Despite Intel's decision to ship its new Pentium III chips with the processor serial number in the off position, some privacy groups in the US appear reluctant to let the matter rest and have expanded their call for a boycott to include any PC manufacturer that ships a Pentium III system with the controversial ID number. Each Pentium III chip has a unique serial number, which can be queried over the Internet. Its presence, while adding to the security of e-commerce, will remove the last vestiges of privacy from surfing the Internet, the Electronic Privacy Information Centre claims. In the chips Intel has already made, the serial number can be turned off, but is automatically activated when the PC is rebooted. In future production runs, Intel promises to set the default to off.
Realvideo Anseo Agaibh: RTE is expected to announce major additions to its Web offering later today. The new services will be announced this afternoon, but it is believed that they will include live video as well as audio streams from major news bulletins, access to text news direct from the RTE newsroom, and other enhancements to the RTE site.
Yahoo's Hurrah: Yahoo! is to acquire GeoCities in a stock deal valued at about $3.6 billion and further $1 billion in options. GeoCities boasts 3.5 million sites authored and hosted on its network and, according to Web measurement firm Media Metrix, is one of the top three individual sites on the Internet with a combined home/work reach of 33.4 per cent. The merged group is projected to reach 58 per cent of users, making it the second-largest network on the Internet.
Lining Up For Linux: Hewlett-Packard, Silicon Graphics and Dell have given Linux a boost after announcing that they intend to support the free software. Dell is expected to soon announce a plan to sell and support versions of Linux to its workstation and server customers. HP is to market a version of the operating system on certain Net-server models and to make it easier for corporate customers to acquire and maintain Linux- based hardware.
Compaq In Context: Sales of PCs in Western Europe rose 22.2 per cent in 1998's fourth quarter to 8.8 million and for all of 1998, sales grew 21.1 per cent, according to the Context market research company. Compaq was the market leader last year, raising its share to 16.9 per cent from 16.3 per cent. Context said that both spending by large corporations trying to fix the Y2K bug and the introduction of the euro contributed to growth.
Pack The Glitch Up: While it may have boosted PC sales, the Y2K issue has forced Prodigy to call time on its pioneer "Prodigy Classic" online service. Last week Prodigy notified 208,000 subscribers that it could not counter the effects of the millennium bug and would shut down one of the most well-established online neighbourhoods by October. The company said the Y2K problem was not expected to affect the 433,000 subscribers to its "Prodigy Internet" service.
Ms Loses Money: The euro has sent Microsoft Money into a spin, at least in Germany, and the company is to take its software Money 99, Money 99 Plus Update, and Money 99 Plus off the German market. The bug affects the euro-compatible bank scripts which are included with Money 99. These scripts were unable to access German bank servers and stock quotes.
Dreaming Of Jini: Sun Microsystems has reported record second quarter results for the quarter ended December '98. Revenues were $2.784 billion, up 14 per cent. Meanwhile the company has offered a glimpse of the future after releasing a Jini from its bottle. Jini software lets devices communicate regardless of their operating systems.
In Brief...SkyCom Software is launching a range of products for wireless messaging using the short message service (SMS) associated with mobile phones . . . Dell has unveiled ImageWatch, a programme that provides early notification of technology changes to Dell customers. . . Compaq has announced the creation of the AltaVista Company in an effort to make it the leading destination site for information and e-commerce on the Internet. . . Dunnes Stores has signed a major technology contract with Oracle to modernise its head office financial systems. . . Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape has agreed to become chief technology officer of America Online. . . Territory, a two-part interactive media project by Sara Maconkey based on the conflict between the public information made available by the British state and the social realities and experience of people living in Belfast opens in Arthouse on Friday. . .