BlackBerry ripped itself apart wooing CIOs AND iPhone fanbois - insiders
Rows over whether BlackBerry was at its best as a hardware or software company led to years of paralysis, and the departure of its twin CEOs, insiders now claim.
BlackBerry had grown because it offered a unique end-to-end bundle of hardware, software and a network. But as newcomers entered the market, the company couldn’t decide …
IPCC: Yes, humans are definitely behind all this global warming we aren't having
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says it's more certain than ever that humanity is warming the planet dangerously - despite the fact that a long-running flat period in global temperatures is well into its second decade.
The IPCC released a brief "Summary for Policy Makers" today (go here) a teaser for its hefty …
BlackBerry Black Friday: $1bn loss as warehouses bulge with hated Z10s
BlackBerry endured a catastrophic second quarter as today it announced a $965m loss in those three months. Its revenue from the period was half of the first-quarter takings and half of last year's second-quarter revenue.
BlackBerry cancelled its conference with analysts that traditionally accompanies these quarterly results - …
Don't wait up for BBM on iPhone, Android – BlackBerry
Having botched the widespread release of its crown jewels, BBM, BlackBerry has now warned of a further delay to the Android and iOS versions of the messaging app.
The messaging app was exclusively available on RIM/BlackBerry devices, but back in May the company promised to make BBM cross-platform and release versions for Android …
Google's boffins branded 'unacceptably ineffective' at tackling web piracy
Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee has harshly criticised the government and Google in a report into the UK's creative industries.
The MPs want the 2010 Digital Economy Act - which cracks down on downloaders of pirated material and other copyright infringers - activated without further delay. And the panel …
Blighty's great digital radio switchover targets missed AGAIN
The digital radio revolution is taking place regardless of the uptake of DAB, according to Ofcom's annual digital radio report (PDF).
Home penetration of DAB receivers has still not reached 50 per cent and sales of DAB receivers in Britain – including car audio systems – has fallen from 2.2 million in Q1 2008 to 1.9 million in …
Elop's enlarged package claim was a cock-up, admits Nokia chairman
Nokia's chairman has admitted he was wrong to say that CEO Stephen Elop's €18.8m (£15.6m) payoff was all very regular and run of the mill.
As the Finnish giant came under political pressure for promising its outgoing chief exec the whopping windfall, chairman Risto Siilasmaa incorrectly told the press last week that Elop's …
Revolting peasants force Wikipedia to cut'n'paste Visual Editor into the bin
Wikipedia has turned off its unpopular Visual Editor as the default text editing kit for English-language entries on its online encyclopaedia.
This follows an unprecedented challenge to the Wikimedia Foundation's authority by its own volunteer users.
Development of the customised, expensive WYSIWYG editor, funded by donations, …
Robocars, backseat fun, satnav 2.0: Meet the bit of Nokia Microsoft didn't buy
Nokia has sold its phone-making wing to Microsoft, heaving off the division that made it one of the most recognised brands on the planet.
But that doesn't mean it's out of the hardware game. Executive vice-president Michael Halbherr told El Reg what to expect, as well as commenting on the progress of Windows 8, Steve Ballmer's …
Circling the RIM: BB10 becomes chamber of horrors for BlackBerry
Friday's writedown of almost $1bn of inventory confirms the launch of BlackBerry 10 mobile OS as one of the most catastrophic of modern times. Nobody, it seems, wants BB10 in 2013.
BlackBerry has vastly over-estimated the demand for its shiny, modern new platform and announced a retreat from the consumer market. Gone are 4,500 …
Launchpads, catapults... what a load of - WAIT, there's £15m for grabs?
Techies and investors with bright ideas for commercial video, imaging and games businesses can apply for a slice of £15m this month – if they can wade past the quango-ese jargon of "catapults" and "launchpads". It's all intended to commercialise good ideas.
Created by Gordon Brown in 2007, the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) …
Nokia Lumia 1020: It's an imaging BEAST... and it makes calls too
Nokia's marketing department is comparing its new imaging champ, the Lumia 1020 smartphone, to digital SLR cameras. That's just silly.
But what the Lumia 1020 can lay claim to is that it takes the best photos of any current modern smartphone – by a clear head and shoulders. And Nokia has packaged it into a modern phone, rather …
Nokia Lumia 625: Quality budget 4G phone ... but where's UK's budget 4G?
