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To: Johnny Canuck who wrote (24522)	12/8/1999 2:08:00 AM
From: Johnny Canuck	Respond to of 69885

U.S. News and World Report Cover Story 12/13/99 EXCLUSIVE POLL RESULTS PC makers: Please read this story In his 1998 book, The Invisible Computer, Donald Norman, a former executive at both Hewlett-Packard and Apple Computer, blasted the personal computer as "perhaps the most frustrating technology ever." That may sound kind of harsh. But according to a U.S. News poll, quite a few Americans seem to share his sentiment. The poll of 1,000 adults found that 62 percent of the respondents owned personal computers, a considerably higher percentage than the 50 percent set by most surveys. The findings suggest that a strong 71 percent majority of Americans with PCs are still only on their first- or second-generation machines. Surf city. The No. 1 use of the PC among adults, respondents said, was writing and sending E-mail (26 percent), scouring the Internet for information (24 percent), and word processing (20 percent.) That suggests that most grown-ups (manufacturers, please take note) are not using anywhere near the full power that their computers offer. Teenagers, however, seem to be taking advantage of their machine's horsepower–32 percent of them cite game playing as the the main thing they do on their home PCs. The level of frustration became evident when U.S. News asked whether respondents were considering upgrading their machines. A resounding 62 percent said "No." One reason cited is that 83 percent of these users worry that whatever they buy, it will become obsolete in a relatively short period of time. So what exactly is driving computer users batty? The biggest factor was that machines were too slow (31 percent). Other gripes included the quality of technical support (15 percent), inadequate or confusing instruction manuals (14 percent), not enough memory (7 percent), software that's too complicated (5 percent), and difficulty of operation (3 percent). For almost any other industry, such as automobiles or air travel, that level of dissatisfaction would inevitably create a huge backlash. For households that don't own computers, the question we posed was "Why not?" The top reason was simply "not interested" (53 percent); that was followed by complexity (23 percent), hassles making purchasing decisions (19 percent), and fear of technology (12 percent). Very few respondents expressed any interest in buying the next generation of simple handheld products that combine phone and Internet functions. Only 23 percent said they would be interested in purchasing such a device versus 72 percent who said "No." Clearly, manufacturers face a huge marketing effort if they are ever going to convince Americans that an era of simple, anytime, anywhere Internet access is at hand. -W.J.H. U.S. News poll of 1,000 adults by Market Facts' Telenation Nov. 19-21, 1999. Margin of error: plus or minus 3 percentage points.

To: Johnny Canuck who wrote (24522)	12/8/1999 2:13:00 AM
From: Johnny Canuck	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 69885

To: Tech Bull (3153 ) From: JDB Tuesday, Dec 7 1999 12:18PM ET Reply # of 3154 Wireless and Fiber Optic Networks to Boost Compound Semiconductor Sales To $10 Billion Compound Semiconductor Magazine Predicts Communications Applications Will Grow 33 - 40% Annually BEVERLY, Mass., Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Sales of compound semiconductor devices will reach the $10 billion mark in 2000, predicts an article in the December issue of Compound Semiconductor Magazine. "Shipments of compound semiconductor devices increased nearly 4x in this decade, and the outlook for the years ahead is extremely good," says Managing Editor Marie Meyer. "If the current growth rates can be sustained -- and there are no indications to the contrary -- shipments of compound semiconductor devices should reach the $20 billion level in less than 5 years." Compound semiconductors are the second most common type of semiconductor, after silicon. The most common example of a compound semiconductor device is the light emitting diode (LED), which accounts for approximately 40% of all sales. However, the highest growth rates are found in more sophisticated devices that are used as components in communications systems. Examples include GaAs power amplifiers for mobile phones, and semiconductor laser diodes and high-speed ICs used in fiber optic networks. In many cases, compound semiconductors serve as the key enabling technology for communications systems, and demand for these devices is soaring. The total market value for compound semiconductors used in communications applications is estimated to be more than $3.5 billion, with current annual growth rates in excess of 33%. As a result, virtually all of the companies that are active in this field have seen huge increases in their valuations. Since the first of the year, shares in three manufacturers of telecom laser diodes -- JDS Uniphase, SDL Inc., and Ortel -- have risen more than 600%. "We believe the growth rates in laser diodes may be even higher with the aggressive deployment of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) networks and a robust SONET market," says Jim Jungjohann, a telecom analyst at CIBC World Markets. Share prices for several manufacturers of GaAs ICs have also increased dramatically. RF Micro Devices is up more than 1800% over the past two years. Shares in Vitesse, TriQuint, and Alpha Industries have risen more than 300% in that same period. And Conexant shares have risen more than 500% since the company's IPO in January. "With the strong growth in mobile telephony and broadband wireless access opportunities, demand is accelerating for high- speed, high bandwidth components. We expect that technology advances will keep GaAs, SiC and other advanced materials in the forefront of the bandwidth revolution," said Dale Pfau, Managing Director at CIBC World Markets. "We could see growth over the next several years even stronger than we have over the past two or three." Compound Semiconductor Magazine, with sponsorship from CIBC World Markets, is hosting a conference about the applications of compound semiconductors in the communications industry. The Key Conference on Compound Semiconductors in Communications will be held in Key West, Florida March 13-14, 2000 at the Wyndham Casa Marina Hotel. Leading industry analysts and representatives of many of the top compound semiconductor fabs will present their views on the future of this industry. Speakers from Lucent, Nortel Networks, TRW, JDS Uniphase, Anadigics, Gore Photonics, Cree Research, Rockwell Science Center, Strategies Unlimited, OIDA, Strategies Analytics and many others are scheduled to appear. To download the full text of the article referenced above in PDF format, visit keyconference.com and select "Press Releases" and scroll to the bottom of the page. Contact: Marie Meyer Managing Editor Compound Semiconductor Magazine Franklin Publishing 163 Cabot Street Beverly, MA 01915 USA TEL [1] 978 927 9994 FAX [1] 978 927 9893 Email: mmeyer@compsem.com SOURCE Compound Semiconductor Magazine CO: Compound Semiconductor Magazine; Key Conference on Compound Semiconductors in Communications ST: Massachusetts, Florida IN: CPR PUB SU: 12/07/1999