19th April 2001 Archive

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Judge rules against McVeigh deathcast

Tim's lights dim

Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma city bomber, will not have his execution broadcast over the Web, US District Judge John Tinder ruled today. The Entertainment Network Inc, which is seeking the right to webcast McVeigh's judicial execution, says it will appeal. In a press statement, David Marshlack, ENI CEO, said: "We are quite …

Music and Media 19 Apr 2001, 00:16
Exploit devastates WinNT/2K security

Microsoft networking nightmare

An application called SMBRelay, written by cDc's Sir Dystic, exploits a design flaw in the SMB (Server Message Block) protocol on Win NT/2K boxes, easily enabling an attacker to interpose himself between the client and the server. The program enables access to the server using the client's authentication by acting as a 'man in …

Security 19 Apr 2001, 09:03
BetaNews escapes EFront meltdown

Alive and kicking

BetaNews has emerged scathed but fighting fit following the meltdown of ad affiliate network EFront. The software site is again posting articles, after a few weeks absence. Which is good news - it's a good site and it deserves to survive and thrive But other eFront affiliates have not been so fortunate - two weeks ago, eFront' …

e-Business 19 Apr 2001, 09:35
Apple back in the black

But sales, revenues and margins fell

Apple returned to profitability during its second quarter, but its underlying figures will make uncomfortable reading for many Mac users. The quarter - which ended 31 March - saw revenues fall 26 per cent on the same period last year to $1.43 billion. The company's gross margin fell from 28.2 per cent this time last year to 26. …

Mac Channel 19 Apr 2001, 09:44
MS marketing droids release imaginary NT 4.0 SP7

Or is it imaginary?

Earlier this week Microsoft confirmed that Service Pack 7 for NT 4.0, which has been MIA for some time, wasn't going to ship after all. Largely it seems to be a 'small earthquake, not many dead' kind of story, as the world seems to have been managing fairly well on the previous model, SP6a, withy the addition of a few hotfixes …

Software 19 Apr 2001, 09:47
IBM performs as expected; shares up

Makes a change to see an IT company doing well

IBM has released its Q1 results and met expectations - not usually a cause for excitement, but considering the recent glut of profit warnings for IT companies, the news has seen its share price jump by up to 14 per cent. The IT giant announced a 9 per cent increase in revenue to $21 billion. Net income was up 15 per cent on Q1 …

Business 19 Apr 2001, 10:06
US broadband take-up sluggish

Still twice as much as Europe though

Further evidence has emerged that the take-up of hi-speed broadband services will not be as great as previously predicted. Research published yesterday suggests that narrowband dial-up access will remain the dominant method of getting online. Market research outfit Cahners In-Stat Group reported that of the 70 per cent of US …

Telecoms 19 Apr 2001, 10:08
Hynix profits plummet

Weak DRAM prices hit revenues

Hynix Semiconductor posted a dismal set for first-quarter results this morning: its revenues were down 20 per cent and operating profit fell 78 per cent. Better known as Hyundai, Hynix revenues for the quarter totalled 1.76 trillion won ($1.34 billion) thanks, the company said, to falling DRAM prices and falling sales, which …

Business 19 Apr 2001, 10:45
TSMC fabs down to 50% capacity

Will it post a loss this quarter? Looks like it

TSMC's fabs are running at half capacity this quarter, company chairman Morris Chang has let slip in an interview with Forbes due to be published on 30 April. As a measure of how tough business is in the chip industry, fab utilisation is a good barometer. If much more than half of a company's fab capacity is left idle, it's …

Channel 19 Apr 2001, 11:10
Nintendo GameCube launch date slips

Put back two months

Bloomberg's Japanese division has filed a news report claiming that the Nintendo GameCube will miss its July release date in Japan. Although nobody here can decipher the original report, both Reuters and Bloomberg now carry confirmation from Nintendo itself and that the Japanese release date will be the 14 September. Other …

Games Industry 19 Apr 2001, 11:30
‘Cyberslackers’ are curse of workplace

Another shock-horror survey to frighten employers

British workers are more likely to be disciplined for misusing the Net at work than their European colleagues according to a survey published today. The Web@Work Survey 2001 reveals that British employers are five times more likely to take disciplinary action than Italian employers - and two-and-a-half times more likely to take …

Music and Media 19 Apr 2001, 12:05
Fujitsu opens $811m fab

And plans to outsource 30 per cent of chip production to Taiwan

Fujitsu plans to spend ¥100 billion ($811 million) over the next five years to create a semiconductor research and production centre in Tokyo. The construction work will begin even as the company shifts chip production away from its own Japanese fabs to Taiwanese manufacturers. Essentially, Fujitsu is parcelling out production …

Channel 19 Apr 2001, 12:19
Netcraft releases April 2001 Web server stats

Read 'em and sleep...

Netcraft's latest Web Server Survey results have been published. Netcraft did not release a report for the March 2001 survey, which only saw small changes in share for the top servers. Instead this April 2001 survey has been released early. The full data can be view at Netcraft's survey site (http://www.netcraft.com/survey/). …

Software 19 Apr 2001, 13:16
3dfx: and now the end is nigh

Completes sale of assets to Nvidia

The final curtain approaches for 3dfx, the graphics chip designer. It has completed the sale of its assets to Nvidia - patents, trademarks etc. for $55m in cash And it could stand to get up to a million Nvidia shares, if it meets certain criteria. Following the sale, 3dfx is effectively a dead company. Just three years ago, the …

Business 19 Apr 2001, 14:03
Sportsline.com staff get red card

Off! Off! Off! Off! Off! Off! Off! Off!

