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28th November 2012 Archive

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  • EnterpriseDB cranks up Postgres database scalability

    Ditch Ellison for the elephant

    EnterpriseDB, the commercial entity that is helping to push development of the open source PostgreSQL relational database – and profit from it – is trying to keep the heat on database rival Oracle with its latest 9.2 release and a matching 3.0 update of its database management console. The PostgreSQL project put out its beta …

    Datacenter 28 Nov 00:07

  • Your brain, the Internet and the Universe

    Could there be a ‘universal law’ for network growth?

    Correlation does not imply causation. However, some correlations are at least fascinating, and here’s one that’s getting a lot of attention: the apparent structural similarity between the growth of the universe, that of the human brain, and complex artificial networks like the Internet or Twitter. In fact, according to the …

    Networks 28 Nov 00:31

  • 85% of Windows 8 users wield the desktop on day one

    40 million W8 licences sold, apps downloaded 1m times, Surface Pro due in Jan

    Microsoft has released information about sales of Windows 8 and apps from the Windows Store, plus data on users' interactions with the new operating system. News of Windows 8 sales appeared in a blog post summarising Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Financial Officer Tami Reller's presentation to Wednesday's Credit Suisse …

    Software 28 Nov 01:01

  • Boffin claims Bigfoot DNA reveals BESTIAL BONKING

    Did primate-human mating beget Sasquatch?

    An American scientist is claiming DNA samples reportedly taken from Bigfoot show the beast is a product of mating between female humans and an undiscovered primate. Dr. Melba Ketchum has undergone a five-year examination of North American Sasquatch samples, and told The Register that she had discovered that the non-human …

    Science 28 Nov 01:07

  • Google mingles Drive and Gmail for 10GB attachments

    Your move, Hotmail and Yahoo!

    Google is changing Gmail's attachment-handling capabilities to allow files from its Drive cloud storage service to be embedded directly in messages, opening the door to sending files as large as 10GB in a single email. "Whether it's photos from your recent camping trip, video footage from your brother's wedding, or a …

    Applications 28 Nov 01:16

  • Microsoft 'fesses up to Windows Phone 8 reboot bug

    Patch coming in December

    Windows Phone 8 users frustrated by their handsets' tendency to randomly reboot will soon be offered relief, after Redmond 'fessed up to the existence of a problem and promised a patch. Microsoft let it be known to The Wall Street Journal that it is “continuing to investigate some reports of phones rebooting and have …

    Software 28 Nov 01:50

  • Fujitsu's canine cloud keeps pets petite

    Canine health management the latest money-spinner from Japan

    Japanese tech giant Fujitsu has tapped its considerable expertise in cloud and mobile computing to produce a canine health management system designed to stop pet dogs from getting too fat. The unlikely tech innovation requires a rather chunky pendant to be worn round a mutt’s neck. The device includes a pedometer, a …

    Cloud 28 Nov 03:30

  • Take the heat from data centres’ PUE pitch

    It’s hard to match new data centres' efficiency, but you can improve your own

    Data centre openings have become a dime a dozen of late, nearly always featuring (here in Australia at least) a suit from the operator talking up the new facility’s power usage effectiveness (PUE) rating as a compelling reason to move your kit within its walls. PUE measures the amount of energy that goes into the building and …

    Datacenter 28 Nov 04:56

  • Samsung printers have secret admin account

    Patch primed to prevent printer p0wnage

    Some Samsung printers, including models the Korean company made for Dell, have a backdoor administrator account coded into their firmware, says US CERT. The brief vulnerability notice does not mention which models have the account, but does say “The vendor has stated that models released after October 31, 2012 are not affected …

    Security 28 Nov 05:38

  • IBM outsources UK desktop support operation lock+stock to Phoenix

    Exclusive 180 engineers get new business cards for Xmas

    IBM is the Global Services Provider (GSP) that is outsourcing desktop support to Phoenix IT Group, The Channel can reveal. Yesterday Phoenix confirmed it has penned a five-year £40m contract with an unnamed GSP to provide desk-side services for the firm's employees as well as its customers. Around 180 IBM staffers are to be …

    The Channel 28 Nov 05:55

  • Upstart plans to reanimate cold dead corpse of holographic storage

    Live, my beauty, LIVE! They said I was mad. Me! Maaad!

