29th September 1999 Archive
Browse by publication date, or search the site.
-
Via chipset found lurking in IBM PC
Big Blue takes step away from Intel, follows Apple's lead with snap-on colour notebook covers
IBM showed off its Autumn collection this week, though admitted it had been forced to withdraw one of its proposed PCs at the last minute due to technical hitches at Intel. Big Blue treated the press to a sneak preview of its "secure" PC range and its first mini-notebook for the UK, along with a new ThinkPad line, at its London …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 07:27
-
Gates' stake in MS drops 4.5 per cent
And outside MS, he maybe has around $13 billion
Bill Gates' share of Microsoft has dropped from 19.8 per cent to 15.3 per cent since 29 January, according to Microsoft's proxy statement released yesterday. He held 787,055,600 shares worth $72.5 billion at the closing price of $92.125. Mrs G has 214,460 shares worth $19.8 million. The couple gave around $15 billion to their …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 08:12
-
Apple demands Web sites kill iMac II pics
Updated Naked iMac II spied on Web, then not, then back again, then not
Apple today set its lawyers at the heels of a pair of Mac-oriented Web sites following the publication of a series of pictures showing the upcoming 'C2' iMac in its three configurations. US-based AppleInsider and German site MacNews both posted a shot of the 400MHz special edition iMac DV, with is sleek metallic silver casing, …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 09:20
-
Network Solutions buys ICANN's cooperation
It's not exactly love, but it'll have to do...
A contract approved by Network Solutions and the US government will permit the registrar to administer .com, .net and .org domains for another four years, though a bit less profitably than previously hoped. The company will charge its competitors $6 per year for access to its database, a significant drop from the $35 it's used …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 10:09
-
How much does MS need to dampen down its stock price?
Steve Ballmer's impromptu remarks could have been helpful - accidentally, of course...
Microsoft's market value is now bigger than the gross domestic product of all but ten or eleven countries (not bigger than that of Italy, as was erroneously reported by Dow Jones - the Italian GDP is more than twice Microsoft's market cap). But it may well be in the company's interest to keep the share price down - unfortunately …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 10:19
-
MS downscales Millennium plans – allegedly
Analysis But they weren't really that upscale in the first place
The Register was tickled to see a Smart Reseller story earlier this week suggesting a massive downscaling of Microsoft's plans for Millennium. The downscaling - no new user interface, no task-based Activity Centers, and maybe Millennium is just going to be a point release to Windows 98 - matches The Register's predictions …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 10:47
-
AOL cans 0800 plans
What next for subs-based service?
AOL UK has indefinitely postponed plans to introduce 0800 access to the Net, effectively admitting defeat in its bid to reclaim the initiative against subscription-free ISPs such as Freeserve. The UK's second biggest Net access provider admitted that despite carrying out extensive trials it is simply not commercially viable to …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 10:56
-
Timing problem renders all Camino boards virtually useless
What a bunch of Muppets, says highly-placed source
More details are emerging on Intel's woes with the ill-fated Camino chipset. Electronic Buyers' News in the US reports that the timing problem with the Rambus RIMMs stems from the fact that some of the motherboard traces are up to 10cm in length, causing timing-related signal integrity problems. If this is indeed the cause of …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 11:04
-
Chips makers gear up as power restored to Taiwan
Full production likely to be hit by end of the week
The lights are back on in Hsinchu Science park in Taiwan a week after the earthquake that brought much of the island to its knees. Residential districts are not so fortunate, with many only getting power on alternate days, but the islands IT sector had put pressure on the Taiwan authorities to give industry the priority for …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 11:13
-
Linux distributor Caldera delays IPO
Does Caldera's plan signal a shift in the economics of Linux?
Caldera is to follow fellow Linux distributor Red Hat down the IPO trail later rather than sooner. The company's plan to go public will now not take place until next year and not next month after all, according to sources cited by US newswires. The reason for the decision appears to be advice from Caldera's underwriters, who …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 11:14
-
When you wish upon a chipset
A quick trawl shows Intel isn't reacting very fast to the Camino cockup...
