Thursday, 11 October 2012

McLaren not expecting reliability issues in Korea

McLaren are confident their cars should prove reliable in this Sunday's 2012 Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix, after finding the causes of the gearbox and handling issues which hit Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton respectively during last weekend's Japanese round. Button dropped five places on the Suzuka grid for a gearbox change following the transmission failure that led to Hamilton's retirement at the previous round in Singapore

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13902.html

US Supreme Court to rule on patents for self-replicating products

Soybean crop

Imagine a licensing agreement for buying seeds that allows them to be used only once a season. They cannot be resold for planting, and cannot be used for research, crop breeding or seed production.


Those are the terms of seed giant Monsanto's licensing agreement for its "Roundup Ready" soybeans, regardless of how unnatural the conditions may seem when it comes to farming. This is farming in the age of patented, genetically modified organisms, which in this case concerns soybean crops that withstand herbicide.


By: David Kravets, Edited by: David Cornish


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/11/us-supreme-court-on-self-replicating-products

FIA Thursday press conference - Korea

Drivers - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Pastor Maldonado (Williams), Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing), Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing). Q: Nico, coming first of all to you. It has been mentioned that this is a better circuit for you than Suzuka. What are your feelings about that? Nico Rosberg: Already in the race in Japan things were looking better

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13901.html

Kaltenborn becomes Sauber team principal

Sauber's team principal Peter Sauber announced some time ago that he did not wish to be on the pit wall when he turned 70. The company founder is proving true to his word: in two days' time - on October 13 - he will turn 69 and is now stepping back from the day-to-day running of the team

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13900.html

Microsoft really is watching us from above

The 260-megapixel cameras behind Bing Maps cameras can be yours


Microsoft really is watching us all from above and even has a new way of doing so, thanks to this week's release of the UltraCam Falcon, a camera dedicated to aerial photography.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/11/ultracam_falcon_bing_maps_camera_can_be_yours/

The next Internet landgrab: dot-orgs

The registry that runs the .org name extension is getting ready to auction its most valuable names -- one and two character names such as a.org or z.org



via Deep Tech



http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57530185-264/the-next-internet-landgrab-dot-orgs/?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=DeepTech

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Googorola yoinks Android mobes off German shelves

Apple, Microsoft patent warfare forces European retreat


Motorola Mobility's global smartphone market share shrank faster than usual yesterday when the mobe maker pulled all but one of its products from Germany.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/10/google_motorola_out_of_germany/

Google AND Yahoo! hijacked in Ireland after domain namespace grab

Human error or something more sinister?


Google and Yahoo!'s Irish domains were briefly hijacked on Tuesday afternoon, the IE Domain Registry (IEDR) has confirmed.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/10/google_and_yahoo_ie_hit_by_domain_hijack/

Copper-obsessed BT means UK misses out on ultrafast fibre gold

New research finds Blighty languishing at bottom of FTTH pile


BT has once again been blamed for Britain's failure to penetrate the Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) market, leaving the country lagging behind its European neighbours.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/10/ftth_council_uk_penetration_knocked_again/

FIA press conference schedule - Korea

Thursday's media session at Yeongam includes title protagonists Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, plus the men who clashed at Suzuka, Mark Webber and Romain Grosjean. And Friday's has some of Formula One racing's top technical brains, among them Adrian Newey and James Allison. The line-up in full

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13898.html

Japanese cellco drops veil on futuristic hands-free video phone

Life in cartoon motion


Japanese mobile operator NTT Docomo has unveiled a pair of hi-tech video phone glasses which could finally answer the problem of dodgy web cam video calls.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/10/docomo_video_conf_glasses/

Sony sues PS3 ad actor for playing similar role in another brand's commercial

Kevin Butler

Sony is suing an American actor who played a fictional company VP in a PlayStation 3 ad for trademark infringement for playing a very similar character in another brand's commercial.


Actor Jerry Lambert took on the comedic role of marketing man Kevin Butler in Sony's advertising campaigns between 2009 and 2011. The character and the ads became popular and helped to revive the PlayStation 3 brand. However, in early 2012, Lambert's contract expired and he moved on to work with other advertisers. One such advertiser was Bridgestone Tires.


