Gigabyte GrapeVine
SPECIAL 1999 ANNIVERSARY ISSUE!
Vol. 4, Issue 12 (c)1999 GKM Journals Dec. 1999
This month's GrapeVine was acquired from segments of
information and articles published in selected computer and
electronics industry trade publications in addition to
several online sources. The information contained within is
comprised mostly of factual information, editorial comments,
and a few rumors from the electronics industry in general.
This month, we have presented a Special 1999 Anniversary issue
to reflect on just how far electronic technology has advanced in
just a few short years.
There are NO plans at present, however, to
revive the GrapeVine as a regular monthly puplication.
As always, we hope this SPECIAL EDITION of the GrapeVine has
been both informative and entertaining to our readers.
Topical Index
- Topic 01 Packard Bell May Soon Be History
- Topic 02 Five More PC Makers Hit With Lawsuits
- Topic 03 Federal Judge Says Microsoft Is A Monopoly
- Topic 04 Microsoft Breakup Is Possible
- Topic 05 Intel Found Favor With The Court
- Topic 06 E-Mail On Your Wrist Watch
- Topic 07 Corel's Linux Is More User-Friendly
- Topic 08 VIA To Compete In Celeron Market
- Topic 09 FCC Gives Incentive For DSL Expansion
- Topic 10 Melissa Danger Still Present
- Topic 11 Federal Mediator Appointed In Microsoft Case
- Topic 12 MC Virtual Card May Inspire Online Vending
- Topic 13 Legal Sharks Going For Microsoft's Blood
- Topic 14 AMD's Hot New Athlon Chip Out-Speeds Intel
- Topic 15 Netware May Go Down For The Count
- Topic 16 AMD Fires Up 900 MHz Chip
- Topic 17 Online Shopping Risks
Topic 1
<><> Packard Bell May Soon Be History <><>
In step with a "restructuring" strategy, Japan's NEC said it
plans to layoff about 80 percent of its U.S.-based Packard
Bell workforce (including senior management), and execute a
complete withdrawal of Packard Bell machines from the U.S.
market.
The Wall Street Journal and Reuters both reported last month
that NEC, together with French partner Groupe Bull (which holds
12 percent of PB) had wanted Packard Bell NEC to post a loss of
no more than $100 million in 1999, but the unit had hit the
skids for a loss of $150 million this year.
Sources indicate that Packard Bell will close its Sacramento,
Calif., manufacturing facility, resulting in a loss of 1,000
jobs. There are also rumors that NEC may also shut down its
Magna, Utah operation, which would put another 600 jobs on the
chopping block.
Topic 2
<><> Five More PC Makers Hit With Lawsuits <><>
Last month we reported that Toshiba was slammed with a $2.1
billion class-action suit pertaining to faulty floppy drive
controllers in notebook computers. Now, as of Nov. 2, we have
learned that five more PC manufacturers have been hit with
similar lawsuits.
Beaumont, Texas lawyers filed class action suits against Compaq
Computer Corp., NEC Corp., Hewlett-Packard Inc., Packard-Bell
NEC Inc. and Emachines, alleging the companies sold notebook
computers with defective floppy-disk drives, as disclosed by
a Nov. Computer Reseller News story.
Although Toshiba has settled its lawsuits, the company still
maintains that the floppy disk drives in question were not a
product of Toshiba.
Topic 3
<><> Judge Says Microsoft Is A Monopoly <><>
On Friday Nov. 5, U.S. district court judge Thomas Penfield
Jackson went public with his views toward Microsoft Corp. as
stated in his findings of fact.
The judges findings included his official opinion that "Micro-
soft is, in fact, a monopolist, with practices that have
wounded competition." Jackson continued by saying "Most harmful
of all is the message that Microsoft's actions have conveyed to
every enterprise with the potential to innovate in the computer
industry. Through its conduct toward Netscape, IBM, Compaq,
Intel, and others, Microsoft has demonstrated it will use its
prodigious market power and immense profits to harm any firm
that insists on pursuing initiatives that could intensify
competition against one of Microsoft's core products."
