The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

16th November 2000 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • Micron to pump $287m into new Singapore plant

    CEO gets to ring opening bell at NYSE

    US chipmaker Micron Technology is to pump around $287 million into a flash new plant in Singapore. The 400,000sq ft facility will be for package assembly and testing, as well as module assembly. The company expects it to be up and running early in 2002. This will be Micron's second plant in Singapore - it already has a factory …

    Channel 16 Nov 2000, 00:06

  • Netnames whois Wednesday humour

    It's a bit of fun

    Netnames' whois server is doing funny things to your favourite computer companies. Run a search on its site for, say, AOL.com, and you'll find a list of interesting abuse where server names should be. One example: "AOL.COM.SHOULD.BE.ZAPPED.BY.THE.DEPARTMENTOFJUSTICE.NET". We did some other searches, starting, naturally with …

    Bootnotes 16 Nov 2000, 01:27

  • Where's the IT angle?

    We never were any good at geometry...

    The Register has had an enormous response to Thomas Greene's pieces on the US election. Indeed, we are so encouraged that we've decided to take up political reporting full-time. Expect to see RegNN.com RSN. Thanks once again for all your kind words. We never wanted to be computer journalists, anyway. Here's a taste of things to …

    Bootnotes 16 Nov 2000, 01:28

  • Datrontech receivers sell Portable Add Ons

    Channel Flannel

    Datrontech co-founder Ian Boyle has teamed up with two former directors of the company to buy Portable Add Ons from the receivers for £400,000. The rest of team include Portable Add Ons MD Steve Muttram, and former Datrontech FD Steve Antrim and the deal was transacted through a small telecoms company called Liberty …

    Business 16 Nov 2000, 08:19

  • Beam me up, Intel

    Broadband over light

    Fibre optic networks - they ain't cheap, especially for that last mile into people's homes. Microwave? Too bloody slow for broadband applications. So what about using lightwaves to squirt data? This is the big idea of Quantum Beam, a Cambridge, UK start-up which has devised a way of carrying information over infra-red light at …

    Data Networking 16 Nov 2000, 10:15

  • Linus on open source, free software and the personality thing

    Torvalds interview part 2 RMS versus Raymond, why 'free' is a bad word...

    You're very focussed on the kernel - does your role in the kernel kind of stop anyone else, any one company say, claiming "ownership" of Linux? I don't see myself that way. I'm this figurehead and I'm the technical lead for the kernel. So it's not about arbitration - I don't care what the fight is: I keep myself fairly neutral …

    Register Full Coverage 16 Nov 2000, 10:40

  • Linus on robots, fame and getting to ‘yes’ with 2.4

    Torvalds interview part 1 Bill versus Linus was helpful then, but this is now...

    To his millions of fans he's known simply as "Linus". From Southport to Santiago he's celebrated as the man who kick-started a computer revolution. But enough about The Register's publisher Linus Birtles. The only slightly less-famous Linus, Linux kernel creator Linus Torvalds, kindly gave us the best part of an hour of his time …

    Register Full Coverage 16 Nov 2000, 10:40

  • Garden.com turfed onto dot.compost heap

    Titsup.com special!

    Question: Who buys compost over the Web? Not enough of you for Garden.com which is to begin an orderly shut-down, while it flogs off its assets. We guess the URL is worth a few million bucks. The rest may just be so much well-rotted manure. Beautyjungle.com, make-up etailer, closed Wednesday with the loss of 30 jobs. Reason …

    Business 16 Nov 2000, 10:42

  • Where's the IT angle? Part Two

    George III's management analyst speaks etc.

    Yesterday, we published the Revocation of US Independence, doing the email rounds in Blighty, and asked if anyone knew the author? We've had plenty of spottings on alt.humour and alt.english newsgroups, but no name yet (although we do have an email address -arcadianrising@aol.com - for maybe the first poster). It is clear that …

    Bootnotes 16 Nov 2000, 11:24

  • 3dfx clarifies graphics card strategy

    Quitting production, yes - quitting retail, no

    3dfx yesterday denied it is pulling out of the 3D graphics card business, although it is ending production at its Juarez, Mexico plant, which will indeed be sold off. In a clarification of its earlier statements, made in filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, 3dfx said it will continue to address the retail …

    Channel 16 Nov 2000, 11:28

  • Losses triple at Net finance site

    And other online cash trash

    Losses have almost tripled at Interactive International Investor. The site provides online financial information and services, has 1.1 million registered account holders, but they're mainly checking out the free stuff. In the past 12 months it ran up losses of £17.4 million compared with £6.3 million a year earlier. Sales for …

