NEC Electronics And Renesas Draw Timeline For Merger

NEC Electronics Corporation and Renesas Technology Corporation have announced their timeline for executing the merger between the two companies. The merged entity will come into existence on 1 April 2010 and be called as Renesas Electronics Corporation.

For the two companies, this merger is very synergistic. On the one hand, NEC specializes in semiconductor products that cover a broad range from high-end computing to broadband networking markets, customer applications, and solutions for the mobile handset, PC peripheral, automotive and digital consumer markets. On the other hand, Renesas is the world’s number one supplier of microcontrollers and a leading supplier of semiconductor system solutions provider for mobile, automotive and PC/AV markets. Both the companies have worldwide operations with thousands of employees on payroll.

All domestic sales operations (within Japan) will be merged into a single entity called Renesas Electronics Sales Co Ltd. The company has also announced the list of executives for the new entity. Mr. Junshi Yamaguchi, the President and CEO of NEC Electronics Corporation will be the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Renesas Electronics Corporation, while Mr. Yasushi Akao, President of Renesas Technology will be Director and President.

Read more about the shakeup happening in the Japanese IT industry, here.

Microsoft To Support HTML5 In IE 9

Redmond, Washington-headquartered Microsoft Corporation has announced that its new version of Internet Explorer browser, version 9, will support HTML5 specifications. The announcement was made at the ongoing MIX10, a Microsoft event for Web developers and designers, being held at Las Vegas from March 15 to 17, 2010.

The new browser upgrade will support features such as CSS3, scalable vector graphics (SVG), XHTML parsing, video tags using industry-standard codecs such as H.264 and MPEG4, and audio tags using codes such as MP3 and AAC.

Internet Explorer 9 will also incorporate a new JavaScript engine as well as Direct 2D technology that leverages the multiple cores of today’s modern chips for computing resource management, besides improving web performance. The browser now brings to developers the power and capability to harness the rich graphics features that modern-day computers already possess.

Further, the company has announced committed support to the development of the jQuery JavaScript library. Besides providing better interoperability between ASP.NET and the library, the company also will package the library with its products such as MS Visual Studio 2010 and ASP.NET MVC 2.

The new version can be downloaded and previewed by developers at the site: http://www.ietestdrive.com.

Read more about the latest advancements in web development, here.

I-O Data And Microsoft Enter Software Patent Agreement

Kanazawa, Japan-headquartered I-O Data Device Inc has entered into a software patent agreement with Microsoft. The agreement pertains to the products installed by I-O Data on its various network-attached storage devices and routers that run Linux and other related open source software. Microsoft is being compensated by I-O Data for this agreement.

The two companies have been closely collaborating in the consumer and enterprise markets for quite some time now. I-O Data has developed a set of API-based sensors for the Windows 7 operating system; these sensors are capable of detecting movement of individuals across rooms.

For Microsoft, this patent agreement is the latest in a string of such agreements that the company has entered into since December 2003, as part of its IP licensing program. These agreements enable stakeholders such as customers, partners and competitors to access its IP portfolio, legally. Some of the other companies that have similarly entered into agreements with Microsoft are LG Electronics, Kyocera Mita Corp, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Brother International Corp, Fuji Xerox Co Ltd and TomTom International BV.

Founded in 1976, I-O Data is in the business of designing and manufacturing computer peripherals and interface products.

Read more about the latest software patent agreement entered into by Microsoft, here.

Micron To Acquire Numonyx

Boise, Idaho-headquartered Micron Technology Inc has announced its plans to acquire Switzerland-based Numonyx B.V.

Numonyx is reckoned a leader in the semiconductor industry. The company manufactures and supplies a full complement of integrated NOR, NAND< RAM and phase change non-volatile memory technologies and products that go into cellular, data and embedded markets. Some of its trademarks and brands include Numonyx Axcell Flash Memory, Numonyx Forte Serial Flash Memory, Krypto Security Technologies, and StrataFlash Technology. The company’s manufacturing and R&D facilities are located around the globe, such as in Italy, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, China, Philippines, US and Israel. Mr. Brian Harrison is the President and CEO of Numonyx.

The acquisition is the outcome of an agreement between Micron and Numonyx, per which Micron will issue 140 million Micron common shares to Numonyx shareholders, Intel Corporation, STMicroelectronics, N.V. and Francisco Partners. The entire transaction will cost Micron about USD 1.27 billion.

With this acquisition, Micron hopes to position itself as a world-leading memory company, integrating the expertise of Numonyx in its portfolio. Micron will also be able to leverage the tremendous manufacturing capabilities of Numonyx to make inroads into the newly-emerging embedded and mobile markets.

Read more about the latest business acquisition that will shake up the memory technology industry, here.

Western Digital Posts Financial Results For Q2 2010

Lake Forest, California-headquartered Western Digital Corporation has announced the financial results for Q2 2010 that ended January 1, 2010.

The company has reported revenue of USD 2.6 billion, yielding to a net income of USD 429 million. This translates to USD 1.85 per share. The revenue compares well with the revenue of USD 1.8 billion and net income of USD 14 million reported in Q2 2009.

The company had undergone restructuring at a cost of USD 113 million in the previous fiscal, which partly explains the low net income of the corresponding quarter.

In Q2 2010, Western Digital shipped 49.5 million units of hard drives, compared to 35.5 million units shipped in the same quarter last year.

The quarter has also been bountiful as is proven by the record USD 557 million cash generated from operations. The company now sits on a cash and cash-equivalent pile of USD 2.4 billion.

Founded in 1970, Western Digital has been at the forefront of designing and manufacturing solid state drives and hard drives for client and enterprise computing, embedded systems and consumer electronics environments.

Read more about the latest financial performance announced by Western Digital, here.

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