News

Heise

1. 3D-Filme steigern Marktanteil in Deutschland
   Digitale Kinosäle und die 3D-Projektion brachten für die deutschen Kinos im Jahr 2011 sowohl ein Besucher- als auch Umsatzplus. Der Marktanteil der 3D-Produktionen erstreckt sich inzwischen auf über 22 Prozent.
   
2. Studie: Nachholbedarf bei Software-Qualitätssicherung
   Die Marktforscher von IDC sehen als Fazit ihrer Studie zur Softwareentwicklung und zum Testing in zahlreichen deutschen Unternehmen Defizite bei der Beherrschung der Softwarequalitätssicherung,
   
3. iPhone-Subventionen verstärken Verlust bei Sprint
   Der US-Mobilfunkanbieter zeigte sich erfreut über die iPhone-Verkäufe und damit angelockten Neukunden im Weihnachtsgeschäft 2011 – zugleich erhöhte aber der bezuschusste Verkauf des Smartphones den Verlust des Unternehmens.
   
4. Greenpeace kritisiert Klimaschutzbemühungen der IT-Branche
   Die Umwelt-Aktivisten strafen die IT-Industrie mit einer Klimaschutz-Rangliste ab – nur Google sammelt mehr als die Hälfte der möglichen Punkte. Allerdings bewertet Greenpeace in erster Linie Worte, nicht Taten.
   
5. Rasterfahndung mit Handy-Daten beschäftigt den Bundestag
   Polizeiliche Funkzellenabfragen seien "in Mode" gekommen und müssten dringend eingegrenzt werden, befanden Datenschützer, Richter und Anwälte bei einer Anhörung im Bundestag. Strafverfolger sehen keinen Handlungsbedarf.
   
6. Fujitsu kündigt Xeon-E5-Mainboard an
   Als einer der ersten Hersteller veröffentlicht Fujitsu Informationen über ein LGA2011-Mainboard für Workstations mit einer CPU und bis zu 64 GByte ECC-RAM.
   
7. VMwares vCloud Integration Manager soll vCloud Services beschleunigen
   Noch im ersten Quartal 2012 will VMware seinen vCloud Integration Manager auf den Markt bringen. Serviceprovider sollen damit Dienste, die auf vCloud basieren, schneller anbieten können.
   
8. 5-Zoll-Tablet mit 4:3-Display und Android
   LG will ein Android-Tablet mit Display im 4:3-Format herausbringen. Allzu viele Details gehen aus einem Video des Herstellers allerdings nicht hervor.
   
9. AMD trommelt für heterogene Prozessoren
   Die Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) soll effiziente Kombiprozessoren bringen; Wissenschaftler zeigen, wie CPU- und GPU-Kerne automatisch kooperieren.
   
10. Mozilla erwägt Rauswurf der Trustwave CA
    Wegen des von Trustwave ausgestellten Schnüffel-Zertifikats fordert ein Bug-Report nun die Entfernung des Herausgeber-Zertifikats aus allen Mozilla-Produkten.
    
11. Google sucht Chrome-Nutzer für Studie
    Der Suchmaschinenkonzern sucht für eine Studie Nutzer des Browsers Chrome, die eine Extension installieren und ihr gesamtes Nutzerverhalten übertragen und analysieren lassen.
    
12. iOS-App verschickt Adressbuch an den Hersteller
    Die iOS-App des sozialen Netzwerks Path überträgt ohne Wissen des Anwenders dessen gesamtes Adressbuch an einen Server des Betreibers.
    
13. AMD bringt weitere Athlon-CPUs für FM1-Mainboards
    Mit Athlon II X4 638 und X4 641 gibt es jetzt insgesamt vier Llano-Prozessoren ohne integrierte Grafikeinheit für die Fassung FM1. Ganz einfach macht es AMD Käufern aber nicht: Zur Familie Athlon II X4 600 gehören auch zwei CPUs für AM3-Mainboards.
    
14. Bande zockt 100.000 Telefonkunden ab
    Der Einzug von Entgelten für Mehrwertdienste über die Telefonrechnung lockt auch Betrüger an. Mindestens 100.000 Telefonkunden wurden lange unbemerkt auf diesem Wege ausgenommen.
    
15. Schwarz-Gelb will ständigen Bundestagsausschuss für Netzpolitik
    Abgeordnete der Regierungskoalition machen sich für die Einrichtung eines Ausschusses "Internet und digitale Gesellschaft" als Fortsetzung der gleichnamigen Enquete-Kommission stark, um die erworbene Kompetenz zu nutzen.
    
16. .music: Musikbranche unterstützt Domain-Bewerber
    Eine Reihe von Verbänden der Musikindustrie unterstützen nun offiziell die Bewerbung von Far Further auf Zuteilung der Top Level Domain .music, weil das Unternehmen Restriktionen bei der Vergabe verspricht.
    
17. pcAnywhere-Code nach geplatztem Schweigegeld-Deal im Netz
    Symantec rechnet damit, dass auch der Quellcode von Norton Antivirus und Internet Security früher oder später veröffentlicht wird.
    
18. Olympus interpretiert Klassiker neu
    Olympus' neue spiegellose Systemkamera OM-D E-M5 ist eine Hommage an das eigene OM-System, das vor 40 Jahren erstmals vorgestellt wurde.
    
19. Anonymous veröffentlicht Dokumente aus Kundus-Ausschuss
    Unbekannte sind nach eigenen Angaben in einen Server des Deutschen Bundestages eingedrungen und haben vertrauliche Dokumente aus dem Ausschuss veröffentlicht, der den Luftangriff im afghanischen Kundus untersucht.
    
20. Weitere Android-4.0-Updates von HTC
    Im April sollen HTC Desire HD, Desire S und das Incredible S das Update auf die aktuelle Android-Version erhalten.
    
21. Patentstreit: Apple fordert faire Regeln
    In einem Brief an das Europäische Institut für Telekommunikationsnormen setzt sich der Computerkonzern für die faire und diskriminierungsfreie Vergabe standardrelevanter Patente ein.
    
