, plaintiffs get 'not a nickel'

    A US appeals court has refused to add to Facebook's $9.5m settlement sea in a class action suit brought over the network's creepy adware service Beacon. The now-defunct Beacon watched Facebookers as they shopped on affiliate websites and then displayed their purchases on their profile pages. Unfortunately, the social network …

    Law 24 Sep 08:56

  • Samsung ready to drop faster SSDs

    Sata blatter

    Samsung will have a new SSD out next month. The 840 Series is a notebook-ready 6Gbps Sata drive, with a high performance - Samsung claims - Pro line accompanied by a lesser, cheaper vanilla offering. The Korean giant claimed the 840 Pro "provides 100,000 IOPS for random read and 90,000 IOPS for random write, making it three …

    reghardware 24 Sep 09:12

  • A10 seduces app load balancing biz spurned by Cisco

    Will networking giant bite back with an acquisition?

    Cisco Systems has stopped development on its Application Control Engine load balancer modules for its high-end switches and routers, and now networking rivals are trying to raid Cisco's installed base. Upstart A10 Networks has struck first with a Cisco ACE trade-in deal. A10 is offering Cisco ACE shops a credit of $24,000 as …

    Data Networking 24 Sep 09:29

  • Rambus' patent evidence-shredding slices into Hynix DRAM payout

    Judge reckons royalty rate too generous

    A US judge has ruled that legal attack dog Rambus destroyed evidence prior to its patent lawsuit against SK Hynix - but decided the paper-shredding wasn't a deliberate attempt to derail Hynix's defence. Judge Ronald Whyte reduced the royalties that Hynix owes on memory chips to just "reasonable non-discriminatory" levels. The …

    Law 24 Sep 09:50

  • Seagate: Our tech will be BETTER than WD's helium-filled hardness

    Spinning disks and squabbling sisters

    We've had WD showing off the flash-disk mutants on its road map to the investment analysts, boasting of its upcoming helium-filled drives - where did they come from? - and 5mm ultra-thin drives. Now Seagate has followed suit and said it will get there first, wherever it is. Seagate and WD are the squabbling sisters of the hard …

    Storage 24 Sep 10:08

  • Events in stratosphere can affect Earth's entire climate

    Powerful knock-on oceanic effects from upper atmos events

    Events high in the upper atmosphere can cause massive shifts in the behaviour even of deep ocean currents, according to new research. "It is not new that the stratosphere impacts the troposphere," says Reichler, says Thomas Reichler, senior boffin on the team which discovered the effects. "It also is not new that the …

    Science 24 Sep 10:29

  • Peeved bumpkins demand legally binding broadband promise from UK.gov

    DCMS claims to be on track with meeting 2015 target

    The UK government's plans to deploy faster broadband connections to 90 per cent of homes and businesses by 2015 has once again been criticised by landowners in England and Wales, who have labelled the BDUK process as "too bureaucratic". The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) called on the Department for Media, Culture …

    Broadband 24 Sep 10:46

  • Fears for small biz as 'draconian Cisco chokes cash flow'

    New partner programme pays out less upfront

    Cisco's sweeping changes worldwide to its Shared Support Programme (SSP) will alter the way the networking giant pays its partners - and could have dire consequences for the liquidity of some small service providers. Way back in March, Cisco piloted the Services Partner Programme (SPP), which will eventually replace the SSP. …

    The Channel 24 Sep 10:58

  • Toshiba AT300 10in Android tablet review

    Hello Tosh, got a new Tegra?

