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12th October 2000 Archive

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  • AMD Athlons to sell out in Q4

    No flash in the pan

    AMD expect to sell out its production of Athlons during the fourth quarter and forecasts that sales of "AMD Athlon processors, AMD Duron processors, and PC processors in the aggregate will set new records, individually and collectively, in both units and dollars". But sales of the Duron, Athlon's cheaper brother, will be slow …

    Channel 12 Oct 2000, 07:40

  • Vocalis talks the walk

    Technology over here, going over there

    Cambridge-based Vocalis Group plc is to export its natty speech technology to a gaggle of ISPs in the US. A deal announced today with the American Alliance of Service Providers - an organisation of some 200 ISPs - means that the AASP will be able to offer Vocalis SpeechMail to its broad customer base. Vocalis has also …

    Software 12 Oct 2000, 07:41

  • Colour Handspring Visor debuts on Web

    Updated Sort of

    PalmOS licensee Handspring's upcoming colour PDA, the Visor Prism, has made an unexpected early appearance on the Web. The Prism, seen running a version of SimCity, actually appeared in Yahoo!'s Internet Life mag (page 131, apparently) as an illustration alongside an interview about handhelds, but was quickly scanned and posted …

    Business 12 Oct 2000, 07:51

  • Apple offers cash for Cubes

    Rebate to be used to tempt buyers

    Apple is to offer US buyers $300 cash-back in an attempt to beef up sales of its poor-selling Power Mac G4 Cube, Mac retailers have claimed. The $300 deal, describe by resellers cited in a Cnet report, will be used to entice customers who want to buy a Cube along with an Apple monitor. If they choose Apple's bottom-of-the-range …

    Mac Channel 12 Oct 2000, 08:14

  • Swedes mash 512-bit Code Book crypto challenge to get £10,000

    Tjr klq t pumgp-eljmuqgo bk pbsaq!

    A team of researchers in Sweden has cracked the final cipher set by Simon Singh in "The Code Book" and claimed the £10,000 prize. It took a year and month between publication of the challenge and its completion without the use of a super computer. Singh set a challenge to would be cryptologists at the end of his book, which …

    Music and Media 12 Oct 2000, 09:39

  • Micron licences MIPS to do more than DRAM

    System on a chip shenanigans

    US DRAM maker Micron has signed a licensing deal with MIPS for the MIPS32 4Kc and MIPS64 5Kc processing cores. The agreement has been seen as an attempt on Micron's behalf to reposition itself as doing more than just DRAM. The company plans to combine the cores with its own DRAM technology to produce a new range of system-on-a- …

    Channel 12 Oct 2000, 10:41

  • Only UK viewers have to pay for the BBC on the PC

    Don't know how they'll catch you though

    Following The Register's revelation that the TV Licensing Authority are out to nail those of you geeky enough to only watch television programmes via streaming media on your PCs, the TVLA have now said that they'll only be chasing people watching those programs in the UK, writes Chris Ward-Johnson. Foreigners and ex-pats …

    Music and Media 12 Oct 2000, 10:46

  • Palm to get voice recognition via in-car kit

    Automobile-oriented offspring MobileAria to create Palm-based hands-free stuff

    Palm bared all last night re. its partnership with US in-car systems manufacturer Delphi Automotive Systems, as anticipated. The pair will form and fund a JV, called MobileAria, which will develop what the two companies call an "open platform to enable 'in-vehicle' access and management of personal information, mobile Internet …

    Business 12 Oct 2000, 10:51

  • Intel to hype P4 over 1.13GHz PIII, and barely ship either?

    Stimulate demand for a short-supply chip to reduce demand for a non-existent one. Right...

    Intel Architecture Group VP Bill Siu is a versatile man, evidently. At this week's Microprocessor Forum he seems to have on the one hand told journalists that the Pentium 4 won't be Intel's big earner until 2002, while on the other he says that the amount of emphasis Intel will be putting on the P4 in Q4 will mean there won't be …

    Channel 12 Oct 2000, 11:17

  • IBM chip output hit by ceramic panic

    No, not a shortage of coffee mugs for engineers...

