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1st July 1999 Archive

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  • The Register is five years old

    Five years ago Explains a lot...

    This is Issue No. 1 of The Register, which is now five years old: ====== The Register Number 1 25 July 1994 Edited by John Lettice & Mike Magee email: connect@magee.demon.co.uk -------------------------------------------------- DISPLAY'S COLOUR FLAT PANELS SET TO DOUBLE Display Technologies, the IBM-Toshiba joint venture company …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 05:59

  • FIC goes to Red China

    Mobos jump across narrow strait

    Motherboard manufacturer First International Computer (FIC) said it has started making products in Red China. The company has opened three factories in Quangcho and is making mobos, peripherals and other parts there, according to trade exhibitor Computex. FIC, a company with a turnover of $150 million plus, claimed that by 2005 …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 06:26

  • Via bares teeth at Intel

    Will fight litigation with all its might

    New chip contender Via has struck back at Intel barely a day after it acquired x.86 company Cyrix from NatSemi. In a brief statement, Via acknowledged it had received the lawsuit Intel filed on the 23 June and said it had taken "necessary legal action" to protect its rights. (See Intel outed on PC-133) It said it will continue …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 06:44

  • PlayStation III to support SAP R/3?

    Quake, you mighty chip companies, quake

    Just months before Sony launches its PlayStation II, which we anticipate is set to become the home device par excellence, speculation is mounting about Rev III of the cheapo-cheapo device. According to sources, Sony will push the PlayStation II device hard against set top boxes, PCs and other Internet contenders, and has even …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 06:52

  • AMD walks fab funding tightrope

    If it couldn't have changed its lending terms, it would have to have offered stock

    The Great Satan of Tape Recorders (AMD) announced yesterday that it struck a deal with a German bank consortium which meant it did not need to raise $200 million in stock. AMD said last week that its second quarter would mean a $200 million loss for the company. Part of the problem in Q2 is it has stock of chips it cannot sell. …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 07:11

  • Intel to slash Pentium III 500MHz price in reaction to AMD K7 wins

    It's that good old price fork in play

    A German distributor has alerted us to an unexpected Intel price cut on its 500MHz Pentium III part in week 34 of the year of the lord 1999. The cut is a reaction to several major wins AMD has made both with large OEMs and local assemblers in Germany. Compaq, Fujitsu and IPC (Archtec) will introduce K7 Athlon systems in Germany …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 07:22

  • Intel's Barrett acknowledges Merced late

    Samples due sometime. Real soon now acquires new meaning

    The CEO of Intel said at a workstation conference yesterday that real silicon samples of Merced were expected "in the next two months or so". That is a tacit acknowledgement that Intel has had severe problems producing real silicon. It will put huge pressure on the chip giant to ship in Mid-2000, as it has repeatedly promised. …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 07:36

  • SGI up for grabs? Not likely…

    Shiny military contracts and general feel-good make it look viable on its own

    There have been rumours that SGI may be the target of a takeover because its share price has edged up rather suddenly, but in the absence of some solid announcement, there is a perfectly good explanation to be had from a look at recent events. War is good for IT hardware sales and investor confidence, and SGI has been getting …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 07:55

  • Staff waste company money surfing all day

    Don't let your boss catch you reading this one

    Eight million man-hours are lost each year in the UK by employees surfing the Net instead of doing their work. The abuse is so bad that 20 per cent of IT directors say that their organisation is "seriously effected (sic) by staff wasting time on fruitless web browsing". What's more, the authors of the Black Box Network Industry …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 09:27

  • MS releases Linux FrontPage software

    Outdated Ah, but it's not the app, it's a tipping of the hat to Apache

    Microsoft nearly produces Linux applications, it would appear. Truffle-hound Mr Natural (Click for site) has found what appears to be a Linux version of FrontPage 4.0 lurking in the dungeons of the company's FTP site. But the Web is an awesome thing. Within the hour of The Register revealing Microsoft's secret activities in the …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 09:50

  • Feds investigate MS over accounting ‘irregularities’

    Whistleblower court case comes back to haunt company

    Microsoft admitted yesterday that it is being investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over a possible breach of SEC rules. In a conference call, CFO Greg Maffei said that the SEC is investigating the way that Microsoft treats reserves. In a crafty move to detract from the significance of the SEC move, Microsoft …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 10:03

  • Copyright carve-up denied by Yahoo!

