13th June 2000 Archive

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Thunderbird re-marking starts in Taiwan

Taipei Let the buyer beware

Sources here said that re-marking of Athlon Thunderbirds has already started here in Taiwan, barely a week after AMD launched the products. According to the same sources, widespread re-marking of T'bird product is underway, especially given that supplies of the product are at a premium right now. Only one month ago, AMD …

Channel 13 Jun 2000, 00:52
Bill Gates says nothing… at great length

WCIT 2000 But Michael Cowpland has plenty to say

His Billness lived up to his Register nickname today as he flew into Taipei International causing havoc in the airport and then breezed into the International Convention Centre to the sound of snapper's flash bulbs flashing and video cameras whirring furiously. More seasoned hacks sharpened their pencils hoping he'd actually …

Software 13 Jun 2000, 02:11
Microsoft software ‘like heroin addiction’ – Red Hat

WCIT 2000 Rob Young shows off red socks at Q&A

After his keynote speech, Rob Young met the press and was perfectly happy to field questions about Microsoft and the industry, as the following questions and plangent answers show. Q Would a split off Microsoft applications division port apps to Linux? A With Microsoft and the son of Microsoft, an applications company would no …

Software 13 Jun 2000, 03:29
Dell dithers over Win2K driver

Thousands stranded in NT4 wilderness

Thousands of Dell customers are still waiting for their Windows 2000 upgrade - four months after Microsoft launched the operating system. The delays concern drivers needed for the Texas company's NT4 workstations. According to Dell, there have been "delays in a number of drivers" from certain third party vendors, which Dell …

Business 13 Jun 2000, 06:13
MPEG-4 progress prompts Apple, Real collaboration

But streaming media still needs its Apache

With a blizzard of recent activity around the open MPEG-4 standard, Apple and Real took the stage at the Streaming Media East show in New York to announce closer co-operation. Right now Real Networks, Apple and Microsoft are slugging it out with their own proprietary formats, with Real claiming the lion's share of the Internet' …

Business 13 Jun 2000, 06:13
DoJ, MS wrangle over road to appeal

MS on Trial Gamesmanship still well to the fore...

Microsoft's Motion for a stay in the Final Judgement has been robustly criticised by the DoJ on two main grounds: it "fails entirely to make any of the showings required to obtain such a stay"; and Microsoft's delay in filing its notice of appeal was "simply an attempt to manipulate the Court and thwart the operation of the …

Software 13 Jun 2000, 09:01
Gates speaks out on Microsoft-DoJ case

Taipei I won't ever have to decide which Microsoft I work for

Microsoft's Bill Gates held a press conference for the Taiwanese press this afternoon and was a lot more forthcoming than he had been earlier in the day (see separate story) at the World IT Congress on the implications of the US versus Microsoft. Gates described the DoJ case as "misguided" and compared it to the Apple versus …

Software 13 Jun 2000, 09:22
ITN hacked in email raid

Well, it's one way to hit the headlines

ITN became the victim of a malicious hacker last weekend after someone broke into its email system and sent out an offensive communiqu. The substance of the email, sent to thousands of people on its ITN Desktop news email distribution list, was short, but to the point. "We are one step closer to finding you, you little f**ker …

Business 13 Jun 2000, 09:24
Computacenter issues profit warning

Y2K dragging on...

Computacenter has issued a profit warning due to slower than expected recovery from Y2K. The UK's biggest reseller said profits were in line with the company's expectations in the first quarter, but "we are seeing a shortfall relative to budget in Q2". It anticipates "the delayed recovery will affect Q3, albeit to a lesser …

Business 13 Jun 2000, 09:50
Cahoot: Another online launch fails to anticipate customer interest

The good news is, accounts with interest free overdrafts are still there for the taking...

Cahoot, Abbey National's new online bank crashed only hours after yesterday's launch and was only accessible intermittently throughout the day. The online bank cost Abbey National £200 million to set up after much hyped investment in 'superior technology' that still failed on the day. The bank has so far had no explanation for …

Music and Media 13 Jun 2000, 10:10
Citrix takes a whack on Wall Street

Truck hits stock after expectations lowered

Citrix' share price fell 46 per cent yesterday on fire-sale volume, after it lowered expectations for its quarter ending 30 June. Revenue is expected to be $105-110 for the quarter, compared with $94 million a year ago, but earnings per share are forecast at 9-11 cents, compared with 16 cents a year earlier. The reasons, Citrix …