    Another holographic storage wannabee has popped up. Akonia Holographics has bought some of the assets of doomed holographic storage firm InPhase and moved into its old offices. Is this for real or just another 3D holo fantasy in waiting? Holographic storage is a minefield where technology companies invent ways of storing data …

    Storage 28 Nov 06:26

  • VPN ban makes for nervy times behind Great Firewall

    'Internet Monitoring Team' threatens disconnection for accessing 'prohibited sites'

    Multinationals and foreign web users based in China to get jittery on Wednesday after pictures began circling the internet which suggested a new clamp down on the use of virtual private networks (VPNs). While VPNs in the Western world are more commonly used to enhance security, for netizens-in-the-know living in the People’s …

    Government 28 Nov 06:54

  • Companies House website security 'a bit of a mess'

    Nerve centre of British business open to scams

    Serious security holes in the website of Companies House - the UK database of corporate information - have exposed sensitive data and create the risk of corporate identity theft, security consultants warn. The UK government agency maintains that alleged security flaws identified by researcher Paul Moore are either in the …

    Security 28 Nov 06:57

  • Skills shortage may crimp Asia's IT rise

    CIOs keen on expats, but won't let influx inflate wages

    Asia Pacific will once again be the envy of the tech world in 2013 as it posts steady ICT spending growth of near eight per cent, but a worsening skills shortage could hamper enterprise technology adoption, according to IDC. The analyst’s top ten predictions for 2013 began with good news for the region (excluding Japan) in the …

    Business 28 Nov 07:01

  • SUSE joins Canonical and Red Hat in using Ceph to puff OpenStack cloud

    Gets out Crowbar to pop it in

    Now that OpenStack is a technically viable infrastructure cloud controller, all of the main Linux distributors are lining up to have a go. Some have embedded OpenStack in their Linuxes but others have chosen to create a separate OpenStack distribution that rides on their Linuxes, makes use of the KVM hypervisor, and will carry …

    Cloud 28 Nov 07:29

  • ViewSonic Pro 9000 laser hybrid LED projector review

    Can a brand new light engine tech make projectors cool again?

    Following the extinction of gloriously bulky CRT video projectors, big screen aficionados have had a clear choice between LCD and DLP. Both technologies are capable of great results, yet have distinct weaknesses: single chip DLP projectors often suffer from rainbow fringing, created by the use of a spinning colour wheel, while …

    Hardware 28 Nov 08:00

  • Microsoft Office 2013 heads for the cloud but fails to soar

    Review Deep inside Redmond's cash cow: many improvements ... but ... yawn...

    The last few versions of Microsoft Office have divided users, and Office 2013 – due to reach General Availability in the first quarter of next year but available now as a limited free trial – will likely be no different, even though it largely follows a familiar course. Office 2007 brought us – love it or hate it – the Ribbon …

    Applications 28 Nov 08:01

  • Kcom puts Fujitsu's Long in the MD hot seat

    New MD has work cut out as firm reports dip in half-year numbers

    Comms and networks integrator Kcom has confirmed that Fujitsu UK director Stephen Long is preparing to take the vacant MD's chair. Group CFO Paul Simpson stood in as interim MD following the departure of previous incumbent Paul Renucci nearly two years ago but will return to his day-to-day activities. "Stephen Long will join …

    The Channel 28 Nov 08:03

  • Google goes for Amazon: Slash-fest on cloud storage prices

    Builds EU data centres, drops IaaS costs - there will be blood

    The Google juggernaut has ground out new cloud storage and compute facilities, slashed its prices, and provided European data centre support for its EU zone. The Google cloud platform includes a range of products, such as its AppEngine, BigQuery, Compute Engine infrastructure service, as well as Cloud Storage. Google's product …

