17th October 2012 Archive

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Microsoft slurps up StorSimple to boost cloud chops

Redmond gets further into cloud storage game

Microsoft has bought out integrated cloud storage vendor StorSimple, giving Redmond some extra-special sauce to add to its Azure cloud service. StorSimple has made a good business selling appliances that use traditional hardware storage while dumping bulk data that's seldom needed off into cloud archives, then pulling it back …

Cloud 17 Oct 00:16
Microsoft adds iOS support to cloudy mobile services

Data and messaging options improved, as well

Microsoft has rolled out the first major update to its Windows Azure Mobile Services offering, adding support for new data storage and communications methods and making it possible to connect Mobile Services with iOS apps. Redmond debuted Mobile Services in August as an easy way for developers to deploy backend services for …

Developer 17 Oct 00:34
Steam spawns vulnerabilities, say researchers

Gamers can be fragged by 'undocumented features'

A new security research outfit called ReVuln has presented its letter of introduction to the world in the form of a paper that analyses how the Steam protocol can expose gamers to attacks. In this document (PDF), the company analyses what happens when a URL using the protocol steam:// is redirected. Of the major browsers, …

Security 17 Oct 00:39
Pacemakers, defibrillators open to attack

Crims could send 830 volts straight to your heart

Pacemakers and implanted defibrillators are vulnerable to wireless attacks that could kill tens of thousands, says the security researcher best known for "jackpotting" an ATM on stage at the BlackHat security conference in Las Vegas in 2010. The researcher in question, Barnaby Jack, today told the Ruxcon Breakpoint security …

Security 17 Oct 02:11
ZTE drops spy tech subsidiary

Still struggling with Iran links

Chinese telecoms kit maker ZTE has sold its majority stake in ZTE Special Equipment (ZTEsec) – a company that sells surveillance systems. The under-fire Shenzhen-based firm said in a little-publicised filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at the end of September that it would “dispose of its 68 per cent equity interests” in …

Business 17 Oct 04:00
Map law could see China confiscate mobes at Customs

If your maps app gives disputed islands the wrong name, prepare to surrender!

Travellers to China would be well-advised to check their mobile mapping clients before embarking, after it emerged that customs officers have been given the power to confiscate any device featuring illegal maps, such as those mislabelling important islands. The new policy would see any mobiles or tablets seized at the border …

Policy 17 Oct 05:06
Facebook offers just a week of free Android AV

Adds free antivirus for mobes and more security partners to AV Marketplace

Facebook has extended its security program, adding another seven vendors to the list of folks offering free anti-virus software through its AV Marketplace and also including Android security products for the first time. But one of the Android malware zappers, McAfee’s Mobile Security, is free for just seven days, a far shorter …

Security 17 Oct 05:55
Fujitsu beams URLs to mobes through your TV

Smartphone users can capture coupons or URLs direct from TV

Boffins at Fujitsu Laboratories have come up with a way of embedding digital coupons and URLs in video transmissions, in what could be a brand new way for firms to flog their products and services and engage more closely with their smartphone-toting customers. The patent-pending technology allows for the transmission of …

Networks 17 Oct 06:30
Valve's Half-Life

Antique Code Show Our very own Tesla Girl recalls a year in physicist Gordon Freeman's company

I’m not a fan of modern first-person shooters, which is a shame because there used to be a massive soft spot in my heart for Half-Life and its head crabs. When then small, independent developer Value announced it was basing its first game around the exploits of a theoretical physicist, most gamers were understandably …

reghardware 17 Oct 07:00
Panasonic gets second chance with £4.7 BEEELION bailout

Banks rescue ANOTHER ailing Japanese electronics firm

Panasonic has persuaded Japanese banks to throw it a lifeline after a record loss of ¥772.1bn (£6bn, $9.8bn) last fiscal year. The heavy loss dropped the electronics group's cash reserves to ¥554.7bn (£4.4bn, $7bn) which still sounds like a fair amount but not when compared to the ¥1.97trn (£15.9bn, $25bn) it could lay its …

