15th May 2008 Archive

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Feds nab modern-day Bonnie and Clyde

'We rob banks. And PayPal.'

Federal prosecutors have charged a Philadelphia couple with conspiracy, aggravated identity theft and a host of other violations, after they allegedly stole credit cards, billing statements and other sensitive information from friends, neighbors and bar patrons during a 13-month crime spree that netted more than $119,000. The …

Crime 15 May 00:33
Intel ordered to dish documents on deleted antitrust lawsuit e-mails

AMD vs Intel Internal interviews must be disclosed to AMD

Intel has been ordered to hand over secret employee interviews from an internal investigation looking into documents and e-mails that went missing during its antitrust trial with AMD. The chip giant tried to shield itself from full disclosure of the interviews by claiming they were protected by attorney-client privileges. …

Hardware 15 May 01:03
Making sense of Salesforce.com

Some software, some risk

The Salesforce.com marketing pitch at the recent Dreamforce Europe was wearying at times but it is not complete nonsense. Chief executive Marc Benioff spent the first hour of his keynote reiterating what he has said 1,000 times before about "no software". The "no software" slogan is deceptive, since Salesforce.com is a software …

Applications 15 May 05:02
'Major' Flash Player beta released

Build your own pixels

The "first major" Flash Player update since Adobe Systems completed its 2005 acquisition of Macromedia is due to be made available today as a beta. The Flash Player 10 beta features a brand-new Just In Time (JIT) engine to load pixel bytecode into the Flash Player engine. The JIT engine will support a planned expansion in …

Applications 15 May 05:50
European manned spaceflight plan proposed

Get into this cargo container, astronauts told

Strong rumours are circulating regarding plans for a European manned spaceflight capability. A firm announcement is expected later this month, which would outline a scheme based on modifications to the existing "Jules Verne" automated cargo module used to supply the International Space Station. Spam in a can capability coming …

Space 15 May 06:02
BT profits nothing to phone home about

Farewell Ben Verwaayen

BT failed to increase profits this year, although turnover was up very slightly in the fourth quarter ended 31 March. For the full year BT turned over £20.7bn, a two per cent increase on 2007. But profit before taxation and specific items was £2.5bn - no improvement on last year. BT did raise its EBITDA some three per cent to …

Telecoms 15 May 08:18
Run your home from your car, says Panasonic

Turn the oven on from the motorway

Panasonic has unveiled two hi-tech in-car systems that close the gap between operating your car and running your home. The CN-HX1000D and CN-HW1000D both use Bluetooth to connect through your mobile phone to remotely do everything from turning on light to recording something on TV. Both units are both part of Panasonic’s …

Reg Hardware 15 May 09:21
Dixons admits 'it's even worse than you thought'

Overhauls PC World, slashes stores and dividend

DSGI will overhaul its PCWorld computer barns and slash its fleet of High Street shops as part of a turnaround plan revealed the same day it admitted sales have gone into reverse at its computer retail business. The dire condition of the electronics giant's business was underlined by the company's decision to halve its …

Channel Register 15 May 09:32
Online ID checks to limit teen booze and knife purchases

Bill plans heavy fines for offending retailers

If you can’t prove how old you are, your days of shopping on the internet may be numbered. Fears that young people could be getting hold of knives, adult DVDs and alcohol are all fuelling a campaign by Margaret Moran, MP for Luton South, to make online age verification compulsory in the UK. This Friday, she will introduce a …

Law 15 May 09:33
Swiss birdman in Alpine backpack-jetplane stunt flight

'I'm not married any more,' says fanatical air-head

Famous backpack-jetplane pilot Yves Rossy has given his most daring public performance yet, leaping from an ordinary aeroplane to perform a variety of stunts above the Swiss Alps. He says he will fly his four-engined strapon flying wing across the English Channel later this year. Only the most committed airheads need apply. …

Science 15 May 09:36
Intel: future iPhone to be Atom powered

ARM emulation in place, sort of - just waiting for the right chip?

