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25th October 2012 Archive

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  • Fujitsu assigns team of women to design PC for women

    'All-out-pursuit of elegance' produces jewelled power supplies and mice

    Fujitsu Japan has announced a range of PCs “planned and developed primarily under the direction of female employees” and “aimed at female users”. The 'Floral Kiss' range of computers is an extension of the LifeBook line and will go on sale in Japan next Friday. Fujitsu says the Floral Kiss was created because women make …

    Hardware 25 Oct 00:30

  • Boeing zaps PCs using CHAMP missile microwave attacks

    Kills power, leaves IT admins intact

    Boeing has successfully conducted a test of a missile capable of blasting a building's electronics with an energy beam without harming the structure itself. The era of EMP weapons has arrived it seems. The Counter-electronics High-powered Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP) is an air-launched device that uses a high-powered …

    Science 25 Oct 00:54

  • ESO's nine-gigapixel galactic image has 84 MILLION stars

    A portrait of the Milky Way bulge in the infrared

    The European Southern Observatory has captured and catalogued a giant image of the centre of our galaxy that, if printed at “normal resolution”, would measure 9 x 7 meters. The nine-gigapixel image from the VISTA telescope at Paranal Observatory – this is just a Web version – has been catalogued by an international team of …

    Science 25 Oct 01:45

  • Boeing recipe turns cooking oil into jet fuel

    Come fry with me...

    Aircraft maker extraordinaire Boeing has joined forces with its Chinese equivalent to engineer a way of converting discarded cooking oil into aviation fuel. The project is being overseen by Hangzhou Energy Engineering & Technology, an alternative energy specialist, at a brand new R&D centre set up by Boeing and Commercial …

    Science 25 Oct 04:18

  • China's Goophone unveils US$99 Android iPad Mini clone

    Every inch a GooPad mini with none of that Apple taste

    Apple’s Chinese nemesis Goophone is no slouch when it comes to launching fruity tech clones powered by Android – it’s just taken the covers off an iPad Mini lookalike running Jelly Bean which will sell for just $99. The infamous handset maker, which is already selling devices that bear more than a passing resemblance to the …

    Hardware 25 Oct 05:09

  • NSW public servant's email hacked, used to criticise leader

    'Source' of explosive missive about education policy was on holiday

    The Director-General of the Australian State of New South Wales' Department of Education has had her holiday ruined by parties unknown who gained access to her email account and used it to send a message critical of her political masters. New South Wales has cut funding to some areas of public education, a decision that has …

    Government 25 Oct 06:44

  • Lenovo IdeaPad U410 14in Ultrabook review

    Cheaper by design

    As a MacBook Pro owner, and yet a fan of the ThinkPad range since the early IBM days, it would be easy for me to assume Lenovo's new IdeaPad U410 Ultrabook fills the gap as the ultimate middle ground model. Indeed, it's a ThinkPad descendant that looks like Lenovo desperately wants an Apple lawsuit. Lenovo's IdeaPad U410 …

    reghardware 25 Oct 07:00

  • Sky staffer plundered database to benefit naughty false firms

    Keep your enemies close, your DBAs closer still

    A former Sky employee who took Sky customers' information from its databases and passed it on for use by others was guilty of misusing the company's confidential information and infringing the firms' database rights, the High Court has ruled. Steven Lee, who worked for Sky In-Home Service for more than five years, was also …

    Storage 25 Oct 07:29

  • Acronis reveals plan to bust out of backup biz, thrust growth sideways

    Plenty of room in enterprise sync 'n' share, right?

    Acronis is making a break-out move from the data protection business, looking to expand sideways into file access, synch 'n share. Why is it doing this? Competing in the backup market is a bit like trench warfare. There's a lot of hunkering down, lots of noise and smoke but nothing much changes overall because the proprietary …

    Storage 25 Oct 08:03

  • Vaunted Windows 8 RTM updates 'actually featured from Win2000'

    Ex-Microsofties dispute Sinofsky's blogpost claim

    Has Microsoft’s Windows chief Steven Sinofsky gone too far in stating the brilliance of his team's work on Windows 8? “Yes,” say some ex-Microsofties, who reckon Sinofsky is taking credit for something that’s not new on Windows 8, due on Thursday. What’s got them riled is a 10 October Sinofsky blog where he boasted Windows 8 …

