Word: semiconductor
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...less complicated and ! cheaper kind of computer gadgetry is starting to carve a niche in the word- processing market. Known as personal writers, the novel instruments look much like their personal-computer rivals, complete with keyboard and video- display monitors. Like personal computers, the new products are powered by semiconductor chips and use floppy disks that can store up to 140 pages of text. The difference is that the new machines cannot do such high-tech jobs as number-crunching calculation and communication with other computers. Instead, the personal writers perform only routine editing and writing tasks -- at a stripped...
...tiny computer chips known as semiconductors are wizards at running just about everything, from talking bears to ballistic missiles -- but they cannot yet settle an argument. In fact, they are the cause of a fierce controversy between the U.S. and Japan, whose ill-matched trade balances have become a perennial source of friction. The conflict is rich in intrigue and deception, involving illegal practices, predatory salesmen, a suitcase brigade and even a smoking gun. At stake is not only the future of the $11.4 billion U.S. semiconductor industry but also the fate of the sophisticated weapons systems on which national...
...move was the most recent response to evidence that the work involved in creating microchips can lead to miscarriages. Other semiconductor manufacturers, such as Intel, National Semiconductor, Texas Instruments and Advanced Micro Devices, already encourage mothers-to-be to remove themselves from microchip production areas. The latest round of corporate concern originated with Digital Equipment, the computer-manufacturing firm, where a number of women production workers suffered miscarriages over the past five years. Digital commissioned a study of the problem by Harris Pastides and Edward Calabrese of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst's division of public health...
...firms agreed to pool the results of jointly financed long-term research conducted at an Austin center on such subjects as artificial intelligence and the making of silicon microchips. The original MCC roster was an honor roll of technological titans, including Digital Equipment, Advanced Micro Devices, Honeywell and National Semiconductor. Subsequently other respected firms, including 3M and Boeing, joined, and the current membership numbers...
...chipmakers never expected much relief from competition. They have already turned their attention to types of semiconductors that foreign rivals will find more difficult to copy. The chipmakers believe their future lies in fabricating relatively small batches -- thousands instead of millions -- of custom chips for specialized uses. Companies like National Semiconductor and Intel are moving away from commodity-like memory chips to concentrate on microprocessors and other products that perform more advanced functions...