5th July 2001 Archive

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WinXP RC1download leak is Preview Program code

And you're supposed to pay for that...

The WinXP RC1 code that can be downloaded for free is actually the XP Preview Program code, it turns out. In order to get this you're supposed to give Microsoft money ($9.95 in the US and Canada, and £17.63 for a CD in the UK), fill in forms and have your Passport checked, but if you know the right URL, this is entirely …

Software 5 Jul 2001, 10:16
PS2 £150 ‘offer’ too good to be true?

British shoppers get mad but not even

A London company is under investigation by the police and Trading Standards over a PlayStation 2 offer that allegedly duped hundreds of British shoppers. The deal involved The Slammer, an outfit based in the city's Docklands area, which started offering PS2s in February for £150. Punters paid £300 up front, either by credit …

Channel 5 Jul 2001, 10:29
DRAM production cuts unlikely – analyst

Memory makers fear the consequences

The world's major DRAM makers are unlikely to follow fellow memory producer Hynix and cut chip production. So says at least one analyst watching the sector, according to a Korea Herald report. Merritz Securities' Choi Suck-po (we kid you not) reckons that rumours of production cuts are false. Citing the last time any of the …

Channel 5 Jul 2001, 11:27
Massive fall-out from Marconi share collapse

Updated FTSE suffers, DTi cries, trade union not happy

Marconi's huge profit warning last night and its announcement that another 4000 jobs were to go have had huge knock-on effects both on the market and politically. The telecoms equipment company's shares were suspended when it said profits would be halved thanks to a "severe downturn" in the telecoms market. When the ban was …

Business 5 Jul 2001, 11:30
We can make money… honest – Scoot

As long as we don't run out of it in the meantime

Scoot has announced its quarterly results, showing a £24.3 million loss but with sales up £700,000 to £9.6 million. However, the loss per share was down, prompting the company to assure people it can become profitable by the end of next year. The only problem with this scenario is that unless someone pumps some money into the …

Business 5 Jul 2001, 11:34
Globalfarmers.com fails to see bumper harvest

Receivers appointed

UK dotcom Globalfarmers.com has gone into receivership and been put up for sale 18 months after nabbing investment worth £3.6 million. The company, an online trader and information point for the agriculture sector, said yesterday that Tom Burton and Roger Griffiths of Ernst & Young had been made joint receivers. Ernst & Young …

Business 5 Jul 2001, 11:52
Adobe freezing out Apple's Mac OS X?

Updated Handbags at dawn

The Web is rife with rumours of a chill in the relationship between Adobe and Apple. Adobe has supported the Mac for 16 years and its commitment forms a crucial part of Apple's appeal to the design and publishing industries. An unconfirmed product release schedule forwarded to us - and we stress it is uncorroborated - suggests …

Mac Channel 5 Jul 2001, 12:14
Eizo FlexScan L461

Review Flat-panel monitor

Flat-panel displays are fast moving out of the luxury category into the affordable one, with prices falling from around £700 for a good 15in model to under £400. As this entry-level screen size becomes more reasonable, manufacturers are now offering users extra inches. Eizo's FlexScan is one such screen. Instead of the standard …

Personal 5 Jul 2001, 12:20
DRAM refuses to be tickled into submission in June

Chip vendors sweat it out

DRAM memory chip prices refused to pick up in the past month, with 128MB prices bobbing around the $3.50 mark. The 30-day rolling average contract price of 128MB DRAMS for May 17 to June 15 dropped 6.9 per cent to $3.86 in North America, according to figures from ICIS-Lor, via Asiabiztech. In Europe prices fell 7.1 per cent to …

Channel 5 Jul 2001, 12:23
PlayStation 2 hard drive out on 19 July?

Plus Ethernet, plus modem

The much delayed PlayStation 2 hard disk, which includes not only 40GB of storage space, but also an Ethernet adaptor and 56Kbps modem, will be released in Japan on the 19 July, Web site The Magic Box is reporting. The external model will cost ¥19,000 yen (£108) while the internal model will cost slightly less, at ¥18,000 (£102 …

Games Industry 5 Jul 2001, 12:36
Aramiska to launch broadband satellite service in UK first

Hip, hip...

Aramiska is to roll-out its two-way broadband satellite service in the UK from the beginning of next year, the company confirmed today. Trials for the service - aimed initially at SMEs with between five and 200 users - will begin later this year. At the official launch of the fledgling company earlier today those behind the …

Telecoms 5 Jul 2001, 14:29
What's the best Computer Science course in the UK?

