Wednesday 31 July 2013

Oz sets $AU900 million reserve for remaining 700 MHz spectrum

Emergency services shunted to 800 MHz


The federal government has decided to set a price of $AU900 million on the 700 MHz spectrum that remained unsold after auctions earlier this year, and in the process has closed off any chance that the spectrum would be given to the country's public safety agencies.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/31/oz_sets_au900_million_reserve_for_remaining_700_mhz_spectrum/

Quip rewrites the word processing handbook for the mobile age



For many of us, our earliest encounters with computing will have involved bending our uncultivated minds around word processing software, either in school or at work, but the days when Clippy and comic sans were novelties are long gone. New software created by Bret Taylor, the former Facebook CTO, and Kevin Gibbs, previously of Google, seems to breathing fresh air into the humdrum world of word processing though.


Quip is a multi-platform cloud-based word processing app that promises to make word processing seamless and efficient across mobile and desktop platforms. The app is optimised for different screen sizes and can adapt the document depending on the device you're viewing or editing on.


By: Katie Collins,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/31/quip-word-processing-software

You're 30 years old and your PIN is '1983'. DAMMIT, biz mobe user

Staffers hardly ever use alphanumerics, let alone complex passwords - report


Business people using mobile devices are securing them with easy-to-crack PINs rather than more difficult passwords, a survey has found.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/31/mobile_pin_password_survey/

Cloud upstart ProfitBricks tries to undercut Amazon on price

Grocery store takes on Walmart


Instead of being drenched by Amazon's cloud, cloud infrastructure biz ProfitBricks is trying to get out in front of the hardbacks'n'hosting monolith and lower its prices before Bezos & Co initiate another price drop.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/31/profitbricks_price_change/

Google Glassholes can't take long walks off short piers thanks to Merc app

Flash motor giant's new in-vision satnav mingles driving and dawdling


Google Glass wearers will have to get used to privacy-conscious people telling them to get lost - but a new map app from Mercedes for the techno-goggles may make that impossible.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/31/mercedes_designing_google_glass_map_app/

Rare-earth mineral substitutes could defeat Chinese stranglehold



"Nothing happens. Nothing happens. And then everything happens," says Laura Lewis, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.


"Our results are highly preliminary but we have found signatures of layering in the materials we have made." This is significant, she says, because the layering of iron and nickel suggests that the nanomaterial they are trying to make can become a "supermagnet". It is designed to be a synthetic form of tetrataenite, a rare magnetic extra-terrestrial iron-nickel alloy found only in meteorites.


Lewis is leading a $3.3m (£2.2m) fast-track Department of Energy research project to synthesise new supermagnetic materials and then work out how to mass-produce them for a market that is worth $20bn (£13bn) a year.


By: Mark Piesing,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/31/race-for-rare-earth-minerals

How to set up a video security-notification system with your neighbours



A neighbourhood-watch scheme usually demands boots on the ground, but you could automate things with an ad-hoc notification system based on video cameras. Here's how.


By: James Floyd Kelly,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/07/how-to/set-up-a-video-security-notification-system-with-your-neighbours

How to survive a pepper-spray attack



It can be useful in defending yourself from assailants, but what if you accidentally spray yourself with capsaicin? Fight back the pain with these hot tips.


By: Leila Johnston,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/07/how-to/survive-a-pepper-spray-attack

Bradley Manning acquitted of aiding the enemy, guilty on other charges

Bradley Manning

After a three-year legal battle and months-long trial, former Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning was found not guilty on 30 July of the most serious charge he faced -- aiding the enemy

By: Kim Zetter,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/31/bradley-manning-verdict

Shift off, FreeView - you've got to be 4G to be in this band

Digital TV service packs knapsack as UK decks cleared for 4G


Today, the last Freeview transmitters will be relocated out of the bands that were sold off for 4G telephony earlier this year. The whole shift has happened ahead of schedule, which means that by the beginning of autumn, EE's monopoly on next-generation telecoms will come to an end.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/31/uk_decks_cleared_for_4g_revolution/

Microsoft adds Visual-Studio-like text editor to SkyDrive

Word Web app gains syntax highlighting tools and ability to read code files


Microsoft has tweaked the Word web app it offers with its SkyDrive cloud storage service, adding developer-friendly tools and the ability to work with JavaScript, CSS and HTML and other code files.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/31/microsoft_adds_code_editor_for_developers_to_skydrive/

OpenStack 'will be derailed' if it mimics AWS, bellows Scoble

Rackspace mouthpiece demands OpenStack become 'innovation competitor'


Internet foghorn Robert Scoble has come out booming against claims that open source cloud project OpenStack should implement features found in major cloud provider Amazon Web Services.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/30/aws_robert_scoble_is_not_steve_bong/

Tuesday 30 July 2013

Dutch banks get nod to inhale Amazon cloud

All of a country's fortune floating in the aether – what could possibly go wrong?


Dutch regulators have cleared Amazon's cloud for consumption by financial institutions within the country, validating the Amazon Web Services infrastructure for use even in tightly regulated industries.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/30/amazon_blessed_by_dutch_regulators/

Russia out-censors Cameron by trying to ban online swearing



A Russian politician is trying to amend an internet censorship law so that it bans swearing on the web.


State Duma Deputy Yelena Mizulina, who is chairperson of Russia's Committee for Family, Women, and Children, has proposed the changes, which would affect social networks, social media and forums. If offending material is not deleted within 24 hours, the page would then be blocked and added to a blacklist.


Just like David Cameron's recent proposals for introducing stricter internet filtering in the UK, the aim of the legislation would be to protect children from encountering unsuitable content. The amendment would be to a law entitled 'On the protection of children from information harmful to their health and development', which came into effect in September 2012 and introduced a huge blacklist of sites covering topics such as drugs, suicide and child pornography.


A similar proposal to Mizulina's was put forward on 25 July by United Russia deputy Vitaly Milonov, who wants to tighten controls over social networks and enforce a rule whereby to sign up for a dating site you have to do so using your passport. Milonov is the same politician who last year was behind a bill that banned "promoting sodomy, lesbianism, bisexualism and transgenderism to minors".


