14th October 2000 Archive

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Bill Clinton freaks out over G3 wireless

Yikes! America's falling behind

American airwaves are becoming hopelessly congested and there isn't much bandwidth available for expansion, a worried US President Bill Clinton observed in a hastily-drafted Executive Memorandum signed on Friday, in which he directed the Secretaries of State, Defence, Treasury, Transportation and Commerce to get their act …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 04:20
BT's Genie out of action for three days after technical hitch

Friday 13th wreaks havoc for telco

Poor old BT has been hit with yet another PR disaster -this time it's the turn of its Internet portal Genie. BT decided to upgrade the Genie Website and set its worker on the task - which was meant to take 12 hours. This was on Wednesday, but this afternoon the site was still out of action. It seems the engineers attending to …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:16
Sex and the City: More suits sacked for Net porn

Merrill Lynch kicks out 15 staff

Top city stockbroker Merrill Lynch has sacked 15 London staff for allegedly sending pornographic emails. Those kicked out today are believed to include share dealers at the Victoria office who downloaded the material from the Net on the company's system, then sent the sleaze around the office. "As per Merrill Lynch policy, the …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:16
Gateway to stage universe's biggest computer games contest

Coming to a Country store near you

Gateway is next month staging what it claims will be the world's biggest computer games tournament. The event is to take place in 320 Gateway Country shops in North America. Lucky winners stand to gain around $300,000 in combined prizes. Contestants will be divided into four age groups, 4-9, 10-13, 14-18 and 19 and up. In …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:16
Police called to evict dotcom staff

And other financial scare stories

E-staff at Manchester-based Powernet Telecom were escorted by police from their offices on Friday after being told they would not be paid. The Peelers were called in after staff became angry. Powernet warned its employees not to nick anything either, or they'd be collared. One hacked off dotcomer told the Sunday Times that …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
BT denies chairman to stand down

Sit down, may be, but not stand down

BT has denied that Sir Iain Vallance is to step down early as chairman of the monster telco. The Sunday Telegraph claimed BT is planning to make an announcement about his future in a couple of weeks. The newspaper said investor dissatisfaction with the company's performance was at the heart of his decision to bow out. …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
French ‘want Freeserve’

Wanadoo push banana shake a tree

Wanadoo, the cash-rich ISP majority-owned by French Telecom, has "entered the race to buy Freeserve", Sunday Business claims. Freeserve clearly has the for sale sign dangling over its head, but will it want to be owned by the French? In June, negotiations with T-Online, the German ISP giant collapsed, in disagreement over price …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
Oftel to investigate BT over LLU

That's if anyone can find the complaint

Britain's leading telcos have lodged a formal complaint with Oftel against BT over the way broadband services are being introduced, according to the Sunday Telegraph. The newspaper reports that Kingston Communications, Energis and Colt are among a number of operators that claim BT is not providing fair access to it local …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
Oftel starts BT investigation

Phew! Thank God someone found the complaint

Oftel has launched a preliminary enquiry into BT's handling of Local Loop Unbundling (LLU), a spokeswoman told Reg this afternoon. The move follows confirmation from the winged watchdog that an industry group has lodged a formal complaint against the incumbent telco and its apparent reluctance to open its local exchanges to …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
UK's e-minister backs Oftel

Well at least she's said something ...anything

Britain's Minister for e-commerce has turned herself into something of an oddity by becoming one of the few people to openly back Oftel and the way it's handled local loop unbundling (LLU). Such a move sticks out like an inflamed haemorrhoid as people have lined up to slam Oftel's management of the complicated process. In an …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
No verdict in Napster trial – yet

Napster, RIAA wait while judges deliberate

The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals failed to rule on the Recording Industry Association of America's contributory copyright violation case against MP3 sharing service Napster yesterday. The three judges presiding over the case did not say when a decision would be made, leaving both sides wondering just where their 20-minute …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
Napster enabled 1.4bn song swaps in September

That's a lot of potential copyright theft

If the Recording Industry Association of America's contributory copyright violation case goes against Napster, the MP3 sharing software company would be in real trouble when damages are assessed. According to Net market researcher Webnoize, in September alone, there were 1.39 billion downloads made via Napster. Webnoize says …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
$1bn prize in dotcom competition

One in 2.4 billion chance of winning

A New York dotcom is offering surfers the chance to win shedloads of cash and make a mess of their underwear. Aptly named Grab.com was launched two days ago and offers online games and contests. In order to break into this packed market on the Net it has launched a lottery game with a $1 billion jackpot. Punters have to choose …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
ISP to prosecute system ‘abusers’

You've been warned

The Free Internet Group (FIG) is prepared to prosecute individuals if they abuse the ISP's 24/7 flat-fee Net access. The company said it was suffering a growing trend of "blatant abuse" from people using the service for commercial activities. According to an email sent to members, FIG's directors are determined to "stamp out …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
Bosses gain email snooping rights

Where's the harm in that?

The Government has abandoned "impractical" plans to force companies to seek permission from their staff to monitor email and phone usage at work. From 24 October, companies will be permitted "routine access" to any business emails and phone calls to see if they are business-related, the FT reports. Trade unions are up in arms …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
BMG damns Napster 'they wouldn't co-operate' claim

Cat fight continues out of court

'Big five' recording company BMG yesterday damned comment from Napster CEO Hank Barry that the music industry was unresponsive to the MP3 sharing software company's attempts at conciliation as "completely inaccurate". Quite the reverse, claimed BMG's new-technology president and spin-doctor-in-chief, Kevin Conroy. His company, …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
Dotcom casino execs convicted of $32m Coutts bank fraud

GalaxiWorld.com gamble doesn't pay off

Execs at dotcom casino Galaxiworld.com got their wrists slapped yesterday for defrauding the Queen's bank of $32 million. Company CEO Jack Banks and CFO Larry Weltman received fines totalling just $1 million, along with a five-year probation stint from a New York court. They were also banned from returning to the US and from …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
UUNet goes titsup.com

The network, dummy, not the e-outfit

UUNet has suffered a major outage at its London Docklands facility affecting 400 corporate customers. The service went offline this morning at around 4.00am during what the company calls "routine maintenance" after engineers experienced "significant difficulties". A statement issued by UUNet reads: "It should be noted that as …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
UUNet – it lives again

Oh, some people are just so clever

It appears UUNet has finally got its house in order after its Docklands facility in London went for a burton this morning. A statement recently issued by the company reads: "More than 75 per cent of connections to UUNet's Docklands facility have now been restored following today's loss of service." It claims all 400 bigwig …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
Carnivore does more than previously thought

The FBI's been entirely too modest

Heavily censored FBI documents obtained by US watchdog outfit the Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC), under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, indicate that the FBI's electronic snoop known as Carnivore might be able to monitor a good deal more than just e-mail traffic. Among the capabilities that peek out …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
Pedagogues get wired

And why not?

