The Register

The Register

  • Tasmanian tumours blamed on inbreeding
    Sun, 07 Oct 2007 07:02:02 GMT

    Devils face visit from the Darwinator

    Warning: Graphic content More evidence, if it were needed, that no good can come of indulging in cousin-coitus. The Tasmanian devil, the grouchy doglike marsupial immortalised in the form of Warner Bros character Taz, is facing extinction due to a rampant communicable cancer.…

  • Sprint Nextel and Verizon jury trials have Vonage on the brink
    Sat, 06 Oct 2007 07:02:02 GMT

    Patent defeat wounds Vonage further

    Sprint has won a second jury trial over patent infringement against US VoIP service Vonage, in what is an echo of the defeat inflicted earlier by Verizon.…

  • Sun grabs patent for magneto-hydrodynamic heatsink
    Sat, 06 Oct 2007 01:59:47 GMT

    Like a tiny X-Men villain on your CPU

    Sun Microsystems has been issued an interesting patent for a "magneto-hydrodynamic" heatsink packed in a closed fluid system.…

  • Yahoo! Teams! With! eBay! And! PayPal! To! End! Phishing!
    Sat, 06 Oct 2007 01:58:18 GMT

    If you use Yahoo!, eBay, and PayPal.

    Yahoo! has teamed with eBay and PayPal to save you from phishing scams. If you use Yahoo! Mail. And the scams involve eBay or PayPal.…

  • Sony's 40GB PS3 for Europe confirmed
    Sat, 06 Oct 2007 01:51:22 GMT

    SCEE closes its eyes and thinks of England

    Confirming numerous reports of a cheaper Playstation 3 hitting UK shores, Sony announced on Friday it will sell a baseline 40GB version of its console in Europe beginning 19 October for €399.…

  • SAP takes Eclipse to Sin City
    Sat, 06 Oct 2007 01:49:37 GMT

    Top down, not bottoms up approach

    The first maintenance release of open source development platform Eclipse Europa hit this week, accompanied by a flurry of activity across the Eclipse community.…

  • Lawmaker shows nudie pic to high school seniors
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 22:39:36 GMT

    Mammary stick malfunction

    Ohio state legislator Matthew Barrett was supposed to give a group of high school seniors a civics presentation using PowerPoint slides he had prepared on how a bill becomes a law. What they got was an anatomy lesson when the computer he was using displayed the image of a topless woman.…

  • Microsoft and Bungie part ways
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 20:28:20 GMT

    Microsoft platforms now a 'primary focus' for developer

    The whispers and omens of Halo developer, Bungie Studios departing from Microsoft were true. Microsoft announced today it will spin its record-breaking development team back into the wild.…

  • Open .NET challenge for iPhone development
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 17:37:19 GMT

    Moonshine for OpenMoko

    It stole the summer and broke hearts, with its empty promises on customization and a hardware lock down that turned some iPhones into bricks.…

  • Alcohol makes you smart enough to study it
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 16:01:58 GMT

    And plane wings are a little chilli

    Comments Studious teens can now take a course in "alcohol awareness" and earn a certificate equivalent to half a GCSE. The exam appears not to include a practical section, instead focussing on the dangers of drinking to excess. Always willing to discuss alcohol, you bit right in:…

  • DRM on steroids controls backfires on Blu-ray
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:47:24 GMT

    Double-plus bad

    The introduction of a new form of encryption control for Blu-ray discs last week has been accompanied by playback snags and worse, on a number of players.…

  • Computer glitch nixes death row appeal in Texas
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:34:20 GMT

    Judge holds firm on deadlines

    A Texas inmate was sent to his death after a computer glitch held up his appeal filing, and a presiding judge refused to extend the deadline.…

  • Geeks and Nerds caught on film lacking geeky nerdiness
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:27:46 GMT

    Canadians assailed by shoddy repairmen

    Canada was shocked to its honest-to-goodness core this week by the news that the country's PC repairmen are undermining its sweet as maple syrup image.…

  • Orange offers extended network coverage
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:20:45 GMT

    At a price

    Orange is to charge customers for extending network coverage into buildings with limited or no coverage, while still billing them for calls carried over their own broadband connection, according to the firm's picocell strategy, announced today.…

  • Kim Jong Il: dictator, gnome, and now 'internet expert'
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:16:55 GMT

    Who told him about the tubes?