Financial News 17 Oct 07:20
'No cutting off people's internet based on secret evidence'

Consumer group calls for MPAA to publish its methods

Ofcom should force rights-holders into publishing most of the details about how their systems for identifying cases of online copyright infringement work, a consumer watchdog has said. In a letter (6-page/1.71MB PDF) to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Consumer Focus said that it would seek "full transparency …

Media 17 Oct 07:37
Axe falls on Directgov as GOV.UK launches

A taxpayer service that saves taxpayer money... Hmm

The government's new £4.6m-and-counting public services single domain website GOV.UK officially replaced Directgov this morning. Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude confirmed in late 2010 that New Labour's garishly orange-coloured site would be killed off in favour of a new online service that followed Martha Lane Fox's …

Government 17 Oct 08:00
Payment protection tops list of SMS spam scams

d lads frm Lagos lov txt 2

AdaptiveMobile, a company which spends most of its time filtering out junk SMS messages, has written up a list of the scams hitting GSM handsets, with mis-sold payment protection insurance topping the list. The spam texts differ significantly from the usual email spam in being more direct, claiming intimate knowledge of the …

Security 17 Oct 08:38
Billion people now own a smartphone

Twenty years of growth

The world smartphone usage total has passed the billion-unit point, the first time it has done so. It has taken 20 years, from the first appearance of the device in November 1992 to today. Strategy Analytics, a market watcher, today said it reckons one in seven members of the world’s population has owned a smartphone during Q3 …

reghardware 17 Oct 08:48
Barrall's baby gets bundle of cash for scale-out filer tech

Gridstore scores $12.5m to embiggen sales

Grid-based scale-out filer storage startup Gridstore has landed $12.5m in funding to expand its sales channels. Gridstor, background here, provides a scale-out filer, the GS100, in a grid – a trademarked kind, called The Grid – using low-cost Atom-powered nodes and VCT (Virtual Controller Technology), which provides simpler …

Storage 17 Oct 08:58
Snoopers Charter is for 'incompetent criminals, accidental anarchists'

Data chief says gov spynet would snare only dunderheads

The Information Commissioner Christopher Graham has characterised the Home Office's proposed law to massively increase surveillance of the internet in the UK as one that would only be capable of capturing stupid criminals. Graham told a committee of MPs and peers on Tuesday that the draft Communications Data Bill as it stands …

Security 17 Oct 09:18
Plucky orangutan rescued from encroaching biofuel plantations

Ook! The fearful cost of highly saturated vegetable fat

A critically endangered orangutan has been rescued after wandering into an area of forest in western Indonesia where palm oil companies have been illegally destroying the environment, a conservation group said. The Sumatran simian had been trapped for days in a diminishing spot surrounded by palm oil plantations and isolated …

Science 17 Oct 09:29
A lesser-known new feature in iOS 6: It's tracking you everywhere

iJust want to alert you to opportunities!

Apple has enabled user tracking of its customers once again, with the recently released iOS 6 enabling advertisers to see which apps users have run, and which adverts they've seen – all for the benefit of the users, of course. The feature wasn't highlighted by Apple at the launch of iOS 6, as Business Insider points out in its …

Security 17 Oct 09:44
Slideshow: A History of the Smartphone in 20 Handsets

The devices that made a market

With the news that world smartphone usage total has passed the billion mark in 20 years, we present 20 of the most important smartphones from the past 20 years. From the very first devices - IBM's Simon and Nokia's Communicator - to the defining products from the major platforms - RIM's BlackBerry 5810, HP's iPaq h6315 and …

reghardware 17 Oct 09:55
Free WiFi in London Tube stations extended until end of 2012