    Is it snatching contributors' rights? Read it for yourself

    Yahoo! has denied that it wants to claim ownership of content posted on its portal. This contradicts the accusations levelled at the portal giant yesterday by a number of its users and suppliers. It says the changes to its Terms of Service (TOS) are not meant to abuse the copyright of others. Instead, the TOS have been …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 10:07

  • Motorola to spin off two factories

    Advanced Semiconductor Engineering bags them

    Asian wires are reporting that Motorola will shortly sell its testing and packaging factories in Korea and Taiwan. A Taiwanese company, ASE, is expected to buy the factories for an undisclosed sum, the reports claim. As part of the deal, ASE will manufacture parts for Motorola for five years. ®

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 10:11

  • Battle resumes between HP and Xerox

    Breach of contract alleged in latest printer ding dong

    The legal battle between Hewlett-Packard and Xerox continues, with HP suing for alleged breach of contract and patent infringement on its laser printing technology. This latest spat brings the number of patent suits between the printer heavyweight and Xerox to five. The complaint was filed in the US District Court in Boise, …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 11:13

  • Alpha Processor strikes Linux deal

    Partnership with Linux hardware specialist to counter OS' Intel-only perception

    Compaq Alpha licensee Alpha Processor (AP) yesterday announced a partnership with Atipa Linux Solutions (ALS), a US-based developer of Linux workstations. The deal centres on ALS' use of AP-sourced Alpha processors and motherboards in a new line of ISP-oriented workstations and servers -- ALS is particularly targeting database …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 11:32

  • Hyundai-LG Semicon merger gets EU, US go-ahead

    No antitrust issues

    A report in the Korean press said that the merger of Hyundai and LG Semicon's memory business has been cleared by EU and US antitrust bodies. The Korea Herald said that meant Hyundai executives are likely to take over the management of the company in the next few days. LG Semicon officials will step down. According to the …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 11:35

  • What tickles your thigh and has two sausage-like appendages?

    A new kind of mouse mat that sits on your lap, of course

    If the thought of delicate tickling sensations on your thigh sends you into rapturous delight then you need to try a K-mat. But before you get too excited, though, just remember this is no kinky adult toy. For the K-mat is a curved mouse mat that fits snugly around even the most generous of thighs. And the problem of the mouse …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 12:08

  • Porn ruling raises UK law over Net freedom

    It doesn't matter where your server is, if you post from the UK, you're answerable to UK law

    It's official -- the Internet does not make a mockery of national boundaries -- and national laws -- as a London-based smut peddler has found to his cost. At Southwark Crown Court, London, yesterday, Judge Christopher Hardy ruled that 28-year-old Graham Waddon could be prosecuted for publishing material declared illegal under …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 12:23

  • Girls on top in UK Web survey

    Chatrooms are dominated by young women, study finds

    Teenage girls are outnumbering their spotty male counterparts online in the UK, according to a report by Fletcher Research. The survey of over 40,000 Web users also showed that the stereotypical 'anorak', or IT-obsessed male, no longer applied to the majority of those logging on. "The Web population increasingly resembles the UK …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 12:31

  • Tomorrow's World show gets the bird

    Struts his funky stuff round the press office

    A pigeon walked calmly into the press centre at the Tomorrow's World Live show at Earl's Court today, causing panic among the assembled group of PR bunnies and hacks. "Oh my Gawd, it's a pigeon," screamed one bunny in absolute terror. She was right. It was definitely a pigeon. It strutted past a by now silent group of terrified …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 12:41

  • 3Com names new Palm president

    Senior VP for 3Com customer service, Alan Kessler, to replace Robin Abrams

    3Com staffer Alan Kessler has been named president of the company's high-profile subsidiary, Palm Computing. Kessler replaces Robin Abrams, who is off to join a "Silicon Valley start-up", as 3Com put it. Abrams pioneered Palm's current programme of opening up the Palm platform, largely by licensing the hardware and operating …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 12:44

  • Pigeon-watch – the latest on the trapped bird

    Our man from Vulture Central keeps his beady eye on Stooly the sky rat

    The pigeon is free, this relieved reporter can reveal. Half an hour after causing a stampede in the press centre after it strolled in without so much as a by-your-leave, two burly guys from the Earl's Court Fire Department cornered the young bird under a table and nabbed him. The pigeon, nicknamed "Stooly", was taken downstairs …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 12:56

  • S3 delivers profits boast

    Analysts get it wrong

    This is a turn-up for the books. S3 has delivered a reverse profits warning. In other words, it's going to lose less money in Q2 than had been forecast by analysts. It may even break even on $50 million-plus revenues. Analysts thought the graphics chip vendor would lose 20 cents per share for the quarter: S3 says it will beat …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 13:20

  • Amiga boss hints at Java-style technology

    AmigaObjects to deliver original Java goal: convergence

    Amiga, Inc. appears to be trying to out-Java Java with its upcoming Amiga Operating Environment (AOE), its new operating system based on the QNX OS. According to company president Jim Collas, AOE will feature what Amiga is calling AmigaObjects, a "powerful software structure that enables easy integration of technology, …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 13:32

  • Computacenter snaps up RD Trading

    Datrontech sells recycling business - time to scale down?