    This week's historic reconciliation summit between North and South Korea has delivered an unexpected nugget of pure news gold: as well as being a "mad as cheese" bon viveur and the world's greatest golfer, Kim Jong Il considers himself an expert in packet-switched networking.…

  • Doubters fret at Nokia Navteq deal
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:06:39 GMT

    But the logic is unassailable

    Comment Nokia has spent the greatest part of its life being misunderstood by US stock analysts, and its move to acquire US mapping company Navteq, for a colossal $8.1bn, at $78 a share, is no exception.…

  • Spammers target hamsters after Ig Nobel winning research
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:32:52 GMT

    Gay bombs, viagra, and indexing 'the'

    Today is surely the biggest day of the year for boffins and those involved in the pursuit of boffinry. Because today, the Ig Nobel awards are handed out. Well, they were handed out last night, but the boffins will be having their hangovers today, and that is even more important.…

  • Forget municipal Wi-Fi, welcome to Zigbee City
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:09:43 GMT

    Gothenburg to get 270,000-node Zigbee network

    Utility company Göteborg Energi AB has selected NURI Telecom to provide Zigbee-enabled electricity meters to every home in the Swedish city of Gothenburg.…

  • IBM drops attempt to patent outsourcing
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:16:00 GMT

    Patent stupidity

    IBM has abandoned a ludicrous attempt to patent outsourcing after an internet outcry.…

  • Spam, scrams and scams - take your pick
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:02:03 GMT
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  • Pipex-Intel WiMAX emerges as Freedom4
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:54:16 GMT

    4 how much exactly?

    The first serious attempt at a WiMAX ISP is getting tarted up for launch, but keeping its pricing cards close to its bosom.…

  • Spammers turn YouTube into spam relay channel
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:42:28 GMT

    Will anyone notice the difference?

    Miscreants have turned a YouTube service into a spam relay channel.…

  • IBM coughs up SMB software
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:33:12 GMT

    Little guys have needs too

    IBM has reached out its sizeable hand to the little people in the biz world with the launch today of a new range of software products.…

  • MS drops nagware validation for IE7 installs
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:25:40 GMT

    Free for all

    Microsoft has dropped the requirement for Windows XP users to go through Windows Genuine Advantage validation in order to get Internet Explorer 7.…

  • Money men rubbish spooky fears over 3Com deal
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 11:07:03 GMT

    National security concerns unfounded

    Bain Capital Partners, the private equity shop that sounded the death knell for 3Com this week, has moved to kneecap talk of a national security block by the US.…

  • O2 Cocoon mobile phone
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 11:02:02 GMT

    Nothing to do with pods, pensioners or swimming pools

    Review O2 may have beaten its rivals to the iPhone, but it’s already launched a first assault on the mobile music market with a distinctively quirky own-brand design, the Cocoon. With 2GB of tune-packing internal memory and 2GB memory card support it’s ready to go toe-to-toe with most other music phones. And, strangely enough, alarm clocks too...…

  • BT says its Wi-Fi kibbutz isn't targeting 3G
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:35:18 GMT

    Community open to other ISPs by year's end

    BT has played down suggestions its new Wi-Fi sharing initiative is designed to compete with 3G mobile broadband in future. It will bid to improve coverage by opening the network to other ISPs' customers, however.…

  • PC superstore puts Microsoft on sale for under £150
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:11:34 GMT

    Would you like a warranty for your software giant?

    The bargains just get better and better at PC World. This week it's got the world's leading software company on sale for a measly £149.99.…

  • Global Voice hits right note with €32m bond
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 09:47:58 GMT

    Metro networks for London, Berlin, and Munich

    Irish-owned data network firm Global Voice, which trades as euNetworks, has raised up to €32m in funding through the issuing of a convertible bond.…

  • Birmingham trust signs up to VoIP
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 09:35:21 GMT

    Joins NHS national broadband network

    The Heart of Birmingham Teaching Primary Care Trust has signed a contract with BT to host its IP telephony services.…

  • Facebook faces more legal trouble
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 09:25:45 GMT

    Has to hand over sex offender info

    Social networking site Facebook has been ordered to turn over information on whether registered sex offenders have set up profiles on its site.…

  • Linux on mobile: manifest destiny?
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 03:22:20 GMT

    Or unholy past?

    When the Linux Foundation emerged from the collision of the Open Software Development Labs (ODSL) and the Free Standards Group in January 2007, cynical observers described it, with some justification, as "yet another Linux knitting circle".…

  • Betfair catches whiff of tennis match fix
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 01:57:48 GMT

    Fraud, anyone?

