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19th December 2012 Archive

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  • PayPal founder funds 'tornado-driven' power plant

    Green science or mad?

    PayPal co-founder Peter Theiss’ Breakout Labs has spun some pin-money in the direction of a Canadian inventor who claims to have a “zero-carbon” electricity generator that works by creating a captive “atmospheric vortex”. Or, in the more hyperbolic language of Breakout Labs, AVEtec, it’s a “tornado” driven generator. AVEtec …

    Science 19 Dec 01:06

  • Canadians nab syrup rustlers after massive maple sap heist

    Updated Three down, five more sticky-fingered felons to go

    Police in Canada have confirmed the first arrests over a heist which saw maple syrup worth $18m siphoned off and sold. After a massive manhunt by local police, the Canadian Mounties, and border security, three people have been arrested and charged with theft, conspiracy, handling stolen goods, and fraud. Five others are also …

    Law 19 Dec 01:32

  • Perl programming language marks 25th birthday

    Munging data since 1987

    Perl, the open source programming language used by developers and sysadmins to automate any number of text-wrangling and data-management tasks, celebrates its 25th birthday on Tuesday. It was on December 18, 1987 that Larry Wall released Perl 1.0, posting the source code to the Usenet newsgroup comp.sources.misc. Wall had …

    Developer 19 Dec 01:40

  • Kim Dotcom flashes his rack

    Rack can even be yours if you send money and servers

    Kim Dotcom has shown off his rack – in IT parlance, not with reference to his ample frame – by posting the picture below which he says depicts a node of mega.co.nz. Delivered today. One of many racks with many SERVERS! #EMMEEHGEEAYY twitter.com/KimDotcom/stat… — Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) December 18, 2012 A subsequent tweet …

    Cloud 19 Dec 02:02

  • McDonalds fried for serving spam

    Ronald didn't ask if kids wanted email with that, angering Oz regulator

    Australia’s Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has flogged McDonalds with lettuce leaves after the fast food concern didn’t properly think of the children with an online promotion that served up big helpings of spam emails. The case came about after McDonalds’ antipodean outpost cooked up happymeal.com.au and baked in a …

    Law 19 Dec 02:34

  • AFACT wants ushers to confront pirates

    Union not happy with anti-piracy education program aimed at cinema staff

    The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) has opened a new front in its war on piracy with a web site aimed at educating cinema staff on how to detect and prevent illicit recordings. AFACT’s members include the Motion Picture Association, Disney, Fox, Warner Brothers and other large studios. The organisation …

    Law 19 Dec 03:14

  • China takes 2013's top offshore IPO crown

    Cut price rag trader Vipshop bests all other foreign companies listing in the USA

    US-Sino relations may have hit an all-time low over the past 12 months but for little-known Chinese tech firm Vipshop it has been an annus mirabilis after it became the best performing overseas-listed firm in the States. Vipshop Holdings Limited, which owns the Vipshop.com online shopping site, saw its shares jump a whopping …

    Financial News 19 Dec 04:18

  • Vodafone India appoints SECRET SNITCHES

    Staff can be fired for using a mobe in a car, even after hours

    Vodafone India employees could find themselves kicked out of the company if they break a tough new set of safety laws, with specially-designated members of staff granted police-like powers to check compliance. The firm’s global health and safety goal is to “drive a zero fatalities culture, mindset and behaviour”. Although …

    Jobs 19 Dec 05:57

  • Swedish teens GO BERSERK in Instagram sex pic slut riot

    City trashed after web slurs, dodgy filters enrage kids

    Swedish kids rioted and blockaded a school after someone put photos of Gothenburg's teens on Instagram and tagged them as "sluts". Children as young as 13 were so offended by the online slur that they formed a mob to hunt down a 17-year-old girl believed to be responsible for the controversial Instagram account. Police …

    Networks 19 Dec 07:10

  • Information teleportation goes large-scale

    Macro-scale strangeness at a scale visible to the human eye

    Quantum teleportation of information between quantum objects, like photons, is so well-understood that it’s almost routine. Now, an international physicists is claiming to have carried out the same trick in the macro universe. If the experiment can be replicated, it will be an impressive trick. The scientists, led by Jian-Wei …

