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26th November 2012 Archive

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  • Kim Dotcom claims entrapment by US authorities

    Megaupload accused of holding files said to be held for another piracy case

    Kim Dotcom says he is about to go on the offensive, after the news that some of the files prosecutors allege Megaupload.com knew were pirated and did not remove were only present because courts had asked they be retained to assist another investigation. Dotcom's new assault will be based on revelations that megaupload actively …

    Law 26 Nov 00:37

  • Acid oceans DISSOLVING sea life

    British Antarctic Survey says CO2 the villain behind bad news for tiny snails

    The shells of tiny sea snails called pteropods, or “sea butterflies”, are dissolving thanks to the acidification of sea water brought about to increasing levels of CO2 in the ocean, according to researchers from the British Antarctic Survey BAS). A letter in Nature Geoscience titled Extensive dissolution of live pteropods in …

    Science 26 Nov 02:42

  • HP denies Syria, Iran spy tech claims

    "Our hands are clean, but our distros' may not be"

    HP has been forced to deny that it broke strict export sanctions by selling technology to Syria and Iran, but admitted that its network of channel partners may have done so without its knowledge. The tech behemoth, which was recently overtaken by Chinese rival Lenovo as the world’s top PC seller, was asked by the US Securities …

    Law 26 Nov 04:47

  • Driverless trucks roam Australian mines

    210 tonne monsters haul 300 tonnes of dirt with GPS guidance

    Mining company Rio Tinto has turned to driverless trucks to operate mines in Western Australia. The multinational digger has just confirmed it has let the trucks roam free at the Nammuldi iron ore mine, a hole in the ground located in more or less the middle of nowhere, as the nearest town, Tom Price, is 60km away. Nammuldi …

    Science 26 Nov 04:56

  • Google, Apple, and Microsoft downed in Pakistan

    Hackers leave cryptic messages, offer no clear motive for attacks

    Pakistan’s web users were left high and dry over the weekend after nearly 300 high profile sites including Google.com.pk, Microsoft.pk, Apple.pk and Yahoo.pk were hacked and defaced by what appears to be a mixture of Pakistani and Turkish attackers. Many local versions of big name sites including Apple, Microsoft and PayPal …

    Security 26 Nov 05:14

  • Heroic Register reader battles EXPLODING COMPUTER

    Saves son AND son's homework from firebomb power supply

    A heroic Reg reader who battled an exploding computer to save his son's homework (and possibly his life) has written in to share the harrowing tale of a power supply unit gone MAD. Keith, who lives in Germany, wrote in to tell us how he dealt with a flaming desktop PC, and how his quick instincts to throw it out the balcony …

    Hardware 26 Nov 06:00

  • Datawind insists $42 tab isn't Chinese

    Components of subsidised slabs come from China, but assembly done in India

    British tech firm Datawind has been forced to deny reports from India at the weekend that its low-cost Aakash 2 device, marketed as an innovative locally-made product, was actually bought off-the-shelf from China. The Hindustan Times, citing an unnamed source, claimed that DataWind had no role in the design or manufacturing of …

    Tablets 26 Nov 06:06

  • Brocade drill-down: Replacement for Klayko in the wings

    Successfully milking its mature provider

    Storage networking and Ethernet supplier Brocade has done good, with record fourth quarter and full year results; pats all round boys. But you're still stuck in a mature market rut with no breakout yet visible. Quarterly statements from publicly-quoted storage companies provide a clear snapshot of how they are doing; there's …

    Storage 26 Nov 06:28

  • ICO: Anonymised data doesn't HAVE to guarantee your privacy

    German watchdog: Sure, but let's be careful, ja?

    Data anonymisation does not have to provide a 100 per cent guarantee to individuals' privacy in order for it to be lawful for organisations to disclose the information, the UK's data protection watchdog has said. The view of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), detailed in a new code of practice (108-page/2.15MB PDF) …

    Security 26 Nov 07:01

  • Seagate private equity whispers begin... AGAIN

    Hello Steve, it's 2010 calling...

