27th March 2008 Archive

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Gilded Perkins puts ego yacht up for sale

Turns to phallic underwater craft for compensation

It looked to us like Tom Perkins could afford the dinner bill. But, we guess, times are tougher than we thought even for Silicon Valley's elite. Just last night, we spotted the famed venture capitalist Perkins dining at one of San Francisco's more ancient restaurants - Jeanty at Jacks. The place has been around since the 1860s …

Odds and Sods 27 Mar 00:33
Endeavour space shuttle returns home

Florida touchdown under cover of night

The space shuttle Endeavour and its seven-member crew landed safely at NASA's Kennedy Space Center late Wednesday evening, ending the 16-day mission to the International Space Station. The shuttle touched down 8:39 PM US Eastern time (12:39 AM GMT) in an unusual nighttime landing after postponing its first opportunity to de- …

Space 27 Mar 02:44
AMD announces tri-core, tweaked quad-core Phenoms CPUs

But why buy an X3 now when faster ones are a month or so away?

AMD has formally unwrapped its three-core Phenom X3 8000 series, along with new versions of its existing quad-core Phenom X4 processors, now known as the 9050 line. The three-core Phenom X3s, first announced back in September 2007 just ahead of AMD arch-rival Intel's bi-annual Developer Forum, are detailed just before the next …

Reg Hardware 27 Mar 04:02
Kent bloke buried under 3,000 congestion charge receipts

Paper tsunami swamps Swanley

A Kent tradesman who ill-advisedly decided to pay the London congestion charge online was buried by a 3,000-receipt tsunami for his trouble, the BBC reports. Swanley geezer Graeme Ellis hit the Transport for London online presence to cough the £8 fee and then asked for some evidence of payment. Shortly thereafter, the postie …

Bootnotes 27 Mar 07:02
LG brings 6x Blu-ray, HD DVD drive to Blighty

Cure for format war hangovers

LG's 6x speed external Blu-ray Disc burner and HD DVD reader, the BE06LU10, is about to arrive on UK soil, the Korean company chirped today. The black, white and blue-glow unit is being pitched as the perfect cure for format war hangovers, allowing HD DVD backers to play their disc collection on a PC while embracing Blu-ray …

Reg Hardware 27 Mar 08:02
El Reg offers cut-and-paste comments service

Click here for your rant of choice

It's come to our attention that a certain kind of story will invariably provoke a Pavlovian response in certain Reg commentators who, in lieu of salivating at the sound of a bell, will suffer an immediate figurative jerking of the knee. This involuntary spasm in turn provokes an uncontrollable venting of the spleen, the …

Site News 27 Mar 08:02
Asus Eee PC 900 flips one at MacBook Air with multi-touch input

Two fingers to Apple

Asus' next-gen 8.9in Eee PC 900 will come complete with a MacBook Air-style multi-touch touchpad, documents filed with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have revealed. Among them, the 900's manual, which explains that in addition to all the usual tap and scroll actions, the tiny touchpad has "multi-finger gesture …

Reg Hardware 27 Mar 08:28
Spending slowdown hits Oracle third quarter

Buy more companies!

Oracle's third quarter has proved even a rapacious acquisition strategy can't render you immune to a slow down in customer spending. Sales of Oracle's software scraped in at the low end of its expectations stated in December: 16 per cent, compared to the anticipated range of between 15 and 25 per cent for the three months to …

Channel Register 27 Mar 09:47
Byron review calls for computer game ratings

Which games ARE mad, bad and dangerous to play?