An Intel executive has apparently claimed a future iPhone will be based upon the chip giant's Atom processor. Speaking in Germany, one Hannes Schwaderer, Intel's MD for Central Europe, made the claim, according to a German-language ZDNet report. Sachwderer also promised a raft of Atom-based devices in the next 12 months, all …

Reg Hardware 15 May 09:44
Neighbourhood Watch 2.0: Your tensions are being monitored

Blears unveils multi-agency snoop squad blueprint

Community cohesion? You know it makes sense. Once your local community starts to get the slightest bit incoherent you're on the slippery slopes - riots, meltdown of national institutions then global revolution are only a few short steps away. Fortunately, here in the UK we have the Department of Communities & Local Government …

Policing 15 May 10:15
Phones 4u accused of misleading customers

Ofcom launches investigation

Responding to a "large number of complaints from consumers", Ofcom has opened an investigation into high-street retailer Phones 4u's selling practices to make sure it's playing by the book. Selling mobile phones is a very competitive business, and with sales staff paid a commission which varies between contracts supplied, it's …

Mobile 15 May 10:17
Union gears up for BT strike action this month

How will we know when it starts?

BT is facing industrial action from union Connect, which has voted to reject the company's pay offer. A spokesman for union Connect told The Register he hoped BT would return to talks. Connect is unhappy with the distribution of pay increases, not the overall pot on offer. The spokesman said: "We have serious concerns about …

Telecoms 15 May 10:22
DisplayPort to do DVI to death, analyst claims

And HDMI to pass water on DisplayPort?

Market watcher In-Stat reckons DisplayPort, the new PC-centric monitor connection system will trounce DVI to feature in 600m shipped products in 2012. Earlier this year, In-Stat forecast that DVI will be included in just 3m devices by 2011, down from 112m in 2007. In the main, that's because vendors will opt instead to fit …

Reg Hardware 15 May 10:30
NATO primes cyber defence centre in Estonia

All quiet on the Eastern front?

Seven NATO countries have backed the establishment of a new cyber warfare defence centre in Estonia. The Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (COE) is expected to swing into operation in August. The centre will run research and training on cyber-warfare. Half of its staff of 30 will be specialists from the sponsoring …

Government 15 May 10:45
Developing world buoys up software pirates

BSA spots emerging markets problem

Software piracy in the UK has fallen for the first time in three years, albeit slightly. However, the worldwide counterfeit software rate climbed to 38 per cent in 2007. A survey conducted by analyst firm IDC on behalf of The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has shown that, despite huge efforts from the likes of Microsoft and …

Channel Register 15 May 10:50
Brennan JB7 Micro Jukebox

Review Sounds great, looks great

Ever wanted to combine the convenience of digital music with decent sound and build quality? Then say hello to your new best friend, the JB7 Micro Jukebox. This tactile and user-friendly bit of kit delivers both with aplomb. Right from the start, we could feel this was a class piece of kit: well built, reassuringly heavy and …

Reg Hardware 15 May 11:15
Top-slicing the Beeb: Clueless execs get busy

Smelling the Ovaltine, swirling down the drain

Some quangos, like jellyfish, seem to be able to reproduce asexually. It's what they live to do. What this means is that without any contact, parthenogenesis occurs and they simply spawn off a little version of themselves, which may grow as large as its parent. Britain's uber-regulator Ofcom, I learned this week, definitely …

Music and Media 15 May 11:24
Slimmer Xbox 360 en-route?

Console company cuts the flab

The gaming world is rife with speculation that Microsoft is inking in plans to launch a slimmer and lighter Xbox 360 model. Register Hardware has already reported that the software giant is thought to have placed orders with chip and motherboard makers to produce components for an updated 360 – dubbed ‘Jasper’. According to a …

Reg Hardware 15 May 11:40
IM represents 'new linguistic renaissance'

Teens flex their chat muscles

Those among you who believe the use of instant messaging slang and shorthand among teens has doomed the English language to inevitable destruction should take heart from this report in New Scientist, which claims that au contraire, IM represents an "an expansive new linguistic renaissance". That's according to Derek Denis and …

Bootnotes 15 May 11:41
Spotigo promises Wi-Fi mapping within 5 metres

'It says we're...in the airport'

German Wi-Fi specialist Spotigo has managed to compile a Wi-Fi radio map of London and other major European cities, enabling it to locate any Wi-Fi device within five metres - and it promises to have the rest of Europe mapped within a year. Using the Spotigo database any Wi-Fi device can compare the locally-available Wi-Fi …