More than half of all secondary school teachers in Britain have their own email addresses, according to figures just released by the Government. Make no mistake - that's a massive rise if you think that in 1998 just nine per cent had email. The Government wants 75 per cent of teachers to be online by 2002. Launching a raft of …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
ISPA to rule on LineOne

And swine might defy gravity

ISPA (Internet Service Providers Association) could be about to rule whether LineOne broke the industry's code of conduct when it ditched its unmetered Net access product during the summer. The industry body is due to convene tomorrow (Friday) and LineOne is on the agenda. Don't hold your breath...but it's possible, just …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
OpenTV says 1-Click this!

Amazon challenged again over its pride and joy

E-tail giant Amazon.com has a fresh challenger to the ownership of the prized 1-Click system. A US interactive TV company believes it invented the technology, which stores information so users do not have to re-enter personal details when visiting sites, and intents to get the patent. Today OpenTV announced it recently filed …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
Net used to help poll the world

Probably ambitious market research plan

What's it like to be a human being? Well researchers Harris Interactive and 3Com want to know and have teamed up to carry out what they claim is the largest ever poll of Internet users, and their counterparts in the non e-world. Spanning four days, from 15-18 November, the research has been dubbed Planet Project and is a kind …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
New Yorkers found queuing patiently for bubble economy jobs

But decent staff can't be found

New Yorkers were queuing round the block for jobs in the bubble economy this week. The assembled hordes waited patiently to get into the packed first Ultimate Silicon Alley Career Fair this week, an event organisers plan to take around the US over the next 12 months. Held in Bryant Park, it attracted Big Apple-based dotcom …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
Swedes go elk-hunting on Net

After a good sauna, of course...

Swedes are being given the chance to go elk hunting on the Net. The Svenska Dagbladet newspaper has apparently set up a digital camera deep in a Swedish forest which shows a different picture of the woodland scene online every minute. Elk-mad Swedes have to spot one of the beasts on screen - then quickly fill in a form …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:38
P4 benchmarks – the real thing?

Could be - they're anodyne enough...

Yet more Pentium 4 benchmarks have popped their tiny little heads over the parapet, but this time they could be the real thing. This claim, made on JC's pages which was sent them anonymously by the enigmatic 'One guy on the net', could well be true, because the numbers follow Intel's traditional iMark style. iMark is an …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 08:40
P4 launch delay a cunning plan?

Marchitecture, not architecture

Last Friday's coup de grace on the hapless Timna (see Intel's Timna dead - official) could be seen as a welcome return to sanity for Intel's marketing department. Having the guts to kill a product some six months before it was due to launch is pretty strategic compared with the tactical flounderings of the last year and a bit …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 08:40
1.2 Gig Athlon, 800 Meg Duron launch this month

Christmas present from Chimpzilla

AMD confirmed today that a 1.2GHz Athlon would be in the stores in time for Christmas. A spokesperson for AMD Europe told The Register that both the 1.2GHz Athlon and an 800MHz Duron would be formally announced later this month, giving Chimpzilla a clear lead in performance stakes over the crucial Christmas buying period. An …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 08:40
Fake Durons tip up in Taiwan

Come and get, me copper

In Victorian times, if the marketing folk of the day wanted to make something sound exciting and high tech, they'd affix an 'Electric' prefix or suffix. Thus were born the Crapper Electric Toilet and the DeSade Electrical Servant Pacifier. Today's IT marketing goons have chosen 'copper' as the buzz word of choice. Copper …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 08:40
Chip sales carry on climbing

Net, wireless drives growth

Worldwide semiconductor sales were $18.18 billion in August, a record for the year, and a stonking 52.7 per cent higher than August 1999's puny $11.91 billion. Consumer, Internet, and telecomms products are driving the growth, across all territories, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, the trade group which …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 08:40
P4 launch now set for end of November

Week commencing November 28, to be precise

More details of Intel's Pentium 4 delay have come to light thanks to an internal document obtained by Digit Life. The launch date has now reportedly shifted to work week 48, which would place it right at the end of November and the 850 Tehama chipset problem, which affected certain PCI graphics cards, has been identified as an …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 08:40
Celeron gets 100MHz FSB in Q1 2001

And not before bloody time

Leaked Intel documents seen by The Reg reveal that Celeron will finally move into the 1990s in 2001. The cheapo chip has been lumbered with a puny 66MHz front side bus ever since its inauspicious launch as the cacheless Covington in the latter years of the last century. A new chipset, the i810e2 is also set for launch in Q1, …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 08:40
1.4GHz P4 price slashed

And it hasn't even gone on sale yet

Intel's Pentium 4 is now scheduled for launch at the end of November in 1.4 and 1.5GHz guises. The entry level P4 should debut at 1.4Ghz, priced at $652, while the premium part will ship at 1.5Ghz and $827. It's intriguing that our original intelligence pointed at a launch at 1.3 and 1.4GHz, costing $635 and $805 respectively …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 08:40
Athlon 1.2GHz, Duron 800 to ship this month

Chimpzilla reasserts megahurts leadership

No sooner do we advise that 1.2GHz Athlons will be in the shops in time for Christmas than do we discover that the little suckers will actually be out and about before the end of this very month. And the dinky little 800MHz Duron will also be available in October, which will no doubt find itself packed into Santa's sack as …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 08:40
Napster, RIAA suit opens today

There may be troubles ahead, but while there's music...

Napster will face the Recording Industry Association (RIAA) in court today, as the two sides meet for what should be their final confrontation. In the blue corner, the RIAA will seek to have its preliminary injunction against Napster not only reinstated but made permanent. In the red corner, Napster will be fighting for its …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:43
DTI backs Oftel over BT handling

Nice to know someone does

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has given Oftel a vote of confidence over its handling of local loop unbundling. Despite mounting criticism against the regulator and a report that a number of telcos have lodged an official complaint with the winged watchdog against BT, a spokesman at the DTI gave the regulator two …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:43
Virtual Jackie seeks place in Oval Office

And not just under the table

A virtual woman is running for the Whitehouse - not the porn mag, the presidency of the United States of America. Square-jawed Jackie Strike is conducting her entire electoral campaign from her own soapbox-style Web site answering questions and giving speeches in the hope that voters will "no longer be reduced to voting for the …

Bootnotes 14 Oct 2000, 08:43
Pentium III to get new core

Pity it's the same one that caused the 1.13GHz recall

According to ixbt labs, Intel is about to revamp its PIII Slot One chips ranging from 600 to 933MHz with the cC0 core used in the flip chip variants of the processor. The C stepping is around five per cent smaller than the cB0 currently used, making it both more economical to manufacture and more stable at high clock speeds. …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 08:43
City porn downloaders caught banking

Black plastic sacks all round...

