Global chipmakers, battling slower technology demand, are betting size matters as they pin their hopes for future growth on small and easy to carry mobile devices such as netbooks and smartphones.

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday said it plans to start selling by the end of 2009 a DRAM chip built with its new 40-nanometer technology, which is expected to use significantly less power than the current generation of memory chips used in PCs.

IBM, Dell and Intel stand out among technology and consumer-products companies for their policies directed at averting climate change, according to a study released on Thursday.

Legal disputes are rising as employers refuse to pay employees for the 20 or so minutes it takes for their computers to boot-up or shut down each work day.

HP expects earnings of 84 cents per share and adjusted earnings of $1.03 per share for the three months ended in October. This is slightly better than the $1.00 per share, excluding items, expected from analysts polled....

The latest data from IDC shows worldwide PC shipments into the United States will be 1.1% lower in the fourth quarter than they were for the same period a year ago. By comparison, PC shipments to the US increased nearly 11% during the fourth quarter of 2007. Citigroup also predicted that 2009 PC sales would be worse than it previously had thought. "It is clear that the PC industry is feeling the full impact of global economic recession."

Leading vendors are diversifying their product lines, driving down operating costs and improving production efficiencies to mitigate ongoing problems in the mainstream DRAM industry. Manufacturers are putting renewed priority on developing more power-efficient parts. Meanwhile, DRAM manufacturers continue to push the process envelope to higher densities.