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7th November 2000 Archive

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  • Orange boss Snook moots transaction ‘tax’ and bossy fridges

    The access could be free, but there'll be lots of goodies for you to pay for...

    Orange boss Hans Snook remains his old ebullient, semi-crazed self despite the recent sideays shuffles masterminded by his new taskmasters at France Telecom. Speaking at Symbian's Developer Expo in London yesterday, the great visionary outlined a nightmare future, OrangeWorld (like Westworld but wired) of wired fridges, self- …

    Data Networking 7 Nov 2000, 10:21

  • Learnfree.co.uk shuts up shop

    Learns the first lesson of dotcom life

    Learnfree.co.uk, the Times Education Supplement's Web site that offered educational resources to students, parents and teachers, has been closed down because of "the present conditions in the online education market." The site has announced its own demise: "Thanks for coming to visit Learnfree.co.uk. Unfortunately, Learnfree …

    Music and Media 7 Nov 2000, 10:59

  • Le French are stingy and Germans uppity

    Survey 'reveals' e-shopper characteristics

    French e-shoppers are the stingiest, while Germans get the most annoyed at malfunctioning sites, a report claims. The Japanese are the most adventurous - apparently 41 per cent said they would buy just about anything online, closely followed by Brits (39 per cent). And despite the fact that eighty per cent of buying attempts on …

    Music and Media 7 Nov 2000, 11:07

  • Microsoft IE 6 to cut off some more air supplies

    Embraces and extends path blazed by MSN Explorer

    Microsoft is going into testing of Internet Explorer 6, a product that'll be integrated in Whistler, and which is clearly intended to take IE further down the integration trail. Both Windows Media Player and the MSN Instant Messenger client will be hard-wired further into the browser, and Microsoft also seems to be considering …

    Software 7 Nov 2000, 11:10

  • Swap your spare computer power for very little

    It's like SETI@Home, but without the science

    Do you fancy trading your unused computing power for the chance to be entered into a $4,000 prize draw. If that's your price, Porivo Technologies has launched a scheme to use individual's spare computing capacity and put it to use on large-scale projects. These include identifying online bottlenecks and testing the performance …

    Music and Media 7 Nov 2000, 11:31

  • Transmeta IPO raises $273 Million

    Which is nice

    Despite IBM's snubbing of the Crusoe processor for its ThinkPads, someone, somewhere still loves Transmeta, handing over the readies for 13 million shares - ten per cent of the company. The IPO raised $273 million and values Transmeta at around $2.7 billion. The IPO shows investors can still be persuaded to buy into technology …

    Business 7 Nov 2000, 11:40

  • Mad geeks rush to buy unusable P4

    Pentium 4 selling despite lack of mobos

    First kid on the block syndrome has hit new depths - crazed technophiles are buying Pentium 4 chips at sky-high prices, regardless of the fact that mobos to support it can't be had for love nor money, making the chips useless. The chip will launch for real on 20 November, but dealers in Taiwan, Belgium and the US already have …

    Channel 7 Nov 2000, 12:05

  • Freeserve's mouse mat gets wired

    Plug it in and watch it do things

    Freeswerve's launched a new gadget just in time for Christmas that it claims offers a revolutionary way to access the Net. The Freeserve First Click Internet Power Pad combines pre-programmed buttons and smart card technology to create a wired mouse mat that's more than just a pretty picture. The buttons offer shortcuts to …

    Music and Media 7 Nov 2000, 12:16

  • Transmeta helping out AMD, MS with Sledgehammer coding?

    Updated Don't you find pre-IPO quiet periods a bit noisy?

    An extremely low-key triple alliance of Microsoft, Transmeta and AMD has been working quietly to ensure Microsoft software will support AMD's 64-bit Sledgehammer chip from the word go. This despite public claims by Microsoft execs that Sledgehammer will be playing decidedly second fiddle to Intel's Itanium. The deal probably …

    Channel 7 Nov 2000, 12:19

  • BT to lose £1.2 billion for Italian 3G auction pull-out

    Lazy giant not too pleased, to go to appeal

    The Italian government has decided it will keep the £1.2 billion deposit put forward by BT-backed consortium Blu for its 3G mobile phone auction. It claims that irregularities and inconsistencies in the auction process mean that the consortium hasn't fulfilled its obligations and so is not entitled to the return of the deposit …

    Data Networking 7 Nov 2000, 12:19

  • Itanium set for March launch

    Spotted running 64-bit Whistler in Munich

    Proving that life at Intel goes on despite the imminent birth of Pentium 4, Chipzilla is flaunting Itanium - the chip that time forgot - at the Systems show in Munich this week. The Intel stand has a selection of Itanic systems on show, including a Dell PowerEdge housing no fewer than four CPUs and running an early version of M …

