Presswatch

ADSL to topple cable modem connections

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) technologies will ultimately overtake cable modem connections to the home for broadband access, according to analyst Ovum. Cable modems currently have the edge because telcos fear that ADSL could cannibalise revenues from existing data services, says Ovum. Ovum believes that in the longer term, issues of privacy and reliability will give ADSL the upper hand because of shared modem connections. Issues of security will be particularly marked in the business sector. ADSL is expected to overtake cable modem and start a sharp ramp-up in deployment from three million to seven million connections between 2002 and 2003.

Shipments of connections on fibre to the customer, ADSL, cable modems and broadband wireless are expected to reach $20 billion (#12.5bn) by 2003.

Electronics Times, 15 February

Microsoft faces threat of sanctions

The US Department of Justice and 19 US states are involved in a complex policy debate about what sort of aggressive sanctions to seek against Microsoft in the event that the US government wins its groundbreaking anti-trust case against the software behemoth. Government sources said a corporate breakup or forced sharing of the Windows software are under active consideration.

Either approach, if accepted by Judge Thomas Penfold Jackson, could fundamentally realign the state of competition in the world's $120 billion-a-year software industry. This could mute Microsoft's immense marketing clout and breathe energy into a host of new companies. The tougher sanctions could encounter stiff resistance from some politicians and industry leaders, who would argue that regulators were punishing success and disabling one of the country's most innovative corporations. Many observers of the trial believe that the Judge Jackson will rule against Microsoft this year.

Stiff sanctions have been getting more consideration among government lawyers and independent legal analysts in recent weeks because they believe Microsoft has been stumbling in its defence. The company's first three witnesses have made damaging admissions, or have been forced to admit embarrassing mistakes on the witness stand.

International Herald Tribune, 16 February

New telephone dialling codes under attack

Changes to telephone dialling codes have been badly bungled, are unjustified, and should have been preceded by proper consultation, said a scathing report from MPs. In a sweeping attack on the way the change has been handled by telecoms regulator Oftel, the Trade and Industry Select Committee said: 'We are disappointed that the number changes are being proposed and implemented on the basis of unsubstantiated claims by Oftel.' Far greater discussions and market research is needed for such big changes, said the report. 'We find it inexcusable that a cost-benefit analysis was not used by Oftel to assess the impact of its current proposals for changing telephone numbers,' it added. The changes will introduce yet another set of telephone dialling codes for the London area, plus changes to the area codes for Northern Ireland, as well as for Cardiff, Coventry, Portsmouth and Southampton. The committee conceded that it is probably too late to stop the new scheme, which is being implemented from June this year.

The Daily Telegraph, 16 February

Two-digit dates: a dinosaur speaks out

I am one of those dinosaurs who's been programming in Cobol since the early 60s. Far be it from me to contradict Alan Greenspan (chairman of the US Federal Reserve Board), but the use of two-digit years in dates had nothing to do with saving space. True disk space was expensive, but disks weren't widely used. Most data storage was on magnetic tape, which is essentially unlimited. Computer memory (or core storage) was also expensive, but since we were only processing one record at a time, the length of each record was essentially irrelevant.

A letter to Business 2.0, March

Millennium madness is the real threat

I'm not scared about computers freaking out on New Year's eve 1999. I'm scared about the people freaking out. The greatest damage wrought by year 2000 will be the chaos, destruction, and violence created by paranoid human beings as they frantically circle the wagons, run for cash, and load their shotguns. We have smart programmers working on the technical side. But who's going to hack the panic?

Business 2.0, March

Some stories have been edited for length.