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2nd November 1999 Archive

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  • Bug busting book to save UK

    You can burn it to keep warm when civilisation begins to crumble

    Every home in the UK is to get a free book for Christmas. The government has announced plans to send out 26 million copies of its What everyone should know about the Y2K Bug booklet. Oh joy. The 24-page publication, part of a £9.4 million campaign, will encourage Brits not to hoard food or wood-burning stoves. Gwynneth Flower, …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 08:11

  • Santa's gonna surf down yer chimney

    UK online spending boom expected

    Britain's about to go on a festive spending spree that will make this year an online Christmas to remember. According to pollsters MORI, a third of Net users -- 3.6 million people -- are set to use the Net to buy Chrimbo pressies this year. Five hundred people were quizzed in the poll and reckon they'll each spend £130 online …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 08:13

  • FIC responds to Intel's legal action

    Yah boo sucks Intel, company appears to be saying

    Taiwanese firm First International Computer (FIC) has released a statement responding to Intel's legal action against the firm. And the firm is figuratively waving two fingers at Chipzilla, saying that it will carry on making motherboards using Via chipsets. FIC said that it would respect any court decisions, but is surprised …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 08:58

  • Trade: MS and Boeing get ready to rock with Rocky

    The Seattle giants footing the WTO bill have an all too obvious interest...

    Microsoft and Boeing will figure prominently when the next phase of the US-EU trade battle kicks off on their home turf later this month. The World Trade Organisation Ministerial meeting takes place in Seattle from 29 November to 3 December. The US has already filed an appeal against a WTO ruling that declared that export …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 09:07

  • FTC should re-open Intel investigation

    Opinion Let's clear the air of murky innuendo

    In hindsight, Intel's statement about why it has extended its law suit to comprise not just Via but a clutch of other firms more or less related to the Taiwanese company doesn't make as much sense as it seems. First of all, of course Intel has a duty to its shareholders. And of course it has a duty to its other licensees. But …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 09:16

  • Caribbean bookies takes on the world's brokers

    A real example of Internet empowerment -- for better or worse

    IndexTrade.com is to offer Web users the opportunity to buy and sell from stock market indices usually only available to professional traders, even though the company has nothing more than a gaming licence from the government of Antigua. The service allows investors to bet on whether major indices such as the Dow Jones or …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 09:22

  • Karma MBO confirmed

    Chandler at the helm as distie bought out of administration

    Andy Chandler today confirmed he would be the new skipper at the helm of Karma UK. Chandler expressed his surprise at the past few weeks' events, which saw the distributor dragged into administrative receivership in the wake of its sister companies CHS Electronics Plc and Metrologie. On Friday at 9pm, Chandler and an internal …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 09:27

  • Win2k smoke and mirrors – how MS is hiking OS prices

    Prices will be in line with NT, but a lot more people will have to buy Win2k...

    For reasons that aren't at the moment entirely clear, Microsoft has released prices for Windows 2000, although it was only the other day that the company said it wasn't going to do the big product rollout until 17th February. Ordinarily Microsoft releases the prices when the product itself is released. The data released so far …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 09:55

  • Bluetooth newsletter migrates to the Web

    Incisor teams up with IT Network

    Incisor, fount of most wisdom on Bluetooth, has discovered the joys of HTML. The free email newsletter has struck a deal with the IT Network which will see its content published on the Web for the first time. Give the Bluetooth Network a whirl, if you're interested in Bluetooth and/or cable replacement technology. In fact, why …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 09:57

  • Partisanship kills US e-signatures bill

    Lawmaking as election campaigning...again

    The US House of Representatives failed to pass a bill which would have given legal weight to electronic signatures, primarily due to party posturing in anticipation of the 2000 elections. Democrats were particularly loath to support the bill in the face of criticism that it could undermine consumer protections by enabling …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 11:00

  • Compaq hit with floppy drive lawsuit

    Copycat action alleges faulty drives have been used for years

    With Toshiba's blood still fresh on their hands, a group of Texas solicitors have hit Compaq with a similar lawsuit over faulty floppy disk drives. The lawyers, from Orgain, Bell & Tucker, filed the suit in the same federal court in Beaumont, Texas. They allege that Compaq has for years been selling PCs with defective floppy …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 11:31

  • Via-S3 unite in graphics deal

    What will Intel think of that?