22. Verschlüsselung von Satellitentelefonen geknackt
    Ein Forschungsteam der Ruhr-Universität Bochum hat die von Satellitentelefonen eingesetzten Verschlüsselungsalgorithmen A5-GMR-1 und A5-GMR-2 geknackt.
    
23. US-Richter lehnt Schließung von ReDigi ab
    Der Online-Shop für den Weiterverkauf "gebrauchter" Musikdownloads ReDigi hat im Rechtsstreit gegen Capitol Records einen Etappensieg errungen. Der zuständige Richter lehnte eine einstweilige Verfügung gegen das Portal ab.
    
24. Solarmodul mit 33,9 Prozent Wirkungsgrad
    Ein US-Start-up kann mit konzentrierten Photovoltaik-Modulen erstmals ein Drittel des einfallenden Sonnenlichts in Strom umwandeln.
    
25. Nokia verlagert Smartphone-Produktion nach Asien
    Durch die Umstrukturierung der Produktion verlieren rund 4000 Mitarbeiter in Ungarn, Mexiko und Finnland ihren Arbeitsplatz.
    
26. Schützt das Urheberrecht auch Pornografie?
    Eine wegen Urheberrechtsverletzungen abgemahnte US-Bürgerin will mit einer Musterklage feststellen lassen, ob Pornografie in den USA urheberrechtlich geschützt ist. Die Entscheidung könnte die Pornofilmbranche machtlos gegen sogenannte Raubkopien machen.
    
27. Yahoo krempelt Verwaltungsrat um: Vorsitzender hört auf
    Nach Yahoo-Gründer Jerry Yang verlassen vier weitere Mitglieder den Verwaltungsrat des schwächelnden Internetkonzerns Yahoo, darunter der Vorsitzende des obersten Firmengremiums.
    
28. Bericht: Barnes & Noble hat im Patentstreit mit Microsoft gute Karten
    Ein Jurist der US-Handelsaufsichtsbehörde USITC will dem zuständigen Richter offenbar empfehlen, eine Patentklage gegen den E-Book-Reader Nook abzuweisen. Das Verfahren hat am Dienstag in Washington begonnen.
    
29. Telepolis-Special Mensch+ ab sofort bestellbar
    Die IT-Revolution war gestern, heute leben wir im Zeitalter des Human Enhancement. Das Telepolis-Heft Mensch+ zeigt auf, welche Technologien dafür entwickelt werden und beschreibt die Auswirkungen auf Mensch und Gesellschaft.
    
30. Bundeswehr setzt auf Open Source und SOA
    Der designierte IT-Direktor des Verteidigungsministeriums hat seine Pläne für die IT-Modernisierung der Bundeswehr vorgestellt. Er setzt auf schlanke, sichere und interoperable Systeme, die möglichst auf freier Software basieren sollen.
    
31. Google veröffentlicht Chrome für Android
    Google hat eine Betaversion seines Browsers Chrome für Android bereitgestellt – allerdings derzeit nur für Geräte mit Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Der Browser soll die Vorzüge seines Desktop-Pendants auf Mobilgeräte mit Android bringen.
    
32. iTunes matcht selbst kurze Hörproben
    Apples Matching-Algorithmus schaut nicht besonders lange hin, wenn er Songs abgleicht. Mac & i hat iTunes Match genauer analysiert und herausgefunden, dass zuweilen selbst kurze Hörproben genügen, um komplette Songs freizuschalten.
    
33. Körperscanner für alle australischen Flughäfen
    Nach Probeläufen in Sydney und Melbourne sollen von Juli an sämtliche internationalen Flugplätze in Australien mit neuen Durchleuchtungsgeräten ausgerüstet werden. Die Nutzung der Scanner wird gesetzlich vorgeschrieben.
    
34. Hangout für Google+ Developer
    Entwicklerinformationen zu Googles sozialem Netzwerk Google+ gibt es künftig auch per Hangout. Eine Google+-Seite soll das bestehende Blog mit regelmäßigen Videokonferenzen und anderen Informationen ergänzen.
    
35. Vodafone bringt LTE-Smartphone
    In einigen Wochen will Vodafone mit dem HTC Velocity 4G sein erstes LTE-Smartphone in Deutschland auf den Markt bringen.
    
36. Acer verklagt Ex-Chef Lanci
    Acer verklagt Gianfranco Lanci, den ehemaligen Mann an der Spitze des Unternehmens. Der mittlerweile für Lenovo tätige Italiener soll das Wettbewerbsverbot seines früheren Vertrags gebrochen haben.
    
37. Amazon senkt Speicherpreise für S3
    Rückwirkend zum 1. Februar 2012 hat AWS die Preise fürs Speichern in der Storage-Cloud S3 nach unten korrigiert. Regionale Preisunterschiede bleiben aber trotzdem bestehen.
    
38. Akademikerinnen in die Spiele-Entwicklung
    Der Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware e. V. (BIU) tritt dem Branchenzusammenschluss MINT bei. Ziel sei es, junge Akademikerinnen für die Spiele-Entwicklung zu begeistern.
    
39. Marktforscher: Apple erneut größter Smartphone-Anbieter
    Das iPhone 4S hat Apple erneut auf den Spitzenplatz im globalen Smartphone-Markt befördert und Samsung auf den zweiten Platz verdrängt. Das größte Wachstum hatte aber der südkoreanische Konzern zu verzeichnen.
    
40. Trustwave verkaufte Man-in-the-Middle-Zertifikat
    Der Zertifikatsherausgeber Trustwave hat einer Firma ein CA-Zertifikat ausgestellt, mit dem sich diese selbst Zertifikate für beliebige Server wie Google ausstellen konnte, um damit den verschlüsselten Datenverkehr ihrer Mitarbeiter zu überwachen.
    
41. Pixel satt: Nikon kündigt Vollformat-DSLR D800 an
    36 Megapixel, Vollformat-CMOS-Sensor, FullHD-Video - Nikon hat heute die D800 vorgestellt. Anders als der Name vermuten lässt, ist die Vollformat-DSLR weniger eine Nachfolgerin der D700, sondern eher eine megapixelstarke D4-Variante zu kleine(re)m Preis
    
42. Dropbox lockt mit Zusatzspeicher für Foto-Uploadtest
    Die Mac- und Windows-Version von Dropbox kann künftig Fotos und Videos angeschlossener Geräte wie dem iPhone automatisch hochladen. Für den Test der neuen Funktion vergibt der Cloud-Dienst freien Speicherplatz.
    
