31st March 1999 Archive
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Register ordered to cease and desist pre-empting US joke
This is no joke
A humourless letter from one of a few members in a conspiracy of humour sites hoping to spring an April's Fool Joke tomorrow in the USA has ordered The Register not to tell the joke first. As we didn't know it was a joke, we have therefore taken the threat seriously and will now desist from telling jokes before the time is ripe …
Business 31 Mar 1999, 00:32
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Microsoft Web contracts tougher than Gates claims
A year ago Story suggests Committee got inadequate answers
Posted 30th March 1998 Bill Gates may have misled the Senate Judiciary Committee in his testimony earlier this month, according to this morning's New York Times. The Times quotes from a Microsoft Web partner contract passed to it by an anonymous industry executive, saying that the partner should promote Internet Explorer …
Business 31 Mar 1999, 07:24
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Celerons to go 100MHz FSB
And the 815 chipset is dead as dodo
Informed sources close to Intel's plan said today that the company will introduce Celeron processors with a 100MHz front side bus (FSB) in the first quarter of next year. Intel always had the technology to do that with Celerons, as reported here early this year, but has now made the decision to go ahead. And at the same time, …
Business 31 Mar 1999, 09:26
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First MS-DoJ settlement talks fail to leak
MS on Trial But any day now, somebody's going to find spinning irresistible...
The settlement talks between Microsoft and the DoJ/states proved to be a great disappointment to the assembled TV crews outside the DoJ offices last night. Outcome: nothing. The meeting lasted for two hours, with Microsoft being represented by Bill Neukom (head lawyer for Microsoft), Richard Urowsky for Sullivan & Cromwell (the …
Business 31 Mar 1999, 09:32
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Intel using Alphas for IA64 development
And there's an awful lot of coffee in Brazil
This, we promise, is not an April's Fool joke because it's only just April Fool's day in the Aleutian Islands. However, our source for this story is not our normal Intel architect but another, so take it as you will. According to the source, Intel's 64-bit emulator is performing so badly that Microsoft is requesting, nay …
Business 31 Mar 1999, 09:37
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AMD-ZD battle ramps up a notch
3D Winbench mark "discredited"
A reader of The Register has now sent us a copy of the email AMD is sending its customers rubbishing Ziff-Davis benchmarks (see ZD rejigs benchmarks after AMD complaint). The text is below, in full. "Ziff Davis has issued a statement revealing that the 3D Processing Tests used in the 3D Winbench 99 benchmark are misleading and …
Business 31 Mar 1999, 09:58
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MS demands more Sun, AOL Netscape documents
MS on Trial The DoJ got lots more info than Microsoft did, apparently...
Microsoft has asked Judge Jackson to compel AOL, Netscape and Sun to produce all emails related to AOL's November takeover of Netscape. Microsoft is somewhat ticked-off that the alliance produced more than 120 boxes of documents to the DoJ, but less than three boxes to Microsoft in response to its subpoenas. In an emergency …
Business 31 Mar 1999, 10:24
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Acer anticipates big growth figures for ‘99
Notebooks & OEM sales to lead the way, but chips could still be down
Taiwanese manufacturer Acer is in bullish mood, predicting 40 per cent sales growth in the first quarter of 1999. It expects to see increased demand for its own-brand PC-based products as well as in its OEM business, with overall growth for the year thought to be in the region of 20 per cent. Last year, Acer saw a 40 per cent …
Business 31 Mar 1999, 10:27
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Alpha Processor Inc ramps up anti-Intel battle
Marketing blitz set to start
The signs are that Alpha Processor Inc, a consortium backed by Samsung, is beginning to take on Intel at its own game. The company has posted a marketing document on its site here which outlines its future strategy. According to Jeff Borkowski, VP of business development at API, the consortium will exploit the market outside of …
Business 31 Mar 1999, 10:28
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VIA to debut 133MHz front side bus
And PC-133 there too
Our friends over at JC have linked to a Taiwanese site which has details of VIA's Apollo Pro Plus 133 chipset. At the same time, JC has also supplied a translation of some of the material. According to the site, the chipset will support 133MHz front side bus (FSB) and PC-133, something which Intel has not, so far, implemented. …
Business 31 Mar 1999, 10:39
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Morse hit by dodgy spelling
Meaty Morsel should change its name to Choosy Channel Chunks, perhaps
Every once in a while art imitates life in the most bizarre fashion. A report in today’s Financial Times - revered by many as the bastion of rock-solid business journalism – into the recent float by UK reseller Morse, provides a useful illustration. Commenting on the failure of Morse stock to set the market alight, the FT …
Business 31 Mar 1999, 10:49
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UK tabloid papers launch Web access for the masses
Gor blimey, come and ‘ave a butchers at this
CurrantBun.com may sound like a Web site for bakers, but it is the latest attempt by the UK’s leading tabloid to offer free Internet access. Cockney rhyming slang for The Sun, CurrantBun was launched yesterday along with The Mirror’s announcement that it will launch its own portal site on 30 April. The Mirror’s site will be …
Business 31 Mar 1999, 11:16
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Y2K bug to take bite out of Japan tomorrow
New financial year could herald big problems
The millennium bug could hit Japan tomorrow because most Japanese companies start their financial year on 1 April. While the rest of us have nine-months’ breathing space, many older PCs in Japan may read 1 April 2000 as the year 1900. Tomorrow’s deadline may see the collapse of many computer systems, Professor Shumpei Kumon of …
Business 31 Mar 1999, 11:21
