Schumacher hospitalised after skiing accident

Seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher has been hospitalised with a head injury following a skiing accident in the French Alps. There has been no official confirmation of Schumacher's condition, though initial reports suggest it is not life threatening. The 44-year-old German, who retired from F1 racing at the end of the 2012 season, is understood to have hit his head after falling

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15358.html

Get lost, fanbois: Nokia pulls HERE from App Store

Find your own way back from the pub... and it's all iOS7's fault

Nokia has told Apple fanbois to get lost after removing its popular HERE Maps app from the iOS App Store.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/27/nokia_bins_here_maps_from_ios_app_store/

Official: Apple hooks up with WORLD'S LARGEST MOBILE OPERATOR

Not just a casual fling, they've signed a contract and all

Apple will soon launch a bid to convert more than 700 million new fanbois and gurlz after belatedly inking a deal with the world's largest mobile phone provider.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/23/one_in_seven_human_beings_set_to_become_apple_fanbois/

BT tweaks WORDING of sex-ed web block after complaints

'Cos that was the problem, right?

BT has adjusted the wording of one of its web-filtering categories, following The Register 's story late on Friday when the telecoms giant admitted that UK parents who don't want their kids to seek advice about their sexuality online could block access over its network.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/23/bt_changes_wording_of_education_filter_after_complaints/

UN orgs, NGOs slug it out with namespace biz bods: IMHO... STFU

ICA gripes about demands for protection of acronyms

A muddy battle over the protection of the acronyms of government bodies and NGOs in domain names has begun... in classic acronym-heavy style.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/23/ica_moans_about_touchy_ngo_and_un_response_to_acronym_protection/

ITU signs off network spec for personal medical devices

Cisco, IBM, Oracle, Intel, Qualcomm et al can now run your body

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has signed off a new standard for communication between personal medical devices.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/22/itu_signs_off_network_spec_for_personal_medical_devices/

Sauber retain Gutierrez, with Sirotkin as tester

Sauber have announced that Esteban Gutierrez will stay on for the 2014 season, completing the team's race line-up together with Adrian Sutil. Russia's Sergey Sirotkin will serve as test driver. Gutierrez first tested with Sauber at Jerez in late 2009. The Mexican was signed as 'affiliated driver', and 2013 saw him finish 16th in the championship as the best placed rookie

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15357.html

You've got $60k: So, 2013 sporty Corvette, or a year of AWS's new I2 beast?

244GB of RAM, 6400GB of SSD, 32 virtual CPUs at Amazon's Virtualization Palace

Amazon has soothed developers miffed at the notorious variability of its rentable servers with a new expensive class of reliable instances.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/20/aws_new_i2_instances/

Parents can hide abortion, disease, contraception advice from kids thanks to BT's SEX-ED web block

Gay, lesbian websites also thrown into telco's internet filter

Access to sex education websites can be switched off by UK parents who don't want their children to seek advice about their sexuality online, BT has admitted to The Register.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/20/bt_lets_subscribers_turn_off_gay_education_sites/

Ferrari reveal 2014 power unit, fans to choose new car name

Ferrari gave the media its first preview this week of the new powertrain that will propel the team's 2014 car, when Formula One racing moves to smaller, V6 turbo engines. The presentation of the 059/3 power unit took place at Ferrari's Italian headquarters in Maranello. “As a result of the 2014 regulations, we no longer talk of engines, but of power units,” explained Luca Marmorini

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15355.html

Apple won't bag HUMUNGOUS 4G deal... 'cos China HATES plastic iPhone 5C – analyst

They're going to have to renegotiate, says beancounter

Apple has failed to ink a lucrative 4G deal with humungo cellphone carrier China Mobile due to poor demand for its plastic iPhone 5C, a leading analyst has claimed.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.channelregister.co.uk/2013/12/20/china_turns_its_nose_up_at_the_plastic_iphone_5c/

Google fined by Spanish data watchdog over audacious privacy tweak

Ordered to hand over pathetically trivial wad of Euros

Google has been fined a piddling €900,000 for three separate breaches of Spain's Data Protection Act.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/20/google_fined_by_spanish_data_watchdog_over_privacy_policy_changes/

Italy's 'Google tax law' could fall foul of EU discrimination rules

Billion-euro attempt to get more taxes out of web firms may be illegal

The European Commission has warned that Italy's proposed "Google tax law" would likely break European Union rules on non-discrimination, Reuters reported.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/20/eu_italy_tax_law_discrimination/

It's CLOUD WAR says Larry Ellison: parachute in the sales team

Don't bring a price cut to a volume/commodity knife fight

Larry Ellison has promised to bring holy price down upon the heads of cloud computing infidels.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.channelregister.co.uk/2013/12/20/oracle_in_transition/

F1® stars join forces for second Zoom photographic charity auction

Formula One racing will unite in February for the Zoom auction of photographs taken by the sport's drivers and team principals in aid of the UK's Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity (GOSHCC). Along with the images, the Zoom auction includes cameras provided by leading manufacturer Nikon which have been signed by some of the biggest F1 names.

