Sunday 31 March 2013

A holiday message from Ricky Gervais: 'Why I'm a good Christian'

Ricky

Last Christmas I wrote a little essay entitled: "A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I'm an atheist."


The Wall Street Journal ran it, and it caused quite a stir. I was even asked to answer some of the comments.


So for Easter I thought I'd do another one. Here it is.


By: Ricky Gervais, Edited by: Nate Lanxon


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-04/14/ricky-gervais-why-im-a-good-christian

Saturday 30 March 2013

How to build a startup community

Startup community

Don't live in an established startup hub? Grow your own. Venture capitalist Brad Feld, the author of Startup Communities: Building an Entrepeneurial Ecosystem in Your City, helped create one in Boulder, Colorado. He explains how.


By: Tom Cheshire, Edited by: David Cornish


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/03/how-to/how-to-build-a-startup-community

Big Ideas: Google's Larry Page and the gospel of 10x

Big Ideas

Larry Page lives by the gospel of 10x. Most companies would be happy to improve a product by ten per cent. Not the CEO and cofounder of Google.


The way Page sees it, a ten per cent improvement means that you're doing the same thing as everybody else. You probably won't fail spectacularly, but you are guaranteed not to succeed wildly.


That's why Page expects his employees to create products and services that are ten times better than the competition. That means he isn't satisfied with discovering a couple of hidden efficiencies or tweaking code to achieve modest gains. Thousand-per-cent improvement requires rethinking problems, exploring what's technically possible and having fun in the process.


By: Steven Levy, Edited by: David Cornish


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/03/big-ideas/a-healthy-disregard-for-the-impossible

Big Ideas: Declare war on incoming asteroids

Asteroid Eros

Bong Wie, director of the Asteroid Deflection Research Center at Iowa State University, has a missile -- the Hyper-Velocity Asteroid Intercept Vehicle (HAIV) -- that could blast nearby space rocks by exploding them from within, Armaggedon-style. Up front: a "kinetic energy interceptor". In the back: a nuke.


By: Ben Paynter, Edited by: Kadhim Shubber


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/03/big-ideas/declare-war-on-incoming-asteroids

Big Ideas: Fuel Earth using micromachines

Micromachines

In 1982, Caltech chemist Harry Gray discovered that electrons "tunnel" -- skip across chains of molecules -- through proteins. This turns out to be how living things convert energy into fuel. It's all made possible by hybrid molecules called metalloproteins, which combine the flexibility of proteins with metal's ability to catalyse chemical reactions.


By: Thomas Hayden, Edited by: Kadhim Shubber


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/03/big-ideas/fuel-earth-using-micromachines

Big Ideas: Build skyscrapers out of diamonds

Diamond Skyscrapers

It's hard, clear, chemically inert, frictionless and an excellent conductor of heat. And it's made of one of the most common elements: carbon. Diamond -- just carbon crystal, really -- is exceedingly useful in fields from microelectronics to water treatment. Unfortunately, large diamonds are also rare. But imagine if the stuff was as ubiquitous as steel.


By: Ted Greenwald, Edited by: Kadhim Shubber


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/03/big-ideas/build-skyscrapers-out-of-diamonds

Soyuz makes ISS journey in record time

ISS

A Soyuz capsule has arrived at the International Space Station just six hours after launch, having been the first to take a quicker route to the orbiting science lab.


Instead of the normal 36 orbits and more than fifty hours of journey from the surface to the ISS, the capsule instead circled the Earth just four times, using intricate ballistics manoeuvres to take a quicker route.


By: Duncan Geere,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/30/soyuz-iss

Amazon buys Goodreads

Books

Online retail giant Amazon has bought social book discovery website Goodreadsfor an undisclosed sum.


The San Francisco based company describes itself as a "social cataloguing" website, and was founded in 2006. It lets users build up a personal library of books that they've read, create reading lists, and suggest titles to others.


By: Duncan Geere,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/30/amazon-goodread

Predicting the future of artificial intelligence has always been a fool's game

AI

In 1956, a bunch of the top brains in their field thought they could crack the challenge of artificial intelligence over a single hot New England summer. Almost 60 years later, the world is still waiting.


The "spectacularly wrong prediction" of the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence made Stuart Armstrong, research fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at University of Oxford, start to think about why our predictions about AI are so inaccurate.


The Dartmouth Conference had predicted that over two summer months ten of the brightest people of their generation would solve some of the key problems faced by AI developers, such as getting machines to use language, form abstract concepts and even improve themselves.


If they had been right, we would have had AI back in 1957; today, the conference is mostly credited merely with having coined the term "artificial intelligence".


By: Mark Piesing, Edited by: Olivia Solon


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/29/predicting-artificial-intelligence

Soyuz makes ISS journey in record time

ISS

A Soyuz capsule has arrived at the International Space Station just six hours after launch, having been the first to take a quicker route to the orbiting science lab.


Instead of the normal 36 orbits and more than fifty hours of journey from the surface to the ISS, the capsule instead circled the Earth just four times, using intricate ballistics manoeuvres to take a quicker route.


By: Duncan Geere,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-04/02/soyuz-iss

Amazon buys Goodreads

Books

Online retail giant Amazon has bought social book discovery website Goodreadsfor an undisclosed sum.


The San Francisco based company describes itself as a "social cataloguing" website, and was founded in 2006. It lets users build up a personal library of books that they've read, create reading lists, and suggest titles to others.


By: Duncan Geere,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-04/02/amazon-goodread

Wealthy London NIMBYs grit teeth, welcome 'ugly' fibre cabinets

Six foot high boxes-o-infrastructure crush opposition


BT has convinced residents of Kensington and Chelsea that they can live with "ugly" fibre optic cabling cabinets on their streets. The move comes after the Royal Borough rejected 96 of the installation proposals submitted by the national telco in May last year.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/27/ugly_bt_cabinets_kensington_and_chelsea_nimbys_say_yes/

Friday 29 March 2013

Wired.co.uk Podcast 117: skin-eating worms, cable wars, Summly cashes out

Wired podcast

This week we delve into the murky oceans to find out who's been taking ninja action on our planet's internet backbone; we get envious of the 17-year-old lad who sold a company he founded for $30,000; and we'll discuss the worm-like amphibian that munches on its mother's skin for sustenance.


