6th August 1999 Archive

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Cut price UK domain registrar mystery

Who is behind the elusive UK Fast Hosting

There's confusion today surrounding exactly who is behind a new service that claims to offer "the [cheapest] .co.uk domain names in the UK." The Register received a spam email last Monday describing how UK Fast Hosting could register a .co.uk domain for the cut price of just £29 for two years. But a trace of UK Fantastic Limited …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 09:49
Intel may snap up AMD

In wake of Via's latest move

Speculation is mounting in the chip community that Intel might now feel able to buy AMD. The chip giant would be safe from the threat of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) action because of Via's latest acquisition -- the IDT-Centaur x.86 business line. Earlier this week, Via said it would pay $167 million for Cyrix technology. AMD …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 09:56
Why does Via want Centaur technology?

Cores of WinChip and Cyrix utterly different

Taiwanese chipset manufacturer Via may have bitten off more than it can chew with the acquisition of IDT's Centaur microprocessor business. The cores of Cyrix processors and the WinChip line are very different and that raises questions about staff consolidation. However, and possibly this is more likely, owning the WinChip x.86 …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 10:31
If Bill Gates were a European, he…

Quote of the day

"If Bill Gates were British, he would be a lord, in Italy a life senator, in France an untouchable: in America he is humiliated by the government and accused of being a grasping monopoly. Which is healthier?" Martin Hoyle, radio critic, Financial Times

Business 6 Aug 1999, 10:49
IBM slashes hard drive recording speed

Ultra-fast hard drives coming... but not soon

IBM boffins have come up with a way faster method of recording data on magnetic media, the journal Science has reported. The technique uses an ultra high frequency AC current to flip the magnetic poles of electrons in a cobalt-copper-cobalt sandwich. Or, as the researchers themselves put it: "Current-induced switching in the …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 10:56
Big Blue extends Linux support

Alters earlier announcement to bring TurboLinux, SuSE into the deal

IBM this week extended its Linux support programme to take in other distributions of the open source OS than the two the plan original covered. And next week the company will release its first low-cost Netfinity server specifically designed to run Linux. The support announcement goes some way to put IBM back on track to deliver …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 11:14
Intel Itanium trademark thin end of a thick wedge

Reserving trademarks could breach US law

Some weeks ago we reported that Intel had filed a trademark under the name Itanium. (Story: Intel Itanium now part of Web cranium) But now it has come to our notice that Intel may have breached the US copyright law by "reserving" trademark names. According to US Trademark Law, reserving trademark names is strictly prohibited. …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 11:16
Rambus readies RAM RAID

'Chipkill' technology to offer fault tolerant memory for high-end servers

Rambus will next week unveil 'Chipkill', a method to make high-end server memory fault tolerant. According to a report in the UK's Electronics Weekly, Chipkill will allow Rambus' high-speed Direct DRAM to be used in mission-critical servers. The story doesn't reveal any details of how Rambus will add fault-tolerance to its chips …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 11:36
Thai military in knots over Y2K threat

Missiles taken offline as bug threatens to eat army's systems

Thailand's military is not going to make the deadline for Y2K compliance according to its top brass. Major-General Kharavuth Khemayodhin said that the country's missile launching computers would be taken offline before the New Year, to avoid shooting down passenger jets by mistake. A representative of the MoD said that the UK's …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 11:42
Latest free ISP tries to hide face

Freedomi hides under desk as Register comes a-swooping

The UK is to get another subscription free ISP offering toll-free dial-up access to the Internet. An announcement regarding the launch of Freedomi.com is due to be made in the next two weeks or so, The Register has learned despite attempts to keep details of the service secret. At present exact details about Freedomi.com are …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 11:47
Inland Revenue probes IBM for tax avoidance

Ex-employee sparks allegations that funds were shipped to US to dodge UK tax

IBM UK has confirmed it is in talks with the Inland Revenue concerning allegations of tax evasion. Big Blue issued a short statement today following a story in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) which alleges that IBM could owe government coffers more than £300 million in unpaid taxes. The allegations centre on whistle-blowing ex- …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 12:18
Ads watchdog issues free PC warning

