Preview: The Register - Odds and Sods: Bootnotes
 The Register - Odds and Sods: BootnotesBiting the hand that feeds ITCopyright: Copyright 2012, Situation Publishing
StreetView disappears Dutch office tower Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:00:09 GMT Because it’s Friday…It’s one of those wonderful discrepancies that happens when a site has to wait a year or so between visits from the Google StreetView photo-harvesters.…
Japan enlists foreign bloggers to revive tsunami-hit tourist biz Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:24:05 GMT Will 10 gaijin really make a difference?The Japanese government is trying to get foreign bloggers to do PR for it by inviting them to earthquake- and tsunami-hit areas to write compassionately about the progress being made in reconstructing the ravaged north-east of the country.… (image)
Indonesian train roof fare-dodgers given the brush off Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:39:03 GMT Foul-smelling brooms purge carriages of surfing commutersIndonesian 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.…
Google unleashes 'Solve for X' confabs to save the world Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:31:03 GMT Boffins gathered for new TED-like talksInternet giant Google is once more trying to save the world, this time with its TED-rip-off "Solve for X" project.…
Steve Jobs sighted in Taiwan flogging Android tablets Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:29:10 GMT Rumours of PlayBook Elvis discountedIn the cut-throat tablet market, a Taiwanese company has found one way to make its product stand out: paying an actor to dress up as Steve Jobs and make tasteless jokes about how he's dead.…
US tweet deportation: Chilling behind-the-scenes photos Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:19:53 GMT The shock truth of what really went down at LAXThe story earlier this week on the deportation from the US of A of two Brits who ill-advisedly tweeted they were off to "destroy America" left a few readers pretty shaken up at the way the Department of Homeland Security handles potential terrorist threats.…
'We're totally in LA pissing people off' Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:01:10 GMT Plus 'The horror!'Quotw This was the week when Facebook finally filed for its IPO.… (image)
Android users more likely to put out Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:45:23 GMT Open like their app ecosystem...Android users are more likely to be slutty, it transpires – having more one night stands, signing up to dating sites more often and being more likely to have sex on a first date, according to a Match.com survey of single Canadian mobile users.…
Portland Jedi jailed for lightsabre rampage Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:19:09 GMT Also banned from Toys R UsThe Portland man who defeated a police Taser with a Jedi lightsabre has been jailed for 45 days.…
Microsoft ad campaign savages Google over privacy Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:04:09 GMT 'We are not like them, and hey, why not try IE?'Updated Microsoft is launching a three-day advertising campaign in the US, offering itself as the privacy-respecting alternative to Google.…
Groupon's pants 'Weight Loss HOTPANTS' ad banned Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:18:07 GMT Watchdog sweats over site's track recordGroupon has got into fresh trouble with the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA), this time over pants.… (image)
Airbrushed Rachel Weisz gets watchdog hot under the collar Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:42:07 GMT ASA snarls at L’Oreal's age-defying Photoshop treatmentThe Advertising Standards Authority has ordered skincare outfit L’Oreal to lay off the Photoshop, after it ran a magazine ad showing Rachel Weisz in improbably good form as a result of slapping on Revitalist Repair 10.…
The IEEE and the Electric Universe Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:00:06 GMT A podium isn’t endorsement says Victoria chapterThe IEEE’s outpost in Victoria is to play host to an airing of the fringe “Electric Universe” theory today.…
Brit pair deported from US for 'destroy America' tweet Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:43:03 GMT Also intended to disinter Marilyn Monroe, Homeland Security claimsA couple of Brits were unceremoniously ejected from the US last week after one of them ill-advisedly tweeted he was off to "destroy America".…
Stab victim protected by Bulgarian airbag Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:27:10 GMT Jub job saved Florida woman's life, doc reckonsA Florida woman who was set upon by her ex-fiance's knife-wielding new squeeze survived the attack thanks to one of her Bulgarian airbags, according to this report.…
'You will download your sneakers within 20 years. Yarr' Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:47:08 GMT Plus: Fruity smugness - 'momentum is incredibly strong'QuotW This was the week when Microsoft filed a lawsuit against a Russian man who allegedly created and operated the Kelihos botnet before it got taken down in September last year.… (image)
Nikon compact, only $AU100k Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:45:55 GMT Deal too good to missWe’re all familiar with the syndrome: someone forgets to fill in the price field in a database, and all of a sudden, an online store is offering products at zero dollars.…
Outside-the-box thinking literally can't be done inside a box, say profs Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:02:07 GMT Trick cyclists in fridge-carton tomfoolishnessTime-rich trick cyclists in Singapore and America have determined to their own satisfaction that it is actually much more difficult to think outside the box if you are, in reality, inside a large box at the time.…
