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Headquartered in Munich, Germany, Qimonda was once a major provider of computer memory. The company was formed when splitting from Infineon Technologies in 2006, which itself was a spin-off division of Siemens AG and still has a stake in the company. It sells Aeneon-branded memory products to retail markets and uses the Qimonda brand for its OEM customers. Some of its clients have included Dell and Hewlett Packard, while most of its sales originated in the Asia Pacific and North American markets.

At the time, it was said to be the second largest DRAM company in the world and a top supplier of memory products for the personal computer and server markets. In its glory days, the company had an estimated 13,500 worldwide employees, including nearly 1,800 in research and development with access to multiple R&D facilities and manufacturing sites spanning three continents.

The successful run for Qimonda DRAM products was short to say the least. Starting in 2008, the price of DRAM declined steadily due to an oversupply on the market. This in turn resulted in significant financial losses. In October of 2008, the company announced major changes in order to reduce losses and reposition itself in the struggling DRAM business. Qimonda signed on for a joint venture with Nanya Technology and also shut down one of its sites in Richmond, Virginia, an R&D facility in Raleigh, North Carolina and a major location back in Dresden. Lacking resources and capital, its situation worsened, leading to reports that the company had filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February of 2009.

Despite an EETimes report starting that Qimonda DRAM products were no longer in production, the company has released statements that it is still in existence and looking for “fresh capital.” Unfortunately, without anyone interested in making an acquisition or investing in the company, the future of Qimonda appears quite bleak.

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Founded in 1997, LifeView is a subsidiary of the graphics solutions and multimedia specialist Animations Technologies Incorporated. The headquarters in Fremont, California serves as the company’s U.S. headquarters and is responsible for handling all sales, marketing and customer support activities in both North and South America.

LifeView encompasses three major product lines: the USB video capture series, the PC Camera series and the Fly Video/Capture Series, each of which are designed to support desktop and portable video, imaging, multimedia and other applications. The award-winning LifeView line has consisted of many industry firsts, with products geared for major PC interfaces that include CardBus, PCI, Mini PCI, PCI Express, ExpressCard and USB products.

One of the most successful lines to be released is its premium certified Vista tuners, such as the LifeView FlyTV ExpressCard M5. Launched in 2007, this dual hybrid TV tuner provides notebook users with true PIP viewing capabilities on any two channels at the same time, be it analog or digital. Unlike competing hardware, the LifeView Express solutions were among the first to allow the viewing of two digital television channels simultaneously on different transport streams. Another standout feature of the FlyTV Express card series is the ability to record one program while viewing another. These solutions were also some of the first to offer seamless compatibility on Microsoft Windows Vista.

Established in 1990, the parent company, Animation Technologies Incorporated, is an industry leader and one of the pioneers in the development and manufacturing of multimedia and video capturing technology. Headquartered in Taiwan, the company is dedicated to developing and marketing innovative multimedia and video solutions that suit the needs of customers in the consumer, corporate and OEM markets. Animation Technologies is backed by an expert R&D team, along with a knowledgeable management staff, that allows it to deliver cutting edge video capturing solutions.

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Founded in1988, Palit Microsystems is a leading manufacturer of innovative, high-performance motherboards and graphics accelerators. As one of the major providers of PC components, the company has a wide variety of award-winning products based on industry-leading NVIDIA and ATI chipsets. With headquarters in Hong Kong, branch offices in Germany and Taiwan, and factories in Mainline China, it has established a global network to meet the demanding needs of the PC hardware market. Banking off the overwhelming success of Palit graphics cards in both Asia and Europe, the company recently started operations in the Americas with a Palit Multimedia division based in Toronto, Canada.

Palit has an award-winning history in the development and manufacturing of PC graphics cards. For over 20 years, it has been marketing products under its worldwide brands, such as Gainward and XpertVision, two companies it acquired to strengthen its overall presence in the market.

