Monday 23 December 2019

UK's Virgin Media celebrates the end of 2019 with a good, old fashioned TITSUP*

Connectivity Cluedo: It was the hi-vis, in the building site, with the digger

Some Virgin Media broadband customers remain free from the shackles of connectivity today following some over-enthusiastic digging last Thursday.…


via The Register - Data Centre: Networks
https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/23/virgin_media_outage/

HPE goes on the warpath, seeks to scalp AWS over vendor lock-in

El Reg pulls up a chair next to the fire and chats to box giant's CEO Antonio Neri

Interview  Migrating your data to the machine that is Amazon Web Services is a little like booking into the Hotel California, the title track from The Eagles late 1970's album of the same name, the rub being that customers, like guests at the hotel, can check out anytime they like but never truly leave.…



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Thursday 19 December 2019

London's Westminster Council wins appeal against phonebooth-cum-massive-digital-advert

Two less lovely phone booths in the world, and it's going to be fine

Who knew payphones could be so controversial? The central London council of Westminster has won a court battle against New World Payphones, preventing it from deploying two billboard-cum-payphones in the heart of London's Marylebone Road.…


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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/19/westminster_council_wins_appeal_against_phoneboothcummassivedigitaladvert/

Missed AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas? Worry not: The mega-conference will be recapped in London next month

Catch up with public sector developments and more

Promo  If you missed this year's re:Invent – the annual Amazon Web Services cloud-computing mega-conference held in Las Vegas at the beginning of December – you can catch up with some of the highlights in London, England, on 22 January.…



via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud
https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/19/aws_reinvent_recap/

No merry Christmas for SwiftStack staff: Enterprise cloud storage biz axes workers amid strategy shift

Sales team trimmed in time for the holidays

Exclusive  Enterprise cloud storage biz SwiftStack got smaller on Wednesday when it laid off an unspecified number of people.…



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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/19/swiftstack_cuts_staff/

Wednesday 18 December 2019

FCC proudly wastes $90m getting data-capped, pricey satellite internet to tiny percentage of US population

On the plus side, this saves cable companies the hassle of laying down fiber

America's communications watchdog, the FCC, has unveiled another piece of its rural broadband master plan – and it comprises blowing $89m on getting a tiny number of people very expensive, data-capped internet.…


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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/18/fcc_rural_broadband/

InLink Limited limited: Firm that puts up UK's ad-supported phone booths enters administration

Once a hit with drug entrepreneurs, though its algos had been weeding them out

When Intersection first announced it was bringing LinkNYC's smart billboard technology to the UK in 2016, it promised to drag the humble telephone booth into the 21st century.…


via The Register - Data Centre: Networks
https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/18/inlink_limited_administration/

Amazon slams media for not saying nice things about AWS, denies it strip-mines open-source code for huge profits

Turns out even with the luxury and protection of billions of dollars, you still can't take any criticism

Stung by an article mulling Amazon Web Services' market dominance on Monday, AWS VP Andi Gutmans fired back, complaining the reporter ignored flattering comments from AWS partners – and that "AWS is 'strip-mining' open source is silly and off-base."…



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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/18/aws_blames_the_media/

IT isn't supposed to stand for Insider Trading... Palo Alto Networks sysadmin and pals accused of $7m shares caper

Techie allegedly fed secret financial info to buddies ahead of public release

A now-former Palo Alto Networks IT administrator broke insider trading laws and illegally profited by peeking at his employer's confidential financial figures, it is claimed.…


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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/18/palo_alto_it_admin/

Hey, ICANN, if you need good reasons to halt the .org super-sell-off, here are two: Higher fees, more website downtime

You need stability concerns? Here’s some stability concerns, say DNS gurus at Packet Clearing House

The sale of the .org registry to a for-profit private equity firm would have “a disastrous effect on stability,” a DNS specialist has warned.…


via The Register - Data Centre: Networks
https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/17/icann_org_purchase/

Tuesday 17 December 2019

Google tightens the screw on 'less secure apps', will block most access from June 2020

Anything less than the latest version of Outlook to be blocked soon

The clock is ticking for businesses using what Google defines as a "less secure app" (LSA) to access services like its G Suite mail, calendar and contacts. New accounts will be blocked from using LSAs from June 15 2020, and all access will be disabled on February 15 2021.…



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Poor, poor mobile networks. UK's comms watchdog plans to stop 'em selling locked-down handsets

First OTT apps nick their SMS revenue, now this...

