19th February 1999 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

Razor unveiled: Palm V debuts on Web

Updated That Palm V picture in full...

A sneak preview of Palm Computing's forthcoming Palm V has appeared on the Web, courtesy of a certain 'Nigel' who claims to have seen the much-anticipated device over the weekend. The details are almost exclusively devoted to the Palm V's look and feel -- in particular its matte metal casing. The machine is 11mm thick, slimming …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 09:00
A year ago: Processor roadmap

A straightforward look at what's afoot...

There's never been more choice for system builders or assemblers than now. Two years ago, Intel effectively ruled the micropressor roost and that meant that whether you liked it or not, you were forced to take both yourself and your customers down their way. The reasons for that were that while both AMD and Cyrix had unveiled …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 09:27
Compaq exec planned special MS deals to fox the Feds

MS on Trial To obscure the companies' closeness to rivals and the DoJ, apparently

Compaq tried to arrange side agreements with Microsoft that would camouflage the closeness of its relationship with Microsoft, according to an email released yesterday. The message, sent by senior VP John Rose in November 1997 to CEO Eckhard Pfeiffer and other senior Compaq execs, proposes a series of additional agreements that …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 09:30
Intel forced to support PC133 SDRAM

Whew... will it never end?

Reports from our friends in Japan claim that Intel will perform a somersault on its position on PC133 memory because of difficulties over yields on Rambus memories. Our friends in Japan are generally reliable. They tipped us off about the K6-3 being called the K6-III, remember? That news will cause sighs of relief from the rest …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 09:42
Compaq to wing Sun – like Icarus?

World domination is us, says Stan of Haircuts

If anyone thinks that Eckhard Pfeiffer, CEO of Compaq, does not have aims at world domination, let these few words in a Q&A at the gruesome Landmark Hotel on Tuesday this week sink in. "Who is the next Microsoft? That's what matters." You have to search for the Nero inside yourself. Pfeiffer has several strings to his world …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 10:01
K6-III pics reach cyberspace

But what's with this 2.3 volt stuff?

Pictures of engineering samples of the AMD K6-III have been posted on the Web, with some benchmarks to boot. But the samples shown at Happy Cat pose questions about the core voltages of the parts. AMD is still seeking to spoil Intel's game after the Goliath held its preview day earlier this week, pulling in every human being and …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 10:18
MS permitted to ship ‘independently developed’ Java tools

But it can't infringe Sun's copyrights, source or specs.

US District Judge Ronald Whyte yesterday ruled that Microsoft is allowed to create and ship independently developed Java technology, provided it does not violate Sun's copyrights, source code and specifications. The ruling follows the granting of a preliminary injunction granted last November forbidding Microsoft from shipping …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 12:10
Lycos' Wired takeover under threat

What is it with all these shareholders?

Internet portal Lycos' proposed acquisition of Wired Ventures, former owner of techno-trendy's bible, Wired magazine, has begun to look as unlikely as the company's proposed merger with USA Networks. Again, the problem appears to be shareholders unhappy with the deal. Yesterday's Boston Herald reported that a group of Lycos' …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 12:38
Chase stonewalls over IE and AOL

MS on Trial But the court may be less impressed than Redmond is...

Brad Chase seemed determined to show that he was no pushover for these eastern lawyers, and that he was going to be as unforthcoming as possible to David Boies' cross examination. His two and a half days stonewalling in the witness box was not a strong performance, but he was the least damaging witness for Microsoft so far. When …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 13:26
Goto goes for Go after going loco over logo

Change your logo or else, Goto tells Disney/Infoseek JV

Little known Net search service Goto.com (3.8 million unique views per month) is suing the Disney/Infoseek joint venture Go Network (21 million users at launch) over what it claims is the marked similarity between the two services' online logos. And just so we know what we're talking about, here are the two logos: To be fair, …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 13:27
MS emails reveal PR spin plans on integration

MS on Trial Series covers how the issue should be presented to the public

One of the most secretive parts of Microsoft, and the company's greatest strength, is its PR department. An interesting email chain has entered the public domain because of the Microsoft trial. The issue discussed in the email was the problem of explaining to the public the IE/Windows "integration" in so-called contempt case in …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 13:28
It’s a Mitel kind of NeoMagic

Pump up the DRAM

NeoMagic, the US notebook graphics accelerator vendor, is spreading its multimedia wings. The company has scooped up the business and engineering teams of Israel-based ACL, from Robomatics and the Manchester, UK based optical drive development group of Mitel Semiconductor. Terms were undisclosed. NeoMagic will incorporate Mitel …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 13:39
FTC prises prices from Intel clutches

