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22nd May 2001 Archive

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  • New MS-Word macro warning

    Attack of the killer RTF docs

    While it's true that all recent versions of MS Office supposedly require the user's permission to run a macro, a wee little oversight at Redmond Security Central makes it possible for an RTF (Rich Text Format) document opened by Word to execute a macro automatically if it's embedded in a template. "When Word is used to open a …

    Music and Media 22 May 2001, 05:30

  • Jobs and Tevanian vow to fight OS X speed drain

    Apple WWDC Click. Grind. Click

    Apple CEO Steve Jobs and chief software henchman Avie Tevanian went out of their way to acknowledge performance concerns about OS X in a marathon keynote yesterday. A note of 'we feel your pain' seemed to be mixed into the usual evangelical message: Jobs cited that performance was top of the list of features both users and …

    Mac Channel 22 May 2001, 08:37

  • Apple's OS bundle keeps OS9 alive

    Apple WWDC Wins out in new dual-boot option

    Apple began bundling Mac OS X with all new Macs today, although the venerable OS 9 will continue to remain the default OS. Although this fulfills an earlier promise to 'pre-load' the new OS by the summer, it falls short of the promise from less than a year ago that OS X would 'ship as standard'. Given the scarcity of drivers …

    Mac Channel 22 May 2001, 08:40

  • The truth about Redmond's WinXP signed driver plans

    You should only accept signed and quality-controlled articles on the subject...

    Has Jim Allchin, Microsoft's Mr XP, finally lost it? Why is he writing letters to ZD denying things Microsoft hasn't been accused of? Doh... The Register was indeed initially baffled by Jimbo's trenchant defence of XP's implementation of a signed driver regime, as described yesterday by the Smart Partner segment of The Mighty Z …

    Software 22 May 2001, 09:02

  • Channel stuffed with accreditations

    Vendor obsession

    Imagine a scenario - that you are a telco-focused reseller flogging Linux into the Enterprise space. Yesterday could have been a bloody expensive day for you, with three big-name companies debuting new channel accreditations. More programmes means more training, means more expense - hoops to jump through before clawing back all …

    Channel 22 May 2001, 09:39

  • What the Tories pledge on IT and the Net

    A good kicking for Oftel, that's what

    The Conservative Party is blaming the New Labour Government for delays in opening up Britain's telecoms network to competition and has pledged it will conduct an urgent review of the situation if elected. The promise of yet more protracted jaw-jaw and the resulting additional delays is laid out in the Tory's Business Manifesto …

    Music and Media 22 May 2001, 09:40

  • Psion brings Bluetooth to Revo PDA

    Announcement due in June, claim sources

    Psion will be updating its Revo PDA next month to bring it up to date with the latest Bluetooth wireless technology, sources have claimed. Now we know for a fact that the company is working on a wireless product, though we've seen nothing until now that points to Bluetooth or some kind of cellular-based networking. Psion …

    Business 22 May 2001, 09:51

  • Motorola unveils low-power PowerPC G4 Plus

    Updated But PPC 7440 too power-hungry for PowerBooks

    Motorola yesterday extended its PowerPC processor line, with a low-power version of its top-end PowerPC 7450, aka the G4 Plus. The new chip, called the PPC 7440, cuts the core voltage to 1.5V (the 7450 runs at 1.8V). The upshot is that the chip draws less power: 11.4W at 600MHz, compared to the 7450's 14W at 533MHz, Motorola …

    Mac Channel 22 May 2001, 10:21

  • The best election site we've found

    Almost makes the whole thing bearable

    There have been a fair few election sites set up for this period of collective madness, but so far the winner's rosette has to go to Spinon.co.uk. This is a cracking satirical site. And not only that but it pumps out loads of copy every day, not to mention a huge array of entertaining games. Today's special is the lie-detector …

    Business 22 May 2001, 10:25

  • The ICANN cartoon: Part II

    The conspiracy continues

    The cult ICANN cartoon that deals with the fantasy world goings-on at the secretive organisation now has a part two. The usual suspects are here: Vint Cerf, Louis Touton, Joe Sims, as well as superhero Karl Auerbach - who manages to persuade the mainstream media what the real deal is by making secret recordings of those ICANN …

    Music and Media 22 May 2001, 11:32

  • InterX turnover halves

    BladeRunner products due next month

    InterX today said turnover halved in the third quarter after its decision to stop selling BladeRunner as an eCRM platform. The UK e-business consultancy recorded sales of £985,000 for the three months ended May 4 2001, down from £1.9 million in Q2. Pre-tax losses, before exceptional items, totalled £4.7 million for the quarter …

    e-Business 22 May 2001, 11:34

  • Kingston posts loss

    Still, at least the sun is shining

    Shares in Kingston Communications were up more than 5 per cent to 122p at noon after it reported a £10.52 million loss compared to a profit of £6.34 million last year. Turnover for the year ended 31 March increased 26 per cent from £184 million to £232 million. Despite describing it prelims as a "strong set of results …

    Telecoms 22 May 2001, 12:09

  • BT has a disaster week

    The shares just keep falling

    BT is having a complete disaster. Everything it touches turns to poo. Every time a decision or an announcement is made, the company becomes worth less than it did five minutes earlier. The only time we can remember that the share even nudged up slightly was when Sir Iain Vallance left and Sir Christopher Bland walked in. Oh no …

    Business 22 May 2001, 12:12

  • Opera follows up Linux version with IBM appliance deal

    All this and QNX too...

