9th April 1999 Archive

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Only the paraspinmedics survive

Is AMD worse or better than Intel?

At The Register we are of the belief that one chip company is just as mad, bad and ugly as any other. Two of them are paranoid and we are very concerned about that. We can recommend psychotherapists for both AMD and Intel execs. No sooner do we find an Intel document telling the 65,000 staff how to deal with UK journalists and …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 00:54
MS judge releases ‘secret’ depositions

MS on Trial Thousands more pages - aren't we the lucky ones?

Although the Microsoft trial is in recess until at least mid-May, procedural matters continue to be dealt with by the court. There was to be a scheduled status conference this morning, but this has been cancelled by mutual agreement. It was planned to discuss the emergency motion in which Microsoft sought to compel AOL/Netscape …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 07:48
Will 64-bit Win2k for Merced ship later rather than sooner?

This week's 'impressive' demo leaves a lot of questions unanswered

How close is the 64-bit version of Windows 2000? Well, Microsoft demoed it at WinHEC this week, but an examination of the detail of the demo suggests that it's a little bit further off than Microsoft might be suggesting - for the Merced version, anyway. Microsoft showed the product running, apparently rather well - so it's just …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 08:55
Gore Web site breaches own pet privacy laws

And for an encore, the hapless veep annoys the Open Source lobby...

Vice-president Al Gore, Microsoft's friend and now US presidential candidate, has blown it again. The man who likes to think that he created the Internet (or so he suggested to CNN, although he later claimed he was "tired" when he said this) has had a rough ride with his web site. It didn't help that when the site was first …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 09:00
MS to ship new Win98 in May – annual rental here we come?

As we said in the first place, bundling bugfixes and enhancements is a lot easier than building a new OS

Microsoft has confirmed our original suspicion (Next version of Win98 due in Q2?) that it was planning a quick and dirty run for Q2 shipment of Win98 Second Edition. At WinHEC this week the company revealed the 'new' product is now to ship in May. Microsoft also confirmed earlier this week rumours that there would be future …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 09:56
InterNIC sells WebTechs domain name to porn site

Moral: keep up with the payments

WebTechs, the first Web-based HTML validation service, created in 1994, is locked in a battle with the InterNIC domain registration service after it sold webtechs.com's domain to another company. Instead of linking to a practical software service users accessing www.webtechs.com are faced with the Jane's Photos porn site …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 09:57
Camino cockup panics Chipzilla

Rushes out stopgap PIII...

Intel's singular failure to deliver the whizzo new Camino chipset with its 133MHz frontside bus has thrown plans for the PIII range into more than a little confusion. The next PIII was due to be a 533MHz part, shipping around June, but Chipzilla's legendary ability for missing the (RAM) bus has scuppered that one. Enter instead …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 10:34
Chip cost chop continues

Intel drops 'em again this weekend...

That the creaky old Pentium II is on the slippery slope to the chip gulag can be in little doubt as Chipzilla knocks a few more bucks off on Sunday night (no respect for the Sabbath, these guys). PII 400's drop to $234 from $246 and the entry-level 350 is now a snip at just $163. Sources close to Intel reckon that the 350 has …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 10:35
ATI leaks details of Rage 128 Pro

Anti-nVidia spoiler reveals fast, feature-rich boards due in July

ATI operatives have spilled the beans on the company's upcoming Rage 128 Pro accelerator chip, successor to the current Rage 128, which has been boosting the company's profits lately. According to Maximum PC magazine, an ATI guy, speaking at WinHEC 99, claimed the new chip would will run at 125MHz and above, and sport …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 10:47
Japanese boffin claims 200MHz FSB invention

On any motherboard, he says

A Japanese inventor has claimed he has devised a method to increase the speed of the Front Side Bus (FSB) on any motherboard from between 50MHz and 200MHz. The method, called Turbo PLL-01, with block diagrams and photographs is on this site. The English translation is a little shaky, but it sort of seems to make sense. There is …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 10:56
WinHEC keynotes show MS losing Windows plot

