The Register

It's mostly a channel program with a fancy name, plus more outposts Alibaba Cloud last week staged its annual gabfest and revealed some tasty new cloud services, as well as a billion dollar "ecosystem upgrade" aimed at finding more customers outside China.…

Hails unusually smooth development process despite travel complications Linux kernel boss Linus Torvalds has offered the community an optimistic prediction that version 6.0 of the project will debut next week.…

PLUS: Warnings on Chinese payment schemes; AWS brushes up its Cantonese; Hong Kong ponders digital dollar; and more! Asia In Brief India's government last week released a draft telco law that defines all over-the-top services as telecoms providers and therefore makes them subject to the same regulations imposed on carriers.…

'One of the most dangerous and active malware developers operating at the moment' Crooks spreading the Noberus ransomware are adding weapons to their malware to steal data and credentials from compromised networks.…

What a mine field Analysis Gamers may not have to fight off cryptocurrency miners or pay scalped prices to get their hands on a GPU now, especially if they're willing to pick up an Nvidia 30-series or AMD 6000-series card…

We chat to the scientists involved in first-of-its-kind mission Feature On Monday, September 26 at 2314 UTC, scientists at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in America, and those monitoring ground-based telescopes across our planet, will be celebrating something usually associated with failure in space missions.…

Has someone been Poettering about? Linux distros running on Windows in a WSL2 virtual machine now can use the systemd init system.…

If you've got no OS of your own, you've got little chance to compete, Firefox maker sighs Firefox maker Mozilla is taking aim at Microsoft, Google, and Apple for using their operating systems to steer users to their browsers and stacking the deck against rivals who lack the same OS advantages. Like, for instance, Mozilla.…

Nothing screams Land of the Free like the government ordering you to host awful but lawful content The State of Florida has asked the US Supreme Court to affirm that its social media law SB 7072, which bars online platforms from removing speech they don't want, meets constitutional free speech guarantees.…

Cor, that's a shot in the arm for this upstart CPU ISA RISC-V chip biz SiFive says its processors are being used to manage AI workloads to some degree in Google datacenters.…

A day in the G is like a day on the farm. Every meal a banquet. Every code checkout a parade. I love the G Updated Challenged by questions about Google's cost-cutting at an internal meeting, Alphabet billionaire CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly reassured employees about the internet giant's financial belt tightening by insisting that workplace fun doesn't have to be about money.…

'At least ten' people didn't declare coin income. Wow, what a bust The IRS has been granted a court order to collect records from a bank the agency said will help it identify US taxpayers who failed to report taxable income from crypto trades. …

Even those with older devices will have to sign in if they want to activate new features As part of its takeover of Fitbit, Google will begin requiring customers to use Google accounts to manage their fitness-tracking devices, reigniting privacy concerns over the acquisition in 2019.…

Subscribers have questions – like 'When were you going to tell us?' Updated Australian telecommunications company Optus has fallen victim to a significant cyberattack and data breach.…

Ex-CEO also on the hook for $1m after skipping over known software issues Boeing has agreed to pay $200 million to settle charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claiming the aviation giant misled investors about the safety of its 737 MAX airplane.…

Also: New 'magnet of threats' attackers and FBI has details on Iran's online incursion into Albania Iran is experiencing a near-total internet service disruption in the west and intermittent interruptions nationwide, with access to Instagram, Whatsapp and some mobile networks being blocked, says Netblocks.…

But a median of 60Mbps is not to be sniffed at when you're out in the sticks Elon Musk's Starlink satellite broadband service has seen a decline in download speeds around the world as more and more subscribers sign up, perhaps making the company a victim of its own success.…

You know you're working, your colleagues know you're working, but the boss? Survey says: Paranoid The vast majority of employees working remotely are satisfied with their output but employers still don't know just how fruitful their staff are when away from the office, leading to "productivity paranoia."…

COVID-19, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, growing inflation, and the threat of recession driving adoption Businesses can cut the cost of maintaining ageing enterprise software in half with judicious use of third-party support vendors, according to research outfit Gartner.…

Wasp-like technique could be used to 3D-print structures in that remote place you plan to retire in Flying robots could be the answer to the challenge of building structures in remote locations or hard-to-reach spots, according to engineers who have developed a drone-based approach to 3D printing.…

Controversial reforms ditched but expert notes HMRC thinks 90% don't comply The UK government has announced plans to repeal the controversial reform to off-payroll taxation, a set of rules which applied to IT contractors who move between companies.…

Servers sure to sport AMD's Epyc Genoa or Intel's Sapphire Rapids but certain specs still under wraps Lenovo has a wave of over 50 products and services coming to coincide with the 30th anniversary of ThinkSystem servers, including AMD and Intel-based hardware, edge systems, storage arrays and a unified management platform.…

Four fresh dates organized for industrial action as union puts the squeeze on biz Tens of thousands of BT Group engineers and call center workers, including those who handle emergency calls, are scheduled to go on strike for a total of four days next month in a long-running pay dispute.…

Some drip forgot to tell the designers until the renovation had begun On-Call If it's Friday it must be time for another episode of On Call, The Register's weekly column celebrating readers' escapes from nasty scrapes.…

