commbasics

For my first post of the new year I'm looking at reports from journalists (remember them?) and analysts predicting nothing short of chaos for the semi world this coming year. On the one hand, everyone is in agreement that the industry will be in growth mode, but on the other, they are also saying the industry is not prepared to grow. No one has a plan for an economic turnaround and in spite of every indicator to the contrary, their collective heads are firmly jammed... in the sand. Fabs like TSMC, UMC, Global Foundries and the rest are at capacity, China fabs are starting to tank and companies with fabs are shutting down operation, right at a time when additional capacity is required. No one is buying capital equipment and equipment manufacturers are looking to consolidate, making technology advancements for the next level rare. And the venture capital world, which is supposed to be the spark plug for innovation, is still pouring money into gaming, cloud computing and alternative...