7th June 2001 Archive
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AMD touts ‘modest revenue growth’
Hold steady
Hector Ruiz, AMD's chief operating officer (COO), reckons there "is increasing reason to believe that the personal computer market is stabilising," and will return to normal in Q4, the company said today in a statement. Ruiz made his comments at a news conference in Japan, where he stuck to the chip firm's previous line that it …
Business 7 Jun 2001, 07:42
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Strowman hitches Kevin Harper to PST wagon
Succession planning?
Howard Strowman, the larger-than-life owner of PST, the UK's best known excess inventory broker, has recruited Kevin Harper, Ideal Hardware's former sales director and fellow larger-than-life character. Harper, the biggest shareholder in InterX, is to take a 20 per cent stake in PST - which could cost him up to £2m. He will …
Channel 7 Jun 2001, 08:29
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Ingram Micro jettisons 1,000 staff
Customers won't notice!
We have a new euphemism for making lots of people redundant. Step forward, "Business Process Improvement", the term Ingram Micro uses to explain the pink slips it is handing out to 1,000 workers. (Better than "involuntary normal attrition", we supppose.) Astonishingly, the world's biggest IT products distie, reckons that …
Channel 7 Jun 2001, 08:45
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Chip sales to fall 14% in 2001
But massive growth coming next year. Fingers crossed...
Worldwide chip sales will start to grow again in the second half of the year, preventing a 14 per cent decline in revenues from becoming an utter disaster. So says the Semiconductor Industry Association, which issued its latest proclamation on the subject yesterday. Overall, 2001 will see a drop in sales of 14 per cent on last …
Channel 7 Jun 2001, 09:57
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Intel incensed at VIA inflatables
Pair squabble like schoolboys over balloons
Intel and VIA have been scrapping again, but the source of the dispute wasn't the two fingers VIA gave its giant rival when it launched its Pentium 4 chipset. No, the squabble is all about balloons - Computex advertising balloons. Intel, we hear, wanted the organisers of the Taipei-hosted expo to force VIA to remove balloons …
Channel 7 Jun 2001, 10:25
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AOL France calls for LE FRIACO
Has one million punters don't you know
AOL France has called on incumbent telco, France Telecom, to introduce wholesale flat rate charges for Net access. Announcing today that AOL France now has more than one million users MD, Stephane Treppoz, urged France Telecom to look to the success of the UK as a model for change. AOL UK was a leading force in the …
Music and Media 7 Jun 2001, 11:07
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PC parrot drives firemen crazy
Bizarre but true
Firemen wasted over an hour searching an office in the West Midlands for an escaped parrot this week. Staff had heard squawks but when they were unable to locate the bird, called in the professionals. Fresh from rescuing a cat from a tree, the boys in uniform rushed round to the office in Willenhall to locate the feathered …
Bootnotes 7 Jun 2001, 11:10
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Intel's first mid-quarter report to trim sales forecast
It'll have a job making previous targets, claim analysts
Intel is expected to pare back its expectations for Q2 sales when it posts a mid-quarter financial statement later today - a first for the chip giant. So analysts reckon, anyway. Eric Ross of Thomas Weisel Partners on Monday reiterated his prediction that the chip giant will lower its Q2 2001 guidance on the back of falling …
Business 7 Jun 2001, 11:13
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Xpert Systems conducts MBO
Reseller backed by Lloyds
Management at Xpert Systems, a networking equipment reseller, has bought the company for an undisclosed sum. The MBO was funded by Lloyds Development Capital. The company expects to generate £36 million in revenues during this financial year and employs 210 people in five UK outlets and Dublin. ®
Channel 7 Jun 2001, 11:18
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Review Hercules 3D Prophet III
The Hercules 3D Prophet III is unquestionably the fastest graphics card ever, and it might just be the most attractive to boot. It benefits from all the technological innovations of Nvidia's groundbreaking GeForce 3 chip. For example, the astounding programmable nFinite-FX engine offers games programmers new levels of …