Many business analysts say that Judge Jackson's ruling came as
no surprise, and that the judge was entitled to his point of
view. Most agree that it could still take months to measure the
full impact of the ruling.
Judge Jackson's findings follow those presented by both major
players in the Microsoft antitrust case... Microsoft Corp. and
the U.S. Department of Justice. But a final ruling on the case
is not due until the early part of next year, as noted by one
industry source.
This case has been in the forefront of the news since May 1998
when the DOJ and 19 states charged Microsoft with "abusing its
operating system monopoly to extend its dominance in browsers."
Netscape Communications and its supporters claimed that Micro-
soft could crush its competitor's Internet browsers by bundling
its Internet Explorer application within the Windows operating
system.
Topic 4
<><> Microsoft Breakup Is Possible <><>
Of the four proposals being considered by the U.S. Justice
Dept. in dealing with Microsoft Corp., one of them would
initiate the splitting up of the software giant.
U.S. officials have indicated their goal is to "to break the
company's monopoly in PC operating systems, or limit its
ability to wield monopoly power," as posted by Reuters news
last month.
In dealing with the "Windows monopoly," the Justice Dept. and
the attorneys general from 19 states have determined that one
of four remedies are likely after settlement of the Microsoft
antitrust case.
One remedy would be to require Microsoft to publish the secret,
proprietary source code that makes up the Windows operating
system.
Second on the list would be to compel Microsoft to auction the
Windows source code, making it available to at least two or
three other software companies, which could sell an alternate
operating system.
Thirdly-- Microsoft could be forced to split into several
companies, each holding onto the Windows code and intellectual
property from Microsoft products, but operate in competition
with each other.
The fourth remedy would involve a similar split-up of the
Microsoft monopoly, but under this plan, the existing company
would be divided into three companies-- one would control the
operating system, one unit would acquire the applications
programs such as Word and Excel, leaving the third company
with the Internet related businesses.
Topic 5
<><> Intel Found Favor With The Court <><>
Unlike Microsoft, Intel Corp. seems to have found favor with
the federal court of appeals.
A San Francisco news report noted that the ongoing battle
between Intel Corp. and Intergraph Corp. over some technology
being withheld from Intergraph, has ended (for now) in favor
of Intel.
On Nov. 5, a federal appeals court overturned a preliminary
injunction that required Intel to supply chip samples and
technical information to Intergraph. In its decision, the U.S.
Court of Appeals ruled that Intel did not violate antitrust laws
in its dealings with Intergraph.
The court rejected Intergraph's argument that Intel's product
information was crucial to the existence of its workstation
business. The argument that antitrust laws are intended to
protect consumers not individual companies, as presented by
Intergraph, was apparently the position taken by the court.
Intel's contention that it was not a competitor to Integraph
but rather a supplier, was also upheld by the appeals court
ruling. An Intergraph official made light of the court's
decision, and pointed out that the ruling "had no significant
impact on the other parts of our lawsuit: the patent case,
which is now under appeal, and the tort case."
A full trial is scheduled for June 12.
Intergraph originally brought formal charges against Intel
back in Nov. of 1997, building its case around alleged patent
infringement, illegal coercive behavior and antitrust
violations.
Topic 6
<><> E-Mail On Your Wrist Watch <><>
Of the new buzz-words heard humming through the Comdex Fall '99
trade show in Las Vegas last month was Internet "appliances."
The hot new technology is popping up in devices that are not
actually full-service computers, but can come in a multitude of
forms, as reported by the TechWeb online news.
A broad scope of high-tech companies are jumping into the new
fad. Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Red Hat Software are among
the names on top of the list. Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina
noted in her keynote speech that Internet appliances will be
more useful if surrounded by a service. Ms Fiorina continued
by saying, "Even petroleum companies have figured out that the
gas pump is a platform for services."
The HP CEO proudly announced an agreement between her company
and fashion watch maker, Swatch, to bring the Internet to a
wristband device.
TechWeb reported that although there are still some details to
be worked out, both companies are very optimistic about the
marketing possibilities of the new devices.
