13th April 2000 Archive

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AMD's Athlon strategy pays off

Company bounces back with Intel-busting quarter

Semiconductor firm Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) made a net profit of $189.3 million on a turnover of $1.09 billion for its latest financial quarter, and attributed the profit surge to strong sales of both flash memory and its x86 Athlon microprocessor. The profit came in a quarter that is usually not the best for semiconductor …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 07:49
Rambus far from Rambust despite loss

It's a licence to print money

Licensing technology for Sony's PlayStation accounted for the bulk of Rambus revenues in its second financial quarter to 31 March, the firm said yesterday. Revenues, at $15.7 million for the quarter, were a record, but after taking into account employee stock option charges amounting to $171 million, the balance sheet showed a …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 08:10
Take The Reg SETI challenge

How fast is yours, Andrew Thomas asks?

Well, now I'm sorry I mentioned SETI in the first place. At least we now have definitive evidence that the strange alien creatures based in Hanger 20/22, Maddox Street have minds of their own. While the Denebian Slim Devil [read rather intelligent and thoughtful chap - Ed] M. Magee pours scorn on the 250,000 years of CPU time …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 08:19
WAP really is useful

RNID builds services for the deaf

As we all know/have been told, WAP is going to change the world forever. No doubt it will also have the fastest uptake ever with consumers (wait for those graphs) and wap.inc will be worth more than all the FTSE 100 companies together within a month. But while we can argue over the merits of buying a CD over a phone while …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 10:18
Babbage boffins build heavyweight printer

New device not ideal for mobile use

In a world fixated with time-to-market issues, it is refreshing to discover a newly launched printer that has been a mere 150 years in development. The London Science Museum has completed a mechanical printer originally designed by Charles Babbage as an output device for his Difference Engine, widely regarded to be the first …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 10:33
News Avatar speaks! (But what will be Ananova's first words?)

Deathless quotation wanted

The digipuppeteers pulling the strings of cybernewsreader Ananova are in a tizz trying to decide what her first words should be. Ananova will make its first newscast next week and those promoting the pixel person want it to say something apt in honour of such an occasion. That's why Net users are being urged to e-mail their …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 10:43
Martha Lane-Fox turned away from top London restaurant?

Mezzo dolto

One of Britain's top nouvou riche Web stars was looking sour-faced outside Soho trendy eating spot Mezzo's last night. Martha Lane-Fox was spotted leaving the restaurant empty-stomached after being made to wait at the reception desk for a full 30 minutes. It is not known if the dotcom millionairess, who was last year voted …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 10:49
Apple customises MacOS X for Wintellers

But that doesn't mean it's going out of its way to encourage them, OK?

An interesting snippet from MacOS Rumors: according to sources, Apple has been teasing would-be MacOS X on Intel licensees with customised start-up screens. That, suggests the site, is a sign that Apple is looking at licensing an x86 version of MacOS X seriously. Apple is, taking licensing seriously - it would be foolish not to …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 10:52
AOL.de found liable for online music piracy

Plans to appeal Bavarian state court's decision

A German company is demanding around $50,000 in damages after a court found America Online liable for online music piracy. A Bavarian state court in Munich yesterday ruled in favour of Hit Box Software and said ISP AOL was responsible for letting people swap bootleg music files on its service. Hit Box lawyer Stefan Ventroni said …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 10:56
BT McKinseyed in bid for world leadership

Reorganisation announced today

BT's been McKinseyed. The telco has announced details of a monster restructuring initiative it claims will enable it to become the "world leader in the next wave of the communications revolution". The plans include separating the UK fixed network business into wholesale and retail divisions. And in common with other large …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 11:12
Dell takes on full Palm line – almost

Colour IIIc curiously missing from company comment - is LCD shortage to blame?