    Storage 28 Nov 08:29

  • Barnes & Noble go up against Amazon in Blighty with Nook apps

    May turn out to be more of a Niche offering really

    Optimistic Amazon competitor Barnes & Noble has launched its Nook platform in the UK, in soft form for iOS and Android, but enough to start selling books to Brits. Like Amazon's Kindle the concept behind the Nook platform is hardware used to sell digital content, with Nooks ranging from a basic e-ink model ($99) to a 9-inch …

    Media 28 Nov 08:59

  • LOHAN cooks up tempting Raspberry Pi spiced with Iridium

    Geekgasmic electronic fusion cuisine, side dish of Python

    The electronics buffs among you should brace for explosive geekgasm, as the Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) team serves up a tasty dish of Iridium-spiced Raspberry Pi, with a tempting side dish of Python. You'll recall that back in September, our audacious ballocket mission acquired an Iridium satellite comms …

    SPB 28 Nov 09:20

  • Troubled OCZ brings forth consumer SSDs with Vector

    Barefoot and pregnant with possibility?

    SSD supplier OCZ, hard hit by an erring CEO and now under new management, has launched its first consumer SSD using in-house controller technology, the Vector. OCZ's roller coaster ride story from start-up glory to sick ward candidate can be found here. New CEO Ralph Schmitt announced the product but it was mostly developed …

    Storage 28 Nov 09:43

  • Android users: More of them than fanbois, but they don't use the web

    Open ... and Shut Slabber dabbler laggards mean trouble for Google

    Android smartphone shipments now dwarf those of Apple's iPhone, yet Apple's iOS still accounts for the vast majority of mobile web traffic, as reported by The Register. This gaping void between Android adoption and Android-based web browsing, however, isn't cause to ponder whether it's "time to conclude that Android gadgets …

    Operating Systems 28 Nov 10:00

  • Peter Moore: IT consultant, Iraq hostage - Part Two

    Xboxes, the Simpsons, freedom, and dealing with HR

    When we last left IT consultant point Peter Moore, he had spent over a year in the hands of an Iraqi Shi'ite militia, being shuffled around from building to building as his captors sought to evade coalition forces. Moore spent much of his time chained, handcuffed, blindfolded, and separated from the four British guards with whom …

    Developer 28 Nov 10:15

  • Belgian finds missus was born a MAN after 19 YEARS of marriage

    Bloke left crying, gamed

    A somewhat upset Belgian has recounted how he discovered his Indonesian missus was actually a born a bloke, but only after after 19 years of wedlock during which the couple enjoyed normal sexual relations. The 64-year-old hubby, named only as "Jan", fell for Monica, 48, when she was working as an au pair for his sister and …

    Bootnotes 28 Nov 10:26

  • Japan firm offers mums-to-be 3D printed unborn infants

    The fruit of your loins, in plastic

    If your partner is up the duff, and you want to record the pregnancy for posterity, you could keep the ultrasound pictures and even get a cast made of your missus’ extended abdomen. Or, if you live in Japan, you can get a 3D printed foetus. For a mere ¥100,000 (£764), one Japanese company will squeeze your partner into a MRI …

    Science 28 Nov 10:37

  • Speaking in Tech: WTF is Software Defined Networking, anyway?

    Podcast Well, it's not Oracle's Xsigo

    It's another episode of El Reg's enterprise techcast with The Dude of Tech Greg Knieriemen, storage meister Ed Saipetch and new media maven Sarah Vela. Their special guest is Greg Ferro of the Packet Pushers Podcast and EtherealMind.com, who gives us the skinny on software defined networking and what the big players are doing …

    Networks 28 Nov 10:43

  • Latest scam spam ploy: Bogus pay-by-phone London parking receipts

    Mundane cloak hides malware dagger

    Bogus "pay by phone parking receipts" doing the rounds by email and targeted at UK users are actually designed to spread malware, security watchers warn. The spam campaign is designed to trick recipients into viewing a fictitious list of parking transactions, contained in a malicious attachment. "Upon executing the malicious …

