Samsung Electronics and Sony today signed a contract for the construction of an eighth -generation (8G) TFT LCD production line through S-LCD, a joint venture of the two companies.
Hitachi plans to launch 60" and larger PDP (plasma display panel) TV in the US and Japan during the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007, according to the Japanese-language Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun .
The quotes for 16x DVD burners have fallen 5-10% during the second quarter of 2006 amid competition from makers such as Foxconn Electronics and NEC, according to Taiwan-based optical disc makers.
Earlier this week, market research firm Hitwise reported that the popularity of Myspace.com has surged past prominent position: In fact, Myspace.com for the first time fetched more market share than any other US website, including properties such as the main sites of Yahoo, Google or MSN.
Posted by Wolfgang Gruener and Scott M. Fulton, III
Santa Clara (CA) - An announcement did come from Intel today, but it wasn't the pleasant kind: The company is laying off about 1,000 managers, in a move spokesperson Chuck Malloy told TG Daily is intended "to improve communication flow and the decision-making process." Mulloy went on to say that only some of the managers selected for attrition have been notified, with the remainder expected to be told within the next few days.
Luxembourg - The European Union's Court of First Instance - the counterpart of the Federal Appeals Court in the US - has annulled a European Commission decision from July 2004 that enabled Sony Corp. and publishing giant Bertelsmann AG to spin off portions of their music divisions and merge them into the 50/50 joint venture known today as Sony BMG. While this does not undo the merger yet, it does cast its fate into extreme jeopardy.
In a not surprising, yet still puzzling, ruling this morning, the European Commission fined Microsoft $356.6 million (1.5 million euros per day) for what it described as the company's failure to "supply complete and accurate interface information which would allow non-Microsoft work group servers to achieve full interoperability with Windows PCs and servers."
Infocus has announced their aptly named Work Big IN42 projector which boasts a quiet 32 decibel noise level and a bright 3500 lumens output, which is good enough for a fully-lit room. The projector has a recessed lens that protects it from accidental damage and can display at 1024 by 768 resolution.
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm announced that Google has chosen the Ann Arbor area to establish a new sales and operations center for its Google's Adwords online advertising program.
Time Warner today said that it will be disclosing details about it plans for its AOL division after its second-quarter earnings conference, which is scheduled for 2 August.
Promoters of the HD DVD format are stepping up the battle against Blu-ray: A newly formed "North American HD DVD Promotional Group" announced that it will be launching a hefty marketing and advertising campaign to convince US consumers that HD DVD is "The Look and Sound of Perfect."
Microsoft announced that "nearly 1000 global independent software vendors (ISVs)" will offer a "range" when the new operating system will be launched early next year.
Motherboard manufacturer Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), which previously acquired the desktop PC unit of Tatung, announced that it will acquire second-tier notebook maker Uniwill, via a share swap.
Research firm Displaysearch reports that average industry TFT LCD array fab glass input utilization dropped from 94.7% in the third quarter of 2005 to 86.0% in the second quarter of 2006, the lowest level since the second quarter of 2003.
The leading manufacturers of semiconductor equipment expect 2006 to be the second largest year ever for sales of new semiconductor equipment according to the mid-year edition of the SEMI Capital Equipment Consensus Forecast that was released today by SEMI at the annual SEMICON West exposition.
Grapevine (TX) - At a meeting with journalists, including TG Daily, at the site of the World Series of Video Games on Sunday afternoon, Dell Computer Chairman Michael Dell gave clear signals - while omitting any and all details - that his company will have more to say about expanding its relationship with CPU supplier AMD in the near future.
In order to prepare for back-to-school demand in September, LCD monitor vendors such as Dell, Philips and Hewlett-Packard (HP) are increasing their 17" LCD monitor orders with panel makers this month, according to today's Chinese-language Commercial Times .
The European Commission meets on Monday to determine the amount of fines it's prepared to levy against Microsoft (a very short meeting, most believe), and again on Wednesday, most likely to impose these fines. It would seem the EC is in a rush to proclaim Microsoft guilty of not turning over material that an agreement with its independent trustee says is actually due the following week.
Google Checkout adoption will translate to higher costs for the shopping comparison engines. Some of the costs will be passed onto merchants, and I'm not sure they'll stand for it.
