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13th October 2000 Archive

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  • Dotcoms told to swallow advice of sex industry

    Keep it cheap and easy

    Dotcom start-ups should copy the porn industry if they want to be successful. That's the advice of sex industry entrepreneurs, who reckon they are way ahead when it comes to using the Web for business. Sex sites were the first to recognise the opportunities of the Net and the sector also went through the e-learning curve …

    Business 13 Oct 2000, 07:18

  • Urbanfetch and don't carry

    More than 100 job losses

    New York-based Urbanfetch is to shut its consumer delivery service in the city and ditch its London office. The dotcom, which delivered online orders of goods such as books, food and electrical items within the hour, will now only run its corporate delivery service Urbanfetch Express. It is not known how many of the 400 New …

    Business 13 Oct 2000, 07:18

  • Blame Europe: now it's 3dfx's turn

    Soft markets

    3dfx, the leading graphics card maker, says its earnings and sales for the quarter ended 31 October will be "substantially" lower than expected. It attributes the shortfall to "overall softness in the European retail and system integrator channels". The company says that its planned expansion into the OEEM market will shield it …

    Business 13 Oct 2000, 08:38

  • Stan-the-man offers tax free betting

    And Ziggy doesn't just play guitar

    Stanley Leisure has opened two new tax-free sports betting sites. Stanleybet.co.uk is hosted in the UK and was launched in tandem with stanleybet.com, its offshore operation based in Malta. Both sites offer customers 'tax-free' betting on a range of sports although the outfit specialises in association football. It reckons it …

    Business 13 Oct 2000, 09:36

  • Ericsson signs $1bn Compaq Alpha dev. deal

    OK, it's for switches, but it's still a big thing for Alpha

    Switches don't usually light The Register's candle, but we were intrigued when we learned the Compaq has won a major contract to supply Swedish comms company Ericsson with Alpha processors. Ericsson plans to use the chips in its next-generation AXE wireless and wired phone switch. Both companies will co-operate on the …

    Channel 13 Oct 2000, 10:16

  • Taiwan's DRAM makers signal shift to 16Mb

    Margins higher than 64Mb parts

    Taiwan Dramurai UMC has ramped up production of 16Mb DRAM chips to capitalise upon the parts' higher profit margins as 16Mb parts become almost as expensive as 64Mb chips. According to Taiwanese business paper the Commercial Times, 16Mb chips are only fractionally cheaper than 64Mb parts. The current price for 64Mb DRAM is …

    Channel 13 Oct 2000, 10:34

  • Europe gives LLU the thumbs up

    And a one fingered salute to incumbent telcos

    Europe is another step closer to forcing incumbent telcos to unbundle their local loops by January 2001 after the European Parliament's industry committee yesterday gave its seal of approval to the draft legislation. The legislation now goes before the whole parliament in Strasbourg in a fortnight, before seeking final approval …

    Data Networking 13 Oct 2000, 10:36

  • Code Book code setters reveal crypto cock-up

    Interview Single DES/triple DES switcheroo

    Following the news that the final cipher of Simon Singh's Code Book challenge had been broken, The Register caught up with him and Paul Leyland, who between them set the ten ciphers in the challenge. A team of researchers in Sweden cracked all the ciphers and claimed the £10,000 prize. It took a year and month between …

    Software 13 Oct 2000, 10:59

  • French Echelon report says Europe should lock out US snoops

    And it wants better encryption, all made in Europe...

    The report of the French National Assembly's enquiry into the Echelon surveillance system, published yesterday, points up dangers to privacy and mission creep whereby a 'security' system is being used to spy on European businesses and technological developments. And somewhat ominously, it recommends that the European Union …

    Music and Media 13 Oct 2000, 11:07

  • Win Physicus software and save the world

    Competition It's all about the appliance of science

    Reg merchandising has teamed up with Tivola Publishing, the publisher of multimedia CD-ROMs, to give away five copies of their Physicus. According to the blurb, a meteorite has hit the planet, causing it to stop rotating around its own axis. Things look pretty bad for humanity unless you can get the world rotating again. …

    Site News 13 Oct 2000, 11:20

  • LCD price crash pushes manufacturers into PDAs and phones

    Think small

    LCD manufacturers in Japan are trying to offset the financial damage done by falling PC and notebook screen prices by moving into production of LCD screens for PDAs and mobile phones. With the mobile phone market set to exceed 410 million units this year, it is a market the companies cannot ignore. Sharp, Japan's largest LCD …

