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Technology Stocks : Rambus (RMBS) - Eagle or Penguin -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MileHigh who wrote (35660)	12/9/1999 10:07:00 AM
From: Don Green	Respond to of 93625

Rambus Will Offer Chips for Games And Networking By Dean Takahashi 12/09/1999 The Wall Street Journal Page B12 (Copyright (c) 1999, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) Rambus Inc., which makes technology for high-performance computer chips, is expected today to announce changes in its strategic direction, including plans to break into new markets in communications chips and video games. Rambus marked a milestone last month, as personal-computer makers began shipping high-performance computers with Rambus memory chips for the first time, a success for the company that was nine years in the making. "Job No. 1 is well under way, and in 2000 we will move on to new markets," said Geoff Tate, chief executive of the Mountain View, Calif., company. "We will show prototypes and technical details in the first half of next year." Mr. Tate said the company will get a boost next year when Sony Corp. begins shipping its technology in the Playstation 2 video-game console in the Japanese market in March 2000. Sony has said it expects to ship one million of the machines in its first weekend of sale. In addition, Mr. Tate said, makers of routers and switches for computer networks are expected to begin using Rambus technology next year. By expanding its efforts into communications, Mr. Tate said Rambus could expand its market far beyond just the computer and consumer-electronics markets. Royalties could be higher since communications chips carry higher average prices. To get ready for its new market changes, Mr. Tate said that Dave Mooring, formerly senior vice president of the computer and memory group, will be appointed president of the company. Mr. Tate will relinquish the president's title but remain CEO. Rambus 's technology speeds the flow of data from logic chips to memory chips inside a computer. Rambus dynamic random-access memory chips operate at speeds of 800 megahertz and transfer data at 1.6 gigabytes a second. Next year, the company will double the speed, to 1.6 gigahertz, and quadruple the transfer rate, Mr. Tate said. Rambus licenses its technology to both logic-chip makers and memory-chip makers, although some companies have been reluctant to pay the royalties it charges. In addition, the technology results in larger chips that are harder and more costly to manufacture. But as microprocessors become faster, memory chips must keep up. More than 30 semiconductor companies have licensed Rambus technology, including all of the major manufacturers in the memory-chip market, which is expected to grow to $60 billion over the next five years. Samsung Electronics Co. and NEC Corp. are currently shipping Rambus memory chips, and Toshiba Corp. and Infineon Technologies AG are preparing for production. Making the chips inexpensively has been a challenge, however, and Rambus suffered a setback when Intel Corp. delayed Rambus 's debut in personal computers in September, after Intel found a bug in the technology. Intel worked around the glitch and released its new products using the Rambus technology in November. At 4 p.m. on the Nasdaq Stock Market Rambus closed down $3.875, or 5.4%, at $68.

To: MileHigh who wrote (35660)	12/9/1999 10:09:00 AM
From: Don Green	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 93625

Rambus Plans To Increase Module Bandwidth To 6.4 GB/s 12/09/1999 Dow Jones News Service (Copyright (c) 1999, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -(Dow Jones)- Rambus Inc. (RMBS) plans to double its chip-connection data transfer rate to 1.6 gigahertz, as part of its technology "roadmap" for 2000. In a press release Thursday, Rambus said it also plans to develop technology for quadrupling its Rambus memory module bandwidth to 6.4 gigabytes under the plan for next year. Rambus , which makes technology for high-performance computer chips, said its high-bandwidth chip connection technology currently finds its primary application in the consumer and computer markets. Additionally, the company said it began to collaborate with chip and systems companies to apply its high-bandwidth chip connection technology to areas outside of its initial focus on processor-to-memory bottlenecks. Rambus expects to disclose first results from the collaborative efforts in 2000. Also, with the growth of the Internet, Rambus said its interface technology will likely become important for cost-effective communications products. As reported in Dec. 9 editions of The Wall Street Journal, Rambus expects makers of routers and switches for computer networks to start using its technology next year. By moving efforts into communications, Rambus might expand its market far beyond just computer and consumer-electronics markets. Royalties would be higher, since communications chips carry higher average prices. -Leah McGrath; Dow Jones