19th April 1999 Archive
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Gates book – hit or miss?
It's either number 36 or number 5 in the best seller lists, depending...
With Gates' second book, Business at the speed of thought, having had nearly a month's exposure to the book buying public, we thought we'd check on how it was doing. It took us some time to spot it in the USA Today best selling books list, where it languishes in 36th position. Surely that's a mistake? We turned to the Wall …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 07:02
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Yocam was pushed from Inprise over earnings fall
Company to split into two units
Del Yocam, the former CEO of Inprise, which is still better known as Borland, was pushed. His sudden resignation on 31 March turns out to have been the result of "philosophical differences regarding the company's growth strategy". The board says it asked for his resignation. Unpacking this, it transpires that Q1 earnings will be …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 07:04
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Apple to challenge MS with open source QuickTime
Version 4.0 to bid for web streaming deals
Apple is poised to make parts of its QuickTime code open source, according to reports. The company is expected to make the announcement at the National Association of Broadcasters meeting in Las Vegas this week. The move would make Apple a late entrant in the main arena for streaming, but with arguably the best technology. …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 07:07
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Dixons sues AOL, claiming slander from CIS staff
The embattled paid-for service is alleged to have been verballing Freeserve
UK retail chain Dixon's has issued a High Court writ against AOL for slander because, allegedly, CompuServe customer support staff told callers cancelling their CompuServe subscriptions that Dixons' Freeserve would be charging in the future. Dixons said this began to happen in December 1998, and the CompuServe statement was " …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 07:08
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French plan another Net strike for June
Unlimited fixed fee access sought for Europe
Sunday 6 June is being targeted as a day for boycotting Internet access, in order to bring pressure to bear on telecom operators in Europe to reduce tariffs and introduce unlimited access for a fixed fee. The French have already staged strikes in December (usage down about 10 per cent) and January (but dubbed "un joli flop" by …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 08:59
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Eckhard on Last Train to Wapping
All dressed up and no-where to go
Today is the day when an entire train on London Dockland Light Railway is branded in Compaq colours. The timing, of course, couldn't be worse. We wonder whether Andreas Barth, his long time buddy at Compaq Europe, will also be stepping off the platform on the Last Train to Wapping. ®
Business 19 Apr 1999, 10:28
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Phone chips pump up STMicro profits
Shores up defences against hostile takeover
STMicroelectronics has posted a profit hike of 16.5 per cent for the first quarter, thanks to surging auto and mobile phone chip demand. Sales rose 10.7 per cent to $1.11 billion. The French semiconductor maker today released profit figures of $105.1 million, or 72 cents a diluted share, compared with $90.2 million, or 65 cents …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 10:42
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Palm slammed for Palm VII pricing
Wireless Net access to follow cellphone, not ISP pricing model
3Com subsidiary Palm Computing may have a made a tactical blunder over its proposed pricing plan for the upcoming Palm VII wireless comms organiser. According to reports on US newswires, Palm users who had gathered at the Spring Internet World 99 show, held in Los Angeles last week, to hear new of the device became decidedly …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 10:46
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Intel hides mobo light under a bushel shock
Another Intel motherboard sneaks unnoticed onto the market
Stealth launches at Intel seem to be the order of the day. Not usually famed for its modesty, Intel has a strange way of launching some of its products. Motherboards are obviously judged not worthy of bothering the massive Intel PR machine about - in fact we can't remember the last time Chipzilla issued a press release about the …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 11:15
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Dell increases Latitude
Three new models on the cards
Dell aims to woo new markets with the introduction of three notebook models in 1999, but is wary of handhelds. For two years the direct vendor has stuck to one basic version for business users of its Latitude range. It now plans to get cheaper, higher-tech and lighter via three products, according to Infoworld Electronic. The …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 11:19
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AMD hits back at Intel fab figures
Claims it will have 30 per cent market share by 2001
A senior executive at AMD has hit back at internal Intel fabrication plant figures and said his company will have 30 per cent PC market share in the year 2001. Rana Mainee, market analyst at AMD Europe, also responded to Intel figures saying that its Willamette processor would be double the performance of a K7 666MHz part. He …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 11:20
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eclipsis builds war chest for online travel offensive
Internet Bookshop founder at the helm
