26th May 1999 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

Computer games to end dyslexia

Games could be good for you after all -- geeks everywhere are jumping for joysticks

Dyslexics should be encouraged to play more computer games, top boffins have declared. The likes of Quake may hold the key to helping those who have the condition through the use of sound. Reading difficulties associated with dyslexia stem from the way the brain handles sounds, according to a study published in Proceedings of …

Business 26 May 1999, 07:32
Bavaria convicts former CompuServe boss in porn case

A year ago Verdict has serious implications for ISPs

From The Register No. 79 -- a year ago CompuServe's former German boss has been handed a two year suspended sentence following conviction in a pornography case. Felix Somm was prosecuted in a Bavarian court for complicity in 13 cases of spreading pornography via the Internet, but says he plans to appeal. Somm's case is at the …

Business 26 May 1999, 08:23
Win98 and IE broke Sun copyright – judge rules

MS on Trial But the ruling is 'tentative and non-binding'

Microsoft infringed Sun's copyright in both Windows 98 and Internet Explorer 4.0, a judge ruled yesterday. The ruling, issued prior to the next session of the Sun-Microsoft Java lawsuit next month, is 'non-binding and tentative, but is effectively an indication of the judge's current views. Judge Ronald Whyte said that these and …

Business 26 May 1999, 08:29
AMD gets all heavy-handed

Must be those ex-Intel people at Chimpzilla

Reports are flying around like confetti on our favourite hardware sites that AMD has put the wheel clamps on breaches of its K7 non disclosure agreement (NDA). Leaks are feverishly being plugged by the chip contender, after AnandTech and FiringSquad produced authentic benchmark information+photos in the run up to the launch of …

Business 26 May 1999, 08:32
x86.org awards Register prize

Receives accolade, not Lucozade

Robert Collins, who runs the influential Intel Secrets site, has said that our story yesterday about Intel registering the loop deserves a prize. (Story: Intel registers loop to prevent people going inside) So he is sending us, in the post, a mouse mat, a tee shirt and a hat. Once we get the items, we will post a picture of a …

Business 26 May 1999, 08:40
Software pirates still at large in UK

Industry losing millions, says industry's watchdog

One in three of all business software applications is being used illegally in the UK, according to the latest research from the Business Software Alliance (BSA). Software piracy in the UK cost industry £290 million ($465 million) last year -- an increase of £80 million ($130 million) on the figures for 1997. And according to the …

Business 26 May 1999, 08:53
Virgin spammer settles out of court

Industry still awaits a working legal precedent on dealing with unsolicited mail

A Surrey businessman who used his Virgin Net account to send out thousands of unsolicited emails has agreed to an out of court settlement with the UK service provider. Adrian Paris, trading under the company name ProPhoto UK, offered to settle the claim by agreeing not to open an account with Virgin Net or spam its 250,000 …

Business 26 May 1999, 09:07
Acorn's Web (News) Pad makes late debut

The picture that speaks volumes...

Pictured above is the Acorn NewsPad, courtesy of a reader who has hung on to the pix. The reader said he saw one working at an Olympia show in 1997, but wasn't allowed to touch it. The thing bears an uncanny resemblance to the National Semiconductor Cyrix jobbie that was in our office a while back... ® See also Intel's WebPad …

Business 26 May 1999, 09:07
More heads roll at Compaq Central

It's never been the same since Eckhard went...

Influential DEC and Compaq watcher Terry Shannon is reporting that another head or two have rolled at the beleaguered firm. One of the latest departures, however, will be a heavy loss for the Big Q. Shannon says in Shannon knows Compaq that techo guru Bob Supnik will hand in his bezel on June 11. And at the same time, Shannon …

Business 26 May 1999, 09:31
Intel can't access Net at Internet World

Fnar... fnar...