Wireless 15 May 11:45
Verizon shuns Android for LiMo

'Google don't know open'

Sometime next year, Verizon will roll out a Linux OS as the "preferred operating system" for phones on its US wireless network. And that Linux OS is not Google Android. But the big-name telco says it has no objections to selling Android phones as well. "This is not an either/or proposition," company spokesman Jeffrey Nelson …

Mobile 15 May 12:02
Chinese boffins show off unbelievably tight ring

Golden monomolecular nano wedding-band is largest ever

Chinese nanojewellery experts have managed to fashion an exceptionally tiny ring out of just 36 atoms of gold. Incredibly minuscule as the golden nano-ring is, however, it is in fact the world's largest of its type. Brainboxes Shu-Yan Yu, Yi-Zhi Li, and Vivian Wing-Wah Yam - working at universities in Beijing, Nanjing and Hong …

Physics 15 May 12:47
Life a mess? The Moderatrix can help

El Reg launches Agony Aunt service

It's come to our attention that some of you have lost your way a little on this journey we call life, and are wandering aimlessly while attempting to answer the fundamentals of existence. How do I install a printer driver on Umbongo Linux? I'm hungry - should I order pizza or a bucket-'o-plumped-chicken-gizzards? If I have a …

Bootnotes 15 May 13:02
Asus' Atom-powered Eee PC spied on web

Elfin laptop gets curves

Asus may be promoting the new Eee PC 900 hard, but some potential buyers are waiting for the promised Intel Atom-based version. Well they might: in addition to a snappier CPU, it'll sport a swish new look. So photos published by French-language fansite Blogee.net show. The shots sho a machine dubbed the Eee PC 901, and it's a …

Reg Hardware 15 May 13:30
Videogames cut physical violence levels, claims report

Take your anger out on a PS3

Anyone worried that players are being corrupted by violent videogames can relax, because the latest study has found that aggressive titles may actually be helping to cut the number of violent crimes. Patrick Kierkegaard, from the University of Essex, has produced a review entitled “Could Violent Video Games Reduce Rather Than …

Reg Hardware 15 May 13:37
LG displays world's largest circular LCD

A massive 1.4in screen

LCDs are so square, man. So LG has cut off some corners and developed what it claims are the world’s largest elliptical and circular LCD screens. LG's circular LCD: watch out If you’re dreaming of a huge circular LCD telly on your penthouse wall, then don’t get your hopes up because the elliptical display only measures 6in …

Reg Hardware 15 May 13:47
Billg bigs up SharePoint and Touch Wall

No future for keyboards though

Bill Gates bigged up collaborative technologies and demoed a new device called the Touch Wall, which looks to us rather like a wall-mounted iPhone. Gates, speaking at the firm’s CEO Summit at headquarters in Redmond, used much of his chat with 100 or so heavyweight execs including billionaire investor Warren Buffett, to pitch …

Software 15 May 13:53
CBS saves CNet from activist investors

Billion dollar buyout

CBS is buying CNet Networks - the web publisher behind ZDNet, gamespot.com, tv.com, mp3.com, news.com and techrepublic. These sites will now be combined with CBS's websites. CBS is paying $1.8bn for CNet - a 44 per cent premium on its share price. The combined properties will have 54 million unique users per month in the US …

Financial News 15 May 13:56
Sony's Alpha 300 DSLR lands in UK

Jessops wins sales exclusivity

Sony’s Alpha 300 digital SLR (DSLR) camera has finally gone on sale in the UK, approximately three months after details of the device first emerged online. Sony's Alpha 300: only available through Jessops The electronics giant has signed an exclusive deal with UK high-street camera chain Jessops, which put the camera on …

Reg Hardware 15 May 13:59
SOCA says: We are hitting serious criminals

UK's FBI goes after crims, and their cash

The UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) has said it is making progress in the fight against high-impact crime. The agency published its second annual report on Thursday highlighting increased seizures of Class A drugs and the confiscation of criminals' wealth. Earlier this week the agency came under fire for abandoning …

Policing 15 May 14:15
Triumph eco-bra brings Reg editors excuse to publish pants pic

The Japanese wing of ladies' pants purveyor Triumph opened its kimono this week to expose a hi-tech set of undies that'll charge up your missus' Eee PC while "arousing" everyone else's interest in matters environmental. Equipped with a solar panel, the green - what else? - bra is accompanied by a fair of equally grass-coloured …

Reg Hardware 15 May 15:08
Yahoo! faces battle for the board

Icahn! launches! proxy! war!

