Filter looks at the day's top technology news through snapshots and analysis of what the world's media outlets are covering. Washingtonpost.com's new Mon.-Fri. feature is penned by technology reporter Cynthia L. Webb. If a technology story breaks, a company falters or triumphs, or there's a new trend in technology, Filter wants you to know about it.
Bloomberg's coverage also latched onto this angle. "Intel, whose integrated circuits run more than 80 percent of the world's PCs, is releasing chips such as Grantsdale to enhance the semiconductors that work with its main processor. Sharper graphics, lower power use and wireless Internet connections are more important to consumers and businesses than clock speed, the rate that electrical pulses move on a chip, investors said. 'They have to innovate,' said John Waterman, chief investment officer at Rittenhouse Asset Management, which has $12 billion under management, including Intel shares. "I don't think the consumer is going to buy a PC every year because Intel has a new faster chip.'"
The plans have garnered support from key industry players, The New York Times noted. "There is a strong catalytic value to Intel stepping up and saying, 'We are going to create these integrated systems with stuff built in,'" Rob Glaser, chief executive of RealNetworks, told the paper. "The PC as the smart hub in the home has basically happened."
Intel's main competitor Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD, not surprisingly, blasted Intel's new effort. "It's an odd way for a microprocessor company -- to lead with a chipset rather than a processor," Jeff Lowe, AMD's desktop marketing manager, told The Los Angeles Times.
Meanwhile, one analyst had this lukewarm response to the new chipsets. "Martin Reynolds, vice president at analyst Gartner, indicated that the new chipsets are a big move forward, but will have limited impact on the marketplace," Web site vnunet.com reported. "The home user needs these incentives to keep buying, but it's not going to make a surprising difference [to Intel's sales]."
• Vnunet.com: Intel Unveil Grantsdale and Alderwood Chipsets
Nano-Nano!
OK, so more people probably have heard of "Mork & Mindy," but nanotechnology is getting some serious attention these days. The Wall Street Journal in a front-page feature today reported that "nanotechnology -- the effort to develop infinitesimally small structures into futuristic products -- has companies, universities and investors hustling for patents, the key to markets that the government estimates at $1 trillion by 2015. But the intensifying race to file patent applications has sparked concern that a proliferation of patents, especially broadly defined ones, could hobble innovation and produce a thicket of conflicting legal claims that could eventually drive up costs for consumers. In addition, the combination of scant products to date and surging investor interest raises fears of another high-tech bubble. At stake is control over innovations that could have wide-ranging applications in the computing, defense and energy sectors 'It's the culmination of the historical miniaturization of many technologies,' says Thomas Theis, director of physical science research at International Business Machines Corp., Armonk, N.Y. 'This will only happen once.'"
• The Wall Street Journal: Nanotechnology Patents Surge As Companies Vie to Stake Claim (Subscription required)
An upcoming nanotech-themed IPO is also adding to a renewed focus on the sector. The pending "initial public stock offering of a Palo Alto company named Nanosys -- if it happens -- will mark a welcome return of investors willing to pour millions of dollars into new technology ventures with odds that make roulette seem like a sure thing," The San Jose Mercury News columnist Mike Langberg wrote today. "Nanosys is essentially a research lab and patent pool created to explore the very exciting and very speculative field of nanotechnology."
The article explained why such a small company is getting a serious look from investors. "The company, with a staff of 34, brings in a trickle of revenue from research grants and contracts -- $3 million in 2003, while the company posted a net loss of $9 million for the year. So why isn't Nanosys getting laughed off Wall Street? First, because nanotech is the flavor of the month. Nanosys is working on all kinds of futuristic ideas that could -- just maybe -- result in such breakthroughs as super-efficient solar cells and big-screen TVs that roll up like carpets. Second, because big names are on board. Intel, duPont and Matsushita, the parent of Panasonic, have all hired Nanosys for research projects. Venture-capital backers include the Rockefeller family's Venrock Associates and In-Q-Tel, financed by the CIA. Some of the brightest researchers in nanotech work for Nanosys. The board of directors has John Young, a retired Hewlett-Packard CEO, and marketing guru Regis McKenna," the article said.
