The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

30th November 2012 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • IBM's PureSystems mod boxes bust kilo-customer barrier

    Tough to beat the Cisco UCS ramp, though

    Every market has its own psychological barrier, and for IBM systems the magic number seems to be 1,000. As part of the recent tweaks to its PureSystems line, Big Blue brags that it now has more than 1,000 unique customers worldwide using the new boxes. IBM did not supply any numbers regarding the volume of server nodes or …

    Servers 30 Nov 00:27

  • Staples to offer in-store full color 3D printing service

    Taps paper-based tech to help cap costs

    Custom 3D printing will move one step closer to becoming mainstream next year, thanks to a forthcoming service from office supply mega-chain Staples. Called Staples Easy 3D, the new offering will allow customers to upload STL, OBJ, or VRML files to the Staples Office Centre for 3D printing, then either pick up the finished …

    Hardware 30 Nov 00:51

  • Chinese buyers falling out of love with iPhones

    Shunning Samsung, too, in favour of local brands like Xiaomi

    Google famously failed to make a big dent in China and now it looks like Apple may be about to hit the Great Wall too, after new analysis of local sentiment found the fruity company out of favour with local consumers. The source of that analysis is Taiwan’s TRENDforce which teamed with Chinese outfit AVANTI Research Partners …

    Phones 30 Nov 01:04

  • RIM gifts new BlackBerry dev handset to select few

    QWERTY kit limited to 1,500 developers

    Research in Motion has kicked off the next phase of its BlackBerry 10 Developer Program with a giveaway of a brand-new BlackBerry developer device. Dubbed the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha C, the new testing device is the first to incorporate what RIM describes as "our industry-defining BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard." Since launching …

    Developer 30 Nov 02:17

  • Microsoft Security Essentials loses AV-TEST certification

    German lab downgrades Redmond after zero-day detection rates slide

    Microsoft Security Essentials, Redmond’s free antivirus tool for home users and business with up to ten PCs, can detect just 64 per cent of zero-day threats when running under Windows 7. That low detection rate has cost it the AV-TEST Institute’s seal of approval, a certification it hands out to products that meet 11 of 18 …

    Security 30 Nov 02:32

  • Japan Airlines to serve KFC on Christmas flights

    Tastes like chicken

    Japan Airlines has teamed up with Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan to offer its international long-haul passengers what may be the best economy class meal available, in the form of two pieces of the Colonel’s finest. The collaboration has been named “AIR KENTUCKY” (JAL’s caps) and will see passengers offered a drumstick, a …

    Bootnotes 30 Nov 02:56

  • Japanese ultrasonic speakers fire out digital info rays

    'SteganoSonic' system can transmit sound or data

    Japanese boffins at Tokyo’s Keio university have been showing off new transmission technology which uses ultrasonic waves to send digital information in highly directional bursts. Unveiled at the Open Research Forum 2012 in the capital last week, SteganoSonic features two plates covered in small ultrasonic speakers and a …

    Science 30 Nov 05:11

  • British boffins 3D print electrical sensors

    Piezoresistive polymer means 3D printers could spit out working game controllers

    Researchers at the University of Warwick and GKN Aerospace have developed a material that, when used in a 3D printer (3DP), makes it possible for the printed objects to include working sensors. Detailed in a paper titled A Simple, Low-Cost Conductive Composite Material for 3D Printing of Electronic Sensors (PDF), the …

    Hardware 30 Nov 05:25

  • Face invaders: New smartphone monitors skin tone

    Fujitsu's new 'Harada Memori' device will send skin tones to cosmetic cloud

    Not content with providing its customers with new tech gadgets to keep their pooches healthy, Japanese IT giant Fujitsu has now unveiled a smartphone designed to monitor users' skin. Hada Memori (skin memory) is the latest wacky invention from a company more commonly associated in the UK with public sector strikes and serious …

    Hardware 30 Nov 05:43

  • Google's Drive + Gmail: A 10GB Dropbox killer

    Open ... and Shut United States of 'Holy F*ck, this is easy!'

    In the realm of digital overlords, Google just took one more step toward being the lord of all. While Google+ has failed to draw crowds as a social network, Google has made collaboration through existing networks exceptionally easy. This week Google introduced the ability to send supersized email attachments of up to 10GB. In …

    Cloud 30 Nov 05:59

  • Nintendo Wii U Review

    'Asymmetric gameplay', anyone?

