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8th March 2001 Archive

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  • This story is why Cyber Patrol banned The Register

    Suffer not the little children

    Cyber Patrol, lame-brain developer of filtering software, is blocking The Register to protect children, according to Janet Erickson, of the CyberPatrol division of Surfcontrol (thanks to the dozens of readers who forwarded us her letter). Interesting how well Cyber Patrol's commercial interests are served by protecting children …

    Music and Media 8 Mar 2001, 00:51

  • Demon in cloak and dagger upgrade

    U-turn gets heads scratching

    Demon Internet appears to be in a bit of a tizz. Earlier this week we learned its paying customers were going to be on the wrong end of a network upgrade that could disrupt their online communications. At the time a Demon spokeswoman claimed it sent out the statement to all its customers so they were aware of it. Fine - …

    Music and Media 8 Mar 2001, 10:28

  • AMD site in big punchup with Asus

    HWRoundup We wander lonely as a clout

    At AMD MB, there's a big cafuffle because Asus don't like what the boys and girls say about its kit, and don't want to play with this hardware site any more. Look at AMD MB's forum for the meat. --------------------cut here------------------- For those of interested in seeing how thermal grease affects this story, get over to …

    Hardware Roundup 8 Mar 2001, 11:30

  • Boffins make silicon shine

    First step toward better optical networks, light-driven processors

    Scientists at the UK's University of Surrey have figured out how to make silicon generate light at room temperature. It may not sound much - however, the discovery paves the way not only for better optical-to-electrical connections of the kind that connected computers to optical networks, but to give Moore's Law - that chips …

    Channel 8 Mar 2001, 11:30

  • Yahoo! victim! of! real! world! economics!

    No! hiding! place! in! dotcom! la-la! land!

    Yahoo! is feeling the heat from a cooling US economy after it again revised downwards its revenue forecasts for Q1. The news followed a turbulent day for the yodelling dotcom that saw its plummeting shares suspended amid speculation about the future of the company. Despite what some commentators thought, Yahoo! didn't announce …

    e-Business 8 Mar 2001, 11:49

  • Microsoft not on the ball with XP

    Probably too worried about impending split-up

    Microsoft's eyes really aren't on the ball at the moment. How else could you explain the fact that the Beast of Redmond still doesn't own the domain for its new, exciting OS WindowsXP? The domain www.windowsxp.com is currently owned by Network Solutions. It registered it on 27 December, presumably under Microsoft instructions …

    Software 8 Mar 2001, 11:51

  • Is CompUSA stopping selling Athlon PCs?

    They've sure got Intel P4 boxes

    CompUSA has run out of AMD-based Hewlett-Packard PCs, prompting speculation over the future of the chipmaker at the US computer store. The rumour sprang from a discussion this month on investment analysis Website Clearstation.com from someone calling themselves "thark57" and claiming to be a CompUSA sales person and AMD …

    Business 8 Mar 2001, 12:12

  • NSA and FBI big winners at Big Brother awards

    Worthy winners of breaching privacy online Oscars

    The great and the good, when it comes to privacy invasion, have been "honoured" for their efforts to mess up life for the rest on us online. Privacy International last night handed out "Big Brother" awards to government agencies, companies and initiatives which have done most to invade personal privacy. The National Security …

    Security 8 Mar 2001, 12:26

  • Geeks penalised by Budget

    Stealth tax on computer enthusiasts

    We warned that the finer points of the Budget may bring a few nasty shocks to people (like IR35 did last year), but we didn't expect such a grotesquely focussed attack on those that will make the e-revolution a reality in Britain. Yes, we're talking about geeks. While consultants, experts and analysts fart on about computer and …

    Bootnotes 8 Mar 2001, 12:28

  • Handspring's Palm V clone debuts on Web

    Pick and details leak out

    Handspring's slimline rival to Palm's V line of PDAs has made an unexpected appearance on Palm fan site PDA Buzz. Dubbed the Visor Edge, the new PDA will ship with what looks like a brushed aluminium case, though insiders at US retail chain Sparco claim that Handspring will offer a blue version too. The source who leaked the …

    Business 8 Mar 2001, 12:31

  • Novell bans The Register

    Cyber Patrol claims we are a sex site

    Yesterday, Cyber Patrol mouthpiece Janet Erikson said her company had blocked The Register because we "published information on their website providing details on how to hack into the software and render it ineffective". Today, we learn that Cyber Patrol is also blocking us as a sex site, among "several categories", Novell …

