The Register

You're already gripping your fondleslab, so why not give the thumb something useful to do? Microsoft Research has come up with an interesting idea – user interfaces designed specifically for thumb-plus-stylus use on tablet computers.…

Oz Department of Comms, call the DTA to renew your domain Australians who try to set up a new satellite TV in remote areas can't register online for free-to-air reception, because an expired domain has left the registration service TITSUP (Total Inability To Support Usual Performance).…

Critical update for security engine rushed out the door Miscreants can turn the tables on Microsoft and use its own antivirus engine against Windows users – by abusing it to install malware on vulnerable machines.…

Redmond's own malware engine found to be faulty On barely a working day's notice Microsoft has fixed a nasty security hole in Windows – one that could have been exploited to remote control potentially millions of devices.…

Talon HATE pod squirts data over three protocols between previously-incompatible aircraft The United States Air Force has successfully networked its F-22 Raptor and F-15 Eagle aircraft under the “Talon HATE” program.…

Datanistas fend off privacy threat, citizens get a chance to be part of a new market Updated Australians won't get an opt-out from broad data collection, if the government adopts recommendations made by the Productivity Commission.…

In West Philadelphia the DoJ raised, an objection to how they kept the cops in a haze Lawsuit magnet Uber today settled one case in Washington – while a much larger potential issue has arisen in Philadelphia.…

No one real likes us, whines hotel doorstop provider You'd think the FBI has enough on its plate with the threat of terrorism, political investigations, and attempts to nobble end-to-end encryption.…

Code updated and new boxes coming Dell EMC World Dell EMC is updating three storage software products, previewing a fourth, and refreshing its Ready Nodes storage software and server bundles.…

Gruesome twosome sign pact to share backends, tech Much-loved US cable giants Comcast and Charter, which both long to run their own cellphone networks, are teaming up to make their wireless nightmare, er, dream a reality.…

PC maker wins buzzword bingo while emitting new sales deals Dell EMC World Dell Financial Services has today announced a string of sales and licensing deals to help customers avoid paying for stuff outright, even inventing a new TLA – "TLA," in fact.…

Mysterious craft likely to be surveillance testbed Pic The US Air Force’s mysterious X-37B space drone has landed – a mere two years after it took off.…

Ooooo! Hemmed edges! Dell EMC World Dell EMC has previewed the 14th generation of its PowerEdge server line, indicating there will be significant incremental advances in performance and usability, but with an almost complete absence of any product details.…

Emails and IDs exposed, trolls have a field day Updated Lonely hearts on the dating website Guardian Soulmates have been targeted with sexually explicit spam emails after trolls abused leaked contact information.…

Campaign planted bogus details on bogus websites but ultimately still got hacked The Macron campaign reportedly used fake logins and docs to waste hacker resources and frustrate phishing attempts.…

Which breach were your details revealed in, then? Three in five Brits reckon that fewer than three security steps – including passwords, card readers or letters from a memorable word – are insufficient to assure their bank account is secure and not accessible by other people.…

ASC17 coach on which tests and why HPC Blog As some of the blogs on the fifth annual ASC17 Asia Student Supercomputer challenge started to hit El Reg, we noticed a couple of comments that made me think that some of you out there are missing the point of these student cluster competitions. Here are a couple of them:…

Big Blue wants to lead NVMe transition in the industry. Really? +Comment IBM says it's developing systems with NVMe across its storage portfolio, and wants to ignite an industry-wide leap in system performance.…

Cisco 'preserving market position at expense of competition,' says Arista The US International Trade Commission has upheld a judgement that Arista Networks infringed two Cisco Systems patents on networking equipment - the latest round in a long-running legal battle between the companies.…

Aiming to dampen Vegas festivities Opening yet another front in the all-flash array wars, Pure Storage has announced an XtremIO and VMAX trade-in programme – timed, of course, to co-incide with the Dell EMC World shindig in Las Vegas.…

Is the story a joke? Well, is it? Comment Talk about chutzpah. Facebook has launched its PR campaign to combat "fake news" with the slogan "Together we can limit the spread of false news".…

Same place that Blighty's dented jets will get their T-Cut Italy has assembled the first F-35B outside the US, at the same factory where British jets will eventually be overhauled.…

Campaign risks total annihilation for its fear of politics Special Report When Obama pushed the FCC into extending Title II rules over US internet services in 2014, I described the President as "writing out a cheque he knew he couldn't cash". To no one's surprise, that cheque bounced last week, when the FCC chairman formally began the process to replace those rules. Title II has been a dead duck since Americans woke up on 7 November last year to a Republican President Elect, and a Republican Congress. The end just came sooner than expected.…

Consensus not in the DNA, giant claims Oracle has hit out at IBM and Red Hat Middleware for their continued opposition to its proposed plan to make Java modular.…

Also posts lacklustre profits Virgin Media added an extra 102,000 customers to its super-duper Project Lightning broadband programme in the last quarter - the same programme it was forced to admit having overstated by 142,000 connections back in March.…

