Electronic Business articles from August 2004

Electronic Business archives from August 2004

Lions or lambs? Leading companies balance prudent management with bold action.(Editorial)
August 1, 2004... At the beginning of 2004, research analysts who cover the electronics market officially laid to rest the industry's worst and most persistent downturn while heralding the onset of a promising new upturn. It wasn't easy to do. In the preceding...

New guy at Hon Hai?(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2004... I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed Dennis Normile's article on Hon Hai ("Why Is Hon Hai So Shy?" April 2004, page 44) and all the information it provided. I worked for Panasonic for 22 years and am considering a position with Hon Hai,...

Don't let trust rust.(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2004... I read Tam Harbert's article "In Search of Partner for Possible Long-Term Relationship" (July 2004, page 58) and was very impressed with both the points she made and the level of thoroughness. My firm helps with research and due diligence...

Apple joins the 64-bit party. How will the desktop OS alternatives stack up?(Chip Advisor)
August 1, 2004... When Apple debuted the Power Mac G5, it called it "the world's first 64-bit personal computer." True, the G5 is capable of 64-bit processing, but Mac OS X lacks 64-bit addressing and programs are currently limited to data structures about 4...

Where have all the EEs gone?(Education)
August 1, 2004... Industry executives have for years bemoaned the decline in the number of U.S. college students who pursue science and engineering degrees. So far, the U.S. high-tech business has not felt an acute impact from this drop, primarily because of the...

Executive split: separating the CEO and chairman roles can be good business.(Management)
August 1, 2004... When JDS Uniphase's stock lunged a couple of years ago, management faced a tough grilling from one of its institutional shareholders. Fund managers at the $162 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) were not happy...

Raising a red flag in digital TV? Chip companies are able to implement a broadcast flag but are uneasy about it.(Consumer Electronics)
August 1, 2004... While consumer electronics companies work to incorporate content protection technology into their digital TV products by next summer, chip makers stand ready. Many have already developed devices that can handle any antipiracy technology CE...

Is technology adoption quickening? Market growth over the next decade may be higher than anyone expects.(Economic Outlook)
August 1, 2004... After the first PCs appeared, in the late 1970s, the integration of PC technology into everyday routine--at least among educated, reasonably prosperous people in wealthy countries--took nearly a generation. Although some electronics technology...

Accounting decision point: when is it time to move off QuickBooks and Excel?(Finance)
August 1, 2004... In hindsight, Magma Design Automation should have upgraded its accounting software two years ago to an enterprise accounting package. Instead, a few months after Magma's initial public offering (IPO), in November 2001, the EDA software...

When a "for sale" sign is on the door.(Management)
August 1, 2004... Even with the IPO market improving, your startup is more likely to be sold than taken public, reports market research firm VentureOne. In the second quarter of 2004, 24 venture-backed U.S. companies completed initial public offerings. That's...

Memory multichip packages take off: but will supply chain problems winnow their prospects of success?(Semiconductors)
August 1, 2004... Propelled by the boom in cell phones--in which they support new photography and music features--memory multichip packages (MCPs) are expected see a market that nearly doubles in units and revenue over the next four years. But what promises to...

Power management makes power play: but making it work in chips requires collaboration.(Design)
August 1, 2004... A new mantra is rising from the attendees at semiconductor conferences and trade shows today: power management. Everyone is talking about the best way to direct and distribute power in digital chips, so much so that this technology--previously...

Structural fault: have structured ASICs been overhyped?(Application-Specific Integrated Circuit)
August 1, 2004... Using structured ASICs was originally billed as a cost-effective way to bypass traditional EDA. After all, why go through the hassle of using customer-owned tooling (COT) or the expense of a custom ASIC when you can port your design directly to...

Prices starting to stabilize: but will the trend continue after the summer slowdown ends?(Supply Chain Management)
August 1, 2004... After a three-year free-fall, prices of many electronics components have stabilized and, in some cases, increased. Contract buyers are paying slightly more, and spot buyers are paying substantially higher prices, according to Reed Research...

Distributors' China double whammy.(Supply Chain Management)
August 1, 2004... It's been the case in the United States for decades: Component average selling prices (ASPs) continue to decline, making it tough for distributors and manufacturers' reps to make a buck. With resales commissions directly tied to price, the...

A straight shooter from the Old West: a Q&A with Rick Hill, chairman and CEO of Novellus.(Capital Equipment)(Interview)
August 1, 2004... Rick Hill is the kind of CEO who makes his public-relations people nervous. He" s also one of the few executives who can reference the 19th-century Homesteading Act to argue his points. Although he doesn't walk into a room with the swagger of...

Aiming for the top: after reaching the chip industry's No. 2 spot, does Samsung have what it takes to overtake Intel?(The EB 300)(Related Article: Liquid crystal gold rush: Samsung's LCD leadership hinges on outspending its rivals.)(Related Article: EB 300 Research methodology.)(Samsung Electronics Company Ltd.)
August 1, 2004... While most of the chip industry struggled through the rough seas of the recent recession, Samsung Electronics sailed through the storm with flying colors. Last year Samsung increased its chip sales by nearly $2 billion, to a record $10.5...

The EB 300: electronic business.(Ranking of Electronics industry)(Illustration)
August 1, 2004... THE EB 300 CALENDAR YEAR 2003 The RANKINGS Electronics revenuest Total Rank ...

Alphabetical listing.(Ranking of electronic industries )(Illustration)
August 1, 2004... THE EB 300 ELECTRONIC BUSINESS ALPHABETICAL LISTING Company Rank ABB 148 Acer ...

Fighting for your rights: how bad is IP theft in China? And what can you do about it?(Intellectual Property)
August 1, 2004... It's not coincidence. The past 18 months saw two major IP lawsuits involving Chinese electronics firms. In the first, Cisco Systems sued Chinese telecom manufacturer Huawei Technologies for allegedly stealing router source code. In the second,...

Materially deficient: think your parts are green? Be prepared to prove it!(Commentary)
August 1, 2004... Companies may be facing fireworks come the 4th of July weekend in 2006, and not because it'll be the 230th anniversary of America's Declaration of Independence. It's because July 1, 2006, will require a different kind of declaration--one in...