10th August 2000 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

Sun helps AMD to Hammer Intel

64-bit software guide released

AMD has released a manual in PDF format to allow software developers to migrate their code to its 64-bit Hammer microprocessor platform. And, in one of twists and turns that makes the computer industry endlessly fascinating, it has enlisted the support of Sun Microsystems, which has endorsed the x86-64 architecture for its …

Channel 10 Aug 2000, 08:30
AMD takes axe to Athlon, Duron prices

Hammer, axe, what next - ICBM?

As predicted here some weeks back, AMD will take ruthless action across its range of microprocessors on 14 August. Intel will find it very hard to beat these prices when two flavours of its flip chip CuMine at 1GHz on the same day. Prices below, which are expressed in US dollars, are for system integrators buying in bulk. The …

Channel 10 Aug 2000, 09:00
Pentium 4 Willamette may be delayed

We cannot comment on unannounced announcements

Rumours that the Pentium 4 (Willamette) will be delayed appear to have the ring of truth about them, according to sources close to the action. Willamette, which back in June was slated for an early-to-mid September release date in its 423-pin recension, at clock speeds estimated to vary between 1.2GHz and 1.5GHz, is Intel's …

Channel 10 Aug 2000, 09:22
Telcos push for high-speed DSL standard

Six month study kicks it off

A group of 30 European telecoms and communications technology companies will form a committee to study the deployment of standardised Full Service Very High Speed Digital Subscriber Lines, FS-VDSL. VDSL technology allows for broadband applications such as digital video programming, and high-speed data and voice services over …

Data Networking 10 Aug 2000, 10:01
AltaVista: the farce continues

Unconfirmed sightings leads to unbridled joy

Three people have come forward to say that they have been using AltaVista's British-based unmetered Net access service in the UK. The revelation was made by Mark E Jackson, editor-in-chief of the ISP Review. He said: "We've heard from three people on the AltaVista service (normally we'd expect a lot more to reply). "They say …

Music and Media 10 Aug 2000, 10:07
Eight years in slammer for playboy DRAM VAT scamster

Arrested half-naked with mistress in Park Lane

A playboy who swindled the VAT man out of £20 million via a computer components scam was yesterday jailed for eight years. Daniel O'Connell was arrested half-naked in bed with his mistress in a Park Lane Hotel last year after a dawn raid by Customs and Excise officers. The 47-year-old married father of two had been living the …

Business 10 Aug 2000, 11:15
Visa to demand e-tailers install basic security systems

You mean e-merchants don't have this stuff already?!?

Visa, the global credit card organisation, is so worried about online fraud it yesterday warned members and merchants they may be fined if they don't get their security provisions up to scratch. A call to tighten already strong security measures, you might think. But no, Visa USA risk management senior VP John Shaughnessy's …

Music and Media 10 Aug 2000, 11:29
Firefly reckons it's the number one PR firm

2nd Update Firefly demonstrates why it's the journalists' favourite

Firefly has flagged on its site (and no doubt on company stationery for the rest of time) a MORI poll which lists it as the UK's number one PR company - as voted by IT journalists. After much hilarity, we got back on our seats and agreed it was a clever spoof. But then one Reg employee announced they had taken part in the …

Bootnotes 10 Aug 2000, 11:40
Cracker education site ICE resists IBILL pressure

Should CERT be shut down too?

Administrators of the cracker education Web site Icefortress.com have undergone a change of heart since we reported their plan to fold under pressure from Internet billing-service provider IBILL, which has threatened a copyright infringement suit under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), claiming that the Icefortress …

Music and Media 10 Aug 2000, 11:56
QXL buyout of Ricardo gets delayed

Updated There's fresh info on Ricardo's performance

QXL's buyout of German auction site Ricardo.de took a new twist today. QXL issued a statement this morning saying it had "received certain information from Ricardo.de in the period following the announcement of the proposed transaction on May 16, 2000. Ricardo spokesman Matthias Quaritsch told Reuters that "The delay can be a …

Business 10 Aug 2000, 12:06
HW Roundup Abit's SE6 i815e gets the onceover

Dr Tom ponders atomic tweezers

The Abit SE6 i815e mainboard gets a once over at Planet Hardware. While it performs well the reviewer has lost his heart to the Asus CUSL2, and the Abit board just can't compete with its perfection." Want to know why? Click here for the full story. Reported on the good Dr Tom's site, tiny tweezers made from DNA could one day …

