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10th October 2012 Archive

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  • Cisco, Netgear, Moto let fly at patent troll Innovatio

    Cry ‘havoc’ and let slip the lawyers of war

    Last year, finding vendors like Cisco and Motorola uninterested in complying with its Wi-Fi patent trolling, Innovatio IP Ventures decided to direct its demands against end users instead. Its approach was to seek small settlements against business Wi-Fi users on the basis that they were less likely to dig in and fight. Now, …

    Law 10 Oct 00:30

  • British Library tracks rise and fall of file formats

    Analysis of 2.5 billion online files suggests software obsolescence slowing

    File formats and the software capable of reading them are living longer than previously thought, according to a British Library and UK Web Archive study. Formats over Time: Exploring UK Web History (PDF, slides as PDF) considers 2.5 billion files author Andrew N Jackson retrieved with the help of the Internet Archive and the …

    Software 10 Oct 00:41

  • Microsoft: Pirates at high risk of malware infection

    Freetards have only themselves to blame

    Web-based attacks are on the rise, but according to Microsoft security researchers, the risks involved with casual browsing are nothing compared to the dangers of downloading and sharing illicit software, videos, music, and other media. In the latest edition of the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report, published on Monday, …

    Security 10 Oct 00:42

  • Analyst warns BlackBerry 10 won't be out until March

    Still enough to beat off WinPhone 8 threat

    RIM's share price took another hit on Tuesday after a senior analyst warned investors that the Canadian firm's BlackBerry 10 operating system may not be out until March of next year. "We had hoped for a Jan launch (guidance is for a CQ1 launch) but now see a March launch as more likely," said Jeffries and Co. analyst Peter …

    Mobile 10 Oct 00:44

  • IBM takes on Oracle with PureData appliances

    'Watch out, Larry, here we come'

    Big Blue is getting sick of Larry Ellison taking up all of the oxygen in the data center when it comes to appliance servers tuned for specific workloads, and so it is expanding its line of PureSystems preconfigured machines with a family of boxes called PureData that take on some of the same work that Oracle is chasing with its …

    Data Center 10 Oct 01:01

  • Microsoft trials Digits finger-sensing bracelet

    Power Glove for the new generation

    Microsoft Research has been showing off Digits, an attempt to build a sensor bracelet that can track the movement of fingers, replacing the need for a physical mouse or finger-covering gloves. Touchy-feely computing from Microsoft The Digits system uses a bank of infrared (IR) LEDs to reflect off the fingertips, coupled …

    Hardware 10 Oct 01:16

  • Is lightspeed really a limit?

    Solving super-luminal Special Relativity without breaking Einstein

    We don’t (yet) have any way to test this, but University of Adelaide applied mathematicians are suggesting that an extended version of Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity also holds true for velocities beyond lightspeed. One of the main predictions of Special Relativity is that the speed of light is treated as an absolute …

    Science 10 Oct 03:21

  • Apple Maps too good for Taiwanese military

    Cupertino told to blur images before China spots radar ... Oops

    Apple’s much-derided maps app which caused widespread user consternation when it effectively replaced Google Maps in the latest version of iOS, has come under fire yet again, but this time for being too accurate. The Taiwanese government has formally requested that Cupertino uses only low-res satellite images when detailing …

    Software 10 Oct 03:37

  • Microsoft to devs: Bug users about security … now!

    Redmond reveals how and when it decides to remind you about security

    Microsoft has revealed the guidelines it gives its own developers to help them decide when users need a rude reminder to stop putting themselves at risk of security problems. Redmond's rules boil down to being neat and spruce, but the two adjectives are acronyms rather than items in a dress code. NEAT stands for the following …

    Security 10 Oct 04:18

  • Mystery martian object is relic of (our) civilisation

    Curiosity will spend another day checking strange shiny thing just to be sure

    NASA has decided the mystery shiny object on Mars merits another day of probing, but is fairly sure it is a piece of plastic from the Curiosity rover. The space agency's explanation for the object says: The rover team's assessment is that the bright object is something from the rover, not Martian material. It appears to be a …

    Science 10 Oct 04:48

  • Iran says its infosec defences foiled oil hack

    Alleges Israel tried to take down oil platforms, with Chinese involvement

    Iran is claiming to have successfully deflected yet another large scale cyber attack on critical infrastructure in the country, this time targeted at its offshore oil installations. A brief report on the Iranian Students’ News Agency site on Monday seemed to accuse Israel and China of being behind an attack on the National …

