The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

10th May 1999 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • Intel seeks deal with FTC

    A year ago Company attempting to head-off antitrust action

    From The Register No. 75 May 1998 Negotiations between Intel and the Federal Trading Commission may hand Intergraph a victory of sorts in its antitrust action against the company. Aside from claiming Intel has infringed its patents, Intergraph is accusing the company of having materially damaged its business by withholding …

    Business 10 May 1999, 06:25

  • Compaq unveils EV6 DS10 family

    AMD K7 watchers will look closely at WebBrick performance

    Today Compaq is expected to introduce its DS10, 466MHz EV6 machine in a further bid to capture market share at the expense of Intel. According to industry analyst Terry Shannon who edits Shannon knows Compaq, the product is a replacement for the Alpha Server 800. It comes in a desktop box, and includes 2Mb of level two cache, a …

    Business 10 May 1999, 06:25

  • Rise close to announcing fab partner

    ST Microelectronics still tipped for Taiwanese upstart

    Cyrix may be languishing in the x.86 boondocks (whatever they are), but Rise is not lying down with the lambs, sources said today. The company, a Taiwanese startup with serious investment capital behind it, is expected to announce who its fab partner will be over the next few weeks. Our information is that it is ST …

    Business 10 May 1999, 07:24

  • Deutsche Telekom bidding for UK cellular outfit?

    The German behemoth is in spend, spend, spend mode

    One2One, the struggling number four UK cellular network operator, is the subject of a £10 billion takeover bid by Deutsche Telekom, according to Sunday Business. Could it be that Deutsche Telekom suspects its planned merger with Telecom Italia will not go through, so it is seeking a consolation prize? The Telecom Italia deal has …

    Business 10 May 1999, 09:01

  • FCC employee in nun joke spam shock

    Finger trouble substitutes Nuns in Heaven gag for daily news update

    We regret to have to report two recent cases of email abuse. The Federal Communications Commission, a body charged with keeping the ether free of offensive radio or television programmes, has itself had to take disciplinary action against an employee who sent an off-colour joke to 6000 bureaucrats and journalists instead of the …

    Business 10 May 1999, 09:03

  • Insight swallows Action in $150 million deal

    All share transaction

    Insight has confirmed that it is the mystery suitor for Action Computer Supplies, through an agreed $150 million bid for the UK direct marketer. The Arizona-headquartered reseller already operates in Europe with subsidiaries in the UK and Germany. But this deal will see it increase business in Europe massively. Action is the UK' …

    Business 10 May 1999, 09:03

  • Free services take UK into Web lead

    Survey More Brit PC owners have a Web connection than any other European users

    'Free' Internet access (well, with BT's tariffs, not really) has propelled UK home users to the lead in Europe, according to new market data from Datamonitor and NOP. Although there are more PCs in Germany per adult (46 per cent compared with 39 per cent in the UK), only 15 per cent of the Germans ( a third of PC owners) are …

    Business 10 May 1999, 09:06

  • Take your clothes off when you surf

    Microsoft says get 'em off

    In yet another bizarre attempt to make the Internet fab, groovy and interesting, Microsoft's fast-shrinking MSN has located four losers who are to spend 100 hours locked in a room with no human contact and no food. Oh, and they have to be naked too. While this might make some kind of publicity sense for nubile 20-year-old …

    Business 10 May 1999, 09:07

  • UK Hacks give up the struggle

    Let the vendors run the editorial show

    That mainstay of the British IT establishment, Computer Weekly, is turning to ever more deperate ideas to get out of the area known as 'terribly dull' and move into the 'slightly less dull' arena. So it was that this week's issue had a guest editor from the industry who "oversaw news reporting, chose features and wrote the …

    Business 10 May 1999, 09:12

  • Stan lax compatibility

    Dearie, dearie me

    Guess which Email client can't read attachments sent by Microsoft Outlook 98 and Microsoft Outlook 2000? Try Microsoft Outlook Express. And to think people are worried the Great Stan of Software is taking over the World. Not if it plans to do it by email, it ain't. ®

    Business 10 May 1999, 09:19

  • ‘Under-performing’ staff will lose from MS pay reorg

    In the big print it says pay rises, but here in the small print we detect a reign of terror

