13th July 1999 Archive

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France Telecom ADSL service starts in November

But only in Paris - completing the network will take three years

France Telecom is to start offering ADSL connections in November, but the company is unlikely to be expecting a rush of customers. The service will cost FF265 (around $40) a month, and will initially only be available in some areas in and around Paris. The move does however mean that France will have a reasonable ADSL network …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 08:20
Free Win98 SE update – epilogue

The crazy saga concludes - and did you know MS will accept any old proof of purchase you care to fax?

Last week we left the Microsoft UK Windows 98 SE free update saga with the suggestion that although it wasn't possible to get it entirely for free now, once upon a time it seems to have been. We've now heard from quite a few people who got a free copy, so either Microsoft's logistics systems have been seriously broken, or the …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 08:22
UK corporate Web sites crap at responding

Survey Half are hardly worth the screens they're pixellated on

A survey by marketing consultancy Rainier claimed today that nearly half of the top UK corporations are failing to capitalise on the Web. According to the study, big UK names including the British Aviation Authority (BAA), NatWest and Tesco are failing to use their Websites as a direct way of communicating with their customers. …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 08:52
Pentium III/600 on sale in Japan

Intel hasn't even confirmed its price or release date yet

Once again, the Japanese stores in the electronic district of Tokyo seem to have got the drop on the CPU companies. This store is listing the Pentium III/600, which officially doesn't start selling until the end of the month, at ¥99,800 yen. Our friends at Tom's Hardware Page said they will stroll down to the shop to see if …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 09:00
Eight way AMD K7 chipset on cards

It's serious about this market...

AMD has licensed Poseidon to produce SMP chipsets for the Athlon K7. And, at the same time, Poseidon has changed its name to HotRail and secured funding from a spate of VCs. HotRail has described a simultaneous switched matrix (SSM) system that will support multiple K7s with up to eight processors. AMD has always said it will …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 09:10
Vodafone tipped to buy Mannesmann

AirTouch deal puts UK mobile giant in strong position

Merger mania could be about to hit the European mobile telephony industry, with speculation mounting that Vodafone AirTouch is to make a bid for the German mobile provider Mannesmann. According to a number of recent reports, analysts have tipped the deal as an almost inevitable outcome of continuing consolidation within the …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 10:07
IBM reveals high-speed chip packaging

Improves performance of Web servers, apparently

IBM yesterday unveiled a new processor packaging system designed to make CPU-to-system data throughput more efficient. Aimed initially at high performance networking systems, IBM's High Performance Chip Carrier (HPCC) encases the processor in a fluoropolymer dielectric material. The result, claimed the company, is a faster …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 10:23
Citrix buys ViewSoft

Merger worth $32 million

Citrix yesterday announced it will buy ViewSoft, transforming the Web application development software specialist into a wholly owned subsidiary. The deal is expected to be completed during Q3, Citrix said, and will see the company taking a $2 million charge for in-process R&D for the quarter ended 30 September. The merger …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 10:35
Back Orifice plugged

Data Fellows step in to protect your modesty

Data Fellows has cracked the Back Orifice 2000 problem, it said yesterday. The anti-virus software manufacturer announced the world was safe from being penetrated by the latest version of the infection. Data Fellows has added detection of the Back Orifice 2000 utility into its F-Secure Anti-Virus package. Written by a group …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 10:38
Gameplay gets serious about IPO

Online gamers take aim on £50m valuation

Online gaming company, Gameplay.com will be floating via a share placing in AIM (Alternative Investment Market) in the next few weeks. It is expected to be valued at around £50 million, from which it will raise £21 million. The share price will be announced later this month. Before it sets off on this new venture, it is on a bit …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 10:43
Intergraph Q2 revenues to show $25 million shortfall

It's all Intel's fault, claims CEO

PC workstation vendor Intergraph is due to report its latest financial results, for the quarter ended 30 June, later this month, but the company yesterday warned that it expects to see a $25 million shortfall in revenues. And who does Intergraph blame? Step forward, Chipzilla. "Our current computer hardware offering is not …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 10:47
Teacher found guilty of kiddie Web porn crimes

Former Tory councillor downloaded over 16,000 pictures

A teacher and former Tory parliamentary candidate was jailed for child Net porn offences yesterday. Michael Powell, 51, was sentenced to three years by Cardiff Crown Court for downloading 16,600 pictures of children from the Web, according to today’s Daily Telegraph. Powell, who was conservative Mayor of Bridgend, South Wales, …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 11:08
Net ad giants NetGravity, DoubleClick to merge

