The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

14th December 2012 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • Google gives fat fingers the flick before they click

    Mobile ads are often a mistake

    Google has admitted what an awful lot of people have learned first-hand (or perhaps first-finger): in the cramped environs of a smartphone's screen, it’s easy to mistakenly click on an ad. The ad giant says “most accidental clicks on in-app image ads happen at the outer edge of the ad … when you’re trying to click or scroll to …

    Mobile 14 Dec 00:20

  • HP pretexting affair ends with jail time for last player

    'Concludes not with a bang but with a whimper'

    The HP pretexting scandal has finally ended, with the last person involved getting three months in prison for illegally accessing the phone records of journalists. Colorado private investigator Bryan Wagner convinced phone companies to hand over the telephone records of HP's management and the journalists who spoke to them as …

    Law 14 Dec 00:34

  • Polish man mistakes hot iron for mobe

    MY FACE! MY BEAUTIFUL FACE!

    The scenario sounds familiar: your significant other heads out, so you decide to relax with some sport on the tellie, a beer and, because you don't want to be found out as a total layabout, out comes the iron to press a shirt or two. That's just what Polish man Thomas Paczkowski decided to do, with boxing his chosen sport. All …

    Bootnotes 14 Dec 01:14

  • N. Joseph Woodland, inventor of the barcode, dies at 91

    Obituary Inspired by Boy Scouts

    The inventor of the bar code, Norman Joseph Woodland, has died at his home in New Jersey at the ripe old age of 91. Woodland, along with colleague Bernard Silver, originally patented the invention back in 1952 as a way of encoding data on packaging. Woodland claimed that he was inspired by a mix of his Morse code training in …

    Hardware 14 Dec 01:22

  • Dexter malware targets point of sale systems worldwide

    Payment cards plundered in 40 countries

    You could be getting more than you bargained for when you swipe your credit card this holiday shopping season, thanks to new malware that can skim credit card info from compromised point-of-sale (POS) systems. First spotted by security firm Seculert, the malware dubbed "Dexter" is believed to have infected hundreds of POS …

    Security 14 Dec 01:27

  • NASA reveals secrets of Curiosity’s selfies

    The tinfoil hat brigade aren’t going to believe a word of this

    NASA has published a long and detailed explanation of just how its Curiosity rover managed to take a self-portrait. The agency has posted a video, which we've popped at the bottom of the story, and lengthy text explanations of the way it assembled the shot below. NASA says “Curiosity held the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager ( …

    Science 14 Dec 01:48

  • Analyst offers cut-price fondleslab recipe

    Suggests PC-makers may undercut Apple and Amazon with $US150 'slab

    SSA Digital is a little-known Chinese company that is very good at two things. One is getting spam through the filters here at Vulture South, which is the only reason we know about the second thing at which it excels: making seven inch tablet computers so cheaply it is prepared to sell them for just $US40 apiece in lots of 10, …

    Tablets 14 Dec 03:42

  • GlobalFoundries CEO: Europe must 'wake up' and help industry

    Emphasis on innovation over manufacturing helps Asia, not EU

    The CEO of chip-baker GlobalFoundries, Ajit Manocha, believes that European Union bureaucrats – "Brussels," as he refers to them – need to "wake up" or the continent's industrial base will suffer. "One of the fundamental flaws in [European] thinking [is that] they are focused on innovation. There's no focus on manufacturing in …

    Policy 14 Dec 06:00

  • Suspected fake internet cop trio collared by real cops

    Ransomware demanded on-the-spot £100 fines from victims

    UK cops have arrested three people in Staffordshire on suspicion of running a ransomware scam that fooled victims into paying £100 fines. A 34-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman from Stoke-on-Trent were cuffed on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and possession of items for use in fraud. A 26-year-old man …

    Security 14 Dec 06:04

  • Falling slinky displays slow-motion causality

    Vid Sydney University boffin explains why dropped springs seem to defy gravity

    Researchers from the University of Sydney have explained why a spring dropped from a height - in this case the toy “slinky” – appear to ignore the force of gravity for a time. The very odd thing is that “if a slinky is hanging vertically under gravity from its top (at rest) and then released, the bottom of the slinky does not …

    Science 14 Dec 06:08

  • Sniff.. Phew! WORLD'S OLDEST CHEESE discovered in Poland

    Crucial fromage tech developed 8,000 years ago

    Ancient cheese-making technology has been discovered in Poland - proving Man was making proto-mozzarella approximately 8,000 years ago. The find shows humans made cheese in the Neolithic Era, 3,000 years earlier than archaeologists previously thought. Traces of the world's oldest fromage were discovered by researchers from …

    Science 14 Dec 07:04

  • The best smartphones for Christmas

    So many great handsets, so little time...