    Security 10 Oct 05:01

  • Unisys pumps up ClearPath mainframes with Xeon E5s

    Just about all Intel Inside and all done with homegrown CPUs

    Unisys has been on a quest to get out of designing processors for its ClearPath mainframes and porting its MCP and OS 2200 operating systems from its respective Libra (Burroughs) and Dorado (Sperry-Univac) machines to Intel's Xeon processors for almost as long as Intel has been serious about the server racket. And, with the …

    Servers 10 Oct 06:01

  • View 21 IPTV Freeview+HD DVR review

    iOS telly addicts, look no further

    The Freeview+ HD market has suddenly sparked into life. Having spent an age coasting on the coattails of Humax’s HDR-FOXT2, there are suddenly a slew of better-specified recorders hitting the streets. The View21 VW11FVRHD50 is one such newbie, mixing Freeview+ HD with IPTV connected services. While it doesn’t offer full-on Catch …

    reghardware 10 Oct 07:00

  • UK bungs £250m to factories stung by climate-change policy

    Taxpayers cough up as rules send bills soaring

    The heaviest energy users are being asked to shape a proposed £250m compensation package designed to help reduce the impact of energy and climate change policies on the cost of their electricity. The new consultation, which sets out the design of the scheme, follows on from the Government's call for evidence on the issue in …

    Government 10 Oct 07:32

  • Why will UK web supersnoop plan cost £1.8bn? That's a secret

    Anyway this is gov IT, we've got no idea what it'll cost

    The Home Office has refused to fully justify the £1.8bn price tag attached to its contentious draft Communications Data Bill, which if passed will massively increase online surveillance of UK citizens. In response to a Freedom of Information request from Zoe O'Connell, who regularly blogs about the bill, the Home Office argued …

    Government 10 Oct 08:01

  • Want to know what 5G mobile is? Ask this British university

    In a bit, when they've worked it out themselves

    Surrey University has scored £11.6m in government cash, and £24m from the industry, to fund the development of next-generation telecoms in a shiny new 5G Innovation Centre. The government money comes from the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, by way of the Higher Education Funding Council, but the bigger portion comes …

    Mobile 10 Oct 08:20

  • Google cash brings all the cold TV leftovers you can eat to YouTube

    Mockney belly-robber, netmums and mouldy old BBC gumble

    For years, some pundits have touted YouTube as the future of TV - so you may be interested to see what this future might look like. The picture is now clearer after Google confirmed funding for 60 UK telly producers to make YouTube clips. And so the future of television will look like… a low-budget cable channel serving up …

    Media 10 Oct 08:39

  • Linux on ARM breakthrough to take away Torvalds' arse pain

    One kernel to boot them all and in the darkness bind them

    A single Linux kernel build that can run on various ARM-powered kit from competing manufacturers has come closer to reality, much to Linus Torvalds' relief. Unlike the world of x86 PCs, which has standardised and well-documented hardware, there is little consistency across ARM-compatible systems beyond the basic processor …

    Developer 10 Oct 08:58

  • Warner Music daddy chucks €130m at Spotify rival Deezer

    Zut alors!

    Access Industries will invest €130m in the Gallic Spotify-rival Deezer. The music streaming service has been a hit in its native France and launched in the UK a year ago – with rather less impact. The big record labels are major investors in Spotify, with Universal Music rarely missing an opportunity to talk it up. The Swedish …

    Financial News 10 Oct 09:19

  • Hitachi Data Systems dons converged system cloak

    Anything EMC and NetApp can do ...

    Hitachi Data Systems has announced its UCP converged server-storage-networking system both in integrated system and reference architecture form, taking on EMC and NetApp while partners Cisco and VMware triumphantly play the field. The Unified Compute Platform comes in Pro and Select versions, 11 versions in all. The UCP Pro is …

    Storage 10 Oct 09:42

  • BBC unveils UltraViolet DVDs, BDs

    Latest Doctor Who series to come with download copy

    The BBC has announced a set of Blu-ray Disc and DVD releases that will support the UltraViolet online video locker service. Upcoming Doctor Who, Top Gear and David Attenborough releases will support UV to allow owners signed up to the service to stream and download versions of the discs’ content to mobile devices, computers …

    reghardware 10 Oct 09:56

  • Japanese cellco drops veil on futuristic hands-free video phone

    Life in cartoon motion

    Japanese mobile operator NTT Docomo has unveiled a pair of hi-tech video phone glasses which could finally answer the problem of dodgy web cam video calls. The hands-free specs contain six 180 degree, 720p cameras which capture the user’s face live before altering your mug in real-time to take account of close-up distortion …