In 2019, few handsets come with the same level of network lock-ins that were endemic in the 2000s and earlier. Despite that, many networks — including BT and Vodafone — persist in this practice, limiting consumer choice and freedom.…


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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/17/ofcom_details_plans_to_stop_networks_flogging_locked_handsets/

Stop us if you've heard it before but... Africa's internet management body mired again by corruption allegations

And you thought it was just ICANN and the Internet Society having a bad month

Comment  The organization responsible for allocating internet addresses across Africa has yet again become embroiled in scandal, this time over long-standing claims of corruption.…


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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/17/another_afrinic_scandal/

Monday 16 December 2019

Canada's .ca supremo in hot water after cyber-smut stash allegedly found on his work Mac ‒ and three IT bods fired

Board 'profoundly upset', eh, amid claims PFYs sacked after discovery

The head of Canada’s .ca internet registry is under fire following allegations multiple IT staffers were axed after a porn stash was apparently discovered on his iMac and reported to HR.…


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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/16/cira_ceo_hot_water/

Missed AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas? Worry not: The mega-conference will be recapped in London next month

Catch up with public sector developments and more

Promo  If you missed this year's re:Invent – the annual Amazon Web Services cloud-computing mega-conference held in Las Vegas at the beginning of December – you can catch up with some of the highlights in London, England, on 22 January.…



via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud
https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/16/aws_reinvent_recap/

Friday 13 December 2019

Creative cloudy types still making it rain cash for Adobe

Maker of cloudy PDF and services software ... yes, that's Perpetually Dosh Forming

It was ho-ho-ho and a kerching for reassuringly expensive graphic design software maker Adobe last night as it danced all the way to the bank, reporting double digit spike in Q4 revenues (PDF) and an upward swing in profit.…



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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/13/adobe_q4_2019/

Larry Ellison sets the Catz among the pigeons: Safra officially sole Oracle CEO

Think of a number, triple it, add seven, multiply by zero, and that's pretty much this tech giant's Q2 revenue growth

Oracle's financial figures were more or less flat in its latest financial quarter compared to a year ago.…



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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/13/oracle_q2_fy2020/

Wednesday 11 December 2019

Cisco slips on a Tolkien ring: One chip design to rule them all, one design to find them. One design to bring them all...

And in the darkness bind them – to next year's IT budgets

Cisco has launched a single chip architecture that it claims will work well in network routing and switching gear, and manage data better than existing processors in both categories.…


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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/11/cisco_silicon_architecture/

Huawei 5G kit in Faroe Islands: Chinese ambassador 'linked Huawei contract to ... trade deal' – report

Hot mic snafu reportedly caught by TV station

China's ambassador to Denmark has reportedly threatened to kill off a proposed free trade deal unless the semiautonomous Faroe Islands sign a deal with Huawei for 5G mobile network equipment.…


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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/11/china_threatened_denmark_huawei_5g_free_trade_deal/

Another senior Gov.UK bod makes a dash from public sector, falls into AWS's arms

AWS tech academy, aka Her Maj's Government, trains next gen of Amazonians

Amazon Web Services has once more dipped into its public sector employee tech training academy – also known as Her Majesty's government – and made off with another senior head to bulk out its division.…



via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud
https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/11/another_senior_govuk_bod_rolls_off_public_sector_payroll_for_aws/

ICANN demands transparency from others over .org deal. As for itself… well, not so much

Do as we say not as we do, DNS overseer sternly tells Internet Society

Three weeks after the Internet Society announced the controversial sale of the .org internet registry to an unknown private equity firm, the organization that has to sign off on the deal has finally spoken publicly.…


via The Register - Data Centre: Networks
https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/11/icann_transparency_org/

It’s been two years since net neutrality was killed in the US. Let’s celebrate by having another fight over it

