20th May 2008 Archive

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In Google We Trust: Health docs depo now open to Americans

Body goes beta, soul effort still in alpha

At long last, Google has asked for America's medical records. This morning, during a dog-and-pony show at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, senior vice president/company poster child Marissa Mayer officially took the wraps off Google Health - a long-awaited/long-dreaded service for storing and sharing your …

Law 20 May 00:17
Serve up iTunes with Apple's media browser

Mac Secrets Give your software some soul

Let's stay with the iLifeMediaBrowser.framework, which we looked at last time. Previously, I showed how to use Apple's built-in media browser using virtually no code. Following on from that, a number of folks have asked me if it's possible to use classes in the iLifeMediaBrowser library to access your iTunes library without …

Applications 20 May 05:02
NEC shows heart-shaped LCD

Don't break my LCD heart...

The next Valentine’s Day may be nine months away, but NEC’s hoping that you’ll favour its heart-shaped LCD over chocolates and flowers when 14 February does roll around. NEC's heart-shaped LCD: lovely The prototype TFT LCD display measures about 1.5 x 1.4in and crams roughly 146 pixels into every inch. NEC said that non- …

Reg Hardware 20 May 07:30
Games consoles not green enough, claims Greenpeace

Manufacturers must do more to rid their products of nasties

The PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii may all be green in the eyes of the European Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive - but all three have failed to meet Greenpeace’s standards. The organisation today published a report that details exactly how many dangerous chemicals it claims are used in the manufacture of …

Reg Hardware 20 May 08:02
Firefox developers tinker with new security protections (finally)

Protecting users from net's weaker security links

Developers of the Firefox browser are designing new technologies aimed at protecting users from some of the nastiest and most prevalent forms of website attacks. One protection is designed to minimize end users' risk to cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks and cross-site request forgeries (CSRFs), both of which subvert basic …

Enterprise Security 20 May 08:57
IBM kicks off service management house party

Folks wearing suits in Orlando Florida explained!

IBM has been busy rolling code from all the service management firms it has acquired recently into a more cohesive package. And what better way to tout the fruits of that labor than hosting a little service management shindig? Enter the inaugural Pulse 2008 show in Orlando Florida. IBM is centering the event around current …

Applications 20 May 09:07
Airbus jets could be converted to fuel-cell propulsion

Only on the ground, though

Plans are afoot to propel Airbus A320 airliners using clean, green electricity, according to reports. Disappointingly for the carbon-fearing and oil-worrier lobbies alike, however, the aircraft will be so propelled only while on the ground. "We are looking at installing electric motors in the wheels," Airbus A320 honcho Alain …

Environment 20 May 09:10
Brown brown-noses Google, Brin demands privacy

Your indefatigability - I salutes it

Gordon Brown might be short of friends within the Labour Party, but they must love him down at Google. He gave a speech yesterday at Google's annual Zeitgeist conference which had the smack of George Galloway's ringing endorsements of Saddam Hussein. Brown told Google's love-in: "I begin by congratulating Google, ten years ago …

Government 20 May 09:22
Boffins' breakthrough boosts fuel cell output by 50%

Membrane drain plugged

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have come up with a way to improve the power output of fuel cells by more than 50 per cent: a better membrane. The material was developed specifically for direct methanol fuell cells (DMFCs) and sits between the cell's two electrodes. It prevents current flowing directly …

Reg Hardware 20 May 09:28
Medion takes aim at Asus' Eee

Bigger screen, more storage, lower price

Medion, Europe's prime purveyor of low-cost PCs, phones and satnavs, is taking on Asus' Eee PC. Its Akoya sub-notebook will come in MacBook-like shiny black and white versions, sport a 10.2in display and cost just €399 ($620/£318). Medion hasn't detailed the Akoya's processor specifications, but Intel's Atom has to be the most …

Reg Hardware 20 May 09:57
Mobiles help UK malls track shoppers' every move

Every step you take, every toilet break you make...

Mobile phone tracking technology is being put to good use watching how punters migrate around a shopping centre, thanks to gear from Portsmouth-based Path Technologies. By installing receivers around a shopping centre the company can pick up communication between handsets and base stations, enabling them to track shoppers to …

Mobile 20 May 10:00
When code goes bad: What to watch for

Book extract, part five Emergent Design: Pathologies uncovered

Scott Bain’s book, Emergent Design: The Evolutionary Nature of Professional Software Development by Addison Wesley, looks at the principles involved in building and maintaining robust, reliable, and cost-effective code. In this, our concluding extract, Scott identifies the pathologies in code when coupling, cohesion, and …

Software 20 May 10:02
Symbian shipments up but royalties stall

Send in the consultants

Symbian Limited has announced first quarter results which show shipments are growing steadily but a drop in average royalty per unit has left income static. Symbian OS can now be found on 235 handset models, of which 154 are currently on sale – an increase of 35 per cent on last year, and Symbian reckons there are 70 more …

Mobile 20 May 10:24
Philips probes possibilities of hi-tech pants

Make sure they're clean

Register Hardware can state with confidence that Philips' latest patent application really is total pants. The firm has designed a pair of briefs that supposedly monitor the wearer’s blood pressure. Philips' pants: monitor your blood pressure and keep you in place The hi-tech undies have sensors sewn into the waistband that …

Reg Hardware 20 May 10:40
Israeli jailers listen to guard dogs with interpreter ware

'What's that, boy? A breakout at Tower 14, you say?'