By: Nate Lanxon,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/podcast/episode-117

A lightbulb that does IPv6: You know you want it

ZigBee gets ready for the Internet of Stuff


Mesh-networking standard ZigBee now has support for IP, allowing embedded devices (from 'leccy meters to lightbulbs) to be directly addressed as long as the addresser is using IPv6.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/29/zigbee_ip/

Sprint, Softbank to swear off Huawei kit as condition of merger

Will bow to US government spying concerns


A US Congressman has said that Sprint and its Japanese suitor Softbank have both pledged not to use equipment manufactured by China's Huawei in Sprint's wireless network, a move that could help the companies clear a hurdle in their planned merger.…





via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/29/sprint_softbank_to_ditch_huawei/

Thursday 28 March 2013

Google vows no patent prosecution for open source cloud tech

Protects Hadoop community, perhaps others in the future


Google has vowed to not sue users, distributors, or developers of technologies covered by some of its key patents, and has started out by protecting the cloudy Hadoop community.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/28/google_plays_nice_with_patents/

Living in the middle of a big city? Your broadband may still be crap

No cloud movies for you if you lose the postcode lottery


Living in a city centre is no guarantee of nimble broadband speeds in Blighty, as download rates are a postcode lottery.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/28/city_living_no_guarantee_fast_broadband/

Rackspace gobbles Exceptional Cloud Services for Redis smarts

A little Redis to go with your MongoDB, sir?


Just a month after chowing down on MongoDB provider ObjectRocket Rackspace is announcing plans to devour another company, this time gobbling up a Redis hoster Exceptional Cloud Services.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/28/rackspace_grabs_redis_via_exceptional_cloud_services/

Paypal struggles free of VMware lock-in, goes with OpenStack

Deed heeds its need for speed


Paypal is floating thousands of its servers on open-source OpenStack and sidelining VMware to become faster than smaller competitors at building payment apps for the cloud.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/28/paypal_openstack/

Orange is the new TalkTalk of the broadband complaints league

Outstrips all competitors in race to the bottom. Again


Orange is once again the most whinged about telco in the UK, the communications watchdog Ofcom confirmed today.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/28/orange_most_complained_about_telco/

Sony dives deep into the PS4’s hardware power, controller features

PS4 controller

At a presentation at the Game Developers Conference on 28 March, Sony Senior Staff Engineer Chris Norden went into greater technical detail on some of the PlayStation 4's underlying hardware, including the PS4 Eye depth-sensing camera. While all of this information is not finalised and subject to change, the presentation gave us our deepest look yet at Sony's next generation of console hardware.


Norden started by focusing on the chips, including the 64-bit x86 CPU that he stressed provided low power consumption and heat. The eight cores are capable of running eight hardware threads, with each core using a 32KiB L1 I-cache and D-cache, and each four-core group sharing 2MiB of L2 Cache. The processor will be able to handle things like atomics, threads, fibres, and ULTs, with out-of-order execution and advanced ISA.


Sony is building its CPU on what it's calling an extended DirectX 11.1+ feature set, including extra debugging support that is not available on PC platforms. This system will also give developers more direct access to the shader pipeline than they had on the PS3 or through DirectX itself. "This is access you're not used to getting on the PC, and as a result you can do a lot more cool things and have a lot more access to the power of the system," Norden said. A low-level API will also let coders talk directly with the hardware in a way that's "much lower-level than DirectX and OpenGL," but still not quite at the driver level.


By: Kyle Orland, Edited by: Kadhim Shubber


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/28/ps4-hardware

New type of supernova discovered

Supernova

Astronomers have discovered a new type of supernova.


Until now there have been two classes of supernovas known, both are extremely luminous events that cause a burst of radiation that can outshine a whole galaxy. A core-collapse supernova is the explosion of a star about 10 to 100 times as massive as the Sun. A Type Ia, or thermal runaway supernova, occurs in binary systems, with one star being a tiny white dwarf, when material from the parent star streams onto its surface resulting in a runaway fusion reaction and complete destruction of the white dwarf.


The new class of supernova, called a Type Iax, is fainter and less energetic than Type Ia. Although both varieties come from exploding white dwarfs, Type Iax supernovas may not completely destroy the white dwarf.


By: Jenny Winder, SEN.com, Edited by: Kadhim Shubber


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/28/new-supernova-type

Force India sign long-term Mercedes powertrain deal

Force India will continue to be powered by Mercedes-Benz in 2014 and beyond, it was announced on Thursday. The long-term agreement will see Mercedes-Benz supply the Silverstone-based team with a complete power unit, transmission and all associated ancillary systems when Formula One racing adopts 1.6-litre V6 turbo engines in 2014

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14419.html

ColaLife rides Coke’s distribution to deliver essential medicine to remote villages

ColaLife

Simon Berry is piggybacking on Coca-Cola's distribution system to bring life-saving medicine to the places that need it most.


You can buy a Coke pretty much anywhere on Earth. Thanks to a vast network of local suppliers, Coca-Cola has almost completely solved distribution, getting its product into every nook and cranny where commerce reaches. There are places in the world where it's easier to get a Coke than clean water. In the 1980s, Berry was an aid worker in Zambia, and when he looked at Coke's success, he saw an opportunity.


"Child mortality was very high and the second-biggest killer was diarrhoea, which is simple to prevent," he says. The standard treatment is oral rehydration solution, or ORS, which is essentially salt, sugar and water. "I had the idea of transporting ORS through the Coca-Cola system."


By: Tim Maly, Edited by: Kadhim Shubber


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/28/colalife

ASA says 'unlimited' broadband can have 'moderate' limits on it

Virgin choking wasn't moderate, so its wrist is smacked


Britain's advertising regulator has upheld complaints brought against Virgin Media by BSkyB and BT over the cable company's "unlimited" broadband claims.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/28/virgin_media_slapped_by_asa_after_gripes_from_bt_sky/

Indonesia: e-commerce firms must have local domain

Show me some .ID, says Ministry


Indonesia will effectively ban cross-border e-commerce and make it harder for foreign firms looking to invest in the country, by mandating that anyone wanting to sell goods online must register a local .ID domain.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/28/indonesia_ecommerce_local_registration_hurdles/

Watchdog warns UK.gov not to create 'them and us' digital divide

Want some welfare payouts? Buy a computer


The National Audit Office has warned that the British government's fixation with its digital-by-default agenda could create a "them and us" mentality that excludes more vulnerable members of society who don't access the internet.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/28/national_audit_office_digital_by_default_them_and_us/