Opinion Somehow the roadmap has got rockier, and it isn't as easy as it should have been by now

The keynote speeches given at the Microsoft hardware engineering conference in Los Angeles show just how rocky Microsoft's roadmap for Windows has become. After reading them, we were left with the general feeling that Microsoft has lost control of Windows development, and that long-term strategy has been abandoned for short-term …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 11:03
Cisco on buying spree again

Snaps up two companies

Networking giant Cisco has bought Fibex Systems and Sentient Networks, paying over $445 million for both. The deal will be accounted for with shares, Fibex Systems getting $310 million and Sentient Networks around $120 million. Both Fibex and Sentient sell high end networking systems to telephone companies. Last year, Cisco …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 11:06
MS denies Win98 part two is paid-for service pack

There will be a free service pack too, Redmonds sniffs...

Microsoft's slender press release on WinHEC has had a footnote added today that is intended to clarify the position about the Windows 98 service pack, and Windows 98 second edition. Microsoft is evidently peeved that the media have come to the conclusion that Windows 98-2ed is primarily a bug fix for which Microsoft will charge …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 11:08
Bart Simpson exposed as Melissa mastermind

Updated Bad diet? Pallid complexion? It was obvious all along, really...

Chilling evidence of a connection between a cult cartoon series and the Melissa virus has emerged. The evil genius who brought email systems worldwide to a crunching halt, we can now reveal, may be none other than Bart Simpson. In its Melissa FAQ list CERT offers a tantalising hint: Q: "Are you aware of the connection between …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 11:19
Chip trade body welcomes Red China, US accord

Because its members will be able to sell more chips

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said today that it welcomed talks between the US government and Red China which could result in the communist country becoming a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). SIA president George Scalise said: "Our industry would very much like to see China join the WTO when a …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 11:23
Sony's anti-emulation action comes to court

PlayStation emulators from Bleem and Connectix to be challenged separately today

Sony has acted to block the release of a second PlayStation emulator, less than a month after failing to get Connectix's Virtual GameStation (VGS) banned. According to a report in MacWeek.com, Sony this week asked a federal judge to prevent Bleem from shipping its eponymous Windows-based emulator. An initial court hearing to …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 11:23
NASCR races to out-perform FreeServe

High bandwidth free ISP service to be launched on Sunday

An independent computer trade association has launched a subscription-free Net access service it claims has a wideband link to the Web 19 times greater than FreeServe and other similar ISPs. The National Association of Specialist Computer Retailers (NASCR) claims its service will give Net users "one of the best rides ever" and …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 11:27
Government seeks last word on cellphone health scares

National Radiological Protection Board to investigate

The Minister for Public Health yesterday ordered an inquiry into health effects of mobile phones, after revelations that they may cause heating of the brain. Tessa Jowell asked The National Radiological Protection Board to set up an independent group to examine the current state of research into the affect of cellphones on human …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 11:31
Sony president announces Netman digital music player

Be afraid, Diamond, be very afraid...

Sony has confirmed it is developing a Walkman for the Internet era. The new device, dubbed the Netman, has been developed specifically to store and play downloaded digital music files. Speaking at the launch of the Sony's Super Audio CD, company president Nobuyuki Idei said the device will be launched later this year as part of …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 11:54
DRAM makers pin profit hopes on 128Mb production

Taiwanese competition means even lower 64Mb prices

Far Eastern DRAM makers are accelerating production of 128Mb DRAMs, following recent sharp falls in 64Mb prices. According to the excellent Taiwanese IT pub, Eurotrade, Samsung aims to shift ten million units per month, up from its current production volumes of 1.4 million. Korean rival Hyundai wants to ramp up from 100,000 …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 12:00
Moscow government to support Merced killer

