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13th November 2000 Archive

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  • Intel 'Going for AMD's balls'

    Chipzilla brings forward 2GHz P4

    Geeks rushing to buy early P4s at marked up prices are going to look pretty dumb come January when Intel's Flagchip will hit 2GHz. The chip is not scheduled to launch for another week (at 1.4 and 1.5GHz), but a number of retailers are already offering the part for sale. Pentium 4 yields are 'excellent', Intel sources told The …

    Channel 13 Nov 2000, 10:03

  • Gates doesn't quite name Whistler Windows 2001

    Puts lips together, doesn't blow

    Bill Gates didn't come up with a name for next year's Win2k upgrade last night in his Comdex keynote, but according to Microsoft's press release (which looks to have been written in something of a hurry) on the event he did. Sharp-eyed Paul Thurrott of WinInfo spotted the reference to "Windows 2001," although Gates in reality …

    Software 13 Nov 2000, 10:07

  • Look out Yahoo!, here comes Lavazza!

    Espresso Bongo

    Italian coffee machine maker Lavazza, the Italian maker of iconic espresso machines, is branching out into the Internet - and it has a secret weapon. The humble coffee vending machine. Customers will sign up for Lavazza Espresso Point, a "personalized services portal", using a touch-sensitive screen on the vending machine. …

    Music and Media 13 Nov 2000, 10:30

  • AMD's Mustang is dog food

    Server chip heads for the knackers yard

    Chimpzilla has brought out the humane killer for its planned Mustang processor. The company declined to comment on the specifics of its demise, but an inability to support a L2 cache bigger than 1MB had called into question its suitability for high-end server use. Mustang was planned as an enhanced version of the Athlon …

    Channel 13 Nov 2000, 10:36

  • Economist pilfers Reg ‘trademark’

    Whose 'chipzilla' is it anyway?

    Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, they say, so we can only assume that the move by sophisticated business journal The Economist to rip off one of our catchphrases is a sign of the deep admiration the mag holds for The Reg. See for yourself. On page 131 of the latest, 11 November issue, we see a featurette on Intel …

    Bootnotes 13 Nov 2000, 10:56

  • Rambus to take 40 per cent of DRAM biz – president

    Promises cheaper RDRAM too

    Rambus' Direct DRAM memory technology will account for 40 per cent of the memory market within the next three years, the company president has claimed. He also pledged that RDRAM, long one of the more expensive memory options, would come down in price, thanks to new development work carried out by Rambus. Speaking at the …

    Channel 13 Nov 2000, 11:44

  • Fastest-ever Celerons ship today

    They'll be entry-level within six months

    Chipzilla's new Celeron processors debut today and are likely to be the last ever to use the slug-like 66MHz frontside bus. In 1000-unit quantities, the 766 and 733MHz chips are priced at $170 and $112, respectively. The 733MHz Celeron also becomes the latest addition to Intel's line of embedded processors aimed at products …

    Channel 13 Nov 2000, 12:04

  • Kenwood licenses Symbian

    Wants it for smartphones

    Kenwood, better known for its ghetto-blasting in-car hi-fi rigs, is making a dash for the hi-tech world of mobile comms and multimedia, courtesy of Symbian and Intel. The Japanese consumer electronics company said today it has joined the Symbian alliance, and will use the operating system developer's 32-bit Epoc 32 platform as …

    Software 13 Nov 2000, 12:09

  • Netpliance pulls I-opener Web access device

    Low sales and bad results

    Netpliance has pulled its I-opener Web access device from sale following disastrous third quarter results. In an attempt to stem the flow of money from the company bank account, Netpliance has said it will license the Web access device, which runs the QNX operating system, to other companies, most notably AT&T. In an attempt …

    Business 13 Nov 2000, 12:22

  • CIA men censured over high-security smut

    Saucy secrets within sick secretive organisation

    The CIA is investigating up to 160 employees for posting "inappropriate" messages to a secret chat room, stored deep in the bowels of the intelligence agency's computer system. The chat room was invite-only and remained undetected for five years until "routine security checks" located it. Between five and ten employees have …

    Software 13 Nov 2000, 12:39

  • Apple embarks on MacOS X for Intel project

    It's pinch of salt time, but it's not as daft a rumour as you might think

    Apple may indeed be preparing a full x86 version of MacOS X, according a source cited by Ars Technica. The Ars report's writer mentions bumping into a old programming chum who claimed that Apple recently approached him to join the team porting MacOS X over to the Intel platform. MacOS X's core OS, Darwin, derived from BSD Unix …

    Mac Channel 13 Nov 2000, 13:07

  • BOFH: Lights out for Contractors

    Episode 39 A bastard's got to do...