By: Olivia Solon, Edited by: Ian Steadman


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/10/sony-ps3

Want to know what 5G mobile is? Ask this British university

In a bit, when they've worked it out themselves


Surrey University has scored £11.6m in government cash, and £24m from the industry, to fund the development of next-generation telecoms in a shiny new 5G Innovation Centre.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/10/surrey_5g/

Analyst warns BlackBerry 10 won't be out until March

Still enough to beat off WinPhone 8 threat


RIM's share price took another hit on Tuesday after a senior analyst warned investors that the Canadian firm's BlackBerry 10 operating system may not be out until March of next year.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/10/blackberry10_delay_march/

Tuesday, 9 October 2012

Mobile phone downloads now a blip on the radar: ABS

From miniscule to a little less miniscule


Downloads to handsets are growing fast in Australia – albeit off a tiny base – but still failing to make a dent in the Great Australian Fixed Broadband Data Slurp.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/09/abs_internet_data_june_2012/

ZTE slams Congress spying claims, doubles down on sales ban

'Ban all Chinese hardware and see where it gets you'


ZTE has defended itself against claims that its hardware is a security risk and has suggested that if Congress is that concerned, it should recommend not buying any Chinese-manufactured equipment, which would include tech sold by Western companies who have outsourced their manufacturing.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/09/zte_congress_spying_claims_eu/

BT Infinity customers hit by outages at 'third party peering network'

Telco cops to five-day-long 'major packet loss'


BT Infinity customers have been complaining about peering issues that have prevented some of them from accessing popular websites for nearly five days.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/09/bt_peering_trouble_prevents_some_customers_from_accessing_certain_websites/

Red Hatters seal chumship with Zend on OpenShift PHP cloud

Now you can Zend it like Beckham


Red Hat is still only previewing its OpenShift platform cloud, and one of the reasons why is because it had not yet inked a deal with Zend Technologies, the commercial entity that is to the PHP programming language as Linux Torvalds and Red Hat together are to the Linux operating system.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/09/redhat_openshift_zend_php_platform_cloud/

O2 flogs logs of mobe locations to anyone with a wallet

This anonymised guy lives here, works there ...


Telefonica, the owner of the O2 brand, has set up a new division to exploit its massive heap of customer data. This means selling punters' movement patterns and the number of people ambling through a particular spot to anyone with the cash.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/09/telefonica_data/

SpaceX's Dragon reaches orbit despite losing engine

SpaceX delivers Dragon to orbit

SpaceX successfully launched its Dragon spacecraft into orbit on the night of 7 October despite losing an engine shortly after lift off.


The launch occurred at 8:35pm EDT and was first time a Falcon 9 rocket has flown without a delay on the first scheduled launch time. But while the rocket was climbing through the atmosphere, SpaceX did experience an engine failure. It appears that one of the nine Merlin engines exploded, but SpaceX is saying that is not the case. The flight continued and, as designed, the other eight engines were more than enough to deliver the Dragon spacecraft to its proper orbit.


By: Jason Paur, Edited by: David Cornish


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/09/spacex-dragon-reaches-orbit

Meet the world's most Wired toymaker

Jaimie Mantzel

Windsor County, Vermont -- To get to Jaimie Mantzel's home you'll need your hiking shoes. He lives deep in the New England wilderness, beyond a grassy field, past a concrete tunnel, a pond and deep forest. Near the end of the journey, you hang on to a rope to hoist yourself up a steep hill. And there it is: a colony of hand-built structures clustered around a four-story-high geodesic dome in the middle of a verdant clearing -- a cross between Tolkien's Middle-earth and a science fiction robot fantasy.


There's a lumber mill -- also built from scratch -- that Mantzel uses to make his own wooden planks from the trees that dot the landscape, a smaller geodesic dome that houses a spring for water, and a large workshop called the "Banana Building." That's where Mantzel keeps his giant six-legged robot.


By: Geeta Dayal, Edited by: David Cornish


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/09/worlds-most-wired-toymaker

Screened: Best mobile news apps

News apps

Wired looks at the best apps out there for keeping up to date with what's happening in the world.


By: Nate Lanxon, Edited by: Ian Steadman


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2012/10/start/best-mobile-news-apps

NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson expects toothbrush commerce

Also says Big Data is really about Little Data


Toothbrushes will go online and encourage you to buy new ones once their bristles wear out, according to Zach Nelson, CEO of software-as-a-service outfit NetSuite.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/09/netsuite_ceo_zach_nelson_predicts_toothbrush_commerce/

Monday, 8 October 2012

UK university science projects receive £200 million funding boost

George Osborne

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that an additional £200 million is to be invested in science projects at UK universities as part of an expansion of the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UK RPIF).


The announced investment, which featured in George Osborne's 8 October speech to the Conservative party conference in Birmingham, will double the number of university science projects which are currently supported by the UK RPIF fund, which supports long-term university capital projects.


By: David Cornish, Edited by: Liat Clark


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/08/uk-university-science-projects

Speaking at Wired 2012: Troy Carter

Troy Carter

Lady Gaga is an indisputable internet sensation: in October 2010, she became the first musician to hit one billion YouTube views; in May 2011, she became the first Twitter user to reach 10 million followers. Her Facebook page has over 50 million 'Likes'. The online domination of the multi-award winning artist is no happy accident, but down to the masterful guidance of her manager, social-media mogul Troy Carter.


