The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

2nd December 1998 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • DoJ expert flattened by Microsoft, largely

    Exit one of the US' foremost antitrust experts, pursued by bear...

    Last week we left the DoJ witness, consultant economist Dr Frederick R Warren-Boulton, being set up by Michael Lacovara, a counsel for Microsoft. This week, W-B spent all of Monday and Tuesday in the box, and completed five days as Lacovara's victim. So far, this has been Microsoft's most successful cross-examination, because W- …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 08:33

  • Burnout – occupational hazard for MS execs?

    The way things are going, maybe 'cash and run' looks tempting

    Does Microsoft win in every market it enters? Not in online. Pete Higgins, group VP of the interactive media group for three years, resigned last month. Whether he was pushed out or just burnt out -- or both -- is not known publicly, but the press release said he would return "in an equally challenging role" next year. Clearly …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 08:36

  • ‘Leaked’ Gates email spins party line on AOL

    Is this a Microsoft plant, or should somebody shoot us old cynics now?

    One night last month Bill Gates phoned an Associated Press reporter at home so he could bitch about the way the DoJ had questioned him, and say what a good memory he had really. (Gates moans to AP) Yesterday, an email he sent to Microsoft execs on Tuesday mysteriously fell into the clutches of… Associated Press. The content of …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 09:22

  • Corel settles in Lamarr pic lawsuit

    Famous actress signs five-year licence for face

    Our picture doesn't show glamorous actress Hedy Lamarr, who yesterday came to a settlement with Corel over the use of her image on Corel's packaging. But we suppose that following the settlement we could have used a picture of Corel's packaging. Lamarr sued Corel earlier this year over its use of a CorelDraw image of her. The …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 09:44

  • Sony recalls 60K US mobile phones

    It seems the juice is a little higher than FCC guidelines, but don't worry...

    Sony is recalling an estimated 60,000 dual-band CDMA handsets in the US, following the discovery that some of its phones could exceed Federal Communications Commission guidelines on radio frequency exposure. The company's Sony Electronics subsidiary yesterday said a "small number" of phones built between February and June may …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 10:35

  • Easy does it

    Easynet revenue to soar, says analyst Buy, buy, buy...

    Revenue at Internet service provider (ISP) Easynet Group plc is expected to rocket by 120 per cent to £16.5 million this year, according to institutional brokers Henderson Crosthwaite. Hendersons is predicting that revenue will reach £27 million with pre-tax profits of £2 million next year and is advising investors to buy. The …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 11:04

  • A year ago: CE you Jimmy

    Distributor forecasts huge add-on market

    But it didn't happen, did it? And read about how Westminster Council trashed William Blake's house

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 11:33

  • iMac tops superstore sales third month running

    But will it be a Maccy Christmas?

    Apple's iMac has notched its third consecutive month as the top-selling desktop PC in US computer superstores, according to ZD Market Intelligence (ZDMI). ZDMI's numbers show that the iMac, launched in the States on 17 August, propelled Apple's marketshare from under two per cent to over six per cent. That figure fell to below …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 11:38

  • Cyrix claims massive leap in corporate perception

    Also claims that it has bulk of sub-$800 market

    Cyrix claimed today that a survey it has conducted shows that the number of corporate buyers prepared to evaluate its chips has soared from three per cent last year to 32 per cent now. Alain Tiquet, European strategic sales manager at NatSemi-Cyrix, claimed that success in the retail market was the reason IT managers were …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 12:04

  • BT to open phone network to third-party apps

    Plan to compete with Internet

    BT is to open its phone network to software developers, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal, which quotes the president and CEO of the telco's BT Global division, Alfred Mockett. BT's goal is to persuade companies to build interactive services on its phone network rather than on the Internet. It hinges on systems …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 12:31

  • Portuguese Internet strike goes ahead

    No more high call charges and poor service, say protesters

    A 24-hour Internet boycott went ahead in Portugal yesterday, as users remained disconnected in protest over Portugal Telecom's "exorbitant" costs and "defective and slow service". The action was supported by the country's two main trade union federations and the Communist Party. The move follows a boycott in Spain earlier this …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 12:49

  • IBM takes five-year DDR SDRAM route

    But Rambus still looks like the winner

    The microelectronics division of IBM today outlined a five year roadmap for its memory offerings based on double data rate (DDR) technology. But Intel and AMD's backing of Direct Rambus looks set to make that technology the memory winner. IBM Micro said it had started shipping samples of 0.20-micron 256Mb DDR parts and would …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 13:12

  • Tut to sign Motorola as Homerun licensee

    Moto to join Intel, Compaq, NatSemi and co. in home networking race

    Home networking specialist Tut Systems is to announce today it has signed Motorola as a supporter. Motorola is the latest of 12 companies that have licensed Tut's technology, Homerun -- others include Intel, Compaq, Lucent and NatSemi. Microsoft has a stake in the company. Homerun uses the phone extension cabling installed …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 13:15