Darryl Mattocks -- who made £3.6 million last year when WH Smith bought the Internet Bookshop for £9.8 million -- is hoping to repeat his success with an online travel service. The 34-year-old businessman is looking to raise £2.75 million for eclipsis.com to help grow the business with an all-out marketing offensive. Some of the …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 11:29
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Son of Chipzilla found on Microsoft site
Dinosaur runs amok causing havoc and destruction
A mad dinosaur has been found lurking on Microsoft's site and first reports are it is the Son of Chipzilla, the biggest and meanest semiconductor in the world. The effect that the Son of Chipzilla will have on Microsoft software can only be guessed, said our dinosaur correspondent. However, a Microsoft representative pointed out …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 11:40
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RealNetworks wins top telco backing
Deal with AT&T, Sprint et al to boost bandwidth, battle Microsoft
Streaming media market leader RealNetworks is set to announce a series of partnerships with major US telcos, including AT&T and Sprint, today. The deals, which allow the telcos' networks to be used as backbones to Real's Real Broadcast Network, mark an the latest stage in the company's plan to shore up its 85 per cent share of …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 11:41
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Oracle and Microsoft share sports facilities
Share showers, baths
The offices of Microsoft and Oracle in the UK are adjacent to each other in the Thames Valley business park but we can now reveal that the two companies -- in public bitter enemies -- share the same sports facilities. Because little snow falls in the Thames Valley, however, we're not sure whether that means they go on the piste …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 11:49
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Bookies start odds on Pfeiffer replacement
Runners line up in Compaq desperation derby
Britain's bookies have started laying odds on who will replace Eckhard Pfeiffer, Compaq's CEO, who resigned yesterday. Here are the runners and riders in the 4.10 Maiden Fillies Stakes at Houston Park: 12-1 CRAIG BARRETT sired by CHIPZILLA INSIDE 25-1 BOB PALMER sired by WALK IN WARDROBE 50-1 MIKEY DELL sired by DIRECT BOX 20-1 …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 12:12
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KeyLabs touts ‘official’ Linux marque
Java certifier wants to certify Linux. Corporates, vendors keen
IBM and Caldera, plus sundry other OEMs and Linux distributors, are to throw their weight behind independent testing company KeyLabs' proposal for a standard certification of compatibility for Linux-based applications and hardware, according to PC Week US. With corporates relying more and more on certification to back up their …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 12:20
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Compaq: ‘20 per cent price cuts across the board’
Taiwanese trade sources spill beans to Eurotrade
Eckhard Pfeiffer's sudden removal has thrown a spanner in the works of the Taiwanese computer sector, according to EuroTrade. Following his departure (see Pfeiffer ousted in Compaq shakeup), Compaq is "poised to implement an average of 20 per cent price cuts across the board". We think Eurotrade is referring only to desktop PCs …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 12:30
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Chipzilla silly names department strikes again
You couldn't make this up
Intel has had an attack of honesty over its new networking push. From the company that brought you such great made up names as the Celeron and Screaming Cindy's Extensions, comes yet another gem, but this time the chip behemoth has chosen a moniker open to even more derision than usual. Step forward, please, the new home …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 12:37
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Tire Kyckers slam Register silly email signatures report
Must be something in the water
The Register has been inundated with insults and explanations after it ran a report into the dark and slightly mysterious world of e-mail signatures last week. Although few people seemed to condemn the practice, the exact meaning of the phrase "The tire (sic) is only flat on the bottom" did fire up many of you to write in with …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 12:49
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HK jails Net teen sex Brit
Two years in Chokey
A Brit was last week jailed in Asia for bedding a 13-year-old girl he met over the Web. Insurance exec Toby Acton was nailed in Hong Kong. He got 14 months for luring the Lolita wannabe to a hotel in the city’s sleazy Wan Chai district. Acton used his office PC to woo the girl via an Internet chat line, according to the Daily …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 13:11
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Memsolve ashes laid to rest (ish)
Elf mops up bankrupt stock
Components distributor Memsolve has finally been laid to rest, with its remaining stock moved to Dorset. The Widnes, Cheshire company was wound up last week at the Royal Courts of Justice, London. Solicitors Coleman Tilley Tarrant Sutton, of Kingston Upon Thames, presented the petition on behalf of distributor Northamber. The …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 13:24
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Japanese economy staggers
A year ago Doom-laden report set to trigger new Asian collapse
From The Register April 1998 Far Eastern stock markets and currencies plunged again today on the news that Japan's economy is near collapse. The new crisis was triggered by a damning Bank of Japan report on the state of the economy, together with an angry attack by Sony president Norio Ohga on prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 15:19
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Excite is back in the black
What's a key metric when it's @home?