    Science 19 Dec 07:34

  • ICO hits the road to crack 'underlying problem' at data-leak councils

    Watchdog dishes out £300k in fines, starts knocking on doors

    The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) will meet representatives from local authorities to address what it has called an "underlying problem" with the bodies' approach to data protection. The ICO made the announcement after it reported that it had served civil monetary penalty notices to four separate local authorities in …

    Government 19 Dec 08:04

  • Prepare to greet the data centre of 2023

    The road starts here

    To some, the idea of enterprise data centres still being around in ten years’ time is anathema. By then, they assert, all enterprise IT will be running in public clouds. The only people who can’t see this are insecure box-huggers frightened for their jobs and IT dinosaurs with no imagination. We, however, are going to assume …

    Datacenter 19 Dec 08:32

  • Embattled Xyratex prepares poison pill: You'll never take me alive!

    Builds takeover defences as it moves into HPC arrays

    Xyratex, the OEM supplier of disk drive arrays that has been facing troubled times for while now, has erected a poison pill defence and is paying dividends to keep its shareholders happy as it moves into HPC array building. The company, which sells disk drive arrays on the OEM market, has moved into the high-performance …

    Storage 19 Dec 09:01

  • Nasdaq's RIM shot: BlackBerry maker ejected from top 100

    Canadians forced to hang out with Netflix, EA

    A US index of top performing non-financial companies has booted out RIM, Netflix and Electronic Arts after the trio's fortunes fell too far. The Nasdaq-100 is updated every year and is broadly based on market capitalisation with some weighting. The disappointing share performance of the former tech darlings led to their …

    Mobile 19 Dec 09:27

  • Mark Zuckerberg doesn't know how to use HTML5

    Open ... and Shut Out-Facebooking Facebook... bitch!

    Even as Facebook dumps HTML5 to embrace native app development, calling its early enthusiasm for HTML5 its "biggest mistake," Sencha, a leading provider of open-source web application frameworks and tools, has not only demonstrated real-world readiness of HTML5, but has actually built a Facebook app that performs better than …

    Developer 19 Dec 10:03

  • Boffins spot planet that could support life... just 12 light years away

    Orbits Tau Ceti, a star in our night sky

    An international team of astroboffins have discovered that the nearest single Sun-like star has one planet orbiting in the sweet spot for potential alien life. Tau Ceti, which is just 12 light years away and can be seen with the naked eye in the night sky, has five planets in orbit around it, with one lying in the habitable …

    Science 19 Dec 10:35

  • Google given a month to wriggle out of Euro antitrust smackdown

    Ad giant must persuade rivals it isn't cheating in search

    Google must convince its rivals that it competes fairly in the web search market or else face sanctions for alleged "abuse of dominance", a European watchdog warned today. And the clock is ticking. The ad giant now has a month to come up with a solution to complaints that it favours its own services over its competitors' …

    Government 19 Dec 10:48

  • Want your social media to swing? First, get the staff onboard

    The more the merrier

    Social networking clearly has the potential to totally change the way we work, especially in large or widely dispersed organisations. It might actually allow companies to see our natural inclination to share information (the technical term is “gossip”) as a business tool, rather than a drain on company time. However, more so …

    Management 19 Dec 10:57

  • Google can't use finger-fumble patent to poke Apple - Trade panel

    International Trade Commission declares Motorola finger slip patent invalid

    The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has declared that a Motorola "finger slip" patent that stopped users dialling wrong numbers is invalid. That means it cannot be asserted against Apple or used to ban or block Apple products by the patent's new owner, Google. The ITC ruling by Judge Thomas Pender, reported by Reuters …

    Law 19 Dec 11:04

  • Microsoft 'surprised' by Google Gmail 'winter cleaning'

    Dump their free email for ours!

    Microsoft has shot back at Google’s termination of Exchange syncing for free Gmail accounts, and urged users to throw out Gmail for Outlook.com. Google last week said it's closing Google Sync, a service that allowed users of Microsoft’s Exchange ActiveSync protocol to access their Gmail, calendars, and contacts via the …

    Applications 19 Dec 11:22

  • Rude web trolls should NOT be jailed, warns prosecution chief

    But thugs, stalkers will be hauled before the beak

    Web trolls should not be hauled before the courts if their malicious tweets and Facebook updates are quickly deleted, the Director of Public Prosecutions advised today. Not having many friends online and sticking to offensive banter should also keep Brits out the dock. Keir Starmer QC published this morning his interim …