    Channel 7 Nov 2000, 12:31

  • AOL 6.0 gets user flak

    PC slowdowns and email walkabout

    AOL's 6.0 version software upgrade is getting flack from punters who claim it is wrecking their machines. The upgrade, released by the ISP to a furore last month, is experiencing many of the same problems as version 5.0, Network World reports. Missed network settings, PC slowdowns and email gone walkabout were just some of the …

    Music and Media 7 Nov 2000, 12:49

  • Wetnose.com catches cold

    And other fatal flu-like symptoms come to think of it

    Wetnose.com, one of a flock of online pet retailers, has gone titsup.com after making losses of £1.6 million. The company blamed large start-up expenses and poor market conditions for its collapse. Accountancy firm Mazars Neville Russell has been appointed as liquidators. Bright Station has a spring in its step today after …

    Business 7 Nov 2000, 13:07

  • Sony to sell music via cellphones

    Partnering with NTT DoCoMo

    Sony is to begin distributing music to mobile phones thanks to a new partnership with Japan's largest cellphone network company, NTT DoCoMo. Sony will invest in AirMedia, the JV formed last February by DoCoMo and consumer electronics company Matsushita. Sony and Matsushita will develop phones that can download and playback …

    Data Networking 7 Nov 2000, 13:10

  • Napster told to say 'Sorry, Metallica'

    Updated RIAA demands MP3 company soothes Lars Ulrich's hurt feelings

    Napster must apologise to rock band Metallica, if it's to convince the music industry that it's serious about becoming a 'legitimate' - in the recording companies' eyes - operation. That at least is what Recording Industry Association of America CEO Hilary Rosen has told her opposite number at Napster, Hank Barry, according to …

    Music and Media 7 Nov 2000, 13:45

  • Sony adds Basic to PlayStation to sidestep EC import tax

    A Sinclair Spectrum for the 21st Century?

    Sony's attempts to get European tax officials to classify the PlayStation 2 as a computer and not a video game player aren't being restricted to court action. According to Computer and Video Games magazine, the European PlayStation 2 package will contain a copy of YA-Basic, an open source implementation of the classic beginners …

    Business 7 Nov 2000, 14:16

  • Infineon to announce record revenues

    Tomorrow's results today...

    Semiconductor maker Infineon today unveiled record annual revenues and fourth quarter revenues up 82 per cent a day early. At least, Infineon's results statement is dated 8 November, and since even Munich can't be 24 hours ahead of the rest of Europe, the data must have slipped out ahead of time. That said, it could also be a …

    Business 7 Nov 2000, 14:56

  • Thunderer blasts the Mac…

    ...and Mac users blast the Thunderer

    British daily newspaper the Times has pissed off the nation's Mac users be screening a TV ad in which a would-be computer buyer states: "I know I want a PC, not a Mac." The ad, for the Times' Saturday edition, focused on promoting the 4 November issue's PC supplement. Not surprisingly, UK Macatistas have spent the last few …

    Mac Channel 7 Nov 2000, 15:23

  • Homework ‘more important than Web stardom’

    What's wrong with kids today?

    After checking out Martin Sawyer's site yesterday (see Ever killed a PC?), we noticed it also contained a pretty well put together review of an ATI Rage Fury Maxx graphics card. Ever on the lookout for new talent, The Reg human resources department swung into action and asked Sawyer if he would be interested in contributing as …

    Bootnotes 7 Nov 2000, 15:30

  • Dobedo sacks 23 employees

    Updated More sounds of flatulent bubble bursting in dotcomland

    Dobedo - the Swedish cartoon-based chat outfit aimed at the under 25s - has sacked a third of its workforce. It's understood the redundancies take effect immediately. Twenty-three people have lost their jobs - 20 in Sweden, two in Germany and one in Britian. Kai Lundgren, MD and CEO of Dobedo, said that most the job losses …

    Music and Media 7 Nov 2000, 15:39

  • ONDigital signs up vill-o'-the-visp

    BT Openwoe spreads its wings

    BTOpenworld is to provide a Net access service via TV for UK broadcaster ONDigital. Under the agreement, BTOpenwoe becomes the virtual Internet service provider (VISP) for ONdigital's Web TV service, ONnet, launched in September. Sine then more than 20,000 customers have signed up to ONnet. However, the service from Openwoe …

    Data Networking 7 Nov 2000, 15:57

  • Decent Dell honours PC offer after online price cock-up

    Changes mind after punters ditch orders

    Dell is do the decent thing and honour a cheap PC offer made after an online price cock-up. Last month a glitch on the direct PC vendor's site let eager punters take advantage of ordering computers with two concurrent special offers. But they were later told they would have to cough up hundreds of dollars more than the price …

    Music and Media 7 Nov 2000, 16:06

  • Inside Symbian's Crystal communicator

    Intel XScale, Nokia, Psion - it's all here

    Symbian's Crystal platform made its public debut at the Symbian Developer Forum in London this week. As it's the basis for Nokia's successor to its 9000 range, to be unveiled later this month, and the likely successor to both of Psion's Series 5 and Series 7 ranges we thought it worth reporting what we saw in some detail. First …

