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22nd November 2012 Archive

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  • Facebook proposes killing off user voting on policy changes

    Brief flirtation with democracy put down

    Facebook is proposing to end its practice of allowing users to vote on corporate policy changes, after a three year experiment in digital democracy. The company introduced the voting system in 2009 to diffuse anger raised after it sought to change its terms and conditions to give itself a license to all data, photos, and other …

    Business 22 Nov 00:24

  • .WTF? Governments object to .sucks, .army and .airforce

    ICANN releases lists of government objections to new gTLDs

    The world's governments have had their say about new generic top level domains (gTLDs), lodging more than 200 objections laid to proposed new names. Australia, oddly, leads the list of complainants, racking up more than 100 with objections to .sucks and .wtf (on grounds that the name has “has an overtly negative or critical …

    Policy 22 Nov 01:29

  • Patent suit targets Formlabs and Kickstarter

    3D Systems lays out claim over stereolithography

    As the world turns increasingly into one in which nobody can do anything without being sued by someone, 3D Systems is suing Formlabs and Kickstarter over alleged patent infringement covering 3D printing. Formlabs had pimped its project on Kickstarter, raising nearly $US3 million towards its aim of developing a low-cost 3D …

    Law 22 Nov 02:54

  • CERN rushes to install new anti-matter hunter

    Sprinting to get ALPHA-2 working before 2013 shutdown

    CERN scientists are on an instrument sprint to prep a new anti-matter detector, ALPHA-2, ahead of the facility’s upgrade shutdown in December. The facility has taken delivery of new kit that includes a cryostat provided by Canada’s TRIUMF laboratory, and a 1 Tesla superconducting solenoid magnet. The anti-matter detector team …

    Science 22 Nov 03:19

  • One week left before US faces clamp down on piracy

    Major ISPs combine on six strikes policy

    As Americans settle in for the Thanksgiving weekend of food and family, filesharing traffic traditionally shows a modest rise. But those downloading content may look back on this holiday as the last golden weekend of piracy if the major ISPs have anything to do with it. Next week AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable …

    Media 22 Nov 04:10

  • Human Rights Watch proposes new laws of robotics

    Wants autonomous 'bots banned before Predators become Terminators

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) has issued a document titled Losing Humanity: The Case against Killer Robots that argues development of autonomous weapons must be stopped because it represents a threat to human rights. The document defines three types of autonomous weapons, namely: Human-in-the-Loop Weapons: Robots that can select …

    Security 22 Nov 04:58

  • Pakistan bans 'immoral' late night mobe deals

    Whatever you're talking about late at night, Pakistan doesn't want to hear it

    Pakistan's Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has banned mobile packages offering cheap late night calls after deeming that they go against the country’s “values”. The PTA explained it had taken the hardline action after complaints from religious groups, politicians and members of the public that the packages were against “ …

    Policy 22 Nov 05:00

  • Toshiba boffins build nuke-proof 'bot

    Four-legged unit destined for Fukushima clean-up duties

    Boffins at Japanese electronics giant Toshiba have unveiled a new four-legged robotic invention designed to root around in areas too dangerous for humans, such as Tokyo Electric Power’s stricken Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant. The 65kg machine stands at just over one metre tall and has capacity for carrying another 20kgs. It’s …

    Science 22 Nov 05:12

  • BRITISH BIGFOOT ON LOOSE in Tunbridge Wells

    Ape-man roaming Kentish streets? Must be Friday night

    A paranormal investigator is probing a sighting in Tunbridge Wells of the legendary "Kentish Apeman" - a hirsute 8ft-tall creature with "red demonic eyes". The beast was allegedly spotted prowling the 200-acre Tunbridge Wells Common last month, some 70 years after it scared the living daylights out a couple at the same spot. …

    Bootnotes 22 Nov 05:58

  • Asus eyes China and Japan for private cloud growth

    Hardware giant could tap BYOD with international expansion

    Taiwanese hardware giant Asus has confirmed it’s eyeing expansion for its burgeoning enterprise cloud services business to China and Japan in 2013. The firm has been offering cloud services since 2008 under its Asus Cloud business and it now has datacentres in the US, China and Taiwan – providing secure web storage and file …

    Cloud 22 Nov 05:58

  • Cloud upstart Nirvanix bins another round of US sales bods

    New sales boss broom sweeps out staff

    Cloud storage biz Nirvanix has laid off some US sales staff as new veep Tina Gravel sweeps through the organisation. The company's worldwide sales head used to be Erik Hardy. He's now at Blue Coat Systems as vice-president for global accounts and service providers. Nirvanix's marketing VP Steve Zivanic told us: We recently …