    Law 19 Dec 11:42

  • Ten... tech stocking stuffers

    Product Round-up Last minute shopping ideas to treat your geek

    Stuck for ideas for someone who has everything or just in need of inspiration to top up a stack of gifts you already have? It's certainly tricky sorting out gifts that are going to please over those that will be destined for eBay come the New Year. So here we have a bit of mixed bag – or should that be Santa's sack? – ranging …

    Hardware 19 Dec 12:00

  • Phone-hack saga: Police cuff man in southwest London

    Unnamed 46-year-old currently being quizzed at cop shop

    Scotland Yard officers cuffed a 46-year-old man this morning in connection with its investigation into alleged phone-hacking offences at Rupert Murdoch-owned News International. The unnamed suspect was arrested at his home on Wednesday at an address in southwest London. He was manacled on suspicion of perverting the course of …

    Law 19 Dec 12:18

  • Baby got .BAT: Old-school malware terrifies Iran with del *.*

    New nasty capable of causing about an hour of annoyance

    A surprisingly simple disk-wiping malware has set off alarm bells in Iran after surfacing in the Middle East nation. The software nasty deletes everything on storage drives attached to infected Windows PCs on specific dates, according to the Iranian security emergency response team. The malware was detected in one or more …

    Security 19 Dec 12:39

  • Penguin gives in to US Feds over ebooks

    Publisher drops defiant stance, settles price-fixing case

    Penguin has caved in to the US Justice Department, agreeing to a settlement over alleged price-setting of ebooks after holding out since April. Three of five publishers that the Justice Department accused of conspiring with Apple over ebook pricing have already settled. Penguin's capitulation leaves just one publisher, …

    Media 19 Dec 13:03

  • Worldwide LCD price-fixing conspiracy: Another exec guilty

    AU Optronics manager traded info 'in karaoke bars'

    An AU Optronics executive has been found guilty of fixing the price of LCD displays by a US District Court in San Francisco. The US Justice Department said that a jury found Shiu Lung Leung, a former senior manager in the Desktop Display Business Group, guilty of participating in the worldwide LCD price-fixing conspiracy that …

    Law 19 Dec 13:32

  • Samsung grabs 'World's biggest handset-maker' title off Nokia

    'The coffee mugs too, mate. Hand 'em over...'

    Nokia’s 14-year reign as world’s largest handset maker is finished. The Finnish mobile firm must now hand the crown to Samsung following the publication of preliminary market numbers. Samsung will account for 29 per cent of worldwide cellphone shipments for the whole of 2012, putting it atop the global leader board, analyst …

    Mobile 19 Dec 13:59

  • Vatican shrugs off apocalypse, fiddles with accounts dept

    Pope's astronomer hints at truth hidden in Google

    The Vatican has shrugged off predictions of the world ending this Friday, deciding instead to overhaul its accounting department. This will ensure a gradual reduction in the cost of running the world's biggest Christian denomination - although if the Mayans are right and humanity is annihilated on 21 December then that cost …

    Bootnotes 19 Dec 14:26

  • St Zuck gives half a BEELLION DOLLARS in Facebook stock to charity

    Keepin' it in the 'Valley ... bitch

    Mark Zuckerberg has given half a billion dollars to charity - in Facebook stock. The Facebook CEO has donated 18 million Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, where the money will go to health and education causes. Zuckerberg's $498.78m gift doesn't make too much of a dent on his stock holdings - he had …

    Financial News 19 Dec 15:03

  • Bankrupt Kodak misses $2bn target, flogs imaging patents for $525m

    Intellectual Ventures and RPX play hardball

    Iconic camera-maker Eastman Kodak has reached an agreement to sell its portfolio of imaging patents for $525m. Patent shop Intellectual Ventures is among the buyers, and together with RPX Corporation leads a consortium of 12 unnamed licensees to buy a portion of the patents. IV, considered by critics to be a patent troll, is …

    Financial News 19 Dec 15:27

  • Apple: What do our Maps need? Stalk-yer-buddies Foursquare tech, NATCH!

    Why go down the old 'make better maps' route?