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15354.html

Used all your mobile data? Why not buy your mate's excess bits?

China Mobile unveils clever download swap shop

China Mobile has come up with a rather interesting way to help out customers who run out of data before the end of the month – a new trading platform which allows other customers to sell data bundles they haven’t used.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/20/china_mobile_2cm_data_trade/

AWS imposes national borders on Cloudland

'Geo Restriction' feature keeps foreign undesirables away from your content

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has drawn up borders within its cloud with a new 'Geostriction' feature for its CloudFront service.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/20/aws_imposes_national_borders_on_cloudland/

Rackspace roadmap preps new cloud tools to take on big-bucks giants

Our mole reveals the skinny on Texan hoster's upcoming plans

Rackspace has a raft of upgrades planned that could make life easier for sysadmins who work with the company's public cloud and hosted managed servers, we're told.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/20/rackspace_cloud_update/

Pirelli give 2014 safety assurance after Rosberg failure

Formula One tyre suppliers Pirelli say the safety of next year's tyres is not in doubt after Mercedes' Nico Rosberg suffered a high-speed failure while testing in Bahrain on Thursday. Rosberg's car was fitted with a prototype tyre which will not be used again. Four teams - Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, and Toro Rosso - have carried out three days of testing for Pirelli this week in a session specially sanctioned by the FIA

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15353.html

ARM server maker Calxeda bites the dust

Heavy hangs the crown, says plucky startup as it begins restructuring process

ARM server startup Calxeda is shutting down, and with it some of the optimistic dreams of data centers ruled by low-power RISC chips.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/19/calxeda_shutdown/

IBM's secret weapon to battle Google, Amazon, Microsoft clouds: AN UPSTART MOVIE STAR

Big Blue goes to Hollywood, beds a clever beauty

IBM has bought Emmy-winning bulk data transfer biz Aspera to ease the shipping of large files from on-premises boxes to remote data centers including those operated by cloud providers.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/19/ibm_aspera_acquisition/

BT warned: Speed up Openreach repairs or face PUNITIVE FINES

We've had enough of your lousy impotence, growls Ofcom

BT's Openreach division has been repeatedly slammed by other telcos for failing to adequately fix faults in a timely manner - and now the UK's communications watchdog has waded in.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/19/ofcom_tells_bt_to_speed_up_openreach_engineer_repairs/

Mercedes gain Red Bull engineering expertise

Mercedes have announced two key engineering appointments for the 2014 season and both of them will join the team from rivals Red Bull. Mark Ellis will become Mercedes' performance director in June of next year, while Giles Wood will take up the position of chief engineer, simulation and development

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15352.html

We love a flashy MODEL who's a KEEN READER – Toshiba

Second read-intensive SSD for biz in two weeks should hit market sweet spot

Toshiba has a new mid-range SSD built for medium spec read-intensive work that widens its 19nm NAND product range. The HK3R comes hot on the heels of the PX03SN and Tosh says it is optimised for read-intensive applications such as read-caching, error logging, boot, and low-duty storage applications requiring power-loss-protection and end-to-end data protection features.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/19/toshibas_middling_readintensive_ssd/

Bah! No NSA-proof Euro cloud gang. Cloud computing standards will 'aid data portability'

European Commission ropes in ETSI, plans to look at copyright issues

New cloud computing standards to be developed within the EU should facilitate users' ability to transfer data and services between cloud providers, MEPs have said.17 Dec 2013…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/19/cloud_standards_should_aid_data_portability_say_meps/

IBM follows Microsoft, Amazon into China with new cloud doodad

NSA leaks 'not affecting Big Blue's plans in any way'

IBM is launching a cloud service hosted in a Chinese data center as Big Blue tries to pursue what it reckons could be a huge market – despite NSA revelations causing paranoia among some non-US data services punters.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/18/ibm_cloud_china/

EVault takes on Amazon with faster-than-Glacier cloud archive

Ever-so-slightly pricier, though

Seagate's EVault cloud backup sub has launched a Glacier cloud archive competitor, priced at $5/GB/month with instant data access and data preserved intact for decades. It will use Seagate Kinetic drives in the future.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/18/evault_launches_fasterthanglacier_cloud_archive/

BlackBerry nabs 'The Sims' to head up crucial Services unit

Ex-SAP exec will take reins at biz that is key to firm's turnaround

The company-formerly-known-as-RIM has nabbed former SAP exec John Sims to head up its global enterprise services unit, the business it hopes will be at the centre of its turnaround.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/18/blackberry_hire_john_sims/

