20th October 2000 Archive
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Republican Party claims spam was a dirty trick
A frame-up, or a Dubya fan gone wild?
Without mentioning names, or any words starting with 'D', the Republican National Committee (RNC) eChampions Web site claims to be the victim of a dirty trickster who's been spamming the daylights out of innocent civilians in their name since about 6 October and until about 14 October. "Third-party organizations are sending out …
Music and Media 20 Oct 2000, 04:57
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MS trial judges book themselves remedial tech class
Oh oh... We're starting from the very basics...
The Court of Appeals judges who'll be dealing with the Microsoft case have decided to give themselves a basic (some might say remedial) computing class before they press on with the matter in hand. An order for a hearing on the subject for the Court says quaintly that it will focus on "basic concepts underlying the fundamentals …
Software 20 Oct 2000, 08:06
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Bush uses I-word, tilts towards Microsoft
And surely somebody's been briefing him on 'consumer harm'
Microsoft's "freedom to innovate" slogan inflitrated the Bush campaign slightly last night, as George W fielded a question about the trial in a CNBC interview. He ducked, declining to talk about an ongoing case, but got the I-word into a brief answer, twice. The Candidate is obviously still kind of talking in code, but from …
Software 20 Oct 2000, 08:40
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Schrock Shlock Shock: AltaVista CEO resigns
To spend more time with his family
Rod Schrock, AltaVista CEO, has resigned with immediate effect, to "spend more time with his family". In the UK this is a comic euphemism for getting fired. Schrock also said it was time to move on - maybe he jumped before he was pushed by parent company CMGI. AltaVista, a blue chip name in a bubble dotcom industry, has not …
Business 20 Oct 2000, 09:26
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Apple's Cube-for-Cash deal comes to Britain
Buy a pricey Cube and display and get 250 quid back
Apple's attempt to increases sales of its ill-received - by would-be buyers, at any rate - Power Mac G4 Cube by offering a cash rebate will come to the UK next week. From Monday, anyone who buys a Cube plus monitor will get £250 ($362) back from Apple - higher than the $300 rebate offered in the US. Since a basic 17in CRT …
Mac Channel 20 Oct 2000, 09:53
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Apple to end AppleStore exclusives
Resellers to be offered AppleStore-only kit too
In a bid to boost business, Apple may be eliminating the exclusive deals it offers its AppleStore customers, according to US resellers. Mac dealers told Apple-watching Web site MacWeek.com that kit Apple had reserved for its own online retail operation will now be offered through third-party channels too. Machines currently …
Mac Channel 20 Oct 2000, 10:11
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How ‘cybersmear’ lawsuits can block free speech
Analysis The growing difficulty of keeping John Doe status
The right to anonymity on Internet bulletin boards is under threat again. A recent decision by the Florida Third District Court of Appeals ducked hearing an appeal against a lower court order that those who posted on web sites could have their names disclosed by their ISPs, even though the case had not been tried. This means …
Music and Media 20 Oct 2000, 10:54
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Nvidia to grab market control from ATI
But only in the desktop PC sector...
Nvidia is about to overtake ATI as the world's leading 3D graphics chip supplier, according to... er... Nvidia. The company doesn't provide any hard evidence for this, but market research does tend to support Nvidia's claim, it has to be said. Nvidia bases its claim on the strides it has made selling chips to PC makers eager …
Channel 20 Oct 2000, 11:06
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BTopenworld FAQs it up
FAQing 'ell, not again
A vulture-eyed Register reader appears to have spotted one of the reasons BTopenworld is having so many problems with the ordering and installation of its broadband ADSL service. A FAQ on BTopenworld's site asks the question, twice, "can I choose my installation date?" The answer in both cases is "yes" - except in one, where …
Music and Media 20 Oct 2000, 11:14
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LibertySurf in ‘blacklist’ row
More grief, more problems
LibertySurf UK has denied it is "kicking off" customers who are "abusing" its 24/7 unmetered service. In a lengthy statement issued yesterday the ISP justified its decision to put some Net users on a different service in the hope that "these users will come back to a more normal user pattern". It did not disclose how many …
Music and Media 20 Oct 2000, 11:16
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Handspring, Citizen prep micro-Visor
And little fleas have lesser fleas...