    Apple has been talking to location-based social network Foursquare in a bid to sex up Apple Maps, it has been reported. After bringing the Google Maps app back to iOS, Apple is now looking for ways to improve its own much-criticised Maps product. And it looks like Apple execs think Foursquare data - which includes user tips, …

    Mobile 19 Dec 16:03

  • Speaking in Tech: Like Kinect - only a THOUSAND times better

    Podcast This year in tech... plus the team grills another American VC

    This week is our year-end podcast spectacular... Your hosts Greg Knieriemen, Ed Saipetch and Sarah Vela review the year in tech and chuck in some predictions for next year. They also have a chat with very special guests Brad O’Neill, CEO of TechValidate Software, and Peter Bell, general partner of Highland Capital Partners, …

    Cloud 19 Dec 16:27

  • Samsung: Smart TV security hole is so minor we'll fix it immediately

    Tellies leak private info to hackers, nothing to see here

    Samsung has downplayed the significance of a data-leaking security bug in its Smart TVs, but promised to close the hole by January. Earlier this month Malta-based startup ReVuln said it had discovered a vulnerability that allows hackers to remotely copy data off USB drives connected to a Samsung TV LED 3D and other Smart TVs, …

    Hardware 19 Dec 17:02

  • Ethernet sales fizzle, but self-aware networks set to explode

    The money is moving up the stack, as always

    The switching and server markets are loosely coupled, just like the machines themselves in the data center. When one goes up or down, the other tends to either lead or follow, depending on the technology transitions underway in both markets at any given time. The server market is in a bit of a slump, and the Ethernet switch …

    Data Networking 19 Dec 17:23

  • ICANN'T believe it's not Apple: Vatican wins domain-handout lottery

    Cupertino must wait a year as GTLD application order announced

    The Catholic Church will be the first institution to register a new top level domain name, internet addressing overlord ICANN announced yesterday. The Vatican's application will be top of the pile when ICANN starts to process applications for new top level domain names in early 2013. The Catholic Church wants to register .天主教 …

    Hosting 19 Dec 17:42

  • Android Trojan taints US mobes, spews 500,000 texts A DAY

    If you could just tear yourself from Angry Birds and check your bill...

    A Trojan that infects Android devices is behind an increase in text message spam in the US. SpamSoldier infects smartphones and spews out thousands of SMS messages without the user's permission. The mobile irritant is primarily spreading through texts that offer free versions of popular paid-for games such as Need for Speed: …

    Security 19 Dec 18:04

  • Microsoft releases first Windows OS in an original American language

    Cherokee Nation translators build Windows 8 language pack

    Members of the largest remaining group of Native Americans, the Cherokee, have built the first local language pack for Windows 8, just 27 years after the launch of the original Windows. "The project started with Tracy Monteith, a Cherokee citizen in North Carolina who worked at Microsoft, who'd wanted it done for a long time …

    Operating Systems 19 Dec 19:24

  • IBM borgs StoredIQ for big data build-out

    Set your company on auto-shred, auto-save, and auto-dump on lawyers

    Everybody is crazy about storing any kind of data their employees and systems generate in the hopes that they can turn all that big data into money. But the dirty little secret is that this hoarding tendency has risks as well as rewards. Keeping some kinds of data is as financially harmful as not processing other kinds. And …

    Data Networking 19 Dec 19:53

  • Google, Microsoft go head to head in Santa-tracking tech race

    Naughty Google hopes to steal NORAD's thunder

    Competition between Google and Microsoft keeps heating up, and this Christmas Eve children will be caught in the crossfire as the two tech giants battle to see which can keep the tightest tabs on Santa Claus as he pilots his sleigh around the globe. Since 1955, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has tracked …

    Applications 19 Dec 21:10

  • FTC tightens privacy rules for child data protection

    Application stores in the clear

    The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released the results of its two-year review into online child privacy rules and issued a host of amendments that will be backed up by the threat of large fines. The FTC has been conducting its first review of the 1998 Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in light of the shift …

    Government 19 Dec 22:34

  • IBM taps Red Hat for cut-throat priced Linux on big supers

    LoadLeveler replaced by Platform LSF on x86 clusters

    Big Blue is going to Red Hat for a Linux environment for its largest supercomputers, and it is mothballing its own LoadLeveler workload manager for x86 clusters in favor of the Platform LSF control freak that it acquired a little more than a year ago. It is no surprise that IBM has chosen Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 as the …

    HPC 19 Dec 23:57