    IBM yesterday fell victim to claims that it can't supply enough chips to Cisco, one of its largest customers. The rumour knocked six per cent off Big Blur's share price, which closed at $112.81 after hitting a day low of $107.5. IBM admitted that it did have problems producing processors, but refused to comment on the effect …

    Channel 12 Oct 2000, 11:17

  • Darwin Awards in print

    People from the shallow end of the gene pool head for the showers

    The Darwin Awards are now in print for the first time. The book is a clear demonstration that human evolution has not taken us much further than lemmings and details the continuing effects of the struggle to pass on our genes. The book details the exploits of those who never really got to grips with the dangers of the modern …

    Music and Media 12 Oct 2000, 11:28

  • Fujitsu pumps out super shushed hard drives

    20.4GB per platter and data transfer rates of 60.7MB/s

    Fujitsu has launched a series of high capacity hard drives that the company says will be it quietest offering yet. The MPG3xxxAT/H series will have up to 20.4 GB per platter capacity and will be available with spindle speed of 5,400rpm or 7,200 rpm respectively. The noise is minimised by the Fluid Dynamics Bearing motors, the …

    Business 12 Oct 2000, 11:42

  • Honeywell builds wireless web appliance

    Surf, email, and adjust your thermostat

    The division of Honeywell usually responsible for making central heating controls has announced its made a wireless portable web access device. The Honeywell Webpad Internet Appliance has a 10-inch LCD screen, weighs less than three pounds, and is less than an inch thick. It lets up to eight people connect to the Web from as …

    Music and Media 12 Oct 2000, 11:42

  • Vodafone bags £7 billion for Infostrada

    Plus a rather nasty willy alert

    Vodafone pocketed more than £7 billion from the sale of Italian telecoms business Infostrada to the utilities company Enel. Vodafone boss Chris Gent said that the deal raised more cash for stockholders than a float would have. Motorola put the willys up technology investors yesterday after predicting that demand for mobile …

    Business 12 Oct 2000, 12:05

  • Poorest Brits to be given PCs

    And reduced phone rates for Net access

    The Government is to paper over the digital divide in Britain by dishing out 35,000 PCs - at a cost of £10 million - to the poorest areas of the country. Liverpool's Kensington Estate is the first place to benefit. The 14,000 residents will soon have access to 2000 computers installed on the estate, which was chosen because of …

    Music and Media 12 Oct 2000, 12:11

  • Infineon set for record sales despite market fears

    Semiconductor biz isn't slumping... yet

    Chip company Infineon poo-poo'd rumours of a downturn in the world semiconductor market today, when it reiterated its claim that it expects the current fiscal quarter to break previous records. "We have said many times in recent weeks that we don't see any weakness in the overall semiconductor industry," company spokeswoman …

    Channel 12 Oct 2000, 12:22

  • The ISP liability Demon invoked again

    Legal threats override free speech?

    The issue of ISP liability for user postings has cropped up again on a newsgroup for software company Gipsy Media. And, sadly, it involves Demon Internet again. The saga has been extensively covered by Meejahor.com and revolves around a so-called beta tester, Andy Mabbett, and his criticisms of the TV listings program DigiGuide …

    Music and Media 12 Oct 2000, 12:36

  • Software patents: will Europe roll over for the multinationals?

    Analysis Battlelines are being drawn up, and it's too close to call

    Software patents could become the kiss-of-death for many software developers, because it is becoming impossible to write a program without a serious risk of falling foul of some patent - frequently, an undeserved and opportunist one. The threat is also grave for many smaller businesses in Europe. They could easily be threatened …

    Software 12 Oct 2000, 12:38

  • Dotcom lad gets drunk after year on the wagon

    Get in there my son...