Some of its most successful products have been based on the ATI Radeon HD 2600 and 2400 series, solutions that deliver rich experiences to entry-level customers, home entertainment users, and enthusiast gamers who desire high-performance graphics. Palit has proven its commitment to quality and reliability with state of the art R&D facilities, as well ISO 9001 manufacturing certification and Microsoft’s WHQL certification. Palit graphics cards are a big hit on the market and are currently sold through select vendors, such as TigerDirect, Ingram Micro and Newegg.

As one of the most recognizable names in the business, Palit strives to continuously invest in the best design and manufacturing practices to meet the requirements of its customers. It aims to achieve these goals by leveraging an infrastructure designed with the type of flexibility that allows for seamless adjustments. Already a household name, it just may be safe to assume that Palit will maintain its leading position in the video card industry.

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Founded in 1982, Number Nine Visual Technology Corporation was one of the pioneers and a leading provider in high-performance visual technology products. Its portfolio included graphics accelerator subsystems, graphics chips and a range of productivity-enhancing software solutions. The company’s display adapters were highly regarded for bringing state of the art functionality to the market. At one time, Number Nine was very profitable with headquarters in Lexington, Massachusetts along with R&D facilities, sales and marketing offices in Germany, Munich and Redmond, Washington.

This company is well known for its Number Nine Apple Booster, originally released in 1982 as one of the first graphics accelerator for the Apple II line of computers. The hardware featured a 50-pin slot card, 64 KB onboard RAM and 3.58 MHz of speed. Notoriety from the influential Apple system pushed Number Nine graphics cards into the mainstream and led to many cutting edge releases. In 1994, the company delivered the first 128-bit graphics accelerator followed up by the first 256-color and 16.8 million-color cards. These products were a part of three successful lines of 128-bit graphics chips and boards. The company wowed the industry in the late 1990s with its award-winning Number Nine Ticket to Ride product line. The fourth and final generation was a 128-bit fully integrated 2D/3D MPEG graphics coprocessor compatible with Windows 95, 98, NT and Macintosh systems. Despite its long-running success, heavy competition in the graphics card business and financial strife eventually drove Number Nine to bankruptcy.

In 1999, Number Nine’s assets were acquired by S3 Corporation, who subsequently sold its manufacturing rights to Frank Bruno and Jim Macleod, members of the company’s original engineering team. Bruno and Macleod went on to form Silicon Spectrum, a company that supplies FPGA graphics solutions for Windows and Linux platforms. As of now, Number Nine graphics accelerators no longer supported though driver downloads are available on numerous third-party sites.

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Microstar International, or MSI, is a computer hardware manufacturer based in Taiwan. Though perhaps best known for its desktop motherboards, Microstar also designs, manufactures and markets graphic cards, add-on boards, barebones, servers, notebooks, storage and communications devices and a wide range of consumer electronics products. Its impressive line of motherboards are compatible with both AMD and Intel processors and also supports the Crossfire and SLI lines of NVIDIA and ATI graphics processors. To keep up with the global market, Microstar assures its worldwide customers the best possible services with subsidiaries in China, Hong Kong, Japan, the U.S., U.K., Canada and several other countries.

Originally founded in 1986, MSI has been making a commitment to quality and reliability for more than two decades. Well known as the first company to produce motherboards with BIOS that could be updated directly over the internet, Microstar is now popular for a line of consumer electronic products that range from MP3 players and pen drives to web cams and USB DTV receivers. In 1995 and 1996, the company received ISO-9002 and ISO-9001 certification respectively. Highly skilled R&D teams ensure that its products undergo thorough quality control testing, achieving far beyond industry standards with 99.6% quality ratings. Through high-performance MSI graphics cards, motherboards and other award-winning products, Microstar has garnered praise from the global media, high customer ratings and numerous awards.

