Electronic Business articles from November 2002

Electronic Business archives from November 2002

Pulling out of the tech slump: VC leaders, where are you? We need you to lick your wounds from the dot-bomb and get back into the game. (Editor's Note).
November 1, 2002... Each week, I meet with electronics executives. Often our discussions start out with a session in which we bemoan the current tech slump and share stories, strategies and frustrations. Frequently, I'm also asked how long I think this slump will...

Letters.
November 1, 2002... KING COVER STORY Well, Russ Arensman, you've done it again. Your September cover story on Christine King, CEO of AMI Semiconductor ["First Lady," page 40] proves once more that you truly are a skilled and gifted writer. I'm sure it helped...

The connected car/mobile entertainment center: in-car gaming could be the next big growth area in automotive electronics. (The Chip Advisor).
November 1, 2002... I wrote last month about opportunities for automotive electronics in navigation and diagnostic systems. Future cars--and future drivers--also will increasingly rely on digital communications to ensure fast, fun and safe motoring. I...

The case for back-end outsourcing: the new generation of automatic test equipment (ATE) ranges in price from $3 to $4.5 million...this expense is difficult to justify, and the expenses keep on coming. (Commentary).
November 1, 2002... In today's competitive business environment, many semiconductor manufacturers are looking at outsourcing as a way to streamline time-to-market and minimize cost-to-manufacture. Outsourcing wafer production has become commonplace, but chip...

Global economic recovery sluggish, exports suffer. (Analysis).
November 1, 2002... The global economic recovery that most economists and world market analysts had expected, or at least wishfully hoped would be fully established by the closing months of this year, is looking increasingly fragile. It's not completely...

Capitalizing IT failure: how to recognize a doomed IT project and treat it accordingly. (Finance).
November 1, 2002... It's easy to tell when a corporation's new manufacturing facility is experiencing problems or has taken a lot longer to build than originally anticipated. Large, expensive IT projects that are experiencing the equivalent level of problems,...

Three option expensing choices, all bad: for companies considering this accounting change, things may get more complex. (Finance).
November 1, 2002... Just as more companies are beginning to expense stock options to give a clearer view of their financial picture, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), Norwalk, CT, has made a tentative decision that could muddy the waters. ...

Holiday hopes. (Business Barometer).
November 1, 2002... As we move further into Q4 2002, the semiconductor industry still continues to lag. Nonetheless, this month's poll shows some--even if slight--optimism for a business uptick. The United States, however, is behind consumption forecasts for the...

Big Blue services: IBM hopes to cash in on technology design services outsourcing. (Business Trends).
November 1, 2002... When Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, decided to build a device to program surgically implanted cardiac pacemakers, it didn't have all the necessary technology, intellectual property (IP), manufacturing processes or design know-how. Medtronic...

Kids join the wireless revolution.
November 1, 2002... Agonizing over presents for the kids this holiday season? Looking for a lucrative market opportunity? Go wireless. Four out of 10 kids in the United States own some kind of wireless device, according to a report jointly conducted by Circle...

Rocky road: CMOS image sensor makers are eyeing new markets. (Business Trends).
November 1, 2002... Two years ago, dozens of companies were clamoring to enter one of the chip industry's hottest new markets, image sensors made with complementary metal oxide (CMOS) technology. CMOS sensors, because of their low power use and potential cost...

Visa approvals take a nosedive: fewer H1Bs this year, but not because of the cap. (Business Trends).
November 1, 2002... Government bureaucracy is no longer the biggest problem immigrants face when seeking employment in the United States. The U.S. economy is. Thanks to layoffs and job cutbacks, the number of high-tech jobs available to foreign workers has...

When a negative is a positive: job-loss rate is slowing. (Business Trends).
November 1, 2002... The electronics industry remains hard-pressed to find any hopeful news among announcements of missed earnings, executive mismanagement and bleak forecasts. But monthly employment trends indicate that the drop in industry jobs, at least, is...

Dancing with venture partners: managing the VC relationship is a key to successful start-ups. (Business Trends: Management).
November 1, 2002... Funding is a major step for any young company, but only the first in an ongoing dance between management and VC partners. Like any dance, success depends on how well one partner leads--in this case the start-up's CEO. "As a new CEO, one of...

A many-handed: nanotechnology, which is reaching into all aspects of science, already has a firm hold in electronics. (Research and Development).
November 1, 2002... If technology is the modern-day religion, as social commentators have remarked, think of nanotechnology as a mythological God, juggling technological advancements. "Nanotechnology is going to be like that, a multi-handed god," says Meyya...

Analog arsenal: wireless LAN chip leader Intersil is riding a hot market while strengthening its analog profit machine. (Profile).
November 1, 2002... SHORTLY AFTER JOINING the semiconductor unit of Melbourne, FL-based Harris Corp. in 1998, Greg Williams decided to take a chance on a fledgling line of chips for wireless local area networks (WLANs). Though they were bringing in just $3 million...

Protecting the crown jewels: preventing IP theft requires a broad strategy and many weapons. (IP Management).
November 1, 2002... In its five years in business, Virtual Silicon Technology Inc., hasn't had any intellectual property (IP) stolen, says John Ford, vice president of marketing at the Sunnyvale, CA-based IP merchant that supplies standard cell libraries and other...

Riding on air: wireless retains its hot spot in an otherwise cold technology market. (Wireless LANs).
November 1, 2002... Even as hopes for a wired broadband world are receding in the wake of the telecom bust, broadband-hungry consumers and office road warriors are adopting wireless networks as fast as any technology since the go-go days of 1999. Thanks to...

Power play: low-power has become the top priority for chip designers. (Semiconductor Design).
November 1, 2002... IT TOOK a long time for Intel Corp. to wake up to the idea of lowering the electrical power used by its microprocessors. For years, the Santa Clara, CA-based chip maker had been playing the megahertz game. It cranked up the performance of its...

Hard times breed smaller, tougher start-ups: being a repeat entrepreneur matters less, and not repeating boom-era practices matters more. (Venture Pulse).
November 1, 2002... With each day's news, prospects for funding high-tech start-ups seem to worsen. Venture capital investment declined by 61% in 2001, and it fell to $5.7 billion in Q2 2002 from $12 billion in Q2 2001, according to a recent MoneyTree Survey. As...