    This was the year the smartphone wars really got hot, both on the high street and in the courts. Of course the former was a driving force behind the latter: neither Apple nor Microsoft gave a toss about Android’s alleged patent infringements - real or imaginary, reasonable or ridiculous - until handsets running Google’s mobile …

    Mobile 14 Dec 08:00

  • Frack me! UK shale gas bonanza 'bigger than North Sea oil'

    Analysis Extraction to restart ... until the next tiny tremor

    The government has given the go-ahead for further exploration of the UK's shale gas reserves. Independent surveys suggest these reserves may yield more energy for the nation than North Sea oil. The shale gas will be collected using induced hydraulic fracturing, known as "fracking", which splits rocks thousands of feet below …

    Government 14 Dec 09:03

  • Spanish airport cops seize cocaine-packed Bulgarian airbags

    Panamanian cuffed over extra-fun funbags

    A 20-year-old Panamanian woman was cuffed at Barcelona Airport earlier this week for packing over a kilo of Bolivian marching powder in two Bulgarian airbags. The unnamed alleged mule caught the attention of cops after disembarking from a flight from Bogota. When questioned as to the reason for her visit, she offered "vague …

    Bootnotes 14 Dec 09:23

  • UK cops: How we sniffed out convicted AnonOps admin 'Nerdo'

    Hint: Sometimes gamer tags give the game away

    Analysis of IRC logs and open source intelligence played a key role in the successful police prosecution that led up the conviction of a member of Anonymous for conspiracy to launch denial of service attacks against PayPal and other firms. Christopher "Nerdo" Weatherhead, 22, was convicted on one count of conspiracy to impair …

    Security 14 Dec 10:04

  • Apple confirms Amazon ebooks bendover, EU watchdog drops bone

    Bezos tosses up grappling hook, climbs into walled discount garden

    Four of the major publishers – Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins and the Hachette Book Group – and Apple have agreed to pacify Eurocrats by changing their electronic book terms. The offer, discussed here back in September, was formally accepted yesterday. The agreement prohibits conditions introduced by publishers in …

    Media 14 Dec 10:32

  • The 30-year-old prank that became the first computer virus

    Elk Cloner creator Rich Skrenta looks back

    To the author of ‪Elk Cloner‬, the first computer virus to be released outside of the lab, it’s sad that, 30 years after the self-replicating code's appearance, the industry has yet to come up with a secure operating system. When Rich Skrenta, created Elk Cloner as a prank in February 1982, he was a 15-year-old high school …

    Security 14 Dec 11:02

  • 'It’s called capitalism. We are proudly capitalistic. I’m not confused about this'

    Quotw Plus: 'The Snoop Charter is a paranoid fantasy'

    This was the week when the Snoop Charter to implement 1984 conditions on Brits online was scrunched up into a tiny little ball and punted out the door by MPs and peers. After being roundly criticised by pretty much everyone, Theresa May's plan to give thinkpol law enforcement and spooks access to Blighty's internet activity …

    Bootnotes 14 Dec 11:18

  • Kelway splits with COO Lamey after six months

    Former HMRC CIO and COO moves on after stint at reseller

    Kelway has parted company with chief operating officer Steve Lamey just six months into his tenure. As revealed by The Channel, the former HMRC CIO and then COO quit the civil service early in the summer to take up the post at the London-based reseller in June. Phil Doye, chief executive at Kelway, confirmed that Lamey has …

    The Channel 14 Dec 11:36

  • John Lewis agrees to flog Microsoft's Surface RT tablets

    'Demand for Windows 8 has been phenomenal'

    Microsoft has brought in premium retailer John Lewis to flog its Surface RT slablet just days after shooting down its pure direct sales strategy. Redmond confirmed on Wednesday that it was enlisting a network of retailers to push its device in Europe from next year, claiming it was ramping production to meet demand. This is …

    The Channel 14 Dec 11:39

  • Happy birthday, Transistor

    The first working version powered up 65 years ago

    The transistor, the ubiquitous building block of all electronic circuits, will be 65 years old on Sunday. The device is jointly credited to William Shockley (1910-1989), John Bardeen (1908-1991) and Walter Brattain (1902-1987), and it was Bardeen and Brattain who operated the first working point-contact transistor during an …

    Vintage 14 Dec 12:00

  • Management gobble food-tracing-by-Microsoft firm Anglia

    A 'hidden gem', salivates money man

    The management at Anglia Business Solutions has completed a £6m buyout of the Cambridge-based Microsoft Gold partner. The team behind the MBO was led by Group CEO Robert Frost and the funding was stumped up by the execs, alongside WestBridge Capital, The Co-Operative Bank and a US VC group. Frost said in a canned statement …

    The Channel 14 Dec 12:02

  • Is your user base disappearing into the distance?