Over the years, MSI has not only made itself one of the most successful PC hardware manufacturers in Taiwan, but one of the most profitable in the entire industry. Producing approximately 20 million motherboards and 11 million graphics cards per year, Microstar has become one of the world’s largest manufacturers in those respective markets. Recently releasing cutting edge products like the MSI U100 PLUS and MSI N260GTX Lightning Twin Frozr, it looks as if the innovations will keep on coming.

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Based in Irvine California, Linksys is a major provider of network products designed for the consumer and small business markets. Linksys also produces home and small business class Ethernet switches, broadband and wireless routers, wireless internet video cameras, VoIP equipment, network storage systems and many related products. The company was acquired by network hardware and solutions provider Cisco Systems in 2003, and as of early 2008, all Linksys network products are sold under the brand name “Linksys by Cisco.”

Though originally founded in 1988, Linksys got its major push in1995, a time when Microsoft released Windows 95. This operating system was one of the first platforms to offer built-in networking functionality, which essentially broadened the market for Linksys network products. The company obtained its first U.S.-based retail channel with Fry’s Electronics in 1995 and subsequently Best Buy in 1996. It made history in 1999 by releasing the first Fast Ethernet PCMCIA card for the laptop PC. The company took its success right into the new millennium, introducing the first 8-port router equipped with SNMP and QoS protocols in 2000 and shipping its one millionth cable/DSL router in 2001. By the time the company was acquired by Cisco two years later, it had approximately 305 employees and more than $500 million in revenues.

Since acquiring the company, Cisco has continued to invest and expand the line of Linksys routers and network solutions. Cisco acquired VoIP developer Sipura Technology in 2005 and immediately incorporated it into the Linksys division. In 2008, the company also acquired network software solution provider Pure Networks, a company that had previously delivered the infrastructure and software tools to create Linksys Easy Link Advisor. Now integrated into one seamless division, skilled employees from each entity provide ongoing support for users looking to set up and maintain home networks.

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Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, XGI Technology is a company that designs, manufactures and sells graphics solutions and various PC components. Its product line is driven by the Volar series of award-winning graphics processors. These solutions provide real-world 3D visuals for gaming, multimedia and business applications, offering unrivaled results that exceed expectations in the way of features, performance and value. From personal computers and embedded systems to complex network servers, XGI has something to dramatically enhance the visual experience of users in various markets.

XGI is a relatively new company, officially established in 2003. While this is a short time when compared to some of the veterans in the graphics card industry, it has an extensive reservoir of design and engineering skills that have been contributed from the acquisition of SIS’ (Silicon Integrated Systems) and Trident Microsystems’ graphics divisions, both of which have been major players in the graphics card market in their prime. Owned and operated by a team of experts with a deep knowledge of the business, XGI is able to continuously deliver high quality, cost effective solutions for a wide range of professional, multimedia, 3D and mobile applications.

As a leading supplier in the embedded graphics chipset market, this company has managed to stay ahead of the competition through the innovative designs of XGI graphics processors and a consistent flow of revolutionary product launches. In 2007, the company introduced the Universal Graphics Module, the world’s first graphics card standard for embedded systems. Done in conjunction with embedded solutions provider Kontron, this standard was established to dramatically reduce the complexity of graphics implementation OEMs all over the world have faced at one time or another. Openly embracing the leadership position, XGI continues to invest in research and deliver quality products that meet the growing demands of its customers and industry partners.

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Based in Dorval, Quebec, Matrox is a Canadian company that specializes in graphics card components and various types of hardware for personal computers. Founded in 1976, the company has well over 30 years of experience in designing and delivering award-winning solutions to suit the needs of the fast moving technology market. As a privately owned company, Matrox employees more than 900 people worldwide, maintaining a knowledgeable staff at its corporate headquarters, as well as international offices in China, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

This highly successful company is compromised of three divisions: Matrox Graphics, Matrox Imaging and Matrox Video. Each branch offers a wide variety of useful, high-performance solutions to individuals and businesses across a broad range of sectors. Its graphics solutions are extremely popular, featuring a line of professional multi-display cards that allow a single card to power more than one monitor. Matrox video cards mainly consist of 2D and 3D graphics geared towards workstation, financial, medical and military users.

