16th February 1999 Archive

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How MS OEM contracts block Windows refunds

Take it up with the OEMs, says MS. After all, they signed the MS contracts, didn't they?

Unsurprisingly the protestors who showed up at Microsoft's offices yesterday for Windows Refund Day did not achieve satisfaction. Microsoft reps trotted out the official line that if they want a refund for the OS, they should take it up with their PC manufacturers. Indeed they should. But as Register readers will be aware, when …

Business 16 Feb 1999, 09:44
Pfeiffer to re-engineer Compaq as Internet company

Digital Alpha part of his vision thing

Eckhard Pfeiffer, CEO of Compaq, breezed into London today and predicted that his company would achieve $50 billion worth of revenues in the year 2000. At the same time, he claimed that Compaq aimed to become the leading Internet company in the world. Pfeiffer said: "Financial analysts are predicting turnover of $43.5 billion in …

Business 16 Feb 1999, 11:15
Big Blue to ship Linux on x86, PowerPC systems

Multi-vendor licensing deal due next month along with Linux-based servers, workstations and PCs

IBM will next month announce its intention to bundle Linux on a wide range of systems and that it will develop its own version of the OS for its RS/6000 machines. The announcement, due to take place at next month's LinuxWorld show in San Jose, California, will see Big Blue licensing a range of Linux distributions from the …

Business 16 Feb 1999, 11:53
Computers in Ireland purchased

ITG strengthens hand

ITG Group has snapped up Computers in Ireland for the tidy sum of £8.75 million. The figure is made up of £5.5 million cash and £3.25 million, payable by the issue of new shares in ITG. Computers in Ireland sells hardware and services under the brand names Computerland and Work Stations. Work Stations Training was bought by …

Business 16 Feb 1999, 13:08
Morse gears up for £300m stock market float

Listing to be completed within first half of the year

Morse Holdings, the parent company of Morse Group is to float on the London Stock Exchange. The flotation is expected to give Morse a market capitalisation in the region of £300 million. The initial offering will be valued at around £200 million, £70 million of which will be new money raised for the company. The remaining £130 …

Business 16 Feb 1999, 13:10
UK schools offered free Web access, free PCs and cash back from support calls

If you listen carefully you can hear teachers weeping for joy

Thames Valley Internet company Voss Net, could be catapulted into the premier league of Internet Service Providers if its plans to offer free Net access to the UK's 32,000 schools take off. The AIM-listed company has signed a four-year agreement with registered charity Free Computers for Education (FCE) to provide the service. …

Business 16 Feb 1999, 13:37
Not all ISPs are on the make, of course

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Some are concerned for your spiritual well-being… Hats off to Thames Valley ISP Voss Net. The company never misses a trick when it comes to spreading the gospel about the wired world. To prove it, just phone them up and ask to be put on hold. No limp musak -- but a wonderful exaltation citing the latest e-commerce facts and …

Business 16 Feb 1999, 13:48
What’s in a name?

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Well, in this case quite a lot… Could the organisers of ISPCON -- branded the only dedicated industry forum for Internet Service Providers -- have thought of less flattering name for their event later this month? What? No comprendé? Do we have to spell it out for you? ®

Business 16 Feb 1999, 13:53
Civil rights Web site blocked in Tunisia

Amnesty accuses Tunisian authorities of heavy-handed tactics

Civil rights organisation Amnesty International has hit out at a bogus Amnesty site, www.anmesty-tunisia.org, based in Tunisia that has been spreading propaganda about alleged human rights abuses. The Tunisian government is accused of committing human rights abuses including arbitrary arrest and torture, but the bogus site is …

Business 16 Feb 1999, 14:46
Compel sees turnover up, profit up in wake of Info’Products buy

Latest acquisition could dent next set of figures though

Compel Group’s interim results today showed a 36 per cent increase in pre-tax profit to £4.97 million. Turnover for the period was up 40 per cent to £121.6 million, for the period ending 31 December. The company declared a dividend of 2.4 pence, from 2.1 pence last year. Earnings per share were up 29 per cent to 11.6 pence. …

Business 16 Feb 1999, 16:32
Disney to buy Pixar and… er… Apple?

Steve Jobs to become CEO of Great Satan of 'Toons, apparently...

If the latest rumours about the company are to be believed -- and it's a real big 'if' -- Apple is about to become a subsidiary of Disney, as a pawn in a multi-billion deal between Steve Jobs and the Great Satan of Cartoons and Themeparks. Sounds bizarre, no? But let's just think for a moment about how such a deal might work. …

Business 16 Feb 1999, 17:01
Madge bolsters top tier management

Seeks to re-establish market presence

Madge Networks has reinforced its leadership with the appointment of four new vice presidents, Emilia Knight, Graham Allan, Simon Gawne and Scott Zarriello. Emilia Knight comes to Madge’s corporate marketing and business development division from the anti-piracy organisation the Business Software Alliance, where she was European …

Business 16 Feb 1999, 17:12
Compaq buys Zip2 for over $220 million

Deal will add localised services to AltaVista's national coverage

Compaq's Internet portal subsidiary, AltaVista, has bought Zip2, a developer of localised portal-building technology. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but AltaVista CEO Rod Schrock told US wire Cnet that the company's cash purchase of the privately-held Zip2 had exceeded its $220 million takeover of Shopping.com. …

Business 16 Feb 1999, 17:37