The Register

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.…

Japanese super-tycoon to discuss 'stategic alliance' with electronics chaebol SoftBank mogul Masayoshi Son reportedly plans to meet executives at Samsung Electronics in Seoul to discuss a partnership between the Japanese mega-conglomerate's Arm subsidiary and the South Korean foundry giant.…

You boffins need to figure out who owns what before someone gets sued Getty Images has banned people from uploading AI-generated pictures to its massive stock image collection, citing concerns over copyright.…

Well, assuming the US ISP doesn't win its appeal A Dallas judge has reduced the amount Charter Communications must pay the family of a subscriber murdered by one of its Spectrum cable technicians.…

No need to blow into a tube, this passive tech will automatically hit the brakes if you're drunk A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) crash investigation has concluded with potentially wide-reaching implications for the auto industry, as the panel is recommending all new vehicles be equipped with technology that stops the engine if a drunk driver is at the wheel.…

It's better to burn out than to fade away A Tesla Megapack battery at a California substation caught fire early yesterday morning, prompting a shelter-in-place order and multiple road closures around the Moss Landing area of Monterey Bay. …

Sounds like fair comment Updated Google and its Youtube domains are being flagged as malicious by Malwarebytes as of Wednesday morning, blocking users from accessing a whole range of websites.…

But the question remains whether it is polluting more or less Amazon says it is adding 2.7 gigawatts of clean energy capacity to its operations that are spread across 71 new renewable energy projects worldwide, as it works towards becoming a carbon neutral biz by 2040.…

64-page roadmap details how we will all become the Jetsons Boeing's vision of future mainstream travel includes automated uncrewed passenger-carrying electric aircraft operating as taxis, and on Tuesday it released a detailed roadmap on how to get there by 2030.…

Users of cookie-warning-buster add-on already forking off due to privacy concerns The lone developer of anti-cookie-warning browser add-on "I Don't Care About Cookies" has sold it to Avast, resulting in both concern – and new forks.…

Integration tooling might work for those with multiple installs, but check the budget first – analyst Global CRM giant Salesforce has launched data lake and streaming software to help clients bring together customer data in real time.…

Battery, cable, and diesel combo as there are plenty of non-electrified lines Japanese manufacturer Hitachi Rail and Italy's Trenitalia have unveiled a triple hybrid locomotive that they claim halves carbon emission compared with the trains they replace.…

And operators not getting any better at saving power – or watching the water their bit barns drink Datacenter operators worldwide are largely unprepared for sustainability requirements, despite the industry anticipating new regulations in many regions. Meanwhile, outages are becoming increasingly costly, and progress on energy efficiency is stuck.…

If you love having thousands of tabs open, this might be one for you The Mozilla Foundation has let Firefox 105 out of the gate, and if you use a Chrome-based browser, it's a good time to take another look.…

Doesn't make cents, makes bigger bucks instead ... probably ChromeLoader – the malware that exploded onto the scene this year by hijacking browsers to redirect users to pages of ads – is apparently evolving into a more significant threat by deploying malicious payloads that go beyond malvertising.…

'3 together, 2 wherever' policy incoming. 'We've lost that deep connection' says boss Exclusive BT is ordering thousands of staff across the globe to return to the office three days a week or risk disciplinary procedures.…

(But wot about us vultures, sniff) The German government hopes AI-powered cameras will its protect endangered eagles from crashing into wind turbines.…

First-person shooter PUBG also barred for corrupting the young Afghanistan’s Taliban government has banned made-in-China social network TikTok and first-person shooter PUBG.…

'Indiscriminate' preemptive harvesting of personal info a big no-no. What a novel concept On Tuesday, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued rulings that limit indiscriminate data retention in France and Germany.…