43. Facebook arbeitet mit der Telefonseelsorge zusammen
    Das soziale Netzwerk weist auf sein Formular hin, bei dem Nutzer Inhalte mit Selbstmordbezug melden können.
    
44. Widerstand gegen US-Zensurgesetze hält an
    Insgesamt 74 Organisationen und Unternehmen fordern den US-Kongress auf, die umstrittenen Gesetzesvorhaben SOPA und PIPA auszusetzen. In künftige Beratungen sollen die vielen geäußerten Bedenken einfließen.
    
45. Safer Internet Day: Sorge um Smartphone-Sicherheit
    82 Prozent der Bundesbürger fühlen sich von App-Anbietern nicht ausreichend über die Verwendung ihrer persönlichen Daten informiert, hat das Verbraucherministerium ermittelt. Ressortchefin Ilse Aigner fordert datenschutzfreundlichere Voreinstellungen.
    
46. Heise darf wieder uneingeschränkt über Megaupload berichten
    Der Heise Zeitschriften Verlag konnte vor dem Landgericht Hamburg einen Erfolg gegen den inzwischen abgeschalteten Filehoster Megaupload erzielen, der dem Verlag die Berichterstattung zu bestimmten Themen untersagen wollte.
    
47. Musiker-News: Instant-Mix, Software-Flügel mit Round-Robin, iMikrofon
    Toontrack veröffentlicht EZmix 2 +++ 8Dio bietet Legacy 1928 Grand Piano ++ MicW erweitert Mini-Mikrofon-Reihe
    
48. Indien: Google und Facebook entfernen Inhalte
    Facebook und Google haben in Indien "anstößige" Inhalte von ihren Seiten entfernt. Damit folgten sie einer richterlichen Anordnung, während sie gleichzeitig eine Einstellung des Verfahrens fordern.
    
49. Adobe will Flash-Exploits mit Sandbox stoppen
    Eine Sandbox soll Angreifer daran hindern, Sicherheitslücken in Flash ausnutzen. Zunächst profitieren nur Firefox-Nutzer unter Windows von der neuen Schutzschicht.
    
50. Musik-Dienst Rdio kooperiert mit Facebook
    Wer die Musik-Flatrate von Rdio nutzt, kann seinen Facebook-Freunden künftig Musikvorschläge übermitteln.
    
51. CeBIT-Special auf heise online
    In genau vier Wochen startet die CeBIT, die allen Unkenrufen zum Trotz immer noch größte IT-Messe der Welt. heise online begleitet die Veranstaltung wie gewohnt mit einem Special.
    
52. Pro-Version von Wolfram Alpha vor dem Start
    Für 5 US-Dollar pro Monat soll die "rechnende Wissensmaschine" des Mathematica-Herstellers deutlich mehr Funktionen zur Verfügung stellen als die weiterhin nutzbare Gratisversion.
    
53. Microsoft kündigt Dynamics CRM Mobile an
    Ab dem zweiten Quartal 2012 unterstützt Microsofts Dynamics CRM gängige Mobilplattformen.
    
54. iRobot steigt bei InTouch Health ein
    Der kommerzielle US-Roboterhersteller iRobot tut sich mit einem Telemedizin-Spezialisten zusammen.
    
55. Neue Linux-Kernel beseitigen Stromsparproblem
    Linux 3.0.20 und 3.2.5 beseitigen ein Problem rund um die PCIe-Stromspartechnik ASPM, das im letzten Jahr für allerlei Schlagzeilen sorgte.
    
56. Oracle will Gerichtsverfahren gegen SAP wieder aufrollen
    Das US-Unternehmen weist die deutlich reduzierte Strafzahlung in der Auseinandersetzung mit dem deutschen Konkurrenten zurück. Eine Richterin hatte die ursprünglich festgelegte Strafzahlung gekippt.
    
57. China: Höhere Steuern auf LCD-Panels möglich
    China will möglicherweise den Zoll auf die Einfuhr von LCD-Panel erhöhen. Statt bislang 3 Prozent könnten es bis zu 10 Prozent werden. Ein weiterer Anreiz für die etablierten Panelhersteller, vor Ort Fabriken zu bauen.
    
58. Generationen sicher verbinden: Safer Internet Day 2012
    Die Sicherheit von Kindern und Jugendlichen steht beim Safer Internet Day 2012 im Fokus.
    
59. AMD FirePro V3900: Profi-Grafikkarte für Einsteiger
    AMDs FirePro V3900 ist günstig, passt auch in kompakte Gehäuse und kann bis zu 1,07 Milliarden Farben darstellen.
    
60. Auch Tschechien setzt ACTA-Ratifizierung aus
    Wie zuvor Polen hat nun auch Tschechien die Ratifizierung des umstrittenen Anti-Piraterie-Abkommens nach Protesten der Bevölkerung ausgesetzt. Damit gerät ACTA in Europa weiter unter Druck.
    

Securiteam

1. RealNetworks RealPlayer RV10 Sample Height Parsing Code Execution Vulnerability
   This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of RealNetworks Real Player.
   
2. RealNetworks RealPlayer IVR MLTI Chunk Length Parsing Code Execution Vulnerability
   This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of RealNetworks Real Player.
   
3. RealNetworks RealPlayer RV30 Uninitialized Index Value Code Execution Vulnerability
   This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of RealNetworks Real Player.
   
4. RealNetworks RealPlayer Invalid Codec Name Code Execution Vulnerability
   This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of RealNetworks Real Player.
   
5. RealNetwork RealPlayer MPG Width Integer Underflow Code Execution Vulnerability
   This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Realplayer.
   
