JAPANESE CHIP MAKERS EXPAND
Despite the recent downturn in the memory chip market, three Japanese chip makers are investing for the future. Hitachi will spend 120 billion yen to build a new plant near Tokyo. Mitsubishi Electric is expanding its factory in Saijo to produce 64MB chips by October 1997. NEC Corporation is upgrading it's Sagmihara research facility. It is at this facility that NEC hopes to perfect the production technology for the 1GB memory chip this next year. (Source: Wall Street Journal; 4/26/1996).

120MB FLOPPY DRIVE
A 120MB floppy disk drive is featured in Compaq's Deskpro 5133 and 5166LS personal computers. The drive, developed with 3M and Panasonic, stores 80 times as much as the current 1.44MB floppy and is 5 times as fast. Could this be the beginning of a new standard for floppy disks? (Source: PC Magazine; 4/23/1996).

THE INTERNET VIA CABLE MODEMS
Look for the cable TV industry to begin offering Internet access via the same cable used to deliver cable TV. Motorola is expected to begin shipping up to one million cable modems to Time Warner, Comcast, TCI and others this year.

Cable modems operate at speeds hundreds of times faster than current modems. A 2MB image using a 14.4 Kbps modem would take 2.3 minutes. The same image delivered via a cable modem would take .5 seconds. A 72MB video would take 18 seconds when transferred via the 4 Mbps cable modem or 1.4 hours via a 14.4 Kbps modem.

Since most cable systems are only one-way, some cable modem manufactures build in a 28.8 Kbps modem with the cable modem. Data is transferred to you at the higher cable modem speeds and your responses sent through the 28.8 modem over telephone lines. Look for cable companies to charge $30 to $50 per month for this service. (Sources: Wall Street Week; 12/27/1995 and 4/29/1996; Chicago Tribune, 5/5/1996).

WEB SITE OF THE MONTH
Here are two sites that may help you with your investments. Briefing provides market numbers and some editorial analysis and Investor's Edge has market reports, a news service and portfolio management. Briefing's address is: www.briefing.com and Investor's Edge can be reached at: www.irnet.com (Source: PCWeek).
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Technology Tidbits is published monthly by Jerry Price, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
© 1996 Jerry W. Price

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