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19th November 2012 Archive

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  • Cisco to acquire Meraki for $1.2bn

    Payday for Google as Cisco establishes cloud networks division

    Cisco has acquired cloud rival Meraki. Meraki attracted much attention in around 2006, thanks to Google investing in the then-startup and its products that made it possible to dole out a few megabytes of free WiFi from its access points. That functionality was popular among early adopters who liked the idea of free WiFi and …

    Data Networking 19 Nov 00:08

  • Boffins biff over ‘twisted radio’

    Is infinite capacity possible?

    Six months after an Italian/Swedish group set the comms world alight with a wireless technology of theoretically infinite capacity, debate over his work is becoming increasingly bitter. To recap the original story: today’s wireless technologies use a handful of venerable modulation schemes to carry information (amplitude, …

    Science 19 Nov 00:18

  • 'Mount Doom' rumbling ominously

    Did someone toss a ring into the Kiwi volcano used as LoTR movies' Mordor?

    Mount Ruapehu, the mountain in New Zealand used as a location for many of the Mordor scenes in the three Lord of The Rings films, is rumbling ominously. New Zealand's Department of Conservation has issued a warning to folks contemplating a trip to the mountain not to go, as “recent measurements at Ruapehu indicates the …

    Science 19 Nov 01:22

  • World Bank says world likely to warm by four degrees

    Current greenhouse gas reduction schemes can't stop things getting hotter

    The World Bank has issued a report, titled Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4oC Warmer World Must Be Avoided” (PDF), in which it says the planet is on course for four-degree (celsius), anthropomorphically-induced, temperature rise that cannot be avoided with current greenhouse abatement schemes. Compiled by two groups, the Potsdam …

    Science 19 Nov 03:01

  • Drone security project to go open source

    DARPA project to stop droneware being hacked will see some software freed

    Australia’s high end tech research engine NICTA will take a pivotal role in an US$18 million US Defence project which will develop software to protect the systems in drones from cyber attack. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded the 4.5 year contract to a global consortium, which includes Australia' …

    Security 19 Nov 03:28

  • Chinese regulator pays to bust state internet monopoly

    Command economics will see state-funded take on state-owned telcos

    China’s broadcasting regulator is set to launch a new government-financed broadband and cable TV service provider with a mission to break the monopoly of the country’s three telecoms giants … all of which are also state-owned. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) – which functions like a Chinese …

    Policy 19 Nov 04:26

  • Georgian police chiefs cuffed in cyber spy plot

    Bodyguard recorded conversations, uploaded arguments to YouTube

    Several senior police officials and the former deputy interior minister of Georgia have been arrested on suspicion of spying on former opposition leaders and attempting to influence the result of October’s parliamentary elections. The arrests come after new prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili’s coalition swept to power at the …

    Government 19 Nov 04:42

  • Housewife iPhone mules on trial in China

    Shenzhen court hears how Apple kit crossed border in hands of unlikely smugglers

    Chinese authorities are catching up with the massive trade in Apple goods illegally smuggled into China, after 25 defendants appeared in a Shenzhen court last week accused of selling iPhone and iPads worth 500m yuan (£50m) to an online store. The suspected smugglers, over half of whom are regular housewives, belong to five …

    Law 19 Nov 05:50

  • Police mirth after plastic plod puts out call for 'PC World'

    His boss is Dixons of Dock Green

    A plastic plod was left red faced after issuing a call to other forces to find a Police Constable World. The mistake was made when the Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) was skimming through evidence and found what she thought was the officer's name attached to a bundle of cash. In actuality, the money was seized at the …

    The Channel 19 Nov 06:01

  • Dodging costly common cloud pitfalls: YOU ask the questions

    Webcast We'll provide the answers

    Whether it’s public, private, or hybrid, there is an emerging consensus that various forms of cloud computing will have a role to play in the future of IT delivery. But what if you have a data centre already, doing tasks that won't go away overnight? How do you build an operational environment without creating a completely …

    Cloud 19 Nov 06:28

  • Brit retailers tell Amazon and Google to pay their taxes

    Your tax avoidance is killing our business, mate

    British retailers have been calling on overseas firms that make a profit in Blighty to pay their tax in the country as well. Dixons boss Sebastian James tweeted that he agreed with John Lewis chief Andy Street, who said on Wednesday that Amazon can use its tax position to get one up on UK companies. "There is less money to …

