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22nd December 1998 Archive

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  • A year ago: Intel sings like canary with flu

    Secret price cut shape of things to come

    So that was Christmas and one day after the Boxing Day festivities, an email arrived from Santa Claus from Santa Clara, confirming the cut which dare not speak its name. Quoth Santa: "You have been speculating about price cuts in January. I can now tell you that in response to customer requests to establish entry-level Pentium …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 10:58

  • iMac top-selling PC in US

    Number one retail seller in November pushes Apple marketshare to ten per cent -- but can it last?

    Apple's iMac was the top-selling desktop computer in the US retail and mail-order channels in November, research from PC Data has found. The consumer-oriented computer notched up a marketshare of 7.1 per cent by volume and 8.2 per cent by sales. Those figures pushed Apple's overall marketshare to ten per cent, twice what it was …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 11:29

  • Errant Virgin boss drops balloon sponsor in it

    Satphone outfit ICO Global may not be flavour of the month in China

    Somewhere over Tibet today world-famous people's capitalist Richard Branson has a problem. The stunt-happy Virgin boss is engaged in his umpteenth attempt to fly round the world by balloon, and this time is in trouble with the Chinese. It's obviously a bit nerve-racking for Branson, but in a large building somewhere in London it …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 11:39

  • German Mac users, resellers mobilise against Apple

    But can Apple cope in one of the world's most cutthroat markets?

    Apple users and resellers in Germany have backed an open letter to Steve Jobs that demands the interim CEO sort out Apple Germany's management and what it claims is the parlous state of Mac sales in the territory. The letter claims Apple Germany's bosses are "careless and erratic" in its marketing, have bad customer and …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 12:21

  • Punter stung by sting

    Dog's life for dipster tipster

    All bets were off yesterday at Southwark Crown Court after Neil Taylor, 22, of Harlow in Essex was found guilty of fiddling with computers at The Racing Post to show that he had won at the dogs. The scam -- a mini modern-day version of the con made famous in The Sting -- could have netted Taylor the grand sum of £800 if he hadn' …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 12:25

  • Season of goodwill fails to extend to online shopping

    Web sites full of bells and whistles, but far from user friendly

    Filling your Christmas stocking online is slower than by Santa’s sleigh, according to a seasonal study of five leading UK retail Web sites. The report by London-based TesCom found the five high-street name sites were too slow and frustrating to use by anyone other than anoraks. Researchers tried to buy socks from Marks & Spencer …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 12:34

  • CTS exhibitors get bug for year 2000 show

    Next month's show doubled in size, dates already set for 2000

    Less than a year since its launch, the Computer Trade Show has already set dates for its exhibition in the year 2000. With the second show ready to kick off on 20 and 21 January next year, the show’s organisers have announced that the number of exhibitors has doubled since the first show earlier this year. The keynote address …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 12:37

  • Rambus sugarcoats bitter licensing pill

    Offers 400,000 cheapo shares to DRAM companies

    In an attempt to encourage memory manufacturers to abandon their plans for alternatives to Direct Rambus (RDRAM), Rambus is offering cheap shares at $10. According to the US reports, options in the shares will be granted to its licensees if they commit to certain, unnamed targets. Currently, DRAM manufacturers pay Rambus two per …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 12:43

  • ClaraNET wants to be in tune with more resellers

    New incentives could be music to their ears

    ClaraNET -- one of the UK's largest independent Internet Service Providers (ISPs) -- has launched an incentive scheme aimed at attracting more business resellers. The scheme could net new partners up to an extra 20 per cent commission on business access accounts and services, the company said. ClaraNET already supports 150 …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 12:46

  • Quantum3D maintains alliance with 3Dfx

    3Dfx will still supply chips to Quantum3D despite move into card manufacturing

    Quantum3D yesterday distanced itself from fellow graphics card vendors by choosing to stick with 3Dfx technology following 3Dfx's announcement of its decision to buy board manufacturer STB and begin selling its own cards to OEMs and consumers. 3Dfx's move provoked many licensees of its Voodoo graphics acceleration technology, …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 12:50