Having grown up in West Philadelphia, Carter's rise to power began when he moved to Los Angeles in 1988 as part of the entourage of fellow East Coaster Will Smith. The rapper's manager James Lassiter noticed Carter's potential and hired him as his assistant. Carter went on to work for the likes of Sean Combs (Puff Daddy/Diddy), before establishing his own talent management company Erving Wonder Entertainment in 1999.


By: David Cornish,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/08/wired-2012-speaker-troy-carter

UK's first 4G network just switched on - and it's not from EE

Southwark, Reading and Swindon leapfrog rest of Blighty


While EE's 4G mobile network won't be switched on until the end of October, Blighty's other 4G network went live over the weekend.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/08/uk_lte/

Brussels 'set to clear' state cash for UK broadband deployment

Loads of competition going on in rural broadband, seemingly


Europe's competition commissioner has reportedly signalled that he will allow state investment by the UK to improve rural broadband within the next few weeks.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/08/joaquin_almunia_expected_to_clear_state_aid_funds_for_uk_rural_broadband_plan/

                 Apple Maps strikes again :)

Korea preview quotes - Pirelli, Sauber, Caterham, McLaren

After all the excitement of Suzuka, the Formula One paddock barely has time to catch its breath before it heads straight to Yeongam for this weekend's 2012 Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix. With a track combining sweeping curves, long straights and a tight and twisty 'street' section, there's more than enough to please everyone. The teams and drivers look ahead to Korea

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13892.html

Sunday, 7 October 2012

French bees surprise keepers with blue and green honey

M

Bees close to a biogas plant in northern France have begun producing blue and green honey, causing concern among apiculturists.


Bees were seen returning to their hives carrying unidentified colourful substances, so their keepers began an investigation. They found that the biogas plant, which is sited close to the town of Ribeauville in Alsace, has been processing waste from a Mars factory near Strasbourg that produces M&Ms.


By: Duncan Geere,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/07/blue-green-honey

David Cameron joins Twitter, might now be a twat

Cameron

British Prime Minister David Cameron has joined Twitter, three years after infamously quipping that "too many tweets might make a twat".


Cameron's official Twitter account, @david_cameron, gathered more than 50,000 followers in a few hours after it was launched. Initially it only followed four accounts -- the Conservative party, William Hague, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt. However, he's since added a selection of Conservative MPs.


By: Duncan Geere,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/07/david-cameron-joins-twitter

FIA post-race press conference - Japan

Drivers: Sebastian Vettel (1st), Felipe Massa (2nd) and Kamui Kobayashi (3rd) Podium interviews (conducted by Jean Alesi) Q: Sebastian, yesterday pole position, today winner but you pushed very hard until the last laps. Did you know Fernando was not racing again? Sebastian Vettel: I saw the safety car at the beginning. I think first of all we had a very good start which was very important because I think right behind me there was a little bit of a crash and I saw a Ferrari was

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13890.html

Race - Vettel wins at Suzuka to slash Alonso's title advantage

Sebastian Vettel has moved to within four points of Fernando Alonso in the world championship fight, after Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix saw Red Bull dominate and Ferrari's leader meet with another first-corner disaster. Felipe Massa brought some consolation for the Scuderia, with a superb second place, while Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi was a very popular third on home soil for his first F1 podium

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13888.html

Race - selected team and driver quotes

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg on their very early retirements; Lotus's Romain Grosjean and Red Bull's Mark Webber on their first-lap collision; Sauber's Sergio Perez on his race-ending tussle with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton; Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi on claiming his maiden Formula One podium at his home event; and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel on taking his third Japanese victory and moving within four points of Alonso in the championship. All the drivers and senior team personnel report back on Sunday's action…

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13887.html

Saturday, 6 October 2012

North Korean soldier shoots officers dead, defects to South

DMZ

A rare defection across the border between North and South Korea has taken place, after an unnamed soldier shot his superior officers dead and fled across the demarcation line.


Just after noon local time on 6 October, six shots were heard by South Korean sentries stationed at the demilitarised zone between the two countries. The border is the most fortified in the world, guarded by millions of soldiers and land mines.


By: Duncan Geere,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/06/north-korea-defection

11-year-old unearths Siberian mammoth

Mammoths

Remains of a wooly mammoth have been discovered by a young boy walking his dogs in the permafrost of Sopochnaya Karga, in the north of Russia.


The region, which lies 3,500km north-east of Moscow, lies on the Taymyr peninsula which extends out into the Arctic ocean. The local climate is hostile, with average high temperatures in July at just 5C, and average lows in January that drop down to -33.


