VIA Technologies (
VIA chose to back DDR memory for its chipsets, while Intel championed Rambus memory to match its CPU, the brains of a computer. DDR beats Rambus memory on price and computer manufacturers love the chips.
"DDR is now the mainstream of the memory chip market. In 2001, it captured 30 percent of market share," said Desi Rhoden, president of Advanced Memory International Inc, a group that promotes standard memory chip technologies. "By mid-2002, it will be the market mainstream."
One by one, executives from five memory chip giants -- including Micron Technology Inc and Samsung Semiconductor Inc -- all stood up and showed how their own production shifts would increase DDR's market share to 50 percent or more by the middle of this year, while Rambus could sink to as low as 2 percent.
The battle has been far from fair. Intel has spent more than US$1 billion -- more than VIA made last year -- to back Rambus. VIA put up pocket change by comparison.
Intel, the world's largest computer CPU maker, chose Rambus in the mid-1990s, when the speed of their CPUs were being held up by slow memory chips. But the chips proved notoriously difficult to manufacture.
Some companies said they would have had to re-tool entire factories in order to produce Rambus chips.
In the late 1990s, Intel stepped in with cash infusions of US$500 million for a 6 percent stake in Micron and US$100 million for Samsung to help them find less-expensive ways to manufacture Rambus memory chips. They found some success, but price points remained high.
VIA swung in behind DDR and a predecessor chip by making chipsets to connect the memory chips to Intel Pentium III -- something no other company dared do in the face of mighty Intel -- and Pentium 4 chips.
Intel sued VIA for patent infringement in both cases. The Pentium III case was settled out of court for an unspecified amount. The Pentium 4 case continues.
VIA's first victory came when the market chose the less expensive DDR chips and VIA's chipsets along with them. The firm's revenue grew 171 percent in 2000 to almost US$1 billion as a result.
In early last year, VIA hosted its first DDR Summit, encouraging memory makers to do what comes natural: Manufacture the less-expensive DDR chips that their equipment could produce easily. At the time, Rambus was viewed as the only threat to DDR.
This year's DDR Summit, the second annual meeting, became merely a showcase for DDR memory chips, as the standard has already become just that. Rambus chips barely received mention.
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
UNCERTAINTIES: The world’s biggest chip packager and tester is closely monitoring the US’ tariff policy before making any capacity adjustments, a company official said ASE Technology Holding Inc (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said it is cautiously evaluating new advanced packaging capacity expansion in the US in response to customers’ requests amid uncertainties about the US’ tariff policy. Compared with its semiconductor peers, ASE has been relatively prudent about building new capacity in the US. However, the company is adjusting its global manufacturing footprint expansion after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs in April, and new import duties targeting semiconductors and other items that are vital to national security. ASE subsidiary Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) is participating in Nvidia