Slashdot Mirror

Apple, the company that couldn't, or more to the point, didn't, has posted a profit for the 3rd straight quarter. This is a good thing. With the Macworld Expo coming up, a slew of info on the profits and what's going on over there is available.

Bob McCown wrote in to tell us that NEC is lowering their prices on their Flat LCD screens. Anyone who has ever been near one of these beasts knows that this is one step closer to putting them on everyone's desktop. The 14" is now a mere(?) $999 ($200 cheaper).

Merger of the biggies, MCI and Worldcom has been approved by the EU. Sort of. In exchange for the approval, MCI will be forced to sell off all of their "internet" parts of the company. I wonder who determines what that is and what that isn't.

Gregory Seidman writes "News.com is reporting that SGI is killing off Cosmo Software now that the sale to Sony has fallen through. Perhaps the Open Source community can prevail upon SGI and/or Cosmo to release the source of their VRML browser, CosmoPlayer."

Gregory Seidman writes "News.com is reporting that SGI is killing off Cosmo Software now that the sale to Sony has fallen through. Perhaps the Open Source community can prevail upon SGI and/or Cosmo to release the source of their VRML browser, CosmoPlayer."

The debate over the new domain naming has moved focus over to Brussels this week, and it appears that representatives from the European industry are going to back the US plan. Sounds good--the original criticism of not being global enough did have some validity, so hopefully we can just finally settle on a bloody convention.

BOredAtWork writes "News.com has a special on the FTC and the crypto debate. I especially like the my mom understands crypto part. " Interesting stuff about the FTC, as well as the EU and an article on Why we should Care.

BOredAtWork writes "News.com has a special on the FTC and the crypto debate. I especially like the my mom understands crypto part. " Interesting stuff about the FTC, as well as the EU and an article on Why we should Care.

Alex Prestin sent us an article about a new crypto bill. This one has the distinct advantage of not including the key-recovery abilities that the FBI and others have been demanding. Let's hope they can keep their heads straight on this one.

Microsoft has said that the second NT 5 beta will not be available during the first half of this year. The second beta will be feature complete, unlike the first beta release. The original date for the final release was late last year, and, if you ask me, Linux could benefit positivley if IS/MIS/suits begin to see this as typical Microsoft fashion...

The new x86 startup Rise plans to release its new Pentium II class x86 at the end of this year to the notebook market entering into direct competition with Intel, IDT and Cyrix. Unlike its competitors, Rise is not integrating functions onto the CPU but plans to license its technology to partners that can. This may interest to Acer, which wants to convert from memory production to customized microprocessor production for its XC project, which it hopes will free it from the domination of Microsoft.

The encryption used in e-commerce apparently has a software flaw in it, reported a researcher from Lucent. Interesting stuff- and a valid arguement for more and better encryption.

Well, after yesterday's lifting of the injunction against MS much of the media is trying to figure out what's going on. And in related news, the DOJ's Joel Klein still thinks that the Department of Justice has a strong case against Microsoft in the anti-trust area. I dunno-how do you all think this will play out?

Well, after yesterday's lifting of the injunction against MS much of the media is trying to figure out what's going on. And in related news, the DOJ's Joel Klein still thinks that the Department of Justice has a strong case against Microsoft in the anti-trust area. I dunno-how do you all think this will play out?

The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of AOL today, and for once, a victory for AOL means good things for the rest of us. The lawsuit was about defamatory material on-line. In effect, the Court ruled that Internet service providers can not be held responsible for material posted on their systems. This upholds a prior federal court decision stemming from the CDA of 1996. This is very good news-meaning that the 1st Amendment can live another day.

Eckhart Pfeiffer, CEO of Compaq had a lot to say at the PCExpo in New York this morning. But although Compaq will now be all things to all people, its aim is to migrate the Unix customers it inherited with Digital to Windows NT. Depending on how Compaq plays it, Alpha may either benefit from NT (lots of apps available first on Alpha) or lose to Merced (why buy Alpha when all the apps are on Merced?).

Gambit32 sent us a link to a news.com article where you can read that Netscape will release v4.5 of their browser soon. Several new features worth looking at. Should be nice to tide people over for Mozilla.

The FCC has decided that they will be cutting school net funding by around 43%. This questionable move came after intense pressure in Congress, and partially because the telcos promised to raise rates to pay their share of it, something that the FCC dearly wants to avoid. I dunno-maybe it's just me, but trying to put net access in schools to help create more wired kids-the whole decision to do it, and do it right seems like a no-brainer.

The FCC has decided that they will be cutting school net funding by around 43%. This questionable move came after intense pressure in Congress, and partially because the telcos promised to raise rates to pay their share of it, something that the FCC dearly wants to avoid. I dunno-maybe it's just me, but trying to put net access in schools to help create more wired kids-the whole decision to do it, and do it right seems like a no-brainer.

Larry Smith wrote in to tell us that its official. DEC is now taking the name of its new owner:Compaq. Too bad- I always thought that Digital had a better logo :)

IBM and Motorola will be ending their joint venture at the PowerPC chip design plant near Austin, TX. This announcement came today, and also included the news that Motorola will take over sole ownership and control of the facility.

