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18th August 2000 Archive

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  • Asustek sales pale as Intel supplies fail

    Misses targets

    Asustek is to sell 200,000 mobos fewer this month than it had originally anticipated - and it blames lack of Intel chip supplies for much of the shortfall. The Taiwanese company, a key supplier for the OEM market, had expected to sell 1.2 million mobos this month, but now thinks it will sell only one million units. Asustek …

    Business 18 Aug 2000, 07:29

  • Hollywood 1: Hackers 0

    Copyright victory

    It's official: the First Amendment may guarantee free speech but it is not an appropriate defence when the livelihood of copyright owners are threatened. In a New York court yesterday, US district judge Lewis Kaplan ruled in favour of the Motion Picture Association's of America's (MPAA) copyright violation suit against 2600.com …

    Music and Media 18 Aug 2000, 08:30

  • Microsoft casts WinME sweepstake adrift

    Exclusive Broken promises could breach state anti-competitive practices

    Microsoft appears to have abandoned a promotional sweepstake that promised fifty winners a day a commemorative edition of Windows ME signed by Bill Gates. This week the sweep has been suspended, with only a brief explanation on the front page stating that "technical difficulties" were to blame. This evening US Pacific Time, the …

    Software 18 Aug 2000, 08:35

  • Church of EMACS blesses GNOME-openoffice union

    Go forth and compile, RMS tells The Reg

    Free software evangelist and a self-styled saint in the Church of EMACS Richard Stallman has blessed Sun's release of its StarOffice suite in an email to The Register. The legendary hacker started the Free Software Foundation in the 1984 to create a free software Unix like OS, and the also drafted the GNU GPL license under …

    Software 18 Aug 2000, 08:40

  • Sega Dreamcast sales shrink

    US and European shipments fall below company expectations

    Sega admitted yesterday that US and European Dreamcast sales aren't going as well as the company had hoped. It's not hard to see why: with the launch of the PlayStation 2 in both those territories coming up, gamers are undoubtedly holding back to see just what the Sony box can do. A lack of good new software hasn't helped …

    Business 18 Aug 2000, 09:37

  • Transmeta files for IPO

    IBM and Tosh to cash in

    Transmeta intends to go public, and yesterday filed its 400-page S-1 registration with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The company intends to raise $200 million, which more than cancels out the $119 million it has accrued in costs since it was founded over five years ago. Transmeta unveiled its processors in January …

    Business 18 Aug 2000, 09:57

  • Dotcoms to track people for UK Govt

    Exclusive We know who you are, and we (now) know where you live

    The British Government is to employ dotcoms to keep tabs on its citizens. A pilot scheme due to be launched next month will automatically inform different Government departments when people move house or change address. Ihavemoved.com, simplymove.co.uk and the Royal Mail - which all provide change of address services - will …

    Music and Media 18 Aug 2000, 09:58

  • Sony unveils content site for Palm PDAs

    'Communication Linkage for Information and Entertainment'

    Sony will next month launch a Web-based content service for its upcoming Palm-based PDAs - or Personal Entertainment Organisers, as the Japanese giant calls them. The service, CLIE Plaza, will open on 9 September - the date of the PDA's Japan debut. Sony will offer two PEG devices: the monochrome PEG-S300 and the colour PEG- …

    Music and Media 18 Aug 2000, 10:00

  • Universal to bring digital music service to UK

    Major Bluematter expansion coming this autumn

    Universal, one of the world's 'big five' recording companies, will bring its Bluematter digital music service to the UK this autumn, along with an expansion of the service in the US. The company's boss, chief executive of parent company Seagram, Edgar Bronfman, broke the news at a Seagram Q4 earnings announcement yesterday. " …

    Music and Media 18 Aug 2000, 10:29

  • QXL knocks £500m off Ricardo price tag

    And they don't want Pfeiffer on the board

    QXL.com has knocked around 75 per cent off its original buyout price for German auction house ricardo.com. QXL has offered 34 QXL shares for each Ricardo share, valuing the company at £171.2 million. Back in May it offered 42.6 QXL shares for each ricardo share - putting a £668 million price tag on the company. And ex-Compaq …