    To date Toshiba’s Android tablets have barely made a ripple let alone a splash in the fondleslab market but the new AT300 may change that. A replacement for the AT200 – that I failed to get excited about earlier in the year – the new device is cheaper and, thanks to its Tegra 3 underpinnings, considerably more powerful. Tegra …

    reghardware 24 Sep 11:00

  • 'Your app will work on Windows 8 - but please rewrite it anyway'

    Microsoft bigwig adds: 'We’re not afraid to make hard calls'

    Is Windows so much weighed down by legacy and the need to support existing applications that Microsoft cannot advance its platform? I put this question to Satya Nadella, president of the server and tools business at Microsoft, at the recent Visual Studio 2012 launch in Seattle, Washington. “We’re not afraid to make hard calls …

    Windows 8 24 Sep 11:16

  • Toyota kills city 'e-car for everyone'

    Only a limited launch for eQ

    Who killed the electric car? This time round, Toyota did. It said today it will not release its proposed mass-market mini e-car, the eQ. The reason: there's no demand for it, not while battery technology is failing to provide comparable range to a tank of petrol. "The current capabilities of electric vehicles do not meet …

    reghardware 24 Sep 11:20

  • CSC axes doctor support software in the UK

    580 GP practices will lose their iSoft products

    CSC has finally confirmed it is pulling its GP support products from the primary care market. The company is dropping its iSoft products, including Synergy, Premiere and Ganymede, after they run through their existing contracts. CSC will support the gear until the end of October next year for practices in England and Northern …

    Financial News 24 Sep 11:38

  • Christian footie match ends in almighty brawl

    Other cheeks unturned in unholy rumpus

    Five footballers from the West Midlands Christian League are heading for some serious time in the sin bin after a match last weekend degenerated into a "brutal brawl". Common Ground United and Zion Athletic met on Saturday in West Bromwich to engage in what was supposed to be "friendly competition whilst upholding Christian …

    Bootnotes 24 Sep 11:55

  • EC happy for Avnet to gobble down Magirus

    Competition authorities not concerned about resulting mega Euro distie

    The European Commission has given the green light to Avnet's proposed acquisition of Germany-based pan-European distributor Magirus. The bid, for an undisclosed sum, was tabled in July but the regulators wanted to cast an eye over the deal to ascertain whether it would strangle competition. The EC said it had examined data …

    The Channel 24 Sep 12:09

  • Apple begs ex-Google bods to fix crap maps app

    Hope they don't use iOS 6 to find One Infinite Loop

    As reported on Friday, Apple is hastily hiring software engineers to fix its disastrous new Maps App. Not surprisingly, it appears the iPhone maker hopes to lure them from Google. Bosses are, we're told, sweet-talking engineers with experience in the sprawling Google maps team to woo them to Team Apple. The new Maps App - …

    Mobile 24 Sep 12:24

  • Iran's top brass deny nuking US bank websites

    'We are not the scriptkiddies you are looking for'

    Iran has denied computers on its soil were behind denial-of-service attacks against American banks. US national security officials allege the websites of JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America were slowed by assaults launched from Iran. The G-men didn't say whether the attackers were backed by the Middle Eastern nation' …

    Security 24 Sep 12:44

  • Apple weekend iPhone 5 sales miss forecasts

    Ten million to ship? Half that, more like

    Apple shipped just over five million iPhone 5s during the first three days of the handset's availability, rather fewer than one analyst forecast of eight million units, let alone another bullish prediction of ten million. "While we have sold out of our initial supply, stores continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly," …

    reghardware 24 Sep 12:48

  • Microsoft Research man: It all starts with touch

    Windows 8 just the beginning of 'natural' sensory input trend

    Windows 8 is Microsoft’s addition to the growing tide pool of touch input for computers. Redmond's new OS joins Apple's iOS and Google’s Android in moving beyond keyboard and mouse and into touch, slide, swipe and pinch. Touch has silently become part of the DNA of computing. Now, though, we can expect manufacturers to push …

    Windows 8 24 Sep 13:04

  • Crooks can milk '$100k a day' from 1-million-zombie ZeroAccess army

    Botnet herders upgrade malware, still making bank – Sophos

    The stealthy ZeroAccess botnet commands a zombie army of more than one million machines, according to new research. A study by Sophos published last week reveals that the latest version of the malware, which is designed for either click fraud or Bitcoin mining, has infected more than 9 million machines over its lifetime. The …