6. Apache mod_rewrite Vulnerability PoC
   
7. netsniff-ng - A Linux Network Analyzer and Networking Toolkit
   
8. Simple Local File Inclusion Exploiter
   
9. NiX A Linux Brute Forcer
   
10. Nchop - A TCP Session Splicing Tool Used to Rvade Intrusion Detection Systems
    
11. ProFTPD Response Pool Use-After-Free Code Execution Vulnerability
    This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of the ProFTPd server.
    
12. Insight Control for Linux Multiple Vulnerabilities
    Remote unauthorized elevation of privilege, execution of arbitrary code, encryption downgrade, information disclosure and Denial of Service (DoS) vulnerabilities were identified in Insight Control for Linux.
    
13. HP-UX Running NFS/ONCplus Denial of Service Vulnerability
    A potential security vulnerability has been identified with NFS/ONCplus running on HP-UX.
    
14. HP-UX Running BIND Denial of Service Vulnerability 2011
    A potential security vulnerability has been identified with HP-UX running BIND.
    
15. HP-UX Running XNTP Denial of Service Vulnerability
    A remote Denial of Service vulnerability was identified in HP-UX running XNTP.
    
16. Novell Zenworks Software Packaging LaunchHelp.dll Code Execution Vulnerability
    This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Novell Zenworks Software Packaging.
    
17. Novell ZENWorks Software Packaging Antique ActiveX Control Code Execution Vulnerability
    This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Novell ZENWorks.
    
18. Microsoft Internet Explorer swapNode Handling Code Execution Vulnerability
    This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Microsoft Internet Explorer.
    
19. Microsoft Internet Explorer Select Element Insufficient Type Checking Code Execution Vulnerability
    This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.
    
20. Internet Explorer Select Element Cache Code Execution Vulnerability
    This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Microsoft Internet Explorer.
    
21. Microsoft Windows shmedia.dll Division By Zero, Explore.exe DOS Exploit
    A Div by Zero bug exits when shmedia.dll handles a malformed AVI file, producing a crash.
    
22. IGSS 8 ODBC Server Multiple Remote Uninitialized Pointer Free DoS
    There are multiple remote uninitialized pointer free conditions in IGSS's ODBC server. By sending a specially crafted packet to listening port 20222, it is possible to crash the server. Execution of arbitrary code is unlikely.
    
23. Progea Movicon TCPUploadServer Remote Exploit
    TCPUploadServer allows remote users to execute functions on the server without any form of authentication. Impacts include deletion of arbitrary files, execution of a program with an arbitrary argument, crashing the server, information disclosure, and more. This design flaw puts the host running this server at risk of potentially unauthorized functions being executed on the system.
    
24. Trango Broadband Wireless Rogue SU Authentication Bug
    Currently there is a flaw in the authentication mechanism of these radios which, if an attacker knows some details, can allow interception of ethernet packets broadcast from the Access Point to the Subscriber Unit and potentially allows injection into the communication from the Subscriber Unit to the Access Point.
    
25. Exposing HMS HICP Protocol and Intellicom NetBiterConfig.exe Remote Buffer Overflow
    SCADA weaknesses created by HICP Protocol and NetBiter WebSCADA.
    
26. Bypassing Internet Explorer's XSS Filter
    Internet Explorer 9 has a security system with well known shortfalls, most notably that it does not attempt to address DOM based XSS or Stored XSS. This security system is built on an arbitrary philosophy which only accounts for the most straight forward of reflective XSS attacks. This paper covers three attack patterns that undermine Internet Explorer's ability to prevent Reflective XSS.
    
27. Apple OfficeImport Framework Excel Memory Corruption Vulnerability
    Remote exploitation of a memory corruption vulnerability in Apple Inc.'s OfficeImport framework could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the current user.
    
28. LittleBlackBox Project: Default SSL Keys in Multiple Routers
    Many routers that provide an HTTPS administrative interface use default or hard-coded SSL keys that can be recovered by extracting the file system from the device's firmware.
    
29. Why Silent Updates Boost Security
    Thomas Duebendorfer Google Switzerland GmbH and Stefan Frei Communication Systems Group, ETH Zurich, Switzerland looked into the performance of Web browser update mechanisms. The analysis of anonymized Google Web server logs allowed us to compare and rank the update strategies deployed by Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and Opera.
    
30. PDF Silent HTTP Form Repurposing Attacks
    This paper sheds light on a modified approach to triggering web attacks through JavaScript protocol handler in the context of opening a PDF in a browser.
    

Linux Kernel

1. 3.3-rc2: mainline
   

   mainline:

   3.3-rc2

   2012-01-31

   [Full Source]

   [Patch]

   [View Patch]

   [Gitweb]

   
   
2. 3.2.5: stable
   

   stable:

   3.2.5

   2012-02-06

   [Full Source]

   [Patch]

   [View Patch]

   [View Inc.]

   [Gitweb]

   [Changelog]

   
   
3. 3.1.10: stable
   

   stable:

   3.1.10

   2012-01-18

   [Full Source]

   [Patch]

   [View Patch]

   [View Inc.]

   [Gitweb]

   [Changelog]

   
   
4. 3.0.20: stable
   

   stable:

   3.0.20

   2012-02-06

   [Full Source]

   [Patch]

   [View Patch]

   [View Inc.]

   [Gitweb]

   [Changelog]

   
   
5. 2.6.33.20: stable
   

   stable:

   2.6.33.20

   2011-11-07

   [Full Source]

   [Patch]

   [View Patch]

   [View Inc.]

   [Gitweb]

   [Changelog]

   
   
6. 2.6.32.56: stable
   

   stable:

   2.6.32.56

   2012-02-03

   [Full Source]

   [Patch]

   [View Patch]

   [View Inc.]