• The San Jose Mercury News: Nanotech IPO May Lead To New Bubble (Registration required)
Learning About IPOs
Educational software maker Blackboard, a Washington, D.C.-based company started by two young entrepreneurs who made it through the dot-com bust, is scheduled to go public today. At a price of $14 a share, the company plans to raise $51.1 million. "It's among the first local technology companies to test the public markets since the Internet bubble popped four years ago," The Washington Post wrote of the 7-year-old firm. The Post also reported that wireless firm InPhonic Inc. this week "filed to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering, and PRA International, a McLean [Va.] health care company that runs clinical trials, registered to raise up to $143.8 million in the public markets."
• The Washington Post: Blackboard Set To Go Public Today (Registration required)
• CBS MarketWatch: Blackboard Inc. Prices IPO At $14 A Share
In other IPO news, Salesforce.com has plans to go public on Wednesday, CNET's News.com reported yesterday. "The IPO of the customer relationship management (CRM) software maker is attracting attention despite sitting in the shadow of Google's pending IPO. Salesforce.com is planning to raise as much as $85 million, based on the high end of its $7.50 to $8.50 price range." Recall that the company delayed its IPO after its chief executive blabbed to The New York Times during its pre-filing quiet period. "In April, Salesforce encountered its first IPO delay, after the SEC regulators wanted the company to realign its sales commission accounting methods. The regulators wanted Salesforce.com to apply its current accounting method to its historical financial information surrounding its sales commissions, in order to achieve an apples-to-apples comparison for prospective investors," CNET said. "The company's pending public offering and that of Google are expected to rekindle the market for high-tech IPOs. The Salesforce.com IPO filing came on the same day that Linux software maker Lindows.com announced its own IPO plans, and as other high-tech companies had their IPOs waiting in the wings."
• CNET's News.com: Salesforce.com Resets IPO For Late June
Found in Translation
Yahoo Japan Corp. is expanding. The unit "added new business categories to its articles of incorporation, paving the way for a move into such operations as securities, foreign-exchange dealing and real estate," Dow Jones Newswires reported. "The decision will allow the Japanese Internet service company to quickly enter new businesses when opportunities arise, she said. Yahoo Japan added categories allowing credit-card operations, staff dispatching services, insurance agency operations and investment advisory services, among others. ... The move comes as rival Rakuten Inc., a major Japanese online shopping mall operator, expands through buy-outs."
• Dow Jones Newswires: Yahoo Japan Eyes New Sectors (Subscription required)
But Yahoo's operations here have been marred in recent days, just as the company has rolled out a beefed-up e-mail service to better compete with Google's planned Gmail launch. More from The Associated Press: "Some Yahoo! websites and services slowed for the second time in less than a week last night as the internet giant worked to resolve a hardware problem. In the latest glitch, users may have experienced a slow response from the company's servers for about two hours overnight. Some people also reported that they were unable to log onto Yahoo's instant messaging program. The company released a statement describing the problem as an 'isolated hardware-related issue.' It was unrelated to Tuesday's incident in which Yahoo and several other websites were sluggish or entirely inaccessible for two hours Akamai Technologies, which is supposed to provide services to improve the reliability of large websites, claims the problems were caused by a 'sophisticated' attack," the wire service said.
• The Associated Press via Australian IT: Yahoo Suffers Second Slowdown
Former eBay president Jeff Skoll has stars in his eyes. Skoll has plans for a film production company, called Participant Productions, that will make up to a half dozen $20 million films a year, The San Jose Mercury News reported. The films will be "'socially relevant, commercially viable' along the lines of 'Gandhi' or 'Erin Brockovich,'" the article said. "Skoll is, undoubtedly, the least likely Silicon Valley tech billionaire one would think of heading to Hollywood. (Think brash spotlight hog Larry Ellison, or even Steve Jobs, chief of Pixar Animation Studios.) However, he is bringing a valley mantra with him to Tinseltown: Change the world. For Skoll, 39, the venture isn't about sashaying down celebrity red-carpet walks or preening at 'A-list' parties, but about using the power of Hollywood to inspire people to do good," the paper said.
• The San Jose Mercury News: Tech Billionaire Going Hollywood – His Way (Registration required)
• The San Francisco Chronicle: Former EBay Exec Starts Movie Venture
Filter is designed for hard-core techies, news junkies and technology professionals alike. Have suggestions, cool links or interesting tales to share? Send your tips and feedback to cindyDOTwebbATwashingtonpost.com. (Yes, those spammers have been having a lot of fun with my e-mail address lately.)