    Reg tips its beak to 20-year-old Ben Way who's abstained from women and beer for a year - and all to placate his dotcom investors. As part of a £25 million deal to fund the lad's new search engine-cum-portal business, waysearch.co.uk, his backers slapped a 'don't go out and enjoy yourself' ban on young Ben. Financiers feared …

    Business 12 Oct 2000, 13:45

  • Sun touts Java Embedded Server 2.0

    Connect your home to the Net - now

    Sun yesterday released Java for Fridges - aka Java Embedded Server - version 2.0 to loud hurrahs from no one in particular. JES 2.0 is designed as a back-end for Internet-enabled consumer electronics kit (TVs, hi-fi, VCRs) and white goods (fridges, cookers and central heating boilers) to talk to the Net directly or to connect …

    Data Networking 12 Oct 2000, 14:06

  • Watchdog Oftel – one paw doesn't know what the other is doing

    Cocking its leg and sniffing other's poos would be an improvement

    Oftel is in a tizz. Several newspapers today quote Oftel officials as saying that only 17 per cent of BT's local exchanges would be opened up to rival telcos by next July. That's scandalous - and makes E-Minister Patricia Hewitt look like a right dullard after she went on the record saying that unbundled services would be " …

    Data Networking 12 Oct 2000, 14:11

  • Intel talks up low power chips to battle Transmeta pressure

    But nothing to see for more than a year

    Intel has allowed the first glimpses of its mobile processor roadmap, taking the company through to 2002. The outline brought promises of 1GHz-plus processors for notebooks (full size) by the end of next year, and low power processors designed to run at over 600MHz requiring less than 1V to operate. Intel says it is speeding …

    Channel 12 Oct 2000, 14:40

  • Emailer done for libel

    Careful what you say, right

    A British man has been found guilty of libel by email. The High Court in London ruled that David Frankl, a former employee of Takenaka (UK) Ltd, sent emails to his former bosses defaming the company's MD, Brian Corfe. In a series of three emails sent last year Frankl, 31, took on the pseudonym of Christina Realtor and made a …

    Music and Media 12 Oct 2000, 14:41

  • Cub reporter triumphs at Reg Pop-up Ad Olympics

    But dope testing shame for McCarthy mars otherwise sportmanslike games

    You hate 'em. We hate 'em. Just last week a recently discovered tribe of Brazilian rainforest Indians massacred everyone at the local Jesuit mission station in a fit of savage e-rage. The reason? These simple people had just been introduced to the delights of web surfing by the e-smart brothers. However, every time they got onto …

    Bootnotes 12 Oct 2000, 14:48

  • AOL, Time Warner confident of merger success

    CFO move starts talk of shifting staff around

    AOL today announced that Time Warner's CFO, Joseph Ripp, will become its own CFO, once the two companies' merger becomes complete. There's confidence for you. The $135 billion merger may have been given the go-ahead by the European Commission's anti-trust regulators, but it still has to pass muster with the US Federal Trade …

    Business 12 Oct 2000, 14:49

  • Sony's latest robot dog comes out of the kennel

    $1,400 pooch can play 'rock, paper, scissors'

    Sony is to give birth to a cheaper, more lifelike version of its robot dog. The "Aibo" shiny metal canine, in gold, silver or black, can wag its stumpy tail, move its ears and even play very un-dog games like "rock, paper, scissors". "Great for parties," according to Sony. It also has a camera in its nose - simply command it …

    Business 12 Oct 2000, 15:01

  • Here's what Novell says NetWare 6 can do

    And a roadmap to go with it

    Novell is concerned about a swathe of stories that suggest it is leaving NetWare at home while it goes out pulling with its more attractive brothers eDirectory and Single Sign-On. And so we've been treated to a rundown of what NetWare version 6 (currently in alpha) is going to be able to do. It's amazing, it can do everything. …

    Software 12 Oct 2000, 15:17

  • Intel plots P4 Xeon roadmap

    Fister frank about Foster

    Intel will ship the server-oriented version of the Pentium 4, codenamed Foster, from Q2 next year, after the workstation release arrives (fingers crossed), alongside the 900MHz PIII Xeon, in Q1. The 32-bit Foster will debut at 1.4GHz, the same speed as the workstation version of the P4. It is already known to operate with a …

    Channel 12 Oct 2000, 16:03

  • E-Angels cast out Satan

    Halo, halo, halo

    An ISP in Lancashire has recruited heavenly bodies to help manage its congregation of business users. businessserve has recruited a chorus of 20 E-Angels to help its customers see the Net light. Mere mortals who sign up for the scheme are allotted their own personal E-Angel who becomes their own guardian angel on a range of …

    Music and Media 12 Oct 2000, 16:08

  • HP kits out cyberpoor with $1bn worth of goods

    Is that retail or wholesale value?