By: Duncan Geere,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/06/mammoth-discovery

FIA post-qualifying press conference - Japan

Drivers: 1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing); 2 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing); 3 - Jenson Button (McLaren) Q: Sebastian, your fourth consecutive pole here, you must love this place. Sebastian Vettel: Yeah, it's not bad. I'm very, very happy with today's result, I think we had a very, very smooth qualifying session

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13882.html

Vergne penalised for blocking Senna

Toro Rosso driver Jean-Eric Vergne has been demoted three places on the grid for the Japanese round after stewards decided he blocked Williams' Bruno Senna during qualifying on Saturday. Senna was in the latter stages of a flying lap near the close of Q1 when he came upon Vergne travelling more slowly. The Brazilian, who subsequently failed to make it through to Q2, complained that the Frenchman had hindered his progress.

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13881.html

Qualifying - selected team and driver quotes

Williams' Bruno Senna on tangling with the slower-running Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne on his final flying lap in Q1; Ferrari's Felipe Massa on missing the top-ten shootout by just two hundredths of a second; Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen on spinning during the closing moments of Q3; and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel on clinching his fourth consecutive pole at Suzuka. All 24 drivers and senior team personnel report back on Saturday's action...

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13880.html

Qualifying - Vettel claims fourth successive Suzuka pole

Nobody is going to dominate here, Red Bull said on Friday. But the cars from Milton Keynes were in such a class of their own in final qualifying on Saturday afternoon that only Jenson Button in the hitherto pace-setting McLaren could get close to them. Sebastian Vettel took pole position with a lap in 1m 30.839s, with team mate Mark Webber shadowing him on 1m 31.090s and Button hanging on with 1m 31.290s. But the Briton has a five-place grid penalty because of his post-Singapore gearbox change, which means he'll start eighth.

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13879.html

Final practice - Vettel heads Red Bull one-two

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber dominated an odd final session of practice at Suzuka on Saturday morning, which ended with several fancied frontrunners in unusual places. Webber appeared to have things tucked up with a lap of 1m 32.371s until Vettel banged in a 1m 32.136s to settle the issue by 0.235s, while Felipe Massa put Ferrari in the top three with 1m 32.824s.

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13877.html

Friday, 5 October 2012

The tips stop here: Starbucks to take Square Wallet payments

Throws a creepy first-name greeting in too


Starbucks coffee shops in America, all 7,000 of them, will start accepting payments from Square's Wallet next month, but they'll be no tipping until 2013.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/05/starbucks_square/

Not so fast, T-Mobile: Sprint may bid for MetroPCS

Consolidation ahead for US wireless market


Reports that US mobile carriers T-Mobile and MetroPCS are headed for a merger may be premature if rival carrier Sprint Nextel is close to making a counter-bid, as sources claim.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/05/sprint_metropcs_bid_rumor/

Billion-dollar mission to drill into the Earth's mantle planned

The Chikyu drilling ship

Space is not the final frontier. Humankind has stumbled about the surface of the Moon, hurled satellites beyond the edge of the solar system -- we even have a rover trundling about the surface of Mars several million kilometres away, zapping rocks and poking Martian soil.


The final frontier is far closer to home -- the Earth's mantle, which sits beneath the outer crust we call home, has never been reached by humankind. An international team of scientists from the Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme (IODP) are set to embark on a $1 billion (£617 billion) expedition to drill into the mantle layer, and make history by collecting the first ever mantle samples.


By: David Cornish, Edited by: Liat Clark


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/05/drilling-into-the-earths-mantle

Wired.co.uk Podcast 96: Robot bee brains, how to excrete gold, Pono

Wired podcast

On the show this week we discuss the research that involves uploading the digitised brains to bees to flying bee robots, the bacteria that literally excretes gold, Neil Young's Pono music format and the rest of the week in Wired news.


By: Nate Lanxon,


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/podcast/episode-96

SpaceX to launch student experiments on Dragon capsule

SpaceX Dragon capsule grappled by the ISS robotic arm

Student science is set to be part of the historic SpaceX, scheduled to launch on 7 October from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Experiments designed by students will be among the cargo delivered to the International Space Station by the SpaceX Dragon capsule. The 23 microgravity experiments have been designed by students taking part in the Student Spaceflight Experiment Programme.


The experiments represent more than 7000 students and 2000 design proposals that were submitted to a formal Nasa review for a selection of flight experiments. They will study the effects of microgravity on physical, chemical and biological systems and will be completed by astronauts on board the International Space Station.