    Government 19 Nov 06:56

  • AT&T relaunches walkie-talkie style service Push to Talk

    Pink Dog this is Rubber Chicken, over

    Push To Talk was the talk of the telecoms town a decade ago. It never took off in Europe, but in America it soldiers on and could pick up with the launch of AT&T's next-generation service. Enhanced PTT, which runs on its AT&T's LTE network, will cost its subscribers an additional $5 a month, but the data used for the VoIP- …

    Mobile 19 Nov 07:31

  • Freeview to be nudged down to clear 5G bands in 2018

    Until then, tons of room for HD telly and White Space

    Freeview will get bumped down the dial to make way for 5G networks around 2018, but in the meantime we'll get a bunch more HD TV and plenty of White Space to play in. Ofcom has confirmed proposals, published in August, to shuffle Freeview down the dial and clear space at 700MHz for more next-next-generation wireless broadband …

    Media 19 Nov 07:57

  • Dell gives the back of its hand to Backup Exec, cuddles AppAssure

    Dell Storage Forum Goes mad on Compellent

    At its Storage Forum in Paris this week, Dell announced its intention to eject Symantec Backup Exec from its backup appliance line, replacing it with its acquired AppAssure technology. It also plans 100 per cent faster Compellent arrays. There's more... In summary, Dell announced: Compellent storage controller code upgrade …

    Storage 19 Nov 08:37

  • We CAN'T GET ENOUGH Windows 8 tablets, moan distributors

    Fortunately, not many people want one yet

    Windows 8 tablets are trickling into the UK channel but demand is still barely outstripping supply, distributors have reported. OEMs have taken a conservative attitude to their inventory position this Christmas, ignoring bullish calls from retailers and web shops for more kit - it seems the experiences of 2011's stock mountain …

    The Channel 19 Nov 08:58

  • Mozilla needs to find alternatives to the Google umbilical

    Open ... and Shut An open web don't come for nothin'

    Mozilla doesn't get mentioned much in corporate earnings calls. General web interest seems to be sliding, too. Across social media the attitude toward Mozilla is generally positive, but it gets far less airtime than Google or Apple, the two companies doing more than anyone else to reshape the web in their respective images. …

    Applications 19 Nov 09:20

  • Dell looks around for an all-Flashy gobblement opportunity

    Man, I am so baked on this subject, says veep

    Dell is looking to add an all-flash array to its converged infrastructure storage portfolio, with an acquisition looking likely. Networked all-flash arrays deliver data from flash memory to servers very much faster than a disk drive array. The product space is led by Violin Memory with other startups involved as well. We'll …

    Storage 19 Nov 09:42

  • How can the BBC be saved from itself without destroying it?

    Special report Dumbed-down climate coverage is just a symptom

    Regardless of your opinion of the BBC today, the loss of an independent Beeb would be a loss to British public life. It's the BBC's independence that makes it unique - not, as it likes to insist, its funding from TV licence fees. Many countries have public-funded broadcasters that are bankrolled through a compulsory tax or …

    Media 19 Nov 10:00

  • Cashless Comet to close 41 stores, axe 500 jobs

    Only slim chance of morph into Dixons, Maplins

    Collapsed electricals retailer Comet is to shutter 41 stores over the next fortnight, administrator Deloitte has confirmed. So far Dixons Retail and Maplin are among the rivals circling the fallen retailer, although it appears the two are interested in just a handful of stores. As a result the closing down process began at 27 …

    The Channel 19 Nov 10:17

  • Microsoft trying to lock customers into volume deals

    Fees to rise after 'manage and deploy' handouts canned

    Microsoft has drawn its knife to slice and dice the fees handed to LARs in a bid to drive up the number of signed Enterprise Agreements. Redmond has already used price hikes to push more customers to renew volume licensing deals in the summer and now it is adopting a tried and tested method in the channel - using compensation …

