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7th January 2013 Archive

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  • USB 3.0 speed to DOUBLE in 2013

    CES 2013 How does 10 gigabits per second grab ya?

    USB 3.0 – aka SuperSpeed USB – is set to become more super-speedy, with a new specification scheduled for a mid-2013 release that will provide a one-two punch intended to greatly improve its theoretical throughput. "The USB 3.0 Promoter Group that defined and wrote the USB 3.0 spec is doing an amendment to the spec to increase …

    Hardware 7 Jan 00:00

  • Lenovo proclaims PC victory, re-orgs to take on Apple

    CEO says 'Think' brand is so strong it needs a high-end division of its own

    Lenovo will alter its structure in 2013 to create a “Lenovo Business Group” that will sell commodity products and a “Think Business Group” to push premium kit and take on Apple. News of the restructure emerged at Sina Tech, which quotes an email sent to staff by Lenovo chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing in which he proclaims ( …

    Business 7 Jan 00:49

  • AWS puts sysadmins on call everywhere, all the time

    Android app lets you measure cloudy bulges in your pocket

    Amazon Web Services has built an app capable of driving its cloudy services from an Android device. The Amazon team has clearly ordered every volume of poetry on offer in the company's online bookstore to come up with the app's name: “The Amazon Web Services (AWS) Management Console for Android”. For now, the app can tackle …

    Cloud 7 Jan 04:09

  • Dad hires online assassins to slay game-obsessed son

    Shoot-son-up strategy designed to turn youth off war games

    A Chinese Dad has come up with a unique way of persuading his game-addicted son to turn engage with the real world: hiring gaming pros to destroy his morale by hunting him down online. The frustrated father had apparently seen his 23-year-old offspring become obsessed with online games to the point that he had no interest in …

    Bootnotes 7 Jan 04:49

  • Google turns off Chinese censorship alert service

    Chocolate factory going soft?

    Google has ditched a much talked-about anti-censorship service in China just six months after launch, in what could be viewed as the web giant making key concessions over the protection of online freedoms. The Chocolate Factory announced the feature in a blog post at the end of May last year. Under the subtext of “improving …

    Networks 7 Jan 06:01

  • Twin brothers nabbed for scrap over sex with 'shared' girlfriend

    'Open dating relationship' ends in fisticuffs, cuffs and court

    Connecticut twins Aric Ryan Hale and Sean Peter Hale welcomed in 2013 in fine style after being arrested for scrapping over whose turn it was to make the beast with two backs with a woman described by cops as their "shared" girlfriend. The pair - "both 28" as this report nicely notes - were in a hotel room in Manchester, east …

    Bootnotes 7 Jan 06:59

  • Scottish Highlands get blanket 3G coverage

    ... It's a teensy blanket though: El Reg compares femto offerings

    Femtocells, which extend 3G networks using domestic broadband, have been around for a few years now, and while only one operator will take your money for one, the others will furnish you with one if you complain loudly enough. Now that most of the big UK providers each have their own gear, we thought we'd see whose tiny cell …

    Mobile 7 Jan 08:01

  • First rigid airship since the Hindenburg enters trials

    New tech may have solved zeppelins' great weakness

    The first rigid airship to be built since the 1930s is about to commence trials in California: and the Pelican prototype also features a new technology, never yet flown, which could finally change things for lighter-than-air craft and see the leviathans of the skies make a serious comeback at last. The 230ft-long, 18-ton …

    Bootnotes 7 Jan 08:58

  • Now you can control ANY Win 8 kit with your EYEBALLS

    CES 2013 Sick of stroking Tiles? Now you can glare at them

    It's all gestures and eyeball-tracking at CES this year, with Tobii releasing a USB peripheral that adds control-by-sight to any Windows PC and Lenovo upgrading its Yoga to finger-watching. Tobii demonstrated its eyeball-tracking technology at CES last year, but this time it is announcing a 5,000 unit production run of a USB …

    Hardware 7 Jan 09:29

  • Brit disk biz Nexsan out of the frying pan and into the firing line

    Blocks and Files Why it needs to bring home the bacon for Imation

    Imation's purchase of Nexsan for $120m will be seen as a failed exit for Nexsan's venture capital backers in the eyes of the most ferocious investors. Nexsan is in the second tier of disk drive array storage vendors, and has found it hard to progress into the top tier. It has failed twice at launching a successful IPO since it …

    Storage 7 Jan 10:02

  • Big screened quad-core Chinese beasts splash down at CES

    CES 2013 'Phablet' and 6.9mm slimphone battle it out at electronics show

    Not content with squeezing out foreign rivals in their domestic market, China’s homegrown smartphone giants are set to make a splash overseas this month with some impressive handset designs including the world’s thinnest smartphone and a giant 6.1in phone/tablet hybrid. Leading the charge at this week’s annual gadget-fest CES …

