3rd July 2000 Archive

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Exit Lane

Oracle didn't see this one coming

Larry Ellison has had to take on the role of company president as well as CEO, as Ray Lane quit the software giant unexpectedly last Friday. Oracle officials denied that his departure was related in any way to the recent so-called "Garbage Gate" affair. Industry watchers have suggested that it was surprising Lane's departure …

Business 3 Jul 2000, 09:05
Hack NASA and crash a shuttle

Now that's what we call a systems crash

The BBC's flagship news show, Panorama, is running yet another 'shock! Horror! We're all gonna die' expose of evil computer hackers. Tonight (Monday) at 2200GMT, the Beeb will reveal how the lives of space shuttle astronauts were put at risk by a hacker who zapped NASA's communications back in 1997. A British astronaut was on …

Music and Media 3 Jul 2000, 09:11
With version 4 shipped, Opera aims for expansion

Air supply looking healthy...

The release of the Opera 4 browser by Opera Software of Norway is a significant event because it is the first browser to do a decent job with cascading style sheets (which describe how documents are presented on screens). Those who have come to grief with Netscape's or Microsoft's efforts with CSS might care to try Opera. It's …

Software 3 Jul 2000, 09:24
Sony back on Connectix's case

Refiles patent suit against PlayStation emulator

Sony is back on the offensive against PlayStation emulator developer Connectix after last week dropping its patent violation suit against the software company. According to US newswires, Sony has refiled the suit. The reason for its behaviour? To bypass "procedural issues that may have been appealable", a Sony spokesman told …

Software 3 Jul 2000, 09:24
Utopia hackers crack Dreamcast anti-piracy code

Bog standard consoles will play copied games, claims group

Sega's Dreamcast games console has been cracked, a group of programmers called Utopia has claimed - and begun distributing copies games on the Net to prove it. Utopia's coders also released software that forces the console to play pirated games, something previously only possible through warranty busting hardware modifications …

Business 3 Jul 2000, 10:26
VIA goes ATA-100

Take me to the South Bridge

VIA Technologies is to support the ATA-100 hard disk drive interface in its new South Bridge chipsets. The ATA-100 open standard, developed by Quantum, increases the burst data transfer rate of hard drives to a maximum 100MB per second. VIA, Intel and other disk manufacturers support the new, with ATA-100 products and systems …

Business 3 Jul 2000, 10:42
Virgin to pump cyber-energy

Keep a close eye on your bills

Virgin Group is due to announce the launch of its online gas and electricity joint venture with London Electricity tomorrow. Branson's company will get a 75 per cent stake in Virgin Energy, while London Electricity - the UK arm of Electricite de France - will hold the remaining quarter. The venture, which will start with £15 …

Business 3 Jul 2000, 11:27
Oftel bites anti-competitive BT

Sleeping watchdog finally wakes up

It's difficult to know whether to feel angry, overjoyed or just plain relieved. Oftel, under heavy pressure, has finally started doing its job and said BT Cellnet is guilty of anti-competitive activity. The watchdog's investigation into mobile market concluded that BT Cellnet was abusing its hold on the sector by cross- …

Data Networking 3 Jul 2000, 11:42
MS break-up ‘serious threat’ to Linux firms

The perils of fair competition...

Breaking up Microsoft will prove to be very bad news for the some of the software company's most ardent opponents - most of whom, ironically, have been actively lobbying for the giant's break-up. That, at least, is what market research company IDC reckons. And it has a point. IDC's logic is based on the freedom of manoeuvre a …

Software 3 Jul 2000, 11:46
New Intel BIOS update – it works!

