18th December 1998 Archive

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European server sales surge

And Japanese server sales don’t

A market survey on the worldwide server market for the third quarter has concluded that growth is still strong. IDC said that year on year, the market had grown by around 15 per cent. But while some territories are showing strong growth, others are not strong. The European market surged by 28 per cent compared with the same …

Business 18 Dec 1998, 11:01
Chaebols make restructuring decisions

LG will lose 21 of its subsidiaries

The Korean press reported that four of the top chaebols (family concerns) in the country have agreed on how to restructure. LG confirmed that it will shut as many as 21 of its subsidiaries in 18 months time, in an effort to reduce its dept. LG is to concentrate on electronics, telecoms, services, and chemicals, and said it will …

Business 18 Dec 1998, 11:12
Baghdad's Intel HQ hit

Clear picture of chips of massive destruction

Did you know Intel had a Military HQ in Baghdad? No, nor did we. So we were surprised when we opened our copy of UK national the Guardian to see the pictures (below) of the HQ before and after the first US air strike. The photograph, emanating from the Pentagon, is the first clear proof of the US government's intent to smash …

Business 18 Dec 1998, 11:13
Microsoft denies breaking prof's software

Changes in Web site were totally unrelated to failure, and it was broken all the time anyway...

Microsoft has hotly denied suggestions that it deliberately sabotaged the IE uninstall program produced by DoJ expert Edward Felten. No such accusation has actually been formally made, but if it was a coincidence, it was a bizarre one. Felten produced an uninstall program to demonstrate that it was feasible for Microsoft to ship …

Business 18 Dec 1998, 11:28
A year ago: AMD and Compaq: the tryst is on

Wild goose chase gets tamer

Y’know, you talk to the AMD people and they are so nervous about the possibility that they might get promoted that they don’t want to tell you anything at all about their future plans.... So you have to talk to somebody else - as The Register did at Cebit earlier this year - and get confirmation that in early January it is now …

Business 18 Dec 1998, 11:36
58 per cent of users ready to drop Windows for Linux

Poll shows widespread anti-Microsoft sentiment among users

Around 58 per cent of computer users would ditch Windows in favour of other operating systems, according to a poll of IT industry executives conducted by researcher Giga Information Group. The survey was carried out among the 142 attendees of Giga's Emerging Technology Scene conference. Because of the relatively small sample, …

Business 18 Dec 1998, 11:45
1998 Semiconductor Quotes of the Year

There's more on the way..

"My mother asked me why we weren't using copper," Dr Alfred Yu, senior VP, Intel (Dr Yu's mum had heard copper was faster than aluminium because of IBM's publicity. Dr Yu said it might be faster but it was far more expensive. Mrs Yu's answer was not recorded.) "In the year 2012, we will have a microprocessor with one tenth of …

Business 18 Dec 1998, 12:17
Software Stan cuts deal with Eastern Europeans

Collects more souls in exchange for licences

Microsoft is stepping up its war against the software pirates, this time in Eastern Europe. The Bulgarian government had been using unlicenced Microsoft software, but has now been brought into the fold. Rather than follow its normal course of action when it discovers someone using pirate copies of its products - i.e. threaten …

Business 18 Dec 1998, 12:29
500 million Web users by 2005

But will it survive under the strain?

The Internet is in danger of grinding to a halt creating a chronic shortage of capacity in the US. And if plans to build more fibre links across the Atlantic fall behind schedule it could even threaten the development of the Net worldwide, according to a report published by analysts Ovum. Between now and 2002 traffic will …

Business 18 Dec 1998, 12:37
Ancient railways immune to millennium bug

They're sick enough as they are

Britain’s much maligned rail network looks likely to avoid fall out from the year 2000 problem thanks to its age and the lack of investment it has received over the decades. A report by the Health & Safety Executive points out that much of the track, signalling equipment and infrastructure of our railways is so old that it was …

Business 18 Dec 1998, 13:11
Germans invade France

Pan-European reseller taking shape

German reseller, debis Systemhaus, this week expanded its European presence through the take-over of France’s fifth-largest Unix and Windows reseller. Groupe Spring, the desktop services provider, adds offices in Switzerland and Italy to debis Systemhaus’ existing services in France, Austria, Italy, Germany and the Czech …

Business 18 Dec 1998, 13:51
AMD powered missile hits Intel quarters in Baghdad

No news on 3DNow inside

The timer chip in Cruise Tomahawk missiles could have been responsible for one of the missiles going awry and landing in Iran today, The Register can reveal. This morning, a Tomahawk missile landed by mistake in southern Iran, although President Kahtamai (it's true!) has not lodged a formal complaint. Khatamai, however, is now …

Business 18 Dec 1998, 16:35
Ziggy Stardust and the ISP from Mars

BowieNet could be sitting on virtual velvet goldmine

David Bowie has unveiled his own branded Internet access service in the UK just three months after launching a similar initiative in the US. BowieNet (www.davidbowie.com) -- the first Internet Service Provider (ISP) created by a rock musician -- provides the same dial-up service as traditional ISPs, but also includes …

Business 18 Dec 1998, 16:38
HP quibbles over $6 million damages bill

Too many inkjets spoil the broth

Hewlett-Packard (HP) said it will contest the $6 million awarded to Colossal Graphics in court yesterday. Colossal Graphics sued the PC giant over an alleged breach of good faith dating back to a 1996 cross licensing agreement. HP had agreed to allow Colossal to sell inkjet printers using HP ink. However, Colossal accused HP of …

Business 18 Dec 1998, 17:04
Gates: How Lotus boss helped MS inside IBM

Jeff 'Secret Squirrel' Papows seems to have been keen to help Bill stop the PC co switching to Netscape

Bill Gates' video testimony earlier this week included a reference to a Gates email which appeared to suggest Lotus boss Jeff Papows was engaged in some form of secret negotiations with Microsoft. (Earlier Story) The email in question, which the DoJ has now released, confirms this. Gates was writing to executives, including …

Business 18 Dec 1998, 17:06