    Windows 8 25 Oct 08:30

  • Amazon ships Kindle Fire HD, Paperwhite to Brits

    Lovefilm leaps for Fire too

    Amazon would like you to know that its Fire HD tablet and Paperwhite e-readers are now available to us Brits. And that Lovefilm, Amazon’s film streaming and DVD rental service, can be accessed on the former. The Fire HD, with its 7in, 1280 x 800 display - a rather higher pixel density than the iPad Mini - comes in 16GB and …

    reghardware 25 Oct 08:49

  • Rackspace stream from the Clouds to you 'will out-flow the Amazon'

    Behold our uncapped data torrents, Bezos, and despair

    Rackspace is using OpenStack to build out its own Cloud Block Storage service, butting up against Amazon's EBS and offering cheaper standard storage and much faster SSD storage. The Cloud Block Storage (CBS) service offers "consistent and reliable" performance for file systems, databases or other storage intensive applications …

    Storage 25 Oct 09:02

  • The Big Debate: OK gloomsters, how can the music biz be FIXED?

    Battle of Ideas 2012 Technology is sinking to the occasion

    I was on a panel at The Battle of Ideas conference on music at the weekend, and it went a bit beyond your usual digital music panel. There was a good turnout - considering there were six concurrent panels, all of them interesting. Everyone got to make a six-minute opening question. Here's mine, and the highlights of the rest …

    Media 25 Oct 09:19

  • 'Regular' PS3 gamers who've cancelled credit cards? You FOOLS!

    'Network still secure' despite firmware hack and decryption key leak – security expert

    The appearance of a Sony PlayStation 3 firmware hack will only affect hardware modders, according to a gaming security expert. Chinese hacker group BlueDisk-CFW has published a tool that circumvents the console's firmware. This was followed by the release of "LV0 decryption key." The decryption keys allow PS3 firmware packages …

    Security 25 Oct 09:38

  • James Bond doesn't do CGI: Inside 007's amazing real-world action

    Bond on Film Invisible Aston? We don't like to talk about it

    The Aston Martin; a martini, shaken not stirred; the Walther PPK; cool one-liners. These are the four elements of the James Bond films that have become established in our collective psyche as trademarks of Ian Fleming’s secret agent. But there’s something else that’s also become a Bond trademark, and transformed what could …

    Bond, James Bond 25 Oct 10:01

  • Who is it that makes pots of cash from Apple and Facebook?

    Putting the flash into the pan

    Growth continues unabated at Fusion-io as the server flash storage hardware and software vendor reports record quarterly revenues 59 per cent higher than a year ago plus a $3.9m profit. But growth is about to stop as the economy slams the brakes on. For its first fiscal 2013 quarter revenues were $118m, compared to $74.4m a …

    Storage 25 Oct 10:26

  • Chinese boffins discover bizarro fish-oid creature with FOUR LIMBS

    The THING that crawled OUT OF THE SWAMP

    Chinese boffins have discovered fossil remains of what they believe is the world’s oldest stem tetrapod – a four-limbed fish-like creature. The discovery could provide vital clues about the evolutionary path of vertebrates from sea to land. Zhu Min and his research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of …

    Science 25 Oct 10:57

  • Renault Clio IV and R-Link Android console hands-on preview

    Behind the wheel with the Google-based in-car system

    To say Renault needs the new Clio to be a hit is an understatement. With its non-’leccy UK range now pared back to just Twingo, Clio, Megane and Scenic, Renault needs the new Mk. IV Clio to sell in greater numbers than the MK. III, which if not a bad car was a little vin ordinaire. Even after just 48 hours of charging around …

    reghardware 25 Oct 11:03

  • Microsoft's 'official' Windows 8 Survival Guide leaks

    What you really, really need to know

    [Note: We received this FAQ document anonymously and cannot confirm its authenticity. However, it has such dead useful advice, we thought we'd share it with you - Eds] Q. Who is this guide for? A. This guide is for users who want to take advantage of new technologies in Windows® - such as faster performance, shorter boot …

    Windows 8 25 Oct 11:40

  • Carphone Warehouse outs LG-made Google Nexus 4 smartphone

    Premature evaluation

    Carphone Warehouse has inadvertently pre-announced the Google Nexus 4 handset, a 4.7in, 1280 x 768 smartphone made by LG. It will run Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean - possibly 4.2; both versions are mentioned on the page - on a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 CPU. There’s 2GB or Ram and 8GB of on-board storage but seemingly …

    reghardware 25 Oct 11:50

  • Quantum blames LTO-6 switch-hit for crappy tape sales

    But revenues on the mend as firm does well on disk-based dedupe, cuts spending

    After a three-quarter revenue decline trend, Quantum seems to be turning a corner: revenues are up, losses are down, and the outlook for the next quarter is more good news. Quantum makes tape and disk and software data protection and file management and access hardware and software products. It earned revenues of $147m in its …