The first Matrox graphics card was a product released in 1978, and it was the ALT-256. This card was designed for S-100 bus computers, which is what the company specialized in until catering to the PC market in the late 1980s. The company made waves in the industry during the 1990s with its Matrox Millennium. This series of video cards was acclaimed for its superb 2D visual quality and speed. The company entered the 3D card market with the Matrox Mystique line in 1996, and ushered in the 2000s with the Matrox G200 and Millennium G200. While these lines became much improved with later series like the G400, they were essentially outperformed by competing cards built on ATI and NVIDIA chips.

In regard to graphics solutions, Matrox has since shifted its focus towards more specialized niche markets, where it has been very successful. The company’s video and imaging divisions remain active in providing new innovative solutions for professionals and hobbyists.

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Motorola, Inc. is a U.S. based multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois. Though best known for an extensive line of Motorola cell phones, the company also specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of wireless telephone headsets, as well as wireless network infrastructure hardware that includes signal amplifiers and cellular transmission base stations.

Motorola network products include digital video recorders, set-top boxes and a wide range of equipment used to enable computer telephony, video broadcasting and HD television. The company also has solutions designed for business and government customers with broadband and wireless voice systems used to power secure public communications systems and private networks.

Motorola was founded in 1928 as the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation. The Motorola title was adopted in the 1930s when founders Paul and Joseph Galvin introduced what would become the first commercially successful car radio. For more than 70 years, it has been at the forefront of technology, introducing the world to numerous cutting edge innovations. From the 1950s through the 1970s, the company specialized in radio equipment and televisions, actually playing a huge role in the historic moon landing in 1969. It enjoyed major strides in the 1980s, making history by launching the world’s first commercial cellular device. It was also a force in the semiconductor industry around the time, developing integrated circuits that were used in computer systems such as the Commodore Amiga, Atari ST and Apple Macintosh. Motorola is known as the producer of the first pager and wireless gateway modem and has also been a pioneer in the development of mobile GPS technology.

Today, Motorola creates a broad range of products designed for corporations, public safety and government officials and the general public. Utilizing the best design practices and leveraging the latest in wireless technology, it’s hard to picture a telecommunications field without the Motorola brand.

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Founded in 1968, Intel Corporation is the largest semiconductor company in the world. Based in Santa Clara, California, the company is also the inventor of the popular x86 line of processors, which are the microprocessors found in most of today’s personal computers. The company’s product line encompasses a range of solutions that help power the home and IT sectors. Intel manufactures and sells embedded processors, motherboard chipsets, integrated circuits, graphic chips and other hardware related to the computing and communications markets. Intel chips are widely known for having an advanced design and industry leading capabilities.

Intel was originally established as Integrated Electronics Corporation by Gordon Moore and Robert Novice, two pioneers in the semiconductor industry. However, Andrew Grove receives much of the credit for the company’s success through executive leadership and vision. The company started out as one of the first developers of DRAM and SRAM memory chips, which was its main focus in the early 1980s. While Intel introduced the world to the first commercial microprocessor chip in the early 1970s, it wasn’t until the emergence of the PC that it became the company’s primary business. In the 1990s, Intel made a commitment to focus on new processor designs to cater to the fast growing PC market. Around this time, Intel processors became synonymous with the personal computer, thanks to the aggressive “Intel Inside” marketing campaign that essentially made it a household name.

Although the 2000s marked the end of the company’s dominance, Intel processors remain prevalent on today’s PC market. In fact, it was ranked in 2007 as one of the world’s most powerful brands by Millward Brown Optimor. Intel celebrated its 40th birthday in 2008 and has recently announced plans to launch more innovative PC products in the very new future. From the looks of it, Intel will continue to play an integral role in modern computing.

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