    Mobile 10 Oct 10:02

  • Samsung says 'yes' to iPhone 5-sized Galaxy S III

    No enormo-handsets please, we're Europeans

    Samsung has confirmed that it’ll launch a 4in version of its Android-based popular Galaxy S III smartphone in Germany tomorrow. The scaled down device is being pitched at Europeans unhappy with the existing, 4.8in S III and would prefer something a little easier to hold and use in one hand and fits in pockets better. Something …

    reghardware 10 Oct 10:15

  • Big Blue bigwig: Tiny processor knobs can't shrink forever

    HPC blog You cannae break the laws of physics - and 7nm is the limit

    While at IBM’s Smarter Computing Summit last week, I had the great pleasure of hearing Big Blue's Bernie Meyerson talk about limits to today’s tech, and the associated implications. Bernie is IBM’s VP of Innovation and one of the rare technologist-scientist types who can clearly and directly explain highly technical concepts …

    HPC 10 Oct 10:18

  • Canada: We'll boot 'security risk' firms from gov network bid race

    We won't say Hu(awei), but...

    The Canadian government has said that it will be invoking a "national security exemption" as it hires firms to build a secure network, hinting that Chinese telco Huawei could be excluded. The exemption allows the government to kick out of the running any companies or nations considered a security risk, which coming in the wake …

    Government 10 Oct 10:38

  • Lenovo unfolds smaller Yoga tablet-laptop hybrid

    11-incher still weighty and pricey

    Lenovo has announced an 11in version of its still-to-ship Yoga tablet-laptop hybrid. Part of the IdeaPad line-up, Yoga is so named because the hinge on its clamshell casing allows the screen not merely to be lifted up from the keyboard and folded flat against the desk but can be pushed further round to form a tablet. Lenovo …

    reghardware 10 Oct 10:53

  • Copper-obsessed BT means UK misses out on ultrafast fibre gold

    New research finds Blighty languishing at bottom of FTTH pile

    BT has once again been blamed for Britain's failure to penetrate the Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) market, leaving the country lagging behind its European neighbours. New research shows that, as of June 2012, only 0.05 per cent of households in the UK were connected to the superior technology. But the figure is hardly surprising …

    Broadband 10 Oct 11:06

  • Boffins build program to HUNT DOWN CO2 polluters where they LIVE

    Mapping shows Barry and Clive did climate change

    Environment-loving boffins have developed a software capable of pointing the accusatory finger of carbon-emitting blame at individual buildings. The program, named Hestia after the Greek goddess of the home, can map CO2 emissions across urban landscapes and narrow them down to streets or certain homes using public databases, …

    Science 10 Oct 11:14

  • Ballmer aims chair at Apple after Windows package miss

    Windows failures shrink CEO's fiscal reward

    Steve Ballmer is eyeing up an Apple-style future for Microsoft of device manufacture and support, just as he’s been personally dinged for underperforming in one of the company’s cash cows: Windows. Microsoft’s chief executive has evangelised devices as the future opportunity for Redmond in his annual letter to shareholders, …

    Windows 8 10 Oct 11:31

  • Apple to spice up Blighty iPads with 4G

    But Mini to be limited to Wi-Fi

    Apple will refresh its current iPad with support for Everything Everywhere's 4G network, while the upcoming 'iPad Mini' will be limited to Wi-Fi connectivity, moles maintain. Industry whisperers have told the Guardian that an iPad Mini announcement is imminent. However, a 3G-compatible version is unlikely. This should allow …

    reghardware 10 Oct 11:35

  • Report: Google offers to 'brand' search results in Euro antitrust probe

    Horse-trading continues down at Choc Factory ranch

    Google is continuing to try to convince the European Commission not to proceed in taking formal action against the company's alleged "abuse of dominance" in the search market – by reportedly offering to brand its web search results. According to the Financial Times, which cites sources familiar with Google's package of …

    Law 10 Oct 11:48

  • New top boss for flash upstart OCZ appears on radar

    Eyes are on Ralph Schmitt as he legs it from PLX

    A new CEO for flash storage startup OCZ has possibly emerged from the mists: Ralph Schmitt has resigned as chief exec of PCI electronics biz PLX - and he sits on OCZ's board. OCZ ousted CEO Ryan Petersen last month, on the back of revenue shortfalls and a kerfuffle over a will-they-won't-they acquisition by Seagate. Alex Mei …