Updated Rivals combine to form $5.6 billion company

Internet advertising specialist DoubleClick will buy its arch-rival, NetGravity, for $530 million in stock, the company said today. DoubleClick will swap 0.28 of its shares for each NetGravity share, effectively valuing NetGravity's stock at $26.32. The announcement followed the pre-release of DoubleClick's Q2 results, which saw …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 11:12
Apacer to support PC-133

Another brick in the wall as Rambus player hedges bets

Memory company Apacer, a subsidiary of Acer, will announce today it is to support the PC-133 memory standard. At Computex last June, Apacer Direct Rambus modules were featured on the Intel stand, but a representative from the company told us that there were technical difficulties with the memory modules. Apacer will team up with …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 11:41
Freeserve debuts Web credit card

ISP makes move to bolster ecommerce credentials

Dixon's ISP, Freeserve has teamed up with HFC Bank, a subsidiary of Household International, to launch an Internet credit card. HFC is the money behind the Goldfish and GM credit cards. All transactions can be made online, from the initial application to paying bills and checking account details. Interest rates have not been …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 11:47
Toshiba to use Taiwanese firm to make notebooks

Compal wins big order

Asian reports said that Toshiba will use a Taiwanese OEM, for the first time, to manufacture some of its range of notebook machines. According to the organisers of the Computex trade fair, Compal will start shipping units in September, and supply at least 20,000 machines to Toshiba by the end of the year. Toshiba is likely to …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 11:49
Wall Street predicts Intel boost

Results expected to be just fine and dandy

Two major brokers are forecasting good financial results from Intel for its Q2 financial figures. The results will be released after Wall Street closes this evening, at 21.30 UK time. Both Goldman Sachs and Gruntal are recommending Intel shares as a strong buy, with the latter forecasting a share price of $85 in the offing. Two …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 11:58
SCC buys Lantec division from Elcom

Updated: ETC to merge with Elite

Specialist Computer Centre (SCC) has bought part of Elcom International's UK reseller business. The sale of the subsidiary, formerly known as Lantec, is understood to have boosted the anticipated reseller sales of SCC's parent, Specialist Computer Holdings, to £700 million. According to a report in Microscope magazine, SCH …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 12:39
Are your SQL apps street-legal? MS sues over key patent

A patent used in SQL and Office app development is Timeline's: does MS have sub-licensing rights?

Microsoft has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against a company holding a patent which is used in SQL Server 7 and MS Office 2000. The company - Timeline, Inc., of Bellevue, Washington, struck a licensing deal with Microsoft over the patent just last month. There would seem to be quite a lot going on under the covers here. …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 12:59
Sony to launch e-money scheme

Public trials to begin next year

Sony is hoping to become a key e-commerce player when it launches a digital currency scheme next year. According to reports in Japanese business paper Nikkei, Sony's e-money programme will operate through its Internet service, So-Net. Buyers would make payments using a smartcard, swiping the card through a reader connected to …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 14:51
AMD fabs first copper parts, 1GHz Athlon by year end?

Dresden Fab chief makes confident noises about next generation

AMD's new Dresden Fab 30 is not only complete, as we mentioned yesterday, but has run off its first CPUs with copper interconnects. German publication c't reports (in German) plant managing director Hans Deppe as saying that working copper K6 chips have already been produced. Deppe declined to say what the yield was, but was …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 15:04
Irish eyes are smiling for Sage

New division launches in Ireland

UK accountancy software supremo Sage is going west and moving into the Irish market. The Irish set up will be run out of the UK while it is putting together the local office. The man in charge of making sure Sage gets off the ground in its new home is Fionan O'Driscoll, the newly appointed general manager. Previously he was a …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 15:17
Linux Store preps Net access appliance

Open source software to power $199 device

The Linux Store is set to move into the Internet Appliance market with a $199 personal Net access box based on the open source OS. The company is not yet releasing specs. for the device, but it did say it will bundle a full suite of Internet tools, plus a word processor and a spreadsheet. The box will be released in the second …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 15:34
Compel to face tribunal next year

Ex-IP staff have to wait over a year to secure dismissal hearing

An employment tribunal has ruled that Compel's legal battle with former Info'Products staff will not start until next February – over a year after the dispute began. More than half of the 150 people made redundant when Compel bought Info'Products are jointly suing Compel for unfair dismissal. At a preliminary hearing on 30 June …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 15:34
Microsoft & ICL reveal cable plans

Partnership extends to interactive TV services

ICL is getting further into bed with Microsoft with a five year development deal expected to bring in £1 billion in new business. ICL said that in addition to seven new sites already planned, it was opening new offices in Botswana, Finland, India, South Africa and France that would mean up to 250 new jobs. The companies will be …

Business 13 Jul 1999, 17:18