Electronic Business articles from December 2001

Electronic Business archives from December 2001

Microsoft gets a slap on the wrist and a babysitting committee. (Editor's Note).(Editorial)
December 1, 2001... Kathleen Doler As a journalist, I grew up covering Microsoft Corp. I've followed the software maker since the mid-1980s. Ten years ago, while working as a reporter on a national daily business newspaper, I wrote about every major Microsoft...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2001... DISSING THE HP-COMPAQ MERGER I just read your editorial regarding the HP-Compaq merger ["The foolish urge to merge," October 2001, page 6] and in my opinion you're right on! One thing you didn't mention is that although they will...

Truth counts--even in marketing. (The Chip Advisor).(Column)
December 1, 2001... I' m not offended by marketing literature that emphasizes only the best features of a product. I think it's fair for vendors to present their side of the story and Jet their customers decide what other factors matter to them. I also think it's...

Don't treat your channel as an extension of your sales force. (Commentary).(Column)
December 1, 2001... In today's ultra-networked e-business world, distribution channels are, to the surprise of many, more important than ever. As companies leverage the Web to re-architect themselves around their core strengths and rely on partners for...

The era of collaboration has arrived. (Commentary).(Column)
December 1, 2001... The downturn in the U.S. business climate is driving electronics manufacturers to focus on two key objectives: maintaining profitability now, and designing new ways to produce valuable products and services. Even though these are...

Economic Outlook: Attacks made recession unavoidable. (Analysis).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... It had to end sometime. Economic historians will record that America's longest period of economic prosperity came to a halt during the third quarter of 2001. The last recession ended in the spring of 1991, 50 the United States enjoyed more than...

Venture investment hits the skids in Europe: U.S. trend mirrored across the pond. (Finance).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Same trend, different market. Although European venture capital investments took longer to peak than those in the United States, the pullback feels just the same. While the United States and Europe have somewhat different investor...

Putting their money where their mouth is: Impact unclear as tech firms launch stock buybacks under relaxed rules. (Finance).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, a plethora of high-tech companies have announced stock-repurchase programs to help revitalize the stock market. A total of 178 high-tech companies launched buyback programs between...

Turning the tables: Once seemingly unstoppable, Japan's top chip makers are struggling to find a way back to profitability. (Business Trends).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... When Bob Merritt to work for Tokyo, Japan-based Hitachi Ltd. in the mid-1980s, Japanese chip makers were cutting a swathe through the global semiconductor market, gobbling up sales and market share and forcing U.S. and European rivals to close...

Electronics drives U.S. R&D increase.(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... U.S.-based public corporations almost doubled the growth rate of their research and development (R&D) investments in 2000, according to the U.S. Commerce Department's Office of Technology Policy, Washington, DC. R&D investment in 2000-the...

Optimum performance: HPL tools can provide more chips for the dollar. (Business Trends).
December 1, 2001... Late July seemed like the worst possible time to do an IPO. The semiconductor industry was in the midst of what turned out to be the worst one-year downturn in history. The IPO environment decidedly was unfriendly. And no one could possibly...

Knock, knock, knocking on China's door: Industry hopes WTO membership opens huge market for U.S. electronics. (Business Trends).(World Trade Organization)
December 1, 2001... Tariffs on all chips imported to China will be lifted Jan. 1 if China accedes to the World Trade Organization (WTO) this month as expected. In early November, U.S. electronics industry spokesmen were confident that the WTO ministers would...

Get 'smart': Latest antenna systems can handle increased wireless traffic. (Business Trends).
December 1, 2001... Wireless devices are becoming more advanced, more abundant and more data intensive, a trend that only will increase with the introduction of second- and third-generation networks. But traditional cellular base station antennae are no longer an...

Bad news on bonuses: How to keep employees motivated in a bonus-less environment. (Business Trends: Management).
December 1, 2001... There were a lot of good things about "the good old days." Take bonuses, for example. These days, bad news on the bonus front keeps multiplying. Palo Alto, CA-based Sun Microsystems Inc., for instance, announced that due to faltering...