    Cloud 22 Nov 06:34

  • Public sector 2 YEARS behind biz on cloud adoption - suppliers

    Gov services framework will be fluffier next year

    Public sector adoption of the cloud is some two years behind the private sector and suppliers, as well as government, need to up their game to raise awareness. Just £2.7m was finally spent by government IT bods on the first iteration of of its cloud computing framework - G-Cloud - indeed it seems a shift away from traditional …

    The Channel 22 Nov 07:02

  • Apple DID buy social video network - check out this BONKERS lawsuit

    Employee alleges Color Labs boss 'intimidated' workers with Glock-toting pal

    We know that start-up culture isn't all free pizza, statement fish tanks and beanbag snuggling, but an explosive court case in Santa Clara, California, has intimated there might be a darker side to Silicon Valley workplaces than we usually see. The court filing also confirmed Apple's rumoured purchase of the start-up, it has …

    Law 22 Nov 07:27

  • Taito's Double Dragon

    Antique Code Show Works wonders?

    It was the summer of 1989 in a not-so-sunny Prestatyn Pontins, so the majority of our holiday's evenings were spent in the resort's arcade hall. Being my first foray into the seedy underbelly of cutting-edge - well, for 1987, when the game debuted, at least - videogames, one of the first arcades I ever played was the side- …

    reghardware 22 Nov 08:00

  • Springtime for Red Hat, springtime for Salesforce ...

    Open ... and Shut But WINTER for SAP and Oracle

    It has been the best of times for the technology industry, with technology stocks at a 12-year high. But it's about to be the worst of times, at least according to stock market trends. Given that the tech sector comprises 19 per cent of the market capitalisation of the S&P 500, which has crumpled by 7 per cent recently, we …

    Software 22 Nov 08:30

  • Why did Comet fail? Hint: It wasn't just the credit insurers

    If you can't bark with the big dogs, get off the porch

    Comet's fiscal light was burning less brightly well before OpCapita entered its orbit, but the venture capitalist's involvement snuffed it out entirely. Signs that all was not well can be traced back to 2008, when Comet's profit before tax tumbled from £56m to £25m. In successive years it posted losses of £8m, £3m and finally …

    The Channel 22 Nov 09:00

  • McAfee takes time off blogging to concentrate on being chased by police

    He 'almost' sold tat to reporter while disguised as a peddler

    Followers of on-the-run cybersecurity baron John McAfee will be sorry to hear that he won't be updating his blog for the next few days. The billionaire inventor of McAfee antivirus software told friend Chad Essley this morning that "something had happened" and that he needed to move to another location. Despite being the …

    Security 22 Nov 09:23

  • London Underground platform Wi-Fi set to cost £2 daily for many

    And will drop out once the train leaves for everyone

    Virgin's underground Wi-Fi network, which stretches to platforms at 72 London Tube stations, will start charging from January: but customers on the right network will continue to get a free ride. EE and Vodafone have signed up to have Virgin connect their customers for free, with Virgin Media customers (broadband and/or mobile …

    Mobile 22 Nov 09:38

  • Mighty 4 Terabyte whopper crashes down on the desktop

    Three platters piled high with Caviar for data gobblers

    WD has released a 4TB desktop drive, an extension of its Caviar desktop range, now branded the WD Black. As with previous versions, it comes in a 3.5-inch form factor, rotates five platters at 7,200rpm, has a 64MB cache and a 6Gbit/s SATA interface. It carries over technologies like the dual-stage actuator head from the …

    Storage 22 Nov 09:56

  • Raspberry Pi seller calls for hack match contestants

    24 hours to bake the best Pi rig

    UK-based hardware hackers have just over a week to apply for Hackday, a tournament tuned to the Raspberry Pi micro-motherboard. The contest takes place on 1 December at Leeds’ Munro House. Proceedings kick off at 10.30am, but the competition starts at 12pm, after which entrants have 24 hours to build a Pi-based system they …

    Hardware 22 Nov 10:08

  • Microsoft's Surface bait-and-switch won't make people buy Windows 8

    Open... and Shut We want a total package, not just an OS

    Microsoft had better hope departing board member Reed Hastings is wrong about Windows. In some parting comments to a group of Dow Jones reporters, Hastings called Microsoft's Surface tablet a "tactic to spur people on, to get Windows 8 really successful." In other words, according to Hastings, Surface is just a means to get …

    Operating Systems 22 Nov 10:18

  • Extreme teleworking: A Reg hack reports from the internet's frontier

    SPB carves new cyberspace out of frosty mountain notspot

    "You lucky, lucky bastard," was how a fellow Reg hack responded to my announcement back in 2004 that I was upping sticks and establishing a Vulture Central outpost in rural Spain, far from the rain-lashed shores of Blighty. In September of that year, I was sardined in cattle class on a London-bound train packed with misery- …

    SPB 22 Nov 10:51

  • Fanbois: The Next Generation. YOUR CHILDREN belong to Apple now

    Hey, Santa Claus, you ****, where's me ****ing iPad?