    Six years ago Nintendo brought gaming to the masses with the Wii, now it’s hoping to repeat the trick. The Wii U signals not only Nintendo’s first foray into HD, but the arrival of a new peripheral for us to get to grips with in the shape of the Wii U GamePad and its ‘asymmetric’ gameplay. Playing the field: Nintendo's Wii U …

    Games 30 Nov 07:00

  • Crooks inject malicious Java applet into FOREX trading website

    VXers wouldn't give a XXXX for anything else

    A FOREX trading website has been contaminated with a malicious Java applet that is designed to install malware on the systems of visiting surfers. The targeted website is a popular FOREX (foreign exchange market) website called "Trading Forex" (tradingforex.com). The website remains contaminated as of Thursday lunchtime …

    Security 30 Nov 07:29

  • Six of the best Nintendo Wii U games

    Half a dozen titles for your two-screen console

    All new consoles need the right line-up of games to make them a success. The Wii U, however, finds itself in the unusual position of not only having brand new games built for it at launch, but also having numerous games ported over from Xbox 360 and PS3. Batman: Arkham City, Darksiders 2, Assassin’s Creed 3, Mass Effect 3, …

    Games 30 Nov 08:05

  • Register readers mostly too ashamed to cop to hideous hoard horrors

    First step is admitting you have a problem. On the Reg

    We're very, very disappointed that Reg readers did not answer our call for the hoardiest human to come forward and present photographic evidence of their obsession with hanging onto every last bit of crap. Despite many horror stories - including tales of small children buried under defunct computer kit landslides, and fire …

    Bootnotes 30 Nov 08:30

  • Four key mistakes to avoid when building your hybrid cloud

    Live today How not to lose control of your IT ?

    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 30 Nov 08:44

  • Oi, Apple, stick to phones, forget about TV - Time Warner CEO

    'They make great devices' OOOH BURNNN

    Time Warner Cable CEO Jeff Bewkes has subtly mocked Apple's ambitions to conquer the TV biz by describing the iPhone maker as a "great device company". At the Ignition conference organised by Business Insider, Bewkes was asked whether Apple should make a television set and replied: "I hope they do." "They bring good interface …

    Hardware 30 Nov 08:57

  • Wanna see a 30D-rack beauty that goes like the clappers?

    What, we mean Whiptail's all-flash drive array, you perv

    Whiptail has increased the number of storage nodes in its all-flash array to 30. 30-node Whiptail Invicta Up until now, Whiptail's NAND-packed array could have two to six Invicta nodes. Each node can store 6TB to 12TB in MLC flash, allowing each array to contain up to 72TB. The chips can do 650,000 random read IOPS, 550,000 …

    Storage 30 Nov 09:26

  • LG claims UK Ultra HD TV first

    Monster 84in telly makes Blighty high street debut

    LG has put its first 4K x 2K - aka Ultra HD - LED-backlit LCD TV into shops. Its 84in monster, the LM960V, will today be available to view in posh peoples’ shops Harrods and Peter Jones Sloane Square, part of the John Lewis group. Of course, how many punters - even well-off ones - will feel the need to fork out £22,500 for a …

    Hardware 30 Nov 09:30

  • Microsoft braces for Surface RT feedback storm

    Ballmer: 'People get it'... Windows 8. Apparently

    Kludgey, dull screen, audio problems, fraying cloth covers – whatever your beef with Microsoft’s Surface, now’s your chance to get if off your chest. Microsoft has launched a Surface Owner Feedback Program for new owners of the Redmond fondleslab. You’ll be asked to take part in a survey on your experiences with Surface. …

    Windows 8 30 Nov 10:04

  • FINAL NIGHT: Boston kids power down cluster compo systems

    SC12 Students leave the HPC battlefield

    Early on the last day of the SC12 Student Cluster Competition, I hit a couple of morning meetings and then went wandering around the competition area. Most of the teams had at least two or three reps in the booths monitoring the systems and just sort of hanging around. They had turned in their final scientific results the night …