    Security 28 Nov 11:02

  • Scoop! The inside story of the news website that saved the BBC

    Special report How BBC News Online was created from scratch

    Fifteen years ago this month the BBC launched its News Online website. Developed internally with a skeleton team, the web service rapidly became the face of the BBC on the internet, and its biggest success story – winning four successive BAFTA awards. Remarkably, it operated at a third of the cost of rival commercial online …

    Media 28 Nov 11:20

  • Android seven-inchers swipe rug from under Apple

    iPad share slumps

    The question is, does Apple’s tablet market share - or Android’s for that matter - actually matter? Apple is certainly selling more of the darn things, but after a brief year’s relief, sales of Android alternatives are rising even more quickly. According to ABI Research, a market watcher, Apple’s share of the world tablet …

    Tablets 28 Nov 11:34

  • Nokia RIM shot: Seeks royalties after winning wireless patent spat

    Struggle for Apple-Samsung leftover scraps turns nasty

    RIM's decision to take its Nokia patent licensing troubles to an arbitration tribunal has backfired somewhat, as the adjudicator found the Canadian firm wasn't sticking to its side of the cross-licensing bargain the two firms struck nearly 10 years ago. The tribunal said that Research in Motion is "not entitled to manufacture …

    Law 28 Nov 11:45

  • NUDT on HPC battle: Total cluster supremacy - Who needs it?

    SC12 LINPACK win's more than enough for Chinese comp sci boffins

    Team NUDT (China’s own National University of Defense Technology) was all smiles when I stopped by their booth on the final day of the SC12 Student Cluster Competition (SCC). And what’s not to smile about? They had just won the LINPACK award with their record-breaking 3 Teraflop/s score and were considered a serious contender …

    HPC 28 Nov 11:49

  • How to launch people into space...

    It's Not Rocket Science ...if you want them to survive the journey

    Last time, I explored how difficult it is for computer hardware to operate in the noisy - from an electromagnetic radiation perspective - environment of outer space. Today’s topic is people. Don’t worry, I won’t be boring you with life support systems. That’s the least of a spacer’s worries. Before you need to worry about …

    Science 28 Nov 12:00

  • Annual reviews: It's high time we rid the world of this insanity

    There is no way a human could have invented such a devilish system

    An inescapable and widely dreaded fact of life for people employed in the financial industry is the annual review. Unlike the way this process might have worked a few decades ago, and still does in most other industries, it’s not a simple matter of sitting down with your manager at the end of the year for a casual discussion of …

    Jobs 28 Nov 12:15

  • Real sci-fi space ships coming at last? NASA tests nuclear engine

    Not so much, we're sorry to report

    NASA has conducted tests of a nuclear reactor intended to generate electricity in space for the first time since 1965, offering hope that humanity may now belatedly get serious about building proper, powerful spaceships of the sort long envisaged in science fiction. The space agency has just announced the tests, conducted by …

    Science 28 Nov 12:16

  • Take-Two praises release breaks for Grand Theft Auto's healthy figure

    More series copies shifted than Tetris?

    Some 125 million copies of Grand Theft Auto games have shipped since the series' introduction, publisher Take-Two Interactive has claimed. While it would be easy to celebrate that such figures means GTA easily challenges Tetris for fifth place in the world best-selling franchise table - behind Mario, Pokemon, Wii Sports/Play/ …

    Games 28 Nov 12:19

  • MIDI: 30 years old... almost

    Auntie causes premature eulogisation?

    Despite rumours to the contrary, MIDI is not 30 years old today. The concept is older and its actual adoption as an industry standard gets its birthday next summer. Yet as industry standards go, it’s certainly been a robust one. As with a lot of technology standards – remember draft-n Wi-Fi? – manufacturers don't want to hang …

    Vintage 28 Nov 12:24

  • Comet crashes to Earth: 125 stores wiped out

    Thousands of chain's staff at risk

    Comet administrator Deloitte will shut 125 of the retail chain's stores, putting thousands of people out of work just before Christmas. The receiver, appointed at the start of this month, is unable to find a buyer for the business as a going concern. The closures will take place over the next fortnight, leaving about 70 …

