Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Lam Research (LRCX, NASDAQ): To the Insiders -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Duker who wrote (3865)	1/18/2000 11:57:00 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 5867

New Report: Technology Roadmap Brings Down Economic Life of PCs In a new report just released by IDC, the harsh realities of the accelerated pace of change in the world of microchips and PCs can be viewed. With Intel proud of the fact that it has in the migration from 0.25-micron to 0.18-microns technology, achieved its fastest technology ramp ever, little notice has been given to the impact on the consumer. According to IDC, year three is really the last point at which PCs hold any measurable amount of value, and all indications show that value is shrinking into the second year. "Vendors will continue to lower price points as faster processors are introduced and continue to replace their most expensive, best equipped systems with even better systems at the same price point," said Kevin Burden, senior analyst with IDC's Asset Management Services research program. "As long as users are able to continually buy more robust PCs at lower price points, economic life cycles will continue to shrink - and this will certainly be the case for the foreseeable future." If companies are to get the most from their PC investments, they need to understand the life cycles of the different PCs they have installed and their value on the used market, according to Burden. "As companies cycle out older systems for newer ones, they often find the cost to get rid of PCs exceeds their value in the used equipment market." Separate IDC research shows it can cost as much as $250 to simply remove a PC from its work area after tallying the labour involved in physically removing the system and network components, disconnecting peripherals, scrubbing the hard disk of software and sensitive company information, and figuring in the loss in user productivity during the downtime. It is possible for companies to cover these disposal costs if they retire their PCs while they still have value in the used market. But the key to this timing strategy is knowing the current fair market value of used PCs, as well as having a residual value forecast showing what the systems will be worth in the future. While Intel's pace of change holds the greatest influence over PC economic life cycles, corporations do have some say over technological life cycles. "Standardising on a stable platform, playing out the full useful life of systems, and upgrading various components may potentially lengthen corporate PC life cycles, but don't count on it," Burden said. semiconductorfabtech.com

To: Duker who wrote (3865)	1/18/2000 9:18:00 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 5867

Merill Lynch Sees Semiconductor Capital Expenditure Upswing (AMAT) (NewsTraders.com)--Merrill Lynch analyst Mark Fitzgerald is projecting a healthy increase in semiconductor capital equipment expenditures, which translates into benefits for companies poised to take advantage of the trend. Fitzgerald singled out Applied Materials (AMAT), Novellus (NVLS) KLA Tencor (KLAC), Teradyne (TER), Credence (CMOS), ASM Lithography (ASML) and Asyst (ASYT) as potential beneficiaries from the spending rise. The analyst sees a 40% increase in spending from 1999 levels and predicted that deep ultra-violet lithography, or DUV, tools will continue to be the product in the greatest demand in 2000. Also expected to be hot items are products related to chemical mechanical polishing, or CMP, advance process control, high density plasma, also known as HDP, oxide etch and mixed signal testers. Copyright 2000 NewsTraders Inc. All Rights Reserved 10:03 Tuesday, January 18, 2000 *************************************** Lam does that CMP stuff, doesn't it:-))))))))))))))))