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14th March 2001 Archive

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  • Crime fraud element enters Rambus case

    Meanwhile, Matsushita domino falls

    A flurry of public pre-trial documents in the up-and-coming case of Rambus versus Infineon has revealed that both parties are now arguing over whether crime-fraud exceptions can be made in evidence. In a deposition filed on the 7th of March and now available as Docket 164 on the Rambusite pages, Robert E Payne, the judge in the …

    Channel 14 Mar 2001, 09:28

  • Computacenter misses £2bn t/o by a whisker

    Hits targets but profits down on 1999

    Computacenter has posted pre-tax profits of £55.6 million for the 12 months to 31 December 2000, down 26 per cent on the £75.1 million it made in 1999. But it did hit its targets. Sales for the year were up 13 per cent to £1.99 billion. It has been £1.76 billion in 1999. Mike Norris, Chief Executive, acknowledged that Y2K had …

    Business 14 Mar 2001, 09:35

  • Half UK dotcoms fail OFT test

    Could do better

    Half of all UK Web sites could be in breach of new consumer laws, according to a survey by the Office of Fair Trade (OFT). It conducted a sweep of 637 UK sites selling goods and services and found that more than half failed to give easily accessible information concerning refund or exchange policies. While most of the sites …

    e-Business 14 Mar 2001, 09:36

  • Eazel sacks 40 staff

    Nautilus 1.0 is out, you're all fired, have a nice day...

    Eazel has had a rollercoaster of a day. Yesterday, the company announced the release of Nautilus 1.0 and, in the afternoon, 40 of its marketing, sales, and engineering people became former employees. Aaron Brick, one of the unfortunate recipients of a pink slip, was a research and testing engineer for Eazel, founded in August …

    Business 14 Mar 2001, 10:31

  • LinuxWorld.com and UnixInsider.com shutting down

    So, farewell then...

    We regret the passing of these much-loved news outlets and offer condolences to all our friends who have been writing for them. But don't despair too much. At least some of their content will continue as part of the "parent" ITWorld site. On Monday, 12 March, LinuxWorld writers received a communique from Editor-in-Chief Kathy …

    Business 14 Mar 2001, 10:44

  • ITworld.com Makes a Go of Tech Webcasting

    IDG is prepared to lose money now to win big later

    These days it takes a courageous company to invest millions in a project that it knows won't make money until mid-2002, if then. Though its official name is International Data Group, IDG is acting more like a Gen X start-up these days - at least in the Southborough, Mass. headquarters of ITworld.com. Under the auspices of …

    Telecoms 14 Mar 2001, 10:47

  • Heads roll at Eazel

    40 out of 70 staff

    The same day as it went gold with its free software file manager, Eazel has shed over half of its 70 staff. Eazel's marketing VP Brian Croll told CNet that the cuts would be concentrated in business development and marketing. Eazel will retain 35 staff, which is perhaps 20 more than a free software file manager might reasonably …

    Business 14 Mar 2001, 11:09

  • Sony turns Clié PDA into digital audio, movie player

    New colour model launches in Japan

    Sony launched its latest Clié PalmOS-based PDA in Japan this morning. The Clié PEG-N700C takes the platform into multimedia territory. Sony not only bundles a pair of Walkman-style headphones, but there's a new app called AudioPlayer. The device's audio format of choice is Sony's ATRAC 3 - the same compression scheme used by …

    Business 14 Mar 2001, 11:24

  • BT loses £700,000 contract for a second time

    Updated Thanks to The Mirror

    BT has incredibly lost a second £700,000 contract for telephone services in under a week. Last Thursday, the Press Association revealed that the Great Satan of Broadband had lost a contract with the Samaritans because 20 per cent of callers were getting engaged tones. No, seriously. People calling the Samaritans were getting …

    Bootnotes 14 Mar 2001, 11:29

  • Kingfisher: record sales but profits drop

    Happy with its ebusiness, though

    Retail giant Kingfisher has suffered a 15.9 per cent fall in profits for the year, not including exceptional payments, to £605.8 million. However by getting £120 million by selling ISP LibertySurf pre-tax profits made it to £691.2 million, just three per cent below 1999's figures. Sales reached a record level of £12.1bn for …

    Business 14 Mar 2001, 12:22

  • IBM serves up PowerPCs for Hitachi

    Joint Dev

    IBM and Hitachi are to jointly design and make a range of selected server and semiconductor components. The plan is to speed up product development. The agreement covers future versions of IBM's PowerPC processors, selected chips to support Hitachi's VOS operating system, and technologies such as multi-chip ceramic modules and …

