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20th July 2001 Archive

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  • Agfa axes low-end scanners

    And digital cameras

    Agfa has decided to ditch production of low-end scanners due to the current market downturn. The German-Belgian company, which has been pumping out scanners for this end of the market for around eight years, is also pulling out of digital camera sector. Agfa has already told its resellers in Europe not to expect any more …

    Personal 20 Jul 2001, 08:20

  • Intel Mobile Tualatins to launch 30 July

    Mobile price cuts follow on 16 September

    Monday, 30 July marks the official launch of Intel's 0.13 micron Tualatin Mobile Pentium III processors, according to the latest pricing information to leak out of the chip giant and as we've mentioned before. On that day, Intel will unveil 866MHz, 933MHz, 1.0GHz, 1.06GHz and 1.13GHz Mobile PIIIs priced at $251, $284, $401, $ …

    Channel 20 Jul 2001, 09:37

  • Gateway gets hammered in Europe

    It's going to sack some people

    PC maker Gateway has recorded Q2 sales of $1.5 billion, down from $2.2 billion a year earlier. The revenues were well below the $1.9 billion expected and the company has unsurprisingly described the market as "challenging". Net losses for the period were $20.8 million including one off charges. It made a profit of $118m a year …

    Business 20 Jul 2001, 09:45

  • Virus plague fails to stem losses at Network Associates

    Security firms not immune from IT spending slowdown

    Security software firm Network Associates has recorded a second quarter loss of $37 million as its sales slid by 16 per cent. The recent run of computer viruses hasn't helped Network Associates, which is best known for its McAfee anti-virus software, escape the general downturn in IT spending. Sales for the quarter fell from $ …

    Business 20 Jul 2001, 10:00

  • Intel's Mobile Roadmap

    Tualatin comin' this month

    With the news that Intel will be officially unveiling its 0.13 micron Mobile Pentium III-M (aka Tualatin) on 30 July - just over a week away - followed by price cuts to the Mobile line on 16 September, it's time to revisit the chip giant's mobile roadmap. Despite the major dash forward shown by Intel's desktop release schedule …

    Channel 20 Jul 2001, 10:08

  • Sun takes a Haircut as earnings slump

    Red ink shock

    Sun Microsystems income crashed in the last three months for the second successive quarter, putting it in the red for the period, the company reported yesterday. Although such has been its phenomenal growth in recent years the $3.09 billion Sun earned puts it back to where it was in early 2000. "We've taken a haircut on …

    Business 20 Jul 2001, 10:12

  • Microsoft shares drop as Q1 estimates lowered

    But growth expected across whole of fiscal 2002

    Microsoft's shares have dropped five per cent on the news that its next quarter results will be lower than expected. Analyst figures suggested $7 billion in revenue but Microsoft has put it at around $6 billion to $6.2 billion. However, it expects increased growth for the whole year. Announcing its annual results, the software …

    Business 20 Jul 2001, 10:14

  • NEC brings 1394 to PDAs

    Pump movies through your Palm (one day...)

    NEC is bringing IEEE1394 - aka FireWire, aka iLink - to PDAs with a low power controller chip. Of course, you have to ask why a PDA user would need a high-speed - 400Mbps - digital data bus, but it's not a daft as it might at first sound. Well, for a start, adding 1394 to a PDA allows it to host consumer electonics devices …

    Hardware 20 Jul 2001, 10:36

  • Ericsson suffers as customers delay network investment

    Says GPRS and 3G will give it a boost

    Ericsson has reported a Q2 loss - but that's what the market expected. Pre-tax losses in the period ending 30 June were SKr5.3 billion ($498 million). It had enjoyed profits of SKr6.7 billion ($629.55 million) a year earlier. Customers holding back on expanding their networks are mainly to blame. Ericsson's mobile network …

    Data Networking 20 Jul 2001, 10:45

  • Vodafone delaying 3G to 2003

    And you'll never guess why. Yep, handsets again

    Vodafone is slowing its construction of new mobile masts for GPRS and latterly 3G networks because it doesn't expect enough handsets to be ready in time. The old mobile truism about having nothing until you have a handset comes alive again. The plan to restrict the number of base stations installed by the end of this year from …

