17th September 2002 Archive

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Red Hat nullifies KDE, Gnome

Seizing brand equity

Red Hat's Owen Taylor has been explaining why the distro has decided to erase the differences between the look and feel of its desktop offerings from KDE and Gnome. It should give even the most avid fans of competition between the two camps some pause for thought, and makes a nice counterpoint to Sun's desktop Linux …

Software 17 Sep 2002, 07:16
EarthLink buffers WorldCom exposure with StarNet deal

Modem banks

EarthLink Inc is increasing the number of companies supplying it with dialup connectivity, possibly as a contingency against financially troubled networks going dark. Palatine, Illinois-based StarNet Inc yesterday announced it is to provide wholesale dialup to EarthLink Inc from over 100 locations in the US and Canada. StarNet …

Data Networking 17 Sep 2002, 07:22
C&W flogs US retail voice biz

It's an ISP thing

Cable & Wireless Plc plans to sell its US retail customer base to a subsidiary of Primus Telecommunications Group Inc for $32m, as part of the restructuring of its US operations to focus on data and internet services. Subject to approval by relevant regulatory authorities in the US, the cash deal is expected to be …

Data Networking 17 Sep 2002, 07:22
Red Hat, IBM push Advanced Server on eServers

Enterprise gig

IBM and Red Hat yesterday announced a deal that will see the two companies collaborate on the development, sales, and support of Red Hat's Linux Advanced Server operating system, Timothy Prickett Morgan writes. While the generic Red Hat Linux operating system is geared for desktops, workstations, and infrastructure …

Servers 17 Sep 2002, 07:22
Go Daddy offers anonymous domain registration

No spam, No slam

A new sister company of Go Daddy Software Inc is to start offering internet users anonymous domain name registration from today, becoming the first major domain name registrar to do so, Kevin Murphy writes. Go Daddy founder Bob Parsons has set up Domains By Proxy Inc, essentially a Go Daddy reseller that will enter its own …

Music and Media 17 Sep 2002, 07:23
Borland offers WebGain community conversion

Wolves are circling

The wolves are circling WebGain Inc's former user community, as Borland Software Corp today teamed with BEA Systems Inc to offer migration technology to the defunct company's customers. Scotts Valley, California-based Borland will today launch a free migration wizard that converts the Visual Café integrated development …

e-Business 17 Sep 2002, 07:23
Originator of Excel, Word leaves MS for startup

Simonyi finally Chucks it...

Charles Simonyi, the man who laid the cornerstones of Microsoft's applications software empire, is leaving the company to do his own thing, a software startup. Simonyi was one of Microsoft's longest-serving employees, joining in 1981 from Xerox PARC, and has in his list of credits Multiplan, Word and Excel. Which are pretty …

Software 17 Sep 2002, 12:20
Intel directs channel funds to small biz market

Reaches out to little resellers

Intel today opened out its channel organisation to small computer dealers. Called the Intel Reseller Programme, this new entry-level accreditation even has some co-op marketing funds at its disposal, we think -the company's alloted press spokesperson is not speaking to the press today. Intel is keen to attract resellers serving …

Channel 17 Sep 2002, 12:39
No CE netBook, says Psion, but there is a netPad

Rumours of death of EPOC somewhat premature...

The Register's scepticism about the CE netBook has been amply justified; it does not exist, it might at some point exist, but it certainly does not exist, either now or this year. What does exist is an implementation of CE running on its sister machine, the netPad - but for various reasons this doesn't automatically mean a …

Software 17 Sep 2002, 13:04
Sun chip chief: real men can't afford fabs

The Itanic Verses

Sun has responded to increasingly impressive Itanium benchmarks by conceding that the leviathan chip might have a niche. But its microprocessor CTO offered the counter argument that manufacturing economics will favor smaller fabless chip developers, such as, er ... Sun. This is interesting, as it's an attempt to derail the …

Channel 17 Sep 2002, 16:55
Fed cybersecurity initiative boosts TCPA

The White House likes Palladium

On Wednesday a group of federal bureaucrats, business representatives and industry lobbyists will be rolling out a draft of the White House's new initiative to enlist the computing public in the task of defending cyberspace. Originally, the Feds had planned to roll out a final draft, but this has been delayed due to unresolved …

Software 17 Sep 2002, 17:18
Motorola plugs mother of all roadmap leaks

2003 phones in gory glory

Ashen-faced Motorola supremos have confirmed that the phone giant is acting to plug one of the most spectacular leaks of product information in recent times, after the publication of a long-range handset roadmap spilled most of next year's phones onto the web. High-end showstoppers include 'Paragon II' (available Q4 2003, a 3G …

Personal 17 Sep 2002, 18:26
IBM and Intel forge blade server pact

Best buddies on Xeon and Itanium 2 development

IBM and Intel today announced plans to jointly develop blade servers, promising reduced-cost systems without sacrificing system performance. HP and Dell have already rolled out their respective blade server plans, so with this in mind IBM is positioning itself as best buddies with Chipzilla - or, as it prefers to term it - at " …

Hardware 17 Sep 2002, 18:27
Oracle on Linux edges SQL Server in benchmark

Benchmarketing: Next year's server beats last years

Oracle has posted a benchmarking result which showed its database software on a Linux platform outperformed Microsoft SQL Server by 14 per cent. The results come from running Oracle9i Database Release 2 with Real Application Clusters on Linux against Microsoft SQL Server 2000 on a 32-processor cluster configuration, with …

Hardware 17 Sep 2002, 18:31
Sprint cleared of negligence in vice hacks

Security no worse than any other telco

The Nevada Public Utilities Commission pulled the plug Thursday on a Las Vegas adult entertainment operator's claim that telephone calls meant for his stable of private dancers are being blocked by hackers with access to local phone company Sprint of Nevada's systems, closing an eight-year-old legal battle that pitted the …

Security 17 Sep 2002, 18:33
EU data protection chiefs oppose data retention moves

Expensive, unworkable, invasive

Europe's Data Protection Commissioners have voiced concern about EU proposals to mandate phone companies and ISPs to retain customer data, questioning the "legitimacy" and cost of the proposals. At present, service providers only retain data for billing purposes, but that is set to change because of plans that ISPs retain data …

Music and Media 17 Sep 2002, 18:37
Big Macs, Pentiums invade Sims

Product Placement

Electronic Arts has struck product placement deals with McDonalds and Intel for its Sims Online game. Chipzilla and Burgerzilla will feature prominently in the game, reports MSNBC. Sims players will be able to fulfill the American dream, and open a virtual McDonalds franchise in Sims-space. In the French version, we presume, …

Business 17 Sep 2002, 19:17
Pioneer DVD-R/RW drives tend to burn

Not in the way you'd prefer

An overheating problem among drives used with new high-speed discs can destroy both the unit and the medium, manufacturer Pioneer is trying hard to avoid saying. Using soon to be available 4X discs for DVD-R and 2X discs for DVD-RW with the following drives is thought to be risky: DVR-7000 DVD recorder; PRV-9000 Professional DVD …

Personal 17 Sep 2002, 19:40
Amazon.com star Henry Raddick on US public radio

Pug faced

Amazon.com star reviewer Henry Raddick has taken to the airwaves. Raddick can be heard reading from a selection of his celebrated reviews on WPR's To The Best of Our Knowledge in a program devoted to arts criticism. "There are a few secrets I should keep to myself," says Raddick, whose confessional style and knowledge of the …

Bootnotes 17 Sep 2002, 20:27