    The Channel 28 Nov 12:29

  • 'Microsoft to make its own Surface phones' - mutterings

    Source of rumours predicted 5 of the last 2 surprises

    Microsoft has, apparently, signed up with iPhone manufacturer Foxconn to build its own handset next year, extending the Surface brand into mobile telephony. The rumour comes from Digitimes, and tells us that "upstream suppliers" claim to be supplying parts for a new phone from Amazon too, which should make 2013 an interesting …

    Hardware 28 Nov 12:44

  • Google 'wants to dodge consent decree' in any FTC antitrust deal

    Choc Factory reportedly trying for a wink and a handshake on antitrust probe

    Google is rumoured to be trying to persuade the Federal Trade Commission that it hasn't broken any antitrust laws and that any agreement it makes with the agency isn't bound by a consent decree. The Chocolate Factory is looking for a light wrist-slap for its alleged search market dominance as the agency finishes up its 19- …

    Business 28 Nov 12:56

  • 'Brit Bill Gates' defends his honour in open letter to HP board

    'See you in court' HP tells Lynch

    Hewlett-Packard has slapped down former Autonomy boss Mike Lynch after he called for details of accounting charges made against him and for an explanation of what HP executives really knew. In an open letter to PC giant’s board, Lynch effectively accused HP of smearing him by releasing selected information to the media and he …

    Business 28 Nov 13:18

  • Sinking Xbox 360 sales still stymies Nintendo numbers

    Console conflict for Crimbo

    Microsoft shifted three quarters of a million Xbox 360 consoles during "Black Friday" week in the US. While that works out at 22 per cent fewer units than it managed to shift this time last year, the figures remain impressive for a console nearing the end of its lifecycle. To be fair, overhauling 2011's Xmas Xbox sales would …

    Games 28 Nov 13:20

  • A tweet too far: UK contempt law reform push begins

    I hold the interwebs in utter contempt, dear boy!

    The Law Commission opened public consultation on contempt and the internet today, after the Attorney General confirmed last week that the matter was to be reviewed in the wake of recent high-profile contempt cases that originated online. The views of English and Welsh citizens will be sought about the 31-year-old Contempt of …

    Law 28 Nov 13:29

  • Team Boilermaker: We hammer the code... not the booze

    SC12 Student cluster compo kids signal possible move to hybrid HPC

    We had a chat with Team Boilermaker on the last day of the SC12 Student Cluster Competition. While the team did visit several of the vendor parties the night before, they assert that they didn’t overindulge, and claim that the absence of some team members is due to meetings, not hangovers. I think I buy that explanation; the …

    HPC 28 Nov 13:40

  • Windows 8 launch outdoes Windows 7's, says Microsoft bigwig

    Schtum on Surface, no breakdown on boxes vs upgrades

    Microsoft's new operating system has sold 40 million units in its first month on sale, a Microsoft top bod revealed at a conference yesterday. The 40m Windows 8 licenses have been sold since October 26 said Tami Reller, Chief Marketing and Financial Officer for Windows. Customers were upgrading to Win 8 faster than they had to …

    Operating Systems 28 Nov 13:47

  • Ten weird Chinese mobile phones

    Product Round-up Star-shaped, quad-SIM and sports car phones

    Shopping for a mobile phone this Christmas? You could make the easy choice and get an Apple iPhone 5, one of Samsung's recent releases or take a punt on whether enough apps will emerge to make the Nokia Lumia 920 worth your hard-earned cash. But no matter how refined those phones, they're also common as muck, so they're never …

    Apps 28 Nov 14:01

  • Iran's Photoshop FAIL: 'New drone' actually Japanese university bird

    Another comical claim from knockabout ayatollahs

    Earlier this month Iran showed off its latest drone design, but on examination the photographs bear a striking similarity to those coming out of Japan's Chiba University. The connection was spotted by pilot, and blogger, Gary Mortimer, who felt the design of the KOKER-1 looked familiar but had to spend a few weeks remembering …

