2nd September 1998 Archive

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Gates & Co hit by group amnesia

Microsoft staff don't know what a browser is

"Bill Gates . . . displayed a particular failure of recollection at his deposition," the Department of Justice says in the publicly-filed, heavily-censored version of its response to Microsoft's motion seeking summary judgement (dismissal) of the DoJ's case. This recollection problem of Gates has confused Microsoft watchers, who …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 08:42
Gates seeks order to muzzle press

These are secrets, my dears

In a brief quietly filed in the Washington DC court of appeals on Tuesday, Microsoft has asked the court to confirm that the depositions taken from Bill Gates and Microsoft executives will remain forever secret. An application to Judge Jackson to attend the deposition of Gates and other executives was initiated by Reuters and …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 08:44
Markets hop around like frog on speed

US up while London takes a beating

It was U-turn time on the US markets on Tuesday, with a record Nasdaq gain of 76 points or nearly 5.1 per cent to 1575. In New York, the stock exchange had its heaviest ever trading day with the Dow Jones industrial average up 288 points or 3.8 per cent to 7827. On average, around half the losses of the previous day were …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 08:48
Apple's Jobs bold at Seybold

Company has Sherlock in the pipeline

October will see the introduction of the new Mac OS 8.5 operating system, according to Steve Jobs -- still designated as Apple's interim CEO – said in a keynote address to the Seybold 98 publishing trade show in San Francisco. Jobs called the upgrade, previously code-named Allegro, a "must have" particularly because of its " …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 08:51
Novell makes sound of one hand clapping

Slips out three product announcements

Novell made three product announcements yesterday: Novell Directory Services (NDS) for NT 2.0, GroupWise 5.5, and an integration solution for thin clients using NDS and Z.E.N works. Novell pitches NDS for NT as a way of managing heterogeneous environments of NetWare and NT, with the former controlling the latter. An NDS replica …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 08:53
US hit by Japanese DRAM closures

Fab goes as manufacturers merge businesses

Giants Hitachi and Mitsubishi yesterday announced they would shut down facilities in the US, as the worldwide drop in semiconductor sales took a further toll. Hitachi said in a statement that it was making 650 staff redundant at a fab in Texas and announced it would also merge its US semiconductor and micro systems business. It …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 09:15
Survey: DRAM market continues decline

Higher density modules in demand

Market research company Semico has forecast a continuing decline in the DRAM market with the only light at the end of the tunnel being a demand for higher density DIMMs. The company said that revenues will decline by 19 per cent in 1998 and amount to $14 billion. But because of the lower average selling prices, the average size …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 10:50
Sparky Sun chip to run at 1.5GHz

Processor division reveals roadmap

Sun Microsystems has released details of its roadmap up to the year 2002, with its UltraSPARC V chip reaching a speed of 1.5GHz. The company claimed that the processor family will continue to be a performance leader and that it remains committed to the architecture. Mel Friedman, president of Sun’s Microelectronics division, …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 11:11
Hyundai claims ferrous RAM breakthrough

Chip will have low power consumption, high speed

Hyundai has claimed a breakthrough in the creation of memory chip with ferro-electric properties. The 256Kbit FeRAM is based on metal rather than silicon technology, and can operate at three volts, provide fast performance but is also relatively inexpensive to manufacture. The FeRAM is the result of a joint venture between …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 11:40
CA buys QXCOM

Notes is the name of the acquisition game

Computer Associates announced it had bought privately owned Notes software company QXCOM for an unspecified amount. CA already had an agreement with the company to license and supports its QX/Tools product, which is suite of eleven software programs for database administration and security of Notes databases. The acquisition of …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 12:40
Time snaps up Office World concessions

Ain't no poisoned chalice

Time Computers has added another dimension to its sales operations with the announcement that it is to sell its computers through rented space in Office World, the Swiss owned retail superstore operation. Time, the system building arm of Lancashire-based Granville Technology, will become the third in line to take the in-store …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 13:00
Hyundai, LG squabble over chip merger

