17th May 1999 Archive

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Philips, LG contemplating LCD deal

Kind of makes sense

Asian wires are reporting that Dutch company Philips is in talks with LG over a possible equity stake in the Korean company's liquid crystal display division. According to the Korea Herald today, Philips could take a stake in the LCD division of LG. The newspaper quotes an LG representative as saying that it was in discussions …

Business 17 May 1999, 06:59
Microsoft's seven year slog versus temp staff

Faced by the courts, MS is willing to fight every last ditch, apparently.

Some insight into how Microsoft may react if it loses the case brought by the Department of Justice is seen from a detailed examination of just how the company has behaved in the class actions brought by Microsoft contract staff. The battle has taken seven years, and Microsoft is still wriggling. In December 1992, some 'perma- …

Business 17 May 1999, 07:04
MS trial may resume next Monday

MS on Trial Apparently the judge is still trying to get rid of his drugs. Or something...

Judge Jackson was not able to send his drugs case to the jury last week, so it will be next Monday at the earliest before the Microsoft case resumes. But there are now other problems about scheduling: David Boies, the DoJ's special trial counsel, is booked for another case starting on 7 June and which is anticipated to last two …

Business 17 May 1999, 07:08
Red Hat Linux 6 gets AMD thumbs up

But CPU Review says better hardware support needed

Hardware site CPU Review has just posted its review of Red Hat Linux 6.0 on an AMD chip, but says its support for sound cards still leaves a lot to be desired. William Henning, the reviewer of the package, also said he thought it was a shame that the price of the software has risen to $79.95. But on the positive side, Henning …

Business 17 May 1999, 07:12
You can buy a 550MHz Intel Inside PC now

But you can also buy an AMD one…

Intel has now released us from the spurious embargo we were not under last week when we met up with that nice Mr Otellini in the gruesome Landmark Hotel. (Story: Intel's Otellini outlines chip strategy) We (and other journalists there) couldn't be under that embargo because we'd already written about the 550MHz Pentium III yonks …

Business 17 May 1999, 07:26
Nokia teams with Fujitsu sub for wireless data

Shifty-sounding announcement doesn't entirely hide cunning plans

Nokia has bought "certain research and development units" of Fujitsu's Teamware Group, but both parties are shadily non-specific about precisely what they are. The cellular giant is picking up a couple of units, totaling 70 staff, and "certain" (that word again) wireless information management software products. It's pretty …

Business 17 May 1999, 09:05
MS denies it's buying users with its billions

But the company is quite clearly worried that the authorities are going act on the matter

In an analysts' conference call on Friday Microsoft CFO Greg Maffei denied that the company's current spending spree was intended to buy customers for Microsoft standards. The splurge count now stands somewhere in the region of $15 billion (we haven't added in any of Greg's weekend shopping yet), but it would seem that the loud …

Business 17 May 1999, 09:06
Action 2000 figures show widespread Inaction 2000

Police forces have barely started

An official report from UK government sponsored body Action 2000 shows that there's still a lot of work to do for a large number of organisations to become ready for the year 2000. While our air traffic control and road traffic control systems seem to be safe enough, questions still remain about other elements of basic …

Business 17 May 1999, 10:02
AMD to intro three K7s and it will be June

Chipset information confirmed

A reliable source close to AMD's plans who attended the E3 show last week has confirmed that information we posted about the K7 chipsets is correct. At the same time he said that AMD was bang on the button for a June release and would come out with 500MHz, 550MHz and 600MHz versions at launch date. System vendors, however, will …

Business 17 May 1999, 10:37
MP3.com confirms IPO

But is it relevant in SDMI's world?

Internet-based music company MP3.com announced details of its long-awaited IPO last week. The company, which has been at the forefront of MP3 activism for some time -- it sells CDs, but promotes them by offering sample tracks in MP3 format -- hopes to raise $115 million through the offering. Further details, including stock …

Business 17 May 1999, 10:37
MS, Xerox to port Windows to photocopiers

Official tip-off to WSJ pre-empts official launch

Microsoft and Xerox spin doctors have tipped off The Wall Street Journal early to the two companies' technology alliance to be announced tomorrow. According to the paper, the two Satan -- one of Software, the other of Photocopiers -- will sign a diabolic pact to ensure Xerox's digital copiers can more easily be connected to …

Business 17 May 1999, 11:03
Whistleblowers wanted for Insurance fraud site

Worst 'professional' site we've seen this month

People are being encouraged to snitch on con artists and fraudsters, following the launch of a new Web site by the Association of British Insurers. Believed to be the first site of its kind, www.fraud.org.uk is designed to make it easier for people to grass on their naughty neighbours. And this should cut the massive £16 billion …

Business 17 May 1999, 11:45
Primary schools pump up RM profits

Government-funded sales bonanza

RM (Research Machines), Britain's top IT reseller to the education sector, saw soaring spending by primary schools boost interim sales by 41 per cent. The Oxfordshire-based company recorded £71.1 million turnover for the six months ended 31 March 1999, against £50.5 million for the same period in 1998. Pre-tax profit was up to £ …

Business 17 May 1999, 12:33
Caldera backs standard Linux ‘degrees’

Linux Professional Institute to offer exams, certificates of competence later this year

Caldera has joined fellow Linux distributors Red Hat, Pacific HiTech and SuSE in sponsoring the Linux Professional Institute (LPI), a body seeking to develop a standard certification for system users and administrators. The LPI's plan is to offer examinations to test candidates' knowledge of the OS, but keep the test process …

Business 17 May 1999, 12:39
Compaq to climb higher Himalaya

Shades of Mallory?

