Centimeter-Level Accuracy — Is It Coming?
ION 2007 News Coverage: Jeff Chappell Blogs Plenary Report: What is the future of civilian GNSS? Cars that drive and navigate by themselves, with the assistance of on-board sensors and GPS? Accuracy well below one meter–perhaps even the centimeter level, and all that implies–thanks to the promulgation of new civil signals from GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, etc.? Without the promulgation of post processing and other tricks used to improve accuracy today? “The hopeful, qualified answer is yes, say speakers here in Ft. Worth, Texas at the 20th International Technical Meeting of the...
Read MoreVenture Capitalists Have Eyes on China
Startups all across China in the technology sector are looking for seed money and second-and third-round investments, and are courting foreign as well as local investors, particularly U.S.-based venture firms. But are the American VCs interested? Do they share in the buzz, the excitement about China? They most certainly do; the answer is definitely yes. But it’s a qualified yes. American VCs aren’t just handing out money at the drop of a Chinese hat. While there is perhaps a bit of a gold rush mentality in the semiconductor industry with regards to China, perhaps the VCs remember...
Read MoreMoving to China: Where Should You Set up Shop?
So you’ve decided you need to have a presence on the ground in China. Or you’ve decided it’s time to move some manufacturing to China, or expand the sales offices you have there. Then the question becomes where do you go in China to set up shop? It’s a big question, and not one with the clear-cut answers it had just a few short years ago. At first glance, it might seem obvious: if you’re talking about electronics manufacturing, then Shenzhen, China’s richest city, is the place to go. If you’re talking about something farther up the food chain, say...
Read MoreIntel – Micron – Apple Deal Spawns Stock Sell-off
Beware the 800-pound gorilla. And beware nervous investors with itchy mouse fingers and analysts that shoot advice from the hip and and ask questions later.. The news that Intel Corp. was pairing up with U.S. memory maker Micron to make flash memory – and scored a lucrative deal with Apple Computer in the process – sent shares of other flash memory makers tumbling on financial markets around the globe Monday. The tumble continued today. All the leaders in the flash memory market got hammered. Samsung Electronics, for example, saw its stock close last Friday on the South Korean exchange...
Read MoreARMing China
SHENZHEN, China — Software is a hard sell in China — in a country that understands the physical aspects of manufacturing inside and out, the concepts surrounding software are perhaps somewhat esoteric. Furthermore, while system integration is something the Chinese technology industry is adept at, design is still relatively weak by comparison. This may make China an unlikely place to launch an embedded software and hardware company centered on microcontroller development kits, but on the other hand, that would make you the only local game in town, and being local is often a key...
Read MoreChinese Electronics: Getting Ahead of the Game
SHENZHEN, China — It seems wherever you go in China’s cities, north south, east or west, business and government are looking for foreign partners and investments. Start-ups, local and central government, well-established domestic companies alike, all discuss the possibilities of establishing a win-win relationship with companies from the West, particularly the United States. These efforts are still relatively nascent in China’s chip industry, with a few notable exceptions like foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. And on the other side, many are just as...
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Jeff Chappell: journalism nerd; web geek. That's the short story. Want the longer one?