18th October 2000 Archive

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Web anonymity under siege

John Doe unmasked

A Florida appeals court ruled Friday that ISPs can be compelled by subpoena to identify people who post defamatory messages on Internet bulletin boards, even when the libellous nature of the statements has yet to be proved. In this case, Hvide Marine company former CEO Erik Hvide was seeking the identities of eight people who …

Music and Media 18 Oct 2000, 03:47
Intel forecasts Q4 records

Sugars Q3 pill

Intel saw profits rise 52 per cent for the third quarter, (compared with Q3, 1999) sneaking past Wall Street's reduced expectations. The Californian chip giant recorded net income before acquisition-related costs of $2.9 billion, on sales of $8.73 billion. This compared to $1.9 billion and $7.33 billion the previous year. …

Business 18 Oct 2000, 06:31
DesktopX goes public

Microsoft's unofficial R&D department struts its stuff

DesktopX - half of Stardock's attempt to recreate Microsoft's lost Cairo project - was publically unveiled today in alpha form for widespread download. Ever it since it was burned by the failure of the Bob project, Microsoft has been cautious about throwing new UI paradigms at the great unwashed. DesktopX not only does this - …

Software 18 Oct 2000, 07:19
Mitac flogs European ops to Synnex

Sound the retreat

MiTAC has sold its European subsidiary lock, stock and barrel to Synnex, the computer manufacturer outsource people. Terms were undisclosed. This marks the end of MiTAC's presence in Europe as an OEM for big-name brands It also appears to bring to a close any lingering ambitions that the Taiwanese PC maker may once have had to …

Business 18 Oct 2000, 08:27
IBM PC company in profit shocker

But services are the real earner

After what must seem like an eternity of heavy losses and layoffs, IBM's PC division turned a profit in the most recent quarter, showing an 11 per cent rise over the same quarter last year. "Personal systems" makes up just over a fifth of Big Blue's total revenue. Total revenues for the company edged up $3bn on the …

Business 18 Oct 2000, 08:30
Fastest ever rollout? Intel bets jobs, ranch on Pentium 4

Mouthware? Or are the fabs really starting to sing?

Intel is predicting one of the steepest ramps in its history for the Pentium 4, the new company flagchip due to be unleashed on November 20th. This may simply be another aspect of the company's marketing plan to focus attention on the new high price, low availability one and away from the travails of the Pentium III, but it …

Channel 18 Oct 2000, 09:03
ST hits first $2bn quarter

Something to do with differentiation

ST Microelectronics sailed through its first $2 billion quarter, on the back what it modestly claims was the successful execution of its "differentiated products" strategy. No we don't know what this means either - althought we think it's referring to embeds/ smart cards and the like designed for vertical or "end" markets. This …

Business 18 Oct 2000, 09:20
Europe extends deadline for MS' antitrust probe response

Mid-November. Ah, but then Christmas looms...

The European Commission has extended the deadline for Microsoft to file its response to charges that it's unfairly using its dominance in the PC market to achieve a similar position for Win2k in the server market. Microsoft now has until the middle of next month to come up with what we can expect to be a monstrously large pile …

Software 18 Oct 2000, 09:49
Micron buys out Japan JV

Gets DRAM plant for $450 million

Micron is to assume full control of its Japanese DRAM plant, after buying out its JV partner Kobe Steel for $450 million ($125 million cash and $325 million assumption of debt). Following the transaction, Micron will become sole owner of KMT Semiconductor Ltd, a company in which it currently holds a 25 per cent stake. As of 30 …

Business 18 Oct 2000, 09:55
Bush & Gore on Napster: compromise but pay up?

Vision of seismic change in music distribution strangely absent

The collective wisdom of candidates Bush and Gore has failed to shed significant light on the Napster controversy. Faced with a question on the subject at the Web White & Blue rolling election cyber-debate site, both sought - it's funny when you think about it - some kind of middle road. But close textual analysis suggests that …

Music and Media 18 Oct 2000, 10:16
DoCoMo shows Microsoft wireless gizmo

Too little, too late, with i-Phone now banking on Java?

Almost a year to the day after Microsoft struck a deal with Japanese wireless giant NTT DoCoMo, the first fruits of the deal were displayed at World PC Expo in Tokyo yesterday. But it may well go unnoticed as the Japanese market swings to using Java-based gadgets. On show this week is a prototype Microsoft Pocket PC device, …

Music and Media 18 Oct 2000, 10:35
Mesh buys Carrera (Domain name, anyway)

A bit previous?