Now how's this for weird: a PDA for your PDA. That's what PalmOS-licensee Handspring and Japanese watch company Citizen are apparently working on, according to Handspring co-founder Donna Dubinsky. Dubinsky, interviewed by CNet, said the two partners have built a prototype, credit card-sized device that plugs into Handspring's …
Business 20 Oct 2000, 11:41
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Samsung launches 24in TFT monster
It's not going to be cheap
Samsung is to launch a 24in TFT monitor on 7 November in the UK. It reckons this will be the largest screen available in the world. Prices haven't been announced yet but we believe you won't get much change out of £5000. As a rough benchmark NEC 18in TFT monitors cost between £2000 and £2500 exc. VAT, and Apple's 22in TFT …
Business 20 Oct 2000, 11:58
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Silicon Valley: save our power supply
Wouldn't it be cheaper to move?
Intel, Sun and 3Com have joined with other high tech firms in Silicon Valley to try to side-step the predicted power outages on California's power grid. The companies have all agreed to reduce their power consumption by ten per cent, upon request from Silicon Valley Power. Power blackouts can cost the industry as much as $75 …
Business 20 Oct 2000, 12:00
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Growth may be slowing, but MS magic kicks stock into life
Analysis And maybe the Street just needs something to feel good about...
There were some curious inconsistencies in the presentation of Microsoft's Q1 results this week. The income statement showed Q1 2001 income of $2.206 billion compared with $2.191 billion a year earlier - a very modest increase of just $15 million, or less than one per cent. But the press release claimed an 18 per cent increase …
Business 20 Oct 2000, 12:04
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VIA plans DDR PIII, Athlon support
Chipsets a go-go
VIA is developing the Apollo Pro 266/KX266, a DDR SDRAM compatible chipset for both Pentium III and Athlon. According to Alex Chen of VIA, the company also has in the works a new chipset for 0.13 micron Pentium IIIs, the Apollo Pro 266T, and a chipset for the Pentium 4. "Chipsets to be made by third parties will play a …
Business 20 Oct 2000, 12:31
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MP3.com losses down two-thirds
Just beats Street
MP3.com yesterday saw its losses narrow to nearly a third despite the company's troubles with the music industry majors, in particular Universal Music Group. The online music business saw its Q3 loss drop to $6.1 million, down from $17.8 million for the same period last year. The latest figure represents earnings of nine cents …
Business 20 Oct 2000, 12:32
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QXL in talks with ‘prospective buyers’
Breaking news from Breaking Views
QXL, Europe's biggest auction site, is in talks with prospective "strategic investors", according to financial commentary outfit Breaking Views. And Lycos Europe is named as the most likely buyer. Noting the volatility of QXL's share price, Breaking Views columnist Edward Chancellor says the company has become a "daytrader's …
Business 20 Oct 2000, 12:44
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Ambient light powers shiny computer screens
Two very bright dots
A researcher at Napier University in Edinburgh has found a way to use ambient light to power a computer screen. Janos Hajito made his discovery by mixing fluorescent dyes with polycarbonate, a transparent polymer. The resulting mixture was then stretched into fibres, which fluoresce at a particular frequency when struck by …
Business 20 Oct 2000, 12:49
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Letsbuyit.com too sexy for stuffed shirt
Is German judge mad?
