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24th August 1999 Archive

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  • US crypto plan aims to bug PCs

    'Plumbers' to be legalised -- if it gets through Congress...

    Crypto works the same horrifying voodoo on government control-freaks the world over, but cultural distinctions will colour their response. If the British Nanny State would become a cruel bully, its American companion aspires to become a twitchy, sweaty sneak thief. Or such is the impression we get from the Department of Justice' …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 06:15

  • Gartner Group spreads NT 5.0 gloom

    A year ago Slippage points to next century...

    From The Register -- a year back Gartner Group is the latest outfit to advise its clients to steer clear of Windows NT 5.0 for the next couple of years. The company is joining the ranks of those who feel a usable version of NT 5.0 won't ship in 1999, and under these circumstances widespread deployment will have to wait another …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 07:43

  • Cumine Pentium !!! steams over horizon

    Is the 26th September date a typo?

    When we reported a week or so back that Dabs Direct was listing a PIII .18 Coppermine chip available at the end of next month, our local Intel rep responded by saying it was probably a typo. (Story: PIII/600 with 133MHz FSB outed!!!) We now admit it may well have been a typo. It should have been the 27th of September. According …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 07:58

  • HP forced to clarify Merced stance

    Young Turks beat Old Guard's head in and blame media

    After a series of reports that HP would ditch Merced in favour of its successor, McKinley, the company has been forced to issue a formal statement of rebuttal. We have to admit that we joined in the fun too, and may indeed have fanned some of the flames, but HP's main media target is news.com. The statement said it "corrects" a …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 08:07

  • Sun, IBM pull plugs on JavaOS project

    Killing it off is a great victory for Java, apparently...

    Around 15 months after announcing the project, Sun and IBM have pulled the plugs on JavaOS for Business, which was intended to produce a Java-based operating system for network computers. Allegedly. The joint effort also had a lot to do with combining the weight of the two companies to defend "pure" Java standards against the …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 08:16

  • What's so great about Linux, MS asks German press

    And do you think MS Deutschland is ethical? Visionary? Arrogant?

    Microsoft Germany has been doing some soul searching regarding Linux, reports Germany's c't magazine. The company has been conducting telephone surveys of German journalists covering its own perceived image, but also including a large section specific to the Linux OS. MS wants to know what the strengths and weaknesses of Linux …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 08:18

  • SGI chief poised to take charge of MS Internet division

    Considering how fast the old guard is falling off the perch, it could be a smart career move

    SGI CEO Rick Belluzzo resigned unexpectedly yesterday, and is now being tipped to take charge of Microsoft's Internet operations, including the Microsoft Network. This is one of the poison chalice jobs at Microsoft -- the company has been searching for somebody to run it for nigh on a year, without success until now. SGI has …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 08:21

  • Japanese engineer over clocks Athlon 500 to 650MHz

    He got his drill out and off his golden fingers went

    A Japanese site is claiming that it has succeeded in clocking an AMD Athlon 500 to 650MHz. Over here is an explanation, in Japanese, of how he achieved the speeds, together with some tables of results. (The tables are in English). According to Daiki, this site is not the first to achieve an overclock. He says the first to win …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 08:51

  • Leaked Pesatori memo spells out Compaq Win plans

    Q maintains it will keep Win NT 64 going

    Further details of Compaq's plans over Windows NT development has emerged in a leaked memo posted on a US web site. Enrico Pesatori, senior VP at Compaq, sent out the memo Friday, and the memo is posted on the Shannon knows Compaq web site. Pesatori claims that Compaq is taking steps to simplify its platform strategy, and …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 09:14

  • One in three workers skive online

    Survey finds that sometimes people at work aren't actually working -- no way!

    More than a third of all employees "surf the Web constantly", according to another tedious and wholly pointless Internet survey from the US. Published by online IT recruitment company VaultReports.com, the report warns that more and more employees are spending time online instead of working. The findings of this report will, no …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 09:34

  • MS wins Sun appeal – but it's probably only temporary

    MS on Trial And the appeal court agrees Sun has a good case

    There was a mixed decision yesterday by the Court of Appeals in the long-running Java corruption trial in which Sun has accused Microsoft of trying to pollute Java. Yesterday's unanimous Opinion resulted from an appeal by Microsoft over some technical issues about the preliminary injunction. The essence of the decision is that …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 09:54

  • Gunmen grab £1m Compaq machines

    Updated Lorry driver held hostage in armed robbery

    Armed thieves made off with £1 million worth of Compaq kit on Saturday after disguising themselves as police officers and holding a lorry driver hostage. The driver was stopped on the M6 near Knutsford, Cheshire, by what he thought were officials or police. He was ordered out of the Scannia lorry at gunpoint, and three men …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 10:15

  • US appoints e-commerce czar

    Sounds like a good idea, perhaps the UK government should get one too

    President Clnton has appointed a 39-year-old woman to become the e-commerce czar for the US. Elizabeth B Echols has been appointed director of the Electronic Commerce Working Group, according to a report in the New York Times. Among other things, Echols' job is to stand up for consumers' right online and to create a "global e- …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 10:19

  • Why AMD's got a sporting chance…

    Analysis Dixons supports Athlon and volumes good

    The jury, in the shape of the press and the various Web hardware sites, has now been out for a month on the performance of the AMD Athlon microprocessor. Practically all of the reviews of the Athlon K7 we've read have given it glowing reviews, and reported strong performance gains over the Pentium III. Further, senior analysts …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 11:25