    Mobile 7 Jan 10:29

  • Hitachi GST rummages in pocket, pulls out lint-covered storage Tardis

    CES 2013 Benchmark-setting pocket drive debuts at CES

    WD sub Hitachi GST is showing a fast, high capacity pocket disk drive at CES that sets a new product benchmark: a G-DRIVE with a 7,200rpm, 1TB Travelstar drive inside it. This a brand new Travelstar drive. Mike Williams, the VP and general manager for G-Technology in the HGST Branded Business, said: "The new Travelstar drive …

    Storage 7 Jan 11:02

  • Sculpted 66-pound jubs survive lightning blast, 26ft drop

    Goddess was tribute to women

    Lightning has struck a stone sculpture of the goddess Venus and removed her breasts... But in a stroke of divine intervention, the giant stone jubs were saved, despite a 26ft drop. Sculptor Tom Findlay told the NT News that despite the statue's body being destroyed and the 30kg (66lb) breasts being 8m (26ft) above ground, …

    Bootnotes 7 Jan 11:17

  • Apple supplier Foxconn could still take a bite out of Sharp

    Hon Hai might still be keen on cash-injection deal

    Sharp has said that it is still in talks with Foxconn for an investment that would make the Apple supplier the largest shareholder in the firm. The struggling Japanese company already struck a deal with Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, for a stake in exchange for some much-needed cash. But Hon Hai backed off …

    Financial News 7 Jan 11:31

  • 'Chinese Pirate Bay' taken down after appearance on US blacklist

    Gougou goes way of dodo

    One of China’s most prolific search engines for pirated content, Gougou, has closed down as the country continues to clean up its act when it comes to intellectual property rights. A search for Gougou.com reveals the following brief message in Chinese and English: Gougou.com has been closed down. Thank you all for your …

    Media 7 Jan 11:43

  • Hotel chain De Vere checks out of server rooms and into the cloud

    Live vid Tips on how consolidation can save more than just cost

    De Vere hotels had legacy systems, systems that needed updating but, most of all, it had lots of servers doing different things. Having grown by acquisition, it needed to consolidate if it wanted to realise its plans for customer service. It did this using a private cloud created by ANS Group, based on NetApp's FlexPod. On …

    Cloud 7 Jan 11:57

  • Nvidia takes fight to Sony, Nintendo with Android handheld console

    CES 2013 Will the green Shield get stamped?

    Nvidia’s Project Shield seems positively daft at first thought. Who in their right mind would launch a new handheld gaming device today? If Sony and Nintendo can’t win over the millions of folk who play games on phones and tablets with their dedicated gaming handhelds - and very strong gaming brands - how the heck can a …

    Games 7 Jan 11:58

  • Review: Dell XPS 12 Windows 8 tablet-cum-Ultrabook

    The convertible computer with the swivel screen

    Making a laptop with a screen that spins within its bezel isn’t a new idea. Early in 2011, Dell tried the trick with its Inspiron Duo netbook, but sadly that proved to be a woefully poor device. Now Dell is trying again, this with Ultrabook hardware and Windows 8 as the basic ingredients. It helps that, unlike the Duo, the new …

    Tablets 7 Jan 12:20

  • Windows RT jailbreak smash: Run ANY app on Surface slabs

    No need for Microsoft's software store

    The security mechanism preventing unauthorised software running on ARM-powered Windows RT tablets - such as Microsoft's Surface slabtops - can be easily defeated. The Redmond giant wanted only cryptographically signed executables, ideally those obtained from the official Windows application store, to run on its hardware. But, …

    Applications 7 Jan 12:39

  • Bendy screens are the future, screams maker of bendy screens

    CES 2013 Plastic Logic pitches tablet that isn't

    It sounds so promising: a "revolutionary paper tablet computer" that will completely change "the way people work with tablets and computers". Alas, the PaperTab, a concept device lauded today by "printed electronics" firm Plastic Logic, isn’t quite the gadget the company is pitching it as. PaperTab was created at Queen’s …

    Hardware 7 Jan 13:02

  • Brazilian slammer guards nab mobe-smuggling CAT

    Feline mule also packing saw blades and drill bits

    Brazilian prison wardens admit they have little chance of discovering who was behind a cunning plan to smuggle a mobile phone into the slammer in Arapiraca, south west of Recife, given that the mule is highly unlikely to talk. Guards at the Presídio Desembargador Luiz de Oliveira Souza nabbed a cat attempting to walk through …

    Bootnotes 7 Jan 13:27

  • Broadband gov subsidy should end in 2015 -Tory think tank

    Calls on state funds to educate poor, elderly, disabled about online world

    The government's current fixation with pushing for the deployment of faster broadband connections to most of the UK's population by 2015 should not shape its future policy, a leading Tory think tank has argued. Policy Exchange - which published its The Superfast and the Furious report (PDF) this morning - added that, while it …

    Broadband 7 Jan 14:02

  • Mega-res telly demand to boom, say ball-gazers

    CES 2013 Ultra HD TV demand will start slow... then explode

    If the world’s television makers are eager enough to try to convince World+Dog to buy a 4K x 2K TV, the world’s market watchers are no less keen to suggest the proponents of Ultra HD will be successful in the near future, with sales rocketing five years from now. This week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas will …