Mesh is looking like hot favourite to buy Carrera, its stricken rival, judging from its confidence in buying the domain name: CarreraComputers.co.uk. This registered at easily.co.uk on October 17 WebConsultancy on behalf of Mesh Computers PLC. Carrera today confirmed that it was 'actively discussing' the sale of the company as …

Business 18 Oct 2000, 12:22
Meghurtz™ wars hotting up, literally

Blimey, here we go again

It is a truth universally acknowledged that chipmongers form the last bastion of the old 'mine's bigger than yours' school, egged on by hardware geeks around the world. No sooner has Chimpzilla got its shiny new 1.2GHz Athlon out of the door than do we hear rumours of the impending arrival of a 1.33GHz part shipping in December …

Channel 18 Oct 2000, 12:30
Body scanning for clothes

No more pretending to be a size 8

The much-talked about body scanners that will revolutionise online clothes shopping (no, really) have arrived. Or at least, plans for their installation in Lands End outlets in 50 American shopping malls have arrived. These machines, to be made by Image Twin, have been publicised so much over the last few years that anyone with …

Business 18 Oct 2000, 12:36
BT's pay-as-you-go paedophile detection

It's the police wot takes the pain

BT is charging the police £130 a pop for searching information about suspected paedophiles using its services to access the Web. The phone giant says it is making the charge to recover "part of the costs" incurred in making the search and maintains that it makes no money on the deal. The charges were revealed on ITV's Tonight …

Music and Media 18 Oct 2000, 12:51
Pentium 4 mobos double in number

That's right - there's now two of 'em

Visitors to the AOpen booth at World PC Expo 2000, which started yesterday in Tokyo, can check out one of the world's best two mobos for Intel's upcoming flagchip Pentium 4. The AX4T motherboard uses the 850 Tehama chipset, currently being revamped due to an erratumnotbug causing glitches with certain PCI graphics cards. (Story …

Business 18 Oct 2000, 13:23
Gore, Bush campaigns announce 440 IT groupies – each

And Raikes and Waldman are for Gore...

US vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman yesterday announced "more than 440 technology and business" community endorsers for the Gore-Lieberman campaign. By a bizarre coincidence, the rival Bush-Cheney campaign also yesterday announced that "the number of high technology leaders now endorsing Governor Bush... is now up to …

Software 18 Oct 2000, 13:35
Middle East unrest could threaten P4

Intel chip plant built on ruins of Palestinian village

Although the situation in the Middle East is mercifully slightly more stable today than it was last week, relations between Israel and the Palestinians are still a long way from what one might call cordial. It must be something of a worry to Intel, then, to be reminded that Fab 18 at Qiryat Gat is built on the site of the …

Channel 18 Oct 2000, 14:02
Intel cuts prices – not many told

And PC Welt cuts even more of 'em

Intel performed a stealth price cut on a handful (if you're a character in The Simpsons) of chips on Monday, reducing three Pentium III parts by up to $50. The 667 and 650MHz PIIIs drop from $193 to $163, while the 600MHz chip drops a tad more, from $193 to $143. All prices are for 1Ku. But German site PC Welt has a much longer …

Channel 18 Oct 2000, 14:50
Intel slams Rambus ‘toll collecting’ tactics

Failed bet, says Barrett

Intel CEO Craig Barrett says that his company made a mistake getting into bed with Rambus. In an interview published in The Financial Times, Barrett admitted: "We made a big bet on Rambus and it did not work out." He said that it had been a mistake to rely on another company for technology that "gates your performance". In the …

Channel 18 Oct 2000, 15:16
Cube size update

Can they get any smaller?

While lesser publications drone on about mainframes, Linux and other trivia, The Register reports on the one issue that really matters to our readers: cubicle sizes. While Aunty Carly's cost-saving plans for Hewlett-Packard centred around shrinking worker's cubes from eight feet by ten feet to eight by eight, spare a thought …

Bootnotes 18 Oct 2000, 15:37
PC World flogs broadband

ADSL certainly deserves a good flogging

PC World is to start flogging broadband ADSL services from Freeserve directly to punters. From today, 48 PC World outlets throughout Britain will start touting FreeservePlus to home and business users. The broadband service costs £39.99 a month. According to Freeserve, this is the first widespread retail rollout of ADSL in …

Business 18 Oct 2000, 16:28
Whistler slipping to 2002?

The grandstanding man from Gartner, he say yes...

Does Gartner hold an internal contest for the best 'look at me' news hooks to be used for its annual Florida Symposium? If so, competition must have been pretty intense this year. But we think Tom Bittman with his combo 'Whistler will slip to 2002, Microsoft is derailing .NET by not dealing with the DoJ, Microsoft should agree a …

Software 18 Oct 2000, 17:53