By: Sarah Cruddas, Edited by: David Cornish


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/05/spacex-helps-student-science

FIA Friday press conference - Japan

Team Representatives - John Booth (Marussia), Monisha Kaltenborn (Sauber), Kim Spearman (Cosworth), Martin Whitmarsh (McLaren), Stefano Domenicali (Ferrari), Ross Brawn (Mercedes). Q: John, the excellent result from Singapore means the team is currently 10th in the constructors' championship? What does that mean to a team, its people and what does in mean in terms of finance as well

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13874.html

Improving web security by turning it into a first-person shooter

First person shooter security

A system developed by MIT's Lincoln Laboratory interprets network security information and turns it into a 3D game -- security staff could hunt down malicious hack attempts as though they were playing an FPS

By: Ian Steadman, Edited by: Liat Clark


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/05/security-system-3d-game

Friday practice - selected team and driver quotes

With McLaren's Jenson Button topping the morning session and Red Bull's Mark Webber taking charge in the afternoon, there's plenty to discuss. The drivers and senior team personnel report on the early running at Suzuka…

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13872.html

Practice Two - Webber moves ahead in Japan

Mark Webber put Red Bull to the top of the timesheets after the second practice session in Suzuka on Friday afternoon, lapping his RB8 in 1m 32.493s to head McLaren's Lewis Hamilton by 0.214s after the 2008 champion recorded 1m 32.707s. Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg were right with them, on 1m 32.836s and 1m 32.987s respectively...

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13871.html

Practice One - McLaren set the Suzuka standard

McLaren got their Japanese campaign off to a strong start on Friday morning in Suzuka as Lewis Hamilton set the initial pace and then ended the 90-minute session just 0.233s slower than team mate Jenson Button. Hamilton lapped his MP4-27 in 1m 34.910s after an early flurry, before Button later redefined the ante with 1m 34.507s. Hamilton's response to that put him ahead of Mark Webber, with 1m 34.740s.

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13869.html

Chocolate Factory rewrites dot-doc death note

All formats can be uploaded to Google Docs


Google’s plan to give old Microsoft Office file formats a quiet bullet behind the woodpile seems to have fallen by the wayside, with Mountain View quietly revising its feature announcement.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/04/google_rewrites_dot_doc_death_note/

Microsoft sets date for Windows Phone 8 unveiling

San Francisco showcase on October 29


Microsoft has set the date for the unveiling of its Windows Phone 8 smartphone operating system: October 29, four days after the scheduled Windows 8 launch.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/04/microsoft_windows_phone_8_launch_date/

Thursday, 4 October 2012

Nicolas Prost to test for Lotus in Abu Dhabi

Lotus have announced that reserve driver Nicolas Prost will be among those at the wheel for the team during their young driver test in Abu Dhabi next month. In preparation, Prost - son of four-time world champion Alain - will be spending this Friday and Saturday driving Lotus's 2010 car, the R30, in private running at the Circuito de Navarra in Spain

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13867.html

Microsoft sets date for Phone 8 unveiling

San Francisco showcase on October 29


Microsoft has set the date for the unveiling of its Phone 8 smartphone operating system: October 29, four days after the scheduled Windows 8 launch.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/04/microosft_phone8_launch/

Speaking at Wired 2012: David Karp

Tumbling on success

The world of blogs would be a far uglier, messier place if it weren't for David Karp. In 2007, having left the parent forum group UrbanBaby where he worked as a software consultant, the New York based entrepreneur launched the short-form blogging site Tumblr.


By: David Cornish,


Continue reading...



via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/04/wired-2012-speaker-david-karp

Google handset arm grabs facial recog tech firm

Chocolate Factory wants to know who you're looking at


Motorola Mobility, the handset arm of the Googleplex, is acquiring Viewdle, the Valley-based vision specialist offering facial recognition among other things.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/04/google_viewdle/

Mercedes pay tribute to Schumacher contribution

Michael Schumacher's fellow Mercedes team members have been quick to express their gratitude to the seven-time world champion after he announced his retirement from Formula One racing at Suzuka on Thursday. Schumacher began his professional racing career in 1989 as a member of the Mercedes Junior Team in sportcars, and he will conclude it at the end of this season after three years with the German marque's Formula One team

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13865.html

Nokia pumps up Lumia browsing with Xpress

It's paradigm-busting, really it is


Nokia's server-side compression platform is now open to Lumia users, in beta at least, providing a 75 per cent reduction in traffic, SkyDrive integration as well as an entirely new browsing paradigm.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/04/lumia_xpress/

The race is on to make quantum teleportation a reality

Quantum teleportation

There is an international quantum teleportation space race heating up. Around the world, countries are investing time and money into the technology, which uses satellites to beam bits of quantum information down from the sky and could profoundly change worldwide communication.


This is not a maybe-sort-of-one-day quantum technology. Quantum teleportation has been proven experimentally many times over and researchers are now eyeing the heavens as their next big leap forward. Most of what remains are the nuts and bolts engineering challenges (and some more money) before it becomes a thing of the present.