Oz states count cars using Bluetooth

Traffic studies bring out tinfoil hats


The government of Australia's Capital Territory (ACT) has issued a statement about the use of Bluetooth-sniffing technology for traffic studies.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/28/riotact_goes_berserk_over_bluetooth/

Microsoft says WinPhone outselling iPhone, BlackBerry

Things are looking bad for Apple in Ukraine and Poland


Windows Phone is outselling the iPhone in seven nations, says Microsoft mouthpiece corporate vice president of corporate communications Frank X Shaw.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/28/windows_phone_outselling_iphone/

Citrix moves into SaaS management

Control your apps, users, clouds


Citrix is moving into application management as part of the company's continued shift away from merely delivering virtualized Windows apps.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/27/citrix_gets_into_app_management/

Egyptian navy captures divers trying to cut undersea internet cables

Telecom Egypt connections targeted for termination


A spokesman for the Egyptian military has reported that three scuba divers have been arrested in the Mediterranean as they tried to cut a submarine data cable owned by local telco Telecom Egypt.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/27/egypt_cables_cut_arrest/

Wednesday 27 March 2013

IBM unfurls SDN network manager

If you've got it, Big Blue will manage it


First virtualization chewed up processors and regurgitated them as a pile of fungible compute resources, then it started gobbling storage, and now it's turned its hungry eye to networks, and IBM wants to help VMware, OpenStack, and others, do the chewing.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/27/ibm_network_management/

'Largest cyber attack ever' is happening right now, threatens rest of web

Burst pipe

A cyber attack described as the largest in history is currently underway, and it's apparently all because of an argument over some spam.


The Spamhaus Project, based in both London and Geneva, produces lists of email addresses and servers that are known to send out things that most people won't want, from penis enlargement scams to malware and viruses. Someone isn't happy about being blocked -- and right now, a vast cyber attack is directed right at Spamhaus, threatening the internet's core infrastructure.


By: Ian Steadman, Edited by: Olivia Solon


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/27/biggest-cyber-attack-spamhaus

Minecraft children's books announced

Minecraft

Children's book publisher, Egmont has announced its range of official Minecraft books.


Egmont acquired the publishing rights for the award-winning game in 2012 and has now confirmed that the starting lineup for the project will include four handbooks (The Beginner's Handbook, The Redstone Handbook, The Combat Handbook and The Construction Handbook), an annual, a poster book and an official magazine.


By: Philippa Warr, Edited by: Olivia Solon


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/27/minecraft-books

Claire Williams becomes deputy team principal at Williams

Williams have announced that Claire Williams, the daughter of team principal and founder Sir Frank Williams, will become their deputy team principal with immediate effect. Claire Williams will “play a pivotal role in the day to day running and long term development of the race team,” according to a statement released by Williams

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14417.html

Not got 4G? There's a reason we aren't called 'Four', sniffs Three

Want 4G and battery life? It's called HSDPA+, and it's 3 G


Ofcom designed its 4G auction so there would be four winners - but the UK's fourth player is in no rush to turn on 4G-LTE.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/27/3g_results/

NEC could ditch telecoms services unit

Japanese giant slimming down


Ailing Japanese IT giant NEC could be set to jettison yet more of its business and move further from the mobile space after reports suggested its ready to sell subsidiary NEC Mobiling for up to $850 million.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/27/nec_ditches_mobiling_rumour/

Off-the-shelf optics kit tweaked for bonkers performance

Radio tricks applied to light


A couple of Australian optics labs have joined up with vendor Finisar to demonstrate an energy-efficient optical system transmitting 10 Tbps over 850 km.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/27/cudos_kudos_blistering_optics_off_the_shelf/

Telstra issues report on Warrnambool exchange fire

Disaster recovery 'designed in real time'


Telstra has determined that the catastrophic fire in its Warrnambool Exchange, which in late 2012 took 100,000 Victorians offline, was an accident.…





via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/27/warrnambool_fire_report_released/

NORKS switches off 3G data for tourists

Kim Jong-un giveth and then he taketh away...


Portly peoples' hero dictator Kim Jong-un has put the brakes on North Korea’s efforts to haul itself into the 21st century after appearing to ban mobile internet services for tourists less than a month after a historic decision was taken to relax 3G data restrictions.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/27/jong_un_north_korea_bans_mobile_internet/

Amazon adds crypto modules to AWS cloud

Psst, enterprises: Get a load of this


Amazon is plugging ultra-secure key management appliances into its cloud to calm enterprise security admins while locking them into its way of doing things.…







via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/27/amazon_wires_encryption_modules_into_aws/

Want faster fibre? Get rid of the glass

Hollow fibre propagates optics near speed of light


One of the most irritating expressions people can use, “broadband at the speed of light”, is a little closer to coming true thanks to researchers from the University of Southampton, who have demonstrated air-filled fibres with propagation happening at 99.7 percent of c.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/27/fibre_without_glass/

Tuesday 26 March 2013

T-Mobile US announces 'no BS' rate plans, iPhones, LTE

New BlackBerry, HTC, Samsung mobes coming, too


Third-ranked US wireless carrier T-Mobile has announced a radical restructuring of its rate plans that includes the elimination of annual contracts, in a move that CEO John Legere says is designed to address consumer frustration.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/26/tmobile_rate_plans_iphone_lte/

BBC compliance head: 'EU data privacy reforms don't account for web TVs'

Computing

The European Commission is off-track and will stifle innovation with its data protection proposals because it's only just catching up with web 2.0, a term coined in the 90s, according to James Leaton Gray, head of information policy and compliance at the BBC. He issued this warning at the Westminster eForum seminar on eprivacy, flagging up the impracticalities of the proposed reforms, pointing out that the future of computing is in your TV -- and the proposals aren't taking this into account.


"It makes me extremely nervous," said Gray. "If you look at IPTV, you're connected to the internet and directly to thousands of TV channels across the world. The present remote control will become a search engine -- it won't be things you type into, it will be about the semantic web, accessing and exchanging data. The idea that it's confounded to computers and a computer-based world is a fallacy."