   [Gitweb]

   [Changelog]

   
   
7. next-20120208: linux-next
   

   linux-next:

   next-20120208

   2012-02-08

   [Gitweb]

   
   

theRegister.co.uk

1. Robot surgery gets virtual at Euro Space Agency
   

   CAMDASS augmented reality for astronaut patch-up

   The European Space Agency is showing off an augmented-reality kit which it says will ultimately pave the way for diagnosis and even surgery for astronauts.…

   
   
2. Thodey chimes in on TV Now decision
   

   Telcos 'need clarity'

   Telstra CEO David Thodey has told journalists and analysts that the telecommunications industry “needs clarity” following the Federal Court decision which clearly and simply said “Optus TV Now is legal”.…

   
   
3. Huawei gets more UFB kiwi action
   

   Rolls out that fibre for New Zealand

   Huawei has secured another key government win in New Zealand to provide fibre services to the Christchurch UFB with Enable Services Limited.…

   
   
4. Loral set to build NBN Co satellites
   

   Turnbull doesn't like it, again

   NBN Co has awarded Space Systems/Loral an $AU620 million contract to build, deliver and deploy two next-generation Ka-band satellites to cover regional Australia.…

   
   
5. Cisco stabilizes switching and routing in Q2
   

   Raises dividend, remains cautious

   Networking - and some would say data center bellwether - Cisco Systems turned in a better-than-expected fiscal Q2 ended in January, with revenues up 10.8 per cent to $11.53bn and net income up a very good 43.5 per cent to $2.18bn.…

   
   
6. iRobot Warrior-bot goes on sale this Spring
   

   For the geek who has everything

   iRobot has confirmed it’s ready to start manufacture and sale of its Warrior 710 robot early this year.…

   
   
7. Eolas claims royalties for browser apps and plug-ins
   

   Berners-Lee warns of disaster for internet

   Eolas Technologies has begun its trial against Adobe over two patents that, it claims, gives it the rights to embedded browser applications and plug-in and AJAX (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) web development techniques.…

   
   
8. US Navy preps railgun for tests
   

   Bedding down BAE Systems prototype

   The US Navy’s Office of Naval Research is preparing to test a prototype railgun delivered by BAE Systems under a $US21 million contract signed in 2010.…

   
   
9. Solarflare turns network adapters into servers
   

   When a CPU just isn't fast enough

   Solarflare, a maker of 10 Gigabit Ethernet server adapter cards for performance-obsessed companies like stock exchanges, hedge funds, and supercomputer centers, is turning its network interface cards into servers, more or less.…

   
   
10. Telcos to shape up under new code
    

    Comms Alliance lays down the law

    Australian carriers, voice services and ISPs will be forced to take their obligations to the rights of consumers seriously under a new revised consumer code from industry group, the Communications Alliance.…

    
    
11. Path runs screaming from privacy snafu
    

    We meant to copy your address book but we didn’t think you’d mind

    After sparking an outcry – and arguably putting itself on the wrong side of privacy laws outside America – ex-Facebooker and now CEO of Path, Dave Morin, has blogged an apology.…

    
    
12. Toshiba may be getting excess WD disk biz
    

    Rumour mill spits out Tosh as buyer

    We are hearing that Toshiba is buying Western Digital's "excess" 3.5-inch disk drive business, clearing the way to the completion of the WD's acquisition of Hitachi GST .…

    
    
13. Sir Paul McBeatle to offer free iTunes concert
    

    B.Y.O. Bottom, should you desire a kiss

    Sir Paul McCartney, late of Wings, will celebrate the release of his latest album with a live concert streamed over Apple's iTunes this Thursday at 7pm, Pacific Time.…

    
    
14. Nekkid Tech: The Great Backup Industry SMACKDOWN
    

    Plus, adopt a needy cloud

    Podcast Last week, Greg Knieriemen turned the heat up on Marc Farley, StorageIO's Greg Schulz and the legendary StorageZilla.…

    
    
15. Chrome to weed out dodgy website SSL certificates by itself
    

    Ditched online checks like 'seat belt that snaps when you crash'

    Google will drop online checks for revoked website encryption certificates in future versions of its Chrome browser after it decided that the process no longer offers any tangible benefits.…

    
    
16. Ancient cave girl genome could crack Man's genetic puzzle
    

    Boffins pore over 500GB of data plastered online

    Nearly 500GB of data from the DNA of an ancient girl has been published for the first time. The genetic information - made available for wider analysis by intrigued boffins - was extracted from her finger bone and tooth, which were unearthed in the Denisova Cave in Siberia in 2008.…

    
    
17. Sony posts PlayStation firmware patch
    

    Bye-bye, PSN; hello, SEN

    Sony's latest PlayStation firmware - version 4.10 - is now available for download, with the Sony Entertainment Network ready for PS3s from here on.…

    
    
18. Apple's Hong Kong store rolls out iPhone 'reservation' system
    

    Yes, sir, but have you booked an appointment?

    Apple has been forced to restrict iPhone sales in its Hong Kong store to discourage the recent epidemic of scalpers.…

    
    
19. Cray puts super stake in the big data ground
    

    Crunch this

    Big data may or may not pan out for the users, but it is a bit of a boom for IT vendors, who are scrambling to prove their data analytics chops and go for the easiest money in the market these days. And to that end, supercomputer maker Cray is setting up a dedicated division to chase big data biz.…

    
    
20. New driver-snooping satnav could push down UK insurance premiums
    

    TomTom signs up with Motaquote to stuff spy in GPS box

    The idea has been hovering in the ether for some time, but TomTom is the first satnav firm to sign on the dotted line and bring insurance to drivers through their GPS.…

    
    
21. Resellers: Microsoft price hike was 'demanded by Euro country bosses'
    

    Insiders say UK channel exploited weak pound to fuel deals on continent

    Microsoft's planned overhaul of volume-licensing prices was in response to cries of frustration from its European country managers unhappy their UK counterpart were benefiting from the regional disparity to win biz on the continent, channel sources claim.…

    
    
22. Quarter of Wolfram Alpha brainteasers come from Siri
    

    Apple's smart-arse software relies on boffinry website

    A quarter of traffic to the intelligent computational engine Wolfram Alpha comes from Siri, Stephen Wolfram said in a New York Times article.…

    
    
23. Revealed: Apple's plea for fairness in mobile patent war
    

    Letter to telecoms body begs for level playing field

    In November Apple wrote to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute suggesting an overhaul of the whole FRAND system of licensing patents fairly and reasonably.…

    
    