Amazon cuddles up to Chinese public sector with AWS rollout

Ningxia Hui Nationality Autonomous Region first to get Bezos' cloudy offering

Amazon has sent its cloud service floating high over China for the first time after announcing a limited rollout of its AWS cloud platform, making the Middle Kingdom the 10th country to be offered the service..…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/18/amazon_brings_cloud_service_to_china/

Cisco takes on AWS with cloudy desktop-as-a-service plan

VMware and Citrix dive into DaaS for private or public clouds

Works with VMware and Citrix to deliver DaaS from your bit barn or the cloud Cisco and VMware have responded to Amazon Web Services Workspaces desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) plan with their very own offering that can be deployed to private or public clouds.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/18/cisco_takes_on_aws_with_cloudy_desktopasaservice_plan/

Speaking in Tech: Michael Dell is THRILLED with his new private life

Plus: How Elon Musk sunk entire fortune into Tesla when he was 'sure it was gonna die'

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/18/speaking_in_tech_episode_89/

Google Glassholes to confuse admirers: Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, know what I mean?

Hey there, cutie! Oh, you're just taking pictures

Expect to see Google Glassholes winking at you from across the street in the next few weeks as a new update allows users of the high-tech specs to take photos with nothing more than a blink of one eye.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/18/google_glass_wink_update/

South Korean to spaff £290 MEEELLION on 5G land grab

Sod the standards, Seoul wants a working network by 2018

South Korea has become the latest Asian nation to pledge its future to fifth-generation wireless networks, aka 5G, with Seoul set to stump up 500 billion won (£292m) to build a super-ultra-mega-fast network by 2020.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/18/5g_korea_investment_network_seoul/

Fedora 20 Heisenbug makes ARM chips 'a primary architecture'

Linux distro fashions boards to surf low-power tsunami

Fedora 20 has been released with expanded support for ARM-compatible processors and a guarantee of continued heavy development for the low-power chips.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/18/fedora_20_release/

Don't listen to Snowden ... Intel: We've switched on CPU crypto for Hadoop

'Transparent encryption' for tables, columns among updates for analytics engine

Chip giant Intel is redoubling efforts to defend its valuable data center turf – by developing its own technologies for data management and analysis technologies, such as Hadoop.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/17/intel_hadoop_update/

Facebook to BLAST you with AUTOPLAY VIDEO adverts

Think of it as a movie that makes Zuck rich ... bitch

Facebook has debuted automatically playing video adverts on the free content ad network.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/17/facebook_automatic_video_ads/

Zuck you! Facebook introduces 'Dislike' button... in Messenger

The download that lets you say: Thumbs-down ... bitch

Facebook has finally offered its users a way of expressing disgust at the drivel their friends post.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/17/zuck_you_facebook_tentatively_introduces_dislike_button/

No anon pr0n for you: BT's network-level 'smut' filters will catch proxy servers too

We said anon in the headline, not the naughty word, you perv

BT's new network-level nudie no-no filter system will block access to sites promoting proxies and anonymisers, The Register has learned.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/17/bt_parental_controls_will_block_proxies_and_anonymiser_sites/

ABC finally brings iView to Android

But only on five phones and seven 'slabs ... for now

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has released an Android app for its popular iView video-on-demand service.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/17/abc_finally_brings_iview_to_android/

Amazon Web Services runs out of (some) servers

Cloudy concern also reveals new Linux-slurping plans

Amazon Web Services has run out of servers. Or at least the special type of server it uses to power the new C3 instance type.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/17/amazon_web_services_runs_out_of_some_servers/

HOLD THE PHONE, NSA! Judge bans its harvesting of US cellphone records

In theory - Obama government granted time to fight injunction

A US federal judge has ordered the NSA to stop collecting the mobile phone records of innocent American citizens – and to destroy the files already amassed.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/16/judge_puts_nsa_mobile_record_collection_on_ice/

Turnbull's NBN is startup-land's litmus test

Universal 25Mbps is a big improvement so let's see some innovation!