Nokia's latest Lumia, a budget 4G smartphone, alights on an odd perch in the marketplace, where it finds itself all alone. 4G voice contracts in the UK are currently a luxury good - with luxury price tags attached.
For most Britons, LTE is only practically available at not-so-budget prices from one network, EE, with a 2GB …
Everyone's waving their 5-inchers: BlackBerry outs new supersized Z30
Slumped phone giant BlackBerry has announced its fourth BlackBerry OS 10 mobe: the Z30, a five-inch OLED-touchscreen device.
The display is not all that's big. The new mobe, pictured below right, sports a suitably supersized 2880mAh battery giving 25 hours of "mixed use", and similarly large internal mobile radio antenna, …
Tightwad music spaffer Pandora opens box for Wall St to fill with cash
Controversial webcaster Pandora, under fire for running its music streaming business with the iron grip of a plantation owner, is returning to Wall Street for a cash injection.
The company floated in 2011 and its popularity (it has 70 million listeners), revenues (up 55 per cent year on year) and share price (now almost $25) …
Nokia quiz: Do you know what a phablet is?
Gadget blogs and tech specialists may know what "phablet" means, but Nokia isn’t whether civilians do.
The phone-maker took the unusual step on Friday of gaining feedback on the word. Nokia was measuring familiarity with the word and how favourably it is received. The company has yet to launch its first "phablet" but is about to …
Nokia's 41Mp Lumia 1020 'launches' in UK - but hoi polloi must wait
Nokia's impressive 41Mp Lumia 1020 flagship may have "launched" worldwide - with festivities including a glitzy Shoreditch gallery party featuring photographer David Bailey, actor Bill Nighy and cannibal entrepreneur Steve Bong - but UK punters won't get delivery until the end of the month.
Some Blighty operators and retailers …
One day we'll look back and say this was the end of the software platform
I was once told by an editor not to waste too much time following Apple and other companies that sold hardware and software together.
He was reflecting the conventional wisdom in the late 1990s: any manufacturer that dared to "add value" by integrating its software into its hardware would be destroyed. Microsoft and Dell would …
iPhone 5S: Apple, you're BORING us to DEATH (And you too, Samsung)
Apple's keynotes seem to command more mainstream front-page press attention than ever before – but each time, there's less and less to report. Is the modern smartphone era limping to a close?
Apple's announcements on Tuesday about the iPhone 5S and 5C were wearily predictable. Cupertino just doesn't seem to be where the action …
Ofcom's head Ed may yet run the Beeb: UK gov 'mulls axing BBC Trust'
Is Ofcom boss Ed Richards' middle name "Lucky"?
The UK watchdog's supremo could yet end up running the BBC without leaving his desk at Southwark Bridge. Last year, the former Labour policy wonk – who helped create Ofcom – applied to get the top job at the Beeb, only to lose out to George Entwistle. Now it's claimed the …
BING! Microsoft plants Xbox Music flagpoles in Android and iOS
Xbox Music is one of Microsoft's best kept secrets - ubiquitous on Microsoft's own consoles but poorly promoted, even on Microsoft Windows Phone devices. But on the eve of the iTunes Radio rollout, Redmond has woken up and remembered that it exists.
The streaming service formerly known as Zune Pass has finally sprouted native …
Don't tell the D-G! BBC-funded study says Beeb is 'too right wing'
A study funded by the BBC into editorial bias has concluded that it isn't Left Wing enough: it's too friendly to business, and far too hostile to the European Union.
The "voice of the licence-fee payer", the BBC Trust, commissioned the study, and gave the job to academic Mike Berry of the Glasgow Media Group - the latter a Dave …
Finns, roamers, Nokia: So long, and thanks for all the phones
Finns are in mourning this week after Nokia has sold its mobile phones unit to Microsoft: a decision that weirdly seems both inevitable and shocking at the same time.
But they should be proud, for Nokia had an incredible 15-year run at the top of an entirely new industry, making stalwarts like Motorola and neighbours Ericsson …
Ministry of Sound sues Spotify over user playlists
Dance music empire the Ministry of Sound is suing music streaming service Spotify to protect the value of its compilation albums, in an unusual test case of European intellectual property law.
The legendary clubbing empire launched proceedings in the UK High Court on Monday. It wants an injunction requiring Spotify to remove the …
'Silent' staff stood by as £100m BBC IT project tanked – DG
The BBC's new director general Tony Hall says staff should have spoken up about the catastrophic Digital Media Initiative (DMI).