  • Nokia pumps up German arm

    Rounds off good year with plans to expand

    Nokia’s celular phone production plant in Bochum, Germany, will get a £118 million cash boost to cope with the global demand for handsets. The Finnish telecomms giant yesterday revealed plans to add several assembly lines to the facility, employing over 1,500 staff, and double production. The announcement rounds off a year in …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 13:05

  • Samsung makes non-volatile DRAM breakthrough

    Combines flash and conventional memory in single package

    Samsung Electronics said today it has developed a memory chip which combines flash and conventional memory. The non-volatile memory breakthrough means that when devices are switched off, they will still retain data, unlike conventional DRAM. According to the report, the chip will be far cheaper than existing flash and will have …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 13:06

  • Windows NT systems targeted by new ‘network’ virus

    Remote Explorer claims first victim: MCI WorldCom

    What appears to be the world's first network virus, already dubbed Remote Explorer, has hit telecoms giant MCI WorldCom's network of Windows NT machines. The virus' effects were detected on Thursday, but the cause was only identified yesterday, by Network Associates (NA), developer of the McAfee anti-virus tool. While The …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 13:23

  • Rise wins Acer chipset support

    Mobile platform en route

    Rise has received another boost to its fortunes with support from Acer. Yesterday, we revealed here that Rise is likely to announce a fab partner shortly which will allow it to build Socket 370 parts. (Story: Rise to announce Socket 370 breakthrough) The company said that Acer Labs Inc (ALi) Aladdin V mobile core logic chip set …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 13:25

  • Apple kills Best Buy cut-price iMac policy

    Don't price below cost -- or else, the Mac maker apparently warned the US retail giant

    US retailer Best Buy's attempts to bring iMac prices down to between $1099 and $999 (see today's story iMac top-selling PC in US) appear to have incurred the wrath of Apple. According to "retailer sources" cited by Mac Web site MacOS Rumors, all Best Buy stores should have re-priced their iMacs back up to $1279, though they will …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 13:45

  • Chas ‘n’ Dave out of favour with HP

    IT firm gives red card to sponsorship deal

    Hewlett Packard has said it will terminate its sponsorship deal with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club at the end of the current season. No explanations were given regarding the termination and both parties said the arrangement had been a success while in operation over the last four seasons. Dave Griffiths, Channel Marketing …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 13:56

  • Cognos snaps up Guildford-based Relational Matters

    $10 million secures small UK firm and its business intelligence tool

    Database giant Cognos has put Guildford software developer Relational Matters on the map with a $10 million pre-Christmas cash-stock buyout. Relational Matters is now wholly a part of Cognos, and all staff have moved across to the database manufacturer. The five-year old, 12-person UK company is best known for DecisionStream, a …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 17:12

  • Compaq no Father Christmas as Alpha layoffs rise

    Further Pfeiffer consolidations mean even more shutdowns

    Sources told The Register late today that Compaq will use the Christmas period to lay off a number of former DEC employees worldwide. According to our reliable source, Compaq may end its financial year of 1998 on an upbeat note. But Digital Classic layoffs are 16 per cent across the board, helping Compaq's bottom line. There are …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 18:23

  • Cyrix clarifies its roadmap to the heights

    It's a tad different than it was...as in better

    NatSemi subsidiary Cyrix has clarified its roadmap for next year, in the buildup to multimedia extensions it has. A source told The Register today that it will release MIIs in 333, 350 and 366MHz flavours throughout Q1 of 1999. It will also release a 400MHz flavour in Q2. MXi samples will come in Q1 and be produced in Q2, …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 18:45

  • Intel, Microsoft team up to pollute the world

    Cars are worse than people smoking tabs

    Evidence is mounting that the unholy alliance of Microsoft and Intel is causing severe pollution on the planet. Those facts emerged as both Microsoft and Intel re-iterated their plans for computers in cars. A senior scientist told The Register today: "Cars, if they use diesel or petrol, emit more fumes than even the average …

    Business 22 Dec 1998, 23:38