8th > April > 2009 Archive
6
Nine-inch Asus Eee not doomed after all?
Asus may continue to sell some 8.9in netbooks - despite previous hints from senior management that the company might kill them off in favour of 10in models.
Acer flaunts first Ion-based nettop
Acer today announced the first small, cheap desktop PC using Nvidia's new Ion graphics chipset.
Google animates 'offline' Gmail for iPhone, Android
As promised, Google has unleashed a new web-based Gmail incarnation that runs on both the Apple iPhone and Google's very own Android mobile platform.
Intel chips get new logos, star treatment
Intel has introduced a new and flashier set of logos for their consumer-level processors and processor-cum-chipset combos, along with a star-rating system that may generate more trouble than guidance.
Did Sun's total package kill the IBM deal?
It's ironic but fitting that executive bonuses, a subject that's ignited popular anger against the very companies in Sun Microsystems' core customer base on Wall St, helped kill Sun's future.
Sun revs VirtualBox to 2.2
Beleaguered server and system-software maker Sun Microsystems wants to change the Big Blue subject big-time, if only so that someone could talk about the new VirtualBox 2.2 virtualization software the company is announcing on Wednesday.
Google pours Java on code cloud
Google has added the Java runtime to its App Engine, that (semi-)free service that lets you build and host web apps on Google's very own cloud distributed infrastructure.
Tata win Child Maintenance COTS IT deal
The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission has chosen Tata Consultancy Services to build its new IT system.
Fusion-io gets funding infusion
PCIe-connect SSD start-up Fusion-io brought forward its B-round funding and new CEO announcements to SNW as it revealed it was nearly $50m better off.
South Africa punts money into e-MPV maker
'Leccy Tech
When South African wannabe e-car maker Optimal Energy unveiled its Joule five-door 'leccy hatchback at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, the general opinion was that while it looked and sounded fine, would anyone put hard cash on it ever going into production?
Intel intros 2GHz Atom
Intel has announced a 2GHz Atom processor, as expected, along with a lesser part with on-board auto-overclocking.
Brando injects storage
Seeing a hypodermic sticking out of someone isn’t a sight most people relish. So quirky peripherals retailer Brando has made a larger-than-normal syringe and wants you to jab it into your USB port.
BT still struggling to fix Olympic problems
BT has reconnected many of the Eastenders who lost their telecoms this weekend after a large thrust borer crashed through a deep tunnel, cutting fibre optic cable and copper line connections.
Nork splash shot snapped by passing satellite
Pic
A commercial satellite, passing over the Sea of Japan at the weekend as North Korea made an unsuccessful attempt to launch its first satellite into orbit, obtained this remarkable snap of the rocket stack in flight:
Male chimps strike 'meat for sex' deals
Researchers have confirmed that male chimpanzees who share meat with females mate twice as often as those who prefer to keep their food to themselves.
FCO warns over bogus credit crunch relief phishing email
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has warned Brits and others to ignore a phishing scam currently circulating around the internet.
'Mad as hell' news agency declares war on light-fingered sites
News agency the Associated Press (AP) has said it will start taking action against internet publishers who use its material without paying for it or without sharing earnings. The company is adopting new, aggressive policies, it said.
Repeat space tourist Simonyi back on terra firma
Space tourist Charles Simonyi this morning returned to Earth from the International Space Station at the end of his second trip to the orbiting outpost.
Race heats up for Satyam
The race to buy Satyam is heating up and the board could make a decision as early as this Monday.
Acer extends Aspire One netbook line with 11.6in model
Acer has ramped up its Aspire One netbook family - arguably pushing the range out of netbook territory with a 11.6in model.
Acer touts touchscreen Windows 7 PC
With the launch of Windows 7 just around the corner, it’s enevitable that firms will start using the OS’ launch as a marketing angle. Enter Acer, with its Windows 7 all-in-one PC.
Isolated Aussies left really isolated
Australia's Northern Territory lost all internet and phone connections yesterday, thanks to the failure of two separate Telstra circuits.
Hackers pwn Macca site with banking malware
Webmasters had to purge the website of former Beatle Paul McCartney after hackers planted malware.
UK butterfly numbers hit hard
Scientists are warning that another wet summer following two years of wash-outs could drive some UK butterfly species to extinction, the Telegraph reports.
Advent AIO-100
Review
At first glance, you could be forgiven for mistaking the Advent AIO-100 for just a normal 18.4in monitor with what looks like a very sturdy base. However, inside that oversized foot sits a full working PC.
British film board rejects 'disturbing' sexual torture film
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) have issued a rare rejection notice for a "disturbing and realistic" DVD called NF713.
Hugh Jackman speaks of Wolverine leak heartbreak
Hugh Jackman has described himself as "heartbroken" by the leak of X-Men Origins: Wolverine which saw an incomplete version appear on several BitTorrent websites ahead of the official 1 May US release date.
Secret European project to battle online jihad
The UK is collaborating with the German, Dutch and Czech governments on a secret research project on how to effectively block the distribution of Islamic extremist material online.
Sling to offer £25 discount on new Slingbox
In a bid to boost upgrade sales, Sling Media is to offer owners of its original Slingbox TV-over-the-net box £25 off the price of a more recent model.
Wanna upgrade from Windows 7 beta? Go back to Vista first
Microsoft is asking Windows 7 beta testers to remove the program and return their computers to Vista, before upgrading to the forthcoming release candidate of the firm’s latest operating system.
Microsoft hit with €9m fine over German pricing
The German competition authority, the BundesKartellamt, has fined Microsoft €9m for colluding with retailers to set the price of "Office Home and Student 2007".