    Storage 10 Oct 12:04

  • UN locks Apple, Google, Microsoft in a room for patent peace summit

    'You're meant to encourage innovation, not stifle it'

    Tech titans including Apple, Nokia, Google and Microsoft will today argue the toss at a UN confab on whether patent law is stifling innovation. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) arranged the get-together to assess the effectiveness of allowing companies to sort out the licensing of patents crucial to building …

    Law 10 Oct 12:23

  • German ebook firm aims low with cheap 'n' simple €10 ereader

    Companion kit only for Android mobes... for now

    German ebook developer txtr has just announced an ultra-cheap, simple e-ink-based ereader, the txtr beagle, which it intends to retail at less than €10. It plans to achieve that price by piggybacking on the functionality already built into a mobile phone. For the moment that phone will have to run Android, but iOS software is …

    Hardware 10 Oct 12:39

  • PGP founder's mobile privacy app goes live

    Updated Zimmermann & Navy SEAL pals unveil safe comms, at $20 a month

    Silent Circle, the secure mobile communications app backed by Phil Zimmermann, has gone live - offering protection from all but the most determined of government departments. Silent Circle comprises a handful of iOS/Android/PC apps facilitating secure phone calls, text messaging and video calling, with secure email promised …

    Security 10 Oct 13:04

  • RSA boss demands revamp of outdated privacy, security regs

    RSA Europe Hackers have moved on, business red tape hasn't

    Corporate security policies that simply adopt regulations and obsess over privacy are stuck in the last century, according to senior execs at security biz RSA. Tom Heiser, president of the EMC-owned outfit, told delegates to the RSA Europe conference that efforts to comply with red tape and standards is fruitless as the rules …

    Security 10 Oct 13:27

  • Bloomberg's bomb: How SEC shredded Facebook's pre-IPO claims

    I'm under regulatory scrutiny, bitch

    According to a recently publicised set of emails, US financial watchdog the Securities and Exchange Commission found that important claims made by Facebook were unsupportable and forced the company to disclose key weaknesses in its business plan before its 18 May IPO. The highlights are outlined in this lengthy report from …

    Government 10 Oct 13:58

  • ISS crew fling out arm, grab SpaceX Dragon capsule

    First commercial delivery docks with the station

    The first contracted SpaceX Dragon has successfully docked with the International Space Station after being snagged with the Canadarm2 robotic arm. The Dragon berthed with the Earth-facing side of the Harmony node at 14.03 BST (9.03 EDT) today. Around two hours earlier, Japanese flight engineer Aki Hoshide and NASA 'naut Suni …

    Science 10 Oct 14:23

  • Gavel fails to fall for Apple 1

    Auctioned micro misses reserve price

    An original Apple 1 made by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak failed to sell at an auction in London this week after bidders refused to meet its reserve price. The 1976 computer - which comes without a screen and a mere 4KB of memory - was expected to be snapped up for £80,000. However, the top bid of £32,000 wasn't high enough to …

    reghardware 10 Oct 14:24

  • Microsoft fast-tracks Windows 8 Service Pack updates

    No year-long wait for Metro fans

    Microsoft has broken with tradition on a new version of Windows by rushing out changes to the Release To Manufacturing (RTM) code on people’s PCs. Early recipients of Windows 8 are getting updates made by Microsoft to the client code in the months since its release to partners on 1 August. Changes include extended battery …

    Windows 8 10 Oct 14:41

  • Google AND Yahoo! hijacked in Ireland after domain namespace grab

    Human error or something more sinister?

    Google and Yahoo!'s Irish domains were briefly hijacked on Tuesday afternoon, the IE Domain Registry (IEDR) has confirmed. Fraud officers from the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation are said to be investigating how malefactors were able to take the websites offline for several hours after mischievously changing both Yahoo.ie …

    Hosting 10 Oct 14:57

  • Sarah Brightman plans International Space Station gig

    Soprano evidently did lose heart to a Starship Trooper

    Singer Sarah Brightman has announced she's off to the International Space Station, from where she'll become "the first professional musician to sing from space". The classical superstar, 52, is the best-selling soprano in history, so she's obviously not short of the few quid it will cost to be lifted heavenwards atop a Soyuz …