    Chip maker VIA Technologies yesterday announced details of a closer union with US graphics chip designer S3, days after Intel stepped up its legal battle with the Taiwanese company. Under the terms of the deal, S3 and VIA will set up a joint venture, tentatively named S3-VIA inc, to produce chips combining their respective …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 11:44

  • Teledesic's McCaw to bail out ICO

    Paves way for merger

    Troubled satellite mobile phone service ICO Global Communications yesterday received a major financial shot in the arm, according to the Wall Street Journal. The investment, which could reach $1.2 billion, will come from Craig McCaw, one of the key investors in Teledesic, the satellite-based broadband networking company ICO now …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 12:02

  • Intel makes a pint of Guinness taste nicer

    Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink

    The San Jose Mercury News reminded us Sunday of our trip to Intel's Fab 11 in Albuquerque, one of its bigger plants which pumps out Pentium IIIs and a whole load of flash memory. The trouble with Albuquerque, as one of our tour guides pointed out to us earlier in the year, is that there isn't much water left. And because Intel …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 12:15

  • Stac edges back towards profit

    But it's a long while since its 15 minutes of fame...

    Stac has reported its Q4 results, with revenue for the quarter up 28 per cent on the year-earlier quarter, and 7 per cent on the previous quarter. Revenue increased quarter by quarter through the financial year. The net loss for continuing operations was $221,000, but after restructuring costs Stac would have been just in profit …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 12:18

  • Palm points to pints

    Heineken add-on helps even the most sozzled Palm user find more beer

    Having long billed itself as brewer of the beer that refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach, Heineken has finally figured out how to help you reach the bars other boozers cannot reach. The Dutch grog giant's system, dubbed BarTrek (ahem...), combines a Palm organiser and a GPS tracking system with an online database of …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 12:26

  • Y2K bug snacks on ComputerLand's profits

    Sales slump adds to tale of woe

    ComputerLand UK issued a profit warning yesterday, blaming poor product sales and delays over Y2K. The IT services company said that product sales in September and October had been lower than expected and would result in "disappointing" full-year results. This latest move added to a list of cautions ComputerLand has issued over …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 12:36

  • BT's cheap Net access deal is not so cheap

    This deal is so good you'd be better off with ADSL. Nice one BT

    BT is set to offer cut-price Net access to key public organisations as part of its bid to get Britain online. Libraries, Citizens Advice Bureaux and further education colleges have been earmarked to receive discounts on Net access charges of up to 50 per cent as part of the initiative. It builds on the Schools Internet Caller …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 12:53

  • Apple rebuts Dell's claim to education top spot

    It may still be number one, but Apple's own figures aren't inspiring either

    Riled by Dell's assertion that it had knocked Apple off the top US education PC vendor throne, the Mac maker yesterday claimed the direct supplier had got its sums wrong. Citing IDC numbers -- Dell used stats from Dataquest -- Apple claimed that it was still number one in the second calendar quarter of 1999, with a 22.2 per cent …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 12:54

  • SiS to provide backward Socket 370 compatibility

    Upgradeability an option from rival chipset vendor

    Intel may not want to have people to plug shiny new Coppermine processors into old socket 370 mobos, but sources claim such a solution is on the way from Taiwanese vendor SiS. According to reliable information received, SiS will build functions into its 630 chipset which will allow end users to swap freely between old Socket 370 …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 12:59

  • RealNetworks climbs down and says sorry over CD data

    But how many other companies are just a heartbeat from doing the same thing?

    RealNetworks has executed an almost instant cave-in following the storm over its surreptitious gathering of data on its customers music listening habits. The company's RealJukebox, it was revealed over the weekend, sends data to RealNetworks on the fly if a CD is being played while the user is connected to the Internet (see …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 13:17

  • Apple dashes to buy Raycer

    High-end 3D specialist to be bought for IP portfolio -- shades here of Intel's Real3D acquisition?

    Apple is to buy graphics chip designer Raycer for as much as $20 million, according to sources cited by US newswires. Given how much money Apple now has on paper thanks to its Akamai stake, it could easily afford to buy Raycer -- and a number of other technology companies besides. If the claims are accurate, it's a curious move …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 13:29

  • The quick guide to Register jargon

    Chipzilla, The Big Q, and the rest

    The Register has gained so many readers this year that we've prepared a rough guide to the jargon we use, after receiving a couple of emails asking us what words like Chipzilla and The Big Q mean. Beast of Redmond, The Microsoft. 'Nuff (enough) said. Caminogate Camino was Intel's codename for the i820 chipset. The "gate" suffix …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 13:30

  • Computer controlled houses go on the market

    Switch your heating on via the Web, get chased round the bedroom by your Hoover

    Where is the centre of wired Britain? Scotland's Silicon Glen, Cambridgeshire's Silicon Fen? Nah -- it's Watford, innit. Strange but true, Watford is the location for an estate of high-tech houses. All the appliances are connected to a central computer, allowing its occupants to control their environment remotely, should they …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 13:52