24. Mozilla explains user-tracking proposal for Firefox
    

    Telemetry has no UUID, Metrics Data Ping might

    In a story published yesterday your humble Reg writer wrongly confused Mozilla's Telemetry project with the open-source outfit's so-called Metrics Data Ping proposal. Mozilla has been in touch to clear things up.…

    
    
25. Virident flasher claims Oracle database streak record
    

    Solid disks thrust into willing 80-core NEC box

    Exit Exadata, Fusion-io and Violin Memory - so to speak: the Oracle database random IO speed record has been smashed by an 80-core NEC server fitted with eight Virident flash drives.…

    
    
26. Indonesian train roof fare-dodgers given the brush off
    

    Foul-smelling brooms purge carriages of surfing commuters

    Indonesian train operators have come up with yet another ingeniously cruel system designed to discourage fare-dodging commuters from blagging a free ride on the roof of their carriages - this time involving brooms covered in putrid gunk.…

    
    
27. Glad to be hybrid: Office 365 flits from cloud to cloud
    

    Public and private partnership

    Interview “The hybrid cloud environment is a great place for Office 365,” evangelises Simon May, appropriately enough a tech evangelist at Microsoft UK.…

    
    
28. Now HDS joins server flash party
    

    Still no comment from HP

    Hitachi Data Systems intends to join the server flash storage party, throwing its NAND hat into the ring to speed application I/O and increase the virtual machine population.…

    
    
29. LinkedIn offers MORE SECURE hobnobbing option
    

    Social-network-for-suits finally gets some SSL love

    LinkedIn is now gradually rolling out secure browsing for its social-networking-for-suits service.…

    
    
30. Marlinspike asks browser vendors to back SSL-validator
    

    'Convergence' open source dev needs vendors to balance the load

    Analysis Moxie Marlinspike is encouraging browser developers to support an experimental project to shake up the security of website authentication by moving beyond blind faith in secure sockets layer (SSL) credentials.…

    
    
31. Nokia: No Belle download for Apple users
    

    Even if they have its own Mac OS X updater app

    Nokia has told Mac-using owners of handsets capable of being upgraded to its Belle operating system they need to switch to a PC to apply the update themselves.…

    
    
32. Android's Chrome finish comes too late for Flash coating
    

    Adobe confirms Flashless browsing

    Google may have got its Chrome browser running on Android, but Adobe is standing by its decision not to port Flash to any new mobile browsers, not even Chrome.…

    
    
33. Halliburton latest biz to dump BlackBerry for iPhone
    

    But our developers are raking it in, screams RIM

    Citing better application support, oilfield services giant Halliburton will be handing out iPhones in future - despite RIM's claims that its app developers have never had it so good.…

    
    
34. Yahoo! chairman! falls! on! his! sword!
    

    Bostock and three directors quit ailing web biz to save it

    Yahoo!'s chairman and three other board members are stepping down as the once-mighty web firm continues its drawn-out internal shake-up.…

    
    
35. Greenpeace releases meaningless 'Cool IT' rankings
    

    Hippies' 'leaderboard' apparently made using dartboard

    Analysis International hippie* collective Greenpeace has issued a "Cool IT leaderboard" of apparently randomly selected major firms which it has assigned meaningless self-generated scores intended to indicate how eco-friendly the companies are.…

    
    
36. Apple's new TV allegedly spotted... in Canadian office
    

    Will be controlled by Siri, waving, unicorns

    Prototypes of the hotly anticipated Apple TV are sitting in the offices of telcos in Canada, reports newspaper The Globe and Mail. The report adds that the new TVs will feature voice-control through Siri, gesture control and video chat.…

    
    
37. Toshiba 14in USB LCD Mobile Monitor
    

    Panel beater?

    Review It sounds like a great idea: a 14in LCD monitor that connects using USB. Perfect for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones, right? Well no, because it doesn’t work with them.…

    
    
38. Virgin Media finally turns an annual profit
    

    Only took five years since beardie rebrand

    Virgin Media pulled in annual revenue that was just shy of £4bn, the company reported this morning.…

    
    
39. Samsung reveals Tocco Lite 2 release details
    

    Budget blower inbound

    Samsung revealed it will launch the successor to its popular Tocco Lite handset this March, with the budget blower targeting the social network generation. No surprise there, then.…

    
    
40. Russians drill into buried 20 million-year-old Antarctic lake
    

    Will boffins find prehistoric life - or secret Nazi files?

    Russian scientists have drilled through to a 20-million-year-old lake under Antarctica, which, depending on who you listen to, could harbour alien life forms, prehistoric microbes or Hitler's secret hideout.…

    
    
41. Amazon 'rolling out a retail store in Seattle'
    

    Apple Store-inspired Kindle-pushing boutique rumoured...

    Amazon could be about to open a bricks-and-mortar store in Seattle aimed at selling the Kindle - according to rumours on blog goodereader.…

    
    
42. T-Mobile's Full Monty speed 'capped at 1Mb/s'
    

    Cellco denies, confirms cap

    T-Mobile's unlimited tariff, The Full Monty, has come under scrutiny after reports surfaced that the cellco may have placed a speed limit of just 1Mb/s on the package.…

    
    
43. Huawei's super-skinny Ascend P1 S headed to China in March
    

    Home market gets first dibs on 0.26-inch 'iPhone-killer'

    Chinese electronics giant Huawei could be set to launch what it claims to be the world’s slimmest phone as early as next month, according to reports.…

    
    
44. HP may be going the server flash route
    

    Company won't confirm it, but the G8 looks pretty flashy

    HP's new G8 servers will sport lots of flash, according to a knowledgeable HP fan.…

    
    
45. NFC leader Inside Secure to IPO this month
    

    It's no Facebook, but it does actually design stuff

    Inside Secure has filed for an initial public offering, looking to raise almost €80m a day after it celebrated shipping 20 million chips, and signed up a major handset manufacturer.…

    
    
46. Nokia axes 4,000, shifts smartphone manufacturing East
    

    Factories hit in cost-cutting drive

    Having reviewed operations at its manufacturing facilities in Hungary, Mexico and Finland, Nokia has decided to halt its assembly lines there. Smartphones will still be customised at the three sites, but the gear itself will be built in Asia.…