Senate Democrats push for another vote; get rejected again

Comment  Making it clear that the issue of net neutrality has become an entrenched partisan battle, Democratic Senators used the two-year anniversary of its death on Tuesday to push for a vote that would reverse the decision.…


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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/11/net_neutrality_bill/

Tuesday 10 December 2019

Microsoft plays 'Spot the Azure VM that can disappear any time'

Then mercilessly evict it: Out, darned Spot

Microsoft has teased Azure Spot Virtual Machines, discounted VMs that can be "evicted any time if Azure needs capacity".…



via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud
https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/10/azure_vms_that_can_disappear_any_time_microsoft_announces_spot_pricing/

Co-op Bank online and mobile banking goes TITSUP*

*Total Inability To Shuffle money Using Phone

The Co-op Bank's app and online services are enjoying an extended lie-in today with multiple customers complaining they're locked out.…



via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud
https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/10/cooperative_online_and_mobile_banking_is_down/

Managing the Linux kernel at AWS: 'A large team of security experts' dealing with fallout from Spectre, Meltdown flaws

OS director on staying safe and advantages of Amazon's Nitro hypervisor

Interview  At the AWS re:Invent conference last week, The Register asked Chris Schlaeger, director of kernel and operating systems, how the cloud giant protects itself and its customers from speculative execution bugs in Intel CPUs.…



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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/10/linux_kernel_aws/

With IPv4 space running dry, why are so many organisations still not ready for IPv6?

Organisations must have a proper IPv6 strategy for transition

Sponsored  We seem to have been talking about IPv6 forever. It was officially launched in 2012 but had already been in existence for a number of years and had been implemented on all major operating systems used by businesses and consumers by 2011. Even before that date, it had been widely acknowledged that we were running out of IPv4 addresses.…


via The Register - Data Centre: Networks
https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/10/organisations_not_ready_for_ipv6/

Monday 9 December 2019

Amazon: Trump photon-torpedoed our $10bn JEDI dream because he hates CEO Jeff Bezos

'Blatant and sustained effort' to deny AWS Pentagon IT mega-contract, cloud giant claims

Amazon has officially accused President Donald Trump of pressuring the Pentagon not to award it a $10bn cloud contract because he hates its CEO Jeff Bezos.…



via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud
https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/09/jedi_contract_complaint_amazon/

Ericsson throws $1bn at US authorities to make bribery probe go away

Swedish comms flinger enters agreement with DoJ and SEC

Swedish telco slinger Ericsson has paid $1bn to end a double probe into bribery allegations by the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).…


via The Register - Data Centre: Networks
https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/09/ericsson_pays_1bn_to_end_bribery_probes/

Outposts, Local Zone, Wavelength: It's a new era of distributed cloud, says AWS architect

Adrian Cockcroft talks to El Reg about cloud architecture – and why we need more chaos in our systems

re:Invent  The advent of Outposts, Local Zone and Wavelength - released at AWS' Re:Invent conference in Las Vegas - amounts to a "new platform" that is now distributed rather than centralised, a company veep has told The Reg.…



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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/09/outposts_local_zone_wavelength_its_a_new_era_of_distributed_cloud_says_aws_architect/

Friday 6 December 2019

Still in preview, but look! You can now develop Azure Sphere apps in Linux – if you dare

19.11 brings penguin support and a Visual Studio Code extension

Microsoft's forever-in-preview Azure Sphere received an important update this week, bringing a Linux SDK (also in preview form) and Visual Studio Code support.…



via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud
https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/06/azure_sphere_19_11/

Project Jedi decision 'risky for the country and for democracy,' says AWS CEO

Presidential 'disdain' may have been a factor

re:Invernt  AWS CEO Andy Jassy faced the press yesterday at Amazon's re:Invent conference in Las Vegas, and there was one thing above all else that the press wanted to discuss. Why was Amazon heading to court to challenge the US Department of Defense's decision to award its $10bn "Project Jedi" IT project to Microsoft rather than to, well, AWS?…



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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/06/project_jedi_decision/

Thursday 5 December 2019

Huawei with your rural subsidies ban: Chinese comms bogeyman fires sueball at US regulator

Claims it's unconstitutional

Huawei Technologies today filed a fresh lawsuit against the US Federal Communications Commission over its decision to ban rural carriers from buying the company's mobile hardware with Universal Service Fund (USF) cash.…


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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/05/huawei_fcc_trump/

Just in case you were expecting 10Gbps, Wi-Fi 6 hits 700Mbps in real-world download tests

Pretty fly for a Wi-Fi...