  • Lucent, Unisys to unify voice recognition systems

    Pact to cover future development, marketing and resale efforts

    Lucent and Unisys have formed an alliance to develop, promote and sell natural language speech recognition technologies. The pact will involve the integration of both companies' speech products -- Lucent's text-to-speech and automated voice recognition systems, and Unisys' Natural Language Speech Assistant Toolkit -- into a …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 13:41

  • Taxing time ahead

    When the Great Stan of taxes joins forces with hardware Stan and software Stan, be afraid, be very afraid

    Tomorrow morning sees the start of a special exhibition at Somerset House, central London, marking the 200th anniversary of the introduction of income tax in the UK. The centre piece of the exhibition will be a touch screen kiosk, put together by Compaq and Microsoft, to demonstrate how the tax-paying public will one day be able …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 14:00

  • Cisco Kid swallows PipeLinks

    A $126 million share wedge passes on

    His Satanic Majesty of routers, Cisco, has swallowed another company into his capacious maw. Cisco said it had bought San Jose PipeLinks for $126 million worth of shares. The company, started in 1996, will allow service providers to provide managed Internet access and native Lan services over existing TDM infrastructures. Its 73 …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 14:17

  • Survey: Internet to define the future of music

    Net to bring major labels, HMV and co under fire

    Anyone with shares in music stores and the music industry's biggest players should seriously consider getting out -- that's the message at the heart of the latest report on the state of Internet-based music from the Internet Underground Music Association (IUMA). The report, Music's Online Future, predicts a shift in power away …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 14:31

  • Pensions industry hits out at VC slur

    It's not to be sneezed at, says Mandelson

    The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has hit back at the Trade and Industry secretary Peter Mandelson, accusing the government of being responsible for the lack of venture capital investment in the UK. John Rogers, NAPF's director of investment services, said it was the government's total lack of "joined-up policy" …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 15:34

  • 4Front buys Siemens French maintenance unit

    Moves into top three

    4Front Technologies has moved into third place in the French maintenance market with the acquisition of Siemens subsidiary I-NEA. The company is paying $4.1 million for I-NEA, a $40 million t/o operation, and has secured a “regional alliance” with Siemens to ensure an orderly transfer of clients, as well as new customer …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 16:39

  • Small business net Web windfall

    Now you've no excuse not to be wired, says FSB

    Christmas has come early for around 122,000 small businesses in the UK after the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) announced that each of its members is to receive free Internet access in their stockings this year. This generous gift is designed to drag Britain's small businesses into the wired age and help them trade on the …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 16:49

  • Nvidia issues IQ challenge to games houses

    Are you clever enough to buy this software?

    Nvidia is backing its hearts and minds campaign for the games community by doling out marketing bucks for RIVA TNT-friendly developers. In an outrageous assault on stupid people, the graphics accelerator vendor has plumped for High IQ as the brand for its vendor seal of approval. Under the High IQ programme, the graphics …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 16:51

  • Unified Messaging to transform personal comms

    UM, what's that all about then? Convergence, dummy

    Unified messaging (UM), which integrates voice, e-mail and fax via a single interface, is set to revolutionise personal communications within the next decade, according to market analyst Ovum. By 2006, UM will be as commonplace as mobile phones today and will enable ordinary consumers to manage all their personal communications …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 17:08

  • Motorola commits to IP across full broadband range

    Satellite, cable, cellular -- they'll all be IP-based real soon now.

    Motorola has thrown its full weight behind Internet Protocol (IP) commmunications, and announced it intends to base all of business networking systems on the technology. Wireless communications in the form of cellular and private networks, satellite connections, copper networks, paging and hybrid fibre-coax (HFC) broadband …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 17:37

  • HP enlists BT for SME dealer recruitment campaign

    Wants 400 of the blighters

    Hewlett Packard yesterday embarked on a hard sell initiative with BT to enlist reseller help in the SME market. HP launched its Connect Small to Medium Business Programme as part of a roadshow to enlist 400 resellers in the scheme. The deal aims at the vendor's 1,200 small to medium resellers, and includes customer e-finance, a …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 17:50

  • Watch out! There's a stolen Olivetti printer cartridge about

    Market could be flooded, following hijack spate

    Olivetti Lexicon is warning resellers to be on their guard after a spate of product thefts that threaten to flood the market with stolen merchandise. Thousands of stolen printer cartridges could be on their way to the UK after disappearing from Olivetti's warehouse in Turin, Italy, in mid November. Less than two weeks later, …

    Business 2 Dec 1998, 18:13