No such thing as a free lunch…

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) today urged UK consumers to read the small print and shop around before embarking on any "free" PC deal. The move follows complaints about ISP Online-Direct, which is being investigated by the ASA over the hidden charges in its £99.99 "free" PC offer. The advert, in the national press …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 12:19
SGI to spill beans on new strategy

Updated Restructure announcement due Tuesday

SGI is about to undergo its second restructure in less than a year following a meeting on Tuesday in which company execs will outline their latest business strategy. Such a move would have come as no surprise earlier this year when SGI admitted CEO Rick Belluzzo's recover programme wasn't going quite as smoothly as anticipated. …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 12:30
EA, Sony swoop on Paradigm pirates

But is the piracy situation quite as bad as the industry makes out?

Games software companies Sony and Electronic Arts (EA) today announced they had jointly begun legal action against alleged members of a software piracy gang dubbed Paradigm. Both companies say Paradigm is responsible for trading illegal copies of their games over the Internet. The dynamic duo -- with the help of US Marshals -- …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 15:17
Oz team challenges IIS hackers

Software makes Web pages hack-proof, apparently

It's evidently the season for hacker challenges, and the latest is by Creative Digital Technology in Sydney, Australia. It claims that its SecurePage software, which works in conjunction with Microsoft's Internet Information Server, makes Web pages hack-proof, and have challenged hackers to crack its technology. COO Philip …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 15:25
AMD K7 strategy is a tightrope walk

Analysis Keeping gamesters and big businesses happy simultaneously is tough

We now know how AMD will position its Athlon into the high end market but at the same time it will build this push on its loyal consumer base. It is a fact that AMD's success has traditionally been in the entry level end of the market, and they even managed to break Intel's stranglehold on the retail market in the US earlier …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 15:35
MS' free Net access plan won't help MSN

Analysis Zeroing connection fees comes way too late

The news that Microsoft might offer MSN access for free, or at least at a low price, is hardly surprising, although poor old Microsoft is getting stick for just thinking about it. But for once at least it can hardly be castigated for the move, if it's true. The history of MSN provides a business school case study. Although …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 15:36
Online shopping kids are full of beenz

Net currency teams up with iCanBuy for junior ecommerce venture

Web currency beenz.com has teamed up with iCanBuy.com to let teenagers exchange their beenz for cash. iCanBuy acts as a digital wallet for kids and is billed as a family-centred service that helps teenagers learn to manage their money on the Web. Parents who earn beenz as they visit various Web sites can set up an online debit …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 15:39
AOL to hit UK with Fujitsu free PC package

Updated: Big names in consumer market coming together?

AOL and Fujitsu are coming together to bundle a free PC/ISP package, according to a report in this month's PC Europa. The two big-hitters were said to be hammering out the details of the bundle, which is expected to be launched in the UK this autumn. Fujitsu UK told The Register the company had been approached by several …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 15:53
Wall St tumbles as Net stocks stumble

It really is the wibbly wobbly Web…

Cracks are starting to show in the much-hyped world of Internet stocks. Falling prices have shaken confidence in the technology sector, and Nasdaq - heavily weighted with techno-stocks - shed more than 60 points in early trading yesterday before recovering. Sceptics are saying that this confirms their early opinions. An analyst …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 16:00
Five years ago, today CYRIX TO OFFER 386 TO 486 NOTEBOOK THROUGH SPECIALIST

From The Register, Issue 2, five years ago... Cyrix has announced the availability of its 386 to 486 upgrade chip for notebooks. Called, rather uncatchily, the Cx486SRx2-NB, the product is aimed squarely at owners of 386SX notebooks. In the UK, Cyrix has appointed Network SI (formerly a part of ACT) and Mikrolive Computer …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 16:09
BT courts PC vendors for freebie bundle deal

Love me tender…

BT has whittled down prospective IT partners to less than a handful for what is expected to be the UK’s biggest "free" PC give-away to date. The telecomms giant issued a tender, looking for a PC maker to join it in a PC/ISP deal. The agreement is now in its final stages and an announcement is expected imminently, sources have …

Business 6 Aug 1999, 16:28