    Storage 25 Oct 12:02

  • Ballmer has plans for more Microsoft own-brand hardware

    Mmmm, this Windows 8 dogfood is tasty

    Steve Ballmer has re-iterated Microsoft’s commitment to making more hardware. Promoting Windows 8 ahead of today's launch in New York, Microsoft’s chief executive has repeated the undertaking he gave shareholders in October. Asked the obvious by enquiring technology minds at the BBC – whether his software giant would make …

    Hardware 25 Oct 12:33

  • No GPS in the iPad Mini Wi-Fi: People are right to criticise

    Comment Characteristically evil move by Cupertino

    Wi-Fi-only iPads have never featured GPS, but the lack of satellite-navigation tech in the new Mini fondleslab's non-cellular version has provoked a mild backlash: and rightly so, though not many people understand why. The new gizmos do have a "digital compass", a magnetometer which is aware of the direction the slab is being …

    Hardware 25 Oct 12:56

  • Why is 4G so expensive? Answer: The Post-Voice Era is coming

    Analysis The money will go where the bandwidth is

    EE, the UK's largest mobile operator, makes most of its money from voice calls - but that's coming to an end with the launch of 4G tariffs that allow unlimited chitchat and text. Those tariffs start at £21 a month, with no handset subsidy and capped at 500MB of mobile data, but they impose no limits on texting and calls. The …

    Mobile 25 Oct 13:28

  • Dyson alleges spy stole 'leccy motor secrets for Bosch

    Clean up your act, says vacuum maker

    British vacuum cleaner magnate Dyson has started High Court proceedings against German industrial giant Bosch, claiming its rival swiped its designs for a new generation of electric motor. Mark Taylor, Dyson's R&D chief, said: “Bosch’s VP for engineering employed a Dyson engineer and benefited from our confidential know-how …

    reghardware 25 Oct 14:08

  • Facebook's stock rally may be shortlived: Small advertisers enraged

    These fake bisexual girls aren't helping my business!

    Facebook users are complaining that Facebook has intentionally downgraded services for owners of Pages on its social network platform because it wants them to pay for the reach they used to receive for free. In what users have called a "bait-and-switch" scheme, Page owners - from small shops to blogs to brands – have reported …

    Media 25 Oct 14:22

  • Symantec CEO takes over global sales chief's job, shows him door

    'Best position to win' is with Bennett in every position

    Incoming Symantec CEO Steve Bennett has reason to be pleased; he's inherited a quarter with moderately positive results, not that he's thanking ousted CEO Enrique Salem for them. Instead he's told all geographical sales bosses to report to him after announcing the exit of the global sales head, William Robbins. He has also …

    Security 25 Oct 14:45

  • Bookeen lights up Odyssey e-reader screen

    Let's glow

    Bookeen has become the latest e-reader maker to offer a device with a ‘backlit’ screen. Enter the Cybook Odyssey HD, a version of Bookeen’s existing reader, this time with a 1024 x 758 screen and an array of LEDs that shine light through the panel to reflect off the screen’s rear surface, highlighting the text. That's the …

    reghardware 25 Oct 14:51

  • Mysterious galactic glow caused by Hitchhikers' Krikkit style stars

    Lone darkness-wrapped suns fingered in infrared conundrum

    The mysterious background glow of the universe is probably caused by "orphan" stars leading an isolated existence wrapped in clouds of dark matter, according to a new analysis by top boffins reviewing data from NASA's Spitzer telescope far out in space. Scientists have long been puzzled by the levels of background infrared …

    Science 25 Oct 14:54

  • HP's 'strained' relations with Violin: Vulture-on-the-windowsill account

    Exclusive Our sources don't cry over spilt beans

    It has only been a few days since HP decided to curtail its reselling agreement with Violin Memory to concentrate on its own 3PAR product. Big-mouthed bankers also had plenty to say on the move as it pertained to a rumoured IPO by Violin. But El Reg has since heard a bit of inside information from various players close to the …

    Storage 25 Oct 15:27

  • LSI puts on brave smile, blames sales droop on 'soft' PC biz

    Don't panic, it's nabbed a social network as a customer

    LSI's revenues and profits were both higher in Q3 2012 than in the same period in 2011 - but lower than the figures for the previous quarter this year. Revenues for the storage electronics biz in the third quarter, ended 30 September, were $623.9m, down 5.5 per cent on last quarter but 14 per cent higher than a year ago. Net …