The Byron Review will today call for cinema-style age ratings for computer games to protect children from violent or sexual content. Telly pyschologist Tanya Byron proposes a legally binding system of age ratings for games as well as better protection for children using the internet. She wants improved security and privacy …

Government 27 Mar 09:52
Royalties are the admission price, Microsoft tells freetards

No free passes says Smith

Let's be perfectly clear. Everything is up for negotiation and nothing is off the table when it comes to Microsoft's dealings with open source. Except for one thing: patents. Microsoft's legal chief Brad Smith this week made it abundantly clear that while Microsoft is increasingly prepared to deal with open source companies …

Developer 27 Mar 10:06
Hutton: UK must become world No 1 in nuclear power

Gov's nuke push gets warm reaction from unions

The Brown government has revealed plans for a massive resurgence in the UK nuclear power industry, not just a replacement of existing infrastructure. Business Minister John Hutton said yesterday that he would like to see Britain's new generation of nuclear stations deliver a greater proportion of the national electricity supply …

Government 27 Mar 10:19
DWP extends staff criminal record checks

Will check all successful candidates

The Department for Work and Pensions, which manages personal data on virtually every adult in the country, plans to check whether new staff have criminal records. It previously asked all applicants whether they had a criminal record, with an actual check carried out only for appointments to sensitive posts. In response to a …

Government 27 Mar 10:40
Cassini sniffs Enceladus's 'surprising organic brew'

Saturnian moon spews building blocks of life

NASA's Cassini spacecraft has sampled a "surprising organic brew" erupting from Saturnian moon Enceladus's south polar region comprising "volatile gases, water vapour, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, as well as organic materials". Cassini performed an "in your face" flypast of the Moon on 12 March, skimming at over 51, …

Space 27 Mar 10:43
Privacy chief says biometric concessions not good enough

'Kids and the elderly should be exempted'

Proposed Europe-wide rules governing biometric passports are still unsatisfactory despite some concessions, according to the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). The European Commission has proposed a revision of EU regulations governing the issuing of passports. The new rules demand that passports contain certain …

Government 27 Mar 10:43
First 'Facebook harassment' defendant cleared

Friend request not proved

A Birmingham man has been cleared of harassing his ex-girlfriend over Facebook in the first prosecution to specifically cite the social networking website. Michael Hurst, 33, of Edgbaston, was accused of harassing Sophie Sladden under the 1997 Harassment Act. Magistrates cleared the theatrical set builder yesterday, saying …

Music and Media 27 Mar 10:45
AMD readies two-GPU Radeon HD 3850 X2

3870 X2's younger brother

AMD will roll out a dual-GPU version of its ATI Radeon HD 3850 graphics chip in May, it has been claimed. The X2-branded board would sit below the current 3870 X2. The 3850 X2 is said to support between 512MB and 1GB of GDDR 3 or cheap DDR graphics memory, Taiwanese graphics card maker moles claimed. The memory clock will be …

Reg Hardware 27 Mar 11:20
Psychologist calls for movie-style ratings for games

A government-ordered investigation into the potential risks of videogames and the internet to children has recommended that computer games be rated like movies. The review has also recommend the creation of a UK internet safety body. Psychologist Dr Tanya Byron's 'Byron Review' has proposed a legally binding system of age …

Reg Hardware 27 Mar 11:22
XCOR challenges Virgin with the Lynx effect

Suborbital tourist vehicle aloft within two years

Californian aerospace outfit XCOR has thrown its hat into the space tourism ring with the announcement that its two-seat Lynx suborbital spaceship will be carrying paying customers aloft within two years. Lynx promises a 30-minute ride (flight profile here [pdf]) topping out at 200,000ft (61km) during which - in contrast to …

Space 27 Mar 11:27
Modern technology killing seaside postcards

Open sauce

Video may have killed the radio star, but a new report has found that emails and picture messaging could be killing off the traditional holiday postcard. Bamforth's 'cheeky' postcards have been around since about 1890 Broadcaster ITV surveyed 2000 people recently about the ways they keep in touch with friends and family …

Reg Hardware 27 Mar 11:36
Ticked-off former Motorola 'insider' gives his two cents

'If only you had listened to me'

An individual claiming to be a former advisor to deceased Motorola CMO Geoffrey Frost has attacked the mobe giant's management, accusing them of missed opportunities and closed minds. A letter attributed to a Numair Faraz, published by Engadget, lays into both existing and outgoing management. Faraz claims responsibility for …

