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13th December 2012 Archive

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  • Goldman Sachs: Windows' true market share is just 20%

    Desktops are over, tablets and Smart TVs are in

    Windows might still be the dominant desktop computing OS by a large margin, but Microsoft is in danger of becoming a small player in today's global computing market, according to a new report from financial bigwigs Goldman Sachs. The report, which was obtained last week by The Seattle Times, says that while Microsoft operating …

    Operating Systems 13 Dec 00:48

  • John McAfee on a plane to America

    'Officers are here with guns and I must leave'

    Antiviral fugitive John McAfee is on his way to the USA, after Guatemala booted him out. McAfee's blog features an audio interview he gave to Bloomberg in which he says he has been forced to apologise to the President of Guatemala, as his arrival in the nation coincided with negotiations of a treaty with Belize, the nation he …

    Security 13 Dec 00:51

  • Hubble takes furthest peep back into universe's history

    Spots galaxy formed 380 million years after Big Bang

    The Hubble space telescope has taken its longest look back into the beginnings of the universe and found seven galaxies formed less than 600 million years after the Big Bang, including one that may be the earlest ever seen. The galaxies are in a zone that was formed when the universe was just 4 per cent of its current age and …

    Science 13 Dec 01:22

  • Juniper snaps up SDN startup before it even uncloaks

    Contrail Systems fetches $176m

    Struggling switch and router supplier Juniper Networks, smacked around in the hardware business by a recovering Cisco Systems and surrounded by a bunch of upstarts who want to virtualize networks and thereby suck all the profits out of hardware, is fighting back by acquiring Contrail Systems. Contrail, which was working on its …

    Datacenter 13 Dec 01:24

  • Andromeda home to micro-quasar

    Little black hole is big sucker

    The National Science Foundation’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory has spotted an X-ray source in Andromeda, 2.5 million light-years distant, that it’s tagged as a “micro-quasar” and says is the first discovered beyond the Milky Way. The object, XMMU J004243.6+412519 (love the naming convention), is a black hole with an …

    Science 13 Dec 01:30

  • Microsoft's Steve Ballmer named 'most improved tech CEO'

    But there's room for improvement yet

    Jobs and career community website Glassdoor has named Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer its "most improved tech CEO" for 2012, though judging by the numbers it's a dubious honor, to say the least. According to the site's latest annual Tech Company Comparison Report, which it published on Tuesday, Microsoft's chief exec scored a CEO …

    Business 13 Dec 02:02

  • Londoners can bonk their way to work without Oyster cards TODAY

    Buses first to siphon cash from NFC bank cards, mobes

    Ticket machines on London buses are set to accept pay-by-tap credit and debit cards from today, it has been announced. The capital's Underground system is expected to follow suit sometime later, wirelessly siphoning cash from commuters and bypassing the Oyster card system. The system will use MasterCard's PayPass platform: but …

    Mobile 13 Dec 05:57

  • Australian State launches IBM probe

    SAP-based payroll system said to need $AUD245m of repair work

    IBM's dealings with the Australian state of Queensland will be the subject of an inquiry with the powers of a Royal Commission, after an SAP-based payroll system implemented in part by big blue failed so badly returning it to working order is expected to cost $AUD245m, with the whole project costing $AUD1.25bn. Queensland is …

    Government 13 Dec 06:27

  • Pure Storage to VDI players: Flash array trounces the platter

    5,000 virty desktops with cheap(er) flash tech

    Pure Storage has announced its FlashArray is ready and waiting to accelerate virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) applications at scale, ready to support thousands of skinny and full-fat desktops. It also join the rest of the flash start-up brigade - Greenbytes, Nimble Storage, Tintri, Tegile, Violin Memory and Whiptail - in …

    Storage 13 Dec 07:03

  • 2012: A generation-spanning year for gaming

    In with the new, but not yet out with the old

    This year has been arguably the most important year for the videogames industry in a long time. Not only did we see Sony take a final punt at the handheld market with the PS Vita - a move it may well now be regretting - but 2012 also saw Nintendo usher in the next generation of gaming with the Wii U. Sure, the Wii U may not be a …

    Hardware 13 Dec 08:00

  • LOHAN fabricates full-fat fantastical flying truss

    Vulture 2 launch platform hewn from carbon-fibre rods

    The Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) team has bounced back from the recent loss of our heroic playmonaut and the Special Project Electronic Altitude Release System (SPEARS) control board, and is busy advancing our audacious spaceplane project on various fronts. While we look to recruit a replacement for our …

    SPB 13 Dec 09:02

  • Atmos: Give us your tired, your poor... Heck, our cloud will even take that S3 app