    Microsoft's 'millionaire machine' may be about to run out of steam. Despite relatively low wages employees have historically made large amounts out of stock options, but the introduction of a new compensation scheme makes it clear that Redmond thinks that period is drawing to a close. A memo sent out by company president Steve …

    Business 10 May 1999, 09:53

  • China and Balkans on IT industry's mind

    Anti-NATO feeling could spill over into trade

    Three days of demonstrations against the Nato bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade is likely to have an impact on US IT companies hoping to capitalise on the country's trade opportunities. And fears are arising that China will also take a tougher stand on Taiwan, which it claims as part of its territory. The Chinese …

    Business 10 May 1999, 10:13

  • More woes for Lycos/USA Networks deal

    Now looking shakier than ever

    USA Networks could be about to throw in the towel and admit defeat over its planned acquisition of portal giant Lycos. A report in the Wall Street Journal Interactive claims that USA Networks may ditch plans to buy Lycos, quoting unnamed sources close to the deal. Although the WSJ reports that executives at USA Networks haven't …

    Business 10 May 1999, 10:19

  • AMD could buy Cyrix business

    Updated And so could ST Micro and Samsung...

    Sources close to National Semiconductor told The Register today that the company has two potential buyers for its Cyrix and x.86 fab business. And one of them is likely to be AMD, according to the source, who said that IBM was definitely not in the frame. NatSemi wants to conclude a sale within the month, the source said. Joe D' …

    Business 10 May 1999, 10:41

  • Lucent debuts Netphone-on-a-chip

    ARM-based chip to cut phone costs by 30 per cent

    Lucent today announced what it claims is the world's first phone-on-a-chip product for Internet-based telephony. The company reckons the move will stimulate the netphone market considerably, primarily by reducing the cost of a handset from around $250 to $150. According to market researcher Dataquest, the market for netphones …

    Business 10 May 1999, 11:22

  • Merced just a development platform for McKinley

    Could explain an awful lot...

    Intel still refuses to comment on the $200 million+ IA-64 initiative it will announce in California when people on the West Coast wake up later today. (See story: Intel in desperate cash bid to rescue Merced) But every indication now is that Intel will build the fund to position McKinley as the premier IA-64 platform, with …

    Business 10 May 1999, 11:32

  • Al Gore threatens IT industry leaders

    Fall into step over morality issue, or else

    US vice president Al Gore has been accused of using strong-arm tactics against IT industry leaders in an attempt to gain support for his crusade to promote moral decency on the Internet. His threatening behaviour and "abuse of power" was allegedly directed at those IT top dogs who were undecided about attending the launch of the …

    Business 10 May 1999, 11:54

  • Secret service eliminates ex-spy’s Web site

    MI6 shaken and stirred by threat of revelations

    A former James Bond wannabe had his Web site shut down by MI6 last week after threatening to expose some of Britain's top secrets. Richard Tomlinson's site aimed to shake up and stir MI6 by identifying its officers and site locations around the world, according to a report in The Mail on Sunday. Tomlinson also warned that he …

    Business 10 May 1999, 12:05

  • SiS intros integrated “non legacy” chipset

    Socket 7, Celeron, Pentium IIs & IIIs

    Taiwanese chip manufacturer Silicon Integrated System has now delivered prices and delivery dates for its SiS 630 chipset. The 630 will cost $35/10K and be available in volume this summer. It integrates north and south bridges, includes super I/O, integrated 128-bit 3D, phoneline networking support, soft modem, TV out and soft …

    Business 10 May 1999, 12:12

  • Mobile phone chip ends radiation fears

    It's a chip in the old battery

    US boffins are working on a chip for use in mobile phones that will shield users from potentially lethal radiation. Called the EMF Chip, it is embedded in the phone's battery, according to a report in top people's tabloid The Mail. The chip's developer, Prof Theodore Litovitz, of the Catholic University of America in Washington …

    Business 10 May 1999, 12:43

  • Typhoon hits Logitek in wake of Osmosis fall-out

    The wheel of fortune has a funny way of turning

    An ironic twist of fate has seen Osmosis lose the UK distribution of Typhoon products to rival distie Logitek. Typhoon's multimedia tools will be distributed by the Lancashire company from today. Logitek said it was approached by Hong Kong Typhoon parent company Anubis and given the contract for the £2 million-a-year brand. The …

