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20th June 2001 Archive

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  • e-Net goes into receivership

    You might know it as Relay Business Systems

    Bristol-based reseller e-Net has gone into receivership. The company is one of the UK's biggest resellers for Oracle and Sun and is still widely known by its former name - Relay Business Systems. It is also an ISP and an ASP (application service provider). The company's last set of accounts, filed for the year to March 2000, …

    Channel 20 Jun 2001, 08:46

  • UK channel goes board crazy

    Elsa, Guillemot, DFI

    German graphics board maker Elsa has signed up Microtronica, the components distie, to improve coverage into the UK system builder market. Microtronica will also wholesale Elsa's datacomms product lines into corporate VARs and resellers. Elsa has around 12 per cent of the UK retail graphics board market; Guillemot has nearer …

    Channel 20 Jun 2001, 08:46

  • Two channel takeovers

    Disties and Legal VARs

    Micro P, the mass market distie, has bought storage distie AGP for an undisclosed sum, CRN reports. TFB claims it is the UK's biggest VAR for the legal sector following the takeover of Avenue Business Systems for an undisclosed sum. TFB (Technology For Business) is a pre-IPO firm with post acquisition revenues of £12m. This …

    Channel 20 Jun 2001, 08:46

  • Intel axes 300 Danes

    Updated To be or not to be

    Intel has sacked 300 employees at its Danish networking products R&D operation. Staff were told of the plan yesterday afternoon, reports Danish paper Jyllands Posten, though the decision to make the redundancies was taken on Monday. The R&D operation was built out of the acquistion of business from Case Technologies, Olicom …

    Channel 20 Jun 2001, 09:10

  • Eagles have their wings clipped

    Desperados lose trademark lawsuit

    The Eagles have lost a trademark infringement lawsuit against the American Eagle Foundation over the ornithological use of the www.eagles.org Web site. Don Henley and his legendary rock band launched legal proceedings against the not-for-profit conservation site in 1998 claiming that its Web site address, "800-2EAGLES" phone …

    Media 20 Jun 2001, 10:29

  • Infineon Q3 sales slump 30%

    It's the puff-ball skirt of the chip market

    Infineon expects to report a pre-tax loss as high as $512 million (600 million euros) for its Q3. Chip price crashes, excess inventories, and slow mobile-phone sales have caused its sales to fall by 30 per cent in the quarter ending 30 June. Infineon will slash capital expenditure by one billion euros ($850 million) in its …

    Channel 20 Jun 2001, 10:29

  • Women.com sued over plagiarism

    White text on a white background. Tut, tut

    Women.com is facing a 1,000,000 euro (£600,000) lawsuit from Euregio.net, which claims the company secretly cut and pasted copyrighted features on its InternetHoroscopes.com site in order to improve its search engine ranking. Euregio - a Belgian ISP and content provider for women's interests - claims Women.com copied text from …

    Media 20 Jun 2001, 10:50

  • Sun challenges Intel to arm wrestling competition

    Who's the cock of servers?

    Computing benchmarks might give vendors bragging rights but they hardly provide users with a straightforward answer of whose technology is superior. Mindful of this, Sun Microsystems has thrown down the gauntlet to Intel and last night challenged Chipzila to an arm wrestling competition. Sun is putting forward workgroup server …

    Bootnotes 20 Jun 2001, 10:54

  • WinXP server goes .NET – so good they named it twice

    We named it already? Doh...

    Bill Gates yesterday christened the server edition of Windows XP "Windows.NET Server," the goldfish in the marketing department having apparently forgotten that Microsoft had already christened the product Windows 2002 Server a little over a month ago. And while we're about it we might as well note that today's big "Windows XP …

    Software 20 Jun 2001, 11:27

  • Data Protection Registrar on UK data swapping plans

    Responds to digital ID card fears

    The Information Commissioner Elizabeth France – formerly the Data Protection Registrar says data swapping proposals won't require major changes to existing DP legislation. According to the Daily Telegraph, the UK government is to permit data exchanges between government agencies. New legislation will be introduced in the form …

    Business 20 Jun 2001, 11:38

  • Alba's Net TV is a dog

    The poodle perm of consumer hardware

    TV maker Alba has sold just a third of the integrated Internet-TVs it expected to shift. Only 180,000 punters, out of a forecast 500,000 coughed up for the device. The price has been cut to £99, down 33 per cent, to shift the things. But the company is sticking with the product. The Guardian quotes chief executive Daniel …

    Business 20 Jun 2001, 11:39

  • Gharlane of Eddore is dead

    But who the hell was the Usenet hero?