    Storage 25 Oct 16:13

  • Avnet looking to cut costs AGAIN

    Fiscal Q1 profits slide by nearly 30 per cent

    Avnet CEO Rick Hamada has described fiscal Q1 numbers as a "disappointing setback" with profits falling steeply and further cost cutting required. The distie titan already revealed plans to lop a load of costs to help out the bottom line when it unveiled preliminary Q1 figures early this month, with sales down nine per cent to …

    The Channel 25 Oct 16:22

  • Windows RT still haunted by the ghost of Microsoft's 2001 tablet fiasco

    Comment Make laptops or fondleslabs: the fondletop can't work

    Microsoft's Windows is coming to tablets again, showing that a fondleslab can do anything a laptop can. Yet not all Windows tablets are equal, and Microsoft is relying on our ongoing obsession with physical keyboards to ensure that Windows RT remains secondary to the flagship full-fat Windows 8 operating system. It's not the …

    Hardware 25 Oct 16:36

  • Windows 8 unleashed! Midnight launch for world+dog

    Will it be remembered as an XP or a Vista?

    Microsoft has finally launched its new touchy-feely Windows 8 and Windows 8 RT operating systems, along with grandly opening its Windows app store; they'll all be available beginning 12:01am on Friday in a rolling rollout that's likely to mean a minute after your midnight, wherever you are on God's green earth. "Windows 8 is a …

    Windows 8 25 Oct 17:58

  • VMware helps Hadoop roam the Serengeti a little easier

    Hadoop World Virtual elephants chomping on real data

    VMware wants every workload to be virtualized, even high performance computing, data warehousing, and Hadoop data munching workloads. The server virtualization juggernaut will get around to HPC and data warehousing at some point, but it already has a start on Hadoop with Project Serengeti. That project got some tweaks this week …

    Virtualization 25 Oct 18:15

  • Apple's 13-inch Retina MacBook torn asunder for your pleasure

    Bonus! Adorable kitten photos

    Mere days after Apple announced the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display, the good folks at the parts, tools, and repair-guide website iFixit have torn one apart – carefully, carefully – and found some interesting innards. Not only that, but they also ratcheted up the teardown's cuteness level by including the globally …

    Hardware 25 Oct 19:49

  • Oracle rolls up and rolls out Solaris 11.1 update

    Tweaked Solaris Cluster 4.1 system lasher tags along

    As promised back at the OpenWorld shindig earlier in the month, Oracle has put the first update to its Solaris 11 Unix into the field. And no, it is not trying to ride on the wave of news relating to Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system for laptops, desktops, and tablets. Solaris 11, which debuted a year ago, was the first …

    Operating Systems 25 Oct 20:43

  • NBN Co awards satellite station contracts to locals

    Ten sites for regional satellites ready to roll

    NBN Co has selected two local Australian construction companies, Perkins and Cockram, to build ten satellite ground stations for its regional broadband deployment. Under contracts worth AUD$180 million, West Australian based Perkins will build four satellite transmission centres in WA while Cockram, based in Melbourne, will …

    Government 25 Oct 20:54

  • Apple squeaks over revenue estimates, misses earnings target

    Mac sales stall

    Apple reported revenues in its fourth fiscal quarter that topped the Wall Street moneymen's predictions – but only barely. Its earnings per share, however, came in lower than most predictions. Cupertino posted quarterly revenue of $36bn, which resulted in a quarterly earnings-per-share (EPS) of $8.67. According to the 47 …

    Financial News 25 Oct 21:02

  • Sinofsky: Surface 'best tablet, best laptop' he's ever used

    So solid Redmond built a Surface skateboard

    After a brief pause for recuperation after the Windows 8 launch, Microsoft's Windows supremo Steven Sinofsky went straight out and started on Surface and how it measures up to competition. "It's not just a tablet. It's actually the best tablet that I've ever used," he said. "It's also not just a laptop, but it's the best …

    Hardware 25 Oct 21:07

  • Consumer group urges Aussies to spoof IP addresses

    Legally dodgy, but great for the hip pocket given down under price premium

    The official organ of the Australian Consumers Association (ACA), the nation's main consumer lobby group, has offered advice on how Australians can avoid geo-blocking regimes. It's more than a little controversial for the ACA to have done so, through this article in its publication CHOICE, inasmuch as the article itself admits …

    Policy 25 Oct 21:34

  • Can a new TCP scheme give wireless a 16-fold boost?

    Understanding MIT’s latest save-the-wireless-world technology

    A group of MIT researchers is touting a change to TCP – the transmission control protocol – that it says can yield sixteenfold and better improvements in performance in lossy networks. The claim, made by Muriel Médard’s Network Coding and Reliable Communications group at MIT, has been published in Technology Review. In this …

    Networks 25 Oct 22:36