    Business 13 Oct 2000, 11:29

  • Blackmailed football star named on Web

    Not that it will do you any good

    The football star currently involved in an intriguing sex-blackmail court case has been named on the Net. He is one of the most famous British footballers, he is friends with Paul Gascoigne and the case is being heard in Newcastle crown court. However, the star, who claims he was stalked and blackmailed by a woman with tapes of …

    Music and Media 13 Oct 2000, 11:31

  • 3Com Audrey Net appliance to debut Tuesday

    Net access cookin' in your kitchen

    3Com's first Internet appliance, Audrey, will finally be launched next week after a month's delay, according to company sources sited by CNet. The etch-a-sketch style Web pad was announced earlier this year, and described by former 3Com CEO Eric Benhamou as the device that would out-Palm Palm. Audrey was due to arrive early …

    Business 13 Oct 2000, 11:44

  • Get some of the Fuhrer's hair online

    Goering, goering, gone

    A German Web site specialising in Nazi memorabilia has put some of Hitler's barnet* up for auction - at £700 a hair! The woman the runs the minimalist site Carinhall.com, Pamela Korner, is rather pleased with her acquisition. Unfortunately, we had to use online translation software to find out what the hell was going on (it's …

    Music and Media 13 Oct 2000, 11:59

  • Half Gateway's profits come from software and services

    Posts Q3 income of $152.6m

    PC manufacturer Gateway matched analyst's estimates by reporting net income of $152.6 million for the third quarter, up from $113.1 million a year earlier. Net sales grew from $2.5 billion to $2.2 billion a year ago. Sales and software made up 50 per cent of the company's profits, five per cent higher than expected. "We are …

    Business 13 Oct 2000, 12:00

  • Music biz to define digital music ID system

    We'll know what you're downloading

    The Recording Industry Association of America is developing a system to identify and track the transmission of digital music files, the trade organisation said yesterday. Essentially, the RIAA's plan is to embed identifiction codes into digital music files. The codes would contain details about the song, who owns the copyright …

    Music and Media 13 Oct 2000, 12:38

  • BT Openworld on show next week

    Forget the glitz and glamour - here's the nitty gritty

    BT is holding a two-day love-in at a trendy London location next week to show off its broadband content and technology. Those invited to turn up will be able to muse over the future of the technology and the impact it will have on our lives. Called "Citizens of the Openworld", it's been described as a cross industry platform …

    Data Networking 13 Oct 2000, 13:15

  • Callnet bought by E-Tel

    ISP ASP combo creation

    British ISP, Callnet plc, has been bought by E-Tel Ventures plc, Reg can reveal. The deal was closed last night although financial details have not been disclosed. No one at Callnet or UK-based E-Tel was available for comment by press time although it's understood that E-Tel is looking to merge Callnet's ISP with its own ASP …

    Music and Media 13 Oct 2000, 14:03

  • More banks put down payment on Net

    Barclays, Nomura, Alliance & Leicester - do they never learn?

    Two announcements here. Barclays and Japanese bank Nomura are spending £30 million on a joint shopping portal in time for Christmas. And the Alliance & Leicester is launching a new small business service which it will run almost entirely over the Internet. The Barclays/Nomura venture sees Barclays put in £20 million to Nomura's …

    Music and Media 13 Oct 2000, 14:20

  • Dell recalls fire hazard notebook batteries

    Wants 27,000 of the Sanyo components returned

    Dell today recalled up to 27,000 notebook batteries that are suspected of being a fire risk. The voluntary recall affects models sold in the Americas from June 22 to September 15, and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa between June 22 and October 4. The batteries, which have the potential to short-circuit, overheat and …

    Business 13 Oct 2000, 14:26

  • Get Carter more boring than En Carta

    Stallone you slag you're a dead man

    It had to happen. Spurred on by the success of British gangster flicks and inspired no doubt by Madonna's recent conversion to anglophilia, Hollywood has sunk to new lows with its remake of classic film Get Carter. A moment of casting madness put Sly Stallone in the title role, originally played by Michael Caine. Stallone, who …

    Bootnotes 13 Oct 2000, 14:29

  • UK rail staff to get kitted out with WinCE Pocket PC timetables

    Is this the end to useless rail folk? (Don't be stupid)