By: Adam Mann, Edited by: David Cornish


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/04/quantum-teleportation

FIA Thursday press conference - Japan

Drivers - Paul di Resta (Force India), Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), Sergio Perez (Sauber), Jenson Button (McLaren). Q: Paul, first of all, you're coming here off the back of your best-ever result in Singapore, your hopes for this race. Paul di Resta: I suppose to lead off where we finished in Singapore

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13864.html

Schumacher announces Formula One retirement

Michael Schumacher is to call time on his Formula One career at the end of the 2012 season. Schumacher, who originally retired in 2006 before returning to the sport with Mercedes in 2010, announced the news at Suzuka on Thursday. "I have decided to retire from Formula One at the end of the season, although I am still able to compete with the best drivers of the world,” said the German

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13863.html

Wednesday, 3 October 2012

Cloud storage exempt from Ninefold's uptime boost

Cloud company says uptime will rise yet still has all its disks in one basket


Australian public cloud company Ninefold is claiming new levels of reliability and availability but still runs its cloud storage service from a single data centre.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/03/ninefold_upgrade_leaves_out_cloud_storage/

T-Mobile and MetroPCS mobile minnows merge

Taking on Sprint with LTE prowess


After failing to flog off T-Mobile USA to AT&T last year, Deutsche Telecom has gone another route, opting to absorb its smaller rival MetroPCS in a reverse-takeover.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/03/tmobile_metropcs_merge/

OpenStack certification up for grabs - if you pass its Kobayashi Maru

Klingons are in your cluster, what do you do?


You know a software technology has come of age when some vendor starts trying to make some coin selling certifications for it. And thus we know that the OpenStack cloud fluffer and puffer has finally come of age now that Rackspace Hosting, which founded the OpenStack project with NASA two summers ago, wants to help you get certified.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/03/rackspace_openstack_training_certification/

BFI announces web player featuring 10,000 archive films

BFI

The BFI has a huge number of films in its archives (their Warwickshire warehouse holds over 450,000 cans of film alone), including vital footage from the last hundred years of British history. The problem, however, has always been working out how to let people see those films -- especially those in delicate condition, which can't be loaned out to cinemas or museums easily.


An obvious solution is to put the films online, and that's exactly the plan that the BFI announced on 2 October. Over the next five years, according to its "Film Forever" report, 10,000 films will be digitised and placed online for the public to view on a dedicated web player, a so-called "BFIPlayer".


By: Ian Steadman, Edited by: Liat Clark


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/03/bfi-film-archive-online

EE sets October date to power up UK 4G network

Works not quite on everything, not quite everywhere


Mobile operator EE will launch its UK 4G service on 30 October. Switching on its next-gen mobile broadband network will no doubt cheer Apple iPhone 5 fanbois for whom 3G's 8Mb/sec just isn't fast enough.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/03/ee/

Whitmarsh: Perez 'no apprentice' at McLaren

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh sees no reason 2013 signing Sergio Perez cannot challenge for victories from the outset next season, despite his lack of experience compared to team mate and former world champion Jenson Button. McLaren have recruited Perez on a multi-year contract to replace the Mercedes-bound Lewis Hamilton

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13861.html

Skype touts FREE* Wi-Fi across the UK

* If enough small biz cough up a tenner a month


For a tenner a month Skype will let a business share its Wi-Fi network with Skype customers, but you'll get window stickers and porn filtering too, so what's not to love?…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/03/skype_free_wifi/

Virgin Media's 'bye-bye to buffering' ad nuked by watchdog - AGAIN

David Tennant told to take his baseball bat home


For the second time this year Virgin Media has been berated by Britain's advertising watchdog for making unsubstantiated and misleading claims about its fibre-optic broadband network. The claims in question relate to a TV ad that suggests VM's customers would not be beset by buffering delays.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/03/virgin_media_asa_ruling_on_buffering/

Rogue cold layer found in atmosphere of hottest planet

Venus

Venus, long known as the hottest planet in the Solar System, may have a layer of atmosphere so cold that carbon dioxide freezes and falls as ice or snow.


A new paper describes this atmospheric layer, located 125 kilometres above Venus' surface. Scientists announced the finding 1 October after analysing five years of data from the orbiting Venus Express spacecraft.


By: Elizabeth Howell, Edited by: David Cornish


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/03/cold-layer-on-hottest-plannet

World's highest, fastest skydive requires the world's biggest balloon

The world's biggest balloon

Late on the night of 7 October, 15 men will clear every last stick and stone from a runway in the New Mexico desert as ten more men wearing cotton gloves and protective suits unfurl and inflate the world's largest helium balloon.


The job will take about eight hours, which seems like a long time until you realise the balloon weighs almost two tons and is taller than the Statue of Liberty. Simply filling it will take 45 minutes to an hour, which doesn't seem long at all when you realise the balloon has a volume of 849,505 cubic metres.


By: Chuck Squatriglia, Edited by: David Cornish


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/03/biggest-skydive-biggest-balloon

Speaking in Tech: GoDaddy kills its cloud... GoDaddy had a cloud?

