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16th January 2001 Archive

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  • Catch a hacker, win a book

    Honeynet Project wants YOU

    Organizers of the Honeynet Project's Forensic Challenge are inviting aspiring cyber sleuths to match wits with the perpetrator of a dastardly hack attack on an unnamed Linux machine last November. Contestants can download intrusion detection system logs from the night of the attack, along with mountable images of the hacked …

    Media 16 Jan 2001, 05:10

  • Compaq bankrolls Taiwan's PC biz

    Tough deals keep cash flowing

    OEM business Compaq has brokered with a multitude of Taiwanese component suppliers will surpass $10 billion this year, according to a senior executive based on the island. And the components not only include monitors, but cover the whole gamut of parts for PCs, signalling a determination by Compaq to push into the mainland …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 08:06

  • AltaVista faces High Court hearing Friday

    Update: Yes, m'Lud

    AltaVista and British ISP The Free Internet Group (FIG) are due to appear in the High Court on Friday to resume FIG's claim of alleged breach of contract. The legal action dates back to early last year when FIG claims it had signed a deal to provide AltaVista UK with unmetered Net access. FIG claims AltaVista pulled out of the …

    Media 16 Jan 2001, 08:25

  • Can Intel pump up Tualatin volume?

    On the horns of a fab dilemma

    Intel Australia's representatives are obviously a little less tight lipped than their European counterparts, judging from the fact that one of them let Insane Hardware take a snap of a sample of one of the .13 micron chips the other day. Our representatives here in Europe won't even comment about Intel codenames, never mind …

    Channel 16 Jan 2001, 08:27

  • Zen Buddhism could swing Rambus case

    As a pin dropped, did the penny?

    Intel's push into the Pentium 4 depends on it, Micron's lucrative deal for DDR memory hinges on it, the Xbox depends on it, and the future of memory technology in the PC hangs on it too. And exactly what is it, in this case? The answer is the legal struggle between Rambus, Infineon, Hyundai and Micron over whether the first …

    Channel 16 Jan 2001, 09:12

  • RedHotAnt gets squished?

    Update: It doesn't look good

    A notice has appeared on RedHotAnt's Web site announcing that it has pulled its unmetered Net service due to "funding" problems. The same notice is also available on a recorded message on RHA's telephone support line. The move appears to quash earlier speculation that an email sent to RHA subscribers yesterday announcing it …

    Media 16 Jan 2001, 09:20

  • Tosh to mass produce video chips for mobiles

    Video messaging, the next big craze

    Toshiba is going to start mass producing MPEG-4 chips for mobile phones in September. These will allow users of phones, equipped with built-in cameras, to send, receive and watch video on them. The Toshiba chips will combine an MPEG-4 encoder and decoder, a speech encoder and decoder, an audio and video multiplexer and 12Mb of …

    Channel 16 Jan 2001, 10:51

  • Memory chips make Samsung $4.6bn

    Slight end of year slump, though

    Samsung Electronics saw net profits leap 89 per cent in 2000, with the company making 6.004 trillion won ($4.6 billion) for the year. The memory chipmaker did suffer though from a sales slump towards the end of the year. Income from the first half of the year was 3.2 trillion won ($2.45 billion), with 1.7 trillion won ($1.3 …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 11:34

  • SGI to wander into WAP

    Signs up Singapore mobile comms company to help

    Here's an unusual one. SGI, best known for its focus on high-end 3D graphics systems, plans to move into the very different arena of mobile comms with a focus on WAP in particular. The plan centres on a recently announced deal between SGI and Singapore-based WAP specialist 3ui. SGI has licensed 3ui's Eris and Ophelia products …

    Data Networking 16 Jan 2001, 12:05

  • Motorola to axe 2500 jobs at phone plant

    The cost cutting starts here

    Motorola is to shut its Harvard, Illinois cellphone manufacturing operation with the loss of 2500 jobs - half of the workforce at the facility. The irony is that, as Motorola acknowledged, the Harvard plant successfully cut costs and improved production quality last year. However, other plants remain more cost-effective and …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 12:35

