Actually skeeter, you have it backwards. Those that can't compete at one generation run for the hoped prosperity at the next generation. The Japanese for example are throwing in the towel, admitting that they can't compete at 64mb, and hoping that things will be better at 128mb. Making money on trailing edge products is actually very difficult because there is inherently overcapacity. You must be ultra-efficient, and be able to force the competition to give up. MU has always been very good at this.
If MU was actually the laggard that you think they are, they would have been out business years ago. To the contrary, they are an aggressive, unforgiving competitor that is very difficult to compete against. If you are going to play this game, you better have a tough stomach, and deep pockets, because if you want to compete against MU, you will need them. They won't let anyone make money on trailing products, and when crossover to a new generation occurs, they drive up production, and drive down prices. They ask no quarter, and they give none.
Why do they have all this debt? Because they made a big gamble and bought TI, dramatically increasing their size. But of course if they weren't using the cash to upgrade the TI fabs, they could pay it off, since they also have that much cash.
Carl
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