By: Katie Collins,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/30/russia-censors-internet-swearing

Alcatel-Lucent takes Qualcomm coin for personal 4G network tech

Chips lined up for future Small Cells


Chip designer Qualcomm has taken a share in telecoms gear maker Alcatel-Lucent as the pair collaborate on Small Cells - despite the architectural differences of opinion.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/30/alcatellucent_qualcomm_light_radio/

Alcatel-Lucent takes Qualcomm coin for personal 4G network tech

Chips lined up for future Small Cells


Chip designer Qualcomm has taken a share in telecoms gear maker Alcatel-Lucent as the pair collaborate on Small Cells - despite the architectural differences of opinion.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/30/alcatellucent_qualcomm_light_radio/

UK economy to lose £198m if BBC and pals lose EPG slots - Ministry of Fun

Wants laws protecting Brit media makers' special place


The evolution of channel surfing risks sidelining public service broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV, and has prompted the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (aka the Ministry of Fun) to work out how much a prominent position on our Electronic Programme Guides (EPGs) is worth.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/30/epg_legislation_worth_198m_to_uk_economy/

BT's new broom turns out to be carving knife: Retail wing sliced in half

Two-headed beast sent into 'four-way tussle with Sky, Virgin and TalkTalk'


BT's soon-to-be new boss Gavin Patterson made the first big management decision of his reign today - and split the telecom giant's retail division into two distinct wings: consumer and business.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/30/bt_splits_retail_division/

Emulex rustles up a Mulligan for its hungry network gumble floggers

New ops bigwig worked for arch-rival QLogic


Emulex has appointed a senior vice-president for operations, signalling new CEO Jeff Benck's intention to have his company survive as a viable business.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/30/emulex/

We must close ranks, say Ferrari

Ferrari have said that they must 'close ranks' and pull together if they are to maintain a championship challenge in the second half of the season. The Scuderia's leading driver, Fernando Alonso, has lost ground in the championship to Red Bull's reigning world champion, Sebastian Vettel, over the last few races, and the Spaniard has struggled at times to hide his frustration

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14862.html

The Old Reader evicts Google Reader refugees

Tired, overworked operators reject the startup life


Google Reader alternative The Old Reader has told all of its new members to go away in two weeks.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/30/the_old_reader_evicts_google_reader_refugees/

AWS cloud expansion BETRAYS new Equinix data centers

CloudFront and Route 53 in India today, Equinix bit barns tomorrow?


Amazon has launched two edge locations for technology services within India, indicating that colocation giant Equinix may soon open facilities in the sub-continent.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/29/aws_india_edge_locations/

Monday 29 July 2013

Galaxy S4 FIREBALL ATE MY HOUSE, claims Hong Kong man

Was the 'Love Machine' too hot to handle?


According to Mr Du, he was playing a quick game of Love Machine on his Galaxy S4 when it exploded into flame, causing him to cast it onto the alarmingly flammable sofa and thus gutting his whole house.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/29/samsung_phone_burns_down_house/

Allison to join Ferrari's technical line-up

Ferrari confirmed on Monday that former Lotus technical director James Allison is to join the team. Allison, whose Lotus departure was announced in May, will take on the role of chassis technical director from the start of September. At the same time, Ferrari's current technical director, Pat Fry, will assume the new position of director of engineering

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14861.html

Hey, Silicon Valley milky drink fans: Starbucks intros wireless charging

Power Matters, but not to everyone


Another round of coffee* shops are being fitted for wireless charging; this time in Silicon Valley, as the third wireless charging standard grabs a little more retail estate.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/29/starbucks_extends_the_wireless_charging_groove/

6fusion probes AWS for performance secrets

All apps must confess sins to the almighty Workload Allocation Cube


IT capacity company 6fusion has developed a tool that helps Amazon Web Services developers assess the performance of the cloud relative to their own on-premises infrastructure.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/29/6fusion_workload_allocation_cube/

Man arrested after days of outcry over Twitter rape threats



A man has been arrested after a feminist campaigner was deluged with rape threats and graphic abuse on Twitter.


Caroline Criado-Perez, who had successfully campaigned for Jane Austen to be depicted on future ten pound English banknotes, revealed late last week that her achievement had been overshadowed by hostile and misogynistic messages from a number of Twitter users.


At 5.57pm on 28 July, Ms Criado-Perez tweeted that an arrest had been made. The Metropolitan police later confirmed to Wired.co.uk that a 21-year-old man had indeed been arrested in the Manchester area on suspicion of harassment offences in connection with "an allegation of malicious communications".


By: Chris Baraniuk,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/29/twitter-rape-threats

Kids LIE about age on Facebook, gasps Brit ad watchdog

Asks admen to rethink access for impressionable youngsters


Britain's advertising watchdog has spotted the blindingly obvious: kids are giving false ages to allow them to sign up to Facebook and other social media sites.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/29/asa_researches_age_verification_facebook/

Fed up with poor Brit telly and radio output? Ofcom wants a word with YOU

Complaints of repeats won't count, though


Ofcom has kicked off a two-year study to map out digital TV and radio reception in the UK - asking for input on whether signal quality can be improved, and who should be paid to do it.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/29/ofcom_ponders_updating_the_uk_radio_map/

Sunday 28 July 2013

Ferrari fined for Alonso's misuse of DRS

Ferrari have been handed a 15,000 Euro fine by the Hungarian Grand Prix stewards after Fernando Alonso was found to have misused the Drag Reduction System (DRS) during Sunday's race in Budapest. The FIA's technical delegate Jo Bauer referred the matter to the stewards because data indicated that Alonso had activated the DRS on three occasions when he was not within one second of the car in front at the DRS detection point

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14858.html

FIA post-race press conference - Hungary

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton produced a superb drive to beat Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel to the flag in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix. Read what all three men had to say about the race in the official FIA press conference

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14857.html

Grosjean handed 20-second post-race penalty for Button clash

Romain Grosjean has been handed a 20-second post-race time penalty by the Hungarian Grand Prix stewards for his clash with Jenson Button during Sunday's race. The Lotus driver collided with Button's McLaren as he overtook him into the chicane on the 25th lap. The stewards subsequently declared that they would investigate the incident after the race and, having heard from both parties, decided to give the Frenchman a time penalty

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14856.html

Race - Hamilton seals his first win for Mercedes in Hungary

Lewis Hamilton produced an inspired drive in Hungary on Sunday to secure his first race victory for Mercedes. The Briton, who had claimed it would take a miracle for him to win the race, made a smooth getaway from pole position before executing a perfect three-stop strategy to see off the challenge of Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14855.html

Race - selected team and driver quotes

Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez on his early exit; Lotus's Romain Grosjean and McLaren's Jenson Button on their coming together; Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta on Force India's double retirement; Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen on their late battle for second; and Lewis Hamilton on clinching his first victory for Mercedes. All the drivers and senior team personnel report back on Sunday's action…

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14854.html

High court bans publication of car-hacking paper

Bentley

A high court judge has ruled that a computer scientist cannot publish an academic paper over fears it could lead to vehicle theft.


