8th April 1999 Archive
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Microsoft mulls open source models
But don't hold your breath, and if it happens, check out the horse's dentistry carefully...
Microsoft is thinking about open source. It's not necessarily thinking about opening up its source code yet, it's just thinking - and that appears to be the sum total of company president Steve Ballmer's views on the subject, as expressed at WinHEC yesterday. He was at pains to stress that "Most CIOs don't want their people to …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 07:17
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Ballmer confirms two new versions of Windows 9x due
MS completes code merger climb-down, and contemplates hitting users twice for $90 in the one 12 month period
Last year Bill Gates told the Microsoft hardware engineering conference that Windows 98 would be the last DOS-based version of Windows, and that it would be merged into Windows NT. Well, that's not what Microsoft president Steve Ballmer said yesterday when he opened the HEC in Los Angeles. Ballmer announced there will be a new …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 07:19
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MS, Intel demo mutant thin server appliance
It's not thin, it's not cheap, and it doesn't do much bar file and print. Welcome to the twilight zone...
Microsoft's first showing of NT Embedded yesterday took the form of the first demonstration of an alleged 'thin server appliance' co-developed with Intel. But the implementation seems strangely changed from the thin server appliances Intel has been bashing on about since last summer, and it seems inevitable that the device's …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 08:07
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Intel breaks own NDA on server roadmap
If you can't beat 'em up, join 'em
We, and a host of other independents, have specialised in getting hold of Intel roadmaps before we're supposed to in the past. But now it looks as though Intel wants to join in the fun too. On the channel bit of its site, the Mighty Chipzilla is proudly showing off where it will be in the server market during 1999. The Profusion …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 08:33
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NEC tests cheap GPS PC Card
News from Russia
Our friends over at Computerra, who perpetrated the April Fool joke about Linus Torvalds joining Elbrus, have entered into collaboration with The Register and will send us local stories of wider interest to the industry. Here's the first. NEC has begun OEM testing a GPS-receiver using Russian company Spirit's technology. The …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 09:02
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MSN UK user figures plummet
Membership believed to be down 20 per cent
MSN has confirmed that its membership in the UK has fallen to 125,000 but denies that the alleged 20 per cent drop is as steep as earlier reports made out. Whether it is or not is neither here nor there. The important thing for Net watchers -- and MSN -- is that their membership has dipped and the worry is that it could be the …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 09:21
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Nvidia claims graphics breakthrough
Integrates transform and lighting on one chip
Graphics company Nvidia claimed it will be the first company to integrate transform and lighting processing on one chip. That, it said, means that standard APIs will allow a huge boost to PCs this year. Transform and lighting are bottlenecks in the graphics pipeline but because the steps are usually repetitive, it means …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 09:28
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Tandem-Digital tango reveals Compaq as puppetmaster
A year ago 64-bit cross compatibility the idea
From The Register No. 72, 7 April 1998 A deal between Tandem and Digital over 64-bit Unix could give clues to the eventual shape of Compaq’s strategy after the US government grants its approval. Tandem is to adopt Digital Unix as its OS for its telecommunications and other market segments. Both Digital and Tandem will now …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 09:37
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HP to debut Merced-ready box Monday
Eight way system will start with PA Risc chip
Hewlett Packard confirmed today that it will introduce an eight-way system on Monday next which will have the full support logic and chipset for the Merced processor. But until silicon arrives, in mid-2000, the system will use PA Risc chips, said Hugh Jenkins, server manager at HP, UK. He said: "We're now close to releasing a …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 10:17
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Deep schisms mar Compaq 64-bit plans
Two divisions united by lack of agreement
Sources close to Compaq revealed today the depth of bitter antagonism between its two server divisions, with bush fires breaking out over the Alpha-Merced roadmaps. The source, who declined to be named for obvious reasons, said: "There is a fundamental issue with Compaq, and that is they have two different server divisions …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 10:20
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MS keeps mum on NT
Microsoft: the news is there is no news. The Register: Eh?