Sex-crazed bankers at Deutschebank in London have been given the boot for downloading porn from the Web. Ten wan, er sorry, workers, of unspecified gender or species, have been suspended following an audit of internal emails. The number of hairy-palmed ex-employees may increase as the investigation proceeds, warn Security Staff …

Bootnotes 14 Oct 2000, 08:43
A gag to make your Friday

It's not side-splitting but it is funny

[Something to put a smile on your miserable faces] A farmer got pulled over by a state trooper for speeding, and the trooper started to lecture the farmer about his speed, and in general began to throw his weight around to try to make the farmer uncomfortable. Finally, the trooper got around to writing out the ticket, and as …

Letters 14 Oct 2000, 08:43
Best of the Rest more than you could shake a stick at

Memory, Carla, Swedish whores and mould

[Only uneducated Yanks respect copyrights - study] I believe you were slightly off the mark in your conclusion that US education corrupts morals. This is merely a reflection that only overly educated aspire to be moral. One can assume that the entire US population steals copyrighted material. Those in the upper echelon however …

Letters 14 Oct 2000, 08:43
Apple shares slump

Market cap less than half what it was Thursday

Apple shares dropped further on Friday, as the company's profit warning inspired a whole bunch of previously pro-Apple analysts to downgrade the Mac maker's stock. On Thursday, after trading hours, Apple announced that it's most recently completed quarter - it ended last Saturday - will see profits down around 33 per cent on …

Mac Channel 14 Oct 2000, 08:45
Hyundai breaks free from US DRAM tariffs

But what does it all mean?

The US Department of Commerce has lifted the 10.44 per cent anti-dumping tariff it had imposed on Hyundai, the DRAM maker. But what effect will it have on prices? One possibility is that the US spot price will fall even further as Hyundai exports more into the country. But This in turn could stabilise the price in Europe, as …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 08:45
Infineon snaps up Ardent

Puts its towels down in California

Chip giant Infineon Technologies is to buy California circuit company Ardent Technologies in a $42 million share deal. The Munich-based semiconductor maker said today the acquisition of Ardent, which specialises in high-bandwidth integrated circuits for LAN switching systems, would give it a leg up in the communications chips …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 08:45
How much am I bid for this training course?

Going cheap

Did you know that there are £200 million worth of IT training courses going to waste each year? We neither (to tell the truth, we hadn't given this any thought). A new Web site, Hoora.com, aims to to put this to right with Britain's first online auction site for IT courses. To be more specific, the auctions are for last-minute …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:45
Disqualified director? No problem, sir

Powernet operates relaxed recruitment policy

Ian Carey - CE of Manchester-based Powernet Telecom and the man who called in administrators on Monday - was a disqualified director, according to the FT. The pink paper claims that London stockbrocker, Teather & Greenwood, failed to reveal that Carey's disqualification in May 1999 for five years after his publishing business …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:45
Viglen buys stake in schools Web site

RM MKII?

Viglen has bought a 49 per cent stake in Pedagag limited, owner of @School (atschool.co.uk), an on-line internet based content resource which enables primary school children to "surf the Internet in safety and provides help with homework, school projects and tests". Viglen is buying the stake through its VigEcom educational IT …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:45
Dell blames stingy Europeans for Q3 droopy sales figures

Might fail to hit full-year 30 per cent growth target

Mighty Dell warned analysts yesterday that Q3 sales would be three per cent less than expected thanks to Europeans not buying enough of its products. The Round Rock, Texas PC maker also blamed sluggish sales to small business customers. The revised projected revenues for the quarter ending November 4 were $8.2 billion, up 27 …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:45
PST launches Net based inventory shifter

End-of-line goes online

PST Group has launched a company to help vendors offload excess stock online. The inventory management outfit, called JustXS, will let registered buyers worldwide log on to its secure site to snap up kit nearing the end of its shelf-life. The idea is that products will be cheap and pre-selected punters will be able to nab …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:45
Europe: Intel down, AMD up

Lies, damned lies and statistics

European Franchise outfit PC-Spezialist, which operates 121 stores in Germany, Austria, and Luxembourg, reckons that Intel could have been economical with the actualité over a dip in Euro sales contributing to the chip behemoth's warning on Q3 profits. PC-Spezialist says there was indeed a dip in demand for PCs, but that it …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 08:45
VA Linux gets a Life – in Belgium

Acquisition time

The way things are going, VA Linux will soon have the entire readership of Slashdot working for it. The must-own-everything company, has bought another business. This one is in Belgium, it's called Life and it's a Linux consulting company. Terms were undisclosed. VA Linux has also announced some "key developer hires" in …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:45
VIA September sales: not so bad

What will October bring

VIA has released its September sales figures and they are not so bad after all. The Taiwanese microprocessor firm produced revenues of NT$3.5 billion (about US$115 million) - NT$500 million down on its record month in August, but a stonking 253.45 per cent up on September 1999. The company also says that sequential revenues …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:45
Logica buys German group for £370 million

Critical mass

Logica, the UK software and services group is paying £370m cash for pdv Unternehmensberatung, a German competitor. Logica says pdv will give it scale in Germany, taking staff numbers in the country up from 100 to 1,300. Logica expects the acquisition to be earnings enhancing in the current year. pdv reported £72.5m sales and …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:45
Computacenter scraps Compel offer

Whither Compel?