CEO of the Year: Maxim's Jack Gifford created an amazingly prolific product-development team--now he'a adding to it by acquisition.(Interview)(Cover Story)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... JOHN "JACK" GIFFORD, PRESIDENT, CEO, CHAIRMAN AND FOUNDER of Sunnyvale, CA-based Maxim Integrated Products Inc., does not suffer fools gladly. A competitive, demanding executive, who's been in the semiconductor business longer than many of his...

The Revolution that wasn't: Supply-chain start-ups thought they'd refine the way the electronics industry conducted business. What happened? (Distribution).(Industry Trend or Event)
December 1, 2001... Derek Lidow was frustrated. When the former CEO of International Rectifier Corp., El Segundo, CA, set out in 1999 to found iSuppli Corp., his goal was ambitious but his plan was straightforward: Create a company to help smooth out bumps...

Market forecasting is a vital sign. (Editor's Note).(Industry Trend or Event)
December 1, 2001... Predicting the economic future is a dicey proposition even in the best of times. And we all know these aren't the best of times. As summer waned, 2001 already was destined to go down as a nasty year for market forecasters. (The phrase...

Vital Signs: Top 10 signals that the electronics industry is reviving.(Industry Trend or Event)(Cover Story)
December 1, 2001... After a five-year binge, the electron industry awoke to the cold dawn of reality in 2001: The New Economy is the same as the old economy. And the basic principles that always applied still do. Profits matter. Building market share is important,...

The chips are down, But not out: Network processors, embedded market will help drive rebound as market shifts. (Forecast: Semiconductors).
December 1, 2001... Every baseball fan knows it: No slump lasts forever. This truism offers hope to semiconductor companies struggling through perhaps the worst year ever. "Certainly the chip market is going to improve," says Steve Cullen, an analyst at...

The Games People Play: Hot new products will help revive chip sales. (Forecast: Consumer Electronics).
December 1, 2001... Consumer electronics has been a relative bright spot this year and the industry is positioned to stay healthy as long as consumers have disposable income and the confidence to spend it--an admittedly iffy caveat right now. A stream of...

The XP Factor: New operating system could spur hardware sales. (Forecast: Computers).
December 1, 2001... The personal computer industry has been suffering from its own success. Owners have seen no particular need to buy new computers because the ones they bought two or three years ago still work just fine. Some analysts believe that's about to...

Spending can't: Bounce till it hits the floor; But sector will have pent-up demand for going for it. (Forecast: Networking/Telecom).
December 1, 2001... Companies know they'll soon need more networking and communications capacity--the increased demand for Internet access alone will require it. They're just not ready to spend money on it right now. That's one reason the communications industry...

Faster, better, smaller: Wireless devices will proliferate, as technology advances. (Forecast: Wireless).(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... The trend toward wireless connectivity will pick up steam as new standards take hold over the next few years. Manufacturers say devices will keep getting smaller and lighter, thanks to advances in both battery technology and semiconductor power...

GPS Vendors search for their Bearings: No single Killer App on the horizon. (Market Analysis).(Industry Overview)
December 1, 2001... IN A SUBURBAN TOWN in northern New Jersey, grade school students soon will carry smart cards that will enable parents and school administrators to locate them as they make their way to and from school. In Des Moines, IA, a rental car...

Ease of use doesn't come easy. (Product development).
December 1, 2001... Six months after a Chicago family bought a PC and signed up for America Online, they weren't sure they had ever sent e-mail successfully. And they didn't know whether they had ever received e-mail because they didn't know where to look. The...

CFO may be start-up's MVP. (Commentary).
December 1, 2001... In the downturn, young technology companies are learning what others forgot during the boom: Start-ups need a strong chief financial officer to survive. During the dot-corn era, many CFOs had little experience, a poor grasp of their roles and...