19th November 1998 Archive

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IBM testimony sets scene for attempt to prove Microsoft monopoly

Somewhat hampered by the O word, Soyring goes in to bat

John Soyring, previously in charge of IBM OS/2 development, had an unhappy role to play as the representative of a company humbled by Microsoft's business practices. His written testimony contained a gloomy history of the rise and fall of OS/2 - down to 6 per cent of sales in 1996 compared with Microsoft's 92 per cent, according …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 09:22
IBM's ‘plot’ to destabilise Microsoft exposed in email

But as it didn't work, it's not much use as evidence

Pot called the kettle black in court yesterday, as Microsoft attorney Steve Holley produced emails that showed IBM exec John M Thompson plotting with Sun and Netscape against Microsoft. And while the 'everybody does it' line may not ultimately do Microsoft much good, they do show how fuzzy the line between alliance and cartel …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 11:55
Microsoft to quadruple money from RealNetworks stake sale

Face it, is it really possible to compete with a company that can make money out its rivals through VC funding?

The split between Microsoft and RealNetworks has reached its logical conclusion, with Microsoft announcing it's to sell its 10 per cent stake in the company. And it's no doubt a source of some considerable irritation to RealNetworks that the stock price in currently around four times the $8.99 a share Microsoft paid 15 months …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 12:20
Dixons claims Intel losing budget PC market share

Group hits back after extraordinary outburst from CEO Barrett

Dixons has hit back at Intel after the chip giant's CEO claimed the UK retailer charges "ridiculous margins" for PCs. Craig Barrett, CEO of Intel, made the comments at Comdex/Fall yesterday, backed up by senior VP Paul Otellini. Barrett, when he visited London last, cavilled at European sales and made references to some outlets …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 12:45
Microsoft wins PC Week most honest company award

You have fallen into a black hole and come out in a parallel universe

The DoJ has obviously been barking up the wrong tree as far as Microsoft is concerned. The Great Satan of software was earlier this week exposed not as a bunch of scummy, lying, conniving market manipulators but as a company showing high "standards of frankness with corporate customers and placing high value on customer …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 12:48
Syquest founder ships 2GB Orb

Castleview ships to OEMs as Syquest goes under

Storage specialist Castlewood Systems has finally begun shipping its long-awaited Orb removable hard disk drive to OEMs and system builders. Orb offers a capacity of 2GB, magneto-resistive heads and an EIDE interface that transfers data at 12.2MBps sustained, the company said. Two external models will follow in January, one with …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 12:50
Misys sales thrashed

Major shareholder strengthens funding

Misys shares took a beating yesterday, the same day the company learned that one of its major shareholders had strengthened his funding in the company. The share price fell 25.5p to 383p, with analysts saying the illiquidity of Misys stocks makes it vulnerable to market movements. Mike O’Leary, Misys business development …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 12:56
Azlan turning round but Net launch overdue

Interim figures give cause for hope

Network distributor Azlan is showing signs of recovery but is attempting to reassure suffering shareholders that an overdue Internet business launch will give it a further boost. Azlan’s shares rose 2p to 46.5p yesterday after figures indicated the networking distributor was recovering financially. The group, still under …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 13:16
Mulligan sited at Making Markets?

Just popped in for cup of tea, claims George Evans

Martin Mulligan has been sighted at fellow ex-Datrontech George Evans’ latest enterprise, Making Markets. One of The Register’s sleuths spotted the former Datrontech MD’s name in the company visitors’ book on Tuesday. However, the said reporter was almost laughed out of the office at the “ludicrous” suggestion of any working …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 13:23
DoJ learns tricks from Microsoft spinmeisters

Monday night is Gates TV night for the foreseeable future, apparently...

With the mainstream US press starting to doubt the credibility of Gates' deposition (it "cast doubt on Gates credibility": NYT; "a deep divide between what Gates and prosecution witnesses recalled of crucial events": San Jose Mercury; "a rumpled and slouching Gates repeatedly denying threatening Intel": Washington Post), maybe …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 13:24
Inprise offers to cure Microsoft's Java deficiency

They must be splitting their sides over this in Redmond...

Inprise, the company formerly known as Borland, has made a tragic and blatant bid for free publicity by offering to licence its Jbuilder "100 per cent pure Java" development tools to Microsoft, now the latter's look like they might be toast. Speaking from what sounds like a sake-soaked Inprise conference in Tokyo yesterday, …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 13:26
Infoseek gets go-ahead for Disney deal…

...but loses support of Bell Atlantic and has trouble with Netscape

Internet portal Infoseek admitted yesterday that it is indeed attempting to renegotiate its search engine deal with Netscape. At the same time, it emerged Bell Atlantic is to sell almost all of its share in Infoseek, even as the portal finalised its purchase of Disney's Internet subsidiary Starwave and the commencement of their …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 13:28
Win95 bug could spread to other CPU platforms than AMD

Intel and Cyrix are unsure

A software problem with Windows 95 that prevented AMD K6-2s from working properly may have the same effects on Intel processors. And even Cyrix CPUs may be affected. The software bug in Windows 95, which Microsoft claims it has fixed, means that K6-2 processors can crash at start-up. But the software problem is not just confined …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 15:33
Cisco to add NDS support to CiscoAssure

But it still prefers Active Directory

Cisco and Novell announced their intention to ensure broad compatibility between their software and hardware products, as predicted (see earlier story). The agreement covers Cisco's CiscoAssure policy networking products and Novell Directory Services (NDS). The first fruits of the deal will be Cisco's Network Registrar IP …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 15:38
AOL claims Dixons Freeserve bubble will burst

High helpline charges to blame, says erstwhile top UK ISP

Defectors tempted by free Internet access from Freeserve are beginning to return to AOL's fold because of the high cost of Dixon's technical support line, the top online service has claimed. And despite Freeserve's phenomenal growth, AOL has experienced no substantial drop in membership, it maintains, although it concedes that …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 15:47
Fujitsu takes aim at Tosh Libretto with new LifeBook

Biblo puts 233MHz PII into paperback book-size

Fujitsu has added two new notebook computers to its range, claiming they'll no longer be a burden to lopsided mobile workers. The LifeBook B110 (nicknamed Bilbo, sorry, Biblo) is the world's smallest, lightest high-performance notebook PC, claims Fujistu, and is about the same weight and size as a paperback book. A Biblo with an …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 15:59
Hitachi Data Systems to cut 400 jobs

Employees axes worldwide -- changing market conditions blamed

Hitachi Data Systems is to axe 400 employees, 14.5 per cent of its worldwide workforce. The cuts will be applied across HDS, the company said, but details of how the cuts will affect individual territories has not been revealed. HDS has offices in 31 countries. The company blamed changing market conditions. "We are changing …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 16:39
Intel strikes Pentium MMX set-top deal

And the product looks like another of those no-Microsoft boxes...

Intel and set-top box company Neon Technology have announced a Pentium MMX-based version with built-in ADSL and Ethernet support. Neon, a 1995 Internet appliance start-up, produces a range of products based on Intel, Cyrix, SGS-Thomson and AMD x86-compatible silicon and using 32-bit posix-compliant RTOS (ie. non-Microsoft) …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 16:49
Iomega clik! wins backing of Compaq, Agfa

But they don't ever have to ship it, assuming it's ever released

Iomega has signed Compaq and Agfa to support its 40MB clik! drives, which it claims will be available in the first half of next year. However, the letters of intent signed by both Iomega partners doesn't actually require them to ship products using the technology. Compaq said it will fit clik! drives to some future models in its …

Business 19 Nov 1998, 17:51