Electronic Business articles from May 2005

Electronic Business archives from May 2005

The top semiconductor companies: a look at what's changed over the last five years.(Editor's Note)
May 1, 2005... Every year at this time, ELECTRONIC BUSINESS publishes a list of the top semiconductor companies. It's an indication of the maturity of the electronics industry that most companies in the top 20 positions or so place at or around the same...

Where does sun shine?(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... As Sun's public relations representative, I was surprised by the overall tone of your April story on Sun Microsystems ("Correcting Course or Sailing in Circles," page 13). I was also surprised that you spoke primarily to financial analysts for...

And he should know.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... In Russ Arensman's article on Arrow ("Re-aiming Arrow," April 2005, page 52), I thought the references to me were accurate, appropriate and in context. I also thought the entire article was very balanced and described Arrow's--and the...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2005... In a reference to Boston Consulting Group's Hal Sirkin in "Reality Bites" (March 2005, page 66), we mistakenly cited his employer as McKinsey Consulting. We regret the error.

Shrink-wrap software for EDA? As design becomes more complex, software needs to be simpler.(electronic design automation)
May 1, 2005... Over the last year, semiconductor companies, foundries, process equipment suppliers and big EDA companies alike have acknowledged that the ongoing paradigm of shrinking ICs at nanometer geometries involves increasing risk and greater...

Asia woos U.S. tech execs: are India and China following in Japan's footsteps?(MANAGEMENT)
May 1, 2005... How did a relatively small Indian outsourcing firm convince the CIO of Oracle to join its executive staff? That executive, Marc Hebert, says that after 11 years at Oracle, he relished the chance to grow a small business into a world-class...

Bright spots everywhere but on the road: except for the automotive sector, end markets in electronics are growing strongly.(ECONOMIC OUTLOOK)
May 1, 2005... The bad news: World economic growth peaked in 2004. The good news: It will slow down to about 4 percent by the end of 2006, which is an average growth rate. The real good news: This will continue to boost most of the key electronics end...

DOJ cracks down on antitrust: penalties gets harsher in cases such as DRAM price fixing.(Department of Justice)
May 1, 2005... If visions of Martha Stewart in an orange prison jumpsuit are starting to fade, you may want to refresh your memory. Under stricter guidelines approved by the Bush administration in 2004, high-ranking executives convicted of wrongdoing are more...

Handsets go Hollywood: cell phones are getting TV capabilities, but will consumers watch?(EMERGING MARKETS)
May 1, 2005... Mobile TV delivered to cell phone handsets may be the next bonanza for wireless operators and content providers--and for makers of the handsets, chips and software needed to enable this new capability. But that's assuming that mobile consumers...

VoIP for the masses: chip makers poised to tap into consumer VoIP market.(COMMUNICATIONS)
May 1, 2005... With a string of major companies launching voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP) services, the technology is quickly moving into the mainstream. As these services are deployed, chip companies are racing to get their VoIP chips designed into the...

Electronics finds a safe haven: security equipment sales post healthy growth.(SECURITY)
May 1, 2005... The good news? Demand for high-end electronic security equipment will increase steadily at least through 2008. The bad news? Rising crime rates in many countries will be the primary demand driver. A weak global economy in the years...

Going beyond venture capital: Altera, Cadence and Xilinx are making their mark on startups.(Semiconductors)
May 1, 2005... For years now, technology companies have been getting in on the venture capital game, by forming their own VC arms and participating in rounds of VC funding. From Intel to Oracle, these companies have used funding to boost development of...

SiGe steps on the GaAs: silicon germanium's lower cost and integration advantages are winning new markets.(gallium arsenic)
May 1, 2005... Radio-frequency chips for cell phones and other wireless products have long relied on the speed, low signal distortion and power-handling capabilities of gallium arsenide (GaAs) chips. Yet silicon germanium (SiGe--generally pronounced "siggy")...

Has EDA lost its way? Growth in homegrown tools points to decline.(Electronic Design Automation)
May 1, 2005... The EDA industry has three basic economic rules. First, when there are more engineers designing chips, there are more sales of unit software licenses. Second, when chip designs require new tools, EDA vendors can charge more per software...

Commerce gets more complex: supply chain struggles with trade rules and regulations.(Supply Chain Management)
May 1, 2005... Even before the 9/11 terrorist attacks raised tracking and security standards on international cargo, electronics companies were struggling with global logistics issues. "We identified as far back as 2000 that we needed a tool that could give...

Evolving R&D: as the industry matures, so does research and development.(Capital Equipment)(Sematech)
May 1, 2005... Can there be a better example of how semiconductor R&D has changed over the past two decades than the participation of Japanese companies such as Fujitsu and Panasonic in programs conducted by a subsidiary of Sematech? Players in the U.S....

Unmixed signals: Texas Instruments has big plans for the future.(PROFILE)
May 1, 2005... Twenty years ago, Texas Instruments was the lost lamb of the electronics industry. Its memory chip business was marginally profitable, its personal computers were a bust and even TI's signature calculator business was under assault from Asian...

The evolution of the biochip: companies experiment with new ways to marry electronics and biology in tiny microarrays.(EMERGING TECHNOLOGY)
May 1, 2005... THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY is still trying to figure out the "chip" part of the emerging market of biochips. The ongoing efforts to marry biology and technology have not left the electronics industry untouched. The biochip, also called a...