    BOFH 2000: Episode 39 So I'm investigating a routine fault ("My machine won't work") in the Basement - which I usually avoid like the plague because of the weirdy types who are cellared there - when my enquiries result in forcing me to go to the basement Comms room for the first time. With some trepidation - having seen the …

    BOFH 13 Nov 2000, 13:25

  • Nvidia selects Sensaura for upcoming audio chip

    Will also materialise in Xbox?

    Nvidia has licensed UK-based Sensaura's 3D audio technology for a series of "new audio processors" - another sign the chip company is looking to break out of the 3D graphics niche. We reckon that said "audio processor" - the quote's from Sensaura's terse press statement on the deal - is the upcoming Media Communications …

    Channel 13 Nov 2000, 13:55

  • HP grows sales but misses earnings targets

    Full year sales up 15% to $48.8bn

    HP brought home $13.3 billion in its fourth quarter, but decided to can negotiations with Price Waterhouse Coopers to buy its consulting division. The figure represents a 17 per cent rise on the $11.4 billion it turned over in the same period last year. Earnings per share fell short of the company's targets and only rose by 14 …

    Business 13 Nov 2000, 14:13

  • Look out! Here come the cybercops

    Jack Straw stumps up £25 million for Net crime detectives

    A new team of 80 full-time cybercops are to be recruited and let loose on the UK's Net structure as part of a £25 million plan to stamp on Internet crime, the Home Secretary announced this morning. According to Jack Straw, this move is "in line with our objective of making the UK the best and safest place in the world to …

    Music and Media 13 Nov 2000, 14:14

  • Pub Net business raises £20m

    Beer, pork scratchings and porn

    Yava, the business bringing Internet access to our pubs, has raised £20 million to fund its nationwide roll out. The full network will consist of 750 devices across the country which are forecast to generate more than 14 million page impressions a month - which is pretty close to Reg levels of performance. As a trial Yava …

    Business 13 Nov 2000, 14:15

  • Codebreakers concours crypto climax

    By George, I think he's cracked it!

    You're a clever bunch out there, you really are. Several Reg readers have finally cracked our fiendish code. However, due to an incomplete understanding of the rules, there are currently only two winners. Those who have broken the code but haven't heard back from us should check theoriginal competition, and reads the rules …

    Site News 13 Nov 2000, 15:16

  • Nvidia unveils mobile GeForce 2 GO

    Slower than a GeForce 2 MX, but eats fewer watts

    Nvidia has unveiled the chip it hopes will wrest control of the notebook graphics market from ATI, the GeForce 2 GO. The new chip is essentially a modified version of Nvidia's low- to mid-range GeForce 2 MX part. The modifications address the prime consideration of any chip aimed at the mobile market: minimising power …

    Channel 13 Nov 2000, 15:18

  • MS to intro ‘annual sub’ price structure with Office 10

    It's like Office.NET. Except it's not Office.NET...

    Microsoft is to introduce its long-anticipated "annuity" model for software sales in the middle of next year, the company announced today in Las Vegas. But although renting out software as a service is a key part of the .NET strategy, the software the company will be renting first will be exactly the same as the packaged version …

    Software 13 Nov 2000, 15:59

  • Queen in mobe clampdown

    Peace reigns at Buck House

    The Queen has issued an edict banning Buck House courtiers from carrying mobile phones on duty. Apparently the sound of Colonel Bogey trilling from some lackey's tailcoat pocket while he's serving the Japanese ambassador proved too much for Her Majesty. Quite right too, although the idea of the footman's mobe playing The …

    Bootnotes 13 Nov 2000, 16:30

  • Pioneer shows off combo CD/DVD recordable drive

    Capacity of 4.7GB per DVD side

    Pioneer New Media Technologies has unveiled the first combination CD/DVD recordable drive for the PC at the Comdex exhibition in Las Vegas. The drive reads and writes in four formats: DVD-R, CD-R, DVD-RW and CD-RW, has up to 4.7GB capacity per DVD side and records on DVD-R at twice the normal speed. Andy Parsons, senior VP of …

    Business 13 Nov 2000, 16:33

  • Fujitsu punts out 30GB 2.5in drives for mobiles

    Data transfer rate of 28.7MBps

    Fujitsu has put together a line of 2.5in mobile drives, with 10GB capacity per platter. The new series come in 10, 15, 20 and 30GB sizes. The drives manage a data transfer rate of 28.7MBps and have an average seek time of 12ms. They have an Ultra ATA/66 interface, 4200rpm spindle speed, and an increased buffer of 2MB. The …

    Business 13 Nov 2000, 16:46

  • Oftel laughs at BT unmetered access timetable

    Heard the one about the boy who cried wolf?

