Industry
The business side of tech. Developments, legal face-offs, acquisitions, and technology trends.
US-China semiconductor battle: Second and third order consequences
Not so obvious ripple effects
Why it matters: Earlier this month, the US government blocked the sale of specific chips to anyone in China. We see this as an important change by the government in the tactics they are deploying. The United States has gone from blocking specific companies in China, to blocking all companies and focusing on specific products. This is a big change, and opens up the question -- what exactly are they hoping to achieve? This matters obviously in that it can help us predict the outcome, but we increasingly hold the view that the government may not have entirely thought through how this will ultimately play out.
China accelerates industrial automation as workforce contracts
One answer to labor shortages
Meta continues its slide following Facebook name change as share price nears pandemic low
Is the metaverse really worth it?
EVGA will stop making Nvidia graphics cards, citing abusive relationship
Could this be the end of EVGA?
A hot potato: The relationship between Nvidia and one of its top board partners seems to have reached a breaking point. EVGA won't produce RTX 40 series GPUs, effectively exiting the graphics card market entirely. Possibly heralding the end of EVGA, the decision could bring closer attention to the business interactions between GPU makers and board partners.
Intel will start phasing out Pentium and Celeron brands in 2023
Intel's budget brands are being replaced with "Intel Processor" branding
Google and the US government partner to make open source chips
Google's money will be used to fund industry innovation
LG makes successful 6G data transmission, tripling distance record
Forward-looking: 5G wireless networks are still in their infancy but that isn't stopping leading mobile experts from exploring what comes next. LG has demonstrated the wireless transmission and reception of 6G terahertz (THz) data over a distance of 320 meters outdoors. The feat took place at the Fraunhofer HHI in Berlin, Germany, on September 7 at a frequency range of 155 to 175 GHz.
Fujitsu's new optical system can transmit data at 1.2 Tbps per wave
Fast enough to transfer six Blu-ray discs in one second
Something to look forward to: Fujitsu has developed an optical transmission technology capable of delivering up to 1.2 Tbps per optical wave, or the equivalent of six Blu-ray discs (25 GB) per second. The new tech is superior to traditional optical networking solutions at virtually every avenue.
HP pays out in another settlement over ink cartridge DRM
The practice is likely to continue for the foreseeable future
A hot potato: Printer ink cartridges have long been notoriously expensive, and printer manufacturers use DRM to keep users from buying cheaper third-party versions. HP is still paying settlements to customers over how it deployed its DRM years ago, but the practice shows no sign of ending soon.
Ethereum finally switches to proof-of-stake, ending GPU mining
Better late than never
Microsoft/Activision Blizzard deal faces in-depth watchdog investigation
This is starting to feel like Nvidia and Arm
In a nutshell: Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard is expected to face increased scrutiny from regulators in the UK and Brussels after the company failed to address concerns that the deal is anti-competitive and will prevent rival consoles and cloud gaming/subscription services from accessing Activision Blizzard games.
Tesla's per-car production cost down to $36,000, cheaper model and robotaxi still on the roadmap
If only the prices could drop, too
In a nutshell: Tesla's per-vehicle manufacturing costs dropped to less than half in the past five years, thanks in part to more efficient factories and improved vehicle design. The company also reiterated plans for an entry-level EV and robotaxis launching in the distant future.
The US government is strengthening China export bans on chipmaking devices
Cutting corners: Washington is preparing new rules to ban exports of advanced chipmaking devices to China, a move that could, however, be too little too late as Asian manufacturing companies are already engaged in making sub-14nm semiconductors on their own.
Google hit with $25 billion EU/UK lawsuit over its adtech business
Google plans to "vigorously" fight the suit
Comcast is rolling out 2Gbps Internet service in select states
Comcast is building the foundation for its 10G Internet service
Hard vs. Soft: Software may be eating the world, but hardware monetizes better
Are software businesses less capital intensive than hardware?
White House consults experts, lays down a six-point plan to increase Big Tech accountability
The Biden Administration wants to put large tech platforms on a leash
Dell: PC supply chain has returned to normal, but chip shortage is still impacting server market
Dell expects component availability to ease in the fourth quarter
Twitter agreed to $7 million settlement for whistleblower before he went public with allegations
It included a non-disclosure agreement
GameStop "wiretapped" customers without consent, claims lawsuit
It sold secret transcripts to a marketing firm to build profiles using personal information
Cryptocurrency market dips below $1 trillion as Bitcoin nears its lowest price of 2022
Will Ethereum's Merge help turn things around?
Elon Musk abandoned Twitter deal because of World War 3 fears, claim company lawyers
Fake accounts weren't the issue, allegedly