'Why would I make any more Star Wars movies?' Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:42:07 GMT Plus 'I've worked with kids who will urinate in a bottle in their room'Quotw This was the week in which Google tiptoed into the weird end of the news when it patented tracking your fridge - yes, your fridge. The designs describe registering the change of ownership of an appliance as well as storing info about its usage in a communications card.…
The Register to publish other sites' blacked-out content in SOPA protest Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:27:20 GMT Vulture Central in selfless bid to save the internetUpdated As many Register readers will be aware, websites across the internet have pledged to black out all or part of their content as a protest against the proposed US Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).…
'My product is driPhone, not iPhone' Sat, 14 Jan 2012 09:00:08 GMT Ballmer, Jobs dolls and Nuclear AnnihilationQotW Gadgets were launched, people said stupid things and journalists trudged up and down writing stories about ultrabooks, this week was CES and it sent the tech press into a LED-dazzled headspin.… (image)
Footie club sacks striker for homophobic tweet Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:02:07 GMT Own goal scored in jibe at gay rugby playerOxford City have sacked ageing striker Lee Steele after he posted a homophobic tweet.…
Profs call for harsh taxes on sweet carbonated beverages Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:19:11 GMT California moves toward tapwater-only lifestyleMedical scientists in San Francisco have sent a chill wind blowing through the IT industry as they issue a call for swingeing taxes on "soda, fruit punch, sweet tea, sports drinks, and other sweetened beverages".…
NASA halts 'naut flogging Apollo 13 notebook Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:39:11 GMT Jim Lovell put emergency checklist up for auctionNASA has sparred with one of its most famous astronauts over the sale of a checklist of life-saving calculations.…
Google Maps takes scenic route Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:39:23 GMT Take the long way home…A few days ago, this author noticed some oddities in Google Maps: it seemed to be unable to route relatively short distances on major highways.…
HSBC pinpoints branches with sub-atomic accuracy Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:18:11 GMT Bank's 'find your nearest tentacle' accurate to 17 decimal placesThose of you who are sticklers for accuracy will doubtless applaud banking monolith HSBC and its splendid "Find your nearest branch" service.… (image)
'You have to worry about the management of Twitter' Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:02:11 GMT From Wendi Deng fake to Phobos-Grunt's fiery fateQuotw This was the week in which we learned that the techie surprise at the bottom of many, many Brits' Christmas stockings was some form of Amazon Kindle, if you believe pollster YouGov.…
US 'space warplane' may be spying on Chinese spacelab Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:25:00 GMT Is X-37B's secret mission watching Heavenly Palace?The US Air Force's second mysterious mini-space shuttle, the X-37B, could be spying on China's space laboratory and the first piece of its space station, Tiangong-1.…
Satnav mishap misery cure promised at confab Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:02:11 GMT Govt will bang heads together to push latest maps to driversEver get that sinking feeling after your satnav misdirects your car into a ditch? Relax, the government is wading in to help stressed-out drivers get more accurate information from the road-mapping devices.…
The next Steve Jobs is: Kanye West Fri, 06 Jan 2012 06:03:09 GMT Hip-hop star launches design institute stuffed with dope ... mindsSteve Jobs may have passed away, but his mantle has fallen on ready shoulders... those of the hip-hop artist Kanye West, who promised last night on Twitter that he would continue the great man's work.…
Official: File-sharing is a religion... in Sweden Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:32:05 GMT Cop a load of KopimismSweden has acknowledged that online file-sharing can be deemed a religion, after campaigners fought to get their cause recognised for more than a year.… (image)
Boffins glue self-righting ROBO-VELOCIRAPTOR tail to car Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:05:09 GMT Leaping lizards inspire super stable search botsBiologists at the University of California in Berkeley have stuck an intelligent robotic tail on a toy car in an attempt to make clumsy droids of the future more stable.…
Anonymous hunts neo-Nazis with WikiLeaks-style site Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:23:10 GMT Loads of alleged donors, right-wing players to send those pizzas toMembers of Anonymous have re-doubled their offensive against German neo-Nazis.…
Whale versus shark in KIWI DEATH MATCH! Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:30:03 GMT This ain't 'Free Willy'New Zealand residents were treated to a spectacular event just before New Year, when a beachside encounter between orcas and sharks turned into a surf-churning blood-in-the-water battle worthy of a cheesy horror flick.…
Next-generation materials for post-Christmas repairs: Reg investigates Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:00:07 GMT Stuff of the Gods comes to aid tearful tots, hungover dadsToys break, normally within a few days of Christmas, so most parents keep a tube of glue alongside the traditional Christmas battery selection, but that's old hat now. The with-it dad is packing flexible polymer, these days.…