Software 13 Jun 2000, 12:00
Cableco cuts cable

More gremlins at Blueyonder

Blueyonder punters have endured further network problems after someone cut a major cable on Friday. The incident happened around Friday lunchtime. The cable was one of the main links between Croydon and Telehouse, the telecoms hub in central London. A statement issued by Blueyonder on Friday read: "We have been informed by our …

Data Networking 13 Jun 2000, 12:01
The-bullet.com runs out of ammo

Staff get caught in the crossfire

The-bullet.com, the online mag for "new media people" , is ceasing day-to-day operations. It is set to shut up shop later today before undergoing a period of restructuring brought about by "market conditions". Founder Jo Monroe was in sombre mood this morning as she confirmed that staff had been sent home on full pay and that …

Bootnotes 13 Jun 2000, 13:10
RealNetworks licenses Apple's QuickTime

Steve Jobs does the maths: wider QuickTime use + RealNetworks recognition - M$ = more Mac sales

RealNetworks yesterday said it has licensed Apple's rival QuickTime streaming technology, A peculiar team-up, you might think, given the way Apple has been pushing QuickTime and its streaming media service, QuickTime TV, against RealNetworks rather than its other competitor, Microsoft. But as Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at the …

Music and Media 13 Jun 2000, 14:30
Is Intel at end of the chipset road?

Computex 2000 PC-133 u-turn too little too late

While Intel's power over the mighty Taiwanese motherboard market is still mighty, many third parties are asking whether the firm has a future in the chipset business. A large number of major Taiwanese firms showed mobos using the 815e (Solano II) chipset when the Computex show opened last Monday, but enthusiasm for Intel's …

Channel 13 Jun 2000, 15:15
England loses, bookies win

Euro 2000: online gambling companies must think it is Christmas.

Betting site Betfair.com, which timed its launch to coincide with Euro 2000, got off to a better start than England. The site hosts person to person bets. Yesterday just under 400 wagers were placed on the England-Portugal game totalling £16,000. Mark Davies, a spokesman for Betfair, said he was pleased with the day's trading …

Music and Media 13 Jun 2000, 15:18
SCO to enter Linux distro business

Big announcement coming this week, apparently

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em - a maxim which almost certainly explains why veteran Unix-on-Intel provider SCO is about to offer its own Linux distribution. According to a Network World report, SCO will unveil its distro later this week. It's a canny move, and one that should worry existing Linux distributors and service …

Software 13 Jun 2000, 15:25
Gates and Allen cash in shares

Just in case...

Despite Bill Gates' assertion that Microsoft will never split, he has been offloading shares at quite a rate. Both he and co-founder, Paul Allen both sold a large number of shares in the run up to the court decision to split the company last week. Gates may have to get rid ofl even more of his stake in the company if it is …

Business 13 Jun 2000, 16:10
Michael Dell takes The Register out to lunch

Waxes lyrical on Win2K driver delays and who he wants to buy in Europe

Billionaire Michael Dell today labelled some of his component suppliers "irresponsible" over delays on Windows 2000 drivers. "Either these companies didn't believe it (the Win2K operating system) would happen, or they didn't realise it would be as important as it is," the PC vendor founder told journalists while lunching at …

Business 13 Jun 2000, 16:21
Compaq gets new UK MD

McNally could revert to sweeper position

Compaq today unveiled plans to promote its UK MD Joe McNally to chairman for the region. But his replacement won't report to him. McNally founded the vendor's UK and Ireland operation 16 years ago. His replacement is Rene Schuster - currently CEO of consumer industrial markets and a senior partner at KPMG Management Consulting …

Business 13 Jun 2000, 16:29
Hard drives with nuke secrets vanish from Los Alamos

With government security like this, who needs terrorists?

In an earlier story we noted that the Clinton Administration, having buckled to an hysterical fear of terrorism, has initiated some of the most spectacular domestic and foreign snooping schemes in US history, easily putting to shame such notable neurotics as Richard Nixon. But evidence is mounting that significant threats to US …

Music and Media 13 Jun 2000, 17:50
MS roadmaps Bluetooth into Whistler, Intel does work

Didn't this happen with Windows 98?

The old Wintel team's talents for news management haven't dulled, as today's Bluetooth announcement makes clear. Intel and Microsoft have announced they'll be developing a roadmap for native Bluetooth support in Windows, and they use this as an opportunity to tell us stacks of stuff we already know - if we've been paying …

Software 13 Jun 2000, 18:16