ASC17: I say Paddle Paddle, you say MUSH.... HPC Blog As a HPC cluster competition starts to wind down and deadlines are close, I like to do a video check in with the teams to see how they’re doing. Usually they’re either very relaxed or very nervous.…

Microsoft virty server, storage software + Fujitsu hardware Fujitsu has introduced a Microsoft software-flavoured hyper-converged infrastructure appliance product. PRIMEFLEX for Storage Spaces Direct uses Microsoft virtualised infrastructure software, including Storage Spaces, and comes in pre-configured and pre-tested systems based on Fujitsu's PRIMERGY x86 servers, all-flash storage, and networking.…

First ray of light for ~1,000 contractors who've gone without pay for weeks Tech contractors left unpaid by the “suspension” of activities by Australian company Plutus Payroll finally have the prospect of good news, after the firm strongly hinted at conciliation with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and started talking to its customers again.…

But the cloud data warehouse startup is bracing itself for IPO Cloud data warehouse startup Snowflake has picked up a $100m D-round of funding.…

The life-changing effects of algorithmic bias Bureaucrats don’t just come in uniforms and peaked caps. They come in 1U racks, too. They’ll deny you credit, charge you more for paperclips that someone in another neighbourhood, and maybe even stop you getting out of jail. Algorithms are calling the shots these days, and they may not be as impartial as you thought.…

Don't cloudify your IT infrastructure lightly Managers of enterprise systems are being bombarded by messages touting the supposed benefits of cloud for cost reductions and greater IT “flexibility.”…

And lament that early browsers gave up on web site authoring tools and created monsters Every relationship has its rough edges, places where actions scrape, and through constant repetition, rub raw. Those tender spots can heal if left alone and if the parties are wiling to listen. But where the irritation continues, this raw spot becomes a wound that never closes, forcing a choice between continuing pain and a painful separation.…

Big Blue thinks companies should do the thing it absolutely refuses to do IBM, the company that just weeks ago said it was doing away with its work-from-home policy, is now preaching the benefits of telecommuting to customers.…

VMware and Pivotal are going to bring microsegmentation to Cloud Foundry Remember pets and cattle? CERN's 2012 metaphor to describe on-premises servers you name and care for lavishly versus virtualized cloud servers you never name, run in a herd and snuff out without a second's thought?…

Australia's site blocking legislation gets another outing Emboldened by success, Foxtel has fired off a new round of suballs with the aim of blocking more pirate sites from Australian users.…

Disney Research reckons TV, phone, and FM can carry Internet of Things comms Instead of Internet of Things devices generating their own radio waves, many proposals envisage sensors piggybacking their communications on other signals, in what's known as “backscatter communications”.…

Not a new version, but a bunch of bug-fixes Debian hasn't released a new version of Jessie, but its Version 8.8 that landed over the weekend repairs more than 100 package bugs.…

Check your hash, delete the app, change your passwords If you use the popular video transcoder Handbrake on a Mac, the distributors want you to check the download hash after one of their mirrors was compromised.…

BIOS fixes for most boxen landed Friday Dell, which last week was scrambling to work out which of its systems are affected by the Intel AMT vulnerability, has caught up with peers HP Inc, Lenovo and Fujitsu.…

Database giant still flirting with America's broadband watchdog Oracle's co-CEO has sent another bizarre love letter to the head of America's communications watchdog, the FCC.…

Don't fear – humankind will adapt, this here Pew report claims The Pew Research Center's latest report, The Future of Jobs and Jobs Training, warns that machines are eating our brains.…

Hmm, who could possibly do such a thing? Emmanuel Macron, the front-runner in France's presidential election, has condemned the online leakage of what's alleged to be his campaign staff's emails.…

Gawd, and we thought El Reg hacks' martini expense claims were bad The FBI reckons scammers netted more than $5bn in four years by emailing fake invoices and similar bogus claims to beancounters, tricking them into handing over company cash.…

State Dept asks public for comment on proposals to probe immigrants' online profiles The US State Department has asked the public to comment on changes to its immigrant vetting procedures – particularly the bit where it demands people's social media handles.…

Two big cases barreling through America's courts Analysis The holes and flaws in America's copyright law are under serious review thanks to two decisions by the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals – both of which come with significant implications for media companies.…

Not enough eyeballs in goggles to justify in-house production Proving yet again that goggled nausea is a hard sell, Facebook's virtual reality arm Oculus on Thursday said it would shut down Story Studio, its VR production unit.…

Exploit to pwn systems using vPro and AMT Code dive You can remotely commandeer and control computers that use vulnerable Intel chipsets by sending them empty authentication strings.…

Fondleslab sales plummet goes from 'bad' to 'IBM' Tablet sales have once again fallen, as the market logged its tenth consecutive quarter of decline.…

Brit plod used Terrorism Act to collar snapper. Hello, 2005 The chief constable of Sussex Police has labelled his staff “everyday heroes” for using the UK's Terrorism Act to arrest a photographer taking pictures of Hove Town Hall.…

Cyber florist's supplier Ecomnova fingered after backend systems hacked Malware has infected backend systems used by Brit high street chain Debenhams – and swiped 26,000 people's personal information in the process.…