Influential newsletter Shannon knows Compaq is saying that Q will introduce its most powerful and expandable Himalaya server so far. According to Terry Shannon, veteran DEC/Compaq analyst, Compaq will roll out the NonStop Himalaya S72000, which will support between four and 16 MIPS chips. He says that this will offer 20 per cent …

Business 17 May 1999, 12:47
0800 ISP claims 90K pre-launch registrations

Freecall sets sight on virtual communities

A company claiming to offer toll-free access to the Internet has registered almost 100,000 people in just 14 days. The head of Freecall-UK, Richard Jay, told The Register that he hopes to build an online community similar to Tripod or Geocities. What makes it different, he said, is that communities can earn credits that can be …

Business 17 May 1999, 12:50
Wherever I lay my overdraft, that's my phone

First Direct launches mobile phone banking service

Bank managers will soon be playing Big Brother by calling your mobile phone every time you are in the red. Within weeks, users of telephone bank First Direct will be hit by the new service which sends text messages on balances and recent transactions. Messages appear twice weekly on two accounts. The scheme will expand in the …

Business 17 May 1999, 14:25
The Register launches Microprocessor Trends

Cerebrates victory of the semiconductor

The first fruit of The Register's many microsites to come has gone online today. If you turn your browser to Microprocessor Trends, you will see the site has gone live. The site will cover semiconductors in a depth of detail, bringing information about DRAMs, CPUs, DSPs and other analog devices to your browser. It will also dig …

Business 17 May 1999, 14:32
BT stamps on freephone Net ‘trial’

Netties hammer internal test number

BT has denied it is undergoing trials for 0800 toll-free access to the Internet. David Pincott, a spokesman for BT, said today that no such trials had taken place, quashing hopes that the telco was about to cut the cost of Net access in the UK. His comments were in response to frenzied newsgroup activity this weekend after …

Business 17 May 1999, 14:40
Intel competes with its PC server customers

Yet customers like Compaq, HP, Dell and the ilk are strangely silent

An internal Intel report on the size and value of the server market has demonstrated that the chip giant is still hell-bent on capturing market share from anyone -- even from its PC customers. Last week we reported on the extent of Intel's greed in attempting to sell more of its high end multiprocessors. (Story: Intel aims to be …

Business 17 May 1999, 14:43
D Notice MI6 geezer-journalist gets nickers in a twyst

The Web is not important, he claims

We were unhappy enough news bunnies to wake up early last Saturday morning and hear a debate about The Web. The debate, onBBC Radio Four was about whether names should or should not be posted on the WWW. And to that end they wheeled in one Mr Richard Hutchinson, a journalist on Janes, and also a member of the D-Notice Committee …

Business 17 May 1999, 15:16
Rambus Opera goes live…

…with apologies to anyone, ever, anywhere, who sang about the Perons

A kind reader has penned a song which he says should be sung to the song of "Don't cry for me Argentina". That's probably a copyright issue, so we'd prefer it be sung to the song of "Boiled Beef and Carrots", which is hopefully out of copyright by now. If not, how about "Down at the Old Bull and Bush" which definitely is... Here …

Business 17 May 1999, 15:30
Singapore security nuts goad hackers

Crack this for $10k reward

Organisers of a security conference in Singapore are challenging hackers to break into a Web server and leave their mark. If successful, the hackers could win $10,000 although the organisers of the conference believe this will be money well spent if it alerts people to the issues of Web security. "At the Infosecurity Asia …

Business 17 May 1999, 15:38
Computex in Taipei looms nigh

We give you your daily dose of Taiwanese news

There's a trade fair held in Taipei, Taiwan, which fuels the worldwide PC industry and starts on June 1. So we decided to keep an eye on what was happening in Taiwan in the run-up to the show, which we shall attend. Today's news from Taiwan, in brief, is that the tiny island, coveted by Red China, will be the largest …

Business 17 May 1999, 15:44
Free software guru damns Euro software patent plans

Don't make the same mistake as the US, warns Stallman

Richard Stallman, free software proponent and founder of the creator of the recursively named GNU open source licence, has slammed plans by the European Patent Office to extend Euro patent law to software. Stallman's beef centres on the impact of such a measure on free software, but it applies equally to commercial development, …

Business 17 May 1999, 15:51
Eurocrats propose Net ratings system

Censorship by any other name?

Internet bigwigs are gathering in Brussels this week in an attempt to clean up the Net for Europeans. The move follows simliar moves by US Vice President Al Gore and by the Japanese parliament. It suggests that politicians around the world are beginning to wake up to the problems posed by Internet. The problem lies in exactly …

Business 17 May 1999, 16:21
Mobile phones are a pain in the neck

Warm ears, burnt skin, drowsiness...

Feeling your ears burning used to mean someone was talking about you. Similarly, a pain in the neck referred to a niggling individual who got on your nerves. Now both mean you have been chatting on the phone for too long. According to a top Nordic survey, 84 per cent of 11,000 mobile users surveyed suffered warmth behind the ear …

Business 17 May 1999, 17:02
Armageddon off with blood sports bra

Alerts wearers to missile attacks

The end may be nigh, but Japanese women are ready for it. Triumph International Japan, a lingerie company, has designed a hi-tech bra that warns its wearer of incoming missiles. The slinky undergarment contains a sensor on the shoulder strap, and an attractive control box which is alert to things falling from the sky. The " …

Business 17 May 1999, 17:21
Tech trials delay new Net registrars

Tedious process

Rivals in the domain name registration field have had to delay business until June. Competition to sole provider Network Solutions (NSI) has been put off due to interoperability issues, according to TechWeb. On April 21 five companies were named to register Web addresses .com, .org, and .net. Industry Internet body ICANN said …

Business 17 May 1999, 17:44