Help a Reg reader Give us your knowledge comrades

We've had an email from a Canadian reader, David Powell, saying that he's planning to come over to Blighty and do a two-year computer course and wonders if we can recommend any particular places. He doesn't want to study in London and Dave reckons the course at Durham University looks a bit dull. After a brief scratching of …

Bootnotes 5 Jul 2001, 14:31
Xtempus sacks staff, shifts to mobile marketing and gaming

Market movement

Mobile software company Xtempus has sacked 17 staff at its UK headquarters in London as part of a shift towards gaming and advertising and away from the corporate market. The staff all come from the corporate arm, a spokesman told us, and will be replaced in number by staff from recent acquisition TalkCast - a marketing company …

Music and Media 5 Jul 2001, 14:38
UK ISP attacks BT for ditching unmetered access

Rant, rant, rant...and another thing

BigBlueSky (BBS) has blamed BT for its decision to abandon its offer of unmetered Net access. A lengthy notice on the front page of the UK ISP's Web site claims that the "launch of BBS had to be delayed because of delays with the infrastructure and delays on the part of BT in connecting the system". In a verbal attack on the …

Music and Media 5 Jul 2001, 14:42
Itanic prices emerge

Need a wad as thick as an iceberg to buy one

Intel has revealed at last what it charges for its Itanic processor, and like First Class tickets on the chip's ocean-going namesake, it's not what you'd call cheap. For example, a single 800MHz Itanium with 4MB of on-die L2 cache will set you back a whopping $4227 if you buy a thousand of the processors. The cheapest Itanium …

Channel 5 Jul 2001, 15:06
Nokia and Qualcomm end CDMA stand-off

Peace reigns

Qualcomm and Nokia have made peace, with the Rambus Inc of mobile phone air interfaces agreeing to extend Nokia's CDMA license at the same royalty rates the pair originally agreed in 1992. In a joint statement that describes the deal as a "multi million expansion", Qualcomm gains access to Nokia's own CDMA patent portfolio. …

Data Networking 5 Jul 2001, 15:39
T-Online ponders porn tie-up

If that's where the money is...

Monster German ISP T-Online is considering providing porn in a bid to boost revenues. Chairman Thomas Holtrop told the pink paper in Germany: "You can make a lot of money with erotica. It is a lucrative business, which we are examining very closely" Let's hope he's not examining it too closely - that sort of stuff can make you …

Music and Media 5 Jul 2001, 15:42
Passengers in Ladbroke Grove train crash charged for journey

Evil uses of IT: number 43

Passengers on the early morning commuter train that crashed at Ladbroke Grove in 1999, killing 31, had their accounts debited for the ticket price just hours after the tragedy. The news has come to light after the train's ticket collector ran into one of the survivors and quipped: "Well, you weren't charged were you?" "I was," …

Bootnotes 5 Jul 2001, 18:08
Canadian cops probed over porn emails

Mounties by name...

Canadian police are under investigation for allegedly using government computers to swap porn and crime-scene pics. The inquiry involves more than 60 police officers from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) force, including both uniformed and civilian members, today's Toronto Sun reports. The force's north-eastern offices are …

Music and Media 5 Jul 2001, 18:09
MessageLabs launches email porn filtering service

That's a relief

MessageLabs has launched a service designed to provide firms with a more effective mechanism to scan incoming email for porn. The managed services firm, best known for protecting its clients from email viruses, has teamed up with software developer First 4 Internet to develop technology which can detect over 95 per cent of all …

Security 5 Jul 2001, 18:13
Captain Cyborg plans to build a better bionic nose

You can sniff out the bullshit better...

Sci-fi fantasist Kevin Warwick, aka Captain Cyborg, now reckons that due to his unique grasp of cybernetics he can improve the efficiency of your nose. The Prof made his latest lunatic claim on a recent sticky fingers tour of Ireland. A Reg reader heard him guffing on the radio programme Morning Ireland. Using pacemakers as the …

Bootnotes 5 Jul 2001, 18:19
BT rips into BigBlueSky

Take that...and that...

BT has reacted angrily to accusations made by BigBlueSky (BBS) about the ISP's decision to scrap its unmetered phone service. In a lengthy statement that pulls no punches, the monster telco said: "It is only too easy to blame others - especially BT - when a company's business model is simply not robust enough to succeed in this …

Telecoms 5 Jul 2001, 18:22
Max Vision begins 18-month term

Joins growing hacker population in stir

Computer security consultant and confessed cyber intruder Max Butler will serve out his 18-month prison term at the privately-run Taft Correctional Institution in central California, sources say. Butler, known as 'Max Vision' to friends and associates, pleaded guilty last September to launching an automated intrusion program …

Security 5 Jul 2001, 19:13