The utopian media storage project cost the BBC almost £100m since 2010 (and some £81m before then) before it was formally abandoned in May, with the corporation opting to use off-the-shelf software …
Windows NT: Remember Microsoft's almost perfect 20-year-old?
If you want to be reminded that you're getting old, ask a youngster what Windows NT is. Chances are, there'll be blank looks all round. Windows What? Is it, like, a codename for a new version?
You can't blame them. There hasn't actually been a proper "Windows NT" release since the late 1990s, so for almost anyone under 30 it's …
Does the RSPCA have your gun licence or car registration? NOBODY knows
No checks are carried out on what the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) does with confidential records it receives from police databases, including information on people's vehicles and gun licences, the Register has learned.
Precise details of the Information Sharing Agreements (ISAs) between the RSCPA …
AREA 51 - THE TRUTH by the CIA: Official dossier blows lid off US secrets
A declassified CIA report made public this week includes copious references to the United States' mysterious Area 51 base.
The Cold War-era dossier on the U-2 spy plane was published by the George Washington University's National Security Archive - and acknowledges the existence of the highly hush-hush patch of Nevada desert, a …
Bureaucrats foil Nestlé's bid to TRADEMARK KitKat's chocolatey digits
British bureaucrats' refusal to protect the KitKat chocolate bar's distinctive four-finger design from copycats has been slammed by UK lawyers as "remarkable" - and they say the decision has ominous implications for businesses fighting off competitors.
The UK Intellectual Property Office - an agency of the government's …
BlackBerry: It's the end-to-endness, stupid
Going private still looks the most likely next step for BlackBerry, with Prem Watsa, the largest shareholder in the company, resigning from its board this week, apparently to put together a deal. Watsa still holds almost 10 per cent of BlackBerry stock.
Yet even if BlackBerry goes private, its options remain brutal. Nobody …
Evernote hobbles third-party apps... but is it pulling a Twitter?
Mobile archiving service Evernote is throttling access to third-party applications which use its application programming interface (API) - and admits that apps that sync Evernote data will fall foul of the new rules.
The restriction takes the form of a ceiling on the number of API calls an hour, rather than a bandwidth cap. It …
BlackBerry hits 88MPH, goes back to the future with NEW old 9720 mobe
BlackBerry has announced a new phone for emerging markets: the BlackBerry 9720. It's not part of the shiny new BlackBerry OS 10 line-up of mobiles because it's powered by the ancient BlackBerry 7 OS, which last saw action in 2011.
It's the consequence of a mismatch between BlackBerry's swanky modern QNX-based operating system …
BlackBerry pie sliced up: Nuke-plant OS, BBM chat app, etc sale mulled
Troubled mobe-maker BlackBerry has confirmed it is "exploring strategic alternatives" to remaining as one enormous company - confirming wire reports last week of a potential breakup.
The firm formerly known as RIM said a "special committee" has been formed to examine options that "could include, among others, possible joint …
Netflix dares UK freetards: Watch new Breaking Bad NOW or torrent it?
Video-on-demand service Netflix will give viewers on both sides of the Atlantic near instant access to one of the most anticipated TV drama climaxes: the final episodes of Breaking Bad.
Streaming the brand new, hotly awaited programmes to UK fans within hours of their premiere in America is seen as an industry first and a clear …
Waiting for a Windows Phone update? Let's talk again next year
Windows Phone owners must wait until next spring for a major platform update, latest reports appear to confirm.
The platform has shown strong growth in 2013, almost entirely thanks to a concerted campaign by Nokia and almost entirely at the expense of BlackBerry.
But the upsurge in momentum hasn't obliged Microsoft to break a …
Apple returns to courtroom once again to contest ebook shafting
Apple is back in court this Friday to contest the punishment it received in the US ebooks pricing trial.
The government has tried to show how serious it is in several ways. Firstly, it ruled that Apple had to end its contracts with the five publishers and be prevented for five years from entering contracts that the Justice …
Google lifts skirts, reveals Play All Access to UK market
Without much fanfare, Google Play's on-demand streaming service has launched in the UK. Google Play All Access is priced at £9.99 per month and offers mobile access … and only runs on web browsers and Android devices, for now.
GPAA enters a crowded market with Spotify, Deezer, Xbox Music and Sony Unlimited offering very similar …
Brits give thumbs-up to shale gas slurping in university-run poll
Public perception is tilting in favour of the UK exploiting its rich shale gas reserves, according to a survey conducted by the University of Nottingham.