    Data Networking 20 Jul 2001, 10:48

  • eBay whips Wall Street forecasts

    Profit triples to $25m

    eBay whipped Wall Street expectations last night when it announced profit more than tripled in the second quarter. The online auctioneer saw net income rise to $24.6 million for the three months ended June 30, compared to $7.46 million for the same period the previous year. Sales jumped 84 per cent to $180.9 million, around $ …

    e-Business 20 Jul 2001, 10:49

  • .NET frenzy reaches Mac OS X

    It's a Java thing

    Hang on, this wasn't supposed to happen. Apple's Unix-based OS X could wind up being the most .NET-friendly environment outside Redmond. At MacWorldExpo in New York, Halcyon Software showed off the .NET developer environment running on OS X, as part of its Java Dot Netproject. Halcyon is a veteran of this kind of thing: having …

    Mac Channel 20 Jul 2001, 10:50

  • Transmeta Q2 sales slip as forecast

    Oh, and it spent $13.6m licensing AMD's Hammer technology

    Transmeta said its Q2 revenue would be down 40-45 per cent on the previous quarter's figure, and sho' nuff it was. The chip maker yesterday reported Q2 revenue of $10.5 million, a 44 per cent fall on Q1's $18.6 million. Q2 2001's figure was nevertheless considerably higher than Q2 2000's $354,000. Losses for the quarter - the …

    Business 20 Jul 2001, 11:14

  • Nortel posts losses of $19.6bn

    30,000 jobs culling operation to last 8 more weeks

    Nortel Networks has recorded second quarter losses of $19.4 billion, one of the largest corporate losses in history, as the telecoms equipment market continues to remain in the doldrums. It made sales of just $4.61 billion this quarter down from $7.21 billion in the same period last year, which was slightly better than analysts …

    Data Networking 20 Jul 2001, 11:15

  • HP takes axe to contractor salaries

    Asked to take 10% pay cut

    Hewlett Packard has asked its contract staff in the UK to take a pay cut to help it through the current sales downturn. Contractors have the option to take a 'voluntary' ten per cent salary chop, which will take effect from 1 August until the end of November, according to an email seen by The Register. HP said in the email …

    Business 20 Jul 2001, 11:39

  • Palm preps PalmOS 4.0 upgrade

    Takes III- and V-series PDAs to m50x level (minus whizzo hardware, of course)

    Palm will release PalmOS 4.0 as a standalone update in November, according to sources cited by Web site Palm Infocenter. PalmOS 4.0 actually shipped in May, bundled with the company's m50x PDAs. The upgrade fixed a few bugs and enhanced a couple of existing features but essentially added support for the new machines' hardware …

    Hardware 20 Jul 2001, 11:54

  • World PC shipments drop for first time in 15 years

    Down 1.9% in Q2 to 30.4m units

    Worldwide PC shipments dropped 1.9 per cent during last quarter - the first shipment decline for the market in 15 years. Around 30.4 million units were shipped during Q2, according to figures from Gartner Dataquest. Dell was the only top tier PC vendor to see growth worldwide and in the US during the three-month period. It …

    Business 20 Jul 2001, 12:05

  • The Reg e-commerce site is go!

    Shop online for all those Vulture Central goodies

    Well, you wanted it and now you've got it. Yes, it's true - after months of sweated labour and tense negotiation, The Reg's e-commerce site is finally live. Cash'n'carrion - for so it is named - is your one-stop shop for all those must-have Reg accessories. We've got shirts, we've got mugs and we've got BOFH. What more could …

    Site News 20 Jul 2001, 12:27

  • Nokia drops smartphone clues

    I am a camera

    Nokia will ship a new smartphone in the final quarter of the calendar year, and it's dropped heavy hints that splashy multimedia phones like the 9210 will form the basis of its recovery into 2002. Or as Nokia's CEO Jorma Ollila put it, he's banking on multimedia messaging, Java and Symbian and new form factors to "accelerate …

    Personal 20 Jul 2001, 12:45

  • NEVER USE CAPS IN A HOTMAIL EMAIL

    And other interesting aspects of the new interface

    Day two of the new Hotmail and we've found some more interesting elements. First of all, the main change to Hotmail's workings was the introduction of a new spam filter system. It gives you various levels up to "exclusive", which will send everything but emails from people in your address book to a new Junk Mail folder. When …

