7th July 2000 Archive
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Helicopters R Us
The truth behind Computer Weakly's long-running campaign
The UK's most dull but worthy weekly IT rag, Computer Weekly, has taken up the torch of truth and is pursuing the Government over an alleged cover up on a helicopter crash six years ago in which almost all the intelligence operatives working in Northern Ireland were killed. UK plc claims the pilots were to blame, but CW, in the …
Bootnotes 7 Jul 2000, 08:25
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Oracle turns into Franklin Mint
Limited edition NICs for sale
This week someone bid £100,000 for a handbag once owned by Britain's increasingly batty former prime minister, Margaret Thatcher. But it was for charity, so that's all right, then. But into whose pocket will the money go for the first ten Oracle NIC Internet Appliances to roll off the production lines? These are to be sold …
Business 7 Jul 2000, 08:34
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Oracle's NC Mk.2 heads for UK
Did you say BritNic?
This story was first filed on 9 May, 2000 by Annie Kermath. The home of Oracle's reborn NC is in San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf district, a stone's throw from Ripley's 'Believe It or Not' Museum. It's just as well then that Oracle CEO Larry Ellison spent his portion of yesterday's launch of the NIC denying that the new $199 …
Business 7 Jul 2000, 09:12
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Via-S3 deal put on standby
Taiwanese gov wants more info
A report on Techweb Finance claims that the Taiwanese government has delayed the proposed joint venture between S3 and Via. According to the story, the government wants additional information from Via before approving the move, which was originally expected to be given the official regulatory rubber stamp by the end of last …
Channel 7 Jul 2000, 10:25
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Save a day a month by killing Web ads
Can you be bothered?
UK-based ADScience has launched its latest assault on that most controversial of issues - Web advertising. In what it freely admits is a bit of promotion for its forthcoming corporate product, ADScience is running a free trial of its latest version of its ad blocking software, ADfilter. The product also has an adult content …
Music and Media 7 Jul 2000, 11:02
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S3-Via JV hits Taiwanese gov't roadblock
Red tape delay - or will the new administration block the deal?
Bureaucratic wranglings in Taiwan's government have held up the proposed joint venture between S3 and Via, the duo admitted yesterday. Both companies are waiting for Taiwan's regulators to approve the JV, which has already had the blessing of the US authorities. The alliance was originally expected to have been completed by the …
Channel 7 Jul 2000, 11:03
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ABIT confirms new Socket A mobo specs
Updated Durons and Tbirds welcome
ABIT's KT7 Socket A mobo, based on Via's KT133 chipset, debuts today. The KT7 is designed for use with all AMD-K7 Socket A Thunderbird and Duron 200MHz FSB processors. It supports AGP 1x/2x/4x and 100/133MHz SDRAM. The mobo features three 168-pin DIMM sockets supporting PC-100 and PC-133 SDRAM. The KT7 is based on the earlier …
Business 7 Jul 2000, 11:11
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AOL faces snooping court case
Netscape software monitors downloads, alleges some bloke
A lawsuit has been taken out against AOL, accusing it of violating privacy laws. The complainant, Christopher Specht, alleges that Netscape's SmartDownload software secretly monitors all .exe and .zip files that are downloaded. Downloaded file info is fed back to Netscape along with an identifying cookie that sits in the …
Music and Media 7 Jul 2000, 12:04
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Scots busted in £3m MS piracy raid
Climax to six-month probe
Microsoft has busted a group of suspected Scottish software pirates and seized kit worth more than £3 million. CID, Trading Standards and Microsoft swooped on five separate addresses in West Lothian last month. In a single day, the crack team recovered more than 7000 licenses and 1350 pieces of allegedly fake software - …
Business 7 Jul 2000, 12:07
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RIP: even Big Brother is confused
Minister dodges questions
Ever get the feeling that the more you learn the less you know (Linda Harrison writes? It seems an appropriate sentiment when faced with the Government's planned Internet security law, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill. Yesterday, politicians, solicitors, civil rights groups and business representatives …
Music and Media 7 Jul 2000, 13:00
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Lara Croft creator gets £4 million bonus
While Eidos bleeds...