    Business 16 Nov 2000, 11:45

  • Rambus goes into networking hardware

    First products early next year

    As the exclusivity of its future at Intel is brought into question, Rambus has announced its intentions to move into networking hardware and expand its presence in consumer electronics. The company said that over the next two years it only expects half of its revenue to come from the PC market. The remaining half would be split …

    Channel 16 Nov 2000, 11:48

  • Rambus ‘dropped Hyundai case to avoid tough judge’

    Legal shenanigans backfire big time

    Rambus, everyone's favourite litigant, has had its corporate wrists slapped for 'blatant judge shopping' by the US International Trade Commission. The trade body has also imposed restrictions on the company should it ever file another SDRAM patent complaint with the ITC. [That's not very likely to happen, is it? - Ed] …

    Channel 16 Nov 2000, 11:59

  • Name and shame paedophile Web site man faces court

    Charged with conspiring to abduct child

    The Aberdeen anti-child abuse campaigner planning to name and shame paedophiles on the Net is to appear in court charged with conspiring to abduct a child. Stuart Carnie, who runs the charity Caring for Children, is one of nine people charged in connection with the alleged abduction of a nine-year-old girl in Sunderland last …

    Music and Media 16 Nov 2000, 12:42

  • Monkey brain signals used to work robots

    Monkey magic, monkey magic

    Researchers have moved a step closer to creating workable neural prostheses, following the identification, in monkeys, of the brain signals the lead to motion. They have also been able to use those signals to trigger the same movement in a robot in real time. Previous work in the area has involved a time delay between …

    Business 16 Nov 2000, 13:25

  • Blighty goes teetotal

    The end is nigh

    A record 18 per cent of Brits now eschew a drop of the hard stuff, according to The Drink Pocket Book 2001. We were still reeling down here at Vulture Central from Kieren 'Last Orders' McCarthy's revelation that kids were eschewing cigarettes for mobile phones. Then came this body blow. It confirms what we had feared all along …

    Bootnotes 16 Nov 2000, 13:26

  • Intel power tech catches Transmeta. In, er, 6 months – IBM

    ThinkPad exec lays it on, over and in the vicinity of the line

    Somewhere within the Las Vegas Convention Centre there is a large, well-appointed room staffed by more IBM marketing people than you'd previously thought could possibly exist, clad in identical IBM shirts of a quality far higher than they've ever given you. Unlike the operatives of various other companies you might care to name …

    Channel 16 Nov 2000, 13:44

  • Bush and Gore exchange personalities

    We might all have to switch our votes

    A refreshingly relaxed and confident Al Gore hit the airwaves Wednesday evening, mid-way through the network news broadcasts, touting a proposal which he claimed would resolve the election madness in Florida swiftly and amicably. The publicity stunt was timed perfectly for maximum exposure, as the rude masses in the US tend to …

    Music and Media 16 Nov 2000, 14:35

  • Web site names and shames paedophiles

    Lynch Rule

    An Aberdeen anti-child abuse campaigner is to name and shame paedophiles on the Net. On his Web site, called Abuse of Children, Stuart Carnie has published a database of sex offenders, with names, addresses and pictures. Carnie, who runs the charity Caring for Children, declares on the site: "The notion that we cannot stop the …

    Music and Media 16 Nov 2000, 15:01

  • 3dfx pulls plug on graphics card production

    For whom the bell tolls...

    3dfx is bailing out of the 3D graphics card market, just two years after spending millions to buy STB Systems to bring board production in house. If that's not a sign of 3dfx's desperation, nothing is. The company itself puts it: "We're trying to be more fiscally responsible. Basically, we're reinventing ourselves." Brave words …

    Channel 16 Nov 2000, 15:01

  • Oftel head flambéed by angry MPs

    We wish we'd gone now

    Sparks were flying at the Houses of Parliament yesterday. Head of Oftel David Edmonds faced the trade and industry select committee and they were not in good temper. Of course prime billing was given to Oftel's inability to get BT off its arse, but the committee also pilled in with questions on mobile phone tariffs and public …

    Data Networking 16 Nov 2000, 15:01

  • Iridium back from the dead

    Satellite comms network saved!