By: Liat Clark, Edited by: Ian Steadman


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/26/tv-computer-of-future-bbc

Terry Farrell architecture review

BT scores £146 meellion more UK.gov cash to fibre up Balamory

BDUK? BTUK, more like. And no, it won't be here in 2015


BT is the only company still bidding for Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) government funds after Fujitsu officially walked away from the process last week: unsurprisingly the national telco has won another fibre contract.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/26/bt_bduk_highlands_islands_contract_win/

Google turns South African schools into White Spaces

Trying to get the government on-side


Google has connected up ten Cape Town schools using unlicensed White Space radio spectrum, hoping to drive legislation permitting broader use of the technology in South Africa and the world.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/26/google_white_spaces/

Ring: an isolating, theatrical sound journey that takes place in the dark



Imagine the sitting in a room in the dark in the middle of the night. Then imagine scouring the room for any faint light source: cracks in floorboards, street lighting leaking in through the window, LEDs in electrical fixtures, mobile phone screens… once these are all eliminated, you are left in an unnerving blanket of darkness. It is under these conditions that experimental theatre performance Ring takes place.


Audience members are given wireless headphones to wear and ushered into a room which, after a few minutes, is plunged into complete obscurity. After a few moments, the lights come back up and we are given the option of leaving; otherwise we will be stuck for the next 50 minutes. One lady does. It's not clear whether or not she is a stooge, but it exacerbates the sense of foreboding.


By: Olivia Solon, Edited by: Nate Lanxon


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/26/ring-david-rosenberg

Voda: Brit kids will drown in TIDAL WAVE of FILTH - it's all Ofcom's fault

Make networks admit price changes? Noooo!


Vodafone UK reckons it will be strong-armed into sending smutty text messages to kids, thanks to a new proposal by Ofcom.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/26/vodafone_ofcom/

Wireless charging on the Galaxy S4: Samsung goes VHS not Betamax

'A harmless fling', sniffs jilted Qualcomm


Samsung's Galaxy S4 smartphone will use the Qi wireless charging standard, putting Sammy in bed with the Consortium for Wireless Power despite its avowed commitment to the Alliance for Wireless Power it founded with Qualcomm.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/26/wireless_charging/

Monday 25 March 2013

Oracle grabs Tekelec for telco assault

Sticky control tech destined for inner networks


Oracle has added another network-focused tech company to its business as Ellison & Co. try to takeover the IT stacks of telecommunications companies.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/25/oracle_tekelec_acquisition/

Chinese graves use quick response codes to recall the dead

Scan for more info on your loved ones


Japan’s reputation as a global technology trend setter has received some rather unlikely validation: after graves in the country started sporting QR codes, the little squares of encoded data have now appeared in cemeteries in China. The codes are placed to provide links to information about the deceased.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/25/qr_code_grave_shenyang_china/

Geneticists are working on a hypoallergenic apple

Apple

An agricultural research group is working to create a hypoallergenic apple by substituting natural proteins for those which don't cause an allergic reaction.


Apples don't tend to cause the same level of violent allergic reaction as you get with nuts or bee stings but those sensitive to the fruit can still experience unpleasant irritation and blistering of the tongue and lips.


By: Philippa Warr, Edited by: Ian Steadman


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/25/hypoallergenic-apple

People's Republic of Open Source: Chinese government embraces Linux

Chinese flag

The British Linux company Canonical is teaming with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to create Ubuntu Kylin, a Linux distribution specifically for China.


Kylin will include support for Chinese characters and input methods, and it will integrate with Chinese web services, including music services, online banking tools, and the mapping service operated by local web giant Baidu. The plan is to release the distribution in April 2013.


The reference architecture is being defined by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's The China Software and Integrated Chip Promotions Centre, or CSIP. Canonical and CSIP will also be working with the CCN Open Source Innovation Joint Lab in Beijing. The project is part of China's most recent Five Year Plan, which includes strengthening the country's information technology industry.


By: Klint Finley, Edited by: Kadhim Shubber


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/25/ubuntu-china

Sunday 24 March 2013

Belgian boffins boast after boosting TCP to 50 Gbps

Multipath demo could ship a Blu-Ray disk in five seconds


Belgian researchers at ICTEAM have announced a Multipath TCP (MPTCP) demonstration that's routed 50 Gbps of traffic across multiple different paths.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/24/multipath_tcp_50_gps/

T-Mobile patches Wi-Fi eavesdrop vuln

Certificate error discovered by Berkeley students


Last week, T-Mobile scrambled to patch a vulnerability uncovered by two University of California Berkeley students that made its Wi-Fi calling feature susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/24/t_mobile_wi_fi_calling_bug/

FIA post-race press conference - Malaysia

Q: We're going to start with Sebastian. That's your 27th victory. You now match Sir Jackie Stewart with that but it looked pretty close out there on laps 43 and 44, take us through that. Sebastian Vettel: Obviously it was very close wheel-to-wheel racing. I think there wasn't much room for either of us so obviously it was a tight battle

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14414.html

Mixed feelings for Rosberg after fourth-place finish

Nico Rosberg admitted to mixed feelings after finishing a close fourth behind Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton in the Malaysian Grand Prix. The German repeatedly radioed his team to ask for permission to pass Hamilton in the latter stages of the race, but was told to hold position, allowing the Briton to pick-up Mercedes' first podium finish of the season

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14411.html

Race - selected team and driver quotes

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso on his very early exit; Force India's Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta on their pit-stop woes; Jules Bianchi on his well-deserved 13th place for Marussia; Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg on their hamstrung tussle for third; and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel on claiming his first win of the season. All the drivers and senior team personnel report back on Sunday's action…

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14409.html

Race - Vettel secures controversial victory in Malaysia

Sebastian Vettel led Mark Webber home to what should have been a celebratory Red Bull 1-2 in Sepang on Sunday, but the success was sullied by a post-race dispute after the reigning world champion had appeared to ignore pit-wall orders not to pass his team mate. Lewis Hamilton took third place for his first Mercedes podium, with team mate Nico Rosberg dutifully holding station in fourth

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14410.html

Saturday 23 March 2013

FIA post-qualifying press conference - Malaysia

Drivers: 1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing); 2 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari); 3 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari). Q: Sebastian, a late call for a second set of intermediate tyres in Q3 and it worked out well for you. Sebastian Vettel: Yeah, I think generally an interesting qualifying session. We knew that rain was the on the way and then… to be honest

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14401.html

Raikkonen handed three-place grid penalty for impeding

Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen will drop three places on the grid for Sunday's 2013 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix after stewards decided he had impeded Mercedes' Nico Rosberg during qualifying in Kuala Lumpur. Raikkonen had finished seventh fastest in the rain-hit Sepang session, but will now start the race from tenth, meaning McLaren's Jenson Button, Force India's Adrian Sutil and Sergio Perez in the second McLaren all move up

