10th May 2002 Archive

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Sun to put x86, faster SPARCs in blades

And some clever GRID stuff, too

Sun is looking to make blades based on x86-compatible processors in addition to faster embedded when the servers launch later this year. The company told us that x86 would be an option alongside SPARC, but wouldn't comment on any specifics of the latter. According to reliable sources familiar with the project, a faster version …

Hardware 10 May 2002, 00:44
Microsoft winds up on both ends of software piracy stick

In Camera Obscura

Did you know Microsoft was convicted of software piracy last year by a French court? Not many people do. The Commercial Court of Nanterre fined Microsoft 3 million francs because it illegally included another company's proprietary source code in SoftImage 3D, a top-of-the-line animation package. The only authoritative report …

Business 10 May 2002, 09:08
WorldCom in damage control mode

Junk Rating

WorldCom Inc's CEO John Sidgmore yesterday went to analysts and investors for the second time since taking the job last week to assure them the latest financial news to hit the company is not as bad as it looks. After a credit rating cut by a prominent investment service, Sidgmore went on a conference call to assure …

Business 10 May 2002, 09:42
Germany is tough for Morse

Big Sun dealer

Morse Group Plc, Europe's largest Sun Microsystems reseller, said yesterday that its German business has endured its toughest ever quarter and warned that trading in its core telecom and banking markets remains "uncertain." The London, UK-based company said that in its fiscal third quarter ending March 31, 2002, revenue …

Channel 10 May 2002, 09:43
IM ban: now its Samsung's turn

Chatwa Fatwa

Samsung Group is cracking down on what it sees as employees' abuse of IT systems at work, and has banned workers from accessing chat and instant message services from their desks. The company had earlier imposed restrictions on its workers' use of email, and has now commissioned its Samsung SDS systems integration arm to …

Music and Media 10 May 2002, 09:45
Bytes wants to buy UK reseller

But where will it find the money?

Bytes Technology Group is in 'intense discussions' on where it will find the money to pay for a profitable UK IT business, South African newspaper Business Day reports. The company doesn't have big cash reserves, and South African paper is not exactly the most attractive stock in the world. Bytes used to be called USKO, but …

Channel 10 May 2002, 10:02
Intel to expand Shanghai role in P4 production

Assembly

Intel Corp will begin shipping Pentium 4s stamped made in China in the first half of next year. Intel said its Shanghai plant is to be expanded and will begin assembling and testing Pentium 4 processors built on 0.13 micron technology. The Shanghai plant already assembles and tests flash chips and processor chipsets. …

Channel 10 May 2002, 10:06
F5 to deliver crucial blade platform

Traffic management

F5 Networks Inc this week announced the imminent availability of its Big-IP Blade Controller, the product the company has described as one of its best chances for big sales growth in the second half of the year. The offering is a software-only version of its flagship Big-IP internet traffic management appliances, designed …

Channel 10 May 2002, 10:23
IBM boosts zSeries 900 speeds

Very big iron

IBM Corp has quietly cranked the clocks on its zSeries 900 mainframes, announcing the "zRex" kickers to the current "Freeway" zSeries mainframes, Timothy Prickett Morgan writes. The new mainframes, for which IBM didn't even put out a press release, offer somewhere from 15% to 20% more processing power than the first …

Channel 10 May 2002, 10:23
States' team blows foot off over modular Windows demo

Bach shan't go to the ball after all...

The unsettling states' brief triumph over modular Windows evaporated yesterday evening, when their legal team abandoned plans to stage a demonstration by testing consultant James Bach. California assistant attorney general put a brave face on the switch, claiming that the case against Microsoft was strong enough, and didn't need …

Software 10 May 2002, 10:51
Intel goes chipset crazy

HWRoundup USB 2.0, DDR 333 etc.

Intel is to show off two chipsets, The Intel 845 G/E and Intel 845GL, integrating support for USB 2.0, the PC world’s riposte to Firewire at a press day at the USB 2.0 Developers Conference on June 11. This is kinda unusual, Intel isn't usually so free with the info pre-launch – here's the press release. The company hasn’t gone …

Channel 10 May 2002, 11:15
War among the penguins? Red Hat goes all competitive

Bids to break evil grip of, er, Mandrake and SuSE

What's this, war among the penguins? Red Hat is celebrating the rollout of Red Hat Linux 7.3 with a competitive upgrade scheme, offering a $20 rebate on 7.3 Professional and $10 on Personal for people upgrading from earlier versions of Red Hat or competiting operating systems. Well, that'll certainly put the wind up Redmond, …

Software 10 May 2002, 11:35
Safedoor not core, shuts doors

Insecuricor

Securicor has shut its Safedoor secure shopping portal with immediate effect. The company decided that the business was not core, and although it had good potential, required investment "which could be better utilised elsewhere within the group". Safedoor had a number of prospective purchasers, but none of the interest led to a …

e-Business 10 May 2002, 11:59
Europe's MS sanctions to be wide-ranging, long-taking

Could be a problem for Gates' grandchildren...