    Music and Media 20 Jul 2001, 12:48

  • Taliban ban computer discs

    Afghanistan in world record attempt to proscribe absolutely everything

    There is bad news today for any bald, guitar-playing Afghani who likes a hand of Bridge. Human hair wigs, musical instruments and playing cards are among the 30 items which the country's Taliban fundamentalist regime has added to its list of proscribed items. Computer discs also feature on the roll-call of un-Islamic products, …

    Bootnotes 20 Jul 2001, 12:50

  • CA's Unicenter omits long-promised features

    Artificial intelligence and 3D interface sidelined

    Media interest on Computer Associates at its annual user conference focused to such an extent on its managements' attempts to fend off a hostile bid from Texan billionaire Sam Wyly, that little attention was paid to the dropping of long-promised features in an upgrade of its flagship product. For the last two CA Worlds, the …

    Software 20 Jul 2001, 13:00

  • The 'farmer's blow' laid bare

    Our readers help you breathe more easily

    In last week's Vulture Central Mailbag, we asked readers if they had any further information on the 'farmer's blow', that is, the process of sealing one nostril with a finger while ejecting snot from the other. Naturally, Register readers did not let us down in expanding on this fascinating nasal unblocking technique. Dominic …

    Letters 20 Jul 2001, 13:05

  • New Hotmail debate hots up

    Well, sort of...

    Hotmail upgrade will make your life better New-look Hotmail: the verdict NEVER USE CAPS IN A HOTMAIL EMAIL Rational thought. Reasoned argument. That's what we want at the Vulture Central Mailbag. Just like Taber Buhl on Kieren McCarthy's general approval of the new Hotmail: I saw your article and i gotta say... i'd rather …

    Letters 20 Jul 2001, 14:15

  • Afghani women fight back

    Internet is weapon against oppression

    Afghanistan 'bans' the Internet Linda Harrison's recent piece on the Taliban's efforts to 'ban' the Internet provoked applause and anger in equal measure. Eleanor Durrant wrote: Thanks for your article about this new restriction. Computer training (and learning English) have been banned in Afghanistan for some time. I don't …

    Letters 20 Jul 2001, 14:37

  • More hot summer WinXP action

    Readers bemused, confused, and hot under the collar

    WinXP product activation cracked: totally, horribly, fatally Steve Gibson really is off his rocker Alexander J. Vincent is determined to take John Lettice to task on his WinXP security pieces: I've been reading the articles at The Register with some amusement, some alarm, some disinterest, some of everything. Recently, two …

    Letters 20 Jul 2001, 14:42

  • SurfControl refutes Reg allegation

    No 'scare marketing' whatsoever

    SurfControl sales rocket by 200% Back in April we had a letter from one Jim Salter regarding SurfControl's 'scare marketing'. It included the following : I just read your article regarding the boost in SurfControl software. You may not be aware of the recent legislation by the US government requiring filtering software for …

    Letters 20 Jul 2001, 14:45

  • Cybertrousers – the cracks are showing

    Readers reject advanced pant design

    Revealed: What's in men's pants If Linda Harrison is ever caught looking wistfully out of the Vulture Central windows, it's because she is pondering what it is exactly men have in their trousers. Of course, it's a simple matter for women. Just get a bag and fill it to the brim with paraphernalia. But in this age of mobile …

    Letters 20 Jul 2001, 14:48

  • British army to finally replace obsolete radio system

    $4bn contract after long running procurement farce

    The UK Government has awarded a $4bn contract for the supply of a battlefield radio system to Computing Devices Canada (CDC) in a deal that may finally bring to an end a long-running procurement fiasco. The Bowman radio system to be supplied by CDC is scheduled to come into operation in two years. This is eight years later than …

    Data Networking 20 Jul 2001, 14:52

  • Manhunt: London cabbie sought for free T-shirt

    Did you give Linus a lift to the office this morning?

    Top dog and publisher of The Reg, Linus "Fish Fingers" Birtles was delighted to find the London cabbie that gave him a lift to work this morning was a Reg fan. Asked what he did, Linus told our mystery cabbie that he was an Internet IT publisher. The cabbie then informed Linus he was interested in technology and that his …

    Bootnotes 20 Jul 2001, 14:55

  • FOTW MEP Cashman cops an earful

    Warning: This flame contains material liable to offend

    MEP Cashman tries to support pro-spam stance It's always a pleasure to read a quality flame when it's not directed at one of the hapless Reg hacks. In this case, 'Nomen Nescio' would like to express his views on MEP Michael Cashman. Is he angry? Yes he is: Michael Cashman is a fuckwit if he doesn't know that UCE /is/ spam. " …