Computacenter today said it was no longer interested in buying Compel. The UK's biggest reseller made a conditional offer for Compel, the UK number 3, in June. So far, it's not saying why. The Compel board rejected this out of hand. Meanwhile Specialist Computer Holdings, owner of SCC, the UK's second biggest reseller, has …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:45
Punters shun online auctions after losing e-bid virginity

Sword of truth

Online auctions may get shedloads of hits, but visitors aren't returning to the sites after losing their e-auction virginity. The number of newcomers to these sites is rising, but nineteen per cent of them in Q2 said they wouldn't go back to an auction site, up from nine percent in Q1. In the first quarter of this year eight …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:47
Europe stays schtum on AOL/Time Warner merger ruling

Appears to be willing to let EMI/Warner merger go ahead after all

European Commission anti-trust regulators said today they have yet to come to a firm conclusion as to whether AOL's proposed merger with Time Warner should be allowed to stand. Nor has the Commission made up its mind whether TW's Warner Music subsidiary should be allowed to take over EMI, one of its fellow 'big five' global …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:47
EMI/Time Warner withdraw EU merger application

But they still want to do it

EMI and Time Warner have withdrawn an application to merge their music businesses from European Commission anti-trust regulators. The companies still want to merge and have said they will continue talking to find a solution that satisfies anti-trust concerns in Europe and the US. By withdrawing their application for European …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:47
Amazon biz model flawed, says dotcom guru

Spreading itself too thin

A bubble economy guru has slammed Amazon.com's strategy to be all things to all men. Lauren Cooks Levitan, analyst at Robertson Stephens, criticised the e-tail giant for spreading itself too thin - and said this could have the knock-on effect of damaging its long-term profitability. Amazon currently carries merchandise across …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:47
Fresh suitors eye EMI after Warner merger collapses

Step forward BMG

Germany's Bertelsmann Music Group is believed to be making moves on EMI, following the UK company's decision to call off its proposed merger with Time Warner's Warner Music Group. And BMG isn't alone. According to a New York Times report, Hong Kong-based Internet and telecoms operation Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW) has its …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:47
Palm retakes ground grabbed by Handspring

Consumer push rebuilds PDA veteran's marketshare

Palm appears to have successfully countered PalmOS-licensee Handspring's attack on its consumer flank, or so the latest US retail marketshare figures seem to suggest. According to researcher NPD Intelect, Palm took 70 per cent of the US retail and mail order market in August, up from 61.5 per cent in July and 65.4 per cent in …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:49
IBM servers get name change

Es with everything

IBM is to rename all its servers tomorrow, under the blanket moniker - eserver. The Netfinity line will become eserver xSeries; the S/390 changes to eserver zSeries 900; the AS/400 will become the eserver iSeries 400; and the RS/600 will become the eserver pSeries 600. IBM is also expected to announce an updated version of the …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:49
IBM's Linux-ready ZzzSeries triples big iron bandwidth

Wake up. It's a mainframe story.

Some might see IBM's pursuit of Linux as a sign of desperation, an and mainframe Linux as a whimsy, but every indication we see is that combined these maneuvers do seem to be paying off. The biggest, baddest and most expensive bit of IBM's server range, Freeway got its first public outing today and it comes with a host of …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:49
HWRoundup Rare reviews and the Solano-based AX3SPro

A rich bounty indeed

BXBoards makes a welcome return to the roundup with this review of the AX3SPro Solano based mainboard from AOpen. The reason for the delay (the guys got the board just after Computex) has been given as "various acts of gods". That sounds reasonable to us. We like rarities here at El Reg, so when we hear that there are only …

Hardware Roundup 14 Oct 2000, 08:49
Microsoft cans open source NTFS threats

Merkey story with happy ending

Microsoft has retreated from its recent threat to take action against Jeff Merkey's Timpanogas Research Group for providing read-write access to NTFS partitions. "Microsoft has apologized and withdrawn their statements," Merkey wrote in a post to a Linux kernel developer mailing list. "We are very happy this thread ended on a …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 08:52
Smoke, mirrors and accounting: MS breakup just got harder

Analysis Windows and Office separate? But we can't do that...

Microsoft's juggling of its accounting practices last week might have been made under cover of legal necessity but there are a couple of upsides from the company's point of view as well. The reporting format it's gone for makes it trickier to implement Judge Jackson's judgement, temporarily set aside, that the company should be …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 08:52
MS + Corel = Office for Linux? In your dreams…

Analysis We've seen enough embrace and extends to know better

The persistent - and persistently wrong - rumours that Microsoft is going to port Office to Linux will have gained new impetus following yesterday's "alliance" with Corel. Here we have Microsoft pumping cash into a leading Linux vendor which is also just about (pace Sun) its last serious competitor in the apps business. …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 08:52
H1-B visa bill sails through US Senate

Passed by 96 to one votes

A bill to get 600,000 more work visas for high-tech foreigners sailed through the US Senate today. The attempt to up the number of H1-B visas, outlined here last week, was passed by a vote of 96 to one in a bid to ease the sector's skills shortage. The visas will be dished out over a three-year period. "There is overwhelming …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:52
H-1B Visa bill a done deal

'Take your veto and shove it'

After sailing through the Senate by a margin of 96-1, the bill that would increase the quota for high-tech-worker visas went to the House where it was approved as well, again with only one nay vote. The bill will grant nearly 200,000 H-1B visas to foreign tech geeks for each of the next three years. The visas remain valid for …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:52
Finance portal questions fall in share price

'We just can't understand it'

Thomas Hodgson, president and CEO of the financial portal GlobalNetFinancial.com, has issued a statement in a bid to reassure investors following a decline in its share price. He said: "We are very much aware of the recent difficult market conditions in small-cap stocks and stocks in Internet-related companies. "At the same …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:52
Ex-employee sues MS, claims race and sex bias

Says young white geeks hire young white geeks, apparently...

Microsoft is being sued by a black, female former employee who claims race and sex discrimination. Monique Donaldson, who left the company in May, alleges that the company's appraisal system operates according to the biases of its largely white male managers, rather than on merit. Donaldson's suit, which seeks class-action …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 08:52
HWRoundup Dr Tom rocks out with MP3 trio

Doctor Doctor, please

Anand takes time out from higher education to post, if not write, a new mainboard review. The Chaintech CT-7AIV2 Socket-A KT133 microATX is in for the treatment today. Go here if you feel as yet under informed. Despite continued protests to the contrary, "I am not a geek" has behaved in a fairly geeky manner (reclaim the word …

Hardware Roundup 14 Oct 2000, 08:52
IBM in legal-stew over rebranded servers

David and Goliath battle for tradmark

IBM's re-branding of its servers as eServers could land it in court as US company Technauts claims to have been selling servers under the same name since early 1999. The company also holds the trademark rights to the brand name. IBM says it is not an issue because, in the words of a company spokesman: "The IBM eServer brand …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:52
Sony seeks PlayStation 2 licensees

States again its interest in Palm's business model

Sony has again called for partners to help it leverage its PlayStation 2 games console as a gateway to the Internet for homes, capable of hooking up all your consumer electronics kit to the Net. "We are seeking a way for PlayStation 2 to be used as the home gateway," Shinichi Okamoto, Sony Computer Entertainment's VP, said at …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:52
AMD ships Linux 64-bit Hammer x86-64 simulator

Oh wow, it's SimNow...

