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China's
economy surges 9.7 per cent
Beijing: China, the world's seventh largest economy,
announced an impressive Gross Domestic Product growth
of 9.7 per cent during the first half of 2004.
China's
GDP reached 5,877.3 billion Yuan (710.7 billion US dollars)
in the first six months of 2004, up 9.7 per cent over
the same period of last year or 0.9 percentage points
higher. The
GDP growth for this year was 9.8 per cent in the first
quarter (January-March) and 9.6 per cent in the second
quarter (April-June). The
growth rate, much above the 2004 target of seven per cent,
is the fastest since 1997.
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IBM
profits move up with growth in emerging markets
New
York: IBM has said its second-quarter net profit increased
16.6 per cent from a year ago to 1.99 billion dollars
on strong sales of its servers and growing revenues from
services. IBM said a big part of its growth came from
emerging markets, with 35 per cent combined growth in
the first half of the year in India, China, Russia and
Brazil. Revenues for the April-June quarter rose seven
per cent from the same period one year ago to 23.15 billion
dollars.
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EA
announces Ultima Online: Samurai
Empire
Redwood City, USA: Electronic Arts, the world's
leading interactive entertainment software company, has
announced that the next expansion pack for Ultima Online(TM)
will be called Ultima Online: Samurai Empire. The expansion
pack marks a new era in the celebrated massively multiplayer
online game by setting the adventure in an exotic Japanese-inspired
land, and by featuring two deadly new professions for
players to master — the Samurai and the Ninja. Ultima
Online: Samurai Empire is scheduled to ship November 2004.
Launched in 1997, Ultima Online was a pioneer in the world
of online gaming and defined the category of massively
multiplayer Internet-based entertainment and is still
recognized as the most immersive of any online world.
Ultima Online is offered in six languages and is played
in more than 100 countries located in every time zone.
The game stands as the longest-running online subscription-based
game in history. Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered
in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive
entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, EA posted
revenues of $2.96 billion for fiscal 2004. The company
develops, publishes and distributes interactive software
worldwide for video game systems, personal computers and
the Internet.
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IDC
survey: Worldwide PC market remains strong
Framingham, USA: The worldwide PC market remained
strong in the second quarter of 2004, with growth of over
15 per cent, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of
double-digit growth, according to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly
PC Tracker. Strong demand in Europe as well as better
than expected results in Canada and Latin America boosted
shipments to 39.7 million, roughly 1-2% ahead of forecast.
While portable growth remains strong, demand shifted toward
desktops during the second quarter.
According to the survey, consumers remain excited by digital
media, and commercial organizations are in the full flood
of PC replacement and this trend should persist at least
through the end of the year. According to the survey all
the major vendors like Dell, HP, IBM, Fujitsu, Acer, Gateway
and Toshiba have maintained strong second quarter sales
and shipments across the globe with an average growth
of 15.5 per cent. IDC is the premier global market intelligence
and advisory firm in the information technology and telecommunications
industries. IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker gathers
PC market data in 55 countries by vendor, form factor,
brand, processor brand and speed, sales channel and user
segment. The research includes historical and forecast
trend analysis as well as price band and installed base
data.
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GSE's
photovoltaic modules win R&D 100 award
Tucson,
USA: Global Solar Energy's thin-film photovoltaic
modules have been named among the year's 100 most significant
technological innovations by R&D Magazine. The magazine's
R&D 100 Award recognizes Global Solar Energy (GSE),
the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL) and ITN Energy Systems Inc. (ITN) for
developing the modules through a novel thin-film manufacturing
process.
GSE
pioneered the manufacture of highly efficient, lightweight,
flexible, robust photovoltaic (PV) modules using Copper
Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) thin-film materials.
GSE's patented process produces exceptionally durable
PV modules with distinct operational advantages over modules
made with other PV materials. Unlike rigid PV panels,
which typically use a glass substrate, GSE's modules have
a compact, foldable design that allows for easy deployment,
transport and storage. This makes for simple, breakage-free,
lower-cost installations. To create such an innovative
product, GSE had to develop a unique manufacturing process.
The company pioneered high-rate, roll-to-roll (RTR) production
of thin-film PV and launched large scale manufacturing
in 2003 after successfully completing development and
pilot-scale production.
Continuous RTR processing of CIGS-based PV on flexible
substrates is commercially attractive due to reduced manufacturing
costs and the versatility of the resulting lightweight
product. GSE is the only company in the world to produce
commercially available CIGS modules on a flexible substrate.
GSE's technology is incorporated in numerous portable
power products, including rugged, lightweight, foldable
Military P3 solar modules. The Military P3 folds to easily
fit in a rucksack and provides charge-on-the-move capability
for armies around the world. GSE also produces the PowerFlex
module, a portable charger for boat and marine batteries.
NREL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory
managed by Midwest Research Institute and Battelle. The
laboratory is a leading center for research into solar
energy technologies, wind energy, plant- and waste-derived
fuels and chemicals, energy-efficient buildings, advanced
vehicle design, geothermal energy and hydrogen and fuel
cell technologies.
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