    The Channel 19 Nov 10:34

  • LOHAN enfolds SPEARS in passionate embrace - explicit unclad pics

    Oops, I chipped it again

    It's official: the control board of our audacious Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) spaceplane mission will forthwith be known as the "Special Project Electronic Altitude Release System", or SPEARS to its mates. A Reg reader vote came down firmly in favour of honouring the US chanteuse, who beat Ballocket Aerial …

    SPB 19 Nov 10:39

  • Speaking in Tech: Saucy emails, Belize bath salts, Sinofsky and more

    Podcast Plus, McAfee looks really buff for 67

    It has been a week of unbelievable revelations in tech, with Steve Sinofsky's departure, antivirus pioneer John McAfee's misadventures in Belize, and CIA director David Petraeus's resignation. This week in El Reg's enterprise techcast, Ed Saipetch is out on a secret mission, so the terrible twosome of Greg Knieriemen and Sarah …

    Datacenter 19 Nov 11:21

  • Judge confirms Google's miserly $22.5m Safari privacy FTC payout

    Don't be evil. Starting in 2014

    A US judge has accepted Google's offer of just $22.5m to settle with the FTC over Safari cookies, despite pressure from a consumer rights group to stiffen the penalty. District Judge Susan Illston decided that the agreement was "substantively fair, adequate and reasonable", rejecting Consumer Watchdog's objections that the …

    Law 19 Nov 11:25

  • Windows Phone 8 reboot woe causes outpouring of forum misery

    Bloody thing keeps reboo / god dammit, back aga / ...

    Early adopters of Windows Phone 8 hardware are complaining that it reboots at random, up to several times a day, and that they're not being offered any prospect of a quick fix. The complaints relate specifically to the HTC 8X and, to a lesser extent, Nokia's Lumia 920, with Windows Phone 8 locking up or randomly rebooting on …

    Operating Systems 19 Nov 11:37

  • Chips in spaaaaace: old tech is in

    It's Not Rocket Science Why what's cutting edge up there is older than what's à la mode down here

    I hate to say it, but most of what you think about space-age technology is a total fabrication. It’s the stuff of sci-fi. Perhaps the biggest misconception of all is that spacecraft are equipped with cutting-edge computing platforms that any self-respecting technophile would commit unspeakable acts to get their mitts on. Old …

    Science 19 Nov 12:00

  • Astronauts (or other 'nauts) could find life on Mars quite healthy

    New revelations suggest radiation-safe caves, ice

    Mars may be more hospitable to life - including human explorers of the future - than had been feared, according to new research using information sent back both from NASA's robot rover Curiosity and from orbiters circling the red planet. As we've previously reported, Curiosity's radiation instruments indicate that normal …

    Science 19 Nov 12:03

  • Apple iCloud collapse forces fanbois to shower, meet face-to-face

    Put some shoes on, iMessage, FaceTime is down

    Apple's iCloud servers conked out for roughly five hours last night, knackering online chat services iMessage and FaceTime, and iCloud storage. Affected fanboys had little access to the Cupertino cloud from 1145 to 1630 PT on Sunday, or 1945 to 0030 GMT on this side of the Pond. The service is now working, although the loss …

    Networks 19 Nov 12:18

  • Apple said to have let the name of the next OS X cat out of the bag

    It's not Garfield, Felix, Bill, nor 'in-the-Hat'

    Apple is said to have chosen the feline nomenclature for its next iteration of OS X, and according to the customary "reliable source," that name is to be "Lynx". We suggest, however, that you take this rumor with more than the traditional grain of salt. As AppleScoop reports, their source is not a Cupertinian per se, but …

    Operating Systems 19 Nov 12:28

  • Telcos react coldly to renewed UK.gov smut-censoring push

    You want it done, do it yourself and face the music

    Telcos have once again reacted frigidly to suggestions that Prime Minister David Cameron will force ISPs to proactively offer web-blocking measures to subscribers signing up for their services. It comes after a Daily Mail report on Saturday, citing Downing Street sources, suggested that the PM was about to call on a tightening …

    Government 19 Nov 12:45

  • Space station 'nauts in successful plonkdown to wrap Expedition 33

    Female station commander and minions hit Kazakhstan

    Three 'nauts have made it home from the International Space Station in time for Christmas, landing in Kazakhstan early this morning. Expedition 33 commander Suni Williams and flight engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Aki Hoshide landed northeast of the remote town of Arkalyk at 1.53am GMT after 127 days in space. The trio set …