AMD has released its Linux-based 'Hammer Sim' - a simulator that allows developers to run and debug code written for Chimpzilla's upcoming x86-64 64-bit processor technology. SimNow! - available free from AMD's Web site - lets coders test their software on a regular 32-bit x86 CPU. AMD's Hammer family of chips, the successors …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 08:52
Telecoms top of the patent pops

And companies get all touchy about their trademarks

In the last year, 865 patents were granted in the telecoms sector, making it officially the most innovative business in the country. Chip design also played its part, as 429 patents were granted in the last 365 days for circuitry design. Overall, applications for patents in the UK rose six per cent to top 30,000 according to …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:53
Broadband for free: radio kills the digital stars

Analysis The full import of Psion's cunning plan...

It's Broadcasting House, ancestral home of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and at Psion's Wavefinder launch a top level exec from the Beeb's new media operations is delivering an extended commercial for the Corporation's digital radio efforts. A contra deal typical of little Psion, known for its addiction to leveraging, …

Data Networking 14 Oct 2000, 08:53
Colt goes Dutch in DSL launch

More than can be said for the UK

Colt Telecom has started offering broadband DSL services in The Netherlands, the company announced today. Services are to be made available initially to business users in Amsterdam with Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht coming on line over the next few weeks. All in all Colt, plans to launch DSL-based services in nine European …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:53
Interactive TV boom around the corner

From couch potato to e-potato

Interactive TV use will increase tenfold in the US over the next three years, according to IDC. It expects around ten million NetTV activations in 2004 - up from one million last year. The US is expected to account for around half of all use, but Net TV is also forecast to take off worldwide. Activations at a global level are …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:53
Oftel to investigate cost of Net access in Britain

Are we all sitting comfortably? Good, then we'll begin

Don't laugh - but Oftel is to start a "major review" of the dial-up Internet access market in Britain. The review will consider how competition has developed in the Internet access market and whether consumers are getting the best deal possible - look, I just said don't laugh - through effective competition. The results of the …

Data Networking 14 Oct 2000, 08:53
Tories demand BT split

Telco gets the horn...and the bassoon come to think of it

The Shadow Chancellor has called for BT to be broken up. Today's Telegraph reports that at a meeting yesterday, Michael Portillo said: "We've been looking and talking about unbundling the local loop for too long. "We have to dissolve the old monopolies and make sure we have a deregulated environment. Senor Portillo was …

Data Networking 14 Oct 2000, 08:53
Scandinavian treated in clinic for SMS addiction

Text junkie sent 200 messages per day

A Scandinavian chauffeur has been booked into a clinic for SMS addiction after his habit left him sending more than 200 e-chat messages daily. The 25-year-old apparently drove at night and spent his daylight hours frantically sending short message services (SMS) on his mobile phone. He got to the point where he was sending an …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:53
MS bucks save Linux vendor Corel – but save it for what?

The devil has all the best bank accounts, and a .NET strategy to support

Microsoft is to pump $135 million into its (suddenly former) deadly rival Corel. The injection is approximately equivalent to 25 per cent of the cash-strapped Canadian company, and is intended, according to a joint announcement released after the markets closed last night, to provide a foundation for an alliance over Microsoft's …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 08:55
Gates' stake in MS – 14 per cent and falling

Only another $60bn of portfolio diversification to go...

According to Microsoft's proxy statement, as of 8 September Bill Gates' had only 13.7 per cent of Microsoft's shares (worth $43.9 billion at $60), and Steve Ballmer 4.5 per cent (worth $14.4 billion). The 31 executive officers and directors as a group control 18.8 per cent of the company. Mrs Gates has $12.9 million in shares in …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:55
MS bids to stretch appeal to mid-2001, documentation to moon

MS on Trial Only 19 things wrong with Jackson's verdict, apparently...

"The scope of this case is monumental," Microsoft claimed while asking the court of appeals for a slow-track appeal process over five months. It also wants its principal brief to be 56,000 words - four times longer than is normally allowed - and for its reply brief to be 28,000 words, which is twice the normal length. Microsoft …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 08:55
MS lost the verdict, but it's winning the trial

MS on Trial The DoJ calls for speed; but friends, it's not happening...

In response to what was in effect a Microsoft bid to extend the antitrust appeals process into a retrial earlier this week, the DoJ has filed its response early, calling for - as expected - a rather shorter appeals schedule. But although Microsoft hasn't won its retrial, it can glean some satisfaction from the current state of …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 08:55
DoJ filing points to MS lawyers in slow motion

MS on Trial Ah, but will it make any difference?

In its early filing in response to Microsoft's proposed timetable for the appeal, the DoJ has exposed some of the ways in which Microsoft is trying to cause delays. The DoJ argues that Microsoft's proposals for "massive pleadings" and an "extended briefing schedule" will not allow the appeal to be resolved quickly. But the DoJ …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 08:55
MS breakup to cost $147bn, $507 a head, say crazies

Full moon again already? Grief...

"Anyone owning shares of Microsoft has become all-too-well aware of what happens when the risk associated with an investment suddenly increases. Until this year, Microsoft was one of the best stocks to own..." All very true of course, but it is hard to feel sorry for punters - apparently including the authors of a report …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 08:55
MS insists on long appeal, blames DoJ for delays

But it did do something early - for once

Microsoft is adamant that it wants to file long briefs and have five months for its appeal. But it did decide to accept the DoJ's challenge and file its scheduling reply in two days, rather than by 10 October as it was entitled to do. Microsoft says that "if there is no threat of irreparable harm - and none has been shown" then …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 08:55
Resellers flock to CNET software

Boring stuff done well

CNET, the world's biggest IT portal, has built or bought a useful collection of price-comparison and catalogue databases and is looking to computer resellers to turn this into a useful revenue stream. And it appears to be successful - last week subsidiary, Swiss-based CNET Data Services (CDS), the company announced that it had …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:56
DRAM dump windfall for Hyundai

$110 million richer

Hyundai could be richer to the tune of $110 million following the US Department of Commerce's decision last week to rescind DRAM anti-dumping tariffs imposed upon the firm. Why? It's because the US authority has decided to backdate the decision to January this year. And that means Hyundai trousers $60 million it had lodged with …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:56
ATI losses shrink as revenues rise

Outlook not great, though

Graphics hardware market leader ATI yesterday saw its losses narrow despite declining sales over the last three months, but at least had record annual revenues to give it heart. For the three months to 31 August, ATI's fourth quarter of fiscal 2000, the company's sales hit $290.2 million, down on the $304.7 million is reported …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:56
Novell wins $2m piracy damages from Korean OEM

