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26th March 2001 Archive

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  • AMD nails IBM to Hammer mast

    SOI Source

    AMD is to use proprietary IBM silicon on insulator (SOI) technology in its forthcoming 64-bit Hammer microprocessor family. The company is to also lean on IBM for some design services and will cross-licence some patents of its own, in a "multi-million dollar" deal, the FT reports. The use of IBM's SOI design could speed up …

    Channel 26 Mar 2001, 07:10

  • EU recycling law to cost Dixons £17m a year

    WEEE directive inching forward

    Dixons, UK's biggest computer goods and consumer electronics retailer, reckons that new EU recycling laws will cost it £17m a year. The directive will add an estimated £500 million a year in costs to industry in the UK alone, much of which will inevitably pass on to consumers in the form of higher charges, Sunday Business …

    Business 26 Mar 2001, 09:00

  • BTopenworld to fold?

    Maybe, maybe not

    BT has declined to comment on weekend press reports that it is to scrap it retail Internet division, BTopenworld, and return it to the telco's main business. BTopenwoe was created a year ago as part of an "innovative restructuring [initiative] to position BT ahead of the next wave in communications". Headed by Andy Green, …

    Telecoms 26 Mar 2001, 10:27

  • ‘Universal’ key claimed to disable MS Office XP security

    But weren't they going to stop putting back doors in the code?

    Microsoft's vaunted Product Activation protection technology may not have been fully implemented in Office XP after all. Product keys claimed to be "universal" have been circulating on the Web for some weeks now, and a WinXP beta tester's newsgroup posting forwarded to The Register suggests that use of one of these keys …

    Software 26 Mar 2001, 10:53

  • Via's Cyrix III – out and about

    At $54, undercutting Celeron and Duron

    Via's Cyrix III processor is now out and about, and it'll be aimed at sub-$500 PCs. The Cyrix III , unveiled at CeBit, starts at speeds of 733MHz and will cost $54 per unit for orders of 1000. Using 0.15 micron technology, Via can produce two chips for every one Intel and AMD knock out from the same piece of silicon. This cuts …

    Channel 26 Mar 2001, 12:03

  • Bob Geldof sells Deckchair.com

    He don't like Mondays

    Sir Bob Geldof's travel Web site Deckchair.com has been sold to rival World Travel Holdings for £3.2 million, with a possible £6 million over the next three years depending how well it performs. The online booking service was valued at £20 million during the dotcom boom, but since then has had trouble, making a quarter of its …

    e-Business 26 Mar 2001, 12:07

  • BT's problems pile up

    But Reg still backs Bonfield

    It's been a bad weekend for the head boys at BT with the Sunday newspapers going to town on its £30 billion debt problem, falling share price and calls for senior management to resign. The Sunday Telegraph City comment contained more venom that hooked-nose seasnake. "If this [BT] were an ordinary company," said the paper, "its …

    Telecoms 26 Mar 2001, 12:12

  • IBM plays favourites with Linux distros

    Four get preferred status

    The head of IBM's Linux business has predicted consolidation among distributors of the open source operating system - and named the handful of players Big Blue is backing for success in the forthcoming shake-out. Steve Solazzo, IBM's vice president of Linux strategy, said that "the world doesn't need" the 150 plus Linux …

    Software 26 Mar 2001, 12:17

  • Mobile industry turns back on pre-pay market

    Updated Not too keen on talking to journalists though

    As we predicted on Friday, the decision by One2One to double the price of its pay-as-you-go phones and concentrate instead on contract customers has sparked similar action by other UK mobile companies. Once One2One said it would increase its pre-pay phones from £40 to £70, the competitive pressure was off. A spokesman for the …

    Data Networking 26 Mar 2001, 13:20

  • Reg SETI group sweeps all before it

    The Power of The Vulture

    Vulture Central, the Reg SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) group, has raced to number one in the league table of Top 200 Government Organisations helping search for aliens. This feat was achieved in less than a week, writes Andrew Thomas. Vulture Central was originally formed by 35 regulars from the Reg forum, …

    Bootnotes 26 Mar 2001, 13:22

  • PC price war coming warn analysts

    Recession to provoke extreme competition

    This year will see the outbreak of price war in the desktop and notebook PC markets as vendors battle for customers, market researcher Gartner Group has warned. To blame are the recession and the depressed state of computer sales. That, reckons Gartner, will force the direct vendors to cut prices to build - or at least maintain …

    Business 26 Mar 2001, 13:46

  • AOL UK bans time

    What a clock-up

    AOL UK has forbidden its employees from wearing watches or looking at the time. Clocks have been covered and wristwatches removed as part of stunt by the Internet company. Some workers have been so keen to take part in the event that they've even covered the digital timer on their PCs and mobile phones with tape. The event is …

    Music and Media 26 Mar 2001, 14:09

  • Game winds up players with 3am phone calls

    Infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me...