    HPC 30 Nov 10:17

  • BOFH: Cannot terminate PFY instance... ACCESS DENIED

    Episode 14 I trust two people in this world. One is me and the other ain't you

    "Have you seen this?" the PFY says, looking up from our revised contract document. "What?" I ask. "Did you realise there's a penalty clause in our contract for early termination? We have to give the company 2 YEARS notice of termination of contract?" "Sounds about right. It works both ways though - they have to give us the …

    BOFH 30 Nov 10:22

  • El Reg Movember lads sprout mighty Unix beards for cancer charity

    Your LAST CHANCE to donate cash to razor-free fundraiser

    What is it about facial hair and computing? From the greats of SmallTalk and C++ to Java and Ruby, beards and moustaches are not a rare sight in the world of computer science. James Gosling, Barjne Stroustrup, Alan Kay and Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto have expressed their genius not just through the curly braces in the machine …

    Bootnotes 30 Nov 10:54

  • 'Look, isn't there some way we can get Julian out of here?'

    Quotw Plus: 'we respectfully request confidential treatment' DENIED!

    The HP v Autonomy spat rumbled on this week, as Hewlett-Packard continued to maintain that Autonomy had "inflated its value", leading HP to slurp it up for an unwise amount of money. HP has said that it had to write down $8.8bn on the acquisition and alleges that Autonomy shuffled the figures to make itself look good. Former …

    Government 30 Nov 11:13

  • Watch live! Crack LOHAN team to send SPEARS to stratosphere

    Vid feed from balloon launch site promises hot hydrogen action

    Our report yesterday that the Special Projects Bureau had ordered its intrepid playmonaut back to base ahead of a vital Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) mission, led some of you to suspect that we were poised to wave off the Special Project Electronic Altitude Release System (SPEARS) control board on a high-altitude …

    SPB 30 Nov 11:23

  • Intel insists Mac Mini HDMI fix inbound

    Apple to configure cure

    Intel says it has addressed the Mac Mini flickering HDMI issue and informed those affected that Apple will configure a firmware fix having now been provided with amended drivers. A growing number of owners have complained of poor colours, snow-like interference and display blackouts when connecting a Mac Mini to an external …

    Hardware 30 Nov 11:51

  • Motörheadphönes Motörizer rock 'phones review

    Meet the beat

    One retailer’s Motörheadphönes Motörizer page caught my attention today. “Warning!” it shrieked, “The packaging and product includes explicit language. Not suitable for children under the age of 18.” Quite apart from the fact that whoever wrote those words has clearly not set foot in a British secondary school for a fair few …

    Hardware 30 Nov 12:00

  • Cash-hungry Sharp 'offering juicy stakes to US firms'

    Dell, Intel, Qualcomm rumoured to be in talks for meaty bits

    Sharp is in talks with US firms including Dell, Intel and Qualcomm to sell off bits and pieces of itself, it has been reported. The Japanese firm is looking for a sizeable capital injection and is hoping to get as much as 20bn ($240m) from Dell and Intel and another smaller pile of cash from Qualcomm, folks whispered to the …

    Business 30 Nov 12:18

  • Smear campaign

    Something for the Weekend, Sir? I don’t know where your fingers have been

    Men as a gender can be a smelly lot. There are cultural reasons underlying some of our questionable standards of personal hygiene but we are also victims of our own DNA. Like stature, baldness and the length of our ah… noses, there are many challenging aspects of our bodily functions that we simply inherited. For example, I …

    Hardware 30 Nov 12:39

  • UK server market lifeless: Customers just want fresh, young models

    Revenues slump 10 per cent to $430m

    The UK server market was like the surface of the Moon in Q3 - there were no signs of life. The value of the sector plummeted 10 per cent to $430m in the three months, led by declining legacy non-x86 systems - down 22 per cent to $100m. Even x86 systems experienced a 5 per cent decline - to $330m. Giorgio Nebuloni, IT market …

    Servers 30 Nov 13:02

  • Competition watchdogs jump in bed, compare Google probes

    FTC chairman to meet EC antitrust boss for talks

    Separate investigations into the business practices of Google are continuing to take place on both sides of the Atlantic and a meeting of minds is set to take place early next week, after the US Federal Trade Commission's chairman flew to Europe for talks with Brussels' competition chief. The FTC's boss Jon Leibowitz is to …

