The final witness in the Microsoft anti-trust trial has acknowledged the software giant's dominant Windows operating system will be "the only viable alternative" for most computer makers in the near future. Evidence from Richard Schmalensee, of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, supported government allegations that Microsoft is a monopolist that illegally wields its influence. "From everything I've seen, for some number of years, while there will be many ways to access the Internet, a lot of work will be done on (Windows) desktops using desktop equipment," he said. Schmalensee was the last witness to appear in the current phase of the trial, but the verdict from District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson is not expected for some months.
Compaq Sells Out: Shares in Compaq have soared amid reports the company is planning to sell its AltaVista search engine to investment company CMGI. Rumours of the sale pushed share prices up by almost 10 per cent in one day last week when 29 million shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The companies later confirmed that they were in preliminary talks on a deal that could be worth up to $2 billion. The news provides sharp contrast to last week's gloomy Compaq warning of heavy second-quarter losses as pricing pressures hit its business.
ISP Goes Highspeed: IOL is hoping to achieve highspeed Internet access with a recent network upgrade, which will "significantly increase" average connection speeds. The company says that all its modems are now capable of supporting 56Kbps access speed while most subscribers are getting stable connections between 40Kbps and 52Kbps, which are a significant advance. New V.90 technology also means that users are less likely to be disconnected or have problems getting a connection, two major issues for Internet subscribers.
Consulting On Competition: Andersen Consultancy now tops the leaderboard of Internet service consultancies worldwide with revenues of $425 million, $40 million ahead of its nearest rival, IBM. According to a report from the International Data Corporation forecasting growth and trends, demand for Internet services is expected to grow almost tenfold to $78.5 billion in by 2003.
Help Wanted: Multimedia help for students contemplating their career prospects is available on a new government-sponsored CD-Rom. Aimed at second and third-level students, the Careers World CD-Rom describes over 400 careers in text, images and video; a personalised career planner to match students with jobs; CV advice and profiles of Irish companies.
The Daring Economy: The Minister for Science and Technology, Mr Noel Treacy, has launched The Caring Economy, a book by Nua founder Gerry McGovern. Subtitled Business Principles for the New Digital Age, the book explores the relationships between businesses and consumers on the Internet and the impact of new technologies on attitudes, work practices and communication.
Take The Test: An online driving test designed by a Derry student has scooped the top award in a NewMediaCV web site design competition. A student at Magee College in Derry, Alan O'Meara, used Flash to create an interactive online test of drivers' alertness and attitudes on the road. Runner-up entries included a "Stress Buster" site with animated instructions for building paper aeroplanes, and "Through the Chink Too Wide", a contemplative animated guide to the three phases of life. Winning entries can be viewed at www.newmediacv.com
Ready For Y2002? Dublin-based software company Delphi has introduced EuroScan, a software tool to help organisations adapt their computer systems to deal with the euro. Delphi says that most organisations who have made preliminary assessments of the impact of the euro estimate it will require anything from twice to five times the effort required to sort the Y2K problem.
The Candidate's Impressed: US Vice President Al Gore has predicted that nearly half the workers in the US will be employed by industries that either are producers or intensive users of information technology by 2006. He was speaking at the launch of a Commerce Department report which showed IT industries had grown to account for one-third of US economic growth. Earlier forecasts predicting Internet sales of $7 billion this year, were revised up to $15 billion.
Buddy To Buddy: Two or more users can now connect to the same PC using a software/hardware combination from Tronix. The Buddy B-200 extends the capabilities of Windows 95/98 from a single user running multiple tasks to multiple users running multiple tasks. Users can also share printers, CD-Rom drives and dial-up or ISDN lines with the Buddy system.
In Brief.... . . Microsoft, the largest advertiser on the Internet, has announced its decision not to advertise next year with companies who fail to publish adequate privacy promises to consumers. . . Netscape browsers are now available in 10 additional languages. . . Hewlett-Packard has introduced its cheapest photo-quality printer, the DeskJet 610C. . . Esat is offering its customers a £10 Tesco voucher for each friend they recommend who joins the Esat phone network. . . Siemens and 3Com have signed an agreement promoting further sales co-operation between the two companies. . . Lucent has shelled out about $900 million for Nexabit . . .