28th September 1999 Archive

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Millennium, MS consumer OS, goes to beta – really

Testers put on alert for Wednesday switch-on

Following up on the weird shenanigans of late last week, Microsoft really did announce Beta 1 of Millennium yesterday -- or at least we think it did. An email has gone out to selected testers welcoming them to "the upcoming beta." Microsoft accidentally announced Beta 1 in a press release last Friday (24th), although the release …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 06:27
Memec up for sale as parent group merges

Veba Electronics on the block

The world's third biggest electronics component distie is up for sale following the merger of its parent company. Veba Electronics, a $5 billion t/o company, is the subsidiary of Veba AG, a massive diversified German conglomerate that yesterday announced its intention to team up with Viag AG (another massive diversified German …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 07:12
Freeserve preps women's portal, credit cards and auctions

Shares down as ISP posts £5m losses

Freeserve is to launch an auction service, a credit card and a portal for women this quarter. This will pitch it against QXL and Loot.com on the first count; Egg and store card operators on the second; and the world and its dog on the third (Freeserve is the sixth company to announce its intention to launch a portal for British …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 09:23
France Telecom flogs books, CDs, videos online

Formidable obstacle to Amazon's French ambitions

France Telecom is buying Alapage.com, taking it into e-commerce retailing for the first time. Terms of the deal were undisclosed. Alapage, which sells books, CDs and videos online, had been prepping an IPO -- but that now goes out of the window. France now becomes a rather more challenging proposition for Amazon than other major …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 09:53
Micron raises 64Mb DRAM contract prices…

...while spot prices carry on climbing

Micron is firming up 64Mb DRAM contract prices a dollar to $9, and other memory chip makers are sure to follow, in the wake of the Taiwan Quake turmoil. DRAM spot prices are also on the march -- on 24 September, 64Mb chips (8 x 8Mb, PC-100) were trading in the US at over $20, according to Asia Biztech. Taiwan accounts for 12 per …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 10:40
Teledesic to launch sooner than expected

Satellite company admits it's looking at early entries to market to avoid 'Iridium Syndrome'

Satellite-based Internet pipeline company Teledesic yesterday coughed up to charges made by the Wall Street Journal that it was "exploring early market entry strategies". Some confession. It would be surprising indeed if the $9 billion Teledesic wasn't looking at ways of getting customers on board sooner rather than later to …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 10:45
Freeserve decides users want lower dial-up fees after all

Free ISP to offer phone bill rebates

When it comes to U-turns, they don't get much better than Freeserve. In July, one of Freeserve's spokeswomen, Lesley Smith, told The Times: "The phone call charge is not much of an issue for that many people." She was, of course, referring to the cost of dial-up access in the Britain. In a comment that will no doubt come to …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 11:00
Cam in no 820, your time is up

Wasn't it supposed to have four memory slots, History Man Pete Sherriff writes

Oh dear, it's almost enough to make you feel sorry for poor old Chipzilla. Betting the farm on the whizz-bang i820 chipset and Rambus is starting to look like being a really bad move for the Great Satan of Chips. The inability of the 820 to run correctly on mobos with three memory slots is embarrassing enough, but those with …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 11:05
Daily Mail science hack baffled by new technology

intro

This week's 'Guy Who's Supposed To Know This Stuff Not Really Understanding Technology' award goes to Daily Mail science correspondent David Derbyshire for his interesting item in today's edition on Sony's new digital Walkman. Tucked into what's not, on the whole, a bad article -- for the Mail at any rate -- we're told by a Sony …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 11:33
Naked iMac II spied on Web

German Mac site publishes the photos

Confirmation has come via German Mac-oriented Web site MacNews of the specifications for the upcoming three versions of the new iMac -- the so-called 'C2 Revision' -- that we reported yesterday. According to MacNews, the line is topped by "special edition" 400MHz PowerPC 750 (aka G3) model iMac DV (Digital Video) model, which …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 12:16
Microsoft buys $15m stake in Akamai

That's one in the eye for Apple's QuickTime strategy

Microsoft yesterday joined Apple and Cisco in pouring money into Internet access acceleration specialist Akamai. Microsoft will write Akamai a cheque for $15 million, but it's not yet clear how much of the company it will get for its investment. Cisco spent $49 million and received a four per cent stake -- Apple owns five per …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 12:46
Scottish ISP hit by cut-price calls hoax

Xcalibre targeted with spoof Web site

A Scottish ISP has been singled out by malicious hoaxers in what is believed to be part of a vendetta against the company. The hoaxers created a spoof Web site offering flat-fee 24/7 access to the Net after using false information to register a free domain with the ISP Freenetname. The spoof domain -- xcalibre.org.uk -- included …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 13:06
UK ISP offers £500k prize in online ad casino

But it's not the odds-on favourite on odds

A new Net lottery from Cheshire-based ISP Telinco and US company Cashwiz is offering punters the chance to win up to £500,000 just for watching banner ads. It's a marketing initiative that could eclipse similar schemes from the likes of Sharkhunt.com and Surfmiles which promise to pay a couple of quid a month if people agree to …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 15:17
Jungle.com doubles first month sales target

But some of its customers aren't too happy

One of Britain's fledgling e-commerce sites, Jungle.com, claims it has generated more than £1 million in its first month of trading -- double its own bullish estimates. It's good news for Jungle.com's very own Tarzan, Steve Bennett. "We thought we'd turn over £500,000 in our first month but instead we've done more than £1 …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 15:39
Win2k everywhere: 70 per cent of you will upgrade

Hope triumphs over experience, apparently...

Further evidence has emerged of Microsoft's determination to push Windows 2000 hard when it finally ships. Group VP Jeff Raikes yesterday told an investment conference that he expects 70 per cent of existing Windows machines will be upgraded. If that one comes true it'll put many a dollar into Microsoft's coffers, but how likely …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 16:27
Nader demands DNS for the people, by the people

International government should oversee ICANN, says consumer rights crusader

World governments should oversee ICANN to confine its influence strictly to the nuts and bolts of DNS registration, according to a draft proposal rolled out by legendary American crusader for the little guy, Ralph Nader, during a Washington conference on DNS issues this weekend. The proposal, by the Consumer Project on …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 16:34
MS teams with USWeb in major app rental play

And the announcement has got absolutely nothing to do with UFOs, OK?

In a couple of hours time Microsoft will announce the next stage of its plan to rent applications across with Web. It has struck a "strategic alliance" with Internet services company USWeb/CKS, the general idea being that the latter will standardise on Windows 2000 and Microsoft BackOffice products, and set up application …

Business 28 Sep 1999, 17:18