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7th December 2001 Archive

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  • Rising sales to boost AMD Q4 revenue 10%

    Revises forecast upward

    AMD last night updated its guidance for its current fiscal quarter, its fourth, to reflect "robust", better-than-expected demand for the Athlon XP. The result, the company said, will be higher revenue than it previously forecast. Growing shipments of PC processors will more than counter any dip in the Flash memory market, AMD …

    Business 7 Dec 2001, 10:26

  • Intel tightens Q4 revenue forecast

    Revenue could be up 5% on last quarter

    Intel last night narrowed its Q4 sales forecast to the top end of the range it had specified the last time it predicted what the current quarter's results would be. Last time round, Intel CFO Andy Bryant put Q4's revenues somewhere between $6.2 billion and $6.8 billion. Last night he revised that band to $6.7 billion to $6.9 …

    Business 7 Dec 2001, 10:45

  • Public marketplaces out, private marketplaces in

    We all need an evolution

    The market for exchange services, such as marketplace and procurement applications, is set to be a whopper, according to IDC. The firm tells the world to expect great things from this segment of the software market because, believe it or not, marketplaces are still in the upper ranks of the minds of procurement managers. In …

    e-Business 7 Dec 2001, 10:55

  • TSMC's November sales up 7% on October

    Down 39% on last year's figure, though

    TSMC, which only last week boasted its Q4 profits would be up 55 per cent on its previous forecast, buoyed by a surge in orders, today said its November sales were up just seven per cent on October's total. Last month, the world's largest chip foundry received revenues of NT$11.1 billion ($321 million), up from the NT$10.3 …

    Channel 7 Dec 2001, 11:11

  • Making Linux look harder than it is

    Sub-geeks to the rescue

    Many 'gurus' teaching new users about Linux make it look harder than it needs to be, and apparently fail to explain that yes, you can make PowerPoint-style presentations in Linux, you can view Web Pages that use Flash animation and other "glitz" features, and that you can manage all your files though simple "point, click, drag …

    Software 7 Dec 2001, 11:19

  • Acer is not Benq

    Mega confusion, micro concern

    Acer today says it is still Acer. The company formerly known as 'Acer Communication and Multimedia' is now called Benq. A statement from the latter company issued earlier this week apparently fooled some into thinking that Acer, the PC manufacturer, was to rebrand itself as Benq. As the new press release reads, the pan Acer …

    Business 7 Dec 2001, 11:23

  • ATI rubs hands over GameCube royalties

    Core business doing OK

    ATI Technologies has issued guidance for Q1 ended 30 November, and points to increased revenue over the previous quarter and improved profitability. ATI president Dave Orton said he was pleased with the company's core graphics and video business, as well as the "earnings contribution that has resulted from the very successful …

    Business 7 Dec 2001, 11:35

  • Apple signs Quanta to build next-generation iMac

    Taiwanese manufacturer's first 'non-notebook' product

    Apple has hired Taiwanese contract manufacturer to produce one million iMacs with built-in 15in LCD screens, the United Daily News, a Chinese language newspaper, has reported. The contract appears to confirm the claim made earlier this week by Morgan Stanley analysts that Apple is about to launch its long-awaited and much- …

    Mac Channel 7 Dec 2001, 11:52

  • Alba's Net TV dog dies expensive death

    Regular TVs are selling well

    Alba's draining foray into Internet television cost it £17.9 million in charges to close the venture. The company's Bush Internet portal was folded last week into ITV Digital and Alba has ended production of all Net TVs and set-top boxes. The charge meant Alba reported losses of £12.3 million for the six months to 30 September …

    Music and Media 7 Dec 2001, 12:16

  • Linux to take 10% of PDA biz by 2003

    Market to grow 30-44% over next two years, predicts LCD maker

    The PDA market will rebound next year with a 30 per cent increase in device shipments, one of the world's largest handheld display panel suppliers has claimed. But Palm is going to have its work cut out maintaining its operating system's lead over PocketPC. According to Jocob Lin, general manager of Taiwanese LCD maker Picvue …

    Personal 7 Dec 2001, 12:16

  • UK's broadband future starts here

    Time for Govt to act

    It's been an important week for the UK's broadband industry. The publication of the Broadband Stakeholders Group (BSG) report on Monday and the Government's response has provided an opportunity for those with an interest in broadband to stand back and assess its progress - or lack of it. One of the most surprising things about …

    Telecoms 7 Dec 2001, 12:20

  • Chinese is the future of the Net

    WIPO predicts

    Chinese will become the Web's most used language by 2007, outranking English, as more and more people get online. That, at least, is what WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) said yesterday in Geneva, reported by the FT. At the moment, there is a slight majority of English-speaking worldwide Internet users (460 …