    Bridge the mobile divide

    The past decade has seen a dramatic shift from desktop computers towards notebooks and more recently smartphones and tablets. At the same time, the cost of computing has dropped so much that consumers, not just enterprises, can afford to be early adopters, changing the dynamics of the market. Coupled with the increasing …

    Business 14 Dec 12:16

  • UN telecoms talks FOUNDER as US, UK, Canada and Aussies quit

    WCIT2012 Let's not talk about the internet - but we had to

    The ITU's new binding treaty on regulating the internet and global communications is effectively dead in the water after Western nations including the US, UK, Canada and Australia refused to sign it. With these world powers out of the game and free of the treaty, the ITU agreement looks rather pointless: the vast majority of …

    Networks 14 Dec 12:22

  • Windows 8: At least it's better than ‘not very good’

    Something for the Weekend, Sir? A night on the tiles

    By the pricking of my thumbs, and by the noisy crowd booking out half the pub, the wickedness of office party season has kicked in big time. Certainly, 'tis the season to be jolly and to suffer the indignities of itinerant workers debasing themselves in order to get invited. The importance of networking: Another year at the …

    Operating Systems 14 Dec 12:30

  • Stephen Hawking pushes for posthumous pardon for Alan Turing

    Lords and boffins urge PM to forgive 'iconic British hero'

    Peers and scientists including Professor Stephen Hawking are once again pushing for an official pardon for codebreaker Alan Turing. Turing's death from cyanide poisoning in 1954 was ruled a suicide, coming after his conviction for gross indecency at a time when homosexuality was illegal. Lib Dem peer Lord Sharkey has already …

    Government 14 Dec 12:58

  • UK.gov hires data-handling privatisation point man as CTO

    'After all, it is our data. Not the state’s'

    The Cabinet Office has promoted its ICT futures wonk - Liam Maxwell - to the role of chief technology officer. He will serve under Government Digital Services (GDS) boss Mike Bracken, who oversees the development of the GOV.UK website, which recently replaced NuLabour's Directgov. In what appears to be a significant shake-up …

    Government 14 Dec 13:28

  • Assange voted in to play John McAfee in upcoming blockbuster

    Reader poll The Fugitive meets Rain Man

    Julian Assange™ is the natural choice to play John McAfee in a movie of the anti-virus pioneer's colourful life, according to a poll by Reg readers. The Wikileaks founder secured 148 votes in our poll, making him a shoe-in for the starring role in Running in the Background: The True Story of John McAfee. The Australian took …

    Bootnotes 14 Dec 14:02

  • UK.gov backs away from ISP level filtering plan to protect kids

    Parents, keeping your broadband clean is up to you

    The government has decided to stop short of forcing telcos to filter websites at a network level, after discovering that there wasn't a major "appetite" for such a system among parents who want to prevent their kids from accessing supposedly inappropriate material online. Instead, Whitehall wants the ISP industry to advise and …

    Government 14 Dec 14:25

  • NASA to smash its spacecraft INTO THE MOON

    Vid GRAIL probes scheduled for mission-ending crash 'em up

    NASA's twin lunar-orbiting GRAIL spacecraft are preparing to smash into the surface of the Moon as a final send-off. The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) ships, Ebb and Flow, will be intentionally crash-landed on the Moon now that their low orbit and fuel levels have ended their mission abilities. The crash …

    Science 14 Dec 14:58

  • Next IPCC climate assessment due 2014 now everywhere online

    No particular surprises - have a read yourself

    A draft of the United Nations organisation's fifth climate report (IPCC AR5), due to be completed 2014, has been leaked onto the internet. The International Panel of Climate Change is a time-consuming voluntary process comprising three working groups, that produce the three blockbuster reports (on physics, impacts, and …

    Policy 14 Dec 15:32

  • Pentagon hacker McKinnon will NOT be prosecuted in the UK

    His decade of stress ends today

    Pentagon hacker Gary McKinnon will not be prosecuted in the UK, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced in the past hour. The decision comes after his extradition to the US was blocked by Blighty's government. Home Secretary Theresa May withdrew an extradition order against the 46-year-old Brit on medical and human …

    Government 14 Dec 15:44

  • Dragons' Den badboy's biz Expansys is soaked in red

    Profits burned in Euro meltdown as re-org kicks in

    The recovery at Expansys - the consumer electronics etailer owned by Dragons' Den meanie Peter Jones - has proved shortlived. The wireless tech web seller and provider of mobile networks edged back into the black in fiscal 2012 ended April in spite of currency headwinds and hard up UK consumers. Sadly for Jones and other …

    The Channel 14 Dec 16:03

  • Microsoft puts off fees overhaul... the resellers are restless

    Ye can't squeeze blood from a stoooone, man!