    Security 24 Sep 13:33

  • Motorola, Samsung smash Apple's touchscreen patent claim

    Android mobe makers FINALLY catch a break in court win

    Apple has lost two patent lawsuits against Samsung and Motorola over touchscreen technology, ending the iPhone maker's victorious summer of litigation. A court in Mannheim, Germany, decided that Sammy and Google-owned Moto are in the clear after Apple claimed the pair infringed its broad "touch event" patent. The technology at …

    Law 24 Sep 14:02

  • Sky gripe grounded Freeview EPG facelift

    Prøn peddler upset too

    An attempt to modernise the Freeview channel listing last week proved something of a fail after a stack of planned moves did not take place, thanks to complaints from Sky and a purveyor of adult entertainment. Originally mooted in March and confirmed with minor changes in July, the channel revamp would have seen programme …

    reghardware 24 Sep 14:31

  • Fans revolt over Amazon 'adware' in Ubuntu desktop search results

    Shuttleworth: Don't be mad, you trust us with root anyway

    Ubuntu loyalists are furious that shopping suggestions from Amazon will be plonked into desktop search results, shown when users attempt to find stuff on their computers and the local network. Canonical, the company behind the GNU/Linux distro, has done a deal with the web bazaar to suggest products worth buying to punters. …

    Operating Systems 24 Sep 14:35

  • Tacky mobile ad networks could kill publishing, survey shows

    Audience are leaving, but their dollars don't follow

    As if they haven't got enough to worry about: magazines and newspapers are seeing audiences migrate to mobile, but the advertising revenues they need to keep their publications running just aren't following. Traditionally, advertising eventually catches up with where the audience is – but on mobile, it hasn't. The anxiety is …

    Mobile 24 Sep 15:02

  • Micro Anvika goes titsup after Olympics fails to save its shops

    Calls in the receivers, keeps biz open in bid to sell it as going concern

    The directors at Tottenham Court Road outfit Micro Anvika have called in the administrators after more than 28 years in business, The Channel can reveal. The firm appointed IP and business advisor Re10 on 17 September but continues to trade out of its three premises - two on TCR and one in Newcastle - albeit with fewer staff …

    The Channel 24 Sep 15:33

  • Polish Samsung Galaxy S IIIs first to scoff Jelly Bean update

    More Euro countries and a Galaxy of mobes to follow

    Samsung has started rolling out Android Jelly Bean to a lucky few Europeans who have a capable gadget and don't have a pesky network operator standing in the way. Fandroids with a Sammy Galaxy S III in Poland are the first to get version 4.1, the latest build, of Google's mobile operating system, and other European countries …

    Mobile 24 Sep 16:01

  • Stratus runs Marathon after high-availability server rival gobble

    Beats the competition to the finishing line

    Stratus Technologies, the maker of high-availability software and fault-tolerant servers, has snapped up rival Marathon Technologies for an undisclosed amount. The purchase locks up a niche market and keeps Marathon's wares out of the hands of larger rivals, which might have otherwise grabbed it to bolster their server or …

    Servers 24 Sep 16:27

  • Facebook shares drop 10%, trip NASDAQ 'circuit breaker'

    Channels Leonard Cohen's 'Dress Rehearsal Rag'

    In a speedy response to an analyst's negative assessment, Facebook's stock price dove by over 10 per cent in trading on Monday morning, triggering the NASDAQ exchange's "circuit breaker" designed to prevent over-zealous short sellers from further destroying a company's book value. "What are the shares worth? Perhaps only $15 …

    Financial News 24 Sep 18:38

  • Hitachi claims glass data storage will last millions of years

    Until you break it, that is

    Hitachi is showing off a storage system using quartz glass that it claims will retain data for hundred of millions of years. Company researchers displayed the storage unit, consisting of a sliver of glass 2cm square and 2mm thick, which can hold 40MB of data per square inch, about the same as a standard CD. The data is written …

