Idaho based Micron is reporting a drop in demand for computer chips. One semiconductor analyst calls it “anemic”.
Micron reports sales are down, even though profits are up 4%, from the previous quarter. How did they make a profit? Officially Micron calls it ‘reduction in manufacturing costs’. That means workers got laid off, in fact since 2008 more than 2000 Micron employees lost their jobs.
When you compare net revenues, year to year, Micron still lost money.
Even when turned ‘off’, most of your electronic appliances are still on. That’s because most appliances now contain tiny computers to remember settings, to run clocks, to sense your remote, etc.
Actually when you turn your electronics ‘off’ you’ve actually put them in a ‘standby mode’. This standby mode accounts for about 6 percent of household electricity use.
NEC and Tohoku University have developed a semiconductor to cut that standby power usage to zero. They say it uses a magnet, instead of electricity, to operate in standby mode. Unfortunately it will be a few more years before it hits the market, but they hope it will cut overall electricity usage by 25%.