    One in two members of the next generation are Apple fans, a study by Nielson has revealed, showing that almost half of under-12s questioned want an iPad in the next six months. And that's a full-sized iPad too. Apple products make up four of the top five products on tot gadget wish lists as compiled by survey-makers Nielsen. …

    Hardware 22 Nov 10:55

  • Judge to Apple: You WILL tell Samsung what you got from HTC

    Cupertino's US tax on smartphones likely to be flat

    A US judge has told Apple it had better cough up its whole unredacted licensing agreement with HTC in the fruity firm's case against Samsung, a move that could help the Korean company fight a potential sales ban in the country. Apple had said that it would give Samsung's lawyers access to the document, but it would be blacking …

    Law 22 Nov 11:14

  • Can supermodel minx Heidi Klum SAVE Windows 8? NOT SO FAST

    Feature MS mixed messages to biz and leggy Germans

    This year's MTV European Music Awards had everything: slinky supermodel presenter Heidi Klum, swathes of preposterous pop stars, and, er, an enormous Windows 8-powered video wall. Keen to suck up any excess stardust, Microsoft provided the screen to show what was happening backstage. The operating system’s appearance at the …

    The Channel 22 Nov 11:29

  • Microsoft said to be building Apple TV adversary

    XTV XTC?

    Microsoft has an Apple TV-style set-top box in its labs, it has been claimed. The gadget it said to be an inexpensive Windows 8-based unit designed to provide access to Xbox Live entertainment services and run casual games rather than major releases. "Multiple sources" who claim to be close to the matter say the Microsoft set …

    Hardware 22 Nov 11:49

  • Plan to let you phone people up from within Facebook

    Well, not you. Unless you happen to be French

    Orange customers in France will soon be able to tap on a Facebook contact to give them a call, and even set up conferences, without sharing phone numbers with anyone. The deal between Facebook and France Telecom, owner of the Orange brand, will require a new handset app, but once installed it will move voice calling into the …

    Networks 22 Nov 11:54

  • Asus VivoBook S200 11.6in touchscreen notebook review

    Taking a swipe at Windows 8

    A few months ago I tried a preview of Windows 8 on my 11.6in HP Pavilion and frankly it made about as much sense as a vegetarian bacon sandwich. Why? Because, without a touch screen the Windows 8 Metro Modern UI lacks a crucial ingredient. Armed with only a keyboard and mouse, facing a wall of tiles just gets in the way. …

    Hardware 22 Nov 12:00

  • Team Venus disappears at computer sports smackdown

    SC12 Cluster warriors: On your marks... 'Oh, no what was my password again?'

    It was an exciting start to the real-time, non-stop 48-hour cluster challenge, in which the teams of undergrads design and assemble a small cluster and race to demonstrate the greatest sustained performance across a series of applications. Here’s a short video covering the beginning of the SC12 edition of the Student Cluster …

    HPC 22 Nov 12:02

  • Boffins: Jurassic avians were more like Angry birds than modern ones

    Couldn't flap wings, needed a push or jump to get going

    Bone-bothering boffins say that early birds were actually fairly rubbish at flying, so much so that they couldn't get airborne unless they jumped off from a high point or otherwise gained a helping push. The Archaeopteryx in glide. Credit: Carl Buell “We don’t think these things could take off from the ground,” explains …

    Science 22 Nov 12:27

  • Legal wigs to sort out rules on internet defamation, contempt

    The law is the law, but we only have so many courts

    In the wake of Lord McAlpine's lawyers threatening to sue thousands of Twitter users for libelling his name with false allegations of child abuse, as well as the multiple issues surrounding tweets that may be in contempt, the Attorney General has clarified that the same legal framework applies on the internet that applies …

    Law 22 Nov 12:38

  • BBC Newsnightmare: Opera chief brought in as new DG

    He knows a few fat singing ladies - but this isn't over

    The BBC has brought in its one-time head of news to succeed George Entwistle as the Corporation's new director-general, after the previous incumbent lasted just 54 days in the job. Tony Hall, who is currently the boss of the Royal Opera House, has been hired for the £450,000 per year gig, the BBC Trust confirmed in a statement …