    Business 14 Mar 2001, 12:27

  • MS to announce Linux.NET

    Heaven help us

    Microsoft human bullhorn Steve Ballmer announced that the company intends to make its .NET services scheme Linux friendly, during a dinner hosted by the Churchill Club in Santa Clara, ComputerWorld reports. "Do we have a way for people who host Web sites on Linux to build on [.NET]? Yes we do," the paper quotes Ballmer as …

    Software 14 Mar 2001, 12:57

  • Time shuts 22 shops

    Here we go

    Time Computers has shut 22 stores. The outlets include flagship stores in London's Piccadilly and Oxford Street. Staff were told to go home yesterday. The company has been selling off ex-demo PCs at £379 a pop in the last week. General manager Colin Silcock said all these stocks had virtually gone when we spoke to him on …

    Business 14 Mar 2001, 13:10

  • Cyberstalker Pedo jailed for seven years

    Subjected 17-year-old girl to online sickos

    An obsessed man, Donald Ridley, has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in jail after he subjected a 17-year-old girl neighbour to online and offline perverts. Ridley, 37, befriended the girl - after she had rejected his advances - by showing her how to use the Internet and set up Web sites. However, he then posted …

    Music and Media 14 Mar 2001, 13:19

  • Govt ‘puzzled’ by broadband debate

    Who doth protest too much?

    The government has admitted that the "path to broadband" has not been smooth but maintains competition and not intervention will ultimately solve the current teething troubles. Writing in the FT yesterday, the Minister for Textiles and part-time E-minister Patricia Hewitt, and E-Envoy, Andrew Pinder, presented a united front on …

    Telecoms 14 Mar 2001, 13:23

  • Gameplay still flooded

    It's a stinky business

    Online gaming outfit, Gameplay, is really in the shit. No, really, it is in the shit. That flood we told you about last week - well, it appears it wasn't just water...but sewage. Gameplay's London offices were due to re-open on Monday but that's been postponed until at least the end of the week. Apparently, there's six inches …

    Games Industry 14 Mar 2001, 14:36

  • Teen hacker charged with Nasa attacks

    Update: Intel hackers sm0ked crew claim cracker as one of their own

    A teenager from Michigan has been arrested and charged after allegedly breaking into computer systems owned by Nasa, and defacing the space agency's Web sites. Associated Press reports the 15 year-old is believed by investigators to be affiliated with hacking group Electronic Souls, and has been questioned about offences …

    Security 14 Mar 2001, 14:39

  • Online Fraud Museum details CC hacking techniques

    How e-merchants get shanked by kiddiots

    On-line merchants sick of rampant Web credit card fraud and its attendant confiscatory charge-back fees and fines can learn the most popular scams tricksters use and keep abreast of new developments thanks to the AdCops Web site, which presents it all in vivid detail. Included on the Web site is a members'-only 'Fraud Museum', …

    Security 14 Mar 2001, 14:45

  • Nortel COO suffers knife wounds complications

    Needs medical leave

    Nortel Networks has announced its chief operating officer is to take medical leave in order to recuperate from the effects of a serious assault. Clarence Chandran is to take six to 12-month medical leave of absence from the networking manufacturer in order to recover from recent surgery. Chandran has undergone surgery twice in …

    Business 14 Mar 2001, 15:44

  • BTopenworld gets in touch with your vulnerability

    Always on security for home users

    BTopenworld users are to be offered the chance to protect themselves from hackers through vulnerability assessment technology, after a deal between the telco and security firm Internet Security Systems. The agreement means that from today BTopenworld's broadband service subscribers will be able to access ISS's Online Scanner …

    Security 14 Mar 2001, 16:01

  • Yahoo! loses! sales! supremo!

    Not shy, but very retiring

    Yahoo! Inc has lost another senior exec. This time, Anil Singh, chief sales and marketing officer and senior vice president of business operations, will retire from Yahoo! in early May. Singh plans to spend more time with his family and pursue personal interests, according to a statement issued last night. However, that kind …

    e-Business 14 Mar 2001, 16:06

  • The ICANN meeting in a nutshell

    And more about that VeriSign deal

    Well, this ICANN meeting in Melbourne will mostly be remembered for the attempt by ICANN's board to rewrite the entire DNS structure at very short notice and with zero consultation from other interested and affected parties. But first a brief run-through the decisions. ICANN is to "press forward" in completing draft legacy …

    Music and Media 14 Mar 2001, 16:17

  • Napster gags Aimster anti-filter app

    Asks for Pig Encoder to be pulled, Aimster complies

    Napster has banned Aimster's attempt to bypass its attempt to filter out songs it's not allowed to let go wandering across its network. And it's not the only one that's been getting cross about Aimster's Pig Encoder. The 'file sharing via AOL Instant Messenger' software company has apparently received a number of "public and …