    Seagate is reported to be talking to private equity firms about shifting off the stock market and back into private ownership. This would be the second time it has held such talks, so it's anybody's guess if anything will come of it. We heard about it from Aaron Rakers, a Stifel Nicolaus analyst of good repute, and he heard …

    Financial News 26 Nov 07:32

  • Microsoft applies for patent for 'Google Goggles'-type AR specs

    Redmond follows in Oompa Loompa footsteps

    Microsoft has applied for a patent for its very own Google Goggles-alike Terminator-style tech, which will slap facts and figures over everything you see. Redmond's idea is for "a head mounted display with supplemental information when viewing a live event". Aside from the "live event" bit that sounds exactly like Google's …

    Hardware 26 Nov 07:58

  • Flash is dead ... but where are the tiers?

    Storagebod Storage tiering needs to be separate from arrays

    Flash is dead: it's an interim technology with no future. But yet it continues to be a hot topic and technology. I suppose I ought to qualify that. Flash will be dead in the next five to 10 years and I’m talking about the use of flash in the data centre. Flash is the most significant improvement in storage performance since …

    Storage 26 Nov 08:34

  • Intel edu-tablet sales forecast slashed - supply chain whispers

    Another vicious punch to Chipzilla's mobile snoot

    In another bit of mobile-market slippage, Intel is said to have cut in half the number of its StudyBook educational tablets that it believes it will sell in the next two years. According to a Digitimes report on Friday, Intel had planned to sell between 3 and 4 million of its "ruggedized and purpose-built tablet for 21st …

    Business 26 Nov 09:01

  • Galapagos tortoise 'Lonesome George' might NOT be last of his kind

    'Sailor's snack' had some cousins nearby

    "Lonesome George", the giant tortoise believed to be the last of his species when he died in June, may not have been as lonseome as they say. Scientists on the Galapagos islands have found 17 other tortoises that appear to be closely related to the Pinta Island Giant Tortoises, and have similar genetic traits to George. Some …

    Science 26 Nov 09:18

  • Drop Box and Dropbox, begs new sync 'n' share start-up

    Another cloud file player muscles into increasingly crowded field

    Yet another start-up touting its own cloud-based file sync 'n' share for business has popped up. Egnyte says its got a Cloud Control product does the same thing as Box and DropBox, but with more security and control. The company was founded in 2007 and is backed by venture capitalists keen to see it to hit the IPO street or …

    Storage 26 Nov 09:42

  • P-P-P-Pick up our PENGUIN-POWERED Pi PIPER of Python

    How-to Download El Reg's Raspberry Pi jukebox

    Turning the Raspberry Pi into a music player is old hat, but turning it into a personalised DJ is slightly more difficult if a lot more interesting. The Raspberry Pi, an ARM-powered £20 computer sold as the educationalists' dream, is finding its place as a media player in many tech-aware homes, but installing media player XBMC …

    Developer 26 Nov 10:01

  • New table-munching worm ravages Iranian biz databases

    Iranian CERT: It's really no biggie

    A new strain of malware is thrashing corporate databases in the Middle East, claiming the vast majority of its victims in Iran. Narilam is "causing chaos" by targeting and modifying corporate databases, according to Symantec. The worm spreads through removable drives and network shares. Network worms are relatively …

    Security 26 Nov 10:19

  • Hefty beauty GAGA gets voluptuous new undercarriage

    Check out these wheels, boys

    Our autonomous lawnmower has had a hard summer, with brains, brawn and even her skeleton delayed, but despite failing to manage 2012's growth, she's still on track to wreak graminoid havoc - if just a little later than hoped. The grass has, quite literally, been growing beneath our feet while we waited for RS Components to …

    Science 26 Nov 10:37

  • Where were the bullet holes on OS/2's corpse? Its head ... or foot?