Flavio Garcia, from the University of Birmingham, has cracked the algorithm behind Megamos Crypto -- a system used by several luxury car brands to verify the identity of keys used to start the ignition. He was intending to present his results at the Usenix Security Symposium.


By: Duncan Geere,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/28/car-hacking

Saturday 27 July 2013

Grosjean's Lotus fails post-qualifying floor test

Representatives from Lotus have been summoned before the Hungarian Grand Prix stewards after Romain Grosjean's car failed a post-qualifying front floor deflection test on Saturday. The Frenchman, who qualified in third place, could be handed a grid drop or exclusion from qualifying as a result.

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14849.html

FIA post-qualifying press conference - Hungary

After a thrilling qualifying session that saw Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton claim pole position, the Briton gave his thoughts in the official FIA press conference. We was joined by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Lotus's Romain Grosjean, who will start Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix from second and third places respectively.

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14848.html

Qualifying - selected team and driver quotes

McLaren's Sergio Perez on the quick repair work that allowed him to partake in the afternoon session following his morning accident; Force India's Paul di Resta on the confusing tyre troubles that ruled him out of Q2; Red Bull's Mark Webber on his KERS problems; Williams' Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas on failing to make it through to the top-ten shootout; and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton on securing his third successive pole in a row. All 22 drivers and senior team personnel report back on Saturday's action…

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14845.html

Qualifying - Hamilton snatches Hungary pole from Vettel

Lewis Hamilton gave Mercedes their seventh pole position of the season in Hungary on Saturday after a gripping shoot-out with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, team mate Nico Rosberg and Lotus's Romain Grosjean - and didn't even realise that he'd done it until he was completing his slow-down lap. As the track temperature swung between a sweltering 47 and 49 degrees Celsius, Vettel set the initial pace

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14844.html

Final practice - Grosjean puts Lotus on top in Hungary

Romain Grosjean sent Lotus to the top of the timesheets in final practice in Hungary on Saturday morning. The Frenchman's time of 1m 20.730s, set on soft tyres, was good enough to edge him ahead of the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso and the McLaren of Sergio Perez, although the Mexican ended his session in the barriers after spinning off at Turn 11

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14842.html

The 2013 Concorde Agreement

The Formula One Group and the FIA have signed an agreement setting out the framework for implementation of the 2013 Concorde Agreement. This agreement will come into force upon approval by the respective governing bodies of the signatory parties in the coming weeks

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14840.html

Djay 2 improves interface, adds sampler



Algoriddim, the team behind enormously-popular iPad DJ app Djay has released a significant update for it, adding a stack of new features.


The app, which won a 2011 Apple Design Award, has long been a favourite of tablet DJs for its simplicity and power. However, it had begun to fall behind high-profile competitors like Native Instruments' Traktor in terms of features.


By: Duncan Geere,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/27/djay

Friday 26 July 2013

T-Mobile US: Go ahead, PAY NOTHING up front for any device

Summer promotion bids adieu to down payments


Fourth-ranked US wireless carrier T-Mobile has hit back at its competitors' phone-upgrade plans with a new summer promotion that does away with down payments on all new devices.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/26/tmobile_us_go_ahead_pay_nothing_up_front_for_any_device/

FIA Friday press conference - Hungary

Team Representatives - Cyril Abiteboul (Caterham), John Booth (Marussia), Toto Wolff (Mercedes), Claire Williams (Williams), Franz Tost (Toro Rosso) Q: Good afternoon everyone. Cyril, can I start with you? In a way it's been a quiet season for you so far, there doesn't seem to have been any forward movement. What's been going on behind the scenes

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14838.html

Study: online tool used to map emotional responses to urban areas



Researchers at MIT have created an online tool to help discover what effect urban looks have on people's perception of a city's safety or their own prosperity

By: Katie Collins,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/26/emotional-responses-to-urban-areas

Burning Man laser show will project human genome into atmosphere



Would you like your genome shone 30-40 kilometres into the atmosphere from the middle of the desert with a giant laser? What are we saying, of course you do. And if you're planning on being at Burning Man this year in the northern Nevada desert, where temperatures regularly hit the high 30s in dry and dusty Black Rock City, you can.


By: Liat Clark,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/26/genome-laser-burning-man

Friday practice - selected team and driver quotes

Red Bull ruled the roost in both of Friday's opening practice sessions for this weekend's Formula 1 Magyar Nagydíj 2013 with Sebastian Vettel leading team mate Mark Webber. All the drivers and senior team personnel report back on the opening day in Budapest…

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14836.html

Practice Two - Vettel and Red Bull quickest again

Red Bull retained the upper hand as practice continued at the Hungaroring on Friday afternoon, where the ambient and track temperatures reached 31 and 44 degrees Celsius respectively. As teams ran Pirelli's soft tyres before focusing on long runs on the mediums, Sebastian Vettel carried on where he left off this morning with the fastest time of 1m 21.264s, but team mate Mark Webber was right with him this time on 1m 21.308s, just 0.044s adrift.

