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8th September 1999 Archive

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  • Beeb.com in X-Stream content deal

    but will Auntie need to wear a flak jacket?

    The X-Stream Network is to feature content from beeb.com -- the commercial site run by BBC Worldwide -- in a deal that could spark similar agreements in the future. X-Stream users will be able to get their hands on prime content from Top Gear, Top of the Pops, Radio Times, Good Homes, Holiday and Gardeners World. David Atter, S& …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 06:14

  • Register down time: we're so sorry

    BT Lamebrains not to blame... for once

    To anyone who tried and failed to get onto The Register yesterday: sorry. It was a bad day in Internet land: router problems, server problems and two periods of unplanned downtime. First time round, when the site was down for ten minutes or so, took us by surprise: we thought it was our ISDN connection, crippled by lamebrains at …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 06:35

  • Concentric buys ITG for £146 million

    Murray hives off non-core interests into new company

    Internet Technology Group, the AIM-listed ISP chaired by PC World founder Jan Murray, has agreed to a £146 million cash and share offer for the company from Californian ISP Concentric Networks. The terms represent, in the tortuous language of Stock Exchange-approved announcement, a premium of 5.2 per cent on the mid-market price …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 07:30

  • Acer Labs to IPO next week

    Shares to list at US$2.14

    Taiwanese magazine Eurotrademag is reporting that ALi will float on the Taiwanese market on the 13 September. At the same time, ALi has revised its profit forecasts upwards, on the basis of more buoyancy in the chipset market. ALi's share capital is $49 million, but pre-IPO, 84 million shares have already been issued and paid …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 07:38

  • Merced: the Linux track

    Intel Developer Forum Trillian talk at Palm Springs

    Gregg Zahr, VP of engineering at VA Linux Systems, presented plans for the OS at the Forum last week. He said the goal of the Trillian project was to perform a single port of Linux, optimised for IA-64, and with open source available at product launch, probably around this time next year. Cygnus, HP, IBM, Intel SGI and VA Linux …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 09:09

  • Intel says only small number of notebook chips duff

    Supplier has now fixed the problem

    Chip giant Intel has now confirmed there was a problem with some mobile parts but said the problem was in the substrate and not the silicon. (Story: Tosh, Panasonic recall Intel notebooks). A UK representative said: "It wasn't a silicon issue, it was a substrate packaging issue with one of our suppliers. It is, by no means, a …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 10:39

  • BT Lame Brain spills 0800 beans

    Didn't they tell you not to read documents on the train?

    BT could be gearing up to offer limited toll-free access to the Internet, according to a vulture-eyed reader of The Register. He was on a train when a man he believed was heading for the BT labs outside Ipswich sat opposite him. "In his hot sticky hands was a business plan for toll-free Web access, which he kindly laid down on …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 10:57

  • Apple to back-track on ‘anti upgrade’ policy?

    Apple spin docs go into overdrive to counter negative user reaction

    Apple appears to be rethinking its 'anti-upgrade' policy. According to Mac-oriented Web site MacOS Rumors, "reliable" Apple sources have said the company is now planning to fix the block on PowerPC 7400 (aka G4) upgrades in a future firmware update for the blue'n'white Power Mac G3. That block was introduced in the last update, …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 11:10

  • Separated at Birth

    Intel bong blagged?

    Has anyone ever noticed the uncanny similarity of the much-loved Intel bong and the main theme from the poptastic Tubular Bells album? We wonder if they are by any chance related, and if Mike Oldfield's lawyers are on the case?

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 11:20

  • Flat panel market soars

    Price hikes, shipment surge

    Flat panel display revenues jumped 20 per cent in Q2 on the back of eight per cent more unit shipments than Q1. With demand outstripping supply until the end of next year earliest, FPD manufacturers are beginning to look like the cat that licked the cream. Shipments of standalone displays rose 30 per cent to account for 74 per …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 11:43

  • Merced Tracks: Compaq's views on legacy

    Intel Developer Forum The Big Q outlines its thoughts

    At one of the tracks at IDF last week, Melvin Benedict, a Compaq architect, outlined what Intel's DIG64 push means for future hardware design. Benedict used much of his presentation to show that legacy items should not be used in Merced and IA-64 designs. He said legacy IO does not scale well enough, ISA cards used non- …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 11:51

  • Analysts rain on PlayStation II parade…

    ...the day before its chief rival's US launch. Ahem

    In what sounds suspiciously like pro-Sega spin, a handful of Japanese analysts today cast doubt on Sony's ability to deliver its much-anticipated PlayStation II 128-bit games console on time. According to Reuters, one Takashi Mimura, an analyst at Societe Generale, said: "The production of new chips is a challenge for Sony, …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 11:55