  • The RealPlayer Comet Cursor crashing saga

    All to do with failed Net access attempts

    Following on from our story yesterday that the latest version of RealPlayer was crashing PCs, we've had some very interesting emails. The blame has been put at the door of a small piece of software called Comet Cursor. First thing this morning we had an email from the marketing director of Cursor, Ben Austin. "I read through …

    Software 16 Jan 2001, 13:35

  • Blaggers grab £150k worth of memory from Newbury distie

    Rombyte turned over

    Thieves have stolen £150,000 worth of memory chips from Newbury based distributor Rombyte. The theft has been described as a very professional and organised. The raiders cheekily set Rombyte's alarms off and then waited until the premises were checked for a break-in and given the all clear, before carrying out the raid. The …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 13:54

  • 3Com confirms job cuts

    Will decide next month who's to be axed

    3Com has set the end of February as deadline to decide which of its 11,500 workers are for the chop after warning yesterday it intends to job cuts this quarter. The plan is part of a major cost-cutting exercise. The job cuts will save the company $200-225 million a year, though it will have to take a one-off hit of $46-60 …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 14:05

  • Cash Register goes crash

    Titsup.co.uk

    Today we wave goodbye to Cash Register, our channel for dotcom finance/dotcom collapse stories. We thought the subject matter merited a separate section, but we've changed our minds. No, we haven't tired yet of reporting the failures of dotchancers that you've probably never heard of. But in future, all money-to-dotcompost …

    Site News 16 Jan 2001, 14:43

  • Emusic.com axes third of workforce

    It's all Napster's fault, apparently

    Napster battler EMusic.com last week rid itself of 66 staff - including three senior executives - in a bid to cut costs. And the reason? Yes, you guessed it: Napster, at least in part. "I would definitely say Napster has been a cause for some of our problems," said Gene Hoffman, EMusic.com's CEO. "It's difficult to get …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 14:49

  • Oven.com pilot light goes out

    Another one goes titsup.com

    Classy "top-tier Internet consulting and development company" Oven.com has shut its London office and said bye-bye to 200 staff. An indication that even if you have a fancy Web site, offices in all the main cities in the world and big clients like AT&T and Harper Collins, the Internet world will swallow you up and spit you out …

    Media 16 Jan 2001, 14:49

  • Swedish dotcom exits UK

    Dobed'oh!

    Swedish chat outfit - Dobedo - has closed its office in the UK. It still plans to run its UK site but from the safety and comfort of its Swedish offices and believes the move won't damage its presence in Britain. While only a handful of people stayed to the very end, the closure of Dobedo's London office could be damaging for …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 14:49

  • CoShopper in talks to buy Letsbuyit.com

    Who said the Swiss were boring?

    Swiss outfit CoShopper.com today said it was keen to get its mitts on troubled rival Letsbuyit.com. The company said it had started talks with debt-ridden Letsbuyit, which saw its management leave en mass earlier this month. Marc Schlett, MD for CoShopper's German sector, outlined the advantages of buying the e-tailer: " …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 14:49

  • BT pays £4.64bn for Viag

    Cash Register Takes up option

    BT today confirmed that it will buy the 45 per cent stake in German fixed and mobile operator Viag Interkom for €7.25bn (£4.64bn) completing an option agreement announced last year. Web filtering outfit SurfControl reported a record Q2 increase in filtering product revenues of 425 per cent of $8.4m (Q2 1999: $1.6m) it …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 14:49

  • Yahoo! slashes forecasts

    Bad ad times

    Yahoo! has slashed its sales and profit forecasts for Q1 2001. The company expects Yahoo.com ad sales to slump as other Web businesses fail to raise enough cash to advertise with it. Dotcoms bought a third of the ads on Yahoo.com last quarter. Yahoo expects Q1 revenues of about $220 million to $240 million. This is less than …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 14:58

  • AOL and Time Warner deal done

    Look, we know you know but it's one of those stories we just have to do, OK?