Unauthorised behaviour

A South Korean OEM, Myung Ge, has been ordered by a Utah district court to pay $2.4 million damages to Novell, after it was found guilty of counterfeiting software. The company was also found guilty of illegally unbundling OEM software, and of distributing upgrade products to ineligible customers. Judgment has been a long time …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:56
Semi-official: AMD European sales jump

Summertime and the living is easy

Anecdotal evidence about AMD's market share growth in Europe is turning into hard fact. The company took 12 per cent of European microprocessor sales in July and August, compared with 8 per cent for the same period last year, according to Market research firm GfK. Intel, by contrast, accounted for 84 per cent of the market in …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:56
Transmeta targets modest IPO price

But interest remains high

Transmeta's upcoming IPO will peg its stock at just $11-13 per share, according to the chip company's latest filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Even given investors' less-than-enthusiastic interest in technology stock, that does seem low, but should ensure that the company's share price rises during the …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:56
ECS Buys GADC Networks

£25 million revenues

ECS, the UK subsidiary of French reseller giant GFI Informatique, has bought GADC Networks, a rival networking systems integrator for an undisclosed sum. The group now has UK revenues of more than £25 million a year and a British staff head count of 150. No jobs will be lost in the takeover. The new organisation will continue …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:56
Dell can't blame poor performance on Euro PC market

Ze Europeans, zey are buying plenty, says Gartner.

Research published today from Gartner Group indicates that PC demand in Europe is not to blame for poor performance in the hardware market, contrary to statements from both Intel and Dell. The report predicts growth rates of 11-13 per cent - below last year's 23 per cent, but not to be sniffed at. Analysts at IDC bolstered the …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:56
Lawyers query online legal advice

'scuse us, this could take a while

The quality of online legal advice was today called into question after a lawyer claimed a legal firm's Web site was handing out incorrect advice. The pay-per-view site, belonging to an unnamed London law firm, provided wrong answers to a client's questions regarding financial and legal liabilities, he told the FT. Few will be …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:58
Beijing shakes fist at ‘cults and feudal superstition’ online

Fresh Batch of cyberlaws as long as the Great Wall

China has excelled itself with a fresh batch of Big Brother Internet restrictions out today. Included in the rules are police surveillance of Net use, watertight control on foreign investment in Chinese dotcoms, and making companies responsible for any "subversive" content on their sites. The list of illegal content is of …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:58
Car price slash puts JamJar.com in jam

Non-crazy online prices not being honoured

Online car trader, JamJar.com, had a bit of a mix-up over pricing at the weekend, which left some customers unable to buy the cars they wanted at the advertised price. A Nissan Primera was withdrawn from sale on the site after it emerged that it had been offered for sale at £1,000 below the actual price. This differs from …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:58
Royal Mail gets competitive

Its a dog eat bearbox e-world

One of the main problems with ecommerce is getting the stuff you buy delivered to your house. While you are actually in your house, as opposed to while you are at work so that you have to take the following morning off to pick up your parcel from your local post office. Not surprisingly, any number of companies have sprung up …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:58
Bridget Jones wins cybersquatter fight

Bad faith the key

Helen Fielding, the author of bestseller Bridget Jones' Diary, has wrested control of the domain name Bridgetjones.com from a Florida-based cybersquatter. World Intellectual Property Organisation arbitrator Frederick Abbot ordered the transfer of domain name to the British-born writer on hearing that Anthony Corbett, of …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:58
Freeserve gets mad with ‘abnormal’ users

...and even, if you don't watch out

Freeswerve - Britain's biggest ISP - is to get tough with Net users it believes are abusing its 24/7 unmetered service. It's about to send out emails to up to 700 people it claims are using Unlimited Freeserve Time for more than 16 hours a day. A spokeswoman said the ISP was entitled to get tough because of item 1.9.5 of …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:58
Pair of Brits on foreign porn charge

Jamaica? No she did it herself

Two Britons have been charged with allegedly fleecing punters accessing porno Web sites, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said yesterday. Robert Green and Marilyn Shein - both British citizens - were charged under three counts of misrepresentation and wrongdoing. In a statement the FTC said that Sark-based Verity …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:58
Fantasy gamer banned in porno row

And no goblin jokes, OK?

EverQuest gamers are revolting after one of their online buddies was banned from the Verant Interactive gaming community for allegedly posting a smutty story. The saga - which has to be more entertaining than any online game - has caused consternation among the dwarves, elves and other role-players who believe Sony-owned Verant …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:58
Girly teen site dies after 46 days

Kibu.com thought $22m would last longer

Execs at Kibu.com, a virtual hangout for teenage girls, have pulled the plug on the site just 46 days after its launch. The California-based venture, which grabbed $22 million from high-profile investors such as Netscape co-founder Jim Clark, officially blamed its death on bad market timing. It has returned all remaining cash …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:59
Non-Spam monster created

DoubleClick buys opt-in email firm

Online advertising company DoubleClick is to buy NetCreations in a $191 million share swap. The deal will create the world's biggest email management group, DoubleClick claimed today, allowing marketers access to 22 million email addresses. NetCreations' PostMasterDirect.com has 15 million addresses and adds 50,000 new names …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:59
Domain names set to double to 60m by 2002

Breeding like rabbits...

The number of registered domain names is set to double to 60 million by 2002. As of today, there were 30,272,862 URLs registered worldwide - according to NetNames, part of UK domain name registrar NetBenefit. It reckons it may have taken ten years for us to get this far, but it will only take another 18 months to add another 30 …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 08:59
Priceline buries two cash cows

Share price at all year low

Poor old Priceline.com is having a rough ride of it - two of its licensees have announced they are going down the tubes. WebHouse Club, which offers petrol and groceries, will close down in 90 days. WebHouse, in which Priceline holds warrants and was banking on gaining substantial licensing fees from its use of Priceline's …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:59
Lastminute to start selling by voice recognition

Reckons it'll do better than WAP

Lastminute.com has signed a deal with Nortel Networks so it can get non-PC literate customers to use its services over the phone. The customer portal will use automated voice recognition, and the same database customers access when using the Internet. Lastminute expects its business from mobiles, via voice recognition, to …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 08:59
Philips sues World+dog

Gets legal on their ass

The intellectual property subsidiary of Philips has accused six US semiconductor outfits of patent infringement and inducing others to infringe its patents. Analog Devices, Cirrus Logic, Cypress Semiconductor, Fairchild Semiconductor, Linear Technology and Standard Microsystems are the guys in the black hats, according to a …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 09:01
Citrix president outlines digital vision