  • Intel 533B and 600B parts the reason for 12 September price cuts

    Updated Intel cuts desktop prices in preparation for 27th release date

    Intel will once more slash prices on the 12th September next to make way for the introduction of 533(B)MHz and 600(B)MHz parts, it has emerged. These parts will support 133MHz front side buses (FSBs). It would be a nice surprise for everyone if they were Coppermine parts, but we're not absolutely certain they are. We do know, …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 12:01

  • BX shortage to last until year end

    Meanwhile, Intel ups the 810 ante

    Distributors close to Intel's plans have suggested that a shortage of BX and ZX chipsets will not get better until the end of the year at the earliest. At the same time, Intel is taking steps to further encourage adoption of its i810 chipset by using it for Pentium III processors as well as Celeron chips, according to Techweb. …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 12:15

  • Intel still stuck on the FireWire fence

    Analysis It's in the 1394 patent pool so why doesn't it just back the technology?

    What is Intel's problem with FireWire? Last week at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF), Chipzilla's bi-annual shindig, held in Palm Springs, it once more threw its mighty weight behind Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0, just as it did at the same gig six months ago. And this week, Jason Ziller, Intel's platform marketing manager, told …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 12:23

  • Merced: what meaneth the Extensible Firmware Interface?

    Intel Developer Forum Or how to boot your IA-64 chip into shape

    Intel programme manager Mark Doran outlined the spec for the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) at IDF in Palm Springs last week. This will replace the current system for booting PCs. The EFI spec is superior because it's implementation-agnostic; it separates the BIOS from the operating system; it is modular and extensible and …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 12:29

  • Athlon Powers hasn't got his mobo working

    First MicroStar, then Asus...but better news to come

    Distributors have now confirmed the problems with the K7 MicroStar 6167 motherboard we reported last week. (Story: Athlon mobos recalled) Shipments of the 6167 were recalled last week, but supplies to make up the shortfall are not now expected until the end of September. According to further reports, the Asus motherboard has …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 12:45

  • Cadence does Intel on .18µ, .15µ pricing

    Slash and burn as Synopsis does opposite

    The same day that Synopsis put up its pricing on its sub .18µ software suite, Cadence did the opposite and slashed its suite by around 80 per cent. Cadence said it would cut prices on its Envisia Ambit synthesis product with immediate effect. But this stuff isn't cheap. Its new European list price is $30,000. Synopsis has just …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 12:57

  • PC builders slap on DRAM surcharges

    Get on the phone and order now

    PC builders are being forced to add surcharges due to rocketing memory prices. London-based Carrera this week started adding as much as £30 to lower-end PCs, up to £60 for PCs with 128MB DRAM and £280 for higher-end boxes such as servers, on top of its advertised prices. Panrix and Mesh are also upping prices, and Dan Technology …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 13:52

  • Intel just won't let go of this networking equipment thing

    As much chance of rattling Cisco as finding Elvis on the Moon

    Intel, the downmarket networking equipment manufacturer, is is beefing up its portfolio with a clutch of routers and a switch, all aimed at medium-sized companies. The 6000 Series Switch Chassis and eight-port Gigabit Module will both be available from 28 September and are expected to cost around $14,000 and $19,000 respectively …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 14:08

  • Scottish Crackers declare war on Wales

    Sorry tale of sheep rustling and revenge on Scottish government web site

    It appears Braveheart hackers have carried out their threat to trash a Scottish government Web site after warning First Minister Donald Dewar that it was vulnerable to attack from cyber terrorists. A group calling itself the Hardcore Highland Haxxors (HHH) has defecated all over the Scottish Executive Web site and renamed it the …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 14:33

  • Compaq signs Novell for Tru64 NDS port

    Plan should keep corporates' eyes off Big Q's Linux moves

    Compaq yesterday threw its weight behind Novell Directory Services (NDS), pledging to optimise its ProLiant servers and integrate the technology into its OneStop solutions package in return for Novell's agreement to port NDS to the Big Q's species of Unix, Tru64. Of course, given Compaq's increasing interest in Linux, you might …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 14:34

  • PC builders remain significant force in America

    Ten, twenty, thirty, forty thousand or more

    The independent PC channel is still a mighty force in the Americas, judging by research published by the Systems Builders Summit consortium. There are over 40,000 systems builders on the two continents, and this channel accounts for more than 42 per cent of PC sales in North America and 52 per cent in Latin America, Business …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 14:34

  • Dixons showers shareholders with special dividend

    Booming PC, mobile phone and wide-screen TV sales

    Dixons saw shares rocket today after announcing a special dividend on the strength of higher than expected overall retail sales. Shares soared 27 pence to 1,242 pence in midday trading – making Dixons the second biggest riser in the FTSE 100. Dixons chairman Sir Stanley Kalms told today’s Annual General Meeting that sales were …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 14:44