Topic 7
<><> Corel's Linux Is More User-Friendly <><>
Canadian software vendor Corel, grabbed some of the spotlight
at Comdex with its more user-friendly version of the Linux
operating system.
Corel has dressed-up the celebrated O/S with a Windows-like
graphic user interface (GUI) to overcome the resistance of
Linux critics who have complained that until now, Linux has
been difficult to use. The company stated in a press release
that the Corel Linux is available in three versions: a no-
charge download version, a standard version, which will sell
for $60, and a deluxe version, priced at $90.
Although still under wraps, Corel is developing Linux versions
of its mainstay products-- WordPerfect and CorelDRAW.
Topic 8
<><> VIA To Compete In Celeron Market <><>
When VIA Technologies Inc. acquired National Semiconductor
Corp.'s Cyrix Corp. earlier this year, it was suspected by a few
PC insiders that the company had targeted the entry level and
mid-range markets currently held by the Intel Celeron processor.
Now those suspicions can be confirmed.
VIA announced plans last month to launch two new processor
chips and matching chipsets with increased levels of
integration, according to the company's latest technology
strategy.
An alliance with the Centaur development team of Integrated
Device Technology Inc. (IDT) may give VIA the added clout to
capture a significant portion of the stand-alone PC micro-
processor business, as stated by one industry observer.
Of the two new families of CPU chips to be produced by the VIA
organization next year, the first will be named "Joshua," and
will have a performance rating equivalent to its competitors
in the 433MHz and 466MHz class. Volume production of these
chips is slated to begin in February of 2000. By March, a
500MHz CPU should be ramped into production, followed by a
533MHz version in the second quarter and 566MHz in the third
quarter of 2000.
The Joshua chips will even be plug-in compatible with the Intel
Celeron's Socket 370 configuration, but not exactly pin-to-pin,
as pointed out by a VIA official. VIA does plan to design a PC
motherboard, however, that would allow for the Joshua to be a
drop-in replacement for a Celeron.
The second of the VIA chip families will be called "Samuel."
These CPUs, and the Joshua chips will feature an integrated
64-Kbyte Level 1 cache and 256-Kbyte Level 2 cache on board,
according to a company spokesman.
The Samuel will differ in design, however due to its WinChip C5
core as acquired from IDT's Centaur CPU development team. A 3rd
quarter debut of the Samuel chips is anticipated, and a
performance level in the 500MHz to 550MHz range is expected.
By the 4th quarter of 2000, VIA hopes to be turning out 600MHz
and 650MHz versions of the new CPU chips, as disclosed last
month by company executives.
Topic 9
<><> FCC Gives Incentive For DSL Expansion <><>
The Federal Communications Commission issued a ruling last
month that is intended to increase competition in advanced
telecommunication and speed residential deployment of DSL
technology, as stated in a Nov. 18 TechWeb news article.
The FCC said it hopes that the ruling will provide consumers
with a greater number of carrier choices-- accompanied with
lower prices.
Under the ruling, the major local phone carriers will have to
share their lines with rival high-speed Internet providers.
The regional carriers are already complaining that the FCC
regulations handicap them. Until now, subscribing to DSL meant
that customers had to buy an additional line from their local
phone carrier for an additional $20 or so per month.
Although the Regional Bell operating companies already provide
DSL service to their customers via one line (split voice and
data), the FCC would now force local carriers to do the same
thing for their customers who choose a competitor for high-
speed access. This solution would require splitting the lines
to the home between the two carriers and the two services.
Pricing for the shared lines had not been determined as of the
Nov. 18 press release.
Topic 10
<><> Melissa Danger Still Present <><>
A dangerous variant of the infamous Melissa computer virus has
raised its ugly head, as reported by the TechWeb online news
organization.
According to TechWeb, antivirus experts detected the new strain
of the virus that wreaked havoc nine months ago on Nov. 19.
Reports from around the globe indicate that the new strain has
already been detected in at least three major U.K. banks and is
spreading to other businesses, according to Alex Ship, an anti-
virus programmer at the U.K.'s virus specialist Star Labs.
Mr. Ship said his company sounded the alarm when their scanners
found infected e-mail from two separate sources. He further
stated that this is an indication that the virus is spreading
rapidly!