    Rolls out native support for Amazon S3 API, CIFS cloud gateway too

    EMC has launched a hat-trick of Atmos updates: new hardware, new software and new interfaces. The system holds 33 per cent more data, chews through it more quickly and provides more and faster ways of getting to it. Potential customers can try Atmos software out using a virtual edition running on any VMware-certified storage. …

    Storage 13 Dec 09:29

  • Stroustrup on next-gen C++: I didn't want to let go of my baby

    Badly taught, over-used... better than ever

    C++ 11 is “far better than previous versions”, says the inventor of the language Bjarne Stroustrup. He was speaking at an online event marking the launch of Embarcadero's C++ Builder XE3, a rapid application tool targeting Windows and Mac OS X. C++ Builder XE3 is a promising but curious product. Delphi and C++ Builder were …

    Developer 13 Dec 10:00

  • Hacking bazaar ExploitHub gets hacked, database leaked

    But online shop denies $250k of exploits were pinched

    Online boutique ExploitHub, which sells code to attack software security holes, has been plundered by hackers. A database snaffled from the marketplace was dumped online as proof of the raid. ExploitHub admitted a breach of its systems occurred, but said any information lifted was limited to a discussion board about its wares …

    Security 13 Dec 10:28

  • Delegates launch dawn spitball raid in battle for INTERNET DOMINATION

    WCIT2012 Funny that, no mention of interwebs in comms treaty...

    As night turned into morning, events took a turn for the strange at the ITU conference, with a vote which wasn't a vote, a resolution which wasn't resolved and an indecent proposal from Russia wielded as a threat. The non-vote came as 2am approached, with the conference centre being held open while delegates continued …

    Policy 13 Dec 11:02

  • Google maps app is BACK on iPhones, fanbois spared death

    'I almost died in Australia, thank God this is out'

    Google's maps app for iPhones, iPads and iPods is back less than three months after Apple booted it out of the iOS platform. In that period, the Cupertino giant publicly apologised for replacing its rival's mapping application with its own shoddy satnav-like software; the top exec behind Apple's crap map app, Scott Forstall, …

    Applications 13 Dec 11:22

  • Free HPC cluster to good home

    HPC blog US and Canada researchers vie for supercomputing bigness grant

    Interested in getting your hands on some serious system hardware for free? Well, with a few provisos, you could get your hands on a nearly new HPC cluster. First off, you'll need to be in the research game - in a US- or Canada-based academic or government lab, or some other non-profit research institution. (We’re talking about …

    HPC 13 Dec 11:32

  • Punters rate Apple, Samsung more highly than ever

    And turn their backs on other tech titans

    Are we all becoming fanboys? If you broaden the term beyond those who favour Apple products to encompass folk keen on Samsung kit, the answer appears to be yes. At least that's what data from Strategy Analytics, a market watcher, suggests. It polled 6500 Europeans and Americans in October 2012, asking them all to name and rate …

    Hardware 13 Dec 11:36

  • Schmidt 'very proud' of Google's tiny tax bill: 'It's called capitalism'

    Ads giant branded 'morally bankrupt modern-day robber baron'

    Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt has dismissed criticism over how little corporation tax his company pays, saying it's just capitalism. Schmidt is "very proud" of the corporate structure Google set up to divert profits made in European countries, such as the UK, to its firms in the low-tax havens of Ireland and The …

    Financial News 13 Dec 12:05

  • It pays to study the habits of your email users

    Spot the filers and the pilers

    How many email messages do you receive in the average working day: 20? 30? 50? More? And what volume of email have you accumulated over the past year: half a gig, a gig, two gigs? Whatever the exact amount, it is safe to say that most of us have to deal with a lot of email traffic and that an increasing proportion of it comes …

    Management 13 Dec 12:12

  • BT broadband goes TITSUP - cripples Scots, Geordies, Northern Irish

    A man walks into a bar complaining about his multiple nodes

    Some of the telcos which depend on BT's network to offer broadband services to their customers have been reporting a major outage affecting thousands of people in the North of England, Northern Ireland and the two biggest cities in Scotland. ISP Zen Internet told its subscribers that BT's 20CN and 21CN circuits were currently …

    Broadband 13 Dec 12:22

  • In a mobile data eating contest, Brits would win - Ofcom

    What's that smeared around your mouth?

