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Shrinking Memory Chips May Reach Dead End
Reuters reported on Wednesday that there is rising concern among engineers developing
smaller and smaller memory chips as they are beginning to worry that the laws of physics will
not allow them to get any smaller. Mike Splinter, chief executive of Applied Materials Inc., the
world's biggest supplier of tools for making microchips said that, "You get in to the 25-nanometer
regime and there may need to be a new structure for nonvolatile memory." Currently, chip
development is guided by “Moore’s Law” which says that the number of transistors that can be
housed on a given area of silicon doubles every 18 months, but Splinter says this industry
axiom may prove to be insufficient.
Business
Indian Developers Can’t Give Apartments Away
Developers and city planners in Mumbai India are struggling to deal with an expansive shanty
town that sits on prime real estate the city is desperate to develop. The city, which is projected
to be the world’s second largest by 2012, is home to Asia’s largest slum, known as Dharavi, and
is planning the largest slum-clearing ever undertaken, though Dharavi residence may keep that
from happening. “We will fight it and fight it,” said Jockin Arputham, president of the National
Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF). In spite of requirements for developers to provide free
housing for current Dharavi residents, Arputham stated, “Not a single slum dweller has given
consent.”
Business (Korea)
Big Firms Heavily Invested in R&D
In a Science & Technology Policy Institute (STEPI) report titled "Corporate R&D Investments &
Achievements 2006" that was released on March 21 st, it is stated that the top 30 firms in the
country are responsible for 90 percent of the research and development. Those funds, the
report goes on to say, are tied up mostly in electronics. Samsung Electronics in particular
invested hugely in R&D, making up 37.3 percent of R&D investments of the 750 firms analyzed.
Of all R&D investment money, 60 percent was found to be invested in electronics and electronic
firms.
Business (Korea)
Samsung Joins Restructuring Trend
Samsung Electronics announced on Wednesday that it will undergo a new corporate
restructuring plan, following in the footsteps of companies such as Hyundai Motor Group and
LG Electronics. Workers at Samsung’s head office will be transferred to divisions that are
struggling, in an effort to energize the company. Choi Do-seok, senior director of the firm's
managing staff, was recently said that, "It is not that we are cutting down the members of the
managing staff. We plan to assign a duty to revitalize the business sector, which is deemed to
have lost its competitiveness, to selected staff members who are considered to be qualified for
duty."