    Storage 24 Sep 19:21

  • Red Hat uncloaks RHEL 5.9 beta

    Heading for the paddock on the way to the pasture

    Commercial Linux distie Red Hat has not forgotten that a whole lot of its customers are still back one release on Enterprise Linux 5, and has rolled out a beta of an updated 5.9 release to give customers a sneak peek at enhancements coming their way. This marks the last big update for the RHEL 5 life cycle, but Red Hat will …

    Operating Systems 24 Sep 19:59

  • Adobe goes gaga for web standards with Edge tool push

    Who needs Flash, anyway?

    Adobe has kicked off its worldwide "Create the Web" tour by announcing a new set of applications aimed at making it easier for developers and designers to build graphically rich, interactive applications based on web standards. You read that right: web standards, not Flash. Flash's star has been waning for web and mobile …

    Developer 24 Sep 20:44

  • NSW gives Technologies curriculum a 'D'

    Board of Studies says current draft is not a basis for a quality curriculum

    The New South Wales Board of studies has strongly criticised Australia's proposed national curriculum for Technologies, saying that in its current form it “does not represent a curriculum structure that provides the basis for a quality Technologies curriculum.” The criticism came in response to questions from The Register on …

    Policy 24 Sep 22:00

  • Smartphones may soon listen in on you while they sleep

    Advantage: hands-free convenience. Disadvantage: g'bye, privacy

    Your smartphone may soon be able to hear and respond to you even when it's in sleep mode – that is, if the combined efforts of engineers at speech-recognition leader Nuance Communications and chipset makers succeed in their goal. Nuance CTO Vlad Sejnoha told Technology Review that his company is collaborating with "a number of …

    Mobile 24 Sep 22:11

  • Savvy ex-Soviets out-hack East Asian arrivistes

    Custom cracks versus strength of numbers

    An analysis of the hacking communities in Eastern Europe and Asia has concluded that citizens of the former Soviet bloc are still top dogs at cracking complex systems. "While East Asian hackers dominate cybersecurity-related headlines around the world with high-profile intrusions and advanced persistent threats (APTs), it …

    Security 24 Sep 22:19

  • Researchers reveal NFC subway bonk-nonpayment scheme

    Using Android phones to dodge fares

    Transit systems around the world have begun turning to card-based "contactless" ticketing systems as an easy way to process fares. But according to security researchers, flaws in some ticketing schemes could allow savvy customers to bag themselves a permanent ticket to ride, using nothing more than an Android app and an NFC- …

    Security 24 Sep 22:49

  • Broadband too costly in developing countries, says ITU

    National network policy now all the rage

    In a new report that digests international broadband policies, the ITU has found that services remain too expensive in many countries. The ITU’s Broadband Commission report (PDF here) has found that in 19 of the world’s least developed economies – mostly in Africa – the cost of broadband exceeds average monthly earnings. That …

    Broadband 24 Sep 23:08

  • Red Hat pinched by muscular greenbacks in Q2

    Selling now, investing for then, sitting on a pile of cash

    Anyone selling hardware or software overseas as a significant portion of their overall revenues got a haircut in the past few months, and Linux server and Java application server juggernaut Red Hat was no exception. In the second quarter of fiscal 2013 ended in August, Red Hat's overall revenues grew by 14.7 per cent to $322. …

    Financial News 24 Sep 23:10

  • Berkeley Lab proposes 4D clock

    ‘Space-time crystal’ would outlast the universe

    It’s not quite a perpetual motion machine: scientists at the US Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have proposed a design for a timing crystal they say would theoretically outlast the universe. In this paper, published on Arxiv, the researchers propose a design for "a 4D crystal that has periodic structures in both space …

    Science 24 Sep 23:55