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11th January 2000 Archive

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  • Taiwan rubs hands in PC glee for 2000

    Analysis But LCDs likely the island's Achilles heel

    While last year was a marvellous one for Taiwan's high-tech companies, this year may be even better. The September 21st earthquake halted production for days, costing billions, but it also underlined Taiwan’s importance as a key link in the global electronics supply chain. Multinationals like Hewlett Packard used the hiccough in …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 08:15

  • No WD involvement in Presario freeze-ups

    But system resources a catch-all term

    Hard drive manufacturer Western Digital told The Register today that system freeze-ups which occur with Compaq Presario systems are unrelated to any of its products. Compaq's take on the freeze now appears to be that the problem is one of Windows resources, and is not hardware related. A representative from Western Digital said …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 08:48

  • Sun, SCO, Novell, Citrix put bucks into Caldera

    Suddenly we're everybody's friend...

    Caldera Systems has received a $30 million investment from Sun, SCO, Citrix, Novell, Egan Managed Capital, and Chicago Venture Partners. Sun's move is seen to be a positive acceptance that Linux is less harmful to Sun's future than Windows, and that when it comes to performance, Sun still expects Solaris to shine. The non- …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 09:15

  • Fresh from triumph over MS, Caldera files for IPO

    The timing can only be a happy coincidence, however

    Caldera will use the Microsoft settlement money primarily for acquisitions, development and marketing, according to Lyle Ball, VP of marketing and communications at Lineo, the Caldera Inc operating company concerned with embedded clients based on Linux (Embedix) and DR-DOS. There has been a strategic move to keep the Microsoft …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 09:18

  • MS pays up to settle on eve of Caldera antitrust trial

    MS on Trial But it'll take a while to figure out how much, and what the terms are

    Caldera and Microsoft announced a settlement of their antitrust battle late yesterday. Caldera's private action against Microsoft, centred on DR-DOS, had been scheduled to go to trial on 1 February. A minimalist and obscurantist masterpiece of a press release released in Salt lake City, but carefully-crafted by the most …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 09:20

  • AMD workstation push will bug Intel

    Commercial market an endgame for Athlon

    While most reports yesterday focused on Gateway's decision to use Athlon processors in some of its PCs, an announcement AMD made at the same time probably has more significance for the market and Intel generally. A release from AMD said that US manufacturer Pionex will use the 800MHz Athlon in a range of commercial desktops and …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 09:20

  • NT for Alpha still a goer…

    It's a portability exercise, insiders claim

    Indications that Microsoft programmers are still doing builds of Windows NT for the Alpha platform are correct, insiders at Microsoft US have revealed. A source at Redmond, who did not wish to be named, said that ever since Compaq "pulled the plug" on the OS for the 64-bit microprocessor, work had continued at Microsoft. He said …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 10:55

  • Taiwan aims 1000 viruses at China

    Ready to repel an IT attack from the mainland

    The Taiwanese authorities are ready to wage an all-out cyber war with mainland China and have developed 1,000 computer viruses to deploy in the event of an IT attack. The Taiwanese military fears that its old foe may try and disable the island's computer network after Chinese hackers targeted a number of Taiwanese government Web …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 11:29

  • The Net is a deadly poison say rabbis

    Ultra-orthodox council wants the Web thrown out of Jewish homes

    Leading Israeli rabbis have banned the Internet from Jewish homes after dubbing it a thousand times more dangerous than TV. The ultra-orthodox Council of Torah Sages signed the ruling, which also slammed computers, CD players and films, calling the Web the "world's leading cause of temptation." "It incites and encourages sin and …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 12:06

  • 3Com hit by Mickey Mouse lawsuit

    Row breaks out over video kit bundling

    3Com is facing legal action from Disney over an alleged breach of contract. The networking vendor yesterday admitted it was being sued after details of the suit emerged through its latest quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The lawsuit was filed on 4 November in Los Angeles County by Disney …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 12:56

  • Credit card Y2K bug could hit UK

    Check your Visa, Mastercard bills very carefully

    German magazine c't is reporting that a problem with Cybercash's IVerify software could cause owners of Visa and Mastercards to get billed twice. The problem, the magazine reports, could cause debits to be recorded twice, and has happened because Cybercash has failed to install Y2K patches in its software. c't also says that …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 13:02

  • UMC rumoured to take over little SiS

    But little SiS does not want big brother

    Chipset manufacturer SiS is denying reports published in Taiwan that UMC, one of the country's larger semiconductor foundries is interested in acquiring it. The speculation was fostered after TSMC snapped up a rival foundry, WSMC, at the end of last week. UMC is second only to TSMC in size on the island. SiS, amongst other …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 13:18

  • EC busts five states over data protection

    Ignore Euro directives at your peril

    The European Commission is taking five EU member states to court for not implementing data protection rules. France, Ireland, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands will all go before the European Court of Justice. They are accused of not implementing an EU directive on protection of personal data, the Commission said today. …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 14:04

  • Vodafone recruits IBM, Sun, Psion for mobile Internet

    UK wireless giant finally wakes up to Web, apparently...

    Wireless giant Vodafone Airtouch is to kick off a global wireless Internet service from the middle of this year, and has struck alliances with all the usual suspects (bar Microsoft, of course) in order to build what appears to boil down to a globally available portal. Henchpartners involved include IBM, the Sun-Netscape alliance …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 14:08

  • Half of UK schools are software pirates

    What, you mean you can't just copy it as often as you like...?

    Almost half the nation's schools are unwittingly using dodgy software. This shock revelation comes via a report from Microsoft, a well known software vendor that likes doing business with the education market. Half of all primary schools and one in four secondary schools claimed to be blissfully unaware that it was illegal to …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 16:08

  • UK chip designer seals financial mega-deal

    Went to USA for the dosh

    A Bristol entrepreneur, spurned by the UK, has netted £80 million for his chip business from a US firm. Gary Steele started analogue chip designer Microcosm Communications five years ago. On Friday, California-based conglomerate Conexant Systems snapped up the privately owned firm in a deal worth a stonking $128 million (£77.7 …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 16:08

  • Work hard for your spam bust

    Consumers do all the donkey work in opt-out offer

    The Direct Marketing Association has just christened a new website where consumers can register their email addresses to be removed from DMA member-company spam lists. The service, called e-Mail Preference Service (e-MPS), is free to consumers. The registration is straightforward, leaving consumers with the option of blocking …

    Business 11 Jan 2000, 22:02