Yahoo! might not have escaped the clutches of Microsoft after all. Activist investor Carl Icahn has confirmed he will fight to take over Yahoo!'s board of directors in order to force through a takeover by Microsoft. Icahn, who succeeded in getting board seats at Motorola, today named the ten people he would like to see …

Financial News 15 May 15:33
Koreans tout standard for US mobile TV

LG and Samsung have just what you need

LG and Samsung have teamed up to have their respective technologies accepted as the American standard for mobile TV, just as Dish starts casting around for someone to help them build such a network. America already has a couple of broadcast mobile TV networks based around Qualcomm's MediaFLO technology. But last year the Open …

Mobile 15 May 15:52
Wake up and smell the Doritos™ - Avril Lavigne's manager

Mmm. Doritos.

Copyright is over, and musicians should make themselves as pretty as they can for big brand advertisers, says top music manager and label boss Terry McBride. McBride's Nettwerk Music manages artists including Avril Lavigne and the Barenaked Ladies, and it's been an indie label for over 20 years. He's put his thoughts into a …

Music and Media 15 May 17:14
Apple okay with Safari 'carpet bombing' vuln for now

'Eh. Don't expect much from us'

Next time you get nagged to install Apple's Safari browser keep this in mind: The company's security team has dismissed research that shows a simple way miscreants can use the browser to litter an end user's machine with malicious files. According to researcher Nitesh Dhanjani, Safari doesn't bother to ask for user permission …

Enterprise Security 15 May 19:23
Adobe lands Sun Java rich-client CTO

Swings for Flex-based RIA

Sun Microsystems' desktop division CTO has defected to Adobe Systems. It's the latest installment of musical chairs between vendors jockeying for developers building rich internet applications, and highlights Sun's weaknesses in this already competitive field. Twenty-one year Sun veteran Hans Muller this week started working …

Applications 15 May 19:34
RIAA ordered to shell out $100k for P2P witch hunt

Pigopolists pay for 471 hours

How many work hours does it take to fight off a false accusation of copyright infringement from the Recording Ass. of America? According to the federal magistrate judge overseeing the case of Tanya Andersen, Oregon's famous disabled single mother-turned anti-RIAA crusader, about 470.8 hours from her attorneys alone. …

Music and Media 15 May 21:13
Overstock's Patrick Byrne battles New York Sith Lord

'I will not pay the Amazon Tax'

Unwilling to collect the Empire State's new "Amazon Tax," Patrick Byrne and Overstock.com have jettisoned their New York-based affiliate marketers. Late last month, New York Governor David Patterson rubber stamped a $122bn state budget that attempts to collect an additional $50m in sales taxes from various online retailers. …

Channel Register 15 May 21:56
American cable giant joins data pimping club

Charter member

Charter Communications, the eighth largest ISP in the States, has jumped into bed with NebuAd, a behavioral ad targeting firm along the lines of Phorm and Front Porch. As reported by The New York Times, Charter will begin testing NebuAd's service sometime over the next month, with an eye towards tracking the search and …

Telecoms 15 May 22:38
Rootkits on routers threat to be demoed

Updated Networks own3d

Security researchers have devised a rootkit capable of covertly monitoring and controlling Cisco routers. Sebastian Muniz, of Core Security, plans to demo Cisco IOS rootkit software he developed during a presentation at the EuSecWest conference in London on 22 May. Rootkits are malicious packages used to hide the presence of …

Enterprise Security 15 May 22:42
MySpace fraudster indicted in teen's suicide

Cyber-bully 2.0

A 49-year-old Missouri mother has been indicted for fraudulently using MySpace to "cyber-bully" a teenage girl who committed suicide after she was tricked into believing she was being dumped by her online boyfriend. Lori Drew, of O'Fallon, Missouri, was named in a federal indictment charging her with three counts of accessing …

Crime 15 May 23:02