    Opera Software has followed up the release of Opera 5.0 for Linux with an IBM coup - the company has announced that IBM will be using Opera 5.0 for QNX for its NetVista Internet appliance. Opera has been developing the QNX version since it was approached last November by IBM, and intends to make the software available for …

    Games Industry 22 May 2001, 13:59

  • Dell debuts fresh Latitude

    Also makes CD-RW/DVD combo drives available

    Dell has added a fresh model to its line of Latitude notebooks and extra features to the existing range. The Latitude C600 now comes with a 1GHz Pentium III chip. The wireless system, which weighs 2.43kg, also comes with 128MB SDRAM, 6GB hard drive, Windows 2000, 14.1-inch screen and CD-RW/DVD combination drive. Prices start …

    Games Industry 22 May 2001, 13:59

  • AOL hikes unlimited Net price

    $23.90 a month

    AOL is jacking up the price of unlimited Net access for users in the US - the new price is $23.90 a month. It's the first price hike since April 1998, and will kick in with the July billing period. A spokesman for AOL UK said the price rise would not be reflected in Britain where the ISP acts as an "autonomous business" and …

    Music and Media 22 May 2001, 14:06

  • Tempo cuts 20% of shops

    The provinces weep

    Electrical retail chain Tempo has decided to shut around ten per cent of its shops in the UK as part of a company overhaul. Seven shops have already closed their doors, with another two due to shut next month, leaving 43 stores. The move will affect around 120 staff. Tempo, which sells anything from washing machines to …

    Channel 22 May 2001, 14:23

  • Microsoft PocketPC racks up 1m sales in first year

    So what - Palm does 2.1m in three months

    One year and a month after its launch and Microsoft's PocketPC platform - aka Windows CE 3.0 - has clocked up sales of over one million units. The way Microsoft spins it, of course, is that this is a significant milestone. In fact, it's just an arbitrary figure that sounds good. So does the NPD Intelect statistic that it cites …

    Business 22 May 2001, 16:09

  • Site blocking furore kicks off

    Updated It's our old friend MAPS again

    Another battle has kicked off regarding site blocking by ISPs and at the centre of it - again - is the Mail Abuse Prevention System (MAPS). Civil liberties groups including Peacefire.org, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have been angered by …

    Music and Media 22 May 2001, 16:16

  • New Labour launches DoS attack on satirical site

    You vill not make mockery of us Spinon!

    The satirical election site that is making the campaign palatable had to be taken down for about half an hour of so this afternoon thanks to a denial of service attack. One of the Spinon.co.uk's founders wasn't convinced by our gag that it was simply visitors and is working out where it came from as we speak. It's obvious to …

    Bootnotes 22 May 2001, 16:19

  • Monster Raving Loony Party unveils manifesto

    Mobile measures, pet proxy votes and the Loch Ness Monster

    The Monster Raving Loony Party has unveiled its manifesto and promised to sort out mobile phone irritation and the difficult topic of voting rights for pet animals. Despite media reports that the manifesto was no more than a blank piece of paper - as full of genuine pledges as the other manifestos, it could be argued - the …

    Business 22 May 2001, 16:23

  • Alan Stanley kicked out of Dane-Elec?

    French DRAM distie clams up

    DRAM distributor Dane-Elec has kicked out its UK general manager and founder Alan Stanley after nine years. Stanley was asked to leave the Dane-Elec building in Chessington, Surrey, yesterday, sources told The Register. Jean-Pierre Lentignac, Dane-Elec European sales director, today refused to comment on Stanley's departure. …

    Channel 22 May 2001, 16:31

  • Alastair Campbell refuses to spend £112k on domain

    A sad story of mistaken idendity

    A witless Internet consultant who tried to sell the domain generalelection.tv to the Labour Party for more than £100,000 has been duped by his own carelessness. Keith Wiles, who said he was acting on behalf of a client, sent an email to Prime Minister, Tony Blair @newlabour.co.uk, @newlabour.com, @thelabourparty.co.uk, @ …

    Business 22 May 2001, 16:40

  • Whitehat ‘Max Vision’ gets 18 months

    Club Fed holiday starting in June

    Computer security researcher and former FBI informant Max Butler aka 'Max Vision' was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison for launching an Internet worm that crawled through hundreds of military and defense contractor computers over a few days in 1998. In handing down the sentence, federal judge James Ware rejected …

    Music and Media 22 May 2001, 19:01