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14399.html

Qualifying - selected team and driver quotes

Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne and Williams' Valtteri Bottas on falling at the first hurdle in Q1; Lotus's Romain Grosjean and Force India's Paul Di Resta on being caught out by the sudden shower in Q2; Ferrari's Felipe Massa on securing second on the grid ahead of team mate Fernando Alonso; and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel on making the most of a fresh set of intermediates to take pole by almost a second. All 22 drivers and senior team personnel report back on Saturday's action…

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14398.html

Qualifying - Vettel storms to pole at showery Sepang

Sebastian Vettel snatched another dramatic pole for Red Bull in the closing moments of a wet Q3 session in Sepang on Saturday, taking the honour away from Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who was then bumped back another place by team mate Felipe Massa. Qualifying began in even hotter conditions than FP3, with a track temperature of 41 degrees Celsius, as Adrian Sutil set the pace for Force India with 1m 36.809s from Kimi Raikkonen

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14397.html

Final practice - Vettel fastest for Red Bull in Malaysia

The final session of free practice for the 2013 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix at Sepang on Saturday turned things on their head as a jump in track temperature to 40 degrees Celsius changed some cars for the worse and some for the better. Sebastian Vettel seemed to be in all sorts of trouble for a while, as he and Red Bull team mate Mark Webber slithered about, but right at the end he beat Lewis Hamilton to the fastest time

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14395.html

Friday 22 March 2013

Brussels 'mulling probe' into brutal Apple negotiations with networks

Or so the mobile operators evidently hope, anyway


The EU is examining Apple's deals with network operators, to ensure it's playing fair - but hasn't yet opened an official investigation.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/22/eu_apple/

How to make balloon maps

Balloon maps

To make precise digital maps, you just need a balloon and a smartphone, says Stewart Long of Boston's Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science, which promotes "making open-source tools to monitor our environment". So how about helping to build the world's most detailed public aerial map?


By: Madhumita Venkataramanan, Edited by: David Cornish


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/03/how-to/how-to-make-balloon-maps

China Mobile spaffs £4.4bn on 4G 'trial'... before it even has a licence

If we build it, the iPhone will come


China Mobile will build 200,000 LTE base stations, covering 500 million people and costing 41.7 billion yuan, despite the fact that 4G licences won't be awarded until the end of 2013.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/22/china_mobile_4g/

Wired.co.uk Podcast 116: Smartwatch wars, customised medicine, frog birth

Wired podcast

On the show this week: tiny implantable blood test chip could personalise medicine, UK Samsung Galaxy S4 not getting eight-core processor, botnet defrauds advertisers of £4m per month, Samsung 'Galaxy Watch', new Xbox is 'Always On, Always Connected', geneticists revive extinct frog that gives birth through its mouth, 'prayer' currently best defence against unidentified nearby asteroids.


By: Nate Lanxon,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/podcast/episode-116

UK biz ISP Entanet goes titsup, 'broke' a bit of Blighty's internet

'Resilient national network? Not tonight!'


Brit internet and communications provider Entanet is slowing bringing its systems back to life today after they metaphorically keeled over last night.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/22/entanet_outage/

FIA Friday press conference - Malaysia

Team Representatives - Bob Bell (Mercedes), Cyril Abiteboul (Caterham), Robert Fearnley (Force India), Sam Michael (McLaren), James Allison (Lotus), Pat Fry (Ferrari). Q: James, can we start with you? A great win for you and the team to start the year off in cold conditions in Melbourne and from what we saw this afternoon can we conclude that you're pretty quick

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14390.html

Fry steps down as Wolff takes on bigger Mercedes role

Mercedes announced on Friday that Nick Fry, the team's Chief Executive Officer, will step down from his current position at the beginning of April. He will continue to assist the team's commercial operations as a consultant until at least the end of 2014. Toto Wolff, their recently-appointed Executive Director and 30 percent shareholder, will therefore take a greater role in the day-to-day running

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14388.html

Friday practice - selected team and driver quotes

After a slow start on Friday morning, Red Bull's Mark Webber ended P1 on top, whilst the rain made for a much more frantic P2, which Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen topped. All the drivers, and senior team personnel, reflect on their early progress at Sepang...

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14387.html

Cop an eyeful of that: Moto bungs cam into plod radio

No suggestion an Instagram app expected imminently


Motorola Solutions' MTP6750 is a police radio with a difference: it sports a five-megapixel camera that not only takes pictures but autographs them to stop bent or bungling coppers tampering with the evidence.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/22/motorola_mtp7650/

Practice Two - Raikkonen on top in rain-hit Malaysia

Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest time in the second free practice session for the 2013 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix in Sepang, before rain half an hour from the end prevented anyone from challenging his position. Raikkonen edged out Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa, by 0.019s and 0.92s respectively, with 1m 36.569s for Lotus compared to the Red Bull's 1m 36.588s and the Ferrari's 1m 36.661s.

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14386.html

Myanmar gets a taste of Chocolate Factory as Google search lands

Play app store is also partially unblocked ahead of Eric Schmidt's visit


Myanmar’s gradual re-integration with the rest of the world has taken another step forward after Google partially unblocked its Play app store and switched on a .mm search engine for the region, ahead of a visit by Chairperson Eric Schmidt.…





via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/22/myanmar_google_schmidt_switched_on_play/

Practice One - Webber sets the pace in Malaysia

Practice for the 2013 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix got off to a slow start in warm conditions in Sepang on Friday morning, as Mark Webber set the pace by a fraction from Australian Grand Prix winner Kimi Raikkonen. It took the best part of 30 minutes before any real times were set, and after Lewis Hamilton and then Nico Rosberg had set the pace for Mercedes, Webber and Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel took over

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14385.html

Thursday 21 March 2013

NBN collapses* into chaos*

*If 'collapses' and 'chaos'= <5 per cent delay


Australia's National Broadband Network, due for completion in 2021, has announced a three-month delay in its fibre-to-the-premises construction schedule, which if not recovered would represent a miss of a couple of percent on the project's timing.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/21/nbn_three_month_rollout_delay/

Joyent tools up for Amazon battle

Hopes CouchDB will lure devs away from Bezos's Dynamo


After almost a year of continuous technical development, Cloudant is taking the wraps off of a database-as-a-service product served out of data centers operated by Joyent – a product that looks to be technically superior to its nearest as-a-service rival, Amazon's DyanamoDB.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/21/joyent_gets_cloudant_couchdb/

McLaren: All our energies are on the MP4-28

McLaren have dismissed media speculation that they could revert back to their 2012-spec car following the MP4-28's disappointing Grand Prix debut in Australia, where the team scored just two points courtesy of Jenson Button's ninth-place finish. “All of our energies are on the 28A,” said sporting director Sam Michael

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14381.html

FIA Thursday press conference - Malaysia

Drivers - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Giedo Van Der Garde (Caterham), Jules Bianchi (Marussia), Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), Max Chilton (Marussia). Q: Kimi, great win for you and the team to start off with, in cold conditions. How do you and the team feel about being able to repeat that performance level in the heat of Malaysia?