    Government 30 Nov 13:29

  • Unlocked iPhone 5 on sale in US, cheaper than UK - but not cheap

    Cost of being British is a high one for fanbois

    It has only taken three months, but from last night, Americans will now be able to buy an unlocked iPhone 5, and it will set them back $649. Available online since last night and in physical Apple Stores from today, it's a sign that the supply pressure on the flagship phone is easing off. Slim, aluminum and now without a …

    Hardware 30 Nov 13:57

  • Samsung: Demand for mobes forced 16hr days on factory slaves

    South Koreans vow to end 'excessive overtime' in supply chain

    Samsung has promised again that it's going to fix the problems at its Chinese suppliers, after it admitted poor conditions for employees following an investigation. It has committed to improving conditions for its manufacturing partners' workers but added that "local [Chinese] laws" meant that most workers in the region had a …

    Business 30 Nov 14:24

  • Help-desk hell: Can YOU beat this iPad-winning tale of woe?

    Support desks, sysadmins jockey for fondleslab prize

    A competition to find the best help-desk tale of despair, with an iPad up for grabs for the winner, has solicited a collection of bizarre and amusing anecdotes. Long-suffering IT technicians submitted their best yarns of dealing with users' problems to the "Confessions of an IT Professional" contest over the last two months. …

    Bootnotes 30 Nov 14:39

  • No more fun and games for Zynga as Facebook cuts apron strings

    Mummy, you're such a bitch ... bitch

    Zynga can no longer cream off users from Facebook, after Mark Zuckerberg's company revised a lucrative deal the games outfit once had with the network. According to a US regulatory filing, Facebook has backed out of a very chummy agreement it had in place with Zynga since December 2010. It's likely that Facebook has lost …

    Networks 30 Nov 15:02

  • NASA: THE TRUTH about the END OF THE WORLD on 21 Dec

    Boffins tackle Mayan Prophecy

    Five NASA scientists took time out yesterday to assure the public that the world will not end on 21 December. The astroboffins dismissed claims that a rogue planet called Nibiru will smash into Earth in three weeks, killing us all. The planetary smash-up just before Christmas 2012 was allegedly predicted by the Mayans. A wave …

    Science 30 Nov 15:19

  • Hearts, minds and balls: Microsoft's Windows 8 Surface gamble

    Punters don't want expensive PCs - will they take a tablet instead?

    What makes Microsoft think people will buy its Surfaces? It would have to be either for the love of the Microsoft brand or because Redmond has got them by the balls on data and apps. These can be the only reasons, based on the partially released specs of the Intel-based Surface running Windows 8 Pro that was unveiled on …

    Windows 8 30 Nov 15:38

  • Baby Bong #businessmodel is my PRIDE and JOY

    ¡Bong! I'm incubating the next generation - LITERALLY

    "In the Soviet suburbs of Hell and the blasted avenues of Mogadishu, I saw what our society could become" - Peter Hitchens, The Daily Mail The Bongster is summoned to a crisis meeting at No.10. Britain's skills shortage is top of the agenda. I enter the room, but I haven't even had time to place the large crate of one-litre …

    Bootnotes 30 Nov 15:48

  • Titsup Windows 8 PayPal payments snare upgraders

    Accounts debited, code AWOL

    Have you upgraded to Windows 8, paid via PayPal and not received your code download? Worse, has PayPal taken the money from your account? You’re not alone. Frustration is spreading among Windows users trying to download the Windows 8 upgrade and paying through PayPal only to find the process is broken. Microsoft and PayPal …

    Windows 8 30 Nov 15:54

  • Microsoft cues next-gen Xbox for Crimbo 2013

    Sales drop, plans arise

    Microsoft will release the next-generation Xbox console in time for Christmas next year, sources claim. While World+Dog could come up with a 2013 'Xbox 720' prediction, this latest claim comes by way of "people familiar with the company's plans", according to Bloomberg at least. The firm has apparently yet to decide whether …

    Games 30 Nov 16:09

  • Google+ exec declares Facebook 'social network of the past'

    Ads are just so wrong, says man who lives on ad money

    If you're looking for disingenuous quotation of the week then Vulture Central wouldn't blame you for looking no further than Google+ boss Bradley Horowitz. The exec not only described Facebook as the "social network of the past" but also labelled Mark Zuckerberg's ad strategy as "intrusive". He went on, while talking at a …