    Part two Ex-IBM insider Dom Connor reveals what went wrong

    My last piece on OS/2 was in part a mea culpa, a history of my part in its downfall. However, I can't claim all the credit. In fact, if I'm honest, there were hundreds of reasons why OS/2 failed, and most of them had nothing to do with me. So, here are some of the real corkers. Once upon a time, IBM made extraordinary money …

    Operating Systems 26 Nov 11:02

  • Jock and Awe: Scottish schools' sixty-mil 'slab splurge

    Fondlekit to spread across prisons, third sector etc

    Scottish ministers are seeking suppliers for up to £60m of tablets and notebooks. The supply contract for the desired technology is expected to run for 15 months with an option to extend it by one or two 12-month periods. Suppliers were this month invited by Scottish Procurement to bid for two lots: the first lot involves …

    The Channel 26 Nov 11:18

  • Pong creator turns nose up at Nintendo Wii U

    Atari founder Bushnell 'baffled' by console

    Atari founder Nolan Bushnell has doubts over the long-term success of the Nintendo Wii U, after admitting he doesn't get the tablet-controlled console. "I actually am baffled by it," said the Pong creator in an interview with the New York Times. "I don't think it's going to be a big success." Bushnell - often hailed at the …

    Games 26 Nov 11:28

  • Cambridge boffins fear 'Pandora's Unboxing' and RISE of the MACHINES

    'You're more likely to die from robots than cancer'

    Boffins at Cambridge University want to set up a new centre to determine what humankind will do when ultra-intelligent machines like the Terminator or HAL pose "extinction-level" risks to our species. A philosopher, a scientist and a software engineer are proposing the creation of a Centre for the Study of Existential Risk ( …

    Science 26 Nov 11:44

  • Samsung SSD 840 series storage review

    MLC for business and TLC for pleasure

    When Samsung launched its first true consumer SSD, the 470, it was met with a generally good reception. Yet the timing of its release pretty much coincided with the arrival of drives using the second generation of LSI’s SandForce controller and its 6Gb/s SATA 3 interface. Hence, the 470 having a 3Gb/s SATA 2 interface was no …

    Hardware 26 Nov 12:00

  • 10,000 cities, 1 salesman, 6 nodes: It's LittleFe cluster CRUNCH TIME

    SC12 Slippery Rock races against clock on final day of mini-cluster match

    It was the last day of last week’s SC12 Student Cluster Competition, and Pennsylvania university students Team Slippery Rock chatted to us during the LittleFe battle. In this competition track, teams of university students (plus a high school team) pushed their six-node LittleFe mini-iron to the limit, attempting to find the …

    HPC 26 Nov 12:01

  • Applied Micro shows off X-Gene ARM server prototypes

    Systems pr0n 101 to build excitement

    Applied Micro Circuits is not yet shipping its first X-Gene ARM-based processor aimed at servers, and it is going to be a while yet before it can get the processors into the field. But because there is so much at stake, Applied Micro can't afford to be left out of any conversations about ARM Holding's attack on the data center. …

    Servers 26 Nov 12:18

  • Gangnam Style beats Bieber Baby, becomes biggest timewaste EVER

    6,000 person-years humanity will never get back

    Op op op op oppan, sexy lady - Gangnam Style! Yes, if you're still upset by the four minutes of your life you'll never get back from watching internet sensation PSY bust some horsey moves on YouTube, then fear not - more than 820 million people made the same mistake. This means that pop2.0 prince Justin Bieber has been …

    Media 26 Nov 12:35

  • '007' job ad for an assassin appears on official UK.gov website

    Prank posting offered free Walther PPK

    Pranksters advertised a job vacancy for an official assassin on a UK government website to fool wannabe James Bonds into applying. The position of "target elimination specialist" [PDF] was published on the Direct.gov.uk website, supposedly on behalf of the Secret Intelligence Service (aka MI6 in some circles). The advert …