Citrix iForum And a plug in portable portal

First the news. Citrix has unveiled the WYSE Blazer - a "portal appliance" made in conjunction with WYSE and Nat Semi at its iForum conference in Orlando. This little box is your portable portal and will revolutionise the world (of course). Plug it in and away you go. More details as and when they arrive. Now the keynote. …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 09:01
Broadcom eats Element 14

From mighty acorns little chips grow

Element 14, the bit of Acorn left after the veteran British company was dismembered for its ARM shareholding, has been bought by Broadcom for $594 million in shares. Essentially, Element 14 is a chip design team rather than a company, with skills particularly in DSP and ADSL design. There are 68 employees, who own 40 per cent …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 09:01
Micron cashes in on chips

PCs decline in importance

Micron Technology, the US Flag-waving DRAM maker, has pulled in record Q4 net income of $727 million, on sales of $2.6 billion. And for the full year, ended 30 August, the company produced net income of $1.5 billion on net sales of $7.3 billion. Almost all of the money comes from the DRAM business. What a difference a year …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 09:01
Citrix walks the ASP walk

Citrix iForum We actually get to see some practical ASP software

Shortly after top man of Citrix Mark Templeton gave his keynote speech at the iForum in Orlando, fellow cuddly gnome David Weiss* (VP marketing) gave us a series of demos which made application service providing a tangible concept for the first time. First up was a demo on how to put an app up on a portal (which can then be run …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 09:01
Computing to be castrated?

UK Publishing news IT Week poised to inherit crown

Computing, the slightly-less dull version of Computer Weakly, is obviously feeling the pinch and deems it necessary to embark on a redesign. Print media has a serious problem apropos of news coverage. Sleazy webmongers such as The Reg will always beat them by days if not weeks, so a reappraisal is clearly necessary. For the …

Bootnotes 14 Oct 2000, 09:02
Sony to cultivate digital media start-ups

VC wing seeks talent for broadband operation

Sony's has extended its plan to dominate the digital entertainment market with the launch of a subsidiary whose mission is to bring venture capital to new media start-ups. The new operation, 550 Digital Media Ventures, will be a division of Sony Broadband Entertainment, the umbrella organisation Sony formed earlier this year to …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 09:02
Hi-Grade offers UK journos share options

Wanna buy into our company? Don't worry about ethics

PC manufacturer Hi-Grade has offered a number of UK IT journalists the chance to buy into a private float of the company. A form from the finance director of Hi-Grade, Mr Pouliss, offered you the chance to buy up to 1,000 shares in a private Cyprus flotation. Shares will be valued at CY£1.00 (or £1.10 sterling). A cheque for …

Bootnotes 14 Oct 2000, 09:02
Supreme Court saves AOL from users

Uncommon carrier

A bunch of miffed AOL subscribers today saw their three-year battle to sue America Online stomped all over. The Supreme Court refused to have the case dragged up again - despite accusations that the ISP had imposed unjust charges and cocked-up customer privacy protection. It turned down the subscribers' argument that the US …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 09:03
Nintendo beats up Pokémon cybersquatters

Pikachu not to the rescue

Nintendo is sueing 55 domain name owners, whose sites "wilfully infringe" its Pokémon trademarks. The Japanese video games suit has filed what it calls a mass domain names suit with the Federal Court in Seattle. But it seems to be leaving Pokémon fan sites alone - the company says it has targeted "domain names that are …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 09:03
Votes for sale online in the US

Election fever gets a bit silly

Chicago's gangster ridden past has come back to haunt city officials with the appearance of a new website - Voteauction.com, where people can register to sell their vote to the highest bidder Perhaps unsurprisingly, city officials have failed to get the joke. The Board of Elections sent letters to federal and state prosecutors …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 09:03
Boo! Disgraced retail site back this month

In the Internet world, failures are king

The relaunch of shoddy sportswear site Boo.com is due to go ahead at the end of this month. The URL, trademark and a few other bits were bought by Fashionmall.com in June, after the bulk of it had been bought by Bright Station for £250,000. Fashionmall said at the time that it planned to use boo.com to break into the European …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 09:03
Napster has huge number of users – shock!

Market research stats tell us what we already know

You can't say Napster isn't popular. The latest usage statistics, unveiled yesterday by online market researcher Media Metrix, shows the number of US home-based users the MP3 sharing software increased six-fold between February and August. At the start of the year, Media Metrix found that just over 1.1 million people accessing …

Media 14 Oct 2000, 09:03
Gameplay prelims make you Quake

And other fun and games

Gameplay.com - the British-based games portal - today reported revenues of £23.2 million for the full year to July. Its preliminary results showed that gross profits hit £4 million with an operating loss before goodwill and depreciation of £22.8 million. Much of the operating loss this has been spent on brand and technology …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 09:04
Carly Fiorina: Fortune's most powerful woman

It's a technological top five

Hewlett-Packard's Carly Fiorina has topped Fortune magazine's "50 Most Powerful Women" poll for the third year running. The "silver medal" went to Debby Hopkins of Lucent Technologies and eBay's Meg Whitman came in third. By contrast, the probably better known Oprah Winfrey came in at number 15. New entrants include: Donna …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 09:04
Blimey! Maxtor buys Quantum HDD unit

Overtakes Seagate

The world's biggest hard disk drive company is to be created, through the takeover of Quantum's HDD business by Maxtor. Constructed as a merger, the all-share transaction will see Quantun's HDD stockholders receive 1.52 shares of Maxtor common stock for every one share they hold in Quantum. This values the deal at $2.3 billion …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 09:04
BT's ASP service a success!

Citrix iForum It's got a customer!

BT's ASP offering, ASP Enabler, is already a screaming success. What else could a hyped service with just one customer be? Renting software over the Internet "will become the standard method of deploying software", said head of BT Ignite Peter Grimes, in between mumbling and stumbling. Pete wanted us to know that his ASP …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 09:04
AMD chops chips by up to 50 per cent

...but when?