Dell has extended its agreement with Palm to sell the full range of the PDA developer's products. Dell already offers the Palm III, IIIx and V models, and will now add the IIIe, IIIxe and Vx. The VII will be added to the line-up shortly, said Dell. Oddly, though, the company isn't offering the colour IIIc - at least, it hasn't …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 11:26
EPIC surveys state of global encryption and snooping

Analysis Documents regulations, relaxations

Efforts by governments to regulate encryption have largely been defeated, for three reasons: political action; a realisation that it was becoming increasingly impossible to enforce encryption controls; and most of all because of the rise of electronic commerce. The third annual report on the worldwide state of encryption, issued …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 12:14
Digital, yeah, Digital, gets fresh lease of life

Indian wing wants Euro, US market

We all thought Digital was dead, right? Well not in India. Digital India, which is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, and is 51 per cent owned by Compaq, told The Register today that it has opened offices in London and Vienna and in June will also open a Munich office. Som Mittel, president and CEO of Digital India (DI), said …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 12:29
DoJ MS trial lawyer spars with Judiciary Committee

MS on Trial But only a little bit...

Microsoft-related fireworks were thin on the ground yesterday, when DoJ antitrust chief Joel Klein and FTC chairman Robert Pitofsky were witnesses before the House Committee on the Judiciary. The oversight hearings on antitrust agencies weren't "a response to any particular event", as chairman Henry Hyde (Republican, Illinois) …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 12:54
Marmite online – Web site brings yeast extract to the masses

And other British culinary masterpieces

Two former soldiers have started a Web site to supply homesick expatriates with British fare. expatshopping.com offers all the home comforts of Britain, such as Tetley Teabags, Heinz Baked Beans and OK! Magazine, online. Launched this week, the site lists over 1500 brands at UK shop prices plus delivery charge. Ex-military …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 13:32
BT is completely seaworthy

Nothing in common with Titanic

BT has denied that today's announcement outlining major structural changes at the monster telco was little more than "rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic". Sir Peter Bonfield, BT's CE, was responding to a remark, which questioned the seaworthiness of the monster telco and its share price, which has pitched and yawed wildly …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 14:21
Intel Solano PC-133 chipset supplies to disappoint

i815 a niche product, manufacturers reckon

A boxed motherboard version of Intel's Solano II chipset, which utilises synchronous memory (SDRAM) is now unlikely to arrive until September or October this year, it has emerged. But in a further sign of channel alienation, it appears that major PC manufacturers will get mobos from Intel as early as June. The channel is already …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 14:44
Pirates named and shamed on Web

Substitute home page for offenders' sites to end software piracy as we know it. Apparently

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has masterminded a scheme to name and shame software pirates on the Web. It has created a substitute Web page to slap on sites it has closed down for selling unlicensed software. The page, set with a brick-like background, declares: "This site has been disabled by the Internet Service …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 14:54
Amazon.com, others hit by music download patent suit

Company claims e-tailer violated 1999 'try before you buy' patent

Little-known US company Intouch has claimed Amazon.com, Liquid Audio, Listen.com and a stack of other e-tailers and digital music companies have violated its patented concept of 'try before you buy' music samples. Intouch's patents, granted in 1993 and 1999 - the latter, granted on 5 October 1999, is the most relevant of the two …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 15:31
NASDAQ, Dow show ugly trend towards speculation

Update Investors sell anything that rallies

An ugly momentum is developing in both the tech-heavy NASDAQ and the blue-chip-rich Dow, with twitchy investors locking themselves into a cycle of buying anything that tumbles and selling anything that rallies. Things looked all right at midday on Thursday, however. Following a bitter day of losses on Wednesday, the NASDAQ …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 16:37
Bertie Ahern in £1m porn scandal, while Serbian hackers go haywire

Get off my demesne

Cybersquatting has found a new lease of life with the arrival of www.bertieahern.com (specialising in teenage girls in uncompromising positions) and a dedicated group of Serbian hackers going for big-name sites. Irish premier Bertie Ahern is none too plussed, and was forced to raise the issue in the Irish Parliament. The site( …

Business 13 Apr 2000, 21:12