Opponents of the Australian government's policy to build a National Broadband Network (NBN) with anything other than fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) came up well and truly empty last week.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/16/turnbulls_nbn_is_startuplands_litmus_test/

Four teams set for Bahrain Pirelli tyre test

A three-day tyre test begins on Tuesday at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC). The special session was approved by the FIA last week in order to give official suppliers Pirelli more track time to help develop their 2014-specification rubber. The four teams taking part are Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and Toro Rosso and drivers due in action include Nico Rosberg, Jules Bianchi and BIC lap record holder, Pedro de la Rosa

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15349.html

Massa gifted engine as Ferrari farewell

Felipe Massa was back at Ferrari's Maranello headquarters over the weekend to share in the team's Christmas celebrations and to bid them a final farewell ahead of his move to Williams for 2014. And he came away with a rather special present - the V8 engine from the Ferrari F2008 which so nearly took him to the 2008 world championship

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15348.html

Analogue radio will CONTINUE in Blighty as Minister of Fun dodges D-Day death sentence

Ed Vaizey kicks analogue switchoff can down the road

A keynote speech by Culture and Comms Minister Ed Vaizey at the Go Digital conference had been billed for weeks as “D-Day” for UK radio. But in the end, Vaizey kicked the DAB can down the road, setting no new date for a switchover from analogue to digital radio, nor any new threshold for such a switchover.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/16/minister_kicks_dab_can_miles_down_the_road/

Nominet seeks royal approval for pisspoor .uk domain name push

Unwanted domain foisted on Royal Family and legal eagles

Dot-UK registry Nominet has been repeatedly attacked by some online businesses in Britain that have accused the company of trying to cash in on the seemingly unpopular arrival of second-level namespaces.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/16/prince_of_wales_second_level_domain_revealed_by_nominet/

Steelie Neelie: EU biz can use YOUR private data WITHOUT PERMISSION

'Part-anonymise' it and you're good to go, says unelected digital czar

Businesses should be allowed to process part-anonymised, or pseudonymised, data without the consent of individuals whose data it is in certain circumstances, a senior EU official has said.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/16/unelected_digital_czar_data_slurping_without_consent/

Look behind you, T-Mobile US: Sprint wants to GOBBLE you – allegedly

It'll need all the protein it can get to take on Verizon, AT&T

Mobile network Sprint is rumored to be considering a bid for rival T-Mobile US.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/14/sprint_tmobile/

Sutil joins Sauber for 2014

Adrian Sutil has been announced as the first of Sauber's drivers for the 2014 campaign. The news comes a day after Sergio Perez was confirmed at Force India, ending any chance of the German staying at the team with which he has spent his entire F1 career to date

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15347.html

BT network-level STOCKINGs-n-suspenders KILLER arrives in time for Xmas

Want smut, sir? You'll have to be on our pervert list

BT has flicked the switch on its promised network-level filter system in a move to swerve regulatory meddling from Whitehall.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/13/bt_network_level_filter_lands/

Phew! These DynamoDB queries are heavy. C'mon Amazon, give us a hand

Ah, there you are, and with a fistful of more indexes

Amazon has brought global secondary indexes to its non-relational, rentable DynamoDB database.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/13/amazon_dynamodb_upgrade/

US mobile telcos: All right, ALL RIGHT, FCC! We'll redo phone unlock rules

Go ahead, take your mobe to another carrier ... as long as you're paid up

The five largest US wireless carriers say they are all onboard with new policies designed to make it easier for customers to use their mobile devices on the network of their choice.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/13/ctia_new_us_phone_unlocking_policy/

Thought of in-flight mobile calls fills you with dread? Never fear, US Dept of Transport is here

FCC doesn't have final say on in-air cell chat, sniffs secretary

The US Department of Transportation is considering banning people from making mid-flight cellphone calls – all while the US Federal Communications Commission mulls approving in-flight mobile jabbering.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/13/us_fcc_department_of_transport_in_flight_calls/

Apple's iPhone plant didn't kill UNDERAGE TEEN factory worker

Cupertino sends doctors to Pegatron premises

Apple's medical experts have concluded that conditions in a Pegatron factory were not to blame for a teenage boy's death from pneumonia.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/12/apples_ipad_factory_didnt_kill_a_15_year_old_boy/

New pole position trophy up for grabs in 2014

Qualifying will take on an even greater importance in 2014 thanks to the introduction of a new trophy that will be awarded to the driver who scores the most pole positions during the season. In the event of a tie, the trophy will be awarded to the driver who holds the greatest number of second places. If there is still a tie, the greatest number of third places will be taken into account and so on until a winner emerges

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15345.html

Enraged by lengthy Sky broadband outage? Blame BT Openreach cable thieves

Broadband borker caused by chop of copper-cutter

Frustrated BSkyB broadband customers living in parts of London remain without access to the internet or phone lines, after the media giant's service went titsup on Tuesday.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/12/sky_broadband_outage_hit_by_bt_opernreach_cable_theft/

Perez completes Force India's 2014 driver line-up

Sergio Perez will partner Nico Hulkenberg at Force India in 2014, it was announced on Thursday, replacing the team's 2013 line-up of Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil. Perez joins the Silverstone-based squad from McLaren after spending just one season alongside Jenson Button before being replaced by Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15344.html