    Software 14 Mar 2001, 16:20

  • BOFH: Swears, Lies and Videotapes

    Episode 7 It could get you into trouble

    BOFH 2001: Episode 7 "What seems to be the problem?" The PFY asks helpfully, while focusing all his attention on the game of Solitaire in front of him. (And they said he couldn't multitask.) "I can't seem to email one of my colleagues in the US any longer - it just gives me an error message!" "What error message was it then …

    BOFH 14 Mar 2001, 16:31

  • Nintendo GameCube set for Spring 2002 Euro launch

    Console's release will be staggered from territory to territory

    It's hardly surprising to see console hardware releases staggered across the globe these days, and so the latest news, that Nintendo will be holding off on the European launch of the GameCube until Spring 2002, should come as no surprise. Comments made in Japan last week on the subject look to have been confirmed, as the machine …

    Games Industry 14 Mar 2001, 16:32

  • Financially-challenged surfers start to invade the Net

    Rich Americans forced to share cyberspace

    Poor people are the fastest growing American group in cyberspace, a survey claims. The number of home surfers with low incomes in the US (classed as earning $25,000 or less a year) has increased 46 per cent in the last year, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. Last month there were 6.3 million low-income individuals in cyberspace …

    e-Business 14 Mar 2001, 16:36

  • Satellite data biz ‘failed spectacularly’ – Craig McCaw

    So joins with Ellipso, consolidates own satellite assets

    Telecoms entrepreneur Craig McCaw has as near as damn it admitted that mass satellite-based data networking isn't going to happen - at least in its current form. "The mobile satellite industry has failed spectacularly in delivering on its promise to users," McCaw confessed today. "We continue to be compelled by the scope of …

    Data Networking 14 Mar 2001, 17:31

  • Intel delays $2bn Irish fab upgrade

    Didn't Craig Barrett say this was a bad idea?

    Intel has pulled the plug on the $2 billion expansion of its Leixlip, Ireland plant - for now at least. Chipzilla blames the sharp downturn in the semiconductor market for the decision, which will see a roster of 1500 construction and operational staff cut to between 50 and 100 people. The Leixlip plant, known as by Intel as …

    Channel 14 Mar 2001, 17:48

  • You can make money out of the Internet!

    Half of B2Cs still alive are profitable

    No day would be complete without an Internet survey - and today it's the turn of the e-commerce brigade. The business to consumer (B2C) sector is not the desperate loser it is made out to be, according to study by US research outfit ActivMedia Research. Around half of these sites are profitable, and what's more, the other half …

    e-Business 14 Mar 2001, 18:16

  • HP pumps out CD-writer drives

    Now that's what I call download

    Hewlett-Packard is to pump out two more CD-writer drives this month, in a timely move to cash in on music download frenzy. The HP CD-Writer DVD Combo 9900ci drive is an internal drive for reading DVD discs, downloading MP3 files and digital images, and making and playing CDs. It costs $349. HP is throwing in DVD player …

    Business 14 Mar 2001, 18:23

  • Hardware-trashing virus spreads by email

    His Satanic Magistr requests

    An new email-borne virus uses a number of fresh tricks designed to fool unwary Internet users. Magistr is a polymorphic Windows 32 executable file virus which features the facility to reproduce itself within emails with randomly subject, body text and attachment names. It also carries a destructive payload containing code …

    Security 14 Mar 2001, 18:32

  • IR35 gives American déjà vu

    A reader remembers...

    The IR35 legislation that penalises independent consultants went to the High Court yesterday and its legality will be upheld or dashed tomorrow. Among the many emails we've received regarding this, however, one caught our eye. Jay Beyda is an IT veteran who says he was an IT contractor/consultant in the US for 16 years. The …

    Business 14 Mar 2001, 18:35

  • Intel merges units, shuffles suits

    Networking and Communications Group is born

    Intel is to merge its Network Communications and Communications Products businesses, and reshuffle some senior exec positions. The Networking and Communications Group, headed by Sean Maloney, executive VP and (until today) director of Intel Sales and Marketing group, will combine Intel's networking semiconductor devices for …

    Business 14 Mar 2001, 21:59

  • American teenagers sell their souls online

    They'll eat your cereal - even if they're not hungry

    Two toothy US teenagers are planning to pay their way through college by renting themselves out as walking billboards. Luke McCabe and Chris Barrett have set up a Website touting their services to corporate America - they will stick your logo on their clothes, eat your food, drive your cars, even use your golf clubs, in return …

    Music and Media 14 Mar 2001, 22:01