Europe is likely to impose tougher measures on Microsoft than those proposed in last year's MS-DoJ deal in the US, according to a story in today's Financial Times. Citing "people familiar with the case" the piece claims regulators are studying "wide-ranging" measures to be taken against the company. It's not entirely clear what …

Software 10 May 2002, 12:36
Prison suicide watch for ex Cisco exec

Multi-million dollar fraud case

A former Cisco executive has been placed on suicide watch in a federal prison after attempting to kill himself while on the run from multi-million dollar fraud charges. Robert S. Gordon, 43, a former vice president and director of business development at Cisco, was indicted by a federal grand jury last May on two counts of wire …

Business 10 May 2002, 12:51
IBM in US jobs cull

8,000 to go this quarter - WSJ

IBM US will offload as many as 8,000 people, or around 2.5 per cent of its workforce, during the current quarter. Citing unnamed sources, The Wall Street Journal reports the planned redundancies exclude the transfer of an estimated 17,000 workers to a hard-disc drive joint venture with Hitachi. Talks on the form of this joint …

Business 10 May 2002, 12:56
Amiganauts rave over Matrox G1000

Nextgen graphics chip spotted in the wild

On May 3, TechNation, a UK games-oriented hardware site, published a screen grab purporting to be of the data sheet for the Matrox G1000, an as yet unannounced graphics chip, published possibly in error on Matrox Graphics's web site. "The G1000 is the world's FIRST DirectX 9 compliant Graphics Immersion Unit! Utilizing the …

Personal 10 May 2002, 14:33
Lastminute.com improves revenues

Narrows losses

Shares in one-time dotcom darling, Lastminute.com, were up at lunchtime after the company reported improved revenues and lower losses. Turnover for the three months to the end of March was just a smidgen under £6.8 million - up from £4 million during the same quarter last year. Pre-tax losses fell by half from £10.7 million to …

Music and Media 10 May 2002, 14:34
UK business to embrace electronic filing – by law

Nothing like a £3,000 fine to encourage e-government uptake...

How do you get people to embrace e-government? Easy-peasy, you make it compulsory. The Guardian has spotted a clause tacked on to the end of the government's finance bill which is intended to do that very thing, levying a fine of up to £3,000 on businesses who don't file their tax returns electronically. Perplexingly, the Graun …

Music and Media 10 May 2002, 14:50
House of Fraser pays up for pirate Macromedia

BSA wants your audits

The Business Software Alliance has published the names of three London firms caught using illegal software. Retailer House of Fraser paid an undisclosed sum to the BSA for the illegal use of Macromedia software, the organisation informs us. Euro Car Parts, a retailer and distributor of car parts, and Internet media company …

Channel 10 May 2002, 15:54
Usenet death penalty imposed on blueyonder

Spam ban

Usenet posts by Telewest blueyonder Internet service subscribers are been blocked by other news providers because of complaints over spam. In a notice to users yesterday, Telewest explains that a Usenet Death Penalty has been put in place because many spammers are using its customers' poorly configured computers as relay agents …

Music and Media 10 May 2002, 16:13
Mobile phone radiation products tested

Some work, some don't

Some mobile phone shields can "significantly reduce" exposure to radiation, according to a Government report published today. Boffins looked at a number of products which claim to reduce exposure including shielded cases, earpiece pads and shields, antenna clips and caps, and absorbing buttons. Tests found that many of the …

Mobile 10 May 2002, 16:29
Wa-hay for World Telecoms Day

...next week

Guys - a note for your diary. Next Friday (the 17th May) is World Telecommunication Day. Who says so? Well, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) - that's who. Just in case you didn't know, the theme for the day is "ICT for all: empowering people to cross the Digital Divide". It seems Friday 17 May is an excellent …

Bootnotes 10 May 2002, 16:59