Ofcom: UK beats the US... in race to buy online tat

New research shows £1,000-a-head spending habit among Blighty's online shoppers

British people are the world's biggest online shoppers, according to new research from the regulator Ofcom.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/12/ofcom_uk_buys_more_online_than_any_other_nation/

Data Retention Directive CLASHES with EU citizens' privacy rights, says top lawman

'Serious interference', claims Court of Justice Advocate General

A seven-year-old EU directive that requires telecoms outfits to retain details of phone calls and emails - such as traffic and location - clashes with the 28-member bloc's privacy rights for citizens, a Court of Justice Advocate General has said.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/12/court_of_justice_advocate_general_says_data_retention_directive_clashes_with_privacy_rights/

Samsung loses against Apple ... this time in SOUTH KOREA

Seoul court rules that it didn't infringe 3 Sammy mobe patents

A South Korean court has ruled that Apple did not infringe on three of Samsung's mobile patents and the firm would not be getting a ban on sales of older iPhones and iPads in the country.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/12/apple_samsung_seoul_case/

Fees shakeup: Freephone numbers will actually BE free – Ofcom

Premium rate charges will be capped and 0800 calls made free from mobes

Blighty's telecoms regulator Ofcom has finally announced that freephone numbers "will mean free", whether you're calling from a landline or a mobile.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/12/ofcom_phone_charge_changes/

BlackBerry BES: Hey, biz bod, fancy an upgrade on that RIM job... for FREE?

Plus: Our vulture scratches around inside its managed sandbox

BlackBerry’s Annus horribilis, which has seen the company bombed out of the consumer market has an upside for enterprise users. So keen is the company formerly known as RIM to get its installed BES 5 base onto its new, BYOD-friendly BES 10, it has waived the upgrade fees.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/12/blackberry_bes_we_have_a_look/

When Symantec's away... 28-year-old Asigra becomes 'overnight' cloud backup success

Backing up to the cloud... who would have thought it'd be a thing?

There are dozens of backup system and software providers and it’s easy enough for the ones not in the front rank to fade into the background, until you read something like this: “Asigra … has reached the one million customer site deployment milestone with nearly half of new instalments produced in the past 12 months.”…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/12/backup_is_big_business/

New York City plans massive free Wi-Fi zone

Harlem to get 95 blocks of wireless coverage

New York is poised to set up a huge free Wi-Fi program that could reach 80,000 people.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/11/new_york_city_plans_massive_free_wifi_zone/

Want more software built for HANA? Cry us a River, SAP. Oh wait, you have

New dev language for polishing backends, plus HTML5 tools open-sourced

SAP is embracing open-source developers to promote its flagship HANA in-memory data and application architecture.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/11/sap_cloud_river/

Titsup Sky broadband thwarts Brits' online Xmas shopping scramble

Ho ho h- connection reset by peer

BSkyB's broadband internet and phone service Sky Talk has been down for at least a day in London, it's reported.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/11/sky_broadband_outage/

Ferrari confirm De la Rosa, Bianchi for Bahrain tyre test

Ferrari have announced that test driver Pedro de la Rosa and Marussia driver Jules Bianchi will drive for them at next week's Pirelli tyre test in Bahrain. Ferrari are one of six teams who have opted to attend the three-day test at Sakhir, which runs from December 17-19 and will feature only 2013-spec cars

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15342.html

'PSST, HAVE A GO ON THIS!' Joyent racks up gear for Amazon haters

New 'eCommerce' tech targets people that can't bear to give cash to Bezos and Co

Amazon Web Services dominates the infrastructure-as-a-service market, leaving less well-funded competitors with a choice of entering into a grim price war, or finding other markets.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/11/joyent_ecommerce_product/

What you need to know about moving to the Azure public cloud

Report from the frontline

In case you hadn't heard, Microsoft is trifling with this "cloud" thing. It even has a new strategy, Cloud OS, discussed in the first part of this three-part series.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/11/windows_azure_public_cloud_analysis/

Drooping smartphone sales mean hard times ahead for Brit chipmaker

Imagination Tech says Big Two mobemakers shipping fewer units in Q2

British chip firm Imagination Technologies has said that a slowdown in the top end of the smartphone market, where Apple and Samsung dominate, will hit the number of chips it ships in the second half of the year.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/11/imagination_tech_results/

Oracle showers gold on OpenStack, dreams of open-source splashback

Joins the Foundation – but where are the code contributions, Larry?

