Worldwide semiconductor sales are expected to grow 14.1 per cent this year to $US155 billion, the first year of double-digit growth for the industry since 1995, according to a quarterly report on the subject from research firm Dataquest.
Apple Computer this week reported fourth-quarter earnings of $US90 million, or 51 cents per diluted share, before non-recurring items, and announced a deal with IBM to help it overcome a shortage of processors for its new G4 PowerMac computers.
IT distributor Ingram Micro said its president and worldwide chief operating officer, Jeffrey Rodek, has resigned from the company to take the helm of analytic software firm Hyperion Solutions.
Advanced Micro Devices reported a loss last week of 72 cents per share for its third quarter, although strong sales of its flash memory products and faster versions of its new Athlon processor helped it stay ahead of analysts' expectations.
Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel and Microsoft have formed the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance, which aims to develop standard security technologies for use in personal computers, the companies said yesterday.
Microsoft said it will launch a new service this week called Passport Wallet, which allows consumers to store credit card, billing and other information at a single location and use it to shop at multiple online stores.
Advanced Micro Devices reported a loss on Wednesday of 72 cents per share for its third quarter, although strong sales of its flash memory products and faster versions of its new Athlon processor helped it stay ahead of analysts' expectations.
Nortel Networks last week took the wraps off a high-speed optical switching and routing technology that it says will help meet the surging need for bandwidth on the Internet and relieve traffic congestion.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) last week released a 450MHz version of its mobile K6-III processor, which it claims is the highest-performance chip of its kind on the market. The news was tempered by reports that Gateway plans to stop using AMD's chips in its PCs.
Apple Computer warned yesterday that profits and sales for its fourth fiscal quarter will fall short of those a year ago. The company cited problems meeting demand for its recently announced Power Mac G4 computers.
Advanced Micro Devices yesterday released a 450MHz version of its mobile K6-III processor, which it claims is the highest-performance chip of its kind on the market.
Apple Computer put some more punch in its Power Macs yesterday with a new microprocessor called the PowerPC G4, which Steve Jobs, the company's interim chief executive officer, colourfully likened to "a supercomputer that's been miniaturised on a sliver of silicon".
IBM has announced a new version of OS/390 with improved security and system management features designed to make the operating system more attractive to businesses that process large volumes of transactions over the Internet, IBM officials said.
Intel has lopped up to 41 per cent off the price of its desktop processors as part of an effort to make PCs that house its chips more attractive as the holiday buying season approaches, a company spokesman said last week.
Microsoft is "pretty sure" that Windows 2000 will ship by the end of the year, although delivering a top-quality product is the main concern and will dictate when the operating system is released, Bill Gates, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, said last week.