    Science 10 Oct 15:28

  • Googorola yoinks Android mobes off German shelves

    Apple, Microsoft patent warfare forces European retreat

    Motorola Mobility's global smartphone market share shrank faster than usual yesterday when the mobe maker pulled all but one of its products from Germany. Patent infringement lawsuits launched by Apple and Microsoft against Moto have demanded a sales ban on the Google-owned handset biz's Android tablets and smartphones in …

    Mobile 10 Oct 16:02

  • US boffins get Nobel for work on cell receptors

    'I didn't believe it till I heard five Swedish accents'

    US boffins have bagged the Nobel prize for chemistry for helping to figure out how cells sense their environment. Robert Lefkowitz of Duke University and Brian Kobilka at Stanford School of Medicine won for their work on G-protein coupled receptors, which snake in and out of cell's membrane and are one of the main methods of …

    Science 10 Oct 16:34

  • Speaking in Tech: The worst PR in the tech industry

    Podcast Huawei gets hammered by Congress – why is no one defending it?

    It's another one of El Reg's enterprise tech casts, where we get into the nitty-gritty of everything that went down in the past few days in the world of electronics, mobile, services and more. This week your hosts are Greg Knieriemen and Sarah Vela as Ed Saipetch is playing hookie. The pair discuss the Congressional smackdown …

    Data Center 10 Oct 17:03

  • ARM cranks up cache and memory designs for servers

    Gearing up for the x86-ARM war

    ARM Holdings wants chip makers to bring more cores and cache to bear as they craft server chips based on its Cortex family of system-on-chip (SoC) designs, and to that end the company is boosting the on-chip caching and main memory controllers of its current ARMv7 and future ARMv8 designs to make them better able to compete …

    Servers 10 Oct 18:39

  • Amazon UK leaks Windows 8 retail box, TV ads

    Here's what we're in for as October 26 approaches

    Windows 8 isn't due to launch until October 26, but some over-zealous retailers are starting to give us a feel for the marketing onslaught we can expect once Microsoft's new OS hits retail shelves. Officially, most retailers are still being coy about anything related to Windows 8. For example, searches on Amazon's US site …

    Windows 8 10 Oct 19:43

  • Supreme Court confirms telco immunity on spying charges

    As one door closes, the EFF opens another

    The US Supreme Court has effectively ruled that the AT&T and other telecommunications companies are immune from prosecution for helping the National Security Agency (NSA) in a large-scale domestic surveillance scheme covering phone calls, emails and internet use. The court declined to hear an appeal of Hepting v. AT&T, a case …

    Law 10 Oct 20:55

  • Hoosiers to get the world's fastest academic super

    Alley-oop for privately paid for petaflops

    Indiana University is set to rise to the top of the flops among the world's academic institutions as it aims to break through the petaflops barrier with its upcoming "Big Red II" supercomputer using a Cray XK7 hardware - at least as gauged by raw computing power, and specifically those that foot their own bill for machines. …

    HPC 10 Oct 20:56

  • NSW contemplates smart licenses

    Shared services a possibility to power Services NSW

    The Australian State of New South Wales' (NSW’s) new Customer Services Commissioner, Michael Pratt, says one of the streamlined service delivery strategies he is considering could see all NSW licences replaced by a single smart card that records multiple licences the bearer holds. Pratt said he can also foresee licences finding …

    Policy 10 Oct 22:00

  • Western Australia powers up 10 MW solar farm

    Pull the switch, Igor!

    Australia’s west is now home to what’s described as the country’s first utility-scale solar power plant. The 10 megawatt plant, supported with AUD$20 million of Western Australian government funding, will deliver power equivalent to 3,000 homes. However, its output is committed to powering the state’s Binningup water …

    Science 10 Oct 22:41

  • RIM opens BlackBerry 10 marketplace for submissions

    Will $10,000 woo the developers?

    RIM has opened its BlackBerry App World store to applications for its forthcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system, with a truckload of incentives to get developers onside. "This is a huge opportunity to be the first into the store and capitalize on app-hungry BlackBerry users," announced Alec Saunders, RIM’s VP of developer …

    Developer 10 Oct 23:27

  • Office for Android and iOS to ship by March 2013?

    Maybe, but not in the sense you're hoping for

    A product manager for Microsoft's Czech division may have let the cat out of the bag on Wednesday – almost – when he announced that versions of Microsoft Office for Android and iOS devices may ship as early as the first quarter of next year. After spotting a report on the Czech site IHNED, The Verge was first to cite Microsoft …

    Applications 10 Oct 23:28