Great the way it cuts off when you go in the tunnel

More than 660,000 commuters are now accessing Virgin Media's wireless network from ticket halls to platform level on the London Underground, the telco claimed today. It said it was extending free access to the service, which doesn't reach into tunnels and requires users to register with an email address, until the end of 2012 …

Mobile 17 Oct 10:01
ASA shakes finger sternly at naughty eBuyer over hard drive promo

Toothless watchdog gives web shop vicious gumming

Gummy mouthed watchdog the Advertising Standards Authority has again told web shop eBuyer to stop misleading customers over hard drive promos. This is the fourth time in less than a year that the toothless independent regulator has put Huddersfield-based eBuyer on the naughty step for making unjustified savings claims. The …

The Channel 17 Oct 10:19
Facebook finally has some non-sales employees in the UK

'Engineering centre' with 12 real techies opens in adland

Facebook's first engineering office outside the US opened in London on Tuesday, after the company announced in July this year that it was looking to hire 22 techies in the UK. The dominant social network chose not to move East to the British government-lauded Silicon Roundabout, instead preferring to keep its engineers within …

Media 17 Oct 10:38
Microsoft Surface priced up for Blighty

Compares well with rivals

Advanced orders for Microsoft's Surface tablet are now being taken in the UK. Prices starting at £399. That'll get you a 32GB version of the ARM-based slate without the touch-to-type keyboard-equipped Touch Cover, which comes bundled for an additional £80. Buy the cover on its own and you'll pay £100. Alternatively, those …

reghardware 17 Oct 10:56
Mission to Pluto faces DEEP SPACE DEBRIS PERIL

Profuse cloud of objects lurks around icy dwarf-world

The additional moons discovered around Pluto are putting the visiting spacecraft New Horizons at risk, prompting mission organisers to plot bail-out trajectories and consider turning shields to maximum. Not that New Horizons has any shields as such, but it has got a radio dish which could be rotated to soak up micro meteorites …

Science 17 Oct 10:59
Theresa May gets a smile out of Gary McKinnon at last

'British justice is all we ever wanted', says mum

Gary McKinnon's mother smiled and cried as she thanked everyone from the Home Secretary to Bob Geldof for saving her hacker son from extradition to the United States. She said that McKinnon had smiled for the first time in years on hearing the judgment today. Janis Sharp, McKinnon's mother, thanked Theresa May for her …

Law 17 Oct 11:26
Speaking in Tech: 'Calling it a cloud doesn't make it so'

Podcast Software Defined Bullsh*t, cloudy judgment and more

In this week's enterprise techcast, Ed Saipetch is steering the ship solo - live from Amsterdam. The lucky sod is in North Holland for Structure:Europe 2012, and has left Greg Knieriemen and Sarah Vela languishing in the States while he tears up canal-lined streets in the name of tech. His special guests this week are …

Cloud 17 Oct 11:42
Apple appeals Samsung patent getaway in Tokyo

Cupertino's Sam-a-rama ding-dong rages on

Apple is appealing a Tokyo ruling that got Samsung off the hook on patent infringement just after the fruity firm won big in the US. A week after Apple's epic infringement win in California, the Tokyo District Court said that Samsung wasn't violating a Cupertino patent for synching music and video data with servers and ordered …

Government 17 Oct 11:56
No Chinese rescue for bankrupt battery-making golden child A123

One-time techbiz darling shops self to Milwaukee instead

Electric car battery maker A123 Systems has filed for bankruptcy in the US and plans to sell its automotive business to American rival Johnson Controls. The new plan for the Chapter 11 firm scuppers a proposed rescue from a Chinese company, Wanxiang Group, which wanted to take an 80 per cent stake in A123 for $465m. "We …

Science 17 Oct 12:22
Pints all round as Register Special Projects hacks hack off feet

Poll Result Going the extra 1,609.34 metres for our readers

It's official: El Reg's Special Projects Bureau will henceforth be operating almost exclusively in SI units. Yup, it's pints all round today as our imperial versus metric poll found readers overwhelmingly in favour of permanently chopping off feet and consigning quarts and ounces to the dustbin of history. No less than 1,773 …

