1st December 1999 Archive

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Tongue-in-cheek Y2k coverage

We're taking this very seriously, honest…

More Millennium madness Chinese government disputes Register story Y2K bug smokes Fire station like a kipper Millennial round-up: bug fever begins Bug busting book to save UK US, Russian militaries join hands for Y2K horror Y2K bug eats Japanese PM's backbone Y2K bug eats London's electricity Y2KY jelly eases passage of date …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 08:29
The global guide to Y2K survival

Koreans run to the hills, Kiwis light up a Bar-B -- each to their own

December is upon us and our thoughts turn to all things seasonal - sherry, tarts, balls, stuffing, turkey and all the trimmings. But let's not forget that if you're planning to stock up on a few essentials in case you get bitten by our old friend the Y2k bug - the millennium ebola, or Mebola to his closest friends - time is …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 08:31
Bill Clinton offers on-line shopping tips

Gigolo-in-Chief bonking Martha Stewart now?

In a most appalling display of commercial evangelism, US President Bill Clinton addressed his people last weekend with a Thanksgiving message devoted entirely to extolling the sacred blessings of consumerism and to sharing tips for indulging this national obsession via the Web. His opening blurb was startling, fairly associating …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 10:12
City Connections MD pulls our leg

Head of new ISP is a real scream

The MD of new ISP City Connections appears to have an identity crisis. Operations manager Tim Smith sent out an email yesterday announcing that ISP City Connections had launched its service on Monday. So The Register called Smith to discuss the details of the service. "Hi, can I speak to Tim Smith, please. "Speaking." "Great, my …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 11:00
815 comes alive with PC-133 support

Leaked chart shows Intel serious about i810e complaints

A chart on a French hardware site has confirmed our report in early November that Intel is adapting its 815 (Solano) chipset to give better support for AGP. The chart, which can be found here, shows that the 815 chipset is an evolution of Intel's current i810e chipset, as we reported. According to the site, Intel will introduce …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 11:07
Is this the Future? PwC's Team of Champions

What's the secret of a successful e-business launch?

The secret, if you're PricewaterhouseCoopers*, it's epileptic video, a techno soundtrack and a riveting combo of talent on the stage. Of course, getting Sun and Microsoft to share a podium without bloodshed is probably an achievement worth trumpeting, even if their seats were separated by the head of ad agency BAM/SSB. The …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 11:13
Be preps BeOS-in-Windows ‘Trojan Horse’

Trial version coming soon, says CEO Gassee

Alternative OS developer Be is preparing a version of its BeOS that operates as an application under Windows - described by the company's CEO, Jean-Louis Gassee as "the ultimate Trojan Horse". Gassee told TechWeek, that the program was being developed to counter Microsoft's insistence that PC vendors are not allowed to offer …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 11:34
Apple stock passes $100 milestone

Wall Street anticipates further rises

Apple's ever-increasing share price nudged past the $100 mark in trading yesterday, hitting a peak of $103.75 before closing the day down at $97.375. Apple's stock has been edging upwards from around the $40 mark since April, and despite a few dips has maintained steady growth over that period. Analysts were quick to upgrade …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 11:53
Hacks at Register demand Yule freebies

Eighteen cans of London Pride not good enough

One of our regular readers has brought to our attention that some Web journalists, at least, are being showered with Yuletide presents. We regret to say we are not, with one noticeable exception, which we will return to later. Janelle Brown at Salon, writes that she is the most popular girl in Cyberspace, and reports that "every …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 11:54
Information Highway cripples roads

Digging for IP victory

Kent County Council is calling for more powers to control roadworks, following chaos in the county caused by a Fujitsu-"managed" telephony cable-laying programme. In a letter to local Kent newspapers, councillors Sarah Hohler and Richard King accused Fujitsu of creating problems in the county as a "result of tight timetables …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 12:47
Work stopped at Microworkz?

Updated It's closed, says founder.