Playboy model's complaints against HP chief Hurd laid bare by court Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:32:07 GMT 'Awkward' dinners, bank balance ATM boasts allegedThe dossier detailing sexual harassment allegations that sparked the exit of HP boss Mark Hurd has finally been published after a court ruled that it was only "mildly embarrassing".… (image)
Stephen Hawking seeks geek to maintain his unique wheelchair Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:57:36 GMT £25k for gadgeteer to keep custom robovoice ride rollingCould you repair and tweak superstar physicist Stephen Hawking's robot voice box and gadget-laden wheelchair? If you reckon yes, then the celebrated author and cosmologist wants to hear from you.…
Well, burn my atomic-clock-powered new human renaissance platform Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:01:12 GMT Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow! It's Quotes of the Year 2011"A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions," Proverbs 18:2 tells us. So thank goodness the Internet was invented. Here's our annual selection of barmy and brilliant things said in 2011 - this year's selection leans heavily towards the barmy.…
MIT student unicycles, Segway-style Thu, 29 Dec 2011 22:00:10 GMT Homebrew ‘leccy single-wheelerA student at MIT has created a nearly self-balancing electric unicycle, imitating the kind of stability control seen in the Segway.…
'Other land uses bring in more money than frankincense' Fri, 23 Dec 2011 10:00:03 GMT Plus 'I have written self-aware code'QuotW This was the week when the rumours about potential suitors for Research in Motion started as the firm's fortunes continued to flag. Various industry whispers put Amazon, Microsoft and Nokia in a partnership, HTC and Samsung in the hot seat for a possible BlackBerry-maker buy.…
Steve Jobs gets posthumous Grammy AND a bronze statue Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:42:10 GMT Who knew the iSaint was part of the Staines massive?Steve Jobs, who died in October this year, has been posthumously handed a Grammy award.… (image)
Shed Xmas flab and debug code with treadmill laptop contraption Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:44:07 GMT For fatties who can't leave their keyboardsNo self-respecting techie would ever be seen dead in a gym. If you want to get fit, just put down the doughnut and go for a walk. However for those of you who do submit to treadmill workouts but don't want to miss a minute's coding time, this might interest you.…
'Android malware must be kind of thrilling for Microsoft' Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:44:04 GMT Plus: 'Young people are fed up with iPhones'QuotW This was the week when in a rather ironic about-turn, peer-to-peer veterans decided to start a suit against companies like Google, Amazon, Dropbox and VMWare for using their intellectual property to make their cloud and virtualisation offerings.…
Jedi light-sabre beats Taser in Oregon parking-lot fracas Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:28:03 GMT Mumbo-jumbo mystic impervious to cops' electric blastersFor those of you who've ever wondered, like you do, whether the Jedi lightsabre or the Taser is the more effective weapon, we're delighted to report that the electric dispenser of justice is no match for Obi-Wan Kenobi's mighty glowing tool.…
Foo Fighters gig goes seismic Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:40:59 GMT Bass lines like volcanoes shake the KiwisIn a scene that could have been written by Douglas Adams, a Foo Fighters gig in Auckland in quake-prone New Zealand has shown up on seismic monitoring stations.…
Google promises 0.001 of revenue to free the slaves Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:51:09 GMT 'More slaves today than at any time in history'Google is on course to smash the £30bn annual revenue barrier by the end of this year, so - in time-honoured fashion with it be Christmas 'n' all - the company has plonked just over 0.1 per cent of this cash on the philanthropic pile.… (image)
iPhone users get iJustHadAShag bedpost-notch boast app Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:57:04 GMT 'I'm just in the middle of someone'iOS users who fondle more than a slab now have an app to help them report the fact instantly, without having to compose the previously-requisite 140-character double entendre.…
Woz's key to success: Burn the tie, wear T-shirts to work Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:01:10 GMT Megastar geek mauls Singapore in pro-hippy polemicSingapore is far too strait-laced, says Apple co-founder and engineering hero Steve Wozniak, and employers should let their workers wear T-shirts.…
Paul Allen latest plan: Space rockets on MEGA PLANE Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:28:06 GMT This one's definitely not made of spruce, thoughBillionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul G Allen has set foot down a path trailblazed generations ago by another eccentric business kingpin: he intends to build the biggest aircraft ever flown. However unlike Howard Hughes' monster "Spruce Goose" 1940s flying boat, Allen's plan appears at least feasible and he has some big names on board.…
Apple's founding contracts sold for $1.59 MILLION Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:23:08 GMT Paperwork signed by Jobs and Woz auctioned offApple's founding documents have sold for ten times their estimated price at a Sotheby's auction, fetching $1.59 million.… |
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