19th July 2002 Archive

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Time Warner takes over AOL

Grownups back in charge

AOL Time Warner COO Robert Pittman got the push yesterday, making room at the top for a virtual management takeover by Time Warner veterans, among whom Chairman Steve Case will essentially be a token AOLer. Since the $165 billion merger was consummated in early 2001, the media behemoth's stock has plumeted steadily from $50 a …

Media 19 Jul 2002, 05:06
MS licensing deadline boosts popularity of WinXP

Funny that...

Microsoft's sales grew 10 per cent in its fourth quarter, helped by what is described as strong demand by business for Windows XP. This strong demand might under other circumstances be viewed as curious, considering businesses have battened down the hatches are are taking an extremely leery view of IT investment, but currently …

Business 19 Jul 2002, 07:15
China to build own version of Windows 98

Compatible with Office 2000 and Word, says here

China has kicked off a development programme intended to produce a home-grown operating system with equivalent functionality to Windows 98, and with compatibility with Office 2000 and Word, reports The People's Daily this morning. The plan is to break the "monopoly of foreign office software," which we believe may be code for ' …

Software 19 Jul 2002, 07:48
WorldCom to face bankruptcy on Monday?

So it seems

Scandal-hit WorldCom could file for bankruptcy protection by Monday, according to a report by Reuters. Citing sources familiar with the situation the report claimed that the giant telco - which carries half the world's Net traffic - has secured $2 billion in funding that should enable it to stay afloat once it files for Chapter …

Media 19 Jul 2002, 11:05
Easynet buys ex-Energis German ops

Subject to approvals...

Easynet Group Plc - the pan-European business broadband provider - has agreed to buy the majority of the web-hosting assets of Ision Internet AG, (Energis' former German outfit) from administrators for Euro3.4m (£2.2 million). The deal is subject to agreement by the courts and the creditor's committee, both of which are …

Media 19 Jul 2002, 11:06
Sun goes back into black

Back in the black as US sales increase 20%

Sun returned to the black with its latest quarterly results yesterday, which show a recovery in its fortunes, particularly in the US where sales grew 20 per cent. It has returned to profitability despite the continuing downturn in the IT market, and the slump in telecoms spending. Sun's Q4 revenues came out at $3.4 billion, up …

Business 19 Jul 2002, 11:09
The Devil is in the Detail

The SCREWTAPE Letters

June 13, 2002 My dear Wormwood, You know that our best work has always been accomplished through manipulation of the humans' own institutions. By influencing their emotions, and especially by invoking a sense of fear, we have had great success in encouraging the humans to destroy themselves. Our master below has been …

Security 19 Jul 2002, 12:47
Dutch judge tears up bulk mail ban

Be a good boy and eat your spam

An Amsterdam court has thrown out a lawsuit requiring Dutch outfit AbFab to pay €50 every time it sent unsolicited email to customers of ISP XS4ALL. XS4ALL had issued a lawsuit arguing that, based on telecommunications law, the right to privacy and network ownership rights, Abfab was committing a civil wrong every time its sent …

Media 19 Jul 2002, 14:15
Ericsson axes 5,000 jobs

Posts worse than expected losses

Mobile phone giant - Ericsson - is to axe a further 5,000 jobs as it struggles to cut costs amid tough trading conditions. The job losses are on top of the 20,000 announced by Ericsson three months ago and will bring global headcount down to around 65,000 by the end of 2003. Today the Swedish company disappointed the market …

Business 19 Jul 2002, 14:16
Dan sold – but not as going concern

New owner buys assets

The assets of bust computer builder Dan Technology have been bought by OE Group, a Staffordshire-based rival. OE Group, which trades as Stone Computers, emerged as the new owner after receivers BDO conducted a sealed bid auction. Up to five companies are thought to have submitted offers. A couple of weeks ago BDO told PC …

Channel 19 Jul 2002, 14:21
Capitalist tool Forbes tools up for Linux

Insurgents win glossy special report accolade

Notorious and self-confessed capitalist tool Forbes* magazine has produced a Linux special report and - good heavens - it seems fair and positive. Not only that - the headlines and straplines on the intro page sound positively like an advertisement for Linux. For example, "Now everyone can find what they want with a much wider …

Software 19 Jul 2002, 15:09
Satellite broadband for cars goes live in UK

Unfortunately, there's just the teensiest problem...

Can't get broadband? Nowhere near a BT-enabled DSL exchange or a cable franchise? No worries - get broadband fitted to your motor. That's right, along with a rear spoiler, alloys and thumping great big music system, Brighton-based Isonetric Broadband will install a mobile, fully automated satellite broadband system in your …

Broadband 19 Jul 2002, 15:13
Almost 20,000 Irish customers ditch O2

Bye...

O2 Ireland has seen customer numbers fall by nearly 20,000 over recent months. and has recorded a EUR58 fall in its blended Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) figures. The mobile operator's parent company mmO2 released figures on Thursday that showed that its Irish operation had 1.161 million customers up to the end of June 2002. …

Mobile 19 Jul 2002, 15:15
BT broadband barometer shows faulty readings

Open wide

BT's broadband registration system - designed to map demand for broadband in areas currently not wired up for ADSL - has had to fend off some flak since it was launched at the beginning of the month. Those who've tried to use the system claim it's cumbersome and clunky and fails to show the updates. A spokesman for BT …

Broadband 19 Jul 2002, 15:17
Bill Gates spams the world on Trustworthy Computing

Integrity? He's heard of it too...

Today you will probably have already read that Bill Gates says that the famous Microsoft security review of this year took twice as long as expected, and cost $100 million. These are the obvious bullet points from an unsolicited email His Billness sent to large numbers of unsuspecting subscribers to Microsoft newsletters, but …

Software 19 Jul 2002, 16:19
ElcomSoft rubbishes eBook security ahead of Sklyarov case

Shot across the bows

ElcomSoft, the Russian firm at the centre of the Dmitry Sklyarov case, has published an advisory detailing fresh flaws with Adobe's eBook software. The flaw, which concerns a demonstration application, isn't as severe as it may at first seem and its publication by ElcomSoft - without first informing Adobe of the issue - is best …

Software 19 Jul 2002, 16:25
RIP, John Cocke, inventor of the Risc chips

The boffin's boffin

John Cocke, one of the principal architects of Reduced Instruction Set Computing, died on Tuesday after a long illness, including a series of strokes, in a hospital in New York state. He was 77. Cocke was born in 1925 in Charlotte, North Carolina. His father served on the Board of Trustees of Duke University, and there Cocke …

Channel 19 Jul 2002, 19:11
New thomas.greene spam circulating

Filter me!

A spam message with no subject, a from-field containing "thomas.greene" and a return addy of thomas.greene@theregister.co.uk is circulating. Since it's impossible for me to use the SMTP service at El Reg from outside the office, it's clearly a forgery. I always use a different SMTP server. To filter the offending pink substance …

Security 19 Jul 2002, 19:22
KPNQwest employees abandon posts

Network on cruise control

The last remaining employees of KPNQwest have walked out, leaving a vast chunk of communications infrastructure running on auto-pilot. Workers did not follow through on their threat to shut the operation down, but now if anything breaks, it simply won't get fixed. How long it will last is purely a matter of fortune, both …

Media 19 Jul 2002, 20:47