After asking thousands of Brits whether they backed shale gas in Blighty as a cheap source of energy, yes or no, and subtracting the negative percentage from the positive, the …
Steelie Neelie finds phone calls are cheaper in Latvia than in Luxembourg
Europe's top business eurocrat Neelie Kroes has expressed her shock that poor Romanians pay less for phone calls than wealthy Germans. Her office highlighted the disparity and used the figure to call for greater regulatory intervention by the European Commission (i.e. Neelie Kroes).
The European Commission vice president …
Flippin' tosser: Sun's magnetic field poised to SWIVEL on it - NASA
The solar magnetic field will completely "flip" within the next three or four months, according to NASA.
The dramatic-sounding event happens every 11 years. The Sun's magnetic activity follows a cycle, and as it reaches a maximum the poles weaken, reversing polarity.
In June last year, the Sun's northern polar field became more …
Sad shop-shelf-clinging BlackBerry Z10 AXED ... in price, contracts
Having failed to set the world on fire, BlackBerry's flagship Z10 smartphone is now being touted at knockdown prices.
The touchscreen-driven Z10 was BlackBerry's comeback device when it was launched at the end of January. But it was priced alongside top-end devices from Apple and Samsung with premium tariffs - more than £30 per …
Paid-for stuff likely to triumph over free – shock report
Over-the-top (OTT) video services such as Netflix, LoveFilm and Sky's Now TV are likely to win out over free and ad-supported services, according to a recent report on streaming media.
Pay TV broadcasters, meanwhile, are already feeling the pinch as viewers cut back on subscription packages.
The report also notes that internet …
Steady as she goes at Three, no unseemly dash to be Four
Hutchison's Three network in the UK has seen a ten per cent increase in active users over the past year, it says, with a 14.4 per cent increase in contract punters. The six months to the end of June saw 3 with 9.2m users (7.5m active) of which 5.5m were on contract (5.37m active) - the rest being on prepay.
The network lost 109, …
Wikipedians say no to Jimmy's 'buggy' WYSIWYG editor
Wikipedia editors are rejecting the online encyclopaedia's much-anticipated and hyped Visual Editor en masse.
The expensive software project, funded by donations to the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF), is a WYSIWYG editor intended to make the open-source resource more accessible. Traditionally, editing Wiki requires a knowledge of …
Google SELLS OUT the INTERNET HIPPIES! AGAIN!
Google is fighting a legal battle to prevent its Google Fiber subscribers from running servers on their network - and "net neutrality" sympathisers are shocked and appalled.
In the T&Cs for Google's 1GB fibre service, the T&Cs clearly state:
Your Google Fiber account is for your use and the reasonable use of your guests. …
Ministry of Fun launches news quiz - and the BBC is in its sights
The Ministry of Fun* wants to know if you're getting the news you need: and the role of social media, Google and the BBC are all up for grabs.
The Department of Media, Culture and Sport has launched a consultation (PDF) into media ownership and plurality, defining the latter as "having a diversity of viewpoints available and …
So, who here LURVES Windows Phone? Put your hands up, Brits
Nokia's cheap Lumia handsets helped Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system to a nearly nine per cent share of the UK market - but for all the Finns' efforts, the Lumia is still a rounding error in the United States.
The data comes from a Kantar Worldpanel poll of buyers globally in the second calendar quarter of 2013; the …
Exposed: RSPCA drills into cops' databases, harvests private info
British animal welfare charity the RSPCA enjoys unique access to confidential information on the Police National Computer (PNC) - the extent of which has not been disclosed before.
Civilians who claim to work for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals can access criminal records and carry out vehicle checks …
Typical! Google's wonder-dongle is a solution looking for a problem
From the reaction to Google's latest contribution to TV technology, you'd think the Chromecast dongle was as revolutionary as a new method of nuclear fusion.
While the wee $35 USB stick is more practical than the last Google TV gadget - and hopefully less catastrophic to Google's supply chain partners - it's a typically Silicon …
Signing out of a broken Britain: The final Quatermass serial
Nigel Kneale was one of the best British writers of the past 50 years, but thanks to enduring British snobbishness about both TV and stories of the imagination, the name is met with blank looks today.
Luvvies and critics have never taken to Kneale's Professor Quatermass character - and perhaps more people will recognise the name …
