Social networks influence holiday e-shopping ... Toshiba to push HD DVD at CES

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Sharp to expand LCD production earlier than planned
News: Toshiba plans aggressive HD DVD push at CES
Report: Panasonic in talks to sell JVC stake to Kenwood
News: Social networks influence holiday e-shopping
News: Project aims to tag Tokyo neighborhood with RFID
Opinion: A quick trip to Redmond
ITwhirled: Top ten geek business myths


NEWS UPDATES

Sharp to expand LCD production earlier than planned
Rising demand for flat-panel televisions around the world is pushing Sharp Corp. to bring forward a planned expansion of display production, the company said Monday. Sharp's second manufacturing line at its Kameyama factory in western Japan will begin producing LCD panels in January -- two months ahead of schedule.

Toshiba plans aggressive HD DVD push at CES
Toshiba will join a group of companies supporting the HD DVD format in a news conference Jan. 7, the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, to announce their plans for 2007.

Report: Panasonic in talks to sell JVC stake to Kenwood
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (Panasonic) is in talks to sell a big stake in its loss-making Victor Co. of Japan Ltd. (JVC) subsidiary to Kenwood Corp., the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported in its Saturday morning edition.

Social networks influence holiday e-shopping
New e-commerce trends have shaped this holiday season, including the increasing importance of social networks, blogs and user content, booming sales of luxury items, an extended shopping period and the emergence of niche sellers.

Project aims to tag Tokyo neighborhood with RFID
A location-based services trial that will see a famous Tokyo neighborhood blanketed with around 10,000 RFID (radio frequency identification) tags and other beacons got its start earlier this month.

Elpida begins mass production of 70nm DRAM
Japanese memory-chip maker Elpida Memory Inc. Monday began mass production of memory chips using a 70-nanometer production process, which offers to further reduce costs and improve performance.

Congress in '07: Privacy and patents on agenda
Some technology vendors and advocacy groups see new opportunities in the U.S. Congress in 2007, with issues such as patent reform and data protection getting fresh life under a Democratic-controlled legislature.


OPINION

A quick trip to Redmond
By Joel Shore

Heading up to Microsoft's Redmond, Wash. campus is always interesting. In the past, these trips were for big-time launch events, briefings for large groups of editors and analysts, product reviewers' workshops, or the occasional one-on-one interview for an executive profile piece. This time was different. Very different.

The recent gathering included just a handful of invitees. Several of them were from the world of the blogosphere. The agenda appeared to revolve around the idea of innovation. Certainly many people do not use the words "innovation" and "Microsoft" in the same sentence. I could play the cynic and note that Microsoft purchased DOS, built Windows from ideas first seen in Apple's Lisa, and more recently, launched its Zune music player five years and five million units after Apple's iPod. But I digress.


ITWHIRLED

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