Micron Bulletin

How Long Could You Go Without?

On Monday, USA Today published a story about a group of college students who went “computerless” for several weeks as part of a documentary they are filming. Not surprisingly, the students encountered some pretty sobering realities of life without access to email, online news and social networking sites. The “computer fasting” exercise exemplified to these students just how much the Internet impacts daily life and how difficult simple tasks can be without a computer. As mentioned in the article, almost 90 percent of 18- to 29-year olds use the Internet.Think about it, could you go one day without access to online information?

Be a Fan - Support the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games

The Micron Foundation recently awarded the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games with a $500,000 grant in sponsorship of the Games to be held in Idaho during February 2009.

"Special Olympics is truly a global movement," said Dee Mooney, executive director of the Micron Foundation. "This donation will support Special Olympics athletes from every participating nation while also supporting the efforts of Idahoans to provide an amazing event for our international guests."

Just like the Micron Foundation, you can be a fan too. Check out the Winter Games Web site to contribute, volunteer or learn more about the events.

NOTE: The Micron Foundation is a separate non-profit organization that uses its endowment fund to support education and community projects. As a separate entity, foundation funding remains consistent without any correlation to the semiconductor industry and without negative impact on the company.

Leading-Edge Process Leads to Leading-Edge Products

Yesterday, Micron announced that it has shrunk its DRAM process technology from 78 nanometers to 68 nanometers--a feat that has enabled it to produce the world’s smallest mainstream memory chip. The new chip measures just 56mm² and was achieved by coupling Micron’s 68nm process with its 6F² advanced cell implementation. In addition to reducing DRAM die size, the new 68 nanometer process imparts lower power -approximately 20 percent - and increased speeds, all which are particularly important to server and mobile applications where the benefits of reduced die size, faster speeds and lower power consumption are critical.

Learn About Flash on NAND.com

Did you know that you can go to NAND.com to learn all about NAND Flash? The site provides an informational forum for readers to gather the most up-to-date news and developments on all things NAND including the differences between NOR and NAND, the right applications for SLC and MLC NAND, as well as how to design in NAND flash, among other topics.

A fact learned from the site: The NAND Flash market is growing faster than any technology in the history of semiconductors with new products (feature-rich cell phones, MP3 players and solid state drives) and market segments (mobile, computing and automotive, to name a few) driving its growth.

RealSSD portfolio: What the Bloggers (and Readers) Had to Say

From CNET’s Crave, to Gizmodo and Engadget, among others, announcement of Micron’s RealSSD family of solid state drives last week produced a wide variety of perspectives within the viral blogging community. Check out the posts to read the many interactive reader responses.

Execs Present to Shareholders

Today, Micron held its Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Check out the webcast replay to learn more about the company's direction straight from Micron's Chairman and CEO Steve Appleton and President and COO Mark Durcan.

Appleton Receives Top Award in Singapore

On Sunday, Micron's President and CEO Steve Appleton received the Distinguished Friends of Singapore award, one of the highest recognitions for outstanding contributions by international heads of organizations to Singapore's economy over a sustained period. The award honors Micron and Appleton for playing a significant role in strengthening Singapore's business and technological capabilities, specifically with intensive knowledge, capital and innovation activities. Check out the press release from Singapore’s Economic Development Board announcing the award recipients and Channel News Asia article on the award ceremony.

In Singapore, Micron's presence includes wholly-owned assembly and test operations, a joint venture interest in fabrication operations at TECH Semiconductor and sales and marketing offices for all Micron memory and Lexar products in Singapore and the Asia Pacific region. In addition, IM Flash Singapore, Micron's joint venture with Intel, is building a state-of-the-art 300mm semiconductor manufacturing facility to manufacture NAND flash.