    Media 22 Nov 13:00

  • RIM shares jump as analyst decides it isn't as dead as he thought

    Could edge out Microsoft for last place, suspects chap

    Analyst Peter Misek has told investors he thinks RIM could yet pull out of its nosedive, predicting a 20-30 per cent chance of BlackBerry 10 gaining significant market share. In a note to investors, reported by eWeek, the Jefferies & Co analyst tells clients that operators have been surprisingly impressed with the new …

    Mobile 22 Nov 13:13

  • Nickers nab Assassin's Creed cache in Benelux blag

    Ubisoft's latest snatched in haulage heist

    Thieves made away with a lorryload of Assassin's Creed 3 copies bound for the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg this week. Most gamers who pre-ordered the title will still get their game. Ubisoft has released more stock for distribution. But customers from those countries who had pre-ordered the limited 'Join or Die' edition …

    Media 22 Nov 13:15

  • Italians deploy fearsome SPY MANNEQUINS to win Fashion Wars

    Bony plastic ladies whose eyes really do follow you

    Don't think you can escape personalised adverts by switching the computer off. Luxury shops have started to use seeing-eye mannequins that harvest data about customers in the real world and - yes - target ads so they can sell more. Packing technology that is used in airport security, the EyeSee mannequins from Italian company …

    Security 22 Nov 13:25

  • Firefox and Opera squish big buffer overflow bugs

    Mozilla drops iFrames in sandbox, Opera mends Gmail glitch

    It's time to update alternative browser software again, with new releases of Firefox and Opera out this week. Firefox 17, released Tuesday, features improved support for social networking functions, such as Facebook Messenger, as well as new features to prevent blacklisted extensions from running without user permission. Support …

    Security 22 Nov 13:44

  • 'Brit Bill Gates' Lynch: Only Mad Leo Apotheker understood Autonomy

    'I'm not going to be HP's scapegoat'. Errm ...

    The origins of Autonomy's declining fortunes can be traced back to the moment HP axed its former hapless CEO Leo Apotheker, claims Mike Lynch, the founder of the Brit software firm. This comes as Autonomy is accused of "accounting improprieties and misrepresentations ... prior to 2011 acquisition by HP" by the Palo Alto tech …

    The Channel 22 Nov 13:59

  • Apple chief Cook is HIGHEST PAID CEO in AMERICA

    Black Friday bargains? They're for peasants. Like Ellison

    Apple CEO Tim Cook has hit the executive-compensation trifecta, having slotted in at number one in CNBC's "Highest Paid CEOs" list. After being proclaimed the same earlier this year by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, it appears that life at the iTop is quite remunerative, indeed. As CNBC tells it, 52-year-old …

    Business 22 Nov 14:24

  • Lawrence 'Empire Strikes Back' Kasdan to pen future Star Wars script

    Luke, I am your author

    Disney's plans to dramatically expand the Star Wars franchise may concern stringent Jedi enthusiasts, but the fact that it has now signed up Lawrence Kasdan - co-writer of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, not to mention Raiders of the Lost Ark - to script one of its forthcoming films, will surely be music to fans …

    Media 22 Nov 14:35

  • NASA's Mars rovers feel effects of TITANIC DUST STORM

    Vast billows heat red world's atmosphere by 25 DEGREES!

    A huge Martian dust storm tracked from orbit by NASA has affected both Curiosity and Opportunity, the agency's active rovers on the planet's surface. Stitched together shot of Mars during the storm. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter circling above the red world picked up the huge storm twelve …

    Science 22 Nov 14:44

  • NoSQL's CAP theorem busters: We don't drop ACID

    'We are not relational fans here'

    CAP theorem* holds no fear for six engineers building FoundationDB, the industry’s latest NoSQL candidate. The difference? It adheres to the principles of ACID** found in relational, which previous NoSQLers have tried to replace. “A lot of people developing NoSQL systems have been discouraged by the CAP theorem and used that …

    Developer 22 Nov 15:05

  • APPLE reveals complete updated blueprints of SPACESHIP JOBS

    Pics Gigantic doughnut mothership to 'eliminate public'

    Hours after it was revealed that the completion of Apple's planned office doughnut would be delayed until at least 2016, the Cupertino city council posted revised plans for the eco-Stalinist structure, first sketched by Steve Jobs and now widely known as the "Spaceship". As The Reg had reported earlier, the city council had …