Letsbuyit.com, the online group shopping club for bargain-hungry people with too much time on their hands, is "excessively alluring", according to a Cologne court. It ruled last week that Letsbuyit.com broke German competition rules by "turning the transaction into a game". This tricks shoppers. Apparently. Letsbuyit.com said …
Business 20 Oct 2000, 13:35
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Oftel still twiddling its thumbs…
...waiting for BT to tell it about new price changes
Oftel has confirmed that it has yet to receive formal notification from BT about its new unmetered price changes. One of the winged watchdog's duties to is to approve any pricing changes introduced by the monster telco. The process usually takes 28 to complete. An Oftel spokeswoman told Reg: "We haven't received formal …
Data Networking 20 Oct 2000, 13:58
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Energis Squared hacked and used for spam
Clients' servers down for two days
Internet business provider Energis Squared has told clients its server network has been hacked and used to send out spam mail. The business owned up after a large number of its servers went down. One client told the Register its Web server had been down all Wednesday and Thursday and didn't come back online until earlier this …
Music and Media 20 Oct 2000, 13:59
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MS judges use networked PowerBooks, says eye-witness
Not so IT illiterate after all, apparently...
There may well be a US market for a who's sued who Christmas book, considering the amount of crossover we're seeing in the Home of the Litigant. MS trial star David Boies in now busy Napstering, while Judge's Jackson's erstwhile helper Lawrence Lessig has been involved in the appeal in Eldred v. Reno, in the very court where …
Bootnotes 20 Oct 2000, 14:13
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Pilots could be usurped by neural networks
The next thing you know they'll be writing news...
An adaptive neural network could eventually replace airline pilots, according to researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, NASA and Boeing. In 1989, 111 people died in a DC-10 plane when it crashed after suffering a hydraulic failure. Investigators concluded that had it not been for the skill of the pilots, there …
Software 20 Oct 2000, 14:28
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Fujitsu to open server sales outfit in US
Move follows Amdahl ditching mainframes
Fujitsu is set to open a server sales company in the US as part of its move away from the mainframe business. The Japanese giant will start the operation next year, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Reuters reported. Fujitsu declined to comment on the story, but confirmed it was trying to get out of the mainframe business …
Business 20 Oct 2000, 14:29
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Flame of the Week We're biased
And we don't read or understand things
[John felt Microsoft had coughed up good money on a ludicrous patent. Joseph Bucci, who originally had the patent granted, didn't think John had researched his story very well.] Integrate your credits cards into Windows? MS buys dodgy patent John That was the most biased article I have ever read. Either you cannot read or …
Flame of the Week 20 Oct 2000, 14:31
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Lame Freeserve kicked by FTSE
Ouch, that hurt
A fortnight after Freeswerve announced it was booting out 700 users because they were abusing its unmetered service, the ISP is set to receive a taste of its own medicine. For the London Stock Exchange is due to announce on Monday that Freeswerve just isn't up to it any more and is unable to carry on mixing in the same circles …
Music and Media 20 Oct 2000, 15:13
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Secret Intel price cuts revealed
True Lies?
When we asked an Intel Europe spokesperson about price changes earlier this week, we were officially told that only three processors were affected. (see Intel price cuts: not many told). This was in direct contravention of reports on two German web sites which listed far more wide-ranging cuts. Intel officially denied that any …
Channel 20 Oct 2000, 15:25
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Infineon defines ‘very fast’ data transfer speed
IEEE to standardise on 'like sh*t off a shovel', apparently...
And this week's Scientific Precision Award goes to our chums at former Siemens subsidiary, Infineon, who today unveiled their "very fast" infra-red connectivity system. After years of wondering how fast "very fast" was, we now, thanks to Infineon, know it to be 16Mb per second. At least that's the speed of the company's Very …
Channel 20 Oct 2000, 15:47
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Flame of the Week 2 Middle East and Reg don't mix
That Intel Israeli fab - our readers write
[Andrew's made his own contribution to the coverage on the Middle East crisis. He wrote: "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 Palestinian village of Al Faluja. Al Faluja was destroyed in 1949 during the Israeli occupation of Palestine." Our readers …
Flame of the Week 20 Oct 2000, 16:09
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HWRoundup Ch-ch-ch-Chaintech's i815e ATX mobo
Clock modifications for K6-2+ and K6-III+
Socket A has just posted a review of the Iwill KV200. With onboard 3D audio chipset that supports A3D and Direct sound 3D as well as options for RAID and SPDIF, how can it fail to please? Go here to find out more. Mr Sharky takes a peek at the Palm Vx over at his extreme hangout today. A snip at $399, this is definitely more …
Hardware Roundup 20 Oct 2000, 16:27
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Egghead in damn DRAM jam
What's honour among retailers?
