Stories by Terho Uimonen

Memory makers ready to ramp DDR SDRAM

Leading memory makers expect to quickly ramp up production of DDR (double data rate) SDRAM (synchronous dynamic RAM) chips, an emerging high-speed memory standard that they believe will be used in a wide range of computers and other digital devices, company representatives said here Tuesday at the DDR Summit conference hosted by Via Technologies Inc.

NEC readies fast interface chip for parallel computing

NEC Corp. researchers will introduce later Monday a prototype of a high-speed interface chip that promises to increase data transmission speeds in parallel computing systems.

Toshiba posts half-year profit

Buoyed by strong sales of semiconductors, Toshiba last week posted its first half-year profit in three years.

NEC Outsources Mobile Phone Production

As part of a broader plan to reorganize its mobile phone handset business, NEC Corp. announced on Thursday the sale of a plant in the U.K. to electronics contract manufacturer Celestica Inc. as well as outsourcing contracts with two Taiwanese manufacturers.

Companies Call for Asian Cooperation on PKI

A group of major Japanese companies announced on Friday the launch of an initiative aimed at creating cooperation between Asian countries to promote the use of PKI (public-key infrastructure) in the region.

UMC to Build US$3.6B Chip Plant in Singapore

Taiwan-based contract chip manufacturer United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) announced Friday that it will build an advanced semiconductor plant in Singapore, with a planned investment of US$3.6 billion. When fully operational, the plant will have a total capacity of 40,000 300-millimeter (12-inch) wafers per month.

Acer slims down ahead of major restructuring

Taiwan's Acer Group has slimmed down its operations worldwide ahead of a scheduled unveiling of its second major restructuring effort in as many years.

Chunghwa Telecom, IBM Team on Taiwan Data Center

Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd. and IBM Corp. announced Friday an alliance aimed at delivering Internet data center and hosting services in Taiwan, the first such pact IBM has entered into in the Greater China region.

Security holes found in Windows Media Player

Microsoft on Wednesday issued a patch for two security flaws in its Windows Media Player software that could allow malicious users to run programs on other users' PCs.

Asian Handheld Vendors Ready to Take on Palm

Asian vendors are gearing up to attack the burgeoning market for PDAs (personal digital assistants), and most of them are doing so without the help of Palm Inc.'s market-leading operating system.

Nokia 9210 Handset Packs Color, Java, Net Access

Nokia Corp. has incorporated a host of Internet and PC-centric features into its forthcoming 9210 Communicator GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) handset, unveiled Tuesday at a conference in Prague hosted by the Finnish mobile phone giant.

Yahoo Buys Taiwan's Biggest Portal

In a move aimed at strengthening its position in Asia, Internet bellwether Yahoo Inc. on Thursday unveiled an agreement to acquire Taiwan's leading portal provider Kimo.com Corp. in a stock-swap deal valued at US$146 million.

Five Motorola Staff in Taiwan Plane Crash

Motorola on Thursday said that five of its employees, four Singaporeans and one US citizen, are confirmed to be among the casualties of a devastating plane crash Tuesday night at Taiwan's Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport.

AMD ups Athlon memory ante

As expected, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) on Monday introduced a new chip set that will allow PCs powered by its high-end Athlon processors to take advantage of the emerging double data rate (DDR) synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) high-speed memory devices.

Barrett says Intel still a Rambus believer

Intel remains committed to introducing its forthcoming Pentium 4 processor with Rambus's high-speed memory interface technology, which Intel believes is the right choice for high-end desktop PCs, Intel's president and CEO Craig Barrett said here Friday.