    Oftel has responded to BT's "concessions" on the number of exchanges to be opened by July with scepticism, and by talking of expecting "further improvements". This is surprisingly stroppy behaviour from the winged watchdog and it looks as though Oftel may finally be justifying its existence. On Friday, Oftel held a meeting …

    Data Networking 13 Nov 2000, 16:54

  • Tesco to start selling cars online

    Gerald Ratner back in the 'quality' jewellery business

    Tesco will start selling cars online from early next year. It is in talks with several car manufacturers and hopes to match the success it has had with its online electrical department. Sainsbury's already sells cars through its Sainsbury's Bank. Gerald Ratner is going to flog jewellery online. You might recall he had to …

    Business 13 Nov 2000, 16:55

  • HWRoundup Celeriac 766MHz attack

    Plus Quake election fragathon

    There is somewhere new to chat in Hardware Land thanks to that Thomas Pabst. The good Doctor has forsaken the charms of a Delphi forum in favour of running the whole thing himself. Click here top read all about it and here to sign up. And if you want to try out your THG BB voice, where better to start than adding your views …

    Hardware Roundup 13 Nov 2000, 18:07

  • Amazon.com lets you test Florida butterfly ballot

    Would Gran get it right?

    E-tail giant Amazon has designed an amusing Web page enabling surfers to determine whether their hand/eye coordination would be up to the challenge of getting Palm Beach County's controversial butterfly ballot right, albeit using a mouse instead of a hole-punch. Amazon's joke ballot carefully recapitulates the PBC ballot's …

    Music and Media 13 Nov 2000, 18:35

  • Unmetered access is here! No thanks to BT

    Oftel extends FRIACO - whether BT likes it or not

    If a new Oftel report, out today, is to be taken at face value, the UK may soon have real unmetered Internet access. The report may be 72 pages long, filled with yet more tedious acronyms and as interesting as reading the phone book, but the report appears to indicate that Oftel has insisted upon BT extending the FRIACO …

    Data Networking 13 Nov 2000, 18:37

  • Straw in line for Lifetime Menace Big Brother award

    Fierce rivalry from BT and Anne Widdecombe

    Jack Straw looks set to be named Britain's Big Brother over his handling of email snooping powers. The Home Secretary, nominated for the 3rd UK Big Brother Awards, is in good company - other nominees that "have done the most to invade personal privacy in Britain" include BT, the TV Licensing organisation and Tory MP Anne …

    Music and Media 13 Nov 2000, 18:42

  • Freeserve to cut off hundreds more customers

    Whaddaya mean you want to actually use our service?

    Freeserve is planning to cut hundreds more customers off its unmetered service because, er, they use it. The troubled ISP - once the UK's golden boy - has already had to remove 700 users last month. They were "abusing" the service. No one really bought the corporate excuse but we know what it was getting at - it just couldn't …

    Music and Media 13 Nov 2000, 18:45

  • Bush hand-count hypocrisy shot down

    Updated Florida's rule of really bad law

    A Miami federal judge ruled Monday that the Bush campaign is not entitled to a federal injunction which it had sought preventing a manual re-count of ballots in four Florida counties. The Bush people have been whingeing about the manual re-counts, claiming that they will be less accurate than machine counts. We're at a loss, …

    Music and Media 13 Nov 2000, 20:45

  • Streamline.com turns into Thanksgiving Turkey

    Titsup.com for online grocer

    Execs at Streamline.com today gave the online grocer less than two weeks to live. The Massachusetts-based outfit is winding down its services and will stop trading on 22 November - just as the Thanksgiving turkeys are being stuffed - due to investor jitters. The decision ends a six-month trawl to find financing for the company …

    Business 13 Nov 2000, 23:16

  • US Presidency up for grabs on eBay

    Bid for your perfect job

    One surfer sick of the US election farce has put the presidency up for sale on eBay. Seventeen bids were placed today for item number 497945868, pushing the price offered for the job to $30,100. "Due to the recent ballot confusion in Florida the Presidential election process has been cancelled for this term. It has now been …

    Music and Media 13 Nov 2000, 23:18

  • A TiVO for radio.. and Palms become WebPads

    Comdex Gizmothon

    Comdex never fails to provide a slew of optimistic hardware prototypes that you can bet will never see the light of day. But we were impressed by Simple Devices, the tiny Casio-backed design start-up, which has piled more ideas into its demonstration hardware than the rest of the gadgets (we've seen so far) can muster between …

    Business 13 Nov 2000, 23:35