Mobile 27 Mar 11:46
China takes big (yard)stick to mapping websites

Clandestine cartography threatens state security

China has announced it will come down hard on "mapping websites and other online geographical information" which it believes may pose a threat to national security. The official China Daily said that "eight government agencies, including the foreign ministry, are to tighten supervision of geographical information available …

Government 27 Mar 11:52
Mozilla plugs 10 security holes in Firefox

Thunderbird not go with latest updates

Mozilla coughed its latest Firefox update this week and patched ten flaws – five of which were critical vulnerabilities – in the latest version of its browser. The firm said it strongly recommended that Firefox fanciers upgrade to version 2.0.0.13 because of the number of security fixes built into the latest update. Critical …

Channel Register 27 Mar 11:56
Wii 2.1 sound system

Review Nothing wee about this sound system

It's well known that a speaker set of reasonable quality can substantially enhance your gaming experience, but if a high-end hi-fi system doesn't yet live in your lounge, this 2.1-channel Wii-friendly speaker set might make a superb substitute. Let's face facts, the Wii is better suited to social gaming than either the Xbox …

Reg Hardware 27 Mar 12:01
Transgender man prepares to give birth

Oregon couple redefine the division of labour

A Oregon man who was born a woman claims to be preparing to give birth in July. Thomas Beatie, of Bend, Oregon, underwent sex change surgery to become a man 10 years ago, but chose to retain his female reproductive organs, just in case. His wife of ten years, Nancy also from Bend, was unable to have children due to a …

Biology 27 Mar 12:23
Cisco unleashes IOS patches

Fixes five 'moderately critical' flaws

Cisco has kicked off its biannual patching frenzy by revealing five vulnerabilities to IOS, the operating system on which its routers run. The vulnerabilities are, according to security researchers Secunia, "moderately critical". They could lead to a denial of service attack against the organisation concerned, or manipulation …

Channel Register 27 Mar 12:25
Cheap as chips wind-up MP3 player

Batteries not included, or required

Trevor Baylis’ hand-cranked media player was a technological innovation upon its release. However, you can now bag yourself a cheaper alternative - provided you don’t mind losing some features. Thanko's Cranking MP3 Player Online retailer GeekStuff4U.com is currently selling the Cranking MP3 Player, which is manufactured by …

Reg Hardware 27 Mar 12:34
Boffin seeks US Blu-ray, mobile phone import ban

Alleges mass infringement of blue-laser diode patent

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has named 30 companies it intends to investigate to see if products they import into the States are guilty of patent infringement. Among the names are such luminaries as Sony, Nokia, Toshiba, Hitachi, LG and Samsung. The technologies affected include Blu-ray Disc, HD DVD and mobile …

Gadgets and Gizmos 27 Mar 12:40
MPs: Axe Nimrod subhunters to balance MoD budget

Rogue dinosaur project for the chop?

As the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) confronts yet another looming annual budget shortfall, Parliament's Defence Committee has issued its 2008 report into British military kit procurement. The oversight MPs say bluntly that it is time for the MoD to start axing major equipment programmes, rather than spreading its cash ever- …

Government 27 Mar 13:07
DIY satellite TV installer shoots wife dead

.22 handgun - not the best way to drill through walls

Officials are pondering whether to charge a Missouri DIY satellite TV installer who decided that the best way to punch a hole through the wall was with a .22 calibre handgun, and in so doing accidentally shot and killed his wife. According to KCTV5.com, Ronald Long was attempting to install said system in the bedroom of his …

Bootnotes 27 Mar 13:25
Brit TV company blamed for Peruvian tribal deaths

Researcher carried flu, claim indigenous locals

Indigenous tribes in southeastern Peru are demanding film and TV crews be banned from their territories around the Madre de Dios river after attributing the deaths of four members of the Matsigenka tribe to flu carried by a visiting British TV production company. Local communities insist a researcher from London-based Cicada …

Biology 27 Mar 14:03
Telly addicts developing web addictions

Time to go cold turkey?