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14835.html

Sky falling: 119,000 Brits flee O2, Be after Murdoch broadband gobble

Whiff of octogenarian media lord sends 1 in 5 running


One in five O2 and Be broadband subscribers abandoned the home internet service after it was bought up BSkyB - according to figures shown to the City this morning.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/26/bskyb_full_year_results/

Practice One - Vettel heads Red Bull one-two in Hungary

World champion Sebastian Vettel led team mate Mark Webber in a Red Bull one-two as practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix got underway in Budapest on Friday morning. The German's best lap was 0.259s quicker than Webber's, with Kimi Raikkonen third fastest for Lotus and Fernando Alonso fourth for Ferrari

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14832.html

Hotshots' hotchpotch hotspots: Office Wi-Fi is a great big botch

Do you bung wireless points around the place willy-nilly? You're not alone


Two thirds of IT directors admit their company's wireless network was rolled out without any kind of plan despite their businesses being dependent on it - resulting in inefficient and overloaded networks.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/26/it_directors_admit_wireless_goes_without_a_plan/

Eye-tracking cameras reveal secrets of peacock's tail feathers



When a peacock fans his plumage and struts his stuff, it's an impressive sight. Or so it appears to us humans. What really matters, of course, is what the female he's trying to impress makes of it. In a new study, scientists mounted tiny eye-tracking cameras on the heads of peahens to try to get inside their minds as they watched males' courtship displays.


The findings suggest that what a female pays attention to when she sizes up a potential mate isn't what some researchers had thought.


All those dramatic eyespots? Meh. But the width of his feather train? She's definitely checking that out. And when he turns around and shakes his tail feathers? That's totally hot.


By: Greg Miller,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/26/peacock-eye-tracking

Guinness: Have a quick bonk over the bar and receive FREE BEER

Irish stout kings offer gratis pints to mobe-touting punters


For the next month anyone with an NFC-equipped Android or Blackberry handset is invited to enjoy a free pint of the black stuff, in exchange for a quick bonk on the bar.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/26/guinness_rewards_early_adopters_with_a_free_pint/

Wikipedia switches on mobile editing

Editing for everyone, not just bored commuters


The Wikimedia Foundation has flicked the switch on its mobile editing feature, allowing anyone with an account to edit Wikipedia articles on just about any mobile device capable of rendering HTML.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/26/wikipedia_switches_on_mobile_editing/

Amazon's cloud revenues rocket up as company posts loss

Revenue soars in mysterious "other" category


Amazon's cloud division has contributed to over $1.6 billion in revenue in the e-retailer's nebulous "Other" category this year, as Bezos & Co.'s cloud continues its vertiginous rise.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/25/amazon_aws_cloud_growth/

Thursday 25 July 2013

4oD now supports on-demand catch-up downloads on iOS and Android



A new update pushed out today means that the 4oD app now supports on-demand catch-up downloads on both Android and iOS devices. Version 3.0 of the app on iOS, and version 2.0 on Android allows you to download 30-day catch-up content to your phone and tablet to then watch offline or abroad.


Similar functionality has been available on the iOS version of the BBC's iPlayer app for a while, but 4oD has leapfrogged the BBC when it comes to making this feature available to its Android users.


By: Katie Collins,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/25/4od-demand-catch-up-downloads

In depth: 90s gameshow Knightmare reborn for YouTube, may spawn new TV series



It's the stuff that 90s kids' dreams are made of: popular children's TV show Knightmare is being resurrected for online audiences in a one-off special episode for YouTube's Geek Week.


Geek Week will be a weeklong celebration of geek culture from 4-11 August, in which Knightmare will feature alongside a Doctor Who celebration, anime and attempts by YouTube gamers to break Guinness World Records. Knightmare was a popular medieval game show that used blue screen chroma key to enable virtual reality interactive gameplay. It ran for seven years, finishing in 1994, and achieved cult status among its fans.


By: Katie Collins,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/25/knightmare-resurrected-for-geek-week

FIA Thursday press conference - Hungary

Round 10 of the championship sees the teams head to Hungary for the Formula 1 Magyar Nagydij 2013. Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen, Paul di Resta, Esteban Gutierrez, Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado spoke about the weekend ahead in the FIA press conference

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14827.html

Wired.co.uk Podcast 134: iKnife, Kinect and the NSA, Google Glass tested

Wired podcast

Listen this week for an entertaining 30-minute look at the most interesting technology and science stories from the last seven days, with Wired.co.uk's Nate Lanxon, Olivia Solon and Liat Clark.


By: Nate Lanxon,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/podcast/episode-134

Microsoft pledges Linux boost for Windows Server and Center R2 duo

Oh, the things we'll do to be your cloud partner


Microsoft has vowed Windows Server 2012 R2 and System Center 2012 R2 will be the “best” platform for running Linux in the cloud.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/25/windows_server_2012_cloud_love/

BT GOES DOWN ON EVERYONE* as proto-lord boss goes up to Whitehall

* We mean its profits, you dirty-minded people


The past few weeks over at BT Towers have been busy, fraught and disruptive. But there was no ray of sunshine in the telecom giant's latest financial results out today.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/25/bt_q1_2013/

O2 pulls plug on OAP-monitoring service

Help is no longer at Hand - wrinklies and infirm get refunds


O2 has shut down its foray into health monitoring, quietly dropping Help at Hand and Health at Home and offering refunds to the few who had signed up to the services.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/25/o2_pulls_plug_on_oldster_support/

Pirelli reveal tyre choices for Belgium, Italy and Singapore

Formula One racing's official tyre suppliers Pirelli have announced the tyre compounds that will be used at the first three races of the second half of the season, in Belgium, Italy and Singapore. For Belgium's demanding Spa circuit, the longest and one of the fastest tracks on the calendar, Pirelli will bring the orange-marked hard and white-marked medium compound

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14825.html

Chucked your 3-day-old Jesus mobe in a blender? It's probably an iPhone 5

The newer your fondlephone, the quicker it falls - survey


Early iPhones last significantly longer before being accidentally destroyed than later models, according to a new survey - but nobody knows why.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/25/early_adaptors_more_careless_with_iphone_hardware/

The FLOATING mobile phone shop on the edge of the Internet

Reg man splashes down amid Asia's smartphone shift


Google Maps can't find the Cambodian village of Prek Toal. Bing Maps is similarly clueless about the community of 6,000 nestled near the north-western end of Lake Tonle Sap.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/25/the_floating_mobile_phone_shop_on_the_edge_of_the_internet/

Grey market mobes on the slide as makers go legit

'We want brands!' shout impoverished punters


The grey market for mobile phones is forecast to slump by 12 per cent this year, ironically because handset makers can’t compete against an increasingly vibrant trade in counterfeit products, according to market watcher IHS iSuppli.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/25/grey_market_phone_slumps_brands_take_over/