A quick call to our local Intel rep to check out when the IA64 manuals are available has uncovered a strange anomaly. The rep is down at UK show Internet World and when we asked him about Merced and trademarks, he said he wasn't able to access the Web. And this is at Internet World… He did say however that the IA64 manuals …

Business 26 May 1999, 09:40
MS VP maps out Win2k futures

And gives us some clues about how much there still is to do

Microsoft is turning into a developer control freak, as well as a dream factory. Having sold the idea of Windows 2000 before the product is released, the company has been dropping some hints as to how it will control W2000 applications development. Microsoft's love-in for developers, which it calls TechEd, is being held this …

Business 26 May 1999, 09:49
KGB acts like Web Big Brother

Spies don't disappear, they just transmute

Russian ISPs will be forced to let the country's security service monitor their networks, under new plans. And they will have to pay for the privilege. The Russian Federal Security Service (the successor to the KGB) says the move will facilitate field operative work in in computer networks. SORM (in Russian, the System for …

Business 26 May 1999, 09:55
Wireless-enabled Psion due this summer?

If it's due in Japan in 2000, it's due in the West NOW...

The sudden flurry of leaks concerning the Japanese market and Symbian, normally an extremely close-mouthed company, is easily explained. There's a combination Psion-Symbian roadshow happening in Japan, folks, and they're leaking like crazy. Symbian boss Colly Myers has been doing interviews in Tokyo, as indeed has Psion Asia- …

Business 26 May 1999, 10:35
Allegations of fraud rock ilion

Distributor gets lawyered-up to deal with 'irregularity'

ilion is to instigate legal proceedings against an employee following the announcement of financial irregularities totalling some £500,000. The group issued a statement at 8am saying the board had discovered "an irregular transaction in the UK business which potentially could result in the Group incurring a loss of the order of …

Business 26 May 1999, 10:39
Hardcore Web porn banned down under

Web wizards of Oz must find a way of blocking foreign sites

Asia-Pacific could be the focus of a tsunami of moral righteousness in the wake of Australia's decision to outlaw hardcore porn on the Internet. Politicians in Australia's Senate have piggy-backed existing legislation covering film classification to outlaw sexually explicit and violent content on the Net. Earlier this month …

Business 26 May 1999, 11:00
IE uninstall witness makes MS trial comeback

MS on Trial Defence gets another crack at shooting holes in Felten

The next stage of the Microsoft trial, the rebuttal phase, due to commence next week, will see a rematch between Edward Felten, he of the IE uninstaller, and MS VP Jim Allchin. Attempts by Allchin to undermine Felten's program last time around resulted in one of the most spectacular Microsoft own-goals of the trial. Felten had …

Business 26 May 1999, 11:04
Intel buys stake in US broadband network

Another piece of the plan to host the Internet in its own data centres

Compare and contrast - Microsoft is spending billions on a string of deals with cable and other communications-related companies. Intel, on the other hand, has plans for Internet 'server farms' and has just agreed to buy $200 million worth of US broadband network provider Williams Communications. Intel's money is smaller …

Business 26 May 1999, 11:25
R&D focus brings VideoLogic to profit

Dreamcast royalties have begun to rake in the cash

VideoLogic Group has seen its first profitable year since flotation. The UK company posted preliminary results of £1.8 million profit for the year ended 31 March, against last year's loss of £2.3 million. Gross profit was £9.5 million, compared to last year's £6.5 million, according to a company statement. Gross margins …

Business 26 May 1999, 11:35
Intel board alliance pushes PII in embedded market

Here we go with Pentium class ATMs, cash registers etc...

Intel's Applied Computing Platform Provider (ACPP) program has finally broken surface, after being accidentally preannounced by program member Texas Micro last week. (Intel mystery alliance) The deal, basically, seems to be to encourage a strictly-regulated group of third party board vendors to push forward Intel standards in …

Business 26 May 1999, 12:36
NetWare 5 sales see Novell earnings rocket

We're all very happy, says Novell chief -- no Schmidt

Novell saw second quarter profits double thanks to soaring sales of NetWare 5. The network software vendor posted net income at $38.7 million for the quarter ended 30 April, up from $19.3 million the previous year. Sales grew 20 per cent to $315.7 million from $262.3 million. Improved business conditions in Asia-Pacific saw …

Business 26 May 1999, 13:05
BT axes call charges for Web access

Updated 48 hours of free Web calls for BTInternet customers

As revealed exclusively by The Register earlier today, BT is to offer toll-free access to the Internet. News of the decision leaked out ahead of an official announcement although there is no indication when that is due to take place. Staff at BT were caught on the hop by today's story and have not returned any calls all day …