Plus: Oracle Open World, Cisco switches, bad telly updates and more






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/03/speaking_in_tech_episode_28/

Thank Freeview for UK 4G by mid-2013 - NOT the iPhone 5 nor EE

Telly retuning work clears way for mobe broadband


Ofcom will clear the frequencies for 4G mobile broadband months ahead of schedule although it hasn't moved the UK 4G licence auction. Blighty's communications watchdog is being unduly credited with negotiating a fair solution between warring network operators.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/03/ofcom_4g/

Cloud computing on the dark side of the Moon

Supercomputer on the Moon?

Should we build a supercomputer on the Moon?


It would be a mammoth technical undertaking, but a University of Southern California graduate student thinks there's a very good reason for doing this: it would help alleviate an approaching deep-space network traffic jam that's had Nasa scientists worried for several years now.


By: Robert McMillan, Edited by: David Cornish


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/03/supercomputer-on-the-moon

FIA press conference schedule - Japan

Thursday's media session at Suzuka includes the fascinating combination of the Mercedes-bound Lewis Hamilton, his replacement at McLaren, Sergio Perez, and his current team mate Jenson Button. And Friday's has bosses from all the teams involved in the 'Hamilton reshuffle'. The line-up in full

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13859.html

'Leaked' doc shock: BT denies inflating prices for rural broadband rollout

DCMS won't comment on alleged dismissal of BDUK doc's author


The government has declined to comment on the alleged leaking of a Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) document that reportedly suggests BT has been inflating prices for the deployment of its fibre network to rural areas, which needs taxpayer-derived funds.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/03/dcms_bduk_document_allegedly_leaked_with_claims_of_bt_inflating_prices/

China domain name land grab about to start

'.中国' domain ready to roll as part of ICANN's non-ASCII plan


Domain names ending with .中国 – the Chinese characters for China – will become available in mid-October and China is gearing up for the rush of expected applications.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/03/china_domain_land_grab_about_to_start/

Tuesday, 2 October 2012

Level 3 named as possible Nextgen buyer

Fibre network sale excites speculation


Australian telco industry newsletter Communications Day is reporting speculation that America’s Level 3 Communications might be considering acquiring Nextgen Networks, put up for sale by parent Leighton Holdings last week.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/02/level_3_a_nextgen_buyer/

RIP Psion PLC: You're with Motorola now

Assimilation of UK pocket PC hero is complete


Motorola Solutions - the profitable bit of Motorola that wasn't gobbled by Google - has completed its acquisition of Psion PLC, and can now start integrating the company.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/02/psion_motorola/

Amway daddy to flog wireless charging pioneer

eCoupled thrown onto the auction block


The technology behind the Qi charging standard, so recently adopted by Nokia for its Lumia handset, is being sold off by its owner – which was only using it to power a water filter and sell some makeup.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/02/ecoupled_for_sale/

Ofcom tries to chop months off EE's 4G exclusive

Spectrum jiggery pokery behind closed doors


Ofcom is asking Arqiva to shift Freeview out of the 4G spectrum bands ahead of time, in the hope of appeasing the mobile operators who are still livid about EE's exclusive.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/02/ofcom_mega_auction/

Oz Minister wants telcos to wear undies on heads

And make them red, says Conroy as he brags of “unfettered power”


Australia's Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Stephen Conroy has bragged of his unfettered power to command local telcos, saying it gives him the power to compel them to wear red underpants on their collective heads.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/02/conroy_says_he_has_unfettered_power/

Button to take Suzuka gearbox penalty

Jenson Button is set to drop five places on the grid for Sunday's 2012 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix thanks to his McLaren requiring a new gearbox ahead of the Suzuka race. Team mate Lewis Hamilton retired from the lead at the last round in Singapore with a transmission issue, and post-race checks on Button's car have since uncovered an identical - and terminal - problem

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13858.html

Facebook digs in over page that could spoil trial

Australian Police worry comments could spoil Jill Meagher murder trial


A Facebook pages dedicated to directing hate at an accused murder has sparked a legal row in Australia, after Facebook declined to take down the page despite Police appealing for its removal.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/02/facebook_versus_police_jill_meagher_case/

Monday, 1 October 2012

NBN Co nests satellites in WA

Three groundstations for regional networks


West Australia will house three key ground stations for the National Broadband Network’s regional satellite deployment which will begin beaming in 2015. NBN Co is making a total investment of around $AU2bn in the Long Term Satellite Service.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/01/wa_gets_nbn_groundstations/

Oracle customers DEMANDED infrastructure cloud

Ellison's public IaaS cloud whips out private IaaS parts


Oracle co-founder and CEO Larry Ellison didn't want to get into the infrastructure cloud business, but the company's customers have pushed for Oracle to do it.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/01/oracle_infrastructure_cloud/

