As the 70s progressed,  the failure of the UK to master the semiconductor industry caused increasing concern in official circles. The problem was referred to the Advisory Council for Applied Research and Development (ACARD) . In 1978, ACARD produced a report called ‘The Applications of Semi-conductor Technology’. “If we neglect or reject it as a nation,” said the report, “the ...

Softbank, Dragoneer and other investors are to pay existing Uber shareholders $10 billion for a stake of around 20% in Uber. The deal values Uber at $48 billion compared to the last valuation at which Uber raised money which was $68 billion. It is thought that Softbank will take 15% of the investment with Dragoneer and the other investors picking ...

Lithium is becoming one of the most sort after minerals in the world  because of its use in batteries. Usage is expected to double by 2025. Fortunately, lithium carbonate seems to be fairly widely distributed across the world. The countries with the biggest annual output of lithium carbonate, measured in metric tons, are: Australia 76,104 Chile. 63,864 Argentina. 30,335 China ...

Apple has published an apology to customers for issuing software upgrades which throttle iPhone performance to prevent them shutting down randomly as they age. Apple can avoid this problem by replacing the battery and is offering $50 replacement batteries for $29. In the New Year, Apple will issue guidelines on how to tell if an iPhone’s battery has degraded and ...

At 1,266, the SOX has risen 32% this year, 92% in the last two years and still, say experts, has some steam left in it. Of all the 11 S&P sectors semiconductors grew most last year. Strong earnings, M&A and the memory undersupply have driven the SOX and none of these are played out yet.. The analysts are saying: be ...

The idea of an artificial brain has fascinated people for hundreds of years – as it still does today. 68 years ago, a great scientist told a broadcast radio show about the potential of a new invention: “There has recently been a great deal of thought spent on electronic brains or computing machines. Many of the problems with these machines ...

Socionext, the Panasonic-Fujitsu SoC joint venture, has had its Milbeaut image signal processor, the SC2000, designed into the ORBI Prime, the first 360° video recording eyewear. ORBI Prime is equipped with four cameras and superior image stitching technology, the sunglass-type wearable device is capable of shooting total 360° video with no blind spots. The processor can handle up to four camera inputs with a ...

Collibra, a Brussels start-up specialising in ‘data governance’, has raised €40 million. Collibra says: ‘Transforming your business to be data-driven is a top priority. But to achieve this goal, you must enable everyone across the business to find the data they need, understand its meaning, context, and lineage, and trust that it’s right. It sounds simple – but it’s not ...

China’s ambition to lead the world in electric vehicles has received a new boost – a tax exemption on new EVs, which was due to run out this year, has been extended till the end of 2020. In 2019, another government measure to boost EVs – requiring auto manufacturers to make a percentage of their output electric – also come ...

Q4 saw the biggest rise rise in UK economic output in two years, reports the CBI, A survey of 642 companies in the manufacturing, service and retailing sectors reported that the CBI growth indicator rose to 19 in December from 6 in November – the biggest increase since December 2015. All three sectors had robust growth with manufacturing performing particularly ...