Melissa.w, like its nine month old counterpart, is highly
contagious because it reproduces by e-mailing copies of itself
to the first 50 addresses listed in the [Microsoft Outlook]
address book on each computer it infects. This time, damage
will be done to infected computers when it attempts to format
their hard drives on Christmas day this year.
Star Labs noted that immediately prior to reformatting the
infected hard drive, the following message is displayed:
"(C) 1999 - CyberNET Vine... Vide...
Vice...Moslem Power Never End... You
Dare Rise Against Me... The Human Era
is Over, The CyberNET Era Has Come!!!
[OK]"
Many anti-virus experts were quick to point out the
vulnerability of [Microsoft Word 97] to these types of macro
viruses.
Topic 11
<><> Mediator Appointed In Microsoft Case <><>
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson appointed
Judge Richard Posner, who heads the United States Court of
Appeals in Chicago, to a "voluntary mediation" position in the
Microsoft antitrust case last month.
The Nov. 19 assignment follows Judge Jackson's recent "finding"
that Microsoft used "monopoly power" to harm consumers,
competitors, and customer companies.
Reuters news recounted that "the mediation order did not set
aside the continuing antitrust case pending before Jackson."
The case will continue during briefing schedules set for Feb.
22 by Judge Jackson. If no settlement is reached, Jackson will
decide whether Microsoft violated the nation's antitrust law,
according to Reuters. Some insiders are predicting Jackson's
Nov. 19 order could jump-start settlement talks [before] the
next phase of the trial.
If Microsoft is found guilty of violating the U.S. antitrust
law, a "decision on remedies" would then be issued by Judge
Jackson.
Topic 12
<><> Virtual Card May Inspire Online Vending <><>
In the ongoing campaign to spur online purchases, MasterCard
and its association of 23,000 financial institutions worldwide,
announced last month that it has arranged a software licensing
deal with Dublin-based Trintech Group to permit consumers to
fill out online payment forms simply by clicking and dragging
an icon on their PC screen.
The digital versions of credit or debit cards can be downloaded
from the user's bank to their own computer desktop. And
according to a TechWeb story, the user can then fill out the
online forms by dragging and dropping the card icon directly
onto an online form.
Through the workings of the Virtual Card system, transactions
are routed either through MasterCard's servers or through the
bank's servers to afford a higher level of security.
Among the big name vendors offering the unique software--
known as "digital wallets," are IBM, Amazon, America Online,
and Microsoft.
According to one Trintech spokesman, the digital wallet is
designed to simplify both the online purchasing and the
processing phase of the transaction through the financial
networks.
Topic 13
<><> Legal Sharks Going For Microsoft's Blood <><>
Regular readers of the GrapeVine realize by now that I am not
a great supporter of Bill Gates and company, however... I also
am one who does not favor the proliferation of lawsuits as we
see and hear so much of these days.
When I read an online news story out of Cincinnati last month,
I experienced very mixed emotions.
The news article told of two lawsuits filed in Ohio on Nov. 23
against Microsoft Corp., alleging the Redmond, Washington-based
software giant has been overcharging its customers.
On one hand, my emotions were saying "go get em' people," but
my other inner voice said "enough is enough!"
It appears that the Nov. 5 "finding" by U.S. District Court
Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, which proclaimed Microsoft as
using "monopoly power" to harm consumers, competitors, and
customer companies, has opened a worm hole for the cyber-
lawyers-- where they can swarm in with their feeding frenzy in
search of get-rich-quick lawsuits.
In Ohio, Stanley Chesley, the same attorney that has led the
charge against cigarette makers, breast implant manufacturers,
and various other industries, filed the class-action suits in
U.S. District Court in Columbus and also the state court in
Cincinnati.
Another class-action suit filed in San Francisco Superior Court
just one day earlier against the gargantuan software maker
sought to recover damages on behalf of private clients.
Chesley said that the federal court case may be consolidated
with similar federal lawsuits filed against Microsoft recently
in other states on behalf of PC consumers. Mr. Chesley further
stated that an estimated $10 billion in over charges was
collected by Microsoft, and that a win in the federal courts
could reap a reward amounting to three times the stated 10
billion dollar figure.