FREE mobile data – if you dance for our advertisers, monkeyboy

A good reason to read the small print, especially FreedomPop's


FreedomPop launches Monday, offering free mobile data across the US to those who have WiMAX coverage and don't look too closely at the small print.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/01/freedompop/

Navy devs cook up Android spyware to map your location - in 3D

Smartphone snooper stakes out the joint as you move around the room


Indiana students working with the US Navy have demonstrated malware capable of mapping a room and creating a 3D-navigable space to help information thieves find what they're looking for.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/01/android_mapping_malware/

Bloke jailed for being unable to use BlackBerry Messenger freed

Appeal court told swim coach sent saucy text to EVERY contact


A man jailed for 18 months after accidentally sending his Blackberry Messenger contacts a filthy text intended for just his girlfriend has been freed on appeal.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/01/bbm_man_reduced_sentence/

Google shovels more small-fry apps on Larry Page's pyre

Keeping it skinny to make fat bucks


Google has dumped more products as it repositions its brand as a social network in a move to shift even more adverts.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/01/google_kills_more_products/

Pair face £250k fines for spamming mobes with millions of texts

ICO gives duo a month to come up with a good excuse


Two unnamed marketers are facing fines well over £250,000 for allegedly texting millions of spam messages.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/01/ico_text_msg_spam_clampdown/

O2, Vodafone allowed to hop onto each other's towers

Watchdog approves network-sharing love-in


The UK Office of Fair Trading has formally approved O2 and Vodafone sharing infrastructure for their 2G and 3G networks, and probably upcoming 4G networks too.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/01/o2_voda/

Larry 'Shared databases are crap' Ellison reveals shared Oracle database

'Then I saw her software interface, now I'm a believer'


Billionaire Oracle chief Larry Ellison has announced his company's public and private cloud services and a multi-tenant version of his core database product, completing his Saul-like conversion from befuddled skeptic.…






via The Register - Cloud

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/01/ellison_oow_2012_database_cloud/

Synth manufacturer lets customers 3D print their own parts

Teenage Engineering's OP-1

Want a new part for your synthesiser? Need a replacement knob or dial? In a first, one company is telling its customers to just print their own.


It's a move that signifies a major step into a new commercial marketplace, where customers can buy products directly from companies for on-demand, at-home manufacturing. And while we probably won't see complicated, mechanical products from big corporations reaching us through Thingiverse for a while yet, knobs and dials are the perfect static, detachable objects to begin the movement.


By: Geeta Dayal, Edited by: David Cornish


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/01/3d-print-synth-parts

Nominet mulls killing off the .co from .co.uk

Dear Brits, you're happy to buy another domain name, right?


Nominet is seeking Brits' views on its proposals for slightly shorter .uk domain names with some layers of security thrown in.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/01/nominet_shorter_dot_uk/

Did Deep Blue beat Kasparov because of a computer bug?

Garry Kasparov

In May 1997, an IBM supercomputer known as Deep Blue beat then chess world champion Garry Kasparov, who had once bragged he would never lose to a machine.


Kasparov and other chess masters blamed the defeat on a single move made by the IBM machine. Either at the end of the first game or the beginning of the second, depending on who's telling the story, the computer made a sacrifice that seemed to hint at its long-term strategy.


By: Klint Finley, Edited by: David Cornish


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/01/deep-blue-bug

F2 champion Bacheta wins Williams test

British driver Luciano Bacheta has earned the prize of a Formula One test with Williams after he clinched the 2012 FIA Formula Two Championship at Italy's Monza circuit on Sunday. The 22-year-old from Romford, who has led the series since the opening rounds, secured the title during a thrilling 16th and final race of the season

via Formula1.com - Latest Headlines http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13855.html

New study blames Greek debt crisis on market panic

Greek debt crisis

A new analysis of the Greek debt crisis claims to have quantified what many people intuitively believed: That a spike in debt prices in 2011 didn't reflect a rational market appraisal of the country's economy, but a panic that worsened an already dire situation.


It's still a preliminary analysis, and not something on which policy should be based, but the underlying premise is intriguing. Perhaps it's possible to determine precisely when markets tip from equilibrium, a state in which prices reflect supply and demand, into irrationality.


By: Brandon Keim, Edited by: David Cornish


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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/01/greek-debt-crisis

Huawei: Inside the lair of the no-so-hidden dragon

Reg hack reports on charm offensive at Huawei HQ


Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei has a bit of an image problem. It pulled in revenues of over £10bn in the first half of 2012, thanks to its status as the number two maker of telecommunications infrastructure in the world, just behind Ericsson. It also operates a burgeoning enterprise business and its fast-growing smartphone business has China’s second-largest market share.…




via The Register - Networks

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/30/inside_huawei/