    Hardware 7 Jan 14:25

  • John McAfee the Belize spymaster uncovers 'ricin, terrorist plots'

    Tycoon: I gave bigwigs laptops stuffed with surveillance malware

    Infosec daredevil John McAfee claims he became a spymaster in Belize after giving laptops infected with espionage malware to police and government officials. McAfee, who moved to the central American low-tax haven some years ago, further claimed he supervised a ring of 23 women and six men as operatives, and tasked them with …

    Security 7 Jan 15:04

  • Apple appeals judge's decision to boot out its Moto patent suit

    Filing prevents Googorola from trying to get product bans

    Apple is appealing a US judge's decision to throw out the fruity firm's patent case against Googorola. The case over standards-essential patents (SEP) was expected to set a rate for fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licences between the firms. The case began on 29 October, 2010, when Apple filed suit against …

    Law 7 Jan 15:34

  • Marvell: Ignore the $1BN PATENT JUDGMENT... Check out this new cache kit

    Firm soldiers on, launches Dragonfly NVDRIVE product

    Disk and flash controller maker Marvell, which also manufactures various other semi-conductor chippery wares, is not having a great start to 2013. The firm, which has just launched a flash-caching product and invested in an SSD maker, was hit with a crushing $1.17bn damages award 10 days ago for infringing Carnegie Mellon …

    Storage 7 Jan 15:59

  • US Dept for Homeland Security shafted by trivial web bug

    New year resolution: Go back to PHP school

    A US government website was broken into by hackers exploiting a directory traversal vulnerability, according to security researchers. Hacktivist group NullCrew announced it compromised studyinthestates.dhs.gov, a US Department of Homeland Security website, on Friday. The site advises foreigners seeking permission to study at …

    Security 7 Jan 16:32

  • 'Wide-set' twin stars can drive dirtball companions WILD, insist boffins

    Distant hot companions fling planets into space

    Astrophysicists researching planets within the systems of binary stars - where one star orbits another - have found that the further apart the stellar twins are, the more their planetary systems are susceptible to violent disruptions. In simulated scenarios, distant binary star systems flung away the planets under their …

    Science 7 Jan 16:45

  • Microsoft burgled, only the APPLE iPADS stolen - cops confirm

    Choosy thief leaves Redmond gear on the table

    A savvy sneak slipped into a Microsoft campus, stole five iPads and left all the Microsoft products untouched, according to cops. More than $3,000 in Apple kit was nicked from the research and development complex in Mountain View, California, over Christmas. There was no sign of a forced entry at Building 5 on La Avenida …

    Tablets 7 Jan 17:08

  • AMD taps gamer and ex-Nvidia exec to run its channel

    Interim CFO given job full time

    Chip-maker Advanced Micro Devices continues to rejigger its executive team to reflect changes it is making in its business to attack new markets and get its channel partners peddling current and future products. On Monday, the company said in a statement that it had tapped Roy Taylor to head up its global channel sales. …

    The Channel 7 Jan 17:33

  • Security bods rip off Microsoft's 'sticking plaster' IE bug fix

    Took them under 24 hours

    A security researcher has developed a method to circumvent Microsoft's temporary fix for a zero-day Internet Explorer browser vulnerability. Redmond release a temporary Fix It to defend against the flaw last week, pending the development of a more complete patch which it later emerged would not arrive with updates due to be …

    Security 7 Jan 18:04

  • Forget the internet: Americans still glued to TV sets in 2012

    289 million screens glowing for days each month

    Americans are consuming more media on more kinds of devices than ever before, but plain old television still rules the roost, according to the latest statistics from market analytics firm the Nielsen Company. Nielsen first rose to public prominence in the 1950s as the company behind the Nielsen Ratings, which remain the …

    Media 7 Jan 22:28

  • IBM services chief and CEO contender Daniels retires

    Other top brass may follow suit, letting others move up

    Mike Daniels, a career IBMer who has been running all or most of Big Blue's Global Services behemoth for the past several years, has said uncle and will be leaving the company. IBM's current CEO, Ginni Rometty, beat Daniels and other graybeards for the top job in October 2011 and rearranged management appointments last year …

    Business 7 Jan 22:28

  • Google boss lands in North Korea for humanitarian mission

    Mr. Schmidt (and team) goes to Pyongyang

    Google chairman Eric Schmidt has landed in North Korea for a private visit to the Hermit Kingdom, and he's bringing an interesting entourage. Schmidt is joining a private humanitarian visit with former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to discuss the future of Korean-American Kenneth Bae, who was arrested last month in the …

    Government 7 Jan 23:02

  • Zombie BT mobile patent emerges in hands of troll

    Scattergun fired at world+dog

    A Delaware company called Steelhead Licensing has filed a world+dog lawsuit alleging infringement of a patent it acquired from BT. The list of defendants here includes Apple, AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, HTC, Kyocera, LG, NEC, Motorola, RIM, Sony and others. Carriers are included in the target list because their personal hotspot …

    Law 7 Jan 23:14