Swisscom chief dead in apparent suicide

Company appoints interim CEO


Swisscom has appointed an interim CEO, after announcing that 49-year-old Carsten Scholter was found dead in his flat in Fribourg on July 23.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/25/swisscom_chief_dead_in_apparent_suicide/

Wednesday 24 July 2013

Azure inhales open source Java implementation

OpenJDK, and all that JaaS


Microsoft and Azul Systems have hoisted the open source Java implementation OpenJDK onto the Redmond's Azure cloud, giving developers access to the language on Azure's Windows-based cloud services.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/24/windows_azure_java_openjdk/

Android 4.3 announced, bringing incremental changes to Jelly Bean



Google finally unveiled Android 4.3 at today's breakfast event with Android and Chrome head Sundar Pichai. Still dubbed Jelly Bean, this update follows in the footsteps of versions 4.1 and 4.2: it introduces a couple of major features and a handful of smaller ones without drastically altering the Android experience introduced back in version 4.0.


By: Andrew Cunningham,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/24/android-43

Chromecast TV dongle is Google's answer to AirPlay, for Android, iOS and more

Chromecast

Google announced a new device, dubbed Chromecast, at a press event today. The tiny dongle plugs into an HDMI input on a TV and connects to Wi-Fi, allowing users to stream video directly to their TVs from other devices -- without requiring matching operating systems.


Interfaces will now present a "cast" button that, when clicked, will send the video from a PC, tablet, or smartphone to the television. Playback can then be controlled by the device sending the video.


By: Casey Johnston,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/24/chromecast

You've got 600k+ customers on 4G... but look behind you, EE

Rest of market about to open up to rivals


EE has signed up 687,000 4G customers, and is in track to hit a million by year's end, but average revenue per user (ARPU) and total customer numbers are both a shade down as its 4G monopoly comes to an end.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/24/ee_hits_4g_numbers_slips_on_total_customers/

Pentagon: Mobe operators want our radio bands? Fine, but it'll cost $3.5bn

BTW, we're leaving a few drones around the place


The US Department of Defense has estimated at $3.5bn the costs of clearing military ops out of 25MHz of radio spectrum to make way for mobe operators – except it doesn't want to march off entirely, demanding instead that the band's new owners share nicely.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/24/us_military_offers_to_share_spectrum_for_35bn/

EA loses Madden lawsuit, owes original developer at least $11 million

Madden 25

The original designer of EA's successful sports franchise Madden NFL has been awarded over $11 million (£7.2 million) by a court in the Northern District of California.


Robin Antonick, the original designer and developer of the football games, alleged that he signed a series of publishing and development contracts with EA including a 1986 agreement wherein EA would pay royalties on any derivative works related to the original EA Madden as well as prohibiting use of his confidential information.


By: Philippa Warr,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/24/ea-madden-lawsuit

ISPs: Relax. Blocking smut online WON'T really work

Plus: Anti-porn MP slathered with porn (well, her website anyway)


Since the start of this year it has become clear that the government was shifting away from its hands-off approach to censoring content online by leaving ISPs to work out an agreed code that would prevent regulatory intervention.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/24/war_on_smut_claire_perry_hacked/

City sensors: the internet of things is taking over our cities



The internet of things is taking over our cities. Here are five examples of how its shaping the urban environment


By: Victoria Turk,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/07/everything-is-connected/city-sensors

Virgin Media hangs from traffic lights, hands out free Wi-Fi to Brummies

Don't worry, they'll still get paid


Virgin Media plans to get mobile operators to pay for free Birmingham-wide Wi-Fi in a deal which could see every traffic light in the city turned unto a 4G cell base station.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/24/virgin_swaps_free_wifi_for_birmingham_street_furniture/

Amazon scraps free Super Saver delivery for many items under £10



Amazon is changing its delivery charges policy so that customers in the UK spending under £10 might now have to pay a small fee, rather than getting their goods sent to them for free.


Amazon's Super Saver delivery option used to mean there was no minimum spend necessary to guarantee free delivery, but as of 23 July, customers will have to pay for delivery of some items. Those items don't include books, DVDs, Blu-rays, music, video games and software products.


By: Katie Collins,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/24/amazon-scraps-super-saver-delivery

FIA press conference schedule - Hungary

Two Finns and two Williams drivers are among those due to face the media in Budapest on Thursday afternoon, while on Friday it will be the turn of senior team personnel, including Williams' Claire Williams and Mercedes' Toto Wolff. The line-ups in full

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14822.html

IBM pours WebSphere tech into Cloud Foundry cauldron

Big Blue bets big on platform cloud from Sons of VMware


After months of big bets on open source and cloud computing technologies, IBM just can't stay away from the gambling table, and on Wednesday came back to slam down a ton of chips on Cloud Foundry, a platform cloud technology developed by VMware spinoff Pivotal.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/24/ibm_pivotal_cloud_foundry/

Google Reader replacement 'Old Reader' crashes

Possible data loss as SSDs fail during terabyte transfer, service goes down


The Darwinian derby to determine which RSS-reading service would replace Google Reader as the world's dominant feed-wrangler may just have produced its first extinction event, after theoldreader.com choked on its recently-enlarged database and crashed.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/24/google_reader_replacement_old_reader_crashes/

US remains global sluggard in broadband speed rankings

'We're number 9! We're number 9!'


Akamai's latest State or the Internet report shows that the US is making little headway in becoming a top-ranked broadband nation, and is being outpaced by Asia and Europe based on traffic analysis from the first quarter of the year.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/24/us_still_lagging_in_global_broadband_connection_speed_rankings/

Save spectrum for public safety: Oz parl't committee

Emergency services need 20 MHz of LTE band


Public safety users need broadband radio access and should be allocated 20 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band, according to an Australian parliamentary report.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/23/save_spectrum_for_public_safety_oz_parlt_committee/

Tuesday 23 July 2013

Google adds storage buckets to plug cloud gap

Plonk your data where you like


Google has introduced a feature that lets administrators locate their cloud data next to their rented servers to reduce latency, bringing the Chocolate Factory's cloud closer to its rivals in terms of capability.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/23/google_cloud_storage_upgrade/

German police to test 3D-printed guns for own use and to assess threat



Police in Germany are going to print their own 3D guns in order to discover whether they can be easily smuggled through airport security, or even used by their own officers.


