29th September 1998 Archive

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Nortel rebrands in wake of Bay deal

So it bought Bay Networks so it could use the name. "Networks," that is...

Nortel is planning a name-change at its New York analysts' meeting later today. It's going to call itself Nortel Networks. This 'radical' move, which comes on top of the company's previous shock name change from Northern Telecom to Nortel, allegedly reflects the addition of Bay Networks' IP expertise. The previous change …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 05:38
Microsoft pulls Office service pack over version clashes

Installation procedure confused by old Microsoft software, but aren't we all?

Microsoft has pulled its latest service release for Office 97, SR-2, from its Web site after admitting it's got its versions in a twist. This of course will come as no surprise to users familiar with Microsoft instructions warning you which order you need to install service packs and apps in, if you're not going to have to go …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 05:41
AOL backs down over charge levels

Deal with SEC means substantially reduced write-offs

AOL has backed-down in a dispute with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and has drastically reduced the amount it proposes to write off in "research costs" for a couple of acquisitions. Nor is this the first time AOL has had bean-counting difficulties. AOL spent $287 million on buying Mirabilis and Netchannel earlier …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 05:43
Siemens summons partners for PC plant

Ah, but will they come?

The dark cloud hanging over Siemens' Augsburg PC plant grew larger yesterday with the news that the company doesn't see it as possible to continue with it on its own. Speaking at Comdex Enterprise in Frankfurt company CEO Gerhard Schulmeyer reportedly blamed overseas competition, and said that Siemens couldn't continue its PC …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 05:45
Netscape plans counter-attack as browser share falls again

But Microsoft needs AOL to achieve leadership for IE

Netscape's share of the browser market fell again in the first half of this year, according to an IDC survey. Depending on how you count it, the company may still be ahead of Microsoft, but even if you count it the other way Netscape is taking steps to correct the situation. On raw figures, Netscape's share fell from 51 per cent …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 05:47
Microsoft claims Caldera leaked evidence

And busts Oracle with some lawyers it prepared earlier...

Microsoft is claiming Caldera is in contempt of court over its treatment of confidential Microsoft information, while Oracle is resisting Microsoft's attempts to winkle confidential documentation out of it. It's all go in the wonderful world of IT lawsuits, folks… In the Caldera case, Microsoft's contempt claim is that Caldera …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 05:50
Dealer put in slammer for pirating CDs

Coppers swooped the Maidstone coop

A dealer pirating CD-ROMs has found himself in prison as a result of his crime. Stephen Lewis was found guilty at Maidstone Crown Court under three specimen charges under the Trade Marks Act 1994 for intent to supply illegal copies of Thunder Mountain. Over £9,000 of computer kit was also seized and is now forfeit. The …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 09:21
Micron posts Q4 loss but says DRAM signs encouraging

Makes loss of $89 million

US Dram company Micron Technology has filed its fourth quarter and yearly financial results and has performed better than expected. The company lost $89 million net on turnover of $692 million for the quarter, less than Wall Street analysts had expected. The results were due to the continuing worldwide slump in memory prices, …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 09:35
TI to put more cash into DSP market

CEO has eyes on growing already big market share

Japanese wires reported that Texas Instruments (TI) is to increase its R&D spend on digital signal processors (DSPs). The reports quoted CEO Thomas Engibous as saying TI will put over 90 per cent of its $1 billion R&D spend into the DSP market. The market promises rich rewards for successful players and is estimated to be worth …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 09:59
CPU revenues to show decline in growth

But Dataquest forecasts worldwide semi sales to grow in 1999

The slump in semiconductor sales in 1998 is likely to be followed by growth of 12 per cent next year, according to a forecast from Dataquest. But the market research firm said that its forecast was a sharp downgrade from its previous 1998 expectations for both growth rate and revenues. And sales of CPUs will show a sharply …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 10:27
Slot One Cyrix now unlikely

Distributors and dealers continue to push

NatSemi-Cyrix said that it was now unlikely that it would produce a Slot One based solution. That is despite the fact that it has a solution in its labs and that the distribution channel has pressured it to produce Slot One because of demand from dealers. The change in heart, according to a senior source at the Cyrix group at …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 10:51
BEA buys WebLogic

Deal follows increased enterprise vendor interest in Web application servers

BEA Systems, the enterprise middleware vendor, is acquiring privately-held WebLogic, a developer of Web application servers, in a $192.5 million stock transaction deal. The acquisition rounds off BEA's offerings by making it possible for it to offer less-expensive e-commerce middleware than Tuxedo, BEA's last major acquisition …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 11:13
Roundup: Yesterday's markets

