3rd August 2000 Archive

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Double-spinning Caldera faces open source backlash

"We don't have to give everything back in a free fashion." Oops.

Although Caldera CEO Ransom Love gave a bravura performance in conference calls yesterday after the company announced its intention to buy-out SCO's UnixWare product and services businesses, the path to ascendancy is far from smooth. And Love might just have made it a bit rockier with conflicting messages to the press and …

Software 3 Aug 2000, 07:58
MS doubles prices for enterprise customers

Pay up, lose OEM support... then buy your support from us

Microsoft has introduced a price increase that will affect customers of its Select enterprise license scheme. According to the Gartner Group, a subtle change in policy will double the cost of Windows where businesses use imaging programs, such as Norton Ghost for convenience. That snares 60 per cent of all enterprises. " …

Software 3 Aug 2000, 08:50
Keith goes on his Todd as ICL cancels IPO (again)

CEO resigns

Keith Todd, chief executive of ICL has resigned, following the decision of parent company Fujitsu to pull the plug on plans to float the company. It appears that Todd, who was closely involved with the IPO plans, felt his position was untenable. Once upon a time, ICL was the UK's biggest computer company, then it became the UK …

Business 3 Aug 2000, 09:51
MS edutainment CD in milkshake mix-up

Update Additional query words: Brain jar left in jar br

Worrying signs are emerging that Microsoft's factual products are becoming as reliably bug-prone as the company's systems and applications software. These errors can't be blamed on local translators either, as they pop up in English language versions. Have a look for yourself. There's an intriguing one here, which is bound to …

Bootnotes 3 Aug 2000, 09:51
My head hurts and I want $800 million

Motorola fried my brain, claims US doctor

An American doctor has taken a $800 million lawsuit out against Motorola claiming its mobile phone was the cause of his brain cancer. Chris Newman was diagnosed with a malignant tumour behind his right ear in 1998. Between 1992 and 1998 he used his mobile regularly to keep in touch with patients. It should prove an interesting …

Data Networking 3 Aug 2000, 10:02
LeisurePlanet torpedoes UK sub

Little local difficulty for online retailer

LeisurePlanet Holdings, the US/South African-owned Internet player, has placed its UK online travel subsidiary, Leisureplanet.com, into administration. In a press statement, LeisurePlanet Holdings said it was forced to make the move as a "direct consequence of the changed market conditions whereby capital is no longer available …

Business 3 Aug 2000, 10:48
Beatle juices Magex

Money can't buy you love, but it can you get a stake in the digital music biz

Beatle with Wings Sir Paul McCartney today pumped an undisclosed sum into online payment system supplier Magex. Macca's investment comes in the same week that major record label Universal is set to begin a trial digital music download service which uses Magex technology. Not that Sir Paul will profit directly - he's with …

Music and Media 3 Aug 2000, 11:04
Sony ships 3m PlayStation 2s in five months

Warning: smashed sales targets ahead

A triumphant Sony this morning said it sold over three million PlayStation 2s into the Japanese market in the first five months following the console's 4 March debut. That's four times the number of PlayStations Sony sold in the same timespan, the company crowed. Sony initially said it would sell one million PlayStation 2s in …

Business 3 Aug 2000, 11:19
MS co-founder coughs up £8.6 million for alien hunt

Paul Allen buys telescopes for SETI

Paul Allen has given £8.6 million to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project. The money will be used to build the most powerful array of telescopes thus far which will be named The Allen Telescope Array. His business partner, Nathan Myhrvold will fund the development phase. Allen said that the project was an …

Business 3 Aug 2000, 11:28
Lastminute posts improved losses

Registered users break 2 million

Lastminute.com has posted Q3 losses of £9.3 million - an £1.7 million improvement on the same period last year. Total transaction value is up 17-fold, compared to the same period last year, and the company has £117 million in cash stashed away in the bank. Registered users across Europe nudged above the two million mark. No one …

Business 3 Aug 2000, 11:45
Energis tunes into digital TV

It's unique! It's multi-channel! It's not here yet!

Energis has jumped into the digital TV market through a joint venture with software developer Graham Technology. The two are going to provide a "fully integrated solution" which means it'll be designed to deal with every fancy Net gadget and protocol on the market (WAP, EPOC, etc.). For starters, it'll all be run through …

Data Networking 3 Aug 2000, 11:47
Barclays cock-up the tip of an ugly, secret iceberg

Analysis UK financial sector should follow US lead

When Barclays' newly-upgraded on-line banking service went live with a ludicrously obvious bug enabling users to access other customers' accounts this past weekend, the only real surprise was how long it had taken for a major balls-up like it to emerge publicly and fascinate the mainstream press. The event itself and its root …

Music and Media 3 Aug 2000, 12:02
Saucy Sis Athlon mobo pics on show

And learn to overclock with a pencil

If you have a locked T-Bird or Duron, OC Workbench has a suggestion for unlocking it that may not have occurred to you. It involves a pencil but for more info click on the link and see what you make of this one. Pop Quiz. You are at Computex and you stumble upon an unguarded AMD suite. What do you do? What do you do? Insane …

Hardware Roundup 3 Aug 2000, 12:07
EU goes legal against MS – company should open up Windows

MS on Trial The condensed version of the antitrust trial, evidently...

The European Commission has given Microsoft a "statement of objections," which effectively launches an antitrust case against the company on the other side of the pond. Following up on a complaint originally made by Sun, the Commission agrees there is evidence that Microsoft has breached European antitrust rules. Microsoft now …

Software 3 Aug 2000, 13:16
Disney buys out rest of Soccernet

Revamp sites for next season

Walt Disney Group is buying the 40 per cent of Soccernet, the "world's most popular football site", that it doesn't already own. Terms were undisclosed. The seller of the shares, the Daily Mail and General Trust, sold a 60 per cent stake in Soccernet to Disney in August, 1999. The sale of the remainder was "contemplated by the …

Business 3 Aug 2000, 13:53
Microsoft unveils Christmas box

New games, software and hardware for Brits

Microsoft's UK consumer division intends to fill your stocking this Christmas, with a bundle of goodies includes 12 new games titles, plus five extra versions of existing games, home user software and new mice. Midtown Madness 2 is a "madcap racing adventure" set in London or San Francisco. An upgrade to the existing Midnight …

Software 3 Aug 2000, 13:53
Now Demon loses credit card details

But this time it's old skool robbery

Who'd have a credit card these days, eh? Yep, next up in the oh-dear-I-divulged-all-my-customers'-financial-details stakes is Demon Internet. This time though is wasn't a case of appalling online security but an old skool burglary. One of Demon's buildings in London was broken into and a PC containing "a few hundred" credit …

Music and Media 3 Aug 2000, 13:54
Sony delays Euro PlayStation launch?

Holds back shipments to satisfy US demand, apparently

Sony is keeping mum on the subject, but sources close to the company claim that it has put back the European launch of the PlayStation 2 by at least three weeks. The reason? To ensure sufficient supplies of the console make it into the US market. PlayStation 2 is officially scheduled for a simultaneous US/European launch on 26 …

Business 3 Aug 2000, 14:51
Europe braces itself for broadband explosion

Analysts say it could mean the end for independent ISP's

Independent ISP's and smaller broadband start-ups will lose out to major telcos in the predicted ballooning of broadband Internet access in Europe. By 2005 ADSL will be the technology of choice, accounting for 53 per cent of the market. The driving force behind the new technology will be the content, and this is where the …

Data Networking 3 Aug 2000, 14:53
Digital shopping fraud was a fluke, claims crook

He didn't nick a credit card, honest

A man who made fraudulent purchases in the online "walled garden" of Open, Sky Digital's television shopping channel, is claiming that he was able to do so by randomly pressing buttons on his remote control. A Magistrates Court near his Nottinghamshire home heard yesterday how the 20 year old used someone else's credit card to …

Music and Media 3 Aug 2000, 15:20
MS mullahs warez pirates

Web piracy campaign kicks off

Microsoft's anti piracy campaign has got off to a storming start as the company has filed a civil action against the renowned warez site Godabuzz. In the UK an action has begun against an as yet unnamed site hosted in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. Both are accused of offering pirated Microsoft products for sale. Godabuzz, based in Big …

Business 3 Aug 2000, 16:22
Click here for naked fun

William Hague uncovered. Literally. But not

A reader sent us an email suggesting we check out www.williamhague.com. Since baldy boy William is head of the Conservative Party and Her Majesty's Opposition, our gut feeling was that it would be a satirical site. None of it. "Hi, I am William Hague and a very keen naturist, I am not William Hague the conservative politician …

Election 2001 3 Aug 2000, 16:32
MS tells EU it's always pushed standards, interoperability

MS on Trial Like it ain't done till Lotus won't run?

Microsoft has responded swiftly to the antitrust action the European Commission launched earlier today, claiming in a statement that it already provides all the information its competitors need in order to have their server software interoperate with Windows. The Commission has served Microsoft with a "statement of objections" …

Software 3 Aug 2000, 16:39
Server shipments shoot up but below forecasts

Dell makes ground on Compaq

Worldwide server shipments grew 11 per cent in the previous quarter thanks to the Web. According to a report by Dataquest, 955,412 servers were shifted in the quarter ending in june - including a strong demand for front-end Web servers fuelled by e-business. There was also a boost due to sales in low-end servers (less than $25, …

Business 3 Aug 2000, 16:48
Telewest ‘underestimated’ Net demand

Quote Unquote - No: 162 in an occasional series

Thanks to Telewest's CE, Adam Singer, for this on the performance on his much-maligned ISP. "Surf Unlimited is a good example of Telewest's ability to resolve problems associated with the launch of new hi-tech products," he wrote . "We underestimated the demand and faced the same issues that are now plaguing other providers of …

Music and Media 3 Aug 2000, 17:14
Hacktivists own Myanmar govt. site

Burmese Daze

Engineers were still trying on Thursday to restore control of the Myanmar (Burma) government Web site after hacktivists brought it down, the Associated Press reports. An officer of the Directorate of Defence Services Intelligence told the wire service that Myanmar.com had been taken down on Wednesday, but declined to elaborate …

Music and Media 3 Aug 2000, 18:27
Judge yanks a few of Carnivore's teeth

Will the annoying little beast be muzzled?

US District Judge James Robertson has responded to a suit brought by American watchdog outfit the Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC) regarding the FBI's e-mail snoop apparatus Carnivore, by giving the Bureau ten working days to set a schedule for delivering records under expedited Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) …

Music and Media 3 Aug 2000, 23:00