Designs for a crude 3D-printed gun called the Liberator were posted by a US man named Cody WIlson back in May. Despite being removed by the US government, the designs were quickly posted all over the internet by file-sharing sites beyond the reach of authorities, raising the question as to how much of a threat this kind of weaponry poses.


By: Katie Collins,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/23/german-police-3d-printed-guns

Cisco coughs $2.7bn for Sourcefire

Gorges on intrusion prevention tech player


Cisco has dug deep and found $2.7bn for intrusion prevention security player Sourcefire.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/23/cisco_buys_sourcefire/

Arcade gaming meets interactive fiction with the Choosatron



All hail the descendant of the choose-your-own-adventure book. This is the Choosatron, a digital storytelling platform in a cardboard box, which fuses arcade gaming with interactive fiction.


When building version one of the Choosatron in May 2012, Minneapolis-based software developer Jerry Belich shunned all digital outputs: "Otherwise, why not make an app?" Belich, 30, knew he'd found the perfect antithesis to LCDs when he discovered a thermal printer on a maker site. "It just clicked that if it printed as you played, by the time you finished you would have this complete transcript of your story."


By: David Cornish,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/07/play/storybook-in-a-box

SAP CEOs are like Highlanders - there can be only one

"Our Bill's missing a Jim" says founder


Circumstance, it seems, has forced SAP to abandon its beloved dual-chief-executive model.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/23/sap_solo_ceo_act/

Yes, UK fanbois, you can now use iPhones as bonking aids!

Bonkmania slips onto Apple gear thanks to EE and Moneto


Following EE's Android-based wallet, the iPhone has finally got into the Near Field Communications bonking game with a sled from Device Fidelity and a service from Moneto, bringing the joy of bonking to all.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/23/pay_by_bonk_slips_onto_uk_iphones/

EMC Cloud Czar packs up and goes for a hike

Ex-Atmos boss leaves after product lines re-jigged


EMC Cloud Czar Mike Feinberg has left the Hopkinton-based storage biz after a rejig of product lines, El Reg can reveal.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/23/emc_cloud_czar_vanishes/

Infographic: Will Smith and his family have saved trillions of lives



Where would we be without the Smiths? Well, Earth would have been overrun by aliens, enslaved by robot squid and mourning the steampunk-spider-induced death of Ulysses S Grant -- that's where.


By: Jordan Crucchiola,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/07/play/the-smith-family-saves-the-world

The Secret Service agent who collared cybercrooks by selling them fake IDs



From late 2007 until March 2011, if you were an identity thief or credit card fraud artist in need of a fake ID, your best bet was "Celtic's Novelty ID Service." From its base in Las Vegas, the online storefront manufactured driver's licenses for 13 states and shipped them to buyers around the world. No questions asked.


With a reputation for quality and the fastest turnaround in the industry, Celtic was a no-nonsense player in a global underworld benighted by drama and infighting. On the Russian-led criminal forum Carder.su, his primary home, he accumulated scores of glowing reviews from satisfied customers. "You can trust him," wrote Oink Oink. "This guy doesn't fuck around. Great shit, great communication and bends over backwards to help you out."


By: Kevin Poulsen,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/23/secret-service-fake-ids

SkyDrive on par with C: Drive in Windows 8.1

Redmond bakes cloud storage into the desk-and-slab-top OS


Microsoft has detailed, in a blog post just how SkyDrive will behave under Windows 8.1.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/23/skydrive_on_par_with_c_drive_in_windows_eight_point_one/

Monday 22 July 2013

Google accounts for quarter of US internet traffic – report

Global caching network swallows PCs and mobiles


Data to and from Google's servers now accounts for a quarter of all US internet traffic, according to the latest network analysis by monitoring firm DeepField, with over 60 per cent of all end users and their devices having some business with the Chocolate Factory every day.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/22/google_accounts_for_quarter_of_us_internet_traffic_report/

Happy third birthday, OpenStack: Ready to dominate all clouds now?

'A testament to the power of bourbon and unit test coverage'


It has been three years since the techies at NASA and Rackspace Hosting mashed up their respective cloudy compute and storage software to create OpenStack.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/22/openstack_cloud_controller_turns_three/

Four gruesome tales of doctors who thought they could defeat death



Death may be a fact of life, but it hasn't stopped enterprising minds throughout the centuries from trying to bend the rules. But the right techniques always seemed to slip through their fingers -- much like their unfortunate patients.


By: Frank Swain,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/07/play/what-a-way-to-go

WAR ON PORN: Cameron flicks switch on 'I am a pervert' web filters

No sex please. We're British


Prime Minister David Cameron will today gaily announce that Brit adults will be forced to ask their ISP for permission to view web grumble flicks.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/22/war_on_erupts_in_britain/

Kobayashi aiming for early F1 return

Former Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi has said he is targeting a return to Formula One racing as soon as possible, after making his first public appearance in a Ferrari F1 car during a demonstration event in Russia over the weekend. Kobayashi, who scored his maiden podium at his home Grand Prix in Japan last year, lost his Sauber seat at the end of 2012

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14820.html

Android MasterKey found buried in kiddie cake game on Google Play - report

Send for nurse for fear of something much, much worse


Two Google Play apps that use the so-called "MasterKey" vulnerability, albeit harmlessly, have been detected, security researchers have announced.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/22/master_key_doctored_apps_google_play/

Sunday 21 July 2013

Friday 19 July 2013

Silverstone day three - Vettel quickest on final day of test

World championship-leader Sebastian Vettel led the way for Red Bull as the young driver test drew to a close at Silverstone on Friday. Vettel, who like all race drivers was allowed to participate at the session for tyre testing purposes only, clocked the quickest time of the week in the afternoon session - a 1m 32.894s

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14818.html

Disney uses vortices for mid-air tactile gaming feedback

Aireal

Researchers at Disney have created a vortex-firing, 3D-printed feedback device that will let Kinect and Wii gamers feel the effects of their gestures.


The Aireal feedback device fires loops of compressed air -- invisible "smoke" rings -- that can create tactile effects ranging from the sensation of a butterfly resting on your arm, to a swatting a ball during a tennis match.


Developed by Disney Research in Pittsburgh, the device is due to be unveiled at an international conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques in Califronia from 21-25 July.