Top Web portal Excite has made a profit in Q1 after reporting that its turnover had increased by 123 per cent for the first three months of the year. With revenues of $54.1 million for Q1 -- up from $24.3 million for the same period last year -- Excite will have pleased investors by announcing a net profit of $2.5 million …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 15:22
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Intel re-jigs Celeron plans in favour of Pentium IIIs
Just check the roadmap out
The Great Satan of Chips has decided, after its aggressive burst of anti-AMD, Cyrix, Rise and IDT price bombing to re-adjust its sights. The company will now slash prices of Pentium IIIs between now and September, introduce new product offerings and attack its competitors on all pricing fronts, according to prices we revealed …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 15:26
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Customers work for Netscape for free
Now Lycos wants a piece of the action
Lycos is trialling rival Netscape's so-called Open Directory, a service where customers do all the work -- for free. The Netscape Open Directory is a new initiative that employs 9,000 volunteers to register different sites, instead of paying teams of editors to trawl around the Web. According to Netscape, the goal of the Open …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 15:33
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Intel in Revelations avoidance shocker
...666? Not us mate
Clock speed anoraks will be thrilled to know that the forthcoming Intel Coppermine processors will avoid all accusations of devilment and general nastiness by not appearing in 666MHz guise. Not for Intel the number of the beast, oh dearie no. For there will not be a 666MHz Coppermine, instead a wholesome 667MHz part is billed …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 15:54
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Microsoft-owned email service runs on FreeBSD, Apache
Poor old Hotmail tried a migration to NT but it didn't work, apparently...
It's quiz time - why does Hotmail use Apache? Hotmail is the free email service owned by Microsoft, so why isn't it using IIS? It's a good question, and there's an easy answer: Microsoft would desperately like to run Hotmail with NT/IIS but when it tried to switch over, it failed. And if Microsoft cannot get NT to scale, nobody …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 16:11
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Hamidi forces Intel to argue Spam case
Judge likely to say trial needed, with State funds
A Sacramento judge has the final say today whether or not, Ken Hamidi, organiser of a group complaining against Intel employment practices, and a former employee of the corporation, was guilty of delivering spammed emails to the behemoth's 65,000 employees. According to a report on the FaceIntel site, a reversal of the judgement …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 16:18
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Anti-spammers petition European Parliament
Spam &c...
Anti-spam campaigners took their fight to the European Parliament today handing in two petitions ahead of this week’s crucial vote by the Eurocrats. The European Internet Services Providers Association (EuroISPA) and leading German computer title c’t magazine have both become focal points for support against the legalisation of …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 16:20
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Don't buy notebooks this Summer
We reveal Intel's mobile roadmap
If you were planning on treating yourself to a new notebook this Summer so you could 'work from home' while sipping a cold beer in the garden, think again. Intel is set to launch some really cool mobile processors during the Summer months but will replace them with even cooler products less than three months later. The mobile …
Business 19 Apr 1999, 16:41