    Media 30 Nov 16:23

  • Last chance to vote for new sheriffs of security town

    CISSP tin star elections close today

    Friday marks the final day to submit votes for this year's election of directors to the (ISC)2 security certification body. (ISC)2, which administers the widely recognised Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) qualification, has around 80,000 members and several vocal critics in the infosec community. …

    Security 30 Nov 16:42

  • HPC cluster cowboys bag overall award, haul it home to Texas

    SC12 First-time winners head back to Lone Star state

    I caught up with Team Longhorn just before they turned in their final results for the SC12 Student Cluster Competition (SCC). As you can see in the short video, they’re pretty cool and composed, but I thought I sensed a little bit of anxiety under the surface. As it turns out, they should have been more relaxed – they were on …

    HPC 30 Nov 16:55

  • Groupon chief Mason keeps his job - despite rubbish share price

    'I'd fire myself if I wasn't right for the job, but I am'

    Groupon boss Andrew Mason has managed to hang on to his seat at the top, despite rumours that the board was considering giving him the boot. Reports that Mason's days might be numbered first appeared on AllThingsD, after which Mason said at a conference that he thought it would be strange if the board didn't consider sacking …

    Business 30 Nov 17:02

  • Your smartphone browser: A ZOMBIE in password-crunching botnet

    It could happen: Comp sci boffins on how to abuse cloud-based web browsers

    Computer scientists in the US have discovered a potential means to abuse cloud-based web browsers. Cloud-based web browsers such as Amazon Silk on the Kindle Fire feature a split architecture that means some processing associated with rendering web-pages is offloaded onto server farms in the cloud. Some smartphone browsers, …

    Security 30 Nov 17:32

  • EXTREME computer sports: Meet the cluster war winners

    SC12 3 Teraflop LINPACK for NUDT, Texas surprises, Utah defends home turf

    The 2012 Student Cluster Competition (SCC) is in the books and we have all of the results, right here, right now. First, as was released earlier, China’s Team NUDT ran away with the Highest LINPACK Award, an SCC record 3.014 Teraflop/s score. Their compatriots, Team USTC, locked in second place with 2.793 Teraflops/s, and the …

    HPC 30 Nov 18:02

  • Google Play revenues leap 311% in 2012

    Thank Asian gamers and a piddling starting point

    Revenue from apps sold in the Google Play store have exploded this year, but they still have quite a way to go before catching up with the cash cow that is the iOS App Store. According to a new report by the app sales and download analysts at App Annie, Google Play sales revenue grew a hefty 311 per cent from January through …

    Media 30 Nov 19:06

  • Sex offender wins case against Facebook vigilantism

    Let the Facebook Whac-A-Mole™ begin

    A convicted sex offender has won a court order giving Facebook 72 hours to remove a page on its site which names people who have have been convicted of sex offenses against children. The Northern Irish man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, took the action after his details appeared on the Facebook page "Keeping our kids …

    Law 30 Nov 19:47

  • House passes, Obama disses 55,000 visas for educated immigrants

    Analysis IT workers 'full employment' means US needs more from abroad

    The US House of Representatives has passed a bill to provide 55,000 visas per year to non-citizens who graduate from US universities with advanced degrees in STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The legislation, however, is opposed by President Obama and has a snowball's chance in hell of being …

    Government 30 Nov 22:07

  • Nine sentenced in Chinese kidney-for-iPad scheme

    There's a transplant op for that

    Note to Apple fanbois: If anyone approaches you with an offer to fund your iOS addiction in exchange for your internal organs, that person might be a criminal. So says the shocking verdict from the Chenzhou Intermediate People's Court in Hunan province, China, which on Thursday found nine people guilty of illegally purchasing …

    Bootnotes 30 Nov 22:09

  • Malware slurps rocket data from Japanese space agency

    Secrets of Epsilon go out the door

    Malware on a computer in the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been stealing data on the latest Nipponese solid-fuel rocket system. JAXA said that a security sweep of its systems on November 21 showed that a single computer had been subverted by the malware, and it was not clear if this was a targeted cyber-attack …

    Security 30 Nov 22:58