    Science 19 Nov 12:58

  • Why IT chiefs are irrelevant to Microsoft's Windows 8 strategy

    Redmond looks to barge its way in via BYOD

    Further evidence has emerged of the irrelevance of Windows 8 to enterprise IT – and of the irrelevance of this irrelevance. A Forrester survey of IT hardware decision makers has found Windows 8 is less popular than its predecessor Windows 7 at the same stage in their launch cycles. Just a quarter of firms expect to roll out …

    Management 19 Nov 13:12

  • How spreadsheets (nearly) conquered and killed the financial industry

    Would you trust millions on an Excel formula?

    In my first job out of college I worked at a timesharing firm. For those of you who don’t know, timesharing, whose heyday was in the late 1970s, allowed companies to use large mainframe-based systems without themselves having to purchase these huge computers and hire an army of support staff. Once signed up, a company shares a …

    Business 19 Nov 13:20

  • Can't wait for Nvidia? Try these Italian baby ARM clusters with GPU options

    E4 Computer peddles a chip off of Mont Blanc

    Nvidia has made no secret about wanting to be a player in the supercomputer racket both on the GPU and CPU sides of a hybrid system. The company launched "Project Denver" nearly two years ago to create a Nvidia-branded chip, which will see Denver ARM processors timed to market with the future "Maxwell" GPUs two years from now. …

    Servers 19 Nov 13:35

  • Search and rescue: Why Facebook AND Yahoo! need Microsoft

    Comment Zuck pact with Purple Palace doesn't exist

    A surprising rumour suggesting that Yahoo! had been in talks with Facebook about a possible search deal popped up in the British Sunday press yesterday. It then quickly catapulted its way to Silicon Valley - only to be almost immediately pooh-poohed as nonsense. The Sunday Telegraph reported that Yahoo! chief Marissa Mayer had …

    Media 19 Nov 13:58

  • Golden Leonids shower down as Earth rolls through comet's tail

    Vids Streaking starlets enthrall goggling skyvoyeurs

    Amateur astronomers were out in force over the weekend to snap pics of The Leonids, an annual spectacular meteor shower. The Leonids stream down every year in mid-November. They are debris from the comet Tempel-Tuttle, which visits the inner solar system every 33 years and leaves a stream of dusty space rocks called …

    Science 19 Nov 14:07

  • Kelway escapes Euro gloom, goes on sales-tax-free Asian adventure

    Brit reseller loving life in IT’s growth zone

    With Europe back in recession, the prospect of markets where growth in IT spending is humming along at over 7 per cent surely sound enticing to anyone in the channel. Such markets can of course be found in Asia, which analyst firm Canalys said, at its recent APAC Channels Forum, deserves greater attention from the channel. If …

    The Channel 19 Nov 14:27

  • Acer CloudMobile S500 Android phone review

    Handset of the year? No, really

    When I recently took a quick shufti at the alternatives on offer to anyone harbouring doubts about the iPhone 5 I stuck my neck out and awarded a Recommended badge to a phone I’d only used briefly at a trade show. After using it for a week has my enthusiasm waned? Nope. Bargain blower: Acer's CloudMobile S500 Acer’s new …

    Apps 19 Nov 14:31

  • Facebook lets admen have a rummage through your shopping bags

    Our customers need to see you wiggle ... bitch

    Facebook is testing a new tool that will allow e-tailers to track purchases from users of the free-content ad network. The purpose of the feature is mainly to demonstrate that displaying ads on the site is a profitable move for advertisers, who are understandably nervous about Facebook's staying power. Reuters reported on …

    Media 19 Nov 14:32

  • Sun BELCHES twice, mighty plasma loops miss Earth - NASA vid

    Immense gas-lassos snare only empty void

    The Sun lashed out with two plasma eruptions one after the other early on Friday morning. NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) spotted the solar flares, when red-hot loops of plasma burst out of the surface of the Sun. The flares both happened within a four-hour window between 6am and 10am GMT, when prominences in the Sun …

