www.theregister.com - Articles

How beams of light can boss around smart speakers Boffins affiliated with the University of Electro-Communications in Japan and America's University of Michigan have devised a way to use lasers to inject audio commands into mic-equipped devices.…

And there might be a delay before devs warm up to dual screens Comment The Surface Duo isn't an original idea – just look at LG's newest V60 smartphone or Toshiba's quirky Libretto Libretto W100 laptop. There's an air of experimentation about these devices, appearing to outsiders as a less-than-serious punt on a new direction. A gamble, essentially.…

You say broker, I say trojan, let's call the whole thing off Those wondering when the Microsoft love-in with Citrix might end will be relieved to learn that Microsoft Defender decided yesterday that Citrix Broker and High Availability Services bore all the hallmarks of a trojan.…

First Safe Harbor gone, now its replacement... Schrems the breaks! The long-running kerfuffle over the so-called Privacy Shield EU-US data protection agreement took another lurch this week after politicos announced plans to ponder an "enhancement" to the framework.…

*Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy A government drone pilot watched $950 meet a watery end after a bald eagle took umbrage at a DJI Phantom 4 Pro being used to map the shoreline of Lake Michigan.…

Case to be filed in the Netherlands and London Salesforce and Oracle are to face a GDPR lawsuit in London and the Netherlands that could cost them up to €10bn in fines, a legally aggressive privacy campaign group has claimed to The Register.…

Why does it always rain on me? Hewlett Packard Enterprise's UK operations were already feeling the squeeze before the COVID-19 pandemic made enterprises tighten spending on traditional infrastructure, according to the latest financial accounts.…

Infosec cert body looking into it as under-fire firm starts its own probe Exclusive British infosec accreditation body CREST has changed some of its exams after cheat sheets containing exam answers and practical walkthroughs were posted on GitHub in a repo that NCC Group confirmed included its own documents.…

The Register Theatre Company presents: Waiting for Windows Bork!Bork!Bork! Sometimes Windows sits and thinks, and sometimes it just sits. Today's entry in The Register's pit of signage silage is an example of Microsoft's former finest that sums up the last few months better than we could ever hope to.…

Lawyer driving case said to have been re-assigned and filed complaint against boss over alleged sub-$40m settlement United States labor secretary Eugene Scalia has reportedly personally intervened in Oracle’s wage discrimination case and suggested it could settle for a modest sum.…

And with a wave of his hand, the printer was fixed On Call Friday is here and while we cannot promise a break in the weather, we can bring forth another recollection from those brave souls staffing the helpdesk courtesy of The Register's On Call mailbag.…

If you haven’t touched yours for six-plus months, you have to cough up to prevent erasure come November Docker has warned that it plans to delete 4.5 petabytes of container images that haven’t been used for six or more months.…

Not just Germany stepping up to the plate – Ireland, too, we're told Britain's NHS has released its second go at a contact-tracing app to help limit the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus infections, thanks in part to some help from the neighbors.…

If you think the quantum world is confusing, wait until you see the pricing Amazon Web Services has fired up a cloud quantum computing service.…

‘Honoring the honest’ is the catchphrase for massive new online scheme India has announced a new technology-powered tax collection scheme that it hopes will increase its revenue.…

Ponders giving 'em immunity too for countermeasures up to hacking back. Australia’s government has proposed giving itself the power to take over private enterprises’ response to cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure.…

$2.5m-a-year CEO set to take a pay cut, so that's all right, then Mozilla has renewed its lucrative nine-figure deal with Google to ensure its search engine is the default in Firefox in the US and other parts of the world.…

Google yoinks smash-hit video game from Play store, too Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, filed a lawsuit against Apple on Thursday accusing the iGiant of illegally monopolizing iOS app distribution and app payments.…

From Russia, with love The NSA and FBI are sounding the alarm over a dangerous new strain of Linux malware being employed by Russian government hackers often dubbed the Fancy Bear crew.…

Hubble probe readings may reveal what caused Betelgeuse to briefly dim The light from the red supergiant Betelgeuse dimmed to a record low earlier this year, leading stargazers to speculate it was about to explode as a supernova. But now it appears the aging sun merely had a stellar sneeze.…

Day one: We're worth half a billion! Day Two: We're nearly worthless A two-day-old decentralized cryptocurrency called YAM collapsed on Wednesday after its creators revealed that a software bug had effectively vetoed human governance.…

Oslo outfit ups ante to show off privacy prowess in 3.2 Oslo-based Vivaldi has released an update to its Android browser replete with additional weaponry for the ongoing Tracker and Ad Blocker arms race.…

'We need this issue solved ASAP' Life ain't so suite (pardon) for a bunch of Google Apps Script developers thanks to a bug preventing them from using the platform's debug mode.…

Promises to ladle out more info on grand SRAM at Hot Chips Samsung Foundry has begun rollout of its latest 3D IC packaging tech, dubbed “eXtended-Cube” or “X-Cube*", which it claims can result in lower power consumption and faster overall speeds.…

This is how you win an election Updated Since the United States has had so much success flattening the curve (vertically), President Donald Trump has turned his attention to more pressing matters.…