    Bond, James Bond 26 Nov 13:06

  • Nexus 4 actually has 4G: But only in Canada, and potentially ILLEGAL

    Maple syrup-suppers dig up hidden functionality

    The Nexus 4, Google's surprisingly cheap Android flagship, has another trick up its sleeve: an LTE radio which can be activated from some hidden settings. The handset, which retails at £239 if you can get one, isn't supposed to support 4G at all, but the Qualcomm chip inside it supports LTE and users on XDA Developers …

    Mobile 26 Nov 13:21

  • Facebook tries to stop its staff using iPhones in 'dogfood' push

    Need to appeal to the non-beret-wearing user

    Facebook's campaign against the Apple iPhone has moved up a notch: staff are urged to grab an Android gadget and bug test the social network's mobile app as more punters plump for Google's operating system. Facebook employees are now told to eat their own "droidfood" - a reference to the software development approach of using …

    Media 26 Nov 13:30

  • Girlfriend 'tried to MURDER ME with her AMPLE BREASTS'

    Battle of the Bulges: Germans in boudoir boob blitzkrieg

    A German woman is up in court on a charge of "attempted manslaughter with a weapon", after allegedly trying to smother her boyfriend with her ample 38DD assets. Lawyer Tim Schmidt, 30, claims 33-year-old Franziska Hansen forced his head into her voluminous top-hamper while they were making the beast with two backs back in May …

    Bootnotes 26 Nov 13:51

  • SQL database start-up flings out code peanuts to tempt biz

    Sniffing around for somewhere to stash your Big Data?

    NuoDB, a start-up which claims to be offering the industry’s only "emergent" elastically scalable database, has made the firm's beta trial available to the public via a freemium business model. It plans to launch the product by the end of the year. NuoDB was founded by relational database guru Jim Starkey and CEO Barry Morris …

    Software 26 Nov 14:10

  • Phone with Facebook hardware button lobbed out by Nokia

    Press this for instant adverts and jabber

    Nokia's latest Series 40 blower, a dual-SIM model aimed at developing markets, has a Facebook button, the first device from the Finns to feature such an innovation. It's not only in pink, but pink is prettiest The button on the front of the Asha 205 triggers the Facebook app, providing instant access to updates and status …

    Media 26 Nov 14:26

  • Phoenix IT Group signs £40m desktop support win

    Wins outsourcing contract from outsourcer

    Phoenix IT Group has inked a five-year £40m desktop support deal with an unnamed customer, the troubled firm revealed today. This is the sort of news investors will cheer after a challenging year in which the Northampton-based firm axed staff, watched its profits collapse, unearthed serious accounting errors, and accepted its …

    The Channel 26 Nov 14:43

  • At LAST: The BRAIN-CONTROLLED helicopter

    Sadly not in form of propellor hat with really strong chinstrap

    Brain-controlled helicopters could be ready for Santa's elves to drop down US chimneys in time for Christmas this year. San Francisco firm Puzzlebox has raised the cash it needs to put together its flying toys, equipped with an electroencephalography (EEG) headset, twice over on Kickstarter. The headset "reads" brain waves …

    Science 26 Nov 14:58

  • Venus EXPOSED in predawn threesome with Saturn and Mercury

    Jupiter will be up all night in planetary conjunction

    Any stargazers who manages to get out of bed early tomorrow morning will see Venus, Saturn and Mercury together in the predawn sky. Mercury will appear near to the east-southeastern horizon, while Venus and Saturn will experience a very close conjunction, visible for the next five days within 5 degrees of each other, with the …

    Science 26 Nov 15:28

  • SPEARS fired up for explosive climax

    Ballocket mission control board electrifies LOHAN

    Our Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) project reached a major milestone over the weekend with the completion of the first Special Project Electronic Altitude Release System (SPEARS) control board. Neil Barnes, who put together LOHAN's silicon heart with the able assistance of Anthony Stirk, reports that the beast is …