What's going on at controversial budget PC supplier Microworkz? Earlier this month, company founder Rick Latman told PC World magazine that Microworkz had become just a software company, but now it appears that it's not even that. The company's website now sports nothing but a Microworkz logo - the page doesn't even have a …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 12:52
Cyber anarchists fail to rock City

No sign of anti-capitalism hack attacks

The City of London escaped a major cyber attack yesterday despite fears that the financial centre was the focus of an orchestrated assault by disaffected hackers. While anarchists demonstrating against capitalism trashed Seattle and parts of London, a similar onslaught against computer systems failed to materialise. However, …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 13:01
Silence reigns as MS mediation talks begin

The spinmeisters that didn't bark...

Microsoft antitrust case mediator Judge Richard Posner held an exploratory meeting in Chicago yesterday, but although the intended 'secret' location was tracked by the press, nothing about the proceedings seems to have leaked out yet. This apparent absence of spin could in itself be a good sign for a settlement. Posner has been …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 13:02
Corel chief denies Red Hat takeover bid

Cowpland happily looks forward to good times coming

Corel chairman Mike Cowpland has poured cold water on the rumour that his company was being stalked by Red Hat, adding somewhat improbably that it was Corel's new product announcements that sent its stock soaring, rather than Red Hat's alleged interest. Instead, Cowpland expects increased revenue to be feeding through soon, and …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 13:04
DRAM spot price slide continues

30-day average falls for fourth week in a row

The 30-day average spot price for 64Mb DRAM has fallen for the fourth week in a row. So too has the price for PC100 64MB DIMMs, taking the price of such parts to the point they'd reach just before September's Taiwan earthquake, according to market researcher ICIS-LOR, cited by Japan's Nikkei newswire. Between 14 October and 12 …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 13:12
WAP demand to hit warp ten claim supporters

Demand for WAP handset "unprecedented", says Nokia boss

Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) supporters Nokia and Phone.com are claiming that demand for WAP, a technology that allows mobile phones to access the Web, is set to skyrocket. Jorma Ollila, cellphone vendor Nokia's chairman and chief executive, said this week the company had shipped over 100,000 WAP phones since the end of …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 13:32
Microsoft officially joins Bluetooth alliance

With 3Com, Lucent and Motorola in tow. Why's Motorola always late for these things?

Microsoft has finally come out as a full-fledged supporter of Bluetooth, and as a top table member of an expanded Bluetooth steering group. Four new companies in all, Microsoft, 3Com, Lucent and Motorola, have been added to the original group of five founders, forming a new "Bluetooth Promoter Group." An announcement that …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 13:59
Online porn to be pulled off the Web?

Canadian Net firm plans porno ghetto

A Canadian Internet company wants to clear the Web of porn by creating a new regulated network that prevents children and others from accidentally stumbling across adult material. If successful, it would ghettoise porn into a sealed-off area accessible only by those who actively chose to interact with the adult material. It's …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 14:25
Siemens German digital signature chip hacked

Major security alert underway

Hackers have succeeded in cracking the Siemens digital signature card used in cashless payment systems and access control systems across the country. The German Digital Signature was ratified by the European Union only a few days ago, after intense lobbying for a secure system for transactions. The serious breach of security …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 16:19
Intel, now Dell acknowledge Coppermine bug

Updated Erratum to be fixed in next stepping, tightening procedures

Chip giant Intel has confirmed that it found a bug (erratum) in its .18 micron Coppermine processor which has caused it to tighten up its quality control procedures. And now Dell US has confirmed that it has put a temporary stop on shipping its GX110 PC range because of the problem. Some Coppermine processors intermittently …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 16:45
Gateway to start shipping Athlon PCs this week

Another crack in the all-Intel façade

We have now received information from highly placed sources within Gateway confirming that it will sell PCs using AMD's Athlon processors. According to our source, the first sample machines using the Athlon processor will start shipping during the course of this week. That represents a major victory for AMD in its current battle …

Business 1 Dec 1999, 17:16