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ChangeQuakes Of The Week

September 11, 2006

TOP CHANGEQUAKES OF THE WEEK
** Chip Firms Look To Diversify Into Solar Industry
** Study Sheds Light On The Deadliness Of Bird-Flu Virus
** Chevron Hits Oil In Major Gulf Of Mexico Well
** U.S. Army Calls For 'Green' Power In Iraq

MORE CHANGEQUAKES TO WATCH

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TOP CHANGEQUAKES OF THE WEEK

Chip Firms Look To Diversify Into Solar Industry

(TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGEQUAKE) -- As demand for solar energy keeps growing, some big Silicon Valley companies with their eyes on the future are adopting a strategy of diversifying into solar cell production, which employs some of the same manufacturing equipment used to make semiconductor chips.

www.mercurynews.com

Related Story: Silicon Shortage Strikes Industry
www.fortwayne.com

Study Sheds Light On The Deadliness Of Bird-Flu Virus

(DISCOVERY CHANGEQUAKE) -- Scientists have discovered a potential reason to explain why the H5N1 strain of bird flu is so much more deadly to people than standard human flus. The Nature Medicine research found that the bird flu virus triggers a massive inflammatory response, which often proves fatal.

news.bbc.co.uk

Chevron Hits Oil In Major Gulf Of Mexico Well

(ECONOMIC CHANGEQUAKE) -- Chevron Corp. announced that it has successfully drilled for oil in the Gulf of Mexico's deep waters, in what could be one of the most significant finds for the domestic oil industry in a generation.

money.cnn.com

Related Story: Deepwater Drilling May Open New Oil Frontiers
news.nationalgeographic.com

U.S. Army Calls For 'Green' Power In Iraq

(TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGEQUAKE) -- Memo to Pentagon brass from the top United States commander in western Iraq: Renewable energy -- solar- and wind-power generators -- urgently needed to help win the fight. Send soon.

www.usatoday.com

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MORE CHANGEQUAKES TO WATCH

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGEQUAKES

Mobile TV Audience Up 45% In Q2

The audience for mobile TV grew 45% to 3.7 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2006 as news, weather and sports channels topped the list as the most-watched content, according to a new report by consumer research firm Telephia.

rcrnews.com

Related Story: Nokia And Motorola Partner On Mobile TV
networks.silicon.com

Samsung Unveils New High-Capacity Flash Memory Chip

Samsung Electronics unveiled its first 40-nanometer chip, a 32-gigabit NAND flash memory module that can be used in memory cards able to store up to 64 gigabytes of data, or 40 movies.

www.pcworld.com


CORPORATE CHANGEQUAKES

European Launch Of PlayStation 3 Delayed

The launch of Sony's long-awaited PlayStation 3 game console in Europe has been delayed until March 2007; however, the head of Sony's global computer entertainment division said the machine would still be launched in November in the U.S. and in Japan.

news.bbc.co.uk

Microsoft Releases Pricing Info For Vista

Microsoft has announced that the long-delayed upgrade of its flagship Windows operating system, Vista, will cost the same as comparable versions of Windows XP.

www.businessweek.com

Two Private Equity Firms Bid For Freescale

Freescale Semiconductor, the No. 3 U.S. chipmaker, has received two competing takeover offers from private-equity firms and could be sold for more than $16 billion.

www.marketwatch.com

MySpace To Begin Selling Music

In a bid to make inroads into the digital music business, MySpace has decided to sell songs from almost 3 million unsigned bands in an attempt to give Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store a run for the money.

news.tmcnet.com


REGULATORY CHANGEQUAKES

California Passes Wi-Fi Guidance Law

California legislators have passed a law that will force makers of wireless Internet equipment to include guidance on keeping data secure on wireless connections and place warning labels on all equipment capable of receiving Wi-Fi signals.

www.theregister.co.uk

SanDisk Involved In MP3 License Dispute

Electronics manufacturer SanDisk is facing a legal fight over its use of popular MP3 compression technology after its refusal to purchase an MP3 license.

news.bbc.co.uk


ECONOMIC CHANGEQUAKES

Intel Slashes 10% Of Global Jobs

Intel, the world's largest computer chipmaker, is to cut 10,500 jobs, or 10% of its total staff, by mid-2007. The move follows a fall in Intel's quarterly profits of 56% and the launching of an efficiency review.

www.informationweek.com


FDA APPROVAL CHANGEQUAKES

FDA Approves First Implantable Artificial Heart

The FDA has approved the first totally implantable artificial heart, for patients with advanced heart disease too ill for a heart transplant.

www.forbes.com


DISCOVERY CHANGEQUAKES

Scientists Create New Method Of Keeping Computers Cool

As engineers continue to increase computing chip power and capacity, one of the limiting factors continues to be excess heat production. Now a scientist has come up with a potential solution that uses ionic wind to cool down microchips.

seattlepi.nwsource.com