    Science 19 Nov 14:46

  • John McAfee blogs for help, offers $25K reward for neighbour's killer

    Disguises include: Man selling burritos, drunk German tourist

    John McAfee has taken time out from life on the lam to start a blog. The antivirus pioneer is wanted for questioning by Belize police in connection with the murder of one of his neighbours in the Central American country, although they maintain he is not a suspect. McAfee's neighbour, Gregory Faull, a fellow US expat, was shot …

    Security 19 Nov 14:59

  • DoCoMo tests blackout-proof hydrogen cell base station in Japan

    Ready for the next tsunami

    Nokia Siemens Networks, working with Ballard Power Systems, has delivered a cellular base station with an integrated hydrogen cell that replaces battery- or generator-based backup during a power outage. The base station has been installed at DoCoMo's research site in Japan’s Yokosuka Research Park and can operate for 40 hours …

    Mobile 19 Nov 15:29

  • HDMI hitch hounds Mac Mini holders

    Apple owners await firmware fix

    The latest generation of Mac Mini appears to be facing HDMI hiccups, with disgruntled owners complaining about poor colours, "snow-like interference" and momentary display blackouts. While the Mini's alternative video outputs - Thunderbolt and Mini Display Port - appear unaffected, those who extend their desktop to a secondary …

    Hardware 19 Nov 15:45

  • Apple falls as rivals shake green tech tree

    Wipro wipes up

    Apple, which likes to tout its eco-credentials, has dropped to sixth place in the annual Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics, after allegedly failing to organise a take-back programme in India or set targets to reduce emissions by 2020. Apple does top the charts, along with HP, when it comes to its minimal use of conflict …

    Hardware 19 Nov 15:55

  • Big Blue hands bulging $4bn suitcase to partners to grease IT sales

    Let's see if some liquidity can slide kit out the door

    In the hope of pumping up sales of hardware, software, and services over the next 12 months, IBM is taking $4bn of its own cash and giving it to its Global Financing arm to originate leases over the next year. Big Blue is hoping to clear the way for enterprises of all sizes to get financing, when the banks might be a little …

    The Channel 19 Nov 16:02

  • Cash-strapped Comet sheds ANOTHER 735 staff

    It's P45s for Xmas as Deloitte Santa gets sacking

    Penniless Comet handed P45s to 735 workers in a second round of cuts across the business today, administrator Deloitte has confirmed. The list of casualties includes 603 employees in the home delivery network, which operates 12 UK hubs and will continue with a skeletal staff, and 132 head office and support roles. The cull, …

    The Channel 19 Nov 16:09

  • US paper spaceplane disintegrates at 107,000ft

    El Reg denies laser weapon destroyed Indiana uni's Geronimo

    The University of Southern Indiana's second attempt to claim PARIS's Guinness World Record for the highest launch of a paper plane ended dramatically on Saturday when the Geronimo aircraft (pictured below) disintegrated at around 107,000ft (32,612m). On 27 October, the uni's first pop at the record was thwarted by premature …

    SPB 19 Nov 16:29

  • Design guru: Windows 8 is 'a monster' and 'a tortured soul'

    Aaagh: 'Dozens of carnival barkers yelling at you'

    US usability guru Jakob Nielsen has rubbished "disappointing" Windows 8, savaging the Microsoft OS's signature Live Tiles and its complicated gestures. "Windows 8 encompasses two UI styles within one product," he said in a post on his useit website. "Windows 8 on mobile devices and tablets is akin to Dr Jekyll: a tortured soul …

    Operating Systems 19 Nov 16:40

  • Dish flirted with MetroPCS, but went home with Google in the end

    Just wants someone to fill its virginal spectrum

    Dish offered $4bn for MetroPCS, hoping to seduce the operator with cash, but is seemingly consoling itself in the arms of Google while the former object of its affections is jumping in to bed with T-Mobile. 9 To 5 Google reports that its sources within the chocolate factory have confirmed a deal with Dish to launch a Google- …

    Mobile 19 Nov 16:51

  • UPHEAVAL as Otellini retires: Will Intel look inside?

