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The New Era of Copper
Consumers may benefit as a result of new computer chip developments

Those of you who are reasonably computer literate know that the names and phrases that pop up in ads and likewise adorn the cases of your computers refer to something other than catchy corporate logos. You're even more aware of their significance if you own stock in companies like Motorola, IBM, Digital Equipment Corporation, Advanced Micro Devices, and Intel. If that's the case, then you know that "Intel Inside" and "PowerPC" really refer to the microprocessor "brain" of your computer, and you also know that advances in semi-conductor chips literally drive the continued growth of the computer industry. And If you think that all the foregoing describes you, then there are a few developments coming up in the semi-conductor world of which you should become aware.

But to take a moment for the slightly less well informed, a microprocessor is a computer central processing unit (CPU) built as a single tiny semi-conductor chip, also known as an integrated circuit. The thousands of circuits in a chip are constructed from the equivalent of millions of transistors, resistors, and diodes during the manufacture of the sliver-thin silicon-based material. The resulting microprocessor chip controls all the arithmetic and logic functions necessary to perform the operations of a computer program. Therefore, the CPU dictates the type of software your computer can run, and it plays an important role in determining how fast your computer processes information. Nowadays, hotrod desktop machines run at 233 or 300 MHz, which is a measure of "clock speed." In practical terms, as a computer's clock speed increases, so does its processing speed.

And now back to the news, which is exciting for chip aficionados and investors alike. Toward the end of September, IBM announced a revolutionary breakthrough in chip manufacture that involves successfully employing copper, rather than aluminum, as an element of the chip. The result is a new high-performance chip which, they say, will cost 20% less and run two to four times faster than current chips. Less than a month later, Motorola announced a similar breakthrough, after working on the problem for the last two and a half years. Their chips, they say, will sell for 30% less than current prices, and they promise to have large quantities of them on the market by next summer. Perhaps the consumers of America will benefit next year from a good old fashioned price war between two biggies with deep pockets and similar technology.

In the meantime, Intel has been working on a new memory chip that stores two bits of information on each transistor, rather than the usual one bit, thus doubling the amount of information that you can get on a chip. Intel engineers believe they can get to four bits of information per transistor in the near future, using their new "multilevel cell flash memory" technology. Intel is looking for a new hook to hang its hat on, especially with the advent of the new chips from IBM and Motorola. This past summer saw Intel slash the price of its Pentium II 300 MHz chip by almost 60%. Industry analysts, and even Intel executives, are predicting that more price cuts are in store, so that a 300 MHz Pentium II-based PC, which now sells for about $3500, could soon go for less than $2000.

Next month: partners or competitors? Chip making companies often go head to head on developing and marketing similar technologies, but at the same time forge innovative partnerships to develop new and different technologies. On the other hand, disputes over who created what and how it can be used lead to convoluted, but interesting agreements.