    Business 10 May 1999, 14:56

  • School kids bung up the Web

    Chain email project for geography lesson proves too much for servers to handle

    A group of school children in Canada have learnt a valuable lesson about Netiquette after a school project they were working on went horribly wrong. Children in the fifth grade at Mill Cove Elementary School, Nova Scotia, wanted to track the progress of a single email to see how far it would travel around the globe. But as their …

    Business 10 May 1999, 15:01

  • Called to the bar

    MS on Trial DoJ, Microsoft post their rebuttal witnesses

    What are we to make of the list of rebuttal witnesses in the Microsoft trial? The choice by each side shows the aspects of the case they consider to be important. The DoJ seems to have a better selection than Microsoft, all things considered. For Microsoft, the AOL takeover of Netscape is seen to be important evidence that …

    Business 10 May 1999, 15:10

  • MS Slate admits editorial defeat

    Will sell things, too

    Microsoft has admitted defeat with its venture into the world of magazines, Slate, at least from the point of view of editorial. It said today it will sell more things on its site. This is the second u-turn Microsoft has made after its much-hyped venture into the editorial market. Earlier this year, it was forced to remove …

    Business 10 May 1999, 15:22

  • FBI fights fraud in cyberspace

    G-Man becomes WWW-Man, not as cool sounding though

    The FBI is taking its fight against crime into cyberspace with the launch of the Internet Fraud Council (IFC). Officially launched today in partnership with a number of private sector agencies, the IFC is designed to combat fraud and investigate the growing number of customer complaints from Net users. Although details are still …

    Business 10 May 1999, 15:34

  • US exchange issues CPU spot marketing details

    Some are stable, others are shifting sand

    NECX, which is a global tracker of CPU prices, has sent us its latest set of CPU figures. And very interesting reading they make too. While Intel, AMD and other microprocessor manufacturers sell chips in quantities of 1,000 through their OEMs and distributors, NECX keeps its finger closer to the pulse than that. The prices …

    Business 10 May 1999, 15:48

  • Oh dear, it’s processor serial number time again

    We challenge Zero Knowledge to put its money where its mouth is...

    Those awfully clever Zero Knowledge folks have placed a cookie on the web here which it claims can read your Pentium III serial number even if it’s turned off. See The Sherriff's earlier story: PSN back from the dead We tried it on The Register’s P3 system (which had the serial number turned on). It was hardly, shall we say, …

    Business 10 May 1999, 15:55

  • Distributors cut to quick by Compaq

    From 39 down to four US disties

    Compaq will slay most of its US distribution channel, leaving only a skeleton crew of four. The PC heavyweight announced it would keep only Ingram Micro, TechData, Merisel and Inacom, according to today's Wall Street Journal. The move, effective from 1 August, will address the tangle of 39 US distributors which Compaq partly …

    Business 10 May 1999, 16:01

  • EMC stabs HP in the front

    It's all about the bottom line

    Storage company EMC has responded to HP's full frontal attack on it last week by claiming it was being opportunistic for the sake of profit. Last week, HP said EMC Symmetrix technology, which it re-sold for several years, was ageing and proprietary. (Story: EMC and HP: war declared) But Mark Fredrickson, head of global PR at EMC …

    Business 10 May 1999, 16:26

  • Ingram Micro UK loses its head

    Distie’s Scott-a go looking for a new MD

    Sandy Scott has left Ingram Micro UK. The news broke this afternoon after rumours had started circulating in the channel at lunchtime. A number of sources were quick to tell The Register that Scott had gone, but the debate was still raging over whether he jumped or was pushed. Either way, don’t forget, you read it here first. …

    Business 10 May 1999, 16:34

  • Web name registrar bans lewd language

    If you want a URL you’d better mind your Ps&Qs – and your S&M

    Places like Scunthorpe will have problems registering domain names if US company Network Solutions has its way. The business, which is responsible for registering .com addresses, is refusing to register URLs that include words it deems offensive. This has sparked a legal row with Seven Words, another US company, which claims it …

    Business 10 May 1999, 16:55

  • Merced is a zombie

    It is the living undead

    We just took a quick glance at Intel's release about the quarter of a billion greenbacks it is pushing into its IA 64 platform and realised we were right, earlier this year. IA-64 is undead. Go to its web site to check it out. For the sake of our worldwide readers who don't know what this phrase "undead" means, we shall explain …

    Business 10 May 1999, 23:05