    SPB 26 Nov 16:00

  • Fanboi droves use iPads to buy more iPads on Black Friday

    Grey Thursday may have meant red ink for festive figures

    Apple's iPad was used by one in every 10 online shoppers on Black Friday, according to IBM's Holiday Benchmark report. Continuing the trend of opening the supposed sales extravaganza earlier, online shopping grew 17.4 per cent on Thanksgiving compared to the same day a year earlier and Black Friday online sales were up 20.7 …

    The Channel 26 Nov 16:28

  • Mall lurk man: Apple smashes Microsoft in Black Friday fondle wars

    Mini Apple list from Minneapolis may scale up

    Anecdotal evidence suggests Apple may have beaten Microsoft in the Black Friday faceoff for consumers' dollars. A Wall St analyst performed an comparative report at the iconic mega-retail palace Mall of America, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He found that on on 23 November, shoppers at Apple’s store in the famous mall bought an …

    Business 26 Nov 16:37

  • Their One Year Mission: To boldly find the effects of null G on humans

    Pair of 'nauts chosen for lengthy stay on space base

    NASA and Roscosmos have decided on two veteran 'nauts for a prolonged one-year-long mission on the International Space Station. The Russian and US space agencies want to put a pair of spacefarers on the station for a prolonged duration to get more data on the effects of weightlessness on humans. NASA's Scott Kelly piloted …

    Science 26 Nov 16:43

  • Claimed $400m Google buyout is fake, ICOA boss warns

    SEC called after hoax press release sends shares spiking

    It was a lousy start to the post-Thanksgiving weekend for the management of US hotspot provider ICOA after the company fell victim to what looks like a classic pump-and-dump stock scam. On Monday morning a press release was posted on PRweb announcing that Google was splashing out $400m to buy the firm, which operates 1,500 Wi- …

    Financial News 26 Nov 19:11

  • Defence Signals Directorate offers BYOD advice

    Motherhood statements for public consumption, detail behind regwall

    Australia's signals intelligence agency, the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD), has published two sets of guidelines for Australian government agencies contemplating a bring your own device (BYOD) regime. The public advice, available here, is utterly anodyne and offers terrifyingly tough questions including: What are the …

    Government 26 Nov 20:00

  • How IT will evolve to photonics

    Professor Rod Tucker charts a course to the all-optical, low-energy future

    Replacing electronics with photonics will one day be an important way to run IT while consuming far less power than is the case today. But while that idea looks great on paper, the research is still young. The Internet’s voracious appetite for electricity needs some near-term solutions, so asThe Register followed-up the our …

    Data Networking 26 Nov 21:00

  • Microsoft supporting Surface with Windows RT until 2017

    Trying to make Apple and Android look bad

    Microsoft has set date on the end of mainstream support for its Surface tablet running Windows RT as April 11, 2017, with Office products likely to get similar support. This four-and-a-half-year support cycle is unusual for Redmond. Consumer releases of Windows usually get mainstream support for five years, with security …

    Hardware 26 Nov 21:49

  • China to strut eight-core Godson-3B MIPS chip in early 2013

    Server chip makers take Moore's Law breather – at their peril

    People talk about Moore's Law as if server chip manufacturers had to obey it like some kind of cosmic speed limit. In reality, Moore's Law is an idealized goal, and one that is increasingly difficult to attain year after year for server microprocessors. This is made clear in the just-released schedule for next year's first big …

    Servers 26 Nov 22:46

  • GE study pimps ‘industrial Internet’

    How’s that SCADA security going, gentlemen?

    General Electric thinks that as much as $US15 billion could be added to global industrial output, merely by connecting global industrial operations to the Internet. The report (PDF), Unleashing the Industrial Internet: "Pushing the Boundaries of Minds and Machines", paints the kind of futuristic picture that Vulture South …

    Networks 26 Nov 23:49