    Iridium, the ill-fated cellphone-by-satellite service that collapsed earlier this year, is to be saved from destruction. When the company went bust, its chief investor, Motorola, which also had the contract to maintain the service's network of 66 satellites, said with no buyers in sight, all that space-bound hardware would be …

    Data Networking 16 Nov 2000, 15:17

  • HWRoundup Full guide to FSB overclocking Intel goodies

    And Visiontek GeForce2 GTS Ultra test drive

    Tweaktown - always happy to provide a service to the community - has written a guide to FSB overclocking Intel's stuff. This is not just for old hands, written, as it is in terms simple enough for overclocking newbies to grasp fairly rapidly. Click here to find out what the fuss is all about. AthlonOC has taken a Duron 600 …

    Hardware Roundup 16 Nov 2000, 15:26

  • BBC beaten in bid for first Brit ebook

    Attachments spin off comes second

    BBC Worldwide appears to have been pipped to the post as the first company to launch a mainstream British ebook before Christmas. Harper Collins got there first, writes Tony Dennis. The e Before Christmas from M@tt Beaumont, the ebook from Harper Collins, is the follow-up to the author's first novel, e. Its arch rival is On The …

    Music and Media 16 Nov 2000, 15:32

  • Scour to stop Napster-style movie sharing service

    Move makes a sale of the bankrupt company more likely

    Bankrupt Scour is to scuttle its 'Napster for movies' Scour Exchange service in a desperate bid to end all legal action against it and so smooth its sale to listen.com. Scour filed for Chapter 11 last month, a move that not only protects a company from its creditors but from pending litigation. In Scour's case, that's the …

    Music and Media 16 Nov 2000, 15:53

  • Apple's switch glitch: Cube affected too

    According to a Reg reader...

    Apple continues to have problems with the switches that turn on its latest line of desktop Macs. After the company admitted that there is an issue with Power Mac G4 switches burning out, we here that Cube owners are having similar problems. It turns out the Cube's power switch is a neat little heat-sensitive jobby that …

    Mac Channel 16 Nov 2000, 16:16

  • MP3.com hit with another lawsuit

    Lawyers rub hands in glee

    There's no rest for the wicked - MP3.com is facing yet more legal action. The class-action complaint for copyright infringement has been filed on behalf of Unity Entertainment Corp and others, the online music file swapping service said today. The action comes just two days after MP3.com settled with Universal Music Group for …

    Music and Media 16 Nov 2000, 16:56

  • Saudi Prince laughs off $80m Priceline losses

    But curbs dotcom investments

    Chipper Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal has laughed off his $80 million loss in Priceline.com. Well, he does still have another $20 billion to go at. But royalty's top e-investor has got his fingers burnt, and has no plans to get further into dotcom debt, according to an interview with Bloomberg from his New York hotel suite …

    Business 16 Nov 2000, 16:58

  • Martine McCutcheon new single on your mobile!

    Keep away from those razor blades

    Ex-Eastenders barmaid and drinking man's crumpet Martine McCutcheon has released a new single (yippee!). And if that wasn't bad exciting enough, you'll be able to download a basic, annoying synthesised version of it onto your mobile phone so it plays relentlessly every time your phone rings. Can life get any better? Probably …

    Data Networking 16 Nov 2000, 17:42

  • Freeserve not going bust: official

    We've £100m to spend says investor relations manager

    Freeserve's investor relations manager Paul Barker has contacted us to categorically deny that the ISP is running out of money. We pondered the question after the recent mass billing fiasco and a number of other customer complaints revolving around getting money out of Freeserve. However, Paul has put the record straight. Last …

    Music and Media 16 Nov 2000, 17:43

  • Buy your own satellite

    At $45,000 it's an Xmas must-have

    Christmas madness has begun in earnest and the silliest thing we've come across so far is the CubeSat. At four inches across and weighing in at about a kilo, this personal mini satellite has to be the ultimate present for the geek who has everything. The pair responsible for this festive season nonsense, Dale Richards and …

    Data Networking 16 Nov 2000, 18:15

  • CIA-backed wireless networking start-up gets new CEO

    Ex-US West exec Trujillo comes on board

    CIA-backed start-up La Graviton has spotted its future leader in the form of ex-US West exec Sol Trujillo. He is joining the small California-based outfit as CEO, president and chairman. The company is developing a wireless data networking technology that will have sensors to tip off users about information. Graviton was one …

    Data Networking 16 Nov 2000, 18:18

  • TheStreet.co.uk goes titsup.com

    We don't wanna say we told you so, but...

    Financial Web site TheStreet.co.uk has gone titsup.com after investors decided that £500,000 a month was a bit too much of a loss for just four million page impressions a month. The site is the UK arm of troubled US site TheStreet.com, which has seen its main investors - Chase Capital Partners and Barclays Private Equity - ask …

    Business 16 Nov 2000, 18:20

  • Noose tightening for dotcoms – 21 deaths in last fortnight

    130 so far this year

    The noose is tightening around dotcoms' scrawny necks, with 21 Internet companies shutting up shop so far this month. This figure, equal to more than one death every day, compares to 22 casualties for the whole of October - the cruelest month to date. It brings the total to around 130 since January as venture capitalists head …

    Music and Media 16 Nov 2000, 22:20