  • Daewoo overhaul sees founder go

    Twelve presidents also resign

    An emergency bloodletting plan for the troubled Daewoo Group has seen the resignations of its founder Kim Woo-choong, after 30 years with the company, and the presidents of 12 Daewoo affiliates. The group was brought to its knees by the Asian economic crisis, which hit soon after Daewoo had over-borrowed to fund expansion. The …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 14:31

  • CFO's poor show causes IBM demotion

    Sales and support role for the not-so-Maine man

    The CFO of IBM has been demoted following the company's shock third quarter results two weeks ago. Douglas Maine has taken the blame for the poor results, which caused the largest single-day drop in Big Blue's share price since Lou Gerstner was brought in as CEO to reverse the giant's fortunes. Maine will lose his senior VP …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 14:32

  • When it rains it pours: Taiwan hit again

    The third major earthquake in just over a month -- IT stocks fall

    Taiwan was hit but yet another earthquake this morning, making it the third since 21 September. Measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, the quake hit the island's east coast in the early hours of the morning. In contrast to the previous two major earthquakes, the quake has caused little damage and no casualties have been reported. …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 14:38

  • NEC follows Tosh, Compaq into Texas legal wrangle

    Lawyers from the Lone Star State take on IT giants

    NEC has become the third major PC company in less than a week to be sued in Texas. The Japanese chipmaker faces a similar lawsuit to Toshiba, which led to it paying out over $1 billion last week, and Compaq. The same law firm, Texas-based Orgain, Bell & Tucker, has brought the lawsuits against all three vendors. It claims that …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 14:54

  • Hackers tax the stupid

    What a great idea

    Romanian pranksters have hacked into a government Web site to levy a tax on the stupid. The group broke through top level security at the Romanian finance ministry's site to change government information. One of their alterations included placing a tax on stupidity. And the more important the person, the higher the tax. The cash …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 16:10

  • UK ISPs play the numbers game

    Who's in and who's out, who's hot and who's not

    Britain's largest independent ISP, Internet Technology Group (ITG), has attracted more than 150,000 Net users in the last two months, the company said today. Thanks to the recent launch of new branded ISP services, including Waitrose.com and Freenetname, ITG now boasts more than 300,000 Net users. By contrast, Cheshire-based …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 16:14

  • AMD warns it may take charge for Q4

    Needs more revenues from top-end Athlon line

    Documents AMD has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission are warning that the firm may be forced to take a restructuring charge for its fourth quarter. According to news service CNN, AMD has managed to reduce expenses but is still failing to make enough money from sales of its microprocessors. That is despite …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 16:40

  • i820 pushed back to week 48; Amador emerges

    Will PC vendors really sell such a limited mobo?

    Almost every day for the last two weeks we've been forced to write a story about Rambus and the famous i820 chip debacle. But we've got a new codename and some hard information. We vowed we wouldn't, today, but a snippet of information came our way which has big implications for the entire industry. First, it now appears that a …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 17:16

  • LinuxOne takes more than a leaf out of Red Hat's book

    Linux activist Rick Moen takes a closer look at the controversial distribution

    Back in September, The Register reported on the upcoming IPO of a new Linux distributor called LinuxOne. Everyone knows that doing an IPO with nothing to show on the profit front is now commonplace, but LinuxOne appeared to be taking that to its logical conclusion IPO-ing without a product. Since then we've received emails from …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 17:43

  • Amiga US goes silent – has Gateway shut it down?

    Even staffers can't reach senior execs, apparently

    Gateway may have finally pulled the plug on its Amiga subsidiary -- at least in its US incarnation -- if attempts by members of the Amiga user community to contact the company are anything to go by. According to Amiga community members, all attempts to contact the Amiga, inc. have been repelled, usually with "this number has …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 17:50

  • US Senator denounces the ‘IT Revolution’

    America is broke, really....

    US Senator Fritz Hollings (D--South Carolina) had a nice rant today on the Senate floor about the grossly exaggerated importance of information technology to the US economy. Citing an article in this week's Economist, which he submitted for the record, Hollings loudly denounced the false hopes American businesses and politicians …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 19:09

  • Xerox gunman kills seven

    Updated Suspect surrenders after co-workers executed in warehouse

    The man wanted by Hawaii police in connection with the killing of seven employees at the Xerox warehouse in Honolulu has given himself up. The man, named as Byron Uesugi, was said to be a copy machine repairman at Xerox -- the seven confirmed dead were all members of his work crew. All seven were men, they had been shot with a …

    Business 2 Nov 1999, 19:48