The internet is now so addictive that many of us can’t bear to be parted from it, even while we’re watching telly – according to a report on Britain's couch potatos. Video search engine blinkx surveyed over 2000 adults and found that 83 per cent checked their email while watching TV. Just under 70 per cent admitted to simply …

Reg Hardware 27 Mar 14:30
Tokyo 250Mbps mobile supernetwork speeds into life

Did you see it? There it goes again....

Japan's largest operator has built a mobile network offering massive download speeds of 250Mbps. NTTDoCoMo's network near Tokyo is only a test, but the operator expects to complete development of the technology next year. Commercial networks could follow soon after. It's pushing technical standards to the limit in magicking …

Mobile 27 Mar 14:40
MPAA copyright punch up knocks out TorrentSpy

Former BitTorrent champ throws in the towel

The operators of TorrentSpy, once the most popular BitTorrent tracker, have been forced to permanently shutter the site after losing a battle with rights holders. A Los Angeles court ruled in favour of the Motion Picture Ass. of America in December after TorrentSpy destroyed evidence, claiming it was protecting users' privacy …

Music and Media 27 Mar 14:43
Blu-ray 'to bloom', now HD DVD's dead

Will you be one of the 18.8m people buying into BD this year?

Expect demand for Blu-ray Disc technology to explode this year, with 29.4m homes around the globe owning a BD player by the end of the year, it has been claimed. The forecast comes from market watcher Strategy Analytics (SA), which admits that the vast majority of those machines will be PS3 games consoles. Some 13m BD- …

Reg Hardware 27 Mar 14:44
Wii Remote raised to defuse explosive situations

Robot loves WiiMote

The number of additional uses for the Wii console and its components are exploding – literally. Bomb disposal boffins have equipped warzone robots with Wii Remotes so they can be controlled more accurately. iRobot's PackBot: showing off to the crowd According to a report by New Scientist magazine, engineers at the US …

Reg Hardware 27 Mar 14:50
Fayrewood gains pounds from new skinny look

Lifts pre-tax profit out of the red

IT distie Fayrewood PLC has returned to the black in 2007 after slimming down its biz units. For the year ended 31 December 2007 the firm saw pre-tax profit from continuing operations of £936,000 compared to a loss of £242,000 for 2006. Revenue from continuing operations rose to £129.5m compared to £122.3m for the same period …

Channel Register 27 Mar 15:16
First permitted in-flight mobile call made

Hello? Yeah, I'm on a plane...

UK communications regulator Ofcom yesterday cleared the way for mobile phone calls to be made on board aircraft, but airline Emirates has already begun allowing passengers to phone home from the wide blue yonder. The airline today claimed it was the first commercial airline to have permitted a mobile call to be made from a …

Reg Hardware 27 Mar 15:54
How safe is VMware's hypervisor?

CanSecWest The debate rages on

VMware researcher Oded Horovitz got an earful when he told a group of security buffs his company's virtualization software was theoretically impenetrable. Speaking at the CanSecWest conference in Vancouver, his hour-long presentation, titled Virtually Secure, included a slide titled "VM Escape" that carried the following bullet …

Channel Register 27 Mar 16:03
T5 opening turns into Airplane 3.0

Bags lost, flights cancelled, coffee runs out?

The opening of BAA’s Terminal 5 today was marred by the disappearance of passengers’ baggage followed by the disappearance of entire planes as the terminal’s sole occupant, BA, threw up its hands in despair. The £4.3bn terminal, which opened this morning, has been touted as the gateway to a new UK, where dwindling industrial …

Bootnotes 27 Mar 16:16
The Baying of the Hounds

Book extract Headspace: How the state is leading us by the nose

Today marks the publication of Headspace - Reg contributor Amber Marks's exploration of how the state and private sectors are trying to exploit the science of smell to watch and control citizens. Over the coming weeks, we will be publishing exclusive extracts from the book, which is published by Virgin Books and available here …

Policing 27 Mar 16:19
Apple orders 10m 3G iPhones - analyst

June release scheduled?