Boot times chopped too

When we wrote about Intel's new floppy-free BIOS update utility last week, we said we'd tell you how we got on. So we will. The new Express BIOS Update allows users to update the BIOS on an Intel VC820, D815EEA or MO810E mobo from within Windows. The utility is 1.2MB in size and can be downloaded from Intel's support Web site …

Business 3 Jul 2000, 12:27
Ideal nets M$ FPP contract

Joins exclusive distie gang

Ideal Hardware has become a distributor for Microsoft's full packaged product (FPP) and licensing. The Surrey-based company joins the software vendor's three FPP distributors in the UK: Computer 2000, Ingram Micro and Gem. Ideal already has a contract to ship Microsoft software to OEMs. Ideal, which is currently in the throes …

Business 3 Jul 2000, 12:51
Freeserve bosses hold onto their millions

Share option scheme scuppered T-Online deal

Share option friction and press leaks all played a part in the collapse of T-Online's £6 billion bid for Freeserve, the Dixons ISP boss claims. John Pluthero, Freeserve's 38-year-old CEO, told The Telegraph there were "a whole bunch" of reasons the deal bombed. Chief issue seems to have been Freeserve's share option scheme. All …

Business 3 Jul 2000, 13:12
Sony, Tokyu partner on broadband cable Net services

Paves way for high bandwidth PlayStation 2 digital content services

Sony's plan to put in place a broadband network capable of delivery high quality digital audio and video content to PlayStation 2 owners continues apace with Friday's signing of a network deal with Japanese cable TV company Tokyu Corp. The alliance will see Sony take a ten per cent stake in Tokyu's cable TV division, at a cost …

Data Networking 3 Jul 2000, 14:04
Survey Roundup: Guess what? The Net's getting bigger

Analysts discover Web is busier that it was

Not really much of a surprise, we know, but analysts seemed to have realised we've grown bored of daft predictions and have started producing some interesting stats. How many people in the UK are on the Internet? Over 10 million (a new high) according to MMXI. Forrester reckons there are even more - 19 million with access and …

Music and Media 3 Jul 2000, 14:52
Nokia gets £2 million of phones nicked

A job for the Essex fashion police

Thieves have stolen a shipment of Nokia mobile phones worth £2 million. Thirteen palettes of Nokia handsets were taken from the Securicor Omega distribution warehouse in Rainham, Essex on Saturday night. Three men broke into the building, attacked and tied up a security guard, then made off with the phones in a Securicor lorry …

Business 3 Jul 2000, 16:25
Durlacher falls on Net Imperative collapse

Deflating the Bubble Economy

(This story was filed first on 22 May, 2000) Net Imperative, a start-up online new media magazine backed by investment bank Durlacher, has called in the liquidators. Can't imagine why anyone would want to buy it. Aimed at the Internet finance community (borrowers and lenders) in Britain, this daily news service had no wit, no …

Business 3 Jul 2000, 16:38
Reg old foe becomes expert in another field

From the destruction of mankind to hard disk storage in one fell swoop

Professor Kevin Warwick - an old favourite here at The Reg - appears to have his switched his specialism from end-of-the-world rantings about cyborgs to the less sexy world of storage technology. For those unaware of Professor Warwick of Reading University, he became a high-profile figure here in the UK, talking about the …

Bootnotes 3 Jul 2000, 16:46
Today's top 100 e-businesses: tomorrow's death list?

Sportal is Euro-winner

Sportal is Europe's top privately-owned e-business, according to a Sunday Times e-league. Compiled by Bathwick Group, the e-league of Europe's top 100 private e-businesses names the top 10 (in descending order): 1. sportal.com 2. boxman.com 3. mondus.com 4. netdoktor.com 5. peoplesound.com 6. beenz.com 7. moreover.com 8 …

Business 3 Jul 2000, 17:14
Abit fends off Linux boycott

Caught driving a distro without a license

Abit appears to have headed off a boycott of its Linux distro by open source users. Resentment has been simmering for weeks, when Abit launched its own distro under the Gentus brand. Abit is offering the software as a bundle with its own motherboards, or as a free download. Gentus Linux is basically Red Hat, plus patches for …

Software 3 Jul 2000, 21:38