Sneak has all too often seen demos of video conferencing services fall flat, and so was keen to attend HP’s latest attempt – if only to poke fun. Developed in conjunction with Hollywood studio DreamWorks, the new HP offering – featuring life-size imagery for that fake real meeting feel – is called Halo. No relation to the Xbox shoot-em-up of the same name, but possibly related to the risky business of high-altitude, low-opening parachuting. The experience was typified by Hector Ruiz, chief exec at Halo customer AMD, who forgot that video camera plus check sports jacket equals eyestrain for onlookers. Yes, it looks like real life, but only if your colleagues typically wear Rorschach blots.

December 19, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sneak has had some “issues” with Amazon’s Xbox 360 order-tracking process. Sneak’s console was due on 8 December right up until 8 December, when it suddenly became due on 23 February. But Sneak’s annoyance is nothing compared with reader Andy Baxter’s ire: “Wanting to be first in the queue, my Amazon order went in first thing on 19 August [the first day of pre-ordering]. And Amazon now tells me it will arrive on 22 February! Is there anyone in the entire country who ordered as early as I did who still has not had their order filled?” It cheers Sneak up no end to hear of others’ misfortune, so drop Sneak a line if you’re even worse off than Baxter.

December 19, 2005 Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sneak’s heart was warmed by the sight of this “Christmas in Swansea” public information board, courtesy of reader Andrew Morris. Not only is the Windows- powered sign in the wrong town – the snap was taken in Cardiff – it’s also on the blink. The screen shows part of a Windows “illegal operation” error dialogue and reveals the name of the program running the sign. Appropriately enough it’s “V-sign”.

December 19, 2005 Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)

Agilent, the HP spin-off with a name that famously is an anagram of the word “genital”, has given rise to another firm with another stupid name. Two private equity outfits recently completed the $2.6bn purchase of Agilent’s semiconductor division, christening it Avago Technologies – the kind of pathetic name you come up with when someone says: “Alright then, you have a go at coming up with a better name; go on, have a go!” After forking out billions, presumably the finance bods – Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Silver Lake Partners – didn’t have enough money to pay an overpriced branding consultant to come up with a proper name like Dango, Crostum or Loblocks.

December 12, 2005 Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sneak was pleased to hear Microsoft staff are to undergo extra “antitrust training”. The move follows news that one employee innocently and mistakenly drew up a marketing agreement to stop makers of portable music players bundling anything except Windows Media Player on their devices. But how will Microsoft break the habit of a lifetime? Will staff be issued subliminal re-education tapes, incanting “You will resist the urge to crush the windpipes of your competitors” as they sleep? Or will counsellors tell over-aggressive managers it’s time to stop overcompensating for childhood bed-wetting? Sneak doubts that such lily-livered measures will work. No, nothing short of electro-convulsive therapy or a group lobotomy is likely to make this leopard change its spots – or indeed its habit of chewing on throats.

December 12, 2005 Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)

Intel apparently believes learning should be fun, judging by the new online game to promote its chips. The game puts the player in the role of an IT administrator who finds his servers are under attack from a hacker. Unfortunately the idea – that players learn how features in Intel chips can help stave off attacks – is tedious enough, without a scenario all too familiar to many IT chiefs. Sneak is relieved that Intel continues to build chips and is not banking on games development for income. Sneak can only imagine how its idea of “fun” might translate to, say, the Xbox 360. Forget Project Gotham Racing 3 – how about Rush Hour 3: “Inch your way along six miles of gridlocked urban streets while the clock counts down to 9.00am!”

December 12, 2005 Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)