Compaq and Samsung will announce the formation of a new company next week - Alpha Processor. The new company will market and sell Alpha chips, including the 700MHz model to be announced later this year. I still the Alpha's future is rather uncertain, but looking up, at least.

John Thacker writes "Here is a News.com story about the Commerce Dept. approving the export of a 448-bit encryption system by a Tennessee company. (Home of Al Gore, incidentally) This comes on the eve of a big meeting between the FBI and computer companies about encryption. The catch? The program does have a back-door. But the back door key is specific to a user. The Gov't can still request to break in, but only for one user when a subpoena is obtained. Not perfect, but somewhat of a compromise. "

The FTC has voted to sue Intel for forcing Compaq, Digital Equipment and Intergraph to give it access to intellectual property that they did not want to share. Intel allegedly denied them early access information needed to build Intel based computers, giving their competitors an unfair advantage.

Trepidity writes "NEC claims to have created the world's fastest supercomputer, the SX-5. At its maximum configuration, it can reach speeds of up to four teraflops, and can be equipped with a main memory of four terabytes. If I win the lottery I'll buy one. "

chris soghoian wrote in to tell us about a news.com story on who will pay to wire schools. Will it be the phone companies? Uncle Sam? Which branch? The issue has finally escalated to Congress. Check out the article for details.

Intel, who have been having a large number of problems lately, finally announced good news. Katmai, the 500 mhz chip, will be released 1Q 1999, rather 2Q. What this will also mean is that prices/quantities of fast PII will start falling faster.

Trepidity writes "Due to massive overproduction of RAM chips, prices are plummeting. Prices on DRAM (DIMM) 8-megabit (2MB) chips have fallen from over $20 each to as little as 99 cents in Korean clearance markets. The 64-megabit (8MB) chips are also falling, with prices about $10-$15. Companies are complaining they can't make any money at these prices. Oh well, I like it. Now if only those 512-megabit (64MB) chips would come down in price..."

Intel is having a bad month. C't now reports over 500 re-labeled Pentium II chips have been found, including in channels Intel claimed secure. More worrying is that some remarked chips may be undetectable until the overclocked chip is damaged. More info is available here.. In particular the class action suit in Taiwan is worth reading. The announcement that Merced will be late caused Technology stocks to tumble yesterday. And today, news.com reports that the top FTC litigator is recommending that Intel be sued for alleged antitrust violations.

(Read more below)

Meanwhile, the competition is heating up. Newcomer Rise has demonstrated its new mP6 x86 processor, designed (like Centaur's) for the notebook market.

Interestingly, Centaur is abandonning its unipipe solution for its second generation Winchips, using 2 6-stage pipelines at up to 300Mhz. A third 12-stage pipe line architecture is planned, which will running at frequencies between 400 and 600Mhz, should improve performance by 80%. Centaur is also jumping onto the integration bandwagon, proposing its Winchip 2+NB which reduces board area (and costs) by combining the C6 core and a north-bridge on the same die.

AMD has released its K6-2, at a higher price, and with little OEM interest. However this chip is a screamer, profiting from being the first to use the new 100Mhz front side bus, and the new 3DNow! instructions. Centaur, Cyrix, and IBM also plan to deliver these features in their upcoming processors.

Finally, IBM has released a PR333 version of the Cyrix-designed 6x86 MX, which apparently partially gains its speed from a new type of chip-package. This comes as IBM revealed that it expects its Slot1 solution to be developed by Cyrix.

Intel is having a bad month. C't now reports over 500 re-labeled Pentium II chips have been found, including in channels Intel claimed secure. More worrying is that some remarked chips may be undetectable until the overclocked chip is damaged. More info is available here.. In particular the class action suit in Taiwan is worth reading. The announcement that Merced will be late caused Technology stocks to tumble yesterday. And today, news.com reports that the top FTC litigator is recommending that Intel be sued for alleged antitrust violations.

(Read more below)

Meanwhile, the competition is heating up. Newcomer Rise has demonstrated its new mP6 x86 processor, designed (like Centaur's) for the notebook market.

Interestingly, Centaur is abandonning its unipipe solution for its second generation Winchips, using 2 6-stage pipelines at up to 300Mhz. A third 12-stage pipe line architecture is planned, which will running at frequencies between 400 and 600Mhz, should improve performance by 80%. Centaur is also jumping onto the integration bandwagon, proposing its Winchip 2+NB which reduces board area (and costs) by combining the C6 core and a north-bridge on the same die.

AMD has released its K6-2, at a higher price, and with little OEM interest. However this chip is a screamer, profiting from being the first to use the new 100Mhz front side bus, and the new 3DNow! instructions. Centaur, Cyrix, and IBM also plan to deliver these features in their upcoming processors.

Finally, IBM has released a PR333 version of the Cyrix-designed 6x86 MX, which apparently partially gains its speed from a new type of chip-package. This comes as IBM revealed that it expects its Slot1 solution to be developed by Cyrix.