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14379.html

FIA press conference schedule - Malaysia

Thursday's media session in Kuala Lumpur features Melbourne winner Kimi Raikkonen plus all five of 2013's rookie drivers. Then on Friday at Sepang it is the turn of team technical chiefs to field the questions. The line-up in full

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14380.html

Google extends trademarks-in-ads policy to whole world

Insert usual blather about search quality and choice as motive


Google has altered its policy on the use of trademarks on AdWords, extending permission advertisers to use rivals' trademarks in their ads to every nation on earth.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/21/google_changes_adwords_trademark_policy/

Wednesday 20 March 2013

'Comically small' sea snake heads the result of eel burrow probing

Sand eel

Some species of sea snake have developed "comically small" heads as a result of nosing around in sand eel burrows.


A research team led by zoologist Kate Sanders of the University of Adelaide discovered that while some sea snakes require a larger skull in order to indulge their diet of larger spiny fish, others prefer to forage in narrow sand eel burrows for food thus benefitting from a more slender cranium.


By: Philippa Warr, Edited by: Ian Steadman


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/20/small-headed-sea-snakes

1,600 to lose jobs during ST-Ericsson breakup

Joint venture less joint, less venturous


The joint venture which tried to challenge Qualcomm and Intel in the baseband chip market has collapsed, with the loss of 1,600 jobs and another 3,000 or so finding themselves working for someone else.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/20/st_ericsson/

Mobile kingpins to marketing mavens: Bonking is brilliant, wanna try?

But first, let's loosen you up with a little jazz


Vodafone, O2 and EE sent their respective CEOs to Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club this morning, hoping to seduce the UK's advertising industry with the promise of SMS and banner deliveries across networks, with bonking to follow.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/20/weve/

Report: BlackBerry BYOD-ware fails UK gov security test

BB10 trips on tests version 7.1 satisfied


BlackBerry Balance, the new feature in BB10 aimed at meeting demand for bring-your-own-device regimes, has been found insufficiently secure for that purpose by Britain's Communications Electronics Security Group (CESG).…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/20/b10_cesg_security_fail/

Google turns Street View into Mountain View

Takes camera up Everest way...


Google has taken its Street View service to new heights after deciding to ditch the infamous car in favour of a simple tripod and camera as it unveiled new shots of some of the world’s tallest mountains.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/20/google_street_view_everest/

Google adds validation to DNSSEC

One small step by one giant foot


Worldwide, the rollout of DNSSEC can comfortably be described as “glacial”, but Google valiantly continues to try to give it profile. Having launched its own DNSSEC service three years ago, Mountain View has now added DNSSEC validation to its public DNS resolvers.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/20/google_adds_dnssec_validation/

Tuesday 19 March 2013

McLaren Electronic Systems apologise for software issue

McLaren Electronic Systems, the manufacturers of Formula One's standard Engine Control Unit (ECU), have apologised to Mark Webber and Red Bull for a software-related issue that affected the Australian racer on the formation lap in Melbourne

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14374.html

Raikkonen refusing to get carried away by Australian pace

In a season in which tyre management is expected to play a crucial role, Kimi Raikkonen and Lotus stole a march on the opposition with a faultless two-stop race in Australia. But whilst the emphatic nature of the FInn's victory has led many to label him as championship favourite, the 33-year-old is resolutely refusing to get carried away

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14373.html

Phone, internet corps SNUB US gov's cybersecurity ABCs

20 computer defences rejected by telecoms industry


Phone companies and ISPs in the US have convinced a top advisory panel to hold back the American government from forcing a set of basic IT cybersecurity standards on them.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/19/fcc_20_controls_no_consensus/

Conservationists build tiny ladders for water voles

Water vole

Tiny vole-sized ladders are being installed in a London canal to give the resident voles access to new nesting and feeding sites.


The little ladders will be installed at Hanwell Lock Flight in Ealing. The work is part of a wider conservation effort by the Canal and River Trust aiming to boost the water vole population.


By: Philippa Warr, Edited by: Liat Clark


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/19/water-vole-ladders

Fing-Art Print: forge-proof your Picasso

Forge-proof

Bill Wei thinks it's time artworks had a little more to identify them than a sticker on the back and a document declaring provenance. "All that's forgeable," says the conservation scientist. His solution is Fing-Art Print, a technology that gives an object a unique fingerprint. The prototype device uses surface-profiling techniques to measure an artwork's roughness, down to a thousandth of a millimetre. "Roughness pretty much stays the same as it ages," Wei explains, making it ideal for identifying artefacts.


The Fing-Art Print consists of a NanoFocus uSurf confocal profilometer, which enables non-contact surface analysis, on a robotic arm, measuring tiny differences in height across the object to produce a three-dimensional false colour image. But Wei wants to take the technology beyond the museum. "The idea is to also fight illegal trafficking of archaeological objects," he explains. The lack of security at digs in the Middle East, for example, makes objects vulnerable to plundering. If they were fingerprinted immediately on discovery, stolen goods could be easily identified.


By: Victoria Turk, Edited by: David Cornish


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/03/play/forge-proof-your-picasso

Researchers find cloud storage apps leave files on smartphones

Box.com leaves behind everything needed to download some files


Researchers at the University of Glasgow have found that cloud storage apps that say they send files to the cloud also leave retrievable versions of files on the devices.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/19/cloud_storage_smartphone_research/

Monday 18 March 2013

Has the ACCC tripped up in its ADSL declaration?

Virtual circuits for ADSL are way too expensive: The Register tallies up the numbers


Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) declarations are always news, and with good reason: The ACCC's regulated prices set the floor underneath a host of retail services – mobile, broadband, telephony, business data and so on.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/18/avgc_too_expensive_accc_slip/

Dunk your motherboards to recycle them

ReUSE

A team at the Teddington-based National Physics Laboratory (NPL) has developed ReUSE, a type of printed circuit board (PCB) that can be, yep, recycled by immersing it in hot water. Currently only two per cent of a PCB can be recovered at recycling plants. "But we can recover up to 90 per cent," says Martin Wickham, technical leader at the NPL.