Chairman of iPhone maker tells investors local markets will grow their own manufacturing ecosystems China's days as "the world's factory" are numbered, according to Foxconn chairman Young Liu.…

Never mind the delays, competition, or departures – we've got a strategy Intel has revealed details of its 11th Generation Core technology, including its Tiger Lake laptop-friendly system-on-chip family featuring Willow Cove CPU cores and so-called SuperFin 10nm transistors.…

Stop sniggering, don't forget those 'indirect taxes' Amazon says it pays Unlike arch-rival Amazon, eBay has assured the 300,000 third parties that use its online marketplaces it will continue to absorb the UK government's Digital Services Tax (DST) rather than pass it on.…

Stealing nudists' laptops? An appetite for cocaine? They're evolving! Video Footage from northern Germany appears to document an alarming development in the arsenal of wild boars – amphibious assaults.…

Get off my grass! ... And onto my WFH desktop Ink-tank printers flew off distributors' shelves in the first half of this year and onto the desks of work-from-home employees, providing one of the brighter spots for printer land in the first half of 2020.…

Finally, a digital transformation that really matters Charles Darwin's legacy lives not just in the idea of evolution by natural selection, but also in the samples he collected.…

Big Red: Everything's fine A bunch of Oracle developers supporting its Commerce systems are being let go as Big Red seeks to downsize the struggling platform.…

Lenovo says online sales soared in Q1 and has new hyper-plan for its data center unit Lenovo's long-suffering data centre group has posted considerably increased revenue and a modest loss, thanks to increased engagements with hyperscale clients.…

Heir to 2017’s successful Spectrum Next hits target in minutes The team behind 2017’s successful re-imagining of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum is back with another new cut of the classic British Micro.…

Three little words: Patches, passwords, policies The continued inability of organizations to patch security vulnerabilities in a timely manner, combined with guessable passwords and the spread of automated hacking tools, is making it pretty easy for miscreants, professionals, and thrill-seekers to break into corporate networks.…

Also hosed out many Datrium staff on day one VMware has made a round of layoffs that appear to be one of its regular consolidations but The Register has learned coincided with some internal re-organisation.…

Files 'Please explain' memo to Washington as revenue jumps 29 percent and profit pops even higher Chinese web giant Tencent has reported strong growth and brushed off the potential impact of the USA’s proposed ban on its WeChat service and cloud operation.…

But only to bits that aren’t conflict hot spots India has taken a small step towards restoring meaningful internet access to the disputed states of Jammu and Kashmir, by ordering a trial restoration of 4G services in select areas.…

Q4 revenue took a nasty kick in the COVIDs, but profit bounced anyway Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins says his IT giant is considering an as-a-service offering for its core networking hardware.…

Venerable Arecibo Observatory showing its age Pic America's largest radio telescope, the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, has been forced to shut down after a falling cable slashed a 100-foot rent in its 1,000-foot reflector dish.…

CEO says making cyber-cabbies employees would be a bridge too far Uber's CEO today threatened to suspend all of its dial-a-ride services in California should a judge not grant an emergency appeal to let it continue classifying its app's drivers as contract workers.…

UK sales chief treated her unequally, rules Employment Tribunal A Splunk saleswoman who brought in eight-figure deals has won a sex discrimination lawsuit against the data analytics 'n' SIEM vendor after she was "pushed aside for the old boys' network".…

'A more productive way to get things done' – in the States only Microsoft has followed the Surface Duo price and ship date with some detailed specs that will leave all but the company's most determined fans struggling to say much more than: "Is that it?"…

US consumer nonprofit alleges it was false advertising What's that barging into Zoom's socially distanced virtual family reunion? It's a lawsuit from US nonprofit Consumer Watchdog alleging the videoconferencing giant misled the public over its purported use of end-to-end encryption.…

Famed IP holder pops champers as Cupertino plots appeal A jury in Texas yesterday agreed that Apple should cough up $506.2m in FRAND royalties for including 4G LTE capability on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch without buying a licence from a group of IP holders.…

Tipped to appear on upcoming Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G Samsung has lifted the lid on its new Adaptive Frequency screen tech, which dynamically adjusts a display's refresh rate based on the app being used. The firm says the tech is already commercially available, with plans to debut it on the Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G flagship blower.…

Names, email addresses, phone numbers, job titles, company names, country of residence etc. pinched Updated Cybersecurity training organisation the SANS Institute suffered the loss of 28,000 items of personally identifiable information (PII) after a staffer's email account was accessed by malicious people.…

Easing users into the world of Windows 10 IoT Enterprises eyeing their crusty old Windows CE apps with alarm as Microsoft yanks the plug on its legacy operating systems will be relieved to see the company making good on its promised CE container technology.…

So it's working really well As US President Trump pats himself on the back for disrupting Huawei's business outside of China, he may be interested to discover more and more smartphones purchased in the US are made in the Middle Kingdom.…

Careful with that Patch, Eugene Bork!Bork!Bork! As displays become ever more complex, one constant remains. Windows will need care and attention and is liable to let the world know if it doesn't get it. Welcome to another in The Register's pantheon of Bork.…