When the new Macbooks came out a few weeks ago, Nvidia stated that the chips they provided to Apple did not contain the so-called bad bumps material believed to have caused higher-than-expected defect rates in certain notebooks, namely from HP and Dell, under certain usage models. But an investigation lead by The Inquirer seems to show this not to be the case.

The Technology Research Association for Advanced Display Materials (TRADIM) made a TFT LCD panel with a roll-to-roll method using a TFT array and a color filter formed on film substrates.

Yesterday Lee Youn-ho, South Korea's minister of knowledge and economy, said that creditors had almost agreed on support measures for the world's second largest chipmaker. "At the moment, the government is not considering direct support [for Hynix] because shareholders have agreed on providing liquidity to some extent," Mr Lee told foreign correspondents. "But if creditors can't help out Hynix, then the government may look into it."

In late December and early next year, TI also plans to idle some undisclosed fabs amid a drop in demand. On average, the company sees fab utilization rates hitting the mid-40 percent range in the fourth quarter, compared to the mid-60 percent range in the third quarter. This represents TI's lowest fab utilization rates since the second half of 2001.

Walmart is officially tight-lipped about the buzz that its shelves could be hosting a US$99 4MB iPhone by the end of the month. But mobile device experts have plenty to say, and it's all good.

AMD and Abu Dhabi-based ATIC and Mubadala have renegotiated some of the financial details of their deal,inked in October, to transfer ownership of AMD's foundry business and assets, to more closely reflect the current market value of the sale.

Chinese and European leaders plotted their next steps as investors looked to governments to lead major economies out of recession because central banks could start running out of room to cut interest rates further.

Hynix Semiconductor has sought 1 trillion won ($691 million) in financial support from its creditors as it faces a liquidity crunch and struggles as chip prices are falling, reports say.

The growth pace of China's new energy industry is seriously dented by oil price slump and demand shrinkage due to the global financial crisis, according to analysts.

A spokesperson from TSMC says that from December 2008, employees who work in TSMC's manufacturing departments will take as many as five unpaid days each month and those who work in other departments will take one unpaid day each week staring from January 2009. At the same time, the transport allowance that was previously paid to the company's managing staff will also be canceled.

“In the area of memory, because of the supply overhang, it will be difficult for us to make a profit,” Executive Vice President Chu Woo Sik, head of Samsung’s investor-relations team, said today at an event in San Francisco. “LCD is struggling very hard to make a profit.”

Texas Instruments (TI) has lowered its expected ranges for fourth-quarter revenue and earnings per share (EPS). The company now expects its revenue will range from U$$2.3-2.5 billion, compared with the prior range of US$2.83-3.07 billion; and EPS will be US$0.10–0.16, compared with the prior range of US$0.30–0.36.

Due to the current global economic environment, customers across each of Broadcom's targeted end markets have requested adjustments in their deliveries for the fourth quarter, resulting in significant pushouts and cancellations since the company originally provided guidance for the quarter in October 2008.

Programmable chipmaker Altera has slashed its fourth-quarter outlook, citing weaker-than-expected sales across all market segments. The company said it now expects revenue to fall 9-12% from the third-quarter, implying a range of around US$312-323 million.

Apple has noted that they have reached the 300 million download milestone for the App Store, almost five months after the store went live.

Intel researchers have made the next advance in the field of Silicon Photonics by achieving world-record performance using a silicon-based Avalanche Photodetector (APD) that could lower costs and improve performance as compared to commercially available optical devices. The research results were published today in Nature Photonics.

After a dismal start to the holiday shopping season, Web surfers have picked up their spending since Thanksgiving, ComScore reports.