    
    
47. Coke-snorting cop bots to replace sniffer dogs
    

    Roboplod finds could count as evidence in court

    Sniffer dogs can get tired, but fibre-optic sniffer robots don't have the same problem. And they are just as good at detecting cocaine, says Tong Sun, a professor of sensor engineering at City University London.…

    
    
48. Heathrow facial recognition tech stalled by borders fiasco
    

    Airport's scanner rollout to miss Olympics target

    Heathrow airport may now not get facial recognition technology at all five of its terminals in time for the Olympics as planned, according to the Financial Times.…

    
    
49. Move over cybercrims, DDoS now protesters' weapon of choice
    

    Attackers swap rifles for machine guns with laser sights

    Ideological hacktivism has replaced cybercrime as the main motivatation behind DDoS attacks, according to a study by Arbor Networks.…

    
    
50. Apple won't rule out all singing, all dancing iBooks on Kindle
    

    But they must be free. And will need an Android app

    Apple has come under fire for keeping all products of its new interactive book-making tool within its walled garden. According to a tough End User License Agreement, any iBooks created by the iBooks Author software can only be sold through the iBookstore so Apple can help itself to a 30 per cent cut.…

    
    

SlashDot

1. The Science Fiction Effect
   

   
   

   Harperdog writes "Laura Kahn has a lovely essay about the history of science fiction, and how science fiction can help explain concepts that are otherwise difficult for many...or perhaps, don't hold their interest. Interesting that Frankenstein is arguably the first time that science fiction appears. From Frankenstein to Jurassic Park, authors have been writing about 'mad scientists' messing around with life. Science fiction can be a powerful tool to influence society's views — one scientists should embrace."
   

   Read more of this story at Slashdot.

   
   
2. The Zuckerberg Tax
   

   
   

   Hugh Pickens writes "David S. Miller writes that when Facebook goes public later this year, Mark Zuckerberg plans to exercise stock options worth $5 billion of the $28 billion that his ownership stake will be worth and since the $5 billion he will receive will be treated as salary, Zuckerberg will have a tax bill of more than $2 billion making him, quite possibly, the largest taxpayer in history. But how much income tax will Zuckerberg pay on the rest of his stock that he won't immediately sell? Nothing, nada, zilch. He can simply use his stock as collateral to borrow against his tremendous wealth and avoid all tax. That's what Lawrence J. Ellison, the chief executive of Oracle, did, reportedly borrowing more than a billion dollars against his Oracle shares to buy one of the most expensive yachts in the world. Or consider the case of Steven P. Jobs who never sold a single share of Apple after he rejoined the company in 1997, and therefore never paying a penny of tax on the over $2 billion of Apple stock he held at his death. Now Jobs' widow can sell those shares without paying any income tax on the appreciation before his death — only on the increase in value from the time of his death to the time of the sale — because our tax system is based on the concept of "realization." Individuals are not taxed until they actually sell property and realize their gains and the solution to the problem is called mark-to-market taxation. According to Miller, mark-to-market would only affect individuals who were undeniably, extraordinarily rich, only publicly traded stock would be marked to market, and a mark-to-market system of taxation on the top one-tenth of 1 percent would raise hundreds of billions of dollars of new revenue over the next 10 years."
   

   Read more of this story at Slashdot.

   
   
3. Jedi Master's Hand-Made Lightsaber Stolen
   

   
   

   First time accepted submitter psiogen writes "Flynn Michael, an instructor at New York Jedi, an organization that teaches 'practical knowledge of how to use a lightsaber, left his custom-crafted blade for only a few imperial minutes, but when he returned, it was gone. Fromthe article:'“Who steals somebody’s lightsaber? It’s like stealing someone’s toy out of the sandbox,” said Michael, the founder of New York Jedi, a stage combat performance group. “I finally got my uber custom saber, and then some jerk walks out with it."'"
   

   Read more of this story at Slashdot.

   
   
4. US Air Force Buys iPads To Replace Flight Bags
   

   
   

   redletterdave writes "Following the precedent set by commercial airliners, the U.S. Air Force plans to buy up to 18,000 iPads for its Air Mobility Command (AMC), replacing heavy flight bags with light and efficient Apple iPad 2s for the crews that fly cargo aircraft. The devices will reportedly be used by the crews on the C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster aircraft. There are several benefits to using electronic flight bags instead of physical versions. For one, the iPad can instantly update charts electronically, while the AMC would require flying charts get reprinted every 28 days to stay up-to-date. By cutting publication printing and distribution costs, and exchanging 70 pounds of paper for a 1.3-pound iPad, the Air Force can save some serious cash, including more than $1.2 million worth of fuel per year."
   

   Read more of this story at Slashdot.

   
   
5. Selling Used MP3s Found Legal In America
   

   
   

   bs0d3 writes "After some litigation; ReDigi, a site where people can sell used MP3's has been found legal in America. One of the key decisions the judge had to make was whether MP3's were material objects or not. 'Material objects' are not subject to the distribution right stipulated in "17 USC 106(3)" which protects the sale of intellectual property copies. If MP3's are material objects than the resale of them is guaranteed legal under the first sale' exception in 17 USC 109. Capitol Records tried to argue that they were material objects under one law and not under the other. Today the judge has sided with the first-sale doctrine, which means he is seeing these as material objects."
   

   Read more of this story at Slashdot.

   
   
6. If You're Fat, Broke, and Smoking, Blame Language
   

   
   

   First time accepted submitter derekmead writes "A Yale researcher says that culture differences how much money we save, how well we take care of ourselves, and other behavior indicative of taking the long view, are all based on language. His study argues that the way a language's syntax refers to the future (PDF) affects how its speakers perceive the future. For example, English and Greek make strong distinctions between the present and the future, while German doesn't, while English and Greek speakers are statistically poorer and in worse health than Germans. (The study includes a broader swath of languages/nationalities, but that's a start.)"
   

   Read more of this story at Slashdot.