Additional defendants such as computer makers may also want to
ride the wave of litigation, claiming that because of their
licensing agreements with Microsoft, their customers may have
been over charged or forced into using Microsoft's Internet
browser, said Chesley.
On Monday, Nov. 22, four California lawyers filed class-action
lawsuits against Microsoft seeking monetary damages for alleged
overcharging on Windows 95 and Windows 98.
It will certainly be interesting to see what all these cases
are leading up to, but I'm afraid that I already know the
answer, and the final outcome will not be all that good for
this nation.
I sure hope I'm wrong! gm
Topic 14
<><> AMD's New Athlon Chip Out-Speeds Intel <><>
Electronic Buyers' News reported last month that Advanced Micro
Devices (AMD) had just released its new "Athlon" processor,
claiming a big win in the CPU speed derby over Intel.
At 750 MHz, AMD's hot new K2 chip is being proclaimed as "the
fastest x86 processor of the millennium" by AMD marketing
executives.
AMD is ramping production of the 750 MHz K2 chips at its Austin,
Texas Fab 25 facility-- along with the 533 MHz version of the
K6-2 processor.
The 1,000-lot wholesale pricing for the 750 MHz speedster and
the 533 MHz offering has been posted as $799 and $167,
respectively.
Topic 15
<><> Netware May Go Down For The Count <><>
A continual market slide by Novell's Netware operating system,
as compared to the constant rise in sales of Microsoft Corp.'s
Windows NT, has many business analysts looking for Novell to go
down for the count.
The 1998 statistics showed Windows NT taking a 47 percent share
of the network operating systems (NOS) market as compared to
Netware's 28 percent. This was bad enough for Novell, but it
would welcome those stats as compared to today's numbers.
This year looks even bleaker for Novell. The latest numbers, as
published by VARbusiness online, gives a 61 percent share to
NT, and just 18 percent to Netware.
Some observers lay the blame for Netware's rapid decline on
Novell's lack of investment into the reseller market channel a
few years ago. The industry analysts would have expected Novell
to put more money into advertisements in the popular trade
magazines in an effort to put across the clear advantages of
Netware over Windows NT to handle the unique tasks required by
the NOS environment.
Of the VARs (value-added resellers) who were questioned about
the present business trend, many said that it was easier to
sell Windows NT to a corporation rather than Netware because
most users are familiar with Microsoft's graphic user interface
(GUI) as presented in Windows NT, 95, and 98.
Topic 16
<><> AMD Fires Up 900 MHz Chip <><>
Two versions of a its Athlon microprocessor were demonstrated
by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) on Dec. 17, which pushed the
CPU speed envelope all the way up to 900 MHz.
An online story produced by the EE Times said that AMD’s
accomplishment came just a few days after Intel Corp. had
reportedly made some progress in its development of 750 MHz
and 800 MHz Pentium III chips.
By the first quarter of 2000, AMD expects to market its 800 MHz
offering of the Athlon processor.
Topic 17
<><> Online Shopping Risks <><>
Christmas gift shoppers and other e-commerce customers are
unknowingly giving away private information about their buying
habits to Webmasters who then sell the info to marketers,
according to a survey conducted by leading privacy groups.
When the privacy groups scanned the 100 most popular E-
commerce Web sites, they found that [none] of them met all
the requirements of what is considered as “best practices” to
protect the consumer’s privacy!
Many of the Web sites used questionable data collection
practices-- such as allowing outside advertising companies to
track and profile Web visitors.
One statement by the group asserted that “the results showed
that the Clinton administration's policy of relying on
industry to protect privacy was a failure.”
Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy
Information center in Washington, called for new laws that
require that Web sites adopt "legally enforceable" privacy
standards.
Meanwhile, industry groups conceded that not all sites were
protecting privacy adequately, but said the situation was
improving dramatically without government regulation.
Government agencies will continue to monitor industry efforts,
according to the report.
May God Bless You during this Christmas holiday season, and
Always,
Gary Miller