The new material comprises layers of polymer connected by a glue that also holds the electronic components of the circuit board together. The glue softens and loses its adhesion when exposed to water hotter than 80 degrees Celsius. This allows the PCB's components, including resistors and capacitors, to be separated from the base with minimal force, and redeployed.


By: Charlie Foster, Edited by: David Cornish


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/03/start/dunk-your-motherboards-to-recycle-them

Formula 1 teams race to stay ahead of the rules

Formula 1

The 2013 Formula 1 season kicked off in Melbourne on 15 March, ending a winter's worth of speculation about which team has found the biggest loophole in the annual update of the rulebook.


For the past several decades those who write the regulations for the world's most popular form of motorsport and those who actually do the racing have engaged in an elaborate dance to find out how far the rules can be stretched and prodded. The result is some of the most creative engineering in the world of racing.


By: Jason Paur, Edited by: Kadhim Shubber


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/18/formula-1-engineering

Fujitsu pulls a muscle, drops out of race for UK's £530m broadband pot

BT now ONLY bidder for taxpayer-funded fibre jobs


Fujitsu has admitted it will no longer bid for money from a £530m pot of taxpayer cash to roll-out broadband in Britain's countryside - effectively leaving the lot up for grabs by BT.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/18/fujitsu_exits_bduk_race/

Malaysia preview quotes - Sauber, Pirelli on Sepang

From the unexpectedly cool conditions of Melbourne, the Formula One paddock moves quickly to the heat and humidity of Kuala Lumpur this weekend and the 2013 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix. Those involved discuss their prospects for the Sepang race…

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14370.html

Freeview suddenly UNWATCHABLE dross? It may just be a 4G test

Mobe broadband fired up to stress telly transmissions rather than show quality


AT800 - the guys tasked with stamping out radio interference caused by 4G mobile broadband - will switch on 4G transmissions near Dudley to see if Freeview survives the experience.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/18/freeview_4g/

Celebrity conspiracy as Apple attacked over customer service

'8.20 Party' of Chinese celebs all posted anti-Apple comments at same time


Eagle-eyed weibo fans in China have uncovered what appears to be a pre-meditated and co-ordinated attempt to smear Apple following a high profile consumer rights programme on national TV which slammed the firm for its customer service.…





via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/18/apple_china_smear_attack/

Are your servers PETS or CATTLE?

CERN's cloudy metaphor separates the sheep from the goats


The word “cloud” has become horribly over-used. Your correspondent has even heard hosted PABXs referred to as “cloud telephony”.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/18/servers_pets_or_cattle_cern/

Virnetx loses Cisco case: VPNs not its property

The Borg as great big billy-goat gruff


Non-practising entity VirnetX has had its patent case against Cisco dumped by a Texas jury, meaning it won't be seeing any of the $US258 million it had demanded of the networking giant.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/18/virnetx_loses_cisco_case/

Sunday 17 March 2013

Huawei USB modems vulnerable

Drivers, config, updates all dangerous


Huawei has been accused of poor security practice by Russian researcher Nikita Tarakanov, who told Black Hat Europe last week that the vendor's 3G and 4G devices are vulnerable and its update server is a massive attack vector.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/17/huawei_3g_4g_vulnerability/

Feedly now home to 500,000 Reader refugees

Offers guide to being 'less pretty and more functional' just like Google


RSS reader Feedly says Google's decision to drop its Reader service saw 500,000 people migrate to its services in 48 hours.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/17/feedly_half_a_million_reader_refugees/

FIA post-race press conference - Australia

Drivers: 1 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), 2 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing) Q: You did a 1:29.2, the fastest lap of the grand prix just before the end. Just having a bit of fun? Kimi Raikkonen: No, I mean Fernando was catching me at some point, when I was taking it a bit more easy and there was some traffic

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14367.html

Race - Raikkonen and Lotus triumph in Australia

Kimi Raikkonen put himself on top Down Under with an emphatic and unexpected victory for Lotus in the 2013 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix. The Finnish driver, who started the race in seventh place, led home Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel who were second and third respectively on three-stop strategies

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14365.html

Race - selected team and driver quotes

Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg on not even making the start in Melbourne; Williams' Pastor Maldonado on the mistake that ruled him out of the running; McLaren's Jenson Button and Sergio Perez on a disappointing debut for the MP4-28; Force India's Adrian Sutil on leading on his Grand Prix return; and Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen on starting the season in the best possible style. All the drivers and senior team personnel report back on Sunday's action...

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14363.html

FIA post-qualifying press conference - Australia

Drivers: 1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing), 2 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing), 3 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) Q: Sebastian, surely that was the best way possible to start the season? Sebastian Vettel: Yes, obviously it's been a very good weekend so far for us, I have to say. Obviously, we came out of winter testing and didn't know what to expect,

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14362.html

Fuel system issue rules Hulkenberg out of Melbourne race

Nico Hulkenberg will be forced to sit out Sunday's afternoon's 2013 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix after his Sauber succumbed to technical issues. Despite some last-minute work, a fuel system problem on Hulkenberg's C32 couldn't be fixed and the team decided he should not race on safety grounds. The young German had qualified 11th on the Melbourne grid on Sunday morning following Saturday's Q2 and Q3 postponement. Rookie team mate Esteban Gutierrez will start the Australian race from 18th.

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14360.html

Qualifying - selected team and driver quotes

After Q2 and Q3 in Australia were postponed thanks to heavy rain at Melbourne on Saturday, the top 16 drivers finally had a chance to stake their claim on the grid on Sunday morning, ahead of this afternoon's race. The drivers, and teams, review Sunday's qualifying action…

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14356.html

Qualifying - Vettel storms to Sunday pole in Australia

The final two stages of qualifying were eventually held on a drying track on Sunday morning in Melbourne. Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel made the most of the Q3 switch from intermediates to supersoft tyres, taking pole for this afternoon's race from team mate Mark Webber. Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton was third, ahead of the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso...

