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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: T.R. who wrote (30967)	2/24/1998 4:30:00 PM
From: Boplicity	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

Chip breakthrough claimed By Jim Davis Staff Writer, CNET NEWS.COM February 24, 1998, 11:50 a.m. PT update Researchers at the University of Texas have developed a new chipmaking technology that will help the semiconductor industry continue to produce exponentially more powerful processors while keeping manufacturing costs in check. Working with DuPont Photomasks (DPMI), researchers have produced a semiconductor wafer with components that are a mere 0.08 microns wide. By contrast, cutting-edge chip production processes use the comparatively fat 0.25-micron technology to make chips such as the newest Pentium II processors. Next-generation technology will only go as small as 0.18 micron. In creating the advanced chip, researchers employed standard ultraviolet light to etch the lines in which the transistors are laid--meaning that the industry doesn't have to invest in next-generation equipment using electrons or X-rays, a massively expensive proposition. A plant for making 0.25 micron chips now costs between $2 billion and $2.5 billion to construct. That cost is expected jump to between $3 billion and $4 billion with the next generation of plants alone, but the research means that those plants may be able to produce chips at least through the year 2009. In general, advanced production techniques allow more transistors to be crammed into the same real estate, thereby increasing the horsepower of the chip. Also, as the transistors are pushed closer together, this increases a chip's speed because the distance between the transistors is reduced. The new ultraviolet technology could prove critical to the continued advancement of the semiconductor industry because it may eliminate the uncertainty about new production techniques which has clouded the future of chipmaking. "People in the chip-manufacturing business are so excited that they can see a pathway to evolving what they are doing now rather than having to make huge shift to new technologies," says Grant Willson, professor of chemistry and chemical engineering at the University of Texas. "It would be difficult and unpleasant to make such a radical change." In 2003, the most powerful processors will run at 1,500 MHz and contain 18 million transistors, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. Today's commonly used processors for desktop PCs, by contrast, have up to 7.5 million transistors and run at up to 350 MHz. One of the limits to current technology is the part of the manufacturing process known as "optical lithography." Chips are made by projecting patterns of light on silicon wafers. A piece of equipment called a "photomask," which is used as a very small template for the semiconductor's design. The light shines through the photomask and reacts with chemicals on the wafer to produce the electronic pathways on the chip. The problem to date has been finding ways to produce pathways smaller than 0.10 micron without resorting to completely new production methods. To overcome these hurdles, DuPont created a new kind of photomask while university researchers devised a new chemical substance that would react properly to the ever smaller beams of light that shine through the mask.

To: T.R. who wrote (30967)	2/24/1998 5:38:00 PM
From: SecularBull	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

DELL 152+ near-term...go on..short it! If you look at the historical chart for DELL (disregarding the 100 days leading up to February 18, which have little or nothing to do with this stock), DELL is primed to go much higher than many probably believe. On May 20, 1997, the Board announced a 2-for-1 split to be approved by the shareholders on July 18, and payable July 25. Between May 20 and July 25, the stock jumped from around 52 (split adjusted) to almost 85 (split adjusted). This represented an approximate 39% increase in price. If we discount the huge increase (Asian Flu) in DELL from the low 70s over the last 100 days (since the stock is really up only from its previous high of 103 to where it is now), and call DELL at 110 pre-earnings, then the stock is really only up about 15% or so since earnings were announced. This might seem like a lot, but any student (long-term shareholder/ non-trader) of DELL knows that this is not a huge move for the stock. If DELL were to increase 39% from pre-earnings, before March 6th, that would put the price at 152.90. Obviously, the time between May 20 and July 25 was much longer, but it is arguable that the growth and earnings prospects for DELL are even greater now than then. This should propel the stock well. Anyone who has watched this stock will know that if you sell out now, you will regret it. You may have made a bunch of money (like we all have), but you will have missed the opportunity to make much, much more in the very near-term. In any event, I've been in stock since March 1996, haven't sold a dime, and don't intend to do so within the next couple of years at least. I also trade options, and if there ever was a certain call option to buy, DELL comes about as close as you could want. Stay away from short-term calls, however. The DELL story is still in the front part of the book.