Oracle has started sponsoring an open-source cloud tech that it already uses within its commercial offerings, as the company tentatively embraces a market it once reckoned inconsequential.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/11/oracle_openstack_foundation/

We'll predict your EVERY MOVE! Facebook's new AI brain talks to El Reg

Social panopticon to foresee 'what a user is going to do next'

Facebook wants to know what you're going to do before you do it, and has hired a big-brained boffin to give it the AI chops to do this.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/10/facebook_artificial_intelligence_hire/

G.Fast startup readies silicon as standard signed off

Sckipio Tech hits the ground running

With G.fast getting formal ITU consent as G.9700 and G.9701, the race will be on to ship production hardware to the standard, and that's helped an Israeli silicon startup raise $US10 million in funding from US and Israeli ventures.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/10/gfast_startup_readies_silicon_as_standard_signed_off/

Open sourcerers conjure up Qualcomm tech to unlock Internet of Things

New alliance AllSeen all a-quiver over AllJoyn

Open sourcerers at the Linux Foundation have established an industry-wide initiative to create an accessible-to-all framework for the Internet of Things - or the “Internet of Everything”, as the Foundation now wants us to call it.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/10/linux_league_leverages_qualcomm_tech_to_open_internet_of_things/

Six teams set for December tyre test in Bahrain

Six teams will attend a three-day Pirelli tyre test in Bahrain from December 17-19, Formula One racing's governing body, the FIA, announced on Monday. Wet weather scuppered Pirelli's plans to trial 2014 rubber during practice at the season finale in Brazil and, as a result, the Formula One Commission have agreed to change the 2013 Sporting Regulations, on safety grounds, to allow the extra test at the Sakhir circuit

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15340.html

Cloud vid wrangler Zencoder STRADDLES Amazon and Google

Transcoding biz opens up for buy-curious punters

Cloud video encoder Zencoder has taken a deep breath and gingerly straddled two cloud providers in an attempt to offer customers greater infrastructure choice.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/10/zencoder_multi_cloud/

US cops blew more than $26m buying cell phone records from telcos

And you thought your data plan was pricy

An investigation by Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) into the monitoring of cellphones has found that US police paid telecommunications companies more than $26m to hand over location information, metadata, and sometimes the content of their customers' messages to cops in the US last year.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/10/us_ploce_telcos_26m_mobile_data/

Double points for season finale among 2014 changes

Teams and drivers will score double points at next year's final Grand Prix. The move is just one of several rule changes announced by Formula One racing's governing body, the FIA, on Monday. Others include allocating permanent race numbers to drivers, a five-second time penalty for minor infringements, and - from 2015 - a global cost cap

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15339.html

Williams strengthen aero team

Williams have announced a strengthened aerodynamics line-up as the team gear up for the 2014 season. Dave Wheater will join from Lotus to become head of aerodynamic performance, reporting to existing head of aerodynamics Jason Somerville. Also supporting Somerville will be Shaun Whitehead, previously of Red Bull Racing, who joins as head of aerodynamic process

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15336.html

In the F1 Store - pre-order the 2013 Season Review DVD

The Official Review of the 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship is now available to pre-order in the F1 Store on DVD and high-definition Blu-Ray. It was the year that saw Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel - the youngest driver to score a Formula One world championship point on his debut in the USA in 2007 - become the youngest man to win four consecutive drivers' titles

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15334.html

Amazon won't break into sweat about Google's cloud. Yet

Who's No. 2, Microsoft?

When Google took the wrapper off its Amazon-like Compute Engine service last week, investors in rival cloud companies – including Amazon – panicked.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/09/cloud_race_for_number_two/

WTF is... NFV: All your basestations are belong to us

Intel and rather a lot of telcos want networks to operate like data centres

Mobile network operators would have had an easier life if it wasn’t for smartphones and the flood of data traffic they initiated. Apps have led to a massive increase in the volume of data moving back and forth over phone networks - not just from users; the ads in free apps helped too - and operators are struggling to cope.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/09/feature_wtf_is_network_function_virtualisation/

Video - FIA Prize-Giving Gala 2013 highlights

For the fourth successive year, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel was the toast of the annual FIA Prize-Giving Gala. Vettel was handed the coveted 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship trophy by FIA President Jean Todt at this year's event, which was held on Friday evening in Paris, France. Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner, meanwhile, was presented with the 2013 constructors' trophy, while Ferrari's Fernando Alonso

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15333.html

Vettel and Red Bull Racing take the trophies

Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing were presented with their FIA Formula One World Championship trophies at Friday evening's FIA Prize-Giving Gala in Paris, the fourth time in succession that driver and team have taken their respective titles. At the impressive Cite du Cinema studio complex founded by renowned film director Luc Besson

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15332.html

ICANN posts guidelines to avoid gTLD mix-ups

Admins advised to watch out for name collisions

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has issued a set of resources to help administrators avoid potentially costly mix-ups ahead of the generic top-level domain (gTLD) rollout.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/07/icann_posts_guidelines_to_avoid_gtld_mixups/