    Music and Media 8 Mar 2001, 13:03

  • Palm Canons into Japan

    Signs 700-store distribution deal

    Canon will sell Palm's PDAs in Japan through its chain of 700 Canon Sales stores. The deal will strengthen Palm's push into the Japanese handheld arena. Long dominated by the likes of Sharp and Casio, Japan is the most recent major handheld market to fall to Palm. The US vendor now claims a marketshare of over 50 per cent from …

    Business 8 Mar 2001, 13:19

  • Sun sets date for Serengeti

    UltraSparc III mid-range launch set for 21 March

    Sun Microsystems has set a date for the launch of mid-range systems based on its UltraSPARC III microprocessor. Press and analysts are being invited to New York on 21 March for the event. The UltraSPARC III has been the subject of reports concerning delays and difficulties in meeting demand. For its part, Sun maintains that it …

    Business 8 Mar 2001, 13:21

  • Yahoo! rumour! mill! in! a! spin!

    Place! your! bets!

    So Yahoo! didn't announce yesterday that it is to be acquired by another outfit despite fevered speculation that something was in the offing. Never mind. Still, that hasn't stopped Net users from hedging their bets about the future of Yahoo!. A rack of prospectors has already bought up domains just in case Yahoo! decides to …

    e-Business 8 Mar 2001, 13:23

  • The daftest anti-Napster story so far

    Open season on the file-swapping service

    Lovely bunch the music industry. While Napster was walking home, they waited at the end of the underground pass, surrounded it and starting heckling, pushing and shoving. Napster offered its wallet, but it wasn't money they were after. No, Napster was going to get a kicking. Having tripped it up, they're now taking it in turns …

    Music and Media 8 Mar 2001, 13:53

  • KPMG rocks the world… Not

    Altogether now... laaaydeee in red, laaaydeee in red...

    International business consultancy KPMG has hit the pop charts running. Actually, make that 'limping'. In a desperate bid to encourage its employees to attend its Consultants' Conference next July, to be held in Frankfurt, the $13.5 billion organisation has decided to stir their corporate passions with a rousing company song …

    Bootnotes 8 Mar 2001, 14:06

  • Hyundai renames and dumps everything but chip business

    Welcome Hynix Semiconductor

    Hyundai has announced a massive restructure that will see it dump everything apart from its semiconductor business, and trade under the new name Hynix Semiconductor. Hyundai has had a terrible time of late and wants to rebrand itself as a hi-tech company, away from the perceived stigma of the Hyundai name. It has already got …

    Business 8 Mar 2001, 15:01

  • Cracks appear for latest WinXP protection tech

    They really, really can't be using the proper stuff yet. Can they?

    Was Microsoft only kidding about Product Activation, or is the company just playing its cards close to its chest? As previously advertised, the latest external build of WinXP, 2446, introduced compulsory Product Activation with no official workaround, but within 24 hours of the build leaking out onto the Web, cracks for the …

    Software 8 Mar 2001, 15:07

  • AMD, Intel fight wars using memory chips

    DDR and Rambus tools of a bigger battle

    Yes, we know that AMD will use Rambus memory "if the market demands it" and we know that Intel will use DDR (double date rate) memory if "the market demands it". But, behind the scenes, these two firms have little intention of getting out of their trenches and meeting in no-man's land for a little festive footer like the …

    Channel 8 Mar 2001, 15:50

  • Gameplay HQ flooded

    Water water everywhere...

    Gameplay's HQ in London has been washed out due to a flood. Staff - what's left of them - were ordered to abandon ship earlier today. All calls to the London office are being redirected to Leeds where an operator there said the premises won't be re-opened until Monday at the earliest. The fear is that Gameplay's techie kit …

    Bootnotes 8 Mar 2001, 16:46

  • Secondhand Office 97 seller to sue after MS pulls eBay auction

    'Pretty shocked' by piracy accusation

    A Brit has threatened to sue Microsoft after it pulled his auction from eBay. Justin Mowle put his copy of Microsoft Office 97 Professional on ebay.co.uk earlier this month. The ten-day auction went quite well for Mowle, starting at £1 and drawing a top bid of £70. However, no sooner had the sale ended than Mowle received an …