    As predicted by The Register three weeks ago, Computacenter has bought Datrontech's PC recycling business, RD Trading, for £1.9 million cash. Datrontech Group has been trying to offload the Wytham, Essex-based facility for some time, and last December announced it was scrapping the subsidiary's PC assembly business. "RDT is now …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 13:50

  • Big Blue demos the PC-less PC

    Now you can access the Web anytime, anyplace, anywhere

    E-gad – IBM's got a name for something and it doesn't have "e" in front of it. It's called "pervasive computing" and although it's nothing new this is the first time it's been demonstrated in the UK. Allegedly. "Pervasive computing is about enabling people to gain immediate access to information and services anywhere, anytime, …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 14:08

  • IBM wows show with wearable PC

    Schoolkids flock to don muggable, sorry wearable device

    Most the people at the Tomorrow's World Live show are youngsters on a day-off from school. They're being given a chance to miss double French with smelly old Mrs Turbot and instead are being allowed to run riot in Earl's Court. Never one to miss a trick, IBM is pushing its e-culture down the throats of impressionable young …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 14:12

  • SGI – expect announcement later today

    Story has legs and the legs are running two to the dozen

    Industry sources this afternoon added muscle to our earlier story about a possible takeover of SGI. (Story: SGI up for grabs -- not likely) According to an insider, who declined to be named, an announcement is expected later on today. Several senior executives have handed in their notice today, he added. As we posted this story …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 14:18

  • Housey housey! It's BINGO.COM

    International gambling is quite the thing

    A press release on today's BUSINESSWIRE caught our attention because it said it would be accepting "bingo wagering" from "patrons" around the world. Trouble is, definitions of the famous Bingo game differ. When we were kids, back in hoary antiquity, the game was first called Housey Housey. Later that name changed to Lotto. And …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 14:34

  • Consultants impose further tolls at HP

    This time it's the semiconductor test based biz

    Hewlett Packard said that it had embarked on a major reconstruction of its business in the semiconductor arena. That comes just a few weeks after HP reorganised its server, finance and storage business. The restructure, in this case, is aimed at its semiconductor business. It will now concentrate on system-on-a-chip devices, RF …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 14:45

  • CompaQ gets all serious about Linux

    But Tru64 Unix a better bet, Q execs say

    Major hardware firm Compaq is showing that it considers Linux is pretty important to its future plans. If you turn to this page, you will see that the big Q has a little penguin on its site and is offering a Fortran compile to the bunnies who find the page. When you get there, click on the Software link. The first thing you see …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 14:58

  • Nanochip promises single chip mass storage by year-end

    Suit complains but suit didn't tell us

    A suit from Nanochip contacted us early this morning to complain why we hadn't written about its up and coming alternative storage technology. Perhaps if the same suit had told us the same thing he told the EE Times at the same time, we would have done so, on the Summer Solstice. However, the company claimed it will introduce …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 15:15

  • Eckhard Pfeiffer brain behind GM Soya?

    Or should it be Soyo?

    An alert ex-Compaqteer pointed out to us last weekend that while his former boss Eckhard Pfeiffer has lost his job at the Big Q, he is still a director of General Motors (GM). He wanted to know if there was any connection between the GM Soya (a motor car), and GM Soyo (a synthetic food). We regret we were unable to enlighten him …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 15:30

  • Old MacPSINet had a farm

    I/O, I/O, I/O…

    UK ISP PSINet has opened one of Europe's biggest server farms in London. The £30 million hosting centre on the Isle of Dogs* has nine floors and houses 4,000 racks, with 20 servers per rack. The Centre has NT and UNIX servers from HP, and three levels of server – plus all servers have mirrored or RAID-5 grade discs. Offsite …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 15:56

  • Talking toilets – whatever next

    Device aimed at helping children of all ages with their numbers one and two

    Here's an interesting device that caught the Vulture's eye while walking around Earl's Court trying to avoid being beaten up by groups of school kids today. "The Talking Potty – the potty that praises the botty" (patent number 9814371.2) was invented by a lovely woman to applaud the doings of her grandchildren. When they pee in …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 16:09

  • Gaydar inventors tune into local wildlife

    Gadget transmits unwanted signals to badgers and squirrels

    The inventors behind the Gaydar -- an electronic device that vibrates when two gay people come together within a range of six metres -– have been cock-a-hoop at the response since launching the product earlier this year. The Gaydar allows like-minded people to meet easily and safely and could have all kinds of uses once …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 16:12

  • Is the Web full of female impersonators?

    If women like them, like men like those, then why don't women like me…

    Teenage girls are an attraction for many of our readers, but today one IT professional was questioning the authenticity of females on the Web. Not satisfied with a survey showing that the majority of those under 17 logging on were women, he thought the answer to the debate lay in disguise. "You don't reckon it's blokes …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 16:13

  • Site helps kids assess the Web's usefulness

    Ah yes, but how useful is said site, we wonder

    Kids are being urged to be Net savvy by learning to assess for themselves the information they find on the Web. And a new Web site launched earlier this week by the Health Education Authority (HEA) is helping them do it. Called Quick – The QUality Information ChecKlist – it helps kids weigh up the validity of different sources …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 16:16

  • Apple G4 box slips to May 2000

    Is the the Mac, the CPU or both that's delayed?

    Doubt has been cast once again on the availability of Motorola's upcoming G4 CPU, also known as the PowerPC 7400 -- or, more specifically, Apple's ability to ship a Mac based on the chip. According to a Register reader who attended the event, Apple staffers speaking at a joint Adobe/Apple software promotion, held in Toronto, " …

    Business 1 Jul 1999, 16:22