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| IBM sales down 12% |
1/18/2006 |
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Despite gains within its microelectronics business, IBM Corp. on Tuesday (Jan. 17) posted sales of $24.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005, down 12 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2004.
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| Singapore's FTD partners Elpida to design DRAM |
1/18/2006 |
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With Edison Semiconductor FTD is using its previously developed “insourcing” model where it has set up development companies to work exclusively on behalf of global companies. FTD has used the model to work for Synopsys, Toshiba and Creative Technology.
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| National Instrument got into educational market un-intentionally |
1/17/2006 |
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A professor at Tufts University, Chris Rogers, reverse engineered National Instruments’ software LabView so that it could be used to program the Lego robotics system. Rogers brought his work to the Lego Group and the Lego Group approached National Instruments. National Instruments then worked with Lego to create an application based on LabView for the Mindstorms education version – one geared to the school market.
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| Graphics company go for "half-note" to push performance at cost |
1/17/2006 |
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The 80-nm process is a lithographic shrink of TSMC’s 90-nm process technology. As a consequence, this node supports most of the 90-nm libraries and intellectual property from TSMC and third-parties, requiring only simple re-characterization using 80-nm transistor models.
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| Samsung signed cross license on LCD technology |
1/17/2006 |
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The cross license covers patents in the area of thin-film-transistor LCD and organic light emitting diode (OLED) technology, especially so far as they are applied to LCD television.
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| AMD extended contract on SOI process |
1/17/2006 |
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Silicon-on-insulator wafer supplier Soitec SA has signed an SOI wafer supply contract with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. worth more than $150 million for the 2006 calendar year.
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| Agilent to spin off STS division as "Verigy" |
1/16/2006 |
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In August 2005 Agilent announced a plan to spin off its Semiconductor Test Solutions (STS) business, comprised of both the system-on-chip and system-in-package (SOC/SIP) and memory test market areas. STS is slated to become a new automated test company. The spin-off is expected to take place as soon as practical in 2006.
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| Tyco to split into 3 businesses |
1/16/2006 |
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Tyco International Ltd.’s electronics business unit is set to be spun off into its own company as part of a newly announced plan by the international conglomerate to split itself into three companies. The other two businesses would encompass Tyco’s Healthcare organizations and its Fire and Security.
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| Samsung projects oversupply on NAND Flash |
1/16/2006 |
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Korean chip giant, Samsung, projected a “slight” oversupply for the NAND flash market worldwide in the first quarter of 2006, followed by shortages in the last three quarters of this year, according to a report from investment banking firm American Technology Research Inc.
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| Price depression on DRAM affects Elpida profit |
1/16/2006 |
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On Friday (Jan. 13) Elpida (Tokyo, Japan) forecasted a group net profit of 160 million yen (about $1.4 million) for the third quarter, below its previous estimate of a between 1.0 billion yen (about $8.7 million) and 4.0 billion yen (about $34.8 million).
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| Rambus flexes its claws |
1/16/2006 |
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Rambus Inc. late Friday (Jan. 13) filed a patent infringement suit against Micron Technologies Inc. in the memory arena. In the case, Rambus (Los Altos, Calif.) asserts that Micron (Boise, Ida.) infringed upon its DDR2, GDDR2 and GDDR3 patents.
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| Dell may adopt AMD CPU |
1/13/2006 |
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Dell, the world's biggest manufacturer of personal computers, currently uses microprocessors from No. 1 chipmaker Intel as the brains that run its machines
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| PSC to buy Macronix 12-inch fab for NAND flash production |
1/13/2006 |
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With Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation (PSC) seeing significant NAND flash foundry demand, as well as ramping its own DDR2 output, the memory maker is looking to acquire a 12-inch fab from Macronix International Company (MXIC), according to industry sources.
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| ProMos to increase DDR2 output |
1/13/2006 |
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The recent positive price signals in the DDR2 market has prompted Taiwan DRAM maker ProMOS Technologies to ramp up its related shipment proportion
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| UMC faces NT$25 million punishment |
1/12/2006 |
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UMC may be fined as much as NT$25 million (US$780,786) for helping He Jian Technology (Suzhou) Co set up a plant in China, a government official said.
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| AMD License Rambus patents |
1/12/2006 |
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Rambus announced the signing of a five-year patent license agreement with Advanced Micro Devices which grants AMD a license to Rambus patents.
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| TI to sell sensor & control unit |
1/12/2006 |
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Texas Instruments has agreed to sell its sensors and controls unit to private investment firm Bain Capital LLC for $3 billion.
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| Infineon, SMIC extend DRAM deal to 90-nm |
1/11/2006 |
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Infineon Technologies AG has extended its DRAM foundry deal with Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. to include 90-nanometer manufacturing processes.
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| Apple launched Intel based iMac Notebook |
1/11/2006 |
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Steve Jobs kicked off Macworld 2006 here Tuesday by announcing that new Apple iMac computers, based on Intel 's Duo Core processor, are available immediately, six months ahead of schedule.
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| TSMC to trademark its name |
1/11/2006 |
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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company may adopt a new authorization strategy in defense of its name against misuse by competitors which claim to offer “TSMC-like” products, sources with IC design houses said.
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