10th February 1999 Archive
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Feds to widen Intel case
Chipsets, motherboards, what next?
US reports said that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will expand its anti-trust case against chip giant Intel when proceedings open next month. The FTC will now claim that Intel put the muscle on Silicon Graphics and Micron, while the reports, at News Com say that the goliath has also harmed the market for motherboards and …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 09:15
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A year ago: Caldera's ghostly lawsuit rattles chains
Ray Noorda's company rolls on
A long time ago there was something called DR-DOS that became Novell Dos and that then moved over to being owned by Caldera, the company run by former Novell boss Ray Noorda. Through its long history, particularly in the periods when Ray owned it, it was associated with attacks on Microsoft's business methods, both on the …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 09:19
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MS hits trouble with another video
MS on Trial For some reason it wanted to prove Net signup was faster in 98 than Windows 3.1...
US DoJ attorney David Boies has destabilised a second Microsoft demo video, after he pointed out another of those pesky little discrepancies. Boies left Microsoft's case bleeding heavily last week after demolishing Jim Allchin's demo video (see MS screws up video remake), and although this time around even Boies doesn't think …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 09:33
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MS dastardly plan deprived Netscape users of mouse
MS on Trial It's official -- Microsoft's contract lawyers DO take the Mickey...
Microsoft contracts which required partners to produce some Web pages that showed "degradation in appearance" when visited by Netscape users didn't matter, because hardly anybody obeyed them anyway. That, at least, seemed to be the curious stance taken by company VP and witness William Poole yesterday. The DoJ had drawn …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 09:59
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Intel serial number linked to US transaction plan
"Know your Customer" prog could use CPU IDs
A US government programme which will be implemented in April of next year has been linked to the current furore over serial numbers in Intel's Pentium III. The US government's "Know your Customer" programme requires that all transactions identify the individuals or companies concerned. Because it is practically impossible to be …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 10:01
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Psion profit warning follows modem sales slump
Dacom's struggles impact on Psion's profit
Falling modem sales will hurt Psion PLC’s profit in 1999. Shares slumped 85p to 862.5p today on the news. The PDA maker blamed its profit warning on the decision of more notebook vendors to embed modems into their machines. "Psion Dacom's revenue for 1999 will be severely affected and have a significant impact on Psion's profit …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 11:08
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UK government praises work of Internet watchdog
Thumbs up for anti-porn body
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a self-regulating body set up in 1996 to address the problem of illegal material on the Internet, has been given a pat on the back by the UK government after a review of the organisation's activities. A joint initiative by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Home Office " …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 11:28
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File caching faces chop from Eurocrats
World Wide Web set to become World Wide Wait
The Internet could grind to a halt if draft legislation going before the European Parliament today is not amended. MEPs are considering the Draft Report on Copyright in the Information Society which, if passed unchanged, would outlaw the widespread practice of caching information. Although a cross-party group of MEPs has tabled …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 11:45
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Lynx wants Tetra – why?
Tetra shares up, Lynx shares down
Lynx Group PLC has been smoked out as the suitor for Tetra, the veteran accountancy software vendor. The ambitious computer services conglomerate says it is "in continuing discussions" with Tetra, concerning a possible all share offer for the company. Lynx already knows the Tetra well. In 1997, the company stumped up £10 million …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 11:48
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Porno scaremongers in spin doctor shocker
intro
Or, how to grab the public’s attention by use of sensationalist tactics The Register is delighted to see the UK government taking the Internet seriously at last. Indeed, its report into the work of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is to be commended. To publicise the report, the DTI sent out a press release - and why not. But …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 12:15
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MS strangles puppy to save MacOffice
Dump Rocky the Dog or the apps get it, seems to have been the deal
A Scottish Lemon Dog has seen off Microsoft's Rocky the Dog, in a trade mark dispute. Inner Workings, a Glasgow-based interactive games developer, found that Rocky, an assistant in Office 2000, bore a strange similarity to its Lemon Dog character. Coincidently, IW had shown its trademarked dog to Microsoft at a September 1996 …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 12:49
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MS pushes prices down, not up, claims study
CFA study which claimed Microsoft owed customers $10 billion was deeply flawed, new book alleges
A report published last year by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) which said Microsoft's domination of the applications market had pushed software prices up got it completely wrong, the authors of a second study have claimed. Economists Stephen Margolis and Stan Liebowitz from North Carolina State University and the …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 12:53
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Rise signs VML as North European rep
mp6 available now and S370 version en route