Egghead.com is facing legal action after cancelling orders for wrongly priced memory modules on its site. Thousands of orders were placed by punters eager to cash in on the DRAM modules offered at $34.85 - instead of the correct price of $335. When the Seattle-based e-tailer, which sells IT kit including software, printers and …
Music and Media 20 Oct 2000, 16:29
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Middle East situation worries Intel
Chipzilla to relocate P4 production to Ireland
Continuing unrest in the Middle East has caused Intel to relocate the lion's share of Pentium 4 production to its Leixlip plant, near Dublin, Ireland. Leixlip is already on track to move to the 0.13 micron process, essential for volume production of Pentium 4s running at speeds of more than 2GHz. The proximity of the Qiryat Gat …
Channel 20 Oct 2000, 16:37
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Nvidia to buy 3dfx?
So an unnamed BusinessWeak source reckons...
Nvidia is shaping up to buy arch-rival 3dfx, according to an analyst, according to BusinessWeek, according to Yahoo! Finance, according to ElecticNews. We checked our own copy of the 30 October issue of BusinessWeek, but were unable to track down the cited article. This is possibly because we have the weedy European edition, …
Channel 20 Oct 2000, 16:48
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Freeswerve freezes ‘unlimited’ sign ups
The company that likes to say 'no'
Freeserve, the company that likes to say: "No", last night called a halt to new registrations for its 'unlimited' access service. The company blamed heavier than anticipated usage of the service for the temporary suspension, after existing customers were unable to dial in. Today it said that Energis, its telecoms supplier, had …
Music and Media 20 Oct 2000, 18:53
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World's youngest pump and dumper ‘did nothing wrong’
Oh Lord won't somebody buy me a Mercedes Benz
The American teenager who paid back $285,000 made from dodgy Internet share trading has given his family a new toy. A shiny $42,000 Mercedes Benz. Jonathan Lebed agreed last month to settle SEC charges after he was caught operating a marathon "pump and dump" scheme. Jonathan, 15 at the time, bought large amounts of cheap …
Music and Media 20 Oct 2000, 19:03
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Rambus puts all its eggs in two baskets
Unfortunately, one of them belongs to Intel
Following another outburst from Intel CEO Craig Barrett in yesterday's FT, in which he described the relationship with Rambus as a failed bet, it is perhaps alarming for Rambus stockholders to read in the company's end of year statement that future revenues are dependent primarily on the rollout of Sony's PS2 and Intel's Pentium …
Channel 20 Oct 2000, 19:14
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Eve.com goes titsup.com
Beauty e-tailer sells its last lipstick
Beauty e-tailer Eve.com will today sell its last lipstick, according to a posting on the site. The 18-month-old California dotcom said orders placed after 8pm PT today would not be shipped. Earlier orders will be delivered "subject to availability of stock". All 164 staff will lose their jobs. "We will be closing our doors on …
Music and Media 20 Oct 2000, 20:29
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Chat-room saves Scot from drug overdose
Canadian emergency service tips off Edinburgh police
A Scot was saved from a nasty death by a drug and drink overdose yesterday when a woman in Canada spotted his predicament on an Internet chat-room. The man, who had taken the lethal Valium and alcohol cocktail while depressed, asked for help in the chat-room. He was apparently having difficulty typing and was slurring his words …
Music and Media 20 Oct 2000, 20:29
