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Technology Stocks : JMAR Technologies(JMAR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Richaaard who wrote (7090)	12/2/1998 1:31:00 AM
From: Falstaff	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9695

Richaaard, I think you should think again. I understand what you are saying about companies deciding their own courses to the best of their ability, in their own enlightened self interests. However, you must see (grok) the worldwide semiconductor industry in whole. Just because SIA/Semitech/SEMI could not report a universal consensus last year does not mean that it is not coming. It is only natural that there will be competition and passionate advocacy. Huge egos, significant political power and massive fortunes are at stake. Still, we can expect an eventual "winner". Everyone uses the same processes today, and this is fundamental to the maturity and advancement of the industry. Semiconductor fabrication is amazingly complex and complicated, with thousands of specialized providers. When the industry shifts from optical lithography, there will be a consensus about which way to go. It won't have to come from SIA: the industry will choose. I don't think for a moment that divergent paths will have any significant life. They may exist for a short while during a kind of shakeout, but one technique will emerge and dominate almost exclusively, like UV lithography does today. I think SIA is most likely to foresee this outcome and advocate the chosen path early. It is their charter to advance the industry and state of the art, and it is completely appropriate for them both to build consensus and report that consensus. Is the next step X-ray? As a JMAR investor, I am betting it is. Is the next step X-ray and a couple other techniques, all competing side by side? As an observer of history and this industry, I'd say that is extremely unlikely.