Chip

Information Resource Engineering Inc., a Baltimore-based computer security firm, introduced its first encryption chip yesterday.Such chips are used to protect electronic transmissions from being intercepted and read without permission.The security devices have become increasingly important -- and profitable -- as businesses and individuals have begun to rely on public computer networks on the Internet for commercial and personal communication."With a modem, people can see your messages over the Internet," said Jack Hembrough, a vice president at IRE. "This [chip]

T he last man standing from the wide receiver class of 1997 is still stalking defensive backs after all these years. At 35, Derrick Mason has the same burning passion he brought into the NFL 13 years ago. He even has the same burning motivation. "I still have a chip on my shoulder from getting drafted in the fourth round," the Ravens' playmaking wide-out said this week. "It's always going to be on my shoulder, regardless of what my situation is. I've always had a chip on my shoulder because 29 teams thought I was not good enough to be on their team and one decided I was. That's what always motivates me to continue to play."

A summer sell-off in the volatile semiconductor group has raised an interesting question for investors: If the chips are down this much, is it time to buy? Although semiconductor stocks have underperformed the broader market since May, in recent weeks the market appears to be regaining an appetite for the group. Shares of computer chip-makers such as Intel Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and National Semiconductor Corp. have not only halted their nose dive but also regained a good portion of the ground they lost.

Giant Intel Corp., which launched a massive consumer advertising campaign several years ago to make its Pentium computer chip a household name, has succeeded -- but not the way it wanted. Recently the chip was found to be defective when used in certain applications. The news flashed across the Internet, the electronic bulletin board used by thousands of researchers around the world, and the company suddenly was besieged with demands to recall this key component in millions of personal computers.

DALLAS -- Texas Instruments Inc. yesterday became the latest American chip manufacturer to announce plans for a new factory in anticipation of continuing strong worldwide demand.The company said it planned to spend $750 million to $1 billion through 1998 to build the 624,000-square-foot factory at its headquarters complex in north Dallas that will produce next-generation microchips, which store and process information in computers and other electronic products.The first phase of the plant will cost $300 million and will be paid out of the company's internal cash flow.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. said yesterday that it would immediately begin shipping clones of Intel Corp.'s 486-series computer chip in light of a federal judge's decision to overturn a jury verdict that had blocked sales of the chips.While the initial shipments by Advanced Micro will be small, the decision's long-term impact could include higher earnings for Advanced Micro, slimmer profit margins for Intel and still lower personal computer prices for consumers.Intel shares plummeted $12.25 yesterday, closing at $97.75 in Nasdaq trading, while Advanced Micro rose correspondingly, to close at $28, up $3.875.

SAN FRANCISCO -- One of the most lucrative monopolies in American industry was finally broken last week when Advanced Micro Devices formally rolled out its long-awaited clone of Intel's 386 microprocessor, a computer-on-a-chip that forms the brain inside many popular personal computers.But the AMD 386, which remains the focus of a bitter legal battle between AMD and Intel, is expected to capture only a small fraction of the PC microprocessor market. Major personal computer vendors are reluctant to risk alienating Intel by buying the AMD chip, and Intel will soon fight back with cheaper and faster versions of its more advanced 486 microprocessor.

TOKYO -- Foreign companies' share of Japan's semiconductor market surged to 20.7 percent, its highest level ever, in the fourth quarter of 1993, a development that could help defuse another potentially explosive trade dispute with the United States.But the U.S. government and the American computer chip industry reacted coolly to the news, calling on Japan to take additional measures to ensure that progress continues."We are pleased to see an increase in foreign market share for the fourth quarter," said Mickey Kantor, the U.S. trade representative.

THE LAST nine months have brought bad news to PC makers but good news to consumers shopping for computers. Intel and AMD, the two main competitors in the PC processor market, are engaged in a pricing slugfest, which doesn't do much for their bottom lines, but can certainly help yours. The chip makers announced their latest round of cuts last week, and a look at their price lists illustrates why you should never buy the fastest processor on the market: It isn't worth the dough. First, a word about speed.

WASHINGTON -- Trade relations between the United States and Japan took a turn for the worse yesterday as the two countries announced another drop in the foreign share of Japan's computer chip market, the leading barometer of trans-Pacific trade.In response, the United States ordered emergency talks with Japan, a step that could eventually lead to trade sanctions.The Clinton administration faces a diplomatic problem in the emergency talks, which will begin in mid-January. President Clinton is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa on Feb. 11, and while the United States and Japan agreed last summer in Tokyo to reach several new trade pacts by then, little progress has been made.