News will cause dismay round world

Reports from South Korea said that a potential agreement between the top five chaebols to swap business units has fallen apart, with LG Semicon and Hyundai, in particular, sharply disagreeing over the swapping of their semiconductor businesses. Tomorrow’s (Thursday’s) issue of the Korea Herald reported an official from the …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 13:01
Shugart takes shade under Cypress

Job arrives on a platter

Hard disk veteran Alan Shugart, fresh from his brush with the Seagate board of directors, has become a member of the board of Cypress Semiconductors. Cypress’ main line of business is static RAM (SRAM) , and other semiconductor products. He takes up the position 3Com’s CEO and chairman occupied before he was named chairman of …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 14:17
Raising Arizona: UK networkers chase the sun

Cool Britannia not hot enough for London boys

It's been a hot and sticky summer for most of the UK over the last couple of months, but still not hot enough for some. Networking software company Cablesoft is turning its back on London and relocating to Arizona, claiming the warmer weather and a skilled workforce will boost its performance. Leaving behind a staff of four, the …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 14:46
VERITAS acquisition backs up SAN expertise

It's a backup thang

VERITAS Software is to acquire storage software specialist TeleBackup Systems. Following the takeover, TeleBackup's remote backup and restore product called TSInfoPRO is to be integrated with VERITAS' NetBackup solution. According to the companies, this will extend NetBackup's centrally managed backup/restore capabilities, thus …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 15:17
Psion sales up, but palmtops down

Matsushita wants slice of Symbian pie

Following the announcement of its first half results, Psion has said that it is in talks with Matsushita and other industry players about taking a minority equity stake in the recently formed Symbian venture. Symbian was started with Nokia and Ericsson earlier this year and Motorola is due to sign up next month. At that stage, …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 15:26
Mindrollers ‘r’ us

Seriously silly seasons begins the beguine

His Billness breezed into London Town today to address resellers, The Register learns. The occasion was called Community Outreach. Pardon us, but in this country that's usually applied to social services and such a scheme involves making sure tramps and vagabonds get fed and clothed.... Newsfeed Silicon is getting ever so …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 16:04
PC server prices sink like a feather

Or was it a stone?

The rapid decline in prices PC server market will start to fall off over the next few years, despite continuing intense competition. According to research from Computer Economics, a US market research firm, prices will start slow their descent in 1999. Prices will continue to fall through to 2000, but with less pace than in 1998 …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 16:04
Fujitsu flogs refurbs online

Notebooks to go

Fujitsu is selling refurbished notebooks through its web-based sales facility, FPC Online Outlet... but only in the US. The company says that the service is there to meet the demand in the SOHO and consumer markets for low cost, but proven technology. The site currently has refurbished notebooks from the LifeBook range, …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 16:10
ilion in talks to flog German-speaking operations

They lose too much money

Networking distributor ilion has released its results for the first half of 1998, showing that while turnover increased by a healthy 42 per cent, profit crashed to almost a quarter of last year's figure. For the period ending 30 June, turnover for ilion stood at £125.6 million, an increase of 42 per cent on £88.4 million for the …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 16:13
02/09/98 Daily Digest

The flannel lies mainly across the Channel

Computerland UK forecasts sustained growth Computerland UK is confident of sustained services business growth, chairman and MD Graham Gilbert said. In a statement made at the AGM, he revealed that trading is ahead of the comparable perid on the last financial year. The integration of recent acquisitions KDL and Netman ,which …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 16:36
Relay Business Systems bought by US ecommerce developer

Sanga buys place in the UK Sun channel

US ecommerce software developer, Sanga International has bought its way into the UK channel by snapping up Sun Microsystems reseller Relay Business Systems. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, was based on a mix of cash and shares and will see Relay effectively become the UK subsidiary of Sanga, although no name change is planned …

Business 2 Sep 1998, 17:18