We have in our hands a new, but incomplete, AMD OEM price list, due to take effect from 9 October. However, we understand that AMD may be having second thoughts (over timing, as opposed to pricing). And who could blame the company for making hay, while Intel don't shine. Full details of the price cuts are not yet available - …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 09:06
Son of StrongARM to ship next year

Intel Xscaling the heights

Intel's low power consumption XScale architecture will eventually replace StrongARM in Chipzilla's portfolio, Ron Smith, VP of the chip behemoth's wireless communication group, said today. XScale has evolved from StrongARM - with which it is instruction set compatible - and which Intel has a unique licence to modify, according …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 09:06
No layoffs at Apple, Steve Jobs promises troops

But Mac maker must work harder

Apple is getting flabby, and Steve Jobs is going to get it into shape. At least that's what he told staff t'other day in a "communications meeting" broadcast to Apple-atchiks around the globe. The meeting was inspired by Apple's profit warning of last week, in which the company announced it expected earning to be 33 per cent …

Mac Channel 14 Oct 2000, 09:07
Pentium 4 yields ‘not impressive’

30 per cent failure rate reported

Someone at Intel's notoriously-leaky Qiryat-Gat plant (Fab 18) in Israel has been blabbing to Israeli paper Haaretz about teething troubles with the upcoming Pentium 4 chip. Haaretz reports that there are only two steppers in the world capable of handling one critical part of the P4 manufacturing process. Both of them are at …

Channel 14 Oct 2000, 09:07
Corel pledges .NET applications for Mac

But will they want them? Er...

Corel's alliance with software rival Microsoft will see the troubled Canadian operation ship .NET versions of its Mac applications. Speaking on CNBC.com yesterday, Corel CEO Derek Burney said: "Clearly [Corel's Mac applications] will [be part of the .NET strategy]. That represents a stronghold that we have on the graphics …

Mac Channel 14 Oct 2000, 09:07
Supreme Court refuses to rule on Sony vs Connectix

Back to the lower court with you...

Sony took its copyright violation case against PlayStation emulator developer Connectix to the US Supreme Court yesterday, but found that body would not back its demand that Connectix's Virtual Game Station be banned. The court ruled that Connectix may continue to sell its emulator, at least until a US District Court or the …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 09:08
Belgians win US encryption standard contest

Will this make it easier to name 10 famous Belgians?

An encryption algorithm developed by a pair of Belgian researchers is almost certain to be confirmed as the new US security standard. Called Rijndael, and pronounced "Rhine-Doll" the algorithm is the successor to the Data Encryption Standard that was introduced in 1977. The algorithm is the winner of the US National Institute …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 09:08
How old chums cobbled up the MS Corel deal

Analysis And how you control a company without needing voting shares...

There are several theories as to why Microsoft did a deal with Corel, but neither a Linux-based liaison nor assuaging antitrust concerns stand up to serious examination. On the antitrust front, Microsoft is probably more concerned about its PR image vis-a-vis the punters than the court of appeals. There are some clues about the …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 09:08
IXOS wants to tidy your inbox

A new sysadmin tool for BOFH to abuse

A nifty little piece of software from IXOS comes out today that will archive any files attached to your emails, thus keeping your inbox compliant with the principles of Feng Shui, ie uncluttered. Designed to work on a company's LAN, this can work manually or automatically and is designed for Outlook or Lotus mail programs. So …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 09:08
Will Whistler be a hardware hog?

Do DLLs overwrite one another in the woods?

Microsoft has released an interim build of Whistler to testers, having knocked back the actual release of beta 1 of the software two weeks, to 25th October. According to Paul Thurrott of WinInfo, who's hand a chance to look at a copy of the build (2267), there are a few small improvements over the previous build, but no major …

Software 14 Oct 2000, 09:08
Women, sex and the Internet

This is a real eye-opener

[We ran a story on a survey that claimed one in ten online women had shagged someone they met online. We said nonsense. You begged to differ. We ran a few responses last week, but since then more and more have piled in. Here are some] Modern woman: from Web to bed I'd say that the numbers sound about right. I shagged two …

Letters 14 Oct 2000, 09:08
Europe gets broadband AV network

Watching telly on the Internet

Servecast.com has launched Europe's first dedicated broadband audio and video network and is planning to spend another $40 million on the infrastructure over the next six months, and is opening offices in Amsterdam, Milan and Brussels by the end of the year. The company says it is pitching hardest at the Enterprise market, …

Data Networking 14 Oct 2000, 09:08
LLU kimono tied too tight to get a good look

Reg needs your help

Dear Reader It's come to our attention that some of you are mighty fed up with the coverage of Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) in Britain. Frankly, it's dull. The issues involved are highly political and at times frighteningly technical - made worse because they're tied up in the most bindweed-like legalese and issues of …

Data Networking 14 Oct 2000, 09:08
Kingston Comms: how the mighty have fallen

It's that old unmetered demon come out to play

Kingston Communications, love object of Hull Council and residents, has been the latest to be hit by the unmetered Internet access bug. The company, which has consistently been ahead of other telecoms operators in terms of technology and service, has had to cut back its Internet access offerings, leaving a trail of unhappy …

Data Networking 14 Oct 2000, 09:08
HWRoundup Dr Tom tests NVidia's detonator drives for Linux

Plus a storage soiree

Dr Tom's duly notes the existence of NVidia's new detonator drivers for Linux. Of course it does more than just that - and the drivers are throughroughly road tested, as you would expect. Click here for the whole story, and no jokes about Penguins. Thankyou. TechReview gets all in a flutter about the new range of "value" …

Hardware Roundup 14 Oct 2000, 09:08
Sanyo shows first Symbian Quartz phone

It's alive!

Although it's a late arrival at the Symbian ball, Sanyo this week has become the first OEM to show a living, breathing Quartz prototype at the Ceatac show in Japan. The hybrid phone/PDA has been built with the help of Phoenix, the BIOS company, which is providing firmware for the device. Sanyo reckons it's the first PDA to …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 09:08
Cheeky bastard of the Week

Who ever said the French were arrogant?

This little story of journo arrogance takes place in the Swan Hotel in Orlando (you'll know it's the Swan hotel and not the Dolphin hotel because it has several 60-foot blue swans on top of it. The Dolphin has several 60-foot off-pink dolphins on top of it). And so the Europeans journos, complete with bill-paying PR bods, …

Bootnotes 14 Oct 2000, 09:09
SCi to bash the Boches in Great Escape computer game

They've found Tom and Dick! Right, we'll have to put everything into Harry

Now this is more like it. SCi Entertainment has bought the rights to World War II classic The Great Escape. Made in 1963, the film is based on a true story and contains such stars as James Garner, Donald Pleasance, Steve McQueen, James Donald and Charles Bronson. Such is the raw, patriotic power (for both limeys and yankees) of …

Business 14 Oct 2000, 09:09
Windows bugs ME – should you upgrade to MS' latest?

Special report We look at the pros, cons, good points and bad points

It's only a short time since Windows Me - Microsoft's 'final' operating system based on the Win9x kernel - was released, but we're already seeing bug reports, problems and fixes for the new OS, writes Luis Escalante. Customers buying new systems with Windows Me pre-loaded, aren't likely to be having many problems, but users …

Register Full Coverage 14 Oct 2000, 09:28