   
   
7. Labor Activist: Apple May Be Terrible, But All Others Are Worse
   

   
   

   CheerfulMacFanboy writes "Labor Activist Li Qiang wants you to know that the iPhone 4 in his pocket is not an endorsement of Apple's policies, just an acknowledgment that the company is doing a better job of monitoring factory conditions than its peers. The founder of leading advocacy group China Labor Watch (CLW) told us that, though the Cupertino company does more-thorough inspections than competitors, it is responsible for poor working conditions at its suppliers' factories and needs to invest some of its record-breaking profits in improving them. 'Although I know that the iPhone 4 is made at sweat shop factories in China, I still think that this is the only choice, because Apple is actually one of the best. Actually before I made a decision, I compared Apple with other cell phone companies, such as Nokia,' he said through a translator. 'And the conditions in those factories are worse than the ones of Apple.'"
   

   Read more of this story at Slashdot.

   
   
8. Man Claiming He Invented the Internet Sues
   

   
   

   wiedzmin writes "A low-profile Chicago biologist, Michael Doyle, and his company Eola Technologies, who has once won a $521m patent lawsuit against Microsoft, claim that it was actually he and two co-inventors who invented, and patented, the "interactive web" before anyone else, back in 1993. Doyle argues that a program he created to allow doctors to view embryos over the early Internet, was the first program that allowed users to interact with images inside of a web browser window. He is therefore seeking royalties for the use of just about every modern interactive Internet technology, like watching videos or suggesting instant search results. Dozens of lawyers, representing the world's biggest internet companies, including Yahoo, Amazon, Google and YouTube are acting as defendants in the case, which has even seen Tim Berners-Lee testify on Tuesday."
   

   Read more of this story at Slashdot.

   
   
9. File Sharing In the Post MegaUpload Era
   

   
   

   An anonymous reader writes "This report looks at file sharing in the post MegaUpload era. The main finding — file sharing did not go away. It did not even decrease much in North America. Mainly, file sharing became staggeringly less efficient. Instead of terabytes of North America MegaUpload traffic going to US servers, most file sharing traffic now comes from Europe over far more expensive transatlantic links."
   

   Read more of this story at Slashdot.

   
   
10. BigDog Robot Gets Much Bigger
    

    
    

    savuporo writes "Well known Boston Dynamics BigDog prototype now has a bigger brother named 'LS3' or Legged Squad Support System. It's intended to carry heavy loads for long treks and have enough autonomy to follow soldiers around, listen to voice commands and navigate autonomously."
    

    Read more of this story at Slashdot.

    
    
11. Virtual Reality Helmet Designed For Deep Space Surgery
    

    
    

    pigrabbitbear writes in with a link about a virtual reality helmet designed to help people deal with medical emergencies in space. "Humans are pretty fragile. A bad break in your hip can mean surgery and months of rehab. That's pretty bad, but what if you fall and break your hip on the Moon, or even Mars? You'd be hundreds of thousands or millions of miles from a fully stocked hospital and a surgeon with steady hands. There's the option of doctor-assisted surgery from Earth — a fellow astronaut performing the surgery with remote assistance from a doctor via video link. But the lengthy communications delay make this a poor option anywhere further than the Moon. Luckily for our Mars-bound descendants, the European Space Agency has a solution: an information-loaded assisted reality helmet that will let anyone identify and perform minor surgery to repair injuries."
    

    Read more of this story at Slashdot.

    
    
12. <em>Accidental Empires</em> To See Reboot In Blog Format
    

    
    

    New submitter shuttah writes "Robert X. Cringely, author of the 1992 influential book Accidental Empires , will be republishing and updating (including pictures and new chapters) the now twenty year-old book via the launch of a new blog also by the author. Cringeley tells us, 'So next month I'll be starting a second blog with its own URL just for Accidental Empires. I, Cringely will continue right here as ever (no changes at all), but on the book blog I will over several months publish — a chapter or so at a time — the entire 100,000-word book for the world to read, free of charge.' The book was also the basis for Cringley's 1996 TV miniseries Triumph of the Nerds released by PBS."
    

    Read more of this story at Slashdot.

    
    
13. The iPhone Is a Nightmare For Carriers
    

    
    

    New submitter HungryMonkey writes "According to the latest EBITDA numbers from AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon, the subsidies they have to pay Apple in order to carry the iPhone are drastically reducing their profits. From the Article: '"A logical conclusion is that the iPhone is not good for wireless carriers," says Mike McCormack, an analyst at Nomura Securities. "When we look at the direct and indirect economics that Apple has managed to extract from the carriers, the carrier-level value destruction is quite evident."' So one money sucking leech has attached itself to another money sucking leech?"
    

    Read more of this story at Slashdot.

    
    
14. Yahoo Replaces Half Its Board of Directors
    

    
    

    itwbennett writes "Yahoo's restructuring continued Tuesday with the ouster of 4 board members, including chairman Roy Bostock, according to an IDG News Service report. The move follows the resignation of Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang in January and gives investors something they'd been calling for, says analyst Greg Sterling: 'Investors have felt for a long time that the board was just rubber stamping what the leadership was doing. They want a reinvigorated board with some independence. People will wait to see what's different but I think this will be seen as a positive.'"
    

    Read more of this story at Slashdot.

    
    
15. RIAA Chief Whines That SOPA Opponents Were "Unfair"
    

    
    

    First time submitter shoutingloudly writes "In a NY Times op-ed today, RIAA chief Cary H. Sherman accuses the opponents of SOPA of having engaged in shady rhetorical tactics. He (wrongly) accuses opponents such as Wikipedia and Google of having disseminated misinformation about the bills. He lashes out at the use of the term 'censorship,' which he calls a 'loaded and inflammatory term.' Most /. readers will get the many unintentional jokes in this inaccurate, hypocritical screed by one of the leaders of the misinformation-and-inflammatory-rhetoric-wielding content industry lobby." A gem: "As it happens, the television networks that actively supported SOPA and PIPA didn’t take advantage of their broadcast credibility to press their case. That’s partly because 'old media' draws a line between 'news' and 'editorial.' Apparently, Wikipedia and Google don’t recognize the ethical boundary between the neutral reporting of information and the presentation of editorial opinion as fact."
    

    Read more of this story at Slashdot.