    Brits like to splurge more on the internet than any other major country, according to regulator Ofcom. UK shoppers have broken the £1,000-a-year mark by £83, compared to Aussies, who spend an average of £842 a year and the Swedes, who pay out £747. In fact, Brits like to shop online so much, they can't even stop themselves …

    Mobile 13 Dec 12:39

  • Apple and Samsung mobile monsters: 'We only eat RAW CASH'

    Open ... and Shut Go on Microsoft, feed the beast

    For years, Apple dominated mobile industry profits, charging a premium for tightly integrated hardware-to-software-to-data centre mobile solutions. It turns out, however, that this magical formula for industry profits can be replicated, as Samsung is showing. It's also increasingly clear that it isn't cheap. Apple and Samsung …

    Mobile 13 Dec 13:03

  • Big Data storage of the future: Fat spinning tubs smothered in NVRAM gravy

    No more tiers, vows one storage guru as industry places its bets

    Jean-Luc Chatelain, EVP of one of the major high capacity storage firms, says he sees storage tiers collapsing, leaving only server non volatile memory (NVRAM) and massively fat spinning data tubs of up to 64TB and rendering tape irrelevant. But how do we get to this point? Chatelain - aka JLC - is the exec who heads up …

    Storage 13 Dec 13:42

  • UK taxpayers spunk £8m on lubing civil servants for data release

    £25k wad dangled before start-ups to make apps about UK.gov

    Millions of pounds in taxpayers' cash will be spent on encouraging civil servants to reveal more facts and figures about the government's activities to the private sector. The Cabinet Office has announced two programmes, backed by an £8.35m pot, that Number 10 said “will help public bodies release data so that companies can …

    Government 13 Dec 14:02

  • Sinclair ZX Spectrum FAILS latest radio noise rules SHOCK

    1980s tech for 1980s rules

    A pal of mine suggested a short while back that it might be fun to obtain the blueprints for Sinclair Research’s ZX Spectrum and have a batch built up to sell to fans of retro computing. It’s a good job this plan never made it out of the pub: the dear old Speccy would have immediately fallen foul of modern electromagnetic …

    Games 13 Dec 14:10

  • Sleepy North Yorkshire village is first to get gov-subsidised BT fibre

    90 bumpkins get speeds of up to 80Mbps

    After a long delay, the Ministry of Fun has finally signed off the first BT broadband cabinet - supported by BDUK funds - to deliver download speeds of up to 80Mbit/s to residents in a North Yorkshire village. Broadband minister Ed Vaizey paid a visit to Ainderby Steeple today to show off the first such cabinet that some have …

    Broadband 13 Dec 14:39

  • Avnet Technology Solutions in UK revamp

    Don't just use us when you feel like it, we want a relationship

    Avnet Technology Solutions is proposing to work with fewer channel customers which buy opportunistically, and throw its support instead behind those that want a "strategic relationship". The US distie giant is trying to tap into a relatively a nebulous term in the channel - loyalty - and has formed customer facing business …

    The Channel 13 Dec 15:01

  • Win7 hotspot hackers kick-funded - now they're network bondage pros

    Double your broadband for only $70*

    Having raised more than $100,000 on Kickstarter, the Windows network bonding application has gone professional, with a professional price which will only appeal to those desperate to combine internet connections. Connectify raised the cash on the back of a pretty video and prototype code, which the company started selling to …

    Applications 13 Dec 15:02

  • Shiny new UK.gov stats website a 'disaster' - MPs

    Numbers chief admits it's hard to use, navigate and search

    The official website designed to give the British public access to government statistics has been branded a "disaster" by MPs. Andrew Dilnot, chair of the UK Statistics Authority, was brought in front of the Public Administration Committee yesterday to explain why it's so hard to actually pull up any information on ons.gov.uk …

    Government 13 Dec 15:33

  • FCC: Kids, here's 100MHz of radio spectrum - but you have to share

    Sets 3.5GHz band free for public use

    US regulator the FCC will hand over another 100MHz of radio spectrum to unlicensed wireless users, just as long as they let someone know they're using it, as the White Space expands to fill every gap. The band runs from 3550MHz to 3650MHz, making it slightly larger than the 2.4GHz band used for Wi-Fi. It's currently occupied …

    Government 13 Dec 16:07

  • Dixons and Microsoft haggling over Surface RT Ts&Cs

    Distie deal likely but not before end of 2012 - sources

    Dixons Retail is currently thrashing out the terms and conditions to flog Microsoft's seemingly little loved Surface RT slab. Sources close to the talks say a deal is on the cards but were unsure if it could be struck before the peak festive sales seasons begins in earnest. "Dixons is likely to get it [Surface] but is still …

    The Channel 13 Dec 16:31

  • Three little words stall UN's 'bid for INTERNET DOMINATION'

    WCIT2012 And it's not: screw, go, and yourself

    Time is running out for the world to agree on a new ITU treaty, which will define how countries communicate electronically with each other. The daylight is failing and three words still present immovable barriers to consensus - unless the chairman can magic them away. Meanwhile, voting guidelines are starting to circulate. At …

    Policy 13 Dec 16:59

  • Flash makes servers go with a Bang, benchmarks show

    Fujitsu and Dell scream along with added Violins

    Flash arrays have enabled Dell and Fujitsu server iron to boast brilliant VMmark results. Dell PowerEdge R720 servers scored 11.39 at 10 tiles in the VMware VMmark 2.1 benchmark. AS El Reg wrote when noting HP server success at this: VMware's VMmark benchmark measures how a server runs simultaneous VMware virtual machines ( …