  • Knives are out at Packard Hell NEC

    Management cull as chairman outlines turnaround hopes

    Beleaguered PC vendor, Packard Bell NEC, has taken an axe to its top level management as part of its continuing efforts to stage a comeback. Paul Greenwood becomes general manager of the company's consumer division - prior to his new appointment, Greenwood was executive vice president of operations and manufacturing. Greenwood's …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 12:06

  • Zenith files for Chapter 11

    Former electronics giant takes only way out as LG steps in to take over

    LG Electronics is to assume full ownership of Zenith Electronics, as the latter collapses into bankruptcy. Zenith makes a wide range of business and consumer electronics. It filed for Chapter 11 status yesterday at the offices of the US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. It was once the leading TV set company in the US, …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 12:27

  • Compaq admits Inventec makes its notebooks

    Armed robbery prompts unexpected confession

    Compaq has admitted that it does not build its own notebooks, following Saturday's armed robbery of £1 million of kit in Cheshire. The PC giant came clean last night, telling The Register that the notebook base parts that were stolen in transit were actually the property of Taiwanese OEM Inventec. Last month, The Register …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 12:28

  • Dabs gets dabs on Camino mobo

    Stone me...don't they sign NDAs?

    A report on HardOCP says that Dabs Direct is advertising an Abit Camino i820 motherboard in the UK. That lends further credence to stories we have already written suggesting that the Camino chipset will arrive earlier than expected. According to the report, the mobo is PC99 compliant with no ISA sockets, uses a Slot One …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 12:40

  • Damning MS with the facts III – the browser battle

    MS on Trial The third part of our analysis of the DoJ's case

    The DoJ's and plaintiff States' Joint Proposed Findings of Fact is the first time the DoJ has been able to set out logically its evidence concerning Microsoft's attempt to split the browser market. It would be wrong to portray the issue as being Netscape versus Microsoft because the focus is on whether Microsoft has used illegal …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 13:51

  • Damning MS with the facts II – monopoly power

    MS on Trial Part two of our analysis of the DoJ's case

    From the beginning, the Plaintiffs' Joint Proposed Findings of Fact (PJPFF) uses Microsoft's statements and documents to great effect. Where better to find that a browser is an application [and not a part of the operating system] than in the Microsoft Press Computer Dictionary? The DoJ starts with the meat of the case - that …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 13:57

  • Intel debuts new products – not many told

    Win98SE problems to blame?

    Chipzilla has sneaked out a bunch of new products, but apparently forgot to tell its spin paramedics. The Cayman 810 Celeron mobo now has a presence on the Intel support web site at http://support.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/ca810/ where users will no doubt be thrilled to discover yet more incompatibilities with the …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 14:11

  • Intel confirms mobos shortage will put freeze on PCs

    When we said crucial, we meant crucial, dammit...

    A shortage of vital chips could cut output from some computer motherboard makers by more than half during the next two months, industry sources say. Yesterday, The Register exclusively reported vast shortages of passive components. (Go here) Manufacturers are currently trying to increase production in preparation for the peak …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 14:11

  • PSINet buys US ecommerce outfit in $720m deal

    Now it has plans to sell 'ecommerce in a box'

    PSINet is to buy Transfer Network Services (TNS), the ecommerce and data processing specialists, in a cash and stock deal worth an estimated $720 million. The move is widely regarded as being a shot across the bows of other ecommerce players, such as IBM, UUNet and AT&T. According to reports on Newsbytes, Gary Arlen, president …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 14:49

  • Compaq robbery – five per cent of sales lost

    Never mind the base units, there go the TFTs

    The lorry-load of Compaq notebooks stolen this weekend represented around five per cent of the vendor's anticipated UK quarterly laptop sales. According to IDC, Compaq sold around 21,000 notebooks in Q2, and 31,000 in Q1 this year. Which means the 1,440 base units stolen on Saturday could put a dent in shipping. In all, 810 …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 15:10

  • Profits slip for Dialog

    First half is a tale of mixed fortunes

    Dialog's pre-tax profits dropped to £1.7 million from last year's £7 million, for the six months ended 30 June. The database provider saw sales fall slightly to £87.3 million from £88.8 million for the same period last year. Results for the second quarter were up on the first quarter – net profit grew 200 per cent to £1.3 …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 15:12

  • Seagate to slash jobs

    Disk drive price war claims more scalps

    Seagate Technology is to cut 1,600 staff in Singapore as part of its restructure. The disk drive maker is reviewing its business globally and is set to make changes over the next few months. A Seagate representative said this would involve reducing the company's headcount. No figure had been placed on the number of jobs to be …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 15:37

  • Free AOL launches under Netscape banner

    Two brands for the price of one

    People wearing sandwich boards and carrying placards declaring "The N is nigh" helped launch AOL UK's new subscription-free ISP Netscape Online. Scores of anonymous human billboards trudged around London today in the drizzle stopping only occasionally to be photographed by bemused tourists. Yet behind the glamour, today's launch …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 15:58

  • LineOne pokes tongues at Netscape Online

    Launch of free service to erode AOL user base

    The MD of LineOne has mocked AOL's decision to launch a subscription-free ISP accusing his rival of being caught in two minds. He said the launch of Netscape Online showed AOL's pricing strategy was confused. "Either you believe in the [subscription] free model or not," said Ajay Chowdhury speaking to The Register earlier today …

    Business 24 Aug 1999, 16:00