Israeli prison officers are using high-tech computer canine interpreter communications gear to understand messages barked by patrolling guard dogs, according to reports. "It collects the dogs' barks through microphones... and sorts and grades them," said Noam Tavor, head of the Israeli prison service K-9 branch, describing the …

Government 20 May 10:49
Stem cell researchers claim victory in battle with Church

MPs fall in favour of hybrid embryos

Scientists have today welcomed MPs' decision to allow them to create human-animal hybrids in order to harvest embryonic stem cells for research. After a weekend of intensive and emotive lobbying from both sides of the debate, the victory for scientists late last night was comfortable in the end. In a free vote, 336 MPs voted …

Biology 20 May 11:12
UK.gov plans central database for all ~~your~~ communications

Brown team plots Ripa redux?

The Brown government is considering a central database of all UK communications data including times and durations of phone calls, emails and internet access for every British citizen. The draft bill is still being considered by ministers and a Home Office spokeswoman told us no decision had yet been reached. The spokeswoman …

Government 20 May 11:22
Meizu Mini Player SL 8GB media player

Review Flac and Ogg support to the fore

Despite having been busted at the CeBIT show for alleged copyright infringement, Meizu makes some stylish media players that compete with a host of 2, 4 and 8GB Flash players with 2-3in screens. The Mini SL is not a brand new design, but it has recently been given an improved screen, some new firmware and has shed a few …

Reg Hardware 20 May 11:27
Consoles blamed for Japanese arcade sales slump

Arcades shutting down across Japan

Videogame arcades are big business in Japan. Or, rather, they were. Unfortunately, the country’s homes are so clogged with entertaining technology that the trade’s multi-billion Yen value is being eaten away. Japan’s arcade industry may be worth around ¥6.9bn (£33.8m/€42.4m/$66.4), according to Reuters, but some arcades are …

Reg Hardware 20 May 11:42
Pondlife earthquake scammers go mobile

SMS scam hides behind proxies

The Chinese earthquake and the Burmese cyclone, like so many other tragedies before them, are being actively exploited by online scammers. Past history involving disasters such as the Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina suggest opportunistic malware attacks themed around these latest events are likely to follow. …

Crime 20 May 11:44
South Korea Prez receives limited edition Xbox

A mother-of-pearl gaming beauty

Heads of state receive loads of great gifts - President Bush recently received a mountain bike from Israel, for instance. But if you’re mates with the Gates, then you get the coolest presents, like an Xbox 360 encrusted with mother-of-pearl. Bill Gates gave the mother-of-pearl Xbox 360 to South Korea's president Bill Gates …

Reg Hardware 20 May 11:45
'Experimental' Linux distro Exherbo eyes serious developers

Whispering grass

A former Gentoo developer yesterday revealed that he has been working on a new hardcore Linux distribution, dubbed Exherbo. Bryan Østergaard said on his blog that Exherbo was at the “experimental” stage and for that reason isn’t openly encouraging anyone to attempt to use it. He said work on the Linux distro has been ongoing …

Operating Systems 20 May 11:57
US and Romania dredge up 38 phishing suspects

Bank card gang PINned down

Police in the US and Romania have charged 38 members of a suspected phishing gang. The group reportedly organised the theft of online banking credentials using both email and text message lures. One phase of the attack involved the distribution of 1.3m fraudulent text messages that posed as communiques from a prospective mark' …

Crime 20 May 12:52
A videogame that truly takes the p*ss

Is that really what they meant by Wii?

Combine videogames, beer and a urinal, and what do you get? Well, aside from a vile smell, you get Place to Pee – an interactive gaming unit ‘operated’ by the flow of a certain warm, yellow liquid. Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com No we’re not taking the p*ss, Place to Pee has been developed by …

Reg Hardware 20 May 13:02
Metal Storm in further grenade-gasm tests, paper issues

A 'certifiable' idea

Famed Australian gun-tech company Metal Storm, in a characteristic move, has announced details of further prototype testing and also signalled its intention to raise more money on the stock markets. The company was pleased yesterday to say that it had "conducted successful Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Testing on its 40mm …

Science 20 May 13:30
Website in 'Apple to launch 3G iPhone at WWDC' allegation shock

Never heard that one before...