    Storage 13 Dec 17:27

  • Apple loses iPhone patent lawsuit

    Jury rejects Apple's claim that Sony, Nokia patents were 'obvious'

    A jury in the US District Court in Delaware has ruled that Apple infringed on three patents owned by MobileMedia Ideas LLC of Chevy Chase, MD. "We're very pleased," MobileMedia CEO Larry Horn told Bloomberg. "We think it's justified." MobileMedia Ideas, reports the Los Angeles Times, is a patent holding company formed by Sony …

    Law 13 Dec 19:28

  • US sides with UK, walks away from sticky WCIT treaty

    No consensus, no signature

    America has stated that it won't be signing the new ITU treaty after the text was pushed though on a forced vote, with the UK being the first of many to agree that the final text is not acceptable. The conference Chair took a gamble, closing discussion earlier in the day and presenting a modified version of the ITU treaty, …

    Policy 13 Dec 19:29

  • Google Maps becomes Apple's most popular app

    Users seek a proper sense of direction

    Less than a day after its release, Google's Maps app has become the most popular download in the iTunes store. On Thursday, Google got its mapping app cleared, three months after being unceremoniously dumped by Cupertino in iOS 6. Apple thought that it could do a better mapping system than Google, and presumably saw no reason …

    Mobile 13 Dec 19:32

  • TPC kicks out quick-and-dirty virty server test

    Good for calculating hypervisor overhead – maybe

    For the past two and a half years, the members of the Transaction Processing Council consortium, which creates and audits transaction processing and data warehousing benchmarks for systems, has been working on a virtualization benchmark. The new test, called TPC-VMS, has finally made it out of committee and is ready for use. …

    Virtualization 13 Dec 20:18

  • Couchbase adds JSON docs, geo replication to NoSQL

    Taking on MongoDB in ease of use, scalability

    Couchbase, one of the emerging providers of NoSQL databases (or data stores) for modern web applications, is cranking up and pushing out a new release, taking on rival 10gen's MongoDB for the hearts, minds, and money of web startups looking for ways to hold, dice, and slice large amounts of data. Couchbase is not the same …

    Datacenter 13 Dec 20:29

  • Facebook ditches mobile HTML with native Android app

    Updated New version 'twice as fast' as lousy old one

    Four months after Facebook infamously switched its iOS mobile app from an HTML-based app to a native one, the social network has followed suit with a native app for Android, completing its transition away from web-based mobile development. "Facebook for Android 2.0 is twice as fast when looking at photos and opening your …

    Applications 13 Dec 21:22

  • Cassini spots Titan ‘mini-Nile’

    Largest off-Earth river seen so far

    NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has sent back images of what the space agency says is “the first time images have revealed a river system this vast and in such high resolution anywhere other than Earth”. NASA image: Mini-Nile on Titan The river system on Saturn’s moon Titan has tickled the scientists because of its resemblance to …

    Science 13 Dec 21:39

  • File-sharing mom begs US Supremes to void bloated RIAA fine

    Would Founding Fathers approve of $9,250 per track?

    Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the Minnesota mother of four facing a $220,000 fine for illegally downloading and sharing 24 songs, has petitioned the US Supreme Court to hear her case. Thomas-Rasset's lawyers have filed a petition for certiorari (from the Latin verb 'to show') that asks the court to review the charges of $9,250 per MP3 …

    Law 13 Dec 22:04

  • Yet another eavesdrop vulnerability in Cisco phones

    Security groundhog day

    A university student presenting at the Amphion Forum has demonstrated turning a Cisco VoIP phone into a listening device, even when it’s on the hook. According to Dark Reading, the vulnerability demands a fairly extensive reconfiguration of the phone. This, at least, means the attacker needs greater sophistication than …

    Security 13 Dec 23:07

  • Apple debuts detailed failure gauge page

    Bookmark it, frustrated fanbois, for when iCloud evaporates

    Apple has quietly unveiled a more detailed way for users to check on the health of its various and sundry iServices. The new "Apple Services, Stores, and iCloud" webpage, launched Thursday, now provides status symbols – an orange triangle will be displayed when an individual service has "Issues", and a green square will be …

    Software 13 Dec 23:15

  • US Immigration service won't drop BlackBerry after all

    BlackBerry 10 pilot program could save RIM jobs

    In a surprising about-face, US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced that it will test-drive Research in Motion's new BlackBerry 10 operating system in January, having earlier said that it planned to drop RIM's platform in favor of iOS. The pilot program, which will include both RIM's new BlackBerry 10 …

    Mobile 13 Dec 23:34