    Business 18 Aug 2000, 10:50

  • Pakistan invests in the Net

    That's about it, really

    The Pakistan Telecommunications Company is to invest £1.75 million over the next year as part of a drive to provide Net access to 80 per cent of the country's population. The move is part of the Government's Universal Internet Access Coverage Plan which details how 400 cities, towns and villages will be hooked up to the Net by …

    Music and Media 18 Aug 2000, 10:54

  • BT share drop over mounting debt

    And the results of the German 3G auction

    BT saw its share price drop again yesterday due to concerns over its increasing debt burden following the announcement it would buy another 45 per cent of German mobile company Viag for £3.6 billion. That price has now gone up to £4.05 billion because Viag won one of the licences in Germany's 3G auction, but more about that …

    Data Networking 18 Aug 2000, 10:57

  • Sanyo joins the Symbian club

    It's a phone thing

    Sanyo is joining the Symbian camp. Using this software platform, the Japanese consumer electronics giant is to develop a range of wireless devices for what it calls the "information network" market. The company says Symbian has "set the standard software platform for next generation mobile phones", a very nice endorsement, …

    Data Networking 18 Aug 2000, 11:01

  • UK villains get their very own database

    Big Brother knows how much you drink and who your friends are

    UK Criminals are to have the dubious honour of having their intimate details stored in a computer system which will make value judgements on their likelihood of reoffending. The British Home Office announced plans for the Offender Assessment System (OASys) yesterday and said that eleven pilot schemes would run across the …

    Software 18 Aug 2000, 11:37

  • DVD playback on Linux just got better

    But don't hold your breath

    Amid all the copyright brouhaha over DeCSS, the DVD encryption code-cracker, it's easy to forget that the Norwegian teenager who wrote the utility did so simply so he (and others) could watch DVD movies on Linux machines. To date, the DVD experience (not just movies) on Linux boxes has been decidedly inferior to that of the …

    Software 18 Aug 2000, 12:06

  • Yet another government IT cock-up

    This time for £1.6 billion. NAO is not amused

    Oh dear, oh dear. The National Audit Office has slammed the government for wasting £1.6 billion on a computer system intended to crack down on benefit fraud. Accusing it of "organisational myopia", the NAO quoted rushed planning, extremely tight deadlines and lack of leadership/responsibility as the main reasons behind the …

    Software 18 Aug 2000, 12:54

  • Intel owed $13m as Fountain Tech files Chapter 11

    MS and AMD also creditors

    US components manufacturer Fountain Technologies has filed for Chapter 11 and named Intel as one of its biggest creditors. Fountain owes the chip giant more than $13.2 million, according to records at the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court. Other creditors include Microsoft, owed $4 million; AMD, $3.7 million; …

    Business 18 Aug 2000, 12:54

  • MS signs up for Windows-on-Linux API

    MainWin deal for Internet Explorer on Unix - will Office on Linux follow?

    Software developer Mainsoft has confirmed its MainWin Windows-to-Unix porting technology is being used by Microsoft. That said, its statement is pretty cautious about what Microsoft is actually porting, and for what versions of the OS. So, Mainsoft states that Microsoft has signed for itself "the right to use MainWin to port …

    Software 18 Aug 2000, 13:26

  • HW Roundup The GeForce MX's impact on budget machines

    And more of the Asus A7V

    Anandtech has posted his monthly guide to value systems. Always worth checking out if you are thinking of putting a new system together. This one shows the impact of the GeForce MX on the affordable end of computing. Point and click. Sharky's page goes in search of the perfect supporting platform fot the T-Bird Athlon. Today …

    Hardware Roundup 18 Aug 2000, 13:40

  • BT linked with AT&T?