The long-awaited future of super-fast wireless is here, with the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) claiming speeds of 700Mbps in a real-world environment using the Wi-Fi 6 standard.…


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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/05/wifi6_700mbps_speeds/

Tune in and watch online today: How to build a content management platform fit for the future

Advice based on feedback from Register readers and insights from Box

Webcast  Financial institutions across the board are wrestling with how to engage more closely with customers and work better across internal teams. Too often, the cause is ill-fitting content and document management systems, designed for another time. Meanwhile, cloud-based platforms can both help and hinder, delivering short-term benefit but adding complexity and fragmentation.…



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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/05/webcast_content_management_platform/

123-Reg is at it again: Registrar charges chap for domains he didn’t order – and didn't want

The great .uk foist is still rumbling along

Two months after promising customers that its past practices of automatically registering, and charging, customers for .uk domains was all a big misunderstanding, pushy registrar 123-Reg is at it again, charging at least one punter for .uk domains they never ordered and don’t want.…


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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/05/123reg_at_it_again/

Kubernetes? 'I don't believe in one tool to rule the world,' says AWS' Sassy Jassy

Collaborating with other companies is such a drag

re:Invent  AWS CEO Andy Jassy, asked about the future role of Kubernetes (K8s) in cloud infrastructure, told The Register that "I don’t believe in one tool to rule the world."…



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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/05/kubernetes_aws_ceo/

Wednesday 4 December 2019

Former Oracle product manager says he was forced out for refusing to deceive customers

Database biz insists that just isn't so, will fight lawsuit

A former Oracle employee filed a lawsuit against the database giant on Tuesday claiming that he was forced out for refusing to lie about the functionality of the company's software.…



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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/04/oracle_product_manager_lawsuit/

Bandwidth weirdness at TalkTalk has customers fuming at being denied on-demand I'm A Celeb

Distinctly odd

TalkTalk-using readers have contacted The Reg to say they are suffering decidedly odd bandwidth issues shutting off, or severely slowing, access to certain sites while leaving others working as normal.…


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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/04/talktalk_broadband_issues/

EU gets a bit STRESSED out about 5G: With great economic benefits come great security risks

Yes, in all-caps

The Council of the European Union has warned member states that the introduction of 5G networks poses increased security risks while also bringing economic and infrastructure benefits.…


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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/04/council_of_eu_5g_risks/

Tuesday 3 December 2019

Larry leaves, Sergey splits: Google boys hand over the reins of Alphabet to Sundar

Sergey leaves his first love… again

The co-founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, have announced they are stepping down from their respective CEO and president roles of parent company Alphabet and handing over to Google's current CEO Sundar Pichai.…



via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud
https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/03/larry_sergey_google_leave/

HPE planning to turn balancing on-premises and cloud environments into point-and-click adventures

Firm touts self-service portal GreenLake Central in Munich

The cost and plate-spinning skills of managing multi-vendor public cloud services and an on-premises environment are enough to test the nerves of any IT manager. HPE reckons it has hit upon a solution – though it has some obvious limitations.…



via The Register - Data Centre: Cloud
https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/03/hpe_greenlake_central/

Internet Society says opportunity to sell .org to private equity biz for $1.14bn came out of the blue. Wow, really?

Anger rises over ten-figure sale of registry

Analysis  The price tag for one of the internet’s largest and most important domain-name registries has finally been revealed: $1.135bn.…


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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/03/internet_society_org/

Monday 2 December 2019

AWS re:Invent re:turns with re:vised robo-car and Windows Server 2008 re:vitalization plan

Rent-a-server biz readies week-long fanboi rally

re:Invent  In advance of its Las Vegas-based re:Invent confab this week, Amazon Web Services announced a handful of additions to a product menu that at last count included more than 165 distinctive ways to be billed.…



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https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/02/aws_reinvent_returns/