By: Kadhim Shubber,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/19/disney-aireal-air-rings

Surgical iKnife can identify cancerous tissue in three seconds



An intelligent surgical knife has been developed that can detect cancerous tissue as it cuts through it in less than three seconds. The iKnife has been developed by researchers at Imperial College London, and uses smoke from tissue to sense whether or not it is cancerous.


The smoke, which is usually extracted away, is caused by heat from electrosurgical knives that vaporise the tissue as they cut through it. Imperial's Dr Zoltan Takats realised this smoke would be rich in the biological information and so connected an electromagnetic knife to a device which can sense the chemicals that hold information about the state of the tissue.


By: Katie Collins,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/19/surgical-iknife-can-identify-cancerous-tissue

Hungary preview quotes - Lotus and McLaren on the Hungaroring

Round 10, the last Grand Prix before the August summer break, sees the Formula One paddock making the short hop from Germany to Hungary and Budapest's high-downforce Hungaroring circuit. Those involved in the Formula 1 Magyar Nagydij 2013 discuss their prospects for the coming weekend

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14817.html

PORNAGEDDON: Sexy bloggrs stung by Tumblr smut smackdown

No pussy, just cats - it's not hot and Marissa's not bothered


Porn aficionados, sex bloggers and perverts are up in arms after Tumblr wiped all naughty content from its search facilty - neatly erasing at least half of the cats'n'porn site's raison d'être.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/19/smut_lovers_in_dirty_protest_over_tumblr_pornageddon/

Hacker gives Google Glass facial recognition using his own OS



Google Glass has been in the hands of developers on Google's Explorer program for a while now, but some of those who have got their hands on the high-tech specs have been pushing the boundaries of what Google wants them to do.


One hacker has successfully managed to get facial recognition technology to run on Glass, despite Google explicitly stating in its developer policy that this isn't allowed. Stephen Balaban, founder of Lambda Labs in San Francisco, is challenging Google and hoping that others will do the same, actively encouraging people to use the hashtag #ihackglass on Twitter.


By: Katie Collins,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/19/google-glass-facial-recognition

Hulkenberg glad to have tested revised Pirelli tyres

Nico Hulkenberg says he is pleased he participated in this week young driver test at Silverstone, despite being able to discern few performance differences between Pirelli's revised tyres and their predecessors during his 52 lap stint on Thursday afternoon. With all of the teams facing restrictions on how they could set-up and alter their cars whilst testing the new rubber, and drivers limited in the amount of time they could spend behind the wheel, several high-profile names have not attended the three day session

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14816.html

Cloud backups: Where's my get out of jail card?

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?


It is time for your reminder to review, test and otherwise care about backups. Today's twist is probing the cloud to see if we need to worry about cloudy backup ourselves. If so, how exactly do we do it?…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/19/cloud_backups_flawed_model_analysis/

ZUCK out all my BUGS: Facebook gobbles glitch-hunting Brit upstart

God, anything to improve that mobile app


Facebook has bought Monoidics, a UK-based firm that develops software that checks other software for bugs. Financial terms of the deal, announced Thursday and subject to unspecified closing conditions, were undisclosed.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/19/facebook_monoidics/

Free cloud server self-destructs in 35 minutes

Help us out readers: what could you do in that time on an EC2 micro-instance?


Creating a cloud server takes just a few minutes and cost peanuts, but a chap in the USA has decided it takes too long and created a site that spawns a free Amazon Web Services EC2 micro-instance in seconds and then offers you the chance to open a terminal window to drive it.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/19/free_cloud_server_selfdestructs_in_35_minutes/

Amazon buffs free platform cloud

Shines up interface and adds VPC support


Amazon has gussied up its Elastic Beanstalk service by polishing the web GUI as it puts pressure on other platform clouds built atop its platform.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/18/aws_eb_upgrades/

Thursday 18 July 2013

Internet's Simon Hackett offers re-engineered NBN plan

Fibre build might be affordable if other costs stripped out


Self-described “wise old bird of the industry, or at least, a bird that doesn't have much hair left”, Simon Hackett, has suggested to a Sydney conference that the fibre NBN could be delivered for close to a copper budget, if the design is revisited and reviewed.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/18/reengineer_the_nbn_says_hackett/

Wired.co.uk Podcast 133: Will.i.am, science of strangers, Nokia Lumia 1020 tested.mp3

Wired podcast

Listen this week for an entertaining 30-minute look at the most interesting technology and science stories from the last seven days, with Wired.co.uk's Nate Lanxon, Olivia Solon and Liat Clark.


By: Nate Lanxon,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/podcast/episode-133

Maldonado hoping new tyres improve Williams' fortunes

Pastor Maldonado is hopeful that Pirelli's revised tyres will help Williams bring more out of their car after sampling the new rubber at Silverstone on Thursday. At this point last season Maldonado had scored 29 points and a race win, whereas in 2013 he's yet to register a point

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14814.html

Silverstone day two - Ricciardo finishes first and third

Daniel Ricciardo led the way for Toro Rosso at Silverstone on Thursday as this week's young driver test - with race drivers allowed to participate for tyre testing only - continued at the British Grand Prix circuit. After clocking the fastest morning time in the STR8, Ricciardo switched to sister team Red Bull and after surviving an early trip into the gravel recovered to set the day's third fastest time in the RB9

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14813.html

UK to probe Huawei cyber centre amid China espionage concerns



The British government has said it will inspect the operations of a UK-based cybersecurity centre run by Huawei in order to allay fears over security threats.


Following a recommendation by parliament's intelligence and security committee in June, the government has decided that it will conduct a review of the site in Oxfordshire, where Huawei employees check equipment for vulnerabilities before it's connected to national telecoms infrastructure.


By: Katie Collins,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/18/uk-to-probe-huawei-cyber-centre

Music-syncing app SoundSYNK creates impromptu surround sound system



On 11 July, Edward Noel and three of his Exeter University mates won $50,000 (£33,000) at Microsoft-sponsored Imagine Cup finals in St Petersberg. Their invention, an app called SoundSYNK, allows people to hook mobile and tablet devices and stream music over all the devices simultaneously.


