15th March 1999 Archive

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MS, HP, Intel and Nortel to forge telecoms alliance

That old voice and data convergence thang, it would appear

Northern Telecom is expected to announce today a telecoms alliance with HP, Intel and Microsoft. The collaboration is to make it possible for small and medium sized businesses to be able to combine voice and data. There is nothing especially novel about this, except for the market power of the partners to the deal. Cisco's …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 09:28
MS reorg – Gates burnt out, so spin him off?

Zillionaire prima donnas restrict Ballmer's choices, and nobody wants consumer, the corporate Black Spot...

Later today Microsoft is expected to announce its latest reorganisation. Normally these happen every couple of years, but the last significant one followed the panic December 1995 move when Microsoft finally realised that the Internet boat was sailing out of the harbour and that it was not on board. Gates really has left the …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 09:30
Fujitsu, NEC fuel Japan Linux take-off

Launching new Linux systems for ISPs and businesses

Linux seems poised for a breakthrough in Japan, according to reports over the weekend. According to the newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Fujitsu and NEC are poised to roll out Linux products for the networking market, while IBM Japan plans Linux notebooks and servers. NEC will be unveiling Linux servers aimed at ISPs next month, …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 10:13
Unique serial number exists in all 25 micron Intel chips

Update Two Celerons, PIIs and Xeons as well, now Intel responds

An architect who currently works for Intel US has now confirmed what we were beginning to suspect all along -- every .25 micron Intel chip has the processor serial number (PSN). The chip designer, who revealed the news under strict conditions of anyonymity, said: "Any .25 micron core including the PII, all Celerons and all …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 11:45
Poorest households to get IT access

Government to back £5 per month PC ownership scheme

The government will provide poorer families with recycled PCs as part of a £400 million package announced last week. David Blunkett, secretary of state for education and employment, revealed low income families would be eligible for the computers from as little as £5 per month. The plan to provide access to IT training for every …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 12:12
UK government urged to tackle mobile charges

Phone companies accused of ripping off customers

The mobile phone industry has come under attack by campaigners eager to make it part of the government’s fight against "rip-off Britain." Pressure groups have urged trade secretary Stephen Byers to crack down on cellular phone companies for charging more than their counterparts overseas. The move came after it was revealed that …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 12:21
Compaq to announce 4-way PIII Xeons at CeBIT

And outline their 8-way Sabers with tweaks

PC company Compaq is expected to announce Thursday details of their four way Xeon servers. It will make the announcement as it outlines the eight-way systems, based on so-called Intel Saber technology, set to arrive in April. The Register will have a team of reporters at CeBIT, held in Hannover, Germany, and will file stories …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 12:25
Hyundai spins off ChipPAC to US consortium for $550 million

It's all to do with the LG Semi merger

The Korean press reported today that Hyundai has sold its US subsidiary ChipPAC to Bain Capital and Citicorp for a reported half a billion dollars. Hyundai will continue to hold a 10 per cent stake in the firm, which assembles chips and manufactures test equipment, according to the Korea Herald. The move is part of Hyundai's …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 12:48
Deutsche Telekom is running a peep-show, says AOL

Court rules it’s time to stop charging per minute

AOL Europe has claimed a prize scalp after successfully arguing that Deutsche Telekom was guilty of offering unfair pricing plans for Net access. A court in Hamburg threw out DT's pricing scheme for its T-Online Internet service after AOL Europe complained it was uncompetitive. Up until now users have been unaware how much of …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 13:13
ilion sells off huge slice of German operation

Rethinking its plans to pull out of Germany after all?

Networking distributor ilion sold off a sizeable chunk of its German subsidiary. Bonn-based Garmhausen has taken 40 per cent of ilion Deutschland, which has been bought for "a nominal amount" according to a company statement. This is a turnaround for the distributor, which last September stated its intention to withdraw from …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 13:20
Clockwork computer power planned for next year

South African outfit to license $50 wind-up device

The Freeplay Power Group of South Africa is the latest in a series of outfits working on clockwork computers. And tantalisingly, its current prototype is running on an Apple eMate. Recent rumour has had it that Apple, in its quest for a killer design for its return to the low-cost educational market eMate was aimed at, has been …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 15:03
Intel meets re-marking pall on road to Damascus

Suddenly, overclocking and re-marking is the RAGE

Intel's re-marking utility it announced today is likely a diversionary tactic, according to sources close to the company. They referred us to the problem with Pentium IIs having ID numbers as an example of PR retro-engineering. They also took the time out to point that the infamous FDIV problem was only one of nearly 40 problems …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 15:46
Class action lawsuit hits CHS

Distributor accused of falsifying accounts

CHS Electronics is facing a class action lawsuit from shareholders, charging the US distributor with submitting false financial statements and earnings. The company is being sued on behalf of every person who bought CHS common stock between February 27 1997 and March 10 1999. The complaint was filed in US District Court, …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 16:22
Telecomms disruption looms for UK businesses

Time is running out for phone changes

UK companies have 50 working days left to update their telecomms equipment before new code and number changes are introduced causing yet more inconvenience. Businesses that don’t make the changes in time for the 1 June deadline could face disruption to their communications if they don't take remedial action soon, the …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 17:38
Compaq hit by class action

There's a lot of it about - must be that time of year

Compaq is being sued by two separate sets of shareholders, claiming the vendor hid a PC sales slowdown earlier this year. The separate suits are both on behalf of investors that bought Compaq stock between January 27 and February 25, according to online news service TechWeb. The suits claim the Houston-based company violated US …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 18:19
Vanderbilts generator meets Lennox the Linux in mad draw

In boxing matches, things fly, of course

Practically all of the UK press was concerned today about how Vanderbilt ("The Generator") was beaten by Lennox "Linnux" today. The truth is, who cares. It's a barbaric sparring match compared to which Bill "The Tolerator" Gates should have been "decked" by Linus "The Operator" Torvalds. Should not both have been concerned about …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 21:08
Chipzilla becomes Gorgonzilla

It's big, it's cheesy and it's a Gorgon...

It has been pointed out to The Register that Terry Shannon, then at Shannon knows DEC, first used the word Chipzilla in a reference to Intel nearly a year back. We therefore wish to acknowledge his contribution, and also to say that from thenceforth, when we refer to Chipzilla, we really mean Gorgonzilla. Obviously it's a kind …

Business 15 Mar 1999, 23:56