Shares up on expected US rate cut

With Greenspanitis looming over Wall Street and Tokyo yesterday, in anticipation of an interest rate cut to be announced by the Fed today, little attention was paid to the biggest bankruptcy in Japanese history: an affiliate of the Long-Term Credit Bank went under owing more than $17 billion. Despite this, Tokyo and the Dow were …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 11:17
Big Blue introduces high speed token ring NIC

From the company committed to the token

IBM has introduced a high speed Token Ring adaptor aimed at companies which want to migrate to higher speeds. At the same time, Big Blue introduced two PCI NICs which include Wake on Lan. The native high speed adaptor is a 100/16/4 unit giving a claimed speed of over 100Mbps and including autosensing. The high speed TR adaptor …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 11:17
E-commerce giants shift focus to ISPs

First persuade enterprises to do e-commerce, then persuade them that their ISPs should have done it after all

ISPs are the latest target for e-commerce solution vendors, if announcements from Netscape, IBM and Hewlett-Packard, made separately, are anything to go by. Later today, during executive VP Mark Andreessen's keynote at ISP trade show ISPcon in San Francisco, California, Netscape will unveil Messaging Server 4.0 Hosting Edition, …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 12:02
MS readies response to Bristol suit

Contract terms fair, claims Seattle giant, so there...

Microsoft's response to Bristol Technology's antitrust action against Microsoft for failing to provide Windows source code as Microsoft had contracted to do, claims that the contact terms are fair, according to sources. A redacted version of the brief is expected to become available today. Bristol, of Danbury, Connecticut, is …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 12:33
BDE consolidates Tetra channel with Leeds buy

Super little company overtaken by events

BDE International, the acquisitive Worcester-based Tetra reseller, has extended its coverage of the manufacturing sector by buying Leeds dealer IBS International for an undisclosed cash sum. At the same time BDE International is converting into a holding company for the four trading companies in the group (Microdyanamics based …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 12:38
Intel-Symantec deal begs questions about primitives

What happens when security is on the chip?

A deal between Symantec and Intel has begged questions about the security strategy of the chip giant. At the Intel Developer Forum two weeks ago, Pat Gelsinger, senior VP responsible for business platforms, announced that his company would incorporate hardware primitives into future chips. Those, said Intel at the time, would …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 13:07
Small Japanese DRAM domino falls to Taiwanese

UMC picks up Nippon Steel's unit for a song

In a twist to the continuing saga of DRAM memories, Taiwanese company UMC bought Nippon Steel's memory unit for $11 million. That will give a boost to the Taiwanese economy, which has still escaped most of the worst of the Asian decline. UMC, a Taiwanese foundry part sponsored by the government of the island, will allow it to …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 13:50
Ideal selects Rotterdam for European beachhead

Declines to challenge restrictive clauses

Ideal Hardware has burst through restrictive distribution contracts, in a full-blooded assault on the European systems builders market. The UK's biggest data storage distributor has opened a warehouse in Rotterdam, enabling it to promise next day delivery to "anywhere in Europe", while reducing its own distribution costs. It is …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 14:28
Evesham opens Dublin franchise

Doubles production

Evesham Micros has adopted the franchise route for its first move overseas. Business is already going "famously" for the new Dublin branch, according to MD Richard Austin. If the "Dublin experiment" is successful, the direct PC vendor will consider opening more franchise outlets both here and abroad, he said. Evesham operates …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 16:08
Intel puts its weight behind Linux – and Linus

Linux support initiative puts OS on same footing as Solaris and NT

Intel has fired the first shot in today's expected rapprochement with the Linux community, announcing a series of initiatives, including membership of Linux international, designed to place the OS on at the very least an equal footing with NT and Solaris in terms of Intel support. Intel has historically been seen as closely …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 19:06
Infobank shakeup follows unrealistic forecasts

Silver lining with BT deal

The Infobank rollercoaster ride has taken yet another twist with a profits warning and management shakeup. New finance director David Pollock slamming earlier revenue forecasts as "unrealistic". Profit margins will see no significant improvement, which means that the software reselling business will be only marginally profitable …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 20:13
Gresham acquires Online Financial Services

Shares rise

Gresham Computing has snapped up Canadian IT banking specialist Online Financial Services for Can$1.5 million boosting its banking and financial customer base, while adding to its growing list of global subsidiaries. The acquisition was greeted favourably by the City where Gresham's share price jumped 4p this morning. The deal …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 20:26
Intel, Netscape buy stakes in Red Hat Linux

Don't you think they're all plotting something?

Intel, Netscape and two venture capital companies have taken minority stakes in Linux distribution company Red Hat Software. The presence of two VCs circling doesn't mean a lot, while Netscape already supports Linux, so we're not necessarily talking major breakthroughs here - but the presence of Intel, and the presence of …

Business 29 Sep 1998, 20:47