Business 7 Jun 2001, 11:45
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A vote for Labour is a vote for Microsoft
So get out there folks and do your duty
Election Day is finally here. There are 659 seats up for grabs and 74 political parties in the contest. It'll be a first-past-for-the-post system so Labour will get an unreasonable majority and be able to do much as it pleases with the country for the next five years. This could be good news, could be bad, we'll have to see. …
Business 7 Jun 2001, 12:10
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Meet Slade: he repairs the world's most advanced sex dolls
And he loves his work
You may have heard of RealDolls. They are the most advanced and scarily realistic sex dolls you can get. They're made of special silicone skin, come complete with orifices (the third is extra) and can be custom built depending on what shape, colour and look most gets you going (even down the style of pubic hair). What you …
Music and Media 7 Jun 2001, 12:12
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US PC shipments expected to fall 6% in 2001
IDC chops forecast
IDC has cut its forecast for PC shipments, and now expects fewer computers to be sold in the US this year than in 2000. Analysts believe shipments will drop 6.3 per cent in the US compared to 2000, from 48.4 million to 45.3 million units. The US was previously told to expect 2.2 per cent growth. The market is also expected to …
Business 7 Jun 2001, 12:13
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Goal-ace Beckham becomes gaming hero
Virtual Becks comes complete with mohican
England goal-hero David Beckham is poised to be re-invented as the hero of a computer game. Rage, producer of David Beckham Soccer, has created a representation of Beckham which features his latest Travis Bickle-style mohican, as well as a version with his more familiar cropped look. The game is due to be released this …
Games Industry 7 Jun 2001, 12:15
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PSINet Europe moves to calm fears
Better late than never
Six days after its US parent filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, PSINet Europe has finally issued a statement to reassure the industry about its future. Although last Friday's statement from PSINet Inc. made it clear that Europe, Latin America and Asia were not included in the bankruptcy protection, some customers and …
e-Business 7 Jun 2001, 12:22
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Indian flying car shot down – Israeli rival soars
Never even got off the drawing board
Our recent piece on Indian boffin Rakesh Goel's boast that he will put a flying car into the air by 2004 provoked much discussion among Reg readers. Naturally, many of you were sceptical that such a feat could be achieved. Well, we have managed - with a little help from our fellow flying car fans - to track down the plans and …
Bootnotes 7 Jun 2001, 13:36
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Excite to exit UK by year end
Update Excite Europe MD denies report
Excite@home has denied that it is to close its UK portal operation at the end of the year signalling its retreat from Europe. Yesterday, Excite announced it was pulling out of Europe except in the UK and Italy - where it has partnerships with BT and Tiscali respectively - with the loss of 85 jobs. The Register understands that …
e-Business 7 Jun 2001, 14:47
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LogoWatch Sema rebranding ends in tears
Consider yourselves Schlumbergered
Regular LogoWatch readers will be aware of the sequence of events which are provoked by a corporate rebranding exercise: 1) You rebrand 2) You go titsup 3) You get taken over 4) The new owners dump your rebranding 5) You wonder why you bothered in the first place Sema ill-advisedly carried out such a rebranding …
Bootnotes 7 Jun 2001, 14:49
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Alcatel gets rid of ADSL modem business
Sold to Thomson Multimedia. Will it maintain open source drivers?
Alcatel has agreed to flog off its ADSL modem business to French consumer electronics company Thomson Multimedia. The deal, based on a trade of the business in return for Thomson shares, is valued at Euro 456 million ($387.40 million). To go ahead, the alliance requires the support of Thomson shareholders, Alcatel's employees, …
Data Networking 7 Jun 2001, 14:55
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Welsh cinema spies on mobile phone users
Why not buy a jammer?