Apple says it expects to have sold 10m iPhones by the end of the year, and if one market watcher's claim proves correct, it might even double that total. According to Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney, Apple has placed an order for 10m 3G iPhones. That's in addition to the 10m original iPhones Apple has said it expects to sell this …

Reg Hardware 27 Mar 16:32
Picketers maul IBM in Sadville

One virtually out - all virtually out!

"I can't believe that governments are going tolerate these changes in power balance that online communities create," gasped Brian Eno last week, in conversation with Clay Shirky. The two were at the ICA in London, marvelling (picture below) at the "emergent" power of networks *. But will global corporations soon be cowering …

Music and Media 27 Mar 16:39
Denmark signs up for wind powered electric car switch

A double deck of green...

Denmark has become the second country to sign up to Shai Agassi's ambitious plan to wean the world off petrol-driven transportation, with the announcement of a deal between Agassi's Project Better Place and Danish utility Dong Energy. As with the Israeli deal announced in January, the latest venture will involve mass production …

Government 27 Mar 16:57
Apple grants Windows PCs the right to run Safari for Windows

Except where it doesn't

In a sudden about-face, Apple has allowed Safari for Windows to run on Windows PCs. Until yesterday, Apple's Safari for Windows license agreement permitted users to install the browser on no more than "a single Apple-labeled computer." But after a setteB.IT-fueled exposé from The Reg, Steve Jobs and his minions have changed …

Channel Register 27 Mar 17:05
Adobe opens Photoshop for freetards

Express yourself, online

Adobe today launched a free version of Photoshop online. Called Photoshop Express, the software has many of the basic functions of its paid-for cousin. Users will be able to upload photos to the Photoshop Express site, edit them and then store them online. Features include airbrushing (particularly useful for celebrity models …

Applications 27 Mar 17:45
Reality crashes Google hippie code fest

Disappointing results, rejected projects

You've almost got to feel sorry for Google. It tries to do something cool with its annual Summer of Code program, but some sourpusses just have to spoil the idyllic 60's vibe. Google this month announced the 174 project organizations it is supporting in the 2008 GSOC. Inevitably, there were omissions and some disgruntled …

Applications 27 Mar 19:56
Amazon's cloud now less prone to failure

EC2 adds more elasticity and zonality

Amazon's utility computing-style EC2 service just got more muscular. Thanks to a pair of new options, customers can take steps to ensure their applications keep running when system failures or network disruptions occur. First off, Amazon has rolled out "Availability Zones", which address a major weakness in the EC2 system. …

Small Biz 27 Mar 20:08
Dutch MP releases anti-Islam movie

NL gov in emergency talks

The Dutch cabinet is holding an extraordinary session this evening to discuss the release of the film Fitna by the anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders. Earlier this week Network Solutions pulled the plug on a promotional website for the film and YouTube removed the first part of the videoclip, citing "terms of use violation". Wilders …

Music and Media 27 Mar 20:17
Buggy Flash code continues to plague the web

CanSecWest Cost and laziness fuel Evilness' assault

More than three months after researchers documented serious vulnerabilities in Flash content that left tens of thousands of sites wide open to attack, few webmasters have bothered to remove the buggy files, a security expert from Google said. That means that an untold number of sites - many of them used for banking, ecommerce …

Enterprise Security 27 Mar 20:40
Red Hat cheerleading purges Q4 profits

Momentum isn't cheap

Red Hat's profit rose 7 per cent during its fiscal fourth quarter, with a healthy bump in revenue offset by the open source software distributor's increased sales, marketing, and R&D expenses. In Red Hat's first quarter under new CEO James Whitehurst, the company earned $22m, compared to $20.3m in the same period last year. …

Financial News 27 Mar 21:59