    Music and Media 7 Dec 2001, 12:24

  • Sun may shift UltraSparc production to Taiwan

    If UMC or TSMC prove cheaper than Texas Instruments

    Sun is considering handing over the production of its low-end UltraSparc II processor to chip foundry UMC, the head of the company's processor products division has admitted. Questioned by the Taiwanese media at the local launch of Sun's E15000 server this week, David Yen, Sun VP and general manager of its processor operation, …

    Channel 7 Dec 2001, 12:36

  • VIA beats Winbond to Taiwan chip biz' Top Three

    Still way behind UMC and TSMC, though

    VIA is now officially Taiwan's third biggest chip company, according to figures issued by the island's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), the local Commercial Times has reported. ITRI's stats are based on sales recorded during the first nine months of 2001. During that period, VIA knocked Winbond out of the top …

    Channel 7 Dec 2001, 12:57

  • Chinese PC makers flirt with Windows

    Teetering step towards legality

    Four Chinese PC assemblers, together comprising 60 per cent of the country's market, say they will preinstall Microsoft's Windows XP on their consumer-targeted PCs. The decision is not as simple as it sounds. With piracy such a widespread problem in the region, assemblers often make PCs available without bundling the expensive …

    Channel 7 Dec 2001, 13:15

  • Lords ‘disembowel’ Anti-Terrorism Bill

    UK citizens retain privacy for a little while longer

    The Home Secretary is fuming today over what the government has called the "disembowelling" and "knee-capping" of his Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Bill by the House of Lords. An alliance of Tory and Liberal Democrat peers defeated the passing of seven parts of the bill, insisting on amendments before they give it official …

    Music and Media 7 Dec 2001, 13:18

  • IR35 appeal ruling ends

    PCG 'optimistic'

    The IR35 appeal ended yesterday, with a judgment expected within the next month. The organisation which took the case to the Court of Appeal, the Professional Contractors Group (PCG), told us it was "optimistic" about the case although refused to make a prediction. The appeal was sought after a High Court battle ended in April …

    Business 7 Dec 2001, 14:01

  • Business users victims and villains in Goner outbreak

    Firms slow to update antivirus protection

    Business users were the worst offenders in this week's spread of the Goner worm and many firms were slow to update antiviral protection during the outbreak. An analysis of the spread of the worm by managed services firm MessageLabs reveals that 93 per cent of the infected emails it blocked in the first day of the outbreak came …

    Malware 7 Dec 2001, 14:06

  • Earthlink reaches for Omnisky

    Where's fire and water?

    Earthlink, the US ISP, is to bid for key assets of wireless data provider Omnisky Corporation, currently in Chapter 11. Earthlink wants Omnisky's 32,000-strong customer database and "key wireless infrastructure components" required to keep the service running without interruption. The unspecified offer has the backing of …

    e-Business 7 Dec 2001, 14:19

  • Unto Haines a child is born

    Team Reg news

    Claudete, the better half of Reg merchandising mastermind Lester Haines, gave birth to a healthy baby girl today. Welcome to the world, Katerina. And congratulations from Team Register to the parents. ®

    Bootnotes 7 Dec 2001, 14:40

  • E-paper comes closer

    Plastic power

    Boffins at Philips Research have taken a big step towards the dream of electronic paper by building a display based on flexible plastic, rather than the usual silicon. Working with scientists at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, Philips has crammed 4,096 plastic transistors into a two-inch display, …

    Personal 7 Dec 2001, 14:44

  • Supanet runs with pre-paid Net access vouchers

    Blimey, we're out of puff already

    Supanet is to launch a pre-paid voucher service for Net users aimed at people looking to control the cost of their Net use. The pre-pay card works the same as the pre-pay vouchers that have become so popular among mobile phone users. Burnley-based Supanet started trialling the service at Preston College earlier this week and …

    Music and Media 7 Dec 2001, 14:47

  • Kentron unveils Quad Band Memory modules

    Geared to 533MHz FSB Pentium 4s

    Kentron turned its double double-data-rate memory technology into a product yesterday with the launch of a line of what it calls Quad Band Memory modules. QBM essentially takes two regular DDR units, connects them over what Kentron calls an E Bus and synchronises them in such a way that it effectively doubles the memory …

    Channel 7 Dec 2001, 15:55

  • Online bank fraudsters jailed for eight years

    Credit card application scam

    A five-strong Net fraud gang has been sentenced to a total of just under eight and half years for a conspiring to defraud online banks. The four men and one woman made bogus multiple credit card applications with Egg, Cahoot, Smile, Marbles, MBNA, and SonyCard. The gang, hailing from Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire, were …