    Time was when games kept you awake all night playing them. Now they keep you awake all night even when you're not playing them. At least Majestic, Electronic Arts' latest offering, does. The game is designed to draw players into a conspiracy taking place in real-time. Clues and information can be sent to players at any time of …

    Games Industry 26 Mar 2001, 14:14

  • TSMC takes Nvidia GeForce 3 to volume production

    Xbox core components too

    The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is punching out 0.15 micron Nvidia GeForce 3 graphics chips in "full production" quantities. There's much mutual back-slapping in TSMC's news release, but 'aren't we great' statements aside, the announcement does mean that Nvidia's motherboard and PC OEM partners will be able to …

    Channel 26 Mar 2001, 14:44

  • Madasafish boots 200 abusers

    PlusNet postpones FRIACO launch

    Scottish ISP, Madasafish, has kicked off up to 200 Net users for "abusing" the service. A spokesman for the outfit said it took the action because those identified were hogging it so much they were causing the service to deteriorate. He said that this wasn't fair for the majority of users of its 24/7 Net access service. In an …

    Music and Media 26 Mar 2001, 15:41

  • Transmeta preps pumped up Crusoe

    Plans to outstrip 20% per generation chip performance

    David Ditzel, chief technology officer of low-powered chip maker Transmeta, said the industry would see "much greater" performance improvements than the traditional 20 per cent per silicon generation, when it ships the next version of its Crusoe processor. The TM5800, which will ship in the second half of this year, will …

    Channel 26 Mar 2001, 16:36

  • Affinity losses widen

    Share price rises

    Shares in Affinity Internet rose more than 22 per cent by the close of play despite announcing earlier today that operating loss increased threefold last year. Publishing its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2000, the service provider and all round Internet business which runs more than 150 branded ISPs …

    e-Business 26 Mar 2001, 16:41

  • Danes are universe's keenest netizens

    Men surf for porn while women look up beauty tips

    The Danes are the world's keenest netizens, while the US has the biggest percentage of women online, a survey out today claims. In Denmark 54 per cent of homes are hooked up to the Net, compared with 51 per cent in the US. The UK still lags behind, with 34 per cent of households online - fewer than Singapore (47 per cent), …

    Music and Media 26 Mar 2001, 16:44

  • Bluetooth demos flop at CeBit

    MS' 'alpha' software makes wireless connections 'kaputt'

    Mobile computing and next generation phones were two of the technologies most at evidence at CeBit this year. Any presentation or stand you cared to attend featured smart phones and the kinds of wireless technologies designed to take your breath away. Motorola, Ericsson and Siemens were all at it and even Microsoft got into …

    Data Networking 26 Mar 2001, 16:47

  • What good are computers anyway?

    Part 42 They'd have saved thousands of pigs and cows

    In this infrequent, irregular section, we will argue the case for the existence and widespread adoption of computers. This week: Foot and Mouth disease. The UK foot and mouth epidemic is getting increasingly out of control. It looks increasingly likely that the elections will have to be postponed after large sections of the …

    Bootnotes 26 Mar 2001, 16:50

  • British, American scientists discover Gelsinger co-efficient

    Competition Thermal mystery solved

    British and American scientists have succeeded in discovering one of the most elusive technical challenges in semiconductor science: the Gelsinger co-efficient. The Gelsinger co-efficient is the point at which Intel's VP Pat Gelsinger overheats. Usually in mid-keynote. The breakthrough could pave the way for cooler, more …

    Bootnotes 26 Mar 2001, 17:40

  • Public interest cited in DVD descrambler appeal

    Now you're talking

    Lawyers representing 2600.com, which got into hot water for making a DVD descrambler called DeCSS available on line, have filed a brief with the appellate court rebutting claims made by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and others including the US Government. As we'd been hoping, the 2600 side is going for the …

    Music and Media 26 Mar 2001, 21:01