Business 26 May 1999, 13:50
Oftel out of loop as BT plans free Web calls

Watchdog still waiting for notification

The UK telecomms regulator has been kept in the dark about BT's decision to offer toll-free Web access. No one at Oftel had a clue that BT was about to drop its biggest bombshell yet sending the UK Net industry into spin of speculation. The first anyone at Oftel knew about it was when The Register called them this morning to …

Business 26 May 1999, 13:55
Matsushita confirms Universal digital music deal

AT&T, BMG also part of the quartet, as predicted

Universal has formed a pact with AT&T, Matsushita and Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) to combine their online music distribution efforts, Matsushita said admitted today. The tie-in was predicted by The Register earlier this month. The deal will combine Universal's digital music distribution efforts and its artist roster with BMG's …

Business 26 May 1999, 13:58
EMI to announce digital music service

Call back in two weeks, suggests company chairman

EMI, the UK-based 'big five' music recording company, will unveil its digital music distribution plans "in a few weeks", according to a report in today's Financial Times. EMI chairman Colin Southgate said the company has begun digitising its massive collection of back-catalogue recordings in preparation for online sales due to …

Business 26 May 1999, 14:06
World watches to see if Merced delayed

While Intel corrects last week's mistake

As expected, Intel has now released details of its IA-64 instruction set. The details were briefly up on Intel's FTP server last week before the chip company realised it had leaked them… Earlier this year, Stephen Smith, who heads up the Merced project at Intel, promised samples would arrive in June. (Story: Merced chieftain …

Business 26 May 1999, 14:07
Anti-MP3 scheme back-tracks on CD compatibility

Initiative to protect future releases rather than past ones

The recording industry-led Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) could be back-tracking on draconian plans to eradicate existing music collections. Two weeks ago, at an SDMI session in London, details emerged of the organisation's two-step plan to eliminate the controversial MP3 format as a force in the digital music world (see …

Business 26 May 1999, 14:26
Eight other mystery Intel developers tip up

There were nine in the bed and the little one said, roll over

One of our nice readers has pointed us to a site which gives firm details of nine companies which are partnering with Intel on the Applied Computing Platform. Well, it was nine, but now it's eight, because Radisys took over Texas Micro at the beginning of the week. (Story: All becomes Satan Clara as Texas Micro merges with …

Business 26 May 1999, 14:29
Taiwan firm wins iMac notebook contract

iBook to ship "in second half of year", says Apple Taiwan

Taiwanese PC builder Alpha Top Corp. is to build Apple's upcoming iBook consumer-oriented notebook, according to reports in the Far Eastern Commercial Times. The deal is part of Apple's plan to increase the number of Macs manufactured by third parties on its behalf. Earlier this year, the company signed a massive deal with Korea …

Business 26 May 1999, 14:42
BT accused of stifling competition

Rival telco has complained to Oftel over slow transfers of customer accounts

LocalTel has accused BT of working at a snail's pace, holding up thousands of Net users who want to switch telcos and take advantage of toll-free access to the Internet. Only 250 applications are being processed each day by BT, which claims it doesn't have the resources to process the applications any faster. Yet up to 3000 …

Business 26 May 1999, 16:41
Free Web calls: BT speaks – not

Updated Suddenly it's not so good to talk after all

BT has refused to confirm news that its BTInternet service is to offer toll-free access to the Net as of 5 June. "We will make an announcement when the proper business decision has been made," said BT spokesman David Pincott, in response to the story that broke earlier today on The Register. The official line from BT is in sharp …

Business 26 May 1999, 17:02
Windows NT can be tweaked for enterprises – official

Amdahl the thin edge of the S/390 wedge

Long standing Microsoft partner Amdahl said today the battle between it and IBM has hardly commenced. Charlie Abrahams, European MD of the newly spun off global services group, confirmed that NT is not as scaleable as customers might have wished but in certain circumstances can be "tweaked" for blue chip customers. Amdahl, the …

Business 26 May 1999, 20:01