Chip company Rise has appointed VML to rep its x86 products in the UK and Northern Europe. VML's joint managing director, John Byrne, said his company was already in discussion with a number of OEMs to use the family of processors. The company is expected to announce its fab partner within the next few weeks, and already has its …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 12:57
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Intel invests in iBEAM
Screaming media company gets boost
It seems that scarcely a day passes without Intel investing in yet another company. This time, the iBEAM Broadcasting Corporation is the victim of Intel's largesse. The company announced that Intel is one of the investors in a new round of financing amounting to $13 million. iBEAM has a satellite based network of distributed …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 13:04
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BSkyB and AOL to form partnership
So much for Rupert Murdoch's opposition to the Web
Two global media giants have formed an alliance to cross-promote each other's services on TV and the Internet. In a package of measures announced today the satellite TV company BSkyB will be given a significant presence on AOL's service. In return, AOL UK will be promoted across Sky, including its Web site and consumer guides. …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 13:28
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ICL freezes Intel out of clever fridge market
These are the people that brought you a desk with an embedded Sinclair
Readers will recall how at last year's Intel Developer Forum, we were shown a clever freezer which managed an entire family's existence (see Intel thinks intelligent fridge will rule roost in 2005). But, it was carefully explained to The Register, this was simply a possible "future technology". However, now ICL has beaten Intel …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 13:52
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3Com greases Palm Computing Platform with wireless purchase
Moving into Symbian territory
3Com is pumping up the Palm Computing Platform with the $17.5 million cash acquisition of Smartcode, a small French developer of wireless data technology. The deal confirms 3Com is veering into Symbian and Windows CE territory, with the Palm Computing Platform (PCP). With a wireless interface developer under its belt, PCP now …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 14:25
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Symbian to knock MS out of Siemens alliance?
If Siemens is negotiating, then last year's partner must have been unpartnered
A deal struck between Microsoft and Siemens a year ago seems in peril this week, with the news that the German company is talking to several software companies, including Sun and Symbian, over appliance operating software. According to German sources Siemens is talking to all three companies, and may be considering joining …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 15:10
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Apexx commences channel development drive
Wanted: dealers and distributors for plug-and-play Internet access system
US Internet hardware developer Apexx Technologies is firming up its channel as the first stage of a programme to expand the UK and European presence of its Linux-based Team Internet Net access solution. Last month Apexx signed up distributor Interquad to join CMS, and the company is close to signing a third, according to sources …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 15:26
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Viglen's off the page ban pays off
Only wants knowledgeable, second time around PC buyers
Viglen PC unit shipments eased "only" one cent for the six months to 31 December 1998, compared with the same period in 1997, despite a move away from off-the-page sales into higher margin networking. Like is not being compared with like -- the London computer builder's equivalent trading period in 1997 was only five months long …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 15:41
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Intel to introduce 700MHz mobile next year
Pentium III mobiles at end of this year
Sources at an OEM said today that Intel will introduce a 700MHz mobile part early next year. The part will use a chipset based on the Camino chipset, the OEM said. And towards the end of this year, Intel will push out a whole family of Pentium III mobiles, the OEM confirmed. Meanwhile, Intel will continue to ramp up its mobile …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 15:55
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Flat screen debuted by Samsung
Distortion-free and no curvature in the horizontal plane, either
Samsung Electronics today launched what it claims to be the world’s first flat-screen CRT monitor. The Korean manufacturer unveiled the SyncMaster IFT monitor, with a Dynaflat tube, in two models – 17" SM700IFT and 19" SM900IFT. According to Samsung, what makes them different is that they are not curved in the horizontal plane …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 16:08
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ATI Rage 128 fastest 3D technology – Mercury Research
Latest benchmarks show nVidia close behind, but both don't fare so well at 2D work
Mercury Research has released its latest PC graphics acceleration technology benchmark results. The data shows ATI's Rage 128 and nVidia's Riva TNT well ahead of the pack in the 3D world, but older technologies from Matrox and 3Dfx beating them at 2D acceleration. Using the Winbench 99 test suite running on a 450MHz Pentium II- …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 16:09
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Anti-caching lobby wins round one of Euro vote
Former pop-star at centre of row which could bring Web to its knees
Lobbyists within the European Parliament are warning that the Internet could grind to a halt after they failed to get the Draft Report on Copyright in the Information Society amended in Strasbourg this afternoon. Seventies singing sensation turned MEP, Nana Mouskouri, was one of the people who helped spearhead the campaign in …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 16:48
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C2000 brings components distributor Onboard
Lay-offs to follow as broadliner targets Datrontech and others
Computer 2000 today acquired the trade and business of PC components distributor Eurodis Onboard, causing around half of Onboard’s staff to face redundancy. The broadliner is paying £1.1 million for the assets of Onboard and has agreed to shell out an additional £300,000 for intellectual property rights, goodwill and contracts. …
Business 10 Feb 1999, 16:56