    Business 7 Nov 2000, 16:46

  • DoubleClick settles patent cases with both Sabela and L90

    No stomach for a double-doozie

    The leading provider of ad delivery software DoubleClick has settled two separate court cases regarding infringement of its patents. The first case against Sabela (now owned by 24/7 Media) concerned DoubleClick's patent on "adserving" technology. This enables a company to collect stats on the use of online ads. Sabela uses …

    Music and Media 7 Nov 2000, 16:52

  • TSMC to spend $500m on US subsidiary

    Ups stake in Washington chip factory

    Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is to spend up to $500 million on a US subsidiary. The chip subcontractor company today said its board of directors had cleared the plan to buy out almost all the shares it does not already own in WaferTech LLC. The chip factory in Camas, Washington, is currently a joint …

    Channel 7 Nov 2000, 16:53

  • Eazel to ship second GUI preview today

    Nautilus' Net services suite will debut

    Eazel will later today give Linux users a "sneak preview" of the Internet services technology to be built into its upcoming GUI for the open source operating system. The company will unveil its Network User Environment, a key component of its Nautilus GUI. Essentially, NUE is a set of APIs, called Eazel Services, around which …

    Software 7 Nov 2000, 17:06

  • Japan reacts to Taiwan chip threat

    Japanese IP exchange opens for business

    IPTC Planning, originally set up earlier this year to study the feasibility of creating a business out of the trading of semiconductor design assets (intellectual property, or IP), has evolved into a business enterprise called IPTC Corporation. The idea of running a six month feasibility study to see if IP trading has business …

    Channel 7 Nov 2000, 17:11

  • How you hack into Microsoft: a step by step guide

    It's easy, watch....

    Microsoft's recent sacking at the hands of unskilled malicious crackers has engendered a vast cloud of false scent from company flacks, who in past days have progressively shrunk their damage assessments. According to company sources, the intruders had access for only 12 days, not six weeks as first reported, and did not corrupt …

    Software 7 Nov 2000, 17:24

  • Russian credit card scam hits Brit Web host customers

    Double rouble trouble

    Fifteen customers of a small British Web hosting company have had small amounts of money unlawfully charged to their credit card accounts. The money has nominally been paid to a Russian company called Incomtel. The amounts taken are between £5 and £10. All the accounts were charged in Russian roubles. All fifteen customers had …

    Music and Media 7 Nov 2000, 18:07

  • MS trial hell will never end: Bristol verdict turns to dust

    Screwing Unix back on the charge sheet?

    Microsoft's sole antitrust trial 'victory' (if you don't count the class action dismissals) has crumbled to dust. US district court judge Janet Hall, who earlier this year awarded Bristol Technology $1 million, has now whacked Microsoft with $3.7 million in costs, and opened the way for a new trial. Bristol CEO Keith Blackwell …

    Software 7 Nov 2000, 18:22

  • Celebrity hacktivist joins the Mid-East cyber-war

    DoctorNuker talks politics to the Reg

    An attack by pro-Israeli hackers against the Hizbollah and Palestinian Authority Web sites over a week ago initiated the current Middle-East cyber-war, which has widened considerably, lately affecting sites in other countries and drawing talent from overseas. One incredibly prolific hacktivist and defacement artist known as …

    Music and Media 7 Nov 2000, 18:43

  • PSINet caught red-handed with spam contract

    It'd have got away with it too if it weren't for you pesky kids

    Stumbling ISP PSINet has owned up to a contract with a sender of bulk unsolicited commercial email - known to you and me as spam. It has long been a suspicion that some ISPs have had illicit contracts with spammers, despite a publicly stated policy against such practices. However, after news site CNet obtained an unsigned copy …

    Music and Media 7 Nov 2000, 21:18

  • George Dubya ridiculed on hacked RNC page

    'Defy the White tyrant'

    The Republican National Committee (RNC) Web site was defaced on election day with a lengthy essay impugning George Dubya's fitness for the office he seeks. "George W. Bush would make a great president for those states which traffic not so much in decency but bigotry. Not acceptance but hate. Not love but fear. There is no sense …

    Music and Media 7 Nov 2000, 21:19

  • Wearable Java computer open doors

    Seen in Turkey

    A US firm is flogging a wearable Java computer which can be used as a key in the real and virtual worlds. The iButton from Dallas Semiconductor is touted as a two-in-one fob, and can be used either as a physical key to open doors or a computer key for secure network log-in, or for electronic signatures. The gadget is a 16mm …

    Software 7 Nov 2000, 21:25

  • HWRoundup: Yo! Muthabordz!

    Election special

    BX Boards gets up close and personal with the new Socket A mainboard from Soltek. Featuring (fanfare please) multiplier adjust as well as other bits and bobs for you overclockers as well as the new VIA 696B Southbridge. Click here to find out how this one stands up against the Asus A7Pro and Abit KT7. And to contrast and compare …

    Hardware Roundup 7 Nov 2000, 21:26