Industry NewsThailand Flooding effects hard drive supppliesWe send this communication in light of the recent events in Thailand wherein record flooding has led to tragic and disastrous consequences. First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Thailand and to all those, including yourselves, who may have either lost loved ones or have loved ones who remain at risk there. We hope for their safety and well-being. As has already been reported publicly, many major manufacturers of hard disk drives and their component suppliers maintain significant operations in Thailand in areas directly and significantly affected by the floods there. These include most, if not all, of our direct and indirect suppliers of hard disk drives. Several of the hard drive manufactures have temporarily shut down their manufacturing facilities and made public pronouncements that the hard disk drive industry will be supply constrained in material respects for up to several calendar quarters. I have talked with several of our major direct and indirect suppliers of hard disk drives and they have confirmed these pronouncements with us and informed us that the supply chain will be constrained for an indefinite amount of time, and in the case of at least one major manufacture, for up to at least six months. Some have therefore declared a force majeure event and have stated that in addition to and because of the supply constraints, pricing for hard disk drives has and will likely continue to increase significantly until they are able to stabilize the situation. As a result, we are informing our customers that a Force Majeure event has been declared and the prices from our distribution channels will see some increased volatility which will effect our costs to you. Sincerely, Shawn Stern President Android drives big smartphone growth in 2010, IDC saysContinued growth expected in 2011 with wider range of smartphone pricesBy Matt Hamblen, February 7, 2011 11:27 AM Computerworld - Worldwide smartphone shipments were up 75%, to 302 million in 2010, a trend driven by impressive Android growth in the fourth quarter, market research firm IDC said. In the fourth quarter, nearly 101 million smartphones shipped globally, up 87% over the prior year, IDC said in a report released Monday. "Android continues to gain by leaps and bounds, helping to drive the smartphone market," said Ramon Llamas, an IDC analyst. He called the Android operating system the "cornerstone" of the smartphone strategy for many vendors and the biggest challenger to Nokia's Symbian OS, the market leader. Read more...
The new future: Is it innovation, intrusion, or just plain eerie?By Paul Krill, December 23, 2010 06:14 AM ET InfoWorld - IBM will formally unveil its "Five in Five List" on Dec. 29, highlighting innovations to supposedly change the way we work and play during the next five years. But would these changes actually make our lives better? Or complicate them even further? [ There's a fine line between futurology and crackpot science; check out InfoWorld's selection of crackpot tech that just might work. | Revel in the craziness of high tech with Robert X. Cringely's Notes from the Underground newsletter. ] The list, based on market and societal trends as well as emerging technologies from IBM labs, features these predictions: Read more... |