    Near legendary Usenet poster Gharlane of Eddore has died, prompting a search for his true identity. His death was announced on a sci-fi newsgroup, appropriately enough, and quickly received messages from a large number of saddened users. However, when something of his real-life persona crept into dedications made on the group, …

    Media 20 Jun 2001, 11:42

  • RSA is bumflap of online insurers

    Missing dog stunt backfires

    Insurer Royal & SunAlliance is in the doghouse after its missing pooch marketing campaign designed to promote its new Web site upset small children and council officials. Parts of London were splattered with posters asking if people had seen "Lucky the Dog" (an Airedale/collie cross) who was reportedly missing. RSA's call …

    Media 20 Jun 2001, 11:45

  • GPS used to spy on rental drivers

    Big Brother on board

    A driver is suing a car hire firm, which charged him $450 for allegedly speeding in a van fitted with a hi-tech device for spying on drivers. According to the New Haven Advocate, James Turner is taking Acme Rent-A-Car to court over penalties levied on him for "going at speeds in excess of 90 mph on three separate occasions." …

    Business 20 Jun 2001, 12:10

  • Red Hat moves Into the black

    What tech recession?

    Red Hat has moved into the black for the first time since going public - a significant psychological milestone for the company. The company reported a profit of $3.7 million with revenue up by $4m, almost all attributable to subscription services, from the previous quarter. As Red Hat was within a whisker of profitability in …

    Software 20 Jun 2001, 12:12

  • Govt unveils new legislation in Queen's Speech

    And none of it has anything to do with technology

    After a difficult last term with regard to technology, the Labour government has announced its intention to ignore it and hope it will all go away in the Queen's Speech today. If you don't know, the Queen's Speech consists of Liz II, having opened Parliament in her role as the monarch, saying what "her" government intends to do …

    Business 20 Jun 2001, 12:22

  • Toshiba is having summer chip plant shutdown

    Slashing memory output by 30%

    Toshiba is to temporarily cut chip output this summer because of weak demand and growing inventories. Output at a chip memory plant in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, is to be slashed by 30 per cent. This will be partly achieved by suspending some of its older production lines. The Mie plant produces DRAMs and SRAMs. There will …

    Channel 20 Jun 2001, 13:00

  • Phreaking cheap calls on offer

    Dial internationally at UK national rates

    Telecoms firm Komtel is offering calls to selected international locations at UK national phone rates. Users of the service dial into an international call gateway using an 0871 national rate number. They then receive a dial tone and can call countries in North America, Australia and certain European states. The International …

    Data Networking 20 Jun 2001, 13:15

  • GPL Pacman will eat your business, warns Gates

    Timely warning from The Great Engulfer himself

    Microsoft's latest shot in the anti-GPL war comes from His Billness himself and - bizarrely - likens it to a small yellow blob that starred in 1980s arcade games. Mike Ricciuti of Cnet should be given due credit for extracting this BillBlurt, in an interview conducted this week at TechEd. Protesting that Microsoft's views on …

    Software 20 Jun 2001, 14:06

  • HP shows off home entertainment centre

    John Denver on 8-track stylee

    Throw away your Frisco-Disco solid state home entertainment centre - Hewlett-Packard is entering the market. According to the HP press release the Digital Entertainment Centre will enable customers to: Record music to CDs with a built in CD-writer Transfer music to select MP3 players, handhelds and memory card readers …

    Business 20 Jun 2001, 14:23

  • ADI MicroScan i610

    Review Flat-panel monitor

    Flat-panel prices are falling across the board, and this month ADI beats the competition by offering the MicroScan i610 for just £349. The i610's sleek styling looks the part, while the commendable set of hardware specifications (which include a viewing angle of 160 degrees and a contrast ratio of 300:1) wouldn't look out of …

    Business 20 Jun 2001, 14:38

  • Palm looks to Intel for next CPU?

    Rumour says so, but it sounds more like bargaining to us

    Rumours have resurfaced that Palm may be planning to use an Intel ARM-based processor over Motorola's new ARM chip, announced t'other week. So, at any rate, says an item over at Palm Infocenter that cites no sources for the rumour, and doesn't offer much to back the claim up. Nevertheless, the site reckons Palm may choose …

    Business 20 Jun 2001, 15:12

  • Email on the way out

    We are reverting to being human again

    Email is on the way out when it comes to communicating with people, at least according to Which? Online. The consumer group says that only one person in 20 sees email as their preferred method of communication. Amazingly, people have become more human since last year, when the figure was one in seven. Instead, folk prefer to …

    Media 20 Jun 2001, 15:22

  • Intel CEO takes on Postman Pat

    Intel's Barrett pins company future on broadband Internet

    Intel CEO Craig Barrett admitted today that he had been "wound up" by claims that use of email and the Internet is waning. Indeed, he reserved special vitriol for British institution Postman Pat - and, by extension, the Post Office itself - chosen by the UK's Guardian newspaper to illustrate a feature asking whether the email …

    Channel 20 Jun 2001, 15:39

  • Stealth detection system disappears from screens

    Updated US military interest? Quite likely

    A British research and development company, which claims to have invented a method to detect stealth aircraft, has clammed up on details about its technology. Roke Manor Research has decided not to speak to the press after UK national the Daily Telegraph ran an article on the detection system. Roke claims the Telegraph …