    The gentlewomen of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) have gotten their knickers in a twist over some unusual betting activity at the online betting exchange Betfair, the AP reports.…

  • Google and Frontline smack Verizon over US wireless auction (again)
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 01:53:17 GMT

    Court gives a helping hand

    Score one for the anti-Verizons in the ongoing battle for the 700-MHz band, a slice of US wireless spectrum set to be auctioned off by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in mid-January.…

  • IBM preps Power6-based blade and Blue Business Platform
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 01:06:52 GMT

    Making another bundle

    IBM has some server shenanigans planned in the coming months, and we'd like to share them with you.…

  • Sun patches multiple flaws in Java
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:32:18 GMT

    'Highly critical' bugs leave Windows, Linux and Solaris users open to attack

    Sun Microsystems has issued patches for several vulnerabilities in its Java Runtime Environment that leave users on Windows, Linux and Solaris wide open.…

  • Coming to a Windows PC near you: 4 critical security updates
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:28:07 GMT

    Terminate the remote execution vulnerabilities

    Microsoft plans to roll out four "critical" security updates that stamp out remote execution vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer, Office, Outlook Express and Windows Mail.…

  • RIAA hits paydirt: wins first music-sharing jury trial
    Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:13:14 GMT

    Jammie Thomas fined $220,000 for 24 songs

    The Recording Industry of America today won its first jury trial against an individual accused of illegally downloading music.…

  • And now for something completely different: Good news on spam
    Thu, 04 Oct 2007 23:54:06 GMT

    SEC beats up on pump-and-dump junk mail

    In the ever-escalating world of cyber insecurity, it's rare to find good news. And yet the Security and Exchange Commission on Thursday did just that as it reviewed data showing stock-touting junk mail has dropped significantly since a tough anti-spam campaign kicked off in March.…

  • OpenSUSE 10.3 opens for business
    Thu, 04 Oct 2007 23:52:13 GMT

    Chameleon adds more colours to its palette

    Another day, another Linux distro point revision. Honours this time go to OpenSUSE, available now in version 10.3 for free download at www.opensuse.org.…

  • Facebook 'friend request' lands UK man in jail
    Thu, 04 Oct 2007 23:46:41 GMT

    'I didn't know my ex-wife had an account, your Honour'

    A man who joined Facebook to look at his friend's wedding pics, was sent to jail after the site automatically sent a "friend request" message to his estranged wife.…

  • Sun hypes new hypervisor and virtualization console
    Thu, 04 Oct 2007 23:19:45 GMT

    Marketing now, shipping in '08

    Prowling the x86 server warpath, Sun today revealed its roadmap of products set to bring the company fully into the virtualization brouhaha.…

  • Gartner: no relief for data center costs
    Thu, 04 Oct 2007 22:43:33 GMT

    'Significant disruptions'

    The future holds no comfort for data centers aching over energy consumption and floor space, predicts Gartner.…

  • Ubuntu chief bids for prima-donna status
    Thu, 04 Oct 2007 22:17:18 GMT

    Dell, OpenOffice and Oracle let us down

    Audio I'd like to live in a tub of cream cheese icing. Sadly, that's not an option for me. It is, however, an option for Canonical/Ubuntu head Mark Shuttleworth. The open source advocate has plenty of cash - enough cash to build a breathing apparatus and waste removal system for a man-sized icing pool.…

  • Oz watchdog sticks to its Google-attacking guns
    Thu, 04 Oct 2007 19:16:06 GMT

    'Down with sponsored links'

    The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has dropped its legal action against two Google subsidiaries, but the protector of the Aussie people vows to continue its fight against the search giant's Mountain View mother ship.…

  • IBM attacks HP's dwarf blade with muffler
    Thu, 04 Oct 2007 18:54:39 GMT

    Ship the box. Stop the violence

    IBM has joined HP in the race to flog short, stumpy blade servers at small- to medium-sized businesses.…

  • EMC buys into online backup via Berkeley Data Systems
    Thu, 04 Oct 2007 18:45:50 GMT

    Mozy Osbourne

    Storage giant EMC branched further into the security market with the acquisition of on-line backup firm Berkeley Data Systems. Financial terms of the deal, officially announced Thursday, were undisclosed but a suggested price tag of $76m was cited when rumors of the pending union first surfaced a fortnight ago.…

  • Portrait of an (alleged) cyber bully as a young man
    Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:26:26 GMT

    Accused CastleCops nemesis didn't get mad. He got bots.

    Late in the evening of February 13, Paul and Robin Laudanski were planning the following day's Valentine's celebration when they received word that CastleCops, the volunteer security website they run, was under assault.…

  • eBay boots off Skype rival
    Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:41:54 GMT

    Wounded kitten bites spinning hook

    eBay, still smarting from Monday's $1.43bn admission of Skype's failure, last night deleted auctions that carried click-to-call buttons for VoIP rival Jajah.…

  • Australian court rings to the sound of satisfaction
    Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:26:06 GMT

    Female orgasm calls for reply

    A visitor to Australia's Ipswich Magistrates court was seen desperately scrabbling for his phone as it moaned in satisfaction on receipt of a call, according to reports from Ananova.…

  • Copyright 2007, Situation Publishing

    Michael's Picks
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