Most manufacturers in Asia have excess stock, the result of orders that go awry, but few avenues to sell it. But while gigahertz technology is at the leading edge, many in the industry feel the majority of computer users aren't. As a result, despite all the one-gig hype, fewer business customers are buying the very latest PC processors. For years, computer-savvy Indians have helped fuel the rise of America's Silicon Valley. Now Europe is hoping to attract Bangalore's cyber elite.
Graphics chips are among the unsung heroes of computing today.
So it's fitting that the hot chips that have transformed what we see on the screen are produced by a little-known Canadian firm run by a Chinese immigrant. Austal Ships is riding high. Now it's counting on a recently sealed investment deal with a shipbuilder in the United States to help it break into the huge U.S. market. More than 500 political parties have existed in the past 50 years in South Korea. It's time now, says Far Eastern Economic Review columnist Frank Ching, for a two-party system, where parties compete on policy rather than personalities.