    Music and Media 8 Mar 2001, 17:02

  • Sacked Telewest man wants second chance

    Didn't mean to cause offence

    The blueyonder helpdesk operator who was sacked for posting "inappropriate comments" on a newsgroup has asked for his job back. In a contrite email to El Reg Shaun Pears wrote: "At the present moment I am at a loss of what to do, in terms of what action I can take. "All I want is a second chance (my job back). "I know what I …

    Business 8 Mar 2001, 17:05

  • Police spin doctor sacked over porn downloads

    Hands up skirts and down trousers

    A police PR chief who wrote an anti-sexism guide for officers has been sacked for groping colleagues and downloading porn. John Williamson, deputy PR director for Greater Manchester Police, had been suspended since January after allegedly putting his hand up one female colleague's skirt and down another's trousers. The married …

    Music and Media 8 Mar 2001, 17:06

  • Seven-line program beats DVD crypto

    Movie biz gets interested as code appears on Web

    The Motion Picture Association of America is taking a closer look at a seven-line Perl script claimed by its authors to show just how "trivial" DVD encryption really is. The algorithm was written by Keith Winstein and Marc Horowitz - one an MIT undergraduate, the latter a former student at the Institute - as part of a two-day …

    Software 8 Mar 2001, 17:08

  • MS leaked memo whips up anti-piracy ‘national cause’

    Call to action: manipulate public officials

    Microsoft France is plotting to manipulate "public authorities and large institutional players" to make piracy enforcement, implementing copy protection and product activation technology, and the fight against hacking a "national cause" in France, according to a leaked internal memo obtained by The Register. The memo, from Euro …

    Software 8 Mar 2001, 17:09

  • UK game coders form trade body

    Cue endless 'paper Tiga' puns in the games rags...

    The Government today attempted to stress its computer culture credentials by sending e-minister Patricia Hewitt along to the launch of a trade organisation for British games developers. Dubbed Tiga, the non-acronymic shorthand for the Independent Games Developers Association, the body was by formed by well-known small games …

    Games Industry 8 Mar 2001, 17:42

  • Cyber Patrol sends press release to The Register

    Cheeky monkeys

    SurfControl sent us a press release today announcing the release of Cyber Patrol 5, the "Most Sophisticated, Customisable and Full-Featured Filtering Software Ever Available". Cheeky monkeys. Cyber Patrol is currently blocking The Register, because we have "published information on [our] website providing details on how to hack …

    Bootnotes 8 Mar 2001, 18:00

  • WildTangent goes multiplayer

    DirectX-based Web graphics technology extended

    Webgames specialist WildTangent today announced that it will be showing off their Web Driver system's new multiplayer capabilities at the Game Developers Conference later this month, claiming that it is "opening the door to a new level of immersive media content". As the company was co-founded by Microsoft's former DirectX …

    Games Industry 8 Mar 2001, 18:01

  • Bush out, Gates in

    Americans want another Bill in the Whitehouse

    If the US was run by a company, Microsoft would get the job. That's according to a report by PR firm Brouillard Communications, which surveyed 1,000 random Americans on who they would trust to put in charge of the country. Many based their decision on Microsoft's strong financial performance, and also liked its corporate …

    Business 8 Mar 2001, 18:36

  • Are Christian games better than secular shoot'-em-ups?

    If the kids played 'em there wouldn't be another Columbine, apparently

    Christian e-tailer Newday has got in touch with The Register to see if we could help it with some background research. It is preparing to go on a church lecture tour warning about the dangers of video games to the nation's youth. We're not booking our seat. It's not a new line, or one we believe for a second, but Newday partner …

    Games Industry 8 Mar 2001, 18:38

  • MS leaked memo original text

    For all you Francophones

    From: Guillaume Tostain Sent: Mon 05/03/2001 10:51 To: MS SARL Anti-Piracy Group Cc: Veronique Etienne-Martin (LCA); Raissa Lamrani; Olivier Lanilis; Florence Flipo; Philippe Pretat; Carine Berdoati; Olivier Lagrange; Camille Mazo; Manuela Levy-Bensoussan Subject: Point sur les actions Anti-Piratage H2 Bonjour, Vous …

    Software 8 Mar 2001, 20:59

  • 5000 jobs to be axed at Intel as slowdown hits

    Attrition.org

    When can we officially declare the demise of Intel as a growth stock? Today the chip giant issued a profits warning which showed that it may already be a prisoner of a cyclical market. "The economic slowdown affecting PC demand has," the company says, "continued and spread to the networking, communications and server sectors." …

    Business 8 Mar 2001, 23:18