Elbrus gets funding for E2k project. Be afraid, Chipzilla

Mayor of Moscow Yury Luzko has promised support for the manufacture of Elbrus International's microprocessor, the E2k, dubbed the "Merced killer". Luzkov visited Elbrus with the chiefs of the Russian academy of sciences, and the minister of science and technology of the Moscow government. At the meeting Luzkov, said the Moscow …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 12:11
SCSI die-hards release roadmap

640MBps bandwidth to hold back 1394, Fibre Channel

The SCSI Trade Association mounted a defensive campaign against Universal Serial Bus and IEE1394/FireWire at WinHEC 99 yesterday as it unveiled its roadmap for the ageing peripheral connection technology. The roadmap projected the development of SCSI over the next four years to the introduction of Ultra 5 SCSI, with its …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 12:37
Embarcadero drops direct-only sales strategy

Opens doors to resellers across Europe

Embarcadero Europe has abandoned its direct-sales only strategy in the UK and Ireland. The database and software tool maker this month got the green light for its first channel programme in Europe. In a statement yesterday, it claimed resellers would net around 30 per cent commission on sales of its products. Embarcadero Europe …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 12:43
Melissa programmer freed on bail

Grand Jury trial to follow shortly

Alleged cyber desperado David L Smith was hauled into a US courtroom yesterday to face the charge of masterminding the Melissa virus. Smith, a former computer programmer, appeared at Monmouth County Court, Freehold, New Jersey, accused of interruption of public communications, conspiracy and theft of computer services. The Web's …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 12:49
Microsoft hints at Windows rental – again

Consumers to get annual updates and annual fees...

David Cole, Microsoft's VP for Web client and consumer experience (how embarrassing can you get in a job title, especially as he is dubbed the tele-evangelist internally), mostly demonstrated games and leisure activities at the WinHEC conference in Los Angeles. For example, he demonstrated how programming a video recorder could …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 12:55
The AMD K7 story – it's a limited edition

We're still waiting for high speed K6-IIIs. The rare bird concerned has hen's teeth

We had a huge set of emails after we wrote our story based on cautionary statements AMD made about the K7 yesterday. Some were abusive, some were querulous but many, if not most of them, were very interesting indeed. SharkyExtreme (see below) says the K7 will arrive in limited quantities in July, not June, and that two tier one …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 15:32
Fake news fraud powers Pairgain stock

Quelle surprise -- it happens all the time, claim analysts

As hoaxes go, the stunt that created a run on the stock price for California-based telecoms company Pairgain Technologies is hardly anything to get worked up about. The only surprise is that such a sting, which was only mildy sophisticated by all accounts, received so much attention in the first place since this kind of thing …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 15:34
Euro ISP revenues hit all-time high

But growth to begin easing off this year

Mushrooming interest in the Internet is responsible for the fastest growth ever seen in European telecoms market. According to a survey by IDC, European ISPs last year experienced revenue growth of 53 per cent, although the market research company predicts this steep rate of growth will ease slightly this year, to 44 per cent. …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 15:40
IBM to offer entire range direct via Web

Takes leaf out of Dell's book

IBM has confirmed it will sell its entire product range over the Internet from next month. Big Blue is due to unveil the Web site, code-named Project Odyssey, in May. The project, only for the US at present, may swell IBM cybersale coffers to around $15 billion, according to Business Week magazine. The site will target small …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 16:30
Will Dell buy IBM's PC business?

Big Blue says no, but they would say that...

Analysts are crawling over IBM's loss making PC outfit and are suggesting that Dell will take it over. But that could be a faulty analysis. Certainly the IBM PC people we're talking to are denying it, big time. Nevertheless, there are attractions for the Great Satan of Hardware. It has this humungous OEM agreement with IBM that …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 16:45
Dell will ship iMac clone

Michael Dell chases Apple to pacify Wall Street

Dell CEO Michael Dell has confirmed the company will offer a Wintel-based iMac clone. Speaking at a press conference organised to persuade the industry and Wall Street that his company's long run of major revenue growth was finally beginning to slow down, Dell said the machine would ship in the next 12-18 months. Interviewed …

Business 9 Apr 1999, 16:54