Microsoft has, unusually, begun to restrict the release of information regarding its Windows strategy. Normally Microsoft press information is piled so high that it creates an obstacle course, but strangely, 18 hours after the keynote speeches began at the WinHEC in Los Angeles, there are no promised transcripts of the speeches …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 10:48
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Post-flu Asia to spend, spend, spend on IT
Market researcher predicts $100 billion spending spree due real soon now
The Asia-Pacific region will go on an IT spending spree nudging the $100 billion mark this year, according to a Gartner Group report. Today's study reveals overall expenditure will climb 21.4 per cent to $98 billion in 1999, against last year's three per cent. Service providers look set to cream off the largest section, with …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 11:00
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Official: cellphones won't maim your brain
Mild heating, yes; memory loss, neuron scrambling, no
Mobile phones wont fry or scramble brain cells, though they may slowly casserole them, according to a government study released today. The project, funded by the Department of Health, found no evidence that cellphones killed memory or worsened mental attention. Though they admitted there was "mild heating" of brain cells, …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 11:31
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LineOne wins £12 million boost
Free ISP's backers, BT and United News & Media, buy out third investor, News Corp
LineOne has received a £12 million shot in the arm to help rejuvenate its fortunes after spending the last couple of months on the doldrums. News of the cash injection coincided with the announcement that one of the triumvirate that headed the UK operation, Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, had been bought out by fellow …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 11:34
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Rage 128 drives up ATI Q2 figures
Company's domination of graphics accelerator market continues undiminished
Graphics specialist ATI today posted its figures for the three months to 28 Feburary. The company said sales during the quarter were up 63 per cent on the same period a year ago, rising from $182 million to $297.2 million. Profits for the quarter, the second of the current fiscal year, were $39 million, up 45 per cent on Q2 1998 …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 11:57
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Lernout and Hauspie results show massive rise
There's dosh in that there speech recogition
Belgian speech recognition company Lernout and Hauspie (L&H) reported 126 per cent revenues growth for its fourth quarter. The company turned in $76.7 million in revenues, compared to $33.8 million in the same period last year. Net profits for the period amounted to $12.9 million. Net profits for the whole of its 1998 financial …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 12:17
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LG introduces MP3 player
This market is going places
Korean manufacturer LG Electronics has introduced an MP3 music player called the MP Free According to Asian reports, its MP Free will play music in both MP3 format as well as cassette tapes. The unit comes with 32Mb of memory, and will hold eight songs. But it is expandable by adding additional memory cards, LG said. The unit …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 12:30
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MS adopts Sun ‘open source’ model for UPnP
Source code to be free, development to be led by six-company Forum
Microsoft took its plan to dominate the emerging home networking market a step further yesterday with the launch of the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) Forum trade association and the posting of the technology's core source code under an open source-style licence. The company also announced 26 IT and consumer electronics …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 12:39
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Computer thieves as sophisticated as resellers
PC burglars swot up on latest market research, in-demand brands
Computer thieves are stealing to order, selecting their prey by travelling around Britain, according to a new study commissioned by the Home Office. The study, Pulling the Plug on Computer Theft, found that fences selling stolen PCs are so sophisticated they research the market for hot equipment and meet dealers to assess demand …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 14:50
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Apple dubs upcoming consumer portable ‘iBook’
And its ready to ship new, 333MHz iMac
Apple appears to have selected the name iBook for its forthcoming consumer and education-oriented notebook Mac, better known by its codename, P1. The name 'iBook' has been assigned to the company as a trademark and follows naturally from the name 'iMac'. An earlier, much-fancied name was 'WebMate', given the machine's …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 15:17
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3dfx wraps up wrapper Web sites
Legal muscle used to prevent its graphics language being ported to other 3D hardware
3dfx has launched a series of legal strikes to prevent Web sites posting 'wrappers' -- software utilities that map calls to 3dfx's Glide 3D graphics API onto the APIs of other vendors' accelerator cards. The company claims that wrappers developed using its own Glide software development kit (SDK) cannot be distributed without …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 15:59
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Channon swoops on ilion – in concert with Landis boss
Looks like he's trying to buy his former company
Troubled distributor ilion group today saw a chunk of shares bought by former CEO Wayne Channon and Paul Kuiken from rival Landis Group. Channon, former ilion chairman and CEO, and Kuiken, president and CEO of Landis, bought 1,666,416 ordinary shares at 5p each. This strange turn of events gave them a total of 6.63 per cent of …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 16:00
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Growth of Maxtor suggests Seagate takeover
Hard drive market goes through revolution
Documents seen by The Register show that the HDD market, worldwide, is experiencing a huge shake-up. But Fujitsu is making inroads in Europe. The figures, commissioned by HDD companies but not yet released, show that the European PC market will only grow by 10 per cent this year. But more worryingly, Seagate's market share in …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 16:57
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IDT will produce S370 processor
But we're talking next year, say sources
IDT/Centaur will create a Socket 370 version of its WinChip platform. But it will likely be WinChip 5, a source close to the company said today. He said: "Our roadmap shows the WinChip 2, 3 and 4, and that's all we've said publicly. "We will produce a Socket 370 product but it won't be out this year. We don't have a licence for …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 17:14
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VideoLogic lands STMicroelectronics deal
Hurrah another customer -- and it's a biggie
VideoLogic has landed big fish STMicroElectronics, through a licensing deal which could translate into big bucks. STMicroelectronics will incorporate VDO'S PowerVR technology into fast, new 2D/3D PC graphics and video accelerators. The VDO deal will also enable the French semiconductor giant to deliver a so-called "leadership 3D …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 17:19
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AMD's K7 will be late or maybe risky
Updated AMD admits yield problem on whole chip front
Chip manufacturer AMD said late yesterday that its K7 processor will not now ship in June, as it had anticipated. At the same time, the company said there was a substantial decline in its first quarter and all processor shipments have been badly affected. Severe price competition caused revenues to slip, said AMD, while it also …
Business 8 Apr 1999, 17:40