FCC delays spectrum auction to 2015

Procedures not yet set up to dole out television space for wireless use

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is planning to delay the hotly anticipated auction of the former broadcast television spectrum space due to concerns that it is not yet ready to properly handle the reallocation process.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/06/fcc_delays_spectrum_auction_to_2015/

Todt re-elected as FIA President

Jean Todt will serve as the President of Formula One racing's governing body, the FIA, for a further four years after being re-elected at its Annual General Assembly in Paris on Friday. Frenchman Todt was unopposed in his bid for a second term, with sole rival David Ward having already withdrawn from the contest after failing to secure the necessary support

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15331.html

Buemi and Da Costa form Red Bull's 2014 test line-up

Red Bull have announced that Sebastien Buemi and Antonio Felix da Costa will make up the team's test and reserve driver line-up in 2014. For Buemi, 2014 will represent a third consecutive year in the role of test and reserve driver at the team. The Swiss racer first filled the position in 2008

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15329.html

Bring us your baffled Backup Exec biz bods, beg Axcient, Zetta

Cloudy storage types rush in to cover Symantec's withdrawal

Axcient and Zetta have seized the moment and are offering migration services to Backup Exec Cloud users facing being left out in the unprotected cold by Symantec's withdrawal from the Backup Exec Cloud offering.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/06/hey_you_get_offa_my_backup_exec_cloud/

Amazon punters get management access controls

Resource-level permissions arrive in OpsWorks

Amazon has upgraded the free administration capabilities of its cloud as the company tries to ease management of rented compute and storage resources by multiple people under the same account.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/05/amazon_opsworks_permissions_upgrade/

Google lets users slurp own Gmail, Calendar data

'Let my emails go or risk my wrath – oh, thanks very much!'

Google just made two of its mainstay cloud services a little less cloudy by giving users the opportunity to export data from the company's infrastructure.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/05/google_gmail_calendar_export/

Three offers free US roaming, confirms stealth 4G rollout

Really, Steelie Neelie... what's the point of you again?

Is Hutchison’s Three network playing the canniest game of all with its handling of 4G? The UK operator this week expects to move 1 million customers up to LTE by the end of March next year at no extra cost. The strategy is based on only offering upgrades, thereby avoiding “selling in” new punters to 4G-only tariffs.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/05/3_offers_free_us_roaming_confirms_stealth_4g_roll_out/

IDS finally admits what EVERYONE ELSE already knows: Universal Credit will be late

One-dole-to-rule-'em-all held up after implementation blunders

Work and Pensions Secretary of State Iain Duncan Smith admitted for the first time today that the government's Universal Credit system is unlikely to hit its original 2017 deadline, following costly technology implementation blunders.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/05/universal_credit_minister_finally_admits_to_delay/

NSA-proof Euro cloud gang: Cool idea, bro... until it turns into MARKET-EATING beast

Euro 'IT Airbus' could lead to 'competition concerns' – expert

The creation of a European "IT Airbus" could raise competition concerns within the EU, an expert has warned.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/04/european_it_airbus_could_lead_to_competition_concerns_says_expert/

Pivotal and CapGemini jump into 'Big Data Lake'

New partnership will see hundreds of devs swimming in same direction

EMC-spawn Pivotal has a new best friend: CapGemini.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/05/pivotal_capgemini_partnership/

Radio amateurs fret over G.fast interference

FM, DAB protected, not ham frequencies

As vendors, carriers, politicians, analysts and advocates of all kind queue to offer their support to the emerging G.fast standard, there's one group watching developments with apprehension: radio amateurs.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/05/radio_amateurs_fret_over_gfast_interference/

FCC boss hints at change to neutrality policy

'Pay for priority' set to be revisited?

Internet neutrality – the principle that all traffic is equal – may be the official policy of the Federal Communications Commission, but it's also something that new FCC chair Tom Wheeler seems to consider still on the table for discussion.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/05/fcc_boss_hints_at_change_to_neutrality_policy/

FCC greenlights Verizon buyout of Vodafone

Approval given for $130bn deal

Verizon's plan to acquire all outstanding shares in its US wireless business has been granted the approval of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/05/fcc_greenlights_verizon_buyout_of_vodafone/

FIA confirms revised calendar for 2014

Formula One racing's governing body, the FIA, has published a revised calendar for the 2014 world championship following a meeting of its World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Wednesday. The season will kick off in Australia on March 16 and conclude in Abu Dhabi on November 23. The two new races - in Austria and Russia - will be held on June 22 and October 12 respectively

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15328.html

ASA slaps down BT over 'misleading' broadband claims

BSkyB complaints upheld amid battle between warring ISPs

Those toothless tigers gummy stripy cats at the Advertising Standards Agency have given BT a talking to over "misleading" claims about overall broadband speeds, outpacing packages from both Sky and TalkTalk.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/04/asa_bt_bskyb/