    Music and Media 7 Dec 2001, 16:19

  • SEC warns on pro-forma financial statements

    Mind the GAAP

    The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a strongly worded warning alerting investors of the dangers of relying on "pro forma" financials statements. In a shot across the bows of many IT firms which highlight pro forma results when discussing quarterly figures, the SEC says that anything which departs from traditional …

    Business 7 Dec 2001, 16:21

  • UK DSL still expensive – Oftel

    Tell us something we don't know

    The UK is still one of the most expensive places for DSL services, according to Oftel. Its latest international benchmarking report found that the average cost of DSL in the UK was £49 a month, compared with £35 in France, £30 in Germany, £28 in the US and just £23 in Sweden. But when the prices for cable modem services are …

    Telecoms 7 Dec 2001, 16:24

  • Palm wins $50m investment

    Mystery investor

    A mystery investor has sunk $50 million into Palm. The investment, made in the form of a purchase a single $50 million convertible note. After five years, the note can be turned into common Palm stock at $4.63 a pop. If, after a year, Palm's stock rises above $7.13 and stays there for an agreed period of time, the company can …

    Business 7 Dec 2001, 16:31

  • Lies, damned lies and games console sales figures

    Your reports from the front

    I really don't want to come off sounding like some enraged fanboy, but all I can say is that while searching desperately for a copy of Pikmin Monday here in Dearborn (that's Detroit, MI) at every store I went too, and I went to a LOT there were no GameCubes anywhere, but at least one Xbox in each store. Nintendo having supply …

    Letters 7 Dec 2001, 16:44

  • Grey matter

    Your correspondence continues...

    Re: Software Imports - A Grey Area? see also... Grey software is not black and white This is what Microsoft said about grey imports in 1998 The Tesco ruling - what does it mean for grey MS software? I continue to read The Register with interest. Of late I read your article "Software Imports - A Grey Area", it brings to …

    Letters 7 Dec 2001, 16:44

  • Java or Cocoa? Mac developers choose their brews

    Letters Sun's brood tops the poll

    Re: Apple pulls OS X guidelines after developer protest We held over a huge postbag generated by last week's Mac developer story. Was Java up to snuff, we asked? Mostly, opinion was positive. Mostly, but not unanimously... The fact that Apple developers reacted as they did just shows they still don't get it. Apple went out of …

    Letters 7 Dec 2001, 16:44

  • Hello, Playmates! It's Arthur ASCII

    Letters Roundup Strange brews, poor taste...

    What's vexing you this week? Not too much, but if you miss the good old language wars, you'll enjoy the responses from Apple developers here. Highlights include the battle royale between Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft which generated some reports from readers. And an excellent analysis of the grey software ruling, discussed in …

    Letters 7 Dec 2001, 17:24

  • Sarah, 15, sticks it to Bill Gates in BBC interview

    You shouldn't work with animals either, Bill. Especially if they're called Bob

    Bill Gates whizzed through the UK yesterday, not meeting Tony Blair, as previously detailed here, not saying much public about his pitch to National Health Service Trust chief executives, and not saying much of interest in his pitch on behalf of MSN to ad executives. You can hear the latter pitch if you go here, but you may …

    Software 7 Dec 2001, 17:29

  • Compaq site exposes customer details

    Elementary security mistake

    Compaq has taken its customer tracking site offline today after the Register alerted it to a security issue that left sensitive customers details exposed on an insecure server. The site, athome.compaq.com, was set up in a way that allowed anyone who fancied playing around with the order ID number in the URL to gain ready access …

    Security 7 Dec 2001, 18:28

  • UFOs ‘spotted’ on 11 September footage

    Japanese Web site provides evidence of alien conspiracy

    Be honest, you secretly knew that there's was something more to the WTC attacks on 11 September than some extremist Muslims angry with the US' foreign policy, didn't you? We felt it too. But worry no longer because a Japanese Web site has posted incontrovertable evidence that UFOs are involved in this whole sorry saga. In a …

    Bootnotes 7 Dec 2001, 18:29

  • 111,111,111 hits = shag

    Help a lad get laid

    Julia, an 18-year old German girl, has told a guy desperate to get her into the sack that he has to get 111,111,111 hits on his "Kai 4 Julia" love site - and remain chaste during that time - before she will get together with him. For those not experienced in setting up personal home pages and getting hits, that's a polite way …

    Bootnotes 7 Dec 2001, 18:32

  • Spam out, cookies tolerated, data retention remains: EU

    Communications Data Protection Directive nearly there

    Unsolicited email, better known as spam, has been outlawed by the European Union. Internet-fed identification programs, better known as cookies, will be tolerated if people are informed of them. And EU governments can order the retention of customer data beyond useful billing purposes. These were the main three changes to …

    Music and Media 7 Dec 2001, 18:34