    Data Networking 20 Jun 2001, 15:41

  • Thomas C Greene ties the knot

    Kevin Poulsen is best man

    Our Washington correspondent, scourge of Feds, Reds and tech-heads, Thomas C Greene went and tied the knot yesterday at 3pm. Here at Vulture Central, we only met his Malaysian bride Eeleng Ong briefly when she came over with Thomas last summer and we wish them all the best for the future. Ideally for Thomas, he met Eeleng on …

    Bootnotes 20 Jun 2001, 15:43

  • Bookham axes 100 workers

    Over-hyped optical networker warns sales to drop by half

    Over-hyped optical networking vendor, Bookham Technology plc, is to cull 12 per cent of its workforce amid plummeting sales and little sign of any immediate upturn in demand. One hundred jobs will be lost at the London Stock Exchange- and NASDAQ-listed company as it reported today that sales for the quarter ended July 1 would …

    Business 20 Jun 2001, 15:47

  • Mitel founder honour enrages Canada

    Knighthood for Terry Matthews provokes international punch-up

    The phone lines between Canada and the UK have today been hot with invective after it was announced that Welsh-born business supremo Terry Matthews has been bestowed a knighthood in the Queen's birthday honours. Canadian prime minister Jean Chrieten has been on the blower to Tony Blair to express his displeasure at the …

    Bootnotes 20 Jun 2001, 15:50

  • Intel will pursue processor price war – Barrett

    80% or more marketshare by any means necessary

    Intel CEO Craig Barrett today pledged to maintain the company's "aggressive" price war with AMD. Speaking in London, Barrett denied the chip giant's rival any quarter in the fight for processor marketshare. Well, all but 20 per cent of the market, at any rate. "We have had 80 per cent plus marketshare," he said. "We intend to …

    Channel 20 Jun 2001, 15:51

  • Kournikova suspect to stand trial in September

    Dutch virus author likely to face light punishment

    The alleged author of the infamous Anna Kournikova worm is to face prosecution, according to reports by a Dutch news service. OnTheFly will face charges of for spreading information over a computer network with the intention of causing damage in a hearing set for September 12. WebWereld Netherlands reports that if convicted he …

    Security 20 Jun 2001, 16:30

  • Sign up here for a trip to Mars

    NASA offers chance of space immortality

    Let's face it, none us has much chance of ever standing on the surface of the Mars. In truth, the Reg hacks have enough trouble making the 30-yard trip from the pub to the office without mishap. A quick trip to the red planet is - frankly - out of the question. Nevertheless, you can participate in NASA's 2003 Mars rover …

    Bootnotes 20 Jun 2001, 16:32

  • Trading Standards – the anorak of the wired world

    Investment needed to protect e-shoppers

    Trading Standards officers - the workhorses of consumer rights in the UK - have called for a massive investment in technology and training to deal with the rise in e-commerce. A new report Surfing the Big Wave launched on Wednesday at the annual conference of the Trading Standards Institute in Cardiff said the investment was …

    Media 20 Jun 2001, 16:34

  • VIA Pentium 4 chipset will undercut Intel's

    DDR chipset for 20% less than RDRAM part

    VIA has pledged to beat Intel on price when it ships its Pentium 4-based DDR SDRAM chipset. VIA said yesterday it will price the P4X266 at no more than $35. According to Taiwan's Economic Times newspaper, that's between ten per cent and 20 per cent below Intel's own P4 chipsets, the RDRAM-based 850 and the single data rate 845 …

    Channel 20 Jun 2001, 17:08

  • Sun Hardware Roadmaps rain on The Reg

    Exclusive Safari, so good

    Dr Doolittle talked to the animals. But in the land of the rising Sun, all the animals talk to the Vulture. According to a snake in the long grass, Sun Microsystems' long overdue update of its workgroup servers is almost upon us. The 4-way server codenamed Cherrystone and 8-way server codenamed Daktari will be first to appear. …

    Business 20 Jun 2001, 17:24

  • Yahoo! execs should do time for Kiddie! Porn!

    Sez DoJ prosecutor turned family crusader

    The executives of Yahoo! belong in jail as kiddie porn kingpins, former US Department of Justice (DoJ) prosecutor turned family-values crusader Patrick Trueman says. "A search of Yahoo!'s Clubs and GeoCities sites, which are available to anyone including children, indicates that a seemingly endless number of the sites contain …

    Media 20 Jun 2001, 19:31

  • Transmeta transmittas profit alert

    'However...'

    Here comes another profit warning, this time from Transmeta, designer of the low-power Crusoe CPU. Sales in Q2 (ending June 30) will be 40-45 per cent down on Q1's $18.6 million turnover. The company is also transitioning in the second half of the year to 0.13 micron production. The upshot will be an inventory charge - amount so …

    Channel 20 Jun 2001, 21:54

  • World Bank faces online sit-in

    Guardian works itself into a lather over cyber activists

    Cyber activists are threatening to disrupt a World Bank online conference. Today's Guardian reports that the Washington-based organisation decided to hold the conference on the Internet in order to avoid demos. The event, which will focus on looking at Globalisation, Poverty and Wealth, was originally scheduled to take place …

    Security 20 Jun 2001, 22:07