    AOL Inc and Time Warner have finally been given the nod to join hands and create a new, mega media empire. And about bloody time too. A year and a day have passed since the pair first announced their intentions. It seems like an eternity ago. The $105 billion (£70 billion) deal creates a monster Internet and media corporation …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 14:58

  • Colt gets new chief

    And Vodafone's Gent gets jam on his bonus

    Colt Telecom Group plc has appointed Peter Manning as the company's new president and CEO. Manning, Colt's COO since April 1999, takes over from Paul Chisholm, who had earlier announced his intention to retire this year. Chisholm has been president and CEO of Colt for nine years. BT could be about to land a £225 million …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 14:58

  • LookSmart chops third of staff

    Dotcom war claims more casualties

    LookSmart has chopped a third of staff after announcing it will miss Q4 targets. The dotcom directory said it expected sales of $30 million to $31 million for the quarter, down on its previous estimate of $33 million to $36 million. It forecast a loss of between 14 and 15 cents, from previously expected losses of 12 cents. In …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 14:58

  • Tiscali fave to buy LineOne

    And some Net firms get VC cash shock!

    Italian ISP Tiscali is looking favourite to buy LineOne according to the Telegraph. Tiscali has offered £200 million for the BT and United News & Media joint venture, which was put up sale by auction in November 2000. The sellers hope to close the deal next month. Corporate Net services business Idesk has managed to find …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 14:58

  • Martha Lane Fox denies bailing out Lastminute investor mates

    But there's probably a few who need the cash

    Martha Lane Fox, Lastminute.com's co-founder, has come in for a bit of a drubbing in the Independent which reckons she is offering to buy back shares in the business at its issue price. This would be quite a good deal as the launch price of was £3.80 but they're now down to 75.5p. The Indy claims there is a catch though, the …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 14:58

  • MobShop ditches consumer biz

    Group buying is dying

    Californian e-tailer MobShop has ditched its consumer group buying service. The move is the third major announcement from a "demand aggregation" Web site this month. Rival Mercata.com has said it will cease trading at the end of January, with the loss of more than 110 jobs, while Dutch-registered Letsbuyit.com is in talks with …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 14:58

  • Shareholders approve Freeserve sale

    Was there ever any doubt?

    Dixons shareholders have approved the sale of the group's entire shareholding in Freeserve plc to Wanadoo SA at an extraordinary general meeting this morning. In December French ISP, Wanadoo, agreed an all-share offer for Freeserve valuing the British ISP at £1.65 billion. Nineteen people left online loyalty currency - Beenz …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 14:58

  • CNN chomps on Web staff

    So the Internet was all hype after all

    CNN is due to announce a huge number of redundancies while it "reorganises" its Internet and TV arms. This is good though because although up to 1,000 staff (out of 4,000) are due to be out on their ears, it's all because of "aggressive changes". Unconfirmed reports are that the fired workers are thinking of their own …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 14:58

  • Dotcom value drops 88% in 2000

    Average bubble economy share cost $7.33 at year end

    US dotcoms saw almost 90 per cent wiped off their value last year as investor jitters hit the bubble economy. The average Internet company's closing share price was $7.33 at the end of 2000. This was down 51 per cent from the outfit's original float price, and 76 per cent lower than the closing price on the first day of trading …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 14:58

  • AltaVista Inc cans IPO plans

    Could be worse

    AltaVista Inc - the once great Internet outfit that now, sadly, has lost its way - has ditched plans to float the operation. According to reports, the portal blames the dismal state of the market for its decision. It hasn't been a happy six months for those at AltaVista Inc. In September, the company sacked some 225 people - …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 14:58

  • UUNet still pole-axed

    Dazed and confused

    Five days after being brought to its knees by spam UUNet's service is still struggling to get back to normal. In a statement issued this morning UUNet said its customers in the UK "may continue to experience some delays in email traffic". Most of the spam has now been deleted but "mail will continue to pass slowly for the next …

    Media 16 Jan 2001, 15:38

  • SA college fuming over $500k anti-piracy sting

    Claims it tipped BSA off

    A South African college faces a $500,000 fine after the Business Software alliance (BSA) pounced on counterfeit software. The BSA described the piracy as "blatant" and "extensive", according to South African news site ITWeb, claiming the illegal stash included software from Microsoft, Lotus and Adobe. But officials at Boston …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 15:43