Bell Labs predicts metro traffic explosion

Bit barns and local caches will keep data closer to home

Bell Labs is predicting that content caching close to users plus continuing deployment of new data centres is going to skyrocket between now and 2017.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/04/bell_labs_predicts_metro_traffic_explosion/

Nextgen rolls 100G, muxes about to 400G

Capacity hits 18 Terabits-per-second thanks to modulated signalling

Nextgen Networks is rolling out 100 Gbps as the next upgrade to its network, with plans afoot to kick that along to 400 Gbps as demand rises.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/04/nextgen_rolls_100g_tests_400g/

Red Hat clutches OpenShift, takes platform cloud to second version

Platform clouds are the new middleware, says Red Hat

Open source junkie Red Hat has announced the second version of its locally deployable platform cloud in spite of muted market adoption of the tech.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/04/red_hat_openshift_version_two/

Alcatel-Lucent pushes carriers with plan for 600,000 small cells

Push aims to beef up service in cities by scouring out prime locations

Telecoms network specialist Alcatel-Lucent has introduced a plan to boost small-cell mobile network coverage by linking up carriers with possible placement sites for small-cell mobile hardware.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/03/alcatellucent_pushes_carriers_with_plan_for_600000_small_cells/

Junior telcos tie knot in NBN Co copper plan

FTTN becoming an omnishambles

Another day, another stick in the spokes: the Competitive Carriers Coalition (CCC) has taken exception to reports that NBN Co isn't interested in owning Telstra's copper network under the government's fibre-to-the-node network rollout.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/03/junior_telcos_tie_knot_in_nbn_co_copper_plan/

Google's new cloud CRUSHES Amazon in RAM battle

Henry Ford 2.0 has a new competitor, and punters should rejoice

If Amazon is an arms dealer, then Google is an army that happens to also sell guns. For this reason, Google's general-availability release of its IaaS cloud is a key moment in the evolution of as-a-service IT, as it represents the arrival of a truly competitive market for rentable compute and storage.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/03/google_cloud_launch_analysis/

Brits won't have to pay for thieves' enormous mobe bills any more

UK.gov and phone providers agree to cap bills on lost or stolen mobile phones

Blighty mobile users are going to be protected from thieves running up huge bills under a new agreement between the government and service providers.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/03/government_mobile_deal_stolen_phones/

Force India confirm Hulkenberg return in 2014

Nico Hulkenberg will leave Sauber and return to Force India in 2014, it was confirmed on Tuesday. The 26-year-old German has agreed a multi-year deal with the Silverstone-based squad - for whom he raced in 2012 - ending months of speculation about his future

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15327.html

Google makes its Compute Engine official

Googlified Vms now run SUSE or REHL on up to 16 cores with 99.95% SLA

Google has cut the ribbon on its Compute Engine, bringing it into the world of virtual machines by the hour and into combat with the likes of Amazon Web Services, Rackspace and VMware.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/03/google_compute_engine_launches/

Salesforce ponies up ANOTHER $1m to settle hackathon headache

Second contestants will get cash prize for disputed coding contest

Cloud kingpin Salesforce.com is preparing to shell out $1m to settle a dispute over a hackathon contest at last month's DreamForce conference.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/03/salesforce_ponies_up_another_1m_to_settle_hackathon_headache/

HP dishes up FAIL-filled public cloud

OpenStack-based tech has more 'known issues' than 'features', says HP

HP's "general availability" version of its public cloud has more "known issues" than "features", which may provoke worries among admins mulling the value of the company's "enterprise-grade" OpenStack infrastructure cloud.…

via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/02/hp_public_cloud_release/

Vettel and Webber put helmets up for auction

2013 Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber have each donated a helmet from a podium-scoring race this season to raise money for spinal cord injury charity Wings for Life. The helmets will be sold to the highest bidder by famous auction house Bonhams on December 9. Vettel has chosen a helmet he wore at July's German round

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15325.html

2014 driver line-ups - the story so far

With last week's announcement that Pastor Maldonado is to race alongside Romain Grosjean at Lotus next season, another piece fell into place in the jigsaw that is Formula One racing's 2014 team and driver line-up

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/12/15324.html

Climate change makes phones obsolete: ITU

Well, in emergencies anyhow ...

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has unintentionally weighed into all sorts of debates with a report stating that broadcasting trumps telephony during emergencies.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/02/climate_change_makes_phones_obsolete_itu/

Foxtel announces broadband, Australia yawns

Triple-play coming to a waiting nation – next year

Foxtel, once held out of the broadband market by long-standing agreement with Telstra, has announced a broadband resale agreement with the incumbent's wholesale arm.…

via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/01/foxtel_announces_broadband_australia_yawns/