    Bootnotes 28 Nov 14:19

  • New science upsets calculations on sea level rise, climate change

    Ice sheet melt massively overestimated, satellites show

    A new analysis of data from dedicated satellites shows that one of the main factors predicted to drive rising sea levels in future has been seriously overestimated, with major implications for climate talks currently underway in Doha. The new methods involve filtering out noise from the data produced by the Gravity Recovery …

    Science 28 Nov 14:20

  • Think Xmas bashes in your biz are scary? Try partying with the Channel

    Not met your targets? Hand over your clothes

    Etiquette experts Debrett’s has extensive advice for how to negotiate the work Christmas party, including retaining one’s professional gloss and never doing anything one might regret in the morning. Debrett’s has never been to a channel Christmas party. But with a threatened Eurozone double-dip recession, limping distributor …

    The Channel 28 Nov 14:39

  • 'Boson' Higgs: Yes, CERN has seen the coming of the God particle

    Mighty proton-punisher has indeed unlocked the cosmos

    Boffin Peter Higgs said yesterday that he's confident the particle discovered by the Large Hadron Collider last July was the Higgs boson he first predicted in 1964. "I think it will turn out to be [the Higgs boson], but it's just a question of getting out the additional information," he told reporters ahead of a speech to the …

    Science 28 Nov 14:57

  • Logicalis UK boss Tom Kelly to stand down in New Year

    Succession planing in full swing

    Logicalis veteran UK MD Tom Kelly has confirmed he is stepping down in the New Year. "Ten years is a long time," he revealed to The Channel. "It is time for a change and to face new challenges." The exec is helping with succession planing but is due to hand over control to the next UK boss at the end of February when …

    The Channel 28 Nov 15:20

  • Amazon makes BEELLIONS from British customers, pays pennies in tax

    Please don't publish these numbers, it begs UK.gov

    Amazon paid just £1.8m in corporation tax in the UK despite racking up a pre-tax profit of £74m on £3.35bn sales in 2011, according to figures the web giant wanted to keep secret. MPs probing the company's minuscule corporation tax bill demanded to see Amazon's profit numbers as well as its sales performance, and published the …

    Financial News 28 Nov 15:23

  • Who cares about your archives anymore?

    Practical advice from Reg readers

    There aren’t many business that don’t need archives of their files and emails that their employees can reach with ease. But certainly, it can be of more strategic importance for some than others. Reg reader, Stuart Walters, falls into the latter camp. He’s the IT Director of international law firm Taylor Wessing - a place …

    Business 28 Nov 15:30

  • DNS servers filled with wrong Kool-Aid, big names waylaid in Romania

    Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google, PayPal all graffiti'd

    A hacker today redirected web surfers looking for Yahoo, Microsoft or Google to a page showing a TV test card by apparently poisoning Google's public DNS system. Punters and organisations relying on Google's free service were affected, rather than the websites themselves being compromised. Visitors to yahoo.ro, microsoft.ro …

    Security 28 Nov 15:59

  • Team Utah grabs Mini Iron crown at little cluster compo

    SC12 'Didya Hear the One About the Traveling Salesman?'

    Until this year, the annual SC Student Cluster Competition focused entirely on seeing how much work teams of university students could wring out of 26 amps of juice. They can use any hardware/software combination that will run the required apps; the only limitation is that their configuration has to be shipping by the time of …

    HPC 28 Nov 16:14

  • Quote Software-defined data centre. Any takers?

    Quote Pile in and flesh it out.

    <!-- -->

    Forums 28 Nov 16:20

  • MONSTER QUASAR BLAST blows stunned astro boffins' WIGS OFF

    Jumbo black hole thumper silences gossiping theorists

    Physics boffins have discovered a dying galaxy whose black hole core has emitted the biggest burst of energy ever to be found by scientists. Researchers at Virginia Tech in the US examined the record-breaking quasar, dubbed SDSS J1106+1939, using a colossal telescope in Paranal, Chile to observe what they described as a " …

    Science 28 Nov 16:40

  • TVShack O’Dwyer strikes deal to avoid US extradition

    Will instead politely fly over and pay a fine

    Briton Richard O'Dwyer will avoid extradition to the US to face trial and possible jail time over allegations his video download links website facilitated copyright infringement. The 24-year-old Sheffield Hallam university student has agreed to travel to America and pay a small sum of compensation, the High Court in London …

    Law 28 Nov 16:59

  • Apple sticks finger in dyke, cuts off Dutch flood of Galaxy S, SII, Ace

    What was it like before the patent wars, mummy?