But Noel and his teammates -- Robert Parker, Alexander Bochenski and Jonathan Neumann -- have loftier ambitions than simply this innovative mobile surround sound system: they want to transform the way people share data.


"We're creating something called the Impromptu Social Network," says Noel, speaking from Atlanta where the team have been flown out to present at Microsoft's annual Global Exchange conference. "It's the ability to connect an unlimited number of people together in your area".


By: Kadhim Shubber,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/18/soundsynk

Punchdrunk's Hollywood fable is a multi-storey immersive epic



On a street tucked down the side of Paddington station, a group of people mill about, squinting into the early evening glare. Some murmur frantically, some emit gleeful giggles, others remain silent and dumbfounded.


It's no surprise that they're looking startled and disorientated, for like Lucy returning from Narnia, they've arrived back in this spot after slipping through a portal and spending the three hours prior in another world. They've been wandering alone through a vast desert wilderness, a seedy movie studio, a dimly lit forest and a maze of more than a hundred rooms that you'd never know were hidden behind the tall red corrugated doors of this old London sorting office.


It's a world created by Felix Barrett and his Punchdrunk team who have a reputation for building unnerving immersive theatrical experiences. The Drowned Man, which is the company's first large-scale London production for several years, is based around Woyzeck, Büchner's unfinished masterpiece about poverty, wealth, status and jealousy.


By: Katie Collins,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/18/punchdrunk-the-drowned-man

Ricciardo out to impress Red Bull

Daniel Ricciardo is testing for Red Bull at Silverstone on Thursday afternoon and he prepared for it in the best possible fashion - by topping the morning timesheet for current team, Toro Rosso. Race drivers are permitted to participate in this week's young driver session to test revised Pirelli tyres and Red Bull have taken the chance to evaluate Ricciardo, who could replace the departing Mark Webber for 2014

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14812.html

Banned Syrian conflict app leads to game about a bear running a theatre



An app dealing with the civil war in Syria and which was banned from the app store by Apple has provided thefoundations for a children's game about a bear in charge of a theatre company.


Endgame: Syria was rejected by Apple over its political content. Apple has a history of shying away from contentious content and the rejection came thanks to a clause forbidding apps which "solely target a specific race, culture, a real government or corporation, or any other real entity."


By: Philippa Warr,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/18/endgame-syria-leads-to-childrens-game

Websites stagger to feet, Network Solutions wears off DDoS hangover

MYSTERY surrounds overnight web pummelling


Web-hosting biz and domain-name registrar Network Solutions was pummelled offline by attackers last night - and took its customers' websites down with it.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/18/netsol_ddos/

OECD: Don't bank on wireless for comms futures

Biennial Outlook doc calls for more competition, faster IPv6 adoption and lower prices


The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published its bi-ennial Communications Outlook and suggested the communications industry – and governments that regulate it – still have plenty of work to do in order to secure growth and serve customers.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/18/oecd_dont_bank_on_wireless_for_comms_futures/

ITU readies gigabit G.fast standard for copper's last wild ride

FM broadcasters prep 'git offa mah lawn' signs


The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has taken the first steps towards standardising G.fast, the next major DSL-based standard which vendors hope will provide a “fibre-like” experience without having to drag the glass all the way into homes.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/18/gfast_takes_first_step_on_standards_road/

Wednesday 17 July 2013

Google conjures dedicated memcache within platform cloud

App Engine catches up with Amazon and Microsoft's floating silos


Google has added a dedicated memache service to its platform cloud, giving the company's technology more of the characteristics of clouds operated by Amazon and Microsoft.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/17/google_memcache_gae/

BT slammed for FAILING to explain why its broadband investment has shrunk

'Are you exploiting your monopolistic position', asks PAC chair


BT's policy supremo was mauled this afternoon by MPs demanding to know why the telecom giant's investment in the UK's government-subsidised broadband deployment had dramatically shrunk.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/17/public_accounts_committee_bduk_and_bt_spending_scrutinised/

Silverstone day one - Magnussen on top for McLaren

McLaren's Kevin Magnussen set the pace as a mix of familiar drivers and promising young racers took to the track at Silverstone on Wednesday for the first of three days of testing. The 20-year-old Dane, whose father Jan raced for McLaren in 1995, lapped in 1m 33.602s late in the afternoon session to edge Force India's Paul di Resta for the fastest time of the day

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14811.html

Webber and Raikkonen to miss Silverstone test

Red Bull's Mark Webber and Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen will no longer be driving at this week's Silverstone test following tweaks to their respective teams' driver programmes. Webber had been scheduled to try out the revised Pirelli tyres on Thursday afternoon, but his slot will now be taken by Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo who was previously due to test the RB8 on Wednesday afternoon

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/7/14810.html

Apple releases Logic Pro X music suite, 'GarageBand Pro' fears mostly allayed

Logic Pro X

Apple has revamped and released Logic Pro X, a major new version of the company's professional audio and music production software suite.


This new edition includes a "virtual session drummer" for automating the creation of percussion tracks. Called Drummer, Apple claims it "automatically plays along with your song in a wide variety of drumming styles". We are yet to test how this drummer digests the complex polyrhythms and bizarre time signatures inherent to technical death metal, but we will.


By: Nate Lanxon,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/17/logic-pro-x

Vibrating devices could turn your skin into a computer interface



According to Lynette Jones, a senior research scientist in MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering, your skin has about as many sensory receptors as your eyeballs, making it a hugely underutilised medium for receiving information. The problem with skin, though, is that those receptors are spread out over 1.8 square metres, and we don't currently have a very good idea of how sensitive a given patch of epidermis is going to be. We can feel a phone vibrating through our pants, sure. But could we tell if it was buzzing in a particular pattern? Or just vibrating its left side, as opposed to the right? These are the questions Jones is trying to answer, with an eye towards next-gen devices that don't just pump info into our eyes and ears, but directly onto our hides, too.


Jones' most recent work focuses on dense haptic displays, and how they might be able to give us spatial cues about the world around us. Think of something like a back brace that could guide you noiselessly through a corn maze, just by buzzing. Recently, Jones built a crude version of that general concept -- a wearable array, decked out with a series of motors and a handful of accelerometers for measuring how those motors' vibrations traveled through the skin -- and tested it out on eight subjects.


By: Kyle Vanhemert,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/17/future-of-vibrating-devices