31st January 2000 Archive

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Kinder, gentler NSA admits human frailties

Yuckk....we much preferred the hard-ass routine

An admission by the US National Security Agency (NSA) that its computer networks were crippled for three days last week is a puzzling development for an organisation normally loath to admit so much as its own existence. Nevertheless, the agency issued a press release on Saturday admitting that its systems were down for three …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 07:57
System builders take brunt of Intel PIII shortages

Shortage, what shortage?

The shortage of Pentium III microprocessors is set to hit system builders worldwide, as more distributors report their February backlog of box processors is being slashed and burnt. Last week, we reported that a major European distributor complained bitterly that it had been told 13,000 boxed units of Pentium IIIs that it …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 09:16
Bill Gates shot my Shark, says Ellison (again)

Beast of Redmond totally responsible for NC flop, not Oracle's fault at all, honest...

Oracle boss Larry Ellison has repeated claims that Bill Gates personally intervened to stop Digital's development of an NC, codenamed Shark. Answering a question at Upside's Showcase in Palm Springs, Ellison said that the Network Computer concept hadn't taken off because Bill Gates called Bob Palmer, then Digital CEO, and told …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 09:36
Psion, Motorola to co-develop Symbian Internet devices

One day, the Symbian boys will stop agreeing for long enough to actually build something...

Motorola has finally made a public commitment to developing devices based on Symbian's EPOC. Psion today revealed that it has signed an agreement with Motorola to co-develop a range of mobile Internet access devices, for launch in the first half of 2001. Although both companies are founder shareholders of Symbian (Motorola was …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 09:39
Camino chipset poses new lamps for old question

Where does the new i820 leave Solano II

Intel is keeping its card close to its corporate chest on when it will roll out its Solano II chipset, following the news last week that it will produce a combined DIMM-RIMM i820 in the very new future. Solano II (i815) is designed to support PC-133 memory, and according to our information will also have additional AGP4X …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 11:54
Full CTS 2000 coverage

intro

Register coverage from CTS 2000 Inside-IT opens channel portal Maxdata goes on a VAR hunt MS unveils Win2K anti-piracy tools Avnet plans European invasion

Business 31 Jan 2000, 12:05
CTS 2001 already 50% booked

Round-up of the highlights of last week's show

The build up to the Computer Trade Show 2000 may have created a lot of channel flannel, but organisers iMark have already filled nearly half of next year's floor space with exhibitor bookings. Among those making announcements at CTS 2000 were Fujitsu Siemens, which has signed up Hampshire distributor AGP to sell its motherboards …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 12:33
Sega plans high-speed cable TV Dreamcast Net access

Desperate attempt to compete with Sony's PlayStation 2?

An a belated attempt to catch up with rival Sony, Sega is partnering with 30 Japanese cable TV companies to bring broadband Net access to its Dreamcast games console. According to reports in Japanese business paper the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, the 30 cable companies -- who together cover 70 per cent of Japan's cable TV viewers, in …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 12:53
IT exec left brain dead in bar attack

Visit to Beijing show ends in tragedy

A Silicon Valley entrepreneur was beaten unconscious and left for dead in a Beijing karaoke bar just hours after attending an IT conference in the city. Steven Leung was declared brain dead after being found slumped over a table in the An Ka bar and dance hall in downtown Beijing. Leung, a top exec at chip maker Scenix and …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 13:14
Palm sets sights on $368 million (minimum) IPO

Projected $16 share price will value company at $9.1 billion

Palm Computing gave out a little more information on its upcoming IPO on Friday when it made its latest filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the filing, Palm's parent, 3Com, intends to issue 23 million shares in its subsidiary, previously revealed to amount to around four per cent of the company. …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 13:27
How Rambus lost the PC memory war

Analysis Memory manufacturers would not be bumped

You would expect Hyundai's controversial statement that DDR will hog the memory market for servers this year, followed by an estimate from Semico that Rambus memory will hold only a tiny fraction of the market by the year 2003, would dent its share price. But there's no accounting for investors, is there? On Friday Rambus Ink ( …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 13:34
MS enforces Win2k TS licensing via Web ‘Clearinghouse’

Makes sure Terminal Services users have all paid the licence fee

A new, largely unnoticed feature of Windows 2000 takes control of client licensing out of the hands of network administrators, and transfers it to Microsoft. The new system only applies to client licensing within Terminal Services for Windows 2000, but as Microsoft gets deeper into the application rental/services business, it …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 13:49
Gates rules out outright MS purchase of content companies

Co-op deals possible, and minority stakes still seem likely

Microsoft will not own "50 percent or 100 percent in businesses that are primarily driven by content activities", Bill Gates said in Davos, where he is attending the World Economic Forum. But co-operation agreements were possible, he said. Bernard Vergnes, chairman of Microsoft Europe expanded a little, and suggested that the …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 13:57
Compaq eyes 50% Net sales

Slashes prices on Deskpro range

Compaq has outlined plans for almost half of its corporate PC sales to be direct by Q4, while slashing prices on its business desktops. The vendor today cut prices by up to a third on its Deskpro EP, EN and Workstation AP lines, including discounts of 19 per cent on the 550MHz EP, 20 per cent on the Workstation AP250, and 30 per …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 16:19
Intel to go for McKinley before Itanium-Merced

Updated Clock speeds on Itanium don't match chip needs

Chipzilla's follow up to the Merced-Itanium platform, McKinley, is likely to beat its predecessor to the market, informed sources told The Register late today. This, however, is something that Intel absolutely rebuts, according to a company representative who claimed that the Itanium processor is "absolutely on schedule". He …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 16:26
MS-backed trade group backs MS with trial brief

MS on Trial All getting a little circular, we reckon...

The Washington-based Association for Competitive Technology (ACT), an industry lobbying group, has confirmed that it will be filing the amicus curiae (friend of court) brief on Microsoft's behalf this week. Judge Jackson is also expecting a similar brief on the DoJ's behalf. ACT most definitely swings the Microsoft way. When …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 16:34
Merry Quip cocks snook at telco cowboys

Yee-hah! BT's cut-price outfit goes gunning for competition

BT has entered the cut-price telco market in a bid to compete with the "cowboys" currently rustling up customers in Britain. Milton Keynes-based Quip is an Internet-based joint venture backed by majority stakeholder BT, along with Unisys and Bank of Scotland. Like other low-cost telco services, Quip can undercut the likes of BT …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 16:51
MS sells stake in SCO, and a chapter closes

A long time ago, Bill Gates said 'Dos 2.0 is the bridge to Xenix.' Not a lot of people know that...

Microsoft has apparently sold its entire 12.3 percent holding in SCO. The indication on SEC Form 144 is that the sale took place around 12 January, with Goldman Sachs acting for Microsoft. Strictly speaking, the filing is an indication of a proposal to sell, and not a definitive notice. The timing of the sale is certainly …

Business 31 Jan 2000, 19:43