22nd November 1999 Archive

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Mammoth computer found in closet in Australia

Boffins think we will see it browse again

Melbourne newspaper The Sunday Age is reporting that a computer weighing 2000 kilograms and an incredible 52 years old has been found in a dusty warehouse in Australia. This means a working computer has been discovered that is even older than veteran Register staffer Mike Magee. And, according to the newspaper, boffins are …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 08:34
AMD piles on Intel pressure with 750MHz Athlon

With price adjustments to put the boot in...

Sources close to AMD's plans have told The Register that it will introduce its 750MHz Athlon on the 29th of this month. That will be prefaced by a further bout of advertising from AMD on the 27th of this month, intended once more to contrast the performance and price of its Athlon processor against Intel's Pentium III. And to …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 09:56
Who the heck is… Judge Richard Posner?

MS on Trial And will Judge Jackson's mediator likely to do with Microsoft?

Judge Richard Posner, the mediator appointed by Judge Jackson, has become a very important figure in the Microsoft case, but unfortunately we shall hear very little indeed about what is discussed in his mediation meetings, since they will be private. Most likely they be held in Chicago, since he is Chief Judge of the 7th circuit …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 12:04
Alpha processor to sashay with chassis

API's steel case will hold 14 chips

The Samsung-led Alpha Processor Inc (API) consortium will tomorrow introduce a small footprint chassis for its UP 2000 mobo aimed at Linux clusters and render farms. (Is a render farm where mad cows are processed? Ed.) Each PowerRAC chassis will hold 14 API dual Alpha UP2000 mobos, giving a maximum capacity of 28GB of …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 12:09
What the heck is… the Chicago School?

MS on Trial Our Graham has the answer -- and explains its impact on the trial's outcome

We shall be hearing quite a bit about the so-called 'Chicago School' of antitrust law following Judge Jackson's appointment of the pro-Chicago School Judge Richard Posner as the mediator in the case, and the 'Post-Chicago School' Lawrence Lessig to write a brief on remedies. The Chicago School arose after John McGee's 1958 study …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 12:15
Who the heck is… Lawrence Lessig?

MS on Trial Re-appearing Law Prof no friend of Microsoft, it seems

Lawrence Lessig's reappearance in the Microsoft case is a complete surprise and certainly puts pressure on Microsoft to consider settlement very carefully. Bill Gates is likely to hold out to the very last moment, as he is extremely sensitive to criticism and losing face. As it is nearly two years since Lessig last appeared, we …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 12:33
DRAM tariff war called off

US and Taiwan reconsider anti-dumping taxes

Taiwan may back down on charging anti-dumping tariffs to US DRAM makers after a decision by the US last week to drop similar charges against Taiwanese firms. On Friday, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) said there was no reason to impose an anti-dumping tax on Taiwan DRAM imports. "US industry is neither materially …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 12:33
E-commerce Bill laid out

Government produces unnervingly good legislation

It's not often that you get to agree with politicians, but with the relocation of Part III of the e-commerce bill and the surprisingly candid summary of responses to its original draft, it seems as though Tony Blair may have come up trumps. The bill itself creates a public register and voluntary approval process for ecommerce …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 12:41
SMEs fear rising Net costs

BT research fails to soothe the nerves of worried businesses

Small businesses are shying away from using the Internet because of confusion about the different types of Internet accounts and an "unjustified fear of higher costs". That's just one of the conclusions of a survey published by BT which attempts to explain why 67 per cent of small businesses in Britain are still not hooked up to …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 12:49
Christmas virus will stuff your PC

Cooks your goose, drives you crackers... insert your favourite pun here...

Net users are being urged to be on their guard against a new virus that promises to deliver a nasty present on Christmas Day. According to California-based online virus doctor, Symantec, which issued the warning today, the payload of the W97M.Prilissa. A virus is much worse than receiving another pair of socks or a bottle of …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 13:07
Schroeder and Blair tussle over Vodafone bid

Not in my backyard, says German chancellor

Tony Blair has rebuked German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder for threatening to block Vodafone's bid for Mannesmann. Schroeder appeared to have forgotten the basic premise of European unity - non-regulation - by criticising Vodafone's £79 billion hostile bid for Mannesmann, saying it would destroy the "culture" of the German firm …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 13:19
RM makes the grade with latest figures

Schools reseller sees results benefit from government policies

Research Machines (RM) said today its soaring profits for the past year were due to government investment in IT in schools. The reseller, which specialises in the UK education sector, recorded pre-tax profit up 22 per cent to £12.3 million for the year ended 30 September 1999. Sales rose 24 per cent to £162.2 million, with …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 14:27
AMD wins must shiver Intel's timbers

Analysis If Gateway falls, will Dell be next?

There's definitely a breakaway faction amongst the top tier PC manufacturers and here at The Register we know only too well their names. They number not only Compaq, Fujitsu and Siemens amongst their ranks, but other, less volatile players who are in the top tier of the industry, and multinational companies with it. But these …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 16:19
Tech asset-stripper in line to buy Cray

Technology acquisition company wanted to spend $100m, now wants to spend much less

The name of the would-be owner of SGI's Cray Research supercomputer business unit has leaked out. According to Reuters, SGI has been talking to one Gores Technology Group for two months or more in the hope of agreeing on terms of sale. Gores appears to be a classic asset stripping venture, albeit with a technology bent. It buys …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 16:23
Fraudsters hold up e-commerce adoption

Consumers need reassurance before e-biz becomes e-whizz

Online security remains the main stumbling block to e-commerce, according to a new report from US e-business outfit CyberSource Corporation. Three quarters of those e-tailers questioned said sales would increase if consumers' fears about Net security could be allayed. A similar percentage said they expected that online fraud …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 16:24
Put your Web site up as loan collateral

Domains now equivalent to real estate

Internet domains are now considered real estate properties by the Industrial Bank of Korea, which will offer loans with the site as collateral. An eight-person group will review the domain and the bank will guarantee loans of up to 30 per cent of its assessed value. Those with a .com address can apply for up to 30 million Won (£ …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 16:29
Chinese government disputes Register story

We are Y2K compliant, says Kim Tschang-sup -- hmmm, says The Register

Despite our confident prediction that last Thursday would see a 737 plane crash as the kamikaze Chinese and Korean governments tested millennium bug compliance, officials have claimed otherwise. "We hereby declare the aviation systems of Korea and China Y2K-compliant after a successful joint test flight," said Chinese director- …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 16:52
Outage hits Amazon sites

Twenty minute blackout takes US & UK offline

Amazon.com closed its doors for around 20 minutes at around 1 am, Seattle time; Amazon.co.uk also disappeared at the same time (GMT) for a similar period. It's not known whether the synchronised downtime was planned or was due to something more sinister. A message on the Amazon.com site read: "We're sorry, but our Books, Music, …

Business 22 Nov 1999, 17:49