Apple will formally launch the iPhone on 9 June, yet another anonymous 'mole' has alleged. The so-called "confirmation" - though it's actually nothing of the sort - comes from website Gizmodo. Had the information come directly from Apple or one of its carrier partners, that would be a confirmation, but so far as we can tell it …

Reg Hardware 20 May 13:36
Teen battles City of London cops over anti-Scientology placard

Faces prosecution for branding Hubbardites a cu*t

Anti-Scientology campaigners are up in arms after it emerged that City of London police issued a court summons to a teenager for displaying a sign that branded the Hollywood-bothering, UFO-fancying sect a "cult". The incident occurred on 10 May outside Scientology's controversial Square Mile headquarters, at a rally …

Law 20 May 14:35
Dutch ban voting computers over eavesdropping fear

Back to basics

The risk of eavesdropping has driven the Dutch government to ban electronic voting computers from future elections. The Ministry of Internal Affairs says that the development of safer voting computers has "insufficient added value over voting by paper and pencil". Dutch election officials will return to using paper ballots …

Government 20 May 14:40
Iogear pitches over-the-network USB sharing gadget

SAN on the cheap

Plug this little fella into your network and you'll be able to share printers, hard drives, card readers, speakers and other USB gadgets, maker Iogear claims. Iogear's USB ShareStation: share USB devices on the (W)LAN The USB Net ShareStation essential brings to a range of routers the same USB connectivity found on high- …

Reg Hardware 20 May 14:44
Netflix to sell set-top box for streamed movies

The postman doesn't need to ring twice...

DVD renter Netflix has started selling set-top boxes that allow its subscribers to watch streamed movies. The box is made by Roku and links up to your wireless, or wired, network and TV. The $99.99 box will then stream content straight to your telly. Netflix is best known for renting DVDs but claims it has 10,000 titles …

Music and Media 20 May 14:51
DISH Network awarded $1,050 in NDS card crack case

Uh, is that it your honour?

NDS Group is going to have to tighten its belt. After a mere day's deliberation, a US jury has cleared the company of deliberately cracking the competition's smart cards and circulating the cracks online. It has been found guilty of cracking just the one card, and is thus liable for a hefty $49.69, plus a grand in damages. NDS …

Telecoms 20 May 15:44
Unmanned Aerial Manhood outrage at Kasparov rally

Drone chopper shocker in Moscow

Politicians in Western countries talk a lot about the contribution technology can make to politics, but they're generally on about quite limited ideas like video debates. In Russia, some activists are much more avant garde - seeking to make their (unspecified) point by the use of a remote-controlled flying penis fitted with …

Bootnotes 20 May 15:58
Russell T Davies bows out of Doctor Who

Abzorbaloff creator waddles off into sunset

Russell T Davies is stepping down from his executive producer and lead writer role on the BBC's pride and joy Doctor Who, no doubt to a mixed chorus of grateful cheers and sardonic smirks. According to the Beeb, Davies - dubbed "spectacularly talented" by BBC Fiction controller Jane Tranter - will remove himself after a …

Entertainment 20 May 19:28
Platform Computing makes cluster management land grab

PGC08 Adds branch of HPC software

Platform Computing is getting into the business of cluster management software for high performance computing (HPC), a move the company hopes will complement its traditional offerings for HPC workload management. Opening the firm's Platform Global Conference 2008 in Santa Clara, California, CEO Songnian Zhou unveiled its …

Servers 20 May 19:41
Royal Bank of Scotland takes three weeks to squash nasty Worldpay bug

Updated Amateur security sleuth spurned

This story was updated to reflect that the vulnerability has yet to be fixed and that RBS responded to an amateur security researcher's email. A previous version erroneously reported the security hole had been closed and that the bank never sent a reply. After more than three weeks of notice, Royal Bank of Scotland has yet to …

Channel Register 20 May 19:51
Wikimedia Foundation muzzles Wikinews

Speech is free if you pretend it's free

Wikinews - like its sister site, Wikipedia - bills itself as a place without bias. Ostensibly, it's a democratic news source that never answers to a higher power. But that's just a setup for the latest act in the world's greatest online farce. In recent weeks, the Wikimedia Foundation - the not-for-profit that operates …

Music and Media 20 May 20:10
EMC: The age of high-end flash has begun

Enterprise SSDs match high-end disk prices by 2010?

EMC predicts the end is nigh for rotating drives dominating data center storage. Speaking at EMC's annual conference in Las Vegas, David Donatelli, boss of EMC's storage division said he expects enterprise solid state drives to match the price of its spinning magnetic media counterpart within only two years. "By 2010, flash …

Storage 20 May 22:24