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

To: Don Green who wrote (41389)	5/5/2000 11:59:00 AM
From: blake_paterson	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 93625

Don: Aren't NEC and Hitachi's DRAM businesses, and therefore business interests, now aligned? I won't dispute the "facts" alleged in the report, but if I am correct, then neither would I assume that these facts are being presented within an unbiased context or intent. BP

To: Don Green who wrote (41389)	5/5/2000 12:25:00 PM
From: jim kelley	Respond to of 93625

It is interesting that NEC and Hitachi are joined at the hip.

To: Don Green who wrote (41389)	5/5/2000 2:51:00 PM
From: Dave B	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

Re: the NEC news... While the article doesn't say specifically, it seems to me to imply that NEC is talking about 64Mb RDRAM chips when they talk about reducing production (see the first three paragraphs from the article below). If so, Dataquest already said that RDRAM would not appear in any significant volume in 64Mb chips (I think they said 90+% of 64Mb chips would remain SDRAM). Dataquests forecasts for RDRAM "dominance" centered on 128Mb and 256Mb chips. Maybe NEC is just getting the word. As the price of 64Mb (megabit) memory rises, major semiconductor firm NEC has started to put chips on allocation, according to analysts Bear Sterns. And, at the same time, NEC is believed to have now realised it vastly overrestimated the impact of Rambus memory and is taking steps to cut back supply and shift production lines to SDRAM (synchronous memory). Although conventional NEC memory is not yet on allocation, the Japanese firm has raised the contract price of parts to its large PC customers by 25 cents, meaning that 64Mb parts are now likely to cost $6.50. Just a theory. Dave

To: Don Green who wrote (41389)	5/5/2000 2:59:00 PM
From: Bilow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

Hi Don Green; Re NEC's supposed cutting back on RDRAM... I see no mention of this anywhere but TheRegister, so I have to assume that it is either false or a scoop. If true, it is kind of bad news for Rambus, as it indicates that the memory makers are deliberately keeping RDRAM prices high. This allows them to force the industry to convert over to DDR, even over Intel's objections. (An informal cartel.) By doing this, they get the advantage of being paid back for their RDRAM investments early, and they get to eliminate the Rambus royalties in the future. Some recent articles in trade mags that talk about NEC and RDRAM production: NEC declined to discuss its Direct RDRAM production levels, although Shimakura said the company has the capacity to make one million units a month. techweb.com Rambus uses stock to spark production of Direct Rambus DRAMs Rambus Inc. recently announced that it has offered stock warrants to NEC Corp. as thanks for meeting production goals. ... Currently, NEC is producing some 200,000 to 300,000 RDRAMs a month, which is below the 1 million target it had originally expected to be making by this time. By comparison, NEC is making 10 million 64-Mbit SDRAMs and 5 million 128-Mbit SDRAMs per month, the spokesman said. techweb.com -- Carl