A Welsh cinema has installed hidden cameras to catch and punish the mobile phone users in film audiences. The Palace in Haverfordwest has for some time been asking people to turn off their phones once they enter the cinema. This has included signs and on-screen appeals to audiences. But Palace owner Trevor Harris has had …
Data Networking 7 Jun 2001, 14:59
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BTopenwoe in the dock
Customer service - they've heard of it
Tony Holdstock works for Dial Solutions Ltd - a Leeds-based software development company. Here he recounts his failed attempts to get BTopenwoe to install ADSL. El Reg receives stories like this every week. However, Tony's stood out as yet another example of BT failing to deliver. I recently ordered an ADSL line and modem from …
Letters 7 Jun 2001, 15:02
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Those election games in full
Go on, cost your company a fortune in lost man hours
The election has been uninspiring, but at least the creative among us have knocked out a few good games for the peasants to play when it all gets too much. We've covered most of the games before, but just to remind you all. Tory Invaders - an interesting take on space invaders. Be Tony Blair and blast cascading hordes of Tories …
Music and Media 7 Jun 2001, 15:04
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Pace unveils Dreamcast-based ‘home gateway’
Picks up where Sega left off
Remember the name 'Pace'? Back at the beginning of February, when Sega first announced that it was pulling out of Dreamcast production, UK-based set-top box maker Pace emerged as the company that would build on the technology Sega left behind, incorporating it, it said, into a 'home gateway' product. Finally, Pace today …
Business 7 Jun 2001, 15:12
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Intel poo-poos VIA Pentium 4 chipset
Not as fast as VIA claims, Chipzilla ripostes
Intel has denounced VIA's claims to have built a better Pentium 4 chipset than its own 850 product as "bogus". "The performance claims they [VIA] are making are bogus," said Chipzilla VP Anand Chandrasekher today in an interview with CNET [Who they - Ed?] As for VIA's right to produce a P4 chipset, "they're not licensed", …
Channel 7 Jun 2001, 15:40
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Canadian boy runs riot with chicken finger
Eight year-old psychopath suspended from school
Hot on the heels of our recent article on the 11-year-old US youth who was escorted from school for drawing a gun (on a piece of paper, no less) in class, we have another couple of top examples of zero tolerance to childish antics. Sadly, this is not confined to the US, as Canada's Halifax Herald can confirm. Billy …
Bootnotes 7 Jun 2001, 16:32
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You've seen RealDoll, now get a load of RealHamster
For those who think a little more rodent
We've covered RealDoll and RealDoll repairmen but thanks to a particularly disturbed individual, our attention has been drawn to RealHamster. Freddie Starr ate his, but RealHamster suggests far filthier things. It's a spoof of course but a funny spoof. Get the disclaimer: "By entering this site you certify that you are over 18 …
Bootnotes 7 Jun 2001, 16:35
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PC Lemons truth revealed
2.5m faulty PCs shipped in US per year
Two and a half million faulty PCs are shipped to American households per year. Around 15.9 million desktops were sold in the US in 1999, and around a sixth of these had serious problems within the first month of ownership, according to consumer testing organisation ConsumerReports.org. Of these, 800,000 were totally inoperable …
Business 7 Jun 2001, 16:38
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Gateway extends PC price war to UK, Ireland
The PC Price War. You Win!
Gateway today fired its opening salvo in the PC price in the UK and Ireland. The PC maker is promising to beat competitors' prices with its "Gateway Guarantee" - for a limited time promotion. The never knowingly undersold marketing pitch was unveiled in Gateway's American heartland last week. The company says it will refund …
Business 7 Jun 2001, 17:07
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A brief history of eggverts, by Kibo
Getting beyond a yoke
Your mail continues to pour in about Robin Southgate's Java Toaster, which we first featured back in March, and revisited in graphic detail on Monday. Thanks to those of you who pointed out that BBC's Tomorrow's World featured the machine last month, which we didn't know. But then we haven't watched Tomorrow's World since the …
Business 7 Jun 2001, 17:09
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HP warns of more cost cuts in wake of weak May sales
IT spending slump goes global
Hewlett-Packard yesterday warned sales could miss already lowered estimates due to the IT sales slump hitting on a global level. The US PC maker said sales in consumer and enterprise markets had been soft in all regions last month. "HP is now more cautious regarding its revenue guidance of flat to down five per cent for the …
Business 7 Jun 2001, 17:26
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Jabber Speaks
It's Alive!
The open source IM project Jabber has inked a partnership with voice web outfit Nuance. Nuance provides voice browsing and speech recognition services to wireless networks and major private customers. Jabber recently got a $7m investment from France Telecom, which took a 23 per cent stake in shop front Jabber.com, the company …
Software 7 Jun 2001, 17:30
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SDMI crack team launches preemptive suit
Quixotic benefactor EFF paves the way
The Princeton University team which rose successfully to the SDMI challenge is asking the US District Court in New Jersey to issue a declaratory judgment absolving them of liability before releasing the results of their research into cracking several anti-piracy technologies. Arrangements had previously been made to release the …
Music and Media 7 Jun 2001, 19:46