    Business 22 Nov 15:29

  • eBay: It's safe to buy busted lava lamps and bug-infested rugs again

    XSS vuln squished; hackers could have made you bid

    eBay has resolved a cross-site scripting bug on its website that independent experts warned posed a significant risk of fraud to users of the auction site. The XSS flaw meant that, once logged into a seller account on eBay, an attacker could insert an XSS exploit code into a listing of an item for sale. The XSS security flaw …

    Security 22 Nov 16:05

  • Data cops seek 'urgent clarification' on new Facebook advertiser plans

    We advertise to you next to your own content ... bitch

    Facebook never fails to whip up a frenzy about privacy each time it proposes changes to its personal-content advertising platform. This time around users are slowly starting to complain about the risk to security posed by the company's plans to help "improve the quality of ads." Needless to say, Facebook is entirely answerable …

    Security 22 Nov 16:24

  • Thanksgiving in orbit: Irradiated turkey, yam-and-marshmallow mix

    And two bemused Russians, 'odours' to share it with

    Irradiated smoked turkey and thermo-stabilized yams are on the menu for astronaut Thanksgiving on the International Space Station today. American commander Kevin Ford and his two Russian crewmates Evgeny Tarelkin and Oleg Novitskiy will tuck into a special bag of food prepared for the holiday, and get the day off from normal …

    Science 22 Nov 17:01

  • Plan your BLACK FRIDAY CHARGE: Google shop maps go desktop

    Bags of smoke, loads of aggression, straight up the middle

    Google Maps' indoor offerings - floor plans, often of shops or other public spaces, until now browsable on Android devices only - are now browsable in browsers too, so one can plan a day out down to the smallest detail. Floorplans launched in America just over a year ago, and in the UK back in July, but only on Android devices …

    Applications 22 Nov 17:35

  • FCC plans to make Twitter, mobile networks disaster proof

    'It's an essential part of life'

    The Federal Communications Commission is to have a series of talks around the US to figure out how to stop mobile network outages during natural disasters. A quarter of cell towers on the East coast were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy late last month and the FCC field hearings will focus on the problems service …

    Mobile 22 Nov 18:16

  • Team Taiwan: We're ready to win this thing

    SC12 Cluster compo champs look set to do it again...

    I’ve covered Taiwan’s National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) Student Cluster Competition team for three years now. And every time I talk to them they’re personable, friendly, and modest. Very modest. Too modest. This is a team with a serious pedigree that’s backed up by the best track record in the game. First of all, they’re …

    HPC 22 Nov 19:06

  • No iMacs on Black Friday, Grey Thursday or even Cyber Monday

    Any day of the week is sales day, unless you want Apple's new desktop

    Most consumers in the US will by now be stuffed with piles of turkey and lashings of booze, but retailers are banking on people's hunger and thirst for deals returning on Black Friday, Apple sent an email earlier this week claiming it will host a "one day shopping event" tomorrow that starts at 3.00 Eastern time (00.00 Pacific …

    Hardware 22 Nov 19:21

  • ACCC calls for liberalised copyright in Oz

    Good sense breaks out

    Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission is siding with citizens over copyright holders – at least a little bit. In its submission to an inquiry into this country’s copyright law, the competition regulator suggests that a service such as Optus’ TV Now – banned by the High Court after a bitter battle with the country’s …

    Policy 22 Nov 22:11

  • Sandy 'Mary Celeste' Island undiscovered - again

    Radio hams beat science by a decade

    It’s the story of a tiny little Coral Sea island that’s gone all around the world: a group of scientists on expedition visit the spot where the island is marked on the maritime charts, only to find it doesn’t exist. And with the island – called Sandy Island and formerly thought to exist in the ocean between Australia and New …

    Science 22 Nov 22:25

  • Google avoids tax with ‘Double Irish Dutch Sandwich’

    Australian Minister explains money-shifting moves used by Google, Apple and others

    Australia has become the latest nation to decide it wants tech companies to pay more tax, after David Bradbury, Assistant Treasurer and Minister Assisting for Deregulation, declared Google uses a “Double Irish Dutch Sandwich” to pay as little tax as possible on its Australian operations. Google paid just $AUD781,471 of taxes …

    Policy 22 Nov 23:04

  • WIMP-seeking detector flooded

    It’s okay, that’s what’s meant to happen

    A South Dakota-based dark matter experiment has taken a large step towards go-live, with a detector lowered into its water tank ahead of observations beginning next year. The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) detector was delivered in July. The underground location is designed to shield the detector from cosmic radiation, while …

    Science 22 Nov 23:40