SPB 17 Oct 12:38
Oracle squashes 109 bugs in quarterly patch batch

Hot fresh Java will flush parasites from your system

Oracle published the latest edition of its quarterly patch update on Tuesday, addressing 109 vulnerabilities in 10 products. The patch batch coincided with a release of a new version of Java, tackling 30 vulnerabilities. The Oracle Java SE critical patch for various supported versions of the software is important because Java …

Developer 17 Oct 13:03
Calxeda plots server dominance with ARM SoCs

Prepping a MEEELLION-NODE fleet services enema for data centers

ARM server chip upstart Calxeda just bagged $55m in funding last week, and now we know what the company is going to do with the dough: plot a steady course to boost the performance of its ARM processors and the scalability of its on-die integrate Layer 2 distribute switch fabric until there is no reason to buy an x86 server chip …

Servers 17 Oct 13:26
O2 kicks out Ericsson server for breaking its network

No third strike for dodgy database

Ericsson's Centralized User Database has been fingered by O2 for a second network outage which hit the operator last week, and will thus be given the boot despite the £10m cost of a replacement. Last week's outage wasn't as serious as the 21-hour downtime which hit O2 customers in July, but it was down to the same bit of kit …

Mobile 17 Oct 13:42
Violin Memory in SECRET $2bn FLOAT PLAN, whisper snitches

Hm, a technology float that isn't just a website?

Flash array start-up Violin Memory has filed for an initial public offering* worth up to $2bn, according to Bloomberg, which quoted two undisclosed sources. The report says three banks are involved: JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, and Bank America Corp. Violin Memory is led by CEO Don Basile, formerly the CEO of Fusion-io, …

Storage 17 Oct 13:58
Argos flyer confirms incoming 32GB Nexus 7

Yours for 200 quid

Argos is so confident there’s a 32GB Nexus 7 tablet on the way it has put the machine into a Christmas brochure. Spotted by a recipient, photographed and emailed to Teck [sic] Comes First, the Argos rag shows the same old Asus-shot pictures of the Nexus 7 we’ve all seen before but with 32GB capacity clearly there in black and …

reghardware 17 Oct 14:06
Big data? Big challenge

Eating the data management elephant, one bite at a time

Do you find dealing with data like drinking from a fire hydrant? Even as existing data silos continue to grow, an increasing range of external information sources offer new opportunities to understand customers better, to make better decisions or improve service delivery. No organisation is working in a vacuum, however. Time …

Data Center 17 Oct 14:28
Pandora boss urges 85% pay cut for musicians

While steadily cashing himself out of the company ...

Here's an example of what the new 'internet economy' really looks like, in practice. The leading backer of a bill passing through US Congress that will slash musicians' pay by 85 per cent, as well as effectively outlawing them from bargaining collectively with their paymasters, has been selling stock worth $1m in his own …

Media 17 Oct 15:01
Astroboffins map GIANT MASS of dark matter

3D image shows ginormous filament of Big Bang batter

Astrophysicists have mapped the first 3D image of a gigantic dark matter filament for the first time. Dark matter can't really be "seen" as such, it can only be detected by looking at the gravitational effects it has on the space around it. But by collating images from the Hubble Space telescope, the researchers now have a …

Science 17 Oct 15:15
iPhone 5 is the 'most difficult, scratchy device Foxconn has ever made'

Arguments between workers and QA CAUSED THOSE RIOTS

We've heard it before, but this time a Foxconn exec said it straight to the Wall Street Journal: the iPhone 5 is really hard to make, the "most difficult device that Foxconn has ever assembled." Many words have been expended over the complexity of manufacturing the screen in the 5 but it seems as though its scratchiness is …

Hardware 17 Oct 15:22
Northgate IS issues suppliers with Ts&Cs change ultimatum

Public sector giant demanding supplier rebates based on turnover as it rationalises distie base