    Microsoft has postponed the UK implementation of a rebate rejig in response to biting partner feedback. Large account resellers were last month warned by the software monster that it would shelve Manage and Deploy fees from January and bump up those for Renewals. Reaction from the partner base was mixed - some said the move …

    The Channel 14 Dec 16:11

  • iPhone 5 launches in China, late and expensive. Chinese say 'meh'

    We saw 'em while we were making 'em. No thanks

    The iPhone 5 has finally launched in China, but reaction has been lukewarm. Launching their fastest-selling product ever in the world's biggest market is an opportunity for Apple to clock up major sales. And Apple need to maintain global market share against Android, which took 75 percent of smartphone sales in the last three …

    Phones 14 Dec 16:34

  • Dutch script kiddie pwns 20,000 Twitter profiles

    How much do you have in common with the other lusers?

    A Dutch teenager successfully hijacked 20,000 Twitter profiles to post a message dissing their owners for being slack with security. Damien Reijnaers (@DamiaanR), 16, also induced his victims into tipping their hat to him for helping them to point out the error of their ways in the same update. He pulled off the trick by …

    Security 14 Dec 16:58

  • Convirture finally control freaks ESXi hypervisor

    NOW VMware can finally BUY IT

    Convirture, one of the early entrants to put out virtualization and cloud management tools, has finally done what it has needed to do for years to break into the big-time with enterprises: Support VMware's ESXi hypervisor with its ConVirt control freak. A cynic would say that this is when VMware will swoop in to buy Convirture …

    Virtualization 14 Dec 17:18

  • Bolshy investor sinks teeth into weakened Emulex, tears off another chunk

    Might just buy the boardroom right out from under it

    Under-performing storage network adaptor outfit Emulex is being stalked by activist hedge fund investor Elliott Management, run by billionaire Paul Singer. Elliott snaffled up an extra 1.34 per cent stake in the firm to bring its slice up to 11.3 per cent, making it the largest shareholder. This represents the best hope for …

    Storage 14 Dec 19:03

  • Microsoft: IE mouse tracking vuln no big deal. Sort of...

    Will fix it anyway. Probably...

    Microsoft has dismissed allegations that Internet Explorer can allow attackers to track the position of the user's mouse cursor, arguing that the original report was self-serving and that the observed behavior does not represent a credible threat. "From what we know now, the underlying issue has more to do with competition …

    Security 14 Dec 20:02

  • Senator threatens FAA with legislation over in-flight fondleslabbing

    Highlights double standards over aircraft electronics

    US Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) has written to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) asking for a rethink of the rules governing the use of in-flight electronics, and has threatened legislation if the agency won't shift its position. "We live in an increasingly connected world, and information is traveling at the speed …

    Government 14 Dec 20:30

  • iPad mini to outsell iPad, get Retina Display? iPad to slenderize?

    Rumor trifecta brightens fanbois' Fridays

    It was close. We Apple fanbois nearly had to endure an entire week without an iPad rumor, but as the week drew to a close those intrepid rumor-mongers at DigiTimes gifted us with two – in the same brief article, no less – and NPD Display Search added a third. Rumor #1: According to the ocasionally accurate Taiwanese market …

    Tablets 14 Dec 21:14

  • Police use 24/7 power grid recordings to spot doctored audio

    Fakers outed by telltale buzz

    Forging audio recordings is a lot harder than it used to be, thanks to a new method of authenticating recordings based on the buzz of the electrical power grid at the time they were recorded. The oscillations of alternating current (AC) produce a distinct frequency – 50Hz in the UK, 60Hz in North America – that varies slightly …

    Science 14 Dec 21:44

  • Won't follow Apple Store rules? How 'bout an iTASER TREAT!

    Don't tase Li, bro

    Police in New Hampshire have defended the tasering of a 44-year-old woman by one of its officers after she refused to leave a local Apple Store. Xiaojie Li, a Chinese national who doesn't speak English, had bought two iPhones in the Pheasant Lane Mall last Friday, and tried to buy more but was refused due to Apple's two- …

    Law 14 Dec 21:58