Can't get a job? Try plastic surgery
US jobseekers have shown a committment to supporting the country's plastic surgery industry in these troubled economic times by indulging in a bit of nip and tuck for more than just cosmetic reasons, Reuters reports.
Nokia Life Tools help Indian farmers get one
Nokia has completed trials of its Life Tools service, providing information to India's farmers and farming communities, demonstrating how mobile phones can do more than play music and make farting noises.
Acer debuts thin and light notebooks for the masses
So here we are in New York for the first leg of Acer's seasonal refresh. The Taiwanese PC company is making a really big deal of the line-up, 20 products grouped into three areas - notebooks / netbooks / and all-in-one PCs and slotted into three brands: Acer, Gateway (Packard Bell in Europe) and eMachines.
Prof: Fat ladies don't get to be CEOs, lardy blokes do
New research carried out on Fortune 1000 CEOs indicates that fatcat biz kingpins are, in fact, fatter than the rest of us - but not if they're women. Counterintuitively perhaps, it appears that breaking through the glass ceiling is more difficult for the heftier lady.
Brown pledges to make Britain's drivers greener
'Leccy Tech
Gordon Brown wants the UK to become a “world leader" in producing and exporting electric cars.
Sadville besieged by bitey 'spampires'
Run for your lives: the vampires are coming! Or "spampires", as they are now referred to by many of the increasingly concerned inhabitants of Sadville.
Phorm moves beyond privacy - except when slating rivals
Phorm wheeled out its new chairman last night - the former Tory chancellor Norman Lamont - to steward the second town hall meeting since it leapt out of stealth mode and straight into a privacy firestorm just over a year ago.
French adhesive workers stick it to Brit boss
The British boss of a French adhesive factory is being held captive by workers over redundancy fears.
Wii gamers get arty
Graffiti, tagging, Banksy – whatever you care to call it, it’s a messy business. So a prototype Wii peripheral’s been developed that does away with the need for spray cans.
BMW opens up to haptic car doors
You may have been introduced to the world of electronic haptics by your smartphone’s virtual keypad, but now your car’s doors could soon begin giving you feedback about surrounding potential dangers.
BT's great hole of Ilford still causing grief
BT is still working to fix problems created by a tunnelling machine which crashed through one of its deep level tunnels cutting fibre optic and copper lines early on Saturday afternoon.
SQL Server 2008 SP1 washes ashore
Microsoft released its first service pack for SQL Server 2008 yesterday, which comes with a few subtle changes and exactly zero new features to boot.
MS blames non-Redmond apps for security woes
Microsoft has blamed common third-party desktop applications, rather than Windows, for the majority of security threats in a new report. The finding might appear surprising at first but is backed by independent security notification firm Secunia.
Ad watchdog gives thumbs up for female TV orgasms
Quangocrats at the UK's advertising watchdog have thrown open the floodgates for women to have orgasms on British television before 11pm, albeit very quietly.
DARPA gives Cal Tech boffin $6m 'to save Moore's Law'
Maverick Pentagon deathboffins aim to prevent processing progress grinding to a crunching halt in the next few years by developing "self healing" integrated circuits, able to repair themselves in the event of damage or failed components.
iPhone's Wi-Fi problems cause heated speculation
iPhone users who found their Wi-Fi failing after the last firmware upgrade are starting to identify what went wrong, while some have managed to get Apple to replace iPhones with handsets that have never seen 2.2.1.
Oops: Microsoft wonk hits Live Messenger red button
Microsoft has said sorry to users of its Windows Live Messenger service after it sent out a missive yesterday wrongly instructing people to change their email addresses.
Mitsubishi unveils 3D TV line-up
With 3D fast replacing HD as the latest TV buzzword, Mitsubishi has stepped up to the multi-dimensional plate and announced its launch of two 3D-ready TV families.
Spies hacked US electrical grid, says WSJ
Foreign cyber-spies have reportedly been infiltrating the US electrical grid and planting software that can be used to destroy key components.
Sun Sparc guru splits for Redmond
In stunning blow to Sun Microsystems, the company's lead chip designer, has resigned. And Marc Tremblay is reportedly taking a job at Microsoft.
Intel demos Moorestown, embeds Nehalem
Intel has demonstrated that its long-awaited mobile platform is meeting its power-saving goals, disclosed upcoming low-power Xeon 5500s for storage and blades, and pointed toward a future in which programmers might actually use all the threads and cores the company's hardware is throwing at them.
Laptop Hunters snare Microsoft on Linux
Linux FCS
Microsoft has made a tactical mistake in deciding to compete with Apple on price in its latest, much debated, Laptop Hunters TV ads.
Demand for IT jobs stinks in UK
There's significantly less demand for IT staff in the UK compared to last year according to a job report published today, although the tech sector has still fared better than most.
Google chief lectures newspapers
According to non-journalist, non-publisher, non-newsman Eric Schmidt, newspapers just don't understand their own business.
Sims creator Will Wright leaves EA
Will Wright, one of the most renowned game designers in the world, is leaving Electronic Arts and Maxis to focus on Stupid Fun Club, an "entertainment think tank" he founded in 2001.
Intel puts five Xeons on death row
Intel's newly released Nehalem EP-core Xeon processors have inflicted their first casualties: five older Xeons are scheduled to be phased out.
IBM fingered over early Linux mistakes
Linux FCS
IBM, the first and biggest IT vendor to champion Linux, has been gently rebuked for initially tolerating the community to further its own interests.