  • Cable steals a march on ‘Windows-only’ DSL

    Updated TeleWest adds Mac support to BlueYonder

    While domestic British DSL users are currently obliged to use Windows, BT's rival cable companies can now claim full support for a range of operating systems. Telewest has quietly added Macintosh support to its Blueyonder cable offering this week, although the service actually went live Tuesday of last week, staff tell us. …

    Data Networking 16 Jan 2001, 16:19

  • HP waggles 1.75-incher

    Skinny server contest hots up

    Hewlett-Packard is blowing its trumpet about the latest super slimline server aimed at corporates or hefty Web sites. The LP 1000R has two processors wedged into an 1.75in space, enabling more stacking for less storage room. The model, already used by Yahoo! in Japan and DreamWorks SKG in the US, follows skinny server offerings …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 16:24

  • SMS madness: police and bullies get in on the act

    What's wrong with old-fashioned violence?

    The wave of text message madness continues with two more examples of it being abused. In a survey over bullying among children, a large number of those questioned said they had received "sick" text messages. Over half of the teenagers quizzed (4344 in total) said they had been bullied, blackmailed, abused etc etc etc. Physical …

    Data Networking 16 Jan 2001, 16:49

  • AMD signs Swedes to build better SledgeHammer sim

    Transmeta passes on deal, suggests alternative...

    AMD today announced a new simulator that will allow coders to test their software for AMD's upcoming 64-bit Hammer family of CPUs long before the chips ship. AMD describes the new sim as "high performance", clearly a reference to the sludginess of its previous effort. And here's the thing: AMD's helper on the new sim is Swedish …

    Channel 16 Jan 2001, 16:55

  • NTL to kill Irish TV/Internet roll-out?

    Updated It's an expensive business this Internet

    NTL has decided to scrap its plan to offer digital TV/Internet/phone services to nearly 400,000 customers in Dublin, or so says the Irish Independent. The story, which claimed NTL's initial estimates of £200 million for the entire roll-out has been upped to £450 million and the plan cancelled as a consequence, was swiftly denied …

    Media 16 Jan 2001, 17:10

  • UK Govt throws £500m at NHS Net dream

    A fully operational computer system by 2005. Yeah, right

    The Department of Health has said it will pump £533 million into getting the NHS all networked-up by 2005. Something it seems to believe it will achieve. The big dream is that doctors, hospitals and clients will all have access to a glorious health computer system with resulting savings in time, money and effort. The Secretary …

    Media 16 Jan 2001, 18:05

  • Dr Tom's self build budget PC bonanza

    HWRoundup Selling Random Billing MegaCorps the dummy

    No new Monster Trucks today, alas, but the good Doctor Tom's Hardware has embarked on a series showing how to build your own PC on a sub-$1000 budget, and the team promises can beat any wholesaler's offering. Find out what's in this dream machine here. If you're fed up with using random billing specialists for your long- …

    Hardware Roundup 16 Jan 2001, 18:10

  • Hacker fighting club launched by IT bigwigs

    MS, Oracle, Intel et al share security secrets

    Some of the biggest names in the US high tech sector have put aside their differences to launch a cyber-crime fighting club. Nineteen companies, including Microsoft, Oracle and Intel, have formed the Information Technology Information Sharing and Analysis Centre (IT-ISAC). The idea is that members will share security secrets on …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 18:29

  • Caldera debuts do-it-all package manager

    We are not Tivoli. Phew

    Ahead of what it describes as a coming out party at LinuxWorld, Caldera today announced Volution. This is a do-it-all systems management tool designed to take the headaches out of managing package installations across networks. Volution also has the PC health monitoring features that Wintel made so much of when the TCO debate …

    Software 16 Jan 2001, 21:20

  • Intel warns of tough times in Q1

    Completes record year

    Intel just beat lowered sales estimates for the fourth quarter, while warning of tough times ahead for the start of 2001. The chip giant saw revenue rise six per cent to $8.7 billion for the quarter. Net income excluding acquisition costs for Q4 was $2.6 billion, up ten per cent from the same period in 1999, but down nine per …

    Business 16 Jan 2001, 23:55