The United States government is within a couple of weeks of putting forth their domain naming proposal to the world community. Let's hope I don't have to get any bloody email about domain name arguements.

Rob Riggs writes " Nintendo is shopping around for a MIPS replacement, and apperently has chosen a chip by Artx to as a replacement for the SGI's Reality game coprocessor. SGI's lawsuit of Artx is on hold as they try to negotiate which nail Nintendo uses to hammer the coffin shut. "

While kicking back at the Linux Expo (shots of me and Linus coming soon), I noticed Intel and Hewlett-Packard are expecting to encounter manufacturing problems with Merced. As a result, the chip will not be released at least until the year 2000. While Intel never gave a definitive date on the chip, I don't think anyone was really expecting it to come out anytime next year. Perhaps I'm wrong though...

Chris Mikkelson wrote in to tell us that BYTE Magazine will cease printing after its July issue. It was a good magazine, many a issue has been bathroom reading material for me.

Kristian Köhntopp writes "News.COM reported yesterday that Charles Booher of Sync Systems was probed by the California Office of Export Enforcement because of the Browser Crypto Plugin he wrote. His plugin allegedly features triple-DES 168 bit encryption, which is restricted by the US government. The Commerce Department declined to comment on matters that may or may not be under investigation. "

Kristian Köhntopp writes "News.COM reported yesterday that Charles Booher of Sync Systems was probed by the California Office of Export Enforcement because of the Browser Crypto Plugin he wrote. His plugin allegedly features triple-DES 168 bit encryption, which is restricted by the US government. The Commerce Department declined to comment on matters that may or may not be under investigation. "

Edward Carter writes "You can now listen to Week 4 of Project Heresy at this location Among other things, the people at news.com point out that different version of libc and the necessity to compile applications or even ther kernel may prevent many users from being able to use Linux. However, they also notice that Linux has not once crashed for either of them. "

Robert Jones sent us this zdnet article where you can read that MS has requested a 7 month delay to prepare for the case. Personally, I think that they must have been preparing for this for the last year; how good anyone over there not be expecting that this would happen sooner or later. Updated Sean McDermott wrote in with this story where you can read that their delay request was denied. Trial will start September 8

IpSo writes AOL has Bought ICQ for $300 million in stocks & cash. Surprising considering how much heat AOL has taken for monopolistic tendencies. In any case, I don't run ICQ but I know a lot of you guys do.

Wesley Lemke sent us this link where you can read that Sun has started Beta Testing 64bit Solaris. Also chats about why 64bits are important for the pointy haired folks, and has a brief summary of other 64bit stuff coming along.

Snoop Baron wrote in to tell us that W3C has released a working draft for a system to let web sites more cleanly collect personal info, without forcing visitors into coughing up personal details that they don't want to share. You can read more here.

Kurt Gray writes "A very interesting collection of quotes from MS execs bullying OEMs and scheming to crush Netscape. Many people speculate about Microsoft's intentions, but it's hard to paint a pretty picture from these excerpts"

Itamar S.-T. writes " A wearable computer that can run Linux. For rich geeks only, though: "The two-pound computer, half the weight of a laptop computer, can be voice-activated and is just twice the size of a typical mobile telephone. It will retail for less than $5,000, Newman said. The mobile device, which with a 233 megahertz Pentium chip is more powerful than most office desktop personal computers, runs standard operating systems such as Microsoft Windows or Unix. Users can make telephone calls, send faxes, and access the Internet, Newman said. The computer display will come in a variety of head-worn technology, such as visors, or it can be plugged into a standard monitor." "

Allright the news is just filled with stuff on TMS, so let's get them out of the way in a lump. Cappella wrote in to tell us that the SPA has denied MS a seat again. Tjl wrote in to send us this story where you can read that apparently Clinton is backing the DOJ on TMS. Static (aka Wade Bowmer) wrote in to send us a bird's eye view of MS's legal situation.

Snoop Baron wrote in to tell us that Project Heresey now has round 3 of their series on Linux online. I haven't listened to it yet (I'll do it tomorrow on the T1 at the office :) For those of you who live on the Dark Side of the Moon, PH is Builder.com's test to see if normal users can function purely in Linux. You can see PH3 on news.com

Dr. DOS writes " Copyright bill passed which which outlaws technologies that can crack copyright protection devices. "

Tom Bannon writes " Steve Wozniak gives a unique, funny, touching, and instructive walk up memory lane in his keynote to the 1998 Berkeley graduation class. Worth a listen. " RealAudio though... anyone have transcripts somewhere?

According to a C|net article the source code of Messenger, an important component of the Communicator Suite, will be unveiled over the next several weeks. It seems Netscape is currently removing some encryption and third-party code. So far no sign of it on Mozilla.org.

Mike Townsley writes "Sanford Wallace, formerly of Cyber Promotions, has joined the fight against spam?? Evidently, he has "seen the light" and is now serving as a consultant on two separate antispam cases. What is this world coming to? "

Alex Prestin writes "It seems a new bill has been introduced which is sort of a compromise between key escrow The Man wanted and complete privacy the rest of us wanted. I think it's a better solution than the other things I've heard anyway... "