  • Maxtor tops up Diamond Max Line

    Just in time for Christmas sales stampede

    Maxtor has topped out the capacities of its DiamondMax and DiamondMax VL lines, timing their launch to catch the Christmas buying season. The new DiamondMax 40 has up to 10.2GB per disk, for up to 40.9GB in a four-platter configuration. It has average seek time of under 9ms, a 2MB buffer incorporating a high-speed 100MHz SDRAM …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 15:02

  • Compaq tries Alpha NT trade in plan

    Old lamps for new

    Corporate Compaq customers cussing the company for unilaterally dropping NT support on Alpha boxes are being offered a cunning and cute completion to the conundrum they face. According to sources close to Compaq, the large corporations can now trade in their Alpha servers or workstations running Windows NT, after the Big Q …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 15:05

  • Sun shines spotlight on Ray thin client

    Jesus wants me for a Sun-beam...

    Sun yesterday announced its re-entry into the thin client market: Ray, the thin client formerly codenamed 'Corona'. The $499 Ray will ship with no operating system of its own, just enough code to display output from NT and Solaris apps running via Ray server software. Even the graphics rendering is handled by the server, Sun …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 15:11

  • Nortel/Norweb pulls plug on Internet over electricity scheme

    Nothing wrong with the technology, everything wrong with the market

    Plans to access the Net in the home using electric wiring instead of phone lines have been scrapped -- for now. United Utilities has withdrawn its financial backing for Digital PowerLine (DPL) technology after it informed the Stock Exchange yesterday that market conditions simply didn't justify the investment. UU and Nortel …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 15:40

  • Merced: How do you boot Linux fast on a Merced?

    Intel Developer Forum Here is Mindy's answer...

    Maybe some of our readers were wondering exactly how you boot Linux fast on a big Merced beastie without an x.86 style BIOS. Here is Mindy Murdock's answer. Mindy is Intel's ISV programme manager and at the track last week it seemed to have a lot of suggestions. Never forget that Intel is OS agnostic, despite the fact it has …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 15:45

  • Stead walks the plank following Ingram profit warning

    But he's only jumping when new CEO is found, and he still gets to be chairman of distie which tried to raise its prices. Incredible isn't it, one rule for fat cats and another...

    Ingram Micro today issued a profit warning and announced the exit of CEO Jerre Stead. The US distributor said it expected profit of between $15 million and $21 million for the third quarter ending 2 October. It forecast earnings of 10 to 15 cents per share, well below analysts polled by First Call who had predicted 41 cents. …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 15:47

  • Argos BT's badly, ups price of Sony TV to £3,299.99

    Oops...Argos maybe better revisit things...

    That story we wrote yesterday about Argos flogging television sets for a mere snip has taken two further twists, at least. (Story: Argos ****** on three quid TV net offer) One of our loyal readers, who bought two Sony tellies for £2.99 but Argos refused to deliver them, has just told us of an email he's had from the firm. Now …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 15:50

  • Microsoft set to unleash Java-killer Cool

    COM/C++ programming framework no longer an internal project, apparently

    Microsoft's 'Java killer' object-oriented language, Cool, looks set to be released publicly in the next few weeks, The Register has learned. And the language will ship with tools to translate Java source code into Cool. Cool isn't a language in its own right -- rather, it's a series of extensions to C++ designed to make C++ as …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 16:10

  • Citrix tilts away from MS, towards Solaris, Linux

    Updated Browser-based application access, and multi-OS Citrix server farms behind them - go figure

    Citrix today mounted a demonstration of how its MetaFrame product might run on non-NT platforms. The general idea, according to company VP of product development Dave Weiss, seems to have been to run it up the flagpole to see if anybody saluted. Any saluting at the moment is likely to be from major companies running Solaris …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 18:44

  • Browser apps will dent Windows' market share – IBM exec

    Keep the browser, but get rid of the OS? Integration bites back, mayhap...

    The need for organisations to deploy new applications faster will accelerate a trend towards browser-based applications and away from client/server, IBM network computer guru Dave McAughtry told The Register today. And as this process occurs, it could spell doom for Microsoft's hold on the desktop - because if you're running …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 20:46

  • Several i820 mobos up Intel sleeves…

    Cape Cod, Vancouver ready to ship, more problems found in 810, Fairbanks on way

    Intel will ship at least two versions of i820 Camino motherboards to coincide with the launch of the 533B and the 600B, sources say. THe chip giant is readying both the Vancouver VC820 and another mobo believed to be called the Cape Cod CC820 and also based on the Camino chip set. A board called Fairbanks (FB820) will use the …

    Business 8 Sep 1999, 23:03