21st April 1999 Archive
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Compaq takes its earnings to the shrink
A year ago More tin for less money
From The Register No 73, April 1998 Compaq's earnings slumped 96 per cent to $16 million in Q1, compared with the same period in 1997. Sales grew eight per cent to $5.7 billion against last time, which suggests the hardware vendor is flogging a hell of a lot more tin. Shareholders can't say they weren't warned. Earnings matched …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 06:40
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IBM to buy Cyrix from NatSemi?
Rumours rife in valley
Early today we heard from a reliable source that IBM is to buy the Cyrix division of National Semiconductor. No confirmation from either company was available at press time but we will update this story today as more information becomes available. IBM formerly manufactured processors for Cyrix as part of a fabbing deal set up …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 07:45
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Caldera unveils simple install Linux system
No expertise claimed to be needed for OpenLinux 2.2
It is perhaps a little strange that Linux distributor Red Hat is the recipient of a great deal of corporate largesse, while Caldera Systems, which pitches itself as "the recognised technology leader in Linux for Business", has not benefited from the windfalls. Perhaps Caldera doesn't need funds as much as Red Hat (since Ray …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 08:19
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Glowing MS figures mask major revenue decline
Up on last year, but compared to Q2 they're not so clever...
Microsoft will get the headlines it wants today: how it "beat the Street", or "exceeded (financial) analysts expectations", but the truth about Microsoft's third quarter results yesterday is a little different. Companies like to compare results with those of the year-earlier quarter, using the argument that seasonal factors make …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 08:22
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Deutsche Telekom ducking competition via Italy deal
Cash being used for overseas revenue, rather than head-on battle in German market
Privatised Italian phone monopoly Telecom Italia would rather climb into bed with white-knight Deutsche Telekom than risk a hostile takeover by Olivetti, it appears. Olivetti's $65 billion bid remains on the table as DT and TI attempt to tie the knot. DT is a most reluctant privatiser - the German government still has 72 per …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 09:05
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Win2k beta offer escapes notice of most MS subs
They don't know what it is, and they certainly don't know what you get after the beta finishes
Microsoft subsidiaries worldwide seem to have been caught flat-footed by the appearance of the Corporate Preview Program (CPP) Win2k beta 3 special offer. For $59.95, US customers can get Win2k beta 3 (see earlier Story), but it's not entirely clear what they get once the beta is over, and most of the local outfits currently …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 09:09
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IDC slams press over reporting of NT ‘success’
They don't give an accurate picture of where NT is really being used. Can't think who IDC means...
Research outfit IDC has criticised media reporting of NT's success, and says that Microsoft's skills in "momentum marketing" have resulted in a false message being put out about the product. As the momentum marketing programme for Win2k cranks into action, it would be as well to bear that in mind when reading the media. …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 09:40
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Figures suggest chip market on rise
Bookings up by 14 per cent in March
Figures from the Semiconductor Equipment and Material International (SEMI) said that worldwide sales of manufacturing equipment rose by 14 per cent in March, worldwide. According to the trade association, the equipment market posted a book-to-bill ration of 1.30, meaning $130 of orders were received for every $100 of products …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 09:52
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Yahoo! sues spam merchants
Wham! Bam! Spam you, ma'am!
Internet heavyweight Yahoo! has joined a growing stable of companies hoping to give the perpetrators of unsolicited junk email a bloody nose and a thick lip. In the first round of a bout that could last some years, Yahoo! is suing two companies for allegedly using its domain name, yahoo.com, to send thousands of unsolicited …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 10:59
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PointCast rejects founder's buy-back offer
Deadline on second bid passed with no move from push company
Former PointCast CEO Chris Hassett has been rejected by the company he founded after the ailing push technology provided let his second offer to buy the company lapse. Hassett made a bid for PointCast earlier this month, following the collapse of a deal with a consortium of US local telecoms companies (see PointCast ex-CEO looks …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 11:44
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Compaq posts Q1 results
Results disappointing, says acting boss Rosen
Compaq has posted its first quarter earnings for 1999, and acting CEO Ben Rosen, who engineered the removal of former CEO Eckhard Pfeiffer last weekend, has described the results as disappointing. The company posted worldwide sales of $9.4 billion, with net profit for the quarter amounting to $281 million. While sales have risen …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 11:47
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Hi-tech loses favour with HRH
All but three of Queen's Technical Achievement gongs go to non-IT firms
The Queen's Awards for Technical Achievement threw up a bountiful assortment of 14 winners yesterday, but only three went to our fair industry. This number was down on last year, when electronics companies netted eight of the gongs celebrating British innovation. The businesses blessed with HRH's prestigious prize were Digital …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 11:52
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HP unveils 24-7 unlimited Linux support
Package backs any hardware, any Linux distribution
Hewlett-Packard has followed the lead of IBM to offer corporates Linux support 24 hours a day, seven days a week irrespective of hardware and who's version of the open source operating system the customer has installed, as prediced. The support package also covers HP's own Linux applications. The company also said it will be …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 12:14
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NSI URL monopoly ended
ICANN to go ahead despite US government heel-dragging
The monopoly on the sale of URLs has ended, despite the US government dragging its heels. The international overseer of Cyberspace, ICANN, has ordained five companies, including AOL, the Internet Council of Registrars, France Telecom and Melbourne IT to rival Network Solutions (NSI) -- until today the government's sole …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 15:53
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Pan-Europe Net strike called for June
Ten countries' users call for cheaper Net access
In a rare moment of European harmony and co-operation, ten countries are burying their differences and taking part in an Internet strike designed to force telecoms companies to cut the cost of Net access. Consumers in Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland and the UK are being urged to …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 15:58
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Europe's lack of network expertise critical
The queue for network gurus starts here
Western Europe is in danger of engineering an economic slump because of its reluctance to tackle the predicted shortfall in skilled networking staff. Worst affected will be firms in the small and medium-sized sector, which are set to become more dependent on IT staff to underpin their business in the expanding electronic economy …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 16:03
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Brits beat Y2K Bug
Everything sorted for Y2K in UK, apparently...
Well done to the UK government for its progress in beating the Y2K bug on public transport. The plan to zap the Millennium Bug is on target for "all key sectors of the UK infrastructure -– road, sea, rail and air", according to a statement today. There should be no hiccups (official), and even Glenda Jackson, Transport Minister …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 16:12
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searchUK guns for Inktomi
Sock it 'tomi
searchUK -- which brags that it's the world's largest UK-only search engine, arf, arf -- is attempting to go head-to-head with market leader Inktomi to become a major provider of search services. It's planning to license its search engine technology to portals and Web sites to provide what it calls a low-cost option that's a " …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 16:33
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Compaq Q1 profit down 50 per cent on predictions
But Great Satan of Clones still makes bucket-loads of cash
Compaq today posted "unacceptable" first quarter profits of $281 million. That's roughly half what Wall Street was expecting until the company admitted recently that things were not going too well, financially. Still, revenue for the period totalled $9.4 billion, up 64 per cent from the $5.7 billion it recorded last year. Sales …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 17:14
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RealNetworks' revenue up for 15th quarter
Still hasn't made any money, though
Streaming media specialist RealNetworks yesterday announced its fifteenth consecutive revenue growth quarter. Revenues for the three months ended 31 March reached $23.5 million, up 88 per cent on the $12.5 million the company recorded for the same period last year. Trumpeting revenue growth makes sense when your company has yet …
Business 21 Apr 1999, 17:43