    Letters 20 Jul 2001, 15:15

  • Intel Banias SoC part to ensure PIII lives on

    Oh, and Athlon 4 will drive Intel's prices down even further

    Intel's Pentium III may be all but dead on the desktop, but it apparently has along life ahead of it in the mobile market. The chip giant is preparing a Mobile Pentium 4 for release in February 2002 which may eventually push the Mobile Pentium III out of the mainstream. But the chip will live on, in Banias, Intel's second …

    Channel 20 Jul 2001, 15:41

  • Pig Brother sticks its snout into the Net

    Vote to save your fave hog's bacon

    An animal-friendly version of Big Brother is to be launched on the Internet in September. Pig Brother will follow the antics of five hogs in their pen in Somerset thanks to 24-hour surveillance provided by three Webcams - Sty Cam, Trough Cam and Pond Cam. In a similar format to the Big Brother TV show, surfers will be asked to …

    Music and Media 20 Jul 2001, 15:45

  • Readers' Letters Reg hack gets completely Rogered

    'This is the most preposterous b*ll*cks...'

    Oracle didn't help Cisco see the precipice Oracle aided Marconi collapse Roger Hislop doesn't like John Leyden's Oracle/Cisco piece one little bit. No siree: This is the most preposterous bollocks I've seen on the Register in a long time. The Marconi/Oracle story was barely tenable, but this one is just horseshit! You're …

    Letters 20 Jul 2001, 15:50

  • E-minister flogs dead wireless licence horse

    Not this one again

    New e-minister Alexander Douglas (or is that the other way around?) has pulled out the wireless whip and started flogging the dead auction horse. His predecessor's three efforts to get the nag moving failed miserably, but he obviously reckons he's got the knack. What we on about? Those 15-year fixed wireless licences that …

    Data Networking 20 Jul 2001, 16:34

  • Websense treads fine line with Reg copy

    And WSJ, CNN, Wired, Salon etc

    Censorware company Websense is taking copyrighted articles and posting them in its own template on its site. Some of our copy, as well as articles from the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Wires and Salon have found their way onto its news section. It does state where the copy comes from, plus the headline links to the article on the …

    Bootnotes 20 Jul 2001, 16:42

  • China shuts down 2,000 cybercafes

    Ministry of Information Industry not happy

    Chinese officials have shut down almost 2,000 cybercafes over Net addiction fears. Another 6,000 Internet cafes have also been ordered to suspend business and make changes, according to today's Shanghai Daily. The closures were the result of a three month inspection of around 60,000 Internet cafes nationwide. The move was …

    Music and Media 20 Jul 2001, 16:46

  • MandrakeSoft goes public

    For French Eyes Only

    Undeterred by dismal prospects for public tech stocks, Linux distributor MandrakeSoft is to go public on the unregulated French Marche Libre exchange. Only French nationals living in France are eligible to take up the offer, and stern warnings forbid "US persons" - or for that matter Canadian, Japanese or Australian …

    Software 20 Jul 2001, 16:49

  • Compaq's 1GHz Athlon 4 notebook hits the shops

    No sign of a Dell

    Compaq's 1GHz AMD Athlon 4 Presario laptops have hit the high street. We've seen a PC World advert offering one at £1699 inc VAT. This includes 192Mb SDRAM and a 20Gb hard disk. There's also an 8 speed DVD drive. In fact PC World, and the other Dixons Group chains - Dixons, Currys, The Link - will be the only stores selling …

    Personal 20 Jul 2001, 16:54

  • Code Red bug hits Microsoft security update site

    Duh!

    Microsoft's own Windows Update site has fallen victim to the Code Red worm. As previously reported, the Code Red worm attacks what's now called the .ida vulnerability, an unchecked buffer in the IIS Indexing Service ISAPI filter, which, if exploited, can yield system-level access to an intruder. The fact that the Windows …

    Malware 20 Jul 2001, 17:35

  • Internet survives Code Red

    We were sooo worried....

    The 'Code Red' worm, which targeted Whitehouse.gov, and which exploits the .ida buffer overflow vulnerability in the IIS Indexing Service ISAPI filter, predictably failed to deliver the network-crushing blow which several hysterics in the mainstream press and the US National Infrastructure Protection Center had warned us about …

    Software 20 Jul 2001, 19:14