    No comment

    BT has dismissed a report that it is toying with the idea of merging with AT&T. The Wall Street Journal claims that AT&T's chairman, C Michael Armstrong, and BT CE Sir Peter Bonfield have discussed the matter privately. No formal talks have started but if such a move were to go ahead, it would create a monster telco valued a …

    Data Networking 18 Aug 2000, 13:41

  • Thin client sales taking off

    Citrix and Wyse shine

    Thin client sales rose by 90 per cent worldwide last year, according to research by IDC. More than half of the US companies involved in the research - who had all shown previous interest in thin clients - said they had replaced PCs with the machines. IDC reckoned the main reasons behind thin client purchases were reliability, …

    Business 18 Aug 2000, 14:35

  • Done surfing? Go fishing

    UK top bods start off small

    A small gathering of VIPs who aim to put themselves in the forefront of the UK's e-government plans have started off small with the launch of a Web site where you can apply for a fishing licence online. So while you're surfing, pop along to www.fishinglicence.co.uk, grab yourself a licence and go out fishing - the old ways are …

    Music and Media 18 Aug 2000, 14:35

  • Flame of the Week We are drunk, lying, dying losers

    Tell us something we don't know you nutter

    [It's the old Mike-massacres-Rambus story] Just buy Rambus, you transparent, lying, loser. Then you can retire and spend the ENTIRE day in the pub. I can see the veins on your nose in the pictures with Tom. You don't have long, fool. I'm sure working for a lame trash-house like The Register, you ain't makin no dough. Rambus is …

    Letters 18 Aug 2000, 15:23

  • Net censorship row is right cock-up

    Polical correctness plumbs depth of barminess

    A Los Angeles attorney has been blocked from joining the New York-based BlackPlanet.com online service - because her name doesn't fit. Sherril Babcock was barred from joining the African-American community site because her last name was deemed "unacceptable". According to the cyberrights group, Digital Freedom Network (DFN), …

    Music and Media 18 Aug 2000, 15:29

  • Wound up about WIPO

    It would seem as though you're very impressed with it either

    [We have been getting increasingly annoyed with both ICANN and WIPO. Considering there are probably the two most influential bodies on the future of the Internet, do we not deserve better?] Who the hell does WIPO think it is? Users come last in ICANN elections scramble Great story you wrote about WIPO. I am a concerned …

    Letters 18 Aug 2000, 15:38

  • Government bunch of dirty buggers: official

    They've got a bleeding cheek ain't they? Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic

    [Only two emails on this one, but they're good uns. Linda wrote plenty about the RIP Bill and also about the discover that top White House staff in Washington were downloading some pretty sick porn off the Web] Farmyard and teen hardcore porn found on White House system Blair gets RIP thanks to a few sleepy MPs RIP branded ' …

    Letters 18 Aug 2000, 16:26

  • Red or dead? The China argy-bargy goes on

    Nothing like a good cultural conflict to get the juices flowing

    [We wrote a humorous piece about the Chinese government shutting down a dissident Web site. That started some rumbling. We wrote another about how China approached the Internet and the flames began and the crazies started marching. Incidentally, The Reg team got on the wrong end of a Chinaman last night. Two sheets to the wind, …

    Letters 18 Aug 2000, 16:29

  • URwired.com goes under

    Another cash-strapped dotcom bites the dust

    European Games and DVD etailer URwired.com has stopped trading. According to Mattias Lamotte, URwired MD, the company couldn't get funding in time. "Ironincally we had some exciting deals in the pipeline with some big name companies which we were unable to sign because of our financial situation," he said. The dream ended at 3 …

    Business 18 Aug 2000, 16:31

  • Best of the Rest: where do we start?

    There's some good uns this week, check em out

    Are 1GHz PCs just penis extensions? Where did you find this mope psychologist? It's putting all of us psychologists to tears. =( I asked this question during a psychiatry M&M (morbidity and mortality) conference this morning, and we all got a big laugh out of it (as our residents hid their tricked out Handsprings). This is …

    Letters 18 Aug 2000, 16:44

  • Readers' Letters Wimps, pimps and dog-shagging politicians

    You guys, you guys. You crack us up sometimes

    [It's a good week for letters. We've come back down to earth, so no more namby-pamby emotion shite. Stories. Responses. Best of the Rest. We tackled one hundred and one topics this week that seemed to spark off interest with your good selves. And we've had some blinding responses. What else? Well, today we say au revoir to Linda …

    Letters 18 Aug 2000, 16:58

  • QXL.com fined £34,000 for dodgy software

    But can still afford Ricardo.com

    QXL.com has been ordered to cough up £34,000 after being busted by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) for dodgy software. The London online auction house found it was using more than 200 copies of unlicensed Adobe, Microsoft and Symantec software on its company network. The discovery followed an internal software use audit …

    Business 18 Aug 2000, 17:00