The soul of a new economy
Article Abstract:
Silicon Valley, covering four counties in northern California, may be better defined as a state of mind than as a physical location. Named after the metal that forms the base of the microprocessor, the area has helped reinvent the US economy. The area's birth is roughly marked by William Hewlett's and David Packard's invention of the oscillator. In 1982, some two-thirds of the engineers attending the Silicon Valley Computer Club planned to start their own businesses, typical of the widely held notion the a person only needed a new idea or technology to change the world. Companies have been founded and collapsed in months or, like Oracle and Apple, have gone on to fame. Products may also often have a short life cycle, spurred by the principle underlying Moore's law, which claims that the number of transistors on a chip will double every 18 months. The Internet drives the pace even faster in 1997, and it is not clear how long the boom will last.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1997
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White House is challenged on plans for data security
Article Abstract:
The National Research Council (NRC) recommends in an official report that the US government permit the private sectors of the telecommunications and computer industries to establish standards for assuring data security. The report concludes that the present official US policy of supporting encryption standards that can be decoded by law enforcement agencies does not serve the interests of larger society. The report suggests that providing standards that meet private citizens' need for adequate data security will do more to prevent computer-related crime than the existence of easily decoded encryption standards. The NRC also recommends that official US agencies reduce the restrictions on the export of electronic data coding products.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1996
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Tiniest circuits hold prospect of explosive computer speeds
Article Abstract:
New research being done by scientists at University of California at Los Angeles and Hewlett-Packard Co. in Palo Alto, CA has produced single-molecule-thick computing components. Integrated circuits have been produced by a process known as photolithography, in which light is used to etch on silicon wafers. This process is limited by light's wavelength. The new research builds circuits by chemical processes. This should lead to development of tiny components able to hold huge amounts of data, use less power and be produced at no extra cost. This research will pave the way for future supercomputing power. Scientists are also planning to use chemical processes to develop ultra-thin molecular-switch connector wires.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1999
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