The man who spawned Lara Croft has netted a £4 million bonus, despite his company issuing two profit warnings and recording operating losses of £27 million. In total, Eidos chiefs collected bonuses worth £5.6 million in the last financial year, with Jeremy Heath-Smith bagging the biggest share, £4 million. The 39-year-old runs …
Business 7 Jul 2000, 13:14
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RIP Bill
Big Brother is watching you
What the hell is - the UK's RIP Bill? The Government Home Office Web site: RIP Bill page The Opposition The Foundation for Independent Policy Research (FIPR) Stand July 2000 How to dodge RIP RIP branded 'zombie legislation' as it passes Lords ISP RIPs up UK domicile Minister slams RIP objections as 'ill founded' ISPs …
Register Full Coverage 7 Jul 2000, 13:22
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CBI, FSB, PCG ask for rethink on IR35
Acronyms stand up for contractors
The battles may have been lost but the war continues. Having covered lobbying both Commons MPs and the House of Lords, talking to every media outlet that will listen and started a case in the European Courts, critics of the IR35 tax legislation have written a high-profile open letter in the Financial Times calling on the …
Business 7 Jul 2000, 13:51
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Oz biz promises 24x7 Net access for Palm
Australian co. hooks Palm V into wonderful world of WAP
Australian mobile comms company DotWap yesterday said it will provide local Palm V users with 24x7 wireless Internet access next October. DotWap, which enthusiastically describes itself as "one of the fast-movers of the wireless communications world", plans to provide a WAP-enabled device that clips onto the Palm V in much the …
Data Networking 7 Jul 2000, 14:18
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The Register guide to acronyms
Or how to misunderstand PC speak
Following the glossary that we recently published, we have been asked by many readers to also provide a guide to the thicket of acronyms that obscure the PC industry. So here it is. .9999999 Almost perfect but recurring and occurring a little too much. See also Q and HP. 1394 Mistaken date for the Battle of Hastings. See …
Bootnotes 7 Jul 2000, 14:31
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SMC buyer announced
Updated £20k sale
The receivers of SMC Computers today sold the Slough reseller for £20,000. Send It Now, part of Aldershot-based Upgrade Options, bought the trademarks, Website, customer lists, furniture, fixtures and intellectual property of SMC this afteroon. It will not take on SMC's debt of more than £1 million; and all 75 staff have lost …
Business 7 Jul 2000, 14:31
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The wit and wisdom of Martha Lane Fox
Toffs on top
"I can't tell you how far off any thoughts about my wealth are. Here in our office, surrounded by eighty enthusiasts, we just think about where we can take the business next." (Lane Fox, Evening Standard, 10 Feb 2000) "Martha dot millionairess is boring. Martha dot Internet innovator is much more exciting." (Lane Fox, Metro, 11 …
Register Full Coverage 7 Jul 2000, 14:33
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Net pornographer jammed up in Federal probe
Pam and Tommy may laugh last
Federal officials in the USA are investigating renowned Internet pornographer Seth Warshavsky and his on-line porn company, Internet Entertainment Group (IEG), on suspicions of credit-card fraud and income tax evasion, the Washington Post reports. It wasn't long ago that IEG won praise in the mainstream press as one of the …
Music and Media 7 Jul 2000, 14:36
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UK police no idea about the Net
Even if they got RIP powers, they wouldn't know what to do with them
Following on from our story about runaway maths prodigy Sufiah Yusof yesterday, you'll be pleased to know she's been found and she's not returning home. Two plain-clothes officers stopped her as she entered the Click 'n Link Internet cafe in Bournemouth and persuaded her to leave with them. She is now in social services care …
Music and Media 7 Jul 2000, 14:45
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Mobile phone calls forwarded to planes
Something else to stop you sleeping on long haul flights
The only place left to hide from your mobile phone now is the Underground. BT has announced a deal today that will extend the GSM network to the skies, using what it describes as a "proxy cellular phone". Using the Inmarsat satellite network, the service will, in essence, forward calls made to your mobile, to a phone in your …
Data Networking 7 Jul 2000, 15:45
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Nokia/C&W pitch for future of mobile market
Developing open source platform to run the mobile world
Nokia and Cable & Wireless have announced "the beginning of a co-operation to create a truly global, mobile Internet platform". We're not really sure what this means and neither it seems does anyone else, but don't let that get in the way of a good story. A few phone calls later though and things become clearer. The two are …
Data Networking 7 Jul 2000, 15:51
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ISPA not charging for whiners
People complained about its £15 complaining fee
The Internet Service Providers Association has noticed that people are reluctant to complain if they have to pay to do it. Fortunately, they are not total boneheads, and have reviewed the procedure. In a statement to The Register, the ISPA said: "ISPA has found that the £15 administration fee, which was usually charged for …
Music and Media 7 Jul 2000, 16:01
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Pan UK reseller play no longer enough
Three into two may go
(This article appeared first in Direct Access, a Microsoft UK online channel magazine.) Pundits often talk of Internet disintermediation – basically manufacturers bypassing distribution to sell direct to customers. However, few vendors are set up to sell complex solutions – they will continue to rely on resellers to sell their …
Business 7 Jul 2000, 16:13
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Dr Tom fiddles with Intel 815 mobo quintet
And other Hardware scoops
Doctor Tom has been busy, investigating five mobos based on the Intel 815 chipset. The successors to the 440BX, are the Solano and Solano 2 worthy of the task? Go have a look! More "scoopage" from the loonies down under. The guys at Insane Hardware have got hold of Abit's KT7 Mainboard, for AMD Socket A CPUs. Overclocking …
Hardware Roundup 7 Jul 2000, 16:18
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Blair to give £20m RIP sweetener
'Speculation', the Home Office screams. So it must be true.
The government is planning to hand UK business £20 million to compensate for its email interception plans. Tony Blair has told the Home Office to cough up the cash after fears that companies would flee abroad to avoid the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill impacting their business. There is also the prospect of the …
Music and Media 7 Jul 2000, 16:37
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Reader's Letters Lots of anger this week
Hackers and brain snackers
(This week, letters on hackers, Microsoft-Linux and IDC, Japanese quantum claims, crap drinking joke with Latin flavour, Readers @ the Speed of Thought, crap Americanism. We also get a ticking off for being too flippant about AOL, Netscape and privacy.) What d'you mean hackers are common criminals? [Andrew thought it was about …
Letters 7 Jul 2000, 17:30
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This House believes Cyber Rights are going down the pan
Oxford Union, Guardian Unlimited stage debate
Civil rights activists won a small intellectual battle on Friday when they successfully argued that "any attempt by Government to police the Net is both unworkable and a severe threat to civil liberties". The debate at the Oxford Union -- organised by the Humanities Computing Unit at the university and sponsored by Guardian …
Music and Media 7 Jul 2000, 17:55