SportsLine.com - which provides online sports content for a number of sites including CBS SportsLine.com - is to shed some 90 jobs in the hope of saving $10 million. Despite increasing Q1 turnover from $14.8 million to $22.3 million, it said it had no option but to cut its workforce by between 15 per cent and 20 per cent. None …

e-Business 19 Apr 2001, 14:04
Matchmaking Internet worm brought under control

Want to find your love mates

The outbreak of a mass emailing worm, which masquerades as a matchmaking program, has been brought under control. Matcher infects Windows machines only and comes in an email with the subject: "Matcher". The misspelled and grammatically incorrect body text reads: "Want to find your love mates!!! Try this its cool. Looks and …

Security 19 Apr 2001, 14:13
Hi-tech toilet caught on camera

Exclusive shot of kidnapping convenience

The Register has obtained this exclusive photograph of the rogue cyberloo which this week captured a 51-year-old woman in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. As we reported on Tuesday (April 17), the deranged dunny held Maureen Shotton captive for two hours. The photograph is believed to have been taken during a typical Tyneside …

Rise of the Machines 19 Apr 2001, 14:51
Is this the end of corporate porn?

Internet Saviour - or Big Brother?

Actis Technology reckons it has the answer to the employee Internet abuse - and that means porn, viruses, password cracking and gambling. Its Net Intelligence software promises to "treat employees as adults" while protecting corporates from abuse of its networks. Basically, a program (2Mb) is installed on every employee's PC …

Music and Media 19 Apr 2001, 15:39
Mobiles more dangerous than wild elephants

Another mobile madness round-up

If you hadn't realised yet, mobiles are the modern scourge. God would have sent down a plague of mobiles if Moses were alive today. Great for communication, not so good for survival. Using a mobile phone is as dangerous as drink driving apparently. Driving with hands-free mobiles increases your chance of crashing by four - the …

Data Networking 19 Apr 2001, 15:44
Long-life laptop batteries enter mass production

Promises 16 hours of uptime

A Canadian outfit has started volume production of long-life batteries which enable notebooks to run for up to 16 hours. The Electrofuel Power Pad 160 is an external rechargeable lithium Ion battery for notebooks. It weighs 2.5 lbs, measures 8.5" x 11", and costs $499. Electrofuel has been making the batteries, which are …

Business 19 Apr 2001, 15:47
WinXP: why it's the Big One that could make MS bigger yet

XP diaries And like it or not, why it can't be ignored

Just one flame so far about yesterday's comment that WinXP is "rock-solid stable," but actually it's refreshing to be called a serf, rather than the more usual worm, turd, Commie-Keynsian Linux-loving European et al. I fear this is likely to change, because today I propose to cover the topic of why Microsoft operating systems …

Software 19 Apr 2001, 15:47
BT Cellnet names date for consumer GPRS launch

Motorola handsets play up at demo

BT Cellnet is to launch consumer version of a service which promises high-speed Internet connection over mobile phone on May 18. GPRS (general packet radio service) phones are designed to offer an "always-on" Internet connection at between two to three times the speed of current mobiles, but a demonstration to the press feel …

Data Networking 19 Apr 2001, 15:53
Trial by CCTV claims innocent victim

Mistaken identity

It may sound like a fictional short story but Allan Dunne was filmed, featured on TV as a criminal, arrested and questioned when he turned up to a police station to explain, suspended and threatened with the sack, all within two days and all thanks to modern CCTV surveillance technology. His crime? To take £20 out of his own …

Security 19 Apr 2001, 16:52
Intel touts 3D tech for football nuts

OradNet provides the software

Intel has partnered with sports software developer OradNet to create technology designed to enable football obsessives to immerse themselves in realistic versions of key matches online. TOPlay Soccer, which will be licensed to sports Web sites, creates an interactive 3-D graphics representation of actual football matches that …

Software 19 Apr 2001, 16:58
Fly brain software takes to the sky

Japanese get excited over model helicopter

Researchers in Japan have managed to operate a radio-controlled model helicopter using software modelled on the brain of a fly. The Institute for Physical and Chemical Research in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, announced yesterday it had accomplished the feat. Researchers hope the discovery may help them develop a computer program …

Software 19 Apr 2001, 17:02
Spam is an occupational hazard

Email. Just say no

A third of emails received at work from colleagues are unnecessary, a report out today claims. Between managing online porn, chain letters, gambling tips, flirting, jokes, praise, criticism, and emailers making free use of the "Reply All" function, workers spend an average of 49 minutes per day managing email. And 24 per cent …

Music and Media 19 Apr 2001, 20:45
On-line ‘mass victimization’ inevitable – study

Only robust tech employment stands in the way

Opportunities to sniff about corporate networks and steal valuable data are ever-present temptations in the technology field, and it's beyond question that company secrets are occasionally sold to the competition by trusted employees for personal financial gain. Furthermore, there's a large number of people about with the …

Security 19 Apr 2001, 21:00
Price wars, budget cuts and Sun results

Nil visibility

Sun Microsystems sales grew just two per cent in Q3, blaming a more competitive market and the downturn in the economy. The US server and workstation giant recorded revenue of $4.1 billion for the three months ended April 1 2001, around $300 million lower than analysts expectations. Including charges, net income was $136 …

Business 19 Apr 2001, 22:56