    Samsung Galaxy products which run Android 2.2.1 to 2.3.7 - the Galaxy S, SII and Ace - have been banned in the Netherlands after a Dutch court ruled that the devices infringe an Apple scrolling patent that relates to how a user swipes through photo galleries. The court said that Samsung's pre-Android 3.0 gear is using the …

    Law 28 Nov 17:28

  • Amazon fluffs up cloudy data warehousing service with Redshift

    re:Invent Bezos kicks Teradata, IBM, Oracle, and Greenplum in the ad hocs

    Amazon Web Services, has used its first re:Invent customer and partner conference in Las Vegas to launch a cloudy data warehousing service dubbed Redshift. In the opening keynote at re:Invent, Andy Jassy, the Amazon senior vice president in charge of AWS, said that large companies – including Amazon itself, which is the …

    Cloud 28 Nov 20:22

  • GreenBytes founder steps aside for new blood

    Stephen O'Donnell to run VDI accelerating appliance show

    Greenbytes is a startup whose IO Offload Engine accelerates VDI. It's just announced a new and experienced CEO, Stephen O'Donnell, who will accelerate it. The company, previously run by Bob Petrocelli, who founded it in 2007 (background here.), produced an all-flash array called Solidarity which used ZFS software, albeit with …

    Storage 28 Nov 20:26

  • Astronomers find biggest black hole, 17 BILLION times the size of Sun

    Black hole theory goatse'd by new discovery

    A team at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy has found the largest recorded black hole, one that swallows an unprecedented amount of its home galaxy, potentially requiring a rethink in our understanding of galactic formation. The huge hole has been spotted in the heart of the disk system NGC 1277, a smallish galaxy about …

    Science 28 Nov 21:21

  • BitYota uncloaks, fires off SaaS torpedoes at data warehouse stalwarts

    Re:Invent Blasted from behind by AWS Redshift superdreadnaught

    Anything that you are running in your data center, someone is trying to rework as a service running out there on the cloud, and BitYota wants you to let go of your data warehousing and uses its eponymous data warehousing service instead. Considering the cost and grief that these machines bring companies, it just might succeed …

    Cloud 28 Nov 21:24

  • Cutbacks hit CSIRO wireless unit

    Union fears science will suffer

    One of the CSIRO’s most successful research units – at least measured by the royalties it generates – is being slimmed down, according to the CSIRO Staff Association. The union has called the job cuts “baffling” given the value of wireless research to the scientific body. Through a series of long-running lawsuits with vendors …

    Government 28 Nov 22:03

  • WCIT leak: CHAOS will REIGN if telco talks fail

    Dubai discussion of International Telecoms Regulations could also mean nothing

    As delegates prepare for the intolerable privation of a five-star junket in Dubai to debate re-framing the decades-old International Telecommunications Regulations (ITRs), a leaked management briefing from September warns that chaos may reign if the talks don’t reach a consensus outcome. The document (at WCIT Leaks, here (PDF …

    Networks 28 Nov 22:33

  • Anti-Israel hackers leak nuclear watchdog email addresses

    Demand investigation of Israeli nuke site, or else

    The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has admitted to suffering a data breach that leaked the email addresses of more than 150 people allegedly involved with Israel's nuclear weapons program. A hitherto-unknown hacker group calling itself Parastoo claimed responsibility for the breach in a statement released to …

    Security 28 Nov 23:06

  • Microsoft's promises slow upgrade for loyal Phone 7 customers

    Getting Phone 8 in form, but not in function

    Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 users may not be able to upgrade their handsets to Phone 8, but an update promised by Redmond will make them look as though they have – though not until next year. Windows Phone 7.8, probably the last upgrade to the "Tango" version of the OS, will add the customizable application tile sizes of its …

    Mobile 28 Nov 23:45