For obvious reasons, this story has a limited shelf life, so check out the links while you can Never let it be said Chipzilla doesn't look on the bright side, or at the very least bury its head in the sand. Obviously stunned into inactivity by the failure of Camino to appear on time (again), Intel's web sites still wear the rose …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 11:45
-
New Transmeta patent reveals x86-killer design
The product will be cheaper and faster than existing chips, and it'll run anything - honest
Another patent granted to Transmeta seems to have established what the mysterious outfit is up to pretty clearly. Briefly, the company's processor is intended to be faster than anything built using current technology, and to be able to run any of the operating software for any existing processors - faster than the original. This …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 12:03
-
Cadence SoCs it to Net phones, MP3
Single chip for cheapo IP telephony
With Chipzilla and co blethering on about how wonderful Systems on a Chip will be, DeCadence's developers up in Silicon Glen have quietly got on with it and taped out the first SoC chip aimed at the burgeoning Internet telephony market. Working for French telephony outfit Aplio, which launched its standalone Voice over IP (VoIP …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 12:04
-
IBM climbs into bed with NTT for Net bundle
It's in the lease
NTT, the Japanese telecoms giant, is launching a leasing business with IBM for online PCs. NTT will provide Web access for Y3980 ($37.50) per month in a bid to gain a larger slice of Japan's Internet market, according to today's Financial Times. The leasing rate will not include call charges, but will provide 100 hours of access …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 14:34
-
Misdials report Lastminute.com glitch
Rotten luck that phone number is so similar to Register's
Lastminute.com -- the discount travel and gift Web site -- appears to have a problem with its online technology. Yesterday, The Register received two phone calls from lastminute.com shoppers wanting to confirm their orders. They were told to ring a number because the online ordering system wasn't working. Somehow, they ended up …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 14:36
-
Finance watchdog calls for e-regulator status
Outdated rules need improving
UK financial regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA) yesterday admitted its regulations for the Internet were outdated, and outlined a five-pronged plan of attack for improvement. The Authority said the Web had forced it to re-think its existing rules and that it planned to launch a strategy for "e-regulation". Speaking …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 14:45
-
S3 announces Mobile Savage design wins
Only Intel won't let it say with whom...
S3 has said the notebook-oriented version of its Savage4 graphics chipset has been selected by "four of the top five notebook PC manufacturers". Fair comment, perhaps, but it's telling that S3 doesn't say which vendors have chosen its chips, or what machines they plan to put them into. S3's excuse for the lack of info is that …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 14:57
-
Caldera signs Linux Net appliance deal with Fujitsu
Caldera-based Net access devices emerge from under server bundling deal's skirts
Linux distributor Caldera Systems today confirmed press speculation that it has done a deal with Fujitsu to bundle OpenLinux 2.3 with the Japanese giant's server products. Actually, it turns out the deal only covers "many of [Fujitsu's] servers" -- in other words, not all of them. For instance, it's not clear how many of Fujitsu …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 15:36
-
DRAM robberies are back
Dane-Elec turned over for the second time this year
Dane-Elec today warned fellow memory distributors to keep DRAM under surveillance following a robbery at their warehouse. The Surrey-based distributor said it was broken into at 2am this morning. But the robbers were disturbed by a security guard and got away with less kit than they intended. Alan Stanley, Dane-Elec general …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 15:48
-
Child porn conference damns Net
Speakers seek to make possession, as well as distribution, illegal in every nation
The US Department of Justice today called for global laws on the child pornography to be brought in line with UK legislation. Speaking at a conference of representatives from the EU, North America, Eastern Europe and Asia, DoJ deputy chief Thomas Burrows sought a consensus that not only the production and distribution of kiddie …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 16:15
-
Compaq to push Alpha volumes by ‘leveraging Linux’
Despite reorgs, Big Q loves Alpha more than ever, says Heil
Compaq Business Critical Server Division general manager Bill Heil has written a letter to customers reaffirming the company's commitment to Alpha "for the long term." This sort of thing is frequently the kiss of death for whatever it is a corporation is reaffirming its commitment to, but in this case the letter helps put some …
Business 29 Sep 1999, 18:08