Intel protests

Intel has lost the latest tussle with FTC lawyers in the run up to its antitrust case. Under protest, the chip giant is handing over historic pricing information to the FTC. It says the data is irrelevant, but the FTC insists it needs the information Intel’s mastery of the product life cycle is reflected in a pricing matrix …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 14:09
NCD raids Wyse for UK operations

Thin client vendor fattens channel

Network Computing Devices (NCD) has poached staff from its key rival Wyse as it attempts to double the size of its channel. The thin-client vendor has added five employees to its Windsor office in the UK. NCD currently has 30 UK resellers in its Diamond Partner programme and said the new personnel had been given the task of …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 14:27
NEC president falls on his sword after huge losses

Biggest ever financial hit sees top man join the 15,000 NEC staff who've lost their jobs

NEC saw its president resign in the wake of 15,000 job cuts after the Japanese concern’s biggest financial loss in its history. The cuts have started at the top, with president Hisashi Kaneko one of the first to go. Speaking in Tokyo, Kaneko said he would resign and take responsibility for the IT giant’s expected Y150 billion ($ …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 14:40
3Dfx invests in Quantum3D – technology alliance follows

3Dfx gains Quantum3D support for Voodoo3 in exchange for cash

Visual simulation specialist Quantum3D has formed a business and technology alliance with 3Dfx, following the conclusion of its latest round of funding, which included an investment from the 3D graphics chipset developer. The alliance will see the two companies co-operating on the development and promotion of high-end products …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 16:02
Exclusive! Eckhard Pfeiffer speaks out (sort of)

Interview We make up the answers we think the man might give...

Compaq CEO Eckhard Pfeiffer's appearance at the gruesome Landmark Hotel on Tuesday this week brought to mind an encounter we (almost) had with the great man last year... What is your idea of perfect happiness? A world where all my warehouses are empty. What is your greatest fear? A world where all my warehouses are full. With …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 16:07
Intel preps StrongARM launch

Cybervillage reveals roadmap details

Acorn Cybervillage has published some tantalising details of the roadmap for the SA-220, Intel's next generation StrongARM. Codenamed the Coyanosa, the SA-220 will ship in Q2 2000. The new StrongARM family is built to 0.18 micron spec, and various flavours run from 100MHz to 600MHz They retain the low-power features of the first …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 16:20
BT crash cuts 180,000 users off from Net

Dial-up service comes crashing down

More than 180,000 users in the UK have been left stranded in limbo after BT's Internet dial-up service crashed this morning. The service failed at around 9.30am depriving people of access to their e-mail and the Web. BT Internet's home page (www.btinternet.com) was also affected by the technical glitch. According to BT, …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 16:33
AOL slams Deutche Telekom Net access foul play

ISP demands EC action to stop DT using monopoly position to control e-commerce

AOL Europe wants the European Commission to end anti-competitive practices by Deutsche Telekom (DT), the former state-monopoly telecoms operator in Germany. In a strongly worded statement, the leading Internet access company alleges that DT is "abusing its dominant position in the German telephony market to weaken competition …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 16:39
AOL Europe demands flat-rate fee for Net connections

It's stifling European online business' ability to compete, claims CEO

High telephone call charges are smothering the development of an Internet-based economy in Europe, according to leading Internet access provider AOL. In an unprecedented and outspoken statement issued today, the world's largest Internet access provider lent its full support for a radical overhaul of the telecom pricing …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 16:52
Dow Jones lumps Web stocks under one banner

But the club doesn't let just anyone in

After the frenzied activity of online shares, the Dow Jones has created a separate index to track US Internet-related stocks. Dow Jones & Co yesterday launched the Dow Jones Internet Index -- DJII to its friends -- which aims to represent around 80 per cent of the total Internet stock market capitalisation. At the moment, only …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 16:57
Selling-over-the-Web problem to snatch Y2K bug’s crown

IT buyers to face another barrage of scare stories

Even after the year 2000 date change has come and gone, IT users will not be safe. The next IT bogey-man will be, of all things, ecommerce, according to a survey carried out by Boole & Babbage. The management solutions company surveyed 75 IT managers in November 1998 and found that ecommerce was one of the most stressful aspects …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 17:35
Free-pc.com locks aim on UK

Brits to get in yer face advertising on the desktop

Free-PC, the US company that gave "free" computers to punters willing to sell their soul and intimate financial details, is coming to the UK. The US company gave away 10,000 Compaq Presarios this month in a $10 million experiment. Its owner Idealab will launch here this year, according to Ziff-Davis’ news site ZDNet. Free-PC …

Business 19 Feb 1999, 18:32