15th May 2002 Archive

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Apple's Tevanian on Windows CIFS, networked Quartz

Server ruminations

As of today, Apple's a serious server company again, and it played its hand just right today. It's choosing to fight on turf where it has home advantage, and isn't making claims to revolutionize servers, or topple Dell Computer from its rack-em-high, sell 'em cheap business overnight. Or anytime soon. Although racks emerged …

Personal 15 May 2002, 04:14
HP says no spending recovery yet

Downbeat

Hewlett Packard Co gave a gloomy assessment of the immediate prospects for the IT market yesterday as it unveiled its second quarter results. The downbeat presentation of the numbers, the last for the standalone HP, was in contrast to the hoopla surrounding the launch of the combined HP/Compaq last week. At the same time, …

Business 15 May 2002, 08:17
IBM preps Eclipse application server challenge

So you think you're hard, huh?

IBM is throwing a gauntlet down to rivals by proposing a single, standard plug-in that lets application servers easily connect into the Eclipse.org framework and workbench. An interface would potentially mean BEA Systems Inc, Hewlett-Packard Co, Oracle Corp and Sun Microsystems can plug their application servers into …

Software 15 May 2002, 08:18
MobilCom blames France Telecom row for Q1 disaster

Wilfully negative

German mobile operator MobilCom AG posted disastrous first-quarter results yesterday, and then blamed its performance on its row with France Telecom SA. The tone of MobilCom's strangely blunt and at times almost wilfully negative press release would seem to indicate that peace hasn't broken out just yet. The Buedelsdorf, …

Mobile 15 May 2002, 08:18
Data dyspepsia blights the workforce

John, I'm only drowning

The quantity of information flowing into our businesses on a daily basis has reached an officially indigestible level. Research from Gartner has found that 90% of companies believe they get too much information pumped through to them on a regular basis--and they're beginning to feel like it's affecting their productivity. The …

e-Business 15 May 2002, 08:40
Sustainable Computing Consortium ‘foolish’ if…

...it doesn't embrace open standards

Carnegie Mellon University is expected to formally announce its "Sustainable Computing Consortium" on May 16th. In order to make some measurable gains in software quality and security, CMU is hooking up with big players in IT and software development, and NASA, to look at new techniques for measuring sustainability. And …

Software 15 May 2002, 09:02
FoTW: A Doctor Writes… “Crawl back under your rock”

Letters I hate my job. I hate you even more…

From: "Luke O'Sullivan" Re: Compulsory Windows: for Macs, and people without PCs? I like you. I really do. But when I read shit like: '200 hours per annum tallies up as five weeks work a year for normal people and ten for university lecturers', even when written in jest, I get very cross. Why? Because I am one of those …

Letters 15 May 2002, 09:20
MS lops Xbox prices (in North America)

The Empire Strikes Back

Microsoft cut the price of Xbox in North America to $199 this morning, confirming the suspicions of industry observers and analysts. The price cut puts the console at a rough £137 / €219. Further to the hardware price drop, several of the console's software titles have been moved to a lower price bracket of $29.99, and memory …

Personal 15 May 2002, 10:06
$199 apiece – PS2 cut triggers early Xbox price drop in US

Sony wins points for footwork

Sony seems to have successfully rained on Microsoft's parade. Rumours of a $100 price cut on Xbox in the US have been rife for weeks, and Microsoft was strongly tipped to make the announcement at the Electronic Entertainment Expo next wee.k But a pre-emptive strike by Sony, taking the PS2 down to $199, means Xbox is priced at $ …

Personal 15 May 2002, 12:25
Oftel tinkers with FRIACO

A word in your arrear

Oftel has introduced a wee measure it says should help cut the costs associated with providing unmetered dial-up Net access. Until now, operators have had to pay BT in advance for the wholesale unmetered Net access product FRIACO (Flat Rate Internet Access Call Origination). That's now changed, with operators able to pay in …

Music and Media 15 May 2002, 12:27
Opera releases 6.0 for Linux, supports Symbian Magpie

Really, the Magpie one's more interesting...

Opera Software announcements tend to hunt in packs, and this week is a prime example; in fact, we've got enough to be able to do a roundup. Heading the lineup today we have the release of Opera 6.0 for Linux, closely followed by 6.02 for Windows. These arrived before we'd even got around to writing up yesterday's announcement of …

Software 15 May 2002, 13:28
Lycos charges for email

Would you Adam and Eve it

Terra Lycos has started offering a subscription-based email service which it says should appeal to those who have "grown beyond free email services". Lycos Mail Plus costs $19.95 a year and provides punters with 25MB of storage, a service free of banner ads and POP3 email access. The Internet giant introduced this new service …

Music and Media 15 May 2002, 13:30
Microsoft execs jump ship from Telewest

Something's up

Shares in Telewest slipped seven per cent (0.5p) to 8.38p by mid afternoon following news that Microsoft had pulled three non-executive directors from the cableco's board. Microsoft - which owns 23.6 per cent of Telewest's shares - said it had taken the decision because it believes it "will be in a better position to manage [ …

Telecoms 15 May 2002, 15:42
Carly's ‘new HP’ memo leak – Q staff miss the bonus

And here's an exciting voluntary retirement package...

A memo from new hp boss Carly Fiorina has found its way into our inbox. Written in her usual touchy-feely style, the memo nonetheless carries unwelcome news for former Compaq employees - they won't get a share of a pre-merger company performance bonus. Ouch. Anther point to note is the belief in the top echelons of new hp that …

Business 15 May 2002, 16:16
Hoax virus alert could cripple Windows Java

'jdbgmgr.exe' causing net confusion

Antivirus experts are warning of a hoax virus alert which might trick users into deleting an important file on their Windows machines. The fake warning tells users to search their hard drives and delete a file called jdbgmgr.exe, a filename used by Microsoft's Debugger Registrar for Java, which may be present quite legitimately …

Security 15 May 2002, 17:46
Psion pulls plugs on modem business

We're running out of eras to end here, folks...

Psion has pulled the plugs on its Gold Card modems and related products - a not entirely unexpected move, considering it pulled out of consumer PDAs last year, and that the bright idea it had about where the modem business would go was knocked on the head around the same time. This is however the end of yet another era for the …

Personal 15 May 2002, 18:19
Open source review would aid Windows security: Gartner

Aargh... Not the garlic

Microsoft should dump security via obscurity, and submit its software to open source review, according to Gartner. The open source review bit is something so utterly alien, communist and horrible to the mind of Bill Gates that it's almost worth us running a competition to find what he'd rather do (Sacrifice of firstborn? …

Software 15 May 2002, 18:45