    Chipzilla chieftain's surprise exit

    Shares in chipmaker Intel were halted before Wall Street opened up for business on Monday as the company announced that its president and CEO, Paul Otellini, 62, will step down from those roles in May of next year. Otellini has been at Intel since 1974, and rose through the ranks to eventually run its PC and then server …

    Business 19 Nov 16:53

  • Super-thin iMacs WILL be here for Xmas, cram warehouses even NOW

    Oh Santa, you scared me! fanbois gasp

    Smooth white boxes carrying super-thin iMacs are already in American distribution centres, 9to5Mac reports, pouring soothing balm on the hearts of fanbois who had previously feared that the hyper-honed desktop may be delayed until 2013. The new iMac launched on 23 October, when Apple made much of its stir-friction welded …

    Hardware 19 Nov 17:10

  • Petraeus appeal: STOP BUBBA the Love Sponge FRYING a KORAN

    Shockjock and awe - Love-rat CIA boss just keeps giving

    Socialite Jill Kelley, whose allegations of cyberstalking sparked the downfall of love-rat CIA director David Petraeus, was pressured by the spy boss and a top US general to prevent a radio DJ deep-frying a Koran. Petraeus, who quit over an extramarital affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell, and Gen. John R. Allen, who …

    Security 19 Nov 17:27

  • HP ProLiant SL270s Gen8 beast masters eight coprocessors

    Nvidia Tesla, Intel Xeon Phi – do my bidding math

    If you have decided that you want to build a grunting number-cruncher that crams a hefty number of Tesla or Xeon Phi coprocessors into a single chassis, then Hewlett-Packard wants to talk to you about the new ProLiant SL270s Gen8 server. The new SL270s Gen8 slides into the SL6500 "scalable system" modular chassis, which makes …

    Servers 19 Nov 19:54

  • Intel roadmap leak shows quad-core Atoms for 2014

    Shift to 22nm and faster clock speeds for Bay Trail-T

    Intel plans to release its first 22nm quad-core Atom system on a chip at the start of 2014, according to a leaked roadmap showing the new processor's specifications. Bay View-T sees in the New Year (click to enlarge) German tech blog Mobilegeeks.de got hold of the roadmap, which shows the current Clover Trail systems …

    Hardware 19 Nov 20:09

  • Telework trial relying on plans hatched for IT workers

    Australian government agencies chase 12 per cent work-from-home target

    The first trials of teleworking by Australian government agencies, announced last week as part of a push to get 12 per cent of employees working from home by 2020, will not require any new security measures and will rely on guidelines drafted for remote work by IT workers. Australia last week launched a campaign to encourage …

    Government 19 Nov 20:15

  • Retailers report slow Windows 8 sales, low demand

    With 'Vista problem' solved, customers see no need to upgrade

    Reports that Windows 8 hasn't been moving as briskly as the industry had hoped continue to emerge, with major retailers reporting slow sales and Microsoft insiders allegedly describing the initial numbers as "disappointing." In an interview with Readwrite, Merle McIntosh, senior VP of product management for online tech …

    Business 19 Nov 21:51

  • Kiwis demo DARPA-funded rocket project

    Video Launch tests high-density propellant

    In a program under-reported beyond its own shores, New Zealand is working on some serious rocketry. The work is being conducted by a company called Rocket Lab, which last week released a video of a “shakedown test” of its research into propellants. Rocket Lab claims as its specialty a technology called viscous liquid …

    Science 19 Nov 22:57

  • Republicans deny Hollywood pressure to pull copyright proposal

    Paper only had half the story apparently

    The Republican Study Committee, an influential caucus made up of members of the US House of Representatives, has denied pulling a policy paper calling for a reform of the existing patent system under pressure from lobbyists. The policy paper, entitled Three Myths about Copyright Law and Where to Start to Fix it, looked at …

    Law 19 Nov 23:08

  • IBM drops Lotus brand from next version of Notes

    Update Venerable brand to survive in other products

    Lotus Notes is no more and will henceforth be known as ... drumroll please … IBM Notes. Big Blue quietly let it be known the Lotus brand will disappear in the forthcoming version 9.0 of Notes and Domino, products that back in 1995 were so desirable it wrote a check for $US.3.52bn to acquire them. That acquisition was …

    Applications 19 Nov 23:09