    Proving that IT companies have a heart and aren't just in it for the money, Hewlett-Packard is to give $1 billion to the world's poor. Villagers in Africa, South America and China stand to benefit from the scheme, which aims to hook them up to the Net and help them access healthcare, education and jobs online. Generous HP will …

    Business 12 Oct 2000, 16:13

  • Boffins develop brain fry-free X-Ray specs

    The mind goggles

    Satellites are helping to realise the sci-fi fantasy of X-Ray specs without the nasty side effects of blasting the brain with X-Ray radiation. The goggles are designed to help maintenance workers locate precisely pipes and so on underground. This should mean faster repairs of underground cabling and pipes. A road worker will …

    Business 12 Oct 2000, 16:19

  • HWRoundup Odds and Sods

    Theme-free park today

    The good Doctor delves into the world of alternatives to the Intel i815/e. The main rival is from SiS, imaginatively titled SiS630S. Go here to see if the competition is up to the challenge. The head honchos at NVidia are put to the question over at the Duke or URL's site today. Could all the confustication about the drivers …

    Hardware Roundup 12 Oct 2000, 16:27

  • Rivals start sniffing round troubled Carrera

    Mesh, Evesham and Hi-Grade we're told

    UK rivals have started sniffing around system builder Carrera Technology following its application to the High Court for an administration order. People who seem to be in the know about these things have said Mesh, Evesham Micros, and Hi-Grade are all interested in the business. Competitors are bound to be interested in picking …

    Business 12 Oct 2000, 16:36

  • Canada torches all .ca domain names – owners must reapply

    But there's a sort of crazed logic to it...

    Canada has come with a novel way of dealing with URL disputes. From 1 November it has decided to tear up all its country's domain names and start again. We thought someone was having a laugh when they informed us the new non-profit organisation set up to deal with .ca domains, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, had …

    Music and Media 12 Oct 2000, 17:16

  • Want toys? Amazon gives you dildos and Disney

    Updated Kids grow up fast these days

    Amazon boss Jeff Bezos is a man of his word. He said he was going to keep broadening the range of products available from the book e-tailer and he's certainly done that. If you were to enter 'toy' into Amazon.co.uk's search engine, as an innocent bright eyed child might, you'd soon be presented with an interesting range of …

    Music and Media 12 Oct 2000, 17:18

  • Corel plan for MS .NET Linux revealed in SEC filing

    And guess which one collects royalties from a Linux port?

    A Securities and Exchange Commission filing detailing the Microsoft-Corel relationship has shed light on the "outstanding legal issues" that neither side wanted to talk about when the deal was struck last week. The document also describes in some detail the staff resources Corel would commit to porting .NET services to Linux, …

    Software 12 Oct 2000, 17:46

  • George Dubya blames Net for Columbine massacre

    Guns don't kill people; the Net kills people

    Republican hopeful George W. Bush blamed the Internet for causing 'hearts to turn dark', which in turn caused the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado, while attempting to defend his opposition to gun control during Wednesday night's Presidential debate. "Columbine spoke to a larger issue [than gun control], and it's …

    Music and Media 12 Oct 2000, 18:03

  • Egg Internet banking – what's that rhyme with?

    Ten days to clear a cheque?

    Should you wish to pay off the bulk of your Egg credit card balance, you'll be advised by the bank's call centre to send in a cheque. A week later, when you attempt to use your card to pay off a paltry £250 hotel bill, having sent a measly £10,000 cheque to reduce your balance, you'll find that it takes a stonking ten days for …

    Music and Media 12 Oct 2000, 21:34