If you could stop storing records on people unconnected to any crimes, that would be great An EU watchdog says rules that allow Europol cops to retain personal data on individuals with no links to criminal activity go against Europe's own data privacy protections, not to mention undermining the regulator's powers and role.…

Bosses' bad behavior may, just may, have derailed crucial warehouse vote Amazon is running out of time to answer allegations from an American watchdog that it unlawfully suppressed labor organizers at one of its warehouses in New York. …

Ad goliath reckons complaint is meritless – but it would, wouldn't it? Meta was sued on Wednesday for alleged undisclosed tracking and data collection in its Facebook and Instagram apps on Apple iPhones.…

Thanks for the advice DeepMind has trained a chatbot named Sparrow to be less toxic and more accurate than other systems, by using a mix of human feedback and Google search suggestions.…

Musk fumes at NHTSA 'recall' of a million-plus cars Tesla owners ought to check for firmware updates, or risk their windows proving to be less than (h)armless.…

Maybe we don't want to go with the netflow, man US government agencies have been buying, to some degree, details of Americans' internet activities from data brokers – and US Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) wants an explanation.…

While issuing an emergency patch for Endpoint Configuration Manager Data-stealing spyware disguised as a banking rewards app is targeting Android users, Microsoft's security team has warned.…

Neat idea until you remember that roaches and sunlight, not a good mix A research breakthrough in Japan could mean future search and rescue missions are conducted using cyborg cockroaches. What's more, an ultra-thin solar film is the real star of this show. …

Teams up with National University of Singapore on proof-of-concept designs Equinix has teamed up with the National University of Singapore to investigate the potential of hydrogen as a green fuel source for datacenter infrastructure.…

Facebook and Instagram Live use same programming described in Voxer patents, says jury A Texas jury this week ordered Meta Platforms to pay more than $174 million for infringing patents held by walkie-talkie techies at Voxer, who sell an iPhone app that lets you instantly send messages across the internet as you are speaking.…

The sky is getting crowded, but some think the FCC is moving too fast to clean it up A group of satellite operators has asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reconsider its proposed five-year window to remove orbital junk by adding language that would let them request waivers to exceed the limit. …

Love it or loathe it? Plus: KDE 5.26 here soon, and both desktops still working on mobile support The third release of GNOME since the big shift of GNOME 40 is coming together – but KDE isn't getting left behind.…

Lured by fake jobs, victims are isolated abroad and forced to carry out crypto and romance scams, and more Authorities in Sihanoukville, Cambodia announced on Sunday that a raid last week uncovered evidence of forced labor cybercrime syndicates that participated in human trafficking and torture.…

More proof, if it were needed, that not everything connected to Google is gold "If anyone can do this, we can," burbles air taxi startup Kittyhawk's homepage, which may now need an update since the company has announced it is to cease operations.…

Ah, the human touch Beware the Zoom site you don't recognize, as a criminal gang is creating multiple fake versions aimed at luring users to download malware that can steal banking data, IP addresses, and other information.…

The cloud has forever changed infrastructure services landscape – just ask IBM, HPE, CSC and Atos IT services biz DXC Technology has pulled in consultants to help senior management examine a takeover bid.…

Labor org points out hypocrisy of chairman with multiple directorships sacking workers for similar Rishad Premji, executive chairman of Indian IT services giant Wipro, revealed on Wednesday that the company fired 300 employees for moonlighting with its competitors.…

All right, what's all this, then? Three of you, are there? The UK is to scrutinize the role of Amazon, Microsoft and Google in the country's £15 billion ($16.97 billion) cloud services market, with comms regulator Ofcom warning it will take action if competition concerns are identified.…

As employers herd staff back to the office with few perks, workers are concerned about what it'll cost them We all must have experienced the deepening cost-of-living crisis first hand by now. But according to new research, there is a cost-of-working crisis too as employers insist staff return to the office.…

After venturing into HCM, UK's central bank embarks on finance and procurement journey with Big Red The UK's central bank is on the hunt for a service partner as it plans to expand its finance, procurement, and recruitment applications into the Oracle Cloud.…

French industrial conglomerate pays $10.75b, but already owned lion's share of industrial software specialist Analysis Yet another major UK technology business is to pass into foreign ownership with Schneider Electric's £9.48 billion (c $10.75 billion) deal to acquire all the outstanding shares in Aveva.…

But uh-oh, friction faults already starting on distant probe Pic The James Webb Space Telescope has snapped the clearest picture of Neptune, capturing its dust rings and seven moons, in more than 30 years.…

Hint: It’s not necessarily gamers GTC This week’s GPU Technology Conference saw Nvidia do something we haven’t see much of from the chip designer lately: refresh a consumer product.…

Oh cool, a 5,500-day security hole At least 350,000 open source projects are believed to be potentially vulnerable to exploitation via a Python module flaw that has remained unfixed for 15 years.…

All eyes on you, and you, and you San Francisco police are now set to use non-city-owned video cameras for real-time surveillance under a rule approved by the Board of Supervisors.…

You're not being fired, we're just unable to facilitate your sustained employment Forget quiet quitting. Meta and Google have learned the art of the quiet layoff: telling staff to pick new roles after reorganizing or disbanding teams, and running out the clock on the reapplication process until some are left with no job.…