    Computer services group Sema has signed a £24 million deal with ATOC (Association of Train Operating Companies) to supply handhelds to rail staff in the UK. The idea is that all staff will have access to the latest timetable information, thus making your average commuter's journey that little bit less frustrating. Hopefully the …

    Business 13 Oct 2000, 14:47

  • UK brains deliver 8-fold increase in data processing speeds

    From the boffins who crammed 10.8TB of data on a PC card

    The clever people responsible for the super-high-capacity solid-state storage breakthroughs, from Keele University, have discovered that the same technology will actually speed up processing time by a factor of eight. Researchers at the University discovered a "three-dimensional" memory system which they reckon can cram 10.8TB …

    Business 13 Oct 2000, 15:24

  • Scotland joins dotcom revolt

    Jocks away

    Scotland is the seventh most wired country for business, according to the latest findings from Scottish Enterprise. What makes this figure particularly outstanding is that less than a quarter of Scottish businesses have their own Web sites. And of those, just 7 per cent of businesses sell goods and services online. Despite …

    Music and Media 13 Oct 2000, 15:38

  • HWRoundup Fine tune your i815 chipset

    High res top marks for ATI Radeon 32MB SDR version

    Anandtech has taken a look at the ATI Radeon 32MB SDR Version. Major conclusions? It is still not quite up there at lower resolutions, but when more performance is demanded, it comes through with flying colours. Excuse the pun, and check it out here. Overclockers in Oz want to let the world know that they have PCR file for …

    Hardware Roundup 13 Oct 2000, 16:34

  • Printer ink will make you high

    Well woad you believe it?

    Printing with warpaint [The letter that sparked the controversy, well, the small debate] They seem to be brushing over the fact that woad is a hallucinogenic and you are no longer allowed use it as a body paint. The reason the early Celts used it was it turned them into raving lunatics before a battle. Not particularly hard …

    Letters 13 Oct 2000, 16:37

  • Canadians – dem not like the rest of us I tell you

    Novel approach to domain name disputes? Or lunacy?

    Canada torches all .ca domain names - owners must reapply Don't forget that Canada is about the only country which has all the makings of a civil war (Quebec versus the rest of Canada) but instead of going to war people just shout at the politicians & write letters to newspapers. Canadians in general put up with rules provided …

    Letters 13 Oct 2000, 16:44

  • Other stuff

    Letters Not much of it though

    BT to offer free local calls BT's new pre-pay/mock unmetered scheme is OFF PEAK? AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA! How did you type through the tears of laughter? It's only going to appeal to pre-pubescent girls who want to yack about Britney Spears' latest surgery, not adolescent boys who want to download the "Britney sucks off two guys" …

    Letters 13 Oct 2000, 16:45

  • A licence to print money?

    The Internet is no different to Auntie

    People watching the BBC on their PC, whether via a PC card or by streaming it from the BBC's web site, should pay for a TV licence. But only if they're in the UK. This led to discussions on why the Brits pay for a TV licence anyway, how TV detector vans work and can you avoid them with an LCD monitor, and the 1949 Wireless …

    Letters 13 Oct 2000, 17:34

  • Readers' Letters The main topics

    Focussed letter writing this week

    Okay you lucky devils, here is your weekly fix of fellow reader scriblings. A licence to print money? The Internet is no different to Auntie Printer ink will make you high Well woad you believe it? Canadians - dem not like the rest of us I tell you Novel approach to domain name disputes? Or lunacy? Other stuff Not much …

    Letters 13 Oct 2000, 17:35

  • Open sourced StarOffice 6 vapes download site

    Updated What a surprise. So Sun servers must stink after all, right?

    Sun open sourced StarOffice 6 on Friday 13th, in circumstances that cynical-minded individuals might suspect as having been pre-engineered by the marketing department. "At about 5.45am PST," says www.openoffice.org, "our Web server was brought down by a veritable tsunami of hits." If you want StarOffice 6, or you want to …

    Software 13 Oct 2000, 17:54

  • Whistler public beta slips again – but say hello to Build 2281

    The good, the bad and the UAE

    Build number 2276 of Whistler - the next consumer Windows - leaked into the usual nefarious channels on Monday. But sources close to Microsoft have been filling us in on the 2281 build, which has only just been issued to Redmond's extra special birthday friends. With Paul Thurrotts'WinInfo site reporting that the public beta has …

    Software 13 Oct 2000, 22:30