Northgate Information Solutions (NIS) is sharpening up its axe act on procurement in a move that has gone down very badly with some suppliers. The IT giant has written to disties and vendors with a take it leave it offer - pay a nine per cent rebate based on volume of trade with NIS each year - the first instalment is …

The Channel 17 Oct 15:31
Cops cuff tabloid computer hacking suspect in Newcastle

Op Tuleta officers carve 17th notch on gunbutt

Officers investigating claims of computer hacking in relation to alleged voicemail interception and other offences at Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper group - News International - arrested another suspect this morning. They said a 48-year-old man was manacled at a business premises in the Newcastle area earlier today. The …

Media 17 Oct 16:06
Enterprise servers go soft at Intel in Q3

Cloud builders humming along, four-socketeers slowing

Intel had a less than stellar performance in the third quarter, as El Reg reported yesterday, and the problem was enterprise servers as much as it was PCs. In the quarter ended in September, overall sales were down 5.5 per cent to $13.46bn, and thanks to a spike in research and development spending, net income was down 14.3 …

Servers 17 Oct 17:02
Teradata forges upgraded Aster, data warehouse appliances

Smell the new Xeon E5 iron and unified data environment

Data warehousing and analytics pioneer Teradata has managed to keep rivals IBM, Oracle, and EMC/Greenplum at bay through product evolution and acquisitions, and is taking the wraps off upgraded versions of its eponymous data warehouse and Aster analytics appliance to keep its share of the big data turf it helped plant decades …

Servers 17 Oct 17:29
Pirate Bay moves to the cloud to confound copyright cops

Police left with very little to seize

The Pirate Bay went down for about five minutes on Tuesday night as the group retired almost all of its servers and shifted onto the cloud. "So, first we ditched the trackers. Then we got rid of the torrents. Now? Now we've gotten rid of the servers. Slowly and steadily we are getting rid of our earthly form and ascending into …

Cloud 17 Oct 19:14
Facebook opens mobile apps advertising for all

Expect more news feed ~~spam~~ ads

Facebook is looking to make more money from its mobile users by opening up their smartphones to application developers looking to make a sale. The service, which went on beta trial in August, will see developers bidding on Facebook's advertising system to place adverts for their applications in the feeds of mobile users. These …

Mobile 17 Oct 20:59
APAC privacy group backs EU's Google stance

Googleplex lawyers on a four month deadline to comply

The Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities Forum (APPA) has backed the recommendations made by the Commission Nationale de I’Informatique et des Libertès Working Party’s investigation into Google’s privacy policy issues. In a letter from Australian Information Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim, representing the APPA’s regional data …

Policy 17 Oct 22:38
IE10 coming to Windows 7 sometime, maybe

Yet another preview promised soonish

Microsoft takes great pains to ensure that each new version of Windows remains backward compatible with older applications. But if Internet Explorer is any indication, writing a modern application for Windows 8 that still runs on older platforms is a lot harder than it sounds. Each preview release of Windows 8 shipped with two …

Applications 17 Oct 22:56
Roxon asking right questions at wrong time

COMMENT Surely breach disclosure laws should come before data retention laws

Australia’s Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, yesterday introduced a Discussion Paper on Privacy Breach Notification (PDF). The release of the paper almost certainly caused cheers in the vendor community, as The Reg is aware of at least one multinational software company that has made breach notification laws the centrepiece of …

Policy 17 Oct 23:15
Big deals push Mellanox sales and profits in Q3

Ready to cooperate or compete with Chipzilla

In the quarter ended in September, Mellanox posted sales of $156.5m, more than double that of year ago period, and the $48.4m in net income the company raked in was ten times--as in 10X--that of the black ink it had in the third quarter of 2011, when the Xeon E5s were expected but did not come out. The InfiniBand and Ethernet …

HPC 17 Oct 23:31