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14355.html

Saturday 16 March 2013

Saturday in Melbourne - selected team and driver quotes

Albert Park is challenging even in the fairest conditions, but when heavy rain arrived on Saturday, the Australian circuit threw down another test to the teams and the race organisers. Following Q1, the downpours worsened and despite everyone's best efforts the decision was taken to postpone Q2 and Q3 until Sunday morning. Members of the paddock discuss Saturday and look ahead to a busy race day…

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14352.html

Qualifying in Australia postponed until Sunday

The final two stages of qualifying for the 2013 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix have been postponed until Sunday due to heavy rain at the Albert Park circuit. The first part of qualifying - Q1 - had already taken place, but with the rain still falling and daylight fading, the race stewards decided to delay Q2 and Q3 until 1100 hours local time on Sunday morning

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14351.html

Final practice - Grosjean quickest at rain-hit Melbourne

The weather did its best to disrupt the third and final free practice session for the 2013 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix in Albert Park on Saturday. After rain earlier in the day, the track was dry as Romain Grosjean pushed his way to the fastest time of 1m 26.929s for Lotus, ahead of the duelling Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa on 1m 27.000s and 1m 27.241s

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14349.html

Friday 15 March 2013

Wired.co.uk Podcast 115: Galaxy S4 review, horny dolphins, Bill Gates on capitalism

Wired podcast

This week, we find out why the Ukraine's military dolphins went AWOL, Bill Gates' assessment of the shortcomings of capitalism and what Samsung has in store for us with the Galaxy S4


By: Olivia Solon,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/podcast/episode-115

Google+ architect: What was so great about Reader anyway?

Google pumps users for info to take Reader features to the "modern world"


The chief architect for Google+ is asking Google Reader users what they liked about the due-for-execution RSS service.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/15/google_pumps_people_for_loved_reader_features/

Report: EMC, IBM sniffing around hoster SoftLayer

A quick and virty hybrid cloud for VMware?


SoftLayer's public cloud business has IBM and EMC sniffing around for a reported $2bn buyout as both companies look to bolster their own networks.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/15/softlayer_emc_ibm_acqusition/

Report: EMC, IBM sniffing around hoster SoftLayer

A quick and virty hybrid cloud for VMware?


SoftLayer's public cloud business has IBM and EMC sniffing around for a reported $2bn buyout as both companies look to bolster their own networks.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/15/softlayer_emc_ibm_acqusition/

Cern tentatively confirms Higgs boson existence

A disk full of silicon sensors that sits as an endcap on ATLAS, one of the LHC experiments searching for the Higgs boson

Data analysis suggests that the "Higgs-like" particle produced by the Large Hadron Collider in July, 2012 is indeed a Higgs boson.


However, the announcement is still being couched in tentative language as despite the data pointing towards the particle being a Higgs boson the next obstacle will be determining which Higgs boson.


By: Philippa Warr, Edited by: Liat Clark


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/15/higgs-boson

Samsung Galaxy S4 gets dedicated Xbox-like 'Game Pad' accessory

Samsung Game Pad

Samsung is putting an increased focus on the gaming side of its new Galaxy S4 smartphone with an accessory called Game Pad.


The device -- which looks remarkably similar to an Xbox 360 controller -- docks the S4 and connects to the device via Bluetooth. While docked, gamers can use twin analogue joysticks as well as a D-pad and four action buttons while gaming.


By: Nate Lanxon,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/15/samsung-galaxy-s4-game-pad

FIA Friday press conference - Australia

Team representatives - Eric Boullier (Lotus), Paul Hembery (Pirelli), Jean-Michel Jalinier (Renault Sport F1), Martin Whitmarsh (McLaren), Toto Wolff (Mercedes). Q: Jean-Michel, after three very successful years in your partnership with Red Bull as the engine supplier, what are your objectives for this 2013 season? Another double world championship?

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14346.html

'Parallel universe' of life in oceanic crust could be Earth's largest ecosystem

Oceanic Crust

Deep beneath the ocean floor off the Pacific Northwest coast, scientists have described the existence of a potentially vast realm of life, one almost completely disconnected from the world above.


Persisting in microscopic cracks in the basalt rocks of Earth's oceanic crust is a complex microbial ecosystem fuelled entirely by chemical reactions with rocks and seawater, rather than sunlight or the organic byproducts of light-harvesting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.


Such modes of life, technically known as chemosynthetic, are not unprecedented, having also been found deep in mine shafts and around seafloor hydrothermal vents. Never before, though, have they been found on so vast a scale. In pure geographical area, these oceanic crust systems may contain the largest ecosystem on Earth.


By: Brandon Keim, Edited by: Kadhim Shubber


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/15/oceanic-crust-ecosystem

Friday practice - selected team and driver quotes

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel may have dominated both practice sessions as the 2013 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix got underway in Melbourne on Friday but there was still plenty to discuss as the light began to fade in Albert Park. All the drivers, and senior team personnel, reflect on their early progress...

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14342.html

Practice Two - Vettel leads Red Bull 1-2 in Melbourne

Sebastian Vettel led a Red Bull 1-2 in the second free practice session for the 2013 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, to show that not a lot has changed since 2012. The world champion - who also topped the times in first practice - lapped in 1m 25.908s on Pirelli's supersoft tyres. Team mate Mark Webber recorded a 1m 26.172s on the supersofts to go second fastest

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14341.html

LG: Oi! Samsung's not the only one with eyeball-tracking phones

Little Brother is watching you


LG announced that its Optimus G Pro smartphone will pause video playback when it detects that its owner has stopped looking at it - just hours before Samsung unveiled the same feature for the Galaxy S4.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/15/lg_eye_tracking/

Practice One - Vettel on top in Melbourne

The 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship finally got underway under sunny skies and in decent track temperatures in Albert Park on Friday afternoon, as FP1 in Australia threw up few major surprises. Sebastian Vettel set the pace for Red Bull - perhaps as expected - but was only 0.078s ahead of Felipe Massa as Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber and Kimi Raikkonen gave chase

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/3/14340.html

Don't buy a Google car: they might stop it while you're driving

Reader removal rage spreads far and wide


Google's decision to shut down its RSS Reader product has set the internet alight with protest and migration plans.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/15/google_reader_closure_backlash/

BT pockets more gov broadband millions. This time: Lincolnshire

Another fibre job that won't be completed until 2016


BT has inked a deal to roll out fibre broadband in Lincolnshire, scooping up yet more cash from the British government.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/14/bt_wins_lincolnshire_bduk_funds/

Google makes BigQuery easier to question

SQL commands let devs probe BigQuery AaaS


Google has updated its BigQuery cloud analytic service to make it attractive to people familiar with SQL.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/15/google_adds_sql_to_bigquery/