Hardware Roundup 10 Aug 2000, 12:10
Net access in Britain is a shambles

FRIACO fiasco damaging market, claims PlusNet

The MD of Sheffield-based ISP PlusNet has spoken out at the confusion in the unmetered Net access market and warned that unless the issue is rectified, it could inflict long-term damage on the industry and dent consumer confidence. In a candid interview with the The Register, Lee Strafford warned that Net users in Britain were …

Music and Media 10 Aug 2000, 12:11
eMachines turns up in Europe with Dixons

What does this mean for Packard Bell?

eMachines, the US vendor of bargain basement PCs, is turfing into Europe on the back of the Dixons retail chain. Dixons will flog eMachines kit in its 850 stores in the UK and Ireland, and through its other retail chains in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Spain and Portugal. Dixons will also have exclusive eMachine wholesale …

Business 10 Aug 2000, 13:10
Oh no! Not another property site

MOVE.com to launch in UK

MOVE.com, by its own account America's second biggest property site, is launching in the UK in September. We know this because Weber Europe sent us an email saying it has won the UK PR account for the company. MOVE.com wraps a community blanket around its core business of property listings, supplying tips on "buying, selling …

Music and Media 10 Aug 2000, 13:50
Reg gags on hardcore porn

I-lay, U-lay, O-lay.. .whale oil beef hooked

The Reg would like to warn all its readers to be very, very careful when typing in domain names. For instance, if you were thinking of visiting dailyfacials.com, the site associated with the beauty product Oil of Olay, then go ahead. Feel free. In fact, you can go here and see for yourself the benefits of a three minute facial …

Music and Media 10 Aug 2000, 14:25
Boo.com creditors are owed £49 million

Company raced through £178m

The Official Receiver has completed a report on Boo.com, copies of which are in the hands of its creditors. The report fails to shed too much light into the extravagently funded online sportswear retailer, we understand. But it does come up with a final total for the whole sorry saga - a whopping £178 million. Shareholder …

Business 10 Aug 2000, 14:57
Boxed 1GHz Intel Cumines ready to go

But puzzle remains over mobo support

Documents which Intel has shown its distributors and channel partners revealed that its boxed chip and motherboard strategy appears to be back on target. And, at the same time, it has told its channel that the 1GHz Pentium III processor using its FC-PGA package and a 133MHz bus will be available in single units or in tens. The …

Channel 10 Aug 2000, 14:58
US Judge backs porn

Everyone should be allowed to catch a bit of flesh

A Virginia judge has blocked enforcement of a federal law which places restrictive Internet laws on pornography and sex-related content, saying that it breaks the US' First Amendment. The People for the American, backed by 16 "Internet businesses", filed a lawsuit against the 1998 Child Online Protection Act, which requires …

Music and Media 10 Aug 2000, 15:05
M$ shunned by British ISPs

What - even more unpopular than Caroline off Big Brother?

Microsoft's application to join the influential London Internet Exchange (LINX) could be in doubt, The Register has learnt. The beast of Redmond submitted its application on Monday and although it passes all the technical qualifications for entry to the influential Internet club, there are fears it could be blackballed by …

Music and Media 10 Aug 2000, 15:52
Mercata wins group-buying Net patent

But it doesn't look as though it will hurt competitors

Online US co-op group Mercata has won an attempt to patent its group-buying e-commerce system (US Patent Office number 6101484). The patent concerns the way in which the company provides its real-time purchasing. Snappily called a "dynamic market equilibrium management system", it ties in the start time, end time, a range of …

Music and Media 10 Aug 2000, 16:18
Farmyard and teen hardcore porn found on White House system

Suicide threat if names leaked

Massive porn files, featuring teen and farmyard hardcore porn, have been found on the White House computer system. A consultant came across the real-time video files after being hired to tighten up Web security as part of the US government's Y2K upgrades. The hardcore porn files were so big in byte size that they accounted for …

Music and Media 10 Aug 2000, 17:19
Intel and Microsoft join Dell in Web threesome

While world holds breath for Dell results

Dell, Intel and Microsoft today revealed a menage a trois to expand Dell E Works. The service is aiming to add corporate customers to the